New Pathfinder Video and Stairs...

[Quijenoth]

Ok so I looked at the new video today in my email and while overall it looked amazing, but one thing gave me the sad face :(

at 2:29 in the video you see a female character ascend some stairs to the wall, notice how her movement is never interrupted as she moves, she simply continues running up the stairs.

Now it may seem trivial but I noticed a few other Z-Axis type posts floating around discussing climbing, swimming, and even flying.

This is a big deal in the roleplaying element of the game and for immersion. The last thing I want is to feel like I'm running around on a flat surface that simply uses camouflaged ramps as stairs, hills, rocks and mountains.

I want to see characters pause when they approach a stairs, their hand reaching out for the handrail, and then ascending the stairs. If they choose to run up the stairs they would still use the handrail but leap 2 or 3 steps at a time. Fighting on stairs should be dangerous, risking falls as you move about on the uneven surface.

while we are at it what is the mechanics for falling damage? many games have superhuman abilities to jump and fall 100's of feet with minimal injury. I would prefer to see falling become lethal after 2 or 3 stories, making magic such as feather fall a valuable asset. likewise making jump a spell that allows quick traversing of large areas that would otherwise require a character to climb up/across.

Another thing is Ladders. Physically climbing a ladder (or rope, knotted rope, etc) to ascend a wall is one of the things I love about DDO. It makes the game feel like you are exploring.

Please Devs, get the immersion right on all levels and you will keep players like myself hooked for many, many years, knowing each new area provides new challenges, not just another pretty flat plain to run across at top speed.

[Nihimon]

Quijenoth wrote:

... her movement is never interrupted as she moves, she simply continues running up the stairs.

I actually hope they always use smooth slopes. I've had far too many experiences recently where my character gets stuck at the bottom of stairs and I have to try approaching from different angles, or even jump, just to get over the threshold of a door, or to climb stairs. Vanguard was absolutely horrible about this, but I've just recently encountered it in Fallen Earth as well.

I also really hate the way the camera bounces when there are more accurate stairs.

Quijenoth wrote:

I want to see characters pause when they approach a stairs, their hand reaching out for the handrail, and then ascending the stairs. If they choose to run up the stairs they would still use the handrail but leap 2 or 3 steps at a time. Fighting on stairs should be dangerous, risking falls as you move about on the uneven surface.

While I appreciate the desire, I don't think it's realistic for PFO.

[Being]

It is far too early to make any judgments about what final animations will be like, but it is good to give voice to preferences even so.

[Hardin Steele]

I am for the stuttering stairway...but there should be a smooth transition. In Darkfall you get stuck on this silly little curb at the bank. Very annoying. But yes, I don't mind my toon having to actually take the steps up or down, as long as isn't hard to access or leave the stairway. The visual can remain smooth, but the toon should acknowledge the landscape (in a distant iteration).