Getting stuck and falling over is too easy

[Orlacktherof]

So, I've gotten quite a few hours into this game by now and I've noticed one very big issue, getting stuck.(or catching one's foot)

I spent alot of time in level 2 just running away from hordes(ok so it was like 2-3 zombies and a few guys that I walked past) and my torch would get stuck on doors and crates alot and slingshot me back a few feet to get hit in the face with a hammer or something. or I would be running, but turing a corner, my foot would barely graze the wall and my character would completely stop and then fall over.

As for getting stuck in places and not being stopped by something, you character being able to push open closed doors and rolling out from under something needs to be able to happen. I've died many times in the ward/infirmary/hospital sections of a map because someone with a crutch or leg would hit me and then push me under a table where I couldn't escape due to my inabilty to roll or just go limp to get pushed out from under the table.(or escape that sink I always get stuck in because I'm a bloody idiot that just can't not do stupid things)

and stepping on or over small objects and slopes needs to be less painful and time consuming. (I spend alittle too much time trying to get ontop of tables for some reason)

 

[NachoDawg]

Rolling sounds like a good solution. Like being able to still use WASD to crawl your character out of those situations. I've gotten comedically stuck under tables myself

 

[ZaratanCho]

"Sausage rolls" or something like that will probably be added, been mentioned before(and jumping too one day). But generally its not easy to fall over or trip tbh. Can't remember anything like being 'crutched' under a table(sounds funny) or fallen into something that i couldn't get out for the million times i have done the "dungeon"(though those things almost don't happen either way). There was one time actually, i jumped into a big box and it turned over me as i got my torch stuck onto its bottom side. That was pretty tough, couldn't get out haha, but yeah it was all my doing. ;d You can push doors that are not completely closed, opening doors manually while running you can as well, why make it automatic. Much cooler that you have to do it yourself.

Your torch wont get stuck and slingshot you if you move with a little more precision. Since i explored everything long time ago i am sprinting(holding shift and cursor far away) everywhere and this doesn't happen. Even if it happens sometime when you run into something, well thats good, it should. I have tripped sometimes on the frame of doors, but when im running around like a lunatic going through half or less opened doors thats expected to happen sometimes. How do you fix your foot hitting something, the accurate collisions even in those situations make it super good and add so much realism(adding a degree of clipping will suck big time). And if you are careful and move well its fine, you can squeeze through a lot with very small chance of falling. I'd say its realistic to get caught on stuff and trip if you run like crazy and/or panicking and controlling your character with less precision than possible.
That with the wall is kinda weird though, there is still some sticking that can mess you up in different ways. Suddenly snapping of it and stuff like that.
It's cool movement is kinda a skill in itself like that. Maybe making it so you drop your torch/weapon if you get it violently caught on something while running and it wont slingshot you. It makes sense.

In bigger world like SG you will probably be able to get stuck in many ways where you can't get out though or maybe not. But if thats the case wonder what you can do about it.

 

[RobG]

There was one time actually, i jumped into a big box and it turned over me as i got my torch stuck onto its bottom side

lol

 

[Orlacktherof]

Well, you see, I get knocked over a bit sometimes as for some reason, every time I fight against enemies with a two handed weapon, either they hit me in the knee and knock me over, get their weapon under my foot and flip me or hook me in the shoulder and kinda throw me making me fall over to get pushed under something.

As for the torch thing, that for level 2 due to how for some reason when I play, zombies tend to conglomerate in one area and create a sort of horde when one gets pissed off at me and I just kinda run off opening doors very hastily to try to escape and I tend to get stuck on tables, boxes, wagons and all sorts of things as I need to move the camera alot in the many many corridors and rooms of level 2.

And opening doors by ramming them is because I've gotten trapped in a bathroom sometimes when a few guys just pile against the door.

 

[NachoDawg]

@ZaratanCho if everything was fine if we just played a little more carefully then this thread wouldn't have been made in the first place. I speak for myself, but I know I've gotten both my torch and my sword stuck in doors and door frames several times. Every single time, it could have been solved if the character somehow knew how to automatically move his hands out of the way. But he doesn't, so I have to awkwardly make him step backwards, turn him around and make sure my hands don't collide into anything, then move in through the door. If someone walked around like that in RL then you would ask what's wrong with him.

If it's not a fun experience and it doesn't look good, then I think it's worth pointing out that it might be a problem to be looked at further.

 

[ZaratanCho]

When moving slower yeah, something like this is already added for running into stuff/walls. But when sprinting fast its hard to imagine detecting it and moving the arm out of the way fast enough(actually sprinting/running while holding C could help, never felt the need to use it but might help, kinda huddles up a little,i had forgotten about it). I never said it is not a problem but now that you mentioned it, in my experience it really isn't(don't get stuck and as i said i usually sprint all the time). Which doesn't mean it shouldn't be improved(like what you proposed if it can be done, though im a little wary of things that make the character move by itself). First sentence makes no sense btw ;d

One thing i really don't want to see is clipping though.

 

[Anthony Obilor]

For me I think there should be some automatic collision detection when in exploration mode. Basically when in your range of influence, if your characters weapon is close to touching a wall, twist torso a little sideways and sort of trail the weapon behind you or in front of you, basically how you would twist if you were pulling your arm back from the shoulder. Some sort of hit detection between the environment and the character with auto reaction.

 

[RobG]

though I'm a little wary of things that make the character move by itself

I sort of agree with this except that I think reactionary moves are totally fine, I think it is a case of we want to see what we would expect to see happen. So I think an auto move to avoid a collision is bad, BUT an auto move to react to the collision is fine, I mean if you scraped your hand against a wall the pain would cause you to recoil the hand potentially causing the sprint to suddenly halt and momentum giving a partial spin towards the wall too, if the scrape was significant enough, dropping items too I suppose but that could just be plain irritating really game play wise. Although they would, I guess, be auto moves I think they would be reasonable as realistic things to happen and also maybe suitable karma for sprinting around everywhere heedlessly. IRL these reactions are like 'auto moves' I guess, so it fits.

Having said that based on what Madoc has said in the past, small things like this seem to take a lot of animation work, which of course takes time away from other things and so for me at least, its not a massive deal at all right now, although I agree it could do with some attention one day. The thing I think as well though is, I can think of countless games where there is something similar in terms of character getting stuck on something or in something or behind someone etc etc and I always just kinda accepted it as part of the game and tbh part of gaming. In a lot of cases it is much worse than in exanima, in games that are all finished. Its a bit different because its a rogue like I suppose, but anyone who play the original binding of Isaac will know what its like to be TOTALLY screwed over in countless ways, its not really any less of a game for it either imo. Digression... Exanima... yay.

 

[Madoc]

There's a few things that will improve these problems:

• We recently extended our animation system with features to dynamically change how tense the character's virtual muscles are. This was done primarily to improve weapon attacks but it offers generally more natural motion in many circumstances and has other applications. Your arms will relax and let you open doors more easily and won't get you stuck in things so much. This is already working well and will be in the next update
• Tripping while walking/running is currently very poorly implemented and will be improved
• Tall characters currently have some pretty serious balance bugs that will be fixed
• There are plans to introduce some means of movement while prone, amongst other things this should allow to move out from under a table
• Currently there is an artificial mechanic causing you to lose balance if you try to climb too high up, this will be removed and instead we will have collisions with the ceiling to prevent you from climbing out of rooms. Being able to use objects to climb over pits and other things is an intended feature

We're always improving lots of things of course but that's a few off the top of my head.

 

[Orlacktherof]

There's a few things that will improve these problems:

• Currently there is an artificial mechanic causing you to lose balance if you try to climb too high up, this will be removed and instead we will have collisions with the ceiling to prevent you from climbing out of rooms. Being able to use objects to climb over pits and other things is an intended feature

I kinda bypassed this partially, I'll try to get a screenshot of me ontop of a wall. I spend a lot of time just messing around and trying to climb up on things. I fell off the wall immediately however when I did get ontop. The mechanic also seems to be more of a timed one or at-least relative to where you're standing. I was able to just stack many many benches, boxes and other things to get up slowly.

The attached image is where I discovered that the balance mechanic is relative to where you were standing and not the ground.

 

[Anthony Obilor]

Turn on AA man those edges could saw a tree down. You have 34fps, you have enough leeway for AA. Enjoy the game without sawing your eyeballs.

 

[Orlacktherof]

Turn on AA man those edges could saw a tree down. You have 34fps, you have enough leeway for AA. Enjoy the game without sawing your eyeballs.

My screen isn't big enough to notice. Or this is an older screenshot before I decided to go turn AA on. I forget.