Sleepwalker's randomness

[Sleepwalker]

Soo, back to this stuff.

Homonculus, thank you for your in depth critique. Coming back to this I did see some of the things irking you. I did come to the conclusion the ears were off as hell, and with that the jaw. Reading through the other things you pointed out i tried to address them. I left the cheekbone on the female as it is but i changed the males a bit among with a bunch of other features, without changing the spirit or original intent with the faces.

Sorry for my stubbornness

Also covered more skin.

I'll look at the Zephir with your suggestions.

Thanks Shadowmaster, I'm happy that we're looking at them the same way.

[Kanzil]

I'm not sure whether, at this late stage in the process of creating the portrait, this remark will be of any use, but to me, it seems the right demon is, in retrospect, a little too human, when compared to the one on the left. of course, this fits perfectly with the description of them as verging on beautiful, but not with the savagery(or venom) depicted in the other portraits.

[homunculus]

well, yeah, the previous huge gap between the ears and the horns does not attract attention anymore http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-1670386 ... -face.html

[Iris]

Uh, right, I haven’t replied to this update yet.

They look nice.

[Sleepwalker]

Homonculus: Hmm i never looked at any goat pics drawing any of these, maybe i should've?

Shadowmaster: Cool

Kanzil: I'm not sure what makes you think that demon is more human than the rest? Anatomically? I would think variances exist in demonkind too, looking more or less human (or elvish actually, being distant kin). Maybe you think so because her expression is marginally softer than the rest.


I finished that Nightblade animation I was doing, as well as a defend one. I figured it could be an alternate defend and I will make one with the usual 2 frame sidestep as well.

EDIT: Reuploaded rar file with fixed image as the tip of his blade was cropped out at the peak of the jump.

[Zerovirus]

Oh my goodness. I love the speed blurs you did on that blade- very stylish! The defense animation almost looks like it could be an idle, haha.

[homunculus]

[...]The defense animation almost looks like it could be an idle, haha.

yeah, well, did some quick try on increasing the movement range, but it might still be too little for a lev 3 assassin, as well as to visually avoid some attack animations.

[Kanzil]

You're completely right Sleepwalker, that's precisely why. It's also because she seems to have softer skin on her face, rather than that hard and pitted skin of previous portraits. It just seems a little out of place on her spike-filled body. It's also the suggestion of ears, which can just be seen through its hair, which, due to their pointed tips, for me, immediately conjure images of elves. Your explanation makes sense, the fact that they would have some kind of genetic variation(how are they created anyway?) certainly accounts for the slightly elven/less harsh appearance.

[Iris]

how are they created anyway?

Same way as everyone else. They are not magical constructs, so they aren’t created by someone; they can be summoned, though.

[Alarantalara]

I've committed the nightblade and its attack animation as a replacement for the old Dark Assassin images in Under the Burning Suns. I've included the images for the defense, but haven't wired them in yet since I'm unsure as to how strict the 2-frame defense standard is.

[Sleepwalker]

Zerovirus: Yup, Tried something slightly different and I like the results.

Kanzil: Perhaps it will be different when shaded, we will see.

Hmm yeah its true the jump is too small. I redid it following Homonculus demonstration but adding some details and bulk. Hmmm not sure how good the small one would be as an idle.

Also made a 2 frame defend.

[Sulik]

@ Sleepwalker your Nightblade has really cool animations. I would be glad seeing him in the newest version of BfW. since i play Wesnoth, I always wanted to make some 3rd lvl units, but i'm not enough keen in making images. About stats of Nightblade we still have time to think what would be the best for him. Will be good, as you said, compare him with outlaw Assasin and unit which have also 1st lvl for 17 gold e.g Elvish Archer. Giving him ability would be nice, beacause only rising his attacks would not make him much more usefull and preffered than his cheaper levels.

About throwing knifes is not difficult decisions. One hit more for more succesfull insaining or few dmg more.
Dagger is most important here. More damage to counter fighters? Poison dagger to make Nightblade more untouchable? Backstab is not bad idea ,but since 1st lvl for this unit, most important thing is to insane enemies. Also backstab needs skirmisher ability.

[Sleepwalker]

Some more stuff coming up, he got his throw animation done and I tweaked the duck defend a bit, making his far leg become darker as he bends down. Graphically he's usable as an advancement now, having required defend and attack animations. Just missing a kick animation for now... I'll make a unit cfg file for it soon.

Alarantalara: Thanks for committing and sorry for missing it earlier

Sulik: Thanks, hmm poisoning the melee attack seems interesting and exploitable. it might make it very annoying to face as an enemy though... The damage increase on the attack when leveling up might have to stay small in that case, if he is to have a movement increase. I'm still not sure about the abilities and stats.

[Shinobody]

Wow, this looks great! Sure, throw animation is more on the "flashy" side rather than "realistic" side, but otherwise it's really cool.

[homunculus]

Now I am confused, so far I had been guessing that you might be attempting a more sloppy (barbaric) looking orkish kung fu ( = as sloppy as it can get while it still does the job), but the last throw animation looks very graceful.

If ballet (or wushu) movements are the orkish assassin style, then
1) A reasonably fit person can hit his own face with his knee like the jump defense animation, and this kind of jump (knees to the chest, not face, really) is not a rare exercise in sports clubs, no idea why you made the movement range so small in first version.
2) The defense animation could be much lower, a reasonably fit and flexible person could put his body flat very close to the ground (afaik in kung-fu, it is preferred if the body is upright while hips are lower, but this may depend on style).

So, I am wondering what your plan is exactly.