Beautiful and very easy to follow.
Only an idea, but maybe in another video, import from sketchup, to show how easy it is, if you need another model for another video. Shows very well that you aren’t stuck with “only” blender.
And sketchup is very noob friendly and gives access to plenty shared models, which comes handy for testing/trying/exploring etc.
Thanks, I didn’t really want this to be about blender but about model editing in general, everything said applies for sketchup too. 
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@normen said: Video #2 is up, exemplifying model import, material editing, particles and model editing. I am not quite as happy as with the first one but theres a lot of information to cover so I guess I'll have to be okay with what I came up with, the cut down material is still 37min :lol: [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-YWxD3JByE[/video]
Where do you get your models from :)?
Also one suggestion would be to cut down tutorials to about 10-15 minutes (easier for concentration and you’ll also get more views :))
Anyway, i’m off to watch it now, yippie!
@avpeacock said: Also one suggestion would be to cut down tutorials to about 10-15 minutes (easier for concentration and you'll also get more views :))
I don’t think the goal here is to get as many views as possible, but get the best information out there.
From my point of view, tutorials have to last the time they last. It is, after all, a tutorial. Wouldn’t be worth much if it skipped important parts due to length because some people prefer short bust of info instead of larger ones.
The only other possible approach would be to split a long video into smaller ones, but then, why not watch for a while and note the point where you stop? Or simply tag it as “Watch later” until you’ve gone through it. 
@madjack said: I don't think the goal here is to get as many views as possible, but get the best information out there.From my point of view, tutorials have to last the time they last. It is, after all, a tutorial. Wouldn’t be worth much if it skipped important parts due to length because some people prefer short bust of info instead of larger ones.
The only other possible approach would be to split a long video into smaller ones, but then, why not watch for a while and note the point where you stop? Or simply tag it as “Watch later” until you’ve gone through it.
Hey Jack, i’ve just finished watching it now and actually the length was fine and definately appropriate for what was shown. But, for example, the ‘particle emitter’ which was 10 minutes could have been put into a seperate tutorial, so users who search ‘jmonkey particle emitter’ or something, would have it there :). I don’t mean cutting out important parts at all though! No way that tutorial would have been possible condensed into 15 minutes, there was so much information which is brilliant!
I’m not sure, it’s just a suggestion :D.
I watch quite a lot of online tutorials and have personally found the 10-15 minute ones better for taking in information(but these are generally far more boring haha), however, I have problems with concentration and this is probably the longest tutorial by far i’ve ever been able to watch without feeling ‘cmoooon hurry up and get to the point’ and end up skipping lots of parts. I think this is because Normen manages to condense it in a way that every second does provide really useful information.
Thankyou very much Normen :). You’ve really made things sooo much easier with your last two tutorials!! Are you planning on doing more?
@avpeacock said:however, I have problems with concentration and this is probably the longest tutorial by far i've ever been able to watch without feeling 'cmoooon hurry up and get to the point' and end up skipping lots of parts.
I wouldn’t call this a concentration problem at all. I act the exact same way when I watch a video that’s supposed to teach me something. It has more to do with the proficiency and competence of the author than concentration IMO.
We all like to get on Normen’s back, but we all agree he knows what’s he’s doing. 
@madjack said: I wouldn't call this a concentration problem at all. I act the exact same way when I watch a video that's supposed to teach me something. It has more to do with the proficiency and competence of the author than concentration IMO.We all like to get on Normen’s back, but we all agree he knows what’s he’s doing.
Very true, however as I do have very poor concentration, I was just expressing it may be a subjective problem(the length of the videos). Have never been able to concentrate longer than 10 minutes in a university lecture even though I’m studying a course I generally enjoy :P.
Was just trying to offer some feedback is all and hope I didn’t come across negative :). I do love the fact Norman’s tutorials cover a lot of different aspects. RE the first one is covered animation, controls and app states all in one. Whooooop :).
As usual…you’re amazing !!! …very clear…very pro…i’ve learned a lot…again please !!! :).
Thanks a lot guys!
Yes, I know they are a bit long but the point is to get a whole workflow across and as @madjack said, if theres stuff left out its missing 
For example the particle “detour” allowed me to show the problem of combined jME and external model data as well as what happens when you batch them, also it showed that the material editor can use different j3md bases so I thought it was a good addition for this video. When I had the original material (3h with pauses and some preparations in the video) cut down to 55min I already felt I had broken some continuity in the flow. Its kind of hard to preserve a sensible “dramaturgy” when you actually present multiple loosely tied facts
At any instance if somebody who has usually problems focusing on information tells me he could easily absorb the information presented here then I am very happy about that 
I just learned from a lecture that kids nowadays don’t want to read about stuff, they want to be told stuff instead… I guess thats true and it does make sense to me as well as I also like to listen to lectures and tutorials to broaden my horizon.
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I generally prefer to read, but only because I generally read & comprehend at least 5 times as fast as anyone can talk
For some things video tutorials tell a thousand words though, and things like this fall into that area.
@normen said: Thanks a lot guys!Yes, I know they are a bit long but the point is to get a whole workflow across and as @madjack said, if theres stuff left out its missing
For example the particle “detour” allowed me to show the problem of combined jME and external model data as well as what happens when you batch them, also it showed that the material editor can use different j3md bases so I thought it was a good addition for this video. When I had the original material (3h with pauses and some preparations in the video) cut down to 55min I already felt I had broken some continuity in the flow. Its kind of hard to preserve a sensible “dramaturgy” when you actually preset multiple loosely tied facts
At any instance if somebody who has usually problems focusing on information tells me he could easily absorb the information presented here then I am very happy about that
I just learned from a lecture that kids nowadays don’t want to read about stuff, they want to be told stuff instead… I guess thats true and it does make sense to me as well as I also like to listen to lectures and tutorials to broaden my horizon.
The content of this post is meant to be read as a straight information or question without an implicit dismissive stance or interest in having the other party feel offended unless theres emotes that hint otherwise or there’s an increased use of exclamation marks and all-capital words.
Also depends a lot on learning style :). As a dyslexic, visual and kinematic are mine (reading and listenening is horrible) so i’ve always learnt better from videos(or by doing/being very hands on) which makes, for me anyway, your tutorials extremely valuable :). I managed to accomplish more coding in one night of watching your first one that then I had of a few weeks reading tutorials, coping/pasting/testing code and effectively just trying to learn how everything was working! The example classes you gave were also extremely useful.
I definately agree now regarding the particle detour :). I also do actually quite like the detours and the broad amount of aspects you show because it means you learn so much more, keeps it more interesting(maybe why I could concentrate better) and see how to fit things together in a way that other tutorials don’t provide (like with your last one covering animation, controls, app states, terrain…all in 20 minutes!).
I’ve also just re-read your response to kwando,
"The purpose of this kind of format is more to give a broader view on the thing so people go “Oh if this works like so I can also use it to solve my problem here”
And this is certainly what was achieved for me :).
Source code is now part of the wiki.
https://jmonkeyengine.github.io/wiki/jme3/advanced/sourcecode.html
I had tried to download the source code for this tutorial before but the given links are broken.So thank you for these source files.
However the video tutorial also includes an AnimUpdateControl and a TerrainTrackControl which are not uploaded yet.
Could you upload these too if you already have a copy of them?
Forgot about those, ill try and get them today.
Edit: Done.
Thanks @normen for these great tutorials 
I’d like to see some more,which would cover the new features of the engine.
Cheers!