2015-12-03 - Sprite Update (Round Two)

[liga]

wow, the female sprite is so gorgeous! <3

[Asketil]

I think I SORT of get what you are saying... but to be honest, I always sort of pictured Silvers as a'sweet' and gentle breed. Maybe others saw them differently but...I guess they always struck as not particularly fierce dragons.

I agree, plus the encyclopedia says they are more playful but also very able hunters

Adult Behavior

  - This breed has a playful nature.

    - Can sometimes be seen frolicking in meadows, waterfalls or rainbows.

    - They seem able to live peacefully even with breeds known for their aggression.

    - Silver dragons enjoy beautiful scenery.

    - Males are careful to kill quickly and cleanly when hunting.

    - The glow of a silver dragon appears to have a pacifying effect on other species.

[lanette]

The new Splits are awesome! As for the Silvers...I'm not a huge fan (the old ones were one of my favorites). They look overly shaded (especially the male), the manes look way too much for the rest of the body and the head of the male look too thin. But I'll be happy that at least the old pose was kept.

 

 

[Myra the Sark]

It seems to me that people are complaining for the sake of complaining.

The Silver dragons don't have wings. They have not been "westernized". The sprite, in my opinion, looks a lot neater now.

[kerrikins]

It seems to me that people are complaining for the sake of complaining.

The Silver dragons don't have wings. They have not been "westernized". The sprite, in my opinion, looks a lot neater now.

Why would you think that? Art is subjective. What looks good to you may not necessarily look good to others. The idea of whether or not the sprite is 'Westernized' may be something that people are off on, but that might be just the best way for them to express their feelings about the sprite.

[Tawanda001]

It seems to me that people are complaining for the sake of complaining.

The Silver dragons don't have wings. They have not been "westernized". The sprite, in my opinion, looks a lot neater now.

I think it's because the more defined chest and waist makes them look less serpentine than before. I think there would be a similar reaction if the striped rivers suddenly bulked up and looked more like a horse or dog than a snakelike thing with legs.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Tawanda001

[janasternenreise]

Beautiful!<3

[silvara7]

Thanks, TJ and the spriter(s)! silvers have always been my favorites but now they look less stylized and more real.

[sene]

I figured it was inappropriate to respond to this post in the thread that it's actually from, since I don't plan on replying to the suggestion it's for. But this did get me thinking, and being the spreadsheet junkie that I am, I had to see the stats play out. Maybe others might be interested in my number crunching? The google doc link is here (click on the graphs to see the numbers that don't fit!).

 

Nice charts and tables!

 

That said, that's assuming an even distribution of replacements, which is patently false. In fact, most (almost all) of the replaced sprites are from way back in 2008—the original sprites from the big replacement project that happened. Those sprites were created to a much more limited set of criteria (strict color limit, smaller size expectations) that they simply can't compete with sprites created even a few years later.

 

I am sorry but I just think it is unfair to say that old silvers "can't compete with other new sprites"

Edited December 5, 2015 by sene

[Lindy]

aaaaaa these are beauty

[Hazel]

These are stunning. <3

[Clya]

I still can't bring myself to seriously fall in love with the Two-Headeds, but the sprites are beautiful! (Although I can't particularly fall in love with them) Thanks for taking the time to do that Odeen!

 

And oh my thank you LadyLyzar for the Silver sprites!

 

(I do hope I didn't remember who did what correctly )

[schenanigans]

I am sorry but I just think it is unfair to say that old silvers "can't compete with other new sprites" 

Artistically, they don't. Their shading was incredibly simple, the lines weren't the cleanest, etc.

 

The only reason they WERE considered "competitive" is because of the nostalgia and attachment that the player base had. Nobody was complaining about them, because they weren't terrible and were stylized. But compared to the type of dragons & the detail that spriters are able to put into their work now is way more intricate than what was shown on the previous sprites.

 

Nothing against our old silvers, of course, I loved them just as well

[Sturmschwinge]

I love the adult sprites, but it's super sad that the cutest hatchling sprites of them all (two-headed) got replaced.

[Tehya Faye]

I had fun playing with the new silvers the past couple nights.

[stagazer_7]

I had fun playing with the new silvers the past couple nights.

Those are some really nice combinations <3 - I also struck gold in the AP by catching this cutie, I think this looks rather nice.

[Tehya Faye]

Those are some really nice combinations <3 - I also struck gold in the AP by catching this cutie, I think this looks rather nice.

Oooh~ I did like it in Paint, but that combo looks even nicer in the cave itself.

[Dracaena]

It seems to me that people are complaining for the sake of complaining.

The Silver dragons don't have wings. They have not been "westernized". The sprite, in my opinion, looks a lot neater now.

Is this the pivot point of why some people, including TJ, insist that what we were given for silver dragon replacement is still an eastern? That it doesn't have wings?! That is like putting a random tree into a shallow pot and calling it a bonsai. The container doesn't make the tree into a bonsai and lack of wings doesn't make a dragon an eastern.

 

I've been seriously suspecting that much of the problem is that TJ doesn't understand what an eastern dragon really is. And I don't expect to be able to teach him.

 

I take it that sprite replacements are common in other adoptables games and we have to keep up with the Joneses. Let you in on a little secret, I don't play other pet adoptable games and have no desire to. I have done clicks at Yarolds and seen quite a few of the different ones out there and not one has caught my attention.

 

Trouble is Dragon Cave is now getting a vote of no confidence from me. Hard to get enthusiastic about a game where at any time the owner can come along and take dragons off my scroll. Yeah I know it's his world and he can do what he wants and my only option is the door, careful it doesn't hit me on the butt as I leave. Just trying to decide if what I have left is worth staying for.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Dracaena

[Odeen]

I had fun playing with the new silvers the past couple nights.

Out of list I think these are my favorites, in no particular order:

 

Male Silver x Female Blue Gemshard (hype!)

Male Thalassa x Female Silver

Male Nocturne x Female Silver (this was surprising)

Male Silver x Female Undine

Male Undine x Female Silver

MaleGaia x Female Silver (also surprising)

 

I'd like to see how the striped rivers look with male silvers rather than females, and I already know that the Silver x Solstice pairing has become absolutely sublime thanks to the update. My Male Silver x THW line has also fared well, and of course I give zero poops about any updates as long as they still look great with Deep Sea which both male and female silvers do!

[sene]

Artistically, they don't. Their shading was incredibly simple, the lines weren't the cleanest, etc.

 

The only reason they WERE considered "competitive" is because of the nostalgia and attachment that the player base had. Nobody was complaining about them, because they weren't terrible and were stylized. But compared to the type of dragons & the detail that spriters are able to put into their work now is way more intricate than what was shown on the previous sprites.

 

Nothing against our old silvers, of course, I loved them just as well

Not an artist but I think art is more than shading and lines. At least old silvers match perfectly with almost all other dragons and there were many beautiful lineages. People were not just "not complaining". There are a lot of posts in this thread saying old silver was their favorite - I do not think it is only because of nostalgia and attachment.

 

I guess what I want to say is, I do not see the necessity to update silver in the first place. It is okay if there is one though. We'll want better images on our scroll right? I am not resistant to sprite update, as long as my lineages are fine.

[Tehya Faye]

I'd like to see how the striped rivers look with male silvers rather than females,

Here is the Silver x Striped River pairing. Definitely nice.

[Odeen]

Here is the Silver x Striped River pairing. Definitely nice.

Awww yiss I love the subtlety there.

[stagazer_7]

Male Silver x Female Blue Gemshard (hype!)

I really, really like this combo and I'm veery tempted to try for a 3rd get at least, but trying to reach 4th gen with them would probably leave me in a dire need of a wig due to all the hair pulling in the process. With my luck, after breeding forever and finally getting both the Silver and the blue Gemshard, the pair would probably refuse. I'll save this one for when a time I'm in the mood to tackle a super challenging project.

 

I'm also happy that my Sweetling x Silver lines didn't suffer due to the update and still look nice.

[Auriene]

Is this the pivot point of why some people, including TJ, insist that what we were given for silver dragon replacement is still an eastern?  That it doesn't have wings?!  That is like putting a random tree into a shallow pot and calling it a bonsai.  The container doesn't make the tree into a bonsai and lack of wings doesn't make a dragon an eastern.

 

In my opinion, only the original Silver Dragon looked like a typical eastern dragon, assuming that the typical eastern means long, coiled, serpentine body, mane, whiskers etc.

 

Old sprites, especially the female Silver, were never truly "eastern" for me and maybe that's why I can't understand why some people have this "westernized!" problem. Eastern dragons are basically great, powerful serpents with legs. Now try to imagine old Silvers without legs - they didn't even have typical "eastern" proportions, their tails were visibly thinner and more delicate than the rest of their bodies. Maybe the male's broken neck was meant to look like an elegant curve, but that didn't make the sprite fully "eastern". And if it wasn't fully "eastern" in the first place, what is the point in talking about "westernization"?

[NotBambi]

Not an artist but I think art is more than shading and lines. At least old silvers match perfectly with almost all other dragons and there were many beautiful lineages. People were not just "not complaining". There are a lot of posts in this thread saying old silver was their favorite - I do not think it is only because of nostalgia and attachment.

 

I guess what I want to say is, I do not see the necessity to update silver in the first place. It is okay if there is one though. We'll want better images on our scroll right? I am not resistant to sprite update, as long as my lineages are fine.

I guess we would need to agree on disagreeing: IMO nostalgia and attachment were the biggest factors for the insistence on keeping those (wonky-looking and passe') Silver sprites and on not seeing the necessity to update anything. Anyway, from TJ's posts, I assume that other old sprites will be updated as well. We will see how that goes.

Frankly I was not expecting this update to be painless as others were. Mostly because of the weird neck of the old male sprite and the dull grayish color that was all but silver, as referenced over and over again in past threads. Just to fix those two characteristics, the new sprites had to be substantially different from the old ones. And the Silvers needed to be updated also to reflect the the fact that the breed is one of the only two flagship dragons in the biomes.

Edited December 6, 2015 by NotBambi