From gameplay trailer: !: 1. Action gameplay (+ swipe attacks) is better than I thought it would be. 2. You saved the best for last -> flying at speed, in open with contours along the flightpath looks v v good. 3. Visuals are v. impressive ?: 1. Crow could "bank" more when turning in flight during the roaming mode? 2. The neck and tail animation could be more responsive and mobile? Maybe a few more flaps of the wings as well, here and there with maybe more spreading/unspreading of the wing's fingertip primary feathers when soaring (wider aerofoil)? 3. A few more Caws and variety of crow vocalizations would be nice, even though they are harsh sounds, crows are fairly vocal/characterful? 4. Input to move the crow/interact feels quite minimal, does the plane of the crow's body (tilt) change much in free roam eg dive/climbing flight (allow more player input/expression/fine-tuning of flight path/dexterity gameplay)? 5. UI theme fitted the game style but seemed a bit dark? 6. If elevation while roaming comes into play, a meter or such to allow the player to adjust that? Flying for the pleasure of it (bird's eye view/experience of the world should be fairly important to the game imo. ^_^ Hope the above is constructive. Overall looks wonderful.
I am sure that the developer appreciates constructive criticism, and I'm sure I could come up with some in time. At the moment, however, I'm busy picking up my jaw from the floor. Am the only one picking up a slight Miyazaki vibe out of that video? I'm thinking of the flying sequences in Castle in the Sky and the creature design of Princess Mononoke. This has now become one of my most anticipated titles of the year.
I agree, needs to bank more when turning. To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to this one all that much, but now I'm really excited! I really liked the battles, especially the one at the end with the archers
It's amazing how many avian aerodynamic experts we have around here . Frankly, I have a feeling that this game has a more realistic take on bird flight than what's on people's head. I'm sure that the animators spend a ridiculous amount of time looking at nature footage.
For sure, initial comments above are an odd juxtaposition to the seriously, breath-taking vid of Crow. But I think if they can tweak the crow avatar that will elevate the game a g8 deal. Nintendo always make Mario on his platformers incredibly responsive and the animations incredibly characterful reactions to your input that sync. together so you might just twitch the little plumber around on the spot for a few minutes the enjoying the subtle repertoire of actions ... Crow would be a good candidate for some of that in the flight motion I think (most avatars in most games tbh!). 2nd look at the vid, and there's some tail fanning in the "observer mode" which is good, the wings also flap/row more powerfully in the combat at the end which add a good impact (as does the clouds, flying through snow -> sense of forward motion). I also noticed some "wobble" on the tilt axis which was nice to see; a bit of wobble/slanting on the "banking" would be good for turns if possible? Tbh, this time I thought the wings don't bend at the Alula/"elbow" (had to look that one up!) enough (ie wings close more on the upward stroke, here). That would be even better to see?? Hyper-nitpics: But looks amazing and the avatar's details are so important for the player to interact/identify with. Finally when crows land, they have a few gestures such as fluttering their wings quickly (blue-flash in uv?) + caw or spreading their wings and bobbing their heads and cawing... could be neat to see those when the crow lands in the background scenes ie title screen?
Yeah, I wasn't saying that the animation couldn't be improved. But my guess is that bird movements are more subtle than most of us imagine, and it seems clear from the video that the animators spent a fair amount of time observing bird behavior. I wouldn't be surprised if some subtlety was sacrificed in order to improve performance, particularly when there's a lot happening on screen. Sometimes it pays to streamline movement to speed up reactions (I'd much rather have the crow swerve fast to avoid an arrow than see an extended, if graceful, animation). I also have to marvel at gamer's irrepressible need to nitpick, which I see as a phenomenon of current gen console gaming, where people expect perfection for their $60 purchase (one of the reasons why budgets have ballooned to such a ridiculous extent). I see indie gaming more about vision and personality than perfection; the reason I am excited about Crow is not because of how detailed the character animation is, but because of the vision that comes across on that video.
^lol, I don't mind if you chop my quote down in size a bit/-snip- if it's just above your own, makes my wall of text look all the worse! hehe. I think feedback to the vid, may be helpful. Sure it is nitpic'ing but when the graphics are so well realized, and the avatar is almost perfectly crow-like, then perhaps it's a consequence of the "uncanny valley" perhaps applied to how an animal acts. tbh, I've probably got a more trained eye than a lot of people on this, so maybe it's only me who thinks the crow avatar is v good but could be great? Afterall, I don't have a problem with angry birds looking more like colorful marbles?! In fact they are awesome designs! Would be g8 to hear the devs talk more about the game/vid and more. Hard to believe it's for iOS. Edit: Some info:
Whoa, impressive, the game succeeds very well imo at sucking you into a weird & yet very atmospheric mix of nature/evil legend world and pace of gameplay and steady music in the background all work together to produce that I think. This will be one to experience! The flying is smooth and kinda relaxing looking too; especially from the odd, Crow perspective up above. I like the sombre tones of the world a lot and the story seems unexpected/mysterious. A few more crow vocalizations at places for your avatar might be a good addition if not already included?
Hey all! I'm the designer for Crow and wanted to say thanks to everyone for the kind words and feedback, I'm paying attention to you! Seriously we like the conversation that grew in this thread. Let me know if there are any rumors I can put to bed for you about Crow or if there's something you want to discuss. I'm not gonna talk Spoiler spoilers and there are some things we're leaving for a later announcement, aside from that, have fun! And thanks again! Richard Cowgill www.facebook.com/sunsidegames
A must buy for my bro's iPad2 methinks. A whole lot of game... cue Mika. RE: The Crow avatar. One of the behaviors of crows when landing and perching eg in branch, they wipe their beaks against the side of the branch (on either side). I think it's to do with keeping a clean bill so they then can preen their feathers without getting them dirty. Anyway, don't want to go all 'twitchy' on you, but little touches like that eg in the title screen/perching sequence on landing, bring it alive even if ppl are not really paying attention; subliminal.
Thank you Sanuku for two videos from the game(trailer and gameplay). Ps:Sanuku,do you now about the appearance of the game in app store?
Creamer, we're in Beta now and should be on the App Store in 2-3 months. We'll have a precise release date likely the month before. Richard Cowgill www.facebook.com/sunsidegames
I did add the Twitter and the Facebook Accounts to the first Thread to find the Developer easier. For those that have missed it here they are again:
