Data Weight vs Fall Speed

[Technocrow]

I wanted to create a visual aid to be able to clearly see the weight classes between floaties and fastfallers. With 69 unique characters it gets a little crowded in the middle because of some overlap. Included underneath the initial graph is a zoomed in one that doesn't include outliers.


Initial Graph:

Zoomed in not including the outliers:

Some takeaways:

Fox is the definitive fastfaller with a speed of 2.1 (over twice the slowest Jigglypuff - 0.98)
None of the heavyweights are floaty (as they should be)
The floatiest heavyweight is Charizard - 1.52
While Puff and Pichu are in the same weight-class they are in entirely different worlds in terms of fall speed
I thought it was funny when I saw that Pikachu is heavier than Mewtwo and Ridley is lighter than Samus


Notes:

Echo characters were not included because they are exactly the same as their counterparts.
I wanted to also make a graph that measured fast fall speeds, but it would almost be identical with the exceptions of Pichu, Ryu, Ken, and Link. (This is because these are the only characters that do not receive a 60% boost in speed when fast falling)
Data taken from Kuroganehammer
** Palutena icon underneath snake should be Ike. Will fix this soon

 

[RepStar]

Whats the purpose of making characters fall faster than others?

 

[R208]

Whats the purpose of making characters fall faster than others?

It is an element of game balance and it can directly change the playstyle and feel of characters.

 

[RepStar]

It is an element of game balance and it can directly change the playstyle and feel of characters.

I dont see how its balanced. Looks more like a hindrance.

 

[R208]

I dont see how its balanced. Looks more like a hindrance.

Umm... I think you need to re-read what I said buddy.

 

[RepStar]

Umm... I think you need to re-read what I said buddy.

You said it was an element of game balance and, what if affects. What i said was that i dont see(understand) how fall speed helps with balancing in the game. Why cant all characters just have a fast fall speed.

 

[MrGameguycolor]

Based on these graphs:

-Best survivors based on raw heft. (Weight + Fall Speed, not other factors like recovery, hurtbox sizes or such)
1. Dedede (3rd heaviest, 2nd fastest faller and overall best survivor)
2. Bowser (A little heavier then DDD but a bit more floaty, but best horizontal resistance)
3. K. Rool (Slightly lighter and floaty then Bowser, 2nd best horizontal resistance)
4. DK (Slightly lighter and floaty then K. Rool)
5. Incineroar (Same weight as Ganon, but falls faster, so slightly better)
HM: Ganon, Zard, Koopa Jr., Simon, Ridley

-Weakest survivors:
1. Jigglypuff (2nd lightest and slowest faller)
2-3. Pichu (A little lighter then Puff but tied for 5th fastest faller, regardless worst horizontal resistance)
2-3. G&W (Heavier an then Pichu, but still really floaty, hard to judge in my opinion)
4-6. Squirtle (Same weight as G&W, but falls slightly faster, likely better then Pichu)
4-6. Kirby (Slightly heavier then G&W, but a bit floatier then Squirtle)
4-6. Rosa (Slightly heavier then Kirby, but a bit floatier)

 

[Aurumai]

You said it was an element of game balance and, what if affects. What i said was that i dont see(understand) how fall speed helps with balancing in the game. Why cant all characters just have a fast fall speed.

This is a choice the developers made for the sake of having a cast full of characters that all play and feel unique; Things like fall speed, weight, run speed, etc. are taken into account so that each character may be balanced according to their kits.

For example, King K. Rool is intended to feel like an unstoppable force. Therefore, his weight and fallspeed reflect a character with a lot more mass. On the opposite side of things, Jigglypuff is meant to be very "floaty" and lightweight, so she weighs almost nothing and falls very slowly. These are some of the most important aspects that shape how these characters are played, as they define certain limits to their movements.

 

[Twiranitar]

I wanted to create a visual aid to be able to clearly see the weight classes between floaties and fastfallers. With 69 unique characters it gets a little crowded in the middle because of some overlap. Included underneath the initial graph is a zoomed in one that doesn't include outliers.


Initial Graph:

Zoomed in not including the outliers:

Some takeaways:

Fox is the definitive fastfaller with a speed of 2.1 (over twice the slowest Jigglypuff - 0.98)
None of the heavyweights are floaty (as they should be)
The floatiest heavyweight is Charizard - 1.52
While Puff and Pichu are in the same weight-class they are in entirely different worlds in terms of fall speed
I thought it was funny when I saw that Pikachu is heavier than Mewtwo and Ridley is lighter than Samus


Notes:

Echo characters were not included because they are exactly the same as their counterparts.
I wanted to also make a graph that measured fast fall speeds, but it would almost be identical with the exceptions of Pichu, Ryu, Ken, and Link. (This is because these are the only characters that do not receive a 60% boost in speed when fast falling)
Data taken from Kuroganehammer

Integrating the gravity values into the chart would allow to see how each character reacts to knockback, I believe. I wonder how to represent it, though.

Edit: Thanks for the information, by the way!

 

[Technocrow]

Integrating the gravity values into the chart would allow to see how each character reacts to knockback, I believe. I wonder how to represent it, though.

Hmmm maybe I could use a ratio of fall speed to weight and compare that to gravity?
For example: Charizard (1.52 fall speed / 116 weight) = 13.1034 * 10^3 fall/weight -> Compare these values to gravity
I don't think it would be super helpful though.

 

[Twiranitar]

Hmmm maybe I could use a ratio of fall speed to weight and compare that to gravity?
For example: Charizard (1.52 fall speed / 116 weight) = 13.1034 * 10^3 fall/weight -> Compare these values to gravity
I don't think it would be super helpful though.

That's a nice idea. The only thing I have come up with is popping a z-axis with the gravity values but that's obviously... not useful. Hope someone figures it out.

 

[Kasai]

Am I blind or is Ike missing? I can't find him for the life of me.

Edit: Upon further review it looks like Palutena's icon was used twice instead of Ikes in the cluster of Wario, Ridley, and Simon.

 

[Technocrow]

Am I blind or is Ike missing? I can't find him for the life of me.

Edit: Upon further review it looks like Palutena's icon was used twice instead of Ikes in the cluster of Wario, Ridley, and Simon.

You are correct! Not sure how I missed that... I'll fix it when I get the chance