New Machinima Series - Division Zero

With the release of the ability to buy Render Minutes, I'm going to begin working on a Machinima. I'm already well aware it's a terrible investment to make an entire machinima using only rendering--I'm getting a capture card this Christmas, and at the moment, I'm only focused on the trailer. Note that one or two elements sound fairly similar to any terrible Halo fanfiction--most will either be subverted or justified as required.

The year is 2584. The Human-Covenant war has long been at an end, and the Sangheili and Human races have had no scrutinies in that time that could change this. In fact, while the majority of colonized plants will usually stick to a race, their military has joined together to form the URSC (United Races Space Command). Most of the military has been relatively unchanged, aside from the major change of incorporating Sangheili into the branches. There are additionally a few divisions added that include some species, as well as some new factions that are single-species. Upon clearing out nearby groups of Covenant factions, the URSC glassed or took over 96% of all Covenant-controlled territory; it was not completed as the Unggoy and Lekgolo (Hunter) homeworlds were untouched; the Grunt race was forced into the Covenant against their will, and the Hunters only fought valiantly in the Covenant out of respect for the Elites.

The remaining Halos are untouched as established by an Act from 2558, to prevent future such threats from occuring. Any Forerunner material on uncolonized planets may be left alone or further examined for study, however. After the death of SPARTAN John-117, the SPARTAN project went out of commission due to lack of still existing members. New projects are always in the making, however; one notable example is the Human-Sangheili Planetary Soldier Defense Division, Mark Zero. It has been nicknamed Division Zero, or D0 (Dee-Oh). It is Mark Zero as the project is still in prototype stages. The members are entirely voluntary, but must go through testing to make sure they are capable soldiers. There were a total of 284 entrants; 200 were accepted--94 human and 106 Sangheili; 124 were male, 86 were female (belonging to either species). Due to the high rate of death or crippling caused by the SPARTAN projects, the members of Division Zero are "regular" soldiers--what is enhanced is their armor. Members were divided into ten subgroups (though this is irrelevant upon being given their "ability"), each containing twenty members, though the abilities are both Human and Sangheili-exclusive due to differences in armor. Each one of these members is given armor of a varying primary color, "emblem background", and an ability which is unique to their subgroup. Their secondary and armor detail colors, as well as their "emblems", are entirely up to them. Armor helmet, should pauldrons, and chestplates are already specified. Groups 1-5 are Human-exlusive, groups 6-10 are Elite-exclusive. NOTE: Some names are unofficial for easier identification among those who are not aware of the entire names.

BEGINNING OF HUMAN ABILITIES
Subgroup Number: 1
Ability: Weapons that fire bullets and grenades become fulmineous and higher-velocity, enabling larger chance of armor penetration. Electrical charge will disrupt shielding quicker and potentially disable vehicle control for a short time provided it hits a correct spot. Ones are generally seen with Brute Shots and a Magnum as a back up.
Armor Setup
Helmet: Security
Left Shoulder: Scout
Right Shoulder: Scout
Chestplate: CQB (Note that standard-issue Combat Knife will not gain any electrical properties as it is not integrated into the HUD of the user.)
Armor Color: Cyan
Emblem Background: Blunt Diamond


Subgroup Number: 2
Ability: Large amount of Incendiary Gel is underneath the liquid crystal layer of the armor, serving as a nearly perpetual supply of fuel for flame-based weapons or even for some vehicles. Incendiary Gel will ignite when exposed to oxygen, so it will also serve as a failsafe if the user has taken enough damage to the armor. For obvious reasons, Flamethrowers and Incendiary Grenades are often used.
Armor Setup
Helmet: Hayabusa
Left Shoulder: EOD
Right Shoulder: EOD
Chestplate: EOD (Note that all armor except for the helmet is intended to be as robust as possible to avoid accidental ignition.)
Armor Color: Crimson
Emblem Background: Ball O' Fire



Subgroup Number: 3
Ability: User has complete control over their Armor-Integrated Hydrostatic Gel; a minor interface has been added to the user's HUD as a result. The user can increase or decrease the density at the expense of mobility. An inadvertent side-ability is that users can often "Grenade Jump" with only damage to shields provided their gel layer is hard enough.
Armor Setup
Helmet: CQB
Left Shoulder: Hayabusa
Right Shoulder: Hayabusa
Chestplate: Scout
Armor Color: Steel
Emblem Background: Shield


Subgroup Number: 4
Ability: The armor can project a "regenerative field" out a short distance; note that it does not heal wounds, but it overcharges nearby energy shielding when the field is active at the expense of the own shields of the user. Shields also regenerate constantly while within the field. Possibly out of irony, Fours will often have a Plasma Pistol as a backup weapon.
Armor Setup
Helmet: Scout
Left Shoulder: CQB
Right Shoulder: CQB
Chestplate: EVA
Armor Color: Sage
Emblem Background: Sprocket


Subgroup Number: 5
Ability: The armor now has 20% control over the cognitive functions of the user, notably moving the user's lines of sight into view of enemy targets much quicker. It can only focus on 1-3 targets up close, but groups of up to around twelve or so at a distance of fifty kilometers. Fives will usually possess Sniper Rifles, or other ranged weapons.
Armor Setup
Helmet: EOD
Left Shoulder: Scout
Right Shoulder: Scout
Chestplate: CQB (If absolutely necessarily, the knife could be thrown due to the accuracy of the armor.)
Armor Color: White
Emblem Background: Cowboy Hat


BEGINNING OF SANGHEILI ABILITIES
Subgroup Number: 6
Ability: Small antigravity repulsion generators have been equipped to the chest and boots of the armor, allowing for much higher jumps, as well as being able to let out a "pulse" that will repel objects, ranging from actual infantry to some smaller objects (shipping crates or even an empty Warthog at the most would be notable examples).
Armor Setup
Helmet: Commando
Left Shoulder: Assault
Right Shoulder: Assault
Chestplate: Flight
Armor Color: Cobalt
Emblem Background: Four Diamonds



Subgroup Number: 7
Ability: A sort of parallel to Sixes, Sevens have the ability of controlling magnetic fields ranging from weak (walking on the outside of a ship in vacuum) to exponential (pinning a Scorpion Tank to a ceiling or "drawing in" an airborne vehicle, forcing it to crash or land.); the user should avoid using Grenades to prevent them from going off prematurely or too close; Sevens will often use Plasma-based weaponry, notably the Energy Sword.
Armor Setup
Helmet: Flight
Left Shoulder: Ascetic
Right Shoulder: Ascetic
Chestplate: Assault
Armor Color: Violet
Emblem Background: Display


Subgroup Number: 8
Ability: Can generate large, golden energy spheres surrounding them which can range from simply blocking projectiles to being entirely physical, not allowing the entrance of vehicles. The shield can be used indefinitely, though it runs on the energy shields of the user; they will collapse after prolonged damage, so Eights will often have a Deployable Cover as a backup.
Armor Setup
Helmet: Ascetic
Left Shoulder: Flight
Right Shoulder: Flight
Chestplate: Combat
Armor Color: Gold
Emblem Background: Vertical Hexagon



Subgroup Number: 9
Ability: Armor can cycle through a large range of spectral intensities, ranging from microwave vision to gamma-ray vision. "Visible Light" is the default intensity. Nines will usually carry weapons with some sort of scope to amplify the abilities of their suits.
Armor Setup
Helmet: Assault
Left Shoulder: Combat
Right Shoulder: Combat
Chestplate: Ascetic
Armor Color: Sage
Emblem Background: Four Plots


Subgroup Number: 10
Ability: The users are capable of jamming enemy radar systems with large electromagnetic fields at the expense of some shielding for however long the jamming is going on. The armor also contains several incredibly powerful photon-emission generators, blinding anyone nearby temporarily. Users have visors that block out this light, and will often carry Shotguns for this reason.
Armor Setup
Helmet: Combat
Left Shoulder: Commando
Right Shoulder: Commando
Chestplate: Commando
Armor Color: White
Emblem Background: Dreamcatcher


A squad of 45 URSC soldiers were uncovering and examining a large Forerunner artifact embedded in a massive ice field on a satellite roughly 300 million miles away from the Sangheili homeworld (Sanghelios), when something unprecedented occured. All orbital feeds from the site were cut instantly, without any information escaping. All that is known is that a violet air-based vehicle approached the site, not belonging to either Human or Sangheili...

...and that not a single one of the 45 troops survived. 15 Division Zero members are being given all the information that is known by an ONI officer; they will split up into five groups of three and examine the site. This is where the machinima starts; with the 15 members being informed. However, one group of three will be the one mainly focused on. Voix 'Zachav, nickname "Zee" or "Z", is a Seven that mainly uses the Energy Sword and Covenant Carbine. He has already acquainted himself with his other two squadmates, and appears to hold the most authority. Tyler Amadeus Wright is a One that mainly uses a Sniper Rifle and Magnum, being the unofficial long-range user of the group. Tyler has gained the nickname "Ice", as he "makes the best cocktail this side of the Solar System", according to another One. Third is the female Sangheili Evis 'Zyrram, who is a Shotgun-toting Ten, coming from a lineage in the high northern part of Sanghelios. Translation devices built into all standard-URSC suits have interpreted her voice with an accent practically resembling Australian. She has gained the nickname "Zyrra" based off of her surname.

Now, what I would like from ForgeHub:
Body Actors
Voice Actors
-Currently, Zee, Ice and Zyrra already have voice actors; however, having people on standby for roles will always be nice, and I do need someone to voice the ONI officer informing the 15 Division Zero members. Preferrably, someone who could emulate a slight southern accent, but it's not noticeable enough that it detracts from their dialogue (it does not have to be real, only believable). Additionally, as I do not yet have a capture card, you will need a mic to send me the voice.
People willing to render, if absolutely necessary (I doubt it)
Additionally, this last bit is a complete shot in the dark; however, I actually purchased Mixcraft, and mine has a bug that does not enable me to save files outside of the .mxc files, even though I've registered. This has actually happened with others, as well--but what I'm getting at is that if anyone does have Mixcraft, if they'd be willing for me to send over the .mxc files and then saving them as .mp3s or .wav's for me.


Filming could potentially start as early as this weekend, and there's also Thanksgiving Break.

 

Thanks to both of you--I can use the help, especially with three fully-armored accounts on local. Additionally, many scenes that do not need weapons to be held up will mean that larger groups will usually have no weapons, while smaller groups can hold lower weapons. Reloading some weapons (such as Dual Spikers/SMGs) will be used wherever necessary. Either way, considering I lack System Link and there are not enough people/controllers near me, I'm going to try and avoid some larger scenes that involve holding down weapons. Ones with groups of one to four should be fine, though.

 

That helps a ton, actually. If that's the case, I'll make a map some time today so you can film one main scene that'd otherwise be a hassle. Note that it may be a little tricky getting 15 people in there and getting them all to hold down their weapons, but I would greatly appreciate it. Also, note that you simply need to get everyone into completely white armor, all Combat/Mark VI, no emblem (Blank Background/Toggled Seventh Column). This is technically "before" they're all outfitted with new armor. I'll be able to help in online instances, it's just that this is going to be a scene where a bunch of people are going to be holding down weapons (give Spartans Magnums, and Elites Plasma Pistols). I'll get that map to you as soon as I can, with instructions. Additionally, I would just hold on for the voice acting for now--it's the least of my priorities until we can get all of the filming for the trailer done.