Fading Horses

[Klokkwork]

This might have been suggested before, but I couldn't use the search feature to find my way out of a paper bag. Most horses fade after their rider has been killed. Only recently did I learn that this was due to their highly dynamic models, and the extensive memory they use. So I was wondering, why not just create low-memory horse model duplicates, with, say, the saddle falling off the horse, as an excuse for you not being able to mount it? Or hell, just have the riderless horse run away, and fade at the battle-border? That would add a little touch of realism for me.

 

[Kelpo]

The saddles falling off sounds a tad artificial, but the running off would indeed be a fine solution.

 

[Manitas]

Man, I thought this was discussed to death already...

Hundreds of arguments have been brought up, but I think the most important is this one:

If you're mounted, horses disapear, right?
If you're on foot, they do not, right?

So what prvevents riderless horses from using extensive ammount of memory when you're on foot? Have anybody seen somebody whining about fps drop when fighting on foot caused by horses? I ve'not.

 

[Ryuta]

I remember Armagan said horses dissappear instead of running away is because he was too lazy to make it run off the battle field.

I'd like, however, to see what determines(spelling?) one horses to dissapear and others ridable. Sometimes I got unhorsed, then managed to kill a rider and run for his horse and it dissappeared in my eyes.

 

[Klokkwork]

Yeah, a disappearing horse seems to have nothing at all to do with whether or not you are mounted. I've seen some fade, and some not, both when I was mounted and unmounted. Although I will say this.. Every time I kill a rider, and the horse doesn't fade, I've been able to mount it. The only time I've encountered a horse on the battlefield that I couldn't mount was when its rider got out of the saddle of his own volition. Whether the enemy troops dismount to chase me up a mountain, or I've ordered my own troops to dismount. So that's probably the criteria. You can't kill some dude's horse and steal it if you're not, yourself, able to ride. So how will I test this? Max out my riding skill, and start slaying some knights.

 

[Ilex]

1. Horses always disappear if YOU do not kill their riders
2. Horses always disappear if YOU are mounted while killing the rider

 

[Volkier]

I have absolutely NO idea how disappearing advantage over gameplay whatsoever. Sure they take up memory, but so do the enemies, and so does large combat. Best solution in my oppinoin would be to provide a 'toggle' button, or a scroll bar, which states how many horses (if any) are allowed to remain on the battlefield, before the one which became riderless first disappears. Its probably the biggest turn off in the game at the moment :