Next up, we discuss AnthroXtacy’s Phoenix avatar. While they’ve had a few anthro, bipedal phoenixes around for a while, this is AnthroXtacy’s foray into the world of feral, non-anthro avatars. Let’s take a look at what they’ve come up with.
Out of the Box:
- Full Feral Animation Overrider
- Almost Infinite Colour Combinations
- Eye Dilation and Colour Controls
- 22 Feather Type Choices
- Black or Gold Beak/Leg Colour Choice
- A full compliment of animations, gestures, and actions
- Loaded with Sounds and Particle Effects
- Attacks
- Fire
- Bird “Bombs”
- Comes with an exclusive bird stand for the Phoenix
- Apparently Tastes just like Chicken!
| Measurement | Value |
|---|---|
| Script Time (With HUD) | Unknown / Unknown (Unable to acquire) |
| Script Time / Memory (without HUD) | Unknown /Unknown |
| Avatar Rendering Cost (Scale Here) | ~2800 |
| Modify? | Yes |
| Copy? | Yes |
| Transferable? | No |
Build and Textures:
This avatar is a feral one, therefore, the mesh shape has been covered completely by prims which allow the body shape to look more that of a true avian’s. Coupled with the included animation overrider, the avatar manages to pull off the image of an avian pretty well. In terms of construction, the avatar is made up of a number of sculpted prims for the body, and with enough segmentation to allow smooth movement in joints and during movement itself. This avatar becomes avatar we’ve reviewed to completely shun invisiprims in favour of alpha layers. Because of this, disappearing feathers and other alpha-textured prims are eradicated.
The textures for the body are elaborate and well made, and each of the colour combinations are aesthetically pleasing. The body doesn’t have individual hand-drawn feathers, instead opting for a more simple ‘down-feathers’ look, which then moves visual attention to the wings and tailfeathers, as well as other plumage of the avatar. As one can see from the photos, the texturing holds its own on this avatar, especially with the addition of the slightly glowing markings. All in all, a good combination of design, texturing, and construction.
Body:
The body itself is rather simple, but very well made. Looking past the feathers, this Phoenix’s shape is somewhat reminiscent of a turkey or a goose’s body shape. Yet, despite the simplicity of the build, the avatar is streamlined and ‘birdy’ to say the least.
But, before we go over the plumage, we’ll say some words on the actual body parts. Starting with the feet, they remain true to a generic structure of avian feet; 3 toes facing forward and one facing backwards. When in flight or sitting on the included perch, the feet curl, and depending on whatever animation, the feet may curl or uncurl. The build of the feet are slightly exaggerated, which makes us point out that the avatar isn’t going for ‘realism’ as much as a fun, slightly stylised bird.
Outside of the legs, the avatar’s body shape consists of contoured sculpted prims with nothing too special to them structurally, but texture-wise, they have plenty. As we mentioned before, there’s the addition of ‘glowing’ markings on the Phoenix’s body that adds a bit of a legendary, surreal touch to the look. The same can be said for the wings which also includes the highlighting, but still serve merely as the base for the far more impressive plumage.
One of this avatar’s strongest points is the wing-feathers as well as the tail-feathers. As one can see from the photos scattered throughout this review, the creator has included a rich plumage of feathers of varying sizes. Each of the feathers are semi-transparent flexi-prims, so there is going to be the occasional texture-flickering, but that’s no fault of the creator. Suffice to say, the texture quality of the feathers is of appreciable quality.
Another area where the feathers stand out, if not moreso, is the tail-feathers. Starting off with a slim profile at the base, they move out behind the avatar and fan out. The feathers here are a fair bit more detailed than the wing-feathers, with some of these having a Peafowl’s ‘eyelets’ near the tip of the feather. We’ll also mention here that there is a HUD-controlled option to change all of the feathers on the avatar to a set of 22 completely different feather textures. This means that while you may have bought the avatar itself in a specific colour, that colour is just the ‘base’ of the avatar; users can change the main feathers or the ‘accent’ feathers separately, or simultaneously. The photo below shows some examples of combinations one can make.
Before we forget, we’ll point out that this avatar comes with ‘feathers’ that drop while the avatar is in flight. The occasional particle-feather drifts from the wings to the floor, and adds a neat touch to the avatar. For all varieties of the Phoenix, users can turn on the “Particles” which will engulf the avatar in flames. The creator has also taken care to allow users the options to change the colours of the falling feathers, as well as the colour of the glowing ‘markings.’
Head:
The head itself is perched on a mid-sized, goose-like neck connected to the trunk of the body. The joint between the neck and the head does not feature any movement, but the one between the neck and body does, allowing for some motion during some animations. This joint between the neck and the body can sometimes look a bit awkward, especially when the head points downward, but it’s not a big enough issue to take away from the avatar’s overall image.
For the head, the creator has chosen a slightly oval shape, the eyes pointing slightly more to the sides than to the front. This makes way for the contoured, prominent beak on the end of the face. The interior of the beak is dark, with the exception of a softly glowing pink tongue. Users are given the ability to choose between two different textures for the beak; one of yellowish-brown colouration, and the other monochromatic. When you change the colour of the beak, it also changes the colour of the feet.
Our last point on the head will be the head-feathers. For the top of the head, there’s a few rows of simple feathers, but over-top of that, is a trio of long feathers with Peafowl eye-lets on them. This is more or less the ‘crown’ for the Phoenix, and with the crown-feathers at a similar quality level to the body feathers, gives the avatar a sense of completion.
Features and Heads-Up Display (HUD):
This avatar’s features are all completely controlled by HUD. The HUD itself is very user-friendly, and easy to use, especially when users can look at the AnthroXtacy Phoenix Page for more information on what the avatar can do. The link is viewable here, and is superior to the notecard instruction guide method in pretty much every way. Click here to view the AX Avatars Feral Phoenix Instructions.
There’s a few ‘features’ that come with the avatar that we’ll share a few words on.
First of all, the HUD comes with a “Bird Bomb Meter,” which, as the graphics and name suggest, allows the avatar to excrete very birdy-ish white goo (semi-transparent textures). While some people may not fathom why this was included, it can be quite fun to bomb friends’ avatars when they’re not paying attention. When the meter runs low, you’re out, and must wait for the meter to replentish itself.
There are also gestures (Paraphrased from the AX Feral Phoenix Instructions Webpage):
- To use the egg and hatch gestures, first click egg. This will burn your phoenix down in fire and rebirth you into an egg sitting in ash. You will remain in this egg until you click on the hatch icon, then you will explode with embers and be reborn.
- To attack, aim where you’d like to launch your fire attack. Click the icon and let ‘er fly! BOOM!
- To peck at the ground, click on peck. You will continue pecking until you either click the icon again or choose another action.
- The four icons at the end will play a sound and move your beak to match the sound (The sounds are: Sky Call, Grumble, Call, Hiss)
Animation Overrider:
The AO for this avatar parallels the feathers as a huge part of this avatar. While there is pretty much only about 12 different animations, each of the animations has been well done to the point where the bird has a distinct character to it. The bird flaps its wings and does a variety of neat little idle things, whether preening itself or scratching at the ground. All around, a good set of animations.
Accessories:
The Feral Phoenix also comes with “Teh Burd Perch.” It is as it sounds; a bird perch that the avatar seats itself on, in front of some food in a container, and a bag of “Noms” at the base. This Perch is a fun addition for users who wear the avatar, and provides for a few photographic moments.
Customisation:
The avatar is customisable as the permissions are modifiable and copiable. The options that come with the avatar are fairly extensive, meaning that users have a good deal of customisation potential right out of the box.
Conclusion:
The AX Feral Phoenix presents itself as the legend of the Phoenix, but in a feral form. With the way how this avatar was constructed, as well as how the animations portray idle-mindedness and feral behaviour, the AX Feral Phoenix is an avatar that’s full of spunk and character. The feathers work very well for the compact avatar, and play a huge role in making this Phoenix exactly what it is. As such, users looking for a feral avian with some amount of feistiness and supposedly tastes like chicken, this is easily an option.
