Some Simple Ideas To Make Parkour More Interesting.

[LordBeeBrain]

(I'm sorry if this is in the wrong section..)

 

Seeing as a request to the change of parkour has made it into the Community Hot Topics, I figured I should add my voice to the chorus of suggestions.

 

Now this is coming from someone who is a big fan of Warframe and also does a quite a lot of parkour himself.

 

I think I can safely say that the transition into parkour in Warframe is a bit... Dated... It's more of an eyesore really. It's not because there's anything wrong with the game itself, it's just the lack of animations make the system look extremely unfinished. And while I know our beloved DEvs each have their own job, the implementation of new systems (Damage 2.0, melee 2.0, etc) are making parkour look more and more outdated/forgotten.

 

I'm trying to make these so that they don't require many changes to the current map tiles or mechanics.

 

So, on to my ideas!

 

Step 1: Make another jumping animation.

 

Now I think that normal jumping and vaulting are great, they really are. So there's no need to change that. However, when running and jumping towards a wall, I think the Tenno should change the way they approach it. See, when jumping towards a wall, us free runners tend to stick out our feet--in a somewhat crouched position, so they can collide with the wall and we can continue running as soon as they hit. As of now, the Tenno just do a normal jump towards the wall, which makes the transition to wall-running look rather unnatural. They should jump somewhat more like this:

 

 

(sorry, was the best related image I could find)

 

See how much better that looks though? Perhaps you could add a different jump animation for when they player is sprinting. It would transitioning into wall running/ledge grabbing much more fluid and also sets them up to do a jump off of the wall. However... there is an issue I have with certain wall running animations, that I will bring up in my next point.

 

Step 2: Instead of wall running give us wall scrambling.

 

Now some people might be asking: "What's the difference?" or "How will that make it any better?"

 

Let me explain: With the above jump animation implemented, they'd now need to make the transition into a vertical wall run more fluid.. The problem is, it'd be impossible. Going from a position like the one above to one that the Tenno take when running up a vertical surface would be impossible, due to gravity. Now I know this is a sci-fi game, but still... People like smooth animations.

 

The best way to fix this would be to add a wall scramble animation that works off of the jumping one. Once a Tenno hits the wall in that position and the player initiates the parkour animation, the Tenno will begin to rapidly kick off of and grab the surface they're on. The animation will last as long as the current vertical wall running animation, but will be more fluid. As an added bonus, it will make the Tenno appear even more agile, as they're able to climb (flat?) surfaces using their speed alone. (A feat that IS possible in real life, but requires much effort and strength to do).

 

 

 

The climbing looks much better, no? They then could push off the wall and transition into the back flip or grab a ledge.

 

Which segues us to my next point.

 

Step 3: Give us a ledge grab > Shimmy animation.

 

Instead of just immediately hauling themselves up a ledge, the Tenno should hold on to that ledge until the player makes them do otherwise. Make it so that when a player presses the *Walk forward* button, their Tenno peeks above the ledge. This could allow them to fire at enemies with their secondary weapons while holding onto a ledge. Add a finisher, even, where they player can stab enemies that get close with their melee weapon.

 

To make the Tenno climb up, all the player would have to do is hit the jump button.

 

Anyway. A ledge-grab > shimmy option will also help players (who can't go invisible) be stealthy, by giving them the option to go around enemies without being seen. And the ability to fire a secondary weapon will also add a nice element of surprise.

 

Step 4: Give us climbable areas.

 

Now when I say climb... I don't mean wall run or wall scramble... I mean actual climbing. There's a map tile on Earth with a ladder... You can imagine how disappointed I was, when I saw my Tenno running up the ladder, instead of climbing it. This might seem a bit mundane, but I think it would be an interesting mechanic. Say, you could add a tree, some ladders, etc, that can be climbed to reach new areas. The animation would be simple to the wall scramble, but letting go of the jump button wouldn't cancel the animation; your Tenno will just hang there. Make it so that repeatedly hitting the jump button will cause the Tenno to jump from point to point at the cost of more stamina. 

 

Give us some areas where the Tenno have to jump from one branch to another, or make a jump to a broken part of a ladder and then continue on. Just something to make exploring more interesting.

 

Step 5: How about a rope/vine/cable swing?

 

Now that we have tile sets like Earth, which is full of plant-life... It shouldn't be too unrealistic to find a hanging vine that is perfect for swinging from. 

 

Or maybe on a Grinner/Corpus tile set... Some hanging ropes or cables would be perfect to swing from. It'd allow players to jump further in certain areas to reach an otherwise unreachable part of the map. And it'd be pretty damn fun, too.

 

Step 6: How about a pole/pipe/etc. grab > monkey bars and/or > perch?

 

Say you add exposed pipes or something similar to a map tile or make a new one with such a feature. The Tenno would be able to move along them while being unseen by the enemy. Yet another way to add some very good stealth options! You could also add a perching animation, where if a player presses the jump button while hanging from a pipe, their Tenno will be able to perch themselves on to it and fire their weapons from above.

 

 

Well, that's all the ideas I have for now. If I come up with any more, I'll be sure to add them here.

 

Be sure to let me know what you think.

Edited July 15, 2014 by xZetsumeix

[S.T.M.P.D]

I think the devs hinted at something along these lines for U15.

 

Great work tho.

[(PSN)BiggCMan]

I quite like this! Definite approval!

 

[Kestral9999]

I think the devs hinted at something along these lines for U15.

 

Great work tho.

don't suppose you could provide a link to said hint could you? I've been hoping for an update to the parkour for so long I can't even...

[LordBeeBrain]

I think the devs hinted at something along these lines for U15.

 

Great work tho.

 

don't suppose you could provide a link to said hint could you? I've been hoping for an update to the parkour for so long I can't even...

 

I too would like to see that. :o