New Intro to Kotor II

[90SK 158]

Wow!! I really love that video, I bet you could even have that before the title crawl and still use the crawl and the intro/prologue. I think the game really needs this type of approach, I can't wait to see what else you come up with!

[Sith Holocron 2,452]

I might have an idea of how to do an Atris vs Nihilus scene - but not as an intro.  Need some time to write down how to explain it.  I'll PM VP my thoughts on it a bit later today.

[l2daorch 19]

Does what you showed remove the regular text opening entirely or does it show up afterwards?

Either way I thought it was pretty nice. Would you mind doing a bit of a longer video where you show how it transitions into the tutorial?

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

Does what you showed remove the regular text opening entirely or does it show up afterwards?

Either way I thought it was pretty nice. Would you mind doing a bit of a longer video where you show how it transitions into the tutorial?

I'm not sure. I might actually do two versions

 

Cold open + Star Wars opening

Cold open + New Title

 

 

I can do a mockup of how those would look, leading into the tutorial, but I also want to tweak the actual cutscene so it's closer to what I would actually use for an intro.

[Jorak Uln 458]

@VP: Very cool video. It looks much more immersive that way. 

Even better if  also the other important fights could be overhauled against Sion (Korriban/M5) e.g. seeing the fear in exiles eyes after striking him down at the moment of his resurrection or 

fleshing out the Kreia fight vs. the Dark Lords....

[Eauxps I. Fourgott 81]

I'm not sure. I might actually do two versions

 

Cold open + Star Wars opening

Cold open + New Title

 

You also might want to consider doing something like Trex did for the Jedi Masters mod -- having the opening crawl, then a cutscene with the antagonists/whoever, and then go to your player character.

 

Of course, the opening as it is has its merits, in that you start out all alone and find out what's going on as you go. But I think that the game also did a poor job of explaining to me who the Sith Lords really were.

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

You also might want to consider doing something like Trex did for the Jedi Masters mod -- having the opening crawl, then a cutscene with the antagonists/whoever, and then go to your player character.

 

Of course, the opening as it is has its merits, in that you start out all alone and find out what's going on as you go. But I think that the game also did a poor job of explaining to me who the Sith Lords really were.

That is also an option, I just have to nail the transition down correctly.

[thesagan 0]

Not really the greatest illustration I could produce, but I wanted to have a little fun with it.

 

The version I had in mind probably has more close-ups and probably uses music from the game.

 

Not bad, but still needs improvement. I think there should be a little 1 sec silence before "there's more..." and at least a 2 second silence before "Our alliance is finished...". Additionally, I do not think Nihilus should talk in this occasion, but if he has to, his line should be a lot less longer.

 

Other than that, I think there should be a more pressing reason for Sion to draw out his lightsaber, other than having Nihilus utter nonsense at him. Maybe something blocking his path like ship debris falling or the catwalk virtually collapsing in front of Sion.

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

Not bad, but still needs improvement. I think there should be a little 1 sec silence before "there's more..." and at least a 2 second silence before "Our alliance is finished...". Additionally, I do not think Nihilus should talk in this occasion, but if he has to, his line should be a lot less longer.

 

Other than that, I think there should be a more pressing reason for Sion to draw out his lightsaber, other than having Nihilus utter nonsense at him. Maybe something blocking his path like ship debris falling or the catwalk virtually collapsing in front of Sion.

This scene is literally the same scene that is used in Exile007's Genoharadan mod. I will use Nihilus' speech sparingly, and probably will omit the Force Lightning and Sion drawing his lightsaber.

[DarthRevan101 104]

I believe Atris wasn't actually present at Katarr. She lured the Jedi there in hopes of drawing Nihilus'  attention.

 

Yeah - so maybe Nihilus wanted to kill Atris as well, seeing as she didn't turn up after realising he could kill the whole planet. Though it's the Exile who confronts Atris during the battle of Telos, so there'd really be no time that that would have happened. I assume that the idea of Atris vs Nihilus was just one for advertising.

[Eauxps I. Fourgott 81]

Yeah - so maybe Nihilus wanted to kill Atris as well, seeing as she didn't turn up after realising he could kill the whole planet. Though it's the Exile who confronts Atris during the battle of Telos, so there'd really be no time that that would have happened. I assume that the idea of Atris vs Nihilus was just one for advertising.

 

It seems as though in the actual story as it ended up, Nihilus didn't know of Atris' existence. At least that's the impression I got...

[DarthRevan101 104]

It seems as though in the actual story as it ended up, Nihilus didn't know of Atris' existence. At least that's the impression I got...

 

Actually that's true, he wouldn't have. It was Colonal Tobin who revealed to Nihilus that there was Jedi on Telos, so Nihilus wouldn't have known.

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

Iteration 2:

 

 

Still some tweaks I need to make with camera angles and whatnot.

[Sith Holocron 2,452]

I like what i see so far. I have a few comments which may not even be necessary seeing as the scene is still a WIP.

 

1) The quote content itself is good - no need to use the whole scene.

2) The scene seems a bit rushed with no chance to soak these characters in - why not give it a few seconds for us to see them? 

3) They seem to be very close together so I'd suggest giving Nihilus and Sion a few feet of more space.

4) If Nihilus is calling Visas off, maybe you could let us see her back away after he says his cryptic comment? Without the subtitle commentary, it might not be as obvious that he has called her off.

5) Would a fade out suit the scene better or was that quick jump cut to the logo intentional?

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

I like what i see so far. I have a few comments which may not even be necessary seeing as the scene is still a WIP.

 

1) The quote content itself is good - no need to use the whole scene.

Are you talking about omitting the Nihilus attacking Sion segment? I felt that wasn't necessary. Instead I chose to focus on the fact that Darth Traya is still alive. Well, tried to.

 

2) The scene seems a bit rushed with no chance to soak these characters in - why not give it a few seconds for us to see them?

That is a great point. I'd been kind of stuck on what to do with establishing shots, but now that you mention it, it makes sense to take a little time to let the user visually see what's all going on. A few pauses in the conversation would go a long way as well.

 

3) They seem to be very close together so I'd suggest giving Nihilus and Sion a few feet of more space.

They aren't terribly close to one another. I think the angle I used makes them look a little cramped though, can probably change that.

 

4) If Nihilus is calling Visas off, maybe you could let us see her back away after he says his cryptic comment? Without the subtitle commentary, it might not be as obvious that he has called her off.

I'm still experimenting with Visas' role in this scene.

Originally, I had Sion respond to her, but it seemed out of place.

A simple thing to do would be to show her lightsaber power off at least. Maybe that's the route to take.

 

5) Would a fade out suit the scene better or was that quick jump cut to the logo intentional?

I think whether or not I will use a hard cut or a fade out depends on the final music selection. This set a more somber tone for the scene, so I could see how using a fade would be better. If I decide to go for menacing, the hard cut is probably better.

 

This is good feedback though. I have more to think on as I continue to build up the scene.

[DarthRevan101 104]

Maybe after Nihilus calls of Visas, you could have her turn to Nihilus and bow or something? Just to make it clear that's what happened.

[Sith Holocron 2,452]

Are you talking about omitting the Nihilus attacking Sion segment? I felt that wasn't necessary. Instead I chose to focus on the fact that Darth Traya is still alive. Well, tried to.

Yes, I thought the Nihilus attacking Sion (or vice versa) wasn't necessary. I am on board with your focus. :}

  

I'm still experimenting with Visas' role in this scene. Originally, I had Sion respond to her, but it seemed out of place.

I don't think Sion needs to respond to her either. If anything, Visas should probably mutter a "Yes, Master" type of line to Nihilus after he "calls her off". (I could try to find an appropriate one for you.)

I am not sure how you see it but what I took from away from the scene was that Visas Marr is mostly a witness to this conversation and not really a full participant.

[Haveayap 127]

Yes, I thought the Nihilus attacking Sion (or vice versa) wasn't necessary. I am on board with your focus. :}

  

 

I don't think Sion needs to respond to her either. If anything, Visas should probably mutter a "Yes, Master" type of line to Nihilus after he "calls her off". (I could try to find an appropriate one for you.)

I am not sure how you see it but what I took from away from the scene was that Visas Marr is mostly a witness to this conversation and not really a full participant.

I thought it would make sense for Visas to be more of a witness than actually involved in their confrontation... IDT Sion would care about her opinion and we all see how Nihilus treats her, if anything, Nihilus should choke her for forgetting her place

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

I thought it would make sense for Visas to be more of a witness than actually involved in their confrontation... IDT Sion would care about her opinion and we all see how Nihilus treats her, if anything, Nihilus should choke her for forgetting her place

Exactly why I'm still on the fence about even having her draw her lightsaber.

[Haveayap 127]

Exactly why I'm still on the fence about even having her draw her lightsaber.

Maybe you could have her draw her saber after he says that he never needed Nihilus.

 

Then when Sion says Traya is still alive, have Nihilus pause than choke Visas (have her say something about being sorry.)

 

After that, Nihilus starts whispering (presumably about another Jedi (the exile) being alive who they both presume to be a Jedi)

 

Then show Sion walking out and zoom in on Nihilus face. It would make sense for them to still be acquaintances at least in this scene because of events later on (also the whole choking off Visas by Nihilus could show the friction between the two and establish an order of hiararchy)...

 

The scene looks great overall though. A little off topic - but has Visas met Kreia before they meet on the Ebon Hawk? Because the way she acts, I feel as though she hasn't met Darth Traya.