Bhando wrote:I just thought about the new bear model again and how some people are afraid of having them replace their trusted old bear friends...
WoD did have some new Raptors and all the old raptors on Durotar haven't changed into them.
So I think, all the old teethdrying bears of yours should be safe...
You could be right, it's possible they will be safe. But, still, this is a little different to the raptors. The raptors couldn't have replaced the old ones as they're entirely different colours. In this case the bears match, colour-for-colour, the old models (or at least by colour name... some of the shades vary from the originals), just like the other model revamps do. And we have evidence that some of the NPCs and minipets are being updated to the new models, so it's a reasonable concern that bear pets will suffer the same fate.
It's always possible they'll update the old bear NPCs BUT assign them new IDs, so the old ones that are already in our stables keep the old models. This would be preferable to no fix at all, but would still leave us with one available, tameable bear model that most don't seem to find visually appealing.
Wasn't there a SS taken of a dwarf hunter creation screen where the starter pet showed the new hipster bear???
Because that would indicate these bears are replacements.
Yep. But there was always a chance the replacements were using new IDs, which would leave the tamed ones unchanged. But I can now confirm this is not true.
I'm looking around old zones and the bears there are definitely new models, but they have their original IDs, which means stabled bears will change too. I can't confirm that last part for sure, as we currently can't copy live characters to the Alpha, but there's no reason to believe this will not be the case.
Wain wrote:Yep. But there was always a chance the replacements were using new IDs, which would leave the tamed ones unchanged. But I can now confirm this is not true.
I'm looking around old zones and the bears there are definitely new models, but they have their original IDs, which means stabled bears will change too. I can't confirm that last part for sure, as we currently can't copy live characters to the Alpha, but there's no reason to believe this will not be the case.
Sigh, I was fearing this, and now I'm really, really worried. Please Blizzard, please don't let these be the final iterations of the new bear models. I'm so devastated already knowing that my diseased one will never look the same to me again. Ugh...
All they'd have to do is add a bit more fluff to the back to hide the weird dip, open the eyes a bit and remove the goatee and I'd be happy with the model.
But I kind of like the old bears, too... and I wish they'd just do a texture update like the corehounds if they're intent on replacing them. :s
Same goes for the old coyotes, vultures, boars, etc. if/when they replace them.
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I think there was more then just a bit of re-texturing with the corehounds, I believe. The overall model is smoother. It's hard to make a low poly model look 'new' with just re-texturing alone. Depending on how many polys is in the old models, even a brand new HD texture will often stretch awkwardly over the lower poly areas.
I don't think the new bear looks BAD, but it really does not fit the skeleton the way the old mesh did. The shoulders are really what is breaking it to this extent, it's a lot beefier. The way the back is tied to the old skeleton, when he model is so much bigger is why we're getting a crease there. To me, it looks more like they took the new druid bear base and just recolored it for basic bears. If you look at the druid model, it's got a ton of mane and braids all over the place. They've already went in to take some of the flair off for basic bears.
As someone who's tinkered in making 3D mesh models, it would not really be that hard for them to just snip the goatee off, since that seems to be the main consensus of what everyone is mostly unhappy with, outside of the broken spine. However, that would also mean they would need to go in and at least edit the textures they've already made, but if they're going to [read: hopefully] update the not-matching-the-old-texture-colors as Wain suggested, then they're already going to be in there fussing with color/texture files and it wouldn't be much to fix those too. It'd be nice if they fixed the spine, but kept maybe a few models with the goatee and then the rest without.
[I think I'm the only person here who likes the goatee. Heh.]
I've silently read the posts as the drought of content continues, but I feel like I'm the only one who LIKES the new bears as they are. I don't really like bears in WoW, since real bears are infinitely more awesome, but these new bears really look good (sans the druid bear forms, those are stupid as all hell). I mean, it is kind of ridiculous to replace older models, especially when many people are attached to them, but to be brutally honest, the old models and textures were kind of bad. They're charming and iconic, don't get me wrong, but they just don't fit with the cartoony models we have now.
Still, I do hope the replacement issue is changed. More models and color choices would be better than replacing old models just because they're old. (Cats excluded, I want an updated lynx already! They're dated more than Paris Hilton!)
Times banned from World of Warcraft: 1
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Don't forget that those old models and textures are 11 years old now.
They have been state-of-the-art back then, when no hardware was able to do better.
11 years in computer technology is like centuries in real life.
You are right, those older pets do not fit our new player models.
But to update them would then mean that they don't fit to their, still unedited, surroundings.
Cataclism changed the face of the world. But unfortunately not the textures and models.
To make everything look fine, WoW would need a complete overhaul and I'm pretty sure we're not gonna see that.
I have no problem with them introducing a new bear model, even if I personally think it's a very unattractive style they are going for and that an unusual amount of people seem to be feeling the same way. I appreciate others will love it, which is cool too. If all it is, is a new introduction then I could simply opt to not tame one, but it's not ...
I think for most of us with a problem it's because this is a replacement model and not just a new model for new bears. They put so much care into updating other models in faithful ways and then... this thing that looks nothing like the original at all. I'd be happy for them to unleash hipsterbear on the wilds of Broken Isles if they made something else for the older bears
There's a tiny new butterfly model in Val'Sharah. It's only tiny and low poly, so clearly not even intended to become a minipet. It's likely just going to be part of the environment there.
But, man, if only they could produce a larger butterfly with cool, ornate wings....
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I was just watching HeelvsBabyface streaming as he was going through the Warrior artifact retrieval quest and the fog hound/blue hellhound/charhound was in that area. They -ARE- labeled as beasts, I did notice, but I do not know if that particular area is going to be somewhere we as hunters can get to if these somehow end up as tamable somewhere along the line. [Big IF on that.] Not unless they're derping around somewhere in the broken isles, of course.
As for the bear, I also do find it somewhat odd that they're going out of their way to throw the bears completely into the pile of 'UPDATE ALL THE THINGS' when most newer models just get stuck on their respective new continent. It's so boggling. I wonder if this is something that's going to start going to see more of when it comes to other updates. I do like the new bears, save for the break in the mesh on the spine. This kind of update, since it seems like they're just determined to update all bears across the board on all continents is going to be one of those 'either you hate it or you love it' things, I fear. Hopefully, we're get the best of both worlds? A nice model closer to the originals while still getting hipsterbehr in the broken isles. [I still want the hipsterdeadbehr with the goatee. ;D ]
Wain wrote:I have no problem with them introducing a new bear model, even if I personally think it's a very unattractive style they are going for and that an unusual amount of people seem to be feeling the same way. I appreciate others will love it, which is cool too. If it was just a new introduction I could simply not tame one.
I think for most of us with a problem it's because this is a replacement model and not just a new creature. They put so much care into updating other models in faithful ways and then... this thing that looks nothing like the original at all. I'd be happy for them to unleash hipsterbear on the wilds of Broken Isles but please do something else for the old replacements
They haven't done this before though, have they? That's what I find odd. Usually when they update beast models you can still see/obtain the older version. Even when they updated character models they gave the option of reverting back to older models, so I find it odd that they wouldn't do that with the bear models. I personally love the hipster bears (with the exception of the broken back of course, they really need to fix that x.x) but I could see where replacing every model could be upsetting, especially for a hunter who has bonded with an old model bear. I would cry if they replaced my wolf's coyote model with a new blonde wolf. What are they gonna do about the spirit beast bear I wonder.
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Wain wrote:I have no problem with them introducing a new bear model, even if I personally think it's a very unattractive style they are going for and that an unusual amount of people seem to be feeling the same way. I appreciate others will love it, which is cool too. If it was just a new introduction I could simply not tame one.
I think for most of us with a problem it's because this is a replacement model and not just a new creature. They put so much care into updating other models in faithful ways and then... this thing that looks nothing like the original at all. I'd be happy for them to unleash hipsterbear on the wilds of Broken Isles but please do something else for the old replacements
They haven't done this before though, have they? That's what I find odd. Usually when they update beast models you can still see/obtain the older version. Even when they updated character models they gave the option of reverting back to older models, so I find it odd that they wouldn't do that with the bear models. I personally love the hipster bears (with the exception of the broken back of course, they really need to fix that x.x) but I could see where replacing every model could be upsetting, especially for a hunter who has bonded with an old model bear. I would cry if they replaced my wolf's coyote model with a new blonde wolf. What are they gonna do about the spirit beast bear I wonder.
I don't think they've totally replaced a beast model, no, but since Tanaan was introduced I've yet to see a Doom Guard with the old model. Even in Arcatraz, Blasted Lands or the Kara chess event. With the new-ish naga model in Cata, some old naga were updated while others weren't, the Doom Guard were totally replaced with this new model and the only thing that remotely resembles them anymore is the button to summon them.
Vephriel wrote:Sigh, I was fearing this, and now I'm really, really worried. Please Blizzard, please don't let these be the final iterations of the new bear models. I'm so devastated already knowing that my diseased one will never look the same to me again. Ugh...
This 100% for me too. My worgen hunter tamed a black diseased bear from level 10 and has only used that pet all the way to level 96. I will be devastated also if he is replace with the swayback hipster bear. I could deal with the Popeye front legs and the goatee. But that back. Nuh uh.
Fingers crossed beta is beta, which I know nothing is set in stone, that these bears get fixed. I'm ALL FOR updated models but not when they look like someone beat them mercilessly with a metal pole.
Wain wrote:I have no problem with them introducing a new bear model, even if I personally think it's a very unattractive style they are going for and that an unusual amount of people seem to be feeling the same way. I appreciate others will love it, which is cool too. If it was just a new introduction I could simply not tame one.
I think for most of us with a problem it's because this is a replacement model and not just a new creature. They put so much care into updating other models in faithful ways and then... this thing that looks nothing like the original at all. I'd be happy for them to unleash hipsterbear on the wilds of Broken Isles but please do something else for the old replacements
They haven't done this before though, have they? That's what I find odd. Usually when they update beast models you can still see/obtain the older version. Even when they updated character models they gave the option of reverting back to older models, so I find it odd that they wouldn't do that with the bear models. I personally love the hipster bears (with the exception of the broken back of course, they really need to fix that x.x) but I could see where replacing every model could be upsetting, especially for a hunter who has bonded with an old model bear. I would cry if they replaced my wolf's coyote model with a new blonde wolf. What are they gonna do about the spirit beast bear I wonder.
I don't think they've totally replaced a beast model, no, but since Tanaan was introduced I've yet to see a Doom Guard with the old model. Even in Arcatraz, Blasted Lands or the Kara chess event. With the new-ish naga model in Cata, some old naga were updated while others weren't, the Doom Guard were totally replaced with this new model and the only thing that remotely resembles them anymore is the button to summon them.
Actually, they have! When Firelands rolled around in Cata they completely replaced every old Molten Giant from Vanilla with the new model they made for the new raid. Even down to the ones derping around in Molten Core. Had a vanilla-purist buddy of mine fussing for weeks over the change right before he ended up leaving WoW.
Bhando wrote:To make everything look fine, WoW would need a complete overhaul and I'm pretty sure we're not gonna see that.
Maybe I'm wrong and they do just that.
They update to the new standard, model by model, to make the look homogeneously.
Haven't they updated the Forsaken buildings with WoTLK?
I suspect they love to update old models, but I think they need to be able to justify the time to their managers. So times like this, where they can use the updated models in new content but also place them in old is perfect. And I think it's wonderful, I hope they can continue to find reasons to do it, as long as they remain faithful to the original look.
Frankly I am surprised we haven't seen a hyaena update yet, based on that student art runner up a couple of years ago. That hyaena mount was brilliant and I think it was reasonably true to the original style. Plus hyaenas would look great with the drogbar.
Wonder if this means new bear cub models? There's the Baby Blizzard Bear model and the other that I can't remember the name of which looks more like current bears. I kinda doubt it, if there's any cubs in Legion they'll probably just be scaled-down broke-back bears, buuut...
I could deal with the Popeye front legs and the goatee. But that back. Nuh uh.
