This is to let everyone know there has been a change of plans. I’ve been working with different people to try and produce episode 5, however this one is going to be very long, definitely over 20 minutes total. We’re making a lot of progress, but Halloween is coming up and I really want to have the Halloween episode done before that. So what’s going to happen is I’m postponing development on episode 5 and will be concentrating on episode 6 instead, so there will be hopefully be a nice scary episode of CP in time for Halloween. Sorry to keep everybody waiting. While progress is still a little slow, I think once I can get in a groove with the people I’m working with these will start coming out faster. As soon is Episode 6 is finished, we’ll go back and finish 5 then release that as soon as it’s done.

I had a great response for needing help setting up the forums, so now one is up! I originally didn’t think there would be enough traffic for the series to warrant having a forum, but since the last episode is up to some 80+ comments, maybe it’s not a bad idea afterall. Anyway, check it out here:

http://civilprotection.freeforums.org/

Also, be sure to check out the FAQ I made for the series. I get asked some of the same questions over and over, so maybe your answers are in there.

Well I’ve done some researching and for the time being I think my best option for producing episodes faster is simply to get as many people involved in CP as I can. Thus, I want to advertise different positions I’m looking for help with here. This is an ongoing offer, however your odds of getting in on the action increase the sooner you apply. I hope to recruit more people than I need, with the idea being that if someone bails from the episode or goes MIA on us, then someone else can step in to fill his or her place. Some people I need for as soon as episode 5, other people I’ll need for episodes farther down the line. So, I may want your help, but it could be a little while before I’ll be able to work you in. Finally, this is unpaid volunteer work. I don’t make any money from this, so the only thing I can offer you in return is your name in big blocky letters in the credits. So, here are the positions I’m looking for; positions marked with an asterix I especially would like help with and I consider crucial to episodes coming out faster and me not getting burned out doing this:


*Animators (in Faceposer) - I’m looking for all kinds here. I need a lot of help with simple stuff like bobbing the heads of CP characters to match the audio, but I’d also love to have people essentially be in charge of animating the different scenes. You could have a decent amount of freedom here, in being able to decide what gestures get used where, using body language to help emphasize dialogue or scenes, etc. I’m still learning about it, but I hope be able to get you metrocop models with a LOT more gestures available than what you’ve seen in previous episodes. Also while not every episode will need it, this includes people who know how to do lipsyncing and are willing to manually go over the lines to make sure they look natural and don’t blindly rely on the computer to generate the phonemes.

Animators (In Hammer) - Some scenes simply need to be done via scripted sequences or throught map entities and AI. This will focus on how to have characters interact via Hammer. A lot of this will deal with NPC’s moving around. So if an NPC is pacing back and forth or jumping over a gap, I’ll need your help to help make that happen. While this does focus on Hammer, you’ll need a basic understanding of Faceposer in terms of using scene triggers or working out the timing with different animations. Also this can deal with complex tricks that need to be invented in order to make some scenes happen (like Dave jumping into the water from Ep. 4). You’ll probably have a lot of freedom here in how scenes get accomplished, but this could also be one of the most challenging positions as I’ve found that a lot of creative methods need to be thought up in production.

Animators (other) - This is by no means a required position, but if you have experience in XSI or some other 3D application that you think can get imported into the Source engine, then I’d love to be able to have more animations than what comes with the game. The downside is that I have almost no experience here, so you’ll be kind of on your own for this.

Mappers (design) - Update: No further mappers needed at this time, I’ve already has some amazing responses here.

Mappers (effects) - This probably overlaps with other positions, but I want people who are good at the dynamic end of mapping. So if I need an explosion, I want someone who can can have chunks of concrete come out of a wall, have smoke rise up, see flames, etc.

Modellers - I doubt there will be a whole lot of work I need in this area, but I’ll probably have need of some custom props for some episodes. However if you want to work on something ambitious, particularly creatures, I can be sure to work something in. Like the 3D app animators however, you will be on your own for this, I have almost no experience working in 3D modelling software.

Sound design - Update: No further sound people needed at this time

Source gurus - If you know tons of things about the Source engine, odds are I have questions for you as to how to accomplish a given scene or effect or just weird stuff I’m trying to make happen with the engine.

Texture artists - I probably won’t have a whole lot of work in this area, but the need will definitely arise for having custom textures.

Video effects editing - Update:no further editors needed at this time

Voice actors - Before you get your hopes up, I’ve already had a ton of offers to be a voice actor. What I’m looking for right now are people who can come close to faking the voices of Half-Life 2 characters; specifically the G-man, Dr. Breen, and possibly Eli. I’m afraid Barney and Kleiner have been filled at this point.


Those are the positions I’m looking for help with in the series now. This should basically be treated like you’re developing a game mod, except the difference is we’ll actually be able to finish what we’re doing and the scale won’t be as large. If you’re interested in helping out, please email me at [email protected]. I will be requiring that you can show me some sample of previous work related to the position. Do NOT send me attachments, I have limited space on my email account, use megaupload or some other external link instead. Remember that I’m just some dude making comedy episodes, you’re not applying for a real job. While I want to keep the quality level as high as previous episodes, I’m not going to be ruthless about this. I’m only going to hold people to standards as high as what I’ve already met in existing episodes. To everyone else who’s reading this, now you know why it takes me so long to make these episodes.