Cutscenes: Difference between revisions

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==Part 1==
==Part 1==
''The Map''
Download the test map snitch1.pk4. This provides a dressed set, the two actors, a player start near some handy buttons, and a script to run the scene.


''Camera Creation''
''Camera Creation''


Open the map ''snitch1'' in Dark Radiant. In this map, center stage is the billboard on the north wall (+Y direction) of the courtyard. The two actors wait offstage, the guard at the end of a hallway to the NE, the informant on a porch to the West.
Open the map ''snitch1.map'' in Dark Radiant. In this map, center stage is the billboard on the north wall (+Y direction) of the courtyard. The two actors wait offstage, the guard at the end of a hallway to the NE, the informant on a porch to the West.
 
Let's add the first of four cameras. Add the entity ''darkmod->func->func_cameraview'' and move it so its origin is 32 units over the top of the bush in the SE corner. ''func_cameraview'' is the camera. Give it the following key/value pairs:


Let's add the first of four cameras. Add the entity darkmod->func->func_cameraview and move it so its origin is 32 units over the top of the bush in the SE corner. func_cameraview is the camera. Give it the following key/value pairs:
"name"      "Camera1" (for unique identification)


"name"     "Camera1"
"trigger"   "1" (this camera will work when triggered)


"trigger"   "1"
"cinematic" "1" (this entity will move during filming)


"cinematic" "1"
When setting up any scene, you should first present a ''Master Shot'' to give the player a sense of where the scene is taking place. Is it in a dining room, in an alley, on the roof of a Builder cathedral? Camera1 will be our Master Shot camera, pulled back enough to present the courtyard and show where our scene is taking place.

Revision as of 16:04, 1 September 2010

Intro

This article discusses the use of cameras and conversations to create map cutscenes.

Though information on these topics already exists (see Resources below), there isn't a single place that shows you how to create a scene using these technologies.

Hopefully, the following will fill in that gap.

The information is presented in 5 parts:

Part 1 - Camera creation, pointing the camera, starting the scene, changing cameras, ending the scene, and the infamous "cinematic" spawnflag

Part 2 - Splines, camera movement

Part 3 - Conversation, vocals, camera position, lighting, where to place the player

Part 4 - Animation, triggers, sound effects, objectives

Part 5 - A step-by-step breakdown of the Somewhere Above the City cutscene

Each part includes a (small) map which you can edit to test things.

The Scene

In the scene we'll be creating, a City Watch guard is meeting an informant to hear about an upcoming bank heist. The script is simple: the two actors walk onstage, talk, and depart. The map is called Snitch.

Part 1

The Map

Download the test map snitch1.pk4. This provides a dressed set, the two actors, a player start near some handy buttons, and a script to run the scene.


Camera Creation

Open the map snitch1.map in Dark Radiant. In this map, center stage is the billboard on the north wall (+Y direction) of the courtyard. The two actors wait offstage, the guard at the end of a hallway to the NE, the informant on a porch to the West.

Let's add the first of four cameras. Add the entity darkmod->func->func_cameraview and move it so its origin is 32 units over the top of the bush in the SE corner. func_cameraview is the camera. Give it the following key/value pairs:

"name" "Camera1" (for unique identification)

"trigger" "1" (this camera will work when triggered)

"cinematic" "1" (this entity will move during filming)

When setting up any scene, you should first present a Master Shot to give the player a sense of where the scene is taking place. Is it in a dining room, in an alley, on the roof of a Builder cathedral? Camera1 will be our Master Shot camera, pulled back enough to present the courtyard and show where our scene is taking place.