Ciem 2 (2009 webcomic)

Ciem 2 was going to be the 2009 Sims 2-based DSHW machinomic created by Dozerfleet Productions that would have served as a sequel to 2007's Ciem. However, after its cancellation, several plot points from it were recycled for Ciem: Nuclear Crisis and again for Sodality: Determination.

Plot
Two years after the first story's events, Candi and Donte are piecing their lives together and plotting to marry. Candi is struggling with sexual addiction and Donte with cancer. Even so, they resolve to get their lives in order. They also plan to adopt the young Charlie Wortel. Meanwhile, a corrupt government agent named Lloyd Kolumn joins forces with Arfaas and the Hebbleskin Gang to steal the notorious "Ming-Yo" out from under the Chinese government&mdash;and frame Miriam Flippo for it!

Candi must jump into action as Ciem once again, this time to protect her sister from a dangerous international caper that threatens to literally mushroom out of control. Making matters worse, a Hebbleskin Gang victim named Simon Aardvonius is reincarnated as the termite-hungry "Captain Aardwulf." This new foe knows no limits to getting what he wants&mdash;and he believes Miriam holds the secret to his ultimate treasure! It's up to Dirbine's orange-suited defender to find a way to protect her sister from a world gone mad. Joining the complicated mix are Mik-Non terrorists; Chinese MSS agents Black Rat, Stung Hornet, Tin Dragon, and Teal Hog; CIA agents Betty Harmin and Vienna Dockler, and more. The FPB briefly appears to cause trouble as well, believing Ciem and a targeted civilian they're after to be part of some "Navyrope" organization. Helping the heroes out is a rogue former NSA agent named Andrew Tinsel, out to expose Kolumn while protecting his daughter Sandy and avenging the murder of his wife Margaret.

Heroes

 * Candi Levens / Ciem
 * Donte McArthur / Emeraldon
 * Miriam Flippo / Sniperbadger
 * Valerie "Vienna" Dockler
 * Steve McLaine

Villains

 * Simon Aardvonius / Captain Aardwulf / "Capp Aard"
 * Melvin Markus
 * Lloyd Kolumn
 * Duke Arfaas Hebbleskin
 * Eric Korsigcht

Supporting cast

 * Shing Xú / Black Rat
 * Mingmei Chéng / Stung Hornet
 * Wen Dù / Tin Dragon
 * Chen Táng / Teal Hog
 * Laurie Pegol
 * Charlie Wortell
 * Betty Harmin
 * Denny Levens
 * Angie Levens
 * Eric Levens
 * Patti Levens
 * Jessie Levens
 * Stan Flippo
 * Shalia Flippo
 * Marissa Hood
 * Dwayne Lloyd
 * Steve McNolan
 * Don "the Psycho" Mendoza
 * Andrew Tinsel
 * Betsy Stanson
 * Sandy Tinsel
 * General Xiang
 * Henry Malestrom

Artifacts of interest

 * Ming-Yo
 * Ming-Cho
 * Queen Illaka Ruby

Changes from 2005


Ciem 2 was attempted once before in 2005 and 2006, with this version starting production in late 2008 and early 2009. The 2005 version, now described as part of "Gerosha Prime," introduced many of the plot elements which have carried over, but with some twists. Capp Aard had different creators this time, since Denny's death in Ciem negated the possibility for "Dr. Leone" to have created him.

The temporary flu that infects Candi was a plot device to explain why her powers keep glitching. It was ruled that the original explanation for 2005's version didn't fit this iteration of the character. Randy and Amelia Kinto's subplot was also removed, in exchange for the Tinsel family subplot. Topics of guilt, self-forgiveness, and avoiding self-recrimination replaced the 2005 version's "everyone's suddenly pregnant" recurring theme. All references in the 2005 version to Vienna having children have been abandoned, as they were seen as a needless joking reference to Alias.

Aard's dialog since the first attempt has been a combination of that of Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2 and Gollum from Lord of the Rings. His speech became less Ock-like and more Gollum-like throughout the character's development process. The crooked agent subplot with Kolumn was introduced as a way to explain how the Meethlites would have been able to get the connections to plant Melvin Markus inside the McLaine cabin to frame Miriam.

Filming
New screen capture techniques were employed in contrast to those used in the first story, where the "C" button was employed to capture events. Under the old system, all images and captions had to be later extracted from the game, resulting in significant loss of image quality. For the sequel, images were captured with the game in "Free Cam" mode and with the UI hidden for the default camera using the F10 button. The "PrintScreen" button was used to copy each image to the Windows clipboard. Screen grabs were immediately sent from the game to Photoshop for editing. Captions were created in Notepad, by-passing the need for in-game storytelling albums. The biggest advantage to the new system is its ease of interaction with pseudo-chroma key. With the Free Cam system and a green screen room available, a cast may be composited into photos taken with a Nikon CoolPix P60 camera, rather than requiring a background made inside the same game as the characters themselves.

DSHW 2.0
Main article: DSHW The images, initially to be 500x282 pixels like with Ciem, were re-shot to be 800x483. This resulted in a new resolution of nearly 2-3/4 of the first story's. Shots were embedded on pages differently as well. Instead of embedding them with web &lt;img&gt; tags, the images became table backgrounds. One cell of that table per-page protects the upper two thirds of the image, while the lowest third (about 110 pixels) houses a "neutral-density glass panel" which contains a story text overlay. This is described as "DSHW 2.0," since all DSHW before this kept the page real estate allocations of image and text distinctly segregated. Navigation is now hidden on the story image of each story page, but can be revealed by simply hovering over a navigation area's assigned position.

Further improvements to the design of DSHW were implemented in May and June of 2010, after Ciem 2 was canceled. These improvements came to be known collectively as "DSHW 2.5."

Effects


Ciem 2 makes extensive use of Photoshop beyond the first story. The Seasons expansion pack used for the first story was uninstalled to allow for improved textures. The Ciem suit was altered from its original form for the sequel. Details in the chest centipede were sharpened to create more elegant curves. "Septagonal weaving" was added to the suit to further provide improved texture. Clone-Stamp removal of mouth and ear details from Ciem's mask were also fine-tuned, in order to not lose too much mask detail in those regions. More intimate attention has also been paid to the eyepieces to keep them more consistent in size. The Ming-Yo itself is simply described as a "technologically-wired blue rock, with plastic encasing, bearing as much power as a nuclear bomb but capable of having its energy directed through a machine into selective energy emissions." This is because the Ming-Yo was originally portrayed in the 2005 version of Ciem 2 by the Mood Adjuster that comes with the InSimenator. The Ming-Yo's presence on-screen is kept deliberately minimal, to avoid excessive controversy over its specific material definition. In the 2005 version, the scene where Capp Aard activates the Ming-Yo merely consisted of Aard playing a videogame while in front of a hovering Mood Adjuster. The Mood Adjuster in its default form was set to function as a relative clone of the plumbob that normally hovers over a Sim's head. That scene was merely blue-graded in Photoshop. For the second attempt, a more original depiction of the Ming-Yo was preferred.

Capp Aard's suit in 2005 was a traditional ship captain's uniform. The torn brown khaki pants and a brown trenchcoat were seen to make a more believable costume. Aard's head was partially a facepaint modified from an actual photograph of an aardwolf. His skintone is a modification of Abragon's Werewolf Warrior from Mod The Sims. It is unknown what he will look like in The Sims 3 and in Ciem: Nuclear Crisis, but he most assuredly will look a lot less like Alfred Molina.

Music
Music For and Inspirational to Ciem 2 features "Screaming Infidelities," as covered by Joanna Pacitti, "Light Up the Sky" by Yellowcard, and "When She Cries" by Restless Heart. Other acts include the Charlatans (UK), Joshua Radin (who is explicitly mentioned in the story), Daughtry, American Hi-Fi, Rocket from the Crypt, and TI's song "Dead and Gone" featuring Justin Timberlake.

An original theme tune for all Ciem-related media was created for the DSHW main menu.

WebCD art
Artwork for a Ciem 2 box cover was completed on July 5th of 2009. The background image on the front cover where Ciem and Miriam are standing their ground against Capp Aard and two Mik-Non helicopters is actually an alleyway in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Box art for Spider-Man 2 was used as a primary inspiration, though several details were altered to reflect that the work is a DSHW on CD rather than a DVD of a film.

Buildings visible
The alleyway in downtown Grand Ledge, Michigan where the WebCD's cover photo was shot contains the backsides of several businesses in that area. The Log Jam and Miller's Pharmacy are the two front-most businesses visible, followed by the Okinawan Academy of Martial Arts, a store called "About the Home," a photo studio called Image Projections, another store called Bead Dazzled, the Piece of Mine Pottery Studio, the Blue Earth Botique & Salon, Taylor Tax Services, and Lou's Nailworks.

All these businesses were set to be credited on Ciem 2 's Credits page, along with Biggby of Big Rapids, which served as a double for the fictional "Scarface Beverages" franchise. Scarface Beverages, in turn, is a parody of Starbucks.

Cancellation
Due to the release of Tom Six's The Human Centipede, the entire Ciem line was re-branded. The 2007 Ciem trilogy became known as "Classic Gerosha," and a new continuity replaced it. In order to make time for the new Comprehensive Gerosha and for Ciem: Nuclear Crisis, all production of Ciem 2 was stopped.