Animations

[Pedrolago]

Noticed something strange in the swamp gameplay demo, when geralt thrusts at the drowner it is cleaved in half,looks really weird, hope they also add proper stab/run through animations for the dismemberment.
like this

http://www.gameguyz.com/sites/default/files/pictures_images/23.08.2013/1377240568_1.jpg

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

I just wanted the red devs to know that I love all of Geralt's new animations. The jog to sprint to a slow stop look awesome, the jump the climbing and combat looks really fucking good. The more I watch the demo videos the more I'm in awe of it all, and that horse looks better than RDR imo. WOW. CDPR Just wow, and thanks again for all your hard work and effort put into this awesome game. Keep it up you guys.

 

[shawn_kh]

If CDPR adds transition states between walking, running, and sprinting, then the movement would feel smoother and much more natural.
No one can start sprinting from the get go; running should start slow and get faster and faster, and it should take Geralt a few steps to come to a complete stop from sprinting. Now if they go overboard with this, then the controls will get clunky and annoying. So there is a thin line that CDPR has to stay within in this case.
And as mentioned before, the same animation that is used for flat surfaces should not be used for uphill or downhill movement. Small touches like Geralt getting help from his hands to go uphill, or wiping off sweat while running once in a while, pushing people away while running into them, and covering his face while running through branches would be very nice details that add to immersion.
Other than these issues the game looks eye candy.

 

[Jupiter_on_Mars]

Small touches like Geralt getting help from his hands to go uphill, or wiping off sweat while running once in a while, pushing people away while running into them, and covering his face while running through branches would be very nice details that add to immersion.
Other than these issues the game looks eye candy.

Indeed. Those are neat suggestions, especially «Geralt getting help from his hands to go uphill».

Slightly off-topic, but I wish horses in TW3 were like in Kingdom Come: Deliverance,, semi-autonomous creatures with self-preservation instincts. This way they would jump over fences, avoid obstacles and bumping into each other (which happens in the Novigrad footage), hesitate or refuse to jump from high places, etc., without Geralt having to command them.

 

[JackieEstacado]

Watching the E3 demo again, I can say that the only aspect of the animations that feels imperfect is the impact feeling, that revolves around the last part of a movement, be it a sword swing, jumping in the water and running in it, or landing after a jump (when chasing the griffin). If they manage to give weight to Geralt's movements and a proper action reaction feedback to the object to whom the force is applied, the animation issue will almost be solved.
Also the different animations' blending is the key.

 

[Rudlee]

Some good, some bad.

Combat seems more stiff than TW2, might be due to the lock-on, dynamic camera (for which I hope there will be an option to turn off), and the fact that 1 click= 1 animation etc. Geralt seems a bit too hyperactive, just saying. Walking animation seems fine, running, again, a bit stiff, and the transitions in between seem too fast.

Gestures make a silly comeback, characters still do a lot of unnecessary gestures for no reason, which makes them all look like they have anxiety problems... Also Geralt looks too happy... or at least too emotional, I always liked his dull face just absorbing information, and too human, he's gone from ugly to prince charming.

 

[JackieEstacado]

Also Geralt looks too happy... or at least too emotional, I always liked his dull face just absorbing information, and too human, he's gone from ugly to prince charming.

Exactly. I prefer the ape/beast like design of the first two games.

 

[ONLY_ONCE]

haha no... way!

 

[shawn_kh]

Geralt is never said to be plain ugly. He is not pretty, but he still is attractive to women. He is not a pretty boy, but he is not ugly in its true form either. He has the rough and manly look and charm. As the prostitute in Loredo's mansion said he is mighty ugly, which women find more attractive than dandy grooms. But I agree that there is too much emotion in his face compared to the previous games and especially the books. Don't get me wrong Geralt is actually an emotional guy and he paid for it with his life, but he is very good at hiding it to keep his edge.
Well maybe he's gone soft over the course of the two games

 

[didymos1120]

Yeah, I can't think of any instance where Geralt is actually called "ugly" in the books. There are times where he's described as having a nasty look or somesuch on his face, but that's entirely different.

 

[JackieEstacado]

Some good, some bad.

Combat seems more stiff than TW2, might be due to the lock-on, dynamic camera (for which I hope there will be an option to turn off), and the fact that 1 click= 1 animation etc. Geralt seems a bit too hyperactive, just saying. Walking animation seems fine, running, again, a bit stiff, and the transitions in between seem too fast.

Gestures make a silly comeback, characters still do a lot of unnecessary gestures for no reason, which makes them all look like they have anxiety problems... Also Geralt looks too happy... or at least too emotional, I always liked his dull face just absorbing information, and too human, he's gone from ugly to prince charming.

Yeah, I can't think of any instance where Geralt is actually called "ugly" in the books. There are times where he's described as having a nasty look or somesuch on his face, but that's entirely different.

He's not beautiful, that's for sure.
His attractiveness and appeal come from his confidence, his depth, his charisma and, as was said before, his wild look.
At least to me, it's like that.

 

[didymos1120]

He's not beautiful, that's for sure.
His attractiveness and appeal come from his confidence, his depth, his charisma and, as was said before, his wild look.
At least to me, it's like that.

Well, and judging by Milva's assessment in Brokilon, he's in damn good shape, even after being bedridden for weeks.

 

[Nihiru]

No one can start sprinting from the get go

@shawn_kh obviously you've never seen someone use shunpo. ;D

Honestly I don't like the idea of speed differing based on incline (unless it only comes into effect on gradients more than 50 degrees or the like). I'm perfectly fine with different *looking* animations, but if they actually affect the speed that Geralt moves at in any significant amount it will be extraordinarily irritating for any activity requiring precision movement unless the terrain is unnaturally flat.

 

[JackieEstacado]

@didymos1120

I didn't finish to read all the books, so I can't agree or disagree on an objective base for what concerns Sapkowski's work.
I was speaking about Geralt in the games. I really love the character design of the first two games.
It's original and also realistic.
I hope that they reshape the face closer to the past installments' look.
What face do you prefere, the current one or the past ones?

 

[didymos1120]

.
What face do you prefere, the current one or the past ones?

I like the facial structure of Wticher 2 the best. I don't why CDPR has this need to keep messing with his look. At least this time it's not as bad as the original Witcher 2 face they came up with:

View attachment 4735

 

[JackieEstacado]

I like the facial structure of Wticher 2 the best. I don't why CDPR has this need to keep messing with his look. At least this time it's not as bad as the original Witcher 2 face they came up with:

View attachment 4735

I agree. But that wasn't bad. It was a handsome face (may be a too large head and forehead) but, like the current TW3 face, too generic.
Anyway, I think that they are experimenting to find a formula that is appealing to the largest possible chunk of audience.
To me though, it's a useless risk, because almost every longtime fan got used to the past incarnations of Geralt and they were fine with him, maybe. The change, at least to me, is disorienting.

 

[sharpappple]

about animations I kind of found this interesting http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020583/Animation-Bootcamp-An-Indie-Approach this is a talk related to procedural animation by a member of an indi game company. I find this approach really interesting because the result can be dynamic and natural and incredibly cheap compared to motion capture. because there are so few key frames in an animation, that determine the way a character moves at a point in time, responsiveness of controls is never sacrificed.

 

[JackieEstacado]

about animations I kind of found this interesting http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1020583/Animation-Bootcamp-An-Indie-Approach this is a talk related to procedural animation by a member of an indi game company. I find this approach really interesting because the result can be dynamic and natural and incredibly cheap compared to motion capture. because there are so few key frames in an animation, that determine the way a character moves at a point in time, responsiveness of controls is never sacrificed.

It looks interesting, though some procedures like the inverse kinematics is already used in TW3.

 

[dooot]

@didymos1120

I didn't finish to read all the books, so I can't agree or disagree on an objective base for what concerns Sapkovski's work.
I was speaking about Geralt in the games. I really love the character design of the first two games.
It's original and also realistic.
I hope that they reshape the face closer to the past installments' look.
What face do you prefere, the current one or the past ones?

SapkoWski*. Sorry, I had to do that

 

[JackieEstacado]

Ah, yes... Soposki! How could I mistake on that? Thank you!