Otto

I don't know, this always happens when I try to humanize cartoon people; they become evil. At least it's an improvement this time. I'll try and keep it even closer to the original: There, now she doesn't have eyes! That's not creepy at all! Sorry, I hope I'm not ruining your avatar now. I'll attempt Ross's one in a moment. Extra sorry, I didn't mean to steer this thread off.

Yeah, you're totally right. If Gordon isn't even listening to most of what's being said in the background, and thus isn't making a joke about it, there's no reason to put the information there, especially when the viewer has to go back and pause multiple times just to try and understand it. It would be too distracting and may even cause them to miss the joke, so your current method is actually perfect for the job.

Good work, everyone, and helpful advice. On the topic of subtitling two characters, isn't there a way in SRT files to actually place subtitles at the top of the screen? This may not make readability very easy, but for instances when a person or announcer is making a long speech, it might be helpful. You may have covered this already, I just didn't look well. This may also be helpful: http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/43362-half-life/faqs/29847 I used to have a very very old bookmark of a fantastic script for Half-Life 1, but I lost it years ago. I'm not sure how complete or accurate this one is, but it should help anyone else who's trying to understand the actual in-game dialogue over Freeman's rants. Oh, I'm sorry. I'll never try imitating your language again. I can't even remember what I was trying to say, just that a Polish Freeman would be awesome. Here, please accept my apology with this: a 3D-ish version of your avatar! Err.. that's still a little creepy, actually. I'll keep working on it...

Chcę polskiego aktorstwa głosowego! Chcę usłyszeć polską Gordona Freemana! Did I say that right? I want it to be za to zabieram!!

Silly, yes. And exaggerated, and unrealistic, but I'm sure that was exactly what he was aiming for. I've never seen Freeman's Mind in third person, nor in the Black Mesa mod. I wouldn't mind watching some more. Either toned down or toned up, it would be like re-watching the series anew. The simple idea for this was brilliant. SO IT WAS AWESOME!

Why, the Reptiles, of course! [EDIT]: I just realized that you were the one who posted those, so of course you had to ask. You win!

You're totally right, it's better not to reveal his vote. And thanks for your compliment; I didn't think anyone who hadn't already played Half-Life so much would notice the changes. And I agree, games with good gunshots add a lot of fun! It's also totally true that I'm often late with the final mixdown, so some things get scrapped. Oh wait, I just remembered the last two tanks didn't have the final mix that was intended for them. I think there was a mix up when Machinima was holding that episode "hostage", so the eventual uploaded version was wrong. But yeah, I'd agree with that. This is also a new tank model that's not been seen before, so it makes sense. The change do seem a little late, but I like the inventive thought that went into them. [EDIT]: So there are 6,000 votes, and the decision has been made: http://www.accursedfarms.com/freemans-mind-gun-sounds/

Aw, sorry to hear about your cat. And may I ask what the vote was that you/Ross took? I think Daniel did a good job with the new sounds. I actually always wanted to see what FM would be like with newer renditions of gunshots. Lots of the vort attacks, apache shots, tank shots, missile shots or mounted-gun shots were all redone partially in the series, but I never expected to see the user-handled weapons changed. It was a good experiment and a nice surprise. I also understand a lot of the Half-Life nostalgics and people arguing for consistency though. Freeman's Mind has always had the occasional sound tweak or embellishment for certain events or dramatic sequences, least of which have been the satellite rocket launch, the tentacle fire blast, the giant fan room, Freeman getting knocked out, the Shark/Ichthy attack, and any major explosion in the series. Every episode is full of these "enhancements" that normally do to emphasize the original game environment, rather than to replace it completely. On that note, there are also no episodes without these mixes; there's barley a minute that goes by without some additional effect added to bring out the ambiance or explain Freeman's movement. So you never hear just the original cut from the game; there's thousands of subtle things that won't even get noticed, especially for newcomers. Though this is kind of a fundamental expectation for all the foley departments in media. I never personally changed the weapon sounds myself, (aside from the occasional shotgun bass ) partly because I'm also a big "Ancient" for Half-Life, but mostly because the work involved to mod the game that way was far too much for just gunshots, so I didn't see the necessity. But on the face of it, there's not much difference between changing the tank shots (and everything mentioned above that I always do) and changing the gun shots... apart from consistency, that is.... So I guess that line is kind of hard to see; though most everyone agrees the Poison Headcrab did happen to cross it. Wow, that was a very long way to make a point. I apologize, I didn't plan on writing anything. So anyway, it's perhaps unbefitting of me to vote, but I wanted to say something about the case regardless, since the sound design in Freeman's Mind has never had so such attention before.

Wow, that's a cool amount of input here. I'm surprised to see so much as 5,300 votes towards this at all (though a fair portion being about pets). After reading all the pages just now, I'd like to point out that any further episodes are certain to have a more balanced and consistent volume level, whatever the final choice is for the new sounds. I can imagine Ross might end up using something a little more similar to the originals, then doing another episode or two to see what the reaction is. Whatever the case, you can be sure the volume won't jump out at you again.

Thank you for not forgetting that.

Goodness, what happened to you back then? And are you sure more Freeman's Mind can't solve it? You're lucky you get any messages at all; I don't even hear from the Moderators, let alone jokes! Hey man, Pest... Princess... all you 'P' named people, we're all cool here. Let's all hold hands, yeah? Let's all just enjoy some real groovy Music, yo.

Yeah, I'd love to know how to support you more! Thank you for not making me feel like the only one to remember such things. I was worried that it was recently taken out of the Source version or something. Haha, you weren't suppose to pick up on that! I barley noticed it though; it was nicely implemented. I agree the Revolver sounds really awesome. That was very impressive, especially for a first job! I like how well you masked the shots over the in-game ones; that would have been hard. I may need to ask you for those gun sounds later. Thing is, even if you wanted to do that, you can't really go back and just add the sound effects on top of the old videos (at least not on all the episodes) because they're mixed in the background too well. You would need to actually swap out the default ones in the game with these new modded shots, then re-record the demo that Ross initially makes for each episode, re-edit and cut the videos to the old length, redo the volume balancing and synchronising, then re-upload the entire collection one by one, which, more importantly, would make my 3.0 GB collection of Freeman's Mind OUTDATED! So am I! It's become a burden on my hard drive and internet capacity, but I'm just a couple episodes short of the whole FM series. Hahaha! I know, that was one of the funnier parts! Ohh, I thought it was due to the next level loading, but that still wouldn't make sense. You did very well trying to hide it.

Hey Ross, is it just me or has this episode only got the original draft of Phai's sound effects in it? Anyway, I finally got around to seeing these new uploaded episodes and they're awesome! Really glad to see you back in production! (well, y'know, production you're allowed to publish)

Bad news always seems to beat the Good. Best insult since "Blue-blistering barnacles!" You know, the original script for that episode included another, more emphasized "Slappage..." line after that. Twas then cut just before release. Just a Fun-Fact I know you guys like. Truly baffling. I can not imagine what they were so unhappy with in the first place that they needed to change it that drastically. True and commendable, but even if you take out the source of income and complications of the contract itself, the bottom line is that Machinima.com is the only venue that makes it on the top five most popular YouTube channels every year, so that's still a very valuable option and is always significant to remember. There are alternatives, yes, but competitors like Gametrailers, ScrewAttack, RoosterTeeth or Destructoid (to name a few) won't quite have the same mixture of publicity, control or even Google investment as Machinima does. They also have to be interested in actually paying for the type of machinima shorts that Ross creates. Oh no, please don't shut up. I agree with the fact that there's kind of too much advise on what everyone thinks the next course of action should be. I do actually appreciate and share the thoughtful support everyone's giving to Ross, but it's just one of those things where you have to know the situation first. Hey cool, I have one of those but I think it makes me really psychotic after a while. Plus I'm more inclined to just give up and sulk rather than flip out at anyone. It's a shame someone like him can't be the managing director of Machinima.com. Well, it'd be better if every single employee was like him... in the world.

Thanks, and yeah I was gonna mention your funny wallpaper. Very much noted. Thank you. I'll be looking at what cheap printing companies are around. How very well said. I do suppose I would sign this petition, but only after hearing Ross's input on RoosterTeeth as an option. I've not heard from him since the blog post, and I wouldn't want to make a big thing out of it for the AF and RT forums if Ross felt pressured in doing it only for the fans.

I noticed that too. I guess the sooner we here from the ANTC Guy, the sooner we hear from Ross as well. This whole thing is very suspect. If this goes on for one more month, then I say forget ever using Machinima ever again. Forever.

But they have an online store and everything, they must be interested in adopting new shows. And wow, a lot of their series have over 100 episodes, Rage Quit included. I guess that's done quite well: http://ah.roosterteeth.com/archive/series.php I like their contact information: "Business For all business inquiries including reseller opportunities, podcast sponsorships, display and video advertising options, commercial production, brand integrations and more. Thanks for the interest. We also do most types of mitzvahs. [email protected]" I'm so sorry, HLPrincess, I didn't mean to ruin it for you. I'm actually okay with it now, your avatar seems a lot more cuter than compared to my evil visualization. I promise not to look at it that way again.

Oh, thanks so much. Stereotypical? But not even barbies have eyes that big! Sometimes I feel like she's looking at me this way: Actually, now that I think about it, this one makes yours seem a lot more innocent. This is the best way of spreading the word and getting recognition, although I never do it myself because I'd feel embarrassed if people knew how much of an obsessive die hard fan I was.

Yes. Yes you are confused... Once again, I can only reiterate: I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. But why make Poland for an April Fools joke? I agree though, Ross does seem to move around a lot. Maybe he should have a caravan, with a recording booth as a trailer! Wow, you sure like making those vague hints! Nie martw się! Tak, bardzo! Really though, I appreciate your self-control, from everyone. "Czasami można znaleźć naprawdę fajne perełki."

-.- I agree, damn good video. I hadn't seen that new trailer before. Yeah, Ross has that cute little head style where his hairline spreads out in two curly waves, quite unlike anything Freeman could ever possibly do at his length. If Ross were a woman, with shorter hair, he might've once sported Something Like This atop his cranium. This makes it very difficult for Headcrabs to feel their way around, giving you a fighting chance against them... Plus, I think the Freeman in that video might've had green contact-lenses in his eyes. It's hard to be sure, but otherwise he would be a perfect match for the real life character I think.

He has definitely been making more episodes to FM, but I don't know how the rest is going. He has also dropped out of contact lately and I haven't seen him post in a long time, so I don't think there's been much progress since about a week ago. Of course the front page chart is well outdated by now, and there IS more content ready to be released, it's just being held up by Machinima. Oh yeah, I guess I have a lot more free time now that Christmas is over. I'm flattered you noticed. I find your avatar kinda creepy, by the way. And when I say "Poster", I should've specified that I mean "paper-with-a-website-address-on-it" pretty much. That's all I'm capable of designing by myself, at least. Any real graphics for promoting Accursed Farms would probably come from Valve and Ross's own work instead, and all the awesome art by his fans too, but really any old logo from the series would do. For the actual paper image... I've been going over a dozen in my head but I've kinda forgotten how to put the words together. The basic message would be very simple; here is a real crude example of how one might look: Of course I wouldn't want to actually print off this one. It's just a very quick sketch I threw together without much thought of how to space, style or size the captions. There's definitely more funnier ways of showcasing it, I just can't recall any. I'm also fond of the type of advertising that just utilizes one simple image, and only a link or name beside it for people to search online. It would be much more easier to do, and if the vagueness of the poster ends up bringing more curiosity, it should thus bring more traffic. And you could essentially grab an old conceptual design from Half-Life 2 and put a quote from CP onto it. Or else a quote from FM with one of the T-Shirt logos or something. Since I was free, here's another speedy example: Colouring would need a bit of work, and the whole frame is kinda messy in general, but you get the idea. For the case of community made artwork, you may want to see this awesome old thread: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=795 I think a lot of things in there are poster worthy, especially these: All of them great, except for the fact that Black + Mass Printing = unhappy wallet. Sorry, got a little side-tracked again. On an unrelated note, I just found this: https://itunes.apple.com/sg/podcast/freeman-39-s-mind-copy/id356174287

Oh sure, sorry I never saw your post. Right here, man, and of course for everyone else: http://www.4shared.com/video/GVyMvAzZ/Civil_Protection_-_Morning_Pat.html [EDIT:] Okay, it's going to take a while with a file size of 380MB... I just realized I probably got it from a private server when Ross was uploading it to Machinima long ago, so lucky me. And now I do remember a .WMV version earlier, but it has since been taken down: http://www.accursedfarms.com/new-episode-morning-patrol/

Quite true. Funnily enough, I always thought about printing off some quick A4 sized posters and sticking them up near a busy city intersection where I work. There's also a large block of road covered in movie & music posters that are always tearing apart. It would be easy to sneak one in there every couple days.

Not at all, and my brain hardly ever works properly either. The reason I use the word "popular" is so I could mix the amount of subscribers, viewers, views and likes of the profile, which basically means its influence on bringing in such a larger audience partly because it does a lot more than just "gaming" videos. Yet it still advertises its 'Happy Hour' channel in the many other genres like Machinima Prime, Machinima Sports, Machinima Trailer Vault and so on. I wouldn't really know how popular RoosterTeeth is in comparison, but I figured Machinima would typically get more exposure in most cases. Machinima wasn't that big six years ago either, (was it?) but you're right that RoosterTeeth is certainly very widespread to the gaming community. I'm not sure about "the internet all together" part though... maybe it's just the things I do that lead me to YouTube more often, so you could well be telling truth. Speaking of which, I haven't been on RoosterTeeth in ages, I normally forget about their emails, so I'm not saying it's a bad place to get a series hosted. I wouldn't even have a recommendations on what a good place would be. I've just not had a proper look at their massive database in eons. Thanks for the info though, I'll have a visit. Maybe catch up on a few RVB seasons.

Well, sorry for the double long posts, but it's interesting to find out there's another guy in Ross's situation. After that random post of mine where I compared Freeman's Mind with Arby'n'The Chief for no real reason, I was going over the view count, video length and release dates of a couple 'Happy Hour' series to try and average out some general numbers. Since the popularity and exposure of both the Freeman's Mind and Arby'n'Chief shows have been so similar lately, I wondered if the creator of AntC (DigitalPh33r, or 'Jon CJG') had recently experienced any slow down with Machinima either. He has, and his case might seem worse. This would explain why there's been a sudden drop to his release rate as well. This is his Blogspot: http://joncjg.blogspot.co.nz/ He hasn't made any posts or videos at all this year. Almost all the blog pages from last December mention a few "delays" on Machinima's part. This was probably obvious to a lot of you, it was certainly well known to the many fans of his shows, but this struck me by surprise. I should have known it wasn't just Ross that was struggling to get back some solid information from Machinima. Jon has apparently been hearing "conflicting stories from staff of varying levels of seniority" about the delays going on, and he's expressed his confusion a number of times on his site. The timing would also coincide with this: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/14/entertainment/la-et-ct-popular-youtube-gaming-channel-machinima-has-layoffs-20121214 "So there's a good chance that the next Byte won't air this Saturday either, I'm so sorry; and I don't want to alarm anybody as nothing is concrete yet, but I've been hearing worrying talk very recently from the programming team that handles my content that my position among the company is being re-evaluated due to a lack of viewership of my show, I assume in comparison to their other Happy Hour content (and the million-high figures of my show throughout the first three seasons). I'm guessing this has been the real reason behind the recent hold on the airing of my stuff..." So anyway, I can't see a lot of other Happy Hour directors having problems. Jon's the only new case so far. Only the 'HISHE' (How It Should Have Ended), 'Minecraft N00b Adventures', 'Battlefield Friends' and 'How to Annoy People' channels have any clear headway over Freeman's Mind in terms of viewership, so they shouldn't be worried about re-evaluation. Still a puzzling story... does anyone else have weird news on Machinima?