Pre/selection Movie Status
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Join Date: 2002-11-04 Member: 6944Members
Join Date: 2002-11-04 Member: 6944Members
<div class="IPBDescription">(personnal initiative of mine)</div> After thinking for a while and after geting the OK from my movie director The Family God of <a href='http://www.gwfilms.com' target='_blank'>GW Films</a>, I am working on a simple HTML page that will bring a progress status on the Pre/Selection movie I am working on.
I thought that since no other movies out there is apparently alive and that we (unfortunetly) weren't giving you guys enough notes on this, then a progress status was in order. In it, you will find where I am and the problems, acheivements I have been through.
It's not finished yet. I've barely started it. No plans have been made nor agreed to have images in it. Sorry !
Once I have it fully up, I'll post the link here.
I thought that since no other movies out there is apparently alive and that we (unfortunetly) weren't giving you guys enough notes on this, then a progress status was in order. In it, you will find where I am and the problems, acheivements I have been through.
It's not finished yet. I've barely started it. No plans have been made nor agreed to have images in it. Sorry !
Once I have it fully up, I'll post the link here.
Comments
<a href='http://pages.infinit.net/browser/Projects/Non-GMAX/PreSelection/Progress/PreSelProgress.htm' target='_blank'>Pre/Selection movie progress status</a>
The movie is based on what you already see in the NS game. It will use the game map environement as you see it but with effects added (bumpmaps,specular & glossyness) and the models seen in it will be the game's own model but upgraded to high poly version.
The main constraint of this project is to keep as close to the in-game experience as possible and at the same time, try to high poly everything. Now that beeing said, I can't high poly everything. I'm alone on this and part time. Highpolying everyting like final fantasy movie would take me 5 years or so. You don't want to wait that long now would you ? I could do it but there is a time factor.
It was rather <b>what?</b>
It was one of the better done trailers I've seen, especially for a game-based movie. May not be Pixar graphics, but their damned good regardless.
By poor, I assume you mean as in low poly quality. To this I say, yes. The preview was made with unchanged game models using 3d max. <!--coloro:#FFFF00--><span style="color:#FFFF00"><!--/coloro-->[deleted sentence]<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> <!--coloro:#FFFF00--><span style="color:#FFFF00"><!--/coloro-->Besides being low poly, everything else in the preview is top notch quality.<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
I'm prety sure, plans had already been made back then to make it at a higher quality. The only thing to worry about this is to my opinion, the amount of ressources devoted to this. Sure if we had like 5-10 people working it it would be high quality close to those holliwood movies but it's only as good as how the actual folks working it (meaning me) can afford (read my previous reply).
I wouldn't mind having more people on it (I even asked for help here a couple of months ago). But good and dedicated help is hard to find.
Currently I am not allowed to show any model pictures to give you an idea but ... There have been other posts of mine indirectly showing the level of quality....
(the hunt is on)
<!--coloro:#FFFF00--><span style="color:#FFFF00"><!--/coloro-->[removed this paragraph 'cause now that I read it months after, I can't believe I said that !]<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
<a href='http://pages.infinit.net/browser/Projects/Non-GMAX/PreSelection/Progress/PreSelProgress.htm' target='_blank'>Detailed update</a>
Briefly, not much work was done and I am examinging some workarounds.
Well what can I say. The movie, sadly, hasn't progressed at all. I had PC problems for close to 12 months. Now that this was fixed, I had lost my 10 year job in February and for 5 months I was looking for another job in the same are. Unfortunetly, as concidence, job offerings for my kinda of job went dead in my area. So after 5 months of job seaking, I ran out of money and had to take whatever was out there. I got a 12 months contract for IBM Tivoli software distribution at 50% of my previous salary. This new job is so boring and has irregular working hours that simply do not give me enough time work on ANY of my projects. I am also doing shift rotation every 2 weeks (day 7:00-15:30, evening 15:00-23:00, night 22:30-7:30) .
I am thinking about contacting a 3d school here to gather a team to work on this thing. But I didn't have time yet. I don't want to let this thing die. Its hard to work on a big project when you are totaly alone. I cannot devote all my free time on this, I have life issues just like anybody else.
My P/S status link was updated from time to time.
Again, sorry about that. I know most if not all of the other NS movie projects have died. I don't want to have the same faith.
We can wait!
--Scythe--
Also, there is this thought in my mind that when it will finaly be released, NS:source or NS2 would be out. So my release would feel like its out of date.
I know this school and I have even visited it around Spring.
So I hope do get a positive answer. If not, I'll still be alone on this.
I am asking help from a 3d school in my own city because it is a control environment where I can meet each and everyone and where I have a higher trust factor. I am not saying I do not trust the community. But how can you trust someone not in your own city (or country), someone whom you have never met, someone whom you can blindly trust that will work on this movie, do all his tasks until the end of the movie and not causing any leaks. Dealing with a controled environment increases the trust in those factors.
To often have I seen projects/movies that started with a promise and then, people were gradualy droping out or causing leaks. Therefore causing it to be extreamly late or simply to be permanently closed down.
I am not saying I do not want help from the community, but if people from the community would want to help, would they be willing to commit through this project, from beginning to the end and without any leaks ? Its like signing a contract for any possible copyright/intellectual property law violations (because that's what it is) and with a garanteed written down commitment to work until the end. Having this sort of contract, would you be willing to sign it ?
This is a company project. I am lucky that GWFilms didn't put pressure on me at anytimes and never even mentioned abandoning or wanting to close down this project. You will not see any mentions of this project on their site and that is understandable. I am dealing with this as a professional and want professional commitment. I am a 20years carreer professional and have worked on over 30 different professional company projects some of which covered millions of customers and cost millions of dollars (not 3d nor movie nor artisticly related).
Things had goten up and down with life issues but there are less clouds now so maybe the sun is going to show itself ?
I never got any answers from that 3d school I contacted
I have started working on the movie again but since I am doing 12 hours shifts now (between 48-72 hours per week), I am only motivied enough (or more like less tired) when I have a week off per month. I have tried a couple of things to see it would look better in 3d then in simple bumpmaps :
At marine start (ns_nothing), I was looking at ways to change the floor looks (nos_grate2 texture) because the texture didn't look right on camera. I tried doing full blown 3d floors but it was slowing down rendering time due to reflections and all. I re-did the nos_grate2 texture and it looks nicer now.
I changed the grating at marine start to use the same texture but be full blown 3d.
For while, I always thought that if I did the wall_black1 texture in full 3d that it would look better, but somehow, it didn't made much differences with using bumpmaps. I did however re-did the alignment of the texture to meet doorways at a more logical part of the texture.
For a while, I was playing around with radiosity (using 3d max 7) in marine start again, but to for now, it didn't quite look as close as how it is ingame. So I instead use spotlights coming from ceilling gratings (by the way, is there supposed to be neons coming from there or did the maper thought about simulating atmospheric light coming through windows ?)
As for the marine light soldier model, I had redone the armor and pads a long time ago but last time I worked on it, I was re-doing the hand. There is a scene where the hand is seen up close and in its current model state and texture, it looked kind ugly.
That's where I am right now. I know it is very slow, but this movie is A LOT of work for one single guy and I am not full time on this either.
Change of subject but still related to Pre/Selection movie, I was thinking for a long time about doing small still shots for comic purposes. I have a few ideas but I haven't fully comited myself into doint it.
Equipements have been done high poly a while ago. Animations not done,.
Marine model also has been done but I am retouching it.
Movie animation, I had done like the first 2 min but because I am redoing model and improving map looks, then its back to square one. I do not like the idea of doing a movie using the same HL1:NS game look (meaning same quality as the game itself), I want to improve it a bit. If I had the time and money, heck I would do it full blown high poly all the way, but I don't. So I am adding a bit more poly.
Again, this is alot of work for one single guy doign it on spare time. Just doing the rendering when everything will be ok will be alot of time consuming.