Bernadir hills, heroic weapons quest changes

[Cylus]

Originally Posted by Leishiu

Bladestaff still looks like a bloody christmas decoration though. :/

Yea, the "glowing" outline just doesn't look good on some models, varying by the particle cage and the # of vertices within. I somewhat recently made it very apparent that only Art or I will be adding particles to weapons in the game; the color and particle-type of the Purification weapons wasn't my choice originally (all the haters should realize?). Granted, that doesn't prevent all screw-ups (like me adding the outlines to MoP bows) but it will prevent most of em :) From now on out, if anything gets borked, it's most likely my fault. Even if not, will be my chore to get it fixed, heh.

On the other hand, does it look bad to you just because of the general glow or because of the intensity of the glow? The size/intensity of the particles are easy enough to customize, just need a bit of time and a client-side patch. If all of that was database controlled, I'd be adjusting it every patch; unfortunately, we have to patch the adjustments to all clients and that adds to bandwidth costs as well as it just being a pain in the arse, heh.

In the end, you can blame it all on me if ya need to. Will try to get it fixed as best as possible, though :)

Preference for one of these, if any, or would just rather have it plain until the higher "tier" particles come into play (which we already have):

[Cylus]

I can keep tweaking it, although I believe that the designer originally intended the glow to be "of Purification," which is why it attempts to have a "Divine" glow. Compare that to the actual "Holy" particles that we have below.

The general outcry against particular glows/lightsabers/neon signs is probably going to just prompt me to remove most of them (some are fine when the cage is small or compact) and request more particles from art :)

The right-most "Holy" particles below would much better fit the Purification weapons, imo.

[Renfail]

I can dig it

[Danth]

Originally Posted by Cylus

On the other hand, does it look bad to you just because of the general glow or because of the intensity of the glow?

Personally, I think the whiteish glow on the Purification weapons fits with the idea of what they're meant to be. I'm not a fan of particle or glowy effects in general (I like the plain approach), but I understand what Sigil wants to do with these items. I wish the effect was a little more subtle; when viewed from many angles the longsword looks almost like a lightsaber.

The 3D model itself is excellent, as are many of the double-edge straight sword graphics. Some of the weapon models are designed in such a manner that they actually fit into Oakeshott's typology (in the specific case of the Purification longsword, it'd be nice if it had a fuller, but that's just a nitpick). In many cases they could be described as "not real, but could have been". I do not at all like giant, curvy, or cartoony swords, so Vanguard is sort of a lifeboat for me in terms of art.

Danth

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by Cylus

I can keep tweaking it, although I believe that the designer originally intended the glow to be "of Purification," which is why it attempts to have a "Divine" glow. Compare that to the actual "Holy" particles that we have below.

The general outcry against particular glows/lightsabers/neon signs is probably going to just prompt me to remove most of them (some are fine when the cage is small or compact) and request more particles from art :)

The right-most "Holy" particles below would much better fit the Purification weapons, imo.

Either of those two models look 10x better than the current 'glow' effect on the Legendary MoP Bow (a.k.a. The Banana).

[Cylus]

Originally Posted by Leaf

Either of those two models look 10x better than the current 'glow' effect on the Legendary MoP Bow (a.k.a. The Banana).

An artist pulled all of the particle cages off of the bow-strings this week so it should help a bit. Still needs a bit of discretion before any of em are added

[krassus]

its like all particle effects in VG are general lets make this thing glow like a lightsaber on meth effect. That new glow up top is nicer, maybe even switch some colors on the glows on weaps =D

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by Cylus

An artist pulled all of the particle cages off of the bow-strings this week so it should help a bit. Still needs a bit of discretion before any of em are added

Still my favorite dev :)

[Leishiu]

Originally Posted by Cylus

Yea, the "glowing" outline just doesn't look good on some models, varying by the particle cage and the # of vertices within. I somewhat recently made it very apparent that only Art or I will be adding particles to weapons in the game; the color and particle-type of the Purification weapons wasn't my choice originally (all the haters should realize?). Granted, that doesn't prevent all screw-ups (like me adding the outlines to MoP bows) but it will prevent most of em :) From now on out, if anything gets borked, it's most likely my fault. Even if not, will be my chore to get it fixed, heh.

On the other hand, does it look bad to you just because of the general glow or because of the intensity of the glow? The size/intensity of the particles are easy enough to customize, just need a bit of time and a client-side patch. If all of that was database controlled, I'd be adjusting it every patch; unfortunately, we have to patch the adjustments to all clients and that adds to bandwidth costs as well as it just being a pain in the arse, heh.

In the end, you can blame it all on me if ya need to. Will try to get it fixed as best as possible, though :)

Preference for one of these, if any, or would just rather have it plain until the higher "tier" particles come into play (which we already have):

It actually looks bad more because of the model (same as on the t4 martial staff) - the wooden stick is perfect, but the endparts are really bad. I can't (honestly) tell if this model is for the bladestaff or for a martial staff (since they appear to look very much alike on high end). It looks like glowbulbs are attached (and nope, not refering to the glow - I actually like that part - it makes the weapon look better) and that dosen't really suit my expectations of a highend weapon.
Zank, Bladestaff of Ages for example looks very cool - and that's a much lower tiered item - the highend monk pieces does more look christmas decorations (the lightning just make it look like someone hooked them up on juice - but fortunally hides a lot of the model). Zank in it's first incarnation (which might now be t4 bladestaff?) also looked very nice as a one-side only bladed bladestaff.
The particiles are totally fine - it's the weapon that looks like christmas decorations (well, the knobs rather).
I believe (but I'm not sure tbh, the small metal spikes might be the "spear" part) that the model used could be for a martial staff, not for a bladestaff. ~
Thanks for taking time doing the effect thingies though, and sorry for bad spelling comprehension, a bit tipsy. ^^

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by Cylus

An artist pulled all of the particle cages off of the bow-strings this week so it should help a bit. Still needs a bit of discretion before any of em are added

Speaking of bow particle effects, I ran across this random NPC mob in the swamp that had simply the most amazing bow I've ever seen on it's back.



Ungh, my banana bow looks like complete and udder shite beside it. The screenshot doesn't even do it justice, the way the silver blue leaves were floating around the bow, simply amazing. I'd give my left nut for particle effects like that.