When will running animations be fixed?

[DorianDonP]

Quote: Originally Posted by ghettogeeksta

I guess we are in the minority about the bad running animations by the lack to reply's in this thread. I was hoping this would become one of those threads that lingers around for months. Maybe we are the crazy ones and are just seeing things.

I think most of us have just accepted that they won't fix it this gen. I gave up hope on them fixing it years ago so I hardly even complain about it now.

[EAGLESFAN10]

I'm really hoping is that they take into account the type of back it is

Some Backs can run full speed but still able to give you that lightning fast juke while still maintaining their speed..... De'Anthony Thomas is a perfect example of this

Then you have those heavier backs that need space to operate and make those hard cuts TJ Yeldon and Jerome Smith are good examples of this

I just hope they take the type of back that each back is

I don't want to recruit a 6'1 235lb back and he is making cuts like De'Anthony Thomas

[BV11]

Quote: Originally Posted by EAGLESFAN10

I'm really hoping is that they take into account the type of back it is Some Backs can run full speed but still able to give you that lightning fast juke while still maintaining their speed..... De'Anthony Thomas is a perfect example of this Then you have those heavier backs that need space to operate and make those hard cuts TJ Yeldon and Jerome Smith are good examples of this I just hope they take the type of back that each back is I don't want to recruit a 6'1 235lb back and he is making cuts like De'Anthony Thomas

I think the agility rating should take care of that, but who knows. There may be some 235 lb. backs that are generated in recruiting with 99 agility, but hopefully not.

[Ky3217]

Quote: Originally Posted by BV11

I think the agility rating should take care of that, but who knows. There may be some 235 lb. backs that are generated in recruiting with 99 agility, but hopefully not.

Im fine with it happening. Just rarely. Occasionally you do get those big backs who do have good agility IRL. It happens

[kingsofthevalley]

The running animations are motion captured. Thats what confuses me when it comes to the devs fixing it. Figure all they need to do is mocap someone sprinting?????? I recall a few years ago the devs stated they implemented a new 40 yard stretch for mocapping "sprint" run animations, so I have no idea why the runners still look like they have a pole stuck up their butt as the run animations are created from real people actually running.

[aerovt]

Because the people they mocapped aren't/weren't football players. I have my doubts they were athletes of any sort tbh. Its why a lot of the animations, esp those along the line, look bad

There is a video floating around somewhere comparing the real life film EA released of the mocapped bull rush compared to a bull rush performed by two football players in the same (ie 1v1) situation. The programmers nailed the animations they had to motion capture, but the problem was it was done completely wrong.

[theharbinater]

Quote: Originally Posted by BV11

Yeah the more I watch it the worse it looks, especially if you focus on his feet/legs. It seems like the feet don't contact the ground long enough to generate the force of the cut he makes. And I just don't understand where they came up with these running animations, they were 100x better back on Xbox/PS2. His feet are hardly reaching knee level when he runs, let alone up to his butt like they do in real life.

there needs to be about 5-10 different running styles/animations (and throwing, kicking, etc.).

look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDXJ-wpfrwg

it's kinda crappy, but at the :50 mark is a good example of an open field sprint from shaun alexander. he had a unique running style, feet barely got off the ground. nothing like dat's style.

as for the current animations, seems there's no joint in the hips. no spine. the spine twists and turns, bends and arches, but the animations do none of that. i think that's where most of the problem is. the legs and hip-ball joint look ok (again, needs differentiation for differing styles), but from the hip to the shoulders there is no movement.

[SerenityInFire]

Quote: Originally Posted by theharbinater

as for the current animations, seems there's no joint in the hips. no spine. the spine twists and turns, bends and arches, but the animations do none of that. i think that's where most of the problem is. the legs and hip-ball joint look ok (again, needs differentiation for differing styles), but from the hip to the shoulders there is no movement.

I agree.
Now this is a critique from an art major here who specialized in figure drawing:
The players do move "believably" and "realistically," but they do not have naturalistic movements. There's no balance/counterbalance in how they position themselves, and there is no apparent force applied with each step, no apparent muscle flexion and not interaction with the turf in how the impact of each step would influence the shape of the muscle, the angle of bend in the joints and so on and so forth. It looks almost like a toy that's running, with part and joint moving individually but working together as opposed to a complex creature composed of interlocking ellipse-shaped muscles held in place by intertwining tendons and ligaments wrapped around a hardened bone structure. What I mean is that, because everything is so tightly connected and wrapped together, when you move a part of your body, most other parts of the move or react in some way to it moving. When I raise my arm above my head, it's not just my arm muscles that move, but my shoulder, my trapeziums, pectoralis major and minor, abs, rib muscles and so many other muscles act and move to perform that action. It's the exact same problem with EA's facial animations. When I smile, it's not just my mouth and cheeks that move, but every part of my face moves, even my nose. Next time someone is talking to you look at their nose. I guarantee everyone's nose moves when they talk. But anyway, I'd highly recommend that anyone and everyone in EA's art department (not just the animation team) read The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams. He's directed animation and done animation for countless award winning films. He's most well known for his work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. So it's not just good stuff, but it's absolute brilliance. It's gold, I tell yah, it's gold!