[Wishko]

Разработчики Overwatch опубликовали новую статью из серии "Еженедельный сбор", в которой регулярно делятся разной информацией о своих подходах к работе над игрой, успехах и неудачах, новинках и прочих волнующих их и игроков моментах. В свежей заметке авторы рассказали о новом типе обликов – ультра-обликах.

Weekly Recall: Going Ultra

Hey there, Heroes! We hope you’ve been enjoying Season 3 and dodging trains in Neon Junction as best you can. This season has more features than Shion has spare motorcycles, but one major addition to the shop may have caught your attention.

We introduced a new line of cosmetics called Ultra Skins and they’re full of goodies, from thematic VFX and head-turning sound effects to adorable feline familiars. The Nyan Café series includes our first set of Ultra Skins, which star Sierra and Kiriko as Kanezaka baristas who are more formidable than they appear.

Creating these cosmetics takes more than the wave of a magic kunai, too. Let’s dive in and learn more!

What Are Ultra Skins?

This new category of cosmetics fulfills two big goals of ours: giving you more ways to express yourself in-game with fun and creative skins, while giving our artists more opportunities to make skins that are unique in new ways.

Ultra Skins are all about spectacle and feature custom effects created by our art team. Right now, that means visual effects on reloads or eliminations as well as new sound effects. We’re leaving things open for future innovation, though.

When you equip an Ultra Skin, you’ll be able to enjoy every feature it has as soon as you hop into your next match. Where Mythic Skins offer personal choice, Ultra Skins provide attention-grabbing effects that are ready to roll right out of the shop. We think of the comparison as less of a tier list and instead more variety of options for you to choose from, focusing on what matters more to you—instant gratification or personal customization.

Some Legendary skins include audiovisual effects and we noticed how much you loved them; so, we decided to expand those offerings and go Ultra. And if you're worried about competitive integrity, fear not: immersive effects like elimination graphics or sound effects are only visible to enemies in their kill cams, not in the heat of battle. Sparkle away to your heart's content.

Breaking Limits

One big motivator in adding Ultra Skins is giving our artists more opportunity to create beyond the technical limits of other cosmetic tiers. As cool as Mythic Skins are, they require certain parameters to be hit, like creating reworked models and various levels of customization. With Ultra Skins, our designers are free to take risks and dive into innovative concepts without needing to tick every box on a long list.

We’re also intentionally not limiting what features the Ultra Skin line will include in the future. Our first two offerings include custom VFX for eliminations as well as custom sounds and fun little details you will discover over time. That doesn’t mean Ultra Skins will always have those features…or will only have those features. Our artists love pushing technical and conceptual boundaries and they can’t wait to get wild with their ideas.

The World Could Always Use More Cats

If there’s a better example of what happens when we let our art team go feral (but in a cute way) than the Nyan Café line, we can’t think of one. These non-canon Ultra Skins are inspired by the décor and vibe of the Kanezaka cat café and represent what our artists imagine the baristas might look like there! Don’t be fooled by their adorable outfits and fluffy familiars, though. They’re ready to defend Kanezaka at a moment’s notice.

For Sierra in particular, there’s a lot of power behind her pink façade. Her elimination VFX is a giant cat paw that comes down from the sky as if to swipe her enemies out of existence. In fact, there are three different cats that appear at random post-elimination for both Kiriko and Sierra! Hearts bubble up as Sierra reloads her weapon, an adorable distraction as she lines up her next shot. Her trusty drone, Dorothy, has been reimagined as an actual cat ready to rain justice from above. Has she been hanging out with Jetpack Cat again?


Creating Sierra’s skin took inspiration and collaboration from designers across half a dozen disciplines. Concept and art direction took the lead and worked up an idea for a cute-yet-cutthroat line of skins that would resonate with the community while modelers dove in to add some frills to Sierra’s usual sleek wardrobe.

The VFX team had a huge hand in the Nyan Café skins. Not only do they build upon a specific concept, but they add more detail within technical restrictions to make skins even more special—like those random cat silhouettes on elimination. One of our VFX artists added glowing paw prints that linger behind a Hero for a short time (not when invisible, of course) to give the feeling of always having a kitty familiar by your side.

All artists put a little bit of their heart into everything they create, and our senior sound designer Nicholas Yochum—who got his own Weekly Recall earlier this year—recorded the meows and chirps of his cat, Jack, for these skins. Jack had just been diagnosed with bone cancer and this was a way for Nicholas to both immortalize his friend within Overwatch and share him with all of you. (The rest of the cat sounds were supplied by a cat-sound keyboard our sound design team went out and purchased. Yes, a full keyboard.)

Photos of Jack provided by Nicholas Yochum.

Nyan Café skins not your thing? Don’t worry. More Ultra Skins will be heading your way in upcoming seasons and they’ll be hitting aesthetics from all corners of the artistic universe.

We’re all ears if you have thoughts on these skins. From our queue to yours, enjoy Season 3![Источник]