Empire Earth 2 – Scenario Editor Overview

by One_Dead_Angel

June 3, 2005

Cinematics

The Edit menu also is used to access the cinematics management tool. Selecting this tool brings up screen that a designer can use to manage and preview cinematic sequences for their scenarios. This tool allows the designer to combine any number of cinematic sequences (called a shot list), rearrange them and then play them back in the cinematics preview window, at the bottom right of the screen. The preview window is accessed through the View->Cinematics Preview menu selection. This is shown in the picture to the right of the Cinematics management tool screen below.

Each set of shots in a shot list, as mentioned are grouped into a “Cinematic”. They are all nameable so that you can easily organize and re-edit your scenario cinematics. Each shot in a shot list is defined by a cinematic spline. A cinematic spline is a curved line (with various control points and keys) that controls how the camera travels around the map. You can create a cinematic spline by accessing the Tools->Cinematics Splines menu selection. This screen allows the designer to define a shot by giving it a name, and laying out a spline with the mouse. You can also use this screen in insert additional control points and keys.

Camera Control

You can set the position of the camera over time using these control points in 3-dimensions (in the x, y and z axis). That is the width, length and height on the map. A height of around 15 will generally put the camera above all available buildings provided for in the game. Just so you know how high is high. You can also how the the spline curves around the control points by adjusting the tangent settings. With the keys you can set the how the camera behaves as it travels along the spline. You can change field of view, camera direction, and a focal point amongst others features using the keys. You can also control the start and end transition effects for each of these spline sequences, so that you can have such effects like fading to black etc. But thats not all, you can even attach the splines to a moving unit so that you can follow it around the map, or have the cinematics show what what it could be looking at! These are accessed through the tabs in the Cinematics Shot properties screen, which you bring up by double clicking on each of the cinematic splines, as shown below.

You can use the in-game view control to move the zoom level up and down (using the mouse scroll), or rotate the map view using the CNTRL-left/right Arrow keys to test out your camera views, as you would in game. The variety of options are sure to be a delight for the inner film maker in you!

Ok so how do you incorporate the cinematics into a scenario? Unfortunately, it requires scenario scripting in order to attach them to your scenarios. So until Mad Doc releases their scripting language compiler, we have to be content with playing cimematographer separate from being a scenario designer.

Next: I like my land with Curves!