Q&A with Lead Animator Viktor Kostik

[Trnc84 50]

Hi all,

My question is what has been the major hurdle preventing you guys to implement a new controller sooner?

Edited January 31, 2017 by Trnc84

[eirikr 34]

Hello! Will the player ever move/bounce around within the vehicle? For example, driving in first person and you hit a ramp, when you land the player's view would dip down, or leaning on high G turns.

 

Also, will tree, grass, and bushes be more animated and immersive?

Edited February 4, 2017 by eirikr

[joe_mcentire 2074]

hi and thanks for the opportunity:

• the world of chernarus becomes more and more detailled and inhabited with wildlife but what still is missing is also an environment that feels alive
  • are we ever going to see static objects getting their generic (or player/npc triggered) animations or animation trees?
    • flags waving and flapping, wind turbines/wheels rotating in the wind with corresponding intensity
    • shrubbery trees moving when npcs and chars stride through them
    • chain-link fences moving when a char hits them etc.
    • generic animations of static objects' getting destroyed (fence --> fence slightly damaged --> fence heavily damaged --> fence destroyed)
    • etc.
• team/dual animations and animation trees
  • animation can be (conditionally) triggered by one person and a second might be able/needed to accept/decline the animation trigger
    • helping each other over a fence
    • carry person
    • carry heavy loot with another person
    • etc.
• can you (BI) imagine to provide a very rudimentary animation(-tree) editor at some point down the line, to allow easy access for modders?
• will doors always just open wide and loot just disappear from the vicinity and appear in our inventory...
  • ...or will we see a hand reaching to a door pushing/pulling or a hand reaching to an item/container and putting it in the backpack?
• will we at some point have animations to allow the interaction with e.g. this fence (destruction, deconstruction, climbing)

cheers

Edited February 7, 2017 by joe_mcentire

[KIORABOI101 1]

If a hill is too steep, will there be an animation for the character to stumble? or if it is extremely steep, will the player be able to stumble a little and go into a controlled rag doll animation, because they couldn't get a grip on the ground? and what I mean by controlled rag-doll, is make the player tuck into a ball and roll down until they stop or something, while having the joints sort of springy so their arms still move when they come into contact with the ground.

[DayZ Standalone News 36]

On 30.1.2017 at 4:47 PM, Baty Alquawen said:

Hello Survivors!

It is another Q&A time. This is your opportunity to get answers to all of your questions about animation process and and we will record Victor's answers on video!

Viktor is going to introduce himself and his work under my post.

Victor is ready for your questions! Don't be afraid to ask!

 

What is the most difficult/complex Animation you have done for DayZ so far? And why?

How many different Animations are currently available and how many will there be approximately?

[kostik856 0]

0.61 ПАТЧ ВЫГЛЯДИТ НЕ ОЧЕНЬ МНОГО ТУМАНА !анимации багуются отдаю предпочтения 0 60 патчу  ведь из за анимаций происходит краш серверов это не есть хорошо

 

[JCinematics 0]

Can we expect vehicles anytime soon? And my last question is what changes have you made to the animation of certain vehicles?

[skynet83 3]

What are you goals and influences for character movement in dayz?. Is there any existing game's that you would use as an example for how you would like the dayz character to handle?

[AviX 8]

Are u guys planning to add more predators?

like Bears. i would love to see bears too :)

Maybe also some weather effects like snow. then the white clothes would be epic :)

[joe_mcentire 2074]

15 minutes ago, AviX said:

Are u guys planning to add more predators?

like Bears. i would love to see bears too :)

Maybe also some weather effects like snow. then the white clothes would be epic :)

can you take at least some time and read title and op's post (or even the 2nd which is from the person who's going to answer our questions), please?

[AviX 8]

"Of course, we're also here to implement what our game design team needs in order to create the desired gameplay experience - that covers things like types of character movement, animations for interaction with the in-game environment, or interaction with things like ladders, cars, weapons or different kinds of obstacles. Long story short: everything that moves in DayZ, we've probably done some work on it."

 

Anything that moves. Some time ago dayztv. Leaked models for bears. And because of that I think the question is the right place. Because this is an animation question about the bears being implemented and not if they will make a model. 

The weather question don't belong here I know. 

Sorry for my bad English but I hope u understand what I mean anyway. And if I'm wrong I'm sorry. 

 

[whothe 60]

Hey there!
Thanks for your awsome work!

1. How do you balance realistic animation (weight) vs. immediate player feedback (instant movement)?
To which side do the animations lean after the integration of the new controller? Which are the deciding factors?

2. How much do you want the animations to be readable? ([Player A] always knows what [player B] is doing?) Do you exagerate some?

3. My guess would be, that the smooth transitions of the new controller make it harder to distiguish different animations? Would you fight this? How? Non issue?

4. Do you seek to reflect the newly introduced skill mechanics in e.g. the walk or run animations? (Or at all for that matter :D?)
How manydifferent runcycles will you include, if more than one at all?

5. Are you planing to achive variations with procedural methods (retargeting/curve falloffs) or are you all about keyframed animation?

6. How long does it take to produce e.g. a runcycle or a ladder animation from start to finsih?

7. How many animations are 100% hand animated?

8. Which are your favorite animations?

Looking forward to read your answers to our questions!
Thanks again!

[joe_mcentire 2074]

hej,

will also take the chance to list some points from the reddit wiki: feel free to share thoughts, feelings, emotions, confirmations (negative or positive ones) and or anecdotes regarding animations concerning...

Quote

 

• Sneezing and Coughing
• Urinating and pooping
• Tripping (if you get to close to something/run too fast down/uphill it may trip your character)
• Throwing your old weapon down when picking up a new one
• Dancing
• Using other players as a human shield
• Opening inventory (remove backpack to access, put backpack back on when done)
• Opening and reading map, making it obvious for second/third parties
• Holstering pistol animation (if different holsters available)
• Animations for the various medical applications
• Imitate zeds a.k.a zombie-walk
• Fake death
• Rolling onto your back like this
• Ability to slide down ladders
• contextual animations when pressing "V" to do more than just a simple vault, such as climb short walls
• The "Slav Squat"
• Commo Rose to bring up the various animations.
• using the pump handle at the well

 

[nafets2223 0]

When are you going to finish the animations for doors and things that don't always work 100% of the time?

[TeaSteve 0]

When will we see vehicles back in stable DayZ?

[Monkey2064 1]

Can we get an update on holstering the banana animation ...and ideally aiming like a handgun when in raised hands. I've got a lot of banana related mischief to get up to.

[lolly 6]

What would you like to see as the end product in terms of melee combat and death animations?

Will there be multiple animation actions for a single weapon, jab, swipe etc?

Would it be fair to say that hitting an infected in the head with a machete or chainsaw would remove the head?

If your aim is realism would removable limbs animations be on the cards?

Many Thanks.

Lolly

 

[TronJohn 0]

How has/will the new damage model effect the new animation systems and player controller? Will there be physics based animations that simulate being propelled by the pressure-wave of an explosive or bullet impact? Will players be able to tell if a character is overburdened withe gear by that players walk/run animations? Will heavier players be not only slower to run but slower to turn and change directions? 

[skynet83 3]

Will w,a,s,d / fblr movement have inertia like cs ?

 

I hope it does because this makes the character very controllable in interiors

Edited February 7, 2017 by skynet83

[Espa 711]

How many Injured poses will there be?

Will there be much more Infected poses and movements in further updates?

Will there be a Dance animation?? xD 

[joe_mcentire 2074]

i always thought about a threefold division of the animation-trees for players and also their interaction with the environment:

slow/quiet <-> normal <-> hasty/noisy

So you offer basically three options to every interaction leading to different reactions and implications of/to the environment/npcs - too simplify it dramatically: one animation but with three different speed-multipliers, say x0.5, x1 and x2

Where would you see 

1. ) the feasibility of something like that in regards to the current phase/state of the project and the engine?
2. ) theoretical limitations and downsides?
3. ) practical limitations and downsides?

[Five_Seven_Clown 88]

Viktor, You said in the 7th Feb Status report :

Quote

We want to find nice balance between how player looks and how it plays. This is a difficult topic as our game is set in multiplayer environment, which means we are bound by some limitations that are not present in single player games.

Could you go into some more detail, give us some examples of the limitations you are bound by?

Thanks

[Liven28 2]

Is it planned to adapt the speed of walking / running animation to the inclinaison of the slopes to avoid the too sudden passage from one animation to another as currently?

[barberousse 12]

hi long time been here but animation and fluid movement are the need for dayz can someday we see this kind of thing in dayz?

thank for response 

[boggle 49]

Thanks for doing the Q&A

#1  With the new animation system, how many simultaneous actions can we perform? (ex1: walking while eating beans->go to crouching animation while walking while still eating beans?    ex2: drinking a kvass while driving? :)

 

#2  regarding driving vehicles. Is the system for turning the vehicles as complex as: press "A" to move character hands/arms left/counterclockwise on steering wheel. Angular velocity of steering wheel accelerates from 0 to a maximum the longer the key is pressed, translated into the corresponding angular velocity of the steering shaft which is then translated into linear movement of the tie-rod that in turn moves the wheels? Or is it much simpler like the longer you press A the faster the vehicle begins to turn in respect to the world? Just curious how detailed and integrated the physics are, sorry if that is out of place here. Thanks!