Talk:Ultima VI monster data

Its either a migraine or my OCD talking, but are the animations a little... fast? And out of sync? I noticed this on the Savage Empire Monster Data page as well. Everyone is spinning in circles, to the beat of their own drummer.

Could we maybe have a set number of frames for walk right, walk right, walk north, walk south, say 4-6 paces each direction; so they are pacing rather than spinning? That would also make sure every monster is in step with the others. Would do wonders to make this page easy on the eyes. --Browncoat Jayson (talk) 13:29, 19 March 2013 (PDT)
 * I do agree. They really spinning around..and...around..and...around. You could also make them stand and in a fighting position. I was wondering if the Wisp is actually the same as in the Savage Empire?--Arthgon (talk) 13:45, 19 March 2013 (PDT)
 * I started doing it this way because that is how the other images were created. Guess I could make them pace longer, but that would take a lot of extra frames and require redoing a ton of my animations.  I could make them just pace south, or not pace at all.  As for the animations being out of sync, that is because monsters and NPCs have different numbers of frames.  Some monsters have 1 frame, some have 2, and all NPCs have 3 frames. Dungy (talk) 14:03, 19 March 2013 (PDT)
 * [[File:U6-Wolf-Anim.gif]] Just as a test, here is an updated wolf using the new pacing animation. I used 6 frames for each direction, which would allow even the NPCs to take two steps before each turn. What do you think? I don't have any problem updating the other existing files, if necessary. --Browncoat Jayson (talk) 10:33, 20 March 2013 (PDT)
 * Since no one objected, I updated this page with pacing animations for all creatures, and used the same timing for everyone. If you do a force refresh (Ctrl+F5), you should see them all walk and turn in concert with one another. It is much easier for me to watch this page now (without needing Dramamine). I also have updates for the SE and MD animations, which I will upload if no one has issues with these changes. --Browncoat Jayson (talk) 07:19, 22 March 2013 (PDT)
 * Go for it! Dungy (talk) 12:19, 22 March 2013 (PDT)
 * All of the U6, SE and MD animations are updated, with the exception of the MD-canal-worm_anim.gif. It looks like either some frames are missing, or I'm just missing how the animation should line up. --Browncoat Jayson (talk) 13:35, 22 March 2013 (PDT)
 * Cool! I'll work on finishing the missing NPCs over the next few days.  How did you do that so fast? Dungy (talk) 15:53, 22 March 2013 (PDT)
 * Open and crop in Paint.NET if necessary, paste frames into good old Microsoft Gif Animator, and set each frame to time of 20. Duplicate and reorder frames as necessary. Each only took a minute or so. --Browncoat Jayson (talk) 17:51, 22 March 2013 (PDT)

Additional Notes - NPCs
I don't think the additional notes added to the Important NPCs section is appropriate for a Monster Data page. As, well, they aren't Monster Data but facts about the NPC. -- Fenyx4 21:33, 15 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Okay. I will remove them. Did you know that Loubet and Lord British have an inventory paperdoll next to his portrait? As if they're possible companions for the Avatar? --Arthgon (talk) 21:36, 15 May 2014 (UTC)


 * That's awesome. I wonder what plot element got cut that involved them being in the party. -- Fenyx4 21:40, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
 * That is a good question, indeed. I am just guessing, but perhaps Lord British had to go with the Avatar to negotiate with the Gargoyles or something after the re-capturing of the Shrines.

--Arthgon (talk) 09:59, 16 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Here is how the paperdoll of Loubet looks like.

--Arthgon (talk) 15:11, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

New format
Could we at least open it up for discussion before making sweeping changes to the formatting of these monster data pages? Alphabetical order was a lot more reader-friendly, and finding the creature you're looking for has now become needlessly convoluted. --Terilem (talk) 01:59, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

Just to add to this, I'd also question sorting characters by their sprite. It might be more visually cohesive, but it's functionally awkward. Whereas before the reader could just jump right to the name they were looking for, now they have to find the sprite first and then the name. Everyone knows the alphabet; I'd imagine far fewer know/remember what a particular character looked like in the game. Same goes for sorting by attributes. --Terilem (talk) 03:38, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

I think alphabetical order became obsolete since the invention of "Ctrl+F". Anyway, I tried to make the table sortable, but I failed. If the table was sortable, anyone could sort it by any column he/she likes, including sorting by sprite. Then, default sorting could be "from weakest to strongest", that is not coincident with a single column. --Abacos (talk) 14:31, 12 March 2015 (UTC)


 * Yes, I realise Ctrl+F is always an option, but again that adds an extra, unnecessary step for the reader. Bear in mind we have to cater to all levels of familiarity with these games, so pages like this should be as simple and accessible as they can be. In any case, I see you've now managed to make the tables sortable, which is a welcome addition. --Terilem (talk) 23:53, 12 March 2015 (UTC)