RE # 2 - Underground Resistance Special Edition

[CHEWIE]

UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE
   
Turmoil has engulfed the GALACTIC REPUBLIC. 
The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is
in dispute.

Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly
battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all
shipping to the small planet of Naboo.  Queen Amidala of
Naboo has refused to sign any treaty with the
Trade Federation.

While the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two
Jedi Knights to settle the conflict, Coruscant Peace Officer
Rykrof Enloe has already returned home to Naboo in
an attempt not only to warn his people of the dangers
ahead, but to help prepare them for the worst possibility
of all; invasion…






















































Well that's it for #2 - thanks Famine for hosting yet another one.  Thoughts?  What do you guys think.  There were actually quite a few new shots in this one, but mostly because there were some shots before that were kinda blurry and I wanted to make it a bit crisper.

 

[Dimetrodon]

I deffinitely enjoyed this better a second time, as with the first one. Been a while since I read it too, and I didn't rememebr the ending as it is. It's cool to ahve gone back reread these, and I can't wait to do it witht he other bunch too.   

[Matt_Fury]

Very cool story Chewie.  Couple of quick questions though.

What prompted the choice for the custom Maul at the begining of the story?

Also, did you customize the Sentaor/Chancellor Palpatine by kit-bashing a Saga Palpatine and an Episode 1 Palpatine?

[Darth Delicious]

First of all, some of the new shots were great. The blaster and lightsaber effects were much improved, and I liked little details, like the sparking battle droid, and the tighter shot of the Neimoidians as they talked with the cool Sidious hologram. (Nice effect!) The establishing shots were also very welcome.

Now for the negative: The new shots with Maul and Sidious at the beginning were clearer than the originals, but not as dynamically angled as some of the first. There's one shot from the original where you feel as if you are Sidious looking down on Darth Maul that was fairly effective; I missed that it the new version. I don't like the ROTS Emperor figure replacing the Ep1 Sidious figure. And while I understand Chewie looking for a more solid ending in this version than the original, the new shot of Sidious checking out the Dooku hologram didn't really do it for me for some reason. I think this could have been done in a more sublte fashion...and I would have liked to have seen a slightly younger Dooku custom, perhaps clean-shaven as he was in OPEN SEASONS.

Minor quibbles. Overall, though, a great effort. I'm enjoying these enhanced SE versions quite a bit...but I'm jonesing for a new chapter too! 

-DD

[CHEWIE]

Thanks for the comments, critiques, etc.

Dimetrodon - That's another reason why redoing these first few are fun, because I like looking back at them too; wondering why I was so proud of them at first (I found a lot of grammar/spelling errors as well as crappy photography - so careless I was!) and making some changes that I think needed to be made.

Matt_Fury - I always liked the idea of Maul in the training gear, I just didn't like the design with his shirt off.  I thought this was a different idea that might give people a different perspective.  It actually started off as a random Zabrak background character for a diorama, but then I thought it might work as a Maul figure.  You nailed the Palpatine custom on the head, I think this looks better than the EPI version.

DD - Thanks for the compliments, and I understand your comments on the negatives. 

As for the Sidious figure; I can't find my darn EPI Sidious!  I am so pissed.  I know I have like 2-3 of them somewhere in a box.  I have about 7-8 huge boxes full of spare figures, but where he is I can't say.  I went through 3 boxes and gave up.  So, I figured I would use the Emperor figure. 

The redone views of Maul could have been better.  I remember the close up shot you were referring to... I should have replicated that probably.

The ending shot of Dooku does look horrible; it was kind of a last minute rush job.  I should have done better than that.  But I wanted to keep his appearance the same, as in the game BOUNTY HUNTER, which takes place right after TPM, he looks like he does in AOTC/ROTS.

I did finish redoing #3 - ANTI-JEDI last night and will send to Famine tonight.  It might be up tomorrow, and then hopefully #4 and #5 within 10 days or so.  Then, I can get #11 up and rolling.  Would you guys like to see a preview pic or two from #11?

All in all, I think this version is superior to the first go run of it.  Do you guys?

 

[Darth Delicious]

I think that despite my few quibbles, overall it was a vast improvement over the original. The establishing shots also did wonders for the pacing.

Can't wait to see Anti-Jedi!   

-DD

[Matt_Fury]

Chewie, I'm really enjoying the story since I never got to read it during the first go-round.  You tell a solid story, and without a good story, all we'd be doing is looking at a bunch of your figures standing around and shootng each other.

Too bad the evolutions Maul isn't out yet, I think that figure would've looked awesome in those scenes with Sidious.  I'm kind of suprised that you didn't like the EP 1 Palpatine, I thought it was a decent likeness...they really aged him for AOTC so I thought the head choice was a little odd, since he looks so different between the two movies.

I really like how you touched on TPM and blended it into your story, again, great plot development by adding something we all know already into your tale.

As far as a preview of #11....I can wait.  I prefer to see them in their entirety.  Just my opinion. 

[CHEWIE]

Matt, when a story is taking a long time, usually what I do is post a preview pic or two in this thread here -

http://www.jedidefender.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=5144.0

Like for #10, it took forever to do!  I posted this pic about 2 weeks before the story was finished -



So, I won't post any previews here in the photonovel section.  If you do want to see some though, a few will pop up now and then in the CHEWIE's customs thread.

 

[CHEWIE]

Ok - this one is back up too.   

 

[Gregorbian]

Another excellent story!  I like how you parallel the events from the films to your story.  Do you use photoshop for your effects?  I love seeing the random custom guys in the background. 
My only real piece of "constructive criticism" is that you should try printing out a large picture of a forest to use as a background for some of your naboo shots.  I think it would add a lot to the (physical) depth of the picture if there were background trees and stuff instead of a blank background. 
Still, excellent job!

[CHEWIE]

Thanks Greg for the comments.  Yeah, I use an editing program called "Picture It" - it's kind of limited, or at least I think it is.

You are right on the background shots needing more depth.  I'm working on that.  In the later ones, there is much more of a background on them, especially in #10 - Depths of Cholganna.   

 

[CHEWIE]

Ok, this one is back online too for now.

 

[CHEWIE]

Like #1 Crisis on Abridon, I am going back and redoing this chapter too for a big update at www.yakface.com, here is a preview pic of what I am working on.



 

[Deanna Rash]

 ;DNice!! Very NICE!!