Haha yea, finally the poll is up. Damn it is fun to read comments, of course mostly those on the Moose itself. It is a result of lacking time and partly always meant to be somewhat of a joke. Still lots of ideas was pondered and we tried to be fairly on theme with it, especially in regards to the spell that, comedy value aside, I am somewhat sad not to present together with a more finished final product.
Haha, and that poll image, where you can't even see the moose with how tiny it is haha
Damn that's funny. But at least it is there.
I haven't gone over the others entries in detail yet, so will be casting my vote after. At the moment I am leaning towards Goblin, but need to test them ingame first (so briefly in regards to voting discussion: I don't really care if its multi or single vote, as long as there is a comment about the entry to argue for it. We have that for ratings to ressources, so to have it as standard for votes makes sense).
Sadly I must admit as the spell credit also states, that the gems aren't our production; I was about to make them, when we discovered that Pyritie already had. So at least what we didn't make looks good haha
But in regards to the icons, I am glad someone noticed the details. I had a tough time working in all of the effects from the spell and even when I did the simplest way of it, it still didn't work. Just for fun here is some other versions (In various WIP states and sizes) I attempted (I will likely use elements of this in future icons):
(And yes, I did get way way too hooked on the idea of making it a model seen from behind, which just didn't work)
And if you are curious, the full version of the portrait icon (Thumbnail - click for the full 1150x1150):
And the charge icon, larger so you can see just how this very much last minute icon looks - in larger size you can see how ugly it is and in smaller size you can't actually see it:
EDIT: Review for vote - And using the unified test map in case of any bugs that I mention here without knowing it.
Fabricator Tank:
It it's a very effective hero, with a fitting model and a lovely transformation to match the spell (Always loved those for any unit - hence a tendency to lose as nightelf when I tried to use only buildings as attack units), the icons make sense for a portrait - but honestly I am not seeing much of the ability in them and while I guess it makes sense to change to portrait to fit his "mode", the ability really should reflect the effect, and not the portrait. The tank production icon appear dull, more so when compared to the colorful portrait/spell icon. The spell itself feels simple, and just reminds me of an existing Warcraft ability, just with tanks instead of goblins. Cute with the panda texture on hatches.
Fel Spider:
The model isn't very unique - a basic creep with some minor edits. The icons on the other hand are unique and I feel the abstract horror from them - even if I don't really make an immediate association with the ravage Hive and its actual use. The ability description sounds very interesting, but using it is disappointing. An enlarged egg, made immortal with spiders around it, again just feels like the fabricator or other existing Warcraft abilities. So to differentiate it, it has the teleport, the drain and the intelligence effect on attack dmg. However you never see the damage they do, you have no idea what they have drained and when I am using it it doesn't appear to even work, healing zero and regenerating zero. The description also does a poor job of defining that the hero is the overmind, as nothing on the hero itself makes that name clear.
Troll Pariah:
A fine looking model (even if I could wish for him to be more troll like in his animations), with some great icons to match. My biggest concern with this entry is the spell itself. The mention of soul ripping made me have certain expectations that an instantly vaporized unit replaced with a ward didn't meet. I don't see any souls on the spell, and every unit hit by the effect do not get a status effect, so units will just run randomly into their doom, without you being able to tell why. Same with those that get stuck. All in all the impact of the spell isn't conveyed well and lack the "ooempf" that the icon and model gives.
Lady Hive:
The model looks great on the battlefield, but the portrait removes much of this epic feeling and I wish it stood out from its sorceress origin, to feel more like the epic hero. The portrait icon works, but is some creepy, with the long face and heavy makeup, that I don't really feel match the model nor the intended beauty in the piece. I am also rather unsure why the portrait is the icon for the spell? The bash spell icon in all its brilliant simplicity is a good example of how the model could have set of abilities based upon brushes and art work and I feel that the main ability really should have had an epic icon to convey its use. The ability itself sounds interesting, but from the description of fantasies and creations, I kinda expected monsters, more than clones - but it still works and it has a good clear effect from target to summon. Sadly them being hostile to everyone means that both allies and enemies alike will target them and that somewhat ruins the fantasm aspect of it and make the spell feel odd for lack of better words.
Dark Paladin:
I love the interpretation of a Dark Paladin on this model (even if it in-game is called a Dark Knight) and the spell icon is truly epic, showing a perfect image of how nasty the ability actually is. The portrait works well and matches the epic feel of the hero, even if the helmet on the model for some reason is purple? The ability goes well over the top, with lots of flash which is great. The only thing I am missing is the link to the caster, as the description mentions a drain effect. A status effect on targeted unit would also be welcome and I am somewhat confused by the last sentence where it talks about health under 30% and mana drain. I assume that it means that first it deals 100dmg (max), then checks if unit is under 30% life, if not it drains mana (of an unknown amount) and if it is, it deals double of an unknown amount of damage. But it could use some work to clarify.
Goblin Artist:
I saved this for last, as I had the impression that it was amazing and damn. Everything in this entry is well thought out and fit. The model is truly unique and matches the "source material". The portrait icon is a perfect fit for the model and the model portrait is humorous and interesting to look at. The ability icon's matches the various effects of the ability and I am so happy to see how each ability effect is supported by the visuals, adding the bubble of red paint, the puddle of yellow and the blue goblins with again a blue puddle end. It matches the description and I was not in doubt for a second about the effects (even though I have so far failed to see the bonus for the blue goblins work). There are also a much appreciated use of status effects and even the messages for use have been themed. Such as an attempt to use the blue paint again, while the blue goblins are still alive, will create an error message about not being able to use the same puddle. The yellow paint will show both slow and the ensnared, the latter being linked directly to the paint ability with the icon. My only minor complaint is that the status effect that shows the color you are currently using, aren't colored to match, forcing a mouse over for certainty.
All in all this is the most convincing and complete package out of all of the entries, and as such get my vote.
Just for fun: Our own entry.
Moose General:
The model has the shape of a moose, and that's about it. The animations are broken and the texture non-existent. It has no team-color or hero glow. It is however very unique
. The icons support the model in so far as making the theme, however the thematic aspect of reputation being part of the ability is lost, as the icons focus on the effect of the ability and only on two aspects of the spell (healing and damage). The spell description also forgets to mention that an enemy unit hit repeatedly by negative rep (aka dmg) will get banned (aka silenced). The ability is by far the most unique and matching for the inspirational source material in this entry, while the portrait goes more in line with the humorous entry this was meant to be (smug look). The ability icon could use some work, and I would say with some more work on model and with time taken to compare icons with spell effect, this could have been a more unique and useful entry. As it stand now most of the fun is had from being able to charge the moose backwards from one end of the map to the other, felling trees and pushing away any in the way.