So like.
When I first started using the EC client, this was after a long break...
I would occasionally see people riding these big new creatures around. I didn't think they looked particularly nice, but also, I didn't know what they were.
I took to asking people - - what was it? People didn't get it at first. Then I think someone said theirs was a Lesser Hiryu. And I was like... how?
And I went to my stable and pulled Mr. Yuck out. And saw it. I was like... Oh no.
This had been a thing of beauty, all of these were... there's not many things in the 2d client which you ever looked at and felt appreciation for, for that reason. The Hiryu textures and model had been like that, for me.
(So I put Mr. Yuck back and said to myself, I hope to god that's placeholder art.)
I feel the same way about a few creatures in World of Warcraft. One is linked below. The video doesn't show off the appearance perfectly but it gives you an idea, and it also shows some of its new, wonderful animations.
[youtube]jHeOqAgPf50[/youtube]
Have you ever been to this region in World of Warcraft? I've always called it to myself the Wall of Naga, and I can see where someone else named it this as well. This video doesn't show its awesomeness very well. But if you've been there, you'll recognize it and maybe remember it.
[youtube]4KVVqhJbhzA[/youtube]
Hiryus were UO's equivalent to Cenarion War Hippogryphs - something which looked so neat and natural and nice that you wanted to have one. Discovering one of the rare colored ones in the wild was a bit like visiting the Wall of Naga. You wouldn't necessarily do anything to it, but you would stop to look, because it looked neat.
sigh.