I finally got my board account to work.
Anyways, very very nice thread here ! You seem to have covered the majority, well at least everything you need to know about making and editing demos. I especially like the big text file of effects and models, but I really (
really) like how animations are included as well !
(I find it more difficult (especially as a blaster) to spend time finding a certain enemy, wait for him to do his attack, survive, and then dig through the demofile to find it)
I have one tip that I found very helpful when I try to make dynamic movies, but it's fairly simple and saves a lot of time.
This will work if you have good friends in-game, especially if you're lucky enough to have one that you can communicate with via phone.
Basically you get you and your friend's character to act out a scene then you can replace your models with other characters such as NPCs. An example where this saves time is if your friend has fly or superjump, simply position the two of you close together, start recording, and have him fly/jump back. In a few moments you can add animations, FX and you can make it look like Requiem just knocked you precisely down 2 flights of stairs, and you can land exactly where you want -- no having to hassle with coordinates or deal with enemies running around as poor actors.
Knowing how to create powers from scratch is a very good idea. In fact, once I get back into demomaking all it will be is my friend and I jumping around Willams Square; attacks, poses and everything else will be added in afterwards. Sure, people will look at us funny, but they will be spliced out.
Another thing I love to do is mix and match animations and effects. If done improperly it might look cheesy sometimes.. but I mean come on.. what's this 'Tremor' stuff!? More like Whirling Mallet!
