The death animation dynamics a bit over the top?

andreasdr · 23-07-2008, 18:44

I'm a bit concerned about how the zombies are flying all over the place in the skill demo videos on the barb site at the official D3 site. The swings from the barbarian (and especially the leap attack skill) send the zombies flying slowly high up in the air, spinning several turns and either falling out into the nothingness or hitting the ground, gliding across it and finally coming to a halt.

A bit over the top, isn't it? I, for one, would like to see some added realism in this particular aspect of the game. I would like to feel the weight of the bodies during the death animations (would sound weird when taken out of context, that). I want a minimum of lifting off the ground and a minimum of air-time time for the bodies, certainly no launching of them high up in the air while spinning wildly (the Titan Quest-syndrome), and I want considerable friction against the ground, which means no slow sliding for several tens of meters across the ground. At the very least, I would want the bodies in flight to accelerate downwards as fast as they are supposed to (assuming earth-like conditions) and not fly around as in semi-slow-motion.

I know what blizzard probably are going for is the arcady, actiony feel, and I would probably get used to it after 2 seconds of playtime or so, but if it was toned down more than a little, I would be very impressed!

Am I wrong in believing that some of you would perhaps agree?

konfeta · 24-07-2008, 00:24

Personally, the over-the-top deaths make it more fantasy like. I wouldn't care either way, though, as long as they don't just drop dead. That's not fun.

DANIEL3RD · 24-07-2008, 08:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by andreasdr

I'm a bit concerned about how the zombies are flying all over the place in the skill demo videos on the barb site at the official D3 site. The swings from the barbarian (and especially the leap attack skill) send the zombies flying slowly high up in the air, spinning several turns and either falling out into the nothingness or hitting the ground, gliding across it and finally coming to a halt.

A bit over the top, isn't it? I, for one, would like to see some added realism in this particular aspect of the game. I would like to feel the weight of the bodies during the death animations (would sound weird when taken out of context, that). I want a minimum of lifting off the ground and a minimum of air-time time for the bodies, certainly no launching of them high up in the air while spinning wildly (the Titan Quest-syndrome), and I want considerable friction against the ground, which means no slow sliding for several tens of meters across the ground. At the very least, I would want the bodies in flight to accelerate downwards as fast as they are supposed to (assuming earth-like conditions) and not fly around as in semi-slow-motion.

I know what blizzard probably are going for is the arcady, actiony feel, and I would probably get used to it after 2 seconds of playtime or so, but if it was toned down more than a little, I would be very impressed!

Am I wrong in believing that some of you would perhaps agree?

I am in agreement with you. I reckon they should at least try and keep to some of the natural law of physics (sounds crazy in a computer game I guess) and having bodies floating around the screen just doesnt seem to right in a diablo game.

I would much prefer it if there was a form of death animation wher the characters that
inhabit the world make some form of gesture, rather than be thrown around the screen.

Bodies flying around the place may be fine if lets say they are hit with fireball or some other form of explosion, but when hit with an object (blunt or sharp), lets have screams or some sound of pain follwoed by decapitation or dimembering. Much more realistic.

andreasdr · 24-07-2008, 18:40

Exactly. When struck to death with a blunt weapon for example, I want the enemy to go from | to _ in a violent "smash swisch thud"-sequence, rather than fly away over the ground.

Azymn · 25-07-2008, 07:00

If I was able to swing an eighty pound, ice-imbued mallet at the speed of a baseball bat, and I landed it just below the bottom rib of a partially decomposed zombie and he didn't sail into the air? Well...I'd double check my grip or something.

I think it looks cool.

DANIEL3RD · 25-07-2008, 08:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azymn

If I was able to swing an eighty pound, ice-imbued mallet at the speed of a baseball bat, and I landed it just below the bottom rib of a partially decomposed zombie and he didn't sail into the air? Well...I'd double check my grip or something.

I think it looks cool.

I think people watch too many kung fu movies. A zombie weighing around 12 stone (unless we assume he is barely weightless) would not fly through the air. His own body mass would offset the the speed and weight of your attack and his ribs would be crushed.

Morannon · 25-07-2008, 11:08

I think it would be cool if the type of weapon and amount of damage aswell as the weight of the monster influenced death animation. A high damage strike delivered by a one handed sword would not move the newly made corpe at all. While a two handed sword in the same hand would move it a bit. A super high damage strike by a mace would make things fly as if Sauron from LotR did it. The same principal would be applied to spells.

Maybe it's already in the game I dunno...

DANIEL3RD · 25-07-2008, 11:52

Morannon, I reckon that sounds spot on.

Sein Schatten · 25-07-2008, 22:23

Then give the zombies more weight. Then they won't fly like a feather. No problem.

Azymn · 26-07-2008, 07:05

Quote:

I think people watch too many kung fu movies. A zombie weighing around 12 stone (unless we assume he is barely weightless) would not fly through the air. His own body mass would offset the the speed and weight of your attack and his ribs would be crushed.

Well, I do watch too many kung fu movies, but you've got me curious...so let's do some zombie physics anyway.

Let's take your 12 stone (76.2 kilogram) zombie as an example, using the 80 lb (36.2 kg) mallet and an average baseball bat swing speed (13.4 meters/second) that I mentioned earlier. This is a ridiculously heavy mallet, but I was pretty specific. =] Using this common formula:

1/2 (m * v^2)

...we get the following amount of kinetic energy from swinging an eighty pound, ice-imbued mallet at the speed of a baseball bat:

1/2 * (76.2kg * (13.4m/s * 13.4m/s)) = 3250 Joules.

If you transfer 3250 Joules from an ice mallet into a zombie, it will start to travel at 9.24 meters/second, which is about 20 mph. But as you mentioned, you are transferring some of that whack into a rib crushing and organ bursting - it's not going to be a perfectly elastic collision. (If it was, and you hit him just below the ribs at a 45 degree angle, he'd fly almost 30 feet.) Now I don't have any really good figures on what the kinetic energy absorption rate of a partially decomposed zombie body is, but there is no way his feet are going to stay on the ground after an impact like that. Not unless you're aiming down.

But let's be clear: the base figures for this equation are indeed over the top. No one could humanly swing a mallet of that size at that speed. Or jump fifteen feet in the air with a full set of plate mail on. Or instantly burst into a 75 mile-per-hour dash. Or crack the ground wide open with a sword.

Still, I think it looks cool.