[Photo] Lamborghini Reventon - NFS Hot Pursuit 3 SCPD Livery

It's been 8 years, but we've finally completed this project that's been sitting in a box for far too long. This is the flagship fictional police car from the 3rd Hot Pursuit installment of Need for Speed. Not my personal favourite design of the bunch, but it definitely was the one getting the interest rolling.
Here's what it looked like originally, in a sort of satin grey finish, which wasn't accurate to the real thing by the way.

[Gaming] Against All Odds - Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 3 Demo

After recording the Passione Italia run, there was still some spare time to record another run.

It's funny how I began deliberately choosing event types just so I can find different music to put in. If you've been keeping up with my videos, you'll notice all police-related runs have higher energy music playing. It's a shame that while there were police involved in this event, the run for the most part a solo cruise, with no racers or coppers in sight. So I picked out something a bit more relaxed to listen to.

[Gaming] Passione Italia (3:23.14) - Besting by the Milliseconds

I really missed doing these. Besting records is still a very enjoyable challenge. While figuring out where to save and use boost is primarily the puzzle in shaving off seconds, finding music to fit the theme or energy, without falling back on Eurobeat, is another challenge of its own.

It would have been nice to grab an in-game screenshot, but the Autolog servers are shut down so the photo mode has been disabled sadly.

[Gaming] Avalanche - Police Chase in the Mountains! (4:13.35)

I pushed it a bit further this time with the audio.Learning from the previous Hot Pursuit video "Blacklisted", I kept the music muting from the use of EMP, except this time I didn't rely on a single track to play throughout the entire video. This time, I took snippets of multiple tracks to include them at specific times to raise tension while leaving the blank spaces in between to provide occasional breaks. The music will usually kick in again once another police officer engages in the chase, and the music just keeps going once they begin closing in on my tail. My biggest gripe here is the fact I used EMPs twice in a row towards the end which means I have to cut out all the music eliminating all the excitement that was had at the time.

Aside from the video making, I found another player who set 3:52 on this, a staggering 20-second difference! I watched closely to their path choice and they didn't seem to show a strategic use of nitrous, but rather they were keeping the car sideways as much as they possibly could and staying on the oncoming lane throughout the mountain section earning them way more nitrous than I ever had. This is something I will definitely put more practice towards in the future.

[Gaming] Hot Pursuit Demos 3-in-a-row!

It seems more attention has been gained through several of my recent videos that have been shared on Facebook.

With the semester nearing its end, there are a few less obligations to attend, and a having a few hours to myself allows me to get on besting my old records in Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (2010). For those new to my history with the game, I've played this game intensely for a year since its release and have put the time into studying this game's mechanics, physics and programming rules.

While I'm proud of the new records being made, I want to focus this post on the video editing. The formula hasn't deviated much since the last two videos (Calm Before Storm, Blacklisted). I've put the time into thinking how to present a video without it appearing as generic as the next person who puts in a Window Movie Maker blue title screen. Here are a few commonly-used intros I'm tired of seeing:

• Intros that are pre-made or taken off publicly shared templates without adequate modifications to make itself unique.
  
  I understand there isn't a whole lot of options in the older Windows Movie Maker when it comes to making titles, but do at least strive to do something hundreds of other people aren't already doing. I've seen cool intro reels by folks who upload videos on the daily, but it's always a disappointment, at least to me, when we learn all they did was download a template someone else made. It to me says you weren't fully committed to the presentation of the video you wanted to be outstanding from others.
  
  
• Reels that contain subject matter that do not relate to the purpose of the video.
  
  I once saw someone include a video clip or CGI tentacle claws (ones that looked similar to Doctor Claw from the Spider Man franchise) moving around in a closed concrete space, getting close ups of the incredible details of the metal joints, all in the name of introducing a Street Fighter match. I needed a third palm to put over my face.
  
  
• Reels that are way too long in duration.
  
  I've spent a lot of time watching all sorts of videos. Videos of CD in a micrwave oven, how to configure settings for Adobe Premiere, 240 mouse traps going off in a chain reaction, a dude falling off a skateboard and destroying his ankle, to listening popular youtubers rant about a recent mundane event they experienced. If you've ever watched videos where you found yourself habitually skipping intros to get to the point, you'll understand what I'm getting at. Especially with video tutorials.
  
  
• Unnecessary title and ending pages.
  
  A minute long video does not need a 10-second intro splash screen. We also don't need a "Thanks for watching" when the main video doesn't even belong to you.

Let me explain what it is I've done with my videos.

• In a previous video "Wild Ride", the intro took 23 seconds to get to actual gameplay. It may have been cool for a first watch, but not if a follower knows about your videos and how long they have to wait to get to the meat of the material each time they load up videos. I arbitrarily decided on 10 seconds being the maximum amount of time I can have to ease in the watcher and/or have the title or purpose statement presented. I'm working on 0.8-1.6 seconds of black screen into the title instead of going right into it. Films start from a black screen and end at it. I wanted that kind of transition too.
• I've always liked the camera work gone into selling a product. What Criterion has done in the car selection menu was good enough that I could use that in the intro reel. Due to the minimal amount of space to work with, only a third of the screen could be shown. Workarounds are still being tested. It's still relatively dark screen, but all the more reason to tease the car's attractive form.
• The choice of background music. This is probably the most controversial feature of the edits. Granted how I've still little interest in the Rock genre, I wanted to explore what unconventional music I could bring into high-speed driving; what sorts of mood can I dictate or create that rock or electronica don't. In Wild Ride, I looked at the title and gave Jazz a try. Here, I've given the choice to an orchestra and jazz piece. While I haven't studied music to understand the messages and symbolism tied to genres, I have focused primarily on the mood, energy and pacing of the track to accentuate or exaggerate the flow of each specific event in the game. They may be the worst combinations I could've put together, but that's something I can only tell for sure with more experimentation and watches.
• Ease out the ending. Informative videos can cut off once all the necessary info and goodbyes have been said. I could've as well. Because I'm envisioning a short story with these videos, I would think I'd want the watcher to ease into a story, know what's going to happen, build suspense, reach a climx and descend slowly back to where they started; the black screen. There isn't enough material or any staff to possibly have rolling credits, but I got the idea of a slow fade in and out after watching the animated film series Boundary of Emptiness - The Garden of Sinners. The credits would be accompanied by a high-energy band of instruments and it would end off with the slow fade with no music, which gives me the impression that I just finished something grand.

[Customs] Leveling Up. New Materials, New Potentials.

This will be a two-part post. There's new customs to be revealed, and newly acquired materials to add to my arsenal.
There are lots of new stuff I'm eager to show off. If things continue to go smooth, I may not have to care so much for
real rider wheels anymore. I will get to that later, but first, let's start off with a simple wheelswap.

While in the middle of sorting out cars I want to take right out of the collection, I pulled out
all the Shelby Cobra Daytonas. I finally decided to give up on the casting after I finished
the Need For Speed Cobra Daytona replica, which you will see in just a bit.





The over-sized wheels were bothersome ever since they became an entry to the collection,
but I kept overlooking it because I like the car itself too much. Not any more.
This was the only one I decided to keep because the turquoise is just too beautiful.
I still didn't like the massive OH5s, so I quickly threw on something more appropriate.



It really is a darn shame Mattel went gung-ho on the wheels. I almost feel sorry for the thing.




Let's move on.



Ah yes. Replicas. It seems the only times I go all out is when I make replica models.
This time, it's Carl's Signature Edition Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe from Need For Speed The Run.
This is one of those hidden gems in the game. I love that The Run included a huge variety of cars.
The fictional Signature Edition cars gave room for the design team to create their own bodywork
and livery designs, and this one is done so well.The wheel choice works, the stripes are very
appropriate, and those two little yellow stripes off the side really finish it off with just enough
colour to stand out in the monochromatic scheme.



First thing to notice is that I down-sized each wheel to sizes 1 and 2 rather than keeping
it at 2 and 3 respectively. It looks much more appropriate even with the staggered sizes.



Getting those decals in place wasn't particularly tricky, but like all the waterslide
decals I buy from Bare Metal Foil Co., I tend to lose about 20% of the ink
in the process of applying them. It certainly doesn't help that I'm using a
low-resolutiondecades-old Canon BubbleJet printer to do my decals.
Can you tell which decal says "BBS" on it? 'Cause I can't!



I even went and did in the license plate. It's supposed to say "ZERO"
along with the NFS logo off to the left. It's barely legible!



Not trusting myself with hand painting a circle, the side and bonnet decals were
nothing more than cutouts of the decal paper. Errors were had, but I've learned
not to keep on trying to fix something with the low-tech skill I have.
From a practical standpoint, that's probably the best I've got for now.



I'm fairly certain the car in the game doesn't have a spare tire that looks like that,
but it adds a lot more substance to the interior, even if I don't detail the cabin.



Fun fact, before this even got its coat of paint, I had the fender-adjusted body
sitting in the basement untouched since October of last year. It sat for hell of
a long time! This just means all the other wheel-less bodies I have in my big box
have been sitting for a longer time - and still counting.





New materials come into play, and this Track T is going to be its debut. Paint markers.
Cheap oil-based white paint marker. Works wonders on the tires, comes off with acetone,
and settles in minutes, even on rubber.



I had no plans on making a custom Track T, but no lies, I did like that colour scheme, that
rat-rod-flat-black-with-the-red theme. The WW wheels it had before were decent, but I wanted
smoothies. There was only the one problem, the smoothies- or the hubcaps Mattel makes
aren't chrome. I don't have chrome paint. The brilliant silver finishes I have can work on small
surfaces, but definitely not on anything wide and flat. Here, I finally caved and bought a pack
of Bare Metal Foil. The stuff model builders rely on for their larger-scale car models.

I am nowhere near disappointed.



Most of the main features are in the wheels, but the body itself could see improvements too.
Some of the red was lost from wear. That was cleverly covered up. Interior being bare metal
could use some work. If I already put that much time into the wheels, I may as well do
something with the untouched interior. Paint marker it is!



And what mainline is complete without the finer detailing? Taking no time, I ran the silver Sharpie's
down the sides and touched the tail lights with the Tamiya Acrylic red as usual. I polished the exhaust
pipes and dotted each fastener on the seat cover.



Fun trick. The front grills weren't painted on. I took my paint-scratcher (the dulled box cutter)
and scraped off the paint to reveal the bare metal. That shines a lot more than paint!


Other than the paint marker and bare metal foil, I also just received my order of aluminum tubes.
Some of you might already know what it's planned for: custom wheels. Oh yes, I'm going there.
Sometimes I'd want the premium finish with rubber tires, but the selection of wheel styles is
always so limited. With this option open, I have more wheels to choose from. I can resize
the wheels to a more appealing fit, and expand into shiny-rim lips and deep-dishes.

I've no photos, but it's more K&S Precision Metals again. What sizes? 5/16", 8mm, 9mm, and 10mm.
I went on a public rant about how hobbyists of similar interests lack a sense of community.
How we are able to experiment, fail and succeed, show off, brag and be proud of our work, but yet
be unable to share experiences, tips, advice, provide help, tutorials, or anything to contribute
to the niche hobby's social circle. We're not competing, so there's little sense in concealing your technique.
We all love to build things and we certainly love to learn, so to me, the willingness to
teach how something is made is intrinsic to the passion of crafting.

That said, I'll post results of the different sizes once I get around to fitting wheels in 'em.
I'll end the post off with the next batch of Illustrious cars in the making.

[Gaming] Blacklisted Demo (3:48.43)

While developing the Reventon replica project parameters, the urge to boot up Hot Pursuit made its rounds.

Lucked out in an interceptor event and brought a 22-second record, one that requires a rare opportunity of the AI goofing up, to just over 10 seconds. The Aston tried to swing back onto the pavement, but I checked their rear tire causing them to hit the bridge post, spin around and roll backwards into a fence, which coincidentally lined their car up with mine. All I had to do was roll up and hold him still. Don't mind if I do!

After that short-lived pursuit was over, I started looking for events others have beaten me at and found Blacklisted was one of them. So I did something about that.

Three wall contacts and one roadblock collision, the lack of top speed in the final stretch and the overall drifting could've been better. I would say 3:40 is definitely not out of reach if I found a day to sit down for a few hours to dish out a run with less flaws.

[Gaming] New Record: NFS HP3 Calm Before Storm

Too many mistakes were had, but I was challenged by a friend who beat my previous time of 5:16 with a 5:01.

I ran a warmup round with several collisions and slow-downs and still managed a 4:55 surprisingly. Then there was the inevitable rounds of restarts. This time I spent about 3 hours until having to stop. My patience for setting records on events that involve police is fairly low because they aren't a fixed obstacle so their hindrance can take place any time. Such inconsistencies are a headache to put up with and put a huge factor in determining your final score.

If you would like to challenge a record or challenge me to best yours, please feel free to contact me.

[Gaming] New Record: NFS HP3 Wild Ride Time Trial (2:29.01)

Recently found out Youtube doesn't allow playback to mobile devices if a video gets matched copyright content. The DiRT3 video is a victim to this. All that was caught was the intro tune which was only a snippet from a soundtrack of Samurai Champloo. If that's the case, I decided it was time I made my own simple loop to use as intros. Needless to say, it's going to take a while to compose something that isn't completely flat and boring, but at least I'm determined enough to try.

Several mistakes were had, and I will definitely top this record some time in the future.