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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
A Plea To Fix Run/Strafe Animations
Wingtzu
Member
Disclaimer: Yes, yes I know everything is super pre-aplha etc. etc.
I just want to point out that the current implementation of strafe animations look really unnatural. It appears the animators are under this impression that strafing requires the character's body to be completely facing forward while running side-to-side. This forces the character into a weird side lateral shuffle. Instead, the character's body should turn to face the direction the body is moving. The head can then be turned to face the direction of the camera in order to keep a sense of direction the player is focusing on.
You can see the weird strafe animation I am referring to here: https://youtu.be/uFA4gN-GD2E?t=1354
For reference on a cleaner strafe implementation, Black Desert does a decent job at addressing the issue. I made a short clip so you can see what I'm talking about: https://youtu.be/3vydl_e3RaU
I'm sure polish such as run animations will be at the end of the list of things to complete before release, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to make this post on the off chance it wasn't something on their radar! Can't wait to play this game!
I just want to point out that the current implementation of strafe animations look really unnatural. It appears the animators are under this impression that strafing requires the character's body to be completely facing forward while running side-to-side. This forces the character into a weird side lateral shuffle. Instead, the character's body should turn to face the direction the body is moving. The head can then be turned to face the direction of the camera in order to keep a sense of direction the player is focusing on.
You can see the weird strafe animation I am referring to here: https://youtu.be/uFA4gN-GD2E?t=1354
For reference on a cleaner strafe implementation, Black Desert does a decent job at addressing the issue. I made a short clip so you can see what I'm talking about: https://youtu.be/3vydl_e3RaU
I'm sure polish such as run animations will be at the end of the list of things to complete before release, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to make this post on the off chance it wasn't something on their radar! Can't wait to play this game!
3
Comments
If they make flanking/backstabbing an important part of combat, or skills that behave differently if cast in front of you vs to your side, then current strafing is good.
Otherwise I agree, I'd like to see head turning.
Not something that I think needs to be addressed. If IG wants to improve it that is fine, but the animation is good enough.
This is my personal feedback, shared to help the game thrive in its niche.
They currently feel like the torso is stuck in place while the arms and legs move a litte. It feels clunky.
However, people having lobbed their opinions about this a million times, I'm sure they're aware of the general opinion. If they consider this to be a salient enough issue, they'll probably work on it later on. Although it won't be gamebreaking if they don't either.
I too think all the animations need a lot of work. However I thought it pertinent to bring this particular issue up now largely due to something @maouw mentioned. Assuming the character hitbox is directly tied to the character model (I actually hope it isn't like this), then changing the strafe animation approach would potentially change combat interactions greatly. This is something you'd want to address earlier rather than later. Otherwise, it could get too far down development and the cost-benefit for addressing this issue becomes less appealing, and it becomes just another "little thing" that would ultimately detract from the great potential this MMO has.
What if these specific animations are final? They are 100% satisfactory in their current state. You don't need to be blown away by every detail in a game. No masterpiece is ever perfect in every way.
I worry that if Intrepid takes threads like this too seriously. They could end up eternally reworking their game to appease a crowd that could never be satisfied.
This is my personal feedback, shared to help the game thrive in its niche.
The whole point of us gaining access to pre-Alpha and Alpha is to give the devs this kind of feedback.
I think I don't like the strafing pose either. It's probably not a deal-breaker, but I hope it gets changed.