Windows Live Messenger Woes

For f***'s sake Microsoft, fix the damn program already! I was amazed by the amount of hits I got with "can't sign in MSN", 260 million to be exact. After hours of searching, I finally viewed the log file generated using MSN, and pinpointed my problem : MSN was disconnecting itself everytime.

Messenger:Zone_Contact_Platform_Errors Contacts store failure, forcing Logoff

Armed with specific information on what's wrong, I searched yet again, and hit the jackpot.

This solution works for the problem where MSN does not return any error message after failing to sign in, and simply leads you back to the login screen. Go HERE to read about it.

For other MSN problems, try MSN Errors, salvation might just be around the corner.

Cheers, and have a Happy New Year.

The Knight - Marmoset Engine

Finally, I've got my model to work properly in Marmoset Engine, a part of a game engine that let's artists see their work in a real-time game environment. There's no compositing involved here, so this is what to expect when your model gets brought into a game.  The toolbag was launched during Dominance War 4, but I never bothered giving it a go at that time. Anyone can try it out, 'cause it's free. Get it from this thread. A tutorial's included, but feel free to ask me if you have problems importing your models into it if you're a Maya user.

The Knight - Construction Shot

Screengrabs from ZBrush and xNormal.

The Knight - Beauty Shot 2

I swear these are the last renders unless someone requests for more. I'll be skinning him (technical term) for use in Unreal Tournament 3 as a playable character.

EDIT : Shucks, I forgot about the construction shot.

The Knight - Beauty Shot

Beauty shot. Will render close-ups later. Ugh i'm so eager to format my pc, it's been ages since the last one and it's really showing. I'm even considering Windows 7, but I guess i'll gather more info before I make the jump.

The Knight - Presentation Shot

Front and back shots of the Knight. Will give him another pose soon.

The Knight - Preview

It's almost complete. Just need to make some minor changes to the textures, pose him around abit, render and do post-work.

Comments & suggestions now will help a lot. :D

The Knight - Texturing WIP

Still working on the textures for his equipment, so it looks rather flat at the moment. Didn't waste time setting up lights and rendering in Maya so I brought the models into xNormal for a quick preview of how the textures will look like in-game. More updates in the days to come.

P.S : Anyone willing to rig this guy up for me? I hate rigging.

War, Anyone?

Game developer Vigil has been working on a Warhammer 40k MMO for a looong time now, and all they gave us was a piece of concept art with an orc ship in it.

Now, they're feeling generous.

You know you want to.

Warhammer 40k MMO @ Kotaku.com