You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games here Contents hide Dead By Daylight fans have a lot to enjoy. Not only is the return of 2v8 on the horizon, but we are also getting killer updates, and players on PC can now enjoy the Chapter 34 PTB. BeHaviour has just shared the DBD update 8.4.0 patch notes, and they reveal the skills and special abilities for the Chapter 34 killer and survivor. The release date for the Dead By Daylight Chapter 34 PTB was originally slated as November 12th, but it surprisingly dropped today and is now live for players on Steam. Next week will see the return of 2v8, and there is more included in the November 2024 roadmap so far. In addition, there are active codes for players to redeem right now for Bloodpoints and charms. While the DLC wont launch on all platforms for another few weeks, players on Steam are able to play the Chapter 34 PTB right now. The update 8.4.0 patch notes have been shared, and they reveal the new DBD killer and survivor special abilities and skills. Dead By Daylight update 8.4.0 patch notesBelow are the Dead By Daylight update 8.4.0 patch notes: ContentNewKiller The HoundmasterKillerPower Scent of BloodThe Houndmaster and her dog operate as one. Her commands are followed without question or delay.Special Ability: ChaseThe Chase Command sends the dog out at high speed. Pressing the Power button again redirects the Chase, pivoting the dogs path.When the dog catches aSurvivor, the dog starts a Grab. TheSurvivorbecomesHinderedand is pulled toward The Houndmaster. TheSurvivorcan get free by stunning the dog or can be rescued by anotherSurvivor. Grabs that end without Injury leave theSurvivorHindered. Grab duration is shorter forSurvivorswith theEndurancestatus effect.Special Ability: SearchThe Search Command sends the dog to a target location, creating a Search Path. It has its ownlullabyand, as it moves, its Houndsense radius rises over distance traveled.Survivorswho enter the radius are affected by Houndsense and revealed byKiller Instinct. If The Houndmaster follows the dogs Search Path, she gains increased movement speed over time. Leaving the Search Path ends the bonus movement speed.Special Effect: HoundsenseHealthySurvivorsaffected by Houndsense receive Deep Wounds when Injured. InjuredSurvivorsaffected by Houndsense suffer from louder Grunts of Pain and longer Pools of Blood when put into the Dying state.Perks:All-Shaking ThunderAfter you fall from a height, yourlunge attackdistance is increased by 75/75/75% for 8/12/16 seconds.This perk has a 5/5/5-second cooldown.Scourge Hook: Jagged CompassAt the start of the trial, up to 4 random hooks are changed into scourge hooks. You see theiraurasin white.When aSurvivoris unhooked from a non-scourge hook, it becomes a scourge hook. When you hook aSurvivoron a Scourge Hook, theauraof thegeneratorwith the most progress is revealed in yellow for 6/8/10 seconds.No QuarterWhen aSurvivorreaches 75/75/75% of a self-heal, they are faced with continuousskill checks.If one of theseskill checksis missed or the heal is interrupted, theSurvivorbecomesbrokenfor 20/25/30 seconds.NewSurvivor Taurie CainPerksInvocation: Treacherous CrowsWhen in the Basement near the circle, press the ability button 2 to begin the Invocation. Invocations take 60/60/60 seconds. OtherSurvivorswill see yourauraduring this and can join an ongoing interaction. Once the Invocation is completed: Completing the Invocation disables that perk for allSurvivors.You become injured andbrokenfor the rest of the trial.WhenaSurvivoris in theTerror RadiusandtheKillerscares a crow, theiraurais revealed to allSurvivorsfor 1/1.5/2 seconds.Clean BreakAfter you finish healing another Survivor, while being healed by another Survivor, press the ability button 1 to become Broken.After 80/70/60 seconds, you become healthy.This perk does not activate if you are alreadybroken. The effect is cancelled if you go in the dying state.Shoulder the BurdenOnce per trial, as long as you are not on death hook, press the ability button 2 in front of a hooked Survivor to unhook them. When they are unhooked, they lose 1 hook state and you gain 1 hook state. You also scream and becomeExposedfor 30/25/20 seconds.New MapA new map on the other side of Mount Ormond is here for testing on the PTB only! Explore The Ormond Lake Mine. (this map will not be part of the Chapter release)FeaturesSurvivorActivity HUD ImprovementsAll activities will now surface their progress on the activity HUD (previously was justGeneratorsand Recovery)A new activity was created to differentiate when aSurvivoris Mending or Healing themselvesA new activity was created to differentiate when aSurvivoris Blessing a totemSomeKillerpower interactions which were previously missing are now included on the activity HUDPerks HUD improvementVisual differentiation between a Perk being temporally unavailable from being disabled completely. First time implementation for new Invocation Perk.Characters Bio PagesRe-added Power and Perks previews on Bio pageStoreFeatured Page main carousel can also display Bundles.Featured Page bundle widget is now a carousel that shows Bundles and Collections.KillerUpdatesThe Dark Lord BasekitIncrease shapeshift cooldown to 3.5 seconds(was 2.5)Vampire Form: Increase Hellfire cooldown to 10 seconds(was 7)Wolf Form: Increase the spawn rate of Scent Orbs to 1 every 5 seconds(was 1 every 6 seconds)Wolf Form: Decrease Wolfs pounce charge time to 0.85 seconds(was 1)The Demogorgon BasekitDecreasePortalsetting time to 0.85 seconds(was 1)DecreasePortalentry time to 1.35 seconds(was 1.5)Increase Upside Down travel speed to 28 m/s(was 20)The Demogorgon AddonsViscous Webbing:Increases the Sealing time of Portals by 10%(was 16%)Thorny Vines:Increases the Area of Effect of Active Portals by 1 meterIncreases the Sealing time of Portals by 8%(was 11%)Upside Down Resin:Increases the Sealing time or Portals by20%(was 28%)Lifeguard Whistle:RevealSurvivorsnear active portals without chargingOf The Abyss (REMOVED)Increases the number of Portals by2(NEW)The Ghost Face BasekitDecrease Night Shrouds cooldown to 17 seconds(was 20)Decrease the time to MarkSurvivorsto 4.5 seconds(was 5)The Ghost Face AddonsPhilly:Decreases the time to MarekSurvivorsby 10%(was 20%)Walleyes Matchbook:Decrease Night Shrouds recovery time by 3 seconds(was 6)TheGood Guy BasekitDecrease the Scamper time to 1 second(was 1.3)IncreaseHidey-Ho Modes cooldown to 12 seconds(was 10)TheGood Guy AddonsRat Poison:Decreased range to 6 meters(was 12)Decreased duration to2.5 seconds(was 5)The Lich BasekitDecreased Dispelling Spheres cooldown to35 seconds(was 38)Decreased Flight of the Damneds cooldown to35 seconds(was 38)Decreased Flys cooldown to 25 seconds(was 38)Increased Mage Hands cooldown to40 seconds(was 38)Increased the cooldown after cancelling a spell to 1.25 seconds (was 1)Decreased the time Dispelling Sphere disables magic items to 45 seconds (was 60)The Lich AddonsPearl of Power:Decreases the cooldown of all Spells by3 seconds after a successfulBasic Attack(was 5)Ring of Spell Storing:Decreases the cooldown of all Spells by2 seconds (was 4)The Mastermind BasekitDecreased Virulent Bounds cooldown to 5.5 seconds(was 6 seconds)The Mastermind AddonsLeather Gloves:Decreases Virulent Bounds cooldown by 8%(was 10%)The Shape BasekitIncreased Evil Within I movement speed to 4.4 m/s(was 4.2 m/s)Increased maximum stalk perSurvivorto 20 points(was 10)Decreased the amount of Evil Within required to reach Evil Within II to 3(was 5)Increased the Evil Within gain multiplier when stalking from afar to 1(was 0.1)Decreased the Evil Within gain multiplier when stalking from up close to0.4(was 1)The Shape AddonsFragrant Tuft of Hair:Increased the Evil Within III requirement to 20(was 10)Lock of Hair:Decreased the Evil Within III requirement to 50% (was 100%)Judiths Tombstone:Increased the Evil Within III requirement to 20(was 10)Tombstone Piece:Increased the Evil Within III requirement to 15(was 7.5)Scratched Mirror:Decreases Evil Within I movement speed to 4.2 m/s(NEW)KillerPerk UpdatesDominance:The first time each totem and eachchestis interacted with by aSurvivor, that totem orchestis blocked by the Entity for 8/12/16 seconds.(was 4/6/8)Human Greed:You see UnopenedChestsaurasandSurvivoraurasare revealed for3/3/3 secondswhen they enter a8/8/8-meterrange.You also gain the ability to kickcheststo close them. This ability has a30/25/20-secondcooldown.(was 60/45/30 seconds)Languid Touch:When aSurvivorwithin 36 meters of youscares a crow, they gain theExhaustedstatus effectfor6/8/10 seconds.This perk has a5-secondcooldown.(was 20 seconds)Weave Attunement:When any item becomes depleted for the first time each match, it is dropped. You see theaurasof dropped items.Survivorswithin8 metersof dropped items have theiraurasrevealed to you.(was 12 meters)AffectedSurvivorssee the itemsaura.(NEW)When aSurvivorpicks up aSurvivoritem, they suffer theObliviousstatus effectfor20/25/30 seconds.SurvivorUpdatesGeneralDecreased the time it takes to unlockcheststo 8 seconds(10 seconds)SurvivorPerk UpdatesAce in the Hole:When retrieving an item from achest, there is a 100%chance that aUltra Rare(or lower) add-on will be attached to it.(was Very Rare or lower)50/75/100%chance to finding an add-on ofUncommon rarityorlower.(was 10/25/50%)When escaping, keep any add-ons your item has.Buckle Up:Updated the perks description for clarity.Invocation: Weaving Spiders:Description was updated to match the new invocation (Treacherous Crows), but no gameplay change otherwise.Pharmacy:When injured, Pharmacy activates(REMOVED)Unlockingchestsis70/85/100%faster.(was 40/60/80% faster)The hearing distance for noises from unlockingchestsare reduced by20 meters.(was 8 meters)Pharmacyguarantees anEmergency Med-Kit upon completing the interaction.Plunderers Instinct:Theaurasof unopenedchestsand items in the environment are revealed to you when standing within a32/48/64 metersrange.(was 16/24/32 meters)Increases the odds of finding higher rarity items fromchestsby 50%.(was 14/24/46%)Scene Partner:Scene Partneractivates when you are in theKillersTerror Radius.Whenever you look at theKiller, scream, then see theKillersaurafor4/5/6 seconds.(was 3/4/5 seconds)There is a chance you will scream again, if you do, you will see theKillersaurafor an additional 2 seconds.Scene Partner(was 60 seconds)Bug FixesBotsImprovedSurvivorbot locomotion.Environment/MapsFixed missing cracks during the End Game CollapseFixing floating assets on multiple maps.Fixed brief bright light when returning to the Main Menu from the Store.Fixed sudden brief burst of bright light when viewing a Mori.Fixed occurrences of exit tiles not matching themed maps.Fixed a visible seam at the Exit Gates on Ormond Lake Mine.Fixed pools of blood that failed to appear in multiple places on the Ormond Lake MineFixed missing textures on multiple tiles of the Ormond Lake MineFixed a clipping issue the bridge in Ormond Lake MineFixed collision issues ontunnelstairs, tower scaffold ground, and tower tile collisions, on Ormond Lake MineReworked complex collisions preventingKillerprojectile to pass through on the top floor of the Ormond Lake Mine BuildingFixed issues of Camera Fade exclusion for the Mori Update featureFixed an issue in Lerys Hospital where theKillercould not grab asurvivorfrom one side of ageneratorFixed an issue with collision on Ironworks of MiseryFixed an issue with collision on The Underground ComplexFixed an issue with collision on The Nostromo WreckagePerksFixed an issue that caused the Hex: Thrill of the Hunt interaction speed values to be incorrect if cleansed before Hex: Undying.Fixed an issue that caused the Deathbound perk not to be disabled when grabbed by theKiller.Fixed an issue that caused Hex: Devour Hope to gain a token when aSurvivorself unhooks with the Deliverance perk.UIFixed an issue where cinematics can be skipped by L-stick or R-stick on the controller.Fixed a crash that could occur when using the virtual keyboard.Fixed an issue where the Beginner Tooltip text can be seen overflowing in certain languages.Fixed an issue where the prestige buttons progress bar isnt reacting accordingly to thebloodpointsbalance.Fixed a crash that could occur when equipping and unequipping the banner and badge.Fixed an issue where thesurvivoraction icon on the player status is missing after spectating thekillerin a custom game.Fixed an issue where the blood splatter effect on the player status is missing in various states.Fixed an issue where unnecessary lines appear when opening the event popup.MiscFixed an issue where platform exclusive outfits cannot be seen by other platform playersFixed an issue that caused Aestri Yazar, Lara Croft, Trevor Belmont, The Lich and The Dark Lord prestige outfits unlock in wrong order.The Wraith is now correctly able to move and attack after doing certain interactions when using the The Serpent Soot Add-onFixed an issue that causedKillersto be able to spam the Mori interaction.Known IssuesThe HoundmasterThe Search Path can appear above the ground when Search Command sends the dog to a different elevation.While running on the Search Path, The Houndmaster very rarely does not earn the movement speed bonus.Survivorsperforming the Grab Rescue interaction on anotherSurvivorwill play the corresponding animation after rescuedSurvivoris freed from the dog, instead of during the ongoing interaction.Survivorsinvolved in a Grab display theBrokenstatus effectsymbol instead of theIncapacitatedstatus effectsymbol.The Houndmaster is missing her dog during the Match Result Screen.The Houndmasters dog position is desynced with theSurvivorduring the Mori when performing multiple actions.The collision on the Houndmasters dog prevents the Killer from being blinded by flashlights.The Houndmasters dog visually does not always complete the vault animation, but still continues the path.Frequently, the Clean Break perk does not trigger whilst being healed by another Survivor that also has the Clean Break perk equipped.For more Dead By Daylight, check out our guide to thebest expansions.Dead by DaylightPlatform(s):Google Stadia, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series XGenre(s):Action, Survival Horror7VideoGamerSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

A year and a half after buying their midcentury modern LA home, new parents Alexandra Daddario and Andrew Form have parted ways with the pad. As reported by Mansion Global, the White Lotus star and her film producer husband, who welcomed their first baby on Halloween, listed the stylishly renovated Mandeville Canyon house in August. It officially changed hands earlier this week for $2.9 million.Daddario and Form bought the treehouse-inspired abode, which was built in 1959 by surfer-turned-architect Matt Kivlin, for $2.8 million in May 2023. The previous owners were documentary filmmaker Lacey Uhlemeyer and her husband, Rendell Johnson, who welcomed ADs cameras in for a tour. The 2022 feature highlights the transformative renovations the duo tackled in collaboration with designer Claire Thomas. They sought to restore the dwellings midcentury glory following a dated 80s makeover. Uhlemeyer told AD that the homes beautiful original design still shone through, which is ultimately what drew her to the property. What I did see, beyond the chocolate brown painted ceilings and stone tile bathrooms, was a really special post-and-beam architectural treehouse with floor-to-ceiling windows that invite in the gorgeous, protected canyon views, she said.It appears the Mayfair Witches actor didnt change muchif anythingabout the residence. A loft area with 60s-style green shag carpet, bare wooden beams, and a serene green primary bathroom with a Japanese-inspired hammered copper tub remain, per listing photos. Lined with glass, the light-flooded great room is centered around a red-tiled hearth that separates the kitchen and dining areas from the living room. A wraparound porch equipped for alfresco dining, a sauna, and a cold plunge round out the amenities in the tree-lined yard.Register TodayAD PRO's 2025 Interior Design Forecast is almost hereArrowIts unclear where Daddario and Form have relocated to, but the Percy Jackson actor did share a peek into her babys new nursery on Instagram recently; the space features high ceilings, exposed brick, floral-printed drapes, and a built-in sage green shelving unit.

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This Summers Sculpt Mode RefactorNovember 7th, 2024Code Design, General DevelopmentHans Goudey html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Over the past several months sculpt mode underwent a large rewrite. Since the project has wrapped up, this post gives an overview of what changed.Unlike most other development projects, this had no effect on the interface. Before and after the project, Blender looked exactly the same. Typically this should raise some eyebrows, because it often means developers are prioritizing work based on its effect on the code rather than its utility to users. In this case, problems with the code have made feature development significantly harder over the years, and refactoring came with plenty of potential performance improvements.Overall, for those who want to skip all the technical details, entering sculpt mode in Blender 4.3 is over 5x faster, brushes themselves are about 8x faster, and memory usage is reduced by about 30%. For actual visible changes to sculpting in 4.3, see brush assets. For a full list of the refactor work, see the task.Entering Sculpt ModeEntering sculpt mode was known to be quite slow. Based on profiles, it also looked much slower than it should be, since it was completely single threaded.A profile of Blender as it enters sculpt mode on a large mesh in 4.2, where each row is a CPU core.It turns out Blender was bottlenecked by two things: building the BVH tree that accelerates spatial searches and raycasting and uploading the mesh data to the GPU for drawing.Improving the BVH build time was a months-long iterative process of finding bottlenecks with a profiler, addressing them, and cleaning the code to make further refactoring possible. Adding trivial multi-threading to the calculation of bounds and other temporary data was the most significant improvement, at almost 5x. Beyond that, reducing memory usage improved performance by another 30%, simplifying the spatial partitioning of face indices using the C++ standard library another 30%. And finally, changing the BVH from storing triangles to storing faces (for a quad mesh there are half as many triangles as faces!) improved performance by another 2.3x.Entering sculpt mode is about 5 times faster compared to 4.2 (a change from 11 to 1.9 seconds with a 16 million face mesh with a Ryzen 7950x).Lessons for DevelopersAny array the size of a mesh is far from free. We should think hard about whether all the data in the array is really necessary.Any algorithm should clearly separate serial and parallel parts. Any loop that can be done in parallel should be inside a parallel_for.We shouldnt be reimplementing common algorithms like partitioning; that makes code so scary and weird that no one touches it for years.DrawingThere is a fundamental cost of uploading geometry data to the GPU and we will always be bottlenecked to some extent by the large amount of data we need to render. However, as a tweaked version of code from 15 years ago, sculpt mode drawing had enough overhead and complexity that significant improvements were possible.The GPU data for the whole mesh is split into chunks, with one chunk per BVH node. One main problem with the old data upload was its outer loop over nodes. That forced all the book-keeping to be duplicated for every node. Often just focusing on simplifying the code gave performance improvements indirectly. Removing two levels of function call indirection for multires data upload roughly doubled the performance, and removing function calls for every mesh edge gave another 30% improvement.The main change to the drawing code was a rewrite to avoid all duplicate work per BVH node, add multi-threading, and change the way we tag changed data. This improved memory usage by roughly 15% (we now calculate viewport wireframe data if the overlay is actually turned on), and entering sculpt mode became at least 10% faster.GPU memory usage was reduced by almost 2x using indexed drawing to avoid duplicating vertex data for every single triangle. Now vertex data is only duplicated per face corner.Previously, sculpting on a BVH node would cause every single attribute to be reuploaded to the GPU. Now we only reupload attributes that actually changed. For example, changing face sets only reuploads face sets. Tracking this state only costs a single bit per node.BVH Tree DesignPreviously, the sculpt BVH tree, often referred to as the PBVH (Paint Bounding Volume Hierarchy) was a catch-all storage for any data needed anywhere in sculpt mode. To reduce the codes spaghetti factor and clarify the design, we wanted to focus the BVH on its goal of accelerating spatial lookups and raycasting. To do that we removed references to mesh visibility, topology, positions, colors, masks, the viewport clipping planes, back pointers to the geometry, etc. from the BVH tree. All of this data was stored redundantly in the BVH tree, so whenever it changed, the BVH tree needed to change too. Nowadays the design is more focused and its much easier to understand the purpose of the BVH.Another fundamental change to the BVH was replacing each nodes references to triangles with references to faces. In a typical quad mesh there are twice as many triangles as faces, so this allowed us to halve a good portion of the BVH trees memory overhead.Brush EvaluationTo evaluate a brush, regions (BVH nodes) of the mesh are first tested roughly for inclusion within its radius. For every vertex in each of these regions, we calculate a position translation and the brushs strength. The vertex strength includes more granular filtering based on the brush radius, mask values, automasking, and other brush settings.Meshes are split into multiple BVH nodes which are used to filter unaffected geometry.Prior to this project, all these calculations were performed vertex by vertex. For each vertex, we retrieved the necessary information, calculated the deformation and the relative strength and then finally applied the brushs change. Because mesh data is stored in large contiguous arrays, it is inefficient from a memory perspective to process all attributes for a particular vertex at once, as this likely results in many cache misses and evictions.While the previous code was somewhat concise, handling all three sculpt mesh types (regular meshes, dynamic topology, multires) at once, this generic processing had some significant negative side effects:The old brush code was hard reason about because of C macros and the combination of multiple data structures in one loop.The structure had little opportunity for improved performance because of runtime switching between data structures and the lowest-common-denominator effect of handling different formats.A do everything for each vertex structure has memory access patterns that dont align with the way data is actually stored.Brush code now just processes a single action for all the vertices in a node at the same time, splitting the code into very simple hot loops which can use SIMD, use much more predictable memory access patterns, and have significantly less branching per-vertex.For further reference, here is a change that refactored the clay thumb brush. Though the new code has more lines, its more independent, flexible, and easier to change.Proxy SystemPreviously, brush deformations were accumulating into a temporary proxy storage on each BVH node. This accumulation occurred for each symmetry iteration until the end of a given brush step, at which point the data was written into the evaluated mesh positions, shape key data, and the base mesh itself.We completely removed the proxy system as part of refactoring each brush. Instead, brushes now immediately write their deformation during each each symmetry step calculation. This avoids storing temporary data and improves cache access patterns by writing to memory that is already cached. Removing the proxy storage also reduced the size of BVH nodes by around 40%, which aligns with our ongoing goal of improving performance by splitting the mesh into more nodes.Profiling revealed a significant bottleneck during brush evaluation: just storing the meshs initial state for the undo system was taking 60% of the time. When something so simple is taking so much time, there is clearly a problem.The issue turned out to be that most threads involved in brush evaluation were waiting for a lock while a single thread did a linear search through the undo data, trying to find the values for its BVH node.for (std::unique_ptr<undo::Node> &unode : step_data->nodes) { if (unode->bvh_node == bvh_node && unode->data_type == type) { return unode.get(); }}Simply changing the vector to a Map hash table gave us back that time and significantly improved the responsiveness of brushes.return step_data->undo_nodes_by_pbvh_node.lookup({node, type});Though there was plenty of refactoring required to make this possible, the nice part is how often very little time with a profiler is necessary to identify significant improvements.Undo Data Memory UsageUndo steps also became slightly more memory efficient in 4.3. The overhead of each BVH nodes undo storage for a brush stroke reduced 10x from about 4KB to about 400 bytes.In the future we would like to look into compressing stored undo step data. This could require significantly less memory.For another example of thread contention, we look to the counting of undo step memory usage. Undo data is created from multiple threads, and each thread incremented the same memory usage counter variable. Simply counting memory usage later on with a proper reduction gave a 4% brush evaluation performance improvement.Writing to the same memory from multiple threads at the same time is slow!In yet another thread contention problem, writing true to a single boolean from multiple threads turned out to be a significant issue for the calculation of the average mesh normal under the cursor. The boolean was logically redundant, so just removing it improved brush evaluation performance by 2x.Multi-Resolution ModifierMost of these performance improvements were targeted at base mesh sculpting where there was more low-hanging fruit. However, multires changes followed the same design and there were a few more specific optimizations for it too. Most significantly, moving to a struct-of-arrays format for positions, normals, and masks gave a 32% improvement to brush performance, and simplified code.The sculpt-mode multires data structure was optimized the same way meshes were optimized over the past years (see last years conference talk)Some multires workflows have remaining bottlenecks though, like subdivision evaluation or bad performance at very high subdivision levels.The End!Thanks for reading! It was a pleasure to be able to iterate on the internals of sculpt mode. Hopefully the changes can be a solid foundation for many future improvements.Support the Future of BlenderDonate to Blender by joining the Development Fund to support the Blender Foundations work on core development, maintenance, and new releases. Donate to Blender

Behind the Scenes: Industrial-Sized Concrete Batching Plant By Alina Khan on November 7, 2024 Behind the Scenes Discover how edelVIZ, a team of 3D generalists from India, creates a complex industrial structure, making a cornerstone in architectural visualization within Blender. INTRODUCTIONHi, we are a small team called edelVIZ based in Goa, India, and founded in 2010. We work predominantly for clients in Germany and Europe but have some clients in the US, the Gulf, and of course a few select Indian clients as well.Everyone in our 12-person strong team is a generalist, and we are working in shifting teams on everything from TV advertisements to interior and exterior architectural visualization and product images ranging from tiny alarm clocks to huge concrete trucks.There are always several people involved in our projects, and teams will adjust dynamically while we are waiting for feedback. Often artists will work on two or even three projects simultaneously.The principal artist on this project was Karan Shetty, with Jonathan Josenhans responsible for the art direction as well as coordinating with the client.We were approached by a longstanding client to rework the branding of their concrete batching plant series and subsequently create an image of the product in its actual construction site context.INSPIRATIONWe aimed to explore a new approach with the product we received, so we decided to search for online references as inspiration. Given that our product features a subtle and understated color palette, we specifically looked for examples and ideas that would enhance its visual appeal and make it stand out. Our goal was to find complementary design elements and color schemes that would highlight what makes the product stand out.(References)PROCESSCreating these images involved several software tools: FreeCAD, Modo, Blender, Nuke, and Photoshop.In Blender, we used the following add-ons for this project: BlenderKit for asset management, plants from Botaniq, GeoScatter for the landscaping, Polygon for textures, and True VFX for lighting and volumetric presets. Each tool and add-on was crucial in achieving the final result.We received the 3D model from our client in STP format, which we converted to OBJ format using FreeCAD.(Organizing the file)We previously used Modo as our primary 3D software but have recently transitioned to Blender. Modo was particularly advantageous for certain modeling techniques, such as transferring sections of a mesh between items, which was more intuitive and streamlined compared to Blender. Despite this, we are now fully adapting to Blenders tools and features for our current projects.Once we had cleaned and organized the file, we imported it into Blender for texturing and shading. We primarily used BlenderKits extensive library for materials, making minor adjustments and refinements to better suit our project's specific needs.(Texturing)Building on a previous version of the product, we helped our client develop a new branding strategy for this product category. We went through a whole host of color and logo variations to finally arrive at the current brandingthese are just some of the color combinations that the client wanted to see.(Branding)After finalizing the base shading, we shifted our focus to creating the environment. We started by setting up a base plane, applying a fundamental ground material, and sculpting the terrain to achieve the desired look and feel for the scene.Next, we focused on lighting the scene. We initially experimented with various HDRIs but were not happy with the result. To address this, we used the TrueSky plugin from TrueVFX, which provided the advanced sky and lighting effects needed to enhance the scene effectively.(Lighting)To define and separate our immediate environment, we introduced a metal barricade into the scene. This element helped clearly demarcate the area and enhanced the overall composition and visual structure of the environment.(Barricade)We further refined the ground material by adding additional sculpting and intricate details. We also adjusted and fine-tuned the shader to enhance the materials appearance and ensure it complemented the overall scene effectively.(Enhancing the ground)For the ground material, we combined two different textures to distinguish between the area inside and outside the barricade. We then painted an additional texture inside the barricade to represent a road or pathway for the trucks.(Ground Mesh)The ground setup features two distinct material layers. The outer layer uses a specialized mesh with a unique ground material, while the inner layer has a different ground material. By combining these configurations, we create a composite surface with enhanced visual and functional characteristics. This layered approach results in a more complex and realistic ground material, integrating the properties of both materials; this also improved performance and hid the tiling aspect of the texture.After finalizing the ground material, we added details to the scene. We used color attributes to paint the road or pathway for truck use, applying specific colors and textures to clearly define the route. This ensured that the road or pathway visually complemented the surrounding ground material and provided a clear, functional route for vehicles. This step was crucial for creating a realistic and understandable environment.We then populated the scene with various elements to create a construction site atmosphere. Most of these items were sourced from BlenderKit, enabling us to integrate relevant assets and details that brought the construction site to life.(Adding Items to Scene)Next, we developed the background of the scene by adding a road on one side and incorporating buildings and cranes in the distance to enhance the construction site setting. We also placed a few rocks to add depth and realism to the environment.(Adding Background Items)Following the background setup, we introduced volumetric effects to the scene, adding layers of atmospheric detail like dust. These effects enhanced the overall depth and ambiance, contributing to a more immersive and realistic environment.(Adding Volumetrics)Incorporating volumetrics was a major visual breakthrough. We used clouds from True-VFX, adjusting their opacity to simulate dust and fog, which greatly enhanced the scene's atmosphere. We found that volumetrics performed much better in Blender compared to Modo, allowing us to achieve the look we were aiming for.Once satisfied with the final render, we performed post-processing in Nuke and Photoshop. This final stage involved refining the image and applying finishing touches to enhance overall visual quality.(Photoshop Camera Raw)In Photoshop, we used the Camera Raw filter to fine-tune contrast and color. We also added a new sky to the background. This involved seamlessly blending the new sky with the existing elements, ensuring that the lighting, color tones, and shadows matched perfectly for a natural and cohesive appearance.We have since shifted from a Nuke + Photoshop pipeline to a DaVinci Resolve pipeline for both stills and video.RENDER: Industrial-Sized Concrete Batching Plant Thank you for taking the time to read our article! Be sure to explore more of our work on our website. Wishing you a wonderful day!About the Artist edelVIZ, a Goa-based team, specializes in global TV ads, architectural visualizations, and product images, with Karan Shetty as lead artist and Jonathan Josenhans as art director.Links

Importing Kiri Engine Gaussian Splats into Blender By Bart on November 7, 2024 Videotutorials Kiri Engine is a 3D scanning app for iOS/Android. It can export captured data as 'Guassian Splats', but Blender is not able to manipulate or render those. The Kiri team just released a free add-on that'll import this data and project it onto planes. With a little bit of work this can give pretty good results, as Baec shows in this video.Kiri is free to use, and will export 3 models per week on their free plan.This Blender addon streamlines the process of working with 3DGS (3D Gaussian Splatting) scans in your 3D projects. Here's what it offers: Automatic Conversion: Seamlessly transforms.ply scan files into Blender-compatible objects. Eevee Compatibility: Converted objects are fully renderable with Blender's Eevee engine. Full Object Control: Manipulate your imported scans just like any other Blender object: Move, scale, and rotate with precision Easily duplicate to populate your scenes Advanced Lighting Integration: Light-Reactive Objects: Imported scans fully interact with scene lighting for realistic rendering Option for shadeless display to preserve the raw scan appearance Seamlessly blend scans with other 3D elements in your scene Color Enhancement: Fine-tune the visual appeal of your scans with built-in color editing tools. By bridging the gap between 3DGS technology and Blender's powerful ecosystem, this addon empowers artists and designers to seamlessly incorporate realistic, light-responsive scans into their 3D workflows.

Intel is bringing back free beverages for its employees at worksites.As part of its cost-cutting efforts, the company had said in September it would slash the perks.A series of setbacks, including missed opportunities with AI, have left Intel struggling. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Intel will once again offer free coffee and tea to its employees after slashing the perks as part of its cost-cutting efforts.The chip manufacturer said free in-office beverages would return to worksites in an internal message in a bid to improve morale, the Oregonian reported."Although Intel still faces cost challenges, we understand that small comforts play a significant role in our daily routines," the message, viewed by the Oregonian, read. "We know this is a small step, but we hope it is a meaningful one in supporting our workplace culture."However, the complimentary fruits that employees had grown used to will not be restocked, the outlet reported.Representatives for Intel did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.Intel cut employee benefits and perks after a series of setbacksIntel remained a major player in the tech industry for decades, but several missteps have thrown it off course.Intel played a significant role in the personal computer boom of the 1990s, mainly focused on PCs. However, it did not capitalize on the growth of mobile chips in the 2000s, which allowed the iPhone and Apple to flourish.Former Intel CEO Paul Otellini told The Atlantic in 2013 that he regretted passing over a deal with Apple to design and manufacture chips for the iPhone. The two companies failed to reach an agreement because Intel believed the volume would not justify the cost.Intel missed another opportunity when, in 2017 and 2018, it declined tobuy a stake in OpenAI, which has emerged as a leader in the artificial intelligence race.OpenAI wanted Intel's investment so it could reduce its reliance on chips made by Nvidia, the new leader in chip manufacturing and a major Intel competitor, and create its own infrastructure, Reuters reported. The deal fell through in part because former CEO Bob Swan didn't think generative AI models would make it to market anytime soon. Intel told employees it would stop providing free beverages and fruit at worksites. Jaque Silva/SOPA/Getty Images Intel also did not concentrate on graphics processing units, which are needed to train AI.The company has also faced manufacturing delays, including in 2020, when it announced setbacks with its7-nanometer chips. The delay allowedIntel's competitors, like Samsung and TSMC, to get ahead of the company.As its valuation declined, the company implemented cost-cutting strategies.Intel announced in August that it wouldvoluntary separation agreements and layoffs. That month, the company sent a slideshow to staffers with information about employee benefits that would be cut, including eliminating or reducing reimbursements for internet, phone, and commuting costs.The company informed at least one of its Oregon offices in September that beverages and fruits were no longer free."That's petty, right? How much does one piece of fruit per day cost?" a former Intel employee told BI.

Elwood Edwards, the iconic voice of AOL's "Youve Got Mail" audio message, has died after a long illness.Elwood died Tuesday, the day before his 75th birthday. His former employer, WKYC-TV Studios in Cleveland, confirmed the sad news. The details of the illness remain unclear.Elwood was a staple at the Ohio station for years, working as a graphics whiz and camera operator, among other roles. But, it was back in 1989 when he struck gold, earning worldwide fame -- and a spot in internet history -- as the voice of America Onlines "Youve Got Mail" message.He was asked to record just 4 simple lines -- "Welcome," "Youve Got Mail," "Files Done," and "Goodbye" -- and in exchange, he pocketed a cool $200 for his everlasting voiceover work.The company, known famously as AOL, blew up ... and millions worldwide heard his voice every time they logged onto the internet -- if they had email, a new concept at the time. While his face was never seen, Elwoods voice gave him a unique kind of minor celeb status, forever tied to those early days of AOL.He even made a cameo on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in 2015, where he delivered his classic internet greeting onstage.He was 74.RIP

GabaghoulSure, The Sims 4's new Life and Death expansion is pretty spooky, but its hidden strength is hardcore Tony Soprano roleplayIts all fun and games until people start getting whacked, and then a guy in a robe who struggles to relate to others shows up.Image credit: VG247 Article by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Nov. 7, 2024 There are no ducks in my pool.There never were any ducks in my pool. To be honest witcha, I dont even know if the ducks in The Sims 4 would hit the same as the ones I fed back in the old place. But I miss em all the same.Why? Will you stop asking me stuff like that? It always comes back to why with you. Yes, I know youre my shrink, and thats why youre living on the balcony atop my house, taking my money and sleeping in this coffin Ive bought for you because I thought itd be funny, but you dont have to rub it in. No, I havent collapsed recently.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. OK, I have shouted at a stuffed bunny that looked a bit like a skeleton, and maybe I keep causing a ruckus at the ghost version of alcoholics anonymous, but Im in control. Things are going fine at work. Look, you know I cant tell you a lot about what I do for a living, but I have told you that Im in the waste management business, right? Yeah, not a criminal, because were better than petty criminals, but part of anorganisationthat takes care of things.Its a family business, the boss is this old fella, and he has a very set way of doing things. Believes very strongly in tradition, as I do. In the idea of people doing what theyre supposed to. He seems to like me, I guess because Im good at dealing with things discreetly when someones kicked the bucket. What? You cant prove Ive ever touched a scythe - just try asking the witnesses, I promise theyll have nothing but good things to say about me.Its very Catholic, I suppose, even if I dont quite remember where that whole feeding reaped souls into the giant portal to the nether was in the Bible. I oughta ask Carmella, shes more into that s**t than I am, although I obviously still believe and I make damn sure Meadow and Anthony Jr. do too. 'Look, I know none of your problems are as bad as mine, I can see right through your charades.' | Image credit: VG247/EAIts important, you know, even if its getting harder to keep the harsher realities of working for the Netherworld Department of Death from them at this point. Theyre growing up, starting to develop more and more complex moodlets of their own. Having Paulie and Chris living with us - along with you and, er, my mother - probably isnt helping, but whats a guy gonna do? We had to move out here to f**king Ravenwood from New Jersey. I wanted to go out to Vegas or Arizona, somewhere sunny, but no, the feds were dialling up the heat, so were stuck in a town theyve never heard of. One with households of ghosts, crypts galore, and a f**king tree that whispers to you.I even had to bring you too, Dr Melfi. Oh, shut up, you know you didnt want to go back to that motel you hid out in last time. Plus, there are plenty of weirdos you can talk to here. That Layne Coffin, dont get me started. Dont give me that look, hes just one of those happy-go-lucky assholes we talked about that time.Anyway, hes the least of my problems. Yes, its my mother. You know I had to relent and let her come live with us when we moved out here, even though shes dead to me. Well, we didnt get along, and now shes literally dead to me. What are you lookin at? No, Christ, of course I didnt do it, I loved that woman. You were there when it happened. She went out for a swim in the pool at like ten in the evening, because for some reason she wanted to try and level up her exercise skill.The next thing we know, boom, some walls appear around the edges of the pool, trapping her in the water. She bobs there, crying out as we try to get to her, with every one of her need meters nosediving, aside from her bladder. It takes about forty minutes, and then the reaper appears. Somehow, he takes her soul through the walls, and she transforms into a ghost. 'She was...very frank...which we all appreciated, I guess.' | Image credit: VG247/EAThen, next thing you know, hes gone and so are the walls. Heres my mother, floating through the foundations back into the house, like nothings happened. Shes basically been her usual self since, but she keeps possessing the furniture, levitating stuff, jumping out at all of us. It really freaks Paulie out, it drives me up the wall, and the worst thing is that I know Im gonna have a fight on my hands when it comes to her stuff, because she did a really weird will. Not that I want any of it, especially that random lamp she made an heirloom because she was still getting a hang of the mechanic. But you can bet your ass Janice is gonna turn up at some point to try and find the deed to her old house.Speaking of Janice, she wouldn't come to the funeral. I offered to pay for her ticket from Seattle, but she kept telling me shed never heard of Ravenwood, couldnt find it on a map. I told her you just open up the menu, select worlds, and there it is. Apparently that was too tough for her, can you believe it?Anyway, weve all been grieving. Theres four different kinds, and I always seem to get the angriest ones, because Ive got the hot-headed trait. Its not my fault, my dad passed it down to me. So, I keep on flying off the handle, especially when Im around her ghost. The rest of them are coping in different ways. Some of them keep crying it out, giving themselves pep talks in mirrors, or even going for sad swims. The damn house doesnt help, cause it has the On Hallowed Grounds trait, which keeps making us feel uncomfortable on its own.The funeral seemed to help a bit, we followed her wishes and kept it low-key. You know, moments silence so people didnt have to try and find nice things to say. No playing music. Plenty of food. I managed to persuade the kids not to fire off the memorial cannon I dont remember buying. A nice picture of her near the casket, then I took the urn and made it into a gravestone in the yard. Look, if you buy a house with a built-in cemetery, you take advantage of it. We're just a bunch of ghoulfellas, honest. | Image credit: VG247/EASince then, though, its Christopher Im most worried about. You see, Paulies just an undertaker, but I let Moltisanti follow in my footsteps a bit, become a grimtern. Anyway, he caught a look at Grims slablet, and now he says hes gonna die soon, and that hes going to hell. This whole Chased By Death trait thing. Thats really got Paulie going, he thinks he might be going to hell too. Even went to see a psychic, who did some weird stuff with tarot cards. Now hes collecting them, giving people readings while he eats his Gabagool. Hums TV ad themes while he does it too, drives me nuts. If he wasnt a good earner for the household, I might have to cut him loose.Its ok, though. Im just taking it a day at a time, working on my bucket list, to try and find a bit of happiness. Im doing alright in my soul's journey. Though, I dont know how Im supposed to critique the world. Maybe thats why I keep getting those moodlets that make me panic about my unfulfilled goals. I guess Im stressed out that Ill end up with unfinished business thatll stop me from moving on peacefully, no matter how much ghost mastery I rack up.You see, what I want more than anything is for those ducks to come back. But this is The Sims 4, and while this new expansion packs pretty cool, Ive not bought the Cottage Living one yet.So, there are no ducks in my pool.

Massively EffectiveNo Man's Sky brings back Mass Effect's Nomandy as a special N7 Day treat, alongside some handy cross-save supportTo be fair, Commander Shepard's got experience with fish, so NMS' last big update should be up their alley.Image credit: Hello Games News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Nov. 7, 2024 It's N7 Day, that wonderful time of year when alien fanciers the world over come together, look at BioWare, and say 'come on then, do a thing'. Well, the good news is that this year, BioWare's done a thing with No Man's Sky developer Hello Games. As of today, Mass Effect's Normandy is back in NMS, arrving alongside some other new features.Yep, after warning folks that this year's N7 Day would be "quieter" due to Dragon Age: The Veilguard just having become a released thing, BioWare's at least done a nice collab, regardless of what else it might have or not have up its sleeves. Plus, it's with a game that's had plenty of other interesting updates and additions this year.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. As outlined in the blog post about No Man's Sky's latest bunch of new features, Hello Games has been gifted the keys to The Normandy for the first time since 2021, so it can temporarily add the ship to its galaxy for a limited-time expedition dubbed "The Beachhead"."Mass Effect fans know that this legendary frigate only appears when it is most needed," the post reads, "Today, and for the next two weeks, as a love-letter from one science fiction game to another, we are giving everyone another chance to encounter the Normandy in an overhauled version of the original mission [from 2021] and add it to their collection." To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Aside from that, there are a couple of other new additions to NMS arriving today, with one being cross-save support for a bunch of platforms, starting off as a beta for a "small number of players" you can sign up for here, and expanding to everyone else via an invite "in the coming weeks"."Adding Cross-Save for us is a little bit like moving house, the longer people have lived there the more complicated it is to move them," Hello Games writes, "We also have players who played once at launch, eight years ago, suddenly loading up that save on a platform that didnt even exist back then! For these reasons we have secretly been introducing the technology for this update for over 6 months."Finally, if you're one of the people who's just taken delivery of a PS5 Pro - or plans to - NMS has gotten a free enhanced version aimed it that's available right now. As for what it'll do, Hello writes: "As well as a much sharper resolution at higher framerates, the increased power of the PlayStation 5 Pro has enabled us to ramp up the graphical quality across the board. Players on PlayStation 5 Pro will see improved lighting, with ultra quality reflections and higher quality ambient occlusion in all modes."Are you planning to celebrate N7 Day with a bit of No Man's Sky in between dips into different Mass Effect entries? Let us know below!