Character model rework 25% complete (Tom Chilton & Cory Stockton interview)

[WildcatTM]

25 is a good is a good number. I still expect them next expansion in waves.

[Ilfayt]

When did they start working on new models, as in, put a team on it? If they've been focussed on it for a year already and only 25% done, OK it's terribly disappointing.

If they've just been doing design sketches and concept art and only started the nuts and bolts recently then it could be ready for the next expansion.

I was just about to say this, that and they said something about releasing them as they're done, so we 'may' see the first ones coming soon. If they do it in terms of popularity, it'll probably be Orcs and Humans first, XD.

[Retlul]

god so much rage, I might be the only one but I want them to use a long time on them and do it right! instead of rushing it and do them: Meh ok I guess.
let them make them right!

[Dalinos]

I'm so glad I play a Guardian/Feral druid and our animal form models got updated during Cata 2004 Tauren is looking terribly..bland...especially with the addition of the Taunka in WOTLK, and now the Yaungol in MOP (Yaungol models are wtf-marvellous..)

[Count Zero]

Alliance: Human, Gnome, Dwarf, Night Elf, Draenei.
Horde: Orc, Undead, Tauren, Troll, Blood Elf.

Where are number 6 for each faction?

I think people may be forgetting that male/female have separate models ... among the vanilla/bc races, that's 20 models.

Maybe that could mean 3 races at (next xpac) pre-patch, maybe 3 more at launch, then two each for first two major content patches ... ? Would be pretty sweet to go into final raid of next xpac with all player models updated.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm actually pretty shocked by the figure. They've been working on these for over a year now, I would have expected at least 60-70% by now. If it's only 25% over the course of ONE expansion, that suggests it's going to take a few more years for them to ever complete them all.

They've never said the rate at which they're working on them. I could spend two months on a semester-longer project going from 1-10%, then the last couple weeks get it 100% done.

[Teriz]

I'm going to laugh hysterically if Blizzard introduces 2 new races, yet the original 8 races still look like blocky, terrible messes.

Newer armor on the old models looks bad enough.

[Yarathir]

god so much rage, I might be the only one but I want them to use a long time on them and do it right! instead of rushing it and do them: Meh ok I guess.
let them make them right!

At this pace, it'll take 6 years for the vanilla models and 2 extra years for the blood elves and draenei. That's not "taking it slow and doing it right". It's "sitting on your ass and make your playerbase swallow it".



They don't need 8 years to "make it right", so no, that whole "well, I'm glad they're taking it slow at least!". No, they're not taking it slow. They're just barely paying attention/working on them.

[Deleted]

I'm going to laugh hysterically if Blizzard introduces 2 new races, yet the original 8 races still look like blocky, terrible messes.

Newer armor on the old models looks bad enough.

I'm not sure if I would laugh or cry in such a scenario.

[Torais]

Makes me wonder if they are indeed introducing new races/class then. I mean I assumed the new models were the excuse for not doing so.

[Deleted]

To me this is not surprising, but to those who defend this 25%, why would you settle for less, what is wrong with wanting something better? I believe this is a trick and they will unveil them at Blizzcon. I cannot count how many times they say something and do another. Instead of attacking the people that are like WTF why aren't they more complete, take a view of your mindset and how it doesn't make sense to people that have been waiting. All I'm saying, is why should my new toad pet from Isle of Thunder have more polygons than me? LOL.

there's nothing wrong in asking for more. That is perfectly fine.

The problem is the *attitude*. The way of exposing things like the company is making you lay your head on the sidewalk and hitting it with a jackhammer, mixed with the blatant ignorance revolving around how things work not only on a technical level but also on a business level. Especially in a company that have hundreds of employees, different teams, and a lot of work to do that is not revolving around those models but probably to a hundreds of different tasks.

Second thing is that people here are simply making a lot of assumption. Even if up until now they proceeded to 25% with the current workforce and budget allocation for the project this *does not mean* that it cannot be changed to speed up the job at some point.

[Archangel Tyrael]

Makes me wonder if they are indeed introducing new races/class then. I mean I assumed the new models were the excuse for not doing so.

Hopefully not, I'd not want any more races until they update the old ones.

[hrugner]

I would love for Humans to be able to have a long beard, something like this:


I wouldn't play it personally, but it would be awesome to see a Mage or Warlock actually look like the classical kind of Wizard. ^^

I don't know... maybe if he looked more like a body builder and could only grow the kind of beard people use to cover their herpes outbreaks, then we'd have a deal.

[Bmfstunner]

At this pace, it'll take 6 years for the vanilla models and 2 extra years for the blood elves and draenei. That's not "taking it slow and doing it right". It's "sitting on your ass and make your playerbase swallow it".



They don't need 8 years to "make it right", so no, that whole "well, I'm glad they're taking it slow at least!". No, they're not taking it slow. They're just barely paying attention/working on them.

Yep, pretty much how I feel on the matter. The whole "Let them take their time" argument to me is ridiculous. I feel it's safe to say that models have been addressed within the last three years. The community has begged for it, they have been mum on it for a long time, then they finally said dwarves about done. Now, after all that time we get word that it's 25% done, that's frustrating to me. My feelings on WoW are that they are running out of time with the fan base, people are constantly leaving and let's face it, the only way you are going to draw new people in is with updated graphics. No one wants to play a character that is nearly 10 years old looking. It's just going to get a huge draw from new fans, to me, this should be priority one.

I really hope they are just bluffing and hiding their cards for Blizzcon because I have a hard time believing that they're only 25% done, like people said that means it's going to take another six to eight years? What's the hope at that point? They would be Dead on Arrival, I couldn't imagine that there would even be a point.

No more excuses, imo, I feel like that's been one of Blizzard's problems. They make a ton of them and to me there are too many Blizzard apologists still, the game is losing a considerable amount of members. I have no doubts and a lot of us would agree that, that contributes to age of the game. But I also feel Blizzard, moves very slow on a lot of what the customer base wants. How long have we been asking for a tabard ring?

[ButterToast]

updated models confirmed 4 more expansions to go.

I honestly dont think they will change/update that much and the more they delay it the more the backlash will be.

People thinking the update will be similar to the ugly playable orc race vs garrosh updated model are gonna get disappointed lol

[helmaroc]

In the Upper level zones how many people actually get to look at their characters? Aren't they covered with armor and aren't you too busy killing things to notice what your character even looks like. Don't get me wrong new models are freakin awesome but they will be taken for granted the second they are given.

Honestly do you really believe you'll cherish those new models once you have them, or will you just forget about them after day 1 and continue on your daily grind like you've been doing for the past years. When I create a pandaren on the creation screen I go "o they look pretty good" but when I actually go into the world I could really care less anymore. Respond to me if I'm wrong about this.

[Celista]

Honestly do you really believe you'll cherish those new models once you have them, or will you just forget about them after day 1 and continue on your daily grind like you've been doing for the past years. When I create a pandaren on the creation screen I go "o they look pretty good" but when I actually go into the world I could really care less anymore. Respond to me if I'm wrong about this.

They matter to me, even if I'm zoomed out all of the way...although animations tend to matter more during combat/everyday stuff. I've tried 3 times to roll a female human and I just can't do it due to how bad the run/cast animations are...

And yeah, when I'm on that character creation screen or at the barbershop, it's a bit painful cycling through some of those hairstyles.

[Yarathir]

They matter to me, even if I'm zoomed out all of the way...although animations tend to matter more during combat/everyday stuff. I've tried 3 times to roll a female human and I just can't do it due to how bad the run/cast animations are...

And yeah, when I'm on that character creation screen or at the barbershop, it's a bit painful cycling through some of those hairstyles.

Also.. quest NPCs. This will affect all quest NPCs that currently use player models. That is a big change. So no, it's not only the player models.



And I wonder.. do people actually think this "do you even care about it more than 10 min." logic is valid? When you get a new piece of gear or a new mount, do you keep zooming in on it, actively appreciating the mount ever hour even years after obtaining it?


No. You still like those mounts though.

[Defengar]

In the Upper level zones how many people actually get to look at their characters? Aren't they covered with armor and aren't you too busy killing things to notice what your character even looks like. Don't get me wrong new models are freakin awesome but they will be taken for granted the second they are given.

Honestly do you really believe you'll cherish those new models once you have them, or will you just forget about them after day 1 and continue on your daily grind like you've been doing for the past years. When I create a pandaren on the creation screen I go "o they look pretty good" but when I actually go into the world I could really care less anymore. Respond to me if I'm wrong about this.

Higher polygon models will allow them to make better looking armor... like chest pieces that don't just seem to appear on your character like stickers.

[Deleted]

Kind of depressing how far away the models actually are. Guess they just don't want to mess up any of the new models due to players being attached to their current models & changing them too much may cause disconnection. Meh, just hope it's worth the wait!

[Aboubacar]

Would it be too far to say people won't buy the next expansion if the models aren't finished before then or promised for the xpac release? This should be a high priority issue and it doesn't seem like it's a high priority for Blizzard atm.

They also said the models' release would likely be staggered... so why don't we have trolls and orcs atm exactly? Those models are clearly finished up. Gotta finish up 2 alliance races I suppose.