New animations

[scott]

The animated gif might be constrained somehow w.r.t. the frame timing. You can make his fall look harder by allowing less time for the intermediate frames, and the timing can be set in-game.

[Redeth]

I assure you guys, the timing and speed of the fall look just fine in the animation program I'm using (Jasc Animation Shop), but it just won't reflect on a posted .gif... Maybe I could post them in some other format? Anyway, the framerate is roughly x2 of what you see on screen.

I fixed and polished the spearman ani, hopefully getting rid of the 'weirdy' right arm, among other things. Unfortunately all shadows had to go... Working with layers is still beyond my pathetic skills.. Heck it's been more than ten years since I've done any kind of animation, and back then that option didn't even exist I'm learning fast, though

Next one is the goblin rouser, but I'd like to make a few changes to the base pictures BEFORE I get to animate them, if I may. IMO it looks too much of a clone of the other goblins right now.

[JW]

That animation still is unrealistic. The gob would either drop to his knees then fall backwards or he would just fall backwards. If he fell to his knees first he would most likely fall forwards, however. In any case, this is why he looks like he has jelly-legs.

[zookeeper]

In any case, this is why he looks like he has jelly-legs.

He's a goblin, he can have jelly legs. It's probably only good if a goblin's death looks silly and jellyish, IMHO.

[Redeth]

That animation still is unrealistic. The gob would either drop to his knees then fall backwards or he would just fall backwards. If he fell to his knees first he would most likely fall forwards, however. In any case, this is why he looks like he has jelly-legs.

humm... I disagree. The thing is the gob is suffering a deadly hit from a foe that is in front of him, and who is most likely much bigger and taller than him. That's why he won't fall forwards. Besides he's such a weakling that he's dead before he even hits the ground. No time to kneel and pray. He's not being pierced by an arrow, in which case I would agree with you and he would portray the famous 'Boromir' kind of death... Now that's a 'theatrical' and unrealistic death, if you ask me.

The original ani had blood, and I intended to use it to show exactly how he was wounded, where the hit came from, and the bloody mess in which he ended up on the floor as a result, making more sense to the 'awkward' way in which he falls and dies. People who die in a medieval battle actually fall in a much more 'unrealistic' and bloody way than most would think, including 'hollywood' movie makers...

And keep in mind the timing issue, which of course ruins most part of it anyway.

[JW]

humm... I disagree. The thing is the gob is suffering a deadly hit from a foe that is in front of him, and who is most likely much bigger and taller than him.

Then wouldn't he just fall directly backwards? Why would his knees be falling forwards at all?

[Redeth]

humm... I disagree. The thing is the gob is suffering a deadly hit from a foe that is in front of him, and who is most likely much bigger and taller than him.

Then wouldn't he just fall directly backwards? Why would his knees be falling forwards at all?

'cause as I said, his foe is taller, which means the hit comes not only from the front, but also a little from above him. Part of the impact force makes his torso move backwards, and part of it makes him fall to his knees, but it all happens at the same time because it's the result of the same impact.

He's not getting on his knees on purpose, and of course it's not a 'natural' movement of his body because he's being crushed to death

[JW]

I just noticed his feet are actually sliding backwards...

...I'm not trying to be overly picky, I just know that you can fix these problems and make an absolutely awesome graphic.

[Redeth]

I just noticed his feet are actually sliding backwards...

Indeed, his left one is, but only as the inevitable result of his knee being forced to go down and backwards at the same time by a deadly force... Once again, I'm aware it's not a 'normal' movement, but it's a realistic one given the extreme circumstances he's suffering. I could make the lower part of his leg just break and crumble if you want me to, instead of his foot sliding a little bit to make room for the rest of his leg to fall down, but that would be going too far... I've been told Wesnoth is not bloody, I don't want to be told that it's not morbid either

If you take a closer look, you'll see that the gob is already bending his knees a little in the starting pic, the left one in particular more noticeably. Goblins do that, like monkeys. That's why a hit from above means he will somehow fall on his knees no matter what, and not just fall backwards, which by the way would be much easier to do... I know it's hard to imagine because we can't imitate that kind of movement unless we had the complexity of a feeble goblin and we were being hit like that, not even an actor could imitate it, and that's why it seems so strange, we haven't seen it happen on TV

...I'm not trying to be overly picky, I just know that you can fix these problems and make an absolutely awesome graphic.

Hey don't worry, I don't mind criticisms, I've thought about it and I'll be happy to consider any other changes/fixes, but to me there's no 'problem' in the way the gob falls to his death.

[Darth Fool]

My only concern is that the goblin appears to get longer as he falls. Otherwise, this looks great.

[Jetrel]

Redeth: Your arguments are slightly off, and I know this from my physics experience. The missing piece is inverse kinematics.


Yes, when the goblin gets hit, his knees will fold.
Yes, when the goblin gets hit, he has a high probability of falling backwards.

However, the backwards motion, if as pronounced as in your animation, will pull the legs with it. The end result will be the turning of the goblin's legs, with the hips as the pivot point. The torso will maintain most of it's orientation, but the legs will be relatively free to rotate in any direction, and will likely go as far turning 90°.

It helps to remember a "base point" where the goblin's center of gravity is - if the center of gravity is no longer directly above the legs, the legs are no longer supporting the weight of the body, and no longer have much impetus to fold in the usual "kneeling" position.

Good work, though - fix that one thing, and this animation is good.

[Jetrel]

One other thing, regarding the excellent goblin impaler animation - the ground plane is at a sharper angle - your unit is falling down to what would be an incline of about >10° above the ground.

He needs to fall further forward. These are so close to being perfect, please take care of this last little bit of work to bring them all the way.

[Redeth]

It helps to remember a "base point" where the goblin's center of gravity is - if the center of gravity is no longer directly above the legs, the legs are no longer supporting the weight of the body, and no longer have much impetus to fold in the usual "kneeling" position.

Alright, I'm a reasonable man when I see good reasons behind criticisms.

Good work, though - fix that one thing, and this animation is good.

Thanks. I came up with this. I hope it's any better.

[Redeth]

He needs to fall further forward. These are so close to being perfect, please take care of this last little bit of work to bring them all the way.

Done

[Ranger M]

there seems to be an extra frame mid fall which slows it down, try taking one of them out.