All Things Art: Animation Edition
By
Abigail Frost,
Posted on: 2010-06-06 22:06 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
A few emotes for my clown characters:
/em balloons Character holds a bunch of helium balloons in his fist
/em ballooninflate Character blows up a balloon (which may burst)
/em balloonrelease Character whips out a balloon and releases it into the air
/em balloonreleasepoison Chracter whips out a balloon and releases it into the air, where it bursts, releasing poison gas
/em balloonorigami Character creates a balloon animal and presents it for display
/em balloonpop Character whips out a balloon, shows it off, then pops it and laughs maniacally (for the villainous)
/em balloonpoppoison Same as above, but a poisonous gas is released.
I don't know, or care, whether these have been suggested yet. If they have, it helps reinforce how much the community wants them.
Guitars and Keytars for Sonic Powers! That would pretty much make me roll any number of alts. I'd be willing to buy a booster pack with those options if I had to sell my kidneys and most of my heart. On that note, a Guitar option for War Mace would be incredible.
Also, why does Dark Melee have the most boring animations in the history of boringness? Aside from Shadow Maul, which I'm not really crazy about, there's as much action in the animation as a Senior Center Break Dancing competition. I can understand that from a design point of view it's more of a 'Magic'-ish power set, but I think it could stand some dazzling. I'd even be happy if they offered something like the Fire Sword animations for some of the powers, i.e. Smite, Shadow Punch, Shadow Maul.
Moving mouths.
For me, that would be huge.
The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
Quote:
Facial expressions all together would be significant, but it has to be done in a way that looks good on our models. I think thats the tough part.
|
Originally Posted by Ironik
Moving mouths.
For me, that would be huge. |
"Samual_Tow - Be disappointed all you want, people. You just don't appreciate the miracles that are taking place here."
I think some animation polerifieration could be do-able and offer some good bang for your buck as it were.
For instance; there are several different animantions for ranged damage sets that share a single animation time. Psionic Bolt, & Ice Bolt have differnt animations, but are both 1.00 sec in animation time.
Giving powers with a single animation an additional animation to chose from selected from those other powers that share the same animation time, and similar theme (i.e. no sword attacks launching power bolts, for instance).
I dont know how animations work 'under the hood' but this sort of thing must surely be easier and faster than creating whole new animations from scratch.
Quote:
The really tough part is doing it without losing our faces and reducing ourselves to the Champions model of one single face.
|
Originally Posted by Anti_Proton
Facial expressions all together would be significant, but it has to be done in a way that looks good on our models. I think thats the tough part.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Quote:
Valhallan, lol.
|
Originally Posted by Steel Cobra
I don't know, or care, whether these have been suggested yet. If they have, it helps reinforce how much the community wants them.
Guitars and Keytars for Sonic Powers! That would pretty much make me roll any number of alts. I'd be willing to buy a booster pack with those options if I had to sell my kidneys and most of my heart. On that note, a Guitar option for War Mace would be incredible. |
Apparently, I play "City of Shakespeare"
*Arc #95278-Gathering the Four Winds -3 step arc; challenging - 5 Ratings/3 Stars (still working out the kinks)
*Arc #177826-Lights, Camera, Scream! - 3 step arc, camp horror; try out in 1st person POV - 35 Ratings/4 Stars
I have a problem with the animation for Elude and Eviscerate. The flashy jump-flip animation may be good for some concepts, but the two characters I have that use these powers are trained assassins. I really can't see either of them using such impractical moves in a fight. Some simpler animations for these powers would be great, especially for the Stalker version of Eviscerate, since the current animation is way too impractical for what it does.
I also think that each Assassin's [insert attack here] power should have a unique animation. Claws could have one of these, but I don't have any ideas for the rest of them yet.
Adding Four More to the list.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by SpittingTrashcan
/em facepalm
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Chase_Arcanum
Seconded.
I'm amazed this thread went as far as it did without it being mentioned. |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by SlyGuyMcFly
This. It needs to be done yesterday.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Rabid_Metroid
"/em facepalm" is a must, we've gone too long without this one. |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Jiblets
1)another vote for /E Facepalm here. It needs the correct follow-through stance for that subtle expression of helpless disgust though: left hand on hip, head down in hand, head oscillating from side to side at a slow speed.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Weatherby Goode
/e facepalm I need it desperately. My villain does it daily. (Or every ten seconds while doing D-Mac's arc...) |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dr_Mechano
 |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Noyjitat
Quickly I'm just gonna get this out of the way. I want my official backalleybrawler fanclub facepalm emote.
.... I now await an offical backalleybrawler facepalm. |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Trick
Facepalm emote.
... |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Bronze Knight
I would love this. We need this and the /em facepalm.
|
Come on, David, You're not gonna make me keep a running tally, are ya?
Just give us the /e facepalm that we've so earned... repeatedly.
I'll even commission Samuraiko to make a video of all the signature heroes facepalming, set to music. You and the other devs can link to it in forum posts!
Quote:
Dual Blades could have an animation where the character stabs twice (Once with both blades)
|
Originally Posted by treboreleets
I have a problem with the animation for Elude and Eviscerate. The flashy jump-flip animation may be good for some concepts, but the two characters I have that use these powers are trained assassins. I really can't see either of them using such impractical moves in a fight. Some simpler animations for these powers would be great, especially for the Stalker version of Eviscerate, since the current animation is way too impractical for what it does.
I also think that each Assassin's [insert attack here] power should have a unique animation. Claws could have one of these, but I don't have any ideas for the rest of them yet. |
to 
TO THE END!Villains are those who dedicate their lives to causing mayhem. Villians are people from the planet Villia!
I don't know if this is an Animation or just a costume idea but can we have invisible upper arms? Then just have forearms/hands floating there in space?
Same for legs and wings? just imagine the Large Tec gloves with out arms! or the enforcer boots with nothing between the knee and wast.
I'll see if I can find a pic of what I'm talking about.
Captain Den'Rath 53* Merk/Traps MM, Rivona 50Energy Blast/Time Cor,Victoria Von Heilwig 53* Dual Pistols/Traps Cor, Crab Spider Webguard 53* SOA, Accela 53* Bot/FF MM,Valkyrie's Executor 53* Broadsword/Shield Def Scrap. On FREEDOM! @Knight Of Bronze
"Hypocrisy, the human inherent." "Let not this work be wasted, apply yourself always."
I'm not sure if this is the right place to suggest this, but it's about powers so I guess it would be close. =P
Basically, can Stone Armor powers actually looks like armor? Like a suit of stone, having the stone appear in more strategic locations, instead of just randomly assembling on your body. It always looks strange when there's just big chunks of rocks all over me instead of evenly guarding my body. Have some plates over the chest, covering the arms, around the belt line etc...
Arc ID: 348998 - Becoming a villain
Arc ID: 373341 - To Save a Hero
Got Inf?
I also kinda wish I could give my more monstrous characters a stooped, ape-like posture.
Quote:
Put that way, I can't get Clutch Cargo out of my head now. |
Ironik can join Spinner and Paddlefoot: Moving mouths. For me, that would be huge. |
Dec out.
I don't know what the stance emotes are that I'm gonna get when GR finally comes out.
But I think it would be super cool if I could set and change those stance emotes while I'm in the customer creator. Star Trek Online lets you change around the stance in their costume creator.
You don't want STO to be better then us do you?
Quote:
You know, speaking of the editor, we would really benefit if we were able to test our animations a little better. Power customization does relatively well, but we can do a lot more. This comes in two parts:|
Originally Posted by warden_de_dios
But I think it would be super cool if I could set and change those stance emotes while I'm in the customer creator. Star Trek Online lets you change around the stance in their costume creator.
|
Part 1: Give us the ability to use a few basic emotes in the creator and let us try our costumes in a variety of combat stances. Let me see what my character looks like in the combat stance, when running, when jumping, when flying... How about when dancing or sitting down? We can already try out our power animations, so why not our movement ones?
Part 2: Give us better camera control. At the VERY LEAST let spin the camera vertically above and below our characters, as well as a better zoom selection. Instead of two states of "close" and "far," how about having a sliding scale that comes in closer and goes back a LOT farther? The better we can see our characters while making them, the less likely it is we'll spit and curse when we leave the editor and the costume ends up looking nothing like what we expected. Letting us rotate the camera with the right mouse button in addition to the little UI arrows and zoom in and out with the mouse wheel would be sweet, too.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Quote:
I also think there should be options to see power animations while Flying and/or with a Shield out, since these do change the animations of some powers. Like Stone Mallet is usually a two-handed strike, but it's a one handed attack with a Shield out. It would be nice to see these differences in the editor.
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
You know, speaking of the editor, we would really benefit if we were able to test our animations a little better. Power customization does relatively well, but we can do a lot more. This comes in two parts:
Part 1: Give us the ability to use a few basic emotes in the creator and let us try our costumes in a variety of combat stances. Let me see what my character looks like in the combat stance, when running, when jumping, when flying... How about when dancing or sitting down? We can already try out our power animations, so why not our movement ones? Part 2: Give us better camera control. At the VERY LEAST let spin the camera vertically above and below our characters, as well as a better zoom selection. Instead of two states of "close" and "far," how about having a sliding scale that comes in closer and goes back a LOT farther? The better we can see our characters while making them, the less likely it is we'll spit and curse when we leave the editor and the costume ends up looking nothing like what we expected. Letting us rotate the camera with the right mouse button in addition to the little UI arrows and zoom in and out with the mouse wheel would be sweet, too. |
Quote:
Oh, that reminds me - we need a fix for how toggle powers are showing up on the customization screen at some point. Right now, toggles only play their starting animation and immediately loop back. We almost never get to see their constant on animation, and since many of those fire up their effects slowly, we barely get to see their effects, too.|
Originally Posted by treboreleets
I also think there should be options to see power animations while Flying and/or with a Shield out, since these do change the animations of some powers. Like Stone Mallet is usually a two-handed strike, but it's a one handed attack with a Shield out. It would be nice to see these differences in the editor.
|
A lot of click powers don't seem to be playing their animations and effects right, either. Things like Dull Pain and Reconstruction will play their effects outside of the character's body in a line while the character does his animation, and Revive won't play anything at all.
Also, when are we getting Integration's visual effect back? It's been gone for a while now.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.
|
Okay, one thing I've wished for quite some time: Could you add the old (original) animations for the Tanker Fire Shield and Plasma Shield back into the game, perhaps as alternate choices? I sorely miss them, and feel the new versions are frankly, pretty weak.
The originals were similar to the Blazing Aura animation, with the elliptical 'halo' around the character, though minus the pulsing flames that fan out on the ground around the character. IMO, they just looked so much better. I suppose maybe they were changed because they were very prominent and may have gotten 'in the way' a bit too much for some folks who played with the set. But making them an option would solve that, now that we have things in the game like alternate animation choices.
Quote:
I think they were changed in order to improve frame rates when stacking effects. Invulnerability went through the same process. It seemed to make a world of difference at the time. Maybe they could pull out the old effects and see if they can make something similar but not quite as demanding.
|
Originally Posted by Ayradyss
I suppose maybe they were changed because they were very prominent and may have gotten 'in the way' a bit too much for some folks who played with the set. But making them an option would solve that, now that we have things in the game like alternate animation choices.
|
Winner of Players' Choice Best Villainous Arc 2010: Fear and Loathing on Striga; ID #350522
This may not fit in this animation thread but I have always wished that Icon had a "Dressing Room". When in the costume creator I wish there was to be transported to a seperate private instance, a normal room with enough space to jump around a bit and see what my costume idea looks like in the real world before I have to pay for the costume changes.
Quote:
Holy frijoles, dude, how old are you?!
|
Originally Posted by Decorum
Put that way, I can't get Clutch Cargo out of my head now.
|
The Alt Alphabet ~ OPC: Other People's Characters ~ Terrific Screenshots of Cool ~ Superhero Fiction
Quote:
I like ALL of these suggestions for origin-specific animations for the Aid Other Medicine pool power. However, I will add that I also agree with other contributors in that this should not be hard-coded to the character's origin, but user-customisable.|
Originally Posted by Rathulfr
Here's kind of an off-the wall suggestion: why not make some animations and/or emotes that are Origin-specific? Currently, a character's Origin is irrelevant, for the most part.
For example, Caemgen mentioned that the "tricorder" gizmo animation from the Medicine pool power was incongruent for their character of Magic origin. What if the animations for the Medicine pool power was linked to the character's Origin, instead? That way, Aid Other could have these different animations:
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow
Why? If you want more options, then give me a choice between them, don't make that choice for me. I'm all for power pool customization, but origin-locking that customization strikes me as the worst way to go about it.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by kerc
Please fix the sliding civilians.
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Rabid_Metroid
How about a "/em liedown" emote? We see some of the Lost doing it now, why not let us use it?
"/em facepalm" is a must, we've gone too long without this one. "/em cough". It's not as good as facepalm, but I can still see some uses for it. "/em sitbook". Basically, sit down on a chair and read a book. "/em holoscreen". The character creates one or more holographic control pannels/screens, and starts to interact with it. The pannel could look somewhat like the display of the police radio heroes get. The motions could be more or less the "/em touchscreen" emote. "/em holoscreensit". Same, but sitting down as if on a chair. "/em rose". The character pulls out a rose and offers it to someone. Bonus points if you do "/em redrose", "/em whiterose", ect. And finally... "/em kickpuppy". The character pulls out a small dog, gives it a small toss/drop, and kicks it away. Make it comical. |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Anti_Proton
A little notion that I thought would be cool would be if electrical powers caused the lights in in-door missions flicker a bit.
|
… environmental affects resulting from super-powers (like scorch marks on buildings/streets/sidewalks — even if they have to be temporary).Additionally, I will make the following suggestions:
- Add customised animations for the super speed power pools:
- electrical arcs
- default (fire/plasma)
- ice
- energy ripples/motion blur
- electrical arcs
- Add customised animations for teleport travel power:
- Puff of smoke (NOT the full Presto-change-O cloud)
- broad arcs of lightning between origin and destination points
- fire and smoke (a consuming blaze) at both origin and destination points
- (already mentioned) Star Trek "transporter effect" at both origin and destination points
Also on-board with the suggestion for options for bestial postures in travel powers (such as bestial-run on all fours), and more preparatory motion with super-jump (squatting down and leaping with great exertion).
And since I have everyone's attention (for the time this post can capture it
), please check out my new Power Icon set (link is in my signature).
~ corva ~
Download Corva�s new CoX power icon pack
~union4lyfe~