WC Animated Serial Concepts

Thanks for the ideas Gevatter Lars. It's pretty much all stuff I've already gone through myself, so I'll just try and explain why it ended up the way it did.

The Dralthi Markings: This is something I had wanted to implement from the beginning. It's just a cool aesthetic idea. But when it came down to it, it's a lot of extra work (making different models for each faction) and just adds confusion in a situation where it really isn't necessary... that and I couldn't really find a way to make them look cool...

The whole Dralthi design thing: I was trying to emulate the original Dralthi from wc1... which is why it's not assymetric and jagged like later kilrathi designs... It's just a classic sci-fi design. And though I have taken some liberties in it's presentation, I'm trying to make everything as close to the original designs as possible. I want this thing to feel like wing commander.

Blurring the Dralthi: OH just wait... you'll see when it's animated...

The Naval Base's shading: Good cell shading in 3D is not easy to do (or get in a software package)... And so ALL cgi fighters, capships, bases, etc in the series are going to look that way. I do have the option of painting on top of a still rendered image if the vessel is not moving, but then it may create some inconsistancies with the other shots. It's something I still haven't come to a final decision on.

Two things that I didn't notice were the crosshairs effect and the moon brightness. I'm going to look into them a bit and see what I can do to fix it up.

The Characters: They're hand drawn rough, then scanned, then drawn over using a tablet in photoshop... The style is something of my own invention. I didn't want them to look too cartoony, seeing as it's a serious story, but at the same time, I desperately didn't want them to look anime-ish. As for more details on their clothes; it's always an ongoing battle in animation, detail vs simplicity. The thing is, every line you draw, you have to redraw in every god damn frame... argh

Edit: Wow, my Dralthi is remarkably similar to SWC's... cool.
 
Neat!

I like the space scenes alot! :)

The characters look a little tooooo cartoony for my taste.. but then it is just my taste....

Definately cool work though, look forward to seeing more.. :)

-Johnny
 
Holy. Shit. That cockpit shot made my night.

I had previously played at making a WC comic strip called "The Hornet's Nest" (after the comic mentioned in Claw Marks) and basing it after interactions on the CZ and #wingnut. I found that doing rough pencil sketches don't scan well to computer and I tend to ink like a man with two broken hands - so I kinda gave up after a week.

I am very happy to see someone attempting this - I'm a huge sucker for a good cartoon and would gladly donate whatever I can into this project albeit may not be much (I have two jobs and a freelance writing commission from an artist) but please let me know if I can assist in any way, shape or form.
 
Thanks guys. I'm very happy that the community seems to be pretty enthused about the project. I've been working on it for months just trying to get it to work right.

For anybody who wants to help out:

I need a title... and I haven't had much luck thinking of one yet. Some working titles have been "Wing Commander: 2661" and "Wing Commander: Vega" but if anybody has any other idea's post them!

Also, music. The current plan is to use the WC movie soundtrack as the series' music, seeing as it contains a whole lot of material great for splicing together and editing to fit the cinematics. And I also really like it. Would anybody own the soundtrack and be willing to contribute? I only have a fraction of the songs in my possesion, some of not perfect quality...

For anybody who wants to contribute in any other way just let me know. I'll take all the help I can get...

Edit: I just looked at that drawing Lehah, It's pretty damn cool. Too bad the comic never worked out, it would have been great.
 
I don't really know what you're going to do with the story or who the characters will be, but I like the "Wing Commander: ???" idea. Perhaps something to do with what the overall story arc will be about. So if it's about the Kilrathi isolating a space station or a ship it could be something like "Wing Commander: Siege". Or even what ship or space station the characters are on.

Other than that, great work so far. I'd like to see how it turns out.
 
The Dralthi Markings: This is something I had wanted to implement from the beginning. It's just a cool aesthetic idea. But when it came down to it, it's a lot of extra work (making different models for each faction) and just adds confusion in a situation where it really isn't necessary... that and I couldn't really find a way to make them look cool...
Click to expand...

I don't know how you textured your model, but from what I thought you would do something like this.
Taking the Wingtexture and make 2 copys of it.
Then you put on one of the the normal Kilrathi markings and on the other the Drakhai markings.
Load the model an replace the wingtexture...save it as a new file...thats it.

Well I don't know what program you use or how you have done the textures so I will just believe you that its to much work (knowing how much work modeling can make)

The whole Dralthi design thing: I was trying to emulate the original Dralthi from wc1... which is why it's not assymetric and jagged like later kilrathi designs... It's just a classic sci-fi design. And though I have taken some liberties in it's presentation, I'm trying to make everything as close to the original designs as possible. I want this thing to feel like wing commander.
Click to expand...

And you have done it very well...when I saw the fighters I would have thought Dralthi ahead...even if wouldn't have posted it here where nearly everything is Wing Commander related.

Blurring the Dralthi: OH just wait... you'll see when it's animated...
Click to expand...
I will thats for sure!

The Naval Base's shading: Good cell shading in 3D is not easy to do (or get in a software package)... And so ALL cgi fighters, capships, bases, etc in the series are going to look that way. I do have the option of painting on top of a still rendered image if the vessel is not moving, but then it may create some inconsistancies with the other shots. It's something I still haven't come to a final decision on.
Click to expand...

If the missing shadows have something to do with the rendering programm or something like that its ok if you leave it as it is.

Two things that I didn't notice were the crosshairs effect and the moon brightness. I'm going to look into them a bit and see what I can do to fix it up.
Click to expand...
I am allways happy if I can help ^_^

The Characters: They're hand drawn rough, then scanned, then drawn over using a tablet in photoshop... The style is something of my own invention. I didn't want them to look too cartoony, seeing as it's a serious story, but at the same time, I desperately didn't want them to look anime-ish. As for more details on their clothes; it's always an ongoing battle in animation, detail vs simplicity. The thing is, every line you draw, you have to redraw in every god damn frame... argh
Click to expand...

Wow handdrawn...thats a lot of work...maybe you could ask Leha if he helps you, the drawing he made looked quite good and if he learns how to make it look like your coloration (maybe he can allready do that himself) it would save you quite much time you could use for additinal CGI work.


I would like to help, but I haven't got the sparetime for it or the tallent..well have done a model here and there for WC: Saga, but I still can not texture. :(
and even writing is out of question, cause I am out of ideas at the moment....still working on my Kilrathi story.
 
Corsair(pilot) said:
Would anybody own the soundtrack and be willing to contribute? I only have a fraction of the songs in my possesion, some of not perfect quality...

For anybody who wants to contribute in any other way just let me know. I'll take all the help I can get...

Edit: I just looked at that drawing Lehah, It's pretty damn cool. Too bad the comic never worked out, it would have been great.
Click to expand...

I have the soundtrack and will gladly help out. You only need to contact me via AIM.

It's hard to suggest a title when we don't know the plotline.

Your posts here has got me reinterested in doing a comic strip. If theres any advice you have in terms of "scanning", I'd be more than happy to listen to it.
 
Eh, I'd prefer it if you guys talked about copying the movie soundtrack somewhere else - we're pretty lax about things that can't be found anywhere else... but you can get yourself a movie soundtrack for .75 cents off of Half.com. :)
 
We need a carrier for our pilots. If this is 2661, we have 4 choices.

A Bengal class such as the TCS Kyoto or TCS Eagle's Talon
A Concordia Class such as the TCS Winterrowd or TCS Lexington (CV-44)
A Jutland Class such as the TCS Trafalgar or TCS Leyte Gulf
A Ranger class such as the TCS Victory

I'd personally suggest the Bengal class, such as the TCS Eagle's Talon CV-11 (Is that the right registry.) As for the music, I'd suggest using the movie soundtrack and elements (enhanced for quality if neccesary) of the WC1 and WC2 soundtrack. For example, hearing the WC2 victory music would be cool after our courageous heroes have destroyed a cat carrier.
 
I merely stated that I had the soundtrack. I have no intention of copying it for anyone else. :) (I had actually gave my post a second look and was going to edit it so I was a touch clearer on my intentions - but you had posted by that point and figured yours wouldn't make any sense.)
 
Then you must understand that I merely *suggested* that I'd ban you if you stated something in that manner again. :)

Re: carrier discussion. The hull number for the Eagle's Talon is unknown, so anything you make up is fine. I'd suggest the Bengal or the Concordia over the Ranger or the Jutland. Rangers were probably delegated to third tier assignments by that time in the war (remember, the Victory had been brought back to the front just recently in WC3)... and I'm not a huge fan of the fan imagining of only-referenced ships (not that they did a bad job on the Jutland, it looks great).
 
Wow, I'm impressed, Corsair. It's very "clean" looking animation, which I like. I won't tell you what to do, but I'll just say I can't wait to see it. Oh, and if you need voice-overs, and have a youngish character in need of a nasal Midwestern voice like mine, I'm your man! :p
 
The Carrier: This is something that's been tossed around quite a bit since the project was started.

In the first episode there is no carrier... and that's the only script that has been fully completed. My original outlines had the series' carrier as a Bengal class. More recently I changed it to an early Ranger class, which gives it more of that underdog feel.

Here's a brief synopsis:

In 2661 the Kilrathi launch a surprise offensive in the vega sector, punching through the confederation front lines in the first strikes. A handful of Terran vessels remaining in the forward systems must hold the enemy at bay while reinforcements are en route.

That's pretty much as specific as I can get without giving away the story. And I don't want to ruin it for everybody, seeing as you can only fit so much story into a series of shorts... I will say that I was planning to have our carrier caught in the Venice system... I'm wondering if that would be acceptable considering the time period/status of the war?

Edit: Just to clarify, the dates and places in the outlines are flexible, so long as it fits the story well. I just felt that placing the action in that large gap between wc1 and 2 gave me alot of freedom to do whatever I felt worked well. Which is the same reason I plan not to use the name of a carrier already introduced in the games/books, unless of coarse it's a very vague reference.
 
Venice would have been firmly under Terran control. The main fighting would be in the Enigma sector, which had been contested since the Claw was destroyed in '56. I suggest a Bengal only because the Rangers, like LOAF said, would be no where near the frontlines until 2669.
 
Also, regarding names. The Eagle's Talon was mentioned only once or twice so I believe its vague enough for your purposes.
 
This is assuming the Eagles Talon has survived for 7 years. We know of maybe a half-dozen of the maybe 10-12 'modern' Bengals produced. Nothings really stopping you from keeping with the naming convention and taking one for your own. Personally, that would be a bit more personal to me if it were my pet project :).

C-ya
 
There's actually a good bit of information on the Eagle's Talon and some of her pilots (in the WC1/2 Guide).
 
How about the carrier being the TCS Hornet CV-12, it fits the name specs for a Bengal. Here is an example of a news brief that would go with the comic.


TERRAN CONFEDERATION MILITARY NEWS NETWORK

CONFEDERATION NEWS BRIEF: 2661.092

CONCORDIA LAUNCHED:

Last Monday (2661.086), Sirius Prime Shipyards (SPS) launched the second of the massive Confederation class dreadnoughts, the TCS Concordia CVS-65. The ship features some notable improvements over her older sister ship, Confederation (Launched 2660.080, registry CVS-64) , such as additional hull plating and refinements to the Phase Transit Cannon (PTC) which reduce the likely hood of accidental explosion of the massive weapon, which is capable of destroying any enemy vessel, including the Kilrathi Hha’ifra class. After her initial workups, Concordia proceeded from Sirius to the Enigma sector with Rear Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in command. Upon her arrival, she will become the flagship of the 14th fleet.

Specifications for the vessels can be found in the library database: Confederation Military > Naval Vessels > Carriers > Specifications.

ENIGMA SECTOR UPDATE:

Confederation forces made several strategic advances into Kilrathi held territory over the last few weeks. A Confederation carrier group, led by the TCS Hornet CV-12, successfully penetrated the Tesla system and removed the Kilrathi presence from the majority of the system. Small pockets of Kilrathi resistance, which include one Snakier class carrier. Hornet’s fighters successfully secured a suitable position for a new naval station, which construction of should commence by 2661.110. Confederation forces lost 18 fighter craft and one destroyer, TCS Baxter DD-539. Confederation casualties are numbered at 85. The Kilrathi forces lost 3 destroyers and two Fralthi class cruisers. Enemy casualties are estimated around 1,400.

Another strategic advance into the Niffelhiem system is expected to commence within the next week. This task force, centering around the brand new TCS Concordia, will attempt to punch a hole in the Kilrathi lines. Confederation forces are continuing to do well but no significant strategic advantage has been gained since the legendary TCS Tiger’s Claw CV-07 was destroyed five years ago during the failed attack on Kilrathi sector HQ at K’Tithrak Mang.

SHIP OF THE WEEK:

Each week we focus on a special vessel in the Confederation fleet that has gone above and beyond the call of duty or has just held the line and been reliable in combat. This week’s ship is the Bengal class carrier TCS Hornet CV-12, which was mentioned earlier in this report. The crew of the ship have performed spectacularly in their liberation of the Tesla system, which include numerous decorations to her pilots and crew and another Battle “E” for efficiency, which is awarded by the President himself. Her crew has performed consistently to this level since the ship was commissioned in 2649. There is no doubt in my mind that she deserves this award.

Information on the Hornet can be found in the library database under Confederation Military > Naval Vessels > Ship Histories > Carriers > TCS Hornet.

Information on the class can be found under Confederation Military > Naval Vessels > Specifications > Carriers > Bengal Class

Additional articles on this news brief can be found on the next page. For further reference, this article can be found under Confederation Military > Intelligence > News Briefs> 2661 > .92
 
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