ZOS: Fix the mount animations before implementing mount speed changes!

Anumaril · January 15

I did a fresh install of the PTS for the first time just to see what effects the mount speed increase has, and I'm really sad to see that the mount walking animation is simply gone due to the increased mount speed of this upcoming update.

How mount animations work on live
For anyone who might not have paid attention, while mounted there's a walking animation, a jogging animation, and a sprinting animation, just like with our player characters. But (for non-console players) after mount speed upgrade 15 the walking animation disappears, becoming a slow-motion version of the jogging animation. You can never recover that animation and it becomes really jarring anytime you want to walk around with your horse.

I actually started a whole new character a few years ago just to get my walking animation back, and kept him at upgrade 10 to keep some distance from the death zone that is 15.

How it works on the PTS
But on the PTS, our base speed was increased by so much that the walking animation is simply gone, even if your speed upgrade is at 0. I beg ZOS to either adjust the walking animation threshold so that it's in-place until upgrade 15 again (like on the live servers), or just rethink how this mount speed buff is being implemented to begin with (perhaps only buffing sprinting, rather than walking/jogging too?).

It's a shame to see this animation disappear, so I hope ZOS gives this some attention before implementing the changes.
And on a personal note: if you raise the walking animation threshold so that the animation exists again, but make it lower than the current upgrade 15, PLEASE give players the option of removing their speed upgrades so we can choose to set it below that threshold if we want. I'd hate to make a whole new character again just to fix this animation.

Morvan · January 16

Oh, so with the new update it's now affecting ALL kinds of mounts? Because that bug has been a thing since ever for feline and heavyweights specifically, while full upgraded + gallop they can't use their walking animation at all, when you try to walk it's just the running animation slowed down which looks hideous as if they're sliding.

I really really wish they'd fix that, it's my number 1 problem with mounts in this game.

Anumaril · January 16

Morvan wrote: »

Oh, so with the new update it's now affecting ALL kinds of mounts? Because that bug has been a thing since ever for feline and heavyweights specifically, while full upgraded + gallop they can't use their walking animation at all, when you try to walk it's just the running animation slowed down which looks hideous as if they're sliding.

It’s also been a long-standing problem for horses when going above speed upgrade 15, that’s why I just keep my upgrade at 10 to keep the walking animation across all my mounts. But with the new update, base speed levels are being increased by so much that the walking animation basically doesn't exist anymore even when at speed upgrade level 0.

Aardappelboom · January 16

I'm on console, so I can choose speed through the thumb sticks. However I would like to bump this because I too would rather see a clear use for the animations.

On a horse, jogging should be standard when not walking and sprinting should use the "front-leaning-animation" (lack of a better term).

Right now, above 15, jogging just becomes sprinting, and there's no change when sprinting, I hate that, honestly.

opaj · January 16

I actually asked this during the preview live stream, but it got swallowed up by the chat and I was swept away by the other changes they were talking about.

I wish that toggling walk would just make you move at a set speed so you could still see normal walking animations. The same thing happens on foot if you have any sort of speed buff active.

Morvan · January 16

Well, for me on PTS it's just the heavyweights and felines that can't use their walking animations, all the others seems fine, even with adapt rider + gallop.

They do need to fix it though, mounts are a huge source of income for them, having their animations bugged like that for so long is just sad.

Anumaril · January 17

opaj wrote: »

I wish that toggling walk would just make you move at a set speed so you could still see normal walking animations. The same thing happens on foot if you have any sort of speed buff active.

Fully agree. If you enable walking, by definition you’re fine with not going super fast. So why bother buffing our walking speed? Just have it be a fixed value.