xPixelatedx said:
I was just showing an example of how those legs could work, I did not say that the beast races should necessarily become dinosaurs. I also don't think it's right to assume they would need to meet the exact same requirements to have two legs like that, given that dinosaurs were creatures of gargantuan mass.
...and why would that be? There are plenty of mammals with back-canted legs. So why don't humans have them, too?
xPixelatedx said:
I will admit, yes, that is a better video. But that's what people call 'damning with faint praise.'
xPixelatedx said:
I am actually surprised that the dog is able to even hop and skip, and dogs aren't even designed to do this.
Wow! It's almost as if living creatures are able to compensate for disabilities, which
should in no way be confused with naturally being adept at doing something.
xPixelatedx said:
I would have loved the Kahjiit to be a bit more like this (technically they were in morrowind).
You'd have loved for them to walk like crippled dogs?
xPixelatedx said:
I do however acknowledge that an animal who has legs and walks like this probably would not be able to outright run this way. But if their overall body design is still very animal like, I don't see why they can't get on all fours and floor-it.
...right, here's the thing: that dog doesn't walk on two legs because it wants to. And did you notice how it never actually stopped and stood still? It was always walking, however slowly, and when it
did stop it was to crouch or something. It never stood still and upright because
back-canted legs are terrible at keeping things balanced and upright. At least sharks have evolutionary reasons for the 'never stop moving' thing. This dog? From the look of it, it was born without front legs, and the fact that it's alive today is the exact
opposite of evolution in action.
xPixelatedx said:
Technically speaking, if that dog was somehow given working front legs, it could still walk upright if it wanted to, but then it would also be able to run alongside any other dog on all fours. That would have been a good design for Kahjiits.
It would be a terrible design. Here's a fun historical fact: Franklin Roosevelt was, as I assume you know, wheelchair bound for most of his life. As a result, it was observed that he had the upper body strength of a boxer, but his legs were unable to support him without steel braces.
Now apply that here. That dog can only reliably walk on two legs because it had a choice between learning to do that or dying, and even then, your average child has a better sense of balance than Faith does. In fact, take a look at that video, look past the adorable puppy and inspiring whatever, and ask yourself one question: in a state of nature, would Faith be good at being a dog?
The answer is a resounding 'NO.' She can't run, she can't hunt, she can't keep balance, and in general, she's what Darwin would call an evolutionary dead-end. Limbs that are good for running are rarely as good at manipulating objects, hence why our feet don't look like hands. And, oh, look, she doesn't even have hands, either.
So, remind me again: why would kahjiit evolve to walk upright with legs that aren't built for walking upright, and then still have forelimbs that allow them to run on all fours? And for the record, the body structure of a quadruped isn't interchangeable with that of a biped. You can't switch out arms for legs or vise versa and expect optimal performance in either. Quite the opposite, actually. You'd get horrific joint damage in a reasonably short time. As crass as it sounds, I imagine Faith has/will have quite a few medical bills pertaining to her hind legs.
