*CAUTION SPOILERS* Opinion, Feedback, and Reviews of the new Nuka Break Season 2

[alegendv1]

Just wanted to make a thread for those who'd like to voice their opinions on the just released Nuka Break Season 2.

I'm gonna make my review short for now, and I'll add on to it later.

It was pretty f*cking awesome.

[pintocat]

I'm going to assume anyone in this thread already watched all 6 episodes.

Did Ben die, or was it Ben in the Ranger suit?

I liked the cameo of the crazy chick from season 1 (though, the cameo of the merchant from season 1 in Red Star was better)

Is there a season 3? Their kickstarter had an update a day or two ago about "what took so long?" which indicated they were working on other things, but also that the 130k wasn't enough and they got extra funding somewhere. 

Chris Avellone and Tim Cain were nice to see... was the BB gun supposed to be a nod to the non-violent path in NV?

For those not in the kickstarter, here's the final pre-release update they posted:

[collapsed title=Update]

Hey, Nuka Break fans!  

I, Tybee, would like to answer some of the questions you have about our production process. I’m going to give you the most thorough information I can, but be aware that I must be diplomatic. We are a company, and I won’t be throwing anybody under the bus. I will, however, be having a little bit of fun with this. Just a little.  

“Where the FUCK is Nuka Break?”  

Right now, Nuka Break Season 2 is on a hard drive at the Machinima office. Until about a week ago, it was scattered on drives in the offices of our VFX guys, our sound mixers, our composer, and our editor. Post-production is not a linear experience, like you might imagine. Instead, it involves prioritizing one piece of the puzzle at a time, and then assembling as we go along. Which leads me to another question:  

“Why didn’t you just upload the first episode when it was finished?”  

The first episode was finished when everything else was finished. We have known for awhile that we were releasing all at once and therefore prioritized to fit that plan. It was all finished at the same time.  

“But it’s been TWO YEARS since Season 1. What did you do with the money? Pocket it? I bet you did. I hate you guys.”  

Technically, there was no Season 2 until the Kickstarter campaign ended, and then we got started. So it’s been under a year and a half. And trust me: we had EVERY intention of releasing at the beginning of 2013. Here’s how it actually played out:  

Our backers raised our budget to $130,000. That’s WAY more than Season 1. So we thought we would do ourselves a favor and really write the story we felt like our characters, and we, deserved. We had been doing it for free for two years, and wanted to make sure that we hadn't sacrificed for nothing.  So we wrote a skeleton for the story that included some selfish things: I wanted to play a character who wasn’t bitchy and two-dimensional. Zack wanted a love story for Twig. Vince wanted a script he could really sink his teeth into as a director, so that he could grow. And so on, and so forth. Sounds great, right?  

Then came Aperture R&D, which Wayside was commissioned to do by Machinima. Remember, loves – we don’t make a profit off of Nuka Break. We are young filmmakers, and we can’t afford to say no to opportunities. Because focus was elsewhere, the actual Nuka Break script wasn’t getting the love it deserved. So we handed it over to our talented screenwriter friend who we thought could really do something with the outline we gave him. AND HE DID! It was beautiful. It was everything we wanted.  

It was 90 pages.  

$130,000 for a 90-page script that ABSOLUTELY MUST include a ton of VFX and fights and craziness is just flat-out not enough money. So we tried to shrink the script. We tried really, really hard. And after we finished shooting Aperture, we went straight into production for Nuka Break. We had a 10-day schedule in Eagle Mountain. The crew worked their asses off. It was half-freezing, half-blazing. People had to actually pull a slave cart (with people and a camera in it) and reset it a million times. My wig was being whipped around by the wind and blowing takes. There were huge, unforeseen problems that had to be dealt with. Everybody was keeping the best positive attitude they could, but reality crept up on us.  

If we wanted to finish the season and keep it at this high of a quality level, we were going to have to find more money.  

So we stopped shooting. We were only halfway through the story, and we needed some big-time help. Our two Executive Producers jumped on board, because they are rock stars, and then Machinima agreed to help us if we tacked on a 20-minute short film in the same universe. We shot both things simultaneously, sometimes on the same day, and got Nuka Break back on track.  

“So you’re saying that you blew $130,000 on half of the script? Isn’t that poor money management on your end?”  

I know how it might seem that way, but here’s the truth: This season is WAY bigger than Season 1, and you’ll be glad we did it the way we did. Not only that, but we’re not the only series to do this. Video Game High School raised about $275,000 on Kickstarter. Then, they got enough private funding to have a total budget of over $600,000 for production. They raised more money outside their Kickstarter than they did inside it. People tend to say yes to investing in something when there is a chance of ROI, or Return on Investment. Usually, when you put money into a film or series, you get something back. Remember, though – we don’t own the rights to Fallout. There is no ROI. There is no profit. People generally don’t like to sign up for that.  

But YOU DID, and you deserve a good series in return for believing in us. Not another goofy walk and talk in the desert, but a real story, with more complex characters and some kickass conflict. SO WE MADE IT FOR YOU! We turned down other jobs, we yelled at each other, we stayed up all night, we cried (I cried*), we did everything we could make this series work. I don’t think Vince has slept since we started shooting last November. Almost nothing went according to plan, and it was a learning experience. But now it’s done, and it comes out tomorrow.  

All I ask of you is that you remember this one thing: Robots didn’t make Nuka Break. Human beings who want long film careers and happen to love video games made Nuka Break. We’re not a huge studio, we aren’t greedy assholes. We are a few independent filmmakers who are dedicated to our craft, and we felt like all of these obstacles were for us to solve internally. I would have loved to be completely transparent every step of the way, but while we were in the trenches, it just wasn’t appropriate. Now it’s out there, and you finally know.  

You are all beautiful, wonderful, geeky souls and I LOVE you. I love your weird questions, I love your even weirder professions of love, and we as a company are SO GRATEFUL for your support. I will never forget the moment we realized that the original fan film was going to break a million views. Nuka Break started as horsing around, and turned into something far greater. You made it what it is. You enabled me to learn about myself and my craft. You helped us learn our strengths and weaknesses. And now, as we begin other projects, we know what kind of filmmakers we are. If we can make Nuka Break Season 2 against all odds, we can do anything.  

Because of you, we are invincible.  

*Tybee, obviously, but also Zack one time

[/collapsed]

That doesn't sound like the beginning of a season 3, that sounds more like they're moving on to other stuff...

[alegendv1]

Hmm, an interesting read, I wasn't sure why there was  such a delay due to the fact that they kept their progress under wraps for the most part.

And for me, it doesn't to lean either way on whether or not they'll make another season. I'm gonna assume they'll take a well-earned (Nuka-derp-derp) break before they move on to any big projects. It does sound like they'll be getting larger funds/backing from other companies, however.

And I'm pretty sure Ben is dead, not just because of that machete, but also because he was turning feral (rather quickly) which meant he was running out of time.

Guy in Ranger Suit is definitely the Eldridge grandson, cause he did that mirror thing. I can't really see Ben doing that. Ben would probably shoot a rifle or throw dynamite, something much more aggressive.

Also, the only VATS scene was, uh, a bit weird. I mean just imagine: "Ok, now twist your arm around me OH GOD DON"T STEP OFF THAT LAND MINE, calmly ignore the bullets flying past us as we have no cover, click that third button, and WHAMMO, VATS activated by someone else...

[LT Albrecht]

[quote=pintocat]Chris Avellone and Tim Cain were nice to see... was the BB gun supposed to be a nod to the non-violent path in NV?[/quote]

I thought the BB Gun was a reference to that hilariously mad FO1/2 build where you get the highest crit chance and small guns skill possible so you can destroy people with the Abilene kid BB gun?