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GOLD alpha-0.1.6 promotional video
#1
0.1.6 alpha will be such a big release, so we decided that it should have more than just a single image and/or post. It needs a whole video!

It must show the most important changes (which are listed here: https://trello.com/c/3kAw2tDq/43-alpha-0...onal-video), all of them in the perfect world. But it needs be attractive visually and audibly at the same time.

I'm going to describe my idea for this video.



Generally speaking, it will be a Hollywood-trailer-style video. We need to have some nice shots with smooth camera moves at the right angles and join them together to fit an epic music along with epic subtitles (the word "epic" I will be using frequently probably, because well... this idea is epic!). I will also propose something humorous at the end of the video, we'll get to that shortly.

I recommend to play this music during reading the next part of the post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz6pHpMmuJo Here we go!



(the Code Battle level)
Grabber of the first team is standing right in front of the camera, which moves horizontally.
Grabber of the second team is standing right in front of the camera, which moves horizontally.
The whole scene is seen from above. Two Grabbers are standing in front of each other, there is a river between them.
Subtitle: THE CODE BATTLE BEGINS (subtitles are white text on black background)
(Here music gets intense suddenly).
They start moving and the code battle begins.
Subtitle: NEW CBOT SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING
Someone is typing something in the CBOT editor with some long and complicated program, while camera is rotating in the background (some parts of the bases can be seen there).
Subtitle: FULLY AUTOMATED BASE AVAILABLE
Some epic shots from building a base. I.e. collecting TitaniumOre to Titanium, Shooters coming out of the BotFactory, a bot building a Derrick and maybe something else.
Subtitle: UPDATED [SATCOM](logo instead of a text here) DOCUMENTATION WITH NEW FUNCTIONS
Someone is scrolling through the main CBOT page and clicks on the link of one of the new functions.
Subtitle: DRAW SCHEMAS ON THE GROUND
Scribbler is drawing something. For example, an area for Titaniums or something like that.
Subtitle: IMPROVED GRAPHICS
We are no longer in Code Battle level. Let's say it's now Tropica or Vulkania or something else.
Some beautiful, short shots of scenery, ruins, aliens, bots etc. to show new shaders in work. Also add here some shots of the interface if the HD textures will be there.
Subtitle: IMPROVED AUTOSAVE
Zoom on the autosave settings for a tiny little really moment, then Me flying from the hill with heating reactor (there is a message saying about autosave), so he falls to death. Camera is on bottom of the hill and Me falls right into it.
Subtitle: PROGRESS BAR
The game is reloading after the death shown in the previous scene. Camera is now showing the top of the hill and the bottom where the Me fell. Me is hanging above the hill, just before he falls to death, he safely lands on top of the hill.
Subtitle: TONS OF BUGFIXES AND INTERNAL REFACTORING
Here we are back again to the Code Battle level. Bases are almost done, but Shooters are not fighting with each other yet. Meanwhile in front of the screen there is a list of commit messages or something like that scrolling really fast (so it's unreadable until you stop or slow down a video). At the top of the list appears numbers of changes lines, commits done and maybe some other statistics.
Subtitle: OBJECTS' VELOCITY
WingedShooters are going to attack each other. They are flying to meet each other at the center above of the river, the camera shows the whole scene from the side. Before they meet, camera changes to the center and it shows one of the Shooters. The scene end with the Shooter being almost exactly in front of the camera, it may starts shooting and... music ends, black screen, animated logo (changing spacing between letters). Before the end of this simple animation other informations appears like other logos, version number and so on.
Black screen again for 1 or 2 seconds. (I recommend to stop the epic music playing now if you are listening to it during reading this).
Short let's play footage from Colobot, may be imitated or real. Someone starts making a building and want to stop. The player speaks to microphone in a humorous way to show the problem.
Subtitle: YEAH... WE FIXED THAT TOO
Short gameplay footage from Colobot. Someone starts making a building and just before Me is going to use his gun, he changes his mind. Black screen again and the end.




I hope you get the big picture. In the video there is always something happening, may it be just zooming subtitles. With the right shots, editing and music we get an epic video similar to all these epic video trailers. The whole things shouldn't last longer than 2 minutes. Music can be cut and probably will be in some places.

I'd be glad to hear your opinion. I will understand if you won't like my idea. Feel free to describe here yours ideas instead of creating a separate thread. We will realise only of them after all anyway. Of course suggestions and criticism are nice to see too.



About technical details.

I volunteer as an editor. I have experience in that (personal videos, helping someone else and also this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSmZFwRcxHk). I could also record some shots in 720p, but I don't think I have enough skill to direct the whole thing (I know, I know, it's my idea, so I should, but I hope that someone better suitable for this job gets my vision).

So to record the whole thing I recommend Open Broadcaster Software. If I remember correctly, @krzys_h was recording the previous time and in 1080p, which is the optimal resolution in my opinion, minimum is 720p and if we by some miracle had a possibility to record in 4k resolution then why not? Only remember that 30 fps is minimum, so better lower resolution than lower FPS. 60 FPS would be the best option, but it's not necessary. Recorded raw materials should be of course as not compressed as possible. Let the editor worry about YouTube compression.

I'll use Kdenlive as previously, so the final project files will be available for everyone for free. If, of course, you want me as an editor Tongue

So we need: recorders, director, editor, 3D graphics designer to render the animation of 3D logo, and also some things not ready for the release yet like ready programs and code battle level, maybe also a musician or just some good music.

The music I have given here would be great, but it's not free so we need to ask the authors for permission to use, find a similar/better free one or have one of our musicians compose something. Any suggestions about that would be greatly appreciated.
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#2
It's a good script, but:

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Subtitle: NEW CBOT SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING
Someone is typing something in the CBOT editor with some long and complicated program, while camera is rotating in the background (some parts of the bases can be seen there).
It needs to show how actualy syntax highlighting looked before. Nobody will see that difference if we don't show the past.

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Subtitle: DRAW SCHEMAS ON THE GROUND
Scribbler is drawing something. For example, an area for Titaniums or something like that.
Scribbler is hidden in the game. This can be "artistic easter-egg" in the video that can motivate people to find this bot, but on the other hand I propose PracticeBot instead.

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Subtitle: IMPROVED GRAPHICS
We are no longer in Code Battle level. Let's say it's now Tropica or Vulkania or something else.
Some beautiful, short shots of scenery, ruins, aliens, bots etc. to show new shaders in work. Also add here some shots of the interface if the HD textures will be there.
Again, the shaders are hidden in the game. There's no UI setting for that. And they still look awful and they're slow (only for me...?). OpenGL 1.4 aka 1.5 still is our main and default engine. New textures also are partially done and "unstable" (a lot of vectors to fix, for 0.1.6 they will be looking good, of course, but still not final).

Eventually I propose to show something like that (as the video, in bigger resolution):
http://i.imgur.com/M6ytFTL.png (do you also see that shitty-flatty non-shaded ground polys in the background?)

Yeah, I would to wait to 0.1.7 or 0.1.8 for better and more outstanding comparisons. There's still a lot of lightening-shading and rendering issues to fix. For now we can show "just" dynamic (quality) shadows and new UI textures in OpenGL 1.4/1.5 on the highest settings.

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: and... music ends, black screen, animated logo (changing spacing between letters). Before the end of this simple animation other informations appears like other logos, version number and so on.
So, we're back to this idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxFZM6JHQuI
or this idea (my fav):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUzoJlnngSY
or maybe this creepy idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN2p2AxbASI
?

Well, I can do this again (the second concept), but now with Cycles and proper, not-post-processed-&-crappy deph of field. Few seconds of 30fps, 1280x720 and minimum 18 samples should look good and render on @Simbax GPU in half of the day. But, well, I was forced to remove the sources of that previous concept animation for 0.1.5 and now I'll be doing the whole animation from scratch. So good I have at least finished and oficially commited 3D models of all the logos that we need. I also don't know how to achieve a lens-flare in Cycles in such good quality like in Blender's engine for now. So I'll probably save the day with that effect in post processing at the different rendering layer or somethin'...

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Subtitle: OBJECTS' VELOCITY
WingedShooters are going to attack each other. They are flying to meet each other at the center above of the river, the camera shows the whole scene from the side. Before they meet, camera changes to the center and it shows one of the Shooters.
I'm probably only one, who don't understand what's object's velocirap... velosomethin... velocity. Did I missed something in the refactoring?

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Short let's play footage from Colobot, may be imitated or real. Someone starts making a building and want to stop. The player speaks to microphone in a humorous way to show the problem.
Subtitle: YEAH... WE FIXED THAT TOO
Short gameplay footage from Colobot. Someone starts making a building and just before Me is going to use his gun, he changes his mind. Black screen again and the end.
We should invite PewDiePie or someone to do that scene Tongue . But, well, this scene should have also comparison with old Colobot or old version of GOLD. Some people don't understand this joke without small and noisy comparison with the old game.

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: So we need: ...director...
Well, I don't know. I already have lot of stuff to do until the release (deadline 13.09.2015!!! Now that is quick & late...). As-always-not-finished-textures to clean and commit, alphatesting of the whole game, animation in Cycles to prepare, some other decisions to make...
#3
Great post with great idea.

Recording in 4k might be problematic a bit, unless we want to decrease details level, or someone of us got really powerfull hardware. So better stay at 1080p or at least 720p.

Also if first scene with GrabberBots will need a extension (like in waiting for music become more intense) we could use a theme with tumble weed.

Songs that might probably be good for this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4QAsMt3...e=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMi9NIzd...e=youtu.be <- should start at 0:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkKjv25x...e=youtu.be <- starting at 1:00 and probably cuted, it's 4:27 long
Spoiler :
[Image: unknown.png]
#4
So syntax highlighting will need some nice transition. Leaving the editor in the same position on the screen in the old version of the game, recording it, and then repeat for the new highlighting as I previously described. This way the camera can still be rotating in the background and only transition of the editor can be made (I hope so...).

PracticeBot is ok for drawing.

About graphics, yeah, ok, no problem for me, we just need to show something. However I have no idea how to solve comparison here in an easy way. Are there any ways to program a camera in Colobot? Like, starting the scene and it starts moving/rotating after 5 seconds or so... Or do you have any other idea how to record the exactly same view twice?

The second logo animation is good. I'd only TerranovaTeam logo somewhere.

object.velocity let's you check the velocity of the object's in CBOT.

About let's play, you didn't understand. The first "let's play" part is going to be about the old game. After the subtitle the GOLD version will be shown, where Me actually decides to not build. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

Eh, this deadline might be quite problematic for this video now that I think about it... The worst part is recording. It's hard to explain what exactly footages I'd like to have. And I have no resources to record in 1080p 60 FPS. That means that I myself need to record in 720p 30 FPS (which I hope is possible for me) or the recorder(s) need to become artists and record what they think looks good. Preferably for me, as an editor, would be to have as much raw footages as possible to have something to play around with.

@tomangelo : thanks for music suggestions, it should be good. Not sure which one to use yet and there still may be something better somewhere out there, but they are good.
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#5
(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Recorded raw materials should be of course as not compressed as possible.
Tell me how would you transfer an uncompressed video Tongue That would be at least ~10 GB for all the raw material I think

(09-04-2015, 02:01 PM)Simbax Wrote: So syntax highlighting will need some nice transition. Leaving the editor in the same position on the screen in the old version of the game, recording it, and then repeat for the new highlighting as I previously described. This way the camera can still be rotating in the background and only transition of the editor can be made (I hope so...).
Just overlay the editor video on the rotating camera background video? That would be even easier than making the camera rotate while editing.

(09-04-2015, 02:01 PM)Simbax Wrote: Are there any ways to program a camera in Colobot? Like, starting the scene and it starts moving/rotating after 5 seconds or so... Or do you have any other idea how to record the exactly same view twice?
Not yet, but @tomaszkax86 already suggested that some time ago
#6
Not totally raw, I meant as high quality as possible, preferably a little better than the end result will be. https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1722171?hl=en
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#7
Just messing with some camera things Wink
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3286...-14-13.mp4
  • To activate the free camera from photoX commands without pausing the game, use "freecam"
  • The free camera controls have been moved to the numpad to allow for simultaneous control of the player and camera
  • You can change camera movement speed with "camspeed <somenumber>" (default is 2)
  • You can experiment with other camera types by using "camtype <ID>", the list of possible values is here - https://github.com/colobot/colobot/blob/....h#L43-L72
BTW, did you know the free camera can move sideways if you hold Ctrl?
#8
The #OMGSOMANYCOMMITS thing prototype:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3286...mmits6.mp4

PS. Yes, I am doubleposting, but I want to test if this alert thing shows me when somebody likes my post or what Tongue
#9
Today I was working on ending logo screen animation. @Simbax rendered first preview of this and now I know what issues with timing are. Probably tomorrow we will be doing another test preview when I fix that issues.

Previews will be appearing here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...WGZsEZzMWp

UPDATE:
New, most possibly final version of that animation is now in playlist. It satisfy me enough to do the final render of it, if you will accept this.

Specs:
1280x720, 60fps, 300 frames, 5 seconds
10 glossy reflection bounces should be enough, other light bounces are disabled, because this scene is enough simple and we don't need them.
To eliminate noise enough we need probably min. 26 squared samples (676 AA samples) in final settings of Cycles and Filter Glossy set on 10.

Well, even that easy short animation require so much power to render it as clean as possible...
#10
Just doing some recording. I was having some problems maintaining stable 30 FPS, but I think I managed to record it smoothly.
I may rerecord some of the code battle clips after @RaptorParkowsky adds decorative objects.
All the linked videos are in this directory: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1567rkmcrehbl...nrvH3-SzSa

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Grabber of the first team is standing right in front of the camera, which moves horizontally.
Grabber of the second team is standing right in front of the camera, which moves horizontally.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vk9pqh9ggj0e80...robots.mkv

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: The whole scene is seen from above. Two Grabbers are standing in front of each other, there is a river between them.
Subtitle: THE CODE BATTLE BEGINS (subtitles are white text on black background)
(Here music gets intense suddenly).
They start moving and the code battle begins.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f08w0pziucxgcd..._start.mkv

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Subtitle: NEW CBOT SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING
Someone is typing something in the CBOT editor with some long and complicated program, while camera is rotating in the background (some parts of the bases can be seen there).
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gn1bo9a760b6n3...ghting.mkv (background will be added later)
You can also see the difference in the UI textures there Wink

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Subtitle: FULLY AUTOMATED BASE AVAILABLE
Some epic shots from building a base. I.e. collecting TitaniumOre to Titanium, Shooters coming out of the BotFactory, a bot building a Derrick and maybe something else.
I kinda derped up here and forgot to change the shadow range settings, so they have a really low quality. I may rerecord these later.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/j43mrrtdyd4hbu...ding_1.mkv - building a Converter
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8nemhndl6l4iyb...ding_2.mkv - collecting Titanium
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ycugspqk8lsqs5...ding_3.mkv - making a WingedShooter

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Subtitle: UPDATED [SATCOM](logo instead of a text here) DOCUMENTATION WITH NEW FUNCTIONS
Someone is scrolling through the main CBOT page and clicks on the link of one of the new functions.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n5a6xpxhmbv228u/5_satcom.mkv

(09-04-2015, 10:08 AM)Simbax Wrote: Subtitle: DRAW SCHEMAS ON THE GROUND
Scribbler is drawing something. For example, an area for Titaniums or something like that.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8wh5ctdbn84ciz2/6_pendown.mkv

The rest of the clips will be recorded shortly Rolleyes
#11
Probably I finished those two animations. Before I commit them into colobot-misc repo and you render the second one (with TerranovaTeam logo), I must make sure that everything is ok.

Those animation files are set into final render settings:
GOLD-Logo-Promo-Outro.blend
TerranovaTeam-Logo-Promo-Outro.blend

This file is set into preview render settings and I need this to render first before final to see if there's everything fine with lightning and timing:
TerranovaTeam-Logo-Promo-Outro_RENDER-TEST-PREVIEW.blend

Don't (re-)move the 'fonts' directory. There is the font files that are used in "Gold Edition" and "TerranovaTeam" subtitles. They are linked in relative paths and should work wherever you unpack this package.

All rendered frames you can merge into uncompressed MKV video file with this "app" Big Grin :
Nieuniwersalna Składaczka Pojedynczych Klatek Animacji do Pliku MKV 2015 Free Trial.blend

In menu "Add -> Image" go into directory with all rendered frames, then press "A" to select all frames and hit "Add Image Strip". Then you can just render whole video by hitting "Animation" button in "Render" section of this "app". BUON APETIT!

But this is not necessary. You can just package all rendered frames and send it to me Wink .



https://www.dropbox.com/s/n8w3dlwgiuh9hi...sc.7z?dl=0




UPDATE:
I checked how much will cost us rendering those animations with final settings on blendergrid.com (all prices excl. VAT)

GOLD-Logo-Promo-Outro.blend:
$3.04 USD

TerranovaTeam-Logo-Promo-Outro.blend
$2.70 USD

This prices are for 24 hours render time. If we'll decide to render those animations in 60fps for future purposes, it will possibly double the prices.
#12
Plan changed a little, but for the better. Anyway, 0.1.6 was released along with the video: http://colobot.info/2015/09/14/update-0.1.6/ , so I'm closing this thread.

Many thanks to everyone who made this video come true, especially @krzys_h for good quality recordings, @RaptorParkowsky for amazing animations, @tomangelo for great music propositions and everyone else who helped with rendering and was pointing out mistakes or making suggestions for nearly 8 different versions of the video Wink

The project for kdenlive along with all assets will be available here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cc2otfnxhqnln...GAULa?dl=0 (over 500 MB) for a while, but as always, I recommend to download it and to keep own backups of it, because some day I may delete it from my Dropbox account. I might do some clean up, because there are probably assets no longer used in the project, but not that many.
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