Cloud 9 is "DONE"!
Added 2023-06-11 01:35:52 +0000 UTCHELLO!!!!!!!! I "FINISHED" THE VIRTUAL CITY OF CLOUD 9!!!
I thought I could talk a little about the project! A lot has happened since my last post (sorry about that, I got lost in the work, and I was super determined to make it happen :S) This was definitely my biggest project yet, and I definitely learned a lot on my way.
For this project I modelled the whole city in Blender, and used Unity to create the actual VRchat world itself. I imported the Blender file directly in Unity to use as the world, and updated it in Unity if I made any changes in Blender, which worked surprisingly well! That way I could just build the world in Blender, which was NICE since it was easier to change things there for me!
All the textures were made in Substance Painter. I chose to export the buildings one by one and textured them as I made them, instead of texturing them all together in one go. This is because I was still unsure of how the city would look, so I took a lot of design choices as I textured the buildings, and got new ideas along the way. Kind of a dangerous way to do things, because you don't know where you'll end up in the end, but I feel it came out good! I think a better practice would be if I solidified all designs before I started modelling and texturing... but then again I feel like I work better if I just throw myself into it kind of?
For some parts of the city, textures just wasn't enough, so I looked for cool shaders that could create some cool effects. I found a super nice glass shader, a water shader, and a screen shader from a site called VRCprefabs.com, which is made by and for people creating VRchat content, which is super nice!!!! It helped me out a lot, also with other prefabs in the world, like the video player and the mirror!
I also dabbled with some Udon, which is VRchat's coding language! Nothing too fancy, I just followed some nice tutorials by "PlayerBush001" on how to create portals and how to make a button, since I wanted the sky to change from day to night! The reason I wanted to include nightmode as well is because most VRchat players prefer darker worlds since it's easier on the eyes, which I understand! I also happened to find the prettiest nightsky shader ever by ayanotft on booth.pm, so that helped my decision a lot.
There's A LOT that went into this project, and I feel I can't write about it all here, but I am thinking about making a "Making of" video where I go through the process of creating a city in VRchat, I feel like it could be helpful for people wanting to do the same! If I do decide to make this video, I'm thinking of making a script for it and everything!! I think that'll be the first time I do anything like that, but I kind of want to test it out. I'd also be using my TALKING VOICE for once, a rare thing for me I feel since I usually just communicate with movement, text and singing hahahah. We'll see if I can create a script that works, I'm curious to see if I can do it!
Last post in addition to Cloud 9 I also posted about THE NEW ICEBELL!!! I had a plan of creating new Icebell along with Cloud 9, but that didn't happen, Cloud 9 took up all my time!! SO! I'm catching up now and I've been modelling a lot on new Icebell the last couple of days, and it's looking VERY COOL! I've used AiRis' body as a base, and built new Icebell from that. So far I have the body, head, and clothes. I'm gonna start on the hair asap, which to me is the most fun part! I'M SO HYPED I wanna try out cool things with this model! OH ALSO, I backed SlimeVR almost two years ago now lmao, but they've come a long way, and they're almost ready to ship their trackers, so that means I'LL GET FULL BODY TRACKING SOON TOO!!!!!!! WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I'm gonna dance a lot!!
So that's where I'm at right now! Even if my exam project is done, I'm planning on working more on Cloud 9, and expanding it further! I want to create a summer area by the pool with sunbeds and beachballs and stuff, and I also wanna open a certain cafe!!! Icebell cafe! Finally!!! I have a cool idea that involves creating your own ice cream parfait, so I'm really looking forward to that!! Alright it's late here, I'm gonna go sleep :D
Thanks for your support as always, I really appreciate it, ESPECIALLY as a student! Without patreon, I wouldn't be able to add the night sky to Cloud 9 since I had to buy it, so I'm very grateful for that<3
VERY cool and fresh hugs from Icebell!!!!!!
Comments
haha I did use the walkways! and I still felt the height if I looked over the edge.. but sometimes I wanted to get down as quickly as possible so I'd jump... ahh I just hope you're not overworking yourself working on so much stuff after such a large project! ooh I definitely want to hear you talking more! It's cute when you don't talk as well though 🤔 Do you not talk much IRL as well? but I can understand not talking much since I'm pretty much the same and you're welcome! I'll be honest at first I thought some of the dancing was actually you for the videos you'd upload of Icebell but then I realized it was all probably those premade movement stuff.. right? or animated yourself I'd imagine O: AHH I believe in you Icebell! not only 1/9th but you'll be 9/9 as cool as them 😳 I see.. Now I'm curious as to what sort of green plants you're into? haha Roses are quite "generic" to like in a way since they're very easy to be liked by everyone sort of thing but they're well liked for a reason! hmm hmm I see roses 👀 Thank you for your time! AH I forgot to mention I'm excited for the new icebell! Using AiRi's body will certainly save you time. I can't wait to see how cute she'll come out >:3
Jehemoth
2023-06-12 05:14:35 +0000 UTCIT'S WARM EVEN HERE NOW, I'm supposed to live in a cold country, but the heat is just going up aAAA Just avoid the hair, that's the most icecreamiest part, the rest feels mostly like normal! Kind of difficult to avoid, but I believe in you!
Icebell
2023-06-11 11:19:08 +0000 UTCThat makes me SO HAPPY TO HEAR!!!!!! 🥺 Yeah it was inspired by video games, so it's good that you get that vibe! AHH you know that's why I made the walkway down, just in case anybody wanted to safely walk their way down instead, but I guess you'll feel the heights anyway hhh... Yeah the project took up a LOT of my time, and there's a lot that I haven't written about here since it can get really technical, but I guess I should talk a little bit about the idea process too! YEAH the older clips with the streams, that's what I mean, and Ice Channel 9! It's a rare thing, but I wanna try using my voice more for talking too.. it's just so easy to move around instead hahahah. Thank you!!! 😳😳😳 I don't hear that too often, most likely because I don't talk much lol DANCING! I won't say I'm good at dancing, but I think it's a lot of fun, and I hope the full body tracking will push me more into learning dances and stuff! I've always admired people with FBT, and wanted to dance in VR myself. There are lots of dancers there making content, and they're so COOL! I just want to be 1/9th as cool as them 😳 I thought about the summer things because I think it would be nice for everybody to take photos with it this summer, so I have limited time to make it! OH interesting question! I've never really been a floral type of person, if anything I prefer green plants, but I've always liked the most.. boring? flower to like lol, which is roses! I like the smell of roses, and I also love milky rose tea! I've also seen people making ice cream in cones shaped like roses, so I feel like roses are the only answer to this lol. Ohh I haven't thought of that actually, I feel that there wouldn't be that many people asking questions, but I'll keep it in mind!!
Icebell
2023-06-11 11:05:39 +0000 UTCAlso I have received your fresh and cool hugs which will help me sleep through this hot summer night, though melted ice cream is a bit uncomfortable when it gets dry and sticky… sweet dreams!
Jehemoth
2023-06-11 06:23:04 +0000 UTCEvery time you post something like this or when you share your work, I get a burst of serotonin!! You really are a big inspiration to me Icebell 🥺 I love how the city looks like it could fit in a video game as well!! From above it looks like a sort of hub for other levels 🤔 It was fun exploring btw! I’m afraid of heights though.. so it was kind of hard for me to walk around in some areas and when I would jump or fall off high places, I’d close my eyes haha Also no worries about not posting! I figured you were busy. The wait was worth it too 😤 Sounds like a lot of work went into everything you did! A lot of 3D stuff tends to go over my head but you do a good job explaining it so if you make the video I’ll definitely look forward to watching it! I’ve seen some of your older clips from when you streamed on twitch and some katamari stuff as well. I’m guessing that’s what you mean by normal talking voice? Like the ice channel 9 stuff? Indeed rare but you have a nice voice so 👍👍👍 Dancing icebell real! Are you good at dancing?! The new look is super cute so I’m sure the 3D model will be just as cute if not more! Summer is here so the summer additions are sure to make it cooler 😎 Also this is pretty off topic but I was wondering if you had a favorite flower? Connecting to that, have you ever thought of making a marshmallow or curiouscat account where we could ask you questions?
Jehemoth
2023-06-11 06:19:18 +0000 UTC
