new character models?

[Artemisia]

Someome mentioned there are new character models for woodelves and humans and the review was downright bad.

Dont want to do an advanced patch and end up with a silly looking elf or human,so has anyone seen a picture of them? And if so any link to it available?

thanks

[Twistagain]

On eqlive, there are links (can't access that site from work, so I can't get you a link here.) If you go into the Veteran's Lounge messageboard, I believe one of the stickies involves the new human models (which look pretty much like drakkins without tattoos/horns.)

I really hope they don't go in that way. The concept art for the drakkin looked great. The models, not so much. They almost look undead (or at least VERY unhappy.) I don't want humans to look the same. Either way, though, isn't a major concern to me.

[Unapuma]

I have tattoo disabled in option so if SOE is taking Drakkin model sans tattoo for the new human model, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

[Heynanni]

Log into Test and see for yourselves, there are definitely Asian face options and some I'd classify as Hispanic or Italian. The facial hair options for males some definitely look emo and thug-like. They look more like drakkin. I'm not quite sure what I think overall, I like the male face with the big scar on it, and I like the female hairstyles. They look less fantasy and more lifelike imho.

Grolyn I think you'll be able to tell the difference between human and drakkin.

BTW human is the only new model, no new wood elf on Test.

[Nolrog]

Someome mentioned there are new character models for woodelves and humans and the review was downright bad.

Don't know anything about wood elfs, but the humans are up on the test server. Reaction isn't that great though.

[Rinikku]

I went to test server yesterday and didn't see the new char model. I didn't log in, just tried to create one. Did they take them down? Just curious.

[gggrant]

Don't know anything about wood elfs, but the humans are up on the test server. Reaction isn't that great though.

Kind of an understatement.

What seems to be happening is that SOE is trying to reduce space in the global file, which is understandable. The method they have chosen is to use the same armature (skeleton) and for the most part the same body for the males and females. The females all look more masculine and the males look more feminine than the current or even original models.

There are some proportion problems with the models. As an example, either the forearms are too long or the hands are to large or both. As a result, there is a certain apish quality.

The new Humans are from 3 to 6 inches shorter, the entire race has shrunk.

The models have no belly buttons, so Human monks look rediculously alien. The chain, plate and silk armor is identical between the genders and covers the navels so the lack of a belly button is not significant to anything but the leather wearing monks.

The faces are the strangest of all. The male faces (on the whole) are down right pretty, while the female faces are (generally) best described as looking like the undead in the movie Resident Evil.

It takes a lot of work to make a female look plain instead of something that you would normally want to shoot in the head to stop them. If you go the the Buried Sea and take a look at Scurv-acious Bella Straw (SOE really needs to rename her to Scurvy Bella Straw), you will see the best that can be acheived with the female model.

I have yet to successfully make a male toon that wasn't a prettyboy. They all look like they should be hanging out in the Blue Oyster of Police Academy fame.

Bald is out, if your toon is bald it won't be when these models go live. The same can be said of eyepatches, if you are currently wearing one you won't be in the future.

What SOE has apparently done is base the new Humans off the Drakkin. (You can even see the drakkin diaper when you kill and loot them if you are suffering from any kind of lag at all.) This was probably done for two reasons. The first is to cut down on the size of the global file. The second is to cut the cost of development of the new models. If I am right, we can expect the Erudites and Barbarians to follow the same pattern and wind up being drakkins in disguise (just need to darken the skin of a Human to make and Erudite or throw a little woad on a Human to make a Barbarian). This trend will probably continue and the large non-human races will share the same basic model (i.e., the Vah Shir, Trolls and Ogres will look similar with just the details differing) and the short races will have their own model. A possibility does exist that there will be an Elf model but I am not sure if the Half-Elves will fall into that or the Human model. It is equally possible that the Elves will be lumped in with the Human model (if SOE Accounting has its way). In the end we will wind up with three or possibly four models. The humanoid model, the large race model, the short race model and maybe, just maybe, the elven model.

I have no idea what the end result will be for the game. I am sure that there will be a lot less humans running around. I know that there is no way I can recreate my current main with the new models as they stand right now. I will probably wind up retiring him to a bank mule status. Since he is my Master Artisan and I just won't have the heart to create another one, that will in all probability retire me from tradeskilling entirely. How others will react is unknown but most will be unhappy.

[Verdandi]

Ugh! Stop it! You're making the Luclin remodeling sound halfway decent, which it most certainly was not!

I really hope they reconsider.... This point in EQ's life span does not seem like the right time to start skimping on the graphics.... Especially for what is graphically the most important element of the game: the avatars.

Edit: I take that back about Luclin, as far as the actual models go. They're not half bad. What's awful is the way they move.

[Ddemons Ddemise]

All I can say is if they "up"grade to that I hope they keep the originals available..

[Rinikku]

According to the EQ forums (when the devs put in their two cents), when the "upgrades" come out, the originals will not be able to be used. I hope they change their minds about that though cuz it will be a huge disaster to those that need the low resolution chars and those that play human chars. LOL.

[Ngreth Thergn]

According to the EQ forums (when the devs put in their two cents), when the "upgrades" come out, the originals will not be able to be used. I hope they change their minds about that though cuz it will be a huge disaster to those that need the low resolution chars and those that play human chars. LOL.

I won't be commenting on the looks as I am not the proper path for input for that.

But the "new" models are even more efficient that the original low resolution models, and much more efficient than the Luclin models, from what I have heard from code.

[Ddemons Ddemise]

Even if they are, on my computer they would end up screwed up ^_^
Most newer graphics (orcs, snakes, drakkins, etc) on the laptop I must play on . .appear horribly screwed up .. And its not even all newer ones .. Pretty sure that the golem looking things from GoD are screwed up too heh
They have the same graphics, it just looks kinda like what would happen if you took a chainsaw to the graphic, and then threw them in generally the same slot, let them slide around a bit, and called it the graphic ..
Drakkin's appear as empty armor that is wielding a body >_>
Yay for my computer sucking XD

[Egat Bearskinner]

I would miss the original models, regardless of the utility of the new ones. I don't normally play with old models but I turn them on from time to time for sentiments sake.

[Nolrog]

Kind of an understatement.

What seems to be happening is that SOE is trying to reduce space in the global file, which is understandable. The method they have chosen is to use the same armature (skeleton) and for the most part the same body for the males and females. The females all look more masculine and the males look more feminine than the current or even original models.

While the net effect would certainly be a reduction in the global memory file size, that's not the motivation behind the update of the models. The Luclin models are extremely inefficient, and quite dated now.

I don't know exactly what's going on behind the scenes (that kind of stuff is well out of my realm of understanding) but I know the drakkin skeleton and stuff are being used for other models (one of the main reasons the drakkin were human hybrids.)

I agree completely that the proportions are off. That was commented about the drakkin as well.

Absor recently posted that they compiled feedback and sent it on to the art team, who are working through it and will be making some changes (to what extent, I don't know.) He also said that the developers weren't happy with the models yet either.

I guess we can just stay tuned and see. . . . .