Dispatch Update of August 1st

Lots of talk. Lots of answering. Lots of news. With an overhaul of questions from the fans (and buzzing), we take the time to splatter some more news in your face.

More Change

As you may have noticed we have updated the system and the layout of our portal and forums. "Why?", you ask. Simply because the old one had too many errors with the coding, especially with the new implementation of phpbb3 coding and such.

We are also trying something new with the updates on our frontpage. We thought of going for a more professional blogging system, for this, we turn to the Wordpress integration. We [and by "we", I mean Qwait working and me yelling at him] are still trying to work on this little treat and currently attempting to install it with phpbb3. Stay tuned for an update on this little site project.

With all this new face lifting on our site, I have gotten a bit lazy on my end in terms of photoshopping. This is where you come in.

508th Banner Contest Extended

If you missed the original post and the tools handed out to help you on your photoshopping quest for glory, rest assured, you can still get the details here.

I've extended the deadline for next Friday [August 8th]. So you have an extra week to get your submissions in. Remember, your best work will be selected for voting if you intend to submit multiple banners.

In terms of prizes and placings, I have finalized the prizes for the victorious as followed:

1st Place: 100 MS Points; Name on Blackstone Credits; Respected Member Status; Custom Member Graphic
2nd Place: Name on Blackstone Credits; Respected Member Status; Custom Member Graphic
3rd Place: Respected Member Status; Custom Member Graphic

There may be an "honorable mention" as well... Remember, the sky is the limit!

Prophecy Episode 4

Yes, Prophecy has and will always be alive [so stop spamming my Youtube account inbox about it].

Episode 4 is coming along very smoothly. From what I have seen so far, you will probably wet your pants from its awesomeness. Here are some details to wet your appetite and hopefully silence many questions:

-Title: To The Stars
-It will be 100% CGI
-Action? 99% full of it.
-Features redesigned and revamped CGI modeling and graphics. Everything is new in this episode, from ships to even characters.
-New video dimensions for more depth and a much better video
-Probably one of the best episodes so far

To top it all off, here are some screenies from the episode.

Standby

Fresh Start

Plasma Volleys

That be it for now in terms of Prophecy.

Blackstone Log 2

It's coming very soon...

Project Phoenix

I have been told that the script has been finalized for a while now, production is about halfway, and all the voice work has been completed. More soon!

Dispatch Community Game Night #4

Yes, it is coming back and we've taken the time to create a bunch of new and creative gametypes/ maps for you guys to enjoy with us. Mark your calendars for August 6th, Wednesday [8pm-10pm Eastern Time]...

Hazmat

Regrettably, we cannot deliver Hazmat this Summer and still deliver a great project. For now people, its on hold.

Dispatch Radio

We couldn't deliver a podcast [not yet anyway...] but we've got a radio being set up. Project leads D4L Kevin, Archbomber and Mrpester31 announced their plans to me today [in the middle of this update actually] and plan to be hosting our very own Dispatch Radio for the fans to listen in on updates, clan challenges and just good ol' shenaniganry. Stay tuned for more details as these guys continue to work on their diabolical project.

Clan Showdown

There may be a possible clan showdown in our midst. Calls have been issued, and teams assembled. With any luck, Praetoria Guard will face off with the 508th this week.

Other Schtuff

We're still tweaking and adding things to the new layout of our portal/ forum. You may notice that our "Media" page is missing too, rest assured, it will be coming back up soon. To quote D4L Kevin, "better than ever".

If you actually have been following all the reading up to here, I commend you [you truly are devoted]. Next week, winners will be announced, prized handed out, more news and hopefully some special video treats. Until next time!

Dispatch Update of July 5th

Re-cooperating from an explosive holiday last night, we are back with a bang (pun intended?). July is gonna be a big month for you guys.

This has been a big week for everyone, besides the festivities and the Bungie-tacular news segments and free content, things are about to get even bigger for you guys. (Caution: High exposure to "bang" puns to follow).

Blackrock

That's right, its coming out. I can't say when it will be released because I actually want to have fun with this. So here is a graphic to tease you.



*NOTE: Check back here to watch the final decoding of the graphic as the message will be revealed soon!

I will say this about Blackstone though, we decided that it would be best to be presented in about 3 parts (the parts will be called "logs" actually). Log 1 has been completed and we're currently polishing it up and tweaking things here and there (adding a couple more black rocks here and there, you know how it goes). Log 1 has already been submitted for early reviewing the other day actually, so to answer a lot of questions out there, Blackstone is coming very soon.

Prophecy

No, Prophecy did not die. Matter of fact, we have something very special in store for the upcoming episodes of Prophecy. Let's just say, "return with a bang" has a literal meaning, rather than a metaphorical.

I know this update should have been more of a "bang for your buck" (what's wrong with me?), but this was pretty big news. It's what you make of it I suppose. Until next time, peace out.

Dispatch Update Episode 1

This time around, we decided a video update would be nice for the fans. Enjoy our first episode of our new segments, Dispatch Updates!

In this episode, we cover Prophecy and Blackstone production as well as several community plans we have in store for the fans out there.

Quicktime (Compressed) :/ 70mb

Other Mirrors

Youtube
Halotube

Episode 3-"Welcome Mat" is live!

Release Date: March 8th, 2008
Length: 12.02 min
Resolution: 640x480

Description: With the invasion of Thermopylae well under way, Essec's forces have made landfall and have begun laying siege to the human forces present. The battle for Thermopylae has begun...

Quicktime (Compressed) :/ 153.73mb
WMV (Compressed) :/ 117.23mb

Other Mirrors
Youtube: (Part 1)
Youtube: (Part 2)
Halotube

Prophecy Update of February 9th

Prophecy Update of February 9th



Hey-oh! Felt like I needed to make this write up, seeing that I have been tagged MIA for awhile. Anyways, back and back with a vengeance! Prepare yourself, juicy update incoming!

Episode 3.... Ah yes! Dunno if many of you visit Halotube much, but it is, as I like to call it, the Youtube of Halo (pretty original eh?). But, you guys could learn a thing or two about Episode 3's release date by visiting their site... Just a hint...

Now, there is a major thing we must share with the fans. Due to the intense length of Episode 3, it is being cut into two different episodes, so most of the action will be in Episode 4, which should be released almost immediately after Episode 3. Also, from what you have seen in the sneak peek sometime ago (kudos to PBS for such an awesome video), the action scenes in the trailer are only minor (most are actually black and white for that matter). That was something I had to share with all of you so that there are no misunderstandings for Episode 3. Will it still be good? You betcha.

We are also trying some new things to improve the overall face value of Prophecy this time around. I have been able to utilize Final Cut Pro's abilities to its fullest, and the results are amazing. This time around, long gone are the dull looking H3 graphics, now, you are going to enjoy "cinema-like" compositions. To illustrate my point, I asked Sub-commander Tarcaand to pose with his Gravity hammer. Here is a picture of the raw footage before rendered into its final composite form.









That particular shot itself is yet to be finalized, as it needs a bit of tweaking. Some minor things you may notice is a slight sepia tone to give it a more cinematic feel and look to it and some minor composited glowing points to make things look nicer.

On to the sound department, headed by Nabsuh! As you may have known, we have tried to incorporate our own sounds with that of the Halo universe, this time around however, we are trying to use our own sounds altogether (with the exceptional Halo plasma sound here and there of course). To give you a taste, here is a ten second action sequence caught from Episode 3.

Nabzuhz L337 Soundz :// WMV Low Res (668KB)

That scene also, is not finalized and is in low resolution for a reason =p

With all these new departments and processes we have conjured up this week (i.e Music-PBS, SFX-Nabsuh), it will hopefully spice up Prophecy and make things look and feel nicer for you, the viewer.

That is about it for this week, tune in for next week's update as we share another interview from one of our staff members from Dispatch Films!

P.S. In case you were too darn lazy to click on the stinkin' Halotube link, the new episode premieres February 23rd (by the way, that's year 2008 =p). Until next time, Peace out!

Prophecy Update of February 2nd

Since LT1 is way too busy with Prophecy and life, I will be posting this update in his place. Just to tell you that despite the fact our site seems dead, we've been hard at work lately.

Random Fan: Quit stalling, WHAT ABOUT THE EPISODE?

I'm getting to that now. Anyways, it has yet to enter the editing phase, but we are definitely getting somewhere with it. I can't say any definite release dates yet because nothing ever turns out as planned (especially due to the nature of machinima), but I can estimate that you will have already seen it by the beginning of March.

Random Fan: Well, can you at least tell us about it?!?!

Yes you random unknown person, I will. I'm gonna keep it as spoiler free as possible, but I'm gonna say that there is a 100% chance of this episode being action packed. There will be a battle... correction: two battles at the same time! You will also get to see the other Spartans for the first time, and the previously unnamed Spartans will be named. As a bonus, I can show you a few screenshots.



























To top things off, I interviewed Kieran Henshall of Pirate Bay Studios, who has been doing a bit of editing for Prophecy recently (as seen with last week's trailer). There was also an interview with AOD Deadite, but I could not get his interview answers in time.

F31: First and foremost, what is "Pirate Bay Studios", and what does it do?

KH: The people I know call it PBS for short, it was originally foudned in 2006 under the name of Lost Water Studios. By myself and a man called Andrew Dunkerly.

PBS is not a registered company, yet. It just consists of contacts who help out time to time. Though what we do varies from; Editing, Scriptwriting, Directing, Producing, Filming, PR, PA. We focus more on Television & Filmmaking than Machinima, although at the moment it's gotten the better of us.

F31: What is your role with the Prophecy project and the Blackstone Project?

KH: When the Director of Prophecy needs some extra publicity on his series, he sometimes contacts me asking for a trailer, some pieces of video media that will push the series more out there.

Currently I've been asked to:

[] Add Music to Episode 3
[] Edit Episode 4

I believe I'm editing Episode 4 because of a particular event that occurs. Last time we spoke, the Director felt I could bring a certain 'something' to the episode in comparison to the others. Also because he'd probably be busy with Blackstone.

F31: What can we expect from your current projects in the future? (With the 508th and with Pirate Bay Studios)

KH: I'm working on a Television plot with a few contacts from Los Angelis, South Wales [UK] & South Africa at the moment. The series is titled, Crisis,

In other news, I've been asked to develop my Machinima series for a television channel. So It seems I'll be busy on that soon.

F31: What programs do you use for what you do, and how long have you been at it?

KH:
Writing -
[] Final Draft, 3 Years
[] Microsoft Word, 9 Years?

CGI -
[] 3D Max, 1 Month
[] Lightwave, 1 Week

Editing -
[] Can't say,
[] Windows Movie Maker, 5 Years?
[] Sony Vegas 8, 3 Years

F31: Would you mind showing us some of your current work (if it isn't too spoilery?

KH: I'm afraid you'll have to wait and see like everyone else. =P

There'll be a Announcement Trailer for my series in a month from now. It will announce the forums and website that's under construction at the moment. Though maybe in the future I can provide you with sneak peaks if you want.

F31: To end things on a light note, do you like to party?

KH: Um, sometimes. Last time I had a party, I invited mates around on new years. I was chatting to my girlfriend at the time on MSN because she couldnt come. Then one of my mates pinned me down as the rest of them started looking for HONK!..

Apart from that.. Sure. =]

Kieran will have his official website out in the near future, I hope that LT1 will remember to include it in a future update. So that's all for this time folks, so stay tuned for Prophecy Episode 3, and Blackstone. See ya next week folks.

- Fire

Prophecy Update of January 13th

The first update of the new year! WOOT! Well most of us are either back at schooling now or resuming our jobs now that the vacation ended about a week ago for most of us. We are sorry for the delayed update, but we figured the last update was about the episode, so we let that sink in....

Speaking of episodes, many of you out there were wondering about episode 3...

Anonymous Fan : ZOMG! Come on brah!? Where be mah episode 3? hrmm?

Well, rest assured, we are working long and hard on it. Alot of it was complete this weekend as we got most of the action sequences squared away with. Speaking of action.... Theres tons of it in this next episode that we may have to consider splitting it!

And since you've been depraved of something newsworthy (and cuz I am so lazy enough to not put up screens of the next episode), I asked Pirate Bay Studios to whip up a preview of the upcoming episode. Cheers!

Quicktime :/11.7mb
WMV :/3.69mb
Youtube

Enjoy those teasers and until next time! Peace out!