BOF Battle system sprite work

[Arcanum]

So I just recently started up a new project which so far is titled Hawke's Tale (which is a working title, it may get changed to something along the lines of "Cleft of Darkness," depending on what I decide for it), and I've decided to make a it relatively short game with entirely original graphics. I also wanted a battle system that was easy to work with and allowed a semi-isometric veiw, so I decided to use the BOF system. I just finished spriting the main character(or rather, the only character) in his idle pose, so I figured I'd share. Check it out:

By tomorrow I'll probably have gotten more done on it, but this is a nice start I would venture to say. Comments?

Progress:
Hawke:
Idle and Attack animations:

Drone:
Idle Animation:

 

[Berserker]

That looks freaking nice mate^^. Hoowever I have a few critics... The arm and hand(the right side) looks weird where it is, like an unnatural position. The hand also looks really strange. One more thing is to do with his back. He looks like he is leaning backwards while his legs are moving forward. It looks as if he's about to fall over :p That is pretty much all I see wrong with it^^

EDIT: the left arm and hand seems strange too, mainly the way it bends and how the hands twisted.

 

[Arcanum]

I think the reason the hand on the right looks weird is just because there's really not enough detail to make the hand look natural in that pose. I do see what you mean about the back and the other hand though, and tomorrow I'll fix that I guess. Though, then again, I have seen professional games with characters who fight like that, and any average player of the game probably won't look too closely at things like that. But I suppose that's no excuse for being lazy.

 

[LegACy]

hmm... there's a highlit on the left arm when it animate...
other than that it's a great art!!

 

[Kest]

As I understand it, BOF battlers are facing top left of the screen.

The arms on your battler are not facing the same way as the rest of his body, making it look awkward - not to mention leaving him completely open to any attacks from the top left. Both sides of the coat flapping also looks strange.

Also, is he holding the short sword with his left hand underhanded? This seems like it would be an odd stance - to attack or deflect someone with any strength he would have to pull his arm back then forward...

 

[Arcanum]

Kest, the character it's supposed to represent is an inexperienced researcher, essentially, so in terms of knowing what the hell he's doing on the battlefield, he's definitely no expert. He is also left handed, otherwise he wouldn't be holding the sword the way he is, and would theoretically just use a simple parry to deflect an attack by making an arc with his sword to the right of the screen. So there's really nothing that odd about the stance other than the fact that he's leaning back too far. Erggh, but it's 5 in the morning here, and I'm getting tired. I'll fix it up tomorrow when I'm awake enough to work.

 

[Kest]

Ah, so he's stupid. Just remember to stick the pointy end in your enemies, man.

 

[The Clap]

His right arm doesn't move at all and he looks like he's bent opver backwards as well. But it's nice to see some new battlers on the block.

 

[Arcanum]

Ah, so he's stupid. Just remember to stick the pointy end in your enemies, man.

You could say he's got book smarts, but no battle sense. Haha, well, whatever works.

 

[RavenTDA]

I agree with Kaos. It almost looks like he's shaking to keep his balance (like wabbleing) and gonna fall over on his back. His right arm is unnatrually stiff and his right hand looks funny not because it's hard to detail the smallness of the sprite but because you forgot to put in more to his hand. Right now it looks like the jacket is covering all the way up to his fingers like it's too big. Show more of the back of the hand and it'll look much better.

 

[Kest]

You could say he's got book smarts, but no battle sense. Haha, well, whatever works.

It's just irritating to see people use the excuse "They have no combat experience!" in situations like this. The character would have to have childlike intelligence if that was the case. Except he's a researcher, so this doesn't fly.

Do you know how to wield a sword? If you don't, you have at least enough commonsense and self-preservation instincts to make a proper attempt at it, right?

Basic things, like not trying to hug your opponent.

 

[Arcanum]

Well, I would have to say you're right on that one, Kest. So I just fixed up a bunch of stuff. I've been working on it alot recently, and I've certainly addressed his leaning back problem, and a little bit of his open stance issue was corrected through that. I don't know about the movement on his right hand though.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/ ... pdated.gif[/IMG]
I think the right hand's movement could probably be corrected a little bit, but other than that, I think quite a few things have been fixed. Would you say that the first is better than this or not?

 

[Berserker]

That looks good mate. I still think theres something wrong with his right hand, cause it like a different shade compared to his left hand. But it seems you fixed everything else^^

 

[Arcanum]

Hmm, it's been a bit, but I finished up a monster's idle animation. Check it out:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/ ... /Drone.gif[/IMG]
The transparency on the shadow might look a little funky if you're using a different skin than Pixel Voodoo or whatever it's called. Anyway, I know the flame is slightly funky looking, so I could use some suggestions on how to make it look more realistic with three frames to work with.

 

[pixel?trump]

Hey there.
First off I'll say the sprite itself is good. The animation is fluid which is also good.
The problem is with his stance. Even someone who has never been in a fight will never lean back like that. It almost looks like a fencing pose. Almost.
Anyone who is in any kind of battle situation would be leaning slightly forward. And would not have both arms out in a I want a hug gesture. Even when slightly thrusting his sword back and forth his other arm would be pulled in. This would especially be so with a inexperienced combatant.

 

[Berserker]

Thats very nice Arcanum^^. I like the attack animation very much as do I like the enemy one. Can't wait for some more of these.