One of my biggest gripes with Bethesda games is that they create these magnificent worlds that are alive but the animations for characters and creatures look like they are from the days of the Playstation 1. I know that Todd Howard has said that the animations were improved that there's some new engine (or at least elements) that drive these animations. When I'm playing Oblivion, I often walk from place to place, and I walk in the streets to make it more believable. However, the only walking animation in the Skyrim video has not sold me on the idea that animations are improved much. Maybe its just me but it still seems stiff and lifeless. I'm hoping to see the character's shoulders turn when you turn him, see his torso bend when walking up/down steps, etc. I don't want to see the "ice skating" animations when strafing from side to side. I'm hoping that these are vastly improved but I still don't know if they will be. Does anyone have any insight as to whether these things are actually improved in Skyrim or do you think we can expect the same old animations with just a bit more polish? If you think about it even Fallout: New Vegas had some improvements over Fallout 3. Specifically the "walking up steps" animation. The character actually took steps, it still didn't look quite right. Going back to Oblivion there was only one walking animation and it didn't matter where your character was walking or what he was doing, it was all the same.

Some may say that I'm being nit-picky, but this is one thing that I think can change the entire environment and is the #1 area that needs attention (at least cosmetically) in the Elder Scrolls series. Fixing these will make the world much, much more believable.

Have you seen that youtube side by side comparison video of Skyrim and Oblivion walking animations? Also, they are using Havok Behavior, which is the most advanced tech available right now.

Havok Behavior is your friend. BGS has heard your cries, and they are being addressed.

I've seen it but to be honest I'm not THAT impressed. It still looks somewhat similar. Maybe its just me.

They are using a new animation system. This along with their animators being better should provide us with some MUCH nicer animations than previous BGS titles. All the animations in the gameplay trailer looked quite nice, actually.

It looks much better. Sorry.

Let me clarify, in the side-by-side comparison all characters are walking in a straight line. I'd like to see a character turning while walking. His head moving, shoulders turning, etc. In Oblivion when you walk to the left or right it looks like you are on ice. The Skyrim walking animation suggests nothing different. I'm not saying it isn't there, I hope it is. I'd just like to see it. In every part of the video where people are walking the animations, in my opinion, do not look overwhelmingly improved.

I don't really know what you're expecting then.

It's walking. There aren't a whole lot of ways to walk, and it looks perfect to me.

The walking animation in Oblivion looked fine to me too, when you were walking in a straight line. It was when you were not walking in a straight line was when there were problems. I'm just saying the only animations we've seen so far in Skyrim has the character walking in a straight line.

I haven't seen it, could someone give me a link?

the floating has improved a lot between OB and F3 they started using the collision detecting technology so it could react, if you look at stairs it worked very well, however there was a lot of problems when you ran

I'm on my phone, otherwise I would. That's one of the only things I haven't figured out with this phone yet.

your talking about this link right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKCerijbsW8

Yes, thank you.

I'd say rewatch the trailer then. The blonde woman (I think it's a woman) sneaking up on a deer in the forest, and the darkly-dressed character sneaking through the Dwemer ruin, both appear to be strafing diagonally with their own animation, rather than gliding.

I still just want to see how the animations handle turning. Think about Elder Scrolls animations compared to Rock Star (Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption). The Rock Star animations do not force the character's back to be turned to the screen at all times. If you take a sharp right the character moves very realistically to the right and the camera slowly shifts. In Oblivion you have to move the camera viewpoint moves instantly while the character moves. The same walking animation continue while the camera pans. Its hard for me to articulate what I mean, but the Rock Star walking animations look ten-thousand times better than Oblivion's.

I always walk around in 3rd person, whether its Elder Scrolls or Fallout. I loved the shaking camera during first person in the trailer, I might be changing if 3rd person doesn't improve much.