Character Animations That Need Polish

[OptimistNic]

This thread is for discussing character animations that appear unfinished or lackluster and need polishing before the final product is released.

My list of animations that need fixing before the final release:

-Lucario's Up-Smash (charging animation lacks ferocity)
-Roy's Confusion animation (lacks fluidity and the cape jarringly looks anchored; does not hang down)

Yes, it is very short, but I'm sure some of you know of other animations that need fixing.

Some characters in the poll have been intentionally left out either due to a lack of animation changes (that may be polished enough) or because new animations were seamlessly ported from Melee. The poll indicates characters who have seen new animations that have potential problems.

 

[yogurtgun1245]

Roy's cape from what I've seen so far could use improvements. It looks a lot less fluid than Ike's or Marth's. Not a huge issue, but noticeable when they're fighting each other.

 

[turtletank]

Yeah... there's not really much discussion to be had here. The PMBR animators are pretty darn good at what they do.

 

[Fortress]

Is there any way to make Ike's Aether look a little less, I don't know, chunky, or hard-edged? The aura and air around Ragnell looks all blocky and hexagonal as it swings about, and might look prettier if it had a 'rounder' effect. I don't know if anybody knows what I mean.

 

[OptimistNic]

Yeah... there's not really much discussion to be had here. The PMBR animators are pretty darn good at what they do.

But not perfect. This thread is here just to point out those little flaws that really do stick out. I'm not saying they aren't talented, just that they haven't finished work here and there.

 

[Nemiak temp]

It would be awesome if Marth's cape was as flowing/loose looking as it was in melee. Just looks kind of stiff in Brawl/PM

 

[ItalianStallion]

I really enjoy charging smashes like Pika's up-smash and noticing Pika moves a little during it to actually look like he is winding up, whereas the majority of charging animations are more stiff. If certain smashes were animated to be more like how Lucario charges smashes, or Pika's up-smash, that would be neat.

 

[Virum]

Yo thanks for this thread. I'll be keeping a keen eye on it.

About charging animations, note that because of how Brawlbox is and it's lack of controls, animating them is at best a tedious chore. They take far too long for how little they offer unfortunately (I apologise if I sound like I'm making excuses).

 

[Comeback Kid]

What about facial animations?

There was a thread in Smash 4 forums a while ago how much more expressive Mario is in the new game compared to his serious faced self in Brawl.

Any chance to alter things like facial reactions while standing still or while you attack or being attacked?

 

[OptimistNic]

Yo thanks for this thread. I'll be keeping a keen eye on it.

About charging animations, note that because of how Brawlbox is and it's lack of controls, animating them is at best a tedious chore. They take far too long for how little they offer unfortunately (I apologise if I sound like I'm making excuses).

Well if that's the case those can wait until the last of your efforts are put into cosmetics before the initial release.

I think we should start posting videos or GIFS of sloppy animations when necessary.
On a side note, while using the Generalized Super Code in Project M I noticed some odd character-specific/AI bugs. I'll put them in a comedic video at some point.

 

[Piks]

Any chance to alter things like facial reactions while standing still or while you attack or being attacked?

It's a nice suggestion, but most expressions are done through character models, not animation-- and we're probably not going to alter existing Brawl models much.

 

[OptimistNic]

I also realized that Roy's new taunts--compared to his old one--feel really stiff and static. Granted I like what he DOES in the animations but they look lifeless and flat.
Also, notice how both other Fire Emblem characters float when they appear? Roy's entrance animation should be adjusted so his legs are at least a bit off the ground and when he reaches for his sword he touches down. Or something like that. Point is, he needs to float down like the other FE characters, it gives him the feeling of being summoned into battle.

 

[Xebenkeck]

WARIO WARIO WARIO OMG WARIO

The more the PMBR can get rid of his stupid G&Wlike movements the better.(This was something Sakurai did originally, not them)

Seriously look at some of Wario's moves in BrawlBox, some moves literally have 0 frames of fluid animation between them, like his Jab, DA, techs, dtilt, getup attacks, etc.

 

[GP&B]

I've always been a fan of the transition from his out-of-place G&W-like animations to his more fluid animations. There was no reason for that; in every one of his games (especially Wario Land 3, my god just awesome) he has very animated movements.

 

[Viceversa96]

I hate Mario's U-smash animation. Love Melee Doc's one. Looks better and is faster.
Also agree about charging animations being stiff.
Roy's cape does stick out too.
Edit: Can't stand Wario's movements either. Glad PMBR are trying to fix.

 

[Minor Pandemic]

I would love for the blur on Sonic's moves to change with his color.

 

[Solharath]

I would love for the blur on Sonic's moves to change with his color.

That actually might be possible with the Alt Costume code in place. Previously, I'm not too sure but I think half those blurs had something to do with his fighter.pac rather than his costumes.

 

[OptimistNic]

On another note, Fox's tail needs to react to wind on windy stages such as Corneria and Hyrule Castle. Just check to see if all characters with long clothing/tails utilize wind physics.

 

[GunBlaze]

On another note, Fox's tail needs to react to wind on windy stages such as Corneria and Hyrule Castle. Just check to see if all characters with long clothing/tails utilize wind physics.

Dude, your avatar makes me feel weird

 

[Taiko]

From the little bit I've seen, Roy's intro and taunt animations could all use work, they look awkward and stiff to me...

 

[Xebenkeck]

Not to be a stickler, but if they truly had to transplant roys body onto new bones to make him work properly with the clone engine, it is completely understandable at this point why his "cape" isn't as animated as others.

That isn't something I would complain too much about, anyone who animated before even a little, knows that hair and apparel(capes) are the hardest things to try to animate.

Even professionals have problems with it, mainly because you cant mokap hair or capes otherwise they will do nothing but "clip" through each other.

 

[OptimistNic]

Hair i

Not to be a stickler, but if they truly had to transplant roys body onto new bones to make him work properly with the clone engine, it is completely understandable at this point why his "cape" isn't as animated as others.

That isn't something I would complain too much about, anyone who animated before even a little, knows that hair and apparel(capes) are the hardest things to try to animate.

Even professionals have problems with it, mainly because you cant mokap hair or capes otherwise they will do nothing but "clip" through each other.

Hair isn't an issue. Capes and tails seem to be a mixture of animation and a physics engine. For Roy the cape is a problem for certain animations.

 

[CardiganBoy]

Ganondorf running and fair animations need polish

 

[\Apples]

I would love for the blur on Sonic's moves to change with his color.

That is already possible. The blur on his shoes is controlled by a series of images in FitSonic.pac titled ShoesTrail or something. 5 images, one for each default texture slot. So, that effect is handled outside of the character's texture file, but still with another texture. I've fixed it on all of mine, and I'm pretty sure 2.6 Sonic colors have theirs updated as well. But maybe they slipped up on that one.

 

[teluoborg]

WARIO WARIO WARIO OMG WARIO

The more the PMBR can get rid of his stupid G&Wlike movements the better.(This was something Sakurai did originally, not them)

Seriously look at some of Wario's moves in BrawlBox, some moves literally have 0 frames of fluid animation between them, like his Jab, DA, techs, dtilt, getup attacks, etc.

But that's like, a characteristic of his animations right ?
You wouldn't want GW to be animated smoothly right ?

 

[Viceversa96]

But that's like, a characteristic of his animations right ?
You wouldn't want GW to be animated smoothly right ?

No. He had smooth animation in his games during gameplay. I hate the G and W animation on him.

 

[OptimistNic]

Just saw the Mewtwo trailer. From what I see one small detail that could benefit his new Forward-Grab would be attack effects (hit explosions or whatever you call them when an attack connects) while the victim is in the black hole.

 

[Wiisnake]

I remember Link's Boomerang, seemed like he was just bored throwing it.

 

[Garbagehead4]

Someone needs to change Fox's face so it isn't so goofy looking.

 

[standardtoaster]

Someone needs to change Fox's fact so it isn't so goofy looking.

His fact?

 

[210stuna]

I know this doesn't really have to do with animation perhaps, I know little of these things, but I remember reading and know that this problem happened in Melee, but I'm not sure if it was in Brawl too and the PMBR put it back in P:M "because Melee" also if it's the first reason then I'm not sure if it's been noted or can't be fixed..

But why does Marth's sword go through someone when swung, but no damage occurs?

Also Ike's counter works 1/10 times when I see it attempting to counter someone.

 

[Mr.Pickle]

One of dk's legs goes crazy and doesn't match what the other is doing on his dash attack. Also lucario's arm detaches itself from his shoulder when he does his usmash. Those are the ones I can think off the top of my head.

 

[Viceversa96]

His fact?

Can you give him his Melee costumes? He looks so stupid in Brawl. Those shoes are goofy and his face is so derpy. Melee Fox looked like he was going to kick your ass.

 

[deadjames]

-Wario's victory animation where he flexes looks really bad, the way his body twists like distorts the character model
-DK's bair looks kind of derpy, I know it's more faithful to Melee animation especially since the hitbox stays out longer in Melee and P:M, but his Brawl bair animation looks so much more realistic.

 

[JRC LSS]

Lucario:
Airdodge-at the end, his head does almost a full 360 in about 3 frames it looks like. At full speed it's hard to tell though.
Upsmash-his left arm goes through his body (as someone else may have mentioned)

Ivysaur:
When grabbed, the bulb usually looks really stiff. This is especially prominent when pummeled. On grab release though, the bulb actually looks too rubbery the way it springs around. ZSS's pummel on ivy looks pretty glitchy too. Ivy kind of jumps around during it.

I must say though, these are the only animation issues I've noticed, and they're really minor things. Hats off to the PM animators for making all of these moves look so good.

 

[Nausicaa]

Razor Leaf looks unprofessional. Designing something that literally works, and has a timing window built-in that allows you to do the same action and have nothing happen, is just silly and not appealing.
Game-play-wise, it's an experiential nuance that a player has to get accustomed to after screwing around with it, which is simply a sign of counter-intuitive mechanics, and feels like it's unpolished.
Though I know this will change in 3.0 so it's not really of concern. Worth mentioning anyway.

 

[deadjames]

Razor Leaf looks unprofessional. Designing something that literally works, and has a timing window built-in that allows you to do the same action and have nothing happen, is just silly and not appealing.
Game-play-wise, it's an experiential nuance that a player has to get accustomed to after screwing around with it, which is simply a sign of counter-intuitive mechanics, and feels like it's unpolished.
Though I know this will change in 3.0 so it's not really of concern. Worth mentioning anyway.

Link's boomerang does the same thing, and has in every Smash game, I wouldn't really consider it an issue that needs attention honestly.

 

[Nausicaa]

That's a thing that comes back... and you can't throw it with nothing happening AFTER it disappears.
Razor Leaf is just ugly like that. No projectile on screen? Must be able to throw another! ... Nope.

 

[deadjames]

That's a thing that comes back... and you can't throw it with nothing happening AFTER it disappears.
Razor Leaf is just ugly like that. No projectile on screen? Must be able to throw another! ... Nope.

I've never had a razor leaf not come out after it disappears, I may need to experiment and see if you're on to something.

Edit: Looks fine to me.

 

[VhatDeHel]

About Roy's taunts, I'm pretty sure they look stiff because they are based off of his sprites from his game. I swear they look similar to some of his sprite animations I have seen.

I personally don't think the stiffness is a problem. In fact I find it kinda funny since it matches those sprites.