[Gameplay] Add /point emote!

[Zillvr]

I'd like to suggest a /point emote where your character points towards a certain direction.

 

When you are facing true north, and another player sees you doing that emote they will see you on their client side pointing to true north, even if they recently have rotated their own cameras.

 

This would be extremely useful for situations where you need to give people basic direction, sample below:

• A player asks "Where is the pig king?", you can simply face the direction and type /point instead of typing in "head east from here, using the default orientation."

This will save you vital seconds, and maybe even more.

 

Optional Detail: Using this emote will make your character point towards the direction you are facing, and he/she will keep on pointing at that direction until you move your character.

 

Let me know what you guys think.

[imsomony]

I like it! I always forget that some people rotate their cameras, and this would be very helpful for those folks who didn't rotate back and are disoriented now.

[Desblat]

Would be usefull.

[Mysanthil]

Maybe something key-bindable. I tried to ctrl-click a chest once to point at it, vaguely hoping it might work.

[rezecib]

While this is a cool idea, most animations in the game are either one-faced or four-faced. So for emotes, for example, two people with the camera rotated oppositely will see the person doing the emote facing opposite directions (because the emote always faces the camera).

 

Four-faced animations are actually drawn separately for each direction, and then can only face those four.

 

So to make this actually be functional, it would probably need something else tacked on, like a little pointer arrow prefab that can be rotated.

[imsomony]

@rezecib,

 

I think I'm confused by what you said, can you clarify? Unfortunately, I haven't played enough with the emotes yet nor looked into the code, but it sounds like you have? 

 

So, you and I are on the same server and are facing the same cardinal direction. But I've rotated my camera so that I am seeing both of us from behind, while you haven't rotated your camera at all. If I point left, I'll still see it as left on my screen while continuing to view both of us from behind. But you'll see it as right because on your screen, I'm facing forward towards your camera (like the whole stage-left/stage-right thing). 

 

Or do you mean that on my screen, I'll want to point left with my back to my own camera, but I'll actually turn around to face my camera head-on with my left arm out... so according to my view, I'll be pointing to the right. Meanwhile, you'll see me pointing right on your screen because originally, I was facing towards you with my left arm pointed out.

[rezecib]

@imsomony, I think this probably is best explained with diagrams.

 

M is a player, and W is that player from the other direction. Let's say the emote looks to the camera like this: M> (pointing to the right). Two players flank the other player, with their cameras orient so that that player is above them:

 

Player 1:

M <== player 2

 

M>

 

W <== player 1

Player 2:

M <== player 1

 

M>

 

W <== player 2

 

So basically, regardless of camera angle, the emote will always point right, but the "rights" are actually opposite directions for Player 1 and Player 2.

 

Just think of all the times you've seen someone emote. It always faces directly at your camera. Their camera could be oriented any way, and it'd be facing their camera, too.

[Zillvr]

@rezecib,  I realize now that this /point emote idea would require more coding with regards to positional information between players and each of their orientations. Thank you for a detailed run down of the possible bumps with this idea.

 

The only other solution I can think of is to add side and back views for this emote, or better yet all the emotes. But that'll just be a whole new hurdle. Adding a prefab might just be the only way.

 

Thanks for the input rez.

 

 

[CometChaserPleinair]

can we get a middle finger emote as well? For positive expression purposes.. y'know?

[imsomony]

@rezecib, thanks! I was trying to explain that in the second example and totally failed, haha.

 

I wonder if this mythical "point" emote could be tied to cardinal directions rather than just left/right/up/down. So like, if I'm going to point right and according to my camera rotation, right is East, the emote will show for all other players as pointing whichever direction East is for them... even if that means on their screen, I'm pointing left, straight-ahead, or behind myself.

[The Letter W]

can we get a middle finger emote as well? For positive expression purposes.. y'know?

 

If you type /bye enough times, you'll get one that's close enough.

 

Anyway, perhaps it could be how the "Look Here" gesture in Portal 2 worked? The character would point in whatever direction they were facing, and what they were pointing at was highlighted. I suppose this would make it more of an action rather than an emote?

[Zillvr]

If you type /bye enough times, you'll get one that's close enough.

 

Anyway, perhaps it could be how the "Look Here" gesture in Portal 2 worked? The character would point in whatever direction they were facing, and what they were pointing at was highlighted. I suppose this would make it more of an action rather than an emote?

I have never played the game or seen letsplays, but when I did I totally agree something like that could work. Thanks for the input W, sorry for the late reply.

 

I can't seem to properly mention you in the forums. 

[Zendy]

W's plan would probably work a lot a lot better than the pointing. I've never played Portal ever myself but maybe you could still keep the point animation to go with the action just because.