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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsMotorcycles finally implemented in the Wrath beta
by Alex Ziebart 
Sep 18th 2008 at 1:00PM
They're a little buggy, they use some slightly new mechanics. They're about halfway between a mount and a siege vehicle. Your action bars don't change or anything like that, but it is definitely considered a vehicle since a passenger can hop into your sidecar. It's also not Engineering only, but I think that is so they can get extra testing done on it. It's a seriously cool mount, and one I'm pretty okay with. If Azeroth can develop helicopters, airplanes and submarines, they can build motorcycles, too.
Filed under: Galleries, Mounts, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 5 of 6)
Attack Gypsy Sep 18th 2008 3:49PM
A black leather jacket with a Horde logo on it.
Durotar Motorcycle Club
clawhammr Sep 18th 2008 2:46PM
First beat the lore to bloody litle bits and then add motorcycles.. warhammer is sounding better and better now..
MarkyMark Sep 18th 2008 2:47PM
I hate to sound smarmy but enjoy the near nil existent quests and constant rvr if thats your thing.
onetrueping Sep 18th 2008 10:42PM
...
You've never played Warhammer before, have you?
shakennotstirred Sep 18th 2008 3:02PM
I really like this idea. Having a motorcycle mount is imo a really cool idea, though it does sound a bit Final Fantasy-ish.
bentwhisker Sep 18th 2008 3:48PM
I'm more interested in the Teddy Bear store sign behind the motorcycle - seriously wtf?
Is it a place for droods?
Starstrike Sep 18th 2008 4:25PM
do we have to go through this every time blizz adds something to the game?
"Illidan died at the end onf WC3, this is broken lore you guys (even though Blizz never said he died and, if you know the lore SO well, know they in fact told everyone that arthas spared his life)"
"How can Dalaran (a city made and populated entirely by the most powerful beings of azeroth) just move? that doesnt make sense!"
"Motorcycles? in WoW? HARHARHAR this game sucks and I'm leaving it becasue it sucks and stuff and bikes are lame and dont make sense (even though there are 2 races of technologically advanced people in the game, gnomes and goblins, who have been known to make very advanced equipment including bombs, trains, guns, helicopters, and entire cities of steel and gears)"
If this bike didnt have the sidecar I'd love it to death. Also, I know its been said already but Warcraft has always had a steampunk element to it. As to why not every race has this technology, do you not live in the real world or have never picked up a history book?
There are tribal cultures in the world today that do not have technology on the same scale as other nations. History has shown time and time again that everyone does not progress at the same rate as others do, how do you think euopeans took so much from native peoples during imperialism?
stevens.ce Sep 18th 2008 4:21PM
I'm a little surprised by the intensity of views on this topic. I don't think motorcycles really belong in WoW - I'm not convinced by "it's a steampunk world" arguments, as there is a huge difference between siege engines, helicopters, and motorcycles, from my perspective - but I could get over it if there were even moderately attractive. I wasn't all that sure about the auto-gyros, even though they've long been part of WoW lore, until I saw them - their models are awesome, and I think they make an excellent complement to the game. But these bikes look like camels - horses made by a committee - they're too long, the sidecars don't seem to match the chassis, the riders are awfully small, even if we assume these are modeled after classic chopper designs. I can accept the addition to lore - it's a game, after all - but these look to me like things made just to be made, not because Blizzard put the same care and attention into their design that they normally do.
tar Sep 18th 2008 7:21PM
"stevens.ce said...
I'm a little surprised by the intensity of views on this topic. I don't think motorcycles really belong in WoW - I'm not convinced by "it's a steampunk world" arguments, as there is a huge difference between siege engines, helicopters, and motorcycles, from my perspective - but I could get over it if there were even moderately attractive. I wasn't all that sure about the auto-gyros, even though they've long been part of WoW lore, until I saw them - their models are awesome, and I think they make an excellent complement to the game. But these bikes look like camels - horses made by a committee - they're too long, the sidecars don't seem to match the chassis, the riders are awfully small, even if we assume these are modeled after classic chopper designs. I can accept the addition to lore - it's a game, after all - but these look to me like things made just to be made, not because Blizzard put the same care and attention into their design that they normally do."
Wow, someone has really missed the point of being an engineer. Why do we have xray goggles? cos we can
Mechanical chickens? it seemed like a good idea at the time
Death rays?
Shrink Rays?
Mechanical Yetis?
Most of these things are pointless, but they are cool to have around. And have you seen the graphics for most of the engineering toys? They look like they were cobbled together by whatever was lying around. Its just the way engineering is
Horditarian Sep 19th 2008 12:18PM
"these look to me like things made just to be made, not because Blizzard put the same care and attention into their design that they normally do"
/agree
Some executive probably stormed in on the developers saying, "Choppers... we need choppers! All the kids are lovin' that American Chopper show... we need choppers. Make it happen"
/question
MechChef Sep 18th 2008 4:29PM
The spell to summon the roflchopper *isn't* engineering, but that won't matter, since the spell will be sitting in your mount spellbook. What hasn't been implemented yet is the actual device/item to add it to the spellbook. That will probably be a BOP item upon creation. Though I suppose the summoning spell should require a requirement so you can't drop eng and use it later.
Anyway, I have faith that it will go to eng since the name is now Mekgineer's Chopper, from Mechano-hog, which was originally The Hog.
Keyra Sep 18th 2008 4:29PM
While I could easily see someone creating a piece of art such as an orc riding a Harley near Orgrimmar, the idea of actually having this in-game is one that I don't particularly cherish. Truthfully, I hope it never makes it out of beta. And don't give me that whole "well, they have guns and gryrocopters and..." line. I don't particularly like the gyrocopters either, but whatever. Those are a done deal so we just have to live with them, but motorcycles? For me, it's just pushing the envelope a little too far. What's to follow if this isn't reined in now? NASCAR in Westfall? Submarines? Maybe throw in some Draenai flying saucers that randomly abduct people from Thousand Needles or something? Sigh...
onetrueping Sep 18th 2008 10:44PM
Check out the salt flats. They have your racing there.
Keyra Sep 18th 2008 10:54PM
LOL! Forgot about those! Oh well...actually, now that I've had a chance to mull it over a bit, the bikes wouldn't be THAT bad...except for...ugh...consider these on the bikes:
Gnomes (and yes, I have a gnome alt)
Night Elf Females (the males would look kinda cool, except for certain classes)
Blood Elves (of either gender...and that includes my main)
Priests (in their wonderful robes)
Although the thought of a warlock on a hog with a voidwalker in the sidecar does elicit a chuckle...
Oh well, we'll see what there is to be seen, I guess. C'est la vie!
Amaxe Sep 18th 2008 5:05PM
I have no problem whatsoever with the Motorcycle mount... as long as I can use it.
As for the whiners...
We've had seaplanes in Ironforge, and in an Azhara quest. We have gyrocopters. Zepplins, armored vehicles in Dun Morogh. Firearms. Gypsies from outer space (draenei). Guns, bombs, exploding sheep, mechanical squirrels, attack chickens, a train, a mechanized city (gnomergan), robot villains (Mechanar)...
It's a bit late to complain about it now. isn't it?
Alveredus Sep 18th 2008 5:53PM
Beta tester here:
On Beta, you can use these in Azeroth just fine. That was an implemented datamined version that was restricted to Northrend and Outland.
There are currently a few bugs with these. All are displaying as the Horde version when used (but not when previewed).
The nifty thing is that these have their own healthbar.
Near as I can tell, you could jump off Teldrissil on one of these bad boys and while it would "destroy" the bike, you take no damage because the bike absorbs impact. Great for the falling achievements, I suspect.
Oh... And when the bike "dies" from having its hP reduced to zero, you can simply resummon it.
Spritetoggle Sep 18th 2008 6:04PM
I'm sorry, but I'm going to do a bit of arguing back against those who are against this. It's just a fact, WoW and steampunk undertones go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other.
And not only that, gnomes have apparently mastered perpetual motion (which is theoretically impossible). Motorized bicycles don't seem too far fetched.
To the one worried about everyone adopting machines instead of live mounts in a fantasy world, think about the following. This is, of course, a fantasy world. Based originally around sword-and-sorcery and all that. In terms of in game history, all of these advancements are extremely brand-spankin' new to the world's inhabitants. Most people of Azeroth (outside of gnomes, dwarves, and goblins) would at first, and possibly continue to, view these things as dangerous, stupid, and perhaps even evil - Just like in the real world. If you showed the typical person in the Middle Ages a combustion engine, they'd probably burn you at the stake for witchcraft.
"Let the gnomes kill themselves. I'll stay with a safe, trustable horse thank you very much!"
There is one thing from the nay-sayers that I agree with though: the aesthetics. It DOES look somewhat too modern. I'd prefer it to look more beat up and makeshift than what we're presented here. A bit of a disappointment.
Ahem, I'm done. Sorry.
onetrueping Sep 22nd 2008 8:36AM
While they could have gone a bit more steampunky with the design, a little research shows that modern Harley Davidson motorcycles are actually not that far removed from the early motorbike designs. So the Chopper actually is a pretty vintage look. Now if it was some kind of crystalline speed bike, I'd be a little upset.
miko Sep 18th 2008 7:28PM
why do people keep saying this isn't going to be an Engineering mount when the Schematics mats are listed at both Wowhead and World of Raids, it's parked outside the Engineering shop and it fits in an Engineering bag ?
denial much ?
Sub Sep 19th 2008 12:20AM
I don't remember seeing or hearing about these in previous games or any lore. Can someone point me to where I might find it?