On November 11th, the Vocaloid Promotional Video Project has released a brand new version of MMD.  Version 6 is going to be a new, souped-up version of the software we all know and love.  Because of this, it’s in a “pilot” version available in the usual places.  It’s still not [...]]]>

One bad touch deserves another

On November 11th, the Vocaloid Promotional Video Project has released a brand new version of MMD.  Version 6 is going to be a new, souped-up version of the software we all know and love.  Because of this, it’s in a “pilot” version available in the usual places.  It’s still not top-of-the-line software, but Vista or Windows 7 is recommended.

With the new MMD software comes a new MMD companion program.  Meet MikuMikuTransborder, a program that allows you to insert your MMD work into other 3D programs that support DirectX. Want an example?  Just look below.

MikuMikuTransborder is already a Nicotag, so searching for that will give you all the vids that are fit to stream. It’ll be interesting to see where this new direction in MMD will lead us.

It’s been a while since we last had an actual MMD post, but that doesn’t mean things have been happening. The freeware animation program had six updates in the interim, mainly dealing with problems with the MMDxShow.dll file. I don’t know the whole story, but I’m [...]]]>

"Over The Wall" by Joe Mello

It’s been a while since we last had an actual MMD post, but that doesn’t mean things have been happening. The freeware animation program had six updates in the interim, mainly dealing with problems with the MMDxShow.dll file. I don’t know the whole story, but I’m guessing that new problems arose as old ones were fixed. 5.08 is the current version, and since it was uploaded on the 9th, I think it’s safe to say it’s stable. You can pick it up on the VPVP site here.

And it would be remiss of me to not mention the MMD Cup Finals, since I’ve been doing so for the past 10 days. It opens at 9PM JST tonight, closing at 9 on the 21st, so get your MyLists ready to go. You can track the uploads with this nifty tag search.

Correction (8/15): This is the better search list. Happy hunting.

Do not adjust your browser. This is the future.

Let’s look into…the future

Reader: The future, Joe?

That’s right, loyal reader, the distant future!  All the way to the Year 3000!

Reader: . . .

Okay, then how about August 14, 2009, which is when the Finals of the 3rd semi-annual MMD Cup will commence.  86 entries have [...]]]>

Do not adjust your browser. This is the future.

Let’s look into…the future

Reader: The future, Joe?

That’s right, loyal reader, the distant future!  All the way to the Year 3000!

Reader: . . .

Okay, then how about August 14, 2009, which is when the Finals of the 3rd semi-annual MMD Cup will commence.  86 entries have been submitted and we have been looking over the top ones to see if they truly got what it takes.  Last time, we looked at some seasonal silliness with the first group.  Today, we look at the mirai group.  English name: the future.

Pop over here to review the rules or click the page break to dive right into 5 of the group’s 14 perfect scorers.

Yume no Naka e [MonaMonaDance]
My List count (as of writing): 448   Overall Rank: 4

This has train wreck written all over it, but I can’t look away.  It looks like there’s some behind-the-scenes stunt work which is always cool, but I just know it’s going to be a bad, stupid, ridiculous video.  And yet, I need to see it.  Damn you, Mona.

"YUME NO NAKA E" SCORE: 1 Leek

Calx 5-nin shimai
My List: 233   Overall: 6

We’ve reached an interesting development with this video.  All of the other Q-Round entries I’ve seen have been produced to look like preview clips; this one looks like it’s a 26-second excerpt taken right out of the final product.  To me, that doesn’t look clean and thus, looks like it’s laziness on the creator’s part.  Also, the visuals are uninteresting in spite of Chibi-Miku.  Sorry, folks.

"CALX" SCORE: No Leeks

Wanderer
My List: 230   Overall: 8

This video is a treat for the eyes.  Lush, detailed backgrounds galore, and I can only hope there’s more to come.  Even better, the video implies there’s going to be a physics-compliant Kaito model! (The one that ships with MMD does not react to gravity)  As an added bonus, putting the letters “P” and “V” indicates there will be a nice song, hopefully sung by Kaito.  I know I’ll be eagerly awaiting this video.

"WANDERER" SCORE: 2 Leeks

Dennou Senki VocalOn
My List: 223   Overall: 9

Oh boy, a Virtual On parody.  Admittedly, the game was interesting, and the way the clip is like a reloading opening screen because you haven’t pressed Start is amusing.  However, it’s not that interesting in any other aspect.  Not much else to say but “pass”.

"VOCAL ON" SCORE: No Leeks

Marmoritai Mono
My List: 210   Overall: 13

Could someone tell me who Amaha Sora is?  Please?  All I know is that she has cat ears and is cute.  Anyway, this runs into the same laziness problem as Calx does and the motions seem a little too off-kilter.  I like me a space epic, but this is mediocre.

"MAMORITAI MONO" SCORE: No Leeks

This concludes our look at group 2.  We finally had a 2-leek video, but only time will tell how bright Wanderer’s future will be.  In 2 days’ time, we’ll look at the last of our three groups.  It’s arguably the weakest of the 3 groups, but it got the most 100-point scorers.  Stay tuned.

Honestly, I think we at V-ism should post at least 1 non-Vocaran story per week, even if it’s going to be fluff or something barely relevant.  Here’s this week’s article: The folks at the VPVP have released version 5.02 of MikuMikuDance, fixing a bug involving sound playback.  So if your audio’s been wonky, well [...]]]>

Honestly, I think we at V-ism should post at least 1 non-Vocaran story per week, even if it’s going to be fluff or something barely relevant.  Here’s this week’s article: The folks at the VPVP have released version 5.02 of MikuMikuDance, fixing a bug involving sound playback.  So if your audio’s been wonky, well there you are.

In a related note, the 3rd MMDCup is finishing up its qualifying round this Friday at 9PM Japan time.  There are over 80 videos amongst the three themes, and this page has them all, so pick your ponies fast.  This will definitely on my radar and will likely be next week’s non-Vocaran article.