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Lythiaren

Improving the Vines

How would you feel about a vine update?  

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Out of all the old sprites I really think the vine was one of the best looking (along with the pebbles) so I wasn't even thinking of them ever getting an update except maybe a shading update. But hey, if something is bothering you, change it. I know how things are when mistakes are noticed by the creator and there's nothing you can do about it. If you get a chance to do something about it, then do something about it. It's your sprite and even though it's really nice of you to ask for opinions that sprite still belongs to you.

 

I vote yes because you seem very eager for a swap.

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Throwing my support in to this~ I didn't actually realize the flytrap was their tail ._.

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EGG - I like the new description, but... one of the nice things about the old description was it's length. It made it stand out a bit, I know any egg with a long description is an egg I want, lol.

Maybe the description could read "This egg was found near the cave, in a patch of grass and small flowers." Something along those lines maybe.

 

HATCHLINGS - I would love to be able to tell the alt from the regular vine at S1. As it is now on my monitor and with my poor eyesight it is impossible for me to tell until S2. Also, hatchling changes won't affect lineages so I don't see much of a possible downside to even a major change to one of the sprites. Seeing one of the hatchlings left in it's original state should satisfy my 'nostalgia' yearnings.

 

ADULT - Yeah, I'm one of those people that likes old sprites and would prefer not to see everything updated to a new style. However I don't have a problem with minor fixes and tweaks to the old sprites. The vine dragon was one of my first dragons and I have always liked them, even if it was a little hard to see the dragon amongst the vines. A bit of shading to make the dragons 'pop' sounds like a great idea, as long as the red and green basically stay true. I really like the colors of the dragon and flowers as they are, they just work well in pairings with some of the other older dragons.

Dimoprhism, generally I like it, but I would prefer not to have a sprite that is drastically different from the original. That doesn't sound like the case here, so I say go for it!

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I voted "yes."

 

The vines have always been one of my favorites, but your changes won't impact the things that make it my favorite.

I also don't use them in any lineages, myself, so any color changes won't affect any plans of mine. (I am mildly concerned about any impact to lineages of previously-bred holiday dragons for others, especially with dimorphism since it was mainly with yulebucks, but from what you have stated I hope they'll be okay).

 

I'm looking forward to seeing the new sprites. smile.gif

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Personally, I would really love this. I like vines a lot, but it's hard for my poor old eyes to make out what's going on in the sprite-- I think it's just too detailed for the color depth it's currently at, or something. And since it would be the original artist doing the update, I have no fear of the vines losing their snappish ferocity in the process. :-)

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Amazingly, I can't think of anything to say about your planned changes. It might be because I'm not as fond of the darkgreens as I am some of the others, but your first three proposals sounds great. I'd like to make suggestions about dimorphism, but I don't think I can accurately do that without seeing the sprite in question, so I guess I'm SOL there.

 

I do have one bit of input on your unplanned changes: I think the alts should get a new hatchling. Primarily, it's because that sprite shows up under four different dragons in the cave, and it actually matches only one of them. And That's Terrible.

But the hatchling has some of the same problems with the alt as it does with yours. It has the wrong shape of face, and the vines sprouting out of the ground and not the dragon's back. It also has a yellow belly, where the adult has no belly scales at all.

And the sprite will still be obtainable from reds, which are landslides easier to get ahold of than alt darkgreens. So I think the alt hatchlings should get a bit of consideration.

 

Also, I've been wondering for a while but never got around to asking - can the dragon actually eat through the flytrap, or is that just a weapon?

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It's your sprite, so if you want to improve it I will not say no smile.gif I like the current sprite, but I'm sure it would look way better if you improved it.

However, I'm against dimorphism. I didn't like it when black dragons got dimorphism nor do I still like it. This is just a personal opinion, though, and if you feel the vine dragons should have dimorphism go ahead. After all you're the person who sprited them smile.gif

Edited by Draas

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I admit, I have a soft spot for the old hatchling base, but since it would stay with the alt and the red, holly and the bright pink still have it... oh well, I see why the change would make a lot of sense and I say that decision is up to you.

 

I do have to say, I can see the adult just fine and the dirt never bothered me, actually I always thought the vine was one of the best, most detailed and most interesting sprites on this site. But if you want to update it, do go ahead. I recently said I was against changing old sprites, but that is just the point. The gold was changed dramatically, but what you're planning only sounds like an update, not a change change if you know what I mean xd.png. I'm fine with that.

 

About the egg, I really don't care. Really, you can overthink everything.

 

Dimorphism - I'm all for it. We get to keep one sprite and have another one on top of it, what's not to like.

 

Edit: Many people have stated they do not like all dragons looking the same and I strongly agree. I don't really like the dithered, textured, shiny feel most new dragons seem to have. The only textured dragon I ever really enjoyed actually was the Frill xd.png I still don't like the new eggs either. Would you keep that in mind when you work on them? It's a thing that bothers so many people smile.gif

Edited by blah

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I can't really vote for change til I see what it's changing TO. Although I'm firmly behind maybe making the actual dragon stand out from the tendrils and plant-things. It took me the longest time to figure out what was what and where was where.

 

ETA: And I fully support dimorphism!

Edited by Ayelldee

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I would support additional shading and small anatomy tweaks as well as a redone hatchling. I'm unsure of dimorphism though and I wouldn't want the current sprite totally redone.

 

If dimorphism is implemented I would hope that the female spirte matches the male in color in feel...maybe different color flowers at the most.

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I never really looked at the Vine sprite so intently. o.o Whoa.

 

I do like the general idea of this update. The plant looks a bit dull due to the minty-green colouring and now that I've actually taken a look at this dragon, I see that you can only really see up to his neck. :c Some dirt removal would be nice.

 

For some reason I'm unable to see what's wrong with the hatchling. xd.png It would be born without its horns and sharp beak-snout, no?

Edited by xoSeasonal

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Huh. I always thought that the green horn on the hatchling was just the vine wrapped around it. But I never thought about how the adult hasn't got yellow horns... /derp

 

I wouldn't mind an update on these, and will probably enjoy some dimorphism. I'd also go for updating the egg description. Since we're not exactly in a cave any more, it doesn't make sense. And if more people grab CB vines they don't want, well hey. Plenty of opportunity to trade or dump 'em.

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Yes to everything else, but please please no dimorphism! In principle, I don't hate dimorphism, but I hate the way it is usually executed. The males usually look epic/badass/dangerous while the females end up looking more demure, or, at best, threatening in a more subtle way. If you're going to do dimorphism, make the female just as tough-looking and in-your-face vicious as the male. The way you describe the female having a more "subtle viciousness" makes me think they're going to end up looking like the female embers compared to the male embers, or the female blacks compared to the male blacks. If you going to do dimorphism, both sprites should be equally awesome and it shouldn't look like one has been shortchanged. Examples of "dimorphism done right" include the Sunsongs, the Nebulas, the BBWs, the Sunrises/Sunsets, and a few other examples. The great thing about these breeds is that while there are different sprites for the males and females, there is no way that you could tell just by looking which sprite the spriter intended to be the male and which to be the female. They look like the same dragon with the same attitude, neither is more subtle or feminine compared to the other, and both genders are equally dynamic and interesting. I am sure the spriters aren't doing this on purpose but there is a great deal of "subconscious sexism" at play when you look at male sprites compared to female sprites. When you look at dragons that are on the completed list but aren't in the cave yet, the situation seems even worse. It's like, the sprites that are already in the cave are influencing many up-and-coming spriters to think that their females need to somehow be less active, less dynamic, less threatening, than the males. I'm just so tired of it. sad.gif

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But I believe NOT giving new hatchies to the alts will make things easier for people to distinguish alts from regulars. ^^ I've seen a lot of confusion with the s1 hatchies looking so much like each other.

I didn't realize that there WAS an alt s2. I thought you only saw that at s2. tongue.gif

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I say go for it! Its not something I think is desperately essential, but they're your babies, and there's no suggestion I find myself thinking wouldn't make the breed better.

 

Personally, I like dimorphism. I know some people hate it, but I'm one who enjoys multiple sprites. It lets you see more of the breed.

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Huh. I always thought that the green horn on the hatchling was just the vine wrapped around it.

That actually is the case.

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tbh i am not a fan of the vines myself but i am tired of all these "updates" to sprites. even so the way the vine was done makes it very unique and i can appreciate that about it.

 

not all of the "old style" needs to be replaced with a "new style" - yes, i know they won't match but that's fine. they shouldn't have to match.

 

and tbh i think a lot of people keep voting for updates because they just like new sprites in general. we don't really get a lot of releases (at least I dont think so; not in comparison to the sprite list already done and all the gorgeous artwork on there) so getting a sprite update it almost like a new release.

 

i voted no, obviously. and while i'm sure the finished sprite is lovely, i would rather just have it as a new release rather than convert/change yet another dragon on people's scrolls. at the very least people should be able to keep the ones they have and only the "new" vines be dropped. Vines are much more common that golds so there's a lot more planned lineages out there with them. Then there are the tinsels....

 

BTW, what's happening to the alts? are we getting rid of them completely? i didn't see what would become of them.

Edited by thiefofhearts

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BTW, what's happening to the alts? are we getting rid of them completely? i didn't see what would become of them.

Nothing, alts would stay the same.

 

Lyth would like to change the non-alt hatchlings, though, so that they match the non-alt adult. The positive side effect to this would be easier differentiation between alt and non-alt vine, so that those with difficulty distinguishing color differences won't have to wait until s2.

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Nothing, alts would stay the same.

 

Lyth would like to change the non-alt hatchlings, though, so that they match the non-alt adult. The positive side effect to this would be easier differentiation between alt and non-alt vine, so that those with difficulty distinguishing color differences won't have to wait until s2.

so only the regulars are getting a male and female sprite? is this correct? also will the new hatchlings also be male/female or are they staying the same?

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I'm totally for the sprite change/update/dimorphism :3 Until reading the OP, I had no idea that the flytrap was actually its tail! xd.png And knowing that we'll actually be able to tell the difference between a regular hatchie and an alt, that's awesome (not that I couldn't tell the difference already, but you know what I mean) :3 I can't wait to see the female sprite and hatchies smile.gif I love this idea! Whether the changes are drastic or subtle, I'm all for it biggrin.gif

 

I do have a question though. It was stated in the OP that the hatchies have 3 blooms, and the adults only 2. So does that mean, the hatchies will be dimorphic as well, since the now-made female has 3 blooms, not 2? ^^; Correct me if I'm wrong x'3

 

ETA: Just thought I'd add (in case of confusion), I love the sprites as they are, but I'm also accepting/excited about the updates :3 I can't wait to see what Lythiaren has up her sleeve tongue.gif

Edited by FluffyPillow

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Would it be possible for the alt vine adult to be updated as well? Or if they cannot be updated, perhaps they could be replaced?

 

user posted image

 

It took me ages before I even realized that there was an actual dragon in this sprite.

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