Animated Chess Inspired by @Vanadium50 & @PeroK

[Janus]

The reply by @Vanadium 50 to thread by @PeroK about Using Python for Chess inspired me to try my hand at recreating that Star Wars chess scene.
This is my somewhat ham-handed attempt.
The "Chessmen" are only somewhat similar to the ones in the actual movie, But I wasn't going for a exact copy, just an rough approximation.

 

[jedishrfu]

Great animation, thanks for sharing.

Maybe you could try Viking Chess next. It's a different kind of game but then it'd give you an excuse to create some Viking raiders.

 

[waternohitter]

This is an interesting one. I Gotta try it.

 

[Janus]

Great animation, thanks for sharing.

Maybe you could try Viking Chess next. It's a different kind of game but then it'd give you an excuse to create some Viking raiders.

Here's a start on a Viking. First, the base model with no rigging for posing or animation yet.

Then an updated version, posed and holding an axe.

I had to make some mods to the clothing from the First model, as I had to add the rigging before adding clothes in order to get the clothing to follow the armature. ( otherwise, for instance, the arm will move, but the sleeve of the shirt won't track with it.) So I had to remove the clothes on the model, apply the rigging, and then make new clothes.

 

[PeroK]

This reminds me of Noggin the Nog:

 

[Janus]

And what's a Viking without his shield?

I did a slight modification of for the material of his top, giving it a bit more of a leather look, and lightened the skin tone for a greater contrast to the beard.

 

[Janus]

Next, An animation test, having our Viking walk forward a bit. I also gave some thought as to how to animate a "capture". I decided on a proper "Viking funeral", as tacked on at the end of this short animation.

 

[jedishrfu]

A couple of things to consider in a Viking chess game:

0) All pieces move like chess rooks.

1) Capture of a regular piece is when it is surrounded on opposite sides by two pieces or the edge of the board Ie it takes two Vikings to capture one Viking.

2) Capture of a king is when it is surrounded on all sides with no place to move either by four pieces, or the edge of the board.

In my limited experience, it seems the kings army is favored to win as it seems easier to capture attacking pieces as they move into position.

After a few moves the king is freed to move and can do so like a rook. The king wins when he makes it to a corner square which are called thrones.

 

[DennisN]

The reply by @Vanadium 50 to thread by @PeroK about Using Python for Chess inspired me to try my hand at recreating that Star Wars chess scene.

This reminded me that there was an early fun game which was a bit similar that I played a lot with my friends on the old Commodore 64 a LONG time ago: Archon.

It is superficially similar to chess, in that it takes place on a board with alternating black and white squares; however, instead of fixed rules when landing on another player's piece, an arcade-style fight takes place to determine the victor, and each piece has different combat abilities. These abilities are enhanced when landing on a square of one's own color.