On the eve of Valve’s big reveal of Half-Life: Alyx, we discuss what it means to have a killer app for the VR market today, John Carmark’s role shift at Oculus, Star Trek movie announcements, and Tesla’s impending reveal of the Cybertruck. It’s a big news week leading up to Thanksgiving!
Adam Savage’s Soft Flail Sculpture!
Adam shares a beloved object from his shop that he made more than 25 years ago. This sewn soft replica of a flail–complete with canvas chain–was Adam’s tribute to sculptor Claes Oldenburg. It’s the first major art piece that Adam sewed, and was also a lesson in commiting to his ideas. (Correction: the piece is a replica of a flail, not a mace.)
3D Modeling, Printing, and Painting a Custom Gundam!
We attend our first Gunpla and mecha modelmaking convention–NewType’s Buildcon in San Francisco–and meet some incredible modelmakers who’ve brought a variety of builds. Artist Kaz Adams‘ Janus build was especially striking, since she designed, 3D modeled, 3D printed, and finished this detailed model, essentially making her own kit. We chat with Kaz about her design process and how she took an initial sketch to a fully realized figure.
Half-Man, Half-Delorean (Spoiler-Free) – Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project – 11/19/19
Back in the cave again, we discuss our thoughts on the new Disney+ show The Mandalorian, doing our best to avoid plot spoilers (aside from what’s been seen in the trailers). We also talk about the cinema influences to Star Wars, and give a big recommendation to the documentary series The Imagineering Story.
Model Behavior: Painting Miniature Figurines
We found these gorgeous resin miniatures from the artist alley at this year’s Silicon Valley Comic Con, and spend today’s Model Behavior painting them! Kayte and Norm also use this opportunity to do some foam sculpting to craft a display base for their figures, as well as experiment with some metallic paint. These kits are from artist Dennis Chan under his Mt Lion Miniatures banner and are available now!
Google Stadia Cloud Gaming Review!
We spend a week testing and playing games on Google Stadia, the newly launched cloud gaming service that streams games to Pixel phones, Chrome browsers, and the Chromecast Ultra. Here’s how the service performs at launch, from image quality to latency, as well as which of the promised features are ready today. (Update: after we filmed our review, Google announced that Stadia would launch with 22 games, not 12. )
Ask Adam: Deciding Prop Functionality
Nicholas Foote asks Adam Savage, “When making a prop, how do you decide how functional you’re going to make it?” What a great question! Here’s Adam’s answer, and you can ask your own question in the comments section below or on social media (tagged #AskAdamSavage)!
PROJECTIONS: Stormland VR Review!
We review Insomniac Games’ Stormland, an ambitious open-world VR adventure that breaks new ground for virtual reality locomotion and action gameplay. It’s one of the best-looking VR games we’ve played, with an expansive world that’s so fun to traverse–especially in co-op multiplayer.
Episode 526 – The Escape Key Returns – 11/14/19
Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Custom Beat Saber Hilts!
Adam’s latest obsession is the VR music rhythm game Beat Saber, which he plays almost every day. To augment his immersion and play ability, Adam machines a pair of Beat Saber hilt mounts for the Oculus Quest controllers! And of course, making lightsaber hilts is something Adam has some experience with!