By the Power of The Moon! Anime Style Magical Girl (26SEP10)

[DJ Bonebraker]

Okay, to put this debate to rest before the great wyrm Ouroboros is awakened and eats those responsible for this circular argument before getting a start on his own tail, I'd like to say this:

The title was basically a joke... I came up with a backstory for the SuperCiv scenario, and basically it's like this:

Yoshiko, a normal high school student by day, becomes Star Princess Rosenrot, the chosen templar of the angel known as Elbereth Starkindler and fights against evil at night (when it's usually out and about)... I.e. my own creation. I just drew inspiration from other magical girl anime and manga series...

...and the best magical girl anime is Kämpfer

 

[Takhisis]

So it's Sailor Moon+Silmarillion mythology… need new pants.

 

[Plotinus]

Actually, when the unit is promoted after combat, it starts at the fortified position and goes back to default... I've witnessed this several times during playtests of the SuperCiv scenario and the Playground mod (which uses some of my morphing units). It is only if you clear a barbarian nest that it plays from the default frame....

I'm sure that isn't the case. I've tested units very thoroughly when making them (never involving barbarians) and I have always seen the following happen:

A and B fight. A's attack animation plays, and B's attack animation plays.

A wins. A immediately plays its default animation, while B plays its death animation.

If A is promoted (and is the player's unit), A's victory animation plays.

The key thing is that the promoted unit always waits for the defeated unit to play its death animation before it plays its own victory animation. During that wait, it plays its default animation - it doesn't freeze in its fortify pose.

That's my experience anyway. When I started making units I did victory animations that started and ended with the default pose because of this. Then someone pointed out to me that Firaxis units have victory animations that start with the fortify pose, and that this is how they should be done, because in the victory the unit moves from its fortify pose back to its default pose. But I realised after watching many unit battles - particularly those involving units where the default and fortify poses are quite different - that I was right the first time, and that if the Firaxis units are made that way, then Firaxis screwed up somewhere along the line.

I don't think it makes a great deal of difference in-game - I doubt anyone is watching the units closely enough to spot these things in the normal run of things. But it is certainly easier making victory animations that start from the default pose than it is making them start from the fortify pose - at least I think so!

 

[imperator1961]

Great job, great result! Excellent unit Sir!

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Plot: Actually, I've noticed that what you're saying does happen, but not always... It seems to be random whether the animation is played immediately after the end of the last attack animation or after the other unit dies, but it may, in fact be dependent on which direction the unit is facing when it wins and/or the length of the defeated unit's death animation.... More "research" is needed, methinks.

 

[Grandraem]

Great job on this unit, Hikaro, and as mentioned, the transition really looks nice with this unit.

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

Thanks Grandraem! I had fun making this unit, personally (well, except the 3-hour grind that rendering the transformation sequence was), and I'm planning on re-using some of the animations for other units...

I may even make an update without the tranformation (i.e. magical girl all the time) that Goldflash requested.

 

[Goldflash]

Well, it wasn't so much a request as a suggestion.

 

[Vuldacon]

Hikaro... Wonderful Work on the Magic Girl and the Transitions are an Outstanding Effect

...Victory Animations do start and finish from the Default