After messing about in After Effects for a while I’ve come up with this for the Phoenix Video.
OK, so it’s not much… but it was more of a learning experience really. I went from zero AE skills this morning to this as 11pm, so it’s some achievement, right?
…right?
EDIT: Hmph, no Vimeo embedding, eh? Whatev.
Another TF2 crossover video I found, this time with Assassin’s Creed. Doesn’t work quite as well as the Simpsons one, but it’s still good.
Gotta love the sniper at the end.
A funny little video of Simpsons clips remixed with TF2 dialog. It syncs up suprisingly well…
Thanks to MikeyTWolf for spotting this.
So I haven’t posted in the last few days, which is a long time for the interwebz. It’s due to a combination of things, mainly the fact that I have exams starting in a few weeks that I’ve been revising for. Also I’ve been spending most my comp time buried up to my neck in Source Recorder tutorials and unplayable demo files, worrying about framerates and other geeky stuff like that (more of that later).
This isn’t a post that has anything to say really, just that once my exams are over I’ll be back on form. Stuff I’ve got coming includes reviews of the Synergy and Jailbreak mods for Half-Life 2; in fact I’m thinking of making mod reviews a regular feature on here (not at all an idea stolen from Chris Livingston’s “The Demoman”). Since mods are always in development, I’ll keep track of a few at a time and post any interesting changes up here. Any potential title ideas? By the way, I’d appreciate any help people want to give in terms of playing the mods with me, especially Synergy as it’s all about co-op.
Something else interesting I found the other day is FakeFactory & Ogg’s High Resolution Pack for Half-Life 2. It replaces most of the textures in-game to higher resolution versions, that actually make it look a lot better. For a free little package it adds a surprising amount to the game, for one thing the incentive to go back and replay it and be reminded of it’s amazingness. Only minor gripe I have is that the new texture changes the faces of some of the characters. Of course, that’s the point, kinda, and most look similar enough to not be annoying. With any other game this wouldn’t be a problem in the slightest, but in Half-Life 2, a game whose characters have such expressive facial animation and developed personalities that you genuinely feel a connection to them, it’s a little unsettling. That’s all.
Old and new Barney comparison:
Ok, so they really aren’t that different. Whatever.
On a side note, the new Vortigaunt skin textures are lovely:
Moving on, I’m in the process of creating a video for my squad CP-Phoenix. It initially was going to be just footage from one scrimmage back in April, us vs “1337 a55 pwnrz” (stupid name I know, we whupped them thoroughly), but I’ve decided to take footage from any forthcoming scrims and stick it together to showcase the squad’s MAD SKILLZORS. Ahem.
I’ve been getting frustrated by the fact that whenever TF2 updates the old demo files become unplayable, and as such I can’t capture any footage from them. It’s kind of learning experience though because I’ve had to learn the ins and outs of demos, and how to use source recorder and VirtualDub, not to mention a chance to get to grips with my new editing software. The video should be finished some time between now and death, and of course I’ll post up here about it, as well as on the Control Point forums. Believe me, I’ll want to pimp it out as much as possible
That’s about it for now. If this blog interests you then the only sensible thing to do is keep hitting f5 over and over and over and over and over and over again until I update. You know it makes sense.
As you may have heard, there been a bit of a hoo-ha over the American remake of Spaced.
For those of you who don’t know the context I’ll fill you in: Spaced was a sitcom that appeared on Channel 4 in 1999 and 2001. It was written by and starred Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson (now Hynes) and was directed by Edgar Wright, who went on to make Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz with Simon and Nick Frost (also a cast member). I could wax on for hours about it’s influence on modern sitcoms, it’s hilarious and wonderful characters, it’s superb direction… but I won’t. It’s just very, very good. Watch it. I’m serious.
Anyway, plans were made a while back to remake the programme in the US. This is saddening, not to mention pointless, but not actually surprising. Spaced is so good that it was only a matter of time before someone saw it’s potential to be put through the wringer, altered beyond recognition and prostituted to Americans in fruitless attempt to recreate the magic of the original.
It has been appropriately nickednamed McSpaced by the internet.
The fuss that’s being made is due to the fact that none, I repeat, none of the original production members were contacted for their input, approval or even thoughts on the project. They were not aware of it until it was annouced to the public. Of course, it wasn’t strictly necessary. Not strictly. The rights were not owned by Edgar, Jessica or Simon, of course. It’s just common courtesy.
Basically, Simon Pegg wrote a big post about it on his fansite, ad he can express what’s going on much more eloquently that I, so I’ll just copy/paste it here:
I had hoped I would only have to do this once. Despite, feeling extremely disgruntled by the whole affair, I never wanted the issue of the Spaced remake to turn into a public slanging match. I intended my original statement to be a definitive outline of my position on the whole thing. I have hardly mentioned it publicly since, with the exception of a few interviews during my Run Fat Boy Run press when I was drawn into discussing the subject, most notably on EW.Com. These few occasions are negligible compared to the amount of times I have deflected the issue toward my original comments. The Observer Newspaper in the UK chased me for an interview which I did not give. They ran the article anyway, using passages from my statement, in lieu of exclusive content. However after comments made on Hollywood Deadline by someone who may or may not have been Robert Green from Granada USA, I feel I should respond to the criticism leveled at me personally, as an emitter of “bullshit”. The post insists that we have been repeatedly “reached out” to and have petulantly rebuffed their attempts at communication like spoilt children. For the record these attempts to reach out were only ever made after the announcement in the trades and indeed after production had started on the pilot episode. That we are being blasted for not accepting these attempts at communication so long after the damage had been done is ludicrous. I don’t think I can put it better than Sarah, a poster over on the Hollywood Deadline talk back.
“Green’s comments are akin to taking a shit on someone’s doorstep,
then getting all hurt and aggressive because the owner of the house not
only complains but also doesn’t help clean up the mess.“The incredibly offensive insinuation that those who have expressed their sympathy and concern are cum gargling “idiots” represents extraordinarily misguided aggression by the the poster, whether it be Robert Green or not. The internet, with the establishing of Spaced-Out.org.uk and latterly Peggster.net, Frostitution.net, Edgarwright.co.uk, Jessicahynes.co.uk and others, have been largely responsible for bringing together a huge international community of Spaced fans, many of them in areas where the show isn’t even available on domestic DVD. The defensive response to this situation has been amazing. At best it has been hugely empathetic, light hearted and heartfelt, at worst it has engendered unseemly anti-Americanism, from narrow minded people who equate US television with poor quality, inexplicably failing to recognize the sheer historical weight of outstanding American televisual output, which I for one, consume avidly and with a sloppy chin. Despite the latter’s unwelcome presence in our corner, the support from you “website idiots” has been extremely touching, to say the least.
Edgar has had a conversation with McG. I have phoned him a few times and to be fair, he has returned my calls, but after missing each other several times and the ball once again in my court, the wind has somewhat disappeared from my sails. I’m not sure what I have to say or indeed what can be said at this stage. The fact is, the Spaced remake went into production without our knowledge and that was upsetting. It is as simple as that. Now we are being criticized by the perpetrators of that upset for expressing regret. Even now, there has been no apology, only excuses.
This issue has only ever been about courtesy, never about money or credit. Also, how can anyone claim that Spaced is something we want left in the past, when we have spent the last few years trying to secure the release of the DVD in North America, Canada and other territories and the last few months compiling new artwork and commentaries to give the release some extra Spaced specialness. Also, despite time and circumstance conspiring against us, we have never categorically ruled out the possibility of more. Tim, Daisy, Mike, Brian, Twist, Marsha and Colin all have destinies locked in mine and Jess’s collective grey matter, who’s to say they won’t some day be played out.
If you’ve skipped to the end, here’s the simple summation. Somebody stamps on your foot then complains when you say ‘ouch’? To adopt a little “website idiot” parlance, WTF?
Simon Pegg
I’ll continue to post up stuff about McSpaced whenever anything happens, and I’ll probably review it when It’s out, if I can watch it on the internet somewhere.
In the meantime, remember: Say No To McSpaced!
So, TF2 was patched. As you probably know. It’s already been discussed on many good blogs.
New medic weapons and achievements, a new map, and most importantly new melee weapon animations. Now you can do a double-handed kukri swing!
I’m not going to copy/paste all the details, but they’re all on the Steam news page for your perusal.
I actually really enjoy Goldrush. It has a Dustbowly quality that appeals to me. And the new achievements are awesome. At first it was possible to unlock them with console commands, but Valve patched that after a few hours. Good thing too, I was getting sick of there being a cacophony of celebration sounds every six seconds.
But Gold Rush, yeah. It is Gold Rush, not Goldrush. I like it. I was especially impressed by how Valve incorporated Ep2’s cinematic physics into the end of the map. When the bomb reaches the end it falls into a pit and explodes, pretty awesomely too.
However most of my post-update playtime was spent grinding for medic achievements, which personally I don’t have a problem with because it actually takes a lot of effort. Not least trying to get people to co-operate. There’s one achievement to heal 10,000 points in one life, and I heard many a groan of anguish as someone was inadvertantly bonesaw’d at 9800.
After about 4/5 hours total play I have the Ubersaw and I feel… meh. I realise that I didn’t want the weapons for their usefulness as much as just fulfilling my completist needs. Which sucks, really, because that’s not the goal. And I am really a completist. I can’t think of a game I’ve played that I haven’t made a concerted effort to reach 100%.
Madlep seems very angry with Valve for making people do achievements to unlock the weapons, and to some extent I agree with him. I’m kind of torn between my desire to unlock everything (I’m glad I don’t own an Xbox 360, or I’d spend all my time getting achievements), and the fact that, as a PC gamer, I’m used to free, no-strings-attached content updates and I don’t appreciate having to make extra effort to get things that should be mine.
The upshot is that even if Valve continue with this achievements for unlocks system, I’ll still keep grinding despite my previous reservations, just because I have a strange need to 100% complete games.
To be honest, I shouldn’t begrduge Valve the props they deserve for this update because a whole lot of work has gone into it, and it’s natural that not everyone will be pleased - that would be impossible. Whenever I have a minor gripe with Valve, I just remind myself that they’re not EA: they do care about their product and it’s community.
So I’ve made up my mind: I like this update. And Valve. And TF2. Obviously.
A little side note: I like the fact that the Ubersaw fills up with team-coloured gunk when you’re ubercharge is charged. A nice touch.
