Ghost Wolf graphic goodness
by Dan O'Halloran 
Jan 11th 2008 at 5:00PM
Many Hunter's flocked to the Marsh to get one of the coolest looking pets in the game. And now we learn, they look even cooler in combat. And hotter. And greener.
Mania's Arcania reports that the Ghost Wolf pet turns different colors while under different combat effects. In addition to the ones in the picture, the pet can also turn purple while under a Curse.
My guess is this is an unintentional side effect of the animal not having a solid texture skin over the 3-D model frame. All pets
If Blizzard is really on the ball, they will create other semi-transparent mobs, pets and maybe a temporary shapeshifted form for players that takes advantage of this. They already do it with the Spectral Tiger Mount and the Shadow Priest form, why not on other models that would be affected by colorizing of buffs/debuffs? How fun would that be?
EDIT: Added in examples of current in-game semi-transparent models.
Filed under: Hunter, Patches, Odds and ends
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ian Jan 11th 2008 5:14PM
cool. i oughta get me one of these.
Olee Jan 11th 2008 5:31PM
Question:
What does a Ghost Wolf eat? I mean...it's a ghost! Are there [Intangible Buzzard Chops] on sale from the butcher in Crossroads?
maxbliss Jan 11th 2008 5:43PM
Shadows. You need to have a Warlock as a good friend.
thebvp Jan 11th 2008 5:43PM
Someone try power infusion!
I hope it makes him turn plaid.
Rydolomo Jan 11th 2008 5:46PM
Don't forget the spectral tiger mount you get from the cards.
Rydo
seankreynolds Jan 11th 2008 6:13PM
Ithas nothing to do with the texture skin. If you're poisoned, you turn green. If your pet is poisoned, it turns green. If you get one of the bug blood effects in Zangarmarsh, you turn yellow (there's a Picture of the Day of some guy on a bright yellow gryphon because of this). Likewise for your pet. It's just really visible on the ghost wolf because it's essentially monochromatic and glowy. Same thing happens if you have a Spectral Tiger mount and you get hit by one of these effects ... transparent glowy red, green, etc.
Thingy Jan 11th 2008 6:00PM
I see all those colours clear as day on all my pets all the time from white ones to black worgs. It's so clear that I get a bit of a firight when I have bestial wrath active (bright red above) and Kill Command executes (a lighter red much closer to the animal's normal skin), making me think Bestial Wrath is fading early.
Patrick Jan 11th 2008 6:12PM
Yeah, doesn't everything turn those colors when under the appropriate effect?
seankreynolds Jan 11th 2008 6:17PM
Any chance we can just block this guy? All he does is add pointless comments and a link to his stupid site.
Suzaku Jan 11th 2008 6:35PM
"My guess is this is an unintentional side effect of the animal not having a texture skin over the 3-D model frame."
Uh, they have a texture skin. You can clearly see that they have a texture. See the teeth, the eyes, the fur? That's a texture map. The whole model is semi-transparent, and already brightly colored, which is probably why the colors stand out more.
If you just realised that characters change colors based on "status effects", you must not have been paying much attention to the game.
Mr. Tee Jan 11th 2008 6:42PM
First of all, every player and pet does this no matter what. You've probably been debuffed by the wasps in Zangarmarsh and turned to some other color. This has nothing to do with model or textures. Game only applies tint to the model, probably trough a shader. It's only more apparent on this model because textures on the ghost wolf have lighter colors (if you had a completely black model, chances are that you wouldn't notice the effect). Even tho you say that there is no texture (what you call "skin") on the model, there actually is. Without the texture applied, model would be completely (usually) white. The texture on this model is what you actually see and don't see, the invisible part of the wolf is only see trough because the texture is drawn that way so that those parts are alpha-transparent.
Rasnarok Jan 11th 2008 6:56PM
Wow, why is this even news? You're reporting on something that been in the game how long? Three years? I realize there's slow news days but you're really scraping bottom of the barrel here...
The ghost wolf "not having a solid texture skin over the 3-D model frame"? Those are clearly the words of someone who has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Of course the ghost wolf model is textured, otherwise you'd just a grey model. Stop getting your information about 'model frames' and 'texture skins' off wikipedia and actually research this stuff a little so you can even use the proper terms.
Chiroptera Jan 11th 2008 7:13PM
I am more amazed that people carry on about the Ghost Wolf, yes it's hard to tame but it's the 2nd tamable "summoned Ghost" pet in the game, the Ghost Saber from Darkshore is old as the hills, you get them from looting the cat figurines in the northern ruins there, so again get some more facts before reporting on something that is not unique, the saber changes colour exactly the same as the wolf (and every other pet)
Gridneo Jan 11th 2008 7:50PM
Haven't done it yet, but can someone please answer the following, or suggest it:
Why don't Shaman gain their Ghost Wolf when they die? Night Elves get that stupid little Wisp, why not give Shaman their Ghost Wolf?
Of course it sounded much better before the Alliance got Shaman, and would have been more balanced on a Night Elf to Shaman level, but still... Sigh...
Merri Jan 12th 2008 2:36PM
The ghost leopard my hunter picked up ages ago had the same effect and, as far as I know (and what others have mentioned) all other pets are become colored when under various effects. Why is the ghost wolf news?
Quite frankly, choosing a hunter pet based on that it looks slightly different than other pets when under an effect is probably a bit unwise. Maybe if Blizzard provided more slots so folks could have pets just for show but...ehn...I'm not a min/max sort of person but I'd still rather my hunter have an effective pet.
Jack Jan 12th 2008 2:32PM
These effects show up better perhaps on the ghost wolf than on some other pets because of its light coloring. They show up quite well on my white owl as well (though perhaps it doesn't look quite as cool as a semitransparent wolf.)