The Movies ..... The Thread ..... The Game

[Mustang]

During The Movies, when your characters are doing something, you'll see a little note under their name..

"Going to Trailer"
"Going to Eat"
"On Set"

etc...

An action I saw yesterday was.. "Going to Squeeze One out"... had to laugh at that one.

[GrantDawg]

Just to note, there is a way to advertise movies later in the game. I don't know wht it is like, but it is there.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Just to note, there is a way to advertise movies later in the game. I don't know wht it is like, but it is there.

Yeah, I saw it mentioned in the manuel that you could do something along these lines. But I'm still early in the campaign and haven't gotten to it yet.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Ah, my mistake on the advertising. I'm still very early in the game also, and I haven't read the manual at all, so I didn't know that it was there. I doubt that it's anything worth playing through the first 30 or 40 or whatever years of the campaign to get to it, though.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

Well it has some plusses and minuses.

The font is awful. I got the talent pack and have been trying to play with that but there arent enough "filler" actors. I have no clue how to make a movie succesful, I mean I have created some bombs but dont know what has caused that. Other than that, it is the direction I would rather see a game go. Maybe spend 30% more time improving HM's graphics and 70% of the time keeping on the path of depth, and randomness of events, etc.

HM2 has some shortcomings unless you play with some house rules, such as limiting the number of rewrites for a script. After a while, the game does get repetitive because there is nothing new that enters the game and there is no climbing up the ladder involved. With a five-star script, top talent and promotion, you can make a billion dollars with almost any type of movie.

HM3 -- when and if Carey ever finishes -- has long-promised to improve on the flaws, such as making it more difficult to make blockbusters and making the results more dependable and realistic. There will also be real and interactive competition in the game.

Part of me thanks Carey slowed down on HM3 waiting for The Movies to come out because he was a afraid a big developer release would kill his game. I think he's safe for now.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

Well it has some plusses and minuses.

The font is awful. I got the talent pack and have been trying to play with that but there arent enough "filler" actors. I have no clue how to make a movie succesful, I mean I have created some bombs but dont know what has caused that. Other than that, it is the direction I would rather see a game go. Maybe spend 30% more time improving HM's graphics and 70% of the time keeping on the path of depth, and randomness of events, etc.

One of the more fun things to do is find unknown talent and make them huge stars. I forget the exact words, but at the top of the box that has the talent in it, there is something like "worldwide talent search." If you click that, you can generate new talent. Keep generating new talent (you have to name them and put in descriptions for them) until you get some solid 5 star talent. Then, keep using them and promoting them and watch them get too expensive for you.

Like Pumpy said, there are ways to succeed. The biggest things to remember are use five star talent as much as possible, polish your scripts until they are nearly perfect, release films appropriately (blockbusters in the Summer months, romantic comedies in February, horror in October, etc.) and advertise like crazy.

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Part of me thanks Carey slowed down on HM3 waiting for The Movies to come out because he was a afraid a big developer release would kill his game. I think he's safe for now.

Like you said, it is a good start and I think, there is an avenue to make one of the greatest games ever this way. NOT down the other path, of dumbing things down, or making the micromanaging silly. I hate to keep harkening back to it, but take my example of that police career game. A rookie, through the academy, where how he does there effects his attribnutes, gets out, has to ride beat, partners up, partner sttributes, a disc full of random events that occur, that blend, that roll into eachother.

Remember for commodore that game Alter-Ego? Take that times 1000, add some graphics, add a premise, in this case Police officer but could be substituted for anything, etc etc and I think its a game that could garner 75% purchase rate among PC gamers.

[MikeVic]

Anyone know what a red exclamation mark over EVERYONE'S head means? It seems as thought my movies have stopped being made... but it doesn't say what's wrong.

[Airhog]

It means they have an important problem...Could be stressed, unhappy, etc. right click on them to find out...

[MikeVic]

Ok, I'll look into it closer then, thanks.

I wish there was an even more general "movie making" option than Sandbox. You still have to build the sets, hire actors, extras, etc.. I just want to make movies.

[WrongWay]

Still trying very hard to talk myself into this.

Can someone talk about Player Development. Can you sign a young unkown kid from Iowa straight off the bus to a longterm, lifetime, multi-picture deal because you see a bright future ahead of him. You know the saying, Buy low, sell high.

[Airhog]

I have made it upto 1935. Premade scripts now require 2 actors. Nearly had my first 3 star movie though. I've got one actor that has nearly maxed out action, and a director that is the same. Finally hired another actor, to give myself 3. I will probably add a max of 1 more.

I have made the decision to pump 2 or my 3 researchers into technology, and the other into general. I am about 10 years ahead of the curve in technology.


My only complaint so far is managing my actors, takes some doing to keep them happy. I won my first award, and even though my studio is in 5th place, I know that I would run ragged trying to compete with the number 1 studio, so I have made it a point not to.

I do have one gameplay tip. Specialize your actors and directors to begin with. Don't try to do every genre, because your movies will suffer. I have had good results just focusing on 1 or 2 genres for each actor and director.


If I make it through the game once, and have interest to play again, I might play with a cheat to keep my peeps happy, and try to have a large studio. I think it would be best to have a main actor for every genre, and a director.

[Airhog]

Wrongway: You don't sign contracts with your stars, you just pay them a salary. You have no control of who shows up on your doorstep either, kind of a crapshoot. Havent played around with the starmaker, so I am not sure if you can import them somehow into the game. Would love to do a FOFC themed cast.

[WrongWay]

Originally Posted by Airhog

Wrongway: You don't sign contracts with your stars, you just pay them a salary.

Thanks for the info.


BTW--- Is there a user adjustable difficulty setting? (Easy, Medium. Hard, Impossible)

[TazFTW]

Originally Posted by Airhog

Havent played around with the starmaker, so I am not sure if you can import them somehow into the game. Would love to do a FOFC themed cast.

You should be able to import them, that's what Starmaker was meant to do. People on The Movies board have said that it is also a way to solve the not enough actors problem that some reviews brought up. Just add more using starmaker.

[MikeVic]

Is there a way to cut or extend sound in the post-production screen? All the music they have is either too long or too short for what I need.

[Airhog]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

Thanks for the info.


BTW--- Is there a user adjustable difficulty setting? (Easy, Medium. Hard, Impossible)

I didn't see one in the options screen. Might have to look again though

[MikeVic]

My first movie where I took it from script to finish...

hxxp://movies.lionhead.com/movie/2795

[lynchjm24]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

My first movie where I took it from script to finish...

hxxp://movies.lionhead.com/movie/2795

Better then AI, not quite as good as Ishtar.

[Swaggs]

Has anyone made a sports movie yet? Or is that possible?

I would be rolling out football and baseball movies.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

My first movie where I took it from script to finish...

hxxp://movies.lionhead.com/movie/2795

I laughed, I cried..


Does all dialog have to be subtitles, or is there some spoken speech in the game?

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I laughed, I cried..


Does all dialog have to be subtitles, or is there some spoken speech in the game?

You have to talk yourself... and I didn't feel like making various voices at 1am when I started doing the sound.

[Airhog]

The more i play this game, the less I enjoy it.

It was fun in the early days, not much to worry about. but now, my cast is ballooning, because now all of my movies require 3 actors, which means I need 6 on board to rotate. Another problem is in order to product 3 star movies you have to shoot like 9 scenes. Even if my actors are well rested, they cannot finish 9 scenes without having there stress in the tank, and boozing it up. The only way to get the movie to finish is to force them on the set for the shooting.

I think this games biggest problem is babysitting your talent. You cannot automate anything, and that is a huge letdown. I hate having to drag my three writers into the office when I want to write a script.

In all honesty, I wish they had just abstracted three areas, research, script writing, and maintnence. Or at least made the first two automated so whenever I research something and I cannot research anymore, my lab guys don't wander off. Same goes for the writers.

And since I cannot seem to shoot more than one movie, and by the time i release a movie I am not making any money, my studio is going into the tank at a slow rate.

I have no clue, how to get my stars rating upto 3 in order to get the next level either.

I hate to say it, but this game feels more like work, then fun right now. Maybe 3 or 4 patches will correct this, but I do not think I will finish the single player game, unless I find some cheats or something.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Airhog

The more i play this game, the less I enjoy it.

It was fun in the early days, not much to worry about. but now, my cast is ballooning, because now all of my movies require 3 actors, which means I need 6 on board to rotate. Another problem is in order to product 3 star movies you have to shoot like 9 scenes. Even if my actors are well rested, they cannot finish 9 scenes without having there stress in the tank, and boozing it up. The only way to get the movie to finish is to force them on the set for the shooting.

I think this games biggest problem is babysitting your talent. You cannot automate anything, and that is a huge letdown. I hate having to drag my three writers into the office when I want to write a script.

In all honesty, I wish they had just abstracted three areas, research, script writing, and maintnence. Or at least made the first two automated so whenever I research something and I cannot research anymore, my lab guys don't wander off. Same goes for the writers.

And since I cannot seem to shoot more than one movie, and by the time i release a movie I am not making any money, my studio is going into the tank at a slow rate.

I have no clue, how to get my stars rating upto 3 in order to get the next level either.

I hate to say it, but this game feels more like work, then fun right now. Maybe 3 or 4 patches will correct this, but I do not think I will finish the single player game, unless I find some cheats or something.

What you just described just made me want to buy it more, not less. I like control, even if it involves micro-management. Also, I like a challenge, and this definitely sounds like one.

[Airhog]

It is possible to unlock everything in the sandbox mode, for those of you that just wish to make movies...




There is a method to unlock everything in Sandbox mode:
Turn on "Show Hidden Files and Folders" in Tools > Folder Options of any Folder window.
Navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\[Your User Name]\Application Data\Lionhead Studios\The Movies\Unlocking.ini (Where [Your User Name] is the name you use to login to the computer)
Look for the Unlocking.ini file. If it's not there, jump to step A.
Double click the file, to edit. Change the file so it looks exactly like this:
Quote:
highest_decade = 2000
[prizes]
RANKPRIZE_1
RANKPRIZE_2
RANKPRIZE_3
RANKPRIZE_4
RANKPRIZE_5
RANKPRIZE_6
RANKPRIZE_7
RANKPRIZE_8
RANKPRIZE_9
RANKPRIZE_10
RANKPRIZE_11
RANKPRIZE_12
RANKPRIZE_13
RANKPRIZE_14
RANKPRIZE_15
RANKPRIZE_16
RANKPRIZE_17
RANKPRIZE_18
RANKPRIZE_19
RANKPRIZE_20
RANKPRIZE_21
RANKPRIZE_22
RANKPRIZE_23
RANKPRIZE_24
RANKPRIZE_25

[Schmidty]

I think this review deals with a lot of the problem Airhog has with the game and really made me feel better about purchasing it. In fact, I'm off to buy it right now.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Airhog

It is possible to unlock everything in the sandbox mode, for those of you that just wish to make movies...

Thanks, I'm going to try that out. I was getting frustrated with some of the single player parts, and I really just want to make moives.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

My first movie where I took it from script to finish...

hxxp://movies.lionhead.com/movie/2795

That was awesome. Great job!

[Airhog]

I actually created pumpy tudors, and shorty in the star maker, but neither of them look much like their pictures. I wish that they could have used something like the newer tony hawk games, where you use a photo to create their face. I already have an idea for a FOFC movie, but the most limiting part is that their are not many main actors...

[Flasch186]

ahem

[Airhog]

Sorry flasch, I got tired after the first two actors, although I might be able to use you in a gas station scene...

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Airhog

It is possible to unlock everything in the sandbox mode, for those of you that just wish to make movies...

That's cheating you lazy bastards!!!!


I'll have to try that tomorrow night....

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

That was awesome. Great job!

Thanks. I'm surprised that one of the comments for my movie in that link picked out something I was going after (not being able to tell who the hero was).

Where's your movie?

[Mustang]

Oh, by the way.. is there a cheat code for keeping your actors happy?

[Airhog]

Not in the SP mode Mustang, but in the sandbox you can check a box that keeps them from getting unhappy...You could also start the game in 1930 and play it just like the normal game

[Airhog]

dola: If you start the game in 2000, everthing is unlocked. If you wanna just make movies, then I would check everything but the pre-built studio.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Where's your movie?

I'm only up to the mid-1930's right now. I don't have the technology yet.

[wogitalia]

Sadly, how many games do you come across that you play for more than 30 days, anyway?

That got me thinking and as a result im going to try and list every game on any console that actually passes that test, so here we go.

Nintendo
Rad Gravity
Mario 1 and 3
Faxanadu
Zelda 1
Battletoads
International Cricket
Aussie Rules Football
NES Golf
Time Lords
Double Dragon III

Super Nintendo
Unirally
Mario Kart
Chrono Trigger
Secret of Mana
Killer Instinct

Nintendo 64
Golden Eye
Mario Kart
Wrestlemania

Xbox
Madden 05
ESPN NBA 2k6
Blitz:The League

Sega Genesis/Megadrive
Mutant League Ice Hockey/Football
Toejam and Earl

PC
Starcraft
Warcraft 1,2 and 3
Diabo II
Myth II
Transport Tycoon
Front Office Football(College Years)
Fast Break Basketball
Football Manager and Championship Manager(all of them since 2)
International Cricket Captain
Horse Racing Manager
Civ 1 and only Civ 1

Im probably blanking on some games that should be there, but off the top of my head thats all that comes to mind and I have played nearly every PC game there is, basically every Xbox game since 2003 and a lot of Super Nintendo and Nintendo. Its actually funny that I still play the original Nintendo games today that I bought 10 years ago over games that I've got in the last month. Most games I play these days dont even get a second try they are that lacking. Its all flash no substance which ruins the majority. A lot of games with the substance just bury it with stupid bugs and incredibly slow waiting times in them.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by wogitalia

That got me thinking and as a result im going to try and list every game on any console that actually passes that test, so here we go.

Civ 1 and only Civ 1

If you haven't already, you should try Civ 4.

[Pumpy Tudors]

wogitalia is obviously a clone of jbmagic if he has the time to play all of those games for 30 days.

And how the hell do you get 30 days of play out of Blitz: The League? First, has it even been out for 30 days yet? Second, what do you find to do for 30 days in that game? I mean, I like the game and all, but I can't find 30 days worth of things to do in it.

[heybrad]

Just bought this today. I'll give my opinions later.

[cody8200]

Im into 1945. No cheating. I havent had any problems managing my actors. Sometimes it can be a bit annoying but if you add someone to their entourage or give them a better salary or buy them a new trailer they generally are pretty happy. You need to also make sure you keep their fashion level high and their image. It sounds like a lot but its not too much.

I like the movie maker and I have personally made 5 movies or so all of which have sucked. Fortunately, I see real potential to make good movies. I own this and Civ 4 right now. I love Civ 4. I've been playing The Movies non-stop.

[Critch]

Just started playing, so far I've restarted a few times so I haven't got very far. Only in 1923, just filmed the first AI scripted story line, it was supposed to be a comedy but it ended up just being my male star punching the crap out of a female extra and then menacing her til she cowered and cried. So not the best comedy ever made.

I need to give it more time, but it's not wowing me yet.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

wogitalia is obviously a clone of jbmagic if he has the time to play all of those games for 30 days.

And how the hell do you get 30 days of play out of Blitz: The League? First, has it even been out for 30 days yet? Second, what do you find to do for 30 days in that game? I mean, I like the game and all, but I can't find 30 days worth of things to do in it.

You are SO judmental.

[Airhog]

well, I am almost done with my first FOFC parody movie. I tried using some headphones for a mic, since I do not have one, but that didnt work, so I think i will have to settle for subtitles

[daedalus]

By the way, in case anyone is interested, there is a thread on Octopus Overlord [formerly Gone Gold] discussing various strategies and things folks have tried: hxxp://www.octopusoverlords.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22215&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[stevew]

Im on the fence on getting this. I liked the Sims, played it for awhile, then lost my copy when i was moving, and never bought it again. I also liked Hollywood Mogul a ton, although i never bought the 2.5 version. Had a copy of the 2.0 version i think on an old machine. This should be right up my alley then, right?

[CleBrownsfan]

Here is my first attempt of making a movie...

http://movies.lionhead.com/movie/2073

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Here is my first attempt of making a movie...

http://movies.lionhead.com/movie/2073

Wow, I want the five minutes of my life back.

Seriously, this could end up being pretty fun. All the FOFC'ers with the game sumbit their 'Oscar' nominee, and then we all vote on the awards.

[CleBrownsfan]

Originally Posted by moriarty

Wow, I want the five minutes of my life back.

Seriously, this could end up being pretty fun. All the FOFC'ers with the game sumbit their 'Oscar' nominee, and then we all vote on the awards.

Lmao - thanks