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Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest news on Alpha Two.
Check out general Announcements here to see the latest news on Ashes of Creation & Intrepid Studios.
To get the quickest updates regarding Alpha Two, connect your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Comments
I tend to agree with the 'toned down' part. Don't get me wrong I love both the Vek and the Py'Rai but they both are much more stylized and a bit less realistic looking than the other races. That aspect has been mentioned in the thread a few times already. Perhaps the answer is to go slightly less stylized on the Vek and Py'Rai, and slightly more on the other races and meet somewhere in the middle. They all look great and I don't believe wholesale change is needed....just need a little unification in the artistic direction overall.
I am hoping that there are some green tones that will be included as options for the skin color as well. And some good earthy browns to look like bark. I'm looking forward to seeing what options will be available for different tastes- And if things like flowers will be available on the horns, it would be nice if there's also options for leaves (preferably in both green and autumnal colors). Would be nice for those of us who want to lean heavier into the plant aesthetic.
Make like a Py'Rai and leave!
A lot of people are taking issue with the eyebrows. As long as they're adjustable, I feel like it'll be fine. It's a little too-WoW in the example given - but as long as they don't *have* to be that big, I feel like it's fine.
Same thing for the ears. Yours truly likes the big ears because any earrings will stand out more/be more visible.
I agree! the humans and dwarfs look more realistic, while the orcs and elf look more cartoon like.
They don’t look like they belong in the same game.
I believe the humans and dwarves are fully rendered, the orcs and elf are concept art. (The Dunir dwarf at least, I think the Nikua is still concept art.) That's the difference. I may be wrong, but I believe that was mentioned somewhere. (And I am having the darnedest time finding it.)
Again more customization options is always a good thing (unless it's immersion breaking ofc).
But, I love it!
They could be awesome with the right customization options.
The only thing I am not a fan of are the ears as shown in this particular example.
I hope they are customiazble enough to make them less 'noticable'.
Different kinds and 'heaviness' of the bark skin would also be appreciated.
Just change the skin color on a normal elf style. If their character creation customization is as detailed as they are boasting it should be easy to make your ideal character if all you want is a reskin of a standard elf.
I am so, so glad that the Pyrai aren't the typical wood elf design of "olive skinned elf with amber or green eyes and leaves in their hair". Anybody who thinks otherwise is a coward and is incorrect.
I hope that the Pyrai have three things that are a staple of their character design and cannot be removed and "humanified".
1) the ears
2) the horns
3) the 'bark skin'.
They should be fully customizable, but cannot be fully removed. If you want to play something with human features, play a human. If you want something with more traditional elf features, play empyrean.
You want the horns to be optional? Good, because they already are. You can just pick empyrean. You want the skin to be different? It can be (if you play a human). GTFO with complaining for every design decision that isn't a copy-paste of the Neverwinter designs.
Their Pyrai design says so much good about Intrepid's race design. I hope that they stick to their gut with this one. I think the unique design will make more people play pyrai as compared to a boring brown skin elf.
Rant over.
Anyway, I think that if they go all the way with the horn customization, the pyrai will be really cool. Imagine if you can model the horns like you can with BDO hair: choosing parts to bend, make longer, and make shorter. Give base options that have 'nodes' for more branches to come off of. You can then decide what grows off each of those branch nodes. push them in certain directions, make them longer or shorter. Give some really short options for people who dont like horns, and some huge options for people who want to go full moose.
I love the art direction for the Py'rai. It really took me by surprise and blew me away, and could actually be my first choice for main character. Overall, the ears were a bit much for me, but I love the horns and nature inspired color palette.
What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Py'rai female concept?
Amazing job! I really love the initial viewing. I've seen some pushback on the horns from other players. I heard Steven mention horns being the defining feature of the race from a visual perspective. I'm not sure I understand the need for unique race silhouettes in PVP. So I don't personally understand the "need" for horns, even though I like them personally.
Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Py'rai female concept?
I would like to see a larger variety of plant inspired customizations for Py'rai. It could be cool to introduce greener vine or plant fiber skin options, or maybe flowers/mushrooms scattered in the hair? So many great options from just a single image!
Overall the design is a cool fresh new take on a more naturesc race, great job! Its the antilope equivalent to WoWs spacegoats. But leaving it this animalistic and call it an elf at the same time is a bit of a stretch. I defo think you can keep the general direction, but don't make antlers and weird skin effects or ears mandatory. You could implement sliders that reduce these elements to a very minimal level, they don't need to disappear completely, but atleast give the option for a more traditional wood elfy druidy vibe. The less restrictive you are the more you will hype up ppl. Character creation is simply a sensitive and very important matter to many. and I quite frankly wouldn't care for 10 sliders that change the nose of a character to perfection if i can't get rid of the ear shape or the antlers. I never played demon hunter in WoW because they forced the fel demon aesthetic from Illidan on the class and I just found that to be super ugly, like especially the wings...
Don't take this class/race fantasy approach to extrem levels. We need a little bit of breathing room.
Apart from that, you guys are killing it!!!
I do love what you’ve done with the skin, and that you didn’t go lazy by hiding the start of the antlers in the hair and instead gave them an organic starting point from the skin.
1. Can this be made to look realistic rather than cartoonish ? If cartoonish, then this will be bad idea.
2. This is pushing the limits on what I would expect from a wood elf or any elf, and quite probably a step too far for some, purely out of a paradigm shift culture shock. However, given proviso 1 being satisfied, I think it is doable and adds artistic license and a unique angle for ashes.
So fundamentally, you will have the same problem with the Vek and probably tulnar (Renkai I think can be done). Realism vs cartoon characters.
I dont think a Roger Rabbot angle will work at all.
PS. You sent out a note asking for feedback. Breaking/closing that feeback request with 'new forum links' without updating the feedback request ? Not a good look.
I don’t hate the way the ears look on the model, but I do kind of hope they’re not so protruding in the final iterations. They’re on the verge of looking like FFXIV elves, which I cannot stand due to their ears and their height (and the fact that it is impossible to make a male that isn’t ugly). Their ears look like a broom pole was rammed through their scull - very lazy design. I’d also like to say that I hope these can be as tall or short as humans, not locked into all being taller or all being shorter.
Until now, I was mostly leaning toward Nikua, but I love this concept and will be leaning into more details before making a decision. Overall, it’s a good problem to have!
Absolutely love the idea of flora hair. I think it would add greatly to the race, especially with the direction the art is already going into. I'm a huge fan of 'nature-ifying' these characters even further.
My humble opinion the Py'rai base model should resemble an Native American with Wood elven facial features , they would adorn their hair, weapons with turquoise/silver and eagle feathers.
the racial mount can be a war buffalo .
My answerer for the question "how does a forest exist in the middle of the dessert"?
That's easy in all biomes where the Py'rai control nodes their architecture stays the same but the textures used to build their structures would have to match the materials that would have been gathered in the node ie Skins, wood etc.
File it and move on to other objectives!
https://bayouwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/spanish.moss_.30.jpg
Hope this helps, and can't wait to see these come to life!
To me, the Py’rai are the more “adolescent” / off the wall / INTENTIONALLY non-traditional elf compared to what I think we’re all hoping and expecting the classical / rigid / “mature” Empyrean elves will look like.
Seeing a male model is really the biggest deciding factor for my full opinion. I love what I’m seeing so far and I hope with sliders, many people can find the version of Py’rai that they’ll love for years and years.
The coin is a rite of passage. SO BE IT.
I think you should give people the choice, however, regarding the bark skin and the horns - maybe have "beginner" horns as an option that look something like a skinny willow tree branch/leafage that blends in more with the hair so it doesn't look like horns/antlers, but leave all the current options there because I for one would definitely create a character like the image you posted.