15 replies to this topic

[stutts]

Looks pretty interesting.

[AromaKat]

Looks fun, and I signed up.

Curious to see if I could somehow use this to purely animate in, then export it back out to something with a bit more render / multipass control.

[C.Smith]

That is quite intriguing. BF3 and GTA4 on PC has some pretty nice features as well. But to be able to animate the poses and have the facial animation is pretty amazing.

[stutts]

I think the idea of having video game and community created assets as kind of a huge digital backlot and prop warehouse might have some real legs to it. Feels like a tool that could be incredibly useful for previs.

Will be interesting to see what the first couple of big projects are that come out of this as people begin to see how far they can push it.

Edited by stutts, 28 June 2012 - 08:00 AM.

[oeuf]

Just saw this myself on motionographer. I'm thoroughly impressed. Waiting to get my hands on this.

[ianfreeze]

I think the idea of having video game and community created assets as kind of a huge digital backlot and prop warehouse might have some real legs to it. Feels like a tool that could be incredibly useful for previs.

Will be interesting to see what the first couple of big projects are that come out of this as people begin to see how far they can push it.

I worked on a Counter Strike machinima for 2 years and I can assure you that it has no legs if you're trying to go legit. Valve will never license their content to any way that will allow anyone to make any money. Now, there is the possibility of going the route of machinima.com and just saying fuck it, and slapping ads on all their videos with no licensing at all.

It definitely looks like a cool tool to mess around with, but it only works with TF2 currently.

[Cosmo Ray]

I don't think stutts was thinking of using the content in an actual piece, but rather using the software as a means of quickly realizing ideas in previs.

[Kenny]

THIS was what I was looking around for years. I'd always wondered how they used in-engine pieces to fuel a lot of their games marketing/advertising vids. (Mainly the L4D and TF2 pieces).
Nice to see they've got some decent software to help those buddy machinima directors.

[stutts]

Yeah, I didn't mean using valve-owned assets in commercial work. Obviously there are insurmountable legal hurdles there.

Was thinking that:

1 - seems like this could be a great, accessible tool for doing previs work and refining ideas on indie and low-budget stuff.

2 - it will be interesting to see where this goes when it comes to commercial work. I.e. could this go in a google sketch up direction when it comes to community-built models and rigs, etc. Probably unlikely, but it's way too early to tell. I just think the possibilities are very interesting in using community-built assets along with a real time rendering and animation system. Right now it's just intriguing - we'll see if it moves beyond that. I think that the fact they're callin it the Source Filmmaker makes me think they may have bigger plans here than just fan-made Machinima videos, but hey, time will tell.

On a side note: the pyromania update to TF2 is genius. Playable levels in the pyro wonderland when you equip certain items? :-D Yet another reason Valve is awesome.

Edited by stutts, 01 July 2012 - 02:07 AM.

[vozzz]

im sure user conent is a pretty obvious yes. Valves games have always been heavily focused on user content. Counter Strike used to be a mod.

there are times in hte video when it feels like they want to sell you the user content and not just let you import it from your own programs, but doubt that will work with the community.

[anothername]

it the Source Filmmaker makes me think they may have bigger plans here than just fan-made Machinima videos, but hey, time will tell.

There is already one feature film with a theatrical release from the guy who made "9" which has been made using the software, I really hope Valve does more of these kind of collaborations.

[AromaKat]

From their FAQ:

Q. Can we use TF Store items?
Yes. All TF Store items will ship for free in the SFM. These items are only models, however, without any gameplay significance. While you’ll be able to put the Scorch Shot in the Pyro’s hands in your movie, your player won’t be able to equip it when you play online unless you have the item in your backpack inventory.

Q. Why are you giving the SFM away?

In the past, we’ve found that giving away our tools for free leads to the community creating amazing things for themselves and for others. All the items in the Team Fortress Workshop, and in fact Team Fortress itself, are a testament to how amazing the community’s creations are. We can’t wait to see what amazing creations you make with the SFM.

Q. Can I make money with this tool?

Yes, but not if you’re using Valve’s assets in your movie. The tool is free for non-commercial use. You can use Valve’s game assets (things like characters, props, particles, textures, and sounds) to create movies and images to share with the game community, as long as what you create is free. We’re not giving you a license to commercialize our assets. However, if you do not include any of Valve’s assets in the movies and images that you make, then there are no restrictions on what you do with your content and you can make money with it.

[Sao_Bento]

Great attitude towards their customers/community. Hopefully it's very successful.

[AromaKat]

I have been playing with it since last Friday, and its definitely fun, albeit it was little hard to wrap my head around UI-wise.

The problem I have with it right now is that importing custom models are a pain in the ass. Apparently, you can only export the proper format using either a maya export tool that keeps crashing on everyone, not working at all, or by using SoftImage Mod Tool. There is also a lot of work that needs to be done in between building the model and shooting using the sdk.

Is anyone else toying around with it?

[florio]

I want to but I'm on a mac

[mgrvsh]

I want to but I'm on a mac

Yeah, just tried to get it. PC only??

Edited by mgrvsh, 13 July 2012 - 05:49 PM.