Suggestion for Skulk Movement

Bitey · July 2012

<div class="IPBDescription">It comes with a video!!!!</div>This is a small idea on how I think you can streamline skulk movement to make it easier for new players to understand, track, and shoot at these nimble creatures. A few animation tweaks would go a long way, sorry for the poor mic quality. It has to do with electronics, GPUS, and a 7970 being too powerful sometimes. Enjoy the video hope to start some interesting talks about it.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tKAWBsA3uc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tKAWBsA3uc</a>

~Bitey

Nordic · July 2012

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bitey @ Jul 29 2012, 06:55 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1954971"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>This is a small idea on how I think you can streamline skulk movement to make it easier for new players to understand, track, and shoot at these nimble creatures. A few animation tweaks would go a long way, sorry for the poor mic quality. It has to do with electronics, GPUS, and a 7970 being too powerful sometimes. Enjoy the video hope to start some interesting talks about it.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tKAWBsA3uc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tKAWBsA3uc</a>

~Bitey</div>
I understand your logic, but I personally don't think it will help me track a skulk. It might, I would have to try it. It might hurt tracking also. If I am trying to shoot a skulk, I am following its movement usually from where it was to where it is going (back to front). So if the animation was moved to the other side.... see where I am going.

I could be totally wrong. I do not know how the animations/hit reg work. I am also a terrible shot and do not have the super twitch aiming skills like some of you guys do.

IronHorse · July 2012

Great vid, but i think you're looking in the wrong area.
(I also see the skulk as pushing himself off the ground, popping if you will, which then makes sense for that animation)

You should instead look into the transitional animations.. i,e from ground to wall etc.. his actual body flickers and teleports and this is what is difficult to track, imo. Just watch a skulk climb all over a CC munching on it. Even with good players shooting at me, i can generally get at least 30% off the cc's health before i do, and pubs its often 80%.. thats insane, if you ask me.

Bitey · July 2012

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ironhorse @ Jul 29 2012, 08:00 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1954979"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>Great vid, but i think you're looking in the wrong area.
(I also see the skulk as pushing himself off the ground, popping if you will, which then makes sense for that animation)</div>

It's more like how when a critter jumps, usually it throws it's feet back underneath itself to catch the fall. The skulk only lunges away from the point of the jump, but takes no action as to showcase where it's going to land. This might not confused vets and regaulrs due to learnign the patterns by heart now, but to the newer player it will cause some basic confusion to their brains on how to aim at the alien.

The slight leg repositioning would help people learn to aim at the center mass of the skulk, instead of adding distracting leg direction that points away from the center mass.

Also don't worry I'll try to make a pass on the youtube video showcasing how skulks animations of repositioning confuse people even further then this small graphical bit. I just chose this first as a test video and a simple thing ^_^

Yuuki · July 2012

I agree that it's not ideal, at least the jump and strafe animation should be consistent, now when strafing the legs go in one direction and goes in the opposite one when strafe jumping.

The hitching is also a big problem, it's very hard to track something that has discontinuous movement.

Asraniel · July 2012

The hitching while jumping in your video is much more disturbing than the legs

1dominator1 · July 2012

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Asraniel @ Jul 30 2012, 06:57 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1955028"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>The hitching while jumping in your video is much more disturbing than the legs</div>

+1 The wall transitions are awful as well.

twincannon · July 2012

I don't have the frames or network or whatever to even see the animations. My combat with a skulk is basically a slideshow as far as "actually seeing the skulk" is concerned. Even if it wasn't there's no way the skulk would be moving in one direction long enough for me to even be able to process his legs.

The absolute worst part and what makes mid-to-endgame skulk fighting for me a huge PITA is that whenever a skulk leaps, and this seems to be only with leap, they stutter like crazy. Like NS2 bugs out and either doesn't know how or can't handle making the leap animation smooth on other clients, but they take off, and basically stutter from takeoff to your face. Impossible to track. And this happens for every skulk, it's not just laggy ones.

Yuuki · July 2012

Maybe it's linked to this leap bug, where you keep upward velocity for super long.

Runteh · July 2012

There is something about the 3rd person animations that really bother me.. Especially for the Gorge. They look like they at sliding over the floor, rather than running.

Deadzone · July 2012

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Runteh @ Jul 30 2012, 04:52 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1955186"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'>There is something about the 3rd person animations that really bother me.. Especially for the Gorge. They look like they at sliding over the floor, rather than running.</div>

IMO this is both beneficial for gameplay and makes it easier to animate. If they didn't "glide" they'd have to move in bursts as each leg pushes off the ground. It's much easier to just have the player move at a constant speed. It's MUCH easier from first person to just "glide." It also benefits the enemy players, since they can track a smoother moving target.
It's similar to how a person can juke left and right without having to shift momentum - makes much more gameplay sense.

IMO, it's actually the skulk's "bound" filled run animation that makes it hard to track when just on the floor. I made a post about this a looong time ago.

crypt · July 2012

I also got a suggestion for skulk movement with a video!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbDdcyoWMXk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbDdcyoWMXk</a> (Sorry I had to!)

ONTOPIC

Interesting suggestion, though I guess I need to see it in comparison to get a "feel" how it would be different. Agree that transitions still need some finetuning.

Jaweese · August 2012

I would add that the jump animation itself needs to be looked at. The animation plays waaay too late/slowly, making the skulk look like it's springing up and down while at the peak of the jump. Easy to see with Speed 0.5

Actually the jump animation shouldn't move the body up and down since that's already taken care of by the jump movement.

Suggestion for Skulk Movement

Comments