The model rig has tail bones just nothing to animate. Worgen and Saberon share the same rig. Attaching the tail to the model is really all that is needed.
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Vulpera have nice fluffy tails that even curl to the side when they sit. I donât see any reason they couldnât attach that code to Worgen models so they could have tails too.
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Also vulpera tails, unlike the red panda tails, are also very animate and expressive whether weâre attacking, sitting, or doing other emotes.
It might not seem like much, but it adds a lot of personality to the character to have that extra appendage for expression and such.
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Should do like female pandasâŠsome with tails, some without
What kind of tail would you give them?
^^ Fair enough. Iâll be more specific.
In my case I worked as an artist for 12 odd years on the Fable franchise at Big Blue Box/Lionhead before moving to Canada and working on mobile development. I primarily do writing nowadays but in the past did a lot of work in 3dsmax, Maya etc. And while I never animated (more of a modeller and texturer) Iâve had to rig models enough to know how things get reused.
IN this case - think of it this way. A simple google search for âhuman animation rigâ will show you a lot of examples of things that look like a block/lego version of a human skeleton. Those drive the models, so to speak. Animators donât animate the 3d model. They animate the rig and that data gets applied to the creatures, characters etc.
Side note: Most game companies reuse data, building models that match other characters size and shape so they can retain pre existing animation libraries. Animation is a HUGE roadblock for many companies as its very time consuming and harder to hire for than, say, modelling. So any savings are a good thing. Example of this is obviously the allied races but also things like the baby vulpera being based on podlings.
So back to Worgen. Worgen were initially implemented in 2003/4 for the silver pine forest zone. And there were like⊠2 of them. Maybe a few more in the keep? (my memory is fuzzy and I donât play classic). The point is they were throwaway models. Not a brand new race. They didnât even have variants like the quill boar, centaurs etc. Which means itâs VERY likely the team will have cut corners. And animation wise:
- You try and reuse an existing skeleton rig. Despite what I said above you CAN alter the base skeleton somewhat and have animations still work. E.g. you can lengthen the thigh bones (say) and the character will still walk. Its weird but it works. In the case of old worgen you can shift them up onto their toes, lengthen arms etc. But stealing from other game props is 100% the name of the game when it comes to quick game development.
- What you canât do if youâre stealing the skeletal rig from another humanoid model is add a tail. The characters arenât built with one and sticking on another limb is complicated (especially back in the day)
- Further - tails used to be a pain for computer memory to handle. No idea if this was the case with wow (Iâm still sure its them using a humanoid skeleton as the basis), but every âpointâ on a skeletal rig needs to be calculated as it moves through space. E.g. 0,0,1 to 0,0,2 uses computational power. And back then a lot of machines groaned the more âbonesâ (bits on a rig) that a character used. Doom, etc - VERY simple rigs. Iâve worked on a few games where code frowned when you wanted to have multi-armed characters so guessed that tails might have been something they didnât want to have to rig/deal with.
Anyyyywaayyyyyy⊠So you now have a tailless worgen model as defacto. And its Cataclysm and Blizzard are creating the worgen models. Now they have to decide whether to give them tails or not. And they opt for being faithful to the original models (based on technical issues more than anything Iâm guessing).
Which⊠is a shame. You only have to look at vulpera to see the awesomeness that a secondary animation source gives a character when moving. But it is what it is.
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The Monday hipbump
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Tldr: give worgen tails
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My tail fell off when I rose from the grave. If I could find a new one to stitch on Iâd love that
Give Worgen Tails
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I personally dislike tails on anthropomorphic animals. I wish myself didnât have a tail.
I just had this thought⊠so what if they gave worgens the option to be half vulpera and so If you chose that you would have a different cut seen.
A mash between worgen and vulpera, and you could choose your faction like pandas. You would have a tail and longer fur, but you also would have a mane, claws, and a longer snout.
Vulgens! 
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That idea seems absolutely silly.
I want to see it.
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Give worgens tails please.
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I remember when Blizzard first introduced Vulpera with the BFA announcement at Blizzcon and they only had a tiny little nub for a tail⊠Now look at how glorious they came out with it!
Same can happen for us worgen too. It was known that the worgen models (ESPECIALLY FEMALE) were extremely rushed, so rushed, they did a complete second which was issued 2 weeks before Cata launch and is what stuck with us since 8.2.5. Female models were intended to have a tail but still⊠we are seeing all these NEW options for other races and Blizz really needs to make up somehow for the discrepancy. A tail option is a no brainer as itâs one of the biggest requests since Cataâs alpha.
#GiveWorgenTails
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GIVE WORGEN TAILS.
#GWT
#bodyunclear
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Opinions do varyâŠand what you said is just that; opinion. Letâs imagine a conversation that might have taken place back before Legion, shall we?
âHey, I have a great idea. Letâs give Tauren more horn options.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âYou know, likeâŠdeer antlers, orâŠoh, I know! Moose antlers!â
âUh, how about NO. Thatâs a terrible idea.â
âWhy do you say that? Arenât appearance options a good thing?â
âSureâŠbut not something like that. Itâs not natural. Tauren have always had normal bull horns. Even the Taunka donât wave weird horns.â
âBut-âŠâ
âBut NOTHING. Think of the lore, man. Think of the LORE!â
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I support giving Worgen tails.
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Wow, look at this good idea.
Give Worgen Tails.
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ErâŠ
Bad example, sadly.
Huln Highmountain was around during the War of the Ancients, and though we never saw him or his people until Legion, we did know of his existence. Did we know that all of his people would have been blessed with Echeâroâs antlers? âŠIâm sure we had a general idea, but most didnt.
In Vanilla, and even before them when we first met the Tauren, we knew that they were a nomadic race that spread all through the Eastern Kingdoms. In Wrath, we learned that the Tauren were not just in the Eastern Kingdoms, but other parts of the world as well. We also began to learn that the Tauren we know and love were not the first, and we were being shown their ancestors.
From your example, youâre suggesting an entire new race/differently evolved Worgen from a whole 'nother area that has had time to evolve differently from what we have seen⊠Which is great! That would make perfect sense!
However⊠Worgen, least what we have, are cursed humans. We HAVE seen Worgen in Northrend, which as we learned from the old (not sure about the new??) DK questline if you were to roll a Worgen DK, they were more involved with the Sons of Arugal and the Wolf Cult.
A -NEW- wolf race would make sense. That would give them a chance to have tails. That would be fine.
But the current Worgen Curse are from Elves, whom lost themselves to their powerful, unwieldy new form⊠No longer the Wolves of the Druid of the Pack they had been practicing before, and rejected and banished by the Archdruid and Goldrin himself.
Then, much later, Arugal decided he wanted doggies and summoned the Worgen back. While he had them mostly under control, these creatures, whom had slumbered for many, many years, were brought back to fight off the scourge⊠But, they were unruly and attacked the other wizards, quickly spreading the curse and turning their allies into monstrous, humanoid beasts.
Could we possibly meet a new wolfish race in a new land with a fluffy tail? Maybe.
Would these very specific Worgen that we have now, born from a Druid Experiment gone bad and turned into a spreadable Werewolf curse, suddenly sprout tails? âŠVery doubtful and unbelievable.
So again, from your example, which is mentioning subspecies, Yes! It would be possible for a wolf-like race to have a tail somewhere that we havenât met yet.
But not our Worgen.
EDIT: And before our two friends that hate me so dearly post anything. Iâm allowed to reply to pings. Iâm allowed to be here. I know itâs hard for you, but people on the forums are allowed to view and reply to any thread they want.
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Boy thatâs a lot of words to convey the wrong message here. Worgen can (and should) receive the option for tails. You wanna lore-it-up, go ahead and justify it with Gilneans being fashion-forward and eccentric and deciding to âCustomize Their Curseâ with alchemy or other druidic magic or insert force here.
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