Ok, so I've been thinking for awhile what exactly to put into this review of mine & the feedback that I want to provide. Let me start by saying that the sole concept of a remastering of Warcraft 3 was something that I have always dreamed about and up until a couple of years back seemed like it wasn't ever going to happen. Yet this year's Blizzcon MVP was indeed Warcraft 3: Reforged.
I happen to have a Discord community where people play my map - Sunken City. And after Blizzard started releasing patches, many people in there have asked me if I personally think a Remaster of some sort might come. Not only did I think that it ain't happening, but frankly - I was against it. The reason involves my greatest concern with Warcraft: Reforged and will be the core of the feedback I am about to provide:
The Custom Resources
I have always said that I prefer to have tens of thousands low-res custom resources to use for my projects as opposed to high quality ones, but only the default units. Sure, a melee player would probably not care at all about custom assets, but for us, modders, this is basically what allowed us to create resources that gave Warcraft 3 life for so many years.
By having fans continuously create custom assets, those who consume them felt like there is constantly something new coming their way. There is this feeling when you go into a custom map and you stumble upon something you've
never seen before. In a game that is
over a decade old. As long as such thing exits, Warcraft can never get old, since it always received new things.
So many maps are designed and built upon the foundation of custom assets. Many popular maps like Gaias Retaliation by
@Zwiebelchen or Iceborn by
@APproject utilize hundreds if not thousands of custom resources, not all of which (if any) will translate to Warcraft: Reforged. This is a concerning thought, since in a single day plenty of custom maps will inevitably have a chunk of them that remains in the past and another that transitions into the present high quality resources.
Model makers will need some time to learn to use the new tools Blizzard will be providing, but not all of them will be capable to use them. Regardless of what anyone thinks about the models and textures showcased during Blizzcon, these are of very high quality. I personally have hard time imagining the non-professional Warcraft 3 modders transitioning smoothly, even with the tools. I can see some more experienced users like
@Tauer having the necessary skill to create models that will be able to stand next to the original models provided by Reforged. However, for many others that may not be the case. I have recently had a conversation with another very talented model maker from Hive, namely
@PROXY because I wanted his opinion, as someone who's been creating models for warcraft for a long time and who recently collaborated with me on my project. He happens to have the same exact concern. I hope that over the coming months we get some insight in how exactly those new tools you'll be providing will work so that we can get a better idea regarding how we can adapt.
Personally, I am willing to move forward, because while this is a great concern (for me at least), this is the future of the game and is something that if done correctly will keep the game alive for years to come.
I do, however have a couple of suggestions that can help modders transition more smoothly:
- As previously mentioned, give us information regarding how and what we will be able to use for future modding, whether it will be texturing, 3D model making, etc.
- Blizzard has confirmed that skins will be made for certain models. This gave me an idea: Let's assume that after Reforged comes out, none of the previously created assets will be usable and the modders who are willing (and capable) of providing new ones will need some time to learn how to use the new tools. In that case, if Blizzard is willing to create 'alternative' skins for units, this will give map makers like me something to work with, in the absence of the previous massive amount of resources. Let me give some examples:
- The functionality to use alternative skins for units is already available ingame. As you can see in the images below, you can select different skins for the Priest. In this case a RoC version and a TFT one. Now imagine if we could do things like the ones I will list down in the next points.
- Footman skins (recolors): Kul'Tiras Footman, Dalaran Footman, Gilnean Footman, Stormwind Footman, etc.
- Alternative models to existing units, established in WoW lore that you seem to be adopting: Tauren Druid, Blood Elf Demon Hunter, Blood Elf Paladin, Undead Mage, etc.
- Continue to provide the short explanations to new trigger functions. This is something very important not only for newcomers, but also for veteran modders who are given new functions to work with in the future.
My Suggestions & Wishes
Here I will make a list that I will update as I come up with more things over time, containing everything I would like to see.
- I've seen that Blizzard will give us the possibility to modify the UI. I would love to see that taken to the next level:
- Let us generate UI windows on the screen at desired locations.
- Let us customize these windows, but do provide us with default assets & art for them, until modders have came up with alternatives.
- Let us add intractable buttons into them, leading into things like: Dialogue Windows, Talent Tree Windows, Stat Windows, Additional Command Card Windows, etc.
- Give us the ability to mess with health/mana bars - change their colors in various ways.
- Allow zooming into the minimap ingame.
Blizzcon-specific Feedback
I've seen people already talk about this in great detail, but I'll quickly throw my own impressions here:
- Buildings look great.
- Some units look very similar to their 'classic' counterpart like: Rifleman, Shaman, Witch Doctor, Blademaster.
- Others not so much: Grunt, Footman, Knight, Paladin, Arthas.
- Ghouls seem very off to me. Previously they seemed like they were barely held together by flesh and bones, and in Reforged they look way bulkier and less skinny.
- I've noticed that with many of the units, Blizzard has decided to modify the animations. While that can be nice, I'd like to see a more smooth and fluid alternative to existing animations, rather than having new ones. The explanation is simple: aside from their looks, Warcraft units have very distinct animations. Even if I see a pitch black silhouette of a Grunt, I'll know it's a Grunt by the way he moves. I would suggest improving the animation, while sticking to it, if that makes sense. Think of what WoW has done for the Character Models after the visual update, animation-wise.
That's all I have for now. I will update this post over time, if I come up with more suggestions/feedback. I do want to state in conclusion that I am very excited about the future of Warcraft and its community and I am hopeful that Blizzard will take it in the right direction.