Apparently the Cataclysm beta has started and the news sites are absolutely flooded with info. Argh, too much! I don't actually want to know all of that! But... a guildie pointed a piece of information out to me that I had indeed been very curious about and that has now been released on MMO-Champion as well: the planned bear and cat form models for trolls and worgen! Here are links to the images on MMO-Champion:
Troll bears
Troll cats
Worgen bears
Worgen cats
I have to admit that my first reaction to the troll bears was simply to laugh. They look crazy. Garish colours, ginormous tusks, big hair... but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, it goes well with the overall image of the troll race. Though I wouldn't mind if they toned it down at least a little bit; some of the colour combinations clash a bit too hard for my taste and the tusks don't really have to be quite that large in my opinion. Then again, maybe it will all look a little less crazy when seen in the actual game world anyway, as opposed to being modelled in front of a high-contrast black background. Overall I approve.
I approve even more of the cat form. The tiger stripes are just perfect for a race that comes from the jungle. The colours and tusks also seem a little less batshit insane on the kitties, though they have even more hair to make up for it. Again, I think this could do with being toned down a little.
I'm not entirely sure what to think of the worgen feral forms. The artists seem to have done... something to the faces to make them look more canine somehow, which seems to have worked well. I don't find it particularly appealing to look at right now, but it works. I don't understand the manes, especially on the bears, but I don't remember seeing any finalised worgen npc models that I could use as a point of reference. Are they just that hairy? And what's up with those spiky glove things on the bear form? They look like they are more likely to hurt the bear itself than an opponent, unless it tries to step on the bear's toes. Ah well, still not too bad.
I don't know why I get so excited about feral forms, seeing how my druids are nothing but alts. I just remember how much I loved my tauren suddenly turning into a pretty cat instead of some windrider look-alike abomination and how much this improved my overall gaming experience on that character. Never underestimate the power of druid forms!
01/07/2010
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I thought the same about troll druids. I think a lot of people playing horde druids will switch to troll, it seems a race people likes a lot.
ReplyDeletebout worgens I'm not very happy with the designs, but I understand the problem: worgens are already have animal (or half-animal) forms, so it's difficult to make a wolf look feline. About the spiky wristguards, just check any existing worgen model (yes, they exist! take a wlak through Duskwood), they already carry these siped wristguards.
Formerly worgen were tought to come from another dimension, I'm curious to see what they will tell about worgen lore in Cata, if it's some kind of disease (werewolf-like) or beings from another dimension possessing/tainting humans.
My response at the troll forms: I had to laugh. The colours are just so... Still, it fits with the trolls, but some colour combinations could be better. Might just make one, I like the trolls.
ReplyDeleteWorgen,they are already animal like so the animals just seem a bit odd to me.
I have a level 70 druid on another server and I remember it feelig so magical when I was able to turn into my boomkin and bird forms. So I might just make a druid alt on Earthen Ring too.
To me, it feels like they didn't put much as work into these forms compared to the ones they made for night elves and tauren. The worgen cat looks like they just removed the horns from the tauren cat and buffed up its mane a little bit. The worgen bear looks like it's perpetually grimacing with those wide open eyes. Though bears' mouth graphics in this game have always annoyed me, due to bears in the real world not actually having the facial muscles to snarl in that way. I think that's one of the reasons I could never play a bear druid.
ReplyDeleteThe troll forms REALLY need to be toned down. I was thinking about probably making a female troll druid the next time I play Horde side, but if they're going to be that neon and ugly, I'd really rather not. Most of the time I make a troll, I don't give her bright green skin with a giant neon orange mohawk -- I'll give her light blue skin with say, dark blue braids running down her back. But even the white/blue forms here are far too clashing.
And Blizzard still demonstrates that they have no understanding that sometimes, females like to play druids too -- all of the feral forms have big manes, beards, and on the troll bear, enormous ugly tusks. For once in this game, I want to have more feminine druid forms. Why do all of the cats have to be male lions of various colors? Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit. Maybe they're working on it, and these are just the male druid forms. I'm not holding my breath though.
I was wondering whether someone would bring up the manes as "too masculine" again. Personally I never had a problem with them, as I don't see a cat form with a mane as "male lion" but simply as "cat with a mane". Presumably it's extra furry because it's the feral form of a humanoid that already has fur to begin with, which is true for tauren, worgen and trolls (they don't look fuzzy, but according to lore they have a fine fur instead of smooth skin). The only non-hairy humanoids that can be druids are the night elves, and their animal forms are the least hairy as well. Makes sense to me.
ReplyDeleteMy heavens, some of those bears have violet eyes ... and they're probably the half-demon, half-vampire granddaughters of Severus Snape as well...
ReplyDelete