So there has been a lot of talk about a video tutorial for NS2 and I think this is a place where the E-Team could fill in.

What I think needs to be included:

Marine Commander basics
Kharaa Commander basics
Marine map situational awareness (using the minimap and level map)
Marine local situational awareness (covering vents, overhangs, various places for aliens to hide)
Kharaa map situational awareness (using vents, finding places to ambush)
Skulk combat maneuvers (running ziggy zaggy{lol lenard}, climbing walls and ceilings/using cover in combat, ambushing timing)

Some of this stuff would be easier than others. Also, since so little is known about the commanders it wouldn't make sense to make a tutorial for that this early. The others are doable now even though the game isn't fully fleshed out from our perspective. I would start with Marine local situational awareness and finish it as a proof of concept before we tried to move onto other tutorials.

I'm willing to spend time doing this, writing a storyboard/script, being an actor, organizing times but I'd need help.

I need a couple actors(preferably people currently playing NS classic),
someone with video editing software and enough time to work on this,
A voice actor(not critical but nice to have)

I don't want the videos to be more than a couple of minutes long each so if that means we have to do "Marine local awareness: Part II" then I'd rather do that. Breaking the videos into small digestible bits that are relatively easy to produce and watch are paramount(no pun intended).

So, if I understand correctly, it would be a proof of concept for NS2 tutorial videos, in videos of playing in NS1?

So, we are well aware that even the situational awareness strategies of a basic marine is going to change, right? From what the team is saying, they may not even need to use the map as much due to waypoints babying you from corridor to corridor, also you won't even have to find your way back because you will spawn with your squad (maybe, which would debase phase tech a lot in my opinion). Also I think they said something about the popup menu being more intuitive, maybe like BF2 a little?

Yes. The idea is to develop a process so that when NS2 is close to release, high quality video tutorials can be made by the community.

I have had some video editing experience in the past and would be very interested in this as some weekend project. I have great experience in NS1 Have Adobe Premire, Studio 10 experience havent done much work since entering college but always eager to work on projects. Can also act too. Shoot me an email, nickwestrum@earthlink.net

hmm i might just make a "comic" about it all.. might include actual screenshots or something.. lets see how my time goes.. ill post something asap

i know that there might be some translation issues in this light, but i can then also eject some of my humour into it


if anyone can then provide some screenies of the below situations:

These are just general topics to start on. For map situational awareness I was thinking just recognizing where your teammates are, what's under attack, what areas are weak. Basically making decisions of where you need to be if you don't have orders from the commander. It's a hard thing to teach so it would be a rather basic tutorial on a hight level. The real use would be to get people to use the map.

That's far down the road and the focus is on Marine local situational awareness unless someone can make a case for a different topic.

There any time that you think you might want to begin this project??

I was hoping to get a few more responses, but I will start on the storyboard and get some input from you on it if you have time tonight. I'll email my contact information today.

I'm game. Let me know where I can help and I'll see what I can do. I've done quite a bit of editing, mostly fixing bad acting and camera skills (not mine... well... OK I'm a horrid actor most of the time), but I pride myself on being able to see where things can be improved, and I love bouncing ideas on how to shoot, sequence, frame, and stuff. Plus I can probably bug my bro who does way more editing than me and does it way better to help out. Curse him and his free time....

Problem is school eats most of my time right now, but oh well. I'll just be honest and tell you when I can't do stuff.

heh yeah i hear ya about the school thing, and i think a collaborative thinking can help out immensly. Well first off to get this even remotely started, at least create a test through NS, we would need a server with Rcon access...then a few actors that are insanely bored for a few hours...

Having some difficulty obtaining screen shots (eg. no volunteers, not much on google, not much here)...
however I've been looking at all the manual links and other FAQ details and have begun work
(on top of all my other work) for a 2D manual of sorts.

Here's a basic sample:


More refinement in the final stages, just knacking out relevant content/tips..

Looks nice resresres. It could be a rather stylish addition to the NS wiki.

yeah i guess...

but the wiki is styled in the wiki, and not many people know of the wiki;
Now, if there's either a graphical interface that navigates backwards and forwards -
much like a interactive website, it may be far more accessible than the wiki..
a graphical look as opposed to an encyclopedia..

even a scrolling pdf - flashy, moody graphics - much like the ns2 website/forums (header) ...



ill be perusing the ns wiki to check out any additional info i can add to the total package

wait. what did i miss? what's that picture got to do with this thread?
well-made though, good job.

scroll up to my previous post-

and not really well made, it was a 20 min job... about 30% complete i would say

Do we have flash designers out there? That would be optimal for series of interactive pictures.

Do you need any translations?
Im able to speak german, actually I live in Germany.
In addition to that I have enough time, because I'm a pupil (12th grade)...
Translating difficult and complex sentences isn't any more a prob, since www.online-translator.com has been published

I'm not a flash designer but I can offer my services as a voice actor if you find the need for an Australian accent, send me a PM if you're interested.

cool.

I'd volunteer my voice, but I'm pretty sure I'm a crappy voice actor, as hard as I try. I'd be happy to do story boarding, concept, film, edit, but probably it would end in lame disaster if you put me physically in the vid.

Do we really necessarily need flash designers or might a non-interactive video also be okay?

The plan is for an non-interactive video.

the interactive idea was if people were to design several pictures and allow the user to navigate it themselves. Basically a better user manual, not an intro / teaching video.

No, some ppl had an idea of an interactive video or did i missunderstood anything?


I think it's also okay to make a normal non-interactive amateur video, though there are already discussions about an ingame tutorial.
It wont be wrong to do both.(?)
Im able to work with Vegas 5.0, a good Video editor, but the prob is getting high quality ingame videos.
Fraps or Hypercam don't offer enough resolution.
And in this case, size doesn't matters:P Ive got a tool to convert
.AVI, .VOB, .MPEG, .WMV into each other (called WinAVI Video Converter), so finaly it wont take much data space.

You can use the console commands to record high res images, youll lose the sound but you can add that in later yourself.

Well, I am the OP and the video we plan on producing is non-interactive. Flash is an interesting idea but we're trying to start with something simple. If you'd like to help we could use an "actor".

I'll be there if someone needs help in NS2!

However, thx Prefix, I'll try that!

Hi everyone, I have done quiet a few videos from video games including xbox 360 using capture devices. I use adobe premire for my editing. here are both my personal you tube account and my racing / gaming one, both of which have game videos on them. I even have a video from the old CS 1.6 days where you had to use a series of images to build the demo and video, anyway, i would love to help out with instructional videos for NS2, let me know what you need. i have fraps on this machine so i can capture video right out of NS1 as well.
Youtube1
Youtube2