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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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 Sat Jun 03, 2006 12:43 pm Animated Star Trek Feature to be released 9/8/06 |
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The award-nominated feature length machinima project Borg War (generated largely using EF2 modding) is now scheduled for final release of all episodes on September 8th.
For now, there's a brand new trailer that can be downloaded or streamed from:
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2371
There are going to be additional previews, contests and giveaways over the next few months. I'll try to post them all here, but if you want to be sure that you're informed (and be reminded of the release), you can register at the Borg War website.
In addition, I've often been asked who I am -- so here's my business website:
www.geoffreyjames.com
Here's some additional background about Borg War:
Borg War is indeed a machinima project, which means it was created using video games. It is the work of a single individual over the period of about 8 months, so there is no amorphous "they" responsible for the project. The entire movie is about 90 minutes long; the final ten minutes are currently in production.
Borg War was made with two different game engines, Elite Force 2 (a Quake 3 variant) and Starfleet Command 3 (a space combat simulator). The resulting files are then highly edited in Pinnacle Studio, a mid-level video editing program. Incidentally, all filming was controlled and scripted; no game AI was used to create the scenes.
All the dialog (as well as sound effects and music) is repurposed from the sound clips included the two games. The dialog clips have been redited to communicate an original plot line. Because the dialog is from the game, the voice actors include some of the real actors in the Star Trek series, including Patrick Stewart (Picard), Tim Russ (Tuvok) and the late Brock Peters. There are no legal or copyright issues; see FAQ on the website for a detailed explanation.
The "rough drafts" of Borg War were 2005 Mackie award nominees in the categories of Best Series and Technical Achievement, competing against projects like Red vs. Blue. Out of thousands of machinima films released each year, only couple of dozen are thus honored.
Over 35,000 files of the draft sections were downloaded. The new version has upgraded SFX and many plot changes and additions in response to viewer comments and suggestions.
Last edited by kephren on Wed Jul 26, 2006 2:37 pm; edited 1 time in total
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www.BorgWarMovie.org
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:22 pm |
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This is more of a GSTD (or FOT) topic than a FF topic.
Moved - T
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Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Sat Jun 03, 2006 6:41 pm |
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| Theresa wrote: | This is more of a GSTD (or FOT) topic than a FF topic.
Moved - T |
Gosh! I feel like I've been promoted! Thanks! 
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Voyager2004
Commodore
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 2070
Location: Silverdale, WA
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 10:03 am |
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Please tell me that's not going to be a real game?
-------signature-------
"We all make our own Hell, Mr. Lessing. I hope you enjoy yours."
Kathryn Janeway - Equinox Pt 2
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 12:29 pm |
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| Voyager2004 wrote: | | Please tell me that's not going to be a real game? |
You might want to reread the original post a bit more carefully.
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lionhead
Rear Admiral
Joined: 26 May 2004
Posts: 4020
Location: The Delta Quadrant (or not...)
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 1:03 pm |
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Sounds a bit unrealistic, even for Star Trek.
But still, tempting.
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Never explain comedy or satire or the ironic comment. Those who get it, get it. Those who don't, never will. -Michael Moore
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 2:39 pm |
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Yeah, it doesn't sound like something that would actually happen, but it looks really cool! I think I'll keep an eye out for more information on it as it comes out.
So it actually has the voices of Patrick Stewart and Tim Russ in it? How was that pulled off?
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 2:43 pm |
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He pulled it from games, I recognized Picards opening line from Star trek Armada II. It looks pretty interesting really.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 3:22 pm |
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I just realized that when I read the disclaimer thing at the bottom of the webpage. It looks cool, though.
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 3:27 pm |
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| Republican_Man wrote: | Yeah, it doesn't sound like something that would actually happen, but it looks really cool! I think I'll keep an eye out for more information on it as it comes out.
So it actually has the voices of Patrick Stewart and Tim Russ in it? How was that pulled off? |
THE VOICES:
The voices are "repurposed" from the sound clips included in the game. As such, the voice work, along with the rest of Borg War, represents a "new game material" (in effect a "mod"), which is a usage of the game that's specifically allowed by the game licenses. (See the FAQ on www.borgwarmovie.org/FAQ.htm for more information on the legal aspects of this.)
In many cases, I was able to use the Stewart clips verbatim, since many phrases and sentence are common to many different ST situations. Example: "Either way, destroy the doomsday weapon" (an actual clip in EF2) -- is a pretty useful clip for any number of plot lines. In many cases, I had to construct "new" clips by cutting and combining. Example, I might prefix the word "weapon" with the word "borg" from another clip. The trick is making it sound smooth. (This is easier with the borg and vulcans, both of which tend to speak in monotones.)
After the new clip is created, it's run through a program that causes a simple animation of the character's mouths. Then the clip is called by the programming script that controls the characters on the sets. Example:
$picard.animateonce("conv-yes");
$picard.morph("exp_serious");
$picard.playdialog("\sound\dialog\doomsday.mp3");
The above code causes the animated character named "picard" to take on a serious expression, nod his head up and down and speak the sound clip "doomsday.mp3").
THE PLOT:
The premise of the main plot is that a Borg craft runs into a alien virus, which infects the Borg on that craft, breaking their connection with the collective. The Borg are dimly aware that they've been "hijacked" but can't do anything about it because they're now part of the alien's "collective."
The premise of the subsidiary plot is that, 17 years after the return of Voyager, the Alpha quadrant is preparing for an inevitable Borg incursion. Realizing that the quadrant will need to present a unified front in order to defeat the Borg, the Federation is quietly working with the Romulans on new defensive techniques, putting the Federation/Klingon alliance at risk.
Whether it's all unlikely or not, I don't know. Certainly it will never be canon. Mind-control is a common theme, so combining it with a Borg invasion perhaps isn't inherently off-base, I hope. And I think that a closer relatioship between the Romulans and Federation was implied in DS9 as the result of the Dominion Wars.
Of course, I could be totally wrong. I did run the plot past a group of ST fans to check whether it all makes sense. I wish I'd known about this board, because this would have been the PERFECT place to surface the ideas before they were committed to the actual movie.
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Voyager2004
Commodore
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 2070
Location: Silverdale, WA
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 3:55 pm |
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| kephren wrote: | | Voyager2004 wrote: | | Please tell me that's not going to be a real game? |
You might want to reread the original post a bit more carefully. |
Ah, thought that some of the lines sounded familiar...lol
Ya, definitely not realistic to actual Trek, but with all the man-hours being put into it and how well done some of it looked, it's worth taking a look at it when it's completed...
-------signature-------
"We all make our own Hell, Mr. Lessing. I hope you enjoy yours."
Kathryn Janeway - Equinox Pt 2
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 4:02 pm |
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| Voyager2004 wrote: | | kephren wrote: | | Voyager2004 wrote: | | Please tell me that's not going to be a real game? |
You might want to reread the original post a bit more carefully. |
Ah, thought that some of the lines sounded familiar...lol
Ya, definitely not realistic to actual Trek, but with all the man-hours being put into it and how well done some of it looked, it's worth taking a look at it when it's completed... |
One way to look at it is as an experiment of sorts in fan fiction. If I can do it, anybody can. In fact, anyone who wants to make the attempt can count on my wholehearted support -- and coaching on the various processes involved.
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Sonic74205
Rear Admiral
Joined: 01 Feb 2004
Posts: 4081
Location: England
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 5:32 pm |
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That trailer was pretty good! I saw one a few months ago on ur site, i came across it when i was looking for stuff to download. Looks pretty promising, cant wait till it comes out. Shame the Space Battles werent done in Bridge Commander tho 
I like the Romulan plot in it, very interesting
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<a href="<img>http://sonic.11.forumer.com</a>
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 6:40 pm |
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| Sonic74205 wrote: | That trailer was pretty good! I saw one a few months ago on ur site, i came across it when i was looking for stuff to download. Looks pretty promising, cant wait till it comes out. Shame the Space Battles werent done in Bridge Commander tho
I like the Romulan plot in it, very interesting |
Boy, have I heard a lot of complaints about my using SFC3 rather than BC. I plead ignorance. All I did was play the standard BC for a few hours and found it rather boring. Then I hear, after I'm well into BW, that there's a BC mod that really makes it impressive. Ah, well. I've sweetened up the warp sequence (the weakest part of SFC3) using video post-processing.
The Romulan plot happened because I was showing some scenes to my pals and one guy said: "The Romulan chick creeps me out." So I decided to take the story in that direction.
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Sonic74205
Rear Admiral
Joined: 01 Feb 2004
Posts: 4081
Location: England
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| Sun Jun 04, 2006 6:58 pm |
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| kephren wrote: | | Sonic74205 wrote: | That trailer was pretty good! I saw one a few months ago on ur site, i came across it when i was looking for stuff to download. Looks pretty promising, cant wait till it comes out. Shame the Space Battles werent done in Bridge Commander tho
I like the Romulan plot in it, very interesting |
Boy, have I heard a lot of complaints about my using SFC3 rather than BC. I plead ignorance. All I did was play the standard BC for a few hours and found it rather boring. Then I hear, after I'm well into BW, that there's a BC mod that really makes it impressive. Ah, well. I've sweetened up the warp sequence (the weakest part of SFC3) using video post-processing.
The Romulan plot happened because I was showing some scenes to my pals and one guy said: "The Romulan chick creeps me out." So I decided to take the story in that direction. |
Yeah i agree BC is pretty crap without the right mods. and the romulan thing thank ur mate for making you do it. lol.
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:28 am |
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| Quote: | | thank ur mate for making you do it. lol. |
He's one of the characters in the movie! He's the square-jawed lieutenant helmsman on the Enterprise bridge. In real life, he's a very talented martial artist, so in the movie a borg drone throws him around like beanbag. But he doesn't mind because he's also one of the Starfleet officers getting a table dance in the Klingon bar scene (check out the trailer carefully...).
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Thu Jul 06, 2006 3:40 pm |
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I promised to keep this board informed about the latest Borg War news. The world's largest distributor of machinima, the online video network Machinima.com, has agreed, for the first time in its history, to feature a machinima project -- Borg War -- as a weekly event. Here's the official press release:
Borg Assimilates Online Video Network
Machinima.Com To Distribute Borg War, An Animated Star Trek Feature-Length Fan Film
LOS ANGELES - June 28, 2006 (INB) -- Machinima.com, the largest machinima video distribution network, announces an exclusive agreement to host Borg War, the world's first feature-length animated Star Trek adventure starring the voice of Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard.
Borg War depicts the continuing adventures of the Enterprise seventeen years after the end of final episode of Voyager. In the animated movie, the Federation is invaded by a group of rogue Borg that has been infected by a predatory alien virus.
Borg War is unique among Star Trek fan films in that it recycles sound clips from the computer games, allowing the original actors to "reprise" their roles. Early episodes of Borg War were honored award nominations in the categories of "Best Series" and "Technical Achievement" at the 2005 Machinima Film Festival.
The online broadcast of Borg War will premiere on Friday, September 8th, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the first Star Trek television broadcast. Each following Friday at 6:00 p.m. Pacific, Machinima.com will release successive episodes and host a live forum, featuring the film's creator, Geoffrey James. The entire movie will span nine weeks, similarly to a cable channel series.
The exclusive agreement and weekly event is a first for Machinima.com which (with several hundred thousand downloads a month) is the community focal point for the rapidly- machinima, a filmmaking technique that harnesses the 3D rendering power of computer games to create a new type of video entertainment.
www.BorgWarMovie.org
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Fri Sep 01, 2006 2:15 pm |
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It�s now just a week before the exclusive premiere of Borg War on Machinima.com which has set up a top-level forum topic to discuss the movie. I�ve already posted a lot of information there (mostly about the machinima process by which I built the movie), so if you�re interested in learning more about the Borg War project, you should check it out. Here�s the link:
http://www.machinima.com/PHPBB/viewforum.php?f=35
The movie (which is 93 minutes long) is being released in 9 episodes, each roughly ten minutes long. Here�s a link to the preview of the first episode.
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=4568
Here�s some additional background about Episode 1:
Borg War takes place 17 years after the return of Voyager. In the alternative (i.e. non-canon) universe where Borg War takes place, the Federation (as well as the other key races) are well aware that the Borg, after regrouping, will eventually attempt to expand into the Alpha quadrant. The obvious approach to combating a race that adapts is to make every hit lethal, so Alpha quadrant starships have been optimized for massive power generation and mounted with 360 degree hard-points. In addition, much research has gone into new types of weaponry and hybrid weaponry. The Klingons, for example, have developed two new weapons: a proximity-fused armor-penetrating photon torpedo (which explodes from inside the penetrated ship) and a massive version of the ion-cannon, a stationary weapon intended to destroy dreadnaughts at a single hit. We see both these weapons in action in Episode 1. Any comments?
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Admiral Dani�l
Dutch Admiral
Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 2177
Location: Borg Cube 31572 - Join us now!
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| Fri Sep 01, 2006 2:36 pm |
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I saw the 3 episodes that are released on ef2filecentral... and the Archeopandra as a Borg Drone? lol...
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Fri Sep 01, 2006 3:10 pm |
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| Admiral Dani�l wrote: | | I saw the 3 episodes that are released on ef2filecentral... and the Archeopandra as a Borg Drone? lol... |
Yup, good ol' Archie has infected the Borg. And gotten a skin condition.
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:16 am |
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| kephren wrote: | | Admiral Dani�l wrote: | | I saw the 3 episodes that are released on ef2filecentral... and the Archeopandra as a Borg Drone? lol... |
Yup, good ol' Archie has infected the Borg. And gotten a skin condition. |
It occurred to me that somebody might want to know who we're talking about. Here's the Borg-Archeopendra:
Geoffrey
http://www.BorgWarMovie.org
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:20 pm |
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I thought that some readers might appreciate a couple of more stills from the movie before checking it out. Archie is just too ugly... Here they are:
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=2371
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Fri Sep 15, 2006 10:12 am Episode 2 is late |
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For some reason, Episode 2 didn't get posted at midnight last night, so here's a blooper outtake to tide you over until it comes up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRYW0rQ_6-U
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kephren
Senior Cadet
Joined: 03 Jun 2006
Posts: 23
Location: Hollis NH
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| Fri Sep 15, 2006 11:48 am Borg War Episode 2 is now live. |
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Borg War Episode 2 is now live.
Summary: Jureth, eldest son of the House of Mi'qoch, suspecting that the Empire faces a Borg invasion, calls upon the Federation for help. Captain Picard sends Captain Tuvok to investigate using the Dallas, a Defiant-class ship highly modified for reconnaissance in Borg space. Meanwhile, General Mi'qoch (patriarch of the House) must use the power of the Empire's heaviest-armed Starbase to defeat a Borg menace unlike any the Alpha quadrant has seen before.
Download or stream it from here:
http://www.machinima.com/films.php?id=4992
By the way, Borg War Episode 1 broke all the records for weekend views on Machinima.com -- the equivalent (in the world of Machinima animation) of getting top boxoffice receipts.
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