Warcraft 3, the series (WoW machinima)

[Tauer]

Hey guys.

I know it's been some time, and I still haven't finished the Zul'jin. I was insanely busy in the summer.
I promise I will finish him at some point, but lately I've been playing with something else.

I've had a dream for quite some time to make an epic machinima, retelling all the campaigns from Warcraft 3 with the upgraded graphics from WoW. Back when I first had the idea, I didn't really do anything about it, because just filming gameplay in WoW and pasting it together didn't feel.. good enough. It didn't look good. So I thought, why not import WoW models into 3DS Max and animate them myself? Unfortunately, my skills at the time were quite non-existant.

Now, my 3D skills have reached the point where it is actually a reachable goal. It's ambitious, and will take time. But possible.

Anyway, the idea is that I import WoW models into 3DS Max, re-rig them and add details (better eyes, in particular) and then animate them from scratch, with lip-synced dialogue using sound files from the WC3 campaigns.
Think along the lines of the new ingame cinematics Blizzard make for WoW.
And then make serialized episodes consisting of these. Sort of like a TV show.

This video should give an idea of what I mean:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBZ-GA1P9g4

Note, this is just a test, not the final result. I will remake the scenes from the campaign and render it all in full HD, and do a lot of post processing in After Effects. So yeah, a very ambitious project.

I don't know if it's something anybody is interested in, but I thought I'd start posting some stuff here once in a while whenever I feel like I've achieved something cool with it.

So if you think it sounds cool, feel free to check in once in a while or subscribe to my YouTube channel. I'll be adding test renders and scenes as I finish them.

Also, hope this is the right forum to post in. It doesn't have to do with WC3 modelling, but I found it more appropriate than posting in the WoW section. If it doesn't belong here I apologize.

 

[Deleted member 238589]

Interesting idea. Good luck.

 

[Tauer]

Interesting idea. Good luck.

Thanks

A small video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG3WxCQgcNM

Testing out some dynamic cloth physics for capes. I think it looks pretty cool.

 

[paladinjst]

hey bro how about u recently ? u have a long time away from hive and it has been a while since we met last time .

 

[Heinvers]

Hello. Nice to see you back

Good luck with that btw

 

[Tauer]

hey bro how about u recently ? u have a long time away from hive and it has been a while since we met last time .

Hey man, yeah, I've been reeaally busy this summer. We should meet up some time soon!

Hello. Nice to see you back

Good luck with that btw

Hey! And thanks!

Another video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x03V_eYVHE

Testing out some more lip syncing for Arthas.

 

[PurgeandFire]

That is awesome! Good luck with the project. I always thought Blizzard should've made a serialized series based off Wc3, it just has great potential since the story was so entertaining. Based off those vids, it seems like your take has great potential too. Hopefully you'll keep on posting whenever you have updates. I'd love to see more dialogue in action!

How long did that last vid take to animate? I'm just curious, I haven't delved into 3D/animation in general so I have no clue.

 

[Tauer]

That is awesome! Good luck with the project. I always thought Blizzard should've made a serialized series based off Wc3, it just has great potential since the story was so entertaining. Based off those vids, it seems like your take has great potential too. Hopefully you'll keep on posting whenever you have updates. I'd love to see more dialogue in action!

How long did that last vid take to animate? I'm just curious, I haven't delved into 3D/animation in general so I have no clue.

Thanks! I agree, the story is just so amazing. Especially for an RTS. This is something I've wanted to do for years, I just haven't had the skills for it until now. The great thing about it is that I can actually do everything myself. The voice acting is all provided via the game files.

The last one didn't take that long. It kinda depends. As soon as the preparation phase is over, the animation doesn't actually take that long.
Getting the character fully rigged, creating the morph presets (the facial and phonetic expressions) takes several hours. That's the most tedious work.
As soon as that's done, it's just a matter of using all these presets and matching it to the sound files. Animating wise, the last one probably took about 20 - 30 minutes to make.

But still, that's just a 4 second sequence with Arthas talking, and no body animation. It's gonna take a long time to set up the scenes and animate all the characters. Not to mention rendering time and the post production.

That's kinda why I want to make it serialized. If I had to make a movie, it'd take years before I could finish it. By making it serialized I could at least get something out in the foreseeable future.

Anyway, hope you'll keep checking in, I definately plan on updating this thread as I go. It's also good motivation if people actually follow what you do

 

[Direfury]

I have to wonder.
What will you do about the combat scenes? Will they be shortened, or ignored?

And another little thought. Why not consider skimming through the other campaigns, and possibly the Undead Arthas soundset for minor dialogue?

 

[Kyrbi0]

This is amazing, and also good, and also holy unto me. I love this idea. : )

Seriously, though, this is a boat-load of work. You should consider outsourcing some of the work; I'm sure there are some budding animators out here (& there) that could help out.

One question: while in general this whole thing sounds like THE BEST IDEA EVAR, I am curious how you plan to approach the issue of the game itself. That is, as an RTS only a part of the story is told through cinematics... The rest is told via the game itself (& thus, the player (though guided by the designers/story-writers)). For example, even if you machinima-ize Arthas & Jaina hearing about Stratholme and then Arthas disbanding the Elite Four Silver Hand... Welp, it might be a little disjointing. Will you somehow create a cinematic about the events from each Level?

(Don't let that discourage you; I think this is a great idea)

 

[Tauer]

I have to wonder.
What will you do about the combat scenes? Will they be shortened, or ignored?

And another little thought. Why not consider skimming through the other campaigns, and possibly the Undead Arthas soundset for minor dialogue?

Oh I fully intend to animate the combat scenes. Also adding special effects for magic etc.

Yeah, I might reuse some of the soundsets someplaces to make the dialogue feel less empty.

This is amazing, and also good, and also holy unto me. I love this idea. : )

Seriously, though, this is a boat-load of work. You should consider outsourcing some of the work; I'm sure there are some budding animators out here (& there) that could help out.

One question: while in general this whole thing sounds like THE BEST IDEA EVAR, I am curious how you plan to approach the issue of the game itself. That is, as an RTS only a part of the story is told through cinematics... The rest is told via the game itself (& thus, the player (though guided by the designers/story-writers)). For example, even if you machinima-ize Arthas & Jaina hearing about Stratholme and then Arthas disbanding the Elite Four Silver Hand... Welp, it might be a little disjointing. Will you somehow create a cinematic about the events from each Level?

(Don't let that discourage you; I think this is a great idea)

Thanks
Yeah, I will do what I can to make it feel as smooth and movie like as possible. I plan on animating all cutscenes and also scenes from ingame that contain dialogue. And of course the combat scenes (for example, killing Kel'Thuzad)
But it will probably in some areas be a little disjointed. This is a little hard to avoid, seeing as it is an RTS as you say, so the dialogue is limited. But mostly, there should be enough dialogue to tell the whole story.

Any ideas on how to improve this are welcome though!

About outsourcing, I might try that at some point, if I feel like there is something that I'm not able to do or don't have time to do myself.

 

[Direfury]

I've got a suggestion.

Check the Evil Arthas soundset. Some of his 'pissed' comments would be perfect for the point where he takes up Frostmourne. Limp-armed, holding his head low, mumbling to himself, "I was a fool to trust in the Light".

That aside, I'd think you could probably use a few other lines from that soundset and his regular one for combat scenes.

 

[Tauer]

I've got a suggestion.

Check the Evil Arthas soundset. Some of his 'pissed' comments would be perfect for the point where he takes up Frostmourne. Limp-armed, holding his head low, mumbling to himself, "I was a fool to trust in the Light".

That aside, I'd think you could probably use a few other lines from that soundset and his regular one for combat scenes.

Good idea

Trying it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQwgK4z8vvI

 

[Kyrbi0]

Verah Noice.

The only thing bugging me (aside from weird reflections & seams, which I know you'll get to) is those eyes... Not sure why, they just look stark & doll-like. :<

 

[Direfury]

Good job so far, but for the actual scene, I'd suggest you have Arthas' back to the camera. He'd just picked up Frostmourne, and had his own soul ripped from him, he'd be weak, dragging the blade along the ground, atleast until the next battle.

Body language alone can sell a scene when it's done right.

 

[Tauer]

Verah Noice.

The only thing bugging me (aside from weird reflections & seams, which I know you'll get to) is those eyes... Not sure why, they just look stark & doll-like. :<

Yeah, they have some self illumination on them. I was worried that it would look a little fake. I'll have to remove that.

Good job so far, but for the actual scene, I'd suggest you have Arthas' back to the camera. He'd just picked up Frostmourne, and had his own soul ripped from him, he'd be weak, dragging the blade along the ground, atleast until the next battle.

Body language alone can sell a scene when it's done right.

True that. But anyway, that's probably far in the future. Still in the preparation phase right now, and the scene you're referring to doesn't happen until towards the end of the Human campaign

Trying out some motion capture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae7LnaTh8lA&feature=youtu.be

Seems to be working quite good. This is good news, as it means I can use motion capture files for many animations so I don't have to animate everything from scratch. A lot of them will probably still be animated by me though, not to mention the lip syncing I also have to do.

But yeah, this should definately lighten the work load a bit.

Also tried making some effects in After Effects

Bad news is that I recently made the mistake of upgrading to patch 6.02 in WoW. I thought, new character models, that's perfect for what I wanna do! Wrong.. They've changed their file system completely, rendering WoW Model Viewer useless. Getting models from the game is very hard right now, so I'll have to wait until somebody upgrades WMV before I can really move on.
I did export a few models before patching though, and they still need to be rigged. So I can still work on it.

 

[PROXY]

Can't you downgrade WoW? I remember doing that myself a couple of years ago, but it might not work anymore.

 

[Tauer]

Can't you downgrade WoW? I remember doing that myself a couple of years ago, but it might not work anymore.

I probably can, but I'm not really sure how to go about it with the new file system.. besides, there'll most likely be an update to WoW model viewer some time in the near future, and I'd like to get my hands on those new models.

Doing a little model editing. Blademaster of the Blackrock Clan. Some of the characters don't have models in WoW, so I'll have to edit existing characters to how they look in WC3.

This is basically just a green WoD Kilrogg with Garrosh lower body, new weapon and the necklace thingy. And a few other edits as well.

 

[Direfury]

What about the flag they tend to carry? Also, the off-hand could use a leather bracer.

Are you going to make a couple different Blademaster models?

 

[Hardtime]

This is so hawt. OMG.

 

[Heinvers]

Also, the off-hand could use a leather bracer.

..or a chain. Cool edit btw.

 

[Tauer]

What about the flag they tend to carry? Also, the off-hand could use a leather bracer.

Are you going to make a couple different Blademaster models?

Don't know about the flag, I was never a fan of that design myself. It just seems unneccesary. Why would you carry a flag around on your back all the time?

Probably just this one, since the only Blademaster mentioned in the campaigns is the Blackrock one.

This is so hawt. OMG.

..or a chain. Cool edit btw.

Made another render:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBbRoRQqSOs

Wanted to render a higher resolution test, with better shadows. Mainly to see how it looks and get an idea of the rendering time. It's gonna take some time, this one took over an hour to render.

Also improved the eye material.

 

[PurgeandFire]

Nice updates! I like the eyes a lot better in that vid, maybe the shadows help. And that holy kick in the previous vid was pretty epic.

As for WMV, yeah it is unfortunate that they changed their file system to use CASC instead of MPQ. However, Zezula has already released a beta for CascLib, so I'm sure someone will update WMV to use it eventually. If not, maybe I'll look into it.

 

[Direfury]

I'd suggest more body language, less head-tilting, atleast for the actual scene.

I can't wait to see the first actual scene. Will you be using unedited versions of certain regions, or will you work on them yourself?

 

[Tauer]

Nice updates! I like the eyes a lot better in that vid, maybe the shadows help. And that holy kick in the previous vid was pretty epic.

As for WMV, yeah it is unfortunate that they changed their file system to use CASC instead of MPQ. However, Zezula has already released a beta for CascLib, so I'm sure someone will update WMV to use it eventually. If not, maybe I'll look into it.

Well, the guy making WMV said that there might be an update some time next week, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I'd suggest more body language, less head-tilting, atleast for the actual scene.

I can't wait to see the first actual scene. Will you be using unedited versions of certain regions, or will you work on them yourself?

I can't wait to start making the first scene! But until I can start getting models again, I'm a little stuck.

Blademaster is rigged:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oqKFAP9v0g&feature=youtu.be

Well, pretty much rigged anyway, only a few rigging errors here and there. Nothing major though.

 

[Heinvers]

Great work

 

[Direfury]

Will you be including Captain Falric? As far as I can tell, he joins Arthas in... Ravages of the Scourge, and remains with him up until Arthas kills him with Frostmourne. Even if he's missing from the WC3 missions, other material seemed to note that he was there most of the time.

 

[Tauer]

Will you be including Captain Falric? As far as I can tell, he joins Arthas in... Ravages of the Scourge, and remains with him up until Arthas kills him with Frostmourne. Even if he's missing from the WC3 missions, other material seemed to note that he was there most of the time.

Yeah, I plan on including Falric. I'll probably merge all the captains in the campaign into him, even though canonically one of them is Luc Valonforth.

 

[Direfury]

Valenforth, if I remember, is that traitor that tries to take Arthas' troops out of Northrend.

 

[Veritas 117]

You've got some pretty impressive stuff here. I look forward to seeing more of your progress in the future. Nice work!

 

[Tauer]

Hey guys. Just wanted to let you know that even though I'm a bit busy with studies lately, this project is not dead. I've been unable to move on with it because of the new file system Blizzard made. Good news though, there is a beta version of WMV out that allows me to extract WOD models. It's a bit more inconvenient than it used to be, but it works!

So I've been playing around with the models. I must say the new ones look really good. It really makes a difference.

Here's a render of the new footman:

Footman

I've also worked on a model edit for Uther. I've mixed Arthas with the new human male and added some armour etc. Trying to get that paladin feel that Arthas model has, without being too similar.

Uther

Shadows are a bit funky on this render, but then again it's all WIP.

The eyes are also made by me, I've modeled them to be anatomically correct (pupil, iris, cornea etc). I think this, together with the new high res models really make them come alive in a way that the old models couldn't do.

Anyway, just wanted to drop in and let ya'll know I'm not dead. I don't know when I'll have time to work on Garona, maybe this summer after exams.

 

[Direfury]

You might want to tweak Uther's proportions, he'd always seemed like he'd be alot bulkier than other humans. Otherwise, those are great.

 

[Tauer]

You might want to tweak Uther's proportions, he'd always seemed like he'd be alot bulkier than other humans. Otherwise, those are great.

Noted, will make him a bit bulkier.

WIP of Orc Slavemaster:

Hidden

WC3 model:

 

[Tauer]

Bump, here's a little update on this project.

Started doing the enviroment for the first scene I'm gonna make.

Screenshots

Still very much a WIP, but maybe you recognize it. It's the first cutscene in the Human Campaign:

https://youtu.be/Ml5YnB9-VZo?t=3m48s

I'm trying to keep it as close to the concept as possible. Almost all the trees are placed in the exact same spot as the original map, same goes for the boxes, tents etc. I've placed the Watch Tower where the Mill used to be, but I think I might actually move the Tower to the back like in the map and place the Mill there instead. It looks a bit out of place where I placed it here.

Anyway, what do you think? Again, it's still a WIP. It needs a lot more trees and maybe some more rocks. Also some 3D grass sticking out to make it look less flat.

Don't know if you guys are interested in these kinds of updates, I know they aren't as interesting as the animations

 

[Kyrbi0]

No, man; these are great! I particularly love that Slavemaster; that is super-sick. Very diabolic and grungy.

 

[Direfury]

The camp could use a few little details. A few flags, maybe Silver Hand and Lordaeron? Some flowers, small plantlife, that sorta thing.

I'd suggest, if you do an establishing shot of the camp, have a few birds fly off from the trees, show a small critter investigating the camp in the background during conversations, like a raccoon dragging off a sack of grain or something, when nobody is looking.

Looks great so far. Love the slavemaster. Maybe give him a flat mace? Something to break bones with, rather than cleave flesh. Something that'd fit as a 'diciplining tool'.

 

[PurgeandFire]

wow, awesome updates over the past week. I think the environment looks quite authentic, although I would personally tweak the sizes of the tents/campfires/boxes for better proportions. Either the crates are a bit too big or the tents are a bit too small.

 

[Tauer]

No, man; these are great! I particularly love that Slavemaster; that is super-sick. Very diabolic and grungy.

Thanks! I'll keep the updates coming then

The camp could use a few little details. A few flags, maybe Silver Hand and Lordaeron? Some flowers, small plantlife, that sorta thing.

I'd suggest, if you do an establishing shot of the camp, have a few birds fly off from the trees, show a small critter investigating the camp in the background during conversations, like a raccoon dragging off a sack of grain or something, when nobody is looking.

Looks great so far. Love the slavemaster. Maybe give him a flat mace? Something to break bones with, rather than cleave flesh. Something that'd fit as a 'diciplining tool'.

Great suggestions, I'm definately planning on adding wild life as well. And I've already started adding extra details to the camp.

wow, awesome updates over the past week. I think the environment looks quite authentic, although I would personally tweak the sizes of the tents/campfires/boxes for better proportions. Either the crates are a bit too big or the tents are a bit too small.

You're absolutely right. I made the tents a little bigger.

More renders:

Screenshots

Also an overview of the whole scene so far:

Still needs moar trees

I've started adding details to the scene. Grass, flowers etc. Also added a Lordearon banner. Still needs a lot more clutter though.
I think I'll also add a weapons rack and maybe some armor/weapons lying around.

As you can see I also moved the tower to the back. I think it looks better in the background. I think I'll add a mill where the tower was before, like in the original map.

 

[Direfury]

Can't wait to see how this turns out.

 

[Deolrin]

This is all kinds of fantastic. Very impressive. I'm in the same boat as Direfury here, looking forward to any updates!

 

[Heinvers]

good stuff

Hey, that's pretty great.

 

[Tauer]

Can't wait to see how this turns out.

This is all kinds of fantastic. Very impressive. I'm in the same boat as Direfury here, looking forward to any updates!

Thanks, looking forward to getting to the good part - animating the actual scenes. That's gonna be fun

Hey, that's pretty great.

Thanks man, means a lot coming from an awesome terrainer like yourself

Alright, I think the environment for the first scene is almost done. It might be ready for animating:

Screenshots

Could maybe use a bit more details, but mostly the camera will be focused on characters and depth of field will often make the backgrounds too blurred to actually see that many details.
Anyway tell me what you think.

Also a WIP on Falric:

Screenshots

I'm kinda not sure what to do about Falric. I'd like to introduce him early on in the story (first episode actually) to give him more development and make the viewer more invested in him - but I'm worried that there are not enough sound files. He'll be kinda a silent character that just stays in the background.. and that doesn't really make anyone invested in him.
Anybody have any ideas?

As soon as all characters for the first scene are rigged I can actually get to the animating

 

[Kyrbi0]

I'm kinda not sure what to do about Falric. I'd like to introduce him early on in the story (first episode actually) to give him more development and make the viewer more invested in him - but I'm worried that there are not enough sound files. He'll be kinda a silent character that just stays in the background.. and that doesn't really make anyone invested in him.
Anybody have any ideas?

As soon as all characters for the first scene are rigged I can actually get to the animating

Depending on how much you wanna stick to the in-game assets/presented cinematic storyline & pacing... I would suggest giving DivineArms a call. He does some pretty good voice work.

 

[Tauer]

Depending on how much you wanna stick to the in-game assets/presented cinematic storyline & pacing... I would suggest giving DivineArms a call. He does some pretty good voice work.

That's not a bad idea actually. Just checked out his thread, sounds pretty damn good. I might try and ask him if it's something he'd be interested in. Then I could just give Falric the extra lines that he says in Arthas: Rise of The Lich King, that way it would be canon as well.

Yay, Uther is rigged:

https://youtu.be/aN5mVDbUdjM

Of course this is not the final animation, just testing out the facial animation.

1 down, 2 to go (3 if I include Falric) until I can start animating the first scene. I've been making a lot more progress than I thought I would lately. This is exciting

 

[Deolrin]

Fantastic.
Uther should have some orange hair among all that gray, though.

 

[Heinvers]

Just pitching in to say that Uther had green eyes >
(not that there's a problem with the color you gave them)

Yeah good job Tauer

 

[Tauer]

Fantastic.
Uther should have some orange hair among all that gray, though.

Thanks
True, I tried doing that but for some reason the wrap that Blizz made for the hair makes it look a bit weird :/

Just pitching in to say that Uther had green eyes >
(not that there's a problem with the color you gave them)

Yeah good job Tauer

Yeah, they actually are green in the latest video, albeit very light. Probably too light, will make them a bit darker and more saturated. And thanks

I gave Arthas a little overhaul:

Hidden

Used some armour pieces from HotS and also gave him a new head mesh (also from HotS but wrapped to the WoW texture). The old one was a bit low poly, made the facial animations look kinda weird.

I know I don't really need him yet but I also made Thrall:

Hidden

I'm in the process of rigging the footman right now. After that I just need to rig Arthas and set up his facial morph (gave him a new face so need to do that from scratch) and then I can start animating the first scene

 

[PurgeandFire]

Very impressive face rig on Uther. It turned out really well.

And nice touch-up on Arthas. Looks way better than the WoW version. He would look more like himself with longer hair, but that is low priority. Probably annoying to add as well.

 

[Tauer]

Very impressive face rig on Uther. It turned out really well.

And nice touch-up on Arthas. Looks way better than the WoW version. He would look more like himself with longer hair, but that is low priority. Probably annoying to add as well.

I think you're right, he looks better with longer hair:

Screenshots

 

[Deolrin]

Sweet, but now his hair looks too yellow. Should be a bit more towards the orange side, imo.