21 replies to this topic

[Alistair Winter]

https://instagram.com/p/5F-_xWjPsK/

First preview is up. I'm really excited. I know we'll know soon enough, but the speculation is part of the fun, so....

How big is the Shadowcat? Can someone with Premium time do a comparison to see other mechs from that exact angle?



Somewhere between a Wolverine and a Cicada? Definitely looks bigger than the Cicada, which I anticipated. It's 5 tons heavier, after all.

[Tennex]

really early to say just yet. But i sure hope it isn't taller than the wolverine

[Alistair Winter]

Tennex, on 13 July 2015 - 03:55 PM, said:

really early to say just yet.

Nonsense! We just need to enhance.

[Tennex]

Here it is right before JJ next to building if it helps

Edited by Tennex, 13 July 2015 - 04:25 PM.

[MoonUnitBeta]

Wow. That walking animation just saddens me and broke my heart.

Does it even use its knee? Where's the predatorial ankle/toe claw look shown in the concept? Where's the long outstretched stalker stride? Just more factory produced tippy toey, hippity hoppity animation.
Man this is really getting under my skin. The only bloody mech that I had any high hopes for turns out to be this placid, dull, boring, unimaginatively animated dork on stilts with lego slidey shoulders and pendulum feet.

!@#%!

On topic: I don't care about size comparison anymore. The shadow cat is DOA for me.

Edited by MoonUnitBeta, 13 July 2015 - 04:58 PM.

[Tennex]

Gonna predict its slightly taller than the hunchback

Edited by Tennex, 13 July 2015 - 06:45 PM.

[Gladewolf]

....slightly bigger than a Hunchback?!?.....erm, I'll wait till I see it.

[Tennex]

Gladewolf, on 13 July 2015 - 04:52 PM, said:

....slightly bigger than a Hunchback?!?.....erm, I'll wait till I see it.

Whelp, Honestly i'd be happy if it was hunchback height or shorter. But i've come to expect large mediums from PGI and it wouldn't suprise me if it was taller than the hunchback

Edited by Tennex, 13 July 2015 - 04:54 PM.

[Xetelian]

Gladewolf, on 13 July 2015 - 04:52 PM, said:

....slightly bigger than a Hunchback?!?.....erm, I'll wait till I see it.

I've seriously considered whether to ask for a refund.

I wont because I'm not a jackass but dammit if I am not disappointed.

[Gamuray]

Xetelian, on 13 July 2015 - 06:40 PM, said:

I've seriously considered whether to ask for a refund.

I wont because I'm not a jackass but dammit if I am not disappointed.

Technically, if they don't provide what you bought, your not the one in the wrong and have every right to ask for a refund. Though they only say your buying a mech with certain hardpoints etc. They don't promise their modeling or animation will be any good. (and since they've literally been having votes to fix those problems, you shouldn't expect it either)

[bad arcade kitty]

seems smaller than hunch, just like on the op pic too



but it's ugly reminds maddog a bit except the dog is pretty

[Alistair Winter]

MoonUnitBeta, on 13 July 2015 - 04:37 PM, said:

Wow. That walking animation just saddens me and broke my heart.
Does it even use its knee? Where's the predatorial ankle/toe claw look shown in the concept? Where's the long outstretched stalker stride? Just more factory produced tippy toey, hippity hoppity animation.
Man this is really getting under my skin. The only bloody mech that I had any high hopes for turns out to be this placid, dull, boring, unimaginatively animated dork on stilts with lego slidey shoulders and pendulum feet.

!@#%!

On topic: I don't care about size comparison anymore. The shadow cat is DOA for me.

See, some people get really irritated by this kind of reaction. But for me, whether or not you disagree with the actual objections, I think everyone has to at least sympathize with the level of artistic appreciation some players have for mech design and acknowledge that some of the feedback from the players, even when negative, can be very precise and well thought out. I can see why people get annoyed at baseless, YouTube-quality criticism like "Meh, it looks ugly". But when I see players who have such a deep passion for the visual artistry that they basically can't play a mech unless they love the way it looks - even its animations which they themselves will never see from first person view - I personally respect that a lot and empathize with it.

Certain players couldn't give two sh**s about what kind of walking animation their mech has, so long as it has good hardpoint locations, endo-steel and decent quirks. I don't see how that approach is any more valid than the players who are willing to make just about any mech work, regardless of whether it has crappy hitboxes or too few hardpoints, so long as it looks beautiful.

I guess what I'm saying is that this post is negative on the face of it, but it's negativity born from something really positive, if that makes sense.

As for the animation, I didn't really pay too much attention to it at first. But I do agree that it does look very stiff and awkward. I would have loved to see some longer strides, more smooth and feline steps. The hips seem almost locked in place, it's weird.

Xetelian, on 13 July 2015 - 06:40 PM, said:

I've seriously considered whether to ask for a refund.
I wont because I'm not a jackass but dammit if I am not disappointed.

Why disappointed?

[Axeface]

Looks like the first mech to not get the hyper-pelvis syndrome. Other mechs have had massive pelvis', Ice Ferrt as the extreme example. Anims looks very uninspired.

Edited by Axeface, 13 July 2015 - 07:28 PM.

[One Medic Army]

Looks a tad shorter than the hunch from the video. I think Tennex's infinite point is a bit too close.

[Edit] Double-checked the projections, looks like Tennex is right and it'll be just slightly taller at the shoulder than a Hunchback. The shoulders come up to about halfway up the row of windows, and the hunchback's hunch is at the bottom of the row of windows. Call it ~3-4' difference.

Edited by One Medic Army, 13 July 2015 - 10:06 PM.

[bad arcade kitty]

also, stolen from this http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__4560926 post, they already posted some animations ages ago... doesn't look bad
https://instagram.com/p/4H4leKDPkr/
https://instagram.com/p/4H5tdPDPm6/

[xXBagheeraXx]

Alistair Winter, on 13 July 2015 - 07:18 PM, said:

See, some people get really irritated by this kind of reaction. But for me, whether or not you disagree with the actual objections, I think everyone has to at least sympathize with the level of artistic appreciation some players have for mech design and acknowledge that some of the feedback from the players, even when negative, can be very precise and well thought out. I can see why people get annoyed at baseless, YouTube-quality criticism like "Meh, it looks ugly". But when I see players who have such a deep passion for the visual artistry that they basically can't play a mech unless they love the way it looks - even its animations which they themselves will never see from first person view - I personally respect that a lot and empathize with it.

Certain players couldn't give two sh**s about what kind of walking animation their mech has, so long as it has good hardpoint locations, endo-steel and decent quirks. I don't see how that approach is any more valid than the players who are willing to make just about any mech work, regardless of whether it has crappy hitboxes or too few hardpoints, so long as it looks beautiful.

I guess what I'm saying is that this post is negative on the face of it, but it's negativity born from something really positive, if that makes sense.

As for the animation, I didn't really pay too much attention to it at first. But I do agree that it does look very stiff and awkward. I would have loved to see some longer strides, more smooth and feline steps. The hips seem almost locked in place, it's weird.


Why disappointed?

I dont own or drive Thors simply because they are FUGLY. I was also very disappointing in the way the Zeus came out. It looked nowhere near as good as its concept art and will also probably never own any.

And refunding things doesnt make you a douchebag. After the Timberwolf mega-nerf I immediatly refunded my mauler pack because I didn't like the direction the game was going. Now that they reversed them a bit, after I see how they "behave" when IIC mechs come to determine if I repurchase them.

[MoonUnitBeta]

Alistair Winter, on 13 July 2015 - 07:18 PM, said:

I guess what I'm saying is that this post is negative on the face of it, but it's negativity born from something really positive, if that makes sense.

As for the animation, I didn't really pay too much attention to it at first. But I do agree that it does look very stiff and awkward. I would have loved to see some longer strides, more smooth and feline steps. The hips seem almost locked in place, it's weird.

Thank you. And yes, while it is a fit of rage, it's coming from a soft spot.

I have tweeted, posted, and have been incredibly verbal (and optimistic!) about my expectations for the walking animation, and I was getting real excited that this mech could be one of those mechs that shows up packin' a huge amount of sass and character. Most of that character and visual separation was largely dependent on the walking animation, but lo and behold we now see it was a huge wasted opportunity.

So, I suppose I'm more flabbergasted at how they could have just thrown something like this out the window. I'm admittedly frustrated that characteristics like this take a back seat, and not only that, are approved to continue onto production. They're deemed acceptable with very little concern about delivering content that's above average. Sure. It's a walking animation. But it's nothing more than that.
If I can take a line from a power point presentation that I made for a airlines manager, "going from 'good', to 'GREAT'.". (True story: While his presentation was good, I made it GREAT by voluntarily completely redoing all of his graphics, adding transitions, and choosing new fonts and better sizes so it was professional and presentable. He then gave me his card, and offered me a job to work by his side.)
I guess it's that extra step that I'd like to see PGI take. And I guess I'm upset because this was one of those things that seemed obvious, but ended up being glazed over and passed through at the same standard as everything else.

[Axeface]

MoonUnitBeta, on 13 July 2015 - 08:23 PM, said:

I guess it's that extra step that I'd like to see PGI take. And I guess I'm upset because this was one of those things that seemed obvious, but ended up being glazed over and passed through at the same standard as everything else.

Some people simply have higher standards. I do. And the 'good enough' attitude is something that drives me insane, I want the best for my favourite franchise. It's the reason I was mad about hte enforcer cockpit while many others thought it was 'alright'. I want the best for everything I hold to high esteem, maybe it's because I play games too much, or maybe it's because I want the medium of video games to progress - and I haven't seen near enough progression over the last few years... just look at the MMO market, and the effect it has on excellent franchises like Dragon Age......
Something as simple as a walking anim should be given.

xXBagheeraXx, on 13 July 2015 - 08:22 PM, said:

And refunding things doesnt make you a douchebag. After the Timberwolf mega-nerf I immediatly refunded my mauler pack because I didn't like the direction the game was going. Now that they reversed them a bit, after I see how they "behave" when IIC mechs come to determine if I repurchase them.

It's slightly offtopic but I really want to know what you mean. You cancelled the Mauler package pre-order because the Timberwolf got nerfed? Can you explain this reaction and what you mean by 'direction the game was going'?

Edited by Axeface, 13 July 2015 - 08:35 PM.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

It has a clan XL engine, so expect it to be wider and/or taller than an IS mech of similar weight. That's how PGI tries to balance clan XL durability.

[Alan Davion]

Axeface, on 13 July 2015 - 08:28 PM, said:

Some people simply have higher standards. I do. And the 'good enough' attitude is something that drives me insane, I want the best for my favourite franchise. It's the reason I was mad about hte enforcer cockpit while many others thought it was 'alright'. I want the best for everything I hold to high esteem, maybe it's because I play games too much, or maybe it's because I want the medium of video games to progress - and I haven't seen near enough progression over the last few years... just look at the MMO market, and the effect it has on excellent franchises like Dragon Age......
Something as simple as a walking anim should be given.

It's slightly offtopic but I really want to know what you mean. You cancelled the Mauler package pre-order because the Timberwolf got nerfed? Can you explain this reaction and what you mean by 'direction the game was going'?

Bolded for reference.

The same thing happened during that Phoenix poll a couple months ago. Those nerfs hit the same day the poll went up and people were frothing at the mouth over it. People even posted on the forums specifically stating they were voting no just because their uber-mech got slapped down a notch. Pretty much out of pure spite.

It's the whole min/max mentality at work... The whole MLG/eSports thing doesn't help either, but that's beside the point.

Peoples favorite and/or best performing mechs got their effectiveness reduced a bit and they didn't like it, which they are within their rights to do, but at the same time, the game mechanics themselves were broken enough to allow that sort of thing, and it shouldn't have been allowed to begin with.

Until the core game mechanics that allow this sort of thing are fixed, you're going to have people with this sort of attitude more often than not.

This upcoming 'top to bottom re-balance' is without a doubt going to send some people into an absolute feeding frenzy, but the problem is, the game needs it in order to ensure its ability to continue, in order to be fair, especially with the plans for Steam release.

If the game isn't completely balanced and working on day 1 of Steam, it will be eaten alive by the Steam community. Without question. The game has a bad enough rep as it is, Steam will be the final nail in the coffin if things don't go off perfectly.