Troll Totem Hydra

[Moderator]

16:26, 21st Aug 2014
MiniMage: It's a little funky looking, but nothing that hinders its approval. Personally I think it would've looked neat to have a troll there, but maybe that's just me. Anyhow, approved.

 

[Misha]

Oh and one more thing these two models need to be mechanical and to have 'can't raise, does decay' tag so it works alright. also, they need to have a large selection circle so they don't clip into other units of their kind

 

[Zed]

Oh cool.
4/5

 

[Deleted member 238589]

Looks very cool.

 

[Deleted member 219079]

How is this hydra?

 

[Misha]

How is this hydra?

because it has 3 heads or, 3 totems, in this case, and i animated them to behave like heads

 

[Deleted member 219079]

Oh yeah I see now, good work! +rep

That is all, folks.. give credits to Misha if you use these, or.. come get da voodoo >=P

 

[Fingolfin]

The animations are great, the mesh is nice, but the concept is.. strange. It is really hard to figure out what this is from the screenshot. I also don't really like the log texture from the ashenvale tree, it is too contrasted and just hurts my eyes.

In any case, i see no reason why this wouldn't be approved. If you were to replace the ashenvale trunk texture from the timber frame, it would look pretty cool.

 

[Edge45]

Strange model, I'm wierded out actually ?
But it has some good animations and nice meshes.
The only thing I see as a problem is its middle head, the Ashen texture
camouflages the mouth into smiling but in truth its mouth was already open
4/5, Nice though

 

[VeljkoM]

Trolls are more advanced than we originally feared. That is one really great looking machine though looks much better when tested then on the screenshot. By the way is it just me or is the middle head made from treant?

 

[Misha]

so it looks like everything i make weirds people out, lol..
and the middle totem's face is actually a tree of life, rewrapped to a treant texture

 

[Go'el]

Now the Trolls have ships! YEY! (that's a ship, right?)
5/5

 

[chr2]

Wow, this is super freaking cool! I almost prefer the water version to the ground version though (I find it a bit odd that it only has one wheel), but both are great.
My only issue is that it feels a little bland and monotone. The way I see it, trolls have a tendency of decorating their constructions with paint and colorful wrapping/ropes/etc. In other words, some more color differentiation would be neat.

 

[General Frank]

Wow, this model is pretty awesome. I love the feel of it, but kinda think it needs a little more team colour.

 

[Kam]

This is creative.

 

[Kyrbi0]

For those who are interested, well:

...but to be honest, i'd say that it ended up as something a lot more different than what he was imagining

Yeah, check 'dat Concept Art.
Here's some now, in fact.

This is creative.

No kidding.

~~

My thoughts are similar to those above:

The animations are great, the mesh is nice, but the concept is.. strange. It is really hard to figure out what this is from the screenshot. I also don't really like the log texture from the ashenvale tree, it is too contrasted and just hurts my eyes.

In any case, i see no reason why this wouldn't be approved. If you were to replace the ashenvale trunk texture from the timber frame, it would look pretty cool.

Strange model, I'm wierded out actually ?
But it has some good animations and nice meshes.
The only thing I see as a problem is its middle head, the Ashen texture
camouflages the mouth into smiling but in truth its mouth was already open
4/5, Nice though

Wow, this is super freaking cool! I almost prefer the water version to the ground version though (I find it a bit odd that it only has one wheel), but both are great.
My only issue is that it feels a little bland and monotone. The way I see it, trolls have a tendency of decorating their constructions with paint and colorful wrapping/ropes/etc. In other words, some more color differentiation would be neat.

Wow, this model is pretty awesome. I love the feel of it, but kinda think it needs a little more team colour.

Creative & crafty mesh, great animations, good wrapping & nice SFX (I did say 'purple' voodoo, but that's an easy fix for me)... Just a few things I'd like to see, if you're still up for it:

• 1 - The Texture: Had this issue on a few other Jungle Troll models; people wanted to use wood & leaves from the different tileset's Trees, and the issue is twofold; 1) it blends in too much (as we see here, unfortunately), and 2) it looks really weird outside of it's particular Tileset.
  These guys'll be in the Sunken Ruins all the time, but I don't want them to look out of place in Northrend or the Barrens...
  
  The solution I see is to use a different wood. Probably the best (unfortunately only) wood would (lol) be the "VoodooLounge.blp". Not only is the wood well-detailed & curvy, but it even has Team Color associated with it! (bands).
• 2 - The Length: See the image I whipped up, attached below. While interesting, it's Length is a real problem for me. Maybe a ship can get away with length like that (making the Naval version 'the' version), but if you compare to every other "basic mech" in the other races, none come that close to being so long.
  
  One possible solution is to simply "shrink" the tail end. I've already done a mock-up & taken pics in the attached "__TROLL MECH WIP2.2 EDIT.png"; side & angled view. Just moved the bars & the wheel up & in to the chassis. This isn't perfect, but might get the job done (where "restructuring completely" is out of the option). Basically, it was meant to look a lot/identical to the Meat Wagon & some of the others; one big "log" wheel rolling underneath, unseen (see above linked Concept Art #3).
  
  The issue with my little mod is, as you probably guessed, wonked-out animations (during Walk, the wheel spins through the air in a big arc, rather than rotating on the axle). No idea how to fix that.
• 3 - TeamColor & Nurnies: As Frankster & Chr2 pointed out, it's rather... stark. Even with the VoodooLounge.blp texture all over it, it'll still really stand in need of some more serious Team Color (ala the other Mechs), and especially little nurnies.
  
  The tiki-mask-faces on the wheel were a nice touch... More stuff like that! Take a look at the Shadow Hunter; tons of nurnies, doodads, etc. Masks, shoulderpads, skulls, bottles, bones, etc. Not sure where, but definitely somewhere. And those nurnies (esp. masks) would be a great place for more TC.

Anyway, I just gotta say that I am really grateful you were willing to take my Request in the first place, Misha. You've done an incredibly creative job (though deviating pretty drastically from the original design) and really made me see this in a new light. The "Totem Hydra" is growing on me... But I do believe he has a few more changes in store before really hitting the floor running. : )

 

[Splub]

This is a very cool model! Nice job!

 

[Misha]

Okay, I updated the land version, using the 'ancient of war' and 'guldan runes' textures

 

[Midasowski]

Great for my Troll race 5/5

 

[Kyrbi0]

Okay, I updated the land version, using the 'ancient of war' and 'guldan runes' textures

...

EDIT: I decided to shorten, rewrap, and further tweak the land version, hopefully it feels a lill more like a troll craft, while having enough TC and 'nurnies' (whatever that means)
I kept the naval version as it is, as i wanted it

Hey, this is definitely looking better. : )

I think you've definitely knocked out #1 and #3 (I might wish for something different on those ballista-arms, but I can't think of anything for them either. :<...). Good find with that Ancient texture (seems weird, almost 'stony', but at least it's different than a tileset tree), and I like those bits of the Guldan blood-runes.

I fear that #2 (The Shortening (lol, sounds like a movie title about angry midgets xD)) is still in need of some help... Perhaps I can find time to whip up that WIP you were asking me about.

Feel free to keep the heck outta that water-version, though. That's all yours (creative rights & all that).

Definitely good & getting better!

 

[Voidwalker]

I love the idea of a 'mystical' siege engine for the trolls. Could also explain how it is capable of moving with one hind wheel alone


Now, the real question is, how can one make it fire from three different points at the same time, as the Attack animation implies?

 

[VeljkoM]

I think the best that can be done is to use barrage ability (siege engine), I don't think you can have 3 separate points for missile origin so best you can do is try to set it in center of model. Ok unless maybe you attach 2 unelectable units where the other two totems are.

 

[Misha]

I love the idea of a 'mystical' siege engine for the trolls. Could also explain how it is capable of moving with one hind wheel alone


Now, the real question is, how can one make it fire from three different points at the same time, as the Attack animation implies?

it's voodoo that holds it together and balanced 'nuff said

as for the attacking, well.. you can make a 3-missile model, or, you can trigger two 'dummy units' to follow the unit and shoot the same, or other units, since i think you can make two side-heads face whatever the dummy units are attacking

though i need to know if the option with turning side-heads is a thing, haven't done anything with WE in a while oO

 

[Kyrbi0]

The only thing I know about "head-turning to face attackers" is using the Root bone, like the NE Ancients; and I don't think that can be done more than once.

Or really, I have no idea about how it can be used.

 

[Voidwalker]

All I can think of is giving it two Spell animations, each consisting in lifting either of the side "heads", maybe with some colored particles coming out of the mouth or a glow effect. But that would mean giving the model a preconceived role as a unit, which could come off as restrictive to whoever would add it to their map.

Another idea is modifying the Attack animation so that the side heads would both light up upon attacking, giving the impression that they're charging the central head for firing, as if they were some sort of voodoo capacitors. But that would mean applying some blatant pseudo-lore to hand-wave the engine's shortcomings.

 

[Kyrbi0]

All I can think of is giving it two Spell animations, each consisting in lifting either of the side "heads", maybe with some colored particles coming out of the mouth or a glow effect. But that would mean giving the model a preconceived role as a unit, which could come off as restrictive to whoever would add it to their map.

"Restrictive"? I mean it's nice when a model can be used for more than one thing (i.e. a model with Dissipate & Decay anims, so both Hero & Unit), but really, a model can only do so much. Besides, what else could this be??

Another idea is modifying the Attack animation so that the side heads would both light up upon attacking, giving the impression that they're charging the central head for firing, as if they were some sort of voodoo capacitors. But that would mean applying some blatant pseudo-lore to hand-wave the engine's shortcomings.

I love this idea for some reason.

See, the whole thing stemmed from just having a set of dart-shooting discs stacked on a mech (wheel(s), scoop, pontoons, etc). Misha decided to go for this "totem hydra" thing, which is very different but admittedly cool (actually waaaaay back in the beginning, I wanted to have Trollish Mech(s) that were "voodoo-powered", so it's kinda funny to come full circle ).

But anyway, the whole thing is just a "Mass Ranged Support"; with a modified Barrage it can shoot up to 6 sets of deadly, high-speed/low-damage darts at enemies. And because of how "Multishot" works, it makes it look like each head is shooting.

But you're idea is cool, too.

 

[Misha]

what i meant was simply if triggers could make the 'hands' (aka side-heads) face towards what the dummy units are attacking. I mean.. chest can face something, head can as well.. just unsure about hands

if not, oh well.. with dummy units, it'll still fire 3 projectiles, just at single target