Using machinima to make a gameplay mockup.

man_o_mule

I'm looking into creating some Machinima and have a few questions about what engine I should use. I have access to both the Source engine and the UT3 and UT2k4 engines.

I am planning on making a fake gameplay video for a Stratagy RPG using PSP specs. I need an engine that can handle scripted sequences well and i can create a new gui and camera movements in. All art will be created from scratch. I'm worried about how these engines will respond to art that does not contain normal maps. I'm also going to be using max to export, and i'm not sure how easy it is to export from that into the source engine.

I am leaning towards using UT3 since i'm much more familiar with unreall ed than i am with hammer. I have heard that the source engine has better scripting tools though. any ideas or opinions??

dejawolf

cryengine.

man_o_mule

i dont own crysis. does the engine have good supprot for scripted sequences?

renderhjs

they even have a own event editor - for defining custom tweening and controlling mechanics pretty wicked.

Mark Dygert

I'd probably go Unreal. Kismet, Manitee and the audio controls are pretty ace. Kismet and Manitee look great and I hear positive things about them from a lot of people. You'll probably want to check out Matinee a bit more since it sounds like that is what you'll most likely be using to set up the cinematic sequences if you choose unreal.

Source can be a bit tedious and connections aren't always clear it can make trouble shooting a headache. I've used source quite a bit over the years and not much has really changed. It relies on names in text fields and input and output boxes for entities. It also has a bunch of entities and tools for a bunch of their source driven games, so mixing and matching is sometimes a bit crazy. But its pretty straight forward like other games, drop stuff in, rig it up, compile and go. It's also very well documented on Valve's wiki just like Urneal.

I haven't played with anything from crytek since Far Cry, was pretty awesome even back then, I hear its amazing now, but havn't poked around in it yet... So many engines so little time...

Richard Kain

This is a subject that has always interested me, so hearing opinions from those who have gotten their hands dirty is really valuable.

From my limited experience, I've always felt that Source had some of the best tools for lip-syncing and facial animations. But that might have changed over the years, and I don't have much experience with the Unreal 3 Engine or the CryEngine. Hearing that those engines have pretty ace tools for scripting sequences is very encouraging. Definitely a big plus for producing machinima. But how do their tools for facial animation and lip-syncing stack up?

gamedev

I'd say UT3 as well. If its not going to be character intensive, out of the box you'll have everything you need. Matinee alone will allow you setup your shots pretty easily and realtime preview cameras and effects.

As well, setting up a mock UI is super simple too.

man_o_mule

can you put models into UT3 without normal maps? does the lighting look right?

Neox

sure

man_o_mule

Matinee sounds awesome. I'll go with UT3 then. I always thought Ued was easier to use than most other editors. dont want to have to pay $30 for Crysis and have to learn a new editor. Thanks for the opinions.

now to put my nose to the grindstone and start creating all the necessary art.

Richard Kain

Unreal Tournament 3 comes with all the Unreal Engine 3 tools, right? It seems like that would just make sense. I know a used bookstore that carries UT3 for cheaps, so I might pick up a copy on my way home from work. I'd love to play around with that Matinee app.

Snowfly

How easy is it to screengrab or render out video from UT3? If I were doing this I'd setup my 3D software's rendered to emulate PSP, nothing complex going on there anyway, you shorten your pipeline A LOT, and get to concentrate on the aesthetics instead. Why Machinima?

man_o_mule

from what i understand, machinima is the term used for movies made using a video game engine. So this term would apply to any and all cut scenes in a game right?

Mainly i just think it would be easier to handle everything in Ued than trying to get everything rendered out in max. plus it will look more like a game if i do it using a game engine. and i get practice in getting importing and working with Ued. I'm guessing it would look nicer on my portfolio to mention that all video is in game footage using the unreal engine too.

If all goes well I have a few more ideas i might do. wish me luck.

one more quick question. I can't seem to find the unit conversion from max to Ued. I remember seing that information before on the UDN but for the life of me can't find it now. Anyone know this?


and Ued does come with UT3. so pick it up. I bought it on steam so i can download it to any computer that has access to steam.

MoP

lol, i can't work out if vig is joking when he calls it "manitee"

Mark Dygert

Ha! Nope just mixed up Matinee and manatee when I was typing ha ha ha
I'm going to go apply a defuse material now =P

dejawolf

use cryengine.
here's why:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IodMNSRlVvQ[/ame]