Contest showcase video

[Tapp]

My idea of how you should do this is the following:

Everybody downloads the same devshot cameras (thrown together quite quickly, feel free to make your own, and 3 and/or 17 aren't working, but they're in the same place so if one works, use that one) and places the prefab at the origin

Everyone compiles using -makedevshots, then they pick and submit their favourite 10, with the map name in the bottom right corner

You make the video using a slideshow of these images grouped together, for easy comparison (all of the pictures of C, from different maps, etc.)

Alternatively, you could grab the .dem file from whoever made the video for the artpass official page, and do the same thing with 10 seconds of video, though I imagine that would be a LOT harder to coordinate.

 

[drp]

if you want, i can host it on the tf2m youtube account

 

[Grim Tuesday]

My idea of how you should do this is the following:

Everybody downloads the same devshot cameras (thrown together quite quickly, feel free to make your own, and 3 and/or 17 aren't working, but they're in the same place so if one works, use that one) and places the prefab at the origin

Everyone compiles using -makedevshots, then they pick and submit their favourite 10, with the map name in the bottom right corner

You make the video using a slideshow of these images grouped together, for easy comparison (all of the pictures of C, from different maps, etc.)

Alternatively, you could grab the .dem file from whoever made the video for the artpass official page, and do the same thing with 10 seconds of video, though I imagine that would be a LOT harder to coordinate.

You know, I thought of that a while ago. I think, however, that the whole point of a video is to have stuff moving, whereas the devshots would most likely be better on some type of showcase website. I wonder, if I made a demo of the artpass map, original artpass_valvebase, and then renamed peoples maps to that standard name, would there be any way to override the "your map does not match server version" error. Can anyone confirm or deny that this works?

Also, tapp, I wonder if there is a way to place a small model, maybe a standard TF2 model in your prefab, and make people recompile the map with it in there, to get an exact location for the camera track.

 

[J4CK8]

You know, I thought of that a while ago. I think, however, that the whole point of a video is to have stuff moving, whereas the devshots would most likely be better on some type of showcase website. I wonder, if I made a demo of the artpass map, original artpass_valvebase, and then renamed peoples maps to that standard name, would there be any way to override the "your map does not match server version" error. Can anyone confirm or deny that this works?

It seemed to work. I renamed version b10 of my artpass map to artpass_demotest, recorded a demo, renamed a copy of version b4 to artpass_demotest, played the demo and it did play in the older version of the map, however there were issues. Not sure if it will work perfectly.

Also, some maps are going to have different geomatry which might cause the camera to move inside geomatry on those maps.

EDIT: This being the major issue with mine, the trigger thing should actualy be a rotating filter under the point.

 

[Draco18s]

Can anyone confirm or deny that this works?

To an extremely limited degree.

It will not be sufficient for what you're trying to do, sadly, as any dynamic entities that don't match up between versions will not correctly render.

I was doing this with my own maps for a while...until it broke horribly.

Edit:
Pictures didn't take, but I did make a video at the same time (video up).

Here's the pics (had to play the demo again):

First image has a sign running around, when in actuality it's an env_smokestack
Second image contains on the left a missing sign (parented to a func door) and a func_door from somewhere else (god only knows where, exactly). As well as on the right a missing prop.
Blue spawn area portals were also "leaking."

 

[Grim Tuesday]

The areaportals always leak, I can turn them off for recording. IMO, its quite possible to do this with the unified demofile way, but just choose an area of the map for each person where they have few errors!

 

[Tapp]

Well, you could just have a info_observer_point parented to a func_tracktrain fly around the map (within another shared prefab), and record that...

 

[A Boojum Snark]

The areaportals always leak, I can turn them off for recording. IMO, its quite possible to do this with the unified demofile way, but just choose an area of the map for each person where they have few errors!

No. Period. Demos reference things in the various BSP lumps by index, and trying to do what you suggest would just result in brush model errors everywhere as has been shown, let alone the fact that merely renaming a BSP breaks things.

 

[grazr]

I don't see what's so bad about using the TF2 menu music. Plus there are plenty of different songs now thanks to the class updates.

People will always be biased to their personal tastes when it comes to music and the TF2 menu music is something everyone can relate to.

Those or a remix of those would probably be most appropriate. Especially if it's going to be featured anywhere such as here on or Valve's blog.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

Well, you could just have a info_observer_point parented to a func_tracktrain fly around the map (within another shared prefab), and record that...

I dont believe tracktrains can do splines.

 

[Draco18s]

I dont believe tracktrains can do splines.

They have easing. It's not perfect, but it might work.

I'll see if I can get something that might work here...

Edit:
Success! It is possible to parent an info_observer_point to a func_tracktrain and the results are quite good.

I didn't play around with the turn radius settings too much, so it's a little jerky in some places were the corners weren't well defined, but I was doing a slip-shod job of it.
(Second edit: turns out that fewer path_tracks makes for a smoother camera, all those extra entities force the camera to rotate faster than its wheel-base would normally allow for and creates short jerks as it quickly corrects.* In either case, you still have to allow enough room for the train to rotate, so no sharp corners!)

Gah, another 11 minute to upload to Youtube. x..X
Video is processing up. It's only a few seconds long, but enough to get the idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFTgPVw3R14

*A later compile with a wider wheel base made the corner out of the barn choppy.

 

[Draco18s]

Attached is a prefab of the camera'd tracktrain. It's not perfectly smooth, but works pretty good. Covers the whole map, nearly every room (at least as much as is reasonable without backtracking through too many areas), and travels in a complete loop.

It won't fit every map perfectly, but if mappers altered only the nodes that cause the camera to clip inside walls or other things it would maintain enough consistency to still splice videos together.

Edit:
I just noticed that (for whatever reason) the prefab when inserted into the valve base (which I used to built it) does not insert exactly where it was when it was created. It is off by (384, -464, 99), just use ctrl-M and move it by those numbers (x, y, z) and it will be in the right place assuming you didn't relocate/rotate your map.*

*If you did, then flythrough2 (very near the info_observer_point) should be just barely outside of blue spawn's door farthest from the "barn." Flythrough28 should be right on the edge of the stair landing in the building "south" of A. Most nodes will be 64 units off the ground. Flythrough68 (#69 is the southernmost one) is just inside the side room near C, at the stairway headed up, 8 units south and 32 units east the door frame's origin.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

IDK, it looks really awkward and shifty. Kinda like it was a train on a track (no shit).

I think its probably better to just go with the standard "best parts/highlights" style.

 

[Draco18s]

Fair enough. I just thought I'd try and throw something together with what tools I had available.

 

[Mr. Happy]

Import the path tracks as nulls to an xsi file, make them curve knots, animate a ball flying along the curve, make it a prop_dynamic, parent an info_observerpoint to it, build an entfile that (does tf2 support ent files?) adds the two new entities to the map and your golden.

 

[Swordz]

Nice idea man, i will probally do the final compile tomorrow or tuesday, then i will post here again

 

[Grim Tuesday]

Nice idea man, i will probally do the final compile tomorrow or tuesday, then i will post here again

Dude, I thought you'd quit! I cant wait to see what your finished is!
Post some pics in your thread.

 

[Tapp]

Import the path tracks as nulls to an xsi file, make them curve knots, animate a ball flying along the curve, make it a prop_dynamic, parent an info_observerpoint to it, build an entfile that (does tf2 support ent files?) adds the two new entities to the map and your golden.

One problem: The origin of the ball stays in the same place, regardless of the position of it in the animation.

 

[Draco18s]

I know there is a way to create a camera animation, its how they do the L4D intro cutscenes.

 

[A Boojum Snark]

One problem: The origin of the ball stays in the same place, regardless of the position of it in the animation.

Attachment points would be used. Like the player model has one for hats, one for the flag, and several others.