Unit Maker of the Month, May 2008 Jury thread
- Thread starter Flamand
- Start date
Stormrage
Ever Present Taskmaster
Oh crap.. its a tough one.. the mounted ones cought my eye this time.. but I will have to go with the horseman, cos of all the torture we put poor Mike trough with the animations 
Orthanc
Shipwright
The animation were the horseman turns so that the knight can stab on the other side, and the one where the horse rears-up and kicks with its forelegs were fantastic. Micaelus got my vote this month.
Well done everyone!
Well done everyone!
Gen. Rommel
Wüstenfuchs
I'm also going to have to vote for Micaelus' excellent horseman this month! It looks superb and some of those animations are right on the mark. Keep it up man!
The same goes for the others! Keep uploading your great work, this place has been bustling with new awesome units lately!
The same goes for the others! Keep uploading your great work, this place has been bustling with new awesome units lately!
DJ Bonebraker
a.k.a Laura
Dang! I thought Sandris would run away with this month's competition like he did last time (granted I came in second, but that had to have been the most distant second in the history of these forums).
I voted for Ruby Sauce's whirling dervish demon hunter... That unit re-captures the essence of Blizzard's original from Warcraft III, right down to the seppuku death animation. (just don't let Blizzard hear about that, though
) That's why I gave it my vote: Horsemen with spears are a dime a dozen when it comes to Civ III, but you don't see too many night elf units around these parts.
I voted for Ruby Sauce's whirling dervish demon hunter... That unit re-captures the essence of Blizzard's original from Warcraft III, right down to the seppuku death animation. (just don't let Blizzard hear about that, though
) That's why I gave it my vote: Horsemen with spears are a dime a dozen when it comes to Civ III, but you don't see too many night elf units around these parts.
Optional
Deity
Demon Hunter: Wow, top marks for that attack animation! The way the unit swings round is amazing!
Serbian Hoseman: See Othanc. Far outshines the Firaxis horseman when it comes to attack animation! Little points of criticism: when he's resting, the way he holds his spear is a bit unrealistic, as he has most of the weight of the spear above his grip, and he's holding it very vertical as well. Still I like the version with the spear better as the one without.
A little bit of subtle movement in the horse's head when it's resting would look more realistic.
Arabian Camel Archer: Amazing looks. Animated well. I think it could do with a bit more 'wobble' when it's walking. It looks perfect to me when it's walking forwards and backwards, but when you look at it sideways it's mainly legs moving, and the rest of the unit is too static. Probably very difficult to get that movement exactly right.
Elvaan Settler: Very nice posture in this unit, and good looking. Very natural movement when she's walking and resting. It's only too easy to underestimate the quality of this! I didn't care too much for the flapping hands when she settles, but it might be that I'm too used to seeing a settler kneel down when he founds a city. Death animation, mwah, when would you need that animation anyway?
My vote went to the least original one of the lot: the Serbian Horseman. I doubt whether I would put it in a game, as it's so similar in style to the Firaxis horseman, but it's the most impressive piece of work.
Serbian Hoseman: See Othanc. Far outshines the Firaxis horseman when it comes to attack animation! Little points of criticism: when he's resting, the way he holds his spear is a bit unrealistic, as he has most of the weight of the spear above his grip, and he's holding it very vertical as well. Still I like the version with the spear better as the one without.
A little bit of subtle movement in the horse's head when it's resting would look more realistic.
Arabian Camel Archer: Amazing looks. Animated well. I think it could do with a bit more 'wobble' when it's walking. It looks perfect to me when it's walking forwards and backwards, but when you look at it sideways it's mainly legs moving, and the rest of the unit is too static. Probably very difficult to get that movement exactly right.
Elvaan Settler: Very nice posture in this unit, and good looking. Very natural movement when she's walking and resting. It's only too easy to underestimate the quality of this! I didn't care too much for the flapping hands when she settles, but it might be that I'm too used to seeing a settler kneel down when he founds a city. Death animation, mwah, when would you need that animation anyway?
My vote went to the least original one of the lot: the Serbian Horseman. I doubt whether I would put it in a game, as it's so similar in style to the Firaxis horseman, but it's the most impressive piece of work.
Stormrage
Ever Present Taskmaster
What do you mean similar to the firaxis horseman? The firaxis one is ancient, doesn`t even have propper pants. Oh wait, you`re scottish, sorry
Seriously, the firaxis horseman doesn`t have much armour, no shield, just a spear.. This one has chain mail, shield, spear, sword, nunchucks, sword-chucks..
Seriously, the firaxis horseman doesn`t have much armour, no shield, just a spear.. This one has chain mail, shield, spear, sword, nunchucks, sword-chucks..
Optional
Deity
Sandris, when I slowed down the animation of the Camel Archer it looked better to me.
Orthanc
Shipwright
... claymore (the big sword, not the landmine), claymore-chucks, Lightsaber-chucks, double-bladed lightsaber-chucks, claymore-lightsaber-chucks...
ruby_sauce
Outside the box
voted the camel archer.... its just so exotic 
and btw, will this be the first competition where I won't come in last ? O_o
and btw, will this be the first competition where I won't come in last ? O_o
I voted for the horseman, even though we have so many horsemen, and I really didn't want to; but the animations were just astounding.
(but where is his spear that people keep referring to, all i see is his sword?)
the demon hunter would have been second because it's unique, and it looks pretty cool.
The camel rider is the only one of the 4 that i actually need, which is what normally determines my voting, but, again, that horseman is superb.
(but where is his spear that people keep referring to, all i see is his sword?)
the demon hunter would have been second because it's unique, and it looks pretty cool.
The camel rider is the only one of the 4 that i actually need, which is what normally determines my voting, but, again, that horseman is superb.
DJ Bonebraker
a.k.a Laura
in one of the optional files, he's armed with a spear (check the unit thread)... Even so, knights with swords are about $0.25 a dozen around here.
Optional, what's wrong with the death in my unit? IMHO, it's one of my better death animations (and certainly better than Sandris' unit's death animation... I mean seriously all 4 of the camels legs go off the ground... only thing I can think of that would do THAT would be a direct hit from a mangonel or a cannonball).
Granted, a low-quality unit maker such as myself has no room to comment on the likes of Sandris or those who have real talent. (I'm still convinced that the Air Dreadnaught winning last March was nothing more than luck; pure, dumb, doo-dah luck... Especially since it recieved the least amount of votes in the Unit Maker of the Year competition) Hell, the only reason I even started making units was because it was a "If I don't make these units, then nobody will, and if nobody makes these units, the Final Fantasy mod will never get done" kind of deal. If, once I get this mod released, and by some chance it becomes wildly popular like the WH 2 mod, then hopefully some of the good unit makers will start making units for it, and I can retire these laugable creations for good.
The only reason I even entered this unit was to remind me of just how bad I sucked and why this may be the last humanoid unit I ever make.... I may still shlep out some airships, but no guarantees there.
Optional, what's wrong with the death in my unit? IMHO, it's one of my better death animations (and certainly better than Sandris' unit's death animation... I mean seriously all 4 of the camels legs go off the ground... only thing I can think of that would do THAT would be a direct hit from a mangonel or a cannonball).
Granted, a low-quality unit maker such as myself has no room to comment on the likes of Sandris or those who have real talent. (I'm still convinced that the Air Dreadnaught winning last March was nothing more than luck; pure, dumb, doo-dah luck... Especially since it recieved the least amount of votes in the Unit Maker of the Year competition) Hell, the only reason I even started making units was because it was a "If I don't make these units, then nobody will, and if nobody makes these units, the Final Fantasy mod will never get done" kind of deal. If, once I get this mod released, and by some chance it becomes wildly popular like the WH 2 mod, then hopefully some of the good unit makers will start making units for it, and I can retire these laugable creations for good.
The only reason I even entered this unit was to remind me of just how bad I sucked and why this may be the last humanoid unit I ever make.... I may still shlep out some airships, but no guarantees there.
Optional
Deity
She just falls backwards like a statue, motionless (I was looking at the revised version). That's not very well observed. When she's falling, I would expect to see some kind of stagger, an attempt to keep balance.
But I meant my remark a bit shrugshoulderish. We're talking about a settler. She hardly needs a good death animation. Honestly, I thought you hadn't taken that bit too seriously yourself. The important bits are done so well. Her posture is very natural, the way she walks is very convincing, you've done a lot of careful studying of that.
You're right in saying that a lot of death animations are unrealistic because of their wild exaggeration. We probably want those deaths to be extravagant. It doesn't have to be that way. A low key death will be closer to reality. It won't be easier to do, I'm sure.
Optional
Deity
Yes, in the preview at the top of this thread she does, but if you go to the thread of the unit itself, you will learn that's quite an old version, first posted January 2006.
Shouldn't we be looking at the May 2008 edition?
DJ Bonebraker
a.k.a Laura
That IS the May 2008 edition... in the thread, all the older versions are lower down the page, with the newest on top.
BTW, sorry about my outburst last night, but I just came back from the memorial service for my Pastor's father-in-law (who, by not-so-slight coincidence is also my Sunday school teacher's father, several friends of mine in high school's grandfather, my brother's track coach in high school's father and... well, you get the idea), and it would seem that the glass of Bunratty that I had last night went straight to my head. (Quinn, if ye don't ken what Bunratty is, then I'm going to ask you to turn in your shamrock, piece of the Blarney stone, etc). So basically, I wasn't in the best state of mind for posting.
BTW, sorry about my outburst last night, but I just came back from the memorial service for my Pastor's father-in-law (who, by not-so-slight coincidence is also my Sunday school teacher's father, several friends of mine in high school's grandfather, my brother's track coach in high school's father and... well, you get the idea), and it would seem that the glass of Bunratty that I had last night went straight to my head. (Quinn, if ye don't ken what Bunratty is, then I'm going to ask you to turn in your shamrock, piece of the Blarney stone, etc). So basically, I wasn't in the best state of mind for posting.
Optional
Deity
Right. Sorry Hikaro, I've mixed them up. I have been looking at the one in the middle. I thought there were two versions, and I just downloaded when I read: 'new version files can be found here'. A mistake easy to make. Hmm...very goodlooking though, that middle one. I quite like the hair. I'll get round to looking at your newer one!
