Mainline campaign sprites and animations needed

[zookeeper]

Looks really good now.

I think I see what you mean, so I've moved her feet a little closer together, but if she's an aggressive warmonger and is on the battlefield, I'd think some militancy is required. Unless we are trying to emphasize regal aloofness and decadence, but I don't recall those being among her flaws.

Well, I was thinking more like considering battlefield command to be beneath her in the first place. She's the queen, wields absolute power and would probably very much enjoy the feeling of superiority of not having to get her hands dirty. Especially when she does just sit in her castle and isn't really worth anything in combat. So, I think she could be standing even more straight, but it's good enough already that I don't feel that strongly about it. The design is certainly ok.

Anyway, I did want to try and see if a different hand gesture would work, so I pixeled this and I think it turned out much better than I expected (might want to check it on a non-transparent background). Feel free to use or not use, although it would still need a few tweaks I'm sure.

[ForestDragon]

yeah, the sprite looks like she's saying 'Rebel scum!...' i mean the previous one

[doofus-01]

Anyway, I did want to try and see if a different hand gesture would work, so I pixeled this and I think it turned out much better than I expected (might want to check it on a non-transparent background). Feel free to use or not use, although it would still need a few tweaks I'm sure.

It does look better on a non-bright background. I couldn't help messing with the hand further, not sure it's really an improvement though.

Anyhow, I think this is the final revision. If so, I can get started on some minimal animations.

[ForestDragon]

amazing yeah, unless anyone else has something to say about it, i guess it's good to go

[GunChleoc]

She really looks good

[zookeeper]

It does look better on a non-bright background. I couldn't help messing with the hand further, not sure it's really an improvement though.

Anyhow, I think this is the final revision. If so, I can get started on some minimal animations.

Seems good as far as I'm concerned. Jetrel's presumably still away at PAX and I don't know if he'd have any input on this, but I'd imagine it'd at worst (or best?) be small tweaks with little or no effect on animations.

Random idea: I don't know how minimal animations you're aiming for, but as a defense animation it could be neat and a bit unusual (and probably reasonably easy) to have it just be a simple flinch reflex instead of any kind of coordinated move.

[Aldarisvet]

I like zookeeper's franken suggestion from the previous page (right one) much more, though I understand that doofus's work fits the portrait best, masterfully.

Just why the portrait is made in so way that she looks like really disgusting old crone? This realism is devastating.
And now this association goes to the sprite!!!!!
And this piece of underwear that is seen on the bottom of her dress? Brrrrr.... I imagine the underwear of some very old woman, this is disgusting.
There are so much ugly aging womans in the real world that trying to look as 'best' as they can (despite the time for trying to look that way passed for them long ago). Asheviere's portrait demonstrates exactly that type of woman from our real world.
Dont say I am ageist, there always can be a place in the game for the properly dressed old womans. But in fact the only really old woman in the game is Asheviere and she looks disgusting.
I know that no one is going to change the portrait, but really, it is better not to change a sprite at all than to put in the game something that would strengthen that effect that is created by the portrait.

[Gyra_Solune]

Considering Asheviere is basically the archetypical evil witch queen who basically doesn't have anything else going for her as a character, it perhaps makes sense that her portrait appearance is that of a wizened old villainous lady who is still rather vain and self-important? Immediately coming to mind are Cruella DeVille and that old scientist lady from...that other Disney movie where the Incan guy turned into a llama, they're rather similar characters in both personality and style.

She's not exactly meant to know humility - i'm pretty sure if you told her 'hey at this point makeup is actually making you look worse' she'd just tell you to sod off because she's the fairest maiden in the land by her standards.

[Aldarisvet]

Never heard of Cruella DeVille before. Well, I am kinda too conservative. Disney is not something of benchmark for me, opposite. Evil witch is ok, but evil witch that is dressed that way... There is something deeply wrong in it for me.
Killing old woman is something not good looking for me too (I would better kill some seducing succubus than mad old woman). With current status it was not so bad because players mostly pay attention to the sprite, not to the portrait.

[doofus-01]

Thanks (some of you folks).

andom idea: I don't know how minimal animations you're aiming for, but as a defense animation it could be neat and a bit unusual (and probably reasonably easy) to have it just be a simple flinch reflex instead of any kind of coordinated move.

By minimal, I just meant I wasn't going to work on 9-frame swings, at least for now. Here's a standard two-frame defense, kind of like that flinch reflex.

defense frames

human-queen-defend2.png (2.56 KiB) Viewed 3749 times

human-queen-defend1.png (2.71 KiB) Viewed 3749 times

[ForestDragon]

once again, good job (i keep reusing that phrase a lot )

[beetlenaut]

really disgusting old crone....realism is devastating....Brrrrr....ugly aging womans....she looks disgusting.

Dont say I am ageist.

Yeah, you've done a good enough job saying it yourself that I don't really have to.

[Sudipta]

I think the new sprite and the defense frames are pretty cool. Though i would suggest that Asheviere's character details be reworked, the current queen is hardly fitting to be the arch villain of a bedtime story, much less a kingdom

I would better kill some seducing succubus than mad old woman.

Where are you gonna find one ?

[Aldarisvet]

really disgusting old crone....realism is devastating....Brrrrr....ugly aging womans....she looks disgusting.

Dont say I am ageist.

Yeah, you've done a good enough job saying it yourself that I don't really have to.

Nope, absolutely opposite. In my Z:I campaign I have a really very old looking woman character that has my most sympathies. The fact I do not like old womans in that way that I like young womans is natural, otherwise it would be a deviation called gerontophilie.
Not I desided that Asheviere looks now in that disgusting manner. In fact the game teaches to hate old woman and to kill her, so who is a real ageist? Pulling a sprite of old woman into the game would deepen the effect (the sprite itself is quite good, again). I would prefere Asheviere would look not so old and ugly so you would kill her not for that, but for her real crimes.

[Sudipta]

Not I desided that Asheviere looks now in that disgusting manner. In fact the game teaches to hate old woman and to kill her, so who is a real ageist? Pulling a sprite of old woman into the game would deepen the effect (the sprite itself is quite good, again). I would prefere Asheviere would look not so old and ugly so you would kill her not for that, but for her real crimes.

What?? No one wants to kill her because she's old. They want to kill her because she is an evil, treacherous, lying [censored] who plotted her husband's death and threw the realm in chaos. And how does the game teach you to hate old women? I'm confused now.......