No hunter shadows?

[Wolverine1538]

I just started using the tripod stand and I noticed that I cast no shadow but the stand does. Seems a little creepy and I feel that hunter shadows should be added to the game. Any thoughts?

[DanthemanBoone]

The fact that there is no shadow makes perfect sense, because you're not really there.

[Mosin Greymantle]

LOL

[snorski]

I agree
...even the dog has a shadow, which is weird, because not having a shadow myself was the reason I named my dog Shadow in the first place

[VictoriaHuntress]

Our avatars don't cast *any* shadows at all, even standing on the ground.
We are vampires - I'll bet we don't have reflections in mirrors either HAHA.

Foliage and solid objects like boulders and mountains, and structures produce shadows that follow the sun, so it's not as though the engine is incapable of shadow effects at all. Does anyone recall seeing animal shadows on the ground? I have noticed that when the geese fly overhead on a sunny day, there is a perceived shadow effect.

What about in multiplayer mode - does anyone recall seeing the other players' shadows?

Interestingly, if you play EW's COTW: The Angler, you'll see your own shadow. So, that version of the APEX Engine's lighting model / ray tracing algorithms can produce shadows of moving (or moveable) objects.

[PiRadiusz]

Originally posted by VictoriaHuntress:

What about in multiplayer mode - does anyone recall seeing the other players' shadows?

Interestingly, if you play EW's COTW: The Angler, you'll see your own shadow. So, that version of the APEX Engine's lighting model / ray tracing algorithms can produce shadows of moving (or moveable) objects.

Can't confirm 100%, because I don't play multiplayer, but I'm convinced other players have shadow.

Didn't play The Angler, but is player's avatar fully modeled in 1st person view in that game?
In CoTW players cast shadow only in 3rd person view - which makes sense I suppose, since you can't see avatar's body in 1st person. There's kind of good compromise in Generation Zero. I know - different game, but uses same engine and borrows many assets from CoTW. But in this case player's character casts shadow on their own hands and whatever piece of equipment they're holding, but not on a ground.
Would like to see at least this solution in CoTW.

Anyways it's often a dillema for developers of 1st person games, whether make players cast shadow or not. I guess there's a trade off as 1st person shadows have certain level of stiffness to their animation.

[VictoriaHuntress]

@PiRadius - ah, yes. When you are on the ATV and in 3rd person mode, you can see part of your shadow atop the vehicle's shadow. There doesn't seem to be a key binding to switch to 3rd person view unless you are on the ATV?

In the Angler, it doesn't seem to have a 3rd person view. In 1st person view, the shadow is modeled more or less accurately - it moves when you move, so if you are walking or running, the shadow follows your movements. If you crouch, so does the shadow. As you mentioned, there is a certain stiffness to it.

[PiRadiusz]

Originally posted by VictoriaHuntress:

@PiRadius - ah, yes. When you are on the ATV and in 3rd person mode, you can see part of your shadow atop the vehicle's shadow. There doesn't seem to be a key binding to switch to 3rd person view unless you are on the ATV?

In the Angler, it doesn't seem to have a 3rd person view. In 1st person view, the shadow is modeled more or less accurately - it moves when you move, so if you are walking or running, the shadow follows your movements. If you crouch, so does the shadow. As you mentioned, there is a certain stiffness to it.

No, there's no way to switch between views, except for ATV.

As for shadow behaviour, I know what you mean. In games player's model animation is different in 1st and 3rd person mode, hence sometimes shadow animations may look quirky when playing through character's eyes. Take The Hunter Classic for instance. But in that game character is fully modeled so there's an actual body to obstruct light, unlike CoTW.