AuthorTopic: 3 Combo Hammer Hit  (Read 9341 times)

Offline mozzy

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3 Combo Hammer Hit

on: December 17, 2012, 03:45:38 pm
Wow it's been forever since I last posted something here! I miss this place...

Anyway, I started up work on an old game and things are a little rusty. I could use some critique on this little animation. Its guy swinging a hammer. Its supposed to be a fast and powerful 3 hit combo, but I just can't seem to get that weighty feeling. The range of the attacks seem small now that I look at it.
 
Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to edit and/or rip it apart.

Animated:

Frames:
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Offline Pizza Tom

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Re: 3 Combo Hammer Hit

Reply #1 on: December 17, 2012, 03:57:20 pm
I'm not a huge animation buff, but it seems to me that the hammer is brought back and swung quickly, but the follow through slows down, when it should be the upswing that's slower. An extra frame or so at the end of each swing to emphasize the impact might not hurt, either.
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Offline mozzy

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Re: 3 Combo Hammer Hit

Reply #2 on: December 17, 2012, 11:44:52 pm
but the upswing is a part of the attack so it needs to be quick. I definitely see what you mean I just don't know how to make it look right :x
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Offline alessandroLino

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Re: 3 Combo Hammer Hit

Reply #3 on: December 18, 2012, 12:26:38 am
I feel that hammering upwards is kinda weird to begin with, thats probably you feel the animation doesnt look right, maybe the very act of doing it doesnt look right. Maybe if you do some special attack with a very powerfull upward hammering thing that makes you fly, that would probably feel 'right'. I was kind of searching for the third attack when i first saw the animation.
Maybe if you drag the hammer all the way back from the character and swing it upwards, instead of pulling from the ground, it would feel the guy is hitting ahead of him instead of above.

You can try to have it swing sideways and then downwards, this is a small piece from a game of mine.


Anyway, i'm no expert and you're free to not consider anything of the above :crazy:

Offline mozzy

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Re: 3 Combo Hammer Hit

Reply #4 on: December 18, 2012, 02:53:04 am
I had him swing upwards because the attack needs to end in that pose because that's of what the idle looks like. The style of the game is very fast paced so the attack needs to move fast.

I tried to change it up. Made the hammer bigger in a failed attempt to make it look stronger and added more range to the attack.  Though I added an extra frame of after each swing to give it sort of weight. But I just don't get it, its not clicking in my head or something.



Frames: (The first frame is the idle pose, not a part of the attack animation)

« Last Edit: December 18, 2012, 04:37:09 am by mozzy »
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Offline Charlieton

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Re: 3 Combo Hammer Hit

Reply #5 on: December 18, 2012, 02:29:25 pm
I think you could let the implied momentum influence the movement more. As the hammer slams down, instead of having the character stop it abruptly and then swing it in the opposite direction, have it follow through and continue its path behind the sprite as the character spins around with it. The hammer will then reach it's "back" position, from which the momentum is taken advantage of to swing it upwards quickly. A more natural movement like that might make it look/feel more satisfying.

For reference, I was thinking about Nightmares/Siegfrieds fighting style in the Soul Calibur games when I came up with this. He fights with a very cumbersome, heavy sword. The momentum it generates is used to string different attacks and "fighting stances" together, in a very fluent, satisfying way.

I can make an example animation if my explanation above wasn't clear.
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Offline mozzy

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Re: 3 Combo Hammer Hit

Reply #6 on: December 18, 2012, 03:10:06 pm
I think I see what you mean but an example would be great. I have no idea why i'm having so much trouble with this, I've animated far more complicated things before ):
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Offline Charlieton

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Re: 3 Combo Hammer Hit

Reply #7 on: December 18, 2012, 04:27:30 pm
I was hoping I wouldn't have to, since I'm not that great at animation! :P

Anyway, here's my attempt at an edit that shows what I was going for:



Were I any better I would've added more follow through at every point where there's a change in momentum. Especially before and after the upwards swing. Before, to string the moves together more tightly, and after because the movement stops there very suddenly currently. Also, I figure the character should have to use both hands to swing something that heavy around.
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Offline mozzy

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Re: 3 Combo Hammer Hit

Reply #8 on: December 18, 2012, 05:04:22 pm
Ahhh I see. Im doing a move similar to that for when he attacks in the air so for this, I'm leaving out a spin.  Is this any better? I decided to take out the upswing as a part of the attack and instead, replaced it with a hammer jab. So it goes swing downwards, swing left, then jab forward. Then the brings the hammer back up to restart the cycle.

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Offline PixelPiledriver

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Re: 3 Combo Hammer Hit

Reply #9 on: December 19, 2012, 10:13:04 am
Cool.
Some thoughts on this:



- Use a tiny amount of space on the slow sections of the swing. There are inconsistent gaps in the spacing of the hammer head that work against the motion.


- You can use more than one multi frame in a row. Create a progression, just like any other animation, to make it flow together visually.


- The body shifts left and right a lot. This creates a weird visual pivot as if the head of the hammer and his body are rotating around the handle. If this is done to fit him within the canvas then increase the width. Being over sized won't matter if the collision is a separate object. I used a line, and onion skinning, to track the alignment.


Quote
The range of the attacks seem small now that I look at it.
This isn't that big of a deal.
In game I would tweak the players movement per swing.
Also action and reaction go together.
The enemy damage animations and behavior will help to amplify the motion.


Didn't have time but particles for each hit would also be nice.
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