Star Stable August Blog Part 2: The Friesian

The Friesian

By Lisa Wackenhuth Svanström (Senior 3D Artist)

We’ve been eagerly waiting to rework one of the most beloved horse breeds in Star Stable Online - the Friesian. Known as the “black pearl of horse breeds,” the Friesian holds a special place in our hearts and the hearts of our players. Today, I’m thrilled to share the journey of bringing a realistic and accurate Friesian to life in our game.

The Vision and Goal

The reworking of the Friesian has been a long-awaited project. As the 3D artist and Equestrian Advisor for this production, I provided the 3D model and textures of the Friesian and ensured that our team shared a unified vision and stayed true to the breed's standards. Our goal was to meet the expectations of our players while aligning with our own artistic ambitions. We aimed to capture the essence of the Friesian, staying true to the breed characteristics and approved for registration colors being different shades of black and the very rare red gene, with the only approved marking being a small star.

To highlight the variations with these special markings, we choose the braided competition mane style as their standard mane style whenever you would approach them in the horse market, making these distinct features more visible and not hidden behind the heavy forelock. You are still able to choose whatever manestyle you seem fitting for your Friesian.

Discovery Phase: Research and Inspiration

My passion for the Friesian has grown significantly over the past three years. Since the Connemara production I have found myself drawn to each breed I work on, but none has captivated me quite like the Friesian breed did. After completing the Jorvik Friesian production in December 2020, I proudly welcomed my very own Friesian mare, Maaike, into my life just one day after its release. Now three years later we have come full circle and gained new experience and skills so it was time for the team to rework the Friesian.

Every production starts with a discovery phase where we gather extensive reference through videos and photos or stable visits of the breed we are currently working on.  

Owning Maaike firsthand has allowed me to intimately study the Friesian breed’s characteristics, which I eagerly shared with the team during this phase and throughout the entire production.

One notable enhancement in the rework is the more accurate build staying true to the breed standards. The Friesian horse is recognized for its noble appearance, featuring a powerful build, longer back, long arched neck, refined head and distinctive feathering on the lower legs. Thanks to new features and code enabling the hiding of feathering when equipping leg protectors and wraps (a feature recently seen with the Ardennes), we could confidently commit to this detail.

Crafting the Mane: Balancing Beauty and Practicality

Deciding on the mane length was a critical step. We considered player feedback while ensuring the animators' workflow remained manageable. The result? An epic Friesian mane that’s both visually stunning and practical for animation.

Our updated rig for the mane now features five joint chains with four to a maximum of eight bones in each, a significant upgrade from the old Jorvik Friesian, which had only three chains with a maximum of four bones per chain. This upgrade lets us animate the mane during idles and movement so much better, bringing the Friesian to life in a more realistic approach. We take player feedback into consideration. No more noodle manes, I promise! ;)

Furthermore we decided to give the tail the updated rig as well that we have used on previous horses featuring in total three chains for the tail strands compared to the previous version with only one.

Experimenting with Variety: The Ageing Friesian

Creating variety within the coat variations of shades of black was a challenge for me. Beyond jet black, normal black, sunbleached black, and black with a facial marking, I wanted to introduce a new concept: an aging horse. During my research, I noticed that Friesians often develop gray hairs on their foreheads as they age. Even my horse has begun to show signs of aging beneath her forelock, and it is gradually spreading - a charming trait. This inspired me to incorporate an aging Friesian coat variation, showcasing the beauty that comes with age and bringing more diversity to the game.

Enhanced Animations: Bringing the Friesian to Life

To further enrich the player experience, we’ve added a longer rearing animation and a unique player animation to accompany it to catch that epic movie trailer feel. And guess what? We have also included the canter pirouette and extended trot for all our fellow dressage enthusiasts - and I am certainly one of you! These enhancements ensure that the Friesian not only looks stunning but also moves with the grace and realism this comeback truly deserves!

The horse art and animation department has come a long way both visually but also technically since the Jorvik Friesian back in 2020. We have aligned our art style in order to make the horses more coherent to the game world and fitting to their breed characteristics. A lot of behind the scenes work has been done on the recent horses to prepare for future updates. 

With the Friesian we have now standardized the UV map by adding the feathering UV shells enabling all future feathered horses to be able to wear leg wraps and protectors such as the Ardennes. UV mapping is the process of putting a 2D image like a picture onto a 3D model. You can think of it like wrapping paper around a gift. When working with the horses we 3D artists have to divide the horse body parts such as the head, ears, legs and body in different groups called UV shells in order to create the 2D UV map from the 3D model to be able to paint on it and not get distorted and stretched textures.  

Furthermore by adding the shaved bridle path in the neck of all manestyles on the Friesian we were also able to split the forelocks in order to prepare for features such as combining different manes with forelocks and tail styles in the future - a feature we in the horse team long to bring to you players but currently have no technical solution for yet. But small steps and improvements with every horse production will eventually get us there.

As we release this updated breed into the world of Star Stable Online, we are excited to see how it enriches your gaming experience. 

This production has been a work fueled by passion, blending art, dedication, and technical expertise. We hope you, our dear players, will enjoy the revamped Friesian as much as my team and I enjoyed creating it. We hope we did the breed justice this time. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey with us - here's to many more adventures together in Jorvik!