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Makes sense to me.
And to better illustrate some of my points/ideas I’ll post some images using both Epic and non Epic generated characters with some simple variations that will hopefully liven up the more static default poses.
When I get the time…
Sorry sojournstar, I assumed most people were familiar with the expression working in “post” which I believe came from the film industry and refers to working or fixing things in post production… or after the cameras stop rolling. Basically what you’re doing in photoshop with your Epic generated characters is indeed working in post (only in this case after you’ve already compiled your character with the Epic generator).
I too would love to see the Epic generator capable of handling body/arm/head variations at the click of a button, an maybe one day we might. But the enormous number of variations that would ensue if such a thing were applied to the already considerable body of work the Epic generator is capable of, makes the prospect of it prohibitively large. So my suggestion for the meantime is to make greater variability possible through simply providing such body/arm/head/facial expressions available as separate files for folk like you or me to work with in post.
Thanks for the response L Brandy. Whenever I compile an Epic generated character in just a few minutes compared to the hours it can take using photoshop and a bunch of graphic files, I almost feel as if I’ve cheated! I get the zen of it, that you’ve created a program that can cobble together an enormous amount of variation in just a few seconds yielding an end result that’s truly impressive. This is something to be both proud of and quite rightly this seamlessness should be protected. So if you were ever going down the path of adding increased variability be it with head, arm or body poses or even indeed facial expressions, what I’m suggesting is that these be add ons made specifically for those happy working with them in post. As making clothing/armor variations, differently posed but still compatible with all the variations currently available would be an impossible task, focusing instead on the most popular armor/clothing sets might be one solution? Or even just starting off with a bunch of different facial expressions as the OP originally asked about, that are compatible with the default “straight on” look all Epic generated characters currently share, would be one way of starting this daunting process. Again, for all the reasons just cited I’d only advocate doing this as a separate file for those happy working in post.
This taps into an issue that’s big for me. While I’d one day love to see a few more options available in terms of head position, arm positions and even body positions angled in different ways to create more dynamic poses, I fully understand how difficult to implement this would be. As I’m working with loads of 2D images made from 3D models posed in various ways, I can graft non Epic images onto epic ones to make Epic characters appear more “dynamic”. But this is something I’d love to see in the Epic generator one day, ie alternate head angles. Even just seeing a head at 45 degrees over the default straight on look, would add so much variability.
Now this post offers up the prospect of variable facial expressions, which I think is a fantastic idea! Again, within the existing engine I can fully appreciate the problems implementing this so I’d not even urge anyone try. But what I’d love to know is that it’s at least under consideration to one day include separate images of things like an angled head or different facial expressions that could indeed be utilised by folk happy tinkering in post. Perhaps having such options included in the Pro version would provide a little incentive for folk to upgrade to that package (besides which I’d imagine most Pro users would typically be happy working images in post).
Thanks for that, I’m slowly getting my head around all the copyright pitfalls developing a game heavily reliant on others work. Dealing with the legal reps of some of the bigger 3D model brokers has been an edifying (and not always pleasant) experience to say the least.
As for the different aspects discussion, thanks for letting me know it’s under consideration even if only for the distant future. When I submit some of the games artwork here down the track, I’ll try an demonstrate using ePic Generated characters, how subtly changing a couple of things (ie head angle, arm positions) might lend a more dynamic look to the characters. As I mentioned previously, this is totally to do with using such characters in “event” card artwork which naturally should suggest something of the action occuring in that “event”.
I’ll be back…. 🙂
Thanks for answering that for me LBrandy, much appreciated. An I do have one follow up question below.
Sojournstar I’m more than happy sharing some images of my game as it’s developing but as the copyright of much of the graphics I’m working on belongs with the original artists, I need to be to be careful respecting this.
Q: LBrandy as long as any pics I submitted were simply attachments to a post and I made it clear they were copyright protected, would this be enough?
I’m glad to hear there’s some thoughts about one day releasing a pack with characters showing different aspects or performing different actions. I totally understand how restricting such a project would necessarily have to be in order to work but there’d be a couple of things one could do to at least somewhat offset this. A few ideas in that regard….
Interchangeable heads with different facial expressions and angles to camera.
Limiting the aspects available (beyond the current “front on” standard) to 45 degrees front on.
Using a semi crouched, arms wide in readiness pose (gives a more dynamic “ready for action” look without imposing lots of new different action poses).
Heavier emphasis on “full sets” where the naturally decreased amount of interchangeability available means it doesn’t really matter if such a character is restricted in other clothing options.
The last point is probably the most important IMHO. If you were ever able to find out from your devotees which character “looks” are the most popular, making “full sets” for these would allow more varying aspects without losing too much of the visual appeal.
What you’ve delivered is already an amazing program that is truly heaven sent for someone like myself. If it needs of necessity to always be restricted to the aspects currently offered, so be it. This is just a wishlist for making something already amazing into something even more so!
Hello, I’m Neil. I was just in the process of asking a question on the FAQ page, but couldn’t get that to work, so I’ll ask it here at the same time as introducing myself.
Q: The license to use ePic Generator content in a commercial application (a boardgame in my case) seems to be pretty clear, but does this also include the 3rd party stuff bundled with what I purchased, namely the donator pack?
I’ve purchased the pro version and everything available as of this moment, is there anything in there I can’t use within the game I’m developing or is everything usable?
I became aware of ePic Generator a couple of years back when I first began working on my project and thought I’d be availing myself of it way before now. But I instead found myself spending an inordinate amount of time working on other aspects of the game and it’s only now I’m getting around to doing the games characters. I’ve actually got pretty high hopes for getting loads of characters developed quickly with the ePic Generator, such is the streamlined nature of the program. I’m also impressed by the sheer volume of potential characters one can create. Impressive indeed.
The one issue for me pertains to the standard, virtually “front on”, arms by their side aspect with which the generated characters are all positioned. I absolutely understand this aspect has been chosen to provide the highest amount of interchangeability between characters hair, clothes weapons etc, and in this it succeeds very well. But I echo the sentiments of others who’ve written in previously, that it would be nice to be able to mix things up aspect wise.
To date virtually all of the work I’ve been accruing for incorporation into my game has been from 3D artists. I’ve done this for a variety of reasons not the least of which involves the quality and range available, for what I consider the most competitive prices. The added benefit of working with 3D models is there is a complete 360 degree availability of aspects, and if it’s rigged with a skeleton, complete power to adjust the models posture, action etc. The downside is of course one needs to learn at least the basics of working in 3D… a time consuming enterprise. The effort has been worthwhile tho for the versatility each 3D model then provides. In particular the games “event” card artwork is largely made from these 3D models, suitably arranged on a given background, something the Generator will find hard competing with.
A future ePic package showing characters in different aspects would have a massively reduced amount of hair, weapon and costume configurations available but might nevertheless prove popular. I’d vote for such a thing, starting with a Sci Fi pack… of course!
I think this is a great idea for a future release even if this meant the clothes and body parts within weren’t compatible with the original “front on” release’s. I like the idea that within a game, the “front on” depiction of a character might be what you see on their character card, but where that character is also depicted in an event card, seeing this character depicted from a different angle, (interacting with other characters or performing some kind of generic action for instance) would produce a more pleasing/realistic aesthetic.
My main use for the ePic Character Generator (when I commit to it) will be for the characters in the boardgame I’m working on. So if I’ve purchased the Pro Bundles, does this entitle me to make my own version of a character generated by them, but with a different aspect (ie from behind) and still legally utilise it within the game? Or in other words does the copyright/license using characters generated by the ePic Character Generator cover other versions of such a generated character made outside of the ePic Character Generator?
3D character models I’ve purchased the license to use have this one great advantage over those made in the ePic Character Generator, ie they can be positioned at any angle before the final shot of them is taken for incorporation in the game. But the sheer range of characters the ePic Character Generator can potentially make, makes this program a very likely purchase for me when I move onto creating characters for the game. I’ll be even more interested in it if I’m free to also make differently angled versions of characters made with the ePic generator or if a future pack might explore such a possibility?
