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SandElemental

It's a Sand Elemental Hero that the OaD group requested from me for their map.
I was promised to get terrain in return, but they wouldn't fulfill their end of the bargain. Granted, they did a little, but nowhere near what they had promised.

So I'm releasing it to the public. Because it would be a waste to just archive it.
Used a couple pieces from icewolf055's Shadow Elemental, with his permission.

And hey, it turned out quite nice in my opinion.
Uses only ingame textures, so it's easy to import. ;P

Edit: Fixed an error where the lower part of the sand elemental didn't show.
Hopefully it should be fixed. If you guys come across an error or somehting again, please let me know.

Edit x2: Tweaked the shading of the helmet. Hopefully, I wont have to do more tweaks. XD

Edit x3: Lowered the amount of particle emitters as requested by Misha. Tweaked the helmet a little bit more.

Edit x4: Death sound has been added. Went with the ObsidianAvengerDeath sound.
Tweaked the death animation so that his sand wont flip up like a cone. ;P

Keywords:
Sand, Elemental, Earth, Immortal
Contents

SandElemental (Model)

Reviews
Misha 4th Dec 2013 Moderator's Review: well done, mate. approved

Deleted member 212788

D

Deleted member 212788

Sexy :). If you're still up for trading terrain for a model, I'm up to doing it.
 

Deleted member 212788

D

Deleted member 212788

Alright mate, what do you need? PM me with the specifics and the constraints - e.g. can I import models, if I can, what is the max size which I can occupy with them.
 
huh? cool.. lemme check it

EDIT: so.. there's a funky issue when you view the helmet from backwards, it turns dark. also helmet and chest plate are a little bit indistinguishable from the sandy body.. so, maybe you should make the armor pieces not have the flowing animation at all. also for the same reason maybe the body could use a different sandy texture. now the particles are really spammy and i'm sure they can be done just as great with the particle count being under or at 100. color of the particles doesn't match well either.. but i just love the arm bracers and their TC

so.. there's my review
 
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Looks awesome, although I would have liked it better would the upper part of the arms be a little larger.
 
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huh? cool.. lemme check it

EDIT: so.. there's a funky issue when you view the helmet from backwards, it turns dark. also helmet and chest plate are a little bit indistinguishable from the sandy body.. so, maybe you should make the armor pieces not have the flowing animation at all. also for the same reason maybe the body could use a different sandy texture. now the particles are really spammy and i'm sure they can be done just as great with the particle count being under or at 100. color of the particles doesn't match well either.. but i just love the arm bracers and their TC

so.. there's my review

Fixed the helmet. The chest plate and armor in general is intended to be almost indistinguishable though. As it is a sand elememental, it's armor is sand stone, crafted from the sand elemental itself. ;P
A lot of inspiration was from the genie guy from Aladdin and from the earth and storm elemental from Heroes 3. ;P
 
Fixed the helmet. The chest plate and armor in general is intended to be almost indistinguishable though. As it is a sand elememental, it's armor is sand stone, crafted from the sand elemental itself. ;P
A lot of inspiration was from the genie guy from Aladdin and from the earth and storm elemental from Heroes 3. ;P

so.. what about the non-moving texture on the armorz? and particles?

EDIT: add a death sound to him?
 
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this is pretty unique :)

and execution turned out pretty good, except some anim flaws here and there.

would be even possible to use 'pissed' sounds? Oo
only via triggers.

i myself got 'pissed' at this several times. blizzard didnt think we, modders/modellers, could've wanted to use all sounds available in the mpq in our models.. instead they made a sound database system that doesn't do much, except restricting sound choices.
 
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Once again, a great Elemental enters the fray! I rather like this one, and what I like most of all is that it's unique; no other (good) Sand Elementals like this. Where's the love, guys? :p

I like the interesting bracers you chose, as well as the cool sandy-helmet & armor and such. The moving texture you got is pretty nifty... But like TLI-Inferno, I rather believe it moves a bit too fast for sand, really; sand to me might be blown quickly (i.e. desert dunes in the wind), but it would sift and sieve rather subtly, IMO. Something to think about.

Also, while this would make a great summon or unit for a race, I have a hard time seeing it as a Hero. Would it be possible to have an alternate version with no Hero Glow? Thing is (especially after hosting the "Hero" Modelling Contest) I've come to realize that a hero really needs something to make them feel "Heroic" as well as "personal"; a face is usually a prerequisite. Take a look at the Firelord or Jigrael's "Tidal Lord". Not only a face, but a personality and armor-&-nurnies that are different colors (i.e. not just all fire/water/sand). Something to consider.

The only other thing I could think of would be some kind of eyes... But that might just be me. I guess the Water Elemental (summon) doesn't have eyes.

Overall, really cool and quite interesting! Keep it up.

Eh sure. I wouldn't mind another trade. However, the game rules are changed.
I want to see terrain done first, not the other way around as it has been like before. XD
O Really? Hmm... I have seen that this might have been fulfilled already, but if you're still looking for a bit of terrain here or there, I wouldn't mind taking a whack at it if thats the prize... :p
 
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The moving texture you got is pretty nifty... But like TLI-Inferno, I rather believe it moves a bit too fast for sand, really; sand to me might be blown quickly (i.e. desert dunes in the wind), but it would sift and sieve rather subtly, IMO. Something to think about.
Eh, I guess. My idea was for the sand to quickly flow up and around, forming the sandstone armor and keeping its form intact. The clash with the sandstone handprotectors causing sand at that speed to fly out and rain down below.
Also, while this would make a great summon or unit for a race, I have a hard time seeing it as a Hero.
I originally created the model as a unit. I was told to create a "Cool sand elemental". So having been heavily inspired by Heroes 3 and Alladin, you know the blue guy who does a lot of funny impressions? I came across the idea when searching for arabian culture sand elementals. Because we seriously have little to no sand up here and as such an elemental influenced by western traditions is boring.

The only other thing I could think of would be some kind of eyes... But that might just be me. I guess the Water Elemental (summon) doesn't have eyes.
Yeah, not really. A send elemental with eyes is just.. I donno, It's a magical creature, so why should it need eyes. Technically it would be cooler if it sensed vibrations and pressure in the sand rather than seeing its enemies. Something akin to magical sonar across sand connected to itself. This however is impossible to demonstrate with WC3, I think?

O Really? Hmm... I have seen that this might have been fulfilled already, but if you're still looking for a bit of terrain here or there, I wouldn't mind taking a whack at it if thats the prize... :p
If you have the skill, I don't really mind. ;P
 
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Level 47
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Eh, I guess. My idea was for the sand to quickly flow up and around, forming the sandstone armor and keeping its form intact. The clash with the sandstone handprotectors causing sand at that speed to fly out and rain down below.
Yeah, I wrote this up when I didn't even have access to the War3Viewer. I do like your sandy SFX.

MiniMage said:
I was told to create a "Cool sand elemental". So having been heavily inspired by Heroes 3 and Alladin, you know the blue guy who does a lot of funny impressions? I came across the idea when searching for arabian culture sand elementals. Because we seriously have little to no sand up here and as such an elemental influenced by western traditions is boring.
You mean the Genie (from Aladdin)? Yeah, he's pretty good (voiced by comedian and actor Robin Williams). I can't remember where there was a "sand elemental" in that movie (except the Cave of Wonders).

And yeah, Arabia is a pretty good place to go for inspiration for a model like this.

MiniMage said:
Technically it would be cooler if it sensed vibrations and pressure in the sand rather than seeing its enemies. Something akin to magical sonar across sand connected to itself. This however is impossible to demonstrate with WC3, I think?
Not so! Actually that'd be pretty baller; using the vibrations in the earth to see & defend (similar to Toph, a blind Earthbender using Earthbending to "see" (from Avatar: the Last Airbender)). Could be done in the form of an ability that lets him locate enemies through the Fog of War, or notice troop movements across the map... Visually represented by some subtle rings (like the Command aura or War Drums aura).

MiniMage said:
If you have the skill, I don't really mind. ;P
I don't know about "skill", but it would give me something to practice on, and if you like it, I get a model out of it. I warn you, my life & schedule is pretty touch-and-go as it is with modding, but send me a PM with some things you're looking for. Who knows?
 
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I don't know about "skill", but it would give me something to practice on, and if you like it, I get a model out of it. I warn you, my life & schedule is pretty touch-and-go as it is with modding, but send me a PM with some things you're looking for. Who knows?

PM/link me some examples of your previous terrain. That would allow me to gauge your skill level and thus assign areas for you to work on accordingly.
 
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PM/link me some examples of your previous terrain. That would allow me to gauge your skill level and thus assign areas for you to work on accordingly.
Lol ok...

wc3_editor_terrain.png


There we go, my terraining exploits... Yeah, alright, I jest. I really haven't done anything 'official' by any means, but I suppose I have a few terrains made for my test maps & such I could share. Let me get a hold of them, and then get a hold of you. :p
 
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