Do you want enter/exit vehicle animations?

[Rivenshield]

Once again, with feeling:

I'll settle for a fade-out, like on the vehicle pad in PS1, with maybe a slight particle effect thrown in, and a two-second timer bar every time you enter, exit, or change positions in a vehicle. It would serve the same purpose as entry-exit animations and be easy enough to implement.

I'd also like to keep the old system of the vehicle displaying a big fat yellow entry-exit zone for each position, and have the vehicle be at rest in order to employ them, rather than the stereotypical 'run up to a moving vehicle and tap a hotkey' that prevails elsewhere.

[Vancha]

Heh, I knew I'd get beaten for that remark. I knew it was flawed when I typed it.

Honestly I just want an enter/exit delay, but I think the animations are surprisingly high up the list of priorities for a lot of people...

[fvdham]

In case I failed to mention several times:
let's accept our losses and ask for yellow icons on the ground.

[Mezorin]

I always loved that feeling of hoping into a lightning, or that feeling you get when you jump into a friend's vehicle in the middle of a fire fight and start yelling "Okay I'm in, GO!". But if the vehicle entrance and exit animations would set the game back 3 months or more, screw it, just give us the game as is. I understand that in development, sometimes there are "must haves" and "nice to haves" in a game, and the animations count as a "nice to have" in the grand scheme of things, and that's just how it is.

[AvacadoEight]

Honestly, it dosn't flipping matter. This is a First Person Shooter. Not a simulator. Theres absolutely NO reason for there to be enter/exit animations. They only serve for the perpous of looks and nostalgia. If you can explain to me, how the makethe actual gameplay better, i'll concede.

[Crator]

It doesn't make game-play better. What it does do is show off AAA title tendencies! It's about what people want and being the best to retain player base for years to come. Look a the poll results!

[Flaropri]

Originally Posted by Crator

Look a the poll results!

You realize that in many ways the polls in this forum are useless, right?

To put it in context...

Less than 500 people voted on this issue, and are part of a distinct sub demographic within Planetside players. Indeed, within a sub-demographic of people that actually visit the forum.

500 people is less than the ideal amount in one faction, in one continent, on one server.

The sample was not taken as a scientific poll, so it isn't representative of the wider demographic, just PSU and even then it's still impromptu and voluntary with no real controls. Even if you factor in that PSU feedback is important to Devs due to the passion and general level of maturity that most of the posters have it is a small sample and scewed by being a limited demographic (particularly since PSU often has a lot of PS1 players who are used to that game's method of dealing with vehicles).


For my on opinion (slightly less useful than the poll of course): Ultimately, I suspect that new maps will have more draw/retention capability than enter-exit animations. I also personally like the game-flow of instant vehicle entry at present, though I understand where people might not care for it. However, I also think that we should at least go into Beta before deciding whether or not the absence or presence of some form of delay for entering vehicles is good for the balance and flow of the game.

[Crator]

Originally Posted by Flaropri

You realize that in many ways the polls in this forum are useless, right?

The sample was not taken as a scientific poll, so it isn't representative of the wider demographic, just PSU and even then it's still impromptu and voluntary with no real controls.

Sorry, I was being lazy by using the poll as an excuse for what the general FPS community wants.... I'm not really a scientist. And not exactly sure if there are any scientfically correct surveys out there for this topic...

Here's a few threads I found on the topic, some not on PSU....

Would you be willing to have no interior animations or enter/exit animations?

Is DICE being a little lazy here?

Enter/exit animations confirmed for not being in/not planned

Poll: Boarding and Exiting animations in Planetside 2

No vehicle Enter/Exit Animations?

[Flaropri]

Originally Posted by Crator

Sorry, I was being lazy by using the poll as an excuse for what the general FPS community wants.... I'm not really a scientist. And not exactly sure if there are any scientfically correct surveys out there for this topic...

Here's a few threads I found on the topic, some not on PSU....

[snip]

There probably isn't a proper survey on the topic, I just felt important to point out that the results of this poll are by no means wholly representative of the PS2 player-base (in part because said player-base doesn't actually exist yet, and most people posting on the topic are not yet part of it).

For example, your linked threads are a bit of a mixed bag themselves. One asked: "are you willing to skip animations if it means faster vehicle releases" and the majority of that poll was "yes." Which is actually another argument against animations for PS2, as it means we might get Buggies and other new vehicles that much faster (hadn't really been thinking about it before now, but it's a fair point actually).

Others also discussed whether or not animations like that pull you out of the game/diminished game-play, with mixed feedback on that aspect of it, etc.

Anyway, it's good to discuss regardless (gives us something to do while waiting for beta invites at least), just we shouldn't take too much stock in forum polls (or Newspaper/site polls for that matter).


EDIT: Not worth posting another post, just wanted to clarify on the off chance you might read this Crator that I didn't think you were trying to be biased. (after all, that would have removed the point of you doing that) My point was that the threads also showed that while a lot of people were in favor of animations, they weren't necessarily in favor of the trade-offs that come with it. It's like another poster in this thread said, asking if people want a cookie without discussing what all else comes with that cookie. That's the poll results, but when taking into account other factors it appears to be far more split.

[Crator]

I wasn't trying to be bias in my thread options I gave... Just trying to demonstrate that most people do want them. That's what the poll and the threads demonstrate is all...

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by Angry Beaver

Yes actually, they are.

I do a lot of game dev in my spare time and everyone here is missing some of the vital aspects, exit/enter animations are not simply about exiting and entering animations. I want them, but I know EAXCTLY why they're not in

1 - Modify the vehicles structure so there's a door and general storyboard for mounting for everyone to occupy every position
2 - Repeat 1 until everyone is happy with the look and feel cause god know it'll take forever
3 - Model the interior shots for people other than the driver
4 - Cut the door frame into the exterior model and make it line up
5 - Seperate out the interior surfaces into a new dynamically loadable and attachable model (this prevents z-sorting glitches from making the seam look bad)
6 - Create new textures and information needed to make the inside surfaces look good.
7 - Test the hell out of the visuals and ensure nothing has problems
8 - Fix the lighting problems (because they will exist) and repeat 7 until it doesn't matter
9 - Start programming the system need to create mount points on the ground where the player can stand to enter
10 - Weigh having tiny mount points versus problems of getting players into the right spot smoothly
11 - Test and debug mount point system working involving prediction and uneven terrain including having the vehicle face mashed into a wall
12 - Keep testing cause there's edge cases you didn't consider like opening into another vehicle
13 - Keep programming because no-ones satisfied with how you resolved the edges cases with lots of warping and non solid geometry
14 - Begin animating the door sequences on the vehicles, ensure every door can open and close problem with no intersections
15 - Implement system with door opening and closing enabling and disabling internal view models made earlier
16 - Begin animating player models to 'jump in'
17 - Redo animations to fit timeline constraints because a 10s mounting animation wasn't good enough.
18 - Modify the models and textures to give handholds in betetr places for the animations.
19 - Get yelled at for mounting animations looking natural while you explain its because they made you make them so fast.
20 - Finally have working enter/exit animations.
21 - Start working on smooth transitions between old edge cases and current animations
22 - Fix bugs and issues like drawn weapons when mounting a vehicle or animation smoothing not accounting for a cliff when jumping out of a vehicle.
23 - Starting adding sound effects for mounting and disengaging from vehicle
24 - Release to general public
25 - Get push back because there's bug with snapping to 3rd person cam or if it plays in 1st person cam the animation is too dis-orienting.
26 - Push out fix and repeat until problems die down to a murmur

In-case you didn't notice that entire process used a bit of everyone on the team. This is not just "OMG ANIMATORS NEED TO DO IT" this is an entire concentrated effort from the entire team to create a complex and difficult system. Can we all stop being so incredibly naive and realize that Higby is shooting straight and not trying to BS us 'cause he doesn't want it done'.

Granted a few of these steps might of been trimmed down had enter/exit animations been a requirement from the get-go; however, given the pressure they're under to make money on a f2p, all the expense of next gen graphics, and the $$ they're spending on a new engine this is a cost I can forgive them for cutting.

I'd still love them, and I'm perfectly willing to wait.

Y'know, I was for the animations, but they sound god-awful after that (I never played PS1, but they seemed cool). Now I'd be happy to settle for a slight, inside the vehicle startup delay, that could perhaps be reduced with a cert. The instant teleporting has always seemed a little unrealistic to me in BF3.

[Crator]

Originally Posted by GLaDOS

Y'know, I was for the animations, but they sound god-awful after that (I never played PS1, but they seemed cool).

Sounds god awful for a developer. Why do you care as long as they've done all the work properly to bring you a better experience?

[Zekeen]

Really, what I don't understand is why they don't work on the animations on the side instead of just saying "No" or takes 6 months, having some work getting put into it over time to eventually get added wouldn't be too bad and would really add to the game. We all want the game to hurry with release, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't add in animations after release. We're all wanting it to EVENTUALLY be added. Wish we could hear a Dev speak on if they are considering it for a later date.

[Buggsy]

YES YES YES YES!

A) It was unique

B) It's another way to balance vehicle vs infantry, other than simply nerfing vehicle HP/DPS.

[Kran De Loy]

Originally Posted by Zekeen

Really, what I don't understand is why they don't work on the animations on the side instead of just saying "No" or takes 6 months, having some work getting put into it over time to eventually get added wouldn't be too bad and would really add to the game.

That sounds like you're saying that they aren't busting balls already to get stuff done and they've have the extra time to do it, 'on the side'. I really do get what you were trying to say, but try to not imply that Devs aren't already doing everything all at once.

Originally Posted by Zekeen

We all want the game to hurry with release, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't add in animations after release. We're all wanting it to EVENTUALLY be added. Wish we could hear a Dev speak on if they are considering it for a later date.

Honestly I agree with you that E/E animations really need to get put into the game, my choice is first person only animations and that they should be kept short and sweet. No need for those showy awesome back flip animations from the first game.

However the real part that needs to be implemented in the gameplay aspects, not the cosmetic. That short pause time between getting in or out of a vehicle and the need for a proper location of where the player is relative to that entrance/exit.

All in all tho this particular forum is probably too biased to properly poll on the issue. Needs to get done in August or September when Open Beta is available when there is a lot of people on the beta forums that aren't just Vets/PCG and Twitter/FB keys.

Now that I think about, should probably do both. one for the Vets/PCG guys and the Twitter/FB guys in CBT then another new poll for when OBT starts and the public can get a chance to experience PS2 before voting on E/E gameplay and animations.