I typically tend to prefer not putting too many NPCs in a scene, especially not a scene that I won’t be lingering on. The reason is pretty simple – time. It might not sound like it’d be all that much work, but the time taken finding an NPC appearance, trying to mimic it in modelviewer, exporting it and importing it into 3ds can quickly mount the more characters are involved. As an example, just setting up this particular scene took well over four hours, and normally I wouldn’t have bothered spending nearly as much time on a single page because it typically isn’t worth it.
Auberdine, however, went up with the Cataclysm. I figured it might be worth doing at least something with it.
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Is Raene here? Or is it just someone else with an exact copy of her wolf? Because if it’s her, she will know Hani is here too.. :o
Oh, and typo in first panel.
The funny thing is that the prior page had exactly the same excess P also in its first panel, and not a soul noticed!
Either way, it’s a case of me getting rules confused between languages – neither Wordpad nor Paint Shop Pro has spell checking unfortunately, so they have a tendency to slip through every so often.
But, fixed.
The wolf looks like it’s watching them in the last panel, so maybe.
Gwennyth Bly’Leggonde :(
*sniffle*
I think everyone in town must have had a tiny crush on her :’(
I love this scene. I love all that’s going on in it and that you chose to pay tribute to *these* characters. And I loved Auberdine, which was my home in Kalimdor for a long time. I love Te and Areen too ofc :)
But the pun is unbearable ;P
I’ll admit, that’s probably the grizzly truth of the matter. Still, a pun being bad doesn’t exactly give me paws. At least you can probably feel at ease that the full furvor of the puns have more or less already been brought to bear – after all, it’s taken me an embearrassingly long time to actually put this reply together.
Ahem.
Some choices were pretty incidental, others simply had to be there; Gwennyth Bly’Leggonde, Thundris Windreaver and Alanndarian Nightsong were all on my essential list. Jaelysia and Barithras Moonshade appeared mostly due to positioning while Hollee seemed perfect for handing Gwennyth a piece of sea monster. Delfrum Flintbeard and Harlon Thornguard ended up there largely because I wanted a Night elf and a Dwarf to walk down the road and the blacksmith trainer and the armourer seemed like the two who might have the most in common.
I’m not sure what you mean by it taking a while to mimic in modelviewer – all you need is the name and you can look up the NPC.
If you’ve got the latest version, it’s just:
File -> Discovery NPC followed by
View -> View NPC, where you can bung in the name and it gives you the appearance, pixel for pixel.
If not the latest version, I think it’s the same on the older ones and I just can’t confirm it =p Although, I guess that doesn’t improve the exporting into the 3D programs time-wise, but it might well save you a lot of shenaniganry all the same.
Unfortunately, that feature never worked for me, ever. Or well, it seems to have a higher success rate with newer NPCs, but once you get to ones old enough that they’re relevant for me, it typically only produces very underdressed results. Or always did for me – it’s never managed to give me anything useful.
So yeah, it’d be a nice time saver if it actually worked, but for me it never has.
That’s really quite… Weird, actually.
Do you have to export textures, the model – or both? Because the option to export models when I’ve loaded an NPC is greyed out entirely. If I misunderstood and that is in fact the problem, I apologise. I also assume that loading an NPC’s clothes onto a character model doesn’t work either.
I’d offer to try and find a solution but I feel that’d be condescending, since you surely already have. I would also offer to do the exporting for you, though the logistics of such a promise are probably fiddly beyond belief.
Stands anyway.
I typically export model and texture in the same go, since exporting the textures will typically export them in their original, component states which means that I’ll have to assemble them afterwards, which takes even more time, so it’s only something I do when it’s an advantage to have the actual component textures.
Also, it seems the problem is that I’m actually an idiot. Apparently Load NPC Outfit and View NPC are completely separate features where the latter is functional (and actually calls up the baked NPC textures, like I’d want it to) and the former has the aforementioned issues of rarely finding anything even remotely useful.
I can even export models from viewed NPCs it without issue, it seems, complete with baked textures, so that’s really quite handy. Thanks for pointing it out – that most likely will save me a fair bit of time in the future, yes.
Always glad to help.
Oh Auberdine, My Auberdine. :(
Going back to do all the Darkshore quests on mah boomkin was one of the few things that made me angry. The good kind; not, “OMG BLIZZ DEVS WTH!” angry, but “kill all the effing elementals/cultists I see” kind.
Running the evac route, littered with the dead and dying quest NPCs… :(
I don’t care that you can only turn into a gnoll, Te’len; I still love you! :D
what is the dwarf doing in the 4 pic background?
I think thats Archaeologist Hollee… I’m guessing she’s showing off a fossil. She “survived” the cataclysm… but is captured by cultists to be used as an offering of sorts. (I’m guessing if you don’t pick up the quest to rescue her, she ends up… well… you know…)
It’s a small sea monster skull, actually. But yes, that’s Hollee.
love the random NPCS…but now i am curious about the Nelf with a map…
She’s the Stable Master if I recall correctly… Jay-something… (my hunter spent a lot of time with her due to the fact I couldn’t decide what pet I should use)
Looks like she’s showing the “Mushroom guy” directions. (Did he give the quest to see Onu? Meh. Too lazy to look at the wiki at the moment)
It’s actually a book, not a map ;)
But yes, that’s Jaelysia and Barithras Moonshade.
I bet Te’len goes completely berserk in animal form and that’s why she doesn’t like talking about it!
Yes, I believe trying to have one of your fellow students for lunch would not be something she wanted to talk about. Whatever it is, inquiring minds want to know!
I too was thinking Te’len might be one of those druids whose mind gets lost in the mind of the form they take.
Yes. I agree.
The beast? http://beyondthetree.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/115-they-hunger/#comments
Hmm, that reminds me.
Hey Blizz, can have slit skirts now, please?
Hm… just on the brink of learning something very interesting on Te’len, too! Darn it, now you’ve got me curious!!!!!
Yay, new page ;D.
could be that Te’len can´t transform, not all druid can or will.
Or she’s a moonkin.
I’ve never met a druid that’s eager to shift into their owlbeardeer form!
“Aubeardine” – dryad humour? Sounds like a fancy restaurant though, “Welcome to AuBearDine where bears dine!”
But really, it’s nice to see again that city, was one of my favourite towns, the sea, the woods next to it, the bridges… I mean Lor’Danel is nice too but… it doesn’t seem to fit in there, it’s too colourful, Auberdine blended in with the environments perfectly.
Anyway, I like the new voting picture.
I love this page. Auberdine was my most favorite place on Azeroth (imagine the virtual tears I shed when I heard it was destroyed). And I love the NPC interactions. Especially the dwarf with the vase – I loved the quest to save that oddball archeologist.
Oh, new voting incentive!
You won’t believe me, but as a die hard human warrior, i always loved the Auberdine, and Darkshore in general. When i started playing game 7 years ago, my friend escorted me on level 12 or so to travel from Stormwind to Ironforge, from mountain passes to Wetlands, via the boat to Darkshore. There i quested, there i fought and spilt blood and sweat for the Alliance. That particular place has its memories in me. That is where i learned fishing, from the funny dwarf on that tree trunk. He even mailed me fish bubbles after the quest was done. Countless of hours minnig copper, just to sell it on Darnassus AH for 1 gold a stack. I was feeling rich, stronger and more courageous to wander into dark forests of this world when i left that place. Yeah, it has its memories on me..
You’re on blizzard’s facebook today ^^
Argh! I dislike myself for the fact that I’ve read everything that you have posted thus far… all in one day. You have me captivated in the storyline, and for it all to stop so suddenly is quite disappointing. I saw a link to this story on Blizzard’s Facebook page today and I’ve spent the better part of 6 hours reading it… Please do not stop writing this, it is truly a great story so far!
Now I’m anxious to read the final of the history! lol
I love how this is set in Azeroth before any of the expansionpacks, when the different Alliance races are still getting accustomed to each other.
what is it that that dwarf is giving to the sentinel? ( in panel 4)