Banelings rolling animation

I plan to play zerg in SC2 and I like the rolling animation, or at least use rolling as an attack animation. Like it runs at an enemy but curls into a ball before impact.

 

It's not that illogical. We can choose to roll on the floor whenever we want, it's just that our body is not built for prolonged "illogical" locomotion. The Baneling is obviously designed to roll due to its body structure, like that little black insect that curls up into a ball when threatened. That thing may be helpless then, but this Baneling is obviously not

BOOM SPLATTER !


-Psi

 

I think what itza means is that, for one, its eyes will only rarely see the target, hence it doesn't make proper use of vision, and secondly no organism can handle continuous rolling because they haven't been designed for that. If they were, they'd die during their sleep for lack of rolling, and even stopping in one place while awake is questionable at best.

 

5 yes
16 no

I would of thought people would of liked the idea of the animation changed.

 

The Baneling's body structure clearly shows that it is not designed to roll. There is no mechanical advantage allowing it to actually move, not only faster than it otherwise would when walking, but at all provided it's facing an expanse of flat ground or a slight upwards gradient. It makes no sense. It's also completely unstable, and exposes itself to all its vulnerable spots repeatedly, which makes no sense. And as kuvasz already said, it cannot even see where it's going, they are not designed for continuous rolling and there would be other side effects because of it. It makes no sense. Also, there's no creature that uses this method of locomotion, as creatures that curl up in defence not only don't move, but use plates or spines to cover their weak spots, so they obviously aren't exposing them all. It makes no sense.

As I said, the equivalent would be to have a hopping Thor. It makes no sense!

@ Eon. Exactly. That would be much better.

 

Does it HAVE to make sense? Science Fiction remember?

While this may be a poor attempt to explain the Baneling's anatomy, it's sacs do pulsate to keep the pressure of the volatile fluids stable, which also helps when the Baneling is rolling. The fluids are in constant motion due to pulsating and rolling movement. It is very possible and "logical" for them to walk around while keeping those sacs moving, but the Artists (who calls the shots on ART, thus reflects LORE) happen to like how they've expressed the nature of the Baneling.

And as for "no creature utilizing this locomotion", these are aliens, things we imagine, things we have yet to observe the behavior of. A fictional character. Mutalisks can fly with wings in space, Ultralisks can spawn from a tiny egg, Guardians have deadly accuracy without use of eyes.

Likewise, the solution is simple, have an alternative moving animation of the Baneling crawling, but satisfying both sides by keeping rolling.


-Psi

 

Didn't Blizzard originally say though that the Baneling rolls because it is supposed to be too fat and heavy to walk or run effectively.

 

Pressure would only depend on motion if say the sacs contained carbon dioxide or something like that. But even then, once the sacs reached a certain pressure, the baneling would need to fully stop to avoid bursting and killing itself for no reason. Although it could have an evolutionary valve to get rid of excess pressure...

I don't know. Banshees can fly in space, mutalisks too, so a rolling animal would fit right in.

 

The Banshee doesn't fly in space, Space Platfoms have artificial atmospheres.

 

I remember that... but do they disassemble them when moving planets? Not practical at all... and I highly doubt they'd leave them behind.

 

In the starcraft thingy they had the muta fly in space.

 

I doubt they'd disassemble the banshee when they go to planet to planet, I mean the books describe how multiple ships a tanks fit inside a battlecruiser so it would make since that banshees would fit along side them.

 

Kuvasz, just read the official lore http://www.starcraft2.com/features/terran/banshee.xml

 

uhhmm last time ive got my glasses on im reading rolling animation... lol

i believe that for a unit that functions as a suicider like the baneling, its moving animation should rather be less dangerous to make sure those explosive chemicals would not self detonate... or not..

 

Although it doesn't have to be completely explainable, it should make sense. As I said, it's just like having hopping Thors.

Pulsating would only fluctuate the relative pressures of each of the chambers. If it truly wanted to keep the pressure as stable as possible, it would all be still, and at equal pressure throughout the chambers.

And the Baneling wouldn't gain momentum rolling because the fluids are in constant motion, the fluids would be in constant motion because of the momentum of the Baneling rolling.

The artists also happened to like the Infestor model. 'Nuff said?

I said that because you gave examples of animals that curled into balls. Also, a lot of those things are gameplay factors, and the rest, explainable. Mutalisks need to be able to fly in space. If they, and other, Zerg units were unable to, just think of what would happen to the storyline. As for Ultralisks, they need to be able to spawn near instantly from a tiny egg. Just as opposing players are unable to tell which unit is being built at a Terran or Protoss building, the same has to be achieved with Zerg Cocoons. As for the Guardian's accuracy, sight is far from being the only efficient way of locating a target. With the Baneling rolling, nothing like this applies at all. It doesn't effect the storyline or gameplay, unlike Mutalisks or Ultralisks, as it's just an animation, and there's absolutely no efficiency or reason for them to act like this, unlike the Guardian.

As I said; Hopping Thor.

They better have it in the editor at least... Otherwise I'm hiring some animators.

 

You know, "Hopping Thor" and "It doesn't make sense" are becoming tiresome excuses for a game where warp-travel becomes possible and the fabric of reality can be ripped apart, just because they are cool

Baneling rolling may not be efficient (that explains the Baneling's slow speed), may not be smart (vulnerability from all sides, explaining low HP), and may not be realistic or logical (coming from an imaginative point-of-view of an art designer); but someone said "Hey we need something looking ungainly but deadly" and they made this concept possible.

Now people are saying "Wow that is so cool!" and some are saying "How do we make sense of that?". I don't know how much sense we CAN make of something fictional and not by definition.

But that is just my opinion, no need to make a fuss about it. The Mutalisk, Ultralisk and Guardian are accepted due to the fact they have been presented that way, from the very beginning. We had no influence to that decision, so now given the chance, we debate.

Good attempt nonetheless.


-Psi

 

'Hopping Thor' isn't an excuse, it's a hypothetical analogy of what's being done to the Zerg. And 'it doesn't make sense' isn't an excuse, it's a reason. They wouldn't do anything else that's so unnecessary and detrimental like this, without changing it, the original Infester being a great example of that, so why would they do it to the Baneling? In case you're not aware the 'it's cool' and 'because Blizzard said so' responses are also becoming tiresome. As for the other factors, on warp-travel and the fabric of reality being ripped apart, they're relevant, just like the vacuum-defying Mutalisk. This is not. As I said, it doesn't have to be explainable, but it does have to make sense.

And there are other are other ways of moving that would be just as cool and different than rolling. Just because something walks, it doesn't mean that it's the same as something else that walks. For example, compare the Queen and the Roach. Do both of them walk? Yes. Do they both walk the same? No. Do the two of them look both natural and awesome? Yes. On top of that, having a rolling Baneling makes it appear much more artificial and un-Zerg-like. All Zerg are living creatures, so why should the Baneling be portrayed as this artificial weapon? It's a creature, it should move and act like a creature. It should be thought of as a suicide attackers, like Infested Terran or the Goblin Sappers from WarCraft, not a bomb, like Spider Mines or Clockwerk Goblins.

 

The Zerg get their units from taking over other creatures and using their DNA. Maybe the baneling is different, like it was just a Zerg experiment.

 

The Baneling is a mutation, so not assimilated from a new species.

It would really help if you explained your definition of 'sense', because really now, we all experience and learn things differently.

If it is capable of doing so, why deny its chance to shine? It has sense in the fact most any quadruped can curl up into a ball shape, and that this particular creature can gain momentum by doing so. It is quite a sight to behold in the game, and if you mind it so much that it is bothering you, we should stop debating about it and just let it flow. We're digging so deep into this that it has become pointless to try getting the point across.

Instead, perhaps a petition can help voice our concerns about this to Blizzard, who knows, with luck it might make it to Samwise.


-Psi

 

Haha, define 'sense'. So do you think that the Baneling rolling to get from one place to another makes sense? I've explained why it doesn't make sense, and on multiple levels, and seeing as 'sense' is such a broad term that has to apply to everything in every circumstance, isn't that enough for you to see?

The point is that it should not be capable of doing so. Again, hopping Thor and Infester. They'd both be/have been a sight to behold in the game, and if they're able to hop and look like the inside of a baboon's rump, why deny their chance to shine? Because it's completely ridiculous, makes no sense and has no justification on any level apart from the fact that it's 'unique'.

And no, it does not makes sense that this particular creature is able to gain momentum by rolling. I've explained that. Several times.

Why are you trying so hard to drop the discussion? It's as valid a point as any. And it hasn't become pointless to get the point across, as the point has always been perfectly clear. The Baneling animation is ridiculous and has no justification behind it. It's illogical, and there's nothing that can actually debunk that statement, because that's truly what it is. The Baneling's movement animation is completely illogical.