Mount & Blade Motion Control (Kinect) - Proof of Concept Video and Discussion

[DanAngleland]

I'm not sure if many people remember me but I did a mod called the Undying Lands a while back for version 0.93 which never got ported to release.

Well first allow me to say how sorry I am to learn of that mod's.....demise, demize.

Ahem. And also, well done on this head tracking thing, looks cool!

 

[velocity30]

I'm currently developing an RF protocol at my job, it isn't stable yet but I'm doing the same thing without head tracking. It's a remote control that has Gyroscopic & acceleration sensors that relay vectors to a receiver. The receiver enumerates as a generic HID keyboard & mouse on the computer, and sends the commands to the game. With this protocol you can use tons of motion controllers (a remote in each hand, and many people), lol, kinect is a bit dated.

If anyone has been in a server & seen players Pascale, Pascale_Instance1, and Pascale_Instance2, I'm running the testbed for it. This is why I have 3 warband tags on my profile.

 

[Trueten]

I wonder how you would kick in Warband. Poor monitor.

 

[BadabombadaBang]

I wonder how you would kick in Warband. Poor monitor.

Don't facehug your monitor?

 

[velocity30]

This RF protocol can be ported to microcontrollers in a very small form factor, so kicks are taken care of if you strap a tiny sensor on your shoe or leg. Thats 1 example of the importance in being able to have an RF protocol handle many motion controllers controlled by many people in the same space. Each person controls a set of independent motion controllers, and each person's set of controllers is an independant channel within the RF receiver. Over the air, it basically looks like a USB network, and each person's set of controllers is similar to a USB hub. When another person wants to play, their set is daisy-chained off from someone else's (like plugging a usb hub into another usb hub). Can't wait to get it running stable.

 

[ryizzel]

Meh, it looks all nice but unless the slight lag in animations gets ironed out, I can't really see that being used practically in multiplayer.

It would be fine for singleplayer though. I'm kinda wondering how manual blocking will work out here.

 

[ericthai1]

Amazing.

 

[demize2010]

Thanks for all your positive comments guys it's nice to see you all again.

Mammoth response post below.

Also, good to see you again, Demize. It's been a while. I tought you had gone forever once you just left UDL, good to see you're back.

Hey man I'm afraid work and other commitments took away the time I had for UDL - also porting the whole darn thing to release seemed like a huge task. I might have a look back into it once I get a lic for Warband sorted out. If this motion idea continues in development then some simple arcade tunnel type scenes would be good fun - maybe even a 1v1 jousting/pit fight environment for multiplayer arm flailing.

I'd really like to see what's happened since Taleworlds got a publisher behind them and some cash - I honestly remember thinking that M&B was going to be in v0.X forever! Out of interest doesn't online play just result in crouched lance spamming?

Also is it against forum rules to post links to threads on different boards now?

One thing that I would love to see in this system -- if it's even possible -- would be for Kinect to recognize all 4 block directions, with the arm gesture required for each one being a slight tweak of the matching attack movement.

Do you mean the non-shield blocking? As far as I'm aware the directions are triggered by the direction of the attackers swing but maybe I'm wrong? If not then that would be pretty ninja though I haven't seen anything where someone has managed to utilize wrist movement... I guess you'd need conditions which factored the positioning of your forum at a right angle to your upper arm... but little worried about how easy it would be to trigger the wrong event if you (as a player) dont retain composure - it could actually detract from the experience.  Maybe one for the future once the other bugs are ironed out

I'm currently developing an RF protocol at my job, it isn't stable yet but I'm doing the same thing without head tracking. It's a remote control that has Gyroscopic & acceleration sensors that relay vectors to a receiver. The receiver enumerates as a generic HID keyboard & mouse on the computer, and sends the commands to the game. With this protocol you can use tons of motion controllers (a remote in each hand, and many people), lol, kinect is a bit dated.

That sounds like some pretty interesting tech, even if I'm not sold on attaching a clip or wrist band to each limb. Is it planned for retail?

I wonder how you would kick in Warband. Poor monitor.

You can kick in Warband? Seems I've been gone too long... It would be really simple to attach a kick function but it would mean that you probably have to stand up to play, as I can see the device getting confused between you and the chair leg if you move too quick or it loosing the bottom part of your skeleton and triggering all sorts of weird and wonderful things.

Meh, it looks all nice but unless the slight lag in animations gets ironed out, I can't really see that being used practically in multiplayer.

It would be fine for singleplayer though. I'm kinda wondering how manual blocking will work out here.

Yeah there's an issue with speeding up weapons too much - it sends the collision calculation whappy sometimes if you hit them too close to the hilt (based on the items property length not its model length). A bit of tweaking on length, speed and damage should set the straight eventually though.

Keep the comments coming guys and let me know if you actually try this out!

 

[Random_Norman]

This is insanely awesome.

my limited brain capabilities can only allow me to reproduce the words above.
I'm astonished.

 

[El Perro Finlandese]

So somebody actually uses kinect?

 

[seanparkerfilms]

So somebody actually uses kinect?

Well, hackers sure do! These things are getting modified in crazy ways by the boatload on a daily basis.

But I get what you mean, aside from the unsanctioned uses like this fine mod, Kinect has been pretty unsatisfying thus far. We'll have to give it time before we get some quality experiences with it. After all, developers are sure to get over the "we can make Wii-style shovelware in HD now!" phase sooner or later.

 

[Refleax]

So somebody actually uses kinect?

Well, hackers sure do! These things are getting modified in crazy ways by the boatload on a daily basis.

But I get what you mean, aside from the unsanctioned uses like this fine mod, Kinect has been pretty unsatisfying thus far. We'll have to give it time before we get some quality experiences with it. After all, developers are sure to get over the "we can make Wii-style shovelware in HD now!" phase sooner or later.

I've actually tried Kinect and I also can confirm this, sure it may be fun for a few days but It gets boring after running on the same god dam spot to make your character move..

Hats off to you sir, if this gets released I might actually consider buying the Kinect. Seems like Project Natal wasn't so usless afterall.

 

[velocity30]

The remote is planned for retail but it has nothing to do with motion control. When the product is finished though, I have %90 of a motion controller (required sensors & total RF control, just need to write a little code). You wouldn't need to strap a sensor on each limb, just your leg for kicking. The sword control comes from how the remote (similar to a tv remote with a touch screen) is oriented and how its being moved. Headtracking is definitely needed to make anything practical  though I think, I'm doing this as a side project.

 

[MArdA TaleWorlds]

OMG! I really like this. And your Max Payne video.
Voice Commands are incredible. If Taleworlds watch this maybe there will be a Xbox version. Good luck with other projects.

 

[demize2010]

Thanks for all your kind words, I think I'm going to grab a copy of Warband build a demo for a larger game idea I have...

 

[Kazzan]

Undying land is going to be resurrected?

 

[demize2010]

Haha, nice choice of words.

No I was thinking something more arcadey... which reduces the need for head tracking with some clever design. I'm worried that bad user calibration could lead some people to get hurt

 

[Kazzan]

Heh, ofcourse. 

Still, The Undying Lands was a good mod, I have to say that. It was the first story based mod I've played.

 

[Pumpkin Lord]

Can you sell me one of them?

 

[BadabombadaBang]

Heh, ofcourse. 

Still, The Undying Lands was a good mod, I have to say that. It was the first story based mod I've played.

Oh ****! Is that the one with the level where you defend the INN from the zombies with the pitch black fog surrounding you, if it is. It's nice to have you back Demize!