Best short fictions suggestions?

[Jay the Arbiter]

I think it looks pretty bad-freaking-ass.

Anyhoo, I will run it by Crotale to get his thoughts, which I'm hoping aren't along the lines of... LEAVE ME ALONE!!!

Taking a page from my book, eh?

[TheRealBigBoss]

I think it looks pretty bad-freaking-ass.

Thanks, and if you check out Crotale's visitor message page you can see how they look without being auto-resized, and yeah, they look better.

Taking a page from my book, eh?

Lol, yeah, I know, weird right?

[Jay the Arbiter]

Okay, I'll check out Crotale's page then!

Well, I thought I was the only one who thought stuff like that. Not the first time I've been wrong, mind you. ;p

[Jonesybites]

That'll look great. Unfortunately, I don't know if any of us can replicate the exact format because were not as oriented to the program(s). The only program I have any influence is with Phototshop...furthermore, I don't know how well illustrations would work with this suggested format. I have Blender, but I have minimal experience with the program, and I have no experience with poly-textures.

In other words Boss, you may have to be the sole designer for the banners.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Oh wait, we're supposed to make our own versions of that?

Er... Yeah...

[TheRealBigBoss]

That'll look great. Unfortunately, I don't know if any of us can replicate the exact format because were not as oriented to the program(s). The only program I have any influence is with Phototshop...furthermore, I don't know how well illustrations would work with this suggested format. I have Blender, but I have minimal experience with the program, and I have no experience with poly-textures.

In other words Boss, you may have to be the sole designer for the banners.

Well, that banner for "The Promise" is basically just recycled from the old banner I first used, which funnily enough was also recycled from two old renders I had done previously. So yeah, basically just a lot of recycling going on.

Anyhow, I'll try doing an example banner for TimIsWin's fic, so people have a better idea of what I'm aiming for.

I'm doing this, I know I can make it work, I just hope it has some of the intended affect we're looking for when it comes to getting people interested in Gears fiction.

Oh wait, we're supposed to make our own versions of that?

Er... Yeah...

That reminds me of some game where stick people fight each other!

Oh by the way, heard from Crotale. He's a little busy right now, but he helpfully pointed me in an interesting direction and also re-worked the logo. So, my thanks to Cro.

EDIT: And here is the TimIsWin banner example...



I think it fits in with the parody theme that Tim was originally trying to achieve. It's kinda like the whole, "Marcus kills teh Lokus and doesn't afraid of anyting." meme.

BTW, I'd like the involved authors to start throwing out some ideas and images for their respective banners, don't get too elaborate with the ideas though, cause we need to just get this done, and like, soon.

[rusticangelic]

Hehe these look awesome!!

[Jay the Arbiter]

The stick figure drawing was actually supposed to be an example of a scenery idea. Though it also made a good point.

Well, I've got ideas, but my imagination is powerful... ;p

[Jonesybites]

You could probably use mallock's work for Jay's fics, or the logo. For Wiz's, I suppose you could use pics of Dom & Marcus. I'm not entirely sure what to use for "On The Beat" except maybe an overhead view of a red-district limelight; like those neon silhouette’s in front of the "men's club," with a street constable standing in the front; I dunno. Those are just some suggestions that may salvage some time, but I'll leave it to the authors to go with what they want.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Me personally, I'd probably want the banner to focus on Galea and Vel.

[Jonesybites]

You could probably use mallock's work for Jay's fics, or the logo. For Wiz's, I suppose you could use pics of Dom & Marcus. I'm not entirely sure what to use for "On The Beat" except maybe an overhead view of a red-district limelight; like those neon silhouette’s in front of the "men's club," with a street constable standing in the front, or a badge; I dunno. Those are just some suggestions that may salvage some time, but I'll leave it to the authors to go with what they want.

Here are a few examples I was able to find on-line:

[TheRealBigBoss]

Lol, why do I hear sleazy saxophone music when looking at those pictures Jonesy?

Hmm, guess I'll see what I can come up with. I don't wanna get too elaborate though as that tends to slow things down to a crawl, or even sometimes, a complete full stop. So I wanna try and maintain a brisk pace and keep the momentum going.

[Jay the Arbiter]

If needed, I could look up Frag's old pics of Galea and Vel. Like I say, I'd prefer Pariah's banner to focus on them.

Pity, I had this pretty nice image of her shielding Vel, you can't see what she's protecting him from, though after reading the Fic, you'd be able to guess why.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Well, this was quite the nightmare to do...



Originally it was supposed to look like neon signs reflected in a puddle, but, Photoshop didn't want to do that. And I didn't have any 3D software available to do it how I normally would so I had to "improvise". Lots of other issues too, trying to make the title and author text stand out against a high contrast background consisting of text? Trying to find usable stock images? Trying to create a patrolman badge for the Coalition of Ordered governments? Yeah, super fun... not. Anyways, I think it works as is. Only bad thing is I'm gonna have to re-do all of these again to make them completely uniform.

Jay, Wis, we need to get something done on the banners for your stories, and anything you could do to help would be mighty appreciated.

EDIT: That looks really small compared to the others?







Ignore this edit, just wanna check the banner sizes and how they all look together.

[Jay the Arbiter]

I could... offer moral support?

Is there anything I can do to help with mine? Like I say, do you want me to dig up Frag's doodles?

Hey, I could do stick figures of what could be done and then we ship them off to budding drawers?

[TheRealBigBoss]

I could... offer moral support?

Is there anything I can do to help with mine? Like I say, do you want me to dig up Frag's doodles?

Hey, I could do stick figures of what could be done and then we ship them off to budding drawers?

Well, if you had an idea of what you wanted to see. I mean, I could probably draw something but considering that would take me a couple of months I'd say we'd be better off looking for an alternative.

Guess you could try asking some of the art people. The new guy that did the evil dead Locust pics said he'd be interested.

[Jay the Arbiter]

An idea I had was that Galea was shielding Vel from the (offscreen) threat that was Mancarbus. I thought that would have looked pretty cool.

[TheRealBigBoss]

An idea I had was that Galea was shielding Vel from the (offscreen) threat that was Mancarbus. I thought that would have looked pretty cool.

Well, you could show new guy the pics Frag already did, that way he'd know what Galea and Vel look like. Another thing to remember is that the banners are more horizontal than vertical, so tall pictures of people standing up kinda get pretty small and hard to see sometimes. Just something to keep in mind.

If no one else steps up I could probably try a quick sketchy sketch type... umm... sketch.

You ever see the artwork for Metal Gear? That kind of thing.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Only the concept art of Grasshopper's "Shadow of the Damned" game.

Crouching down then? :/

[TheRealBigBoss]

"Shadows of the Damned" didn't sell because COD destroyed the videogames industry, "Lollipop Chainsaw" won't sell either.

Oh well, mini rant over.

Yeah, you need something that can fit into the size and shape the banners are now. I mean, I actually had to scale the police badge in the last banner way down to get it to fit. It's so small now you can barely read the "Coalition of Ordered Governments" text at the top of the badge.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Shadows of the Damned was still awesome though. >.>

I've no idea what would count as "fitting into size and shape of a banner", would her crouching beside Vel count? :s

Edit: Tell you what, I'll message him tomorrow, see if he can help.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Shadows of the Damned was still awesome though. >.>

I've no idea what would count as "fitting into size and shape of a banner", would her crouching beside Vel count? :s

Edit: Tell you what, I'll message him tomorrow, see if he can help.

What I mean is a picture that's wide, instead of tall. Like, see the banner for "The Promise"? If I had shown Clay (Sergeant Mortis Clay that is. ) and Kelly full size, from head to toe, I would have had to shrink them down to fit and they would have looked tiny and you wouldn't be able to tell who they were. And I'd also be left with the rest of the background looking kinda empty.

So I only the upper parts of them instead, that way, they kinda fill the banner out.

Yeah, see what the guy says. In his original post he did mention that he was taking requests...

[Jay the Arbiter]

Alright, I'll give him an ask.

I'm pretty certain a crouching shot would do.

[Jonesybites]

Only bad thing is I'm gonna have to re-do all of these again to make them completely uniform.

What would you need to make it more uniformed? I could probably put something together and then email it to you so you can invest some time in some of the others; that may save you some time and aggravation. Just tell me what you want to keep it uniformed, and what size would you want it so you can render it into your design format.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Sent a message to Vx, I'll let you know when I get a reply!

[TheRealBigBoss]

What would you need to make it more uniformed? I could probably put something together and then email it to you so you can invest some time in some of the others; that may save you some time and aggravation. Just tell me what you want to keep it uniformed, and what size would you want it so you can render it into your design format.

There are subtle differences to those three banners. Things like the angle of the lighting which affects the bevel highlights, things like the size and direction of the shadow on the "Epic Stories" badge. Granted, these are fairly unnoticeable, but I can see them, and it kinda bugs me.

I'll post up a "banner template" later. Much like my earlier "Lancer template" all you'll need to do is drag and drop it over an image for an instant banner that looks just like these ones. One thing I should mention is that I'm still interested in tweaking the overall look of the banners. Adding stuff like a glossy glass look, metallic highlights, maybe some dangling COG tags. Though so far, none of these add ons have improved it. Lol, they just obscure stuff and make the banners smaller and more squashed looking. And also the embellished "Epic Stories" badge is still undergoing some work. I'm trying to build on the start made by Crotale. So it's possible I might replace the current badge with an update.

Sent a message to Vx, I'll let you know when I get a reply!

Let's hope Vx hasn't vanished quietly into the night. Fingers crossed!

[Jay the Arbiter]

Keep your crayons on standby, just in case...

[Jonesybites]

In that case, we can just use the "template" and you can place the badge on them afterwards to keep the density and lighting uniformed. We just need to know where you intend to put the "badge" which I'm assuming the place you have it now?

[Jay the Arbiter]

Just heard back from Vx, I've sent him details of the picture. Hopefully what I described could fit in a banner! ^^;

[TheRealBigBoss]

In that case, we can just use the "template" and you can place the badge on them afterwards to keep the density and lighting uniformed. We just need to know where you intend to put the "badge" which I'm assuming the place you have it now?

Template will include the badge, all people need to do is drag their background image, add in some text for the title/author and SHAZAAM! Instant banner!

Though, unlike the real banners, it will only look good against the black background of the Gears forum. But hey, that shouldn't be a problem.

Just heard back from Vx, I've sent him details of the picture. Hopefully what I described could fit in a banner! ^^;

Good news, tell him if he's having any problems I can probably help. Probably.

So good news on giving the "Epic Stories" logo/badge/shield/emblem a little more "pop" to it. With the help I got from Crotale, I decided I wanted to make it look like it was all cut from the same piece of metal, I also wanted the Epic text to look like it was cut from rubies, or something. Anyways, here it is...

I quite like it.

[rusticangelic]

oooh I like it!!!

[Wisdom Thumbs]

Here's a couple different things you could (hopefully) use for my story's banner.

(can't actually find the images for these, unfortunately)

How about the images used in Gears of War 1 during the "chapter selection" menu? The one for "Act 5: Desperation" shows Marcus digging his chainsaw downward into a Locust on the train while blood flies into his face. Dom's in the image too. If you could find it (and if it scaled properly) it would work awesomely.

That, or the one for "Act 4: The Long Road Home" which shows Marcus and Dom standing side by side. A big enough version of that would work really well, because it could scale down and be cropped to just show their heads and shoulders. Might have to flip it to put Marcus on the right.

Finally, you could just use the banner that used to be at the top of these forums, or the cover art of the first game. Some creative cropping would be necessary to get Marcus and Dom to look like they were going back-to-back or standing side by side, but it could work. Maybe?

I'm terrible with photoshop, so these requests might be impossible.

[TheRealBigBoss]

oooh I like it!!!

Yay!

Here's a couple different things you could (hopefully) use for my story's banner.

(can't actually find the images for these, unfortunately)

How about the images used in Gears of War 1 during the "chapter selection" menu? The one for "Act 5: Desperation" shows Marcus digging his chainsaw downward into a Locust on the train while blood flies into his face. Dom's in the image too. If you could find it (and if it scaled properly) it would work awesomely.

That, or the one for "Act 4: The Long Road Home" which shows Marcus and Dom standing side by side. A big enough version of that would work really well, because it could scale down and be cropped to just show their heads and shoulders. Might have to flip it to put Marcus on the right.

I don't remember those at all, kinda wish I did though cause they sound pretty cool.

Hmm, finding those images could be a problem too, anyone know anyone with a capture card?

Finally, you could just use the banner that used to be at the top of these forums, or the cover art of the first game. Some creative cropping would be necessary to get Marcus and Dom to look like they were going back-to-back or standing side by side, but it could work. Maybe?

I'm terrible with photoshop, so these requests might be impossible.

I'd prefer not to use the image of Marcus in the forum banner, that image has been used for so much that it feels kinda over exposed.

I like the idea of using stuff from Gears 1 though. I'll have a Google around, see if I can dig up anything.

Banner Template (kind of )

I'm guessing this is just for Jonesy? Anyways, basically just put your background image under this in Photoshop or GIMP or whatever photo editing/image manipulation/paint software you have...



(This is a PNG format image with transparencies and has the rounded rectangle pre-cut, you just can't see it here cause the forum background is black.)

If you wanna complete it totally, you'll need to cut out your background image to match the rounded rectangle shape of the banner and add a layer style (bevel and emboss) to it. Here's the masking layer to get the selection perfect...



Basically, just click the magic wand on the white rectangle.

Yes, I know... I'm terrible at explaining things.

[Jonesybites]

^Sure, that'll work; thanks Boss! Now I just need to search the web to find some royalty-free images. I could probably do a few others at request, but I would suggest additional contributions so we can pick out the better, more appropriate piece. At any rate, hopefully this will cut some of your work load.

[TheRealBigBoss]

^Sure, that'll work; thanks Boss! Now I just need to search the web to find some royalty-free images. I could probably do a few others at request, but I would suggest additional contributions so we can pick out the better, more appropriate piece. At any rate, hopefully this will cut some of your work load.

Yeah, I'll be interested to see what you come up with.

And who's gonna be first to edit and repost their shorts? I was thinking as well as the recommended similar stories list, we could also add an "also by this author" list. So you'd have like two or three similar stories by different authors and then up to three stories by the same author as recommended further reading. Not forgetting a link to both fan fic central threads. Seems like a good idea to me.

About the formatting, just try to avoid making it too jazzy I guess. Try and make it as user friendly as possible, you know, clear and simple.

[Jay the Arbiter]

I've heard back from Vx, but I've run into a bit of a glitch.

[TheRealBigBoss]

I've heard back from Vx, but I've run into a bit of a glitch.

Not the most detailed of explanations to be fair.

Let me guess, school/college/work/mass effect (delete as appropriate ) means he can't get it done?

[Jay the Arbiter]

Actually, I can't pay him.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Actually, I can't pay him.

What in the???...

Lol, I didn't know he was asking for payment???

I'm not entirely sure about the legal/moral complications arising from making profit off of someone else's intellectual property.

[Jay the Arbiter]

I feel a bit guilty for posting what he said, but:

The intended job here is for what reconciliation on my part? I'll do it for a small fee with a fair price. If no payment in any form is thought upon we can talk.

He did say we can talk, but I'm still a little worried because I genuinely can't pay, and I don't have much to offer.