Our CGI department is becoming increasingly concerned with the state of DeviantArt, especially the video + sound ads that have been overwhelming its users lately. 

We feel such ads are disruptive to the optimal viewing experience of our renders, which is an experience that we hold dear for our users. Non-premium DeviantArt users who wish to view our art cannot effectively do so without their intended sound environment on their computer system interrupted, and this is a problem.

We are looking into re-located all of our content away from DeviantArt, and to a new, dedicated, Vinfreild managed website.

~ Affiliated Networking Research Team,
   Vinfreild Group

July 30th, 2014 @ 6:25am PDT

Download Image in Full Scale (3,292 x 2,757px)

Introducing our first render of Larry Koopa, in his Wii/Wii U era appearance! Don't worry, the other Koopalings are making their way to our art gallery, and Mushroom Kingdom Adventure too!

Larry Koopa, Super Mario themes, Wii U, and the Koopalings are copyrights and/or trademarks of Nintendo Co., Ltd.
3D computer models, effects, and rendering generated by Vinfreild with the Rollenia Foundation.

July 28th, 2014 @ 5:28am PDT

Today, I visited Pixar's website. I had been doing a lot of work on Mushroom Kingdom Adventure, and have been doing a lot of research into numerous graphical areas, so this was one of my usual stops for general information. While looking into the RenderMan® software, I noticed the price had been dropped and a slide passed by which was titled "Ooohh! ... Free at last!", and stated that RenderMan® will be free in the near future for non-commercial purposes.

Dr. Ed Catmull says that the team will not be limiting the free version of the software in any way, but users must agree to use it for non-commercial purposes only.

Check out more information on the pricing changes and the free release here.

For those of you who don't know about RenderMan®, or don't know about the 3D graphic process, you can read a bit about what it is on Pixar's RenderMan® website.

RenderMan® is a registered trademark of Pixar. 

July 16th, 2014 @ 2:56am PDT

As you all know, Mushroom Kingdom Adventure will inherit a lot of characteristics from Paper Mario, but the basic layout of the world is probably the biggest (Don't worry, we are making the world a lot bigger). With these inherited characteristics such as the world comes the need to revamp quality and make changes, and make the game look pleasing in our chosen HD resolution and art style.

Anyways, remember Pleasant Path? In Paper Mario 64, if you take the path to the right of Toad Town, you will enter Pleasant Path.
Above is a screen shot of Pleasant Path in Paper Mario 64, compared to a work-in-progress screen shot of Pleasant Path in Mushroom Kingdom Adventure. Below the comparison screen shots is a small presentation of how we are reproducing the old N64 graphics in higher quality using our own graphical style. 

The Majority of texture images in Mushroom Kingdom Adventure are made using the method we displayed here. We actually model out all the detail in 3D and color the models using basic colors and generated bump maps. We then add a tiny bit of lighting for a natural effect, and render them into 2D seamless, repeating textures. Then we map these textures onto the appropriate objects we design for them, such as the shrub we have reproduced in 3D.


Mushroom Kingdom Adventure is a tribute game to Nintendo® that incorporates characteristics from Paper Mario™, and Square-Enix's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars®, as well as other Nintendo® games.
Mushroom Kingdom Adventure software built on Unity® by Vinfreild™. Graphics generated by Vinfreild™.
Super Mario™ and related themes and games are ™ and © Nintendo®.
Vinfreild™ is managed by the Vinfreild Group.

www.vinfreild.com
mka.vinfreild.com
www.nintendo.com
www.square-enix.com

July 11th, 2014 @ 9:08pm PDT

If you are a member of the Vinfreild Group, or if you are a frequent visitor to our websites, you have probably already noticed at least one change, assuming you have visited our websites since their latest remodel. If you haven't visited our websites since their latest summer makeover, then there is a lot to see everywhere. You might as well wait to explore however, because before the summer is over we will be adding a "box full" of additional features!

Anyway, down to business regarding the new changes to Vinfreild Profiles. Not only does the website have an entirely new look, we are integrating Nintendo Miis, User Activity Feeds, and a new Icon Display System! The new icon display system is the new feature I hope everyone noticed, as the change is in effect at the top of this post.

So, let's start off with the new icon display system.
First, we have doubled the resolution of users profile icons (the icon displayed when a user posts) from 32x32px to 64x64px. We have also re-written the html code that is used for displaying the icon, as well as the text next to it. The icons on all past posts (as well as future posts) will now update when Group Members change their profile picture. Your icons are now delivered using the https connections provided by Google as well, and are stored using Google Apps storage solutions. You will also notice that the icons are sharper, as we are now using Catmull-Rom methods for antialiasing when down-sizing/processing the image, and different interpolation methods.

User Activity Feeds can now show posts from Miiverse and Vinfreild.
Previously just a photo slide-show, you all now have space for your own Activity Feed. You can embed your posts right from Miiverse, as well as display any posts that you have posted on our websites. These will show up on your profile in a section located under your photo gallery section, and are user-defined. Posts will not automatically populate here, you can handpick individual posts to highlight on your page in this space. All right, fine, you can also request to highlight your posts from Facebook and Twitter here, as well as embed a feed from those sites (where available).

Something else new that you'll notice in this area is how your profile icon changes depending on what posts you request to display on your profile. For instance, if your post is from Miiverse, a Miiverse badge will be displayed on top of your icon for that post. If your post is posted to the profile, your icon will be normal. If you posted to the Vinfreild Website Activity Feed, a shuriken badge will be displayed on top of your icon for that post. Just check it out below!

Oh did I forget? You can also now create a slide-show to share all of the photos that you have taken while playing a game like Animal Crossing New Leaf, and when you post the slide-show or a photo related to that game, your icon for that post will also receive a badge that is related to that game! Starting soon, we will be providing all Group Members with the opportunity to open their own website located at a subdomain of either vinfreild.com, rollenia.com, or baelinlonuma.com, as well. This website can be used by members to say something about themselves, and even tell the history of their Animal Crossing town or something to that effect, since we are talking about New Leaf. Members can also claim a url that links to their profile, such as lv.profiles.vinfreild.com.

And finally, Nintendo Mii Integration (Introducing "Carry Mii")!
So, since all of our Group Members and fans are active Nintendo players, this feature will benefit you both! All Group Members can now post all of the Mii characters that they have made using 3DS or Wii U to their profile! All you have to do is use the QR Code/Image Options setting on your system in Mii Maker to generate a few images, then submit them to us for processing. We will list them all on a page under your profile professionally, and viewers can scan the codes and download the Miis if one catches their eyes! If your Mii is on our systems here at Vinfreild, we will be sending you the unlocked as well as locked scans of each of your Miis very soon. Instructions are included on how to scan and download a Mii onto the systems of people who are not sure how. And don't worry, Group Members, you can specify whether or not you want the people who download your Miis to be able to modify them or redistribute them or not right in Mii Maker.

Take a look at what a user's Mii Collection page looks like by clicking here, or the button below.

The above button will be displayed on your profile after you upload a Mii, and it can be clicked on to view your collection.

Now, here is where it gets interesting... INTRODUCING "CARRY MII"!
Have you have ever gone over to another person's house to play their Wii U, but realized you didn't have your favorite Mii on that system? Have you ever wanted to modify an existing Mii, but make a backup revision before modifying it for safekeeping? Well, Group Members, now you can do both of these things with what I call "Carry Mii"! The magic of Carry Mii is that it is just that exact integration that I just mentioned above in the first paragraph! Assuming you have access to an internet capable phone or computer at your friend's house, you can pull up your favorite Mii to scan onto your friend's system at anytime right from your page at http://profiles.vinfreild.com. If you have a phone or 3DS, but your friend doesn't have an internet connection, you can still save the image onto your device from your profile before you go to your friends house, so you can easily pull the file back up offline to scan later!
Onto revision history. You can send us both unlocked and locked QR codes and images of your mii before you modify it, and we will put the locked one on a revision history page for your mii, located under your profile. We will save the unlocked version of the Mii QR code for safekeeping, just incase you ever want the modifiable version of your Mii back. With the revision page comes a simple profile for your Mii character as well, where you can write a few things about your Mii for viewers to look at.

View an example of a Mii Revision Page/Mii Profile by clicking here.

And that's all I have for you today! Look forward to more updates in the near future!

July 7th, 2014 @ 8:12pm PDT