UPDATE - Photoshop tutorials !

UPDATE news

So I've decided to add a photoshop tutorials to the blog,

first one is about airbrushing, will add more later ;)
hope you find that usefull !

Before:


After:


Airbrushing is always subject to a lot of discussion. Mostly the discussion ends up dividing people into two groups. Those who hate it, and those who simply love it!

In my oppinion the last group of people is the worst :) Mostly because many in this group tend to 'over airbrush' their models.

In other words its a balance to eliminate blemishes, errors and still keeping the model looking alive and healthy - and not something from a Wax museum.

In this tutorial im assuming that you as reader know the basic functions in Photoshop CS+ and words such as 'filter' 'gassian blur' and 'heal tool' aint too unfamiliar too you.

Anyways.. For this little tutorial we need a model - found this picture which is somewhat suitable:

Original


A lovely women, with some birthmarks, minor blemishes, etc.

Again.. in my oppinion this girl really don't need airbrushing - but for the sake of the argument...lets say she does :)

1. Removing blemishes, etc.
Start off by duplicating your layer.
Photoshop CS+ comes with a great little tool called the 'spot healing brush' which it's great for removing minor scratches, errors and in this case blemishes.

for best results use a small hard brush

Here is the result after using only the spot healing tool & and some minor brightness / contrast adjustments:



Not much of a difference, but this is mainly due to the downsized images i had to use in this blog. And because Jenna hasn't really gotten that many blemishes :)


2. Removing 'dust & scratches'
The dust and scratches filter is a great tool to get that creamy looking skin effect. For this photo i used the following settings:



Experiment with this setting - it will vary from picture to picture (resolution), but what your looking for is a setting which will provide a creamy soft look.

Dust and scatches filter is found in the filter > noise > dust and scrathes.

Results of dust and scratches:


3. Gaussian blur

Gaussian blur is simply used to 'clean up' after the sometimes obvious smoothing of dust and scrathes.

Settings used:

Again settings may vary a lot - so experiment with it.

Results of gaussian blur:




4. Bringing back some 'noise'
This is a key step of the process - bringing back a little life to the skin. Without noise the skin ends up to barbie looking and with no life. A simple way to make some noise is using the filter specifically made for this task.

Noise filter is found in the filter > noise > add noise..

Here is settings used:


The result of adding noise:


Zoomed view:


As you can see its not a huge difference, but enough to bring the skin back to life.

5. Reskinning the model
At this point we have created a lovely blurry photo with pretty much no detail - but thats all going to end a litte bit.

1. Create a mask on the edited layer.

2. Fill the mask layer with black


3. All our edited changes should now dissapear and leave you with the original photo.

3. Now choose a fairly small brush - like say 30px and with no or little hardness level.


4. Start paiting all the skin areas - and only them. Try to avoid detailed areas like lips, eyes, shadows around the nose, nails. Working in small areas like hands or around eyes, an even smaller brush might give a better result.

Finally the magic is almost done:



6. Finishing up
The photo is basically finished now - and the next couple of photos are just other examples of the final result.







For more information about playing around with overlays, curves and histograms keep an eye on this blog :)

Heavy Rain to feature Nudity and Sex scenes

In the latest episode of GTTV on Gametrailers.com

According to the interview, the game will feature Mature content such as nudity, sex scenes, violence and strong language.

for some odd reasons though the game will be tagged by the ESRB as "Mature" and not "Adult" let's just hope that some of the scenes are not deleted in the NA version like they were in Indigo Prophecy.

to watch the full interview go to this link :
GTTV

New Background - MW2

Some people on a forum asked me to make a Modern Warfare2 Background for PS3, I used the available scans for the game so the quality isn't perfect, but hope you like it;

it will be available in the Background section :)

Uncharted2 Multiplayer/Coop revealed

So it was all true !

Information that comes directly from the PlaystationBlog this time.
Don't miss the video interview as well as the multiplayer trailer !

So the rumors are true and we can finally talk about it! As you’ve heard and read, UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves will have both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes.

We managed to keep the secret completely safe for over a year and a half, but right in the home stretch before the embargo lifted today, word got out all over the internet. Of course the leaked info was only the tip of the iceberg and there is a ton of coverage being released today on dozens and dozens of websites. So, pick your favorite videogame news site and go check out the coverage from our event last week. If print magazines are your thing, we’ve gotten word that we’ll also be in more than a few magazines around the world in the next few weeks.

If you’ve been looking closely at our interviews, our team here at Naughty Dog has been growing rapidly and we now have quite a few more Dogs on staff than when work finished on UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune. It shouldn’t be a surprise that we had to grow our studio to tackle the task of creating fully-realized multiplayer and co-op modes that would live up to our own high standards and do the UNCHARTED universe justice. I’m incredibly proud at the excellent work our team has done so far and it shows in the solid gameplay and incredible polish of the little slice we showed press last week. And if you’re dying to get your own hands on it, don’t worry, we’re having a multiplayer beta! It starts on June 3rd and you can get access to it through vouchers in inFamous, which goes on sale May 26th.

We’ll be back soon to talk more about our single player campaign – don’t think for a second we’ve forgotten about that! The rest of our team at Naughty Dog has been hard at work pushing our engine to its limits while creating a campaign that is more expansive and more ambitious than UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune. They’ve even learned a few tricks from our multiplayer and co-op development – truly a win-win situation as all aspects of UNCHARTED 2 are benefiting from the work we’re putting into both single player and multiplayer modes.

Oh, wait! Before you leave check out a multiplayer trailer we just finished before the weekend.

Uncharted2 will have Multiplayer ?!

According to ScrewAttack Hardnews

Uncharted2 will feature online multiplayer as well as online-coop !

However coop is said to be appart from the main single player story.
(something like resistance2 maybe?)

The source isn't 100% sure but to get the details go to ScrewAttack.com

Valkyria Chronicles DLC Detailed !

SEGA has revealed some upcoming DLC for the PlayStation 3-exclusive Valkyria Chronicles. Coming our way April 16, three different packs will be available, all costing $4.99 each.

• Hard EX Mode – fight your way once again through the entire Imperial army, where the enemies are more lethal and your main tank Edelweiss is unavailable. You'll have to be more strategic in order to overcome your opponents.
• Edy's Mission "Enter the Edy Detachment" – six members have been separated from Squad 7 and on their journey to reunite with their squad, they stumble upon a tiny village under attack by the Imperial Army. Play as Edy and command your outnumbered team to defend the small village from annihilation.
• Selvaria's Mission "Behind Her Blue Flame" – Taking place right after the outbreak of Gallian battle lines, you play as Johann, a young and meek engineer assigned to Selvaria’s troop. See the action as it unfolds behind enemy lines and see the war play out through the eyes of the enemy.

This is exciting news!
Selvaria's mission and Edy's mission sounds like it's totally worth it.
Time to add some playtime to this 80 Hrs savegame ;-)

Ninja Gaiden Sigma2 - GDC INFO

As some people might have already heard about;
NGS2 is going to the PS3 ;D

An interview just came out about the new features you'll be getting in the PS3 version

­ Interview

Here's a list of stuff they mentioned:

- More female playable characters
- More weapons and magic
- More segments and story elements
- Added online coop play ;D
- Improved graphics over the 360 version
- Trophy support
- etc :p

According to Tecmo, there is roughly 30 percent more content in the single-player additions on top of the all-new co-op content. Fans of the first game on the PlayStation 3 should definitely be pleased by what Sigma 2 is serving up. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is slated to ship this fall for the PlayStation 3. Look for more on the game in the coming months.

________________________________
Sigma 2 will feature new playable female characters, which should be familiar to fans of the series and of Tecmo's Dead or Alive. The first is Ayane, the purple-haired ninja from DOA, who will come packing her own unique moves, weapons, magical attacks, and provocatively placed butterfly accessory. The second new character is Momiji, last seen at a lower resolution in Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword on the DS, who will bring her own arsenal of abilities and weapons to the fray. Both characters will be integrated into the story, which will branch off to follow their adventures. Not to be outdone in the new content department, Hayabusa will face off against new enemies and bosses with some new weapons tossed in to help deal with the new foes.

Beyond new playable characters, Sigma 2 will feature an all-new online co-op mode that lets you and a friend team up to work your way through more than 30 challenge stages, which can be played in one of four difficulty settings. Your performance will be ranked and uploaded to leaderboards so you can see how you stack up against the world. The stages will be a mix of original areas and those seen in the single-player game, which are being redone for co-op play. Finally, the game will see a good amount of work put into refining the gameplay experience. The game's camera is being tweaked based on user feedback. You will also get additional cues on where to go next from your playable character because your character's head will look off in the direction you're supposed to go in. You'll also find a variety of additional tweaks peppered throughout the gameplay to help make Sigma 2 a smoother, sleeker evolution of its 360 counterpart.

Sigma 2 is making use of an enhanced version of the graphics engine used for the original game. The game is aiming to surpass the visual quality of the last game by blending new tech into the original engine. The results so far are impressive and bode well for the game's final release.
________________________________

UPDATE

Fear2 review is up ;)

don't forget to take a look at our new sections of babe galleries and home-made PS3 backgrounds !

F.E.A.R.2 Review

The BEYONG REVIEW

Graphics : 8.2


The visuals feels competent… they do offer some pretty impressive effects and lighting but overall it doesn’t match the current standard of PS3 games. It looks good on the consoles, but far better on the PC. But it’s not like the console wouldn’t be able to run the game at it’s full potential.

And once again we get this feeling that we got a rushed port and that there’s a better version somewhere else.

Is this glasses ? or is it made of steel ? ...

When we have games like Uncharted MGS4 and Killzone2 running at great FPS, getting a game with low res-textures, low poly designs and small-enclosed environment, add on top of all that 20-30 Frames per second during the whole experience. It’s unforgivable.

Lolwut ?

It’s one of those games where you get the feeling that the first one looks better than the sequel… Is it the case? I’ll need to pop “F.E.A.R. First encounter assault recon” to make sure…


Sound : 9.0


Sound plays a big role in providing atmosphere, and there are noises in this game that can raise the hair on the back of your neck. I would say it plays the bigger role on the “scary” aspect of the game. Again this is a game you’ll want to play with a good surround sound or a good headset.

Some of the guns could feel a little bit more powerful (Sniper rifle) but overall it’s great and in slow-mo it feels just awesome.


Gameplay : 8.0


The trademark shooter of action and horror is back, so is it as good as the first one ? We’ve been inoculated to the horror elements a bit by now. And the horror aspect of the game, if we can call it this way, doesn’t feel as fresh and new like the first one did.

For some reason the game is way too easy. I’d recommend playing on the hardest difficulty setting on your first playthrough; if you want a little challenge. I was surprised after playing for 4 hours that I did not die a single time. The first time I got myself killed was because I jumped from too high…

You can literally run and gun the whole game, and since it allows you to move tables and other furniture to use as a cover. It makes this whole new system completely useless.

Scary !!!... scary ..?
It almost feels like they try too hard. You’ll encounter and trigger the same “scary” events over and over again. (oh here comes alma again. * yawn * Guess I need to tap circle…)

It might just be me, but I really miss the fucked-up moments of the first one… (where’s the bloody ceiling?)

Call of duty meets alma.
The overall fps experience is good. Although there’s no real boss fight except for the occasional Mech to take down, Wich; if you carry a rocket launcher you will not break a sweat, even the last fight is… just not a boss fight. There’s a load of conventional arsenal to use but you’ll stick to the assault rifle the whole game. Shotguns are too weak and will get you killed. Dart gun is useful but not as strong as the one if the first game. And the lazer gun has a glitch with the aiming… seems like they couldn’t place the lazer in the center of the screen. So it gives you this weird feeling that you’re not looking in front of you.

Omg nub can't aimz !

The way they switch from spooky ambiance to an action blazing sequence is way too obvious. You’ll automatically know after entering a room that you’re now in a scary part of the game, and the way it keeps switching from one to the other can be really annoying, plus it doesn’t make much sense. Nothing is very clear… Some “ghost” will attack you and some won’t but for some unexplained reason they will vaporize with a bullet.

Lasting Appeal : 7.0


The game isn’t that short by itself but since the levels are so linear, you’ll never get stuck. Plus the “too easy” factor makes it a relatively short experience that you’ll be able to complete on one sitting. If you’re just into the single player and/or story part of the game. I would recommend just renting it.

The multiplayer suite is competent and traditional, but it’s difficult to distinguish in a crowded field of online shooters. So it’s pretty much dull and disappointing.

Story : 6.4


The story takes a bit of time to spool up, but the second half of the game takes off. There are plenty of answers this time around, but those answers are inconsistent. I would imagine the developers and artistic designers thought: we love action. We love horror. People want more of Alma. Let’s do it !

Problem is; if you like apple pie, lemon pie and blueberry pie. Mixing all the slices together doesn’t necessarily give it a good taste. You’ll want to keep playing just to finally know what the heck is behind all this, who is Alma and why she’s this way but the game clearly didn’t think about it. They place all the elements because they’re “cool” then dump a story on all that..

Now for the ending, (I need to say that it disappoints…)
SPOILERS : (highlight to read) Alma pretty much rapes you while you’re fighting your ex-partner (no idea how she does that) but you’re in this place with a tree, a swing and you’re fighting this guy that keeps yelling : “Alma is mine!” but at the same time your getting raped by her… and then in the final scene she takes your hand and put it on her “now-pregnant” belly.. then the credits rolls and you’re like… WTF?!

Final comment : Fear2 is a competent shooter that does well what a shooter should do. But bad graphics, bad story and lack of replay value does not make it a must-own title.

OVERALL : 77 / 100

UPDATE

Added the NSFW babes section, and some home made PS3 backgrounds.

More backgrounds to come and babes section will be updated weekly ;D

[...]

Update

NSFW Babes gallery 1

Babes ;D

















If you want moaaaarrrrr come back next week :)

Resident evil 5 review coming soon !

The review of RE5 should be there next week ;)

Playstation 3 price cut

Rumors says that sony might announce a price cut at the upcoming GDC event next week in San Francisco
Could GDC be the event ? Or will Sony wait until E3 2009 in June?

Janco's Mike Hickey recently repeated his claim that Sony's going to drop the PS3's price "by next month." But Sony's still losing about $50 per PS3, according to business Week, which pegged Sony's costs at $448.73 per system as recently as December 2008. If Sony dropped the retail price of the PS3 by $100, they'd increase their per unit losses by nearly a quarter — from 11 to 33 percent.

[...]

Killzone 2 Review

BEYONG's Review

Is it possible for the hype of a game to completely fuel both its designers and its fans eagerly awaiting its release? In the case of Guerrilla Games’ Killzone 2, the answer is certainly yes; the developers knew that the game had to live up to the E3 trailer and had been trying to perfect their first PS3 shooter for about 4 years now. As far as fans were concerned, they were hoping that Killzone 2 would be the game that would showcase the world what the PlayStation 3 is capable of.

Fortunately, the wait is now over, and believe me when I say that the wait has been well worth it. Killzone 2 is a very good evolution of the franchise, a bullet and adrenaline-fueled rampage against a never surrendering enemy and a fantastic shooter for the PS3.

Graphics : 9.2 / 10

As you probably saw already the game is considered to be one of the best looking game this gen (on console) it is not Crysis but it does have a unique art style that will leave you jaw dropped.

Even though not everything is perfect; You will eventually get behind a cover that has blurry textures, but for all the crisp looking textures in the game, that would just be nit-picking.

And the fact that the game manages to run at smooth FPS and keep the same quality in multiplayer makes it undoubtedly a beautiful game.

Presentation : 9.8 / 10


Everything from the first entrance onto the battlefield to the last cutscene will blow you away. Like we previously said in the review; the game isn’t technically impressive, but the attention to details and the way the wind applies to particles is just so impressive and immersive.

Sound : 9.2 / 10
7.1 channel sound captures every nuance of the battlefield. You’ll NEED to play this on a good surround sound system. However some poorly written dialogue and not-so-good voice acting could disappoint. But the highlight is truly into the feel and sound of a gun, isn’t it ?

Gameplay : 9.2/10


You'll have to get used to the way firearms shoots and how they feel, but once you get a grip of the controls it feels good and you’ll gradually become better while the game gets harder. Especially towards the end on a higher difficulty level, the game can be a real challenge. Expect to die often and in multiple ways, but at least it does feel satisfying once you complete an objective.

Overall the gameplay feels really good, there’s just nothing like painting a wall with helghast’s blood.

Lasting Appeal : 9.5 / 10
Multiplayer is extremely deep and has the added bonus of an offline skirmish mode. This is where you'll spend the majority of your time once the single player campaign is over. Reaching the top rank online and unlocking all the weapons and goodies can take a while and it’s a fun task that won’t leave you feeling like you’re doing it just for the rank.

Story : 8.8 / 10
While the story is good for a war-theme game, it is still a war-theme game. At some point the game tries to play with your feelings but it’s probably not working as much as they would like to. Also we can’t really say that anything of big surprises happens during the single player campaign, And If you don’t have a good internet connection, you might just want to rent the game since all the replay value is mostly Multiplayer.

Overall : 92 / 100