“Here we are…”
Presenting an inspirational machinima I had been working on since the very beginning of last summer.
As usual, this project began with a little experimentation. One night, I had returned from my shift feeling a bit melancholic, so I submerged into the nighttime vibes with some ambient music, playing anything from vaporwave to my eventual inspiration, Burial. Eventually, the vibes inspired me to play with Half-Life’s brightness settings again on its 2013 (Steampipe) version.
I had been listening to Burial’s music for a while at that point, especially his Untrue album, but I was still exploring his entire catalog when I was gifted with “Come Down To Us” as I slowly mastered the best proportions for the game’s three main lighting commands: gamma, lightgamma, and brightness.
While each lighting scenario varied (and sometimes greatly), gamma was usually best set between the values of “0.35″ and “0.50″ (the lower, the more contrast), lightgamma between “1.5″ and “3.0″ (higher = more contrast), and brightness subsequently anywhere between “1.5″ to “7.5″ (higher = brighter). I found the most trustworthy gamma:lightgamma ratio to be 0.35:1.5, with brightness’ value more dependent on the map.
If you’re interested in playing with these settings with the goldsource engine, I highly recommend the 2013 version of the game (using SourceRuns’ “GoldSrc Package”), since said version allows for an unlimited range of values.
So, after a year’s worth of on/off dedication to location-scouting and perfecting each shot in the name of cinematography, I gave this project one final push during this past week to have it out on time for America’s mental health awareness month. I hope you enjoy it and find inspiration from it like I have!