A week has flown by as I’ve been busy fixing the demo based on feedback and tinkering with various things. Since I didn’t create anything new this week, I just posted a few small updates, but frustratingly, it looks like this post is on track to more than double the view count of the trailer I stayed up two nights to make. It seems like there’s a specific kind of video that people prefer. I’m sure streamers have studied those rules extensively, but since that’s not my field, I have no idea. So far, all I’ve learned is: 1) The screen needs to be bright. 2) Cuts should be within 2-3 seconds. 3) If I like it, people usually aren’t interested. 4) Satisfying 1, 2, and 3 doesn’t necessarily mean people will like it. That’s about it.
I had been using 3ds Max 2019, but I accidentally updated Autodesk Access. Because of that, I spent days installing and uninstalling versions from 2023 to 2025 until I finally got it working again with help from Autodesk support. However, since moving to 2023, the software crashes constantly when exporting or opening old files. It’s incredibly stressful. I was barely managing to push through, but today, a character mesh simply wouldn’t export. After struggling all day, I ended up filing another support request. It is truly miserable when time is wasted like this.
I need to finish the final stage quickly, wrap up the story events, and finish two bosses. I want to complete the Alpha stage by June, but things just aren’t going my way. I barely managed to switch into “marketing mode” to make videos and post content, and then into “analysis mode” to gather feedback and fix drop-off points from GA, but now I can’t seem to switch back to “writer mode.” I’ve tried watching Pluribus and the 480p Predator Badlands—both great and entertaining works, putting aside the fact that the resolution was a relic of the last century—but I still can’t get back into the zone. So I decided to just work on character lip-syncing and asked a friend to help fix the character’s facial rigging, but even the export for that is getting blocked now.
I had nothing new to report for the week, and I’m struggling because my ‘mode’ won’t switch. Yet, the post I uploaded half-heartedly while rubbing my sore shoulders is getting a better response than the trailer. It only makes me feel more hollow.