WoW Petopia Community

I really hope they upgrade the runic ones as well. I prefer the orange runic hound for my Dark Iron than the very red normal one.

OH MY.. The Darkhounds.. They are so amazing!
i'm in love with this little fellows :3


Mhm..
something is wrong here..

A really good comparison between the old bear model and the new one can be viewed here.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
THIS WAS MY FEAR
MY POOR DARKHOUND.
WHY ;A;
Why is he all smooshed and hunched now? :C They were so cute. Yes, they needed an update. B-but not -THAT- kind of update D:
Stop using the same damn base model, blizz ;A; Please. Not all canine-like creatures need to be hunched over and missing a neck :C

Quiv wrote:I think they are tweaking some of the colors. The blue crab for instance used to be a deeper blue, like the pic we have here. But now its lighter (and I have checked it in various zones with various lighting)

I checked the base skins and compared new with old, and they look the same to me. I think what you're seeing is the shiny effects that have been added to the model, much like those added to the thin spider model. In some cases it makes the base colour look better (e.g. the truesilver skin looks less flat, even if it still looks more like blue ice than metal), but in other cases it just makes the colour look lighter and frostier.

I also looked at some other unpopular skin updates (like white vulture), and I haven't noticed any changes.

The old darkhound models had a slightly otherworldly look to their animations, which I liked. TBH, though, I only had the model tamed when I had a rune-dog and was dressing up like a wizard.

Loving the new models. Not much to complain about except maybe this; personally, I'd whether Blizz put a hold on updating the skins and put more of an effort on the animation/skeletons of the existing models.

Bears got fixed animations, making them move and act like actual bears. It's clear that Blizzard is capable of doing it if they try, so surely they can be convinced/begged enough to do that sort of magic to the Darkhound's dated animations.

A point mentioned here and on reddit is that they may have used the coyote skeleton because it has all of the animations needed for mounts, whereas the darkhound skeleton doesn't and thus would need extra work to create all of the necessary animations.

Oh I'm certain the mount is the main cause for it, but I just wish they had left the rest of the creatures alone. They've used a skeleton for a mount before while leaving the wild beasts on a different one, I'd prefer if they did it that way for the darkhounds as well. There's just something they've lost now that the coyote rig doesn't capture and it's a real shame.

I love the Darkhound update model-wise. I think it's a faithful update overall; except for maybe the white coloration one, that one seems fairly off still. But, like others said, I'm not a fan of them using the Coyote skeleton. Those guys used to freak me out a bit, look a bit scary, the way the used to run and held their heads up high back in EPL. There is definitely something lost in the new skeleton.

And I'm sure it's because of the mount, but Blizzard shouldn't let that be their reasoning for all the Darkhounds to have this pose. The WoD wolf mounts used the Worg skeleton when it came to mounts (like Trained Snarler or Garn Nighthowl) or certain wild mobs that had armor on them (Riding Wolf or the Savage Warwolf). But there were still unarmored wild versions of those same wolves that used the Coyote skeleton (like Garn Nighthowl or Warsong Wolf). Like Valnaaros said, I'm sure the mounts and armored versions use a different skeleton because it works better overall.

But, considering there's no wild armored Darkhound (at least that I can think of anyways), I don't see why they made them all use the coyote skeleton.

Fingers crossed it gets changed in an upcoming patch. I won't lose sleep over it if it doesn't, but I still think it'd be more appropriate using the original skeleton.

Yay on updates !
Boo on losing color brightness (windserpents) or over brightness (hyenas)

Although the artistry is fab, the hyenas look like escapees from a bad Disney cartoon (no offense).
All of the power that they 'show' is in the neck not in the shoulders / neck like the old model or a real hyena would, along with the muzzle being too long, instead of short and blocky. The old one gave the feeling of a hyena instead of a cuddle puppy.

Demon dogs need to have that squared off, police dog stance back instead of the tracker stance. DD's catch you by their piercing gaze, freezing you in place, not by sniffing you out.

Oh. I have mixed feelings about the dark hounds. The new model looks amazing. But, the animations. Dang it. I adored the old dark hound animations. It made them unique. We didn't need another coyote. It does not suit them.

My beautiful white widow spider will be now be a dull and dark grey..? Extremely sad for that one, she's been my main pet since vanilla.

Kayb wrote:My beautiful white widow spider will be now be a dull and dark grey..? Extremely sad for that one, she's been my main pet since vanilla.

Guh, I'm disappointed about this one too. The original had a lot more than just 'grey' going on, it was almost opalescent with lavender undertones and a moonlike pallor. That they simplified the entire palette to such a bland monotone really takes away a lot of that skin's beauty.

Kayb wrote:My beautiful white widow spider will be now be a dull and dark grey..? Extremely sad for that one, she's been my main pet since vanilla.

I feel your pain.

Looked at the comparisions again... I had a gorilla on Tårnfalk when I used to play.. Am I the only one disappointed with the new Gorilla face?

Vephriel wrote:

Kayb wrote:My beautiful white widow spider will be now be a dull and dark grey..? Extremely sad for that one, she's been my main pet since vanilla.

Guh, I'm disappointed about this one too. The original had a lot more than just 'grey' going on, it was almost opalescent with lavender undertones and a moonlike pallor. That they simplified the entire palette to such a bland monotone really takes away a lot of that skin's beauty.

Have you checked this one in the game? It’s possible that frosted overlay effect may bring this one closer to the original.

Wain wrote:

Vephriel wrote:

Kayb wrote:My beautiful white widow spider will be now be a dull and dark grey..? Extremely sad for that one, she's been my main pet since vanilla.

Guh, I'm disappointed about this one too. The original had a lot more than just 'grey' going on, it was almost opalescent with lavender undertones and a moonlike pallor. That they simplified the entire palette to such a bland monotone really takes away a lot of that skin's beauty.

Have you checked this one in the game? It’s possible that frosted overlay effect may bring this one closer to the original.

Oh it actually does look much better in game, the overlay benefits the paler skins more than the dark ones. At least in good lighting - under dark lighting it's not as 'white' looking as the original.

Qraljar wrote:

Vephriel wrote:

Qraljar wrote:Not related to the different colorations, but do the minespiders on the actual alpha have the same problem with their front most left leg?

It's incorrectly skinned in the modelviewer and has been since the first alpha build, I think. It has the same issue as the fire scorpion, essentially. Is that also a thing ingame?

Oof....

I just went to have a look and, unfortunately, their leg is broken. T_T

Yeah, that bugs me the hardest. I can overlook inconsistent colors, but having one of their front legs broken is going to bug me beyond anything.

Good news everyone!

I didn't notice at first but the spider legs have been fixed with the latest alpha build. No more stretchy leg!