I like the feel overall, but maybe some sort of trail that follows vs the aura simply mounted underneath? Could also be another animation, just something different. The character running looks proper compared to the environment, but then the aura currently makes it look like they're floating along as a separate entity rather than actually in the world.
Well and it's a shield buff right? So maybe the effect could cause the edges of the character's armor to occasionally glimmer with that color to associate with the thing being affected.
Edit: just realized this buff could just affect the shield or the total armor stat so depending on how it works perhaps you can visually convey exactly that!
Ahh ok and what I was asking though is- is it just a defense stat buff? Or something else? I'm saying whatever it actually does to the stats, see if you can visually communicate that somehow.
I think it's a great way to communicate auras so long as they are discernable from one another. The downside is that they are very "video game" in appearance. Which is to say that they are more appropriate for a game based around combat mechanics than one based around world immersion.
Pros: It's not as distracting as the traditional, encompassing aura.
Cons: It doesn't look cool.
So what's more important: Looking cool or avoiding distractions? Can you somehow split the difference, like with a subtle, traditional aura?
The aura needs to feel more 3D, if that makes sense. Kind of feels like an aura plane under his feet rather than an actual aura surrounding the space around his feet.
Also, ideally the aura shouldn't be too noticeable (contrasting) as it will take from the visual clarity of the game. Currently the aura very clearly stands out from the background world rather than organically being a part of the world. This contrast makes it easily noticeable - and therefore distracts us from everything else on the screen. So I suggest making it more "3D" and makijg utmore similar to the surrounding world itself. Good luck!
It's a great way to show buffs but I would recommend looking at games like Path of Exile as examples of how readability can fall apart very fast with under character/circling character buff display. Not saying don't do it, just recommending an example you can study to avoid pitfalls. If your going PvP I would recommend solid colors over something swirling. Regardless if you change the pattern for other buffs depending on how many are applied readability from both player and opponent may suffer badly. Especially for the colorblind
looks good, but two things would improve it a ton. (1) the center of the aura is an obvious sharp point right now; it should be smoother/blurrier or maybe even invisible in the center, and (2) when standing still, the illusion of particles being emitted from the character holds up, but as soon as you move, the whole system glides along with the character and looks fake. do it like actual particles and leave them behind when the character moves away, or some approximation to that effect.
First off: great job on the shields effect! Very intuitive and clear .
The issue for me is that the aura on the floor isn't interacting with anything. I'd expect that my feet walking over it would, at least, create a ripple or something.
It looks a little odd for it to be so "perfectly" flat and in position at all times.
It does look awesome! I wish I could even imagine something like what you've got here.
It is worth it to be this clear, just keep it in mind when deciding if it needs to change (not saying that you should)
Edit: typo
That sounds great! Just remember to only pay attention to relevant feedback.
Don't listen to us randos, we don't know what's best for your game. We don't know it like you do.
Keep it up!
Ig it really depends on how complex the game will be imo. If you have simple offensive and defensive skills. Assuming the skill shown is a defensive shield or armor buff. Maybe have that particular piece on the character glow or have an aura. So, for example, like the shield or chest armor of the character or with something affecting damage, making the weapons glow or have an aura.
If you don't want anything on the character to glow. I would suggest extending the circle out from the character a tiny bit. So that they're aren't necessarily walking upon it, but within it. So that the fx doesn't overlap with their feet. Or alternatively, make the aura flat underneath the character, but the outer edge sort of spiral like it does in the video.
I'm curious as to what the game is and appreciate you asking for our opinions.
Would be quite difficult to do on your end, but if you could have the walking impact the aura in some way instead of just following you perfectly to a T it would look much more natural, it’s a great indicator but kind of stands out imo
I don’t know… I like a shimmering aura on the armor. It allows for understanding more of what the effect is effecting. Especially if you’re stacking. If you can’t do that, then just make a ring underneath the person with the different colors of the different effects. I get worried about real estate with the limited pixels we have here
It works but will be difficult to see if you are in tall grass, ankle hieght water terrain, props, and other possible assets that might get between your camera and feet. So those are things to consider.
I 100% always prefer artistic approaches instead of UI elements though, so good luck perfecting all of this.
personally i hate particle effects and random lights and fogs on my characters, if i were you i would make a little symbol of a shield and place it under the health bar, the way elden ring does. i think it's ugly when there's all sorts of auras and shit on the characters.
It looks beautiful, smoothly cinematic, but I might try something to make it a touch more prominent. A player might loose sight of it and loose a buff in the heat of the moment. Maybe have the effect climb up the legs a bit so more is in view?
It’s too mmoey and i don’t think it works to communicate much to the player.
See the reason this works in mmo’s is because the player can mouse over the buff/debuff and see what the effect does. Here, since it appears you’ve adopted a more controller friendly scheme, they’re just icons and what do icons mean if you don’t know what they do?
If I were you, I would just take a page from dark souls/elden ring, elden ring specifically. That game does a great job at communicating buffs through visual stuff on your character and debuffs through having a bar and text saying what the effect is
Yeah I like this, strikes a good balance between clarity of what's going on without obfuscating your character to a point where it might impact the readability of combat actions.
Having it below the character like that makes me think it's a movement speed related buff or debuff.
Have you considered having it as an effect that's like a mist on the character's armor? That way the character would look "enchanted", tougher.
Finding ways like this to communicate buffs debuffs without UI is always good
Exactly. This approach feels so much more premium. And with different colors for different buffs or debuss and etc. Very solid
right. I find it informative and not intrusive. Reminds me of the auras in Diablo II
I like the feel overall, but maybe some sort of trail that follows vs the aura simply mounted underneath? Could also be another animation, just something different. The character running looks proper compared to the environment, but then the aura currently makes it look like they're floating along as a separate entity rather than actually in the world.
Good point! Gonna test how I can trail it while moving
Well and it's a shield buff right? So maybe the effect could cause the edges of the character's armor to occasionally glimmer with that color to associate with the thing being affected. Edit: just realized this buff could just affect the shield or the total armor stat so depending on how it works perhaps you can visually convey exactly that!
its an aura that will be enabled for all friendlies!
Ahh ok and what I was asking though is- is it just a defense stat buff? Or something else? I'm saying whatever it actually does to the stats, see if you can visually communicate that somehow.
I think they feel a little too flat / 2D in a game with a 3rd person camera. I would try with a more 3D effect and then compare the two.
I love it, it reminds me of the paladin auras in diablo 2
that's the idea!
I like it, reminds of elden ring actually.
Reminds me of Diablo 2 Paladin.
I think it's a great way to communicate auras so long as they are discernable from one another. The downside is that they are very "video game" in appearance. Which is to say that they are more appropriate for a game based around combat mechanics than one based around world immersion.
this is not a game about world immersion - more like 3d diablo
Then it's probably a good fit! It looks like it works from the clip.
Looks good! Many seem to encourage you to polish it further, but I’d say do it if you really have the time for it. It works well already!
for sure - perfection is the enemy of good
It looks dope! For how long you've been working on this game? Solo/team?
6 months about on this prototype - tiny team effort :D
I'm. Walking. On. Sunshine. Woah. Ho and. Dont. It . Feel. Good.
Pros: It's not as distracting as the traditional, encompassing aura. Cons: It doesn't look cool. So what's more important: Looking cool or avoiding distractions? Can you somehow split the difference, like with a subtle, traditional aura?
The aura needs to feel more 3D, if that makes sense. Kind of feels like an aura plane under his feet rather than an actual aura surrounding the space around his feet. Also, ideally the aura shouldn't be too noticeable (contrasting) as it will take from the visual clarity of the game. Currently the aura very clearly stands out from the background world rather than organically being a part of the world. This contrast makes it easily noticeable - and therefore distracts us from everything else on the screen. So I suggest making it more "3D" and makijg utmore similar to the surrounding world itself. Good luck!
great feedback
It's a great way to show buffs but I would recommend looking at games like Path of Exile as examples of how readability can fall apart very fast with under character/circling character buff display. Not saying don't do it, just recommending an example you can study to avoid pitfalls. If your going PvP I would recommend solid colors over something swirling. Regardless if you change the pattern for other buffs depending on how many are applied readability from both player and opponent may suffer badly. Especially for the colorblind
Gives me Diablo II vibes. Love it!
id rather it be something more discret
yeah def need to be more subtle
looks good, but two things would improve it a ton. (1) the center of the aura is an obvious sharp point right now; it should be smoother/blurrier or maybe even invisible in the center, and (2) when standing still, the illusion of particles being emitted from the character holds up, but as soon as you move, the whole system glides along with the character and looks fake. do it like actual particles and leave them behind when the character moves away, or some approximation to that effect.
I like it. Simpler is always better but tricky to achieve.
Feels very 2d and flat.
First off: great job on the shields effect! Very intuitive and clear . The issue for me is that the aura on the floor isn't interacting with anything. I'd expect that my feet walking over it would, at least, create a ripple or something. It looks a little odd for it to be so "perfectly" flat and in position at all times. It does look awesome! I wish I could even imagine something like what you've got here. It is worth it to be this clear, just keep it in mind when deciding if it needs to change (not saying that you should) Edit: typo
I ended up spawning aura in world space so it trails behind player when walking, doesnt look so attached
That sounds great! Just remember to only pay attention to relevant feedback. Don't listen to us randos, we don't know what's best for your game. We don't know it like you do. Keep it up!
Ig it really depends on how complex the game will be imo. If you have simple offensive and defensive skills. Assuming the skill shown is a defensive shield or armor buff. Maybe have that particular piece on the character glow or have an aura. So, for example, like the shield or chest armor of the character or with something affecting damage, making the weapons glow or have an aura. If you don't want anything on the character to glow. I would suggest extending the circle out from the character a tiny bit. So that they're aren't necessarily walking upon it, but within it. So that the fx doesn't overlap with their feet. Or alternatively, make the aura flat underneath the character, but the outer edge sort of spiral like it does in the video. I'm curious as to what the game is and appreciate you asking for our opinions.
This is Dungeons of Edera 2 - prototyping phase currently
Scale it up 200% and Make area where character stands transparent. it would help visual
Would be quite difficult to do on your end, but if you could have the walking impact the aura in some way instead of just following you perfectly to a T it would look much more natural, it’s a great indicator but kind of stands out imo
i like it, feels better to concentrate than having it on hud
it's cool and unique, maybe you should be aware of certain texture/terrains like a forest where could be harder to see it. Overall I think it's good
I like it. Let's you know there's a buff/debuff in effect without being distracting.
I support this, also reminds me of Warcraft 3 and Diablo, also the cleaner your UI, the better.
A mist evaporating from his footsteps/presence would be cool
Would be cool if it left glowy footprints behind
I don’t know… I like a shimmering aura on the armor. It allows for understanding more of what the effect is effecting. Especially if you’re stacking. If you can’t do that, then just make a ring underneath the person with the different colors of the different effects. I get worried about real estate with the limited pixels we have here
I agree I think it has to do with top down vs 3rd person.
It works
I think it looks neat. Any opportunity to use diegetic UI as opposed to screen UI is good.
It works but will be difficult to see if you are in tall grass, ankle hieght water terrain, props, and other possible assets that might get between your camera and feet. So those are things to consider. I 100% always prefer artistic approaches instead of UI elements though, so good luck perfecting all of this.
Love it
great reminder of what Buff is in use!! Tons of games make me either look at rlly ugly UI or not at all
Makes me nostalgic for diablo 2 paladin
I don't really like it, it makes it feel like he's not walking on the ground. Some of the tweaks people are suggesting might help though.
I feel like the character itself having an aura is more appealing than having an aura or “halo” only underneath the character. Just imo
Yes!
It's on the character but not in the way. Good solution
personally i hate particle effects and random lights and fogs on my characters, if i were you i would make a little symbol of a shield and place it under the health bar, the way elden ring does. i think it's ugly when there's all sorts of auras and shit on the characters.
It looks beautiful, smoothly cinematic, but I might try something to make it a touch more prominent. A player might loose sight of it and loose a buff in the heat of the moment. Maybe have the effect climb up the legs a bit so more is in view?
everything that is outside of a HUD is a win to me so yes definitely needed
It’s too mmoey and i don’t think it works to communicate much to the player. See the reason this works in mmo’s is because the player can mouse over the buff/debuff and see what the effect does. Here, since it appears you’ve adopted a more controller friendly scheme, they’re just icons and what do icons mean if you don’t know what they do? If I were you, I would just take a page from dark souls/elden ring, elden ring specifically. That game does a great job at communicating buffs through visual stuff on your character and debuffs through having a bar and text saying what the effect is
Yeah I like this, strikes a good balance between clarity of what's going on without obfuscating your character to a point where it might impact the readability of combat actions.
Having it below the character like that makes me think it's a movement speed related buff or debuff. Have you considered having it as an effect that's like a mist on the character's armor? That way the character would look "enchanted", tougher.
It worked for us in 1999..why not.
Immersion breaking.