95 replies to this topic

[SelectiveCape12]

I'm really glad a lot of people are really digging these reworks. I've still got plans for a few more mechs to do, but I'm starting to run into some difficulties in trying to make the things I want to make in 3ds max. I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to making effects in 3ds max after all. So you guys will just have to put up with the bare minimum of visual effects.

Bloodweaver, on 22 February 2016 - 05:26 PM, said:

You know, although I too would have preferred that... I'd be OK with leaving the 'Mechs at the ridiculously huge sizes they are, if only they FELT that big while you were piloting them. Even that would mean changing a ton of stuff though... 1) in-cockpit models are horribly huge, 2) there is no first-person bob, 3) free-look is very restricted and "pull-to-center," not truly free, 4) the 'Mechs' walk/run animations are so drastic that any "pilot" inside them would turn to a wobbly pile of red mush after a few steps, which is exacerbated further by the disparity between that and the complete LACK of movement in first-person, 5) map elements are very very clearly designed as 'Mech ARENAS, (not actual urban/rural/military/etc. areas) with rocks and trees just big enough for 'Mechs to use and just far enough apart for 'Mechs to walk between, 6) overall map terrain (hills, grassy patches, streams, etc.) is relatively the same as it would be if you weren't in a 'Mech - you see the same terrain features you'd expect to see as an infantryman, but since you're big, so are the terrain features. ALL of these aspects, along with a few less significant ones, keep you from really "feeling" the size of your machine. Which is all the more egregious because of just how huge most of the machine in MWO are, compared to their canon sizes. But I could live with the oversizing, if I at least felt it anywhere outside of switching 'Mechs in the Academy...

I've always been put off by the fact that the cockpits and cameras never actually bob around like the mech does in any of the MechWarrior games to date. But then again, imagine trying to aim when your camera is moving so wildly. Most people would probably resort to standing still to take aim under such circumstances. This is the kind of difference between a real mech simulator and a arcade FPS though. Needless to say, it's clear PGI would prefer the latter of the two.

There's also the idea of putting life-sized people onto the maps to help create a general sense of size for the mechs and the enivornment. MechWarrior 3 had this and it even allowed you to shoot the people as they randomly ran this way and that between buildings. Even MechWarrior 4 had cardboard cut-outs of wildlife creatures on certain maps. Imagine if MWO had dozens of little soldier people running around all over the maps. You could even have a couple soldiers drowning in the acid pools on Caustic just for giggles.

Heck, maybe even for April Fools, PGI could tape on each dev's face onto the soldiers and make an event for hunting down one of each dev.

[Bloodweaver]

SelectiveCape12, on 24 February 2016 - 11:00 AM, said:

I've always been put off by the fact that the cockpits and cameras never actually bob around like the mech does in any of the MechWarrior games to date. But then again, imagine trying to aim when your camera is moving so wildly. Most people would probably resort to standing still to take aim under such circumstances. This is the kind of difference between a real mech simulator and a arcade FPS though. Needless to say, it's clear PGI would prefer the latter of the two.

If I remember correctly MW4 had the same floaty gliding movement, with permanently horizontal facing(i.e., your POV wouldn't point up while going uphill), that MWO has. I do know that both MW2 and (especially) MW3 had actual POV bobbing, though. And honestly, it didn't affect your aim all that much - a bit, but not much.

Of course, if POV bob in MWO was actually tied to the movement of the 'Mech you're piloting, yeah, that would be unmanageable; a lot of them bounce up and down a full two or three meters with each +100KPH step!!! They'd definitely have to re-do all the 'Mech movement animations, though that would be a good thing IMO. You can see exactly how affected your aim would be by going to 3PV, though - where your crosshairs actually ARE drawn with your 'Mech model as their starting point, instead of using an invisible floaty cockpit model as in 1PV.

Having people running around, especially killable people, would be cool too, since MW3 is so far the only one with that feature. Although it would also highlight just how unrealistically designed all the maps are...

[SelectiveCape12]

Updated the Battlemaster and added the Atlas and a garbage can.

BattleMaster

Spoiler

360º view

Atlas

Spoiler

360º view

Garbage Can

Spoiler

360º view

Bloodweaver, on 24 February 2016 - 05:23 PM, said:

If I remember correctly MW4 had the same floaty gliding movement, with permanently horizontal facing(i.e., your POV wouldn't point up while going uphill), that MWO has. I do know that both MW2 and (especially) MW3 had actual POV bobbing, though. And honestly, it didn't affect your aim all that much - a bit, but not much.

It's true MW2 and MW3 had POV bobbing, but it was only the cockpit itself that bobbed around and not the camera along with it. It made it feel like you were floating in place in the middle of the cockpit while the rest of the mech was moving around you. That really broke the immersion, at least for me.

[Juodas Varnas]

SelectiveCape12, on 27 February 2016 - 01:13 PM, said:

Updated the Battlemaster and added the Atlas and a garbage can.

BattleMaster

Spoiler

360º view

Atlas

Spoiler

360º view

Garbage Can

Spoiler

360º view

It's true MW2 and MW3 had POV bobbing, but it was only the cockpit itself that bobbed around and not the camera along with it. It made it feel like you were floating in place in the middle of the cockpit while the rest of the mech was moving around you. That really broke the immersion, at least for me.

Oh man, that Atlas gif.

Just wow. It's the stuff of nightmares, man.
We need to get the glowing eyes back!

The Urbie is adorable as hell, though.

Edited by Juodas Varnas, 27 February 2016 - 01:24 PM.

[GermanPartisan]

Lets just say I am happy that they dont have the Battletech proportions. They look like ***.

[Hitman85]

I like Your work, but not those three mechs :/

Edited by Hitman85, 27 February 2016 - 02:23 PM.

[SelectiveCape12]

Ah well, can't win them all.

Funny thing is, I think I prefer my first rendition of the Battlemaster over this latest one.

[Glaive-]

Your Dire Wolf is amazing! Looks a lot more menacing than the whale that we have ingame.

[Bloodweaver]

SelectiveCape12, on 27 February 2016 - 01:13 PM, said:

It's true MW2 and MW3 had POV bobbing, but it was only the cockpit itself that bobbed around and not the camera along with it. It made it feel like you were floating in place in the middle of the cockpit while the rest of the mech was moving around you. That really broke the immersion, at least for me.

Neg. That describes what happens in MW4 and MWO. In MW3, the camera (which is what POV refers to) absolutely bobbed.

The cockpit model did move independently of the POV, but your POV itself moved as well. It wouldn't make sense for the cockpit model to be completely fixed around your point of view anyway. Assuming your eyes were trained on something(e.g., whatever the reticle is pointing at), the cockpit would move around slightly while walking, relative to your sightline. It's similar to driving over a rough road or a speed bump - the car's frame will move independently of your sightline, assuming you're keeping your eyes fixed on a point in the road ahead, which they should be!

However, aside from the cockpit movement, your actual POV was absolutely not fixed in either of those games. Furthermore, your POV's movement was tied to that of your actual 'Mech model, so it was most obvious during sharp turns and high speeds. You can see this in numerous YT videos, the 9:40 time-stamp here gives a decent example in MW3:


Keep your eyes on the center of the reticle while Shivaxi is saying "you can see my HUD's a little, uh... scrambled, here," and you will notice it is actually moving up and down along the terrain - not solely in the direction of travel.

MW2's POV also had some bobbing, although it was less noticeable. It seems that, in that game, the reticle was (more or less) always kept at center, but the source of your sightline (i.e., your head) would bob up and down "behind" the reticle, and thus gimbal to keep itself pointed towards wherever the reticle was. This is different from MW3, where your reticle was not kept in a fixed position at all. Here is one example(time-stamp 1:46:38):


Notice the bottom edges of the mountains/cliffs bouncing up and down. This is caused by your POV bouncing up and down, while also continuously adjusting to keep itself focused on a point. This effect was most prominent while twisted to the side, where the entire POV would rock back and forth in a circle around the reticle(time-stamp 1:19:04, and even more dramatically at 1:19:27):


EDIT: Can't seem to get the time-stamps working exactly right. Just use the bar to find the right time-stamps described and you'll see the relevant parts. Bleh.

Edited by Bloodweaver, 27 February 2016 - 07:33 PM.

[SelectiveCape12]

Hey, update!

Over a year late. Better late than never, I'd say.

Quickdraw

Spoiler

360º view

Tomahawk

Spoiler

360º view

King Crab

Spoiler

360º view

Uziel

Spoiler

360º view

[Der BruzZzler von Wiesndoof]

Dire Wolf

Spoiler

360º view



-Old-
360° view

Warhawk

Spoiler

360º view



-Old-
360º view

That's what Direwolf and Warhawk must look like!
Not the c**p we have ingame ...

[Juodas Varnas]

Omg, i love these so much!

That Warhammer is godlike.

[Will9761]

These look so cool.

[Commander James Raynor]

SelectiveCape12, on 18 December 2015 - 06:18 PM, said:

If this isn't what you do with your Marauder, then you're wasting everyone's time.

I lol'd