WoW - A fantasy themed dressing up simulator

Back in the day, my wow catchphrase used to be

"Paladin : It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you look good doing it!"

I was joking of course, it was a game and utility came first, but that didn't mean I wouldn't strive to gain upgrades that would both improve my stats and my look.

Then I was introduced to SL a 'game' where the objective is (for me at least, SL lets you pick your own) to look good.

Now I'm back in WoW, and (yes this is another transmog post) I can have my cake and eat it.

Even though I was very happy with both the looks I gave Raxiel, I can't look at the same set for too long and so of course I've changed them both.

The two new sets share a few items.

Protection

The protection set is basically the Tier 4 Justicar Armor. It was released at the beginning of the Burning crusade and was featured in the opening cinematic, worn by a Draeni retribution paladin.This set wasn't particularly well received when the first preview was released, partly because the helmet made you look like a rhino, and partly because it was probably designed to suit the new Draeni race first and then other races second.but after a little bit of tweaking it became what I think is a really nice set. It looks like proper plate armour*

 It's paired with the matching non-set boots and a belt that is a close match (I've not had much luck getting the 'proper' one. I'm still using Honors Call and I added the Aldori Legacy Defender as a shield. Originally I had it without a tabard, but after equipping the Argent Crusade tabard for the teleport I realised it looked quite good (although I'm now considering picking up this one).

Retribution.

The new DPS set is based on Tier 5 but with a twist. Rather than the original Crystalforge Armor which is a bit too... colourful for my liking (and to be honest the pastels seem to wash out the detail too), I got my hands on some non-set pieces that share the models of tier 5 but with the colours of tier 4. I kept the remaining Justicar pieces and replaced the sword and shield with the Hammer of the Naaru, a weapon that was also featured in the TBC cinematic.

I think both sets work really well, and they've even got me a few compliments from strangers. I know I'll change them eventually but for now I'm happy.

*Some may notice I use a mix of the American and British spelling of words like armour in this blog. That's because when I'm describing it by its function, I use what I consider to be the 'proper' spelling, but when its part of an items name I use the original american.

WoW Transmog - The Scarlet Crusader



This is Truesilver, my other paladin. Since Raxiel was my first character, and I made all sorts of newbie mistakes in the early game, I created True to re-play that part of the game with the benefit of experience. It wasn't as easy to change specialisation back then, and since Raxiel was already a healer I explored other options, levelling her as retribution, and then as protection (Yes, a protection paladin in vanilla WoW and then again in the Burning Crusade expansion). In the end I just enjoy playing paladins, and I've invested a lot of time into her, so I kept her.

Truesilver's first transmog outfit was a fairly simple one, it was basically Tier 9 with Warhelm of the Bold. It was the only complete 'set' I had at the end of wrath besides her PVP armour (Which isn't eligible unfortunately). But after a while I wanted something more unique.

Truesilver the Scarlet Crusader

The Scarlet Crusade are a player-hostile faction in the World of Warcraft. They are the living Survivors of the Kingdom of Lorderon, which fell to the undead scourge in Warcraft 3. They are primarily opposed by the (Playable) Forsaken, the now free-willed undead former inhabitants of the Kingdom. The SC managed to hold back both the Forsaken and the Scourge for the whole time between the end of WC3, vanilla WoW, and the Burning Crusade. Only with Wrath of the Lich King, when attacked by a flying fortress commanded by Arthas himself.

The SC are described as crazed zealots who will attack anyone who isn't one of them, but given their circumstances you could hardly blame them (although their leadership was infiltrated by a powerful demon leading to some pretty questionable decisions that ultimately weren't questioned).

Truesilver's RP background is that she was born and raised in Stratholme, second city of Lorderon, but was living in the city of Stormwind at the time of the third war. She affiliated with the Argent Crusade in Northrend - an organisation without the crazy and with a more open recruitment policy, but she can never forgive the Forsaken for their betrayal at the Wrathgate. And so, while she doesn't agree with all their methods, a part of her heart will always be Scarlet.

The Outfit

I knew from the start that I wanted to base the outfit around two pieces. The Tabard of the Scarlet Crusade was the most obvious piece, Second were the Blessed Spaulders of Undead Slaying. These appropriately named shoulders are a red version of the hugely popular Paladin tier 2 Judgement set, but were only available for a short period during the Wrath of the Lich King starting event. They are quite a pale red, so finding armour to match proved problematic. There is a set of armour called 'Bloodscale' but unfortunately it’s a random drop (which makes it quite difficult to find) and it's a bit of a 'plate bikini' set, so pieces that come up on the auction house tend to be expensive, and it can be quite popular (not great for a unique look) - Even if bare thighs are do work as part of a scarlet look.

After trawling through model viewer and wowhead, and finding lots of suggestions for 'scarlet set's'  that didn't quite fit with the shoulders I finally settled on the blacksmith crafted 'Redsteel' set with a red/black version of the Bold helmet (Thundering Greathelm) and the tailor crafted scarlet cloak and red shirt. I'm still deciding on weapons, I started out with the Lightforged Blade before switching to the greatsword of forlorn visions. If I make her a Tank/Healer I have both the Scarlet commander's shield and the royal crest of Lorderon. The former fits the scarlet theme better, while the latter fits the 'Never Forget' mentality of this daughter of Stratholme.

I even got her the Swift Red Gryphon

It's not perfect, but overall I'm pretty happy with how this outfit came out, and I feel like I did the best job I could with the items in the database.

WoW, where did the time go? Part 2

So I returned to WoW after a 2 year break. I first got into WoW around this time 6 years ago, playing Raxiel my Human Paladin, through Vanilla, then the expansions: 'The Burning Crusade' and 'Wrath of the Litch King' and had a lot of fun in the process, I'd take the odd break for a month or three, but I always returned. By the time the third expansion 'Cataclysm' came out however I was feeling pretty burned out. I deactivated my account, and as this blog has shown, I was introduced to Second Life.

Time passed and I got to thinking about WoW again. Coinciding with the latest expansion, one of my workmates who still plays sent me a 'Scroll of Resurrection' that allowed me to re-activate my account for a 1 week trial. I had fun, and hearing all my old guildmates discussing the new content was enough to tempt me to buy the expansion and 3 months of gametime.

Transmogrification - the end of the clown suit.
I've always liked to create characters that look good. While some of the graphics in WoW are showing their age they certainly have some good artists. Unfortunately its WARcraft and if you want to survive ever increasing dangers you need your gear, and the new stuff doesn't always look as good or match as well as the old stuff (In fact it often doesn't). That means that, especially when levelling your character at the start of a new expansion, you often look like a bit of a patchwork, wearing random pieces of armour that you found or were rewarded from quests.
Although they've gotten better at providing a consistent style so you don't look like this:

Source: Penny Arcade



But while I’ve been away, they introduced a new feature - Transmogrification
Basically 'mogging as its known, allows you to replace the graphical model of an item, with that of an equivalent item. So with certain caveats (you can’t make plate armour look like cloth for example), you can look the way you want to. And I’ve been having a lot of fun going through my bank and/or gathering old items I liked the look of to make my 'Transmogrification Sets'.

Protection (Tanking) Set.
Tanking involves holding the attention of monsters and absorbing the damage they do so that squishy healers and damage dealers can do their jobs without getting killed. So when I put this set together, I wanted a look that says 'Indestructible'.



The outfit was still evolving as I took these shots. It’s mostly Lightbringer Plate - (Paladin Tier 6 set) and matching belt and boots to give an Alliance themed blue and gold look.



The T6 helmet consists of a shining gold halo, which looks nice but doesn't exactly look sturdy, Greathelm of the Bold matches the set colours and looks like a 'proper helmet' You can see his eyes too, which I like.
I’ve not got the set legs yet so I went with Turalion's Greaves (Tier 9) Originally I chose boots that match T6 (Pearl inlaid boots), but I later  decided to switch to a pair that match these legs (Sabatons of the lingering vortex)



Weapon started out as ‘The Unbreakable Will’, until I found a weapon I liked: ‘Honor's Call’, an epic reputation reward from Honor Hold. It even comes with its own glow! Given the choice I’d use my ‘Thunderfury’ but it’s a legendary weapon and, sadly, can’t be used for transmogrification.



The shield is Bulwark of Azzinoth, it’s something I got with a bit of luck while collecting the T6 pieces but is (as far as I know) the most substantial shield in the game.



Retributio​n (Damage dealing) Set.
This set is mostly Avengers Battlegear - (Paladin Tier 2.5 set). I chose this set for a couple of reasons.
First of all, to me it feels like it has a predatory vibe, the lines and spikes make it look aggressive and fast.
Secondly, it stands out. I've not seen anyone else wearing this set so far.

I've not been able to get the matching pieces yet, so I went With the Vengefull Gladiator'​s gloves (Arena season 3) and Judgement (Tier 2) belt.

Weapon is Ashkandi - Greatsword of the Brotherhoo​d. The great thing about transmogri​fication is that sword looks epic, even though it is in reality a crappy vendor bought uncommon item.

WoW, where did the time go?

So the typist got distracted.

Before Second Life there was World of Warcraft. Before Stacy there was Truesilver.

And (technicaly) Like Stacy, Truesilver was an Alt.

In both worlds, there was a Main called Raxiel

And now that wedding planning, and holiday planning, and university coursework are all behind me, and with the release of the new World of Warcraft expansion: Mists of Pandaria, The original Raxiel has been re-activated:

Appologies to those who were waiting for more skins for the SCS vehicles. I really do intend to finish the Nyan Cat skin for the Gator/Raptor, but the fact is it's just not fun for me. I enjoyed skinning the Sabre because I did it for myself and it gave me a chance to learn more about Photoshop. The UV mapping for the new vehicles is also a lot more fragmented making it significantly harder to do a proper wrap.

My other problem is, I'm not much of a multi-tasker. When I pick a project (be it creating skins for SL or gathering gear in WoW) I throw myself into it almost to the exclusion of anything else. I'm not done with SL, but it was my obsession for 2 years. I'm not leaving, my partner is still there. But for now… its WoW.

More to follow.

OMG 1 year today!

Wow, after flicking back through my post list I just realised that today marks exactly 1 year since I created this blog!

http://stacybluxome.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/begining.html

Time really has flown. I wonder where I'll be a year from now?

If I leave here tomorrow...

...would you still remember me?

This post was originally meant to be about my adventure finding other modes of transport in SL after the fun I had with the Sabre. I got my hands on a Harrier Jump Jet from Amok Dynamics and had a lot of fun with it (at first) but it's been sat as a draft for months because something LL did broke the Sim Crossings, and while they've gotten a bit better, they're still awful.

     

Someone explained to me that I should go easy on the Dev team because the magic that happens behind the scenes is pretty incredible and its a wonder they work at all. The thing is, as an end-user... I don't care! The fact is the result is an experience that's sub-par. The amount of rubber-banding over region crossings (Assuming you actually manage to cross and don't have to close the viewer and log in again - loosing the vehicle at the time) makes driving annoying and flying downright frustrating. Will it ever be fixed? Perhaps, but I've got my doubts. LL is after all the organisation that (apparently) put the Mesh Deformer on the backburner because Mesh clothing wasn't proving popular (perhaps because we still don't have a deformer yet FFS!). It's sapped all my enthusiasm for vehicle based exploration, and even to a certain extent SL as a whole.

Some good things have happened in the meantime though. Moo Spyker has expanded the range of SCS3 vehicles with The Gator command truck and Raptor APC. They are just as fun to drive as the Sabre and the gator is amphibious! (The raptor may be too, not tried it yet) If I can't fly across the Blake sea I can at least drive across it LOL. I also created a new 'Urban' Black and white cammo scheme for the sabre.

 

M'good friend Samantha Glume from SGE hooked me up with a Gator and Raptor so I could produce some skins to match the ones I've done for the sabre. So far I've only done a green Cammo for the Gator (wrapping the pattern is harder for these vehicles). The plan is to produce more, but things have been on a bit of Hiatus lately due to me getting hitched IRL! After a lovely two weeks in Italy life is getting back to normal.

Now that's out of the way posts should (Hopefully) resume some kind of frequency.

Ugh...

I really ought to make a new post. I've even had a draft one sat in blogger for about a month.

I'll get it done, promise.

In The Club

In my last post I talked about my new tank and the Syzygy community convoys that inspired me to buy it. What I didn't mention is that the community has now formed an official 'Tank Club' with a presence on the mainland with a shiny new HQ on Jeogeot.
You can see the club house in various stages of completion in the background of several shots in the last post. Its largely done now (although I'm sure there will forever be tweaks) and well worth a visit at: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Vacit/61/160/73

I also continued to tweak and change things with a new tank skin. After chatting with Imogen, I wanted to make her a 'Tabby Tank' with a tiger print pattern. One thing I'd been unhappy with on my earlier efforts was the way the pattern 'jumped' between sections (There are a total of 8 separate texture files UV mapped to different parts of the tank) So this time I set out to figure out the joins and make sure the end result was contiguous.

After much pixelsmithing in Photoshop SE I had what I felt was my best skin yet.

Tip: If you log into the second life Beta Grid you can upload textures using Beta L$ (You get L$40k) to 'preview' things. Once you know it all works you only have to pay the L$80 to upload to the 'proper' grid once.

I wasn't the only one who thought so, Samantha Glume, one of the founders and first club leader noticed my skin 'wrap' and asked me if I'd be interested in producing an official 'club' skin. The skin would also include a club logo based on the Syzygy logo.

I was delighted, and got started the club skin first. After my success with the tabby tank I wanted to do a 'traditional' green cammo pattern. I found what I wanted in the form of 'Multicam' from Crye Precision. This would be my most detailed skin yet, even using rotation and mirroring of the pattern to produce even fewer breaks between sections (in the end I don't think there were any at all).

I also had a logo to do. I didn't know if Sam wanted me to actually do it, or just come up with a skin on which to place it, but I drafted up some suggestions and was encouraged to continue.

My brief from Sam was a tank bursting through a Syzygy logo with a line of people to represent the membership - specifically the different genders and species. I took snapshots of people I saw around the clubhouse at the times I was there, and cut them out of the background to make a row of shillouettes. Since I'd finished the camo tank I took a shot of that in a similar pose to an image Sam suggested to me. Since the turret can only be turned in first person mode i had to use an alt to get the shot.
Although I did use actual club members shillouetes at the front it's not meant to be exclusive, but to show that anyone is welcome. I'd have liked to have more people on it, but it was important to keep things simple, so it could still be recognised even at a small scale.

After a few variations I came up with two versions. A detailed version, and a 'stylised' version. Personally I quite liked the latter but it seems I was overruled as most people seem to prefer the 'HD' version.

As well as my skins, the logo is also used on the signs over the building, and on our awesome animated membership cards courtesy of club member and tentacle connoisseur Mr Elric Anatine
Of course, I added the finalised logo to the tank too:

Its not all work though, we've had a couple more 'mainland convoys', travelling around route 9. We had a lot of fun, despite the joys of sim-crossings. I could post the pictures here, but they wouldn't even come close to this frankly outstanding video from my very talented club compatriot BW Jinxing:

I've watched it several times and i'm still not bored of it, great soundtrack, great choice of shots, and I even got a closeup :D

While chilling out back at the clubhouse after one run Moto (the current leader, and another of the clubs many, bright creative types) broke out her 'Nyannon' (I think I spelled that right lol) which is basically a Nyan Cat Cannon.

One of my first ideas for a tank skin included Nyan Cat, but I had no idea how to actually do it. Now, seeing the Nyannon, something clicked in my head and suddenly I knew what I had to do:

The girl you want

I wonder how many people will get that title.

Recently I became aware of the Syzygy Community, and their 'mainland tank convoy'. After watching the video I decided it looked like great fun, and after trying the demo for the particular model of tank they use, I wanted to join in.

If you're a regular reader you'll know I can't do anything without making an outfit for it. I knew it would include my 'Wind Dancer' hat from my Cyberpunk outfit, and after changing a few pieces around I settled on the Gravity outfit from my last post, with human skin, the Wind Dancer hat and the Eyepatch from LoveCats Ahoy!

I also added a grenade belt and a gun for effect. Over the course of writing this blog post, I've also created a few variations with different colour base layers. So far the red is my favourite.

I was pretty happy with my look, and since I was planning on exploring the mainland, which involves a lot of sim crossings, I needed to keep my script count down. This outfit succeeded there too, with the only script coming from the Firestorm Viewer Bridge (except for the cigarette I used as a prop in a few of the shots) - Those deletable resize scripts really come in handy.

Now, the tank in question - The Spyker Combat System Sabre Main Battle Tank (SCS Sabre MBT) is not cheap, in fact, at L$3000 it's quite expensive. But after going over it a few times, I decided to take the plunge and bought one of my own. One of the features is you can change the colours, and the texture files are full permission, so you can extract them and customise them yourself.

But before I got into that I wanted to play!

I decided to take a Tour of Route 12, which runs East to West on the Nautilus Continent, with a couple of spurs off to the south.

 Starting off in Rannveig things looked a bit run-down, a theme continued round the next bend where the skyline was dominated by the image of a 40 foot half naked woman advertising a strip show.

But of course this is the grid and next to it was a rather nice garden parcel.

I'm not gonna give commentary for the whole trip, the pictures can speak for themselves but there are a few highlights.

Crossing through Estruda I passed the parcel we used to live on, and I still regret leaving. Perhaps one day we'll return.

When you get the the far north west, the pavement gives way to a dirt track.

Off road is no problem, but there are certainly some tight spots that needed slow and steady driving, especially when they were bordered by no entry parcels.
And the occasional dead stop when a sim was restarting.

   

Of course no trip on the mainland roads is complete without encounters with AnneMarie O'Toole's bot cars.

At first I didn't mind them, they added a bit of flavour to the otherwise quiet roads, and I even decided to be helpfull and report any stuck ones I found. I even saw her come to deal with a tank that had got stuck on Linden land.

After a while though, I started to get a bit fed up of them. If she finds one on a no-entry parcel she just leaves it for the owner to return. She uses an alt for 'breakdown recovery' but they can obviously edit her items, so why not just return them if they're stuck?
That's not my biggest issue though. My problem is they are physical objects that drive like they are drunk.
I'll admit that my tank is quite wide, and on the narrower sections of road I accept I might need to pull over to the side and give way, but I can be approaching one on a nice wide section of road, and it will swerve across into me. Or even better, I stop to take a picture and all of a sudden I'm getting a proctological exam!

Don't get me wrong, I don't want them gone from the grid, but they could be a lot better. The 'pods' you see giving tours along the road seem to move much more smoothly and they're phantom too, so apart from the odd photobomb they cause no problems at all.

But thats enough whining from me.

After getting a copy of the Texture files I set to work creating a custom version. My first problem was actually figuring out what to do. I asked Imogen what she'd do, and it didn't take long for her to reply 'pink'.
So after running a few patterns past her,  I made a pink camouflage one:

 

That gave me the inspiration I needed. Red and black are my colours, so I looked at various red camo textures before settling on a digital pattern. I was feeling patriotic so I found a nice 'hand painted' Union Jack decal to add a finishing touch.

  

I'm really happy with my tank, I've been of a few little drives. Would be nicer if there were more actual people on the roads, but the same could be said about most of the grid, for now I'm looking forward to the next tank club cruise.

Oh and the reference in the title?