OK, now that I have some serious tools for rendering outdoor scenes, terrain, skies, and backgrounds, I'd really like to get going on ideas for in-game cinematic clips.
Ideas and storyboarding plans can go here, in this thread, anything from hand-drawn sketches to quickly rendered low-quality still drafts.
If you propose an idea, please keep in mind the following:
- If it isn't terrain, clouds, scenery, etc., and we don't already have a 3D model for it, someone will have to make a 3D model and possibly animate it. Please don't dream up something with outlandish details that require lots of highly detailed models and then expect one of the modelers here to simply do all that work for you. We already have quite a bit in the data source to start with.
- Also about models, large objects that are viewed from a distance (buildings) should be rather simple, without too many polys, or else rendering scenes would take too long. Close up content should have fairly good detail though - An example would be the interior cockpit of a Phalanx fighter aircraft and the pilot, to depict a pilot pressing controls and operating the aircraft in the middle of air combat, looking out the window, etc.
- Between Crystan and myself there shouldn't be too many issues coming up with SFX and soundtracks for the movie clips, however:
- No language, written, printed, or spoken please. That would create localization issues, as we would then have to have alternate video clips and alternate soundtracks for every single language the game supports, which isn't really feasible - I personally wouldn't support such a thing.
- Even without language, we can still depict characters that communicate. If a civilian is shown watching an alien ship land, a later shot of the video clip could show the same person frantically interacting with another person, out of range for hearing any exact words, but making gestures and pointing to where they saw the UFO as if to imply "It's over there! I'm serious - I saw a UFO land!"
If a good plan for a video is put together, approved by BTAxis and Winter, and it seems do-able (doesn't require tons of fancy modeling work beyond reason), I will put it together and make it happen.