Drakkar Model

Big thanks to Arena Net for publishing Drakkar the Making of a Legend.Link: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/drakkar-the-making-of-a-legend/

It's nice to see the ideas behind his model and how the team put it all together.However, I do have to say that it's still a bit disappointing that the iconic characteristics from Drakkar from EotN haven't been transferred to this new model.While the new Drakkar is super impressive, he gives the impression of a 'hairy crocodile' rather than some creepy underwater dragon/beast.Main thing that bothers me about new model are the hands/claws/arms. The old Drakkar from GW1 had large scythe-like fins, which looked terrifying and amazing at the same time. I believe technically that it could've been achieved with the current Drakkar model as well. No need to make these scythes massive, but large enough to fit the space and still cause those tremmors and waves.It's a shame that we couldn't see the creepiness that GW1 Drakkar had. Its neck was long and it had those strange plates sticking from the side.New Drakkar is somehow 'too much' in terms of things on the model. The icicles sticking form it and the 'colors/shimmer' also prove to kill the whole 'creepy' thing about the creature.I love the idea of having it look like the whale carcass/decomposing whale, but somehow I feel the model just had to look less 'shaggy' as described in the article.

All in all, I just wish that Drakkar had scythe-like fins instead of little arms. It would've given a better and creepier effect as opposed to what we have now.

Still, thank you for bringing him back to life!

They could have kept his hammerhead looking head from GW1. I'm okay with the rest of him, Even though he looks a bit like a old Muppet with some of his fur missing on him :joy:

With the rigging mechanic, they could of added some effects of his tail swiping at you from above during the gate segment as well. Gives off his full look without needing to put his whole body on screen and makes it feel like he's on all sides of you completely.

I do appreciate the information on his creation and how they did it, I would like more posts about "how they made it" in the future as it's always interesting to read.

You might find the latest Guild Chat interesting, as the Devs go into great detail on the 'making of Drakkar'.

@"zityz.6089" said:They could have kept his hammerhead looking head from GW1. I'm okay with the rest of him, Even though he looks a bit like a old Muppet with some of his fur missing on him :joy:

With the rigging mechanic, they could of added some effects of his tail swiping at you from above during the gate segment as well. Gives off his full look without needing to put his whole body on screen and makes it feel like he's on all sides of you completely.

I do appreciate the information on his creation and how they did it, I would like more posts about "how they made it" in the future as it's always interesting to read.

Completely agree with you there. I truly wish they stuck to the iconic GW1 model. Drakkar was truly creepy there.And yup, the fight could've shown us bits from him. Tail swipe/slam would've been awesome!

Just posting these pictures of Drakkar from GW1 here:https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/en/uploads/forum_attachment/file/130329/JorLut2.jpg

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/6/69/Drakkar_body_GW1.jpg

https://wiki.guildwars.com/images/d/df/Texmod_ICanSeeDrakkar.jpg

He looked so good there :(

Thank you very much, too.This article is really nice, and allows the community to connect with you, to know a little bit more about your studio, your way of working, in short to get attached to you.And that's great for your studio ^^.

PS: Same as you @Blur.3465 I played GW1 and unfortunately new drakar, in my mind it has nothing to do with the old model of drakar that shook norns 10 years ago.It's a nice World boss, but too far from the old one, I really expected him to appear on ice, to kick his tail, ....

I found he article interesting. i don't quite think they hit their design goals, but the context for how they make stuff is always enlightening. And how they did the shadow vs it popping up was arguably the best bit of the design.

Taking out the low level mechanics, I think my biggest issue was the confined space. It heavily restricted what they could do with it without actually making it as claustrophobic as they wanted. I do wonder how it could have been if the fight was up above, with Drakkar swimming below and it eventually surfacing completely.

I can live with it looking nothing like the GW1 model despite the change being arbitrary because it does look and animate really well.

Sadly the fight was not up to a level I personally had wanted or in comparison to some of their very best bosses in the past.

@Randulf.7614 said:I found he article interesting. i don't quite think they hit their design goals, but the context for how they make stuff is always enlightening. And how they did the shadow vs it popping up was arguably the best bit of the design.

Taking out the low level mechanics, I think my biggest issue was the confined space. It heavily restricted what they could do with it without actually making it as claustrophobic as they wanted. I do wonder how it could have been if the fight was up above, with Drakkar swimming below and it eventually surfacing completely.

I can live with it looking nothing like the GW1 model despite the change being arbitrary because it does look and animate really well.

Sadly the fight was not up to a level I personally had wanted or in comparison to some of their very best bosses in the past.

I can agree with this.We've mentioned in earlier threads that the fight could've involved less 'claustrophobic' space and more openess. A fight on a lake with all the shattered ice and floes would've been amazing.I believe it adds to the creepiness, seeing something swim below you and then resurface to attack you.Ah well, it won't be changed anymore, sadly...but I really had high hopes that we'd get a fight like that.