I know its probably way too early to ask this but i figure why not.
In EQ, lvl 1 chainmail looked like lvl 50 chainmail except for your ability to color it later on in game. I know that EQ is old and a bad comparison, but will there be multiple graphics for a type of armor?
Will there be a polymorph system or anything?
And BTW, thx to everyone for all the helpful answers to peoples questions so far. I have been all over the forums and so far the community has been so nice and helpful.
Jabberwakee said:I know its probably way too early to ask this but i figure why not.
In EQ, lvl 1 chainmail looked like lvl 50 chainmail except for your ability to color it later on in game. I know that EQ is old and a bad comparison, but will there be multiple graphics for a type of armor?
Will there be a polymorph system or anything?
And BTW, thx to everyone for all the helpful answers to peoples questions so far. I have been all over the forums and so far the community has been so nice and helpful.
No problem at all :D There are numerous threads on the cosmetic system if you're interested, but I think they're all speculative.
Definitely always search for topics before posting, but because in this case there are some good answers buried in threads of 16 pages of baseless opinions, I'll save you some time and just post them here lol:
From Aradune:
Hey all,
Here are our current thoughts:
1. It is important for community in our opinion that people see your gear, especially more exotic gear, worn on you, to inspire them to earn that gear if that want to look that way on day in their future.
2. That said, if it's important to enough of our players to have cosmetic slots, we would consider that, but the cosmetic items would never look the same as the earned gear.
...I don't mind cosmetic items as long as they don't make you look like you're wearing earned items -- of course, this means more art assets to create, because we'd have to create character appearance items to reflect those cosmetic items, not just earned items.
Also definitely not a fan of being able to run into combat with your cosmetic items on.... so perhaps if you have your cosmetic items on or switched to 'viewable', it should affect your stats/AC/DPS/etc?
We know what we don't want (stated earlier), but the details of how a hybrid system would work is interesting and we've not set anything in stone when it comes to the details.
...I think it's really important that when you look at another player you see a representation of the gear they've earned and their accomplishments. First, hey, it's fun as the higher level guy to show off. Secondly, and more importantly, it inspires lower level players to acheive.
As for 'appearance gear' or what I call cosmetic items (items that change your appearance but don't really do anything for your character) I think there can be a place for them. Many players like to role-play and dress up, etc. So we are consdiering a cosmetic layer, where you could wear cosmetic gear and that would show up instead of your real gear if you wanted.
Where I would probably draw a line would be the whole dying or somehow altering the in-game appearance of an earned item. The Crimson Breastplate of the Sphynx should look awesome, and it should be red. And you should, after playing the game for a while, recognize rare and powerful items being worn by players who've worked hard to obtain them.
...it may make sense to limit where your cosmetic gear can actually change your appearance. I don't generally like hard limitations though. We'll mess around with this and many things in beta.
(Sources: https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/forums/topic/2126/appearance-gear-and-weapons/view/page/3 ,
Edit: It's important to note that cosmetic gear can be toggled by the viewer. That way, if you want everyone else's real gear to show up, you can toggle that, or if you want everyone else's cosmetic gear to show up, you can see it that way. The option is up to you - that should please the most amount of people. That's the current plan, anyway.
You may also be interested in: https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/forums/topic/7984/cosmetic-gear-idea/view/page/1
And check out this clip from the Dec '16 stream: 01:42:05 Unique Item visuals
Reading Aradune's post brought to mind a funny bit of WoW history for me. I had the opportunity to be one of the first rading feral druids to do AQ (was really a resto/feral hybrid that focused on raid healing with super efficient rejuv rather than tank healing) and collected most of the feral raid gear. Unfortunately due the bug like nature of the AQ gear and the color pallet of the feral gear I ended up looking like a Mighty Morphing Power Ranger Jester any time I was in my night elf form. It was the best of the best gear at the time but I hated the look. I would have given almost anything to spray paint it all black or green.
So I guess what I am getting at is that some of us would be more likely to use cosmetics to look simpler and more humble than their gear would merit rather than trying to look more impressive than they have earned.
Food for thought,
Trasak
This is very interesting and offers some useful insight. I definitely agree that seeing someone in (for example) their swim suit in the middle of a dungeon can really mess with immersion. Yet while in town or during certain RP situations or events, being able to wear appropriate or unique things can be fun. I think the key challenges are determining how to hold onto / store extra cosmetic items and how complex switching to them (in areas of the game where they make sense) should be.
There really needs to be some type of appearance override function/slots. I think a lot of people are forgetting how stupid people used to look in EQ with all these mismatched pieces of armor unless you had a full set of something or had pieces dyed to make the color scheme at least decent.
Searril said:There really needs to be some type of appearance override function/slots. I think a lot of people are forgetting how stupid people used to look in EQ with all these mismatched pieces of armor unless you had a full set of something or had pieces dyed to make the color scheme at least decent.
For people that cared, that would be motivation to continue grinding out the gear you want :) Although that reminds me, if there is cosmetic gear in Pantheon, most of it (especially the cooler-looking ones) will likely be looted. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some basic ones available at in-game merchants, but remember there isn't a cash shop. You will have to work for even cosmetics :)
I like the solution VR has come up with though. Rather than controlling how others see you, you control how you see others. If you want everyone to look their best, then toggle cosmetic mode. Although of course if someone isn't wearing any cosmetic gear, they'll look the same. And if you want to be able to tell what someone's wearing just by looking at them, toggle "adventure" mode.
Jabberwakee said:I know its probably way too early to ask this but i figure why not.
In EQ, lvl 1 chainmail looked like lvl 50 chainmail except for your ability to color it later on in game. I know that EQ is old and a bad comparison, but will there be multiple graphics for a type of armor?
Will there be a polymorph system or anything?
And BTW, thx to everyone for all the helpful answers to peoples questions so far. I have been all over the forums and so far the community has been so nice and helpful.
I think your concern comes down to how much resources they can put into art. There will probably be default basic style armors that look the same, whether you loot it at level 1 or level 50. But I think what you're asking for is more variety/unique looks of special/magic items. I think it's hard to predict that without knowing how much they plan on investing in art. Since we have not even seen the ability to see differences in character armor when they swap out gear, it will probably be a while before we know how it's going to work.
Thanks for linking that stuff Baz. I'm sure it *has* been covered before, but re-reading Aradune's comments I think what some people (including Aradune) think of as *cosmetic* slots and items aren't what I would want it to mean (I'm such a special snowflake).
For me it means being able to override an item's appearance with the appearance of one I have previously worn because I prefer it.
I always found it very disappointing to get a new super magical item for it to turn out to look unpleasant or not match the look I'm going for.
Often I would prefer to have my gear look *less* special/fantastical/weird/unsubtle.
I really dislike the whole concept of cosmetic *only* items. I mean maybe people want 'civilian' clothing when in town, but the whole neon pink bikini or christmas themed pyjamas or whatever? NO NO NO. I'd rather have *no* cosmetics than that stuff be available, but I'd really like to be able to 'save' the appearance of something I used to wear if I prefer it to my 'best' stat item.
I know some would say "if you want that look, wear that item" but in reality, I would wear that new garish item and cover it with a cloak or skins or whatever. Given that's very unlikely to be a game option, I'd really like to be able to keep an 'old' look instead even if it meant soul-binding or even consuming that old item.