«@ArtificialArtist
I´m sure you know, what you are doing.
I just wanted to call attention to an alternative, that could be interesting to you.
It is a FACT, that a 3D animator has much more liberties than any engine.
No question!
But in your case there were some things in Unreal, that could help a lot.
Anyway: That is no question of knowing what our are doing - it is ONLY a question of time.
And there are already ENOUGH projects which were canceled because of time "problems".
Or: If your movie would have been about f.e. sail ships or action in the household, Unreal would have been no option.
But in your case - with all the similar vehicles and action - it is something to think about.
If you like your total liberty in 3d animators - OK.
It´s your party and your movie...!
Just me use a lot of different game engines - and that since ever.
Additional I know a lot of engines, too.
So I tell the guys if teher is any engine, that could help them.
At least it cannot harm the project, but it COULD be a great help...»

«Thanks for your thoughts on it, Psylentknight, TPK & Harb40. Much apprechiated

@Moviemaker100: Thats some very good points you have.
BUT trust me with this,
i know what i`m doing. =)
Still gonna have a closer look at the Unreal engine, too.
However, for that i`d need a modder with UDK experience.

I will create a new thread about "project HMP" in the TMOA forum soon, have a look there, it`ll be up in the 'movies, movies, movies' section.

Thanks all again for all your comments, suggestions and feedback!»

«I see great potential.»

«Looking forward to it, dude.

Keep up the good work as usual.

-TPK»

«Btw.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkct4-ct3KQ
Unreal has standardly (!) very similar vehicles to Halo. Npcs look similar, too. Freecam is standard, too. And you see - the action looks similar to your concept, too...
With UDK you can do even nearly change all you want in the engine.
Perhaps Unreal is worth a nearer look..»

«This looks like it'll be something worth looking forward to. Liked the presentation of speed in here, as well, in the vehicle. I guess my only nitpick would be that it's based on an existing product, versus having this type of affect broadcasted for an original piece. For all I know, you got those, but even if you don't, I'd still like to see what comes of this. »

«@ArtificialArtist
I see, I see.
You want to be totally free with your movie-directing and -making.
But...did you take in account, that the fully free world of 3ds has a price, too..?
You have to animate every fucking small thing, get all effects, make / "synchronize" every sound, take care of every explosion and on and on and on.
You may see this as a challenge - but...that costs a whole lot of time.
F. e. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DNMhhgDcfE
If I would be you, I would mod Halo-mods into Arma2.
There you got a fully free cam, a full featured "director" which switches f.e. from big shots to the first person sight of any (!) fighting soldier (yes, you are f.e. "in" a soldier, when he dies, but the game doesn´t stop).
And this is just a fast test.
Just check some Machinimas of Arma2 on Youtube.
I think, you can get all you want by Arma2, BUT without investing that much time in 3ds. 3ds allows you all - for sure - but with what (time) price!!
If you want to combine the might of Arma2 with TM, use Operation Flashpoint. At least you got a totally free and third person cam and whole mega load of mods for every thing you could imagine. Graphics are that similar, that nobody will easy get out, that you use two engines...
Btw. Arma2 has already some Halo mods:
http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=14491&highlight=HALO»

«@ moviemaker 100:

Thanks for your comment and thoughts on it!
The answer is simple: Because it is The Haloist.
i could take the machinima approach, but, as a short answer,
it`s more challenging to me, if i do it in max.
I know exactly how i want it to be and how i want it to look like,
down to every single frame and plot line.
I could do some modding, but then again it would just cause me a headache,
i had enough of a headache with The Haloist II back in the days, those games dont
like being tortured, whereas max is a masochist in comparison.
Either way, the look will be of importance, and so will be all the details.
And this is much easier to accomplish, if i go for animation instead of machinima.
Thanks loads for your input, much appreciated!

@josephkw:

Thank you!
No, i only did some of the models in this particular animatic sequence.
The final shots would have all my models in it. Choosing against a machinima tool, there is a good reason for it. The final material might have nothing to do with Halo anymore, or little, which would make things a bit easier for me. Either way the final thing will look top notch, this is just an early animatic so the graphics didnt matter at that point. Another reason to not use the Halo game engine, or any other machinima tool, is i simply can`t tell the story as i would like to. The amount of modding neccesary would be insane.. i rather went for the jawlocking-eyecandy option. This isn`t my general opinion towards machinima, this is only concerning the Haloist trilogy, of course. The date is not set in stone for 2014, it`s merely an estimate, but it honors me you`re already looking to mark a calendar for a project of mine that far in the future!

»

«Now THAT's a lot of work put into this. DId you also create the models, as well? I can only imagine what the completed work will be like. This is definitely one to be on the lookout for (even though it's tentatively slated for 2014!).

Moviemaker100 did bring up a good point though; if you're using Halo design elements, and even basing your story on the Halo plot, it might be easier to simply use the Halo game to create your films (since you can't own the rights to your movie anyways). I filmed some movies using the Unreal game, and had a few friends get online with me to coordinate the characters' movements and actions. That came out quite well.

Know that, whatever your choice, from what I've glimpsed of your labor, I'll be there on opening night to watch the premiere of this one. I just have to find a 2014 calendar...»

«For me just one thing is puzzling:
Why did you use additional Max..?
As I know, least Halo has a full featured editor which fullfills all wishes of a moviemaker.
Do you want to make a Halo Machinima with pc, or why this effort..?
Further I thought, an older Halo version for PC has a good editor, too..
Or do you want to use lipsync..?
I could be wrong - but Isn´t there a good Halo mod for TM, too..?
Could it be, that it is possible to combine the old Halo version with TM lipsync done by the mod..?»

«@thebiz: Thanks for your comment

The animatic was made in 3DS Max,
i worked on all animations including the camera.
The soundtrack is also by me (Doublespin is me)
Whats it gonna be exactly i cannot say at this point,
however, i can say this much: It`s the Haloist storyline
and this scene in particular is one of the scenes from the original TH3 plot.
(the big finale that was never released, as i stopped working on TH3 in 2007)
The title, design and such may change, though, without tampering much with the original storyline including its well-anticipated conclusion.»

«I love the camera work here. What did you create this in? What do you plan to create the feature in? Curiouser and curiouser. Looks cool. Good music choice.»