Animated Forum Battle?

[Olothontor]

The terrain of the battlefield partly depends on context. What will the story behind it be? Where is the battle taking place? The other half is essentially the feel you're going for, which is a bit more difficult to explain. As a film-maker, I hope you can understand. I'm not terribly efficient at making my points clear.

[Ross_Varn]

I have done some tests on first person stuff, might throw in a couple shots like that, although it would not be a very good report nor would it be very nice to do everything in really long shots with a first-person view. But, anyway, thanks for the suggestions! (oh, and this test too (ignore the light flicker, I was playing with the settings during the filming))

Ok. I'm convinced. You are definitely the guy for the job.

I would have a long battlefield with a chokepoint (Bridge or it's like) where most of the action will take place.

[ForlornCreature]

Just to show you what I mean, the stuff on there is not necessarily permanent, just trying to work out some nice landscape.
Keep them ideas comin!

[Cpt. Zipps]

Film it then GIF-ify it man!

[aoffan23]

I think you should go for some guard towers with mounted guns a la District 9. The look you have going looks like it's going to incorporate a bit of scrappy or ramshackle stuff, but since it's not permanent I might be wrong. If you do the guard towers I suggest some nailed-on (implied nails, don't nail your damn Lego) sheet metal.

I also think it would be nice to have a bit of grass around the trees to make them look less out of place.

[ForlornCreature]

Ok, clean slate (slightly re-arranged too) since my last post, any more ideas on how to populate it? I've been having a look at some battle reports and it seems a popular theme is the post-apocalypse sort of thing, which would work for me because my limited amount of minifigs is fairly mixed, except for a couple dozen clones and about 3 modern-helmet deadly space men from collectable packs plus a few more mixed space men and two brickforge master-cheifs.

EDIT: Sniper/guard towers seem to be a popular idea, so I might have to make a fort to go with them. Any tips on making a fort? Never made one before.

An idea I came up with for a setting would be that there is are two factions which for years were in a truce with a barricade between their territories, until one decided to break the wall and attempt to invade the other's territory. The faction that is being invaded has emergency response teams set up all along the border, so there is resistance, and the battle could be fought between the invader's initial wave of military (clones, spacemen maybe?) and the defender's emergency forces which are a bit more irregular and smaller (initially) because they were not expecting the attack, and they could have reinforcements coming in throughout the battle in small amounts.
waddya thunk? any ideas for names for the factions? 'Cyberians' maybe, for the attackers.

(Jeez, I ask a lot for ideas XD)

[RunsWithLegos]

i say you make a small town to the left side, a military check point in the middle and then a nuclear power plant to the left near the road.

[Rocket_Saint]

@ForlornCreature
I just actually made a fort a few days ago with a sniper tower and everything, if you want I'll be sure to contact you once I can post it up for your viewing/inspiration.

A suggestion for populating the map.
Maybe on those cliff side pieces you have on it, put some walkways, bunkers or even your tower up there for a multi-level effect during the action. A single rocket weapon could make any fortification crumble down for massive destruction!

For the plot of your film, I say go for it. I like that very much, actually.
However for faction names, I'm not to sure on. It helps me to look up foreign language translators and type up simple names like Shadow, Serpent, Lance, anything that would sound like a military code name.

[Paco]

For post apoc, I always love the look of regular civilian homes or businesses, but bombed out, so you can use them as bunkers or bases. And there could always be treasure chests or barrels with extra guns or armor in the buildings.

[Killer Karetsu]

First I ignored this topic but when I saw the test then I was astonished.
I just wonder if the things in the battle go too fast and we have to watch the "films" many times before we are sure that who was killed and so on?

And could I get a place in the forum battle?

[ForlornCreature]

Maybe, although I think I will do the 'whoever posts first gets that faction' option since that seems to be the norm.

@rocket_saint Thanks for the tip on faction names! I wouldn't mind seeing the fort, after spending hours reading ZZD and looking up lego forts on MOCpages I have a few ideas on it.

[aoffan23]

I watched the tests earlier today, and they were ridiculously awesome. Like Ross said, you're the guy to do this. You've definitely improved since your earliest vids.


As for the field, if you're going for post-apoc this is some stuff that you should definitely include:

1) At least one abandoned car at the side of the road. It should have some damage, but not so much that it's not drivable, maybe make it look like it crashed into a tree or something. You could add even more depth and variety by making two cars, one that's blown up with missing wheels and is unusable, and one partially damaged one.
2) Weapon caches for sure.
3) Items that can be used as shields such as spare sheet metal, wall panels, car or fridge doors, etc.
4) Small buildings such as sheds or shacks to flesh out the field without bulking it up too much.
5) A few smoldering craters or pits to make the landscape look damaged, and also to open up the possibilities for deaths.


As for the checkpoint, it could be anything as simple as a giant concrete wall, to an inactive comms outpost or water treatment facility. However, I personally think it would be best to make it big enough for fighting to occur inside said checkpoint, instead of just fighting around it. One the battle starts, this will make it look more like it's part of the scenery and not just some randomly placed obstacle.

[naussica]

Too me, the map seems a little... flat. Why don't you add some hills, cliffs, bluffs, etc.?

[ForlornCreature]

[img]DELETED%20SORRYZ[/img]
Yellows vs peaches - for years there was a truce between the two factions, their border was divided by a wall with emergency forces set up all along on each side in case one side decided to invade. The peaches, tired of watching their old enemies the yellows prosper, have decided to invade beginning with strike teams at key points along the yellow's side of the border.
Those two organge and blue containers are reinforcements for the two sides, there will be about 6 factions in total (peach civilians and troops, yellow civilians, police and deadly space men plus one other that is on neither side), unless I combine a couple instead of just saying their on the same team but under different command. Just trying to get as many players involoved in this relatively small battle as possible. (there can be up to around 80 - 90 minifigs in total, about 70% of all my minifigs.
[img]DELETED%20TOO%20SORRYZ[/img]
A team of police, regular and marines, are a faction seperate from the deadly space men, which there are only three of, but their friends from newer sets are on the way (about another half dozen). I haven't distributed weapons yet.

Little bomb-out house in the middle, full of munitions.

Peach invasion force (might have civilians in there to start instead of later on)(mech still to be made)

Hows this? kinda corny or ok? I can still try other things, I reckon I could make something a little more epic. Maybe several factions or something battling it out in a BIG FORT. That could work...wouldn't have to worry about the sky so much...

[Ross_Varn]

I think this would be great! Not sure if you want to deal with a huge number of orders while trying to make the movie though. It's usually hard enough.