Entling Pack

Description
All this so someone could be a tree ._. *sigh*

Well, I guess I'll start this off with a descriptive quote:

[quote]The Entling is the child of the great tree people, the Ents. It's very small compared to the full-grown ents, and is full of nature's power. It uses nature's pull to keep its weapons in the air, gracefully levitating it as if it were using its limbs.[/quote]

In all my fantastical lore, never have I seen a descriptive picture of a child Treant. What I do want to know is why a treant would need to grow its arms over time? Yeah, it's a tree, but...eh, I guess it's like a tadpole. Oh well. So, this odd combo was the brain child of both Last Wish and a new feller known as Shoska Shudo, a man with an obsession for trees and treefolk.

The result is sort of disappointing, because I too wouldn't have minded seeing a tree person of some sort. This just looks like a horde of deer antlers smashed together into one big living mass. The only foliage on him is a mess of green splotches, which just look like grass stains or moss. The branches remind me of everything but tree limbs, and the feet look incredibly weird because the toes curve UP, for some reason. Moisture vaporators, maybe? Lastly, the neck deforms QUITE poorly, stretching out from the base of the torso like taffy. Not good :

The textures don't seem to help the illusion much either. I was pondering what on earth texture he used, and it looked like he took a picture of a scratched up desk and applied it to this model. The face itself looks like a Deku Shrub from Legend of Zelda, and to top it all off, the texture repeats on the model! Yes, there are actually holes at the neck(which would have been fine normally,) and at the groin region. It also looks like its stretching on the thighs...either that or they're bad pants.

Honestly, methinks this came out into the public WAAAY too fast, both model and skin. Everything about this screams rushed, and I would have rather waited for a clear-cut product than this one. "Averus, stop being an ass! This was the guy's first skin!" Yes, I know it was, but I also think he was too impatient and "settled" like most amateur modders tend to do. Here is what I think could improve this product:

[b]The Model:[/b] This thing honestly could probably go for a bit of an overhaul all-around. The majority of the branches look decent, except for the ones that stick out in front and curve at a sharp angle. I have NEVER seen a tree do that. Ever. Another thing: Foliage. This sucker needs leaves! Lotsa lotsa leaves! Y'don't have to model every individual leaf, but at least make sections you could shader the leaves on. I've seen it done before on earth elementals on Neverwinter Nights, made in 2002, I feel pretty confident you could pull it off here.

Also, arms. Seriously, just make the arms. The levitation illusion doesn't seem to be working here. EVerytime I see it swing, I'm trying to envision arms. I know, there's always the dilemma of making the hand grippature plausible, but honestly, I've seen games(See: Timesplitters) where there are characters with absolutely no semblance of a hand are holding guns in some silly fashion. Having a tree branch grab a gun is by no means out of the question.

[b]The Skin:[/b] Alright, Shudo, I suggest you definitely start hunting for ways to either make or have a tree texture made for you. Yes, I know, shrivelled meatball, shrivelled meatball, but this alternative just isn't working. Also, check your shaders a little more carefully next time, as you named it "Spikey" instead of "Entling." I would also collaborate more closely with your model-maker LW, because what it appears to me is that he just made the model and shot it off to you to skin, which might explain the sloppy skin mapping. I'd also recommend practicing some shaders a bit, so you can get a little more creative with the effects on this project.

Whew...anyone still reading? ._. No? Okay. I guess overall, this project had and still has plenty of promise, but a tree is not something you can cut corners with(though you could probably cut corners INTO it, DURRHURRHURRHURR! XB) It'll take a little longer than this to make an effective tree-child. If there were pluses to this project's release, I'd say the following:


Unique Submission: Aye
Bot Support: Aye
NPC Support: Aye
New Sounds: Aye
Team Support: Aye




- Averus Retruthan