Update: On 3/27/24 Syama posted on his LinkedIn asking for vfx help with a homebrew project accompanied by a short teaser for it: www.linkedin.com/posts/syama-pedersen-339b8761_looking-for-some-vfx-help-for-a-little-homebrew-activity-7178565260147138560-CsAT Disclaimer: Some viewers have reported mild siezures triggered by sounds in this video. Edit: The original creator has been hired on by GW to continue the project and contribute to others. As such the originals are no longer available on UKposts, the project is now on Warhammer Community. Links have been updated. I'm not sure how this news will affect the future of the project, but I find myself feeling pessimistic. I hope I am wrong. Either way, this video will remain up as long as I am allowed to and I have added a mega link for this edit, sans the first intro text, at the bottom of this comment and the description. Edit2: GW in their infinite wisdom has decided the world needs yet another streaming platform, so any future projects will now only be available on Warhammer+. Needless to say, this is a disappointing turn of events. Putting the content exclusively on their own, much less popular, website was bad enough. This video itself has garnered nearly 300,000 additional views since that move. That's free publicity they would deny their artists in order to greedily sell exclusivity. To then put the content behind yet another barrier, this one now monetary and a recurring subscription, and expect anyone to sign up for it is foolish greed and I don't see many people doing it. If they do it will be in support of the artist, but I fear as always in the end they will be the ones to get the short end of the stick. Edit3: www.belloflostsouls.net/2021/07/games-workshop-clamping-down-on-fan-animations.html Tl;Dr: Games Workshop bought up most of the the creators of the most popular fanmade animation projects, put their future work behind a subscription paywall, and has now made a policy making fanmade animation projects IP infringement. Notably, this only applies to animations. 40000 IQ. Edit4: ukposts.info/have/v-deo/i6iEZqGJfaSawKM.html Anyone interested in helping GW in the battle against heretical intellectual property thieves? Then I have just the job for you. Parts 1 - 5 of the Astartes Project by Syama Pedersen, edited into one video for convenience. I played no part in the making of this film. All credit goes to the creator: Astartes Channel ukposts.info/the/FMtdiQILuTZr22sKUeAOOA.htmlfeatured Astartes Animation on Warhammer Community www.warhammer-community.com/warhammer-animation-astartes/ www.patreon.com/astartesfilm www.paypal.me/astartesfilm instagram.com/astartesfilm/ Download link for this edit: mega.nz/file/z951AIwb#1ap2FzWfrGbjjNA7tNAuctc8LfVI0Uag8Ll-skTLTpk

Me, who knows nothing about warhammer 40k: wow this is fucking awesome

3 years later and this one man still hold the title of best animation ever.

At first I thought "Damn why did he puke, isn't he made of tougher stuff?" but then I realised my man probably just teleported about 10,000 light years and survived in the immaterium without a gellar feild for about 60 seconds, he's lucky to have his organs all in the right place.

I would happily pay $30 just to watch 3 hours of this

the best defense against the astartes is having a ship with really narrow hallways and low ceilings

When your fan film is so well made and so damn badass that the official company decides to make it canon.

Theres several things in this video that subtley shows off enhanced Astartes physiology and gear: 1:20 Right from the very beginning, Astartes genhanced bodies allows them withstand an incredibly aggressive boarding ram that would likely shatter a normal humans body. 1:37 The helmet has full spectrum visualization and can also auto lock on potential targets. However Space marines can basically see in the dark, they probably dont even need the helmet to find their targets. In addition, they process information incredibly quickly even after the shock of the previous boarding action. All the targets are marked and divided up between the squadmates in an instant. 1:45 Space Marines drill endlessly with their weapons. That coupled with their auto-range finders and armor assisted targeting, they rarely miss. Plus their incredibly fast reactions means they can pop off a shot seemingly the second a target presents itself. Notice the guy in the back rounded a corner and instantly got popped. 2:32 Once again we see basically no wasted shots. The enemy is in cover and in the dark and yet each shot is a perfect headshot. 2:34 The rocket launcher guy managed to get a shot off but the marine probably saw him well in advance even from what looks like quite a distance away. He can quickly calculate the trajectory of the rocket and only needs to sidestep a little bit to evade. No need to dive into cover as he is THAT confident that the rocket will not hit. Keep in mind that rocket would actually do some damage if it managed to hit. 2:47 The sniper guy managed to pull off a prepared ambush with a heavy weapon. The first marine just keeps moving, he likely has over a century of battlefield experience and he knows his squadmate pulling up the rear will take care of it, if he stalls the advance then his whole squad will be vulnerable. The second marine in the column reacted instantly and angled his pauldron to take the shot. And finally the last marine takes care of the guy. 3:06 Space marines have incredible hearing too. This marine probably heard the guy try to sneak up on him even in the middle of a hectic firefight. In the freeze frame you can see the marine tilt his head right before the guy shows up from the shadows. 3:35 Marines have near total recall and muscle memory, this marine fired a couple shots earlier, threw a blind grenade, recalled the gun position and muscle memory to fire through his own smoke. Blind grenades btw also has chaff to blind EM detection, which you can see from all the sparks in the smoke, so his own helmet would not be able to pierce the smoke. 4:07 Marines do have internal encrypted channels for communication, as well as their own hand signals (battle-sign) for non-electronic communications, but they have so much experience working as a squad that almost no communication is necessary. Just a simple glance to indicate readiness and a head nod to signal go. 4:30 These two marines are hit with a psyker pressure wave. A normal human would probably be crushed but they come back later not worse for wear. 4:57 Astartes are both fortified mentally and physically. This marine is engaging in a battle of both mental and physical with the psyker and slowly pushing through. 5:17 The marine is recovering MID-air with his primary weapon loss and instantly switched to a double handed knife grip, putting his whole weight behind the strike. He also likely surmised from earlier that this is the best possible chance to overcome the psyker kine shield, with overwhelming physical force concentrated on a single point. Once again demonstrating quick thinking and experience, constantly switching strategies. ----Finally getting near the end. 8:05 That sphere probably tried to mentally corrupt the astartes in some way. But the psycho-indoctrination that all marines go through likely prevents most mind control attempts. The tau tried to indoctrinate a marine once and it ended terribly, for the tau. 10:03 This subtley shows the military discipline that all marines, really any professional military has. The captain gave an order to recall that was probably unexpected, but the subordinate didnt even question it and instantly leaps into action. 10:28 Space marines know no fear. They see a threat and react to eliminate it. A psyker in the middle of a demonic possession would be a terrifying experience for almost any human in this setting. And of course the sargeant puts a few more rounds in for good measure. 11:11 Just pure decisive crisis management. The marine overloads his plasma pistol in an attempt to free his squad knowing itll likely cost him his arm. 12:03 Space marine blood clots almost immediatly, which is what i think those dark things in the coughed up blood. Also the black mesh in the back of the guys neck is probably the black carapace, which is a subdermal organ that allows the marine to directly integrate his entire nervous system into his armor. 12:07 This marine has one gold service stud and two silver ones. So roughly two centuries of service. In a Codex chapter, he would probably be a standard line infantry tactical squad marine. But this is a homebrew chapter and hes part of an impulsor squad.

Its saddening that Astartes is the best content on Warhammer+, they actually got everything right when it comes to Spacemarines. 1. They hardly or never talk 2. They don't die by just one shot 3.They are fast, tactically superior warriors 4.They are a brute unstoppable force ...saddening, because it needed an outside developer to show GW how it s done

Imagine putting your heart and soul into working on the Ultramarines movie only to be completely out done by one kiwi madlad.

Grabbing this for historical archiving.

Funfact, his fananimation became so popular that besides hiring Syama Pedersen. GW also made his Space Marine Chapter Canon.

5:27 might be my favorite moment in the video…no dialogue, no head nod…just a silent look, from one brother in arms to another, that conveys everything by saying nothing…a look that speaks “I’ve got your back, because I know you have mine.”

The scary part about fighting these big boys is that even though the "enemy" did everything right - Identify the breach position very quickly and set up a crossfire kill zone right there (just look at how big the ship is in the intro, yet they were there to meet them with over a dozen men at different angles/levels), fortify surrounding corridors with heavy weaponry, ambush tactics with anti-materiel rifles and suicide bombers, long range mega gatling cannon, willing to sacrifice their own troops ... and it STILL felt like a walk in the park for the Astrates.

4:22 When the Emperor says he's signing autographs.

I've watched this a few times over the years, and I've NEVER EVER noticed that at 12:20, you can see the other Astartes being teleported in, first on the right, then left, then right again. I don't however see the 5th one. Really amazing details that I had never noticed for 4+ years.

I'll never understand why GW removed this masterpiece from the original creator (ONE freaking chad). I discovered this project years ago and this was my first entry into 40k. Glad it's still possible to find it !

The way the animator has made eery movement of the astartes be so deliberate and confident is impeccable.

I still cannot believe this was fan made by a single person. It is absolutely insane. Not a SINGLE frame was done without care for the quality of production but also care for the lore of WH.

Syama Pedersen asked for help on a homebrew animation in a LinkedIn post two days ago (March 27, 2024). It looks like he's currently working with a studio called Digital Bones. There's a teaser video released with the post and as per his usual specs, it's amazing. Legends never die.

I don't know much about warhammer, but I really appreciate how the action happens in real time, no repetition, no dramatic pauses. It's not something you see all that often in animation, and it offers a unique kind of... viscerality. We're shown what two overpowered factions seriously trying to end each other looks like, and neither of them is going to slow down for us. But despite going so fast, the video is still full of details for you to find if you just go back and look. It's not using the fast pace to hide a lack of effort.

One thing I’ll always appreciate about this is that it actually managed to make the bird beak helmet look cool for once.

Honestly, the fight scene at 4:00 is incredible. No Wasted Actions, no "toying" with them, just two equally powerful and intelligent enemies taking a fight to the death seriously.

There's something about the way they walk at 1:52. They walk with such authority and presence. Never gets old.

After accidentally hearing about this I tried to watch the original on YT, which is gone. Then I found it on warhammer-community, which didn't play sound for me. GW really did a hell of a job of keeping people from seeing this. Thanks a lot for keeping this up!

Oh my... In the autocannon sniper scene i've never even noticed the sniper actually has A SPOTTER on his side... That's why the space marine fires twice... I swear there's a new detail every time i watch this masterpiece again

The only movie about Astartes that truly conveys how elite these troops really are. While Space Marines often look cartoonish in other videos, even in official Games Workshop clips, here you really get the feeling you are up against humanity's most advanced warriors. The silent professionalism in which they move. Every shot a hit. Armour impenetrable by ordinary weapons. Superhuman speed and reflexes. Also their incredible willpower in the fight with the psychers. Simply outstanding!

The visuals, the sounds, the atmosphere. Fast, tactical, unstoppable. That's who Astartes is. Dark, brutal, mysterious. That's what Warhammer 40k is.

I don't know anything about Warhammer, I don't know what's going on here, but this is goddamn AMAZING! I would absolutely pay to see a full feature length film of this!

The best thing about Astartes is that the creator made Space Marine's enemies competent. It's just that the tactics and abilities of the Space Marines are superior in every way.

I just want to point out that this guy, by leaps and bounds, is a better director than most people in Hollywood. The action is clear, easy to follow, exciting, and has none of the stupid action tropes found in modern movies; no stupid shaky cam, no super quick cuts, no dumbass melodramatic slo-mos, none of that crap. It just goes to show that sometimes an inspired amateur knows a hell of a lot more than the professionals crapping out their big-budget bombs and calling it art.

The effects in this are just insane. The way the smoke dissipates around the shot at 3:35! This was extremely well done.

@ 2:45, the attention to detail is just amazing. The cadence of the firing and the fact that he one-shots both the sniper and the spotter preshadows how easily they are going to be brute-forced.

I see a lot of people praising the animation. But can we talk about the sound effect tho? It's very on point. The muffled explosion in space (I know you got no sound in space, it's only for the sake of the animation). The sound of bullet hitting the armor, the sound of barrier and psychic activating, footstep's, heck he even knew to make conversation muffled so it build up the tense. All and all, this guy not only a genius in animation but also in sound effect.

Big companies: "How is it possible to make a movie with millions of dollars and thousands of workers!?" Fans: "Are you serious...?"

that was completely insane. why isn’t there 4 more hours of this? the artwork and motion are astonishing.

The Space Marine in the white cape absolutely knows how baller he looks.

I would pay 1 dollar for every minute for a 7 hour movie of this masterpiece. The Emperor protects.

If Henry Cavill can make his show even 75% as awesome as this, I'm a happy man

i come back ever so often to watch this masterpiece....watching it again today...🙂

The brutal efficiency and single-minded determination really made this stand out for me, nothing flashy or unnecessary, just soldiers with a mission 🤯🤯🤯

How ironic that in GW's zeal to protect their IP, they've done more damage to it themselves than any youtuber ever could.

Funny thing I just noticed - Syama did not delete the project off his artstation page. Instead, he's linked each episode to timestamped parts of this very video.

I really hope that the new 40,000k series is like this. I like it without dialogue, it gives it that original Conan the barbarian feel. You know, the only one that matters. If the showrunners have watched this and some other fanfiction, we may have a great show.

Im still amazed by how well animated this is for 1 person

Not only did GW take down the originals and put them on its own site, they even modified it for the worse. Green filter, changed sounds and they even deleted the absolutely kickass after credit scene. I dont know why was it so hard to respect the dudes vision when it was already perfect. He went up and beyond for everyone. Nonetheless thank you for letting me rewatch the original!

Well, boys, this is the only thing we have left of original Astartes now. May GW not ruin his vision, but at least we still have this to remind us what was. Edit: so the answer is now clear. GW did force him into their fold in order to push their paid streaming service. GW shoots themselves in the foot (with a bolter) once again.

I never even heard of Warhammer 40k before this video. Now I watch 40k lore videos everyday.

The film that introduced me to 40k

The marine at the end has 200+ years of service. Imagine surviving 200 years in 40k Universe.

This guy got me into Warhammer 40k. GW's actions towards their fans got me out of it.

Just the sheer cold calculated way the Space Marines work in this short film. Damn everytime i watch it, it impresses me.

it still blows my mind how good this is. ive watched it probably 50 times spanning many months and it has never gotten boring or old. mind blowingly amazing.

9:57 Anyone else hear the psyker say "recall them immediately"? The amount of detail in this continues to blow me away. Every time I come back to it something else makes me marvel.

It's really cool that GW are basically telling anyone who is passionate enough to make an animation to fuck off. Pretty disappointing when a company punishes its fanbase for loving the IP.

The amount of details he puts into this for every single frame never ceases to surprise me. Its been a few years and countless re-watches and im still spotting new details that i never realized were even there

This short film was my first real step into Warhammer and I’m thankful for it.

Ngl, this actually made me get into WH 40k lore just to understand it. That's how good this was.

4:09 The inclusion of a two-stage trigger on the bolters is probably my favorite detail in the entire series. Syama knows his firearms.

I still love how methodically these guys work. it's just another day for these marines.

Legend has is that the Emperor of Mankind was so impressed by this, he made the creator a Custodian.

I really like that the Space Marines NEVER talk in this. It makes them seem even more badass. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of a Chapter Master or someone like that giving a pre-battle speech about glory and The EMPEROR and getting them all hyped - but then once they're on the mission, they're just so synced up and all know their roles so well that they don't have to say anything. They just kill shit.

Man. Sucks to think this might be the last great fan animation after the new announcements. Jesus.

The amount of detail and care put into every moment of this is truly astounding. I especially love the sound effects.

The cinematography here is absolutely phenomenal

I've never see anyone else mention this. You can actually see the other space marines warping in at the end on the pillars in the distance. Wild, never noticed despite countless watches

true talent is rare.. and this guy? puts studios to shame.

I've watched this so many times and I am still baffeled how one person that is invested in the lore can make something so fcking beautiful.

10:02 Major props to that Space Marine. I don't think I've ever seen someone understand the assignment with the utter determination that this man has.

12:23 It took me watching this 50 times to notice those flashes and then to realize that he is on one of the pillars and his brothers are also teleporting onto those pillars. I thought he just got dropped into some desolate warp valley all alone

10:42 If you look closely, a great subtle touch is how the Space Marine pulls back when that creature's face appears, makes them still feel human at how unnerved seeing something like that so close so suddenly can get you.

This deserves to be an animated or a movie bc I LOVE THE ANIMATION OMG JUST LOOK HOW CREATIVE THIS LOOKS

This so good, I watch it each time it loops in my feed and it’s always amazing!

I love how there was so much hate about this being a reupload and now everyone is praising it for being the only source of the original Edit: I wasn't expecting to open an entire argument in the comments honestly lmao

I have no clue what’s going on but I’m enjoying every second of it.

My friend Alfred showed me this bit a week ago and I was new to Warhammer 40k or anything in general. Lets just say after watching this, its been a non stop ride for me and this franchise. Truly one of the greatest I've come across. Its like everything I love in one big ol thing. 😢

they could make a whole ass animated series and it be the top show im telling you rn with all the lore we could have seasons boys

Spiked sphere: Who's here? I have failed. Caged sphere: We have all failed. The Astartes defy our touch. Spiked sphere: You must return. Break your seal. Caged sphere: It's impossible. Spiked sphere: We will never survive. Caged sphere: You must. Take their bodies Psyker: "Recall them immediately!"

Bruh, the Inquisitor straight looked at the commander as he over heard the daemons talking about possessing him. He knew what was coming and warned the space marine thus saving the entire ship with that simple gesture. What a boss, took his fate with absolute loyalty.

Mastercrafted animation. This level of quality, execution & attention to detail is straight up ridiculous.

Anyone wondering, the music at the end (12:00) is "Pilotpriest - Future is gone" I searched for ages to find it and I doubt I'm the only one.

I think one of the reason why other 40k animation don't hit as hard as this is their lack of dialogue. It maintains the mysticism and uniqueness

We need a 40k movie just like this. Depicitng how powerful the Astartes are.

I think the crowning achievement for the "attention to detail" aspect of this animation is the consideration for the interaction between air pressure and particle effects. When the Astartes first exit their boarding craft, their firing clears the smoke of their arrival Dust gets disturbed then cleared away by the blowback from that huge repeating rifle Plasma pistol punching a hole through the smoke grenade cloud not particle physics, but the veteran's cape also gets pushed around during the Inquisitor's "exorcism" It just blows my mind. I've probably watched this a hundred times and I always find something new during each viewing

Ugh this animation is so good, everything about it, the weight and speed of the astartes is so good and the sound design is amazing

4:55 The scene where the Astartes pushes through Psyker powers, fueled by pure strength and hatred and rage, shit is so intense. This is such an incredibly well made animation. It's phenomenal.

One thing I like is that the perspective is resolutely outside the armour. You can tell in some instances (the coordinated attack on the Chaos sorcerers, the scene with the Inquisition psyker) that communication *happens*, but it remains contained within the armour. To outsiders, the Astartes look like they operate by telepathy or some sort of gestalt intelligence, and it makes them that much scarier. Yes, I realise that was most likely driven by a lack of voice talent, but that only makes it *more* impressive. The creator took a real lack and turned it into a strength of the end product.

I don't think Amazon or any studio will top this awesomeness.

this video is the beginning of my Warhammer journey.

After all this years the dialogue that the inquisitor was listening in on just clicked on me. The orb on the imperial ship was the one that said "you'll never survive, you must take them" in which the inquisitor seemed to yell "Recall them immediately!". The orb on the imperial ship noticed our eavesdropping inquisitor and "took" him. So the matter of "taking" is transferring their consciousness onto a new host; that being said, orb on the imperial ship is now effectively, and evidently dead. Now I just understood that the sequence on the imperial ship was happening at the same time the Space marines were being absorbed and in the process of being taken as shown by the tentacles grabbing all 5 of them. And then that black matter that struck the main body of tentacle dude in 11:46 was the psychic feedback when his bro got punched in the face and got 3 bolters drilled into him; much like how when one of the psycher twins earlier got disrupted and stunned when his twin got a knife rammed through his skull. Tentacle dude got stunned, let go of the Space Marines, and teleported them all to their presumably homeworld. I say "all" because in the visions the inquisitor was having while being taken, it can be seen that there are 4 Space Marines on the palm of that statue. Still cant get over the fact that a single person wrote, modeled, directed, animated, post processed, and edited something as masterful as this

The fact that GW had the fucking audacity to alter the SOUND DESIGN, one of the best things about the Astartes series, does not bode well.

That immediate walk off as soon as they kill the psykers is so g-damn warhammer it makes me shiver every time

Games Workshop could NEVER produce something as good as this. i need a whole fucking movie of this omg

I love how the creator respects the viewer. Not everything is handed to you, you have to think about what you're watching and hearing and how it relates to other things. Incredible.

10:29 When GW sees decent fan made content

I come here every two or three months to revel in the brutal force of Astartes. Nice 😊

This is some of the most brilliant work I've ever seen.

The attention to detail is just unreal. At 10:30 you can see the space marine's cloak billow in the pressure waves caused by the bolter's firing. It's incredible.

Something I love about this is that they perfectly portray just how powerful space Marines and psykers are. In the game and such they're pretty much everywhere and die pretty often so you don't really grasp the concept of just how godlike they are. Space Marines are designed to be one man armies against normal foes they're pretty much unstoppable and this perfectly betrays it. A small squad is enough to decimate dozens if not hundreds of standard combatant soldiers, a standard space Marine is virtually bulletproof to normal weaponry and even most heavy weapons are rendered useless. Simultaneously they can run at superhuman speeds despite their heavy armor and can rip apart steel with their bare hands. Meanwhile this also shows you the power of psykers, you think that these are something special like powerful bosses but they are just standard psykers all of them have that power and you can see what they're capable of. It just really sells the weight of what kind of monsters exist in this universe

This movie had me hypnotised already when I saw the way they were walking in the first corridor. I've never seen such a good animation of a dude walking in a power armor...