March 2025: Smarter Rats, Better Moves
- Vladimir Petrov
- Apr 6
- 2 min read
Oliver Moves Better!
I’ve implemented a system that lets Oliver adjust his strafe direction based on pelvis rotation, inspired by an 80lvl article by Albin Thunström. The real challenge was getting it to work with Malber’s Animal controller, which powers Oliver and all our other characters.
Here’s how it works:
Masked Animator Layer for the upper body, handling everything above the pelvis.
Pelvis Proxy Animator Layer to control pelvis rotation.
A custom script that “freezes” pelvis movement from the strafe animation.
It’s up and running, but still needs polishing and tweaking animations, timings, and fixing foot clipping. That led to our next feature:
Runtime Feet IK
I added a script that keeps Oliver’s feet firmly on the ground, making his movement feel more grounded and realistic.
Oliver's Tale intro cutscene - first look
Our animator, Igor Cheltsov, has started work on the intro cutscene. Here’s a quick peek! We’re aiming to capture a sense of adventure, mystery, and fantasy all at once.
We also took a leap of faith with facial animations for Mithras and Oliver. They look promising so far, thanks to Carrie (our 3D artist) who added extra details to bring those faces to life.
High-Poly Staff for Mithras
Finally, we have a high-poly version of Mithras’s staff; he’s an older character who could use a little support. It’s a small detail, but we hope it adds depth to his persona
Rat Brute is getting smart!
We haven't forgotten about our Rat Brute! You might not realize it from a single snapshot, but we've pulled off a complex blend of pathfinding, AI behavior, and Root Motion animations. It’s so clever, it can even hop between platforms if it decides to chase Oliver!
Stay tuned for more updates soon! 👍👍