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Master Merlin -> RE: =AK= The Ultimate New Art for AQ Discussion Thread (12/4/2011 15:58:53)
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I'm going to go ahead and search through the RA list for monsters that could use updates, because I'm bored. To start off with, two common archetypes, Undead and Worms, should get the most attention since they are the first monsters players come into contact with, and then move on to smaller groups of monsters such as Mermazons, Umazens, Trolls, etc. Several second generation zards (Nightzard, Cloudzard) could also use some love. So without further adieu:
Zzott: No comment.
Sunrays and Moonrays: So much potential with these critters... they would actually look somewhat good if it wasn't for the poor light beam imitation.
Seed Spitters: Just use Dragonfable's art, or a variation of it. It is pretty much the established art for Seedspitters in all AE games now.
Wasp Swarm: Could be styled similar to the Waspzards. That would be amazing.
Mermazon: This has so much potential for a Mermaid/Undine elemental, and if it is given the same treatment as the Vagarans it will look amazing. The same applies for the Sarkanians and related folk, such as the Battle Whale, Sea Dog, Giant Nautoid, Gargel and Hydrak.
Umazen: Again, so much potential for an amazoness archetype. Definitely can't wait to see what happens.
Lesser Djinn: Two routes to go here: either copy the DF artwork or do something similar to Pirakkas. I'm leaning towards the second one, but with smoke effects for the lower body instead of demon feet...
Magman: The poor shading effects are really noticable, and I would think the highest level RA monster in the game could get some awesome lava graphics added to it... maybe not the level of Obverse Beast, but still something.
Vampire Bat: This was overlooked when updating the Werebat.
Gnarl/Whomp/Grunt/Creech: KILL IT WITH FIRE... no, really. Worst animated monsters in the game in my opinion, if only because they are so large and in your face constantly (as opposed to say, Fire Ants, who really aren't that well animated but have the decency to be small about it). The brown dirt visual is really unappealing, for obvious reasons. Supposedly "Plant" monsters.
Prismix: And resulting Sine Qua Non. Could simply be shaded/textured further, along with updated light-based attacks added (Illuminate ultra). Also related to the Light Sentinel and Glow Worm, who feature in the same quest.
Quizzat/Lectro/Grizzle: See Zzott. Energy monsters are notorious for having bad animations at low levels.
Velociraider: So much awesomeness waiting to happen! I really want this one updated. Death from above indeed...
The Bloat: And Tropopause Tyrant at higher levels. It actually is quite a good idea for a monster, and I really love the description of these things drifting high above the cloud cover, but in practice....
Chrask: Kind of important since he is the first monster to drop a default weapon. I like what they did with Garganth, keeping the same skeleton but with more details. That could definitely be done here.
Fire Ants: Scale these tiny creatures larger and give them some fiery plated scaled armor and they could be amazing.
Weather Witch: How about, since this is the mage quest, we give her a set of mage robes and access to some weather related spells, such as Ice Nine, Vortex, and Riptide? Also applies to Death Witch and Sorceress, who could definitely be updated along the same theme.
Four Eyed Freak: Now this one is interesting. If I'm not wrong, either DF or AQW did a quest with this monster in it too. Either way, it shouldn't be too hard to make it more threatening.
Mjolnid: They could simply be warriors armed with Asgardian Equipment, with unique facial features to differentiate them from normal humans.
Draegan Avenger: Give it a similar model as the Angry Protester, but with a unique weapon? Ryussei's salvation blade looks like it would fit quite well...
Terropain: It seems as this one was overlooked when its larger cousin was featured in Paxia. Or should it be removed entirely, since it is kind of inconsistent with the storyline?
Night Horror: Kind of falls under the undead category, but relevant since it is one of the more prominent high level darkness bosses. Honestly if it were just the shadow "essence" it wouldn't be that bad, but the horribly textured "spheres" really ruin it, especially when frozen...
Kitten of Doom: Just needs some higher texture.
Super Mega Ultra Giga Worm: I've hated this one for awhile now. Especially when the solution is in plain sight: in the Wind Orb quest where you go into the underground tunnel minigame, there are several epic worm models, including a titan sized verson of this. It seems a shame to waste that nice art... Mr. Worm also applies here.
Thunder Bird: As other forumites have said, the so called "Embodiment of the Energy Lord" could do so much better than this. The same applies to Aquus.
Briglings: It's the light effects that annoy me... but the spikes and tentacles could have a lot of work done with them.
Shadowfire Knight: Use the DF art! Or remove it from RA and keep it in a Great Fire War "Time Scroll" kind of quest...
Centocors: Once again... DF art, or something similar to it. Alternatively they could use the same style of the Centurions, I was really disappointed to learn that they weren't art updates for these guys.
Cthulion: Could do something like the Chimera... only a cross between lions and braken of some sort.
Frazzlhutch/Dastardly Gloop: These monsters should just be removed from the game entirely, I honestly don't think anything can be done to salvage them.
Razorwind/Skyhunter: These are kind of related. Are they in the same questline? Either way need updates badly.
Skeeter/Snzflip: Some of the old monsters in the Zardhunter quests. Could be removed from RA and restricted to that quest alone.
Dwarves/Drakels: Several subraces in general actually. Elves have that one random quest, Orcs are okay...
Ice Burrower: This was featured in the Nemesis quest, much to my dismay. Is it suppose to be... a mutated demon snow rabbit of sorts?
Demon Steed/Gorarog/Fire Golem/Fire Fiend: Some low level fire monsters that should get the same treatment as Hellhound.
Ruby/Emerald Golems: Should be given the same treatment as Adalon.
Thrachee: Restrict it to the Bludrut Keep quest until updates can be made.
Berserker: As its name suggests, it should have the Berserker class equipment and attacks.
Fire Demon/Light Demon/Frost Demon: All related, all need an update.
Kelp Ball: Seen at high levels since it was updated. Not too bad, just should be more realistic.
Iceshifters: Obviously should go the same way as darkshifters, or be removed if they don't fit with the storyline.
A work in progress. Finished, I think. Ultimately I think what would be the easiest route would be to divide certain monsters into categories and work from there. The archetypes (Undead, Worms, Trolls) are obvious, but you could also make a "Plant" group consisting of Whomp, Grunt, and so on, an "Electric" group of Zzotts and Thunderbirds, a "Ocean" group of Mermazons and their kin, etc. and update them in stages. Also, while going through the list, it seems that Gargoyle and Garganth recieved graphical improvements. Interesting...
Note: Also, on the "Great Dragons" i.e. Akriloth, Great Frost Worm, Dire Shade, the models themselves aren't too bad, but some are obviously better than others. Akriloth and DS should remain as they are, but Trigoras (and his lopsided mouth) need a huge update...
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