Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures

BentonGrey · August 25, 2011, 03:00:44 AM

And it's done! My Ninja Turtles mod has been released in full! You'll find it here:
http://bentongrey.wordpress.com/turtles-fight-with-honor/

This mod has 9, count them, 9 missions, which will take our half-shelled-heroes from their first encounter with the Foot Clan up to their discovery of a strange and sinister secret hidden below the streets of New York! Along the way you'll take command of the green teens as they battle the deadly Foot Clan, face the mechanical menace of Baxter Stockman's Mousers, struggle against the mutated might of Bebop and Rocksteady, and even cross blades with the mysterious Shredder!

Krang and Baxter aren't featured as opponents in the campaign itself yet, but they are both included, and you can play as or against them in the Dangeroom if you want to test their metal!

This mod also features the first contribution to the FF community by newcomer Adam Winters. He has really increased the quality and comprehensiveness of this mod by creating three new voice packs with samples pulled from the original Turtles cartoon. He's created packs for Splinter, April, and Shredder, bringing the memorable and excellent voice work of that classic show to life in Freedom Force, and bringing a lot more personality to their respective characters within the game.

We are also lucky enough to get some custom mission music from the multi-talented ow_tiobe_sb! Now we have some music made especially for the levels of this mod.

So, what are you waiting for? Take a walk down memory lane, and see if you can keep from smiling when you load this mod and hear a familiar song on the main menu. Take some time to remember why you loved the Turtles way back when, and why you should definitely still love them now!

BentonGrey · August 29, 2011, 11:58:42 PM

It's released! I hope y'all enjoy it!

John Jr. · August 30, 2011, 01:43:35 AM

Congrats, buddy! It's good to see a non DC/Marvel mod around.

Cyber Burn · August 30, 2011, 01:47:42 AM

Quote from: John Jr. on August 30, 2011, 01:43:35 AM
Congrats, buddy! It's good to see a non DC/Marvel mod around.

I hadn't thought about it in those terms. But I'm definitely glad to see another mod released. Now I just need a nice long vacation so that I'll have time to play it.

oldmanwinters · August 30, 2011, 03:12:42 AM

Happy to see this project off the ground! I'm sure the extra feedback from the boards will be helpful. I certainly intend to make improvements to my voice packs in the future.

cmdrkoenig67 · August 30, 2011, 04:01:45 AM

Bravo Benton! I'm looking forward to playing it.

Dana

BentonGrey · August 31, 2011, 02:39:39 AM

Thanks guys! I hope that all of y'all enjoy it.

JJ, yeah, it is cool to see a nice variety of FF content created.

I created a ModDB page for this project, and I'm planning on creating some for my other projects as the get completed. I hope some of y'all will give me some good words over there.
http://www.moddb.com/mods/ninja-turtles-turtle-power

ow_tiobe_sb · August 31, 2011, 04:41:01 AM

Congrats, Benton! I see you managed to launch this worthy project despite my best efforts to scuttle your vessel with noise pollution, eh what?

Huzzah!

ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Whirled Braker

spydermann93 · August 31, 2011, 09:03:33 PM

Fantastic mod, Benton!

I was really excited to see Krang, Be-Bop and Rock-Steady, and Splinter make an appearance, as well as the Fly.

I can't wait to see your next release, the one where you fight Krang in the Technodrome.

Keep up the fantastic work!

BentonGrey · January 16, 2012, 10:51:09 PM

Howdy guys! There isn't a whole lot of mod news at the moment, as I'm working on Marvel Adventures right now, but Oldmanwinters posted a really awesome set of mock comic covers he made for the mod, and I thought they deserved a bit more public of a showing. So, check out these cool pieces which will, at the next release, grace the loading screens of the TMNT mod!

Quote from: oldmanwinters on January 16, 2012, 04:52:45 PM
On a recent thread, I inquired about the possibility of adding custom comic book loading screens to a Mod.
http://freedomreborn.net/forums/index.php?topic=54715.0

I appreciate all the feedback, but I have yet to dive into the process. From what I've read, it doesn't sound like it should be too hard though.

I figured I'd show some of my progress on my custom covers for Benton's TMNT Mod!

Can ya'll guess the homages?

Previsionary · January 17, 2012, 12:53:59 AM

Those are pretty cool. And because I've said this, it is now officially a rule. You're welcomes!

oldmanwinters · January 17, 2012, 04:38:34 AM

Quote from: Previsionary on January 17, 2012, 12:53:59 AM
Those are pretty cool. And because I've said this, it is now officially a rule. You're welcomes!

Thanks a bunch! I've still got a few crops and edits to make to them though.

oldmanwinters · January 18, 2012, 12:18:45 AM

Quote from: BentonGrey on January 16, 2012, 10:42:01 PM

Also Winters, I went ahead and posted your covers in the TMNT mod thread. I figured that might get a bit more traffic than our request thread, so hopefully you'll get more feedback. As for feedback, I've already told you how much I like these, and already confessed my lack of artistic skill or insight as well, so I'm afraid I can't be as helpful as I'd like to be. However, I did notice that Shredder's chin/faceplate might need to extend down a bit further in the bottom one. The proportion in pictures I've seen seems to be about 1/3 eyes/face to 2/3rds mask.

Hmm... I think I have a general tendency to squash the chin on human characters, giving them a more rounded face.

As far as Shredder's face mask goes, I don't think it's something I can adjust intelligently. Assuming that his chin extends all the way down to the bottom of his facemask, I don't see a big issue with the anatomy. I placed the eyes fairly high, near the brim of his helmet, leaving lots of room for his nose line.

In the future I'll try to give characters a more distinct chin. I think I fudged it with April in that Star Wars-parody cover too. But I had to deal with a slightly unusual perspective on that one.

cmdrkoenig67 · January 18, 2012, 03:46:43 AM

OMG...I hadn't seen these before now. Great job, Winters. Now I want to do this for my mods too...

Dana

oldmanwinters · January 18, 2012, 11:38:29 PM

Quote from: cmdrkoenig67 on January 18, 2012, 03:46:43 AM
OMG...I hadn't seen these before now. Great job, Winters. Now I want to do this for my mods too...

Dana

Thank you, Dana! I really am proud to finally be able to contribute something of creative substance to the Freedom Force community.

Those mock vintage comic book covers from the original Freedom Force and FFvTR were treats that made me eagerly anticipate each mission so that I could see what came next. It just added so much flavor to the overall gaming experience. Since I've enjoyed Benton's TMNT Mod so much (it was the thing that motivated me to go purchase the Freedom Force games), I wanted to lend my meager talents to the cause.

Good luck with your own Mods!

oldmanwinters · April 16, 2012, 02:20:01 AM

Benton, I haven't forgotten about those prologue pictures I promised you for your Mod. I just haven't had much time to devote to them yet.

Here's my pencils for the first frame: April O'Neil reporting on a mysterious series of thefts on the city's scientific equipment companies.

I've got this one mostly colored, but it's not quite finished yet.

Here's my ultimate goal for the order of the prologue scenes:
Picture #1) April reports on technology robberies in the city. (95% complete)
Picture #2) The Shredder (perhaps in silhouette) is not happy that she is trying to expose his operation; he orders his thugs to "silence her."
Picture #3) April is trying to elude the thugs by escaping into the sewer.
Picture #4) The Turtles rescue April in the sewer. (100% complete)
Picture #5) Splinter formally introduces April to the TMNT.
Picture #6) [To Be Determined]
Picture #7) Foot Soldiers capture April outside the "Ninja Pizza Parlor." (100% complete)

BentonGrey · April 16, 2012, 02:27:48 AM

Ohh man Winters, that is awesome! Haha, I love it, from the Farside scientists in the background, to the fellow pinned to the wall with the knives, that is just great. That's probably your best rendition of April so far, by the way. I can't wait to see the finished version!

I like your line-up there. I think that will tell the story pretty effectively. I'd definitely recommend that the Shredder be in silhouette, but other than that, it all sounds spot-on. I think #6 might work well as an image of the turtles incognito on the streets with April, searching for clues.

oldmanwinters · April 16, 2012, 02:36:32 AM

Quote from: BentonGrey on April 16, 2012, 02:27:48 AM
Ohh man Winters, that is awesome! Haha, I love it, from the Farside scientists in the background, to the fellow pinned to the wall with the knives, that is just great. That's probably your best rendition of April so far, by the way. I can't wait to see the finished version!

I like your line-up there. I think that will tell the story pretty effectively. I'd definitely recommend that the Shredder be in silhouette, but other than that, it all sounds spot-on. I think #6 might work well as an image of the turtles incognito on the streets with April, searching for clues.

Benton, I am SO glad you caught The Far Side reference! Those guys in the back are definitely Dr. Gary and Dr. Larson. I liked the way April came out in this piece; I think I did a much better job with her chin than I usually do. Her nose was a little too big, but fortunately that will be fixed via Gimp in the color version.

I think your recommendation for Picture #6 is a good one. In my Pizza Parlor pic, I chose not to put them in trenchcoats and fedoras (as is tradition) since they don't have them in your Mod. What might you have in mind for "Incognito"?

BentonGrey · April 16, 2012, 02:48:03 AM

Haha, but of course! Dr. Gary and Dr. Larson, perfect! Yeah, I see what you mean about the nose, but that should be a relatively easy fix, as you say.

Hmm...that's an excellent question. I was thinking the trenchcoats, but I see your point...hmm...you could just do them coming out of the sewers and looking around, sticking to the shadows or something. Feel free to put them in the trenches if you want, though. I'm not sure what would be best. Anyone else have any thoughts?

oldmanwinters · April 25, 2012, 12:57:34 AM

Here's the updated pic with cleanup and colors!

(Also, notice I gave April a little nose job.)

I wasn't sure what kind of color scheme to go with on a floor and wall. I started out with blue floor and grey wall and eventually I ended up with this. I'm open to suggestions though.

I'm also thinking about adding some news graphics the bottom of the screen if I can get it to look good.

Cyber Burn · April 25, 2012, 01:38:36 AM

My only suggestion would be to change the color of the pants on the guy stuck to the wall, maybe a greyish color, that way, it doesn't blend into the wall so much.

BentonGrey · April 25, 2012, 02:08:47 AM

Hey, that's looking great Winters! Yeah, April's nose looks good, and I think your color adds a lot to the image. You've done some really nice work on April's jumpsuit.

oldmanwinters · April 25, 2012, 03:45:12 AM

Thanks for the feedback, folks!

Cyber Burn, good catch on the color clash of the pants with the wall; I did the pants first and didn't bother to recolor them!

Benton, let me know what you think of that blue stripe down April's jumpsuit. I based it off her vintage action figure design and I think it provides some nice "pop" to the overall piece. However, I didn't bother to draw it on the earlier pieces I did for you, so I can always remove the stripe for consistency if you like.

BentonGrey · April 25, 2012, 04:14:19 AM

Ahh, I thought that was shadow, I see now. My thinking is that she should be somewhat consistent in the opening images, so she should be striped throughout, or not striped throughout. You're the artist though, my friend, and I'll happily leave it up to you.

cmdrkoenig67 · April 25, 2012, 04:19:53 AM

Nice job, Winters! I agree with Cyber about the scientist's pant color (a more contrasting color may work better, the gray suggested by Cyber or maybe a blue like April's stripe?).

Dana

oldmanwinters · April 28, 2012, 03:15:40 PM

Here's my latest revision featuring some color corrections and the obvious "News" graphics.

Let me know if you think the graphics add to the overall effect or just distract from the overall piece:

While I do like the "Evening News" box in the corner, I don't know if I like that text bar. The picture's dimensions look like a modern-day "HD" cast, but I was trying to give the text a somewhat 1980s low-tech vibe. I'm just not sure if it works at the end of the day.

BentonGrey · April 28, 2012, 03:57:31 PM

Ahh, that's a neat tweak. I like it. You're right, that does fill in some dead space, and it makes it more balanced overall. I think that the bar looks good, but you lose some of its borders next that bright yellow of the 'evening news' box. You might move it up just a fraction? I like the 80's vibe it has, though.

oldmanwinters · April 28, 2012, 04:16:59 PM

Quote from: BentonGrey on April 28, 2012, 03:57:31 PM
Ahh, that's a neat tweak. I like it. You're right, that does fill in some dead space, and it makes it more balanced overall. I think that the bar looks good, but you lose some of its borders next that bright yellow of the 'evening news' box. You might move it up just a fraction? I like the 80's vibe it has, though.

Yeah, the boxes need some repositioning. I ripped the "6ch Network" graphic from the SNES TMNT Tournament Fighters game. I don't think it's the best fit for this piece though. Maybe I should omit that green box behind it?

Most 80s News graphics just used white text with no background bars or boxes. I'm not sure it would work well on this piece, however, on account of April's bright yellow jumpsuit obscuring the white letters.

oldmanwinters · May 09, 2012, 01:18:39 AM

Here's the updated picture from last time.

I cannot take credit for those cool news graphics, however. Those were the work of very nice fellow over at TheTechnodrome.com Forums, who volunteered to add some awesomeness to my art:

BentonGrey · May 09, 2012, 01:47:43 AM

Ohh man, that makes a big difference. That looks really great. Make sure to thank your cohort for me Winters, as those graphics really complete the piece.

News:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures