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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 04, 2021 03:52 AM |
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Edited by fred79 at 11:30, 04 Aug 2021.
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got everything made except the dwelling and the sounds, which i'm working on now. can anyone reach axolotl on the russian forum and ask if it's ok for his Will 'O Wisp to be released as a def?
edit: cool. i figured out how to remove the faerie dragons' spell casting ability altogether so they are strictly melee(sadly, still cannot remove the enchanter's preemptive spell ability). now, i will have to fix the color for the outer edges of the will 'o wisps' 216 frames to improve them. simple, but tedius. still working here and there on their dwelling; and have compiled, but not started on, the sounds yet.
ok, the tweaking of all the frames are done. now the only two things left to complete a viable release, are the dwelling and sounds. that, and to get the go-ahead from axolotl.
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avatar
Promising
Supreme Hero
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posted August 04, 2021 12:09 PM |
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Will-o-wisp as a .def was released many months ago as part of axolotl creatures vcmi mod.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 04, 2021 01:08 PM |
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lol, really? good god. got a quick link so i can compare? just finished the base of the dwelling.
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avatar
Promising
Supreme Hero
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posted August 04, 2021 01:37 PM |
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Sure!
https://www.mediafire.com/file/g26q3a53yjm79z3/acp_1.0.zip/file
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 04, 2021 01:44 PM |
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Edited by fred79 at 15:27, 04 Aug 2021.
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thanks. i don't know how in the hell i missed that; i could have sworn the release only included the creature stuff i worked with you on. it looks like that is a better transfer, as well(although i haven't scrutinized it fully yet*).
oh, well. i'll post a screen once i get my own stuff ironed out and see if anything can be salvaged from my past three days of work. 
* after scrutiny, it's apparent whoever did the cutting did a better job than i, but in so doing, also cut out parts of the creature that would otherwise remain intact. so i'm on the fence about which one to use for the final def. the animation lineup is helpful, as i was guessing what went where for defense/hit/turn frames; but i think whoever compiled the def, despite getting the animations in the right place, didn't use the complete set of animations as to provide fluid transition from one animation to the next. as it stands, both versions contain flaws in their animation continuity, but seeing one helps with the other. i can say with more surety, that i find my own dwelling to be superior to the one provided; because of what i believe to be the nature of the creature itself. whereas the VCMI dwelling version is some kind of (?)magic/alien-rock creation(Sparky Meadow), mine is more in line with what i think the nature of the creature is(Divine Path). once i see if i can animate this dwelling of mine properly(for what i have in mind), i'll upload for viewing.
as for the sounds, i can say i'm not a fan. but again, we have different ideas of what this creature is, what it represents, and how it would sound based off of that. so, potato potata.
edit 2: my version's animation is better now, but i still have to work on the turn frames. the ones i'm using, that would seem specifically for that purpose, aren't flowing right.
also, i think i'm going to stick with my version. or at least until i test it on sand or snow.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 05, 2021 01:56 AM |
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Edited by fred79 at 03:12, 05 Aug 2021.
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two more screens of Nighon while ya'll wait for my slow ass to finish the remaining work for the wisp(i had to get some sleep, actually; and ended up sleeping most of the day away):
finally finished the animation of the dwelling:
it's not much, but i prefer it to the one that was released in the axolotl pack.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 05, 2021 03:52 AM |
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just checked my battle def over lighter terrain. the edges are too dark. then i checked the one released in the pack. superior edges, but that transfer was screwed too, because the brightest pixels are absent, leaving visible holes when fighting over darker terrain.
so i have to do another transfer, and redo both the battle def and the adventure map def. 
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avatar
Promising
Supreme Hero
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posted August 05, 2021 09:25 AM |
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fred79 said:
finally finished the animation of the dwelling:
Such a beauty!
____________
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 05, 2021 10:53 AM |
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thanks. the way i view them, Will 'O Wisps are the most saintly creature in nature. they would be the angels of the Rampart faction. beings of pure light; the purest good one can find in nature, that helps the wayward find their destiny. and i wanted their dwelling to reflect that.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 05, 2021 04:09 PM |
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Edited by fred79 at 03:26, 06 Aug 2021.
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re-extracted all the frames from the gif and tweaked them. remade and rebuilt both the battle def(barring revising the turn frames yet) and the adventure map def(along with still frames). once i get the turn animation ironed out and make the sounds i'll be ready to release it.
gotta postpone that work for now though, because i have irl work to do.
edit: fine-tuning the battle def animations using the pack frames as a guide. have my own turn animation, and once i figure out the defend animation(the naming convention is different for the pack version, so i'm having to match the frames manually), i'll be finally done with the def and can move on to the sounds.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 06, 2021 07:41 AM |
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Edited by fred79 at 09:27, 08 Aug 2021.
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done with the def, and i have an idea for some sounds for the creature, but i can't find what i'm looking for on the net, so far. i think i have just the thing, if i can only find it.
edit: still looking for the sound. i haven't given up yet.
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Ancientdruids
Famous Hero
(Andruids for short)
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posted August 08, 2021 11:07 AM |
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 08, 2021 11:51 AM |
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Edited by fred79 at 11:53, 08 Aug 2021.
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thanks for the help. i already had magical chimes sounds that i used for the Dryad, which is why i was trying to steer away from them. that said, the first two damage links might prove useful for something else.
i wanted to see if i could create sounds for it based off of the whooping sound you here in the woods at night in Stranger Things(and go another way with the creature sounds entirely). i haven't been able to find a viable version of that sound, or even something close to it being isolated(i in fact have only come across it once online, which is ridiculous). i've tried listening to night birds like loons, but i haven't been able to find it. ideally, i want something mysterious, that you wouldn't first assume would be the sounds for this kind of creature.
i've also considered the sounds of children(laughter and pout noises), because i think it would suit the colorful and light-hearted def aptly.
as well, i've tested completely mute sounds for it, but i'm not sure i like a more literal take on it. and, it doesn't suit the appearance of the def, either.
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Ancientdruids
Famous Hero
(Andruids for short)
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posted August 08, 2021 06:16 PM |
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 09, 2021 02:06 AM |
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Edited by fred79 at 16:29, 09 Aug 2021.
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apparently there's a phobia for it. i think with the right sound, it should nullify that, tho. something contagious that makes most people smile. 
i'll check out your link asap.
edit 1: that's a nice sound, but not what i'm looking for. thanks again for trying to help; i really do appreciate it.
edit 2: it doesn't look like i'm going to be done with the sounds anytime soon, so here's the Will O' Wisp files i worked on, without the sounds. when i have the sounds made, i'll upload them seperately.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 09, 2021 07:22 PM |
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Edited by fred79 at 22:14, 17 Aug 2021.
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i put the sounds on the back burner while i continue improving the skeletons/corpses. next up are the WoG-added starcraft skeletons.
edit: i recut and optimized 2 of the starcraft skeletons(with one left to go that the WoG team didn't previously add), replaced an old skull, and reworked an existing dragon skeleton and some fossils so they're now all sorted out. the fossils are gone; these are relatively "fresh" creature bones. because why not?
after the last starcraft skeleton, i have to see about fixing/replacing the skeletons i used from diablo, as their clarity level is sub-par. i was able to make at least one set of theirs usable, but i much prefer something clearer from the starting point, so i don't have to go in at the pixel level and essentially redraw the skeleton(which i'm having to do anyway for all this skeleton work).
(updated with latest work)
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 11, 2021 07:35 PM |
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Edited by fred79 at 02:14, 15 Aug 2021.
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i have the 6 human skeletons sorted out now(including the originals); i have yet to fix or replace the other 4.
the surface bulk work of Nighon is now 70% done, as well.
==============
still working on the first campaign map, slowly but steadily. for each visual issue i come across while building it, i have to fix it; and this time it was the beholders'/evil eyes' awful adventure map animations. so, i replaced them, and their avwattak frames, with frames from the battle def. the perspective being slightly off doesn't bother me nearly as much as the snowty animation they used to have. they look much better now, imo. i worked on errant pixels and got everything ironed out, including making sure both the beholders and evil eyes' heads were the same size(and not the abomination in size difference that was the old version):
for whoever wants them, here are those files. you'll have to rename the avwattak frames, as the special characters weren't accepted in the creation of the zip file.
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FirePaladin
Legendary Hero
DoR Modder
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posted August 16, 2021 02:15 AM |
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Great stuff, as always. 
Is that humanoid skeleton a giant (as in, race) skeleton though? I mean, it seems to be pretty big tbh.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 16, 2021 03:55 AM |
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yeah, it's meant to be the last of it's kind. it's a rare-use thing.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted August 23, 2021 03:50 PM |
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Edited by fred79 at 16:06, 23 Aug 2021.
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just stumbled across this jvc interview and this tidbit in particular caught my eye:
Quote:
JVC: ...there were original plans were for a cloud layer... an alternate plane...
pretty cool, that i not only had the same ideas as the big guy, but i even added an additional one: undersea.
now, to continue on my quest to find the creator of the feminist "battle of the sexes" map...
lol, it was JVC's wife, apparently(she worked on a lot of the maps for HoMM2 and 3, according to him). and from what he said, she was the driving force behind the creation and drive of the HoMM series. well, ok then. i'll take the tiny fraction of bad for the good on that one.
never would have thought that a woman nagging could create anything so great. makes me wonder what other great things were created by women nagging their husbands?
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This thread is pages long: 
