Jump to content
The Dark Mod Forums

Elite Draw Sword


Domarius

Recommended Posts

Much improved! Quite nice. :thumb:

 

I especially like the foot motion, and the very slight placement of the head the moment it's brought to full. It even looks like there's a slight snap back to the draw - it doesn't just go to 100% and stop, it goes to 101% and then back to 100%. I think this is your best one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, looks good, Domarius :thumb: The only odd thing I notice is he's not fully grasping the sword handle, as his forefinger is lifted off the handle. (Maybe this issue has already been mentioned and we're not supposed to pay attention to it.)

 

PS: Can you fix the shoulder pads? LOL!!! J/k!!! I thought you'd like that 'blast from the past' comment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

PS: Can you fix the shoulder pads? LOL!!! J/k!!! I thought you'd like that 'blast from the past' comment.

I'm not aware of that past statement, so don't get mad at me, but... I noticed you can see missing polys from his arm. Was that always the case or is that due to the anim??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sweet! Only critique is that the initial reach of the hand over to the hilt seems to happen blindingly fast right now. I guess that could be a believable speed, but because the animation is limited to 24 fps, the reach over happens in 1 or 2 frames and looks a bit jerky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

YEs ,the general movment and poses are goiod, but everything starts and stops moving at the same time, which makes it look really amateur. Break the timimg of the body parts up a bit.

Civillisation will not attain perfection until the last stone, from the last church, falls on the last priest.

- Emil Zola

 

character models site

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

That looks quite nice on first look. :) The sword seems to move off to the inside while drawing, but it's not really noticeable unless you look closely at it. It may not even be noticable ingame in that case, because the animation doesn't repeat so often.

The front foot is pretty static though. Again this is not so apaprent until closer inspection, but if you watch it several times it looks as if it is glued to the floor.

Gerhard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding the timing - I wanted him to draw and step back in the one move. I spent time getting the sword to come out just at the right moment as his foot comes down because that's how I felt I should do it when I practiced it. Are you talking about the more subtle movements?

 

Regarding the foot - how can it possibly move? He's standing on it to lift the other foot up. I think the feeling that it's glued to the floor might come from watching the same anim several times in a row. In the game it shouldn't feel like this since he will start running or something in the next instant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding the foot - how can it possibly move? He's standing on it to lift the other foot up.

 

I was thinking more of a slight shift. Not neccessarily on the foot itself, but on the calf(?).

 

I think the feeling that it's glued to the floor might come from watching the same anim several times in a row. In the game it shouldn't feel like this since he will start running or something in the next instant.

 

That could be. I tried that movement myself, and I also didn't have to move my foot, even with backstepping. But I think there should be a bit more moevment downwards from the knee. As I said though, it's not that obvious because the motion is pretty dynamic, and once ingame it will not be seen so often repeatedly.

 

Which reminds me of something else. When we have multiple AIs getting alerted at the same time and they start to draw the sword, will it mean that all of them perform exactly the same motion like clones?

Gerhard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, same as in T2, unless we provide random alternates.

 

It won't be so bad if we throw in a random delay for how long it takes an AI to change states. I imagine if they all do the anim at different times it would look fine.

 

Play T2 and see how much you notice this. The only time I can remember really noticing it is when I flash bombed. I guess unlike all the other state changes, this one happened instantly, so they did the staggering anims in perfect unison. I can't remember where else in the game I noticed anything like this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never used the flashbomb, and during the regular game it was not really obvious. The only thing where this usualy was very noticable was, when you dropped a dead AI onto the floor. They often ended up in very similar position. You can see this effect pretty good on the collectors screenshots. :)

 

I was mentioning this not neccessarily as a task for you, but rather so that we should keep this in mind.

Gerhard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IF you look at the start of the animaiton, the foot, hips and both hands all begin to move at the same instant. People don't move like that, body parts move independantly.

ALso, there is no anticipation before the action. He's completely sationary and the next instant is perferoming the main movement.

When you move onto one foot, there is always a knee bend anticipation as you push off, and the body moves forward a little before moving backwards.

This sword draw will only work for occasions where the guard is clearly seeing an enemy standing right in front of him. It's an 'en garde' stance he ends up in. If he's just heard somethign suspiciosu or seen a fleeting shadow, he would not draw the sword like this.

Civillisation will not attain perfection until the last stone, from the last church, falls on the last priest.

- Emil Zola

 

character models site

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, same as in T2, unless we provide random alternates.

 

Obviously we should worry about getting one set done first, but that's a good goal to have for down the road...that's why I've been suggesting we keep different versions of animations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the list again oDD.

 

Regarding "anticipation" movement, I'll do some, but I don't want to over do it - because personally I think your "thief lean" anim looks a bit too cartoony as a result of this.

 

As for the pose - I was think of doing a few different sword anims... well perhaps I should aim for something a bit more generic for now.

 

But ideally I want to have different anims.

  • If they see you and you bolt, they should start running WHILE they draw their swords.
  • If they see soemthing but do not want to give chase (because its not running), then they should draw something like my anim up there.
  • If they are surprised, like by an explosion or other loud noise, or someone appearing right close to them, they should draw it out all panic-y like. Because then they will go into running mode.
  • If they go to alert because of a noise (that wasn't loud enough to be surprising), they should draw it out slowly and carefully, since they will go into search mode.

These would require code to detect these different situations so I guess it really would be for a bit later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recent Status Updates

    • Petike the Taffer

      I've finally managed to log in to The Dark Mod Wiki. I'm back in the saddle and before the holidays start in full, I'll be adding a few new FM articles and doing other updates. Written in Stone is already done.
      · 1 reply
    • nbohr1more

      TDM 15th Anniversary Contest is now active! Please declare your participation: https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/22413-the-dark-mod-15th-anniversary-contest-entry-thread/
       
      · 0 replies
    • JackFarmer

      @TheUnbeholden
      You cannot receive PMs. Could you please be so kind and check your mailbox if it is full (or maybe you switched off the function)?
      · 1 reply
    • OrbWeaver

      I like the new frob highlight but it would nice if it was less "flickery" while moving over objects (especially barred metal doors).
      · 4 replies
    • nbohr1more

      Please vote in the 15th Anniversary Contest Theme Poll
       
      · 0 replies
×
×
  • Create New...