Elden Ring

S4 E110 Elden Ring Machinima: Overpowering Character Builds (Jan 2024)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes January 4, 2024 Leave a reply

Kicking off 2024 with machinima from a slightly different perspective: this week, Ricky introduces us to the #letsplay/#tutorial/#epicguideline/#showNtell genre in his favorite game of all time: Elden Ring. Its the first time we’ve heard just how much time he’s spent in game and we won’t draw attention to it just in case his partner is following us… but from the machinimas he shared with us, he’s by no means alone. We discuss their usefulness and impact in the world of machinima, why building OP characters is important and just how skilled these creators are not only in the game but also in producing documentaries about the game. We start with a discussion about a new laptop for gaming Ricky has found that is up to the complexities of the Elden Ring task, and then he gives a run through of two specific films, plus some name checks across the various different approaches to OP building and boss fighting he’s observed.



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Asus Tuf F15 Gaming Laptop link

Nizar GG channel link

ThingFishy channel link

Monk channel link

Fextralife channel link

GinoMachino channel link

Films discussed below –

The Strongest DEX Build You’ll Ever See in Elden Ring (GET OP EARLY) | Ultimate Warrior Guide, by Nizar GG, released 21 Nov 2022

How to Make The 20 Best Strength Builds | Elden Ring, by Thingfishy, released 4 Nov 2023

S4 E109 Teaching an AI: Backflip (Dec 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes December 28, 2023 Leave a reply

Backflip is a docu-style film, made over a period of three years where Nikita Diakur presents his progress using AI to teach a character to backflip. The character is the 3D scanned artist and the learning process applied is based on a technique he read in an academic paper. To say its chaos is an understatatement, and something anyone in research could probably have told him when attempting to replicate a finding in a publication (which of course is why LLMs using text alone will never be ‘intelligent’). It is also everything one would expect from a character rig with the physics of a double-jointed arachnid… but it sure is hugely entertaining to watch, and brilliantly edited together. Backflip is a must watch for anyone using AIs for animation, not least because it serves as a reminder of just how tough this all was pre-mid 2023!

We also begin the episode with some news updates: Half Life 2 @ 25 years, GTA6 trailer, Elden Ring DLCs and Baad Viibes (John MacInnes).



YouTube Version of This Episode

https://youtu.be/-iE2YKKQX9s

Show Notes & Links

Half Life 25th anniversay documentary and update

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbZ3HzvFEto&t

The GTA6 official advert –

John MacInnes talking about Baad Viibes at the Unreal Fest, October 2023 –

Backflip – film by Nikita Diakur, released 27 September 2023 –

S3 E93 Twin Peaks (Sept 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes September 6, 2023 Leave a reply

An homage and ‘unofficial tribute’ to the classic 90s TV series, this week’s review discusses a film of a game demo created by Blue Rose Team for the PS1. The demo covers the intro and events surrounding Special Agent Cooper’s arrival at Twin Peaks and his encounter with Laura Palmer and the Black Lodge. Steeped in the mythos of the virtual world that has been created, well, at least that applies to some of the CM crew more than other/s, we discuss how well it translates to contemporary times, the story portrayed and the issues that arise from this type of transformative work.



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes & Links

Preliminary discussion, Convergence Mod here

Sony’s update on its Ghostbuster’s Unreal test –

Twin Peaks film, released 8 August 2023 –

Download demo from here

Original Twin Peaks intro here –

S3 E89 Half Life 2: Daydream (August 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes August 9, 2023 Leave a reply

A performance by a camera ham, shutterbug or just a plain histrionic narcissist? This week’s review discusses an older machinima that has highly contemporary themes in it: carry-on-regardless, daydreaming, whatever, so long as the virtual camera is rolling. The film is called Daydream (2009) set to the titular song by Lovin’ Spoonful, created by Mystfit and made Valve’s Half Life 2. Needless to say, we loved the humor but what makes this machinima interesting is that it was a scripted production created by running a path sequencer inside the game, harking back to the early days of how machinimas were made but so is reminiscent of how contemporary tools such as iClone and Unreal now work.

This week we also begin with Ricky talking about ultra-wide monitors, using it to play Elden Ring (a mod required) and the #SAGAFTRA strike; and, Phil gives an overview of his remastering project of the Machiniplex collection and his homage to the great Hugh Hancock, founder the #machinima movement, the upcoming showcase of Bloodspell and also his own response to some of the hoopla that Hugh created at the time of its release in 2006!



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes & Links

Film, Daydream by Mystfit, released 6 January 2009

Gigabyte ultra-wide screen and Elden Ring mod, by Nexus Mods

Machiniplex Collection, remastered by Phil Rice – https://bitly/Machiniplex

Bloodspell trailer for Phil’s showcase channel –

S3 E85 Its Just A Game (July 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes July 13, 2023 Leave a reply

Nope, its not ‘just a game’, its one of the most visually stunning Gothic story open worlds ever created (according to Ricky)! In this ep, we discuss GraysonFlows’ tribute to the world of Elden Ring, set to Max Richter’s November composition, which highlights the beauty of the game from the exhausting open sequence to the final prize, creatures, battles and voice acting.



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes & Links

Its Just A Game | Elden Ring ‘The Fallen Leaves Tell a Story…’ by GraysonFlows, released 19 May 2022

Otis_Inf Camera Mod Patreon channel link here

Carbot Animations – Elden Ring cartoon channel link here