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So ...

DarknessDarkness333 Posts: 43Member
edited September 2013 in General Discussion #1
... what happened here over the last three years? Anyone still around that I might remember?
Post edited by Darkness on
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  • rojrenrojren2298 Louisville, Kentucky USAPosts: 1,970Member
    How good is your memory?
  • MadKoiFishMadKoiFish9709 Posts: 5,302Member
    Nothing really. . . . . . just people coming and going and fewer and fewer posting. (generally this way all over the net for forums)
    Each day we draw closer to the end.
  • biotechbiotech171 Posts: 0Member
    Are you ok?

    I heard star trek went into you.
  • DarknessDarkness333 Posts: 43Member
    My memory stinks but it is good enough to remember the three of you.
    MadKoiFish wrote: »
    Nothing really. . . . . . just people coming and going and fewer and fewer posting. (generally this way all over the net for forums)

    So it seems. But as you say -that is the way of things I guess. For the majority 3D is (or was) just a hobby. And these change from time to time (and over the years), it has been the same with me. It just became ... less. And then nothing. I look back at that time very fondly though, it was great fun.

    I just recently stumbled upon the folder where I saved finished stuff... there are pictures that are now over 10 years old, and that is not even counting when I started with Blender. It also shows progress of sorts - every year there are fewer pictures. And then there are none, the last is from 2010, the last before that from 2008 ...

    Well anyways, good to see the place (and you guys) are still around!

    *e* Though I am a bit surprised that the gallery seems to be gone?!
  • count23count23361 Posts: 779Member
    I'm still here, but i'm too busy to do much in the way of 3d these days. But I do still lurk every day at least.

    Don't remember you tho, did you have a different username before?
    Formerly Nadesico.

    Current Projects:
    Ambassador Class
  • CoolhandCoolhand283 Mountain LairPosts: 1,294Member
    biotech wrote: »
    I heard star trek went into you.

    Sounds painful.

    The gallery actually *is* still there, but cleverly its not linked to from this forum. I think its a new plan to make viewers work harder to find images to rip the credits off;)

    We do though genuinely lack headers, a front page, alternative skins and probably a bunch of stuff that everyone has forgotten about...

    I've been wondering where the site is headed for some time, years infact, I can't see it going anywhere good. I'm sure some forums are growing, but this place is in severe decline and has been for years, part of the problem is no one is tending the structure of the place (I don't have the kind of access to do anything about it or I might...) We lose more members and features every year, we have perhaps 2 staff members now who actually regularly log on and do anything visible, and one of them is me.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    What if we don't remember you? :p
    Coolhand wrote: »
    The gallery actually *is* still there, but cleverly its not linked to from this forum. I think its a new plan to make viewers work harder to find images to rip the credits off;)

    We do though genuinely lack headers, a front page, alternative skins and probably a bunch of stuff that everyone has forgotten about...

    I've been wondering where the site is headed for some time, years infact, I can't see it going anywhere good. I'm sure some forums are growing, but this place is in severe decline and has been for years, part of the problem is no one is tending the structure of the place (I don't have the kind of access to do anything about it or I might...) We lose more members and features every year, we have perhaps 2 staff members now who actually regularly log on and do anything visible, and one of them is me.

    You and IRML are the only staff members I see on a fairly regular basis. Others pop in from time to time, but not frequently enough to be considered "regular." (at least, not that I've seen)

    I've been wondering where the site is headed for a while also. Everything seemed so hopeful a few months ago, when Aceman was posting and he was all excited about the forum upgrade. But, that never really seemed to get finished. Like you said, it's missing a lot of stuff that used to be there, like a front page and links to the gallery and downloads. It feels like we got half of a site upgrade and then the admins went, "OK, that's good enough."

    I keep expecting the thing to all go "poof," like it did a little over seven years ago. Not too long ago, it was down for the better part of a day and I thought that was it. :shiner:
  • rojrenrojren2298 Louisville, Kentucky USAPosts: 1,970Member
    This place has changed a lot. It's certainly less raucus than it was. Hardly any flame wars to speak of... We had some excitement when Alain Rivard made an appearance a while back. A lot of egos can't withstand Alain, though. I don't know the details, but I haven't seen him here since.


    There's still a lot of very good work here, a bunch of talented, creative people. Hopefully things will pick up again.
  • sorceress21sorceress21269 Posts: 577Member
    Coolhand wrote: »
    Sounds painful.

    The gallery actually *is* still there, but cleverly its not linked to from this forum. I think its a new plan to make viewers work harder to find images to rip the credits off;)

    We do though genuinely lack headers, a front page, alternative skins and probably a bunch of stuff that everyone has forgotten about...

    I've been wondering where the site is headed for some time, years infact, I can't see it going anywhere good. I'm sure some forums are growing, but this place is in severe decline and has been for years, part of the problem is no one is tending the structure of the place (I don't have the kind of access to do anything about it or I might...) We lose more members and features every year, we have perhaps 2 staff members now who actually regularly log on and do anything visible, and one of them is me.

    I don't think it's anything you or the staff is or isn't doing. Internet forums are just a dying trend. Sites like Deviant Art and all the other ways such as facebook to get one's art out there seems to be making the classic message board obsolete. It's cheap and easy to put up your own site now, so that's where many have gone. The other factor is that good sci-fi design art/models are becoming a dime a dozen. 5 years ago well modeled and designed 3D work stood out and not many modelers were all that good at it. Great work still stands out but now there is a lot more of it. Our particular little corner of the art world has been flooded with thousands of would-be production design modelers and animators. Now with software becoming more intuitive and easier to use, selling your models or getting a job is no longer about talent as it is about your business resume and contacts. We're looking at quality saturation of the genre. Personally it's always been just a hobby for me, but for the working professionals it's getting harder. It's hard to get your work noticed when there are so many really good designers now.

    But I'm still here Darkness..and I remember you and I faced off a few times, lol. :p
  • DarknessDarkness333 Posts: 43Member
    I don't think it's anything you or the staff is or isn't doing. Internet forums are just a dying trend. Sites like Deviant Art and all the other ways such as facebook to get one's art out there seems to be making the classic message board obsolete. It's cheap and easy to put up your own site now, so that's where many have gone. The other factor is that good sci-fi design art/models are becoming a dime a dozen. 5 years ago well modeled and designed 3D work stood out and not many modelers were all that good at it. Great work still stands out but now there is a lot more of it. Our particular little corner of the art world has been flooded with thousands of would-be production design modelers and animators. Now with software becoming more intuitive and easier to use, selling your models or getting a job is no longer about talent as it is about your business resume and contacts. We're looking at quality saturation of the genre. Personally it's always been just a hobby for me, but for the working professionals it's getting harder. It's hard to get your work noticed when there are so many really good designers now.

    But I'm still here Darkness..and I remember you and I faced off a few times, lol. :p

    That is an interesting observation, it might very well be true, I don't know - but honestly I do not think that SFM proves the point. I went through the "Finished Work" forums ... and (at least in terms of 3D stills) I really don't think the overall "quality" is any better than it was years ago. Just like back then, there are a few "basic" images, some good ones and once in a while a really fantastic piece.

    Considering how much technology has advanced in both hard- and software (at least on a professional level) that is at least a bit surprising. Or is it? To me it seems that the images of a beginner look just as "basic" now as they did 10 years ago. I half expected to come back after so many years and be overwhelmed by all the eyecandy. But it's the same as before, actually, there might be fewer "fantastic" pieces since it seems that many of the really amazing artits from "back then" are not around anymore.

    Then again you might be right, the medium might just have changed, maybe everyone is somewhere else. I'm not too much into the depths of social media and all its outgrowths, so maybe I am simply missing all the good stuff that's going on? You mentioned deviantart - and that has been around for ages and it is essentially still the same. that can't be it. And in terms of facebook and the likes ... well, for years what they have been is an amassment of triviality and utter meaninglessness. They are full of duckfaced-selfie-wenches and instragram-hipster-crap. Is that the medium where artits now present what they have created? If 3D art is at all following these trends - then ultimatively that would mean that quality is not improving at all. There is more of it, but it's not getting any better.

    Sure, maybe there are many more great 3D artits around. But at least not in our little part of the world, because "scifi" just isn't a thing anymore these days.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Yeah, forum posts are down all over the place. (except gaming forums, but that's usually 90% people whining about the game :p) Some are downright dead. Five to ten years ago, what else did we have? Forums were literally the best way to get your stuff out there. However, now people can do blogs, you can create your own Facebook page, or Deviant Art page. There are a lot of ways to showcase your art better than you get with a forum. And, with something like a blog or a Facebook page, you have control. I think a lot of people like that.

    I think one of the problems with this place (besides the apparent apathy from the staff) is the amount of people who only seem to care about their own work. I can remember going back to before and a couple years after the big crash of '06, when we had a large group of people who not only posted their own work, but they also commented on the work of others. There are still some of us like that, but there are a larger number of people who only post in their own threads. (you know who you are, but you're probably not reading this thread anyway) I think some people don't want to come to a place like this and post if they know that they're not going to get much of a response. After all, the point of posting a WIP thread is to get feedback. One of the problems with the Finished Work forum isn't that the work has stayed stagnant, it's that a lot of people don't post their newest and best work there because threads posted in that forum hardly ever seem to get any responses. But, these are just my opinions based off of my observations.
  • DarknessDarkness333 Posts: 43Member
    You might have control - but do you get an audience, one that actually cares? Let's face it, most of the people who have blogs, who twitter or who post every single uninteresting piece of information about their lifes on Facebook really reach nobody at all because they are all full of the beforementioned trivialities. Nobody gives a damn and nobody is going to see the blog of that one talented artist amongst many. Not to try and be a misanthrope or to make the topic larger than it is, but that is a general problem of our time - there is more of everything and everyone is telling us about it - but in consequence nothing is important anymore, it is all completely meaningless.

    You raise an interesting point about the eveyone caring only about their own work. I think it's a sympthom of the "problem" I think I see, I understand very well what you are saying. But what is the alternative? Sure, you might get feedback on social media sites. But what is that feedback? People "like" or "+1" your image. But can you really expect more constructive criticism?

    It's a shame, really. Maybe it's just a simple case of "everything used to be better". But the forum, the people, the discussions (sometimes heated) and also the art we have had here - they were good, weren't they ...
  • CoolhandCoolhand283 Mountain LairPosts: 1,294Member
    You and IRML are the only staff members I see on a fairly regular basis. Others pop in from time to time, but not frequently enough to be considered "regular." (at least, not that I've seen)

    I've been wondering where the site is headed for a while also. Everything seemed so hopeful a few months ago, when Aceman was posting and he was all excited about the forum upgrade. But, that never really seemed to get finished. Like you said, it's missing a lot of stuff that used to be there, like a front page and links to the gallery and downloads. It feels like we got half of a site upgrade and then the admins went, "OK, that's good enough."

    I keep expecting the thing to all go "poof," like it did a little over seven years ago. Not too long ago, it was down for the better part of a day and I thought that was it. :shiner:

    While I think the place has declined a lot since its rebirth - more than it perhaps should have - I don't see the place actually disappearing for good any time soon, Aceman is I guess too busy to have a visible presence but he's still paying whatever bills to keep the place running (I doubt the place makes any money) and I'm sure dealing with situations we have no clue about, I really wish he would have more time to spend on the site but life sometimes gets like that.

    I mean, trends change and whatever, but I'm certain the place could be livelier, theres a lot that could be done, not all of it relies on other people.

    I feel we're quite isolated and old-skool, I have a scifi-meshes google community setup for months but haven't really done much with it - partly because i've yet to recieve Acemans blessing on it. People could post work there and link back to their blogs & to their wip threads here and hashtag it for the large google userbase.... literally served up to people who would never have even heard of this site. - it doesn't replace a forum in any way, but it does offer something different and a different audience, i'm also looking for someone to help moderate the place, though like here there's not a huge amount to do. I did ban a phone-sex lady who was posting rude pictures of herself recently tho, so drop in, you never know what you might see;)
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    I don't mean to belittle this place, I still like it. (though, I did quit posting here for a few years) I'm hoping it's just in a slump. That can happen, especially with a large part of the world still in economic turmoil. That's why I still post here, I'm hoping we're headed for a turnaround.

    One thing I love about a place like this is that feeling of community. I was nervous as hell the fist time I posted here, but people here are really welcoming and friendly. That's still true, even if less people post these days.
    Darkness wrote: »
    You might have control - but do you get an audience, one that actually cares? Let's face it, most of the people who have blogs, who twitter or who post every single uninteresting piece of information about their lifes on Facebook really reach nobody at all because they are all full of the beforementioned trivialities. Nobody gives a damn and nobody is going to see the blog of that one talented artist amongst many.

    I only blog about my art most of the time. I have 111 followers and nearly each of my posts gets liked and/or commented on. And, yes, some of the comments do include helpful suggestions and feedback. 359 blog views yesterday, and I haven't even posted for a few days. (and I don't even advertise) And I've made a few contacts for projects, or just made contact in general with some good people due to my blog. I know I can be found on Google, because I sometimes find my own stuff when I'm searching. So, yes, people do see it and they do care.

    But, yes, the vast majority of blogs are just trivial crap. That's one reason I was leery about starting one myself, but the response has been better than I expected. (otherwise, I would have just deleted it years ago ;)) Though, I still like forums, that's why I post on them. And I'm not even touching stuff like Facebook, Google+, etc. That stuff is just rubbish to me. I only mentioned it because it's so popular, though why it is baffles me. It's either people just posting inane crap about their lives or trying to get you to "like" their projects. I want to know when Facebook "likes" became so important that people and companies practically beg you to "like" them. :rolleyes: But, we're headed into another discussion entirely.

    So, since you're posting again, does that mean we can look forward to some work from you?
  • DarknessDarkness333 Posts: 43Member
    "So, yes, people do see it and they do care."

    Don't take this the wrong may, I mean it like I write it: good for you! :) Essentially we agree though - most of it is crap. Well I wouldn't say crap but what I would say gets censored here. :D

    Maytimes even though I consider myself a bit of a "teccy" I am baffled how quickly things can change. I am still absolutely astounded how great an importance social media has become for so many. It sometimes feels like it has become the medium for people's private lifes, something I can not undestand. At all. Maybe I am getting old, eh ...

    Anyways, as you've said - another discussion.


    "So, since you're posting again, does that mean we can look forward to some work from you?"

    I have been playing around from time (and am now, actually) but nothing ever really comes from it. ;)
  • lennier1lennier1913 Posts: 1,280Member
    Darkness wrote: »
    ... what happened here over the last three years? Anyone still around that I might remember?
    Well, I still fart in your general direction. :p Not sure if that counts? ;)

    As the others have said, for many of us old farts the priorities have simply shifted. When I joined this place I was still a student, working towards getting into college to earn a degree in Applied Computer Science. Fast-forward more than a decade and the job simply doesn't leave enough time for hobby projects anymore. Ask around and you'll hear a ton of stories like that.
  • DarknessDarkness333 Posts: 43Member
    Ah, Lennert. Still all about farts I see, how very German of you. Yes, I know that story, because mine is (and has been) the same. When I started, I was still in school though ...


    Wobei, so ganz gleich ist sie nicht. "Applied Computer Science", boah wie elitar. Bei mir hat's nur fur Informationstechnik gereicht. :p
  • lennier1lennier1913 Posts: 1,280Member
    Darkness wrote: »
    Ah, Lennert. Still all about farts I see, how very German of you. Yes, I know that story, because mine is (and has been) the same. When I started, I was still in school though ...


    Wobei, so ganz gleich ist sie nicht. "Applied Computer Science", boah wie elitar. Bei mir hat's nur fur Informationstechnik gereicht. :p
    Well, somebody had to keep the candle burning as the site's resident Kraut, with you bringing debauchery to the fuzzy-wuzzies and RickFX & Creature causing chaos and mayhem god knows where.

    Angewandte Informatik und heute Medien- und Finanzsoftware fur die Werbebranche schreiben. Hatte schlimmer kommen konnen (z.B. fruherer Kommilitone, der heute IT-Forensik macht).
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    Darkness wrote: »
    I have been playing around from time (and am now, actually) but nothing ever really comes from it. ;)

    Yeah, I've been there before. ;)
  • NanoGatorNanoGator1 Posts: 0Member
    Hey, I'm still around. :P
  • rojrenrojren2298 Louisville, Kentucky USAPosts: 1,970Member
    How long has scifi-meshes been around? Since the crashes, and script-kiddie attacks reset the join date, I'm not actually sure how long I've been here.
  • NanoGatorNanoGator1 Posts: 0Member
    I think it goes back as far as 1999.
  • MadKoiFishMadKoiFish9709 Posts: 5,302Member
    I know it was around back in 2000/2001 when I first found SFM.
    I think one of the problems with this place (besides the apparent apathy from the staff) is the amount of people who only seem to care about their own work.
    I have to admit I am guilty of this.

    And yes internet anything except twitter and dorkbook, youtube have been suffering traffic. Really anything that is not a look at me see I am important see what I ate and what I picked out of my nose today, they are in demand things! -_-;' All while a certain few profit enormously form their stupidity.

    I think what most of it is is no new faces are showing up as much as there was in the past. While many show up while in collage etc as they get work and move on there is a lack of people replacing them. This is evident in not just in scifi forums or 3d forums but generally. It seems everyone wants to consume instead of produce. Stuff like fansubs are just falling apart into rip groups who steal scripts from streams. Instead of the interest in creating a good translation it is all about the speed and attention.

    It is all speculation though, it could just be many are not sharing their stuff and keeping to themselves. With the proliferation of profiteering, steal tuts or hot link spam sites one could just use those to learn from instead of a forum of real people.

    I have to argue the blog thing though I forget my stats but only time it gets traffic is when amazon releases images of the new SOTL calendar or some other blog or forum showcases or has a news article for SOTL. Then again I have a rotten personality, so heh. I am also terrible about maintaining it as well.

    I do miss a lot of the old faces that are no longer active, drama or not.
    Each day we draw closer to the end.
  • evil_genius_180evil_genius_1804256 Posts: 11,034Member
    I've got to admit, I usually only go to your blog when I get the e-mails telling me you've posted something new. :shiner:
    rojren wrote: »
    How long has scifi-meshes been around? Since the crashes, and script-kiddie attacks reset the join date, I'm not actually sure how long I've been here.

    I only know how long I've been here because I'd only been here a few months before it crashed the last time. So, I just use the crash as a frame of reference. :lol:
  • SanderleeSanderlee1 Posts: 0Member
    Heck, Darkness, <I'm> still here! And I haven't done so much as drawn a frame or a poly yet! But I still love to lurk and occasionally comment!
  • YaricYaric0 Posts: 0Member
    I remember you darkness. I remember you were a dick to me, hah. I thought your pictures were quality and actually have quite a few saved. I remember we were talking about something or another and I remember saying to myself, "what a dick..."

    I was wondering if it was just me that was noticing that this site and many others are just kinda dead lately. In my opinion the site has never been the same since the crash years ago. There were so many quality pictures in the gallery and so many quality artists that basically never came back after the crash. One that comes to mind, Blumenkol. Anyone remember him? I have alot of his stuff saved over the years, no idea who he was or where he went but never saw anything again from him.

    My guess as to what is happening is that our generation all came here with a hobby of 3d, apparently most of us young and while going to school. The next generation basically just facebooks and gets completely drunk out of their mind on a daily basis and has no time for hobbies and 3d. The world just isn't the same and talent is just being ignored and wasted so much that I see, it's really a shame. Obviously there are exceptions to everything but it has to be far greater than it's ever been years/decades.

    Anyway, for the most part I lurk daily, it's on my daily rounds to see if anything new or interesting is being posted. My life has changed drastically over the years and now all I do is work, work on my house, play games or watch tv for about 30 mins, sleep. And the cycle continues.
  • mattcmattc181 Perth, AuPosts: 322Member
    NanoGator wrote: »
    I think it goes back as far as 1999.

    I remember those days...
  • lennier1lennier1913 Posts: 1,280Member
    mattc wrote: »
    I remember those days...
    Well, there was SFA and then SFM inherited the database and user base.
    I still remember the old days of Tachy, the site's original French-speaking lunatic (yes, there was an era before Al).
  • L2KL2K0 Posts: 0Member
    lennier1 wrote: »
    for many of us old farts the priorities have simply shifted.

    yes pretty much.
    been a member since the site was called sfa. i was a dumbass school boy back then. now im a hard worker and a father.
    also, the site osnt so much fun anymore, now that nobody posts nothing, so i dont post either.
    spiral.
    not cool, but theres not much to do with it
  • DarknessDarkness333 Posts: 43Member
    NanoGator wrote: »
    Hey, I'm still around. :P

    Still the same avatar, too. Yay! :D
    Yaric wrote: »
    I remember you darkness. I remember you were a dick to me, hah. I thought your pictures were quality and actually have quite a few saved. I remember we were talking about something or another and I remember saying to myself, "what a dick..."

    Sounds like me alright. :D
    lennier1 wrote: »
    Well, there was SFA and then SFM inherited the database and user base.
    I still remember the old days of Tachy, the site's original French-speaking lunatic (yes, there was an era before Al).

    Oh yeah, Tachy ... I couldn't remember the name yesterday. I remembered "crazy Frenchman". Good fun.

    Somebody mentioned Blumenkohl. He really spit images out one after another ... some of them were pretty nice though, I remember his general style was rather similar to mine, strong, vibrant colors and all. Is Deks still around? And what about Igor ... :shiner:


    You all seem to agree that forums are slowly decaying eveywhere. That might be true but there is at least one topic that doesn't apply to - cars. Trends change, hobbies change - but boys are always into cars. They have been, they are, and they will be. They are just as alive as they were back then. At least some consistency. Not that I can relate to any of the "tuning" trends out there ...
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