First nights shooting

So I’ve found some time to blog on the first nights shooting. After concerns that I wouldn’t get onto the server I had originally planned to, I put out feelers for what other options that were out there. I assumed it would come to nothing just like the three other times I tried, but lo and behold [WP] cHoke told me to check out GameArena, saying he heard you could buy server time there. This however wasn’t true, you cannot buy server time, BECAUSE IT IS FREE. I made a booking selecting various options (detailed further) and received a return email as follows (specific details removed):

This email is to confirm the GameCreate booking made at
07:48pm, Saturday 12th April. This is an automatically generated email; no reply is required.

Listed below are the full details of the requested booking:

Booking description: xxxx
Booked Date and Time: Saturday, 12 April 2008 @ 09:00pm AEDT
Duration: 3 hours
Game: Team Fortress 2
Server address: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:xxxxx
Max players: 10

The following server settings were selected:

RCON password: xxxx
Join Password: xxxx
Time Limit: 2 hours
Capture limit: No limit
Custom Maps: ON
Max Rounds: Unlimited
Frag limit: Unlimited
Start Map: tc_hydro
Map Cycle: cp_badlands

Auto Team Balance: OFF
Critical Hits: Enable Criticals
Respawn Timer: Disable Respawn Timers
Stalemates: Disable Stalemates
Stalemate at Timelimit: OFF
Party Mode: OFF
All Talk: ON

If you have any problems, please visit GameArena Support at http://www.gamearena.com.au/help/contact/ . Choose ‘GameCreate’ from the drop down list and be sure to quote your booking ID.

Your booking ID is xxxxxxx

Regards,
The GameArena Team

Yes. It is indeed awesome. I have no idea how I didn’t find this service earlier, and now I don’t care. Note, all bolded entries are customisable. This proved a lifesaver as when time came to use the other pre arranged server I couldn’t get on due to it being stuck on a map I didn’t have and couldn’t get hold of via the server or FPS banana. This problem is through no fault of those providing me with the previous server, they have been as helpful as can be expected given their other commitments.

After getting on the server I fiddled with the console commands to see just what I could do. As it turned out I had access to all the tools I needed (or thought I needed at that point). I had made a config.cfg to customise some controls, with binds to the keyboard for switching to what I will from henceforth call ‘camera mode’, hiding the view model, the HUD and switching on noclip. I have further expanded this config file and will post it after this as a separate submission on the blog.

So I rallied the troops, a bunch of TF2 players on my friends list who had offered to help when I pm’ed everyone on my friends list looking for virtual actors, what they lacked in experience they made up for in enthusiasm. Considering my inexperience in directing they all did rather well. However, if there is one thing I’ve learned, is that its very hard to make a bunch of people stand very still for a very long time in a FPS. Random owning, as frustrating as it was to see my set ruined by blood, bullet holes and a dead body, it was amusing and diffused some of the stress. Filming in a virtual environment is actually quite stressful, even with noclip switched on, the ability to take instant flight at breakneck speeds doesn’t change the fact that the environment, can feel truly restrictive at some points, for example when trying to frame shots and keep the virtual actors on the server (I’m sorry guys, I know how boring it can be, but there is little I can do to change that!). I surprised myself with some of the clever tricks that can be done within the game, an example being where I needed a shot of two players standing in a doorway, with the roller door opening to reveal these characters standing at attention, I wanted them to be motionless, and so I employed a third actor, in the class of a spy to open the roller door while cloaked, giving the illusion that the door opened automatically. The next problem however, was the fact that the medkits and ammopacks were visible (a problem now solved with a simple batch of commands provided in the config), and very distracting. So, next we redid the shot with the spy lower on ammo and health, picking up the packs and cloaking, then speedily running to the door, the actors doing their poses and then charging off. This all had to be timed so that both the pickups didn’t respawn, and the spy’s cloak not running out of charge. This shows you how a simple shot can turn into a complicated one when you get a little picky.

“Cows don’t look like cows on camera, that’s why we painted the horse.”
“What do you do when you need a horse?”
“Ehh, we usually just tape a bunch of cats together.”

Browsing over this post, its a mess, so I’ll leave it there. Take a look at the follow up post that will give you the run down on the config, which is essentially just a bunch of binds that are at the start up of the game.

Cheers. T