Startup cinematic?

[LordGood]

Though I love just jumping right into 0 AD, I feel adopting a kind of loading cinematic from previous commercially made RTS games would 'set the mood' for the rest of the game.

I'll use Age of Mythology as an example. The main intro cinematic told out a story, was very impressive and action packed. However the Ensemble studio logo beforehand was less grand and time consuming, yet had a similar feeling.

I would love to propose merging the Wildfire logo into a short cinematic to play right before the game loads to 'get our players into it' and imprint the studio name into the player's memory. This way we may be able to get more programmers and artists.

I could just be proposing a ridiculous amount of work though, let me know if it's a bad idea.

[zoot]

Would be a good opportunity to preload some data, so as to reduce delays while navigating the menus.

[idanwin]

As long as you don't force players to watch any of it. I hate those games that do so.

If you want to do preloading during the cinematics, add a little text in a corner that sais "Preloading..." and change it into a "Skip" button when the preloading is done.

Also allow players to press any button to skip (or at least spacebar/esc/enter) and maybe even add an option in the option menu to "automatically skip cinematics when preloading is done".

The first time I play a game I just love to watch the entire cinematics! But some games force you to keep watching their studio logo, or something similar, and you can't skip it!

[zoot]

Yeah, I would just skip it if any key is pressed, effectively leaving it up to the user how much they want to preload.

Also, there should be at most 1 such cinematic. I hate games that have like 10 different cinematics after each other and you have to tap, tap, tap to get through to the menu.

[idanwin]

I hate games that have like 10 different cinematics after each other and you have to tap, tap, tap to get through to the menu.

Yeah, I forgot about that one xD

[LordGood]

Age of empires had four at most, and the cool cinematic was at the end so I'd watch the others so i wouldnt accidentally skip past it xP

Would be a good opportunity to preload some data, so as to reduce delays while navigating the menus.

That would be incredibly helpful, I do think menu navigation stutters way too much.

[lilstewie]

So epic back then.

Edited March 8, 2013 by lilstewie

[LordGood]

I wouldn't have to hold back on polygon restrictions nearly as much :3 ahahaha

I can model the rooftiles, and the metopes and pediment sculptures!

so awesome

[Lion.Kanzen]

Would be a good opportunity to preload some data, so as to reduce delays while navigating the menus.

yeah like AOM or aOK, its some hard waiting for some basic menu loads . but the animation of that Video will be Models with High Polygons and more Filmaker level.

Maybe Situation Crucials for all Faction. in his story. HAnnibal Crossing the Alps, Alexander Charging in a Gaugamela Battle. Leonidas in Termopylae.

this one like than other intros.

Edited March 8, 2013 by Lion.Kanzen

[LordGood]

I was thinking something shorter, just a zoom out on a scattering of multicultural architecture and a few units fighting followed up by a 'Wildfire' fade in

... im not well versed in this sort of thing xP

Edited March 8, 2013 by LordGood

[Lion.Kanzen]

I was thinking something shorter, just a zoom out on a scattering of multicultural architecture and a few units fighting followed up by a 'Wildfire' fade in

... im not well versed in this sort of thing xP

but like zoot idea, that, do time for load some data.

How time thinks can be take pre load, some data?

Edited March 8, 2013 by Lion.Kanzen

[LordGood]

Greek pediment sculptures are in the round.

crap

We can get into some real detail here guys. how awesome would that be!

I'd pick a single scenario to choose from, stringing together too many historical instances would be fair to all cultures but take way too long.

[historic_bruno]

Some time ago, Enrique made an animated WFG logo that looked very nice, that could fade into a cinematic sequence, and finally the 0 A.D. logo at the end.

And I forgot how awesome the old AoE/AoK intros were, even though primitive by today's state of the art, they are still powerful to watch.

[SMST]

There was a VERY old trailer of the game that I can't seem to find on Youtube anymore but had the perfect mood for a game intro.

It was about a Roman soldier standing watch at the borders of the Empire being overrun by barbarians. Maybe someone else knows where to find it?

@lordgood:

Why, if that isn't a hoplite pony ... brohoof?

Edited March 9, 2013 by SMST

[zoot]

I wonder how they got such a badass voice-over

[Enrique]

IMO if we can have animators spare time, I prefer they spend it making units animations rather than a cinematic intro. I thought a little about it on the past, an if we want to show an of epic battle in some kind of cinematic, I would suggest to make a camera fly-through on a freeze time ongoing battle. So no animation work is required except unit posing and the camera path (and it could look quite epic)

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

I agree with Enrique. If there were to be an opening cinematic it would need to show battles: preferably with each civilization shown once and in historical scenarios. That would be a ton of effort.

[LordGood]

@lordgood:

Why, if that isn't a hoplite pony ... brohoof?

YES /)

Enrique, that idea is the most brilliant thing I have heard ever, but can I still make high poly temples?

[zoot]

High poly models would obviously be fine for a cinematic - and we can just run the simulation at a very slow rate, then speed it up in post-processing to get picture-perfect frame rates

Edited March 9, 2013 by zoot

[Enrique]

Sure! But the most detailed things should be shields/armors, I think those would be closer to the camera. And it could be a siege battle with fliying catapult rocks above the troops and some walls being hit or something. I envisioned finishing the camera flythrough into a soldier pupil, fading to black and entering to the logo animation I made (which starts with a black background) I have roman hipoly shields an greek helmets... Some armors will be needed too...

[LordGood]

Sure! But the most detailed things should be shields/armors, I think those would be closer to the camera. And it could be a siege battle with fliying catapult rocks above the troops and some walls being hit or something. I envisioned finishing the camera flythrough into a soldier pupil, fading to black and entering to the logo animation I made (which starts with a black background) I have roman hipoly shields an greek helmets... Some armors will be needed too...

All freeze frame, right? Catapult stones will be hovering over the walls and the shrapnel will be in mid-flight?

[Enrique]

Yep, something like that was my original idea. All units freeze, some attacking, some blocking with shield, some units being killed with spears or by arrows, some blood splatters in mid-air... All being showed with the camera flying through the battle engagement line and Omri's taiko tracks sounding. It will need some work for the highpoly shields and armors, but you save all the animation process (just unit posing)

[SMST]

YES /)

(\

Hm. I have yet to see a freeze frame cinematic aka "diashow" that looked epic enough to substitute for a proper render scene. It will certainly save time and effort, though. If you had to suffer through the atrocious "videos" of Empire Earth 2, you know what I am talking about ...

[Enrique]

(\

Hm. I have yet to see a freeze frame cinematic aka "diashow" that looked epic enough to substitute for a proper render scene.

What I have in mind is a rendered scene, not an in-game freeze scene. I didn't explain myself properly. That's why i said that we would need high poly shields, helmets and armours. A rendered scene is much simpler than a full rendered animated battle with tons of soldiers

[Sighvatr]

I was thinking that we start the intro by showing a town build up into a city. Then watch an army march out of town.