Glad I could help ^_^
Quote from: NortosI was hoping more like atmosphere and how to improve more of an expert cutscene tutorial but Blizz can go into that
Ah, but:
QuoteJust for starters, the main element is...
I didn't know how much FAX wanted to know, so I tried to outline the basics, so that he can experiment a bit and get started until Bliz makes the grand tute. I don't know if he already knows the basics.
Anyway, here's the continuation, which is slightly inclined towards the 'advanced' aspects of cutscenes. You can make use of 'Show Picture' event command for creative outcomes. One thing you SHOULD do imo, is the 'widescreen effect'. It's the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen that make it look like a movie clip. But be careful not to put any events behind the bars, for they'll be invisible ^_^
Then, this is about planning the cutscene. Don't hesitate to make your cutscene fast if the situation in the story demands it. This applies most in fighting cut-scenes. Be creative, and have patience. Picture the scene in your mind and start working. The timing might seem to be off in the beginnng, but the improvement curve is not linear, meaning, it gets easier to make a cutscene better as you go along, only the first time is tiresome.
And what else? hm, yeah, make clever use of animatioons from the database. Those are little things which can make a difference. And then, use the screen tinting to your advantage. Like, when the party camps and haves a conversation, you can make a parallel process event which changes tone to dark orange to bright orange. That can give an effect of the flame burning. But be careful with the tones, chose optimum tones for a natural atmosphere. And of course, don't forget the 'Screen Shake' event command. It's quite obvious what it does, so don't forget to use it. And when using SEs and other music effects, don't forget to time them right. Shouldn't be much of a problem. And mind you, using good SEs can make a difference as well. When I say good, I mean the right volume, and the right sound. The sound of footsteps should sound likewise, and a gust of wind should be a gust of wind, not a hiss of static. Selection of sounds, don't get careless with that.
Remember that all these are different options, and they don't HAVE to be used everytime. Use when needed. Overdoing it will have two disadvantages:
1) Many people won't like exaggeration.
2) The gap between the gameplay and cut-scenes increases.
I never really did many cut-scenes, but I've seen lots of cut-scenes. I'm not experienced, but this is all I have to say for now.
EDIT: I just remembered an other important thing. It's about the charsets. It's best if you can get different expressions (closed eyes, angry, sad, enraged, etc) for your charsets rather than use faces. Believe me, it'll be better than using facesets. Apart from expressions, 'nodding' poses are not bad to use. Make charsets for nodding 'yes' and 'no' and use them when needed. Finally, make some poses, like firing a gun, waving a hand, waving a fist (goes well with 'angry' expression), kneeling down, etc.