News: Death is No Excuse Full Length Trailer

[ArmedZealot]

Originally Posted by TheDrone

I'm talking exceptional scale.

And even then, huge scale battles are so commonly used in cinematic trailers to convey a sense of epicness that it's doubtful that it could be easily communicated PS2 is special in this regard. It didn't work in this trailer.

How can you improve on the scale shown in the video without it turning into a bunch of nonsense?

This is the one TRUE thing to PS that was somewhat accurately represented in the trailer.

Just because other games lie about their scale doesn't mean that PS need to try to 1 up it. It already has it.

Originally Posted by HenchAnt

(I liked it a lot more than that inane Assassin Creeds 3 trailer.)

Yeah, I dont get why that was even posted.

[PoisonTaco]

Only thing I didn't like about the trailer was that it had too much grey and brown. Planetside 2 is colorful and I would have liked to see the colors stand out a bit more.

[ArmedZealot]

Originally Posted by PoisonTaco

Only thing I didn't like about the trailer was that it had too much grey and brown. Planetside 2 is colorful and I would have liked to see the colors stand out a bit more.

See this is something I can complain about. What drew me into PS2 was the screen shots with the TRONish night fight feel. Clashing colors all around and beautiful explosions.

But hey, this is a war game after all, better make it all gritty and whatnot.

That and the music. Where is Don's music?

[TheDrone]

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

How can you improve on the scale shown in the video without it turning into a bunch of nonsense?

This is the one TRUE thing to PS that was somewhat accurately represented in the trailer.

Just because other games lie about their scale doesn't mean that PS need to try to 1 up it. It already has it.

As I've said before and should have been obvious from what I've said: I'm saying different, not necessarily more.


And how are people supposed to differentiate the "real" scale of PS2 with the "fake" scale of the other trailers? It's not really a selling point for trailers.

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

Yeah, I dont get why that was even posted.

Because it used relatively few means (almost no background, a lot of cookie-cutter models) and used pauses to build dramatic tension. That's why.

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

See this is something I can complain about. What drew me into PS2 was the screen shots with the TRONish night fight feel. Clashing colors all around and beautiful explosions.

But hey, this is a war game after all, better make it all gritty and whatnot.

That and the music. Where is Don's music?

That music of the game isn't really well-suited to be used for trailer music. That's why a lot of trailers in film and games use pre-made trailer music (usually made by Audiomachine, Two Steps From Hell, ...) because that is easier to edit and usually has a faster "beat" compared to normal soundtracks, this to accommodate the usually faster pace of trailers.

And the comment about the colors is quite correct. It wasn't obvious there were 3 factions.

[Littleman]

Everytime I watch the cinematic, it gets better and better everytime because I stop watching it as a Planetside vet and instead just enjoy it as a theatrical trailer, not one representative of the mechanics of the game, or the factions of the game, but the core of the game: massive cluster fuck battles and the delusional day dreams of being THAT guy in the video and kicking a lot of ass.

Anyone breaking this down frame by frame to explain why it doesn't live up to their idea of how to best represent Planetside isn't the target audience nor do they get the point.

[Xyntech]

Well if we're going to play the deconstruction game, let's have some fun with it.

Here is TheDrone's original critique post of the trailer. Blue for objective analysis, red for subjective opinion:

Originally Posted by TheDrone

Each and every single one of those trailers is better than the PS2 trailer. Literally each and every single one.

It's blatantly obvious that the trailer was a pretty cheap production. It's too short to tell its story. It has a generic voice-over that could've been of any combat videogame ever.
Very, very few effects. Very few animated models, a lot of statics actually.
Big-ass galaxies used to reduce render time by blocking the most part of the screen.
...

The trailer was too short to properly understand the abysmal story it was trying to tell.

Therefore there was no story element. There were no "woah" mechanics shown or other cool things.

The "scale" was in fact not that impressive and often used in a lot of CGI trailers as a lot of games offer the scale, but in their story, not in the form of gameplay.

All in all it was an incredibly uninspired, way too short, unappealing and forgettable trailers.

They limited the action to one model because then they'd only have to rig one model. Probably no new mocap required.

There was one explosion which was very underwhelming if you look at what Blur Studio can do.

The dramatic pacing was all wrong and we're obviously missing a first act.

What's with the incredibly stupid and generic voice-over? What's he saying? And why? It doesn't fit in the PS2 narrative at all, and is completely uninteresting to people who don't know the game and lore.

Due to the horrible color palette and the few models we actually get to see it's not even obvious there are 3 factions.

I could go on bashing this post...

Sure, everyone is circle jerking because they happen to enjoy the trailer. A few people don't, and there's nothing wrong with saying so. There's also nothing wrong with breaking down some of the technical aspects of it compared to other game trailers.

There have been plenty of dissenters in this thread, including the owner of this site himself. Nothing wrong with having an opinion or starting a discussion.

I just find that posts style of pseudo-intellectual breakdown to be hilariously bad, because it masquerades as a fact driven exposé while seeming to be little more than an attempt to prove why one persons opinion is more valid than the opinions of others.

[ArmedZealot]

Originally Posted by TheDrone

As I've said before and should have been obvious from what I've said: I'm saying different, not necessarily more.

And how are people supposed to differentiate the "real" scale of PS2 with the "fake" scale of the other trailers? It's not really a selling point for trailers.

Right. Well explain how you would "differently" pull off exceptional scale.

Originally Posted by TheDrone

Because it used relatively few means (almost no background, a lot of cookie-cutter models) and used pauses to build dramatic tension. That's why.

IMO PS isn't really a game that would benefit from that in a trailer. Or at least 1 cinematic trailer. If they were doinga a "meet the cloaker class" or something similar in a cinematic trailer this could be used a bit more effectively.

Nah, big battles with fast action is the way to go for PS. Nonstop mayhem and boom. That is what draws new people to PS.

Originally Posted by TheDrone

That music of the game isn't really well-suited to be used for trailer music. That's why a lot of trailers in film and games use pre-made trailer music (usually made by Audiomachine, Two Steps From Hell, ...) because that is easier to edit and usually has a faster "beat" compared to normal soundtracks, this to accommodate the usually faster pace of trailers.

Eh, I just don't get why they couldn't have come up with a trailer version of PS1's theme and cut it to sync with the appropriate action scenes. They were willing to shove out the bucks on getting a professional trailer done but skimped out on the music to attenuate people to the action.

Look at Halo's music. The guitar in the theme got added and overcharged with each installment. Could've done something as well for PS.

Originally Posted by TheDrone

And the comment about the colors is quite correct. It wasn't obvious there were 3 factions.

Indeed. The TR could have used a bit more red all over with their MAXs at the least.

[Raymac]

I've always been a sucker for looooong tracking shots, so I'm sure that is part of the reason I liked this trailer so much.

[Xaine]

Originally Posted by TheRandomAmiba

that squad of vanu should be killed for their failure they should of killed the nc b4 he could summon a drop

Alright Stalin, calm down.

[TheDrone]

Originally Posted by Xyntech

Well if we're going to play the deconstruction game, let's have some fun with it.

[COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]

Sure, everyone is circle jerking because they happen to enjoy the trailer. A few people don't, and there's nothing wrong with saying so. There's also nothing wrong with breaking down some of the technical aspects of it compared to other game trailers.

There have been plenty of dissenters in this thread, including the owner of this site himself. Nothing wrong with having an opinion or starting a discussion.

You contradict yourself. At first you judge "It's blatantly obvious that the trailer was a pretty cheap production." as being subjective while you judge "It has a generic voice-over that could've been of any combat videogame ever.
Very, very few effects. Very few animated models, a lot of statics actually.
Big-ass galaxies used to reduce render time by blocking the most part of the screen." as being objective.
You do realize the latter was intended to factually support the former, right? And it very much does as it's pretty much the only conclusion that could be drawn.

"The trailer was too short to properly understand the abysmal story it was trying to tell."

This is quite an objective fact. Where is the first act? Where is the risk established? Where is established what is at stake? When is established what this guy is doing?

"Therefore there was no story element."
This is indeed debatable.

"They limited the action to one model because then they'd only have to rig one model. Probably no new mocap required."

Again this is objective as it is a logical conclusion from the symptoms presented.
That's the reason why you rig only a few models. Because rigging is a time-consuming process (and therefore expensive). And mo-cap is very expensive.

Is there any other reason why they rigged only one model? I doubt it.

"The dramatic pacing was all wrong and we're obviously missing a first act."

This is just very true. Story structure is a fairly exact science and it's pretty easy to spot when it doesn't fit. I guess a very, very basic knowledge on the subject is required to understand this. Need some reading tips?

"What's with the incredibly stupid and generic voice-over? What's he saying? And why? It doesn't fit in the PS2 narrative at all, and is completely uninteresting to people who don't know the game and lore."

You previously judged this point to be objective. Stop contradicting yourself.
It is objectively judged by me because it's obvious it's a generic voice over.
You can easily use it on any cinematic trailer involving a war of the last decade.

Originally Posted by Xyntech

I just find that posts style of pseudo-intellectual breakdown to be hilariously bad, because it masquerades as a fact driven exposé while seeming to be little more than an attempt to prove why one persons opinion is more valid than the opinions of others.

Fact is that my objective analysis of this trailer hits more than a few sore spots and the fact that people refuse to see this isn't only an insult to intellectual honesty but also a HUGE disservice to SOE. If the next trailers suck then you know who to blame.

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

Right. Well explain how you would "differently" pull off exceptional scale.

I have a few ideas but then you'd think that by bashing those ideas you've disproved the greater point. Which is of course absurd.

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

IMO PS isn't really a game that would benefit from that in a trailer. Or at least 1 cinematic trailer. If they were doinga a "meet the cloaker class" or something similar in a cinematic trailer this could be used a bit more effectively.

Nah, big battles with fast action is the way to go for PS. Nonstop mayhem and boom. That is what draws new people to PS.

You're confusing the gameplay of the game with what could potentially make for an appealing trailer. Dramatic tension is a given in any kind of trailer, not just in those featuring a lack of action followed by a climax. You could build tension in the middle of a battle, for example.

Your confusion is normal because you know nothing about story or trailers and I'm annoying you with terminology you can't sufficiently contextualize.
You're excused.

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

Eh, I just don't get why they couldn't have come up with a trailer version of PS1's theme and cut it to sync with the appropriate action scenes. They were willing to shove out the bucks on getting a professional trailer done but skimped out on the music to attenuate people to the action.

It's a budget thing. It's incredibly hard to cut a longer piece if it's not suited for doing so. And it would probably cost a lot more to do this, or even worse to creatively constrain Don bu requesting he took trailer-cutting into account while composing.
Trust me, trailer music has proven its uses time and time again.

The fact that you do not know this is normal. You're excused.



I'm done with this discussion. It's not you, it's me. My expectation of intelligence employed by people isn't up to par with reality and I find this disappointing and frustrating.

[Boogster]

Originally Posted by TheDrone

I'm done with this discussion. It's not you, it's me. My expectation of intelligence employed by people isn't up to par with reality and I find this disappointing and frustrating.

Good riddance. Fucking idiot.

[SirWhiteshadow]

Why is it so hard to grasp that the point of a trailer is for people that don't know what the fuck a planetside is to go, "Hey, I wonder what the fuck a planetside is" and google it.

You think anyone is worried that people who spend 2 hours a day posting on this forum aren't going to play the game?

You are not the target audience...

'And you are not your fucking khakis'

[Harasus]

Originally Posted by TheDrone

I'm done with this discussion. It's not you, it's me. My expectation of intelligence employed by people isn't up to par with reality and I find this disappointing and frustrating.

This guy got problems, just from seeing this one last part of the post, that is obvious.

[Littleman]

Originally Posted by TheDrone

I'm done with this discussion. It's not you, it's me. My expectation of intelligence employed by people isn't up to par with reality and I find this disappointing and frustrating.

This next quote is why you're not as brilliant as you think you are.

Originally Posted by SirWhiteshadow

Why is it so hard to grasp that the point of a trailer is for people that don't know what the fuck a planetside is to go, "Hey, I wonder what the fuck a planetside is" and google it.

You think anyone is worried that people who spend 2 hours a day posting on this forum aren't going to play the game?

You are not the target audience...

'And you are not your fucking khakis'

The trailer's purpose? To look ****ing awesome. It achieved it's purpose, as comments on Youtube indicate (in before, "youtube comments are worthless.)

There was never a chance at intelligent debate, because you simply refuse to be wrong.

[Viva]

So looking foward to seeing the full length movie.

Going to be epic!

Cheers