Jarring 'smeared' texture on Event Horse

Undriel

Yes I know, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Or in this case, don't look at it at all.
When we play, we see our character's and mount's backs most of the time because the camera is placed behind them. So it would make sense if the models and textures received the attention they deserve from this perspective. When it comes to the Jubilee steed, this isn't the case.
Now, I acknowledge that this was a 'free' mount. But once more, ZOS - have your artists ever seen a horse in real life? Or even easier - have they ever googled how one looks like?
I've worked with horses 10 years of my life, so I'm quite familiar with them. I don't expect this videogame to get them super right or at least represent them amazingly like Oblivion did (yes, horses in Oblivion are excellent from an anatomy / animation pov). But this really sticks out.

You can tell at first glance that free horse that was given with the Thieves Guild DLC had a lot more effort put in than this. Except you had to put effort in to unlock the Jubilee Steed. What gives?

Jaraal

Well it's clearly a weave, as unbraided, the tail would be dragging the ground at that length. So it appears some effort was put into making it appear attached, rather than natural.

Undriel

Jaraal wrote: »

Well it's clearly a weave, as unbraided, the tail would be dragging the ground at that length. So it appears some effort was put into making it appear attached, rather than natural.

Braids are common. I'm specifically referring to the part circled in red. A horse's tail is very similar to a dog's tail, only it's got thick long hair coming out of it. In the case of the jubilee steed, the hair are an ugly jumbled mess coming out of this model's a*se.

Edit: here, have this for extra clarity.

Jaraal

Undriel wrote: »

Edit: here, have this for extra clarity.

Right, like I said, it appears attached, rather than natural. Either glued or sewn on.

ArchangelIsraphel

I agree, that's a little unpleasant to look at. The hairs on a horses tail don't come out of the dock that way. It would have looked more natural if they hadn't tried to make it look "attached" at all.

As we can see in this image, the hairs of the tail really do not grow beyond the dock, and when braided, don't splay out onto the hindquarters.




The artist who colored the original white-gold-imperial courser did the tail more correctly. I wish they'd duplicated what they did, especially since the jubilee horse is just a recolor of it:

Sluggy

It honestly looks like the artist did a rough pass with a single-size brush in photoshop and intended to go back and blend it all in when something else came up and they were pulled away from the work. The half-finished work was found in the pr, pulled, quickly reviewed, and signed off for inclusion in the build...

LanteanPegasus

Maybe the horse just has an unusual colouring... Due to some genetic fluke, most hairs of the regular coat covering the hindquarter around the tail have the same colour as the tail hair itself. The steed has a black, salt'n'pepper-y spot around the base of the tail, so to speak.

Sure, it is a certain suspension of disbelief, but if you can ignore the deformed hind legs of ESO horses, this should be doable.

SickleCider

A lot of horses have this issue. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the Treasure Hunter's Horse's tail. That person understood the assignment.

spartaxoxo

I don't look at mounts this closely anymore. Makes me a lot happier with them. They don't change cosmetics after release. And anyway, Tamriel is on Nirn, not Earth.

Undriel

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I don't look at mounts this closely anymore. Makes me a lot happier with them. They don't change cosmetics after release. And anyway, Tamriel is on Nirn, not Earth.

I understand, however this really sticks out even from a distance. It'd be nice to appreciate something you put effort into acquiring without actively going ew.

oldbobdude

Undriel wrote: »

Yes I know, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Or in this case, don't look at it at all.
When we play, we see our character's and mount's backs most of the time because the camera is placed behind them. So it would make sense if the models and textures received the attention they deserve from this perspective. When it comes to the Jubilee steed, this isn't the case.
Now, I acknowledge that this was a 'free' mount. But once more, ZOS - have your artists ever seen a horse in real life? Or even easier - have they ever googled how one looks like?
I've worked with horses 10 years of my life, so I'm quite familiar with them. I don't expect this videogame to get them super right or at least represent them amazingly like Oblivion did (yes, horses in Oblivion are excellent from an anatomy / animation pov). But this really sticks out.

You can tell at first glance that free horse that was given with the Thieves Guild DLC had a lot more effort put in than this. Except you had to put effort in to unlock the Jubilee Steed. What gives?

That must be where the confetti is stored. Or issued. Wonder what it smells like?

TaSheen

I just wish ZOS would hire @AlienSlof to do a major fix on the horses. As a long time horsewoman, I'm appalled at the travesty of horses in this game.

Undriel

TaSheen wrote: »

I just wish ZOS would hire @AlienSlof to do a major fix on the horses. As a long time horsewoman, I'm appalled at the travesty of horses in this game.

+1 on this.
Don't you love the leg protection bits placed on the front of the leg instead of behind/inside, where the tendons and the delicate parts that need protecting actually are?

TaSheen

No.... but that's only one of the issues of course! One protects the inside of the cannon, because horses - imperfect animals that they are - tend to "clip" that area with other hooves (depending on speed and gait), and that area is very thin of skin, and delicate overall.

Sure, the in game horses aren't ever going to have that happen, but there's nothing wrong with getting things RIGHT, ain't?

Undriel

TaSheen wrote: »

No.... but that's only one of the issues of course! One protects the inside of the cannon, because horses - imperfect animals that they are - tend to "clip" that area with other hooves (depending on speed and gait), and that area is very thin of skin, and delicate overall.

Sure, the in game horses aren't ever going to have that happen, but there's nothing wrong with getting things RIGHT, ain't?

Yep. It would look so much better from the player's third person perspective as well. You'd get something accurate that operates on real life logic and creates even more a sense of wonder. I'm not a fan of the theory that inaccurate approximations could be interpreted as a fantasy world feature or quirk, because it shows.

TaSheen

Well, I could go with that for anything NOT RL based, but horses are right out. If you're going to use horses in a fantasy world, then damn it, get them right! If you can't get them right then make up some "fantasy world" mount, where you can be as sloppy as you want to!

AlienSlof

TaSheen wrote: »

I just wish ZOS would hire @AlienSlof to do a major fix on the horses. As a long time horsewoman, I'm appalled at the travesty of horses in this game.

I'd love to be let loose on them! As a horsewoman myself as well as an artist, the horses offend me! Those hind legs, OMG! Any horse with legs like that would just not be able to move right.

TaSheen

AlienSlof wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

I just wish ZOS would hire @AlienSlof to do a major fix on the horses. As a long time horsewoman, I'm appalled at the travesty of horses in this game.

I'd love to be let loose on them! As a horsewoman myself as well as an artist, the horses offend me! Those hind legs, OMG! Any horse with legs like that would just not be able to move right.

Yep. I've been saying this for SEVEN years now. They absolutely need to hire you to fix their damn horses!

furiouslog

It's obviously a big poo stain. C'mon people.

Undriel

furiouslog wrote: »

It's obviously a big poo stain. C'mon people.

This.
Exactly the feel that texture is giving off.

TaSheen

Eh, admittedly cows get poo all over like that, but horses, not so much.

Elvenheart

While in my opinion, nothing can be as bad as the horse that looked like it was made out of pizza and fungi, I do think this is bad and should be fixed. There’s a precedent, they fixed the base textures on the Hermaeus Mora statue after it was released. Maybe if enough people point this out they’ll fix the smearing on the graphics of the horses as well.

Undriel

They just don't in my experience. But a real life animal is one thing.

I didn't sign up for farming a poo-stained horse.

Also it's downright jarring for people with OCD who can't stand disgusting things. I remember using a mod that removed the gross gulping and slurping sound from NPCs in The Witcher 3 so the game would be playable for me. If whoever is reading doesn't have OCD and cannot relate, I'd suggest doing a small research. For me, this jubilee steed texture fits the disgusting things category that I would not like to see in a videogame.

Elvenheart wrote: »

While in my opinion, nothing can be as bad as the horse that looked like it was made out of pizza and fungi, I do think this is bad and should be fixed. There’s a precedent, they fixed the base textures on the Hermaeus Mora statue after it was released. Maybe if enough people point this out they’ll fix the smearing on the graphics of the horses as well.

Maybe I should open a bug report then.

Edit: the bug report thread is here.
If you want to give it a thumbs up so they'll hopefully fix this.

Arizona_Steve

I never thought I'd open a thread in the ESO forums and be greeted by pictures of horse butts

Elvenheart

Arizona_Steve wrote: »

I never thought I'd open a thread in the ESO forums and be greeted by pictures of horse butts

There’s a first time for everything! 😂

shadyjane62

Really sorry I wasted tickets getting this "horse". Just about the ugliest thing I've seen as a reward.

LadyLethalla

Welp, I'm now not upset that I won't be able to get it as I was away for the last two weeks. Thanks!

I refuse to use any equine mount because of their appearance. Senches and Indriks all the way.

Soraka

LanteanPegasus wrote: »

Maybe the horse just has an unusual colouring... Due to some genetic fluke, most hairs of the regular coat covering the hindquarter around the tail have the same colour as the tail hair itself. The steed has a black, salt'n'pepper-y spot around the base of the tail, so to speak.

Sure, it is a certain suspension of disbelief, but if you can ignore the deformed hind legs of ESO horses, this should be doable.

I thought that's what it was lol. I hope when I get mine I can continue to see it that way.

emilyhyoyeon

This makes me wish the whole horse were white, since at least then this weird spot would be less noticeable. It would've looked too similar to the Leyawiin horse I guess anyway.

I love this horse model so I'm sad about this. I already wasn't too crazy about the slice of cake

CoronHR

obsessed with horse butts seems to be the main issue here

BXR_Lonestar

U guys are spending WAY too much time looking at the horse's backside, I'm just saying. IMO, its not a big deal either way. I use the Jubilee horse because it farts confetti. Simple as that. I don't really care about the detail of the tail.