Custom NPC scripting...only if it makes you happy. XD

[Shyanna]

Hullo guys!

I have a proposition for someone, should they have the time and expertise to help me out.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been drawing my resources together to purchase a freakin' s**t load of programs, all of them geared towards the creation of machinima! Some I already had such as Milkshape 3D in the case of custom animations, but anyhow, on to you guys!

I am in the process of compiling an ArcEmu server so it's (hopefully) less buggy for smoother shooting, but I've got some serious scenes in mind that would have much, much greater impact if they were shot 'on site' so to say, instead of being chroma keyed and pasted into a scene.

I've been tinkering around with doing it myself, scripting NPCs with C++, but the level of detail isn't something I can find in a tutorial, I need someone who actually knows the language. That and I am having a horrible time trying to figure out how to stick the script in the database to even spawn it on the server.

With that being said of course it doesn't have to be made in C++, a Lua scripted NPC is just as fine with me, as long as it acts as necessary on camera! So, here's a brief synopsis for a single scene involving custom NPC scripts:


FX: Battle cries and dying screams

C: Pan in Right Shoulder aerial

CS: Spawn outside of camera shot, run in to assault the outside wall

CS: Dying soldiers as Alliance soldiers also pour in from outside the camera shot, attacking the Orc invaders, and Orcs tearing mercilessly at the wall.

FX: The bell tolls

C: Ground rear center shot, following a newly spawned Orc as he/she rushes to the wall, weapons unsheathed.

C: Slow motion as blood spatters across the camera lens, and the Orc falls to the ground.

C: Ground Pan up slowly, taking in the heaving form of Uther.

Random Soldier: The Lightbringer! The Lightbringer comes!

Uther: Push these dogs back to the gate, protect Lordaeron at all costs!

FX: Bell tolls as orcs fall in heaps to Uther's hammer as the scene fades to black.


The lines outlined in red are actual scripted effects, the rest will be edited in via WMV, Premiere, and After Effects.

So...as you can see it isn't a very long scene, and for the sake of the lore geek in me, this is the assault on Lordaron after the Orcs came through the DP. Ahem, moving on, hehe, this is a very complicated scripting job (at least for me), I had a few ideas on how to accomplish it but I am running into a brick wall at every turn.

I was thinking I could spawn Horde guards that aggro Alliance, and change the properties of an invisible object that I could line against the wall outside of the UC so that they might aggro the object, and attack it, thus giving the appearance of a siege.

But like I said, this is not something I can find in a tutorial, I need expertise. It's moved out of NPC scripting to object manipulation, and again, this is only one scene; this will be a roughly 3 1/2 minute movie, with at least 4 other key scenes involving well known lore.

So if someone feels like being a movie developer please send me a PM, or if someone feels generous enough to have a nice long chat with me to help me accomplish my task, I couldn't thank you enough. And of course you will have a very thoughtful spot in the Credits of the finished product itself.

[stoneharry]

You have a good concept and it looks like you've thought this through, but I doubt anyone would do anything as complicated as this would needed to be for free. :/ I myself would give you a hand but I don't have the time for something on this scale. Good luck though, you have realistic ideas.

[Shyanna]

Well I'm glad they are realistic and not "Lol u n00b, cant do that" hehe. I was thinking when I wrote this out I'd get bombarded, but thanks for the encouragement.

I am still pursuing the task myself, it will just take me weeks, maybe months of practice before I can perfect it, making this project incredibly long once actual editing is factored in. I really want to make this machinima, I think all Horde fans will appreciate it when it's completed, so I will keep going! I just thought I would ask here and see if anyone was interested.