Thread: Hobbit Proportions/Movements

Hi, new trial player here! I've enjoyed the game thus far, even if it's only one day! My primary character, a human warden, is now level 11 and I've enjoyed every minute playing it!

One thing that really rather bothers me though is the proportions of the Hobbit, specifically the males. I played one only long enough to get to level 2 before I couldn't stand it any more - which is sad since I was really looking forward to playing a hobbit burglar! They just look... wrong! Their trunk is way too long in proportion to their overall body size and their legs and lower body is way too short and stumpy. The females look fine. In fact when you do a side by side comparison you will see a major difference between male and female hobbits clearly. The males need their trunk shortened, waist moved up, and legs extended a bit.

Another thing that bothers me is just how they move - they run/waddle something terrible, especially when strafing. And have you seen how they walk? The female hobbits do look better than the males, but still it just seems... unnatural. Has anyone else noticed these issues? Are there any plans to fix them? Seriously, I can look past the minor issues with the female hobbits, but as it is male hobbits are just not playable for me!

The hobbit animations have always been a bit off. They have gone through several revisions already. I imagine they'll be changing it again, hopefully it will be much better this time =).

Welcome to LOTRO and Middle Earth!

Many of the character models have issues of one kind or another. Two examples: dwarves have a twist to the left in their spine, and elven females have a hip cocked when they stand ...

Well, most of us have chosen to overlook these issues so we can "live" in Middle Earth, but I fully understand your reaction. Those of us that've been playing the game for years do continue to comment on them when the opportunity arises.

And, I've made a female hobbit burglar so I can play one.

Anyway, good hunting and exploring.

I did the same thing with my first hobbit, created one and played for a few levels before I couldn't stand the character. He is deleted.

I tried again and this time made a muscular hobbit rather than a "thin" one. On the character creation screen if you chose a thin hobbit the weight moves from his chest to his lower belly making his trunk longer and his legs even shorter. A choice of the heaviest hobbit pushes out his chest and makes his lower belly lose some weight which is what I have chosen for the hobbit I have now. It still is quite wrong in my opinion. What were they thinking?!

Thanks for the replies everyone! Yeah, graphics and animations alone won't keep me from playing the game, but they sure do make a big difference in the quality of the experience! I'm thinking if I can suck it up long enough to get a cape then that would help hide the awful looks a bit. If that fails then I might just have to go female, though I'd far rather have a male toon. I'm glad that I'm not alone in the sentiments - hopefully that will spur development to make some changes in the future.

I've noticed males of all races have a problem with a disproportionately long torso. The hobbit male really brings this out and the dwarves are simply gross. I wanted to play a dwarf and deleted it after level 5.

I've always wondered about the animations too. The characters walk at least semi-normally, but the NPCs all walk/run as if they have a rock in their shorts (rock -- I'm just trying to be polite )

The female characters walk alright although the human female looks a little uptight. I kind of like the elven female waggle The men in all the races walk like zombies. They need to swing their arms more.

Originally Posted by jeffm

and elven females have a hip cocked when they stand ...

That's intentional and I like it. Even before playing this game I sometime stood around like that. It's more comfortable O_o

~S

Fear not! While Male Hobbits won't be getting back their old run animation (which was the best one,) they are getting a new one soonish.

While it's not quite as good as the old one, it doesn't make you look like a character from Toontown like the current one does.

Most of the npcs walk like they have a serious case of diaper rash--- ACK!

Female elves used to stand like they a) needed a chiropractor REALLY REALLY badly and b) needed to pee something fierce..... so the new stance is 1000% better... and does anyone remember when we all had fleas? (constantly scratching ourselves)... so things have improved!

Currently I still see problems with the hobbit class the capes on male hobbits are way too thick... I can live with everything else but that just bothers me too much!!!!

Personally I see no problem

If they bother you so much I suggest hiding cloaks in the interface.

Z.

Unless you feel the need to specifically choose a characters gender then for hobbits the female is the better option visually. This gives a bit more scope in hiding animations under dresses as well as robes and capes. The animation sometimes seems almost childlike in the way they move.

Other than that hobbit animations seem to me to be the preferred options. Some of the combat ones for the other races lack weight, cappy wielding a halbred like its a twig for example. My cappy may be 60+ but I'd reroll in a heartbeat if hobbits got that class for the better visuals and look in combat, even if it was a TP unlock.