New one-handed ready positions are in the first post.
New two-handed polearm ready positions are in this post, on the first page.
New one-handed thrust for spears (and possibly swords) in this post, on the first page.
New two-handed polearm thrust ready positions in this post, on the second page.
New ready positions for two-handed swords in this post, on the second page.
New high block position for two-handed swords in this post, on the third page.
A full tutorial for making and implementing animations using free software can be found in this thread. No prior skill in modding or animating is required to follow this tutorial.
Introductory rambling:
For some time, I've had a mild dislike for some of the "ready positions" for melee attacks (the "chambers" that are taken up by the character when you hold the attack button). One problem with some of the ready positions is that they look like they'd be uncomfortable to hold static. Therefore, I think the current ready positions should be replaced by new positions which look comfortable, but which still clearly imply a particular attack direction. Such positions are common in armed combat arts.
Rather than describing them in text or trying to find adequate pictures from the net to provide a visual reference for them, I decided to try animating some new ready positions myself. With the help of this tutorial, by the forumite known as dreamterror, using Softimage XSI Mod Tool 7.5 to pose the skeleton, and after some (horrendous) fiddling with text files, I managed to replace several of the ready positions from version 1.011 of M&B.
So, with minimal further jabbering, here are some comparison screenshots. The ones on the right are the current ready positions from Warband, and the ones on the left are new poses in version 1.011 which are of the style that I suggest should be used in Warband. Note that I'm not suggesting that my actual poses be taken and put into the game. I do not consider these new positions perfect (I'll name some flaws later). Therefore, since replacing ready positions is relatively straight forward for me now, suggestions for tweaks (or even completely new poses) are more than welcome, though some things might be beyond my skill (or offensive to my sensibilities). So far I've only replaced one-handed ready positions, and I'm planning to move on to ready positions for other weapons - so feel free to say which other poses from Warband you think are high priorities for adjustment or replacement.
New ready positions for one-handed weapons:
The lower pictures within each spoiler are my first attempts shown beside their Warband equivalents.
For all of the new ready positions shown in this thread, I'm imagining that there would be a bit of pullback before the strike. That is, the attack would not go forwards directly out of the ready position, there'd be a bit of a chamber first. Warband already does this with some attacks, including overhead swings with two-handed swords and polearms.
Expect more poses in the future. Feedback and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
New two-handed polearm ready positions are in this post, on the first page.
New one-handed thrust for spears (and possibly swords) in this post, on the first page.
New two-handed polearm thrust ready positions in this post, on the second page.
New ready positions for two-handed swords in this post, on the second page.
New high block position for two-handed swords in this post, on the third page.
A full tutorial for making and implementing animations using free software can be found in this thread. No prior skill in modding or animating is required to follow this tutorial.
Introductory rambling:
For some time, I've had a mild dislike for some of the "ready positions" for melee attacks (the "chambers" that are taken up by the character when you hold the attack button). One problem with some of the ready positions is that they look like they'd be uncomfortable to hold static. Therefore, I think the current ready positions should be replaced by new positions which look comfortable, but which still clearly imply a particular attack direction. Such positions are common in armed combat arts.
Rather than describing them in text or trying to find adequate pictures from the net to provide a visual reference for them, I decided to try animating some new ready positions myself. With the help of this tutorial, by the forumite known as dreamterror, using Softimage XSI Mod Tool 7.5 to pose the skeleton, and after some (horrendous) fiddling with text files, I managed to replace several of the ready positions from version 1.011 of M&B.
So, with minimal further jabbering, here are some comparison screenshots. The ones on the right are the current ready positions from Warband, and the ones on the left are new poses in version 1.011 which are of the style that I suggest should be used in Warband. Note that I'm not suggesting that my actual poses be taken and put into the game. I do not consider these new positions perfect (I'll name some flaws later). Therefore, since replacing ready positions is relatively straight forward for me now, suggestions for tweaks (or even completely new poses) are more than welcome, though some things might be beyond my skill (or offensive to my sensibilities). So far I've only replaced one-handed ready positions, and I'm planning to move on to ready positions for other weapons - so feel free to say which other poses from Warband you think are high priorities for adjustment or replacement.
New ready positions for one-handed weapons:
The lower pictures within each spoiler are my first attempts shown beside their Warband equivalents.
For all of the new ready positions shown in this thread, I'm imagining that there would be a bit of pullback before the strike. That is, the attack would not go forwards directly out of the ready position, there'd be a bit of a chamber first. Warband already does this with some attacks, including overhead swings with two-handed swords and polearms.
Note:
~ These changes to the animations are purely aesthetic. Animation changes require no functional changes. Weapon statistics (reach, speed, damage) need not be changed, and I am not proposing any changes to these. (I know that's probably obvious, but I thought I'd state it just in case.)
~ The discomfort in the game's current ready positions comes mostly from the wrists (most visible in Warband's overhead) and shoulders (most visible in Warband's thrust). You can try assuming the positions in the pictures yourself. You should find that the new positions are a lot more comfortable, and could reasonably be held for a decent length of time.
Anticipated criticisms of the new poses (mostly from myself):
~ Only the right arm varies between the new positions. I could easily have varied other things, but I wanted clear comparisons. Plus, the right arm is the only controversial bit really.
~ The head position is a bit off, and the face looks almost quizzical. This was an unintentional result of an experiment. In future, I'll just turn the head so that it faces the opponent squarely, and maybe angle it down slightly if that looks right from the opponent's perspective. Getting the head position absolutely perfect is a bit tricky, because in M&B, eyes don't track objects or characters. Also, there are no situational facial expressions, as in other games. Still, a head that faces squarely forwards should be more than adequate (and to be clear, is not at all difficult to achieve).
~ The shield is in an unrealistic position. In a proper guard, the shield would of course be raised so that it was still defending the body. I lowered it because, in game, the characters are vulnerable while attacking. (Also I just realise now that the same pose is used shielded or not, so with no shield, the left arm might look a bit odd.)
~ The poses don't look as aggressive – they don’t look as if the character is facing off with an enemy. I think the overhead position does not suffer from it as much (probably because the character is more “forwards”). In future, I’ll try putting more weight on the front leg, and just generally making the pose more aggressive.
~ The poses are too formal and clean. I think this is somewhat the case. In future attempts, I expect I’ll be able to make some changes to help that (more aggressive posture, angling the weapons differently and so on).
~ The animations are fine and this is a non-issue! Maybe so, but I think they can be improved. We’re all here to improve the game. Can’t you be more constructive with your criticism? Just get off my back, alright!
~ These changes to the animations are purely aesthetic. Animation changes require no functional changes. Weapon statistics (reach, speed, damage) need not be changed, and I am not proposing any changes to these. (I know that's probably obvious, but I thought I'd state it just in case.)
~ The discomfort in the game's current ready positions comes mostly from the wrists (most visible in Warband's overhead) and shoulders (most visible in Warband's thrust). You can try assuming the positions in the pictures yourself. You should find that the new positions are a lot more comfortable, and could reasonably be held for a decent length of time.
Anticipated criticisms of the new poses (mostly from myself):
~ Only the right arm varies between the new positions. I could easily have varied other things, but I wanted clear comparisons. Plus, the right arm is the only controversial bit really.
~ The head position is a bit off, and the face looks almost quizzical. This was an unintentional result of an experiment. In future, I'll just turn the head so that it faces the opponent squarely, and maybe angle it down slightly if that looks right from the opponent's perspective. Getting the head position absolutely perfect is a bit tricky, because in M&B, eyes don't track objects or characters. Also, there are no situational facial expressions, as in other games. Still, a head that faces squarely forwards should be more than adequate (and to be clear, is not at all difficult to achieve).
~ The shield is in an unrealistic position. In a proper guard, the shield would of course be raised so that it was still defending the body. I lowered it because, in game, the characters are vulnerable while attacking. (Also I just realise now that the same pose is used shielded or not, so with no shield, the left arm might look a bit odd.)
~ The poses don't look as aggressive – they don’t look as if the character is facing off with an enemy. I think the overhead position does not suffer from it as much (probably because the character is more “forwards”). In future, I’ll try putting more weight on the front leg, and just generally making the pose more aggressive.
~ The poses are too formal and clean. I think this is somewhat the case. In future attempts, I expect I’ll be able to make some changes to help that (more aggressive posture, angling the weapons differently and so on).
~ The animations are fine and this is a non-issue! Maybe so, but I think they can be improved. We’re all here to improve the game. Can’t you be more constructive with your criticism? Just get off my back, alright!
Expect more poses in the future. Feedback and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
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