LE WHIP!! WHIP!!! Need to be ported

[belascoh]

whips would be cool, maybe some modders just started with creating some whips as normal equipment like a hammer or such things. and if these whips are there, the wish to have them animated would increase a higher chance to realize it. ;-)

[pheo3309]

As a novice in professional whip cracking (competitive targetting/marskmanship, demonstration of tricks, and number of cracks per minute) some of the things displayed in the video kind of irks me. I mean don't get me wrong, what I just witnessed I was in awe, but it has way more room for improvement.

 

For one the physics of a whip. You're handling a weapon that breaks the sound barrier, the first of it's kind being that it's the first man-made tool to do so. For this specific whip, which is a bullwhip, it's pretty easy to wear yourself out throwing the whip like that. So I'd think that the stamina required would have to be altered to reciprocate for realism. Even if he's the Dragonborn, the whip in terms of a weapon rather than herding animals, when first starting to crack a whip your arm gets fatigued very easily. I mean if I were to estimate the length of the whip in the video, I'd say it's at least 10-12 feet long. Those aren't the easiest to crack or even throw efficiently each consecutive time. The more I wear myself out, the more I fail to meet my mark, no matter how large the target may be. The longer the whip, the more fatigue present in the arm. Mine's about 10-12 feet unless my fall breaks and then it's between that. I can crack for about an hour and after 30 minutes of consecutive cracking, my cracks went from 2-4 cracks a second, to just 1-2 depending on what crack or combo crack I'm practicing in.

 

Second, is the crack. A whip can travel around 1400 feet per second at the crack. That's faster than the speed of sound. I'd have expected it to crack. :tongue:

 

And third is efficiency as a weapon itself. As a novice I can tell you that even after two years of cracking a whip, I hit my mark half the time. While my targets are usually smaller (lit candles, cutting soda cans in half, and picking up things from the ground with an underhanded crack and then cutting it in half with a cattleman's crack which that combo is known as the Cow and Calf), accuracy is pretty hard for a ranged opponent. Plus you have to factor in that the opponent can close in on you depending on the length. If your whip is 10-12 feet, it can take almost a second to get prepared and positioned for executing another crack (with the exception of fast figure-eights and other volleys). Now for people who train for years and years like Adam Winrich, someone like him could probably do it pretty quickly being as he's held world records for having the most cracks, most extinguished candle flames, most cans cut with a normal leather whip and a chainmail whip (which that was a sight to see). But in terms of just picking it up and cracking it instantly? That I would find hard to do. My first time picking one up, it took me a few days to get it to crack with a simple cattleman's crack. Some learn it faster, but the key point of this long winded paragraph is that you don't learn how to crack the whip. It learns you. Quite literally. With each consecutive throw, the strands and plaiting of the whip align and tighten with your musculature in your arm. It's why professional whip crackers won't use another's personal whip. It throws the 'alignment' off for the lack of a better description.

 

I'm not typing this out to hate on the idea, personally my jaw hit the floor seeing the video. But then seeing it a few times after the first initial awe, I noticed differences right away. The other differences, I don't think are capable within the engine itself, being that a whip won't coil in your hand like that and it'd drag on the ground, whirling it around the body like that doesn't work realistically based on physics (which some of the techniques displayed would almost guarantee an ear flying off somewhere), and then limitations on grappling (which again is another physics issue). I don't expect people to make all of my complaints happen, but the reason why I'm posting is more informative rather than critical of it. I do admit, it's truly amazing with it being in Oblivion. Especially with it's limitations and bugs. :ohdear:

 

Edit: I will definitely be tracking this though. This is definitely right up my alley. :D

Edited July 26, 2013 by pheo3309

[madapaka1323]

I posted a topic about this in the mod request threads. I am seriously WILLING TO PUT MONEY $$ DOWN ON WHOEVER CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN. This ain't just for me there are folks like me that wants to see this whip weapon come to life. :D tag the best modders you know and lets get this going.