Psionic Melee Animation Proposal

[Solarverse]

Completely optional...of course.

 

I have tried playing Psionic Melee several times and to be honest, I just can't. Those animations are just....blah. Very stiff, very anticlimactic and very boring. I know that not everyone cares about animations and the way a power looks, but I am not one of those people. I have to feel immersed into what I am playing to really feel the character and if the animations are poorly done, I simply can't get into it, no matter how well it performs. So here is my proposal to spice up the set with animations that have roughly the same casting times and would fit the theme. So one thing to keep in mind here, is that within my head, every single attack has a Psi Blade in hand.
 

1. Mental Strike: (Spines) Assassin's Strike Instant Cast animation
2. Psi Blade: (Claws) Shockwave animation
3. Telekinetic Blow: (Street Justice) Crushing Uppercut
4. Psi Blade Sweep: Stays the same
5. Confront: (Katana) Calling of the Wolf
6. Boggle: Stays the same
7. Greater Psi Blade: (Staff Fighting) Sky Splitter
8. Mass Levitate: (Fighting) Tough's secondary animation

 

I think with these changes, the set would have a very appealing visual and would for sure spice it up a bit. Give it some thought, play it in your head a bit or even see the animations in your character creator and tell me what ya think.

Edited April 10, 2020 by Solarverse

[MTeague]

As long as we're talking alternative animations, and people who like what they have can keep it a "No Psi Blade" version, I'm on board.

I personally like the idea of a Psi Blade.  My first thought upon seeing the set named Psionic Melee was "Protoss Zealot".

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/hd8B0Dv/Protoss-Zealot.jpg" alt "zealot">

But I wouldn't want to force anyone to change away from a look that they're already happy with.

 

[EDIT:  Sigh, I fail at image codes.  What am I doing wrong there?]

Edited April 10, 2020 by MTeague

[Solarverse]

1 hour ago, MTeague said:

As long as we're talking alternative animations, and people who like what they have can keep it a "No Psi Blade" version, I'm on board.

I personally like the idea of a Psi Blade.  My first thought upon seeing the set named Psionic Melee was "Protoss Zealot".

<img src="https://i.ibb.co/hd8B0Dv/Protoss-Zealot.jpg" alt "zealot">

But I wouldn't want to force anyone to change away from a look that they're already happy with.

 

[EDIT:  Sigh, I fail at image codes.  What am I doing wrong there?]

No no, every attack has Psi Blade with the exception of the T9 and Boggle.

[Menelruin]

3 hours ago, Solarverse said:

No no, every attack has Psi Blade with the exception of the T9 and Boggle.

I think the idea is to have a variant animation OPTION, so you can choose for the powers to be all or part psi blade if you want.  You'd still be able to do all psi blade, but it wouldn't be FORCED on you.  Like how you can do an MA character and swap the kick animations for punches, in case you were trying for a boxing theme or something. 

[ssbmario]

More psi blades option and WAY better animations pls. There's got to be some way for people to help with animations if we need new ones created. I have offered to help with that myself. I won't use Psi Melee while I'm glow-fisting things because... why would I?

 

Psi Melee was designed around Psylocke

 

Giving it a Green Lantern punching thing is highly questionable

[ArchVileTerror]

Image code?

Just copy and paste the link, or the image itself.

 

Ta-da!

[Coyotedancer]

I'd absolutely love to have a version of Psi Melee that used the blade FX for everything but tossing everybody around and boggling them. The punchy-fist bits work for some characters, but having the option to go all-in on the blades would be a much better fit for others.

[Lines]

I think it's because the set mixes it up between smashing/psi and lethal/psi damage. But yes, I'd rather be able to pick one or the other, damage type be damned.

[Solarverse]

2 hours ago, Lines said:

I think it's because the set mixes it up between smashing/psi and lethal/psi damage. But yes, I'd rather be able to pick one or the other, damage type be damned.

It's not just that for me. It is that, but it's also the very stiff animations. Those animations are similar to the /em Kata emote, formerly known as /em warmup. When I play around with Psi Blades, I feel like not only am I not using Psi Blades sometimes like the set indicates, but I also feel like I am in a fixed stance using Kata emotes instead of actually fighting and it just so happens that NPCs are getting in the way and getting themselves hurt, haha.

[Sable Phoenix]

I agree.  At least giving every power the Psi Blade option (I think the whole set should've been Psionic Blades instead of Psionic Melee from the start) would go a long way to helping the set feel better.  But I also agree that the quality of the animations is poor.  Universally, the newer animations in CoH progressively declined in quality compared to the originals, as new powers and power animations were added in to the game.

 

I used to work as a game animator, I got a Bachelor's in computer animation, so it really grates to see poor animation work.

[SwitchFade]

Have you noticed that most of the animations have no movement from the waste down?

[Solarverse]

48 minutes ago, SwitchFade said:

Have you noticed that most of the animations have no movement from the waste down?

That would absolutely explain the "stiff" feeling of the animations.

[ABlueThingy]

 

3 hours ago, SwitchFade said:

Have you noticed that most of the animations have no movement from the waste down?

Yeah, the animations looks incomplete

 

18 hours ago, ssbmario said:

More psi blades option and WAY better animations pls. There's got to be some way for people to help with animations if we need new ones created. I have offered to help with that myself. I won't use Psi Melee while I'm glow-fisting things because... why would I?

 

Psi Melee was designed around Psylocke

 

Giving it a Green Lantern punching thing is highly questionable

 

I disagree with only psi-blade for all animations though.  There should be alternatives for the "TK melee" they have as half the powers. It gives us way more options thematically. There's a number of ways to use psychic melee conceptually and just having it be "Claws but psi" is kinda limiting.

 

I like the idea of a martial artist who is weak physically but can project his chi out to harm.  Or someone who projects out their Id in semi-material form that can attack others close by.   Or a protective ghost that attacks near by people.  The big issue I see is that if you're focused blades or TK-melee then the other is kind of weird.

 

It's kind of like having MA be half punches/kicks and half DBZ ki blasts.  I mean, both of those fall under super heroic martial arts.  But some people are going to want one and not the other.  That would crush a lot of thematic builds

 

My ideal answer is to have Psi-Blade animations for most/all of the powers. 

Buuut also alt animations for the punches that project a fist(with an option for just the psychedelic waves and no giant fist)

In addition a set of animations where the psi-fist animations go off like normal but you yourself stand still, maybe cross your arms and stare smugly?  Or even just the mind blast/control animations. (It's mind powers, why bother punching)

 

That is a lot of work tho

[Solarverse]

10 minutes ago, ABlueThingy said:

I disagree with only psi-blade for all animations though.  There should be alternatives for the "TK melee" they have as half the powers. It gives us way more options thematically. There's a number of ways to use psychic melee conceptually and just having it be "Claws but psi" is kinda limiting.

I would agree with this if the set wasn't named Psionic Blades.  😉 If it was instead named Psionic Melee I would understand a lot more.

10 minutes ago, ABlueThingy said:

I like the idea of a martial artist who is weak physically but can project his chi out to harm. 

You mean like Kinetic Melee?  😄

10 minutes ago, ABlueThingy said:

Or someone who projects out their Id in semi-material form that can attack others close by.   Or a protective ghost that attacks near by people.  The big issue I see is that if you're focused blades or TK-melee then the other is kind of weird.

I was thinking more along the lines as how Psionic Weaponry was on CO. Granted, CO got many things wrong, but at least they got that right.

10 minutes ago, ABlueThingy said:

 

It's kind of like having MA be half punches/kicks and half DBZ ki blasts.  I mean, both of those fall under super heroic martial arts.  But some people are going to want one and not the other.  That would crush a lot of thematic builds

Which is exactly why I asked for an alternative option instead of asking for a change across the board. Trust me, I know what it's like to have something taken away that I preferred as is...so I make every attempt to not be that guy when I make requests like this one. I also understand that just like some players like it as is, the other half would prefer it something more along the lines of how I requested it...or at least this is my guess, heh.

10 minutes ago, ABlueThingy said:

 

My ideal answer is to have Psi-Blade animations for most/all of the powers. 

Buuut also alt animations for the punches that project a fist(with an option for just the psychedelic waves and no giant fist)

In addition a set of animations where the psi-fist animations go off like normal but you yourself stand still, maybe cross your arms and stare smugly?  Or even just the mind blast/control animations. (It's mind powers, why bother punching)

 

That is a lot of work tho

The more the options the better.  🙂

[Saiyajinzoningen]

On 4/10/2020 at 3:03 PM, Solarverse said:

Completely optional...of course.

 

I have tried playing Psionic Melee several times and to be honest, I just can't. Those animations are just....blah. Very stiff, very anticlimactic and very boring. I know that not everyone cares about animations and the way a power looks, but I am not one of those people. I have to feel immersed into what I am playing to really feel the character and if the animations are poorly done, I simply can't get into it, no matter how well it performs. So here is my proposal to spice up the set with animations that have roughly the same casting times and would fit the theme. So one thing to keep in mind here, is that within my head, every single attack has a Psi Blade in hand.
 

1. Mental Strike: (Spines) Assassin's Strike Instant Cast animation
2. Psi Blade: (Claws) Shockwave animation
3. Telekinetic Blow: (Street Justice) Crushing Uppercut
4. Psi Blade Sweep: Stays the same
5. Confront: (Katana) Calling of the Wolf
6. Boggle: Stays the same
7. Greater Psi Blade: (Staff Fighting) Sky Splitter
8. Mass Levitate: (Fighting) Tough's secondary animation

 

I think with these changes, the set would have a very appealing visual and would for sure spice it up a bit. Give it some thought, play it in your head a bit or even see the animations in your character creator and tell me what ya think.

hey man after playing around for half a day with the animations ive discovered some stuff you might be interested in

#1 all changes are client side so even if see cool animations others still see the same old jankyness

#2 The Psiblade aura seems to be tied to the arm so even if you change the animation you keep the blade however you will lose other environmental effects. (i switched psiblade with hemmorage and i love it)

#3 All the assassins strike animation seem to be encoded for stalkers in hide so they are long long long and unusable (at least from what i can tell)

 

now all i need is better sounds and psionic melee will finally look as cool as it should be

 

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Saiyajinzoningen

[Marine X]

Hey @Solarverse,

Noticed Something in Issue 27: Page 6 notes....

 

Sound System:

• Added /loudstacking slash command to optionally enable old eardrum-busting sound stacking.

There you go!

[Solarverse]

1 hour ago, Marine X said:

Hey @Solarverse,

Noticed Something in Issue 27: Page 6 notes....

 

Sound System:

• Added /loudstacking slash command to optionally enable old eardrum-busting sound stacking.

There you go!

 

I believe that was done because @Number Six took pity and felt sorry for me after me making this post, lol.
 

 

[Solarverse]

7 hours ago, Saiyajinzoningen said:

hey man after playing around for half a day with the animations ive discovered some stuff you might be interested in

#1 all changes are client side so even if see cool animations others still see the same old jankyness

#2 The Psiblade aura seems to be tied to the arm so even if you change the animation you keep the blade however you will lose other environmental effects. (i switched psiblade with hemmorage and i love it)

#3 All the assassins strike animation seem to be encoded for stalkers in hide so they are long long long and unusable (at least from what i can tell)

 

now all i need is better sounds and psionic melee will finally look as cool as it should be

 

 

 

Is that a mod you are working on, or is that something on Test server?

[Saiyajinzoningen]

i just switched the animation files on my game

[Solarverse]

3 hours ago, Saiyajinzoningen said:

i just switched the animation files on my game

Ah I see, gotcha. Nicely done, heh. Looks good I must say.

[MrAxe]

The only thing I'd like changed is for the 2 single target TK attacks to be a bit more visible in some way. Even when there's a small group it just looks like you're punching. Other than that I'm fine with it. Would never want all psi blade attacks as that would ruin my concept.

[Rudra]

1 hour ago, MrAxe said:

The only thing I'd like changed is for the 2 single target TK attacks to be a bit more visible in some way. Even when there's a small group it just looks like you're punching. Other than that I'm fine with it. Would never want all psi blade attacks as that would ruin my concept.

Having the option for all psi blades would let those that want it to have it and those that don't to not. More options are better.

[MrAxe]

15 minutes ago, Rudra said:

Having the option for all psi blades would let those that want it to have it and those that don't to not. More options are better.

Not against it being an option at all, its one I personally wouldn't use.

[Saiyajinzoningen]

 

 

Ok so i replaced 4 animations to make the set feel more fluid. The hardest part of animation replacing is getting the cast times correct. If the cast times are longer than the original there will invariably be issues with the rotation and if the cast time are short the next move in the rotation becomes an invisible attack.

 

I replaced Psi blade with a power from the claws powerset named Focus (Actual animation name is claw_low)

I replaced TK blow with the Normal boxing attack from the power pool   (Actual animation name is Recluse_Gutpunch)

I replaced Psi blade sweep with Savage melee vicious slash                       (Actual animation name is vicious_slash)

I replaced Greater Psi Blade with Super Str's knockout blow                       (Actual animation name is windup_upcut)

 

I chose claw low because i wanted to keep the same type of slash as the original but gain some movement below the waist.

The same reasons apply for TK blow

I changed psi sweep to vicious slash because i felt the asymmetrical movement is more natural

Greater psi blade is tough because after lots of trial and error i realized that the psi blade is emitted from the knuckles this rules out all the weapons except claws and fists eventually i went with KB blow because the cast time is very very close to the original power.

 

If anyone has got some better sounds please let me know

 

[Nitrogen Star]

Nice work! I am very interested in this, since i as well never managed to play a psionic melee character for long, the animations just felt boring to me after a while.

I especially like the psi blade- vicious slash switch. And KO blow, surprisingly, looks cool too with the energy blade.

 

How did you do it? I suspect it's not very different than replacing sound files, but i may be wrong and my techno mumbo-jumbo is on cro-magnon levels. Could you explain it and tell me where to find the files to replace?

 

Just one more thought. I'd like to try and change telekinetic blow to cobra strike from martial arts. I think it would be cool and more thematic for martial/ninja characters using their chi as a weapon. The animation is minimally longer and i wouldn't mind a fraction of a second in exchange for fun factor. Is it doable?