[PROTOTYPE] Another take on movement (Long live the air control!)

[K-2]

Hello there. There're already some stuff going on with the movement mechanics, but I still can't find something that feels right for me.
Well... I've decided to mess with the config a bit and I've came up with this.

In this config I'm trying to take further the UT3 formula while taking care of such flaws like "grounded feeling", "heaviness" and kinda single jump "underuse".

Tweaks:
- increased air control & falling acceleration
- double jumping
- primary & secondary walldodges are now equal (with adjustments for double jump)
- snappier dodges & dodge landing, reduced min delay between dodges
- no sprinting
- no landing assist boost
- slight rolling tweaks (no longer slower than walking)
- little increase in crouching speed

Distance comparison:

Default


Tweaks


All credits goes to Sir Brizz for movement prototyper mutator.

Installation:
Unzip mutator to \UnrealTournament\Plugins.
Unzip ini file to \Documents\UnrealTournament\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor
MovementPrototyper.zip (03/31/2015)

The goal was to make the movent more fluid, responsive & consistent without going crazy, fun but fair enough.
In my opinion double jumping is no less important than dodging, it's pretty much essential for more engaging face-to-face combat and a wide variety of playstyles. It gives you far more options both in combat and in overall movement without being nesessary to use for everyone or every time (if taken in consideration for the level design).

Some video footage:

Please consider that it's hard to judge only by video

I hope it worth a try. Also I will be grateful for any feedback about what feels good/bad right now.

[RPGWiZ4RD]

I should definitely give this a try too and compare with raxxy's tweaks. In comparison to raxxy's this appears to be a more controlled/subtle boosted version, whether this or raxxy's is more closer to the "ideal" (is there something such that can even be called ideal since all UT players have their own perception of that ^^) but yea difficult to say based on video only so need to give it a proper go.

[K-2]

Well, raxxy's built is way better that current default settings but there's still something wrong for me. Jumping is just not worthwhile if somebody tries to shoot you, I feel limited only to dodge/walldodge when fighting someone.

I believe that simple jump mechanics has been underestimated so people blame the delay between dodges and OP rocket launcher, while the most fights are like "A-D-A-D-A-D-dodge-A-D". I think the ability to double jump in conjunction with some decent air control makes the firefights at close & mid range much more intense and unpredictable when every move has it's advantages and tradeoffs. Single jump is also not useless, it's a nice fake maneuer to chain it with dodges & other tricks when you just don't need an extra height and prefer just faster performance. You should be able to be as unpredictable as you could, but the overall movement should be just as fair for someone who tries to take you down.

I terms of map tricks, I believe that already easy ones should be 100% reliable while the other ones should require skill and precision (not only the insane all-over-the-map launches). In this attempt I mostly relied on DM maps we currently have to make sure that certain tricks is challenging enough and you won't screw the basic ones in the most frustrating manner.

[Infra`]

Very nice prototype K-2. I won't have access to my desktop to test this until tomorrow night but based on the video this looks like a solid improvement on the current movement. I like the increased air control and reintroduction of the double jump. I think the overall movement mechanics benefit from having the double jump, but it's something I'd be fine without.

To be fair I haven't been able to test raxxy's movement prototype yet, but from Zaccubus' video it seems a little too fast, more suitable for a 125 speed mod like in ut99, not the base speed. I'll give both a hands on tomorrow night.

[enoch84]

Nice! It passed the air control test with flying colors! Oh wait, EPIC doesn't like double jump . Good thing for mutators.

[RPGWiZ4RD]

Haven't gotten around to try it yet but from the video air control feels/looks great, personally I'm interested in how dodging works since that's one of my issues with the current build, not just air control. But yea I like that these settings really makes jumping a lot more useful which is pretty useless for evasive uses currently, well basically I never normal jump except for moving around the map. Double jump at the deck pit always felt so great in UT3 as well as the lift jumping.

[K-2]

Oh wait, EPIC doesn't like double jump . Good thing for mutators.

I hope it's not 100% defined yet. Also EPIC can't completely deny the mechanics only because they "don't like" that. As I know, the reasoning that EPIC brings about not having double jump is "Since you double jump most of the time there's no point in having a single jump in a first place and tapping the spacebar twice".

I believe that the jump mechanics has been underestimated, cause it's not all about the height. Why focusing on the gimmicks like sprinting & sliding when you have simple & efficient native mechanics that doesn't have to be reinvented? I hope we can prove that having a double jump is justified, single jump is not useless and there's more good sides than cons from the different point of view.

I see no reason why it doesn't deserve some official testing to compare it with the current meta. I'm not talking about my config as it's just a rough presentation of how it could be, based on the current map sizes, it's all about the concept that could potentially suit the core game.

[Sir_Brizz]

The double jump could probably be tweaked to work. The problem is with the eye height, scale, etc of a game like UT3, most of the maps required double jumps to get on things that should only require one jump. That's a solvable problem.

I don't think it's 100% defined yet whether it will be there or not. I wasn't sure about double jump in UT3, but I actually like it there.

[MΛuL]

Just tried this out. Definitely more enjoyable than the current movement for me. Really shows how important air control is for avoidance and just plain fun factor. Funny thing is, I just noticed you removed sprint AFTER I played it.

[cafe]

Double jumping was by far my least favorite part of 2k4 movement and was equally bad in UT3.

[MΛuL]

Double jumping was by far my least favorite part of 2k4 movement and was equally bad in UT3.

I could live without double jump - would like the single jump to be a little higher. Definitely would prefer the air control in these tweaks though.

[K-2]

Some minor tweaks for the current config.
The boots are still crazy and jumppads definitely should limit the initial air control, but I'm not able to change that.

Still can't find adequate settings for single jump variant. It's either way too high or require much more air control to be as useful and I don't think that increasing the AC any further is a good idea, just doesn't feel alright...

[enoch84]

Still can't find adequate settings for single jump variant. It's either way too high or require much more air control to be as useful and I don't think that increasing the AC any further is a good idea, just doesn't feel alright...

That's what I thought. Double jump isn't just extra height, it gives you a nudge in whichever direction you want to go. It's like a mini wall dodge off the air. At least that's how I see it. Trying to substitute that with just air control would probably be insane.

[RPGWiZ4RD]

For me the air control felt ever so slightly too much particularly with wall dodges/lift jumps. But double jump felt good. I kind prefer most other settings from raxxy's though.

[K-2]

Trying to tone down AC a bit while keeping it for the double jump & some walldodging tweaks.

Tested it on CTF maps, I think this one feels more solid.