H&D2 Cinema

I have been playing H&D2 for about 11 years and I've never felt fully satiated. Some maps are so incredibly atmospheric that I wish I could stay there longer. I think we can boldly agree that all of the game's maps would fit well as settings for any kind of movie. Using game's engine to produce a motion picture is not a new concept. It is known as machinima. I've always been interested in this type of enterprise but never had a possibility to undertake making a film. Thanks to this community, my hopes of realizing this dream have not died. Especially now that Flash's editor has been released, I think it is a great opportunity for us to get involved in something that would last forever as a form of art and promote our beloved game.

However, this is not yet an announcement. I know that the game as such doesn't have a lot to offer in terms of filmmaking and therefore consulting our team of modders is essential. Hopefully, they will be able to broaden our range of possibilities. Some maps would require special modification like night versions, cancelling certain scripts, etc. I'd like to know if it's possible to activate certain animations in our characters that we can observe in NPCs; e.g. talking (mouth movements), planting explosives or lying in bed. Another useful tool would be a free use of camera that easily flows through a map so that scenes can be recorded from any angle.

As regards directing and post-production, I can take care of it myself but the whole project would require combined forces of a number of people. There are several ways you could contribute to making this film:
(1) Firstly, we need two types of actors: those who control their character and those who provide voice for the dialogues. The actors of the first type can also be voice actors for their characters but not necessarily. What we do want to avoid is the same actors dubbing more than one character, although that could be inevitable if we run short of volunteers. A high quality microphone is not required but dubbers should attempt to reduce any disturbances in the background to minimum and make their recordings as clear as possible.
(2) If you have a software that can record games without a watermark at a good frame rate, you can serve as the cameraman. The Discord's feature of sharing screens would facilitate the director's supervision of the shoot.
(3) Modders will be the ones telling us our limits. For the time being, I don't know what is possible and what is not, so I'll refrain from entertaining fancy ideas. Instead, we shall allow our experts to take the initiative to suggest practical ideas.
(4) I already have a general idea for the plot but all the little details that cause a film to make sense have to be decided upon. Thus I invite you all to share your ideas regarding the plot. The script shall be written once we know if our ideas can be implemented.

So what will the film be about? Well, I'm pretty much oriented towards setting it in the Banhira oasis known from maps Africa3 and Africa4. What's special about it is its location at the heart of a deadly desert which evokes unique feelings and creates a mysterious atmosphere. Picture a small team of SAS wandering through the sandy vastness at night in enemy's uniforms. Let's say they pretend to be a German patrol that got lost and has come to the oasis to find help. Once inside, they begin to stealthily infiltrate the area to gather intelligence and undermine the enemy's defensive ability. I would like to include a character of a German soldier who is presented as good but ended up in unfortunate circumstances and had to be killed because he witnessed something that could compromise the mission if reported. I also want to use the motif of sacrifice; for instance, the man who killed that innocent German decided to sacrifice himself to save the rest of the team as a form of repentance. Of course, this is just a general idea that is yet to be elaborated or altered but let this stimulate your imagination.

Hereby, I open this topic for discussion. Feel free to express your thoughts, share ideas and ask questions.

Reading this i visualize a movie based in Libya3, where soldiers in unknown area try to find piece of equipment missing from the drop zone.
They will notice the village and enemy presence there and move ahead in different direction to avoid the village.
On they'r search they will find this plane wreck in the desert sand.
But for some soldiers of this group it is a mission inside mission (secret sub-mission) to actually destroy equipment that was on board of that plane.
Now finding out that some of the equipment is missing from plane they will to find this part of equipment...but problem is that the village is under enemy control and they have to get inside that village, destroy all they can find and get out alive.

I know this all smells like original objectives of Libya3

Libye3 single player version is best for this because it doesnt have this control post building and also no trenches near village (on the hill).

Theres might be a way to make it happen with scripts, using singleplayer mode.
Then you just run the mission and capture it with screen recorder.

I've come up with a better idea for the plot. A story revolving around two British pilots captured by the Germans and imprisoned in Darnis-Zarine (Libya1). The survivors manage to escape the prison and have to make their way through the desert by car. After being chased by a patrol, they reach the Banhira oasis already occupied by the Allies. There, they help the soldiers prepare for the arrival of German reinforcements.

I would love to be able to shoot a dynamic scene of pursuit. Imagine the camera following a vehicle. If the pace of the camera can be adjusted, maybe the said effect is feasible, albeit probably extremely difficult to perform.

It would be very useful if we could remove all enemies from the maps without having to do it manually as that leaves unmovable bodies and bloodstains everywhere.

The below screenshot shows a glitch that occurred somehow while sitting in the front passenger seat viewed from 3rd person. This actually looks pretty nice and I wish it could be reproduced for the purposes of the film. However, as you know, the normal view from any seat in a vehicle is very limited. So another idea for modders is to extend the field of view inside a vehicle and allow greater freedom of movement; ideally, passengers and driver would be able to look around up to 180 degrees while the head stays still (to avoid neck injury ).

I dont know where is this angle limited, can be in vehicle model or player view.

But for camera movements for movie you could use this mod program.

https://www.rprclan.com/forum/22-general/2906-in-game-camera-position-display?start=0

It has variation of ways to control in-game camera.
Ability to save camera location will also be added, sometime...