darkSpyro

There seems to be a lot of negativity directed towards Ripto on Facebook.

I... I love how he looks. His giant head is oddly adorable on that tiny body. Gnasty Gnorc and The Sorceress look ready to kick some tail.

Love the new art, but Ripto's design is too far gone. I legitimately couldn't tell it was him for a while, and in general, they should only update his design, not completely redo it.

The design doesn't look bad, it just doesn't look like him anymore. If it was a design for a new character there would be no issue but he doesn't even have the same silhouette anymore.

I'm personally waiting until we see an actual in-game screenshot or something before forming a definite opinion on the new Ripto. Things can definitely look waaaaaay different in actual 3D execution then they do on in painted 2D, or vice versa.

Ripto looks very... Emperor Tachyon. It may take getting used to, but considering I always thought Ripto was proto-Tachyon, I suppose this means we've come full circle. This is the art (vs an actual in-game model), but I'll admit his caught me the most off guard.

Ripto looks like a creepy serial killer, ready to pounce on you with a box cutter knife. I see the the dinosaurs and think "They know they wanna eat those dumb cavemen, how doing this annoys the player and they're loving every second."

Ripto is...definitely throwing me off. I think it's mostly the snake eyes. They almost make him look a little too evil when my perception of him is more like "that small, angry dude who's causing a ruckus". I feel like keeping round pupils would still allow him to seem mean, but bring him back a little closer to that goofiness.

I was curious how that'd look so I did a quick mock up in Photoshop... I'll leave y'all to judge it for yourselves.



I'm also kinda surprised at the direction they took the fire wizard dude, since he's made entirely of flames in the OG but now he's got rocks. That'll take some getting used to for me, as well.

Other than those two things, I absolutely love this cover art. It parallels the NSane Trilogy art quite well with the three-way split (and even has the same first 2 colors, green and blue), and the other characters shown look awesome. I particularly love the t-rexes and how fearsome Gnasty looks!

^I think Toys for Bob wanted Ripto's design to be a middle ground between Spyro 2 and Enter the Dragonfly.

Honestly, if I HAD to pick one thing that raises my eyebrow about this first 2D look at Ripto, it'd be the decision to give him long curly-toe shoes?

Just... Trying to think of where the inspiration that decision could have come from, lol

I think they might have extended his shoes to give his design more stability: saw an editing either of Twitter or Reddit and he looked even more awkward without them.
Still, this doesn’t mean he needed them anyway, just in this particular case.

I somehow have the feeling we are getting the wrong idea about his proportions due to a funny perspective, and also think he’ll look much less “imp-ish” in-game.
I do like they tried to make him different from the actual dinosaurs, since he should come from an entirely different world from Avalar, which makes me think both Crush and Gulp will be more similar to the Lava Lizards in terms of general features.
I like how they preserved their giant fang while still providing them with teeth, gonna guess Ripto’s henchmen will undergo a similar change.

I kind of like what they did to Ripto

tbh I have more issues with the fire guy more than ripto. sometimes I feel that just because they have more power and graphical hardware compared to what they did back in the day, still doesn't mean they can't do any basic designs :\

Bear in mind the 3d in game model might be different from the cover art. I dislike His shoes and skinny body personally.

Quote: Tsutori

Ripto is...definitely throwing me off. I think it's mostly the snake eyes. They almost make him look a little too evil when my perception of him is more like "that small, angry dude who's causing a ruckus". I feel like keeping round pupils would still allow him to seem mean, but bring him back a little closer to that goofiness.

I was curious how that'd look so I did a quick mock up in Photoshop... I'll leave y'all to judge it for yourselves.



I'm also kinda surprised at the direction they took the fire wizard dude, since he's made entirely of flames in the OG but now he's got rocks. That'll take some getting used to for me, as well.

Other than those two things, I absolutely love this cover art. It parallels the NSane Trilogy art quite well with the three-way split (and even has the same first 2 colors, green and blue), and the other characters shown look awesome. I particularly love the t-rexes and how fearsome Gnasty looks!

still better than the ETD design

I'm not a fan of Ripto's look if I'm honest. However, that is just artwork.

Well the baddies have classe now
People who complain about ripto snake eye... it still better than this

Gameplay of the Reignited Trilogy will be shown at E3 tommorow via YouTube live, apparently: https://twitter.com/SpyroUnive...494495163666432

Quote: Clank

Gameplay of the Reignited Trilogy will be shown at E3 tommorow via YouTube live, apparently: https://twitter.com/SpyroUnive...494495163666432

OMG, please...

Absolutely can’t wait to see the new footage.
Very strongly wishing it will be some level we still haven’t seen in any shape or form.
Admittedly crossing my fingers for some Dream Weavers locations.
Let’s hope they won’t show too much, though, wouldn’t want to see an entire level being played.
At least we’ll get something before the Sony conference.
Really can’t wait for the E3 content!

I hope for female Dragon Elders in Spyro the Dragon.

Here’s a video from Game Informer which states basically the same things they said in the interview:



There are a couple new bits of informations, though.

Apparently Stone Hill was playable as well, they even mention the egg thief (and how they weren’t able to hear his signature laugh because they were too busy yelling at the screen) and say that he now has a bit more “bounciness” to his animation.

They also confirmed how TfB asked Insomniac if they originally intended the games to have much more details than they ended up having, and they answered that they indeed wanted to make them even more gorgeous but were held back by the technology: this is basically the Spyro experience they wanted to deliver, and I couldn’t be happier it’s actually happening.

Plus they talked about Elders’ designs varying a lot, probably beyond accessories and body features, and talked about a bartender dragon from a concept art; no idea where he could fit.

Finally, they mentioned how the team is still debating on whether gems should “float” above the grass or if they should make them more sparkly or glowy to make them more noticeable.
I think a stronger shining effect would do.

Oh boy, I sure do like nothing of value really being said.

In all seriousness, I just watched a play through of Artisan’s World in Spyro 1 and so I am anxious to take a better look at the game tomorrow

Quote: TheToyNerd

Oh boy, I sure do like nothing of value really being said.

In all seriousness, I just watched a play through of Artisan’s World in Spyro 1 and so I am anxious to take a better look at the game tomorrow

I know right? this was pretty much video format of the article they made, repeating what they said with a little flavor.

regarding the gems, do not make them float!
just making them larger and glisten & gleam to make them stand out.

Am I the only one who likes Ripto's new look?

Quote: King-Pen Krazy

Am I the only one who likes Ripto's new look?

I like Ripto's new look, I don't have a problem with any of the enemy designs so far.

I really, REALLY want to see the barista dragon.

Barista dragon?

They mentioned every Artisans dragon seems to be inspired by different art outfits. I think they meant a barista art student dragon but that was probably a joke?

I don't mind Ripto's design, I like it better than the dino redesigns but even then, I don't hate those either

Ok Youtube Gaming's coverage of Spyro with Geoff Keighley just went by. Posting some screenshots of the dragons they found in just a bit.





The player sucked, but we saw a bunch of the basics. Movement seems all right.

edit: archive

Wow, they indeed saved the best for last.

I’m constantly impressed by how TfB seems to crush all of my concerns and doubts with every new content they release.

Basics first.
Movement looks great (can’t believe they actually retained his original walking animation along with his new trotting one), collisions give off a sense of “solidity” like they used to, camera is spot-on (though I do wish they’ll still keep the active option and integrate analog movements with it) and the enemies react pretty quickly!
A couple animations look a bit stiff but I’ll take them if it means more faithfulness gameplay-wise.
Supercharge looks great as well!

Loving the Tree Tops dragon, looks like Beast Makers might be based around voodoo/shamans.
Not a fan of the painter one from Toasty (which however confirms crystallized dragons aren’t colored according to their scales) but again, Elders don’t impact the game as much as other elements; releasing animation looks fantastic, even though I’d personally add a few crystal pieces flying around.
Really pleased by their reinterpretation of Tree Tops’ enemies, definitely not an easy redesign but they pulled it of nicely; the thief is perfect, and the laugh is most likely the original one!
Honestly didn’t expect them to keep so many original sounds (you can also hear the life sound) and the music sound incredibly close to the source material as well.
As expected the dynamic aspect seem to regard only specific levels, probably boss ones, and as of now seems to work just fine.

Fairies and the exit portal look cool as well.
Won’t comment on the HUD, still seems a placeholder to me.

I really got the feeling I was watching the PS1 game under brand new graphics and designs, and I love this!
Looking forward to Gateway to Glimmer, possibly as soon as tomorrow!

It's not the last though, it's still the first day so before the booths are avaliable to everyone, and there'll be a Crash reveal later : P

I meant, for the last part of that live (the one scheduled to start at 5:45 and end at 7).

Really?
Wow, what time, exactly?

Also, noticed the music in Tree Tops got a nice reverberation when inside the tree, guess that also counts as “dynamic”.
Sounded ok to me, though.

EDIT: some hawkeye on Twitter spotted an Autumn Plains painting on the right when Spyro gets killed by the dog.
I think the painting right in front of him is an Elder and I have no idea what the other visible one could represent.
The other two are just Artisans, namely the small maze and the pier.

Man, I know it's such a little detail, but I love how the dragon elders exit by flying away in a glow of light. It just looks so nice~

I also love how expressively bouncy Spyro is in his conversation with Nevin! I hope that calms the people who where complaining about the fact Spyro doesn't contort his whole body in his "Umm..." quote.

Guys, what are the chances of a playable demo on consoles this week. I wanna play it, one level! Toasty level would be perfect as a free demo level, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee. Everyone pray!

here's a better video instead of that Josh Gaming garbage

I watched the gameplay with Geoff talking to one of the TfB guys and I heard something interesting. They had to build this from the ground up without getting any kind of geometry or models to work off since Insomniac lost the data in a move a few years ago. They had to make their own tool, which they call the Spyroscope, to look at the games. Hats off to TfB for being able to do this good of a job even without getting access to the old files like VV did for the N. Sane Trilogy

A couple more random things.

Someone on Reddit pointed out they actually changed Toasty’s skybox to make it match the original even more (and changed the lava lake back to a normal one), though the grass looks lighter than before.
They also added a nice sun which you can see while Nevin is talking.

Sparx’s abdomen changes a bit according to his health, which is a nice and rather subtle way to show him weakening.

Looks like they are using fairies to save just like in the second and third game, except they look like the ones from High Caves or Haunted Towers instead of being Zoe-like.
Makes sense and is an easier way to tell your game has been saved.

If I had to give one criticism, it's that I noticed on the second viewing, that during the conversation with Nevin, Nevin never once looks down at Spyro, he just kinda... stares forward into space... That's a little awkward.

Not WORLD ENDING, but awkward, lol XP

Quote: EyeBrawler2014

I watched the gameplay with Geoff talking to one of the TfB guys and I heard something interesting. They had to build this from the ground up without getting any kind of geometry or models to work off since Insomniac lost the data in a move a few years ago. They had to make their own tool, which they call the Spyroscope, to look at the games. Hats off to TfB for being able to do this good of a job even without getting access to the old files like VV did for the N. Sane Trilogy

nope, nothing remains of the Spyro data

https://www.reddit.com/r/Spyro/wiki/worldviewer

One final thing before I go to bed.

If you look carefully at Toasty’s exit portal you can see Skylanders’ Magic symbol glowing in it.
Could it be a subtle reference at Spyro’s Element in that series?
It’s still in line with the rest of the design, though.

Quote: TTD

Probably nothing but I find it weird how when Paul Yan is asked about what platforms it's on he slurred on 'Xbox one' like he was trying to stop himself (from saying Switch?), wishful thinking perhaps.

I'm not sure about any slurring, but I do see him immediately shifting focus from that to bring Spyro to HD.

Quote: TTD

Probably nothing but I find it weird how when Paul Yan is asked about what platforms it's on he slurred on 'Xbox one' like he was trying to stop himself (from saying Switch?), wishful thinking perhaps.

I noticed that, as well. Based on his inflection it definitely seemed like he was aiming to add "and..." and caught himself. I also think how he deflected that switch question was a bit telling. I imagine if it wasn't going to be on switch anytime soon now he could have said "No, not right now" or "We'll see!".

I just rewatched Spyro talking to Nevin like ten times HE'S SO CUTE

animations are


the guy who was playing really bugged me...i mean i know tree tops is hard level but...i dunno, i just dont see how he could have ****ed that jump up

the graphics it's so beautiful and it's so dream and the changes on dragons elders with other words it's super super ultra cool extreme awesome game I've ever seen

It would've been nice to see a crowd reaction, like with Crash. It felt a bit weird how it was just shoved at the end, and breezed over for a few minutes.
But at least the conference overall was a lot better than EA. lol Some parts of it got a little boring, but it started off pretty good.

No complaints from me. Everything I’ve seen in the demo looks spectacular!