Star_Dancer

Nah, you're not missing *their* intent. I mean, you're still paying for the game aren't you? {grin}

Rain of Donuts!!!!

I totally want that power!

(with a respectful nod to Stan & Lou)

Ack - The only thing worse for a piece of software than being bought by Adobe is being bought by Corel...

I'm using several voice actors. I'm obtaining performance releases from each of them so that I own 100% of the rights to the production and their contributions to it.

I've fired off an email to the Contest Oracle to confirm that they understand that this is legal and fully in compliance with their contest rules (I'm not asking - I'm telling).

I've also asked if there is any notation that I can add to assure their aren't any misunderstandings when I submit.

I'll update here when I get an answer.

[ QUOTE ]
All my attempts at demo editing have failed so I am just doing all the camera stuff when I am going to record it.

[/ QUOTE ]

You might want to just use Balshor's editor to drop the Z position of the camera. It gives you better framing since the camera is usually aimed slightly over your character. Dropping the camera's Z gets rid of all that dead space above your toon.

Just select the CAM in the object list on the left, then click "Add Filter for Reference(s)". Next click "Translate POS" and enter -2 (or maybe -1) into the "Up/Down (Z) offset" and then hit the "Be Doin' It" button (Okay). As always, save to a different filename just in case. It is reversable (just enter a positive value).

That one change can make a world of difference in your recordings.

Happy editing!

Pez, you mentioned that you didn't know how to record the demos. For that you'll need something like Fraps. Check the topic on demorecording tools for others. I use Fraps (bought version so it doesn't have that "Fraps" bug at the top) and it works well. It can also capture whatever sounds are generated by the playback, like powers, background noises, etc.

As for editing, Windows Movie Maker comes free with Windows and will work reasonably well. That's where you'll merge in your sounds and any titles you want also. Non-linear video editing is really fun, once you get the hang of it.

BTW, I discovered a nice trick recently. If you have a scene you want to play in slow-motion, most video editors will stretch out the timing on a clip, but then it gets jerky. I launched the demo playback at a really high frame rate (I used 120 fps, but my machine isn't exactly a speed demon so YMMV). The high framerate slowed down the playback and what I got was smooth and slow.

Re: voiceovers - My contest vid is heavy on dialogue and I've been lucky so far in getting actors who work for free and are willing to sign a performance release. My announcer is actually a professional radio announcer. I went to high school with him. I only have one actor left to record. I'm using RecordPad, BTW. Works great, especially if you map a couple of keys for the record/stop functions. The best thing about RecordPad (other than the 14-day free trial!)is that when you stop recording, it automatically saves the recording. That makes recording sessions go a lot faster. Click - go - click, lather, rinse, repeat.

BTW - I had an idea to mention the Toyota Matrix in my vid ("I caught a ride back to the mission from the Hero's Hospital with a citizen. Nice car. I think he said it was a Toyota Matrix.")

Although the rules prohibit "commercial endorsements" I thought mentioning the sponsor's product would be an exception.

It's not. I sent an email to the contest gods and they said it isn't allowed.

Just wanted to throw that out there in case anyone else had a similar idea. The last thing any of us wants to see is a good video getting disqualified on a technicality.

D_R, What has you worried about titles and captions? I don't recall anything in the rules like that. Did I miss something subtle?

Have you tried "IDLE_WALK_PRE"? It may be the same as IDLE_WALK_CYCLE, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Ha! Love the LOLCats...

Oh yeah. Being able to put several of your alts together at the same time is relatively easy if you are using Balshor's Demo Editor. The Costume Import/Export wizard is perfect for that.

Take a look at this video. All of the characters are my alts. The scene with the blue sky background has nine of them together.

Powers should work regardless of whether the power tray is visible. Just hit your number keys, Alt-number and Ctrl-number.

But for emotes, yeah - keybinds would be an excellent idea.

LOL - I just checked the contest submissions page. Only one entry so far. Don'tcha just know that GrandConjurer is already planning what he's gonna do with that car...

Yeah, the music restriction is a serious crimp in my style. Actually, my usual sequence is to work on the vid itself and do music later (unless it's a music video of course, where the vid follows the music).

I do have some of the critical spots in my entry worked out music-wise, so that keeps me from worrying about it too much. I'm actually more worried about running long on the time. I'm currently at about 5:30... Something will just have to go.

Once this contest is over, I'm gonna do some serious experimentation with the EntRagdoll command. Just imagine if Zloth's theory (PYR per joint) is right. We might be able to create custom emotes...

LOL

I think I've spent just a little too much time crunching CAM movement path numbers lately...

Last night I dreamed I had been hired as a CoX developer. While learning the internals, I stumbled across some existing but unused functionality that opened up some interesting possibilities. One of them was the ability to select a "missile cam" option for sniper blasts. The camera would show a missile-eye-view as it zeroed in on the target, then stop at impact so you could enjoy the knockback.

I always liked the way the energy blaster sniper bolt would jink around after targets that were on the run. Just think of how cool THAT game angle would be in a video!

Well, back to demo editing...

Thanks, all. Good to know it isn't just me. bad to know there's no way to correct it.

LOL - Mike, what a brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of... Wait... Oh, I did! Guess you missed the last part of my post. But you get an A for effort and bonus points for parallel invention. That's probably what I'll do, but it irks me 'cause I wanted the dead monsters to fade at different points in the same shot. Still... I might be able to fake that with careful editing.

Thanks again everyone.

Hmmm... 23 views and no replies. Not a good sign.

Is anyone seeing post-death fade-outs in playback?

I mentioned this off-topic in another thread, but I hope this way I'll get more attention. (Yeah, I'm pathetic that way...)

I can't seem to get my characters or NPCs to do the usual post-death fade-out in demo playback. I've taken straight, unedited demorecordings where NPCs fade away at the DEL command (Thanks Zloth for cluing me in on that). But when I play it back, the NPCs just suddenly vanish at that point.

Is this another one of those limitations of playback? Or is this something particular to my situation (graphics card, settings, etc.)?

I'm currently trying to simulate it within my video editor (two versions crossfaded, one with NPCs and one without), but that's messy and time consuming. Plus I hate that lazy "We'll fix it in post" crap when producing videos.

Any thoughts?

Tried the DEL too. Poof. No fade.

EDIT: Houston, we have a problem. I just did a demorecord of a 50 stomping a Lvl 4 Hellion in Atlas Park. I replayed the demo with no mods and when it gets to the DEL for those Hellions, they blinked out. This could get messy...

Hey, quick Q:

How can I make a toon or NPC fade away post-death?

I tried VANISH_DEATH, VANISH_POSTDEATH, but they just disappear instead of fading. R_VANISH_DEATH and DEATH_TELEPORT make them pop back up.

Oh yeah - Patience. Need lots more of that too.

LOL - Sounds like a certain scene from "The Jerk"...

"I don't need this or this. Just more time. And patience. More time and patience and that's all I need. And some skills. More time, patience, and some skills, and that's all I need. And some demorecordings. More time, patience, and some skills and the demorecordings. And this lamp. More time, patience, skills and demorecordings and this lamp and that's all I need. "

My dear, I know exactly how you feel.

Concepts spin and form in my thoughts. Not just of videos, but of all sorts of things. And its not that I lack the skill to execute them - I've been blessed with a wide variety of skills. I make things - That's what I do, how I define myself. I create things physical, visual and virtual. I can build a boat, either full-sized or in miniature. I can sew a costume, craft leather, or smith armor in a variety of historical styles. I can paint, sculpt, forge and craft.

I don't say these things to boast. The ability to actually turn my visions into reality can actually be a curse. I start to work on one idea and another comes along, like a tsumani, and pushes earlier ideas aside. I can't begin to count the unfinished projects that litter my house. Sometimes I come across the materials I bought years ago for something I was going to build. Often those materials inspire a new project. Not that the new project stands any better chance to get finished that it's predecessor.

Here's the catch - I'm essentially retired. I work at home, part-time, but really not that many hours a week. I have many hours every day to pursue my muses. And it doesn't help a damn bit.

I sketch, I make notes, plans - Anything to capture those ideas before they're lost in the rush. I've got notebooks and folders going back thirty years.

So, yes - I can relate. You're not alone. And it isn't time that is your enemy. Unless you think of the limitation of our lifespans as your time limit. Michelle, we have the curse of mortal creativity.

Lordy, ES. Any attention will be mighty welcome.

You can start with the Matrix Machinima Contest. It seems to have attracted attention from a wide range of CoX moviemakers.