What´s my secret project?

[BeBro]

Sooner than I thought my X-COM subforums are online now. You can visit them via my sig

I´ll continue posting here too, but there will be exclusive stuff at the CDG (for example the first 3 preview screens I just posted there).

 

[BeBro]

I´m playing around with some anims, maybe I create an own intro file for this scenario. A little appetizer (1mb, just for a short look) can be downloaded from here:

http://www.cdgroup.org/forums/tbs/civ3/viewtopic.php?p=40485#40485

Bear in mind that you backup the original PTW intro under ..\Civ3\CIV3PTW\Art\Movies, before you unzip the downloaded file into this folder. Start Civ to view it....

What do you think, should I make a big intro, or isn´t it worth the efforts?

 

[Bobisback]

Originally posted by BeBro
Bear in mind that you backup the original PTW intro under ..\Civ3\CIV3PTW\Art\Movies, before you unzip the downloaded file into this folder. Start Civ to view it....

What do you think, should I make a big intro, or isn´t it worth the efforts?

You don't need to back up your ptw movie, just put it in your scenario folder examlpe CIV3PTW/Scenarios\yourScenario\Art\Movies


btw I think it will be worth it

 

[BeBro]

Hey, thanks for the hint, didn´t know that

I think I´ll make the intro, and offer it as additional file for download, so people can decide whether they will dl it too (since it is not needed to play)

 

[Bobisback]

I just found out that my hint does not work I was thinking of something else.

 

[BeBro]

Oh well - don´t worry

However, I´ll amke the intro, I just rendered a part of it

Since it is much too big too attach here, I post two preview frames of the anim.

 

[BeBro]

Guess what is blown up by the Aliens first...

 

[BeBro]

Oh and of course it runs in full screen when Civ start with this

 

[Nder]

this is gonna be the coolest scenario out there!

 

[Dom Pedro II]

BeBro, is it really time-consuming to make an intro? I've been considering the possibility of making an intro for my mod sometime in the future... but if its going to take hours and hours and hours over many weeks just to render the darn thing, i don't want to even bother with that.

 

[BeBro]

Well, normally I´d say yes, however, for me the amount of work is acceptable, because most things you´ll see in the intro existed as 3d models anyway. The UFOs from the first pic are all in the game as unit anims, so all I had to do was to arrange them around the earth, and do some new anims. For example the earth itself zooms in in the beginning, then the Alien fleet arrives. then there´s a "cut" and you see the big UFO turning around and firing.

So animating this is not so much work. However, rendering costs a lot more time, since these are maaanyyy frames, and in 640x360 pixels size. Depending on the complexity of the anim I need ca.15-50 minutes for ca. 100 frames, and the full intro will have probably 1000 or more frames alltogether. Fast CPU and much RAM helps for big anims with lots of objects.

Also, you need then to convert the anim(s) into the .bik format which costs again ca. 10 minutes per 50 frames (from 24bit avi - the bink tools accept other formats too). You need the tools for this from here: http://www.radgametools.com/bnkmain.htm

But you don´t have to render all as a whole single big anim - simply make several parts (eg. to have several scenes), give them all the same name, and number them 1, 2, 3 etc. If they are all in the same folder, the bink converter asks you if they should be all converted together into a single .bik file (=your new intro).

So most time is needed for rendering and converting - I usually do something else then, since the CPU is totally busy for this time....

 

[Dom Pedro II]

Yes, I was referring specifically to the rendering time... I have most of the models I would need for mine and such... so thats not really an issue.

I'm sure you've said this before elsewhere, but what program are you using for your models?

 

[BeBro]

Maxon Cinema 4d

Edit: Oh, and converting to .bik is a bit faster than I wrote, I just converted ca. 400 frames in ca. 15 minutes.

Edit2: just another note to the bink tools - the freeware version displays the bink logo at the end of every file you create with this tool, however, thats IMO acceptable for such a nice tool

 

[Dom Pedro II]

Actually, in some ways, it might be better if the logo went at the front... since thats usually where the credits for the cinemas go for games.

Anywhoo... so how long is the intro?

 

[BeBro]

Originally posted by Dom Pedro II
Anywhoo... so how long is the intro? [/B]

Can´t say it exactly as long it isn´t finished. Currently I´have ca. 600 frames from several "cut scenes".

The intro will show the first wave of the invasion, finished are the following parts:

- UFO fleet arrives in Earth orbit
- big UFO turns around, fires
- beam destroys NORAD (well, the mountain gets blown up )
- big UFOs launch waves of small attack crafts from the orbit
- Alien attack crafts "meet" a pair of F22 on patrol over the sea, one gets killed, the other escapes
- attack craft destroys Eiffel tower
- camera zooms on X-Com base

Those are ca. 350 MB avi, but converted to the .bik format they have less than 10 mb currently.

I think I´ll add some more scenes, my ideas are.

- control room of the X-Com base, displays where alien attacks are shown allover the world
- X-Com squads go on mission, Skyranger transporters take off
- Maybe the end will be when the X-COM guys sight the first Aliens when going for a landed UFO, then the X-com logo and scenario title

 

[BeBro]

The final intro has 11 "cut scenes", 991 frames, together ca. 635 mb .avi. Converted to .bik (which needed ca. 45 min for all) the intro has now. ca. 10 mb. I still want to test if I can mix music or sound fx in, that would probably add more mb.

Anyway, now most gfx work is done. One thing I didn´t change was the entire city overview (where you can see all the buildings and wonders in from above), since I hardly use it. I think it is not worth the extra work. Then I still have to edit some text files (mainly pedia entries and diplo messages), but that is not that big work, and it can be finished during the betatesting. I even played a bit with the beta to find out if there are major problems. All went fine so far

 

[BeBro]

I´ll start the "official" beta test of this scenario soon, I´ll hire a handful of testers then. I already tested a bit myself to eliminate at least the big problems. Since one has to start a new game after new changes are implemented I thought it is better to do this - otherwise the testers would have to start over and over again.

I guess I need this week, maybe next too for some things, but then I´ll ask who will test it. Those guys will then become access to the hidden playtest forum, and of course to all files. Prepare for a big download

Some experiences from the first tests: the game starts slower than a normal civ game, esp. settling is slowed down. OTOH, money flows quite good fro the start.

X-COM has some advantages in exploring terrain and chrasehd UFOs (=goody huts) to fall not behind completely in tech research (which happens later anyway)

Warfare was a bit strange - in the first tries, I played peacefully in the beginning, however, after some dozen turns a big coalition declared war on me (nearly every civ was against me). After some changes it has normalized a bt in the last game....

As I planned, the Aliens take the lead soonas most powerful civ , USA and Europe follow, my X-COM issomewhere in the middle....

Overall I´m quite satisfied with the first games (never finished one so far, though)

(Posted this also on the CDG)

 

[BeBro]

For those who wish betatest this, please sign up here:

http://www.cdgroup.org/forums/tbs/c...2&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Of course the guys I already asked don´t need to do this

 

[BeBro]

Bump

If there are more guys willing to test play, giving feedback etc. you are still welcome. Please sign up via the link in the post above.

 

[Bobisback]

Originally posted by BeBro
Bump

If there are more guys willing to test play, giving feedback etc. you are still welcome. Please sign up via the link in the post above.

I would love to but I am on vaction for 3 more days, so give me time (I have no computer with civ 3)