Why I Think Character Models Are Taking So Long

[dokhidamo]

I think they're brining the old models up to MoP standard, while making whole new animations that stay true to how the old ones felt.

It's a tricky thing making updates players won't hate, considering more people like the beta human model than like the chuck norris model.

[Wolfsage]

They also said (in a tweet, I believe) that people are really attached to the way their character moves, so not too much change.

Yeah right, Blizzard constantly avoid creating new animation skeletons. How many times have we seen stuff that moves like the nightsabers, for example.


Without new animations, the new models are bloody useless.

The sad thing is that many retards get excited over just the re-skins that appear for NPCs, the latest being the female troll. Just take a look at the thread on the official forums. Those retards have no clue and go so far as to pray that this is what they'll get.

[Nerraw]

You believe in everything GC says?

I'll believe him over random fansite posters any day of the week.

---------- Post added 2013-01-10 at 09:47 PM ----------

Yeah right, Blizzard constantly avoid creating new animation skeletons. How many times have we seen stuff that moves like the nightsabers, for example.


Without new animations, the new models are bloody useless.

Says you. I'd rather keep most of the old animations. And then there's the 9.999.998 other players we haven't asked yet.

[Mehrunes Dagon]

I have a feeling they're going to end up pushing it to the next expansion and have it as one of their selling points - character revamp, like that of the world changes in Cataclysm. This is not to say the impact is as big as 4.0, but it can still be a marketed feature.

[Yig]

Blizzard doesn't need to gauge shit reaction wise from the community. The people working on this project already live, eat, and breath this kind of stuff. Everything you know and see with these races was made by them already. They don't need you complaining or praising about a character's lips to decide what they are going to do.

People seem to ignore context and just shove whatever they need to reason wise into place when something like the Worgen female happens, as if suddenly all character models are precarious for the team to work on.

Blizzard is taking a long time on this because it's a labor of love and there is no fucking rush. A new race in this games takes a year or more to develop with the way the artists work, and this project has barely been worked on for a year now off and on as it is. You may think "oh, but Blizzard already knows what an orc looks like so it shouldn't take as long", but they knew what every new race in this game looked like anyways beforehand. The trick is in creating a new way to look at the race while making it familiar and cool looking.

This isn't a matter of just drawing a cool orc and saying "model this, rig it, and get the animators cracking". They draw and conceptualize multiple versions of things. Look at how many hairstyles and noses and facial options you see in the game now, they are creating multiple versions of each of them to see what works and what doesn't here and there.

There is no conspiracy to keep people subscribed by stringing them along with this project. There is no danger of Blizzard deciding this project is too hard at this point, it's just going to take a little while as it's being done on the side along with 2 content patches being worked on at the same time and a brand new expansion which people seem to forget.

This isn't just a WOTLK era model edit like the new troll female everyone is excited about. They are reanimating every single animation we have to look more modern and stylized. They are giving each race fully animated facial expressions. If you think the troll female looks cool, you haven't seen anything yet.

---------- Post added 2013-01-10 at 04:49 PM ----------

I have a feeling they're going to end up pushing it to the next expansion and have it as one of their selling points - character revamp, like that of the world changes in Cataclysm. This is not to say the impact is as big as 4.0, but it can still be a marketed feature.

That would make a lot of sense considering how much work this project warrants. I would not be surprised to see this taking the place of a new race, because it's several times more extensive a project than a new race is. What time they save in conceptualizing is filled with the sheer number of races and choices each presents. Every animation is being updated, every hairstyle, every skin choice. And if they can justify it by making it take the place of a new race, we could even see expanded options, like the long asked for Wildhammer tattoos or Mag'har Orc skins.

As it's going to be an optional choice for the people who want to keep using their original character model, Blizzard isn't going to recreate double the brand new armor and textures for every new armor set they release in the game, so don't think this is taking so long because they are redoing the armor for the old models. That would double their work load from here on out. They will of course have the same basic shape in their skeletons so the attachment points on the armor line up exactly the same so the old dwarf and the new dwarf can wear the same thing. The only thing I imagine that's an issue there is perhaps new clipping issues due to a dreadlock or pony tail not being in exactly the same place.

---------- Post added 2013-01-10 at 04:53 PM ----------

Yeah right, Blizzard constantly avoid creating new animation skeletons. How many times have we seen stuff that moves like the nightsabers, for example.


Without new animations, the new models are bloody useless.

The sad thing is that many retards get excited over just the re-skins that appear for NPCs, the latest being the female troll. Just take a look at the thread on the official forums. Those retards have no clue and go so far as to pray that this is what they'll get.

That isn't a reskin at all. Next time you call someone a retard try to know what the fuck you're talking about. Blizzard has said they are recreating every animation in the game for the original models to look more modern, while still being the same basic maneuver. This means they will be standing and doing the same basic thing, but it will look like if they did it with today's tech. They won't be having brand new never before seen strikes and casting animations.