WoW Model Viewer updated for Wrath, but still needs work
by Mike Schramm 
Jan 12th 2009 at 4:00PM
WoW Model Viewer is a crazy useful tool for machinimists or just anyone out there (like Zach) looking to enjoy the art of Warcraft outside of the game itself. The only problem with the app is that it hasn't updated since way before Wrath's release, but the code monkeys over there have finally rectified that: they've dropped release version 0.6.0.2, which we're told is compatible with the models in Wrath of the Lich King.Mostly compatible, anyway -- we're told that lots of the new animations aren't working yet, and there are quite a few bugs still poking around. And there's more trouble -- the program's admin has reported that the site could use a new host, since the last admin had some troubles with the hosting provider. Surely there's someone out there who can help -- lots of people use the program (and of course it's spawned countless terrific machinima movies that we've all enjoyed).
Hopefully Model Viewer will find its way back on track -- the program has really jump started the world of machinima, and it would be a shame to see it fall into disrepair due to lack of support.
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Machinima, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mike Jan 12th 2009 4:17PM
I wholehearted hope he finds a new host!
Keyra Jan 12th 2009 4:22PM
I'll have to give it a go tonight and see what's what.
I have a separate installation of WoW on another hard drive which I stopped updating just before patch 3.0.2, so the old version of WMV still works fine on that...but it is taking up space that it doesn't need to take up if the new one will work out for what I need it for........
Well, at least until the next patch....
Keyra Jan 12th 2009 6:32PM
Holy crap! 10.1Mb compressed?
The original was only 1.69Mb.
Must be some serious changes!
zappo Jan 12th 2009 4:32PM
Good news! I was putting a "town gear" set together for my paladin but went got preoccupied with leveling. Then I decided to go look for the pieces that I was missing only to find that the model viewer my profile was saved in didn't work anymore. :/
Then I opened up the profile file and got the item ids. I was actually pretty impressed with myself until I realized that the boots I was going to try to get were only for the opposite faction. /facepalm
Ahko Jan 12th 2009 5:09PM
Contacting them now, I have 1.5 TB of storage and 5.2 TB of monthly bandwidth so I should be able to host them with no issue.
Thanks for the heads up W.I.
ramos96
Eddy Jan 12th 2009 5:18PM
Any word on a mac version?
D:
Disgraph Jan 12th 2009 5:57PM
As far as I know, no one is working on a mac version right now. I've been keeping an eye out for one since the pre-Wrath decided to finally pull the plug on the mac version that was sputtering along.
If only I knew anything about porting programs to mac...
Eddy Jan 12th 2009 6:04PM
Yeah, same. ;_; I've really wanted to use it for machinima and instead end up doing things in very backward ways that at the very best are clunky.
Thander Jan 13th 2009 1:54AM
I'm pretty sure there's free software that emulates Windows on a Mac. I know you can buy software that does it but I think there's some free ones too.
Might require an Intel-based Mac.
Eddy Jan 13th 2009 11:38AM
I'm pretty sure that's a pain in the arse and I'd so much rather just have a fraking mac version. If I wanted to run a windows emulator, I'd just get windows. D:
PeeWee Jan 13th 2009 2:44PM
"I'm pretty sure that's a pain in the arse..."
/who cares
0 players found
Mike Jan 23rd 2009 6:45AM
Their website makes zero mention of what platform the program is available for. Pisses me off when people assume that everyone uses Windows (especially for WoW Model Viewer in the light that Blizzard themselves are Mac users).
Ametrine Jan 12th 2009 6:08PM
It would be hands-down beautiful if Blizzard gave them official support somehow...
Oh well, it's fun to dream.
Keyra Jan 12th 2009 6:28PM
If it stays open source, Blizzard won't touch it. No money in it for them. If they bought it outright, they'd probably start charging $15.00 for the viewer and a subscription fee (after the 10-day trial period, of course).
Still, one can dream...
uncaringbear Jan 12th 2009 6:44PM
I doubt Blizz would ever officially support this software, as it provides a means for people to extract and copy their 3D content. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Blizz understood the importance of this program.
I really hope they release an update soon. It's a pleasure to see the return of this program, but this version is extremely buggy to the point where it's just not usable.
Danok Jan 12th 2009 7:01PM
So is it too early to begin talking about new WoW Model Viewer spoilers? Like that fancy OTHER Lich King model?
Mantegna Jan 12th 2009 7:20PM
Please, please give a mac version - any update on it?
Xavs Jan 12th 2009 8:08PM
Damn. I am having trouble downloading. It always gives me an error saying
"{insert directories here}\WoWModelViewer_0.6.0.2_Win32_Release.zip.part could not be saved, because the source file could not be read.
Try again later, or contact the server administrator."
Can anybody help me here?
Valsharess Jan 13th 2009 12:22AM
Can't seem to reply to Xavs' question - posted the reply, refreshed, nothing's showing.
I had the same error. You have to find the partial files that were already downloaded on the first try (one is the .zip file, which should read 0 MB, the other is the zip.part file). Delete both of those, then try downloading again.
It worked for me. Good luck.
skreeran Jan 13th 2009 2:23AM
I love alot of the new changes, perticularly the ability to take gear directly from some NPCs, but it has a few things that need to be fixed. For one, it crashes every seven minutes or so, forcing me to save every couple seconds, and two, selecting the Deathknight/npc skins gives you blue eyes even if you choose a non-dk skin (for example, if you select w Wildhammer dwarf skin, he/she is going to have glowing blue eyes). This can be fixed by going to the model options and unselecting the Glowing Eyes option, but it's annoying to do this every time you load a model.