Arcen Games

General Category => The Last Federation => : x4000 February 04, 2014, 10:17:32 AM

: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 04, 2014, 10:17:32 AM
Original: http://christophermpark.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-last-federation-intro-story-video.html

The Last Federation is a really unique game in that it is a strategy/tactics game set inside a simulation game.  Check out our first sneak preview about it, or our preview discussing simulations in the game.  Also our recent podcast with Space Game Junkie with lots of other details, the description of your role as an independent agent in the solar system,  details on the alien races, information about the "butterfly effect" in the game, and the final scene art for all the alien races, some of the planetary art, and a written preview with info about combat.  Then we've got this first video of combat, and info on the new combat GUI and other upcoming combat changes.  Oh, and the forums for the game are filled with lots of other detailed tidbits, too.

Alpha Information! Private alpha testing with players is currently in a very limited early form, and we will be adding more players throughout the coming weeks leading up to release.  If you're interested in signing up, please see this forum post.  Right now we do have open spots still, but we may wind up needing to close signup past a certain point, because we definitely have a pretty huge list of people at this point (and there's only so much feedback we can process at any given time).

The Last Federation is an upcoming Grand Strategy + RTS Tactics game from Arcen Games.  You play as a small mercenary fleet in a solar system teeming with eight alien races of various dispositions.  Your goal is to unify the survivors into a solar federation that will bring peace.  Doing so requires a lot of fighting, a lot of political deals and backstabbing, and occasionally strapping rockets to a moon.

This is the intro video to the game -- it gives you the background info on why you are doing what you are doing.  Recently we did also put up a video of an alpha version of combat, and we'll have more gameplay videos coming up this week, as well.

Enjoy!
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: nas1m February 04, 2014, 12:14:04 PM
Sweet :D!

You might be better off without some of the animation effects, though (or might want to improve them).
I kinda "stumbled" over some of them (visually speaking) while watching the video in terms of quality :-\.

Also, for a real intro the video might be a tad too long. Maybe you might chop it down into parts and reveal the mid pieces of the backstory at strategic moments while the game is ongoing? Just an idea...

Other than that - good work :)!
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 04, 2014, 12:18:36 PM
This piece is definitely finished, so I appreciate the thoughts but the time is long past for that.  Glad you enjoyed it in general, though!
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: nas1m February 04, 2014, 12:21:54 PM
This piece is definitely finished, so I appreciate the thoughts but the time is long past for that.  Glad you enjoyed it in general, though!
I thought as much :). I just thought I should mention it...
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: MaxAstro February 04, 2014, 01:42:35 PM
Wow.  That is incredibly cool.  :)
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: alocritani February 04, 2014, 01:58:39 PM
Is it possible to have a transcript of it, for people that are not so good with english? The "strange" voice effect doesn't help for understanding, at least for me.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 04, 2014, 02:10:22 PM
Is it possible to have a transcript of it, for people that are not so good with english? The "strange" voice effect doesn't help for understanding, at least for me.

Sure, here are the storyboards, which also have the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ShBu32VR33NArxxfaqVhPzIE1BFywJSULNxTANdtWh0/edit?usp=sharing
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 04, 2014, 02:12:54 PM
Also:

I am the last of the Hydrals.  One of the oldest races in the solar system, we were first to the stars.
However, we were selfish and predatory -- eager to retain the advantage we had won.
For centuries, we shot down all manned launches from eight rival planets.  No one was to join us in the black ocean around our star.

Spy probes arrived every now and then.  We knew the others were watching us, but we didn’t much care.
They could launch satellites and probes, yes.  But anything larger was bombed into oblivion.
How they must have hated us.  But we felt we were wise.  For one reason or another, each race was an unsuitable companion.

The Burlusts were at constant war, empires rising and falling.  We could not allow them to threaten us.
The Andors constructed a peaceful robotic utopia, and our governors reasoned that it was no hardship to keep them where they were.
And the Peltians -- communal agrarians.  Weak, like animals.  They had no business with us.
The Skylaxians were intelligent and honorable -- far too much so.  Their opinion of us was clear, so they had to be suppressed.
The Thoraxians are something out of a nightmare.  No one in their right mind would risk an invasion by them.
The list goes on.  You have the Boarines, solitary and territorial.  Not a good idea.
Or the Acutians.  Cold, robotic capitalists?  Absolutely not.

And last there were the Evucks.  Quiet, studious, kept to themselves.  They never even tried a manned mission.  We paid little attention to them.
If we had, we would have seen them learn sciences far beyond our own.  We would have seen our death.

You see, we Hydrals were born on a world of oceans.  But as the number of Evuck probes increased, we started to notice a change.
Oh yes, we noticed.  Our population fell from 40 billion to only a few thousand.
With our planet dying, we began gearing up for conquest and retribution.

I had a different idea -- one I knew my countrymen would never accept.  The time was well past for the other races to join us in the stars.
They were already close enough on their own.  At this point, an interplanetary federation was the only path to peace.
As the time for war approached, I came to a decision.  I filled a pod with technical documents and escaped.

Just in time.  We were so distracted with ourselves that we didn’t see the Acutians strap rockets to a moon.
All our ships had been recalled to defend against further probes, and to aid in the ongoing evacuations.  Everything we Hydrals had ever built was gone in an instant.

The sole surviving ship, so far as I know, was mine.  Damaged by the blast, my pod barely made it to the nearest planet.
The technology I had brought in gift was forcibly taken.  I was left in captivity.
I wasn’t a prisoner; I was waiting.  Never having met a Hydral, they had no idea of my strength.

I will unite this solar system.  I have no intentions of being a leader.  I won’t even be the power behind the throne.
I am a nameless mercenary now.  But I will leave a legacy to stand the test of time.

: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: alocritani February 04, 2014, 03:45:50 PM
thanks! as a suggestion, you could think about adding subtitles to video for release, if not 100% final
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: mrhanman February 04, 2014, 04:25:13 PM
Wow!  That's an awesome video!  Will there be a gameplay trailer to go along with it?  And who did the voice acting?
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 04, 2014, 04:28:29 PM
Oh yes, there will be a gameplay trailer. :)  This isn't really a true trailer, it's just the story intro, and it also works as a teaser video of sorts, too, to explain the background of your character and the world.  Jeff -- khadgar from the forums here -- did the voice acting.  He was the guy behind all the robots and the military commander in Bionic Dues, too. :)

Along with the gameplay trailer, I also plan to have more just kind of semi-uncut narrated gameplay videos that are longer, which people can use to help decide if they like the look of this, etc.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: Cyborg February 04, 2014, 08:02:01 PM
Planetcracker!


...And then you will find all of the Dragonballs and make your wish: do you unite the Federation in peace or call upon the dogs of war?
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: doctorfrog February 04, 2014, 10:19:07 PM
I liked it. Couple rough bits, but overall, shows off the art and unique races well and actually made me want to play the game. Definitely worth watching in 1080.

It's a unique idea for starting a 4X-type of game (yes I know this is not a 4X). Most strategy games set all civs on exactly equal footing with very little reason for why, this presents a pretty credible one, as well as setting up a fairly interesting role for the player to inhabit.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: Histidine February 05, 2014, 09:10:36 AM
Wait, the Evucks dessicated the Hydral world and then the Acutians dropped a moon on it? That's a prima facie case for a retaliatory glassing of their planets if you ask me.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 05, 2014, 09:15:51 AM
Wait, the Evucks dessicated the Hydral world and then the Acutians dropped a moon on it? That's a prima facie case for a retaliatory glassing of their planets if you ask me.

It depends on if you believe in "an eye for an eye."  You would certainly be justified in doing that in some senses, but what about all the innocent citizens on those worlds?  It's not like everyone was involved.  But if you're feeling vengeful, it's certainly possible to engineer the death of almost any race, or even all of them except one, etc.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: Teal_Blue February 05, 2014, 10:34:40 AM
Wow!  Totally Awesome!!   :)  You all are doing a fantastic job, looking forward to seeing how it plays.

-Teal

: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: Walter Sullivan February 05, 2014, 11:04:30 AM
I really liked this intro, good job! The art and the voice are very good indeed, and the story itself is pretty cool.

thanks! as a suggestion, you could think about adding subtitles to video for release, if not 100% final

I would like to second that. While most of the time I could understand what was being said, there were some words that I had to see on the transcript to understand, because english isn't my first language :P
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: mrhanman February 05, 2014, 11:20:03 AM
I know it's nitpicking, but wouldn't they have seen the moon coming and have been able to evacuate at least some of the populace?

Anyway, it's an incredible visual!
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 05, 2014, 11:24:25 AM
I really liked this intro, good job! The art and the voice are very good indeed, and the story itself is pretty cool.

thanks! as a suggestion, you could think about adding subtitles to video for release, if not 100% final

I would like to second that. While most of the time I could understand what was being said, there were some words that I had to see on the transcript to understand, because english isn't my first language :P

I've added closed captioning in English to the video -- should help quite a bit if you opt to turn it on!
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 05, 2014, 11:24:49 AM
I know it's nitpicking, but wouldn't they have seen the moon coming and have been able to evacuate at least some of the populace?

Anyway, it's an incredible visual!

These are really awesome rockets. ;)
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: mrhanman February 05, 2014, 11:38:06 AM
Yeah, I guess they'd HAVE to be!  8)
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: echo2361 February 05, 2014, 11:40:15 AM
Nicely done intro movie! I got chills at the end when the Hydral was talking about leaving a legacy to stand the test of time.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 05, 2014, 11:43:06 AM
Sweet. :D

A lot of people have told me that about the chills on that line.  I wrote it, and I still do, too, which is really unusual for something I wrote.  Jeff's delivery is just awesome, and Pablo timed the music absolutely perfectly. :)
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: Cyborg February 05, 2014, 06:23:09 PM
But if you're feeling vengeful, it's certainly possible to engineer the death of almost any race, or even all of them except one, etc.


Yes, only the Acutians will be allowed to survive.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 05, 2014, 07:07:32 PM
But if you're feeling vengeful, it's certainly possible to engineer the death of almost any race, or even all of them except one, etc.


Yes, only the Acutians will be allowed to survive.

That will be very difficult to achieve and still win the game, but it can be done.  There will be an achievement for doing just that, too. :)
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: PokerChen February 06, 2014, 02:30:21 AM
A Federation of just one race and still win the game?

That's actually a little surprising. :P
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: Teal_Blue February 06, 2014, 07:12:57 AM
I think in order to pull off the 'one race win', you have to like get rid of all the others, not simple, but i think that is how chris said it plays out with one. 
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: tigersfan February 06, 2014, 07:14:29 AM
I think in order to pull off the 'one race win', you have to like get rid of all the others, not simple, but i think that is how chris said it plays out with one.

Yep, that's about how it works... but... good luck trying it and not getting yourself wiped out in the process....
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 06, 2014, 08:31:20 AM
I think in order to pull off the 'one race win', you have to like get rid of all the others, not simple, but i think that is how chris said it plays out with one.

Yep, that's about how it works... but... good luck trying it and not getting yourself wiped out in the process....

Yep, exactly.  And it's not like "you" can just directly do whatever.  None of your direct actions can destroy a race.  So you have to engineer one race killing the last of all the others, but not you, while already being in the federation, to win.  You can't form a one-race federation, either; so all the allies of the race who WERE in the federation have to have already been killed, too.  So that's doubly hard, because races in the federation will support one another.  That means that your target race has to have been fighting a foe who was superior enough to overcome the entire federation EXCEPT that race, and then that race turned things around and won.

Of course, your hand would be evident in that from start to finish, but still. :)
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: Cyborg February 06, 2014, 06:57:50 PM
That's what I plan on doing. Long live the cyborgs.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: PokerChen February 10, 2014, 02:53:01 PM
I'm rather curious as to how the Acutians managed to strap rockets to the moons without any of the Hydrals realising it. Their aggressive capitalism must come with some serious security measures to hide their intentions.

Now that it's been done once, I'm guessing that the races would be watching out for any repeats.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 February 10, 2014, 03:01:51 PM
Yep, people watch for it, but it still happens.  Just yesterday the Evucks were repeatedly threatening to blow up their world, while the Acutians were repeatedly starting a planetcracker project and then backing off.  Finally the Evucks got pushed too far and two planets went out.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: wyvern83 February 10, 2014, 07:08:16 PM
Yep, people watch for it, but it still happens.  Just yesterday the Evucks were repeatedly threatening to blow up their world, while the Acutians were repeatedly starting a planetcracker project and then backing off.  Finally the Evucks got pushed too far and two planets went out.

This really makes me want to play this game. I'm glad your making it as the whole game within a simulation idea is a great and fascinating concept, especially with how you have it set up in this one. I'm looking forward to it being released.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: Histidine April 10, 2014, 09:47:45 AM
It just occurred to me that "Weak, like animals" would be an awesome taunt for AI War.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: khadgar April 18, 2014, 05:47:00 PM
Is this eventually going in the game?  8) Just wondering.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 April 18, 2014, 07:40:52 PM
I do want it to!  I didn't have time to code in the movie playback functionality, though, which is new to us for the engine.  I really want that capability in general, though.  My current goal would be to make this video kind of a "log entry" that you could crack open when you go to the hydral planet.  Originally I wanted this to start playing when you first start the game, but the video is so long that would be kind of interminable.  Finding it as a "bonus" sort of a feature is a lot more fun, rather than it being a chore, I think.

For those wondering, khadgar (Jeff) is the voice actor playing the Hydral. :)

And, if you're curious, Ally Mack is who plays the computer in the game.  This is her youtube channel (I'm quite a fan): http://www.youtube.com/user/ASMRrequests
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: doctorfrog April 18, 2014, 07:51:53 PM
Going after the ASMR demographic, are we?
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: x4000 April 18, 2014, 07:58:19 PM
Going after the ASMR demographic, are we?

I doubt that the bulk of them would be terribly interested in the sorts of things that Arcen makes, haha.  But I'm a fan of Ally's work in general, and from one of her outtakes videos I thought "she'd make an awesome funny computer character."  So I got in touch.  Basically the same thing that happened with Nick Trujillo.  I saw him on Strip Search, thought "boy I bet he'd do an awesome comic for Skyward Collapse," and got in touch.

Anyway, I use ASMR videos heavily -- almost ever night to get to sleep, really.  So it just happened to intersect.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: UnfriendlyBG May 26, 2014, 06:28:24 PM
I'm way late but I agree this needs to be in the game albeit really low priority.  Its well done and sets up the story a lot better than what is currently in there.  The hidden entry is a cool idea but honestly I think it would be much better used as an opening to the tutorial.  I played a whole campaign and pretty much immediately wrote the story off as nonsensical.  Then I saw this vid and I was like ohhhhhhhh.  I liked it so much I put it at the front of the playlist for my let's play.
: Re: Intro Story Video For TLF
: topper May 26, 2014, 09:54:55 PM
Seems like the basics of the video could be implemented as a timed slideshow+audio without needing to implement full video.
: Intro Story Video For TLF
: Georgeot December 21, 2015, 06:36:08 AM
hey I'm trying to learn the intro to Sea Ghost on recorder but its killing me, anyone have a good "how to" video, or just a video clip of someone playing it?

thxthxhthxtxht