[Singh]

Well, this is the best place to put this methinks.

Dont kill me
(edit: updated. 11/12/2005, 10:04 PM Singapore Time. 20+mb, Xvid codec. .exe format for compression reasons. Give it ~15 mins to upload)
ok,
before I continue with this, what is really, really needed is not only feedback on what has finished thus far, but ideas on what comparisons to specifically incorporate next; as well as which of the more popular mods to include towards the ending. This is mostly because all of my previous creations have been nothing short of crap, and the glory of hte SCP doesn't deserve such insidious things, hence the focus on quality atm

And if you ask why....well, why not? The SCP could use some appraisal, as well as a video with which to pimp itself elsewhere - that, and I have too much time atm

[Turambar]

i thought it was very cool, escpecailly at the end, when the old ship fades to the new one, i like that , and there should be more of that.  and, less choppyness

[Fineus]

Wow.

I really love the concept and the amount of effort put into this. I've also got some ideas if you'll indulge me although you can probably ignore them just fine

Firstly - the text needs to be short and sharp. It starts off good but rapidly gets into masses of text that (while relevant) aren't exactly  pleasing to the eye. This'll probably turn into quite a large post but what the hell... The first block of text should be spaced across the entire screen (they all should, the black space looks kinda wrong).

The second block "In 2002 however.." seems to ramble a bit. Although I can see you seem to have lifted the same "feel" as was used in the FS2 intro movie... I don't think we need "ruins of the past" etc. Perhaps something like:

In 2002 however,
Volition released the source code for FreeSpace 2.
The code was taken on by a small team,
and the results are so much more than anyone could've imagined.

The movie clip shown after this piece goes on a little too long... it should be about 2 seconds (the same as the first shot of the Iceni). This is a personal taste thing but I think it'd help to keep things moving along nicely. Also - too much of the pre-rendered movies will make the SCP ships look less impressive.

The next block of text (The project offered much..) again goes on a little bit too much. Perhaps something like:

Out of nothing, The Source Code Project grew.
What began as a visual upgrade mutated
into something much greater than the sum of its parts.

At this point (as you begin to show the *excellent* morphing between the old and new ships) it'd be nice if the music could change into something a bit more up-beat... something as equally exciting as the new ships.

Also, the text (Where Volition left us ruins..) could read something a bit less negative like:

Now... prepare yourself...

...For The FreeSpace Upgrade Project...

Still having the ships do flybys... also at the end you use a different font (I'd leave that block of text out entirely by the way). Finally a nice fade to black with a nice big SCP symbol and link to the SCP main site.

If you're planning on extending it - it would be nice to have the music get even racier and show off some of the new explosions, beam and warp effects, glow points and all the other neat new stuff....

...and if you wanted to take it further you could go on to show a screen such as "Others have adopted what was built... and dreams have become realised" then cut entirely to The Babylon Project, BlackWater Ops, Inferno, WC Saga, the Star Trek / Wars and Battlestar Galactica ships and any other neat things that'd really show off the game.

Don't get me wrong though - it looks like I'm being negative here but I'm incredibly impressed by this. I'm also really excited at how much potential this has if it can look incredible and really get people interested in what's going on.

[Col. Fishguts]

Linky no worky

[Turambar]

yeah, throw some fighters and a couple capships blowing up too, those 3d shockwaves will catch peoples' eyes.

[CaptJosh]

What codec are you using? All I'm getting is audio.

[WeatherOp]

Looks good, but it needs explosions. , and I agree with Kal, when it goes to the dogfights and such, change the music to that deep fast paced battle music. But, good job allready, make non SCP user's eyes water.

[Goober5000]

Great video, but a couple of major points...

1) Consistent misuse of it's rather than its
2) Volition didn't "fall"; it's still making games
3) *does* know what the SCP is doing; daveb checks in here once in a blue moon and is always impressed
4) I'd hardly call FS2 retail "ruins".  Way too negative.  Don't forget all the cool campaigns that exist for FS1 and FS2.
5) The SCP didn't start as a visual upgrade; that was relatively recent.  During the first year or so it was focused primarily on new sexps, subtle enhancements, and tweaks of that nature; plus the occasional major feature.  Yes, it was ported to DX8 fairly early, but it wasn't until the last year or so that the graphics stuff started really rolling out in force.

Also, the movie cuts out right after the Hercules.  Is that intentional or did I get a bad download?

And I love the Hercules fade effect. Did you use the camera sexps for that?

[c914]

Nice, i like most last part with changing models
Ony one thing why movie cuts afer Hercules :/

[CaptJosh]

Nevermind my earlier query. Once I actually saved it to my hard drive instead of opening it from its current location, it actually played the video. Very strange.

[butter_pat_head]

Good so far, assuming this isn't finished yet.  May I add my tuppence worth?

Suggestion 1:  at 00:28 where the second paragraph fades in fade out the first at the same time then about half a second later fade in a background anim of some code scrolling (use the SPC source for added realism ^_^).

2: at 00:42 Just fade in the bit that says 'the project was called the SCP' then wait a little while and fade in the rest and fade out the first para + the line 'the project was called'.  Maybe scroll the line 'The SCP' up a little at the same time.

3:  don't take any of these suggestions too seriously ^_^

4:  Don't release the final version until all the various SCP GFX bugs are fixed, like the thruster trails.

5:  Change the lines 'where volition has left us ruins...we have made cities in the sky' to something like 'Recycling the ships of yesterday...to build the fleets of tomorrow'

6:  The bit where the Herc flies across the screen and fades to the HTL version let it do into the distance for a few seconds then... blow it up and have a wing of shivans fly across, preferably going from lower left to upper right.  Music would have to be timed for effect.  Anybody know if there's a clean version of the intro music?

7:  Put a second white, weaker sun behind the camera as IMO the HTL herc looks a little dark in that shot.

8:  Quick 1/3 second shots of each followed by a shot of the sath from the front coming towards the screen and fade out for about 3 sec

9:  Start with a clip of a beam charging and firing, then let loose the dos of war! ^_^.  Then cut to various small clips of action.  A missile barrage here, a shock-wave there, a capship beaming another and so on.  Kinda like the FS2 trailer.

10:  End it all with a few short clips of campaigns that use special SCP features, like the bit at the end of Transcend or the dance number in JAD2.

11: sprinkle along the way lines such like 'supercharged GFX', 'totally modifiable' and 'Create YOUR missions like never before'

12: Stick to one font thrughout the vid

12+1:  Don't take these suggestions too seriously ^_^

[Singh]

Wow.

I really love the concept and the amount of effort put into this. I've also got some ideas if you'll indulge me although you can probably ignore them just fine

Sure, np. That's the entire point of this thread, to collect feedback and attempt to make a higher-quality product.

Firstly - the text needs to be short and sharp. It starts off good but rapidly gets into masses of text that (while relevant) aren't exactly pleasing to the eye. This'll probably turn into quite a large post but what the hell... The first block of text should be spaced across the entire screen (they all should, the black space looks kinda wrong).

Understood. I'll increase the size of the font, and change the text, according to Goober's recommendation as well.

The second block "In 2002 however.." seems to ramble a bit. Although I can see you seem to have lifted the same "feel" as was used in the FS2 intro movie... I don't think we need "ruins of the past" etc. The movie clip shown after this piece goes on a little too long... it should be about 2 seconds (the same as the first shot of the Iceni). This is a personal taste thing but I think it'd help to keep things moving along nicely. Also - too much of the pre-rendered movies will make the SCP ships look less impressive.

The next block of text (The project offered much..) again goes on a little bit too much. Perhaps something like:

Ok, as mentioned above, im changing the text, since its obviously wrong. But realize, I am trying to go for the FS2 intro feel on it as you mentioned, as it plays an important part in storytelling the mods later on. However, with your point below, I must mention that this isn't more for the freespace upgrade, than it is for the SCP itself.

At this point (as you begin to show the *excellent* morphing between the old and new ships) it'd be nice if the music could change into something a bit more up-beat... something as equally exciting as the new ships.

Also, the text (Where Volition left us ruins..) could read something a bit less negative like:

Now... prepare yourself...

...For The FreeSpace Upgrade Project...

Still having the ships do flybys... also at the end you use a different font (I'd leave that block of text out entirely by the way). Finally a nice fade to black with a nice big SCP symbol and link to the SCP main site.

If you're planning on extending it - it would be nice to have the music get even racier and show off some of the new explosions, beam and warp effects, glow points and all the other neat new stuff....

Yes, I intend to extend it. What you have seen here is actually just the first bit that I've managed to piece together in Adobe Premier. I still have to set up more camera shots in FRED, and then capture it in FRAPS with default FS2 (which is just the SCP with all the features off) and then with FSO, and then just about paste it together inside the program. This is how the fade effect is achieved, and it is quite easy, since both movies are exactly the same, only with different effects. However, I doubt i'll be able to do too much more, as not only is my PC limited, but so is my HD space >_<

This is where I need a bit of help - I need volunteers, ones with not only good PCs, but with FRAPS and the ability to record videos, compress them without quality loss and then the ability upload them somewhere for general access. These are just simple ship moving from point A to point B so far - once the explosions and heavy stuff start, even x0.25 time compression isnt going to save my poor system

...and if you wanted to take it further you could go on to show a screen such as "Others have adopted what was built... and dreams have become realised" then cut entirely to The Babylon Project, BlackWater Ops, Inferno, WC Saga, the Star Trek / Wars and Battlestar Galactica ships and any other neat things that'd really show off the game.

I intend to take this to the following mods, assuming they allow me permission to release up-to-date videos of their stuff:

Inferno (no new vid is actually needed, since I can just use one of the older ones - which still look spectacular)
BSG
TBP

Don't get me wrong though - it looks like I'm being negative here but I'm incredibly impressed by this. I'm also really excited at how much potential this has if it can look incredible and really get people interested in what's going on.

It's no problem, really. As mentioned, any feedback is better than none.

Great video, but a couple of major points...

1) Consistent misuse of it's rather than its
2) Volition didn't "fall"; it's still making games
3) *does* know what the SCP is doing; daveb checks in here once in a blue moon and is always impressed
4) I'd hardly call FS2 retail "ruins".  Way too negative.  Don't forget all the cool campaigns that exist for FS1 and FS2.
5) The SCP didn't start as a visual upgrade; that was relatively recent.  During the first year or so it was focused primarily on new sexps, subtle enhancements, and tweaks of that nature; plus the occasional major feature.  Yes, it was ported to DX8 fairly early, but it wasn't until the last year or so that the graphics stuff started really rolling out in force.

1. Bah! Grammer Inquisition strikes again
2. understood...
3. understood again (smacks self for extreme stupidity)
4. Will change that immediately.
5. Understood again. I'll have to change that as well from the looks of it :/

Also, the movie cuts out right after the Hercules.  Is that intentional or did I get a bad download?

And I love the Hercules fade effect. Did you use the camera sexps for that?

The movie cuts out after the Herc cause that's all I have to show atm, so yes, it is intentional

The fade effect was done in premier. Carl taught me that one - kudoz go to him, not me

[Kie99]

I'm only getting Audio.

[Depth_Charge]

yeah same here

[Singh]

For the audio bit: the clip uses Intel Indeo Codec, so you may want to try and get that. Are you using WMP to open, or VLC? Cause VLC doesnt seem to like it very much >_<

Ok, here's the revised script so far.

[opening sequence]
Music: FS2_Brief_02
FS1_Ancients 1 background plays for 5 seconds before fading out to text.
First scene/text (revised):


In 1999,
Volition and Interplay INC.
Released Freespace 2 for the PC,
One of the Best Space Sims of its time.
But soon after the seperation of the two giants,
It was quitely kept aside,
In hopes of being revived one day.


Fade out 00:16-00:18

[scene 2]
at 00:18, we transit to a two-second shot of the Iceni as it goes through the nebula.
Fade out to text at 00:21.

In 2001 however,
Volition Released the Source Code for FS2
Although they would never know it,
this simple act, this simple gift,
would become the revival that had been so hoped for.
The code was taken on by a new team,
and a new project was launched to use it.
It promised a new engine based on the old,
A new power, built on the legacy of the past.

Fade out text at 00:35 to a shot of the fleet, from the Cutscene FS2_Colossus 00:36-39, fade out to 00:41.

[scene 3]
The Project Offered much.
It started as a simple upgrade...
But now, it is become so much more.

The Project was called
The Source Code Project
It offered to ressurect a dream,
one left behind by it's creator.
And it has done that task Admirably

Fade out to black, 00:51.

[scene 4]
Music cuts to FS2_Brief_05.

Fade in to the words "Where Volition has left us monuments to the past"

Clip of the Aeolus passing by fades in at 00:53 and we watch it move accross the screen. At 00:55-00:57, it fades to the new Aeolus. At 00:57-00:58, the following line fades in:

"We have made them the Wonders of a new World"

The Aeolus passes by till around 01:00, after which it and the text quickly fades out to black at 01:01.

[Scene 5]
Fade to text from 01:02 to 01:03

"Where we have been left but a legacy"

Shot of the old Herc fades in at 01:03. It approaches us till around 01:05, at which point the first text fades out, and new text pops up, and the new herc begins to fade in.

"We have made it so much more."

Text fades out at 01:08-01:09, Herc 2 flies by and fades out at 01:10.

[/scene stuff]


That's all I have atm. I have to go and pick up my father from the airport, so i'll post the next bits when I get back....

[CaptJosh]

I only got audio until I downloaded it to my hard drive first, then opened. Try that.

[FireCrack]

Consider

"Upon the foundation that volition created"

"We have built cities in the sky"


Sounds more poetic...

[Kie99]

I didn't read the bit about VLC player properly, I thought it would just be reccomending it because Singh's last video wouldn't work in anything but VLC.

CaptJosh, what did you save the file to if not your Hard Drive?

[FireCrack]

CaptJosh, what did you save the file to if not your Hard Drive?

Open from the site rather than saving it to disk.

[Goober5000]

The fade effect was done in premier. Carl taught me that one - kudoz go to him, not me

Oh crap, that wasn't what I meant... I should have worded that better. The fade itself is very cool, of course but I was wondering how you synchronized the old ships and the new ships so well.  If I had to do it, I'd set things up so that some ships fly along designated waypoints, and then I'd use WMC's camera sexps so that the camera moves in exactly the same way every time you run the mission.  Then I'd just capture video for the mission twice: one with effects off, and one with effects on.

As for FRAPS slowing down your system: I highly recommend GameCam.  I downloaded it a couple of months ago when I did my run-through of Bearbaiting, and I was so impressed with it that I registered it within hours after downloading it.  It only runs in WindowsXP for DirectX games, and it doesn't work for FS2 retail, but it captures video extremely smoothly and with no apparent FPS drop whatsoever.