Dwarf Fortress 2 open beta coming soon (design notes - part four)

With Chris on board, the pace of development improved considerably, and we were able to include version 2 of the procedural animation system that Spore used, translating the Dwarf Fortress raws that Tarn was building into life like models complete with advanced moves like floppy legs and crab walking that hadn't been possible with the original engine.

Prior to Chris joining, we had done some experimentation with mo cap through a contact of mine at Weta Works. While this didn't pan out, we did use the Battle of Dagorlad from the first Lord of the Rings movie as a reference for DF2 fortress invasions:



Apparently the reason there are no dwarves in this battle is that Peter Jackson wasn't happy with the CGI animation at the time: he felt it couldn't capture their natural grace and athleticism.