Blizzard Demonstrates Why Sameface Will Not Be a Problem

One of the big concerns with the new character models has been that, in testing, a lot of the faces either don't look all that much like the original versions, or they all look the same. I'll certainly admit that the differences between the Orc male faces on the Beta are subtle, to put it lightly.

But never fear! In the latest Artcraft article, Blizzard is showing why Sameface has been showing up, and why it won't be a problem as we get into later Beta builds.

I think the most demonstrative example is in this image:

To summarize the article, the vanilla models all used the same geometry. They were mostly flat faces that only had a bump for the nose, some depressions for eyes, and a little opening for the mouth. In the above example on the left, they actually just painted the dwarf's upper lip with teeth to give him that snarl.

But the new models will have individually-rendered teeth as well as lips, so these little cheats aren't really necessary.

What this does mean, however, is that in addition to texturing the models, they also have to adjust the poses. As you can see, the middle model (which is what we see on the Beta now) is in a basically neutral pose, and has none of the berserker-insanity that the old model radiates. However, with the facial posing implemented on the right, you can now see that psychotic dwarf is once again ready to start smashing everything in sight with a mighty hammer.

I recommend checking the article out for a few more examples that really get across the importance of this posing.

There's also some fun tidbits like the fact that they're now expecting to have all the vanilla models there when Warlords comes out (no word on Blood Elves, but one assumes that they'll be in the mix, or at least coming soon after.)