Tuesday, October 07, 2008

updates

Hey people, here are the updates I was talking about. First and foremost, I have to finish the second Noesis guide so I can free up more time to work on machinima. I'm getting close, but it might be another week or two, but after that there will be a big jump in production. Here's what you can expect coming:

Freeman's Mind - I can get these out much faster than CP and I really need to step up the pace if I'm going to get through all of the Half-Life series. I'm hoping to have another one out by the end of the month, then a lot more out after that, but I'm not setting any deadlines since that's already backfired on me before.

Civil Protection shorts - I may release some CP episodes that are very short in nature. I'm not sure whether I want to count these as actual episodes or not, but I'd like to be able to release more of CP without it taking forever. Depending on how much time volunteers have to work on it, this could also come out this month, but I'm making no promises.

15+ minute episode - this will be the scary episode, called "The Tunnel". It's already been partially produced, but it still has a ways to go. This will likely be the next big episode to come out. I was originally hoping to release this by Halloween, but that's not going to happen now because of everything else I have to do. I'm hoping it can be done by sometime in November.

20+ minute episode - this one is also partially produced, it will be called "Open Forum" (as in the Greek kind, not an internet one). It will mainly focused on dialogue and will introduce several new characters. It will also require a lot of facial expressions, which I'm leaving to someone better at that than myself. So when this one comes out depends on how busy everyone is, but I haven't forgotten about it.

New website - work has resumed on this again, it might come out this month, but it depends on whether the person helping me will have time to finish the coding and if I have time to make a new logo for it.


I also have a ton of other ideas of things I'd like to do, but that's what's going to be coming in the semi-near future. For everyone frustrated with the pace of things so far, I feel the same way.

45 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know I as well as others want all these as fast as possible but we can wait. We may not like waiting but I'd rather see a good production done right then a bad one made fast.
Plus, I am assuming your human and you still need money to survive for stuff like food.
I can't wait for the long episodes but I can't wait for the website most of all! Hope your doing good, Scott.

stephenpjc said...

Frustrated? hell no.

You get me damn excited (not in the creepy way) every time you post or announce something. This stuff is pure gold. Take your time, fine tune it, make it entertaining, I'm sure none of us would want it done any other way.

DT said...

Wow. You are extremely good at making maps. I'm pretty good too, maybe I can make some maps for you?

Anonymous said...

I see you have alot of work ahead of you.

Ed said...

I think you should be little more relaxed with your pace. Of course I do wait your new episodes, but I don't get angry with late releases. Your works are worth waiting. :)

So, take your time and don't feel too much stress about updating in time. You know Haste make waste. :)

P.S. The news about scary episode made me really interested. I hope it isn't very scary though >_<

Anonymous said...

Don't worry we're used to waiting for things to come out...

*cough*valve*cough*

Anonymous said...

You do exelent work Ross. take you time. :)



I know a lot of people would like to see Freeman's Mind in HL2.But: "if I'm going to get through all of the Half-Life series."
Uh, does that include Opposing Force ?

Asking this because I would love to see the soldier's Thoughts as well. :) (and partialy because I just loved that game)

Ross Scott said...

patient people: Thanks, I really took the extra time on the latest episode and I'm glad I did. The only regrets I have about that one were things that were beyond my control (twitchy animation, engine glitches). Even if it takes longer, I don't want to rush CP out, since it's not like I can release a patch for the episode.

pdan4: I'm actually not, all mapwork I've done personally is based off of Valve's or else tweaking someone else's. I have yet to make an original map on my own. Nicadeamas is the main custom mapper for the series now and has done a fantastic job so far, so there's no way I'd drop him. However I will consider using other maps for different episodes. Do you have some screenshots of existing work?

ed: Well this will be my first real attempt, but I'm going to TRY and make it scary. It will be progressive though, the scariest part will be towards the end. And don't worry, it will still be funny throughout as well.

Anonymous said...

We have waited for things much long then this, so take your time

Anonymous said...

What happened to the 20 minute CP you were almost done?

Anonymous said...

we can wait for years we just love when they come don't be worrisome.

:D have fun

Otto said...

You mean 'Open Forum'? It's already included in the blog post.

Ross Scott said...

arctic avenger: Probably not unless someone ports it to source. In addition to needing a different voice I wouldn't be able to add in the motion blur on the HL1 in a practical manner.

anonymous guy: I don't think I ever said the 20+ minute one was "almost done", but it has been partially completed. And Otto's right, that one will be Open Forum. It's on hold because the person who will be animating most of the faces has been very busy, and I'd rather wait on them than do it all myself.

Anonymous said...

you know. A Mike and Dave Radio show would almost be enough every 2 weeks. Just 3 minutes of audio to tide us over. The characters aren't those CP metrocops. They are your writing. And 0 video editing aught to step the production speed up 2000%.

Unknown said...

^Haha that would be great actually. I love CP. Its by far the best HL2 Machinima I have ever seen. I like Dave.

As for Freemnas Mind, its so great I would also love Opposing Forces and Blue Shift but as you said Ross, you would need different voices and Barney is already done. If only you could get VALVe in on it.

That said, By the time you make your way through HL1 and to HL@ I am pretty sure EP3 will be out that way you can continue your geniuos work without having to wait.

Then there will be the matter of HL3 (HL4 since the EPs were supposed to be HL3).

Ross Scott said...

F12Bwth: I actually have something similar that would even better than that planned, I just want to get other stuff off the ground first.

Jimmy (Smitty): Yeah I'll certainly have my hands full with the HL series. I figure if the MST3K crew can do their show for 15 years, I can at least try to get through the main games on FM.

Echo said...

Need help with the banner? I do Photoshop... I would be really happy! ;D

Ross Scott said...

Maybe, do you have examples of previous work?

Unknown said...

It's very good work. I'm willing to wait.
It would be funny if you made a Myspace for Mike and Dave.

Echo said...

Yes. All kind. But don't have banner examples. But I have done flash banners and .gif animated banners for forums and made linkers.

e-mail you?

Ross Scott said...

Sure, this will just be a regular graphic, not animated and probably in the same black and white minimalist style I do the episode logos in. I can even make a rough drawing of what it might look like and you'll be free to suggest stuff.

Anonymous said...

I love Civil Protection, but Freeman's mind is even better. Probably because it takes some comic genius to find humour in a completely scripted environment.

You have a true talent, my friend!

Anonymous said...

I made a gmod movie for a couple of months ago called "The tunnel" it was just about 5 minutes long and it was suppose to be scary.

Anonymous said...

Its good to see you're doing so much so efficiently. The new CPs and FMs are going to be worth it. Civil protection takes a HUGE amount of work, skill, and patience, you seem to do it so well. As for FM, production must be easier but I would imagine that the writing is much more harder like knowing what to say at the write moment and how to make freeman say funny comments to make the current situation/scenario hularious and put the human element in there ie: during the later part of the series he gets jumped by black ops I would imagine would be hard to make that particular situation both humerous and put a feeling of humanity in there.

Ross Scott said...

2nd anonymous guy: I haven't seen your video, though I'm curious. Anyway, I'm sure it's just a coincidence, I wrote the script for mine over a year ago.

3rd anonymous guy: You're right, writing for Freeman's Mind is much more difficult as there is much less flexibility. And don't worry, I have tons of ideas for CP to keep it interesting.

Anonymous said...

I ment later in FM when when he gets jumped by black ops in the later part of HL1
-3rd anonymous guy

Danny Leigher said...

Do you need any voiceover work? I can help with that if you need some extra people.

Anonymous said...

nice dude! :D tho i prefer those "simple" machinimas (the one not scripted like urs - no hand moving,...) Tho its great too :D

Wild Goose Chase Productions said...

Cant Wait for the scary episode Ross, That'll definitely be a good one!

Anonymous said...

Hi guys! We at Rusty Bin Productions would like to offer you free web hosting and a free .com domain name for life! This will allow you to release all your videos in High Quality, as well as a lot more.

We're even willing and happy to help you build a new website with every feature you can imagine (and maybe some you can't).

If you're interested, feel free to get in touch with us at kraven ([at]) rustybin [(dot)] com.

We all love Civil Protection, so if we can help.... it's an honour :)

Otto said...

Wow, thanks a lot for the offer!

Anonymous said...

(i changed my name, this is karanjhala guy...) u seen gman squad Ross? it hilarious

Ross Scott said...

danny: I've gotten many offers, I'm afraid I don't need any general voice actors at the moment. The exception is if you imitate pre-existing characters. Right now I'd find a use for anyone who can do the Gman or Breen, down the road (several months off) I could use some voice actors who can do voices for characters from other games. You can email me if you want more details.

anonymous: Well I can't see myself lowering the animation standards much, but I do plan to get some episodes out that will be much simpler to produce (sort of the like the "what is machinima" episode)

machinimators incs.: Oh it's my 2nd favorite script for the series (my favorite isn't in production and won't be for quite a while), I think it's going to be awesome.

rusty bin production: Thanks, I may look into that. I'll try and email you.

AdventShot said...

Hey, I like the new episode, so I was wondering have you heard of digitalph33r? He makes good machinimas and god it's hard to tell if yours are better than his. I know he has more stuff than you but I think your stuff is worth an Oscar. I'll be looking forward to your next episodes and not complaining "0mG Wh3N$ th3 NxT EpIs0d3s DuDe, y0u v3Ry Sl0w!"

Otto said...

Digitalph33r is a main Halo Machinima maker, yes? I can't even keep up with the massive amounts of movies he releases, so I'm real impressed with the work he does.

Anonymous said...

Hey Ross.
Longtime fan writing here. I just wondered what you will start with first, once you are done with Noesis.?

-Andreas

Anonymous said...

digitalph33r: depressed guy who devotes whole life into making so-so machinimas

ross scott: nice guy who has a life by making money with the noesis tutorial for example and, when he does make machinimas, they are top of the line and very worth the wait

BIG DIFFERENCE!

Ross Scott said...

adventshot: Yeah I've heard of him, he probably has more views than any other machinima maker, save for Rooster Teeth. I've only seen a handful of his stuff, but it wasn't bad. I wouldn't really try to compare things. It would be like me trying to decide which is better, South Park or MST3K. They're both different and they're both awesome. My stuff may have more production value due to all the animation, but I'm not nearly as fast either.

anonymous dude: haven't decided yet, probably a pattern between Freeman's Mind and different CP stuff. I may cheat anyway and try to get a Freeman's Mind out before I'm done actually.

other anonymous dude: Well I get very frustrated about not being able to get stuff faster, I have so many ideas, it's aggravating. Also you may change your mind about me being a "nice guy" once/if I start working with Postal 3, I have some pretty crazy ideas for that.

Anonymous said...

Hey Ross I really love your series, Freeman's Mind and Civil Protection, both are great and very funny, Is there a blog for Freeman's Mind either?
Good work man

Anonymous said...

Great work. I'm big fan of Half-Life series and start to be fan of your work. When another episode of Freeman Mind will go out?

Anonymous said...

Ross,
Great job on these. I always look forward to seeing them.

If you can you need to do like a Freeman's Mind on Half Life: Blue Shift. That would be pretty funny. I'm no computer wiz so I don't know if you would run into the same pitfalls that you talked about when that guy asked you about Opposing Force. You could use Dave's voice from civil protetion for Barney.

Anyway, keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Hey Ross,

Any news/updates about when the next episode of CP or Freeman's Mind will come out?

Not trying to be mean, sarcastic, or just a jerk, but its been a while since your last post and i am extremely anxious to hear from you again.

Thanks,
Joe Anonymous

Anonymous said...

Hey ross, just wondering.
Have you already filmed the half life adventure? or do you do it in parts?

Also if you mess up and killed during the game. Will you blend this into the humour or re film that part?

Ross Scott said...

amuga: not yet. The new site I'm working on will be a hub for all my videos though, including CP and FM.

anonymous: I should probably get through HL regular first.

joe anonymous: I'll have a new post up today.

anonymous: No I do it as I go. And no, Freeman has to stay alive unless I wanted to end the series early.

Anonymous said...

i disagree on freemans mind needing to be picked up alot to get up to date...but at your current workrate you might get into hl2 by the time episode 3 comes out...but yeah pick it up a bit lawl.