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byteframe13-Xenian_Xenology

You've been teleported to an elaborate cyberpunk-ian stash house inside a comet hovering over the border world Xen. Everybody died or went out to get cigarettes or whatever.

First things first, this is about a 25 gigabyte download (tugs at collar), and is split up into 10 maps (with loading panels you click on). I truly am sorry to Steam for claiming so much space on their server (my packaging script probably had to be overzealous). Please check that you are subscribed and have fully downloaded all the dependencies listed on the right. I spent 4.5 years with this on my plate. This is bittersweet, and tangential to other stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't boot up for you, or has complications with level switching or multiple players.

byteframe13 was intended to be 'visually salacious'. Umm... think "Gigeresque" meets Cinematic Mod for HL2. There were some scenes that are generally quite debaucherous AND embarrassing! The intensity of this suggestive environmental smut now shames me, so a large portion has been kind of... disabled. It's hard to resist titillating yourself with a level editor, and I also take solace that this will hit the right demographic, if any.

Separate from the visuals, my GRAPHICAL styles (not going forward) are informed by the best looking video game ever made, Rage. id had MegaTexture, while I'd realize all my junk hits frametime quite well. When you have the ability to endlessly detail, it becomes hard to know when to stop (although I somewhat sense when a space is satiated). Doing teleports and physics props at the start would have helped me hone, as well as make better decisions about model conversions/cut-ups. Twas too cavalier in not maintaining various backup sets, principally for all those props I would convert to mesh but not modify. I usually did this to remove hidden faces, or because source1 overlays don't apply to static props? Dunno about that issue. Near the end, I learned that doing big texture peels along the ribs (not the rings) provides so much results. Before, I was having to go to war with the magic tool to get a winding peel looking halfway decent.

Compounding all this was the special faculty source 1 assets have for looking bad in VR. Maybe it's low texel count, seeing as the material conversion script(s) really do a proper job. I tried my best to reduce quality clash and low resolution asset usage. I eventually became somewhat adept at lighting such that I could employ and tweak healthy amounts of per-pixel lights alongside (or in more purposeful coordination) with baked ones, which juices secular enough where needed to not make this all look like mud in the goggles. byteframe13 runs fast (5600x+3060ti), and it holds up visually, but high detail graphics like this can get smothered under the wireless compression fog.The scarcest resource did end up being the storage space (that needs to be in 2gb chunks) wasted by needlessly big vmaps and not restraining myself with assets.

The gargantuan asset pool at my disposal was composed of source 1 content, ambientcg and freepbr materials, and other sources. Working on the scripting and endlessly converting assets took ages, hair pulling, waiting... and then I fried my SSD! I didn't lose any work (dear reader), nor did I lose many files, other than what was on my desktop (some photos from a phone?). The big pain mostly centered around 'resourcecompiler'ing my whole 'station' so I could return to work, and incidentally I HATE having to open my computer. If I didn't have the want+ability to modify the materials (conveniently, from outside the addon) I could free up ~500 gigs by deleting the content files. Maybe some advanced routine to decompile the compiled vmats and then have them reference compiled textures (not 100% sure if this works all the time) could allow me to delete the content files once the addon is finished being created! I'm trying to drown all my data and technology in a bucket, make my footprint more 'stateless'. Simplify, simplify.

This scripting and file management work comprised ~30% of active time spent overall. Massaged output from the packaging script will be the main constituency of the credits list. A special thank you to https://github.com/kristiker/source1import for assisting me (rapidly) with sorting out steamvr related material bugs and some WSL stuff. After slipstreaming, I was amazed how much faster the tools became. I'm considering how much time was consumed waiting for hammer to hitch over something. All those endless interruptions of flow state. A similar catastrophe has been playing off in my mind in regards to the detrimental effects of long term marijuana addiction.

I almost skipped soundscapes, and was going to use a panorama youtube hack that simulated a 24/7 stream, but it was too impersonal. I used mp3s instead, and then gave it a well and good college try on some environmental audio and leveling everything. I apparently erased all the trillions of sounds from source1import and only had access to the sounds from the workshop. There was enough to work with to cover the space, and there's still music on top. Getting the tools/program in a state such that it would actually make sound and become ready for me to do the work was some huge pain in the ass, at first. Was foggy on where the player is, vr_test vs noclip, why the soundscape doesn't activate, or why there isn't sound at all in some cases. Then once you're ready to go, you enable your bluetube earboobs and everything crashes! I eventually got into a competent groove with an end result quite nice to me.

The length of time if took to get this over the finish line bothers me. I bit off more than I could chew, and completing it seemed so daunting and my stamina was sapped. Only when I was able to somehow blaze past alot of deferred skut work was it possible to even complete it this year. Most of the time was spent agonizing over forays into new sections. I don't do references or blockouts, so the layout has a strong element of 'stream of consciousness' throughout. The primary stage involves staring off into the ether until Kier whispers through me. Then finally, topologically soothing mesh flows forth from my fingers and a new space reveals itself. The prospect of a 3D diorama created for a dead medium is really just the underlying premise allowing myself to soak in this mode of Zen.

The Megaverse only ever existed in our minds, and this is what I saw. I hope you enjoy this VR level, as it would appear to be inside of my brain turned into a 3D object. My personality has been atrophying for a while now, but I can improve.

This reaching-of-the-finish line should be an example of perseverance and not giving up on your creative drives, but... I suggest letting go. This project exemplifies the totality of my technical and artistic abilities using The Computer, and I have given it the sum total of my affections. I'm chuffed to learn I could count to 13 (and maybe feel satiated at the level of quality) but overall, I feel as though this is a creative failure. I remember when I started (late 2020?). The initial mesh work, designs of a much simpler structure, etc. I was watching Star Trek Enterprise then. That was so long ago. It's beginning to really dawn on me that I may return to the mothership having never achieved self-actualization. This is my gift to the world.

CREDIT: github.com/byteframe/Game/blob/master/steamtours/byteframe13-Xenian_Xenology
DONATE: https://www.pcrf.net/ -- https://donate.ncteactionfund.org/a/a4te
PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/wKeQNrKs2f2eRCkL9
AUTHOR: https://bsky.app/profile/byteframe.bsky.social
ERRATA: IdaParticle, SoundToggleInBeta