It’s rather weird this game didn’t have much art direction to begin with. What’s even more crazy though is the fact that the engine didn’t explode in the first place with all that hardware. Guess it goes to show that there’s only so much you can do with an outdated engine. Also thanks for letting me do the thumbnail art ^^ It was fun drawing Cynder again
It's worth noting that the engine wasn't well optimized for PS2 and Wii, as the former has the infamous Twisted Sparx glitch in one cutscene, and the latter is somewhat prone to crashing infrequently. Not to mention that the PS2 version caps at 30 FPS, unlike the Wii version, which can reach 60 FPS but suffers framerate drops.
@@TravistheDragon 30 FPS on real hardware. Emulators can ignore framerate caps, though results may vary. Seems DOTD's gameplay mechanics are framerate independent, so no problems can occur going beyond the original framerate cap.
If people wanna keep their lore for Cynder’s coloration that’s more than okay, but man it’s such a relief to have real answers so many years later. It’s frustrating, knowing what could’ve been. But even with the right palette or a slightly adjusted model there’s no way of knowing if it would’ve been satisfying either way. Thanks for the vid, well explained! Hope lotsa people see it :)
We have proof that other colors for DOTD Cynder (black, gray, etc. through emulator mods) work fine with the model. Even her OG black colors tell others a different story for the model. :)
The games would really benefit from a remake or remaster, I doubt that it would ever happen because of poor sales but imagine how pretty DoTD would look with proper art direction
@@Drago-ye2yl It's like Sonic 06, where they would have to completely rewrite the story. And definitely fix the bloom. It's the same problem I have with Wind Waker HD. Beautiful game, but it's too bright.
@@princessCashel Agreed, I played 96 when younger and couldn’t get past the snow boarding level in Sonic’s story. But DotD has that same feel but not as buggy as 06. (Which Sega should recognize P-06 for the time and effort it took, same bit sorta situation as Sonic Mania)
@@justincole1510 Imagine if Sega offered to make P-06 official, and even offered to rewrite the story. It would be great, but again, companies don't want to take the risk of remaking bad games, which is a shame. It was pretty cool to see Mephilles in Shadow Generations though.
@@princessCashel agreed, haven’t played it but watch play throughs of it and my goodness they did justice on this. But Spyro’s my favorite and Sonic second but if there’s no merch of Spyro Thad’s hard to get. Ill get Sonic, particularly in LEGO sets as that’s my favorite hobby or collection to collect
No Art Director? Wow, I don't know anything about making games but that seems like a really important position to have filled. No wonder the game looks the way it does.
Art directors are experienced in the art field and make sure the art style for the game is consistent and on-model, and they choose what character designs suit the project. Without an art director, the art style of a game can be inconsistent, out of place, characters can look off-putting, etc.
I guess that also explains why the enemies are so different from the previous games, other than Krome Studios not being the developers. Crazy to think that the game had no art director, regardless of how the concept art looks.
No, Sierra and EL intentionally created the Grublins as Malefor’s new army from the getgo. The Apes were replaced because they weren’t truly loyal to Malefor and he cursed them into skeletons.
I don't why people are complaining about DoTD Cynder is a black dragon. In the 3rd one her scales look like they added a purple tint makes them seem more shimmery.
Funny enough, the same issues discussed here also apply to the HTTYD game from 2010. The bloom issues persisted, and some dragons, if not customized, looked off-color because of it, not to mention Hiccup's and Toothless' prosthetics are missing in-game. Possibly a spoiler prevention? You be the judge. Another issue is poor rigging. You probably mentioned it in another video, but in DOTD, the body proportions distort rather badly in most animations, whether it be limbs stretching too far or textures distorting mid-animation. You can also see this in Gmod, where the poor rigging of DOTD Spyro and Cynder makes them difficult to pose compared to their ANB/TEN versions without looking off (I.E. trying to T-Pose like Bipeds). The rigging issue also applies in HTTYD, but you can hardly see it due to the fixed camera angle as it is a fighting game instead of a 3D adventure like DOTD.
Hiccup and Toothless's missing prosthetics is because the game was made while the movie was still in production before the final story draft was made. I had a feeling EL was still playing with fire if they still had issues with the bloom and their game engine.
This was a huge bomb of information. And just on the game's 15th anniversary. Like, what a gift (?). It might be my inner fanatism but- Nah I still like it, years later I did notice how oily it looks and how most of the time that's annoying but I still like it. It's funny how the portable versions (even in Java) we're more accurate in modeling and color to the art direction. What I find the most shocking (besides the facts that this game somehow has no art director along with the engine was so outdated somehow didn't exploded or collapsed, and still the game was completed) about this is that the myth of Krome's DotD never existed. Great video! PS: Haha Cynder go purp
This is making me want to see the game get that Sonic P-06 treatment where fans get together to try and iron out as many issues as they can to make the game more like how it was intended to be. That, and the whole discussion about the bloom effect is making me rethink how I approach that same effect in my future game as well, since I've been using it a lot in my art. It kinda reminds me of those Unreal Engine projects like the Ocarina of Time remake, where they just show you screenshots of this hyperrealistic, shiny game, but then you actually play it, and it's a broken buggy mess both gameplay and visual wise.
Even with the ripple effect or if the color change did ever actually exist in story, you could make the arguement that it's Spyro and Cynder's specific shades that make him the purple dragon and her the black dragon.
@@CrystalBlazierI think what they're trying to say is that to make the color change make sense in-universe, the explanation for Cynder's scale color could be that it's simply black with a purple undertone. That was always my headcanon explanation; the purple undertones came from Malefor/Gaul attempting to forcefully transform her into a purple dragon.
Out of all the Spyro games, I'd love to see a remake/remaster of this on a newer engine and all the needed corrections (both visually, technically and more accurate to the intended story)
I know it’s trivial, but I was kind of annoyed with the change in Cynder’s colors. The black suited her much better lore wise and look wise. Her design in the first two games were much better
The legend of spyro trilogy had so much missed potential and og fan my have not liked it but do you think a characters like spyro that usually light hearted and flat can be made with depth and a more serious tone could it work i mean og spyro was meant to a kids game but do think spyro frsnchise can grow into a story drivin franchise for older fans 10 to 12 year old
As someone who only played the original Spyro games and the Skylanders games, I started to understand why this is a major issue. The previous games had their own Art Direction to keep the series from becoming inconsistent in both visuals and narrative. Sadly, Dawn of the Dragon would have faced worse considering that it hides so much faults under a lamp-like, artificially overbearing bloom to emphasise notable details. I guess that is why Cynder is the way she is in Skylanders and maybe in the future because of the latest entry being the most prominent. With that said, I think Swap Force have faced a similar challenge. But from my understanding, at least it has direction and a well built engine to handle all of its details. Very good analysis, Crystal.
I onestly never was thinking about it that much It's still dark blue not exacly purple atleast not like spyro It's quite funny that it was issue ro keep her black because fans maded mod restoring it...on ps3 of all platworms
@@CrystalBlazier true but it's always funny because immidietly comes to mind community creations being better than og ones Like sure it's simple edit but it does puts tought in head like that It's quite shame spyro never got that many creations such as that because acti sucks and blocked only fangame i know and...it's simply shame
Wait, the reason why Krome Studios didn't develop the last game was because of some random movie tie-in game? Ok... Also yikes with the lack of a art director... No wonder why it looks... So off putting.
No, it's not the reason with Krome Studios. It's because Vivendi Games reached out to Etranges Libellules and wanted them to do Dawn of the Dragon, mainly because of the high qualities of their previous games and how they did action games.
@@CrystalBlazier I see what you mean now. My mistake about the studio change, dang it Vivendi! I still wonder how Cynder would look like in Skylanders if her original colors were kept.
@@KairiKeyz There are few mods on Spyro's Adventure PC that has Cynder having black scales: www.tumblr.com/skylandersacademy/172347065433/retextured-skylanders-fixes-tlos?source=share
To be honest, if it was this company that made DotD I dont think I wouldve had an issue, I had an issue with them changing from Red dot to this french company cause I was used to and LIKED the original TLoS style for the past two games, one person even said the reason they changed Cynder from Black to purple is due to " she wouldnt look good in it " and when someone did a mod for her to look black, she looked FINE, way better than her dark purple look, Dawn of the dragon was such a rushed game due to time constraints and poor managment
It’s rather weird this game didn’t have much art direction to begin with. What’s even more crazy though is the fact that the engine didn’t explode in the first place with all that hardware. Guess it goes to show that there’s only so much you can do with an outdated engine.
Also thanks for letting me do the thumbnail art ^^ It was fun drawing Cynder again
Hi Travis lol
It's worth noting that the engine wasn't well optimized for PS2 and Wii, as the former has the infamous Twisted Sparx glitch in one cutscene, and the latter is somewhat prone to crashing infrequently. Not to mention that the PS2 version caps at 30 FPS, unlike the Wii version, which can reach 60 FPS but suffers framerate drops.
@@X2011racer I can confirm that as I have played the PS2 version in 60fps on an emulator.
@@TravistheDragon 30 FPS on real hardware. Emulators can ignore framerate caps, though results may vary. Seems DOTD's gameplay mechanics are framerate independent, so no problems can occur going beyond the original framerate cap.
@@X2011racer Yeah some of the dataminers discovered that some of Spyro and Cynder's attacks are dependent on framerate.
If people wanna keep their lore for Cynder’s coloration that’s more than okay, but man it’s such a relief to have real answers so many years later. It’s frustrating, knowing what could’ve been. But even with the right palette or a slightly adjusted model there’s no way of knowing if it would’ve been satisfying either way. Thanks for the vid, well explained! Hope lotsa people see it :)
Hi Fae, fancy seeing ya here!
We have proof that other colors for DOTD Cynder (black, gray, etc. through emulator mods) work fine with the model. Even her OG black colors tell others a different story for the model. :)
The games would really benefit from a remake or remaster, I doubt that it would ever happen because of poor sales but imagine how pretty DoTD would look with proper art direction
It's too bad companies don't want to risk remaking bad games. Dawn of The Dragon is one of those games that has potential if they remake it.
@@Drago-ye2yl It's like Sonic 06, where they would have to completely rewrite the story. And definitely fix the bloom. It's the same problem I have with Wind Waker HD. Beautiful game, but it's too bright.
@@princessCashel Agreed, I played 96 when younger and couldn’t get past the snow boarding level in Sonic’s story. But DotD has that same feel but not as buggy as 06. (Which Sega should recognize P-06 for the time and effort it took, same bit sorta situation as Sonic Mania)
@@justincole1510 Imagine if Sega offered to make P-06 official, and even offered to rewrite the story. It would be great, but again, companies don't want to take the risk of remaking bad games, which is a shame. It was pretty cool to see Mephilles in Shadow Generations though.
@@princessCashel agreed, haven’t played it but watch play throughs of it and my goodness they did justice on this. But Spyro’s my favorite and Sonic second but if there’s no merch of Spyro Thad’s hard to get. Ill get Sonic, particularly in LEGO sets as that’s my favorite hobby or collection to collect
No Art Director? Wow, I don't know anything about making games but that seems like a really important position to have filled. No wonder the game looks the way it does.
Art directors are experienced in the art field and make sure the art style for the game is consistent and on-model, and they choose what character designs suit the project. Without an art director, the art style of a game can be inconsistent, out of place, characters can look off-putting, etc.
I guess that also explains why the enemies are so different from the previous games, other than Krome Studios not being the developers. Crazy to think that the game had no art director, regardless of how the concept art looks.
No, Sierra and EL intentionally created the Grublins as Malefor’s new army from the getgo. The Apes were replaced because they weren’t truly loyal to Malefor and he cursed them into skeletons.
I don't why people are complaining about DoTD Cynder is a black dragon. In the 3rd one her scales look like they added a purple tint makes them seem more shimmery.
Funny enough, the same issues discussed here also apply to the HTTYD game from 2010. The bloom issues persisted, and some dragons, if not customized, looked off-color because of it, not to mention Hiccup's and Toothless' prosthetics are missing in-game. Possibly a spoiler prevention? You be the judge.
Another issue is poor rigging. You probably mentioned it in another video, but in DOTD, the body proportions distort rather badly in most animations, whether it be limbs stretching too far or textures distorting mid-animation. You can also see this in Gmod, where the poor rigging of DOTD Spyro and Cynder makes them difficult to pose compared to their ANB/TEN versions without looking off (I.E. trying to T-Pose like Bipeds).
The rigging issue also applies in HTTYD, but you can hardly see it due to the fixed camera angle as it is a fighting game instead of a 3D adventure like DOTD.
Hiccup and Toothless's missing prosthetics is because the game was made while the movie was still in production before the final story draft was made.
I had a feeling EL was still playing with fire if they still had issues with the bloom and their game engine.
This was a huge bomb of information. And just on the game's 15th anniversary. Like, what a gift (?).
It might be my inner fanatism but-
Nah I still like it, years later I did notice how oily it looks and how most of the time that's annoying but I still like it.
It's funny how the portable versions (even in Java) we're more accurate in modeling and color to the art direction.
What I find the most shocking (besides the facts that this game somehow has no art director along with the engine was so outdated somehow didn't exploded or collapsed, and still the game was completed) about this is that the myth of Krome's DotD never existed.
Great video!
PS: Haha Cynder go purp
@@IllusionMaster17 So, that last factoid also debunks the rumor that Krome's flight mechanics were recycled for The Legend of the Guardians.
This is making me want to see the game get that Sonic P-06 treatment where fans get together to try and iron out as many issues as they can to make the game more like how it was intended to be.
That, and the whole discussion about the bloom effect is making me rethink how I approach that same effect in my future game as well, since I've been using it a lot in my art. It kinda reminds me of those Unreal Engine projects like the Ocarina of Time remake, where they just show you screenshots of this hyperrealistic, shiny game, but then you actually play it, and it's a broken buggy mess both gameplay and visual wise.
Those concept art backgrounds are so pretty :') makes me think of what could've been
Even with the ripple effect or if the color change did ever actually exist in story, you could make the arguement that it's Spyro and Cynder's specific shades that make him the purple dragon and her the black dragon.
What?
@@CrystalBlazierI think what they're trying to say is that to make the color change make sense in-universe, the explanation for Cynder's scale color could be that it's simply black with a purple undertone. That was always my headcanon explanation; the purple undertones came from Malefor/Gaul attempting to forcefully transform her into a purple dragon.
@@crucifixdove Ah, yea I heard of similar headcanons (cynder being brushed by Spyro’s power at close range and all).
Out of all the Spyro games, I'd love to see a remake/remaster of this on a newer engine and all the needed corrections (both visually, technically and more accurate to the intended story)
Some call Dawn of the Dragon outdated, but looking into its history reveals that it was actually way ahead of its time.
Awesome and well put video, amazing job as always ^^
I like to think that's because cynder is getting older
That was quick. xD
Nice thought, but it conflicts with the lore on Purple Dragons and it's kinda confusing. Did you watch the full video btw? :3
@@CrystalBlazier i was doing, but decided to comment first
Time for that trilogy remaster
I figured that this game was developed in an awkward way but I didn't expect it to be this much a train wreck XD. Thanks CB, very insightful 💙
Well her color is black from new beginning and In dawn of the dragon cynders color is now in blackish purple.
That’s obvious. xD
But we finally know the real reason why her colors changed, which is mentioned in the video.
That explains it.
I know it’s trivial, but I was kind of annoyed with the change in Cynder’s colors. The black suited her much better lore wise and look wise. Her design in the first two games were much better
so it is beacose strange fireflies like bloom
I like Cynder!
The legend of spyro trilogy had so much missed potential and og fan my have not liked it but do you think a characters like spyro that usually light hearted and flat can be made with depth and a more serious tone could it work i mean og spyro was meant to a kids game but do think spyro frsnchise can grow into a story drivin franchise for older fans 10 to 12 year old
As someone who only played the original Spyro games and the Skylanders games, I started to understand why this is a major issue.
The previous games had their own Art Direction to keep the series from becoming inconsistent in both visuals and narrative. Sadly, Dawn of the Dragon would have faced worse considering that it hides so much faults under a lamp-like, artificially overbearing bloom to emphasise notable details.
I guess that is why Cynder is the way she is in Skylanders and maybe in the future because of the latest entry being the most prominent. With that said, I think Swap Force have faced a similar challenge. But from my understanding, at least it has direction and a well built engine to handle all of its details.
Very good analysis, Crystal.
I onestly never was thinking about it that much
It's still dark blue not exacly purple atleast not like spyro
It's quite funny that it was issue ro keep her black because fans maded mod restoring it...on ps3 of all platworms
That's because Fans were able to edit the files with game mods on emulators and not on the original old engine it was made on.
@@CrystalBlazier true but it's always funny because immidietly comes to mind community creations being better than og ones
Like sure it's simple edit but it does puts tought in head like that
It's quite shame spyro never got that many creations such as that because acti sucks and blocked only fangame i know and...it's simply shame
But I like the bloom :c
And that’s fine! But others understandably don’t. ^^
@@CrystalBlazier They must excise the weakness of their flesh and install superior cybernetical eyes.
@@BeeWaifuOr Etranges Libellules shouldnt have made the bloom look like the sun was close to the earth. ^^
@@CrystalBlazier Well, now we know why they called their studio 'Strange Dragonflies'
I have a Cynder plush and she's bright purple. It's off-putting.
Wait, the reason why Krome Studios didn't develop the last game was because of some random movie tie-in game? Ok...
Also yikes with the lack of a art director... No wonder why it looks... So off putting.
No, it's not the reason with Krome Studios. It's because Vivendi Games reached out to Etranges Libellules and wanted them to do Dawn of the Dragon, mainly because of the high qualities of their previous games and how they did action games.
@@CrystalBlazier I see what you mean now. My mistake about the studio change, dang it Vivendi! I still wonder how Cynder would look like in Skylanders if her original colors were kept.
@@KairiKeyz There are few mods on Spyro's Adventure PC that has Cynder having black scales: www.tumblr.com/skylandersacademy/172347065433/retextured-skylanders-fixes-tlos?source=share
To be honest, if it was this company that made DotD I dont think I wouldve had an issue, I had an issue with them changing from Red dot to this french company cause I was used to and LIKED the original TLoS style for the past two games, one person even said the reason they changed Cynder from Black to purple is due to " she wouldnt look good in it " and when someone did a mod for her to look black, she looked FINE, way better than her dark purple look, Dawn of the dragon was such a rushed game due to time constraints and poor managment