AI and Film Viewer Next Update

[steely07]

I would say if you're already running Aces and the film viewer on linux sucessfully, this should work too

[MDStampf93]

My gaming PC runs AH on windows - but I have another computer that will be switching over from windows to Linux very soon - I would use the dedicated rig for this new film production.

My local AI agents live on that PC and they’re going to have a field day with this 

[steely07]

sounds cool, I'd check how well the film viewer works on that machine under linux, you can usually live boot it without installing to try before you commit to it, interested to hear how it works, I would also use linux, but drivers for joysticks and head tracking etc etc is just too much hassle

[Dadtallica]

This looks to be fun to use. Can't wait to dig into it this weekend. I asked my codex group to tell me how it helps from what we have already been doing. Pretty cool!

CIN3 is my curernt project chat that sets everything up in the background and helps me create storyboards, its the third in the series and about to be burned up.

Connected successfully to ********* and verified protocol 5. The viewer is responding and currently has a 199.3-second film open, paused at 168.3 seconds.

Yes—this substantially improves how we work. I can now directly:
- Find gun bursts, hits, rocket releases and kill messages by replay time.
- Identify aircraft and calculate camera positions.
- Check whether subjects fit the widescreen or vertical frame before rendering.
- Save repeatable camera plans and export MP4s with authentic game audio.
Exact seeking also rebuilds the replay from the start when moving backward. That should help with the smoke and trail problems we encountered, though we’ll still inspect the rendered footage.

CIN3’s shot directions remain our creative guide. The socket gives us much more precise technical execution. Music, captions, gold cards and final assembly still happen in the editor.

Most of the filmmaking is work we already did—finding events, choosing angles, setting cameras, recording footage, then adding music, captions and cards.

The big change is how reliably I can execute it.
- Camera setup and seeking were manual Film Viewer controls. Now I can enter exact commands and save repeatable plans.
- Finding action meant scrubbing, screenshots and checking logs. Now I can query gunfire, hits, releases and kills directly.
- Checking framing meant capturing a shot and inspecting it. Now I can calculate whether the aircraft will fit before rendering, then verify visually.
- Recording relied on OBS and capture timing. Now the viewer can export the requested interval directly with game sound.
So it adds relatively little creative capability. It removes much of the manual handling that caused wrong actors, missed moments, repeated frames and inconsistent captures. It should make recapturing deleted footage considerably easier.

[Animl-AW]

Some people in movie biz say dogfights are one of the hardest. Infinite angles and reasons for them. One shot is always setting up the next. Kinda like pool, always setting up for the next shots, except infinite approaches.

[-gg-]

Bump for this idea:

Put a publish link in the film viewer so short videos can be formatted and posted to Instagram, Facebook Reels and Youtube reels.

Usually that requires linking accounts for permissions. If that could be right in the film viewer/editor, it would make it super easy to publish films.

You could even have an official Aces High account for these social media sites that we could choose to publish to that already has the built in permissions to post them.

[The Fugitive]

Sorry Fuji, I missed this, apologies, straight from my Claude, as I'm multi-tasking here

Fuji, here's how to get going once the new viewer is out - no AI experience needed, you just talk to it.

1. Get an AI that can work on your PC
You need one that can run programs on your own computer, not just chat in a browser. Any of these:
- Claude Code (from Anthropic)
- Codex (from OpenAI, the ChatGPT people)
- Antigravity (from Google)
Each has an installer and needs an account with that company; the AI runs on your plan, not HiTech's. Pick one and follow its setup.

2. Give it somewhere to work
Make a folder for your films work, e.g. C:\AHFilms, and start the AI in that folder. Everything it makes (videos, stills, notes) goes there.

3. Open the new film viewer
Just open it as normal. Help > Socket Instructions for AI is the door the AI uses.

4. Say hello
Type something like:
"Connect to the Aces High film viewer and read its help. Then open my film C:\...\films\lastnight.ahf and tell me what's in it."
It'll connect, read the viewer's instructions, open the film and tell you your kills, who you fought and when.

5. Ask for what you want
"Make me a 20 second video of my kill on Wicket. Start outside behind me as I close in, the cockpit for the shooting, then show him going down from outside."
It finds the moment from the film's own data, picks the camera spots, and shows you stills before it renders. Start with one kill - it's quick, and you'll see how it thinks.

6. Give notes like you would a cameraman
"At 0:08 go wider." "Start 3 seconds earlier." "Less shake." "Keep the bandit in the picture." It changes just those shots and shows you again.

7. The final version
"Render it at 1080p, 60 fps." You get an mp4 with the film's sound, ready for YouTube or your editor.

Tips:
- It can't watch video the way we do - it reads the film itself (where everyone was, every kill, hit and burst), which is why it's fast and precise.
- If it picks a boring angle, say so - "something more dramatic", "low over the ground", "from his wingtip" - it has plenty of ideas.
- When you like a shot, tell it to save the camera plan; it'll come out exactly the same next time.
- Long squad night films are fine; just tell it which bit you want.

Have fun with it - and post what you make!

Steely

OK, so to get this to work I have to have a subscription to one of these AI' s to get a desktop version? Right? And you need the desktop version to get the AI input through the film viewer, right?

[Dadtallica]

You don’t need a subscription per se but you’ll be fairly limited and how much output you can get on a free plan. The $20 plans for either Claude or GPT should be fine.

I haven’t yet tested on the token usage between doing it the way I was and now having these tools available, it may use less power to get the same result now.

[The Fugitive]

You don’t need a subscription per se but you’ll be fairly limited and how much output you can get on a free plan. The $20 plans for either Claude or GPT should be fine.

I haven’t yet tested on the token usage between doing it the way I was and now having these tools available, it may use less power to get the same result now.

Thats the problem I see right now...... if I have it right. While using the free version it doesnt run on your computer so the AI doesnt have access to the film viewer/ films/ or anything else. You must upload the film to the AI but then AI doesnt have access to the film viewer/game software to use the data that it would need to go through the films data points.

[Dadtallica]

You need the desktop apps I don’t know how it works on free plans.

Just rereading what I posted above sounds like it will use less tokens with the lesser need for creating and validating actual shots. Prior to this, the Codex chat would actually physically manipulate the view itself to do it.

[steely07]

I did build something for the non AI users, it's ready, just checking Dale is cool with it, should be, it uses the same socket commands an AI would use.

Have sent PM, if he says go, will link it here