Its a Nascar-type Theatrical Hybrid Event... No not really
I was wondering if putting together a FSO Trailer that showcases the entirety of the FSO improvements and projects hosted by HLP and GW would be a worthwhile initiative. Quite frankly I think in many cases fans of a particular mod are completely oblivious to the other content that FSO offers. Content that I believe they would find interesting if they knew it existed, since if you like Xwings more often then not you like Starfurries and Vipers. I personally had played the GOTY version of FS2 many years ago and only rediscovered the game when I stumbled upon BTRL a few years ago. Even then it was only because of my involvement in the team that i was slowly exposed to the variety of the FSO communities' offerings.
The purpose of this trailer would be two fold; first to promote the FSO engine as a competitive modding platform for potential modders and second to increase awareness abroad of the current projects offered by the engine. In effect HLP and GW as well as the different mods would actively promote a standard trailer that would display FSO improvements and then mini teaser trailers for the various projects like TBP, FotG, Diaspora, SoL, Wing Commander, Blue Planet and campaigns like Silent Threat Reborn, Derelict, Just Another Day, etc. Hopefully it could be something scalable that could occasionally be updated and then easily disseminated as new projects come online.
A basic framework might look like this:
An intro section showcasing the improvements to the FS engine made by SCP and the its community. Listing some of the major improvement like normal mapping, new texture mapping mods, glow points, skyboxes, etc. and comparing stock footage with the latest versions. This section would not only be promoting FreeSpace but the engine as well. FSO is arguably the best space sim modding platform available and hopefully this section would attract new projects and modders who might otherwise have utilized a different platform.
The body would then consist of short (possibly 30 second) teaser trailers of the mods and campaigns that are available for the engine.
They would follow a standard format possibly like the following:
- Title
- Short Description
- Game Footage, Screenies, Concept Art what have you
- Forum and website address
Putting together a video like this is outside of my skill set, but I think a promotional initiative like this would be an excellent way of spreading awareness between the different mod's fanbases as well as a tool for drawing new blood and projects to the FSO community.