Update:Blog - Animation Update: Pack 1
This blog was written by Mod Paul B and dates to 16 July 2009.
Hi, I’m Mod Paul B, the Lead Animator on RuneScape. I would like to take some time to tell you about some animation updates we are bringing you.
As I am sure you have noticed we are updating many of the graphics in RuneScape and one of the areas needing attention is the animation. We have been working on improving the way we animate characters and locations in RuneScape, making the animation smoother and more refined to compliment the increased quality of the character models and areas.
Animation tweening
One way we have achieved this is with a technique called tweening. This technique allows us to fill out the animation, allowing it to play back more fluidly. In simple terms, we take two frames of animation and interpolate (blend between) them so there is essentially a third frame at a mid point. This makes the animation appear smoother to the eye.
Click on this link to view a comparison between an animation with tweening and one without. As you can see, the lower animation is much smoother and far more effective as a result.
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Windmill animation without tweening.
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Windmill animation with tweening.
Updating some of the most popular weapons
One area we are currently updating is the combat animations. We looked at the weapons that seem to be the most popular with players and have updated not only how they look, but also the animations that play when they are used in combat.
This is one of the areas that the animators really enjoyed updating. Mod Biscuits, Mod Judge and Mod Wing collaborated on this project and produced the new animations.
Click on this link to view a comparison between the old and new attack animation for scimitars. The new animation is more dynamic and fluid in comparison to the old one.
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Old scimitar attack animation.
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New scimitar attack animation.
Agility animations
With the recent release of the new high level Agility anims, we thought we’d have a look through the existing anims and give them a polish as we felt they needed some attention. Agility anims need particular attention paying to them as they are quite technical in the way they are implemented into the game engine.
There was some close collaboration needed between Mod Woody (Senior Animator) and Mod Roderick (RuneScape Content Developer). Some of these Agility anims have been in RuneScape for a long time, so it was great to see them updated.
Click on this link to view a comparison between the old and new dive animation. You can see just how much of a difference the update has made.
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Old Agility dive animation.
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New Agility dive animation.
Emote animations
We realize that players use emotes a great deal and look forward to new additions. As such, we have gone through all emotes in RuneScape and given them a good once over to make sure they are looking consistent and the best they can.
The animators and I have very much enjoyed updating some of the older animations in RuneScape, and have many plans for updates to the animation in RuneScape in the future. This is just the first step!
I hope you enjoy this update when it is released. Look out for further developments from the animators of the RuneScape Graphics team.
Have fun!
- Please note that all images are best viewed in Mozilla Firefox. In Internet Explorer, particularly, the updated animations play at about half speed.
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