Elk movement suggestions to make the elk movement feel less jank.

[Maynard Mann]

Hey so just throwing in my 2 cents about how I'd go about making the elk movement feel better for long-distance navigation, it feels okay right now but has a lot of moments of frustration especially when you are trying to travel 25,000 blocks and certain things just keep happening.

First off any type of slope just slows the elk down way to much and getting through even minor bumpy areas is a pain my solution. 

- Allow the elk to "glide" up 1 block and 2 block steep slopes as in not via auto jump but if it is possible in the engine to just have the elk sorta move in a straight vector up those slopes

- now that the elk can simply run up 2 block slopes increase the active jump height of the elk to 3 blocks high 

Another major issue with the elk is getting stuck on trees my suggestion.

- If possible make the model of the player and elk together only 1 block high but only when it comes to interacting with leaf blocks making traveling wooded areas way less frustrating.

And lastly, when it does come to the point where you are inevitably stuck and need to change the terrain for passage it is far too easy to accidentally strike your elk if you are mining or digging from horseback.

-Simple disallow the elk from being stricken by its rider. 

[LadyWYT]

Welcome to the forums!

5 hours ago, Maynard Mann said:

- Allow the elk to "glide" up 1 block and 2 block steep slopes as in not via auto jump but if it is possible in the engine to just have the elk sorta move in a straight vector up those slopes

I don't know how feasible that particular method would be, but I do agree that smoother movement up slopes regardless of angle would take care of most of the jankiness.

5 hours ago, Maynard Mann said:

- now that the elk can simply run up 2 block slopes increase the active jump height of the elk to 3 blocks high 

I somewhat disagree here, since jumping three blocks high feels like it would be a bit much, especially with a rider. Instead, I would opt for letting the elk walk up slopes that are 2.5 blocks high maximum, so that it can handle those 2 blocks slopes in the snow. Currently, the elk can't handle those steep snowy slopes without jumping.

5 hours ago, Maynard Mann said:

- If possible make the model of the player and elk together only 1 block high but only when it comes to interacting with leaf blocks making traveling wooded areas way less frustrating.

Definitely disagree here. Thick forest, much like swamps or mountains, is a big obstacle to travel, and a very realistic one. I would instead opt for improving the camera angles when riding through forests or in other cramped areas, possibly even making a limited "transparency aura" around the player when riding a mount. That way mounted players can more easily see where they are going, while still retaining some of the challenges to travel.

5 hours ago, Maynard Mann said:

And lastly, when it does come to the point where you are inevitably stuck and need to change the terrain for passage it is far too easy to accidentally strike your elk if you are mining or digging from horseback.

You shouldn't be needing to change the terrain at all, unless you're deliberately building a road through the terrain or have accidentally fallen into a hole. In the case of the former, building roads is a huge time and resource investment, so you need to either plan for such or find an easier(but longer) path around particular obstacles. In the case of the latter--assuming that you have claimed your elk with the ownership medallion, you can simply dismount, climb out of the hole, and toot the flute to get the elk to come to you. It might not be particularly realistic, but if the elk can't find a proper path to your location it will just teleport to you instead, provided that it's in a loaded chunk and close enough to hear the flute.

5 hours ago, Maynard Mann said:

-Simple disallow the elk from being stricken by its rider. 

I'm going to disagree with this one purely because I get a kick out of getting stomped by my elk on occasion when it takes offense to (accidental) rough handling.