37 replies to this topic

[BoPop]

awww I wanna do some voice acting. I can do a pretty good optimus prime! hehe. especially early in the morning. cool proj, kon.

[Cubivorre]

Koniving, on 26 April 2013 - 08:51 PM, said:

For most variants the Hunchback's fatal flaw is that its most effective weaponry is heavily localized in one location which is vulnerable to disarmament at range via pinpoint strikes, hence its dedication to Defense and Escort.

Think it would sound much better as:
For most variants the Hunchback's fatal flaw is that its most effective weaponry is heavily localized in one area that is vulnerable to disarmament at range via pinpoint strikes, hence its dedication to Defense and Escort.

Sounds strange with the word localized and location so close together.

Koniving, on 26 April 2013 - 08:51 PM, said:

The 'Mech's armor is sturdy and almost always front-heavy in its home turf of urban environments. However, even the best armor alone is not enough.

Maybe add:

The 'Mech's armor is sturdy and almost always front-heavy in its home turf of urban environments. However, even the best armor alone is not enough and caution should always be at the forefront of the pilots mind.

Just seemed like a doomsday sentence without that bit

-----

Just my observations - take it or leave it! ^^

[Koniving]

Cubivorre, on 28 May 2013 - 01:49 PM, said:

Think it would sound much better as:
For most variants the Hunchback's fatal flaw is that its most effective weaponry is heavily localized in one area that is vulnerable to disarmament at range via pinpoint strikes, hence its dedication to Defense and Escort.

Sounds strange with the word localized and location so close together.


Maybe add:

The 'Mech's armor is sturdy and almost always front-heavy in its home turf of urban environments. However, even the best armor alone is not enough and caution should always be at the forefront of the pilots mind.

Just seemed like a doomsday sentence without that bit

-----

Just my observations - take it or leave it! ^^

I didn't edit them into the specific post yet, but they are edited in the script I just gave to the actress.

[Sparks Murphey]

Stumbled into this a little late, I know, but I think you're going to have troubles referring to BattleMechs by the chassis component name. It works for the Hunchback, but there are others it will fall down for, such as the Commando ("Coventry Metal Works" chassis, also the name of it's manufacturer, who make other 'Mechs), the Flea ("Earthwerk Trooper" or "Earthwerk Trooper II EndoSteel" depending on variant), the Orion ("GM Marauder", shared with the more famous 'Mech called the Marauder), or the Catapult ("Hollis Type II", the same as the King Crab)

[Krazy Kat]

Add, "First introduced in 2572."

That's it. All the rest is great.

[mack sabbath]

Thanks for the great read.

Now please get to some Victor videos pleeeeease!

[Koniving]

BoPop, on 28 May 2013 - 01:39 PM, said:

awww I wanna do some voice acting. I can do a pretty good optimus prime! hehe. especially early in the morning. cool proj, kon.

I've picked this up again. Going to either be recording in private matches or live matches.

Either way, I do have Arnold J Rimmer doing some voices but if there's only one voice it could get kinda bland.

Btw BoPop, were you serious about an Optimus Prime voice?

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Quote

Recruits,

Today's intelligence briefing will introduce the Komiyaba Type VIII (8) BattleMech Chassis.

The Komiyaba Type VIII Chassis is best recognized by the large protrusion on one shoulder, which creates its unmistakable profile.This oversized weapon housing has earned the Type VIII the moniker "Hunchback".


Although the Hunchback was originally designed by Komiyaba/Nissan General Industries its design and production rights were procured by Kali-Yama Weapons Industries some centuries back. It is currently manufactured by Kali-Yama, Coventry Metal Works, and Norse-Storm BattleMechs. The design is sturdy, affordable, and generally flexible, making this mech quite apropos for novice pilots.

It is a medium class BattleMech with a maximum carrying capacity of fifty tons. All of its variants come off of the factory lines equipped with a 200-rated Nissan Standard engine capable of propelling it up to 64.8 kilometers per hour.

Mass produced as an affordable, well-armored Mech, the ideal role of the Hunchback is close urban combat with the general purposes of stationary asset defense and escorting larger threats to the enemy field. Allow me to clarify that by escort, I mean the Hunchback becomes an extension of said larger threat. In the company of an assault battlemech, the Hunchback is the extra limb and firepower for its partner's use.

The Hunchback in its many iterations has proven itself to be an effective design in every conflict, large and small, since its introduction 5 centuries ago in the Reunification War. Even today, the Type VIII is still seen in every combat theater of the Inner Sphere, often with only little modification. At some point in your lives you will likely pilot one, and several times over you will face them down in combat. So pay attention! (So listen up!)

Good pilots are those that kill the enemy and stay alive. In the Hunchback, killing the enemy means making precision strikes when the opportunity arises. Staying alive is making excellent use of cover.

At factory specs, the Type VIII keeps perfect pace with most assault battlemechs, solidifying its role as supporting firepower. Since escort objectives assigned to them are almost always assault mechs, it is common practice for the Hunchback to use their charge as a shield against long range attacks whenever they are in the open field. Every weapon system on the Hunchback is designed to make it devastating at close range as it weaves between large buildings or larger 'Mechs to eliminate its targets. This comes at the cost of speed and lack of jump jets.

The standard firepower of any Hunchback is swift to destroy its targets with an exclusion zone of 270 meters. For most variants the Hunchback's fatal flaw is that its most effective weaponry is heavily localized in one location which is vulnerable to disarmament at range via pinpoint strikes, hence its dedication to Defense and Escort. The 'Mech's armor is sturdy and almost always front-heavy in its home turf of urban environments. However, even the best armor alone is not enough.

The most common version of the Komiyaba Type VIII chassis is registered in most targeting software as the "HBK-4" series, which is now found on virtually every battleground. It features a number of variants to suit the many needs of warfare, each concluding the readout pattern HBK-4 with a single letter. The common variants are the HBK-4G, the 4H, 4J, 4P, and finally the periphery modified 4SP. We will go into more details on them in upcoming briefings between your training sessions in the simulators.

On a related subject, there are rumors of an upgraded HBK-5 series in front lines of the Inner Sphere conflict. These began in 3046 with word of an HBK-5M model. However we have not seen these on the Periphery of the Capellan Confederation nor do we expect to see them so far from the Inner Sphere's front lines any time soon. Still, expect to be briefed on them when and if we ever begin to see them in our backyards.

Some minor edit suggestions (mostly grammar) are underlined. There are some style issues, for sake of consistency and continuity, that should be addressed. I've not bothered with the inconsistent capitalization of "BattleMech", for instance, as this is intended to be read aloud.

One passage above is a bit vague: "...with an exclusion zone of 270 meters..."

I'm not clear on just what you're trying to convey with that clause. Is it to say within a range/radius of 270 meters, or within a zone that excludes the 270-meter radius?

And though I would love nothing in this world more than to let the high-ranking ladies of a certain merc unit go on sounding like fools in front of their new recruits...

You know what? Nevermind. Proceed without change...

[Koniving]

TheRAbbi, on 13 April 2014 - 08:47 AM, said:

You know what? Nevermind. Proceed without change...

It was to say "it could kill targets at all except beyond 270 meters." Or excludes 270 meters. I blame ThePole. He gave me that word.

Truth be told, a LOT of edits have happened since this old, old thingy.

The evolution of this thread went to here titled Mech Lore Introductions (Updated) though it hasn't been updated since the last time MWO ticked me off.
And even then, it got changed again.

The current status of this project is back on. It'll be using all new footage, recorded by either myself or Lordred.
The briefing room segment may get omitted.
The main character giving the briefing is now male, with the current offer to play it by Arnold J Rimmer (MWO name). His British voice sounds fitting. The personality of the character is likely to be modified to suit the voice actor.

Current order of mechs has been modified to reflect those with updated 3D weapon models. As such Hunchback will continue to be the first. It will be followed by Atlas, Catapult (to hold true to the voting) and from there I'm undecided. Most likely Jenner, Locust, or Firestarter due to the updated weapon customizations and it would solidify 1 of each class. Then rotate through the mechs from there.

Suggestion on the first light mech to do out of the three?

Just to mention: Lordred is known for the Perfect Screenshot Thread.
Which holds amazing shots such as this one.


It will be drawing on influence and creativity inspired by the following videos.

By the Tamar Jager Company (MWO merc group)


The new series: Davion Blues, also by the Tamar Jager Company or on youtube "TamarMediaCompany."

It's my hope that if the initial video meets a certain quality, I may be enabled to access whatever camera tools were used in Davion Blues. However I do not believe I will be so lucky. Either way I will push on and develop them as time permits.

Edited by Koniving, 13 April 2014 - 10:13 AM.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Would be happy to lend you an older, former-tough-guy-leader-of-soldiers-that-smokes-like-a-freight-train voice, if ever you need. ;-)

Also, the accent isn't all there, but I do Russian fairly well (folks in Russia sometimes told me I sounded Ukrainian when I talked).

[Koniving]

Only the Russians / Ukranians would know the difference.

Spoiler

I do know of a Russian myself (He's not an MWO player), but whenever I talk to him he puts on a British accent; something about it being easier as he's from an era where Russians made English speakers very uncomfortable. Bit of a shame, really, because the one time I got him comfortable enough to actually use his real accent it beat every Hollywood mockup/fake accent out there. I haven't spoken with him since I was laid off from an online ESL course as a "personality" to inhabit their virtual city (they shifted from the virtual city filled with people to socialize with between classes to just actual classes).

But yes, I would like that. One issue that comes with any military briefing I've ever been in is that it's never just one person giving you information. It's usually two or more, who specialized in speaking about specific aspects. It also avoids another issue that frequently comes up with any sort of briefing or speech; a single voice can become monotonous especially when those receiving the briefing are physically and mentally exhausted. The alternation between voices keeps those listening alert.

My own voice unfortunately only has a 'commanding' tone in formations and isn't naturally authoritative. I can't fill the role without ruining it because I simply don't fit the role. I sound younger than I am, spent too little time in the field, and my 'best' experience was firing an MLRS. Otherwise I spent most of my time in the service reloading or fixing the dang things or providing hurricane relief. (Btw, even with automatic reloading they can't freaking fire as fast as they do in MWO; that missile spam is unrealistic as all heck).

I have to rewrite the info to suit Arnold anyway, so it won't be too difficult to recraft it for two to three voices. There's a guy or two in our unit who also have some military experience but not a lot of time. The third voice will be the Sergeant that assists the instructors.

Edited by Koniving, 13 April 2014 - 10:42 AM.

[Koniving]

Sparks Murphey, on 26 June 2013 - 09:15 PM, said:

Stumbled into this a little late, I know, but I think you're going to have troubles referring to BattleMechs by the chassis component name. It works for the Hunchback, but there are others it will fall down for, such as the Commando ("Coventry Metal Works" chassis, also the name of it's manufacturer, who make other 'Mechs), the Flea ("Earthwerk Trooper" or "Earthwerk Trooper II EndoSteel" depending on variant), the Orion ("GM Marauder", shared with the more famous 'Mech called the Marauder), or the Catapult ("Hollis Type II", the same as the King Crab)

It's okay, complications had put this on hold for a while. I managed to get one recording, realized some problems, but couldn't get a re-recording. Another female voice referred to me didn't get back in touch. I do have an army girl who infrequently shows up in my youtube vids but by then I had given up on this project after some aspects made some of my favorite non-meta builds completely useless to burst-fire with (triple AC/2 Dragon, triple AC/2 Hunchback). I've moved on to rework the whole thing for some male voices for now.

At the time, the mechs I did check on the Inner Sphere side didn't have that issue. Examples: the Catapult (Hollis Mark II), Trebuchet, (Corean Model 9C), Centurion (Corean Model K7), Thunderbolt, Earthwerk (Earthwerk TDR), Firestarter (Argile H/09), Atlas (Foundation Type 10X).

I confess some of them kind of push it. You have a good point. I think I'll try to push it for the ones that I can get away with and the others I'll go without.

Krazy Kat, on 06 July 2013 - 01:55 PM, said:

Add, "First introduced in 2572."

That's it. All the rest is great.

Done. (Not here but in the copy I've got on my desktop).

Stevie Ray Vaughan, on 06 July 2013 - 09:59 PM, said:

Thanks for the great read.

Now please get to some Victor videos pleeeeease!

Victor gameplay vids? Or an introduction to them? I was debating whether to do Battlemaster, Banshee or Victor next (since the Awesome needs the art overhaul first before I can do it). Suppose that makes the Victor the next Assault after the Atlas.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Koniving, on 13 April 2014 - 10:32 AM, said:

... and my 'best' experience was firing an MLRS.

Had that opportunity in White Sands once. Neat. Spent 3 years in an MLRS motor pool at Fort Sill, before moving on to working on AH-64s (A and D, but not the new E).

[Koniving]

TheRAbbi, on 13 April 2014 - 12:40 PM, said:

Had that opportunity in White Sands once. Neat. Spent 3 years in an MLRS motor pool at Fort Sill, before moving on to working on AH-64s (A and D, but not the new E).

I was there at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Heard how 'badass' it would be there, how tough the drill sergeants are. And at the reception battalion I spent most of my time sitting on bleachers because it was too hot to 'drill' us for long. Aside from the standard uniform distribution, shots, etc., Sundays were the only active days. When my birthday came I grabbed a slice of cake from the chow hall. The other guys around me shit bricks, I said to one, "my last birthday I spent on a rifle range, sleeping under a lightning shelter on the top bleacher, soaked in the rain and freezing. Then I fell on damn rocks below. I earned this." No one gave me any guff about it.

Though later on it changed quite a bit.

But compared to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, it wasn't nearly as 'tough' as they said. In Fort Jackson it was cold, so there wasn't much of a time limit on how long they could put us through PT for someone screwing up.

I still remember being the OpFor at Victory Forge. Burnt the crap out of my arm when I shifted my aim against Bulldog platoon's 3rd squad -- the only one to have the intelligence to flank us at two sides and get within 30 meters before being noticed. I miss those days. You play the army games like Battlefield, and none of them really give you that feeling of being on the back of the 1-ton or 2-ton trucks. Gotta say the 1-ton (it's a glorified pickup truck with tarps, red lighting, metal walls up to so high) actually had more of a 'mood' and atmosphere to it, especially at night wearing the full Miles gear, rifle at our side, loading up the blanks for a raid on the other platoons while most of them are sleeping. Or maybe it was that mission.

....I actually miss the MREs. Btw, what the heck was up with chicken 4 out of 7 days of the week? I know it's cheap but man!

[Koniving]

My MOS was 13-Mike, so no choppers for me.

Actually my fondest memory would have to be at the 97th reception battalion. The 3 hour wait to chow (I went to sleep during the firewatch shift and so everyone had to get up at 4 in the morning). It's raining. We're in the ponchos. We've been standing at 'rest' for nearly an hour. We look like green monks in the rain, hoods draped over our heads so that our faces are mostly hidden.I finally lean over to the guy next to me. "...Join our cult. We've got milk and cookies." Ah man. Good times.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Koniving, on 13 April 2014 - 12:54 PM, said:

....I actually miss the MREs. Btw, what the heck was up with chicken 4 out of 7 days of the week? I know it's cheap but man!

Blame Europe. Somehow, everyone I met in Germany (including many Turkish and Polish folks) seemed to think that we Americans LIVE for chicken.

When were you at Sill? I was there in 5-3 FA from '93 to '96. Got there just as they were switching from the M110A8 8-inch howitzers to MLRS. Fun times. The drive-by shooting in 5-18's barracks parking lot, the basic trainee shot in the neck with a 7.62 on the night infiltration course, the filming of Pauly Shore's film "In The Army Now", the installation Sergeant Major's son being caught bringing 2 TEC-9's and a couple thousand rounds of 9mm onto post, etc.

Yeah. I don't miss Oklahoma one little bit.

BUT ANYHOW, back on topic I suppose...

[Koniving]

2005, July to September. A.I.T. Though I gotta say I saw the weirdest damn lightning storms there. It was the first time I've ever seen the air at 5 in the morning go from clear, to black with stormclouds, to clouds firing white, yellow and blue PPCs at each other (lighting strikes from cloud to cloud).

It was like... O_O.
Followed by "Next," a trip into the room to get something that required a vein (but the dang blonde while cute couldn't get a vein if it stood in front of her). And no sooner do I leave, clear skies again. Not a single drop of rain.

TheRAbbi, on 13 April 2014 - 01:00 PM, said:

BUT ANYHOW, back on topic I suppose...

Well you said you're an older sounding gentleman. Your mic's gotta be clear, but aside from that what sort of character do you see for yourself? You're also welcome to take the original briefing (the details are mostly the same) and then choose what parts to use (it'd help me out quite a bit).

Oh, and what light mech should I do first from the Firestarter, Jenner, Locust list? Reason Raven and Commando aren't listed is they haven't got the art overhauls yet for weapons.

Edited by Koniving, 13 April 2014 - 01:24 PM.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Koniving, on 13 April 2014 - 01:23 PM, said:

Well you said you're an older sounding gentleman. Your mic's gotta be clear, but aside from that what sort of character do you see for yourself? You're also welcome to take the original briefing (the details are mostly the same) and then choose what parts to use (it'd help me out quite a bit).

I'll see what I can do with a small piece of it, and send you that. No point putting in hours if it's not going to be helpful, after all. ;-)

Quote

Oh, and what light mech should I do first from the Firestarter, Jenner, Locust list? Reason Raven and Commando aren't listed is they haven't got the art overhauls yet for weapons.

Oldest first? Should be the Locust, IIRC. On the other hand, in the interest of holding MWO players' interest, might wanna go with the most commonly-used, which should be the Jenner (then Firestarter, then Locust).