Discussion HoO Video Campaign

[Robert Nutter]

That is definitly an idea...I alone already have at least a few minutes worth suitable for that just from QA! So if I can pool everyone's demo vids together, things will start happening....

 

[Robert Nutter]

Below is a rough treatment of how I see the first video I do...just a formalization of my own ideas really. Be great if anyone has any thoughts, opinions or ideas This is by no means written in stone...simply where I see this heading if all goes well.

Rough Treatment – 'Hearts of Oak' Development Video, Early 2016

Short Promo: Discussing the advancements in development of said game

Synopsis

Display, analyze and interrogate current development of HoO, using game-play exempla and first-party source from artists*. This can include anything from in-engine tinkering to creating models in Maya.

Audience

Recurring fans/contributors are the focus of the dev videos. A moderately regular update on the project's progress, alongside a frequent social media presence will see more retention. A formalized video structure alongside existing PA! social networks and integral video output on all game outlets. Existing videos to be included on a new Vimeo account.

Technical/Logistical

Length: 3 mins approx

Video Standard: 1:85:1, 1080p, 44.1khz, ProRes 422

Methods: Interaction, BTS (behind the scenes), Vox-pop style cut, side-panel text

Actors/Talent: V/O required for ongoing narration.

Post-Production

First light (basic grading) with balancing. Cut and graded in DaVinci Resolve using intermediate codecs.

Soundtrack

Male V/O. Low-level appropriate score.

Deadline

10th March for all media gathered, 1st April 2016 for completion

Transmission

PA!, Moddb, Youtube, Vimeo


*This means I'll require some short screen-shot videos or stills from key artists/coders showing progression. This doesn't have to be anything long or even complicated, just something I can apply a V/O to help describe the process.

 

[Robert Nutter]

I think I've found a way I can trick HoO into giving me more frames by using something called Optical Flow. It's a super slow-motion plugin i've used extensively on wedding films and stuff and it's great for adding previously non-existent frames into video; if I use it intelligently, I *think* I can make it work here. In light of this, is there any way I can gain access to more of the game as it is now? As I'd like to get recording but obviously only have access to the Medieval Port location. As @Thagarr said, it's good in a way if it's glitchy because that'll show just how far we come with it... I can make do with just that location though if more is not possible at this point as I don't pretend to know what that might involve

 

[Captain Murphy]

It should be easy enough for @JohnSilver to add in a setup to allow the game time to be slowed or even stopped to facilitate capturing video. Also the same can be done for the UI objects. Maybe he can add in a switch or key that will turn off the UI's and give the player time control.

 

[Robert Nutter]

That would be great as it'd give more options for the cinematic trailers, though in this case I mean I'd be using Optical Flow to add frames into lagging game footage to bring it up to a smooth frame rate as opposed to being for slow-mo. So I get an average of 12fps on HoO, Optical flow can bring that up to 24 or even 30 for a video with mostly good results. It's a way of faking frames to give the impression of smooth motion Removing the UI would definitely be a huge help as I'll have to remove that manually in the video otherwise.

 

[JohnSilver]

One of the items on my list has been to create a free roam camera that would escape the UI. This would really only be for the purpose of creating bug reports or capturing some out of character actions.

As for time control, I have put a pause control in place and looked at adding a more robust time management plugin like Chronos. Let me look into this.

You may want to wait to capture videos until the next release as I will likely enable back the Albans and sailing again. As well, I am working on fixing my baked lighting issue. Right now, if I try to bake lighting into a scene my graphics card drivers blow up and force Unity to crash. When the lighting is fixed the scenes will look much better.

One thought I had was to create a 30-60 second flashy intro game play trailer to draw people in and then develop a longer video to explain the whole project.

What may also be helpful is if we develop a story board or script to define the action we want to capture. Having a scene story board would also allow me to focus on developing any key features we need for a better trailer/demo video. As much as development is only started to really dig in, HoO will still be a work in progress for another year or two.

Thoughts?

JS

 

[Captain Murphy]

Unless you are planning on a lot of time related game mechanics it is just as easy to do Time.timeScale = x to change the speed of the game. I wrote a simple fly camera and speed script that I used to capture the particle effects in slow motion. We are going to be using the same camera system for our trailer soon. I can send over the camera script if you want to try it out. It isn't fully bug free, but it works pretty well for screenshotting and video.

 

[Robert Nutter]

@JohnSilver , I plan on the cinematic trailer being for the exact purpose of attracting people...so that'll be the very next thing I get on after this. I personally think it's important the Dev one is done first as it's something that can be done sooner as opposed to later...I can then make another one after a trailer has been released which is aimed more at new fans (so less techno jargon, more indications of what came before the current release/very brief history of PA! to bring them up to speed). It also gives us more time to discuss and yourself to develop those key features if possible/needed though...it furthermore doesn't matter if the footage isn't as good as it can be if it's only for displaying development. I may be completely wrong about this though, so it's really up to what you guys think...you've made far more videos for HoO than I have (zero)

I can't imagine making a video without a clear shotlist and/or linear script. I'll come up with a rough shortly and post it up so we can have a discussion on narratives/shots. It's probably also worth waiting until Albans is back in until pushing the cinematic one any further as that'd obviously afford far greater scope, along with the possibility of a free camera.

Regarding content and shotlists, the baking issue you're having could make for a great spot in the Dev video if you'd be willing to record something from your PC? Anything at this point that reflects a genuine effort being made by the community is gold. So a brief 40 seconds or so on (very simply) how you're going about the lighting would be a great start. Otherwise, I'm happy to stick with using screenshots creatively to explain it! That goes for other contributors too. For example, do you (or anyone else 'in the know') think there are any pressing areas of dev it's imperative I include? As we'll only have 3-4 mins tops so I'd like to cover as much as possible. Only if you and others have the time though...I know everyone's busy with higher priority things at point.


@Captain Murphy, That too would help as I can run it at, say, 2x, and then slow it down in post to give a truer speed after using Flow. I'd love to have a go with that script if possible. Would I be able to implement it somehow into my current install? (bearing in mind i'm no programmer...)

 

[JohnSilver]

Unless you are planning on a lot of time related game mechanics it is just as easy to do Time.timeScale = x to change the speed of the game. I wrote a simple fly camera and speed script that I used to capture the particle effects in slow motion. We are going to be using the same camera system for our trailer soon. I can send over the camera script if you want to try it out. It isn't fully bug free, but it works pretty well for screenshotting and video.

The game timing is a little more sensitive since ship sail/buoyancy interaction can switch from a physics to kinematic as the character switches ship/character control. So setting the time as you mentioned can break the buoyancy in some cases. This is probably a bug that I need to fix, just not sure when I have the time to dive into it.

As for the camera, sure if you want to pass on the code for that, that would be great and as always thankful for your generous contributions.

Cheers,

JS