Samuel_Tow
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Posts
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Quote:Warhammer 40 000 says: The latter, every time!Originally Posted by srmalloy
YConsider also that a character's costume is supposed to be iconic; which hero presents a more compelling figure -- the one who is clad in polished, gleaming armor, or the one that looks as if he barely survived his last fight, with dents and scrapes and rips and tears all over?
More seriously - and I don't want to keep hounding David over this - I know the art team are excited about the new visual tech. I'm excited, too, and I do appreciate a lot of the new finishes on old pieces. But as you yourself noted, metal does not always equal shiny (sometimes it equals long hair, but that's besides the point). Metal can be painted, metal can be worn, metal can something other than chrome steel (I'd personally pick cast iron over brass for a Steampunk character, myself).
This actually goes back to a previous argument I've had with the community, which is the reverse, ironically enough: Black surfaces could and should be reflective, too. People cited optics and told me that black metal can, by definition, not be very reflective or it wouldn't be black. I cited black black shiny reflective cars and was told that this wasn't metal but paint and so it didn't count. Can you see how I might be contradicted just a little bit when "that's painted" is used both as an argument FOR and AGAINST reflectivity?
Really, though, David's word is good enough. My concern is (was) that in their excitement over the new tech, the art team may either neglect or replace more conventional, less "shiny" (in the abstract sense) pieces in favour of more visual flair, but David's posts on the subject indicate that he's well aware of the potential problem and working on various solutions. And, really, that's good enough for me. -
Quote:My eyesight may never recover.Originally Posted by TerraDraconis
The Test Server is not the BETA SERVER.
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Quote:Ninja Run was sold for money for two reasons:Originally Posted by Lothic
None of us non-Devs really know how much effort it took to create something like Ninja Run versus Walk. We're all just guessing here. But the one FACT we do have is that the Devs sold us Ninja Run as part of a Pack whereas we got Walk for free. Clearly whatever it took to get Ninja Run working was complex enough that the Devs decided it had to be sold as something extra. Walk on the other hand was simple enough that it could be given to us for free.
1. The Martial Arts pack needed a temporary power, and that was a paid pack.
2. It's a quasi-travel-power available from level 4 that doesn't require a power pick.
Yes, Ninja Run was sold for money. Yes, Ninja Run took time and effort to make work like it does. I don't believe it's quite so simple to conclude that Ninja Run was sold for money BECAUSE it took time and effort to make work. Half the emotes in the Party Pack took absolutely no time an effort to make, on account of them being reused animations which were already in the game prior to the pack's release, yet those were sold for money, too. Because Ninja Run and Beast Run were bundled not just in paid packs but with serious game advantages, it's not at all safe to postulate exactly what their cost accounts for.
Actually, the only logical conclusion we can draw is that if Walk were a part of a Booster pack and added some kind of utility, and allowed you to use powers with it on, but also cost endurance to run, then it might cost money. The conclusion you draw is not in the slightest obvious, not to me, at least. If anything, it's inductive logic that's functionally unprovable.Quote:Originally Posted by Lothic
So we're left with the obvious logical conclusion: For Walk to be as completely developed as Ninja Run it'd likely have to be sold to us as a fully fleshed out integrated travel power. I might have been dumb enough to pay for a fully animated Walk, but my guess is that most people would not have bothered spending money on it. Thus instead of wasting Dev time and effort making a full travel power that few people would buy they let Walk slip out the side door as a limited "super-emote". It is what it is and it's never going to be any better than that. *shrugs*
And all that said - if they tried to sell me Walk with the ability to use powers with it... I'd buy it. I bought the Party Pack, after all. -
Quote:It's a good thing that this has never been offered as an explanation, then. The explanation actually offered is that if you're manifesting a visual, physical effect, this manifests visually. If you are manifesting fire, ice, electricity, energy, darkness, stones, crystals or anything else visually, this requires a visual effect. You can ask for a different visual effect, but SOME visual effect is always needed. Running around in jeans and a t-shirt, sporting a golden tan but claiming you're covered in armour made of ice is taking my suspension of disbelief way too far.Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
I have never bought the explanation that it is critical to show the armor effects visually, and don't personally believe the explanation for any of them has to be "you are wrapped in this element" as opposed to "you are made of this element" or whatever else.
I can deal with no effects for things like martial arts, super strength, street justice, the various auras associated with weapons (Head Splitter, Hail of Bullets, Pendulum, etc.), anything to do with super speed, jumping, flying or even teleporting. I cannot accept no effects for things like fire or indeed electricity. -
Quote:In my defence, the last time I spoke with Kong Bao was some time in 2005, and I've never come across the word outside of context. I understand this probably makes me ethnically insensitive, but I simply did not know.Originally Posted by Thirty-Seven
BTW, it's Hmong.
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Quote:Actually, the first thing I thought when I saw this was "Why is Dr. Steven 'Science' Sheridan posing as FrostFire?" The general outfit is aces, but I agree - it needs a different face and hair. Those don't look bad, just out of place on a gang leader.Originally Posted by Zamuel
I dislike it but the reasoning mirrors what someone else (Techbot?) said when you showed it off the last time: The face looks too much like a male model/movie star than a gang leader. Though I guess the comment on the fact that he looks like he could have been a former superhero can apply.
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Quote:And I appreciate it, David, honestly. I hope my post didn't come off as a troll, as it wasn't intended to be one. I'm just trying to put my feelings and concerns down as clearly as I can. I'm glad you're sticking to artistic merit first and foremost, as that's one of the primary reasons I'd still vote you as my favourite red nameOriginally Posted by Noble Savage
We've been on the subject a while, and I've said pretty much all I can on the topic, but to recap:
--This has never been, nor will it ever be the way we evaluate pieces. We make sets according to a theme, and that's ultimately what helps decide reflectivity levels.
--I've heard plenty of requests for a matte Metallic option, so I will pitch that to the team. Cheers.
I know we've been over the "shininess" argument quite a few times, and I can see how you may be more than a little tired of it. And I can't really blame you, we do tend to go on, especially the TechBot and I, it seems. We share a pet peeve, maybe? So no worries here. You've handled the thread marvellously from where I'm sitting, and I look forward to your future posts.
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Quote:The belt we're unlikely to get because of the cape rigs attached to it, though I might kind of see this belt being given out sans those. Am I wrong or is he using the same belt as Sister Airlia? Wait, no, he's not. His is a Samurai-like belt with side guards. OK, I want it, tooOriginally Posted by MasterElemental
I want his Belt and helmet (Helmet without fur)
As for the helmet, I think that's actually a regular helmet with regular horns but a unique face plate. The Roman Armour set comes with its own face plate for Half Helmets, and I just think that Rommie gets his own, fancier one. And, yes, I would want this, too.
Those guys look like they're from a completely different game... Than the background they show up against!Quote:Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha
These guys just RADIATE faceless menace. (And god do they deliver >_< ) I hadn't seen those before, but I agree - THIS is faceless menace in its purest form. Awesomesauce!
I hope more people have this reaction so we can get rid of this stupid meme quicker.Quote:Originally Posted by SkarmoryThePG
...it seems we have a new profanity filter. Well played, mods. /slowclap -
You can only suppress representative graphics, which are graphics which visually represent an inherently non-visual abstract concept. Being "tough" does not make you glow, but the original thinking was that since it's a toggle, it needed SOME kind of effect. These are the ones you can turn off because, really, having no effects at all is just as representative of being invulnerable as glowing purple is.
You cannot suppress depictive effects, because these depict real visuals which are supposed to be happening in the in-game world. You cannot suppress them any more so than you can suppress your weapon effects with weapon sets. In the case of electricity, you are manifesting physical, tangible, visible electricity. Suppressing this cannot be justified.
At the same time, I would support you in arguing for alternate, less obtrusive effects for Electricity, such as "No Fade or Pulse" like what you get for Obsydian Shield, or effects which only fire for a short when you are attacked, but otherwise remain off, or even effects that are easier on your eyes. That's precisely why Sonic Resonance is orange (and not because BABs locked himself in a dark room and yelled until he saw a colour that happened to be orange, despite what he said at the time). -
Quote:The developers initially pitched those as "Epic Pools." The playerbase reacted with the exact same complaint you are: "What's so epic about these?" The development team conceded and renamed them to "Anchillary Pools," as in pools of supplementary powers, vs. the pools of BETTER powers that the original name suggested. The level-up name slipped through the cracks and has never been fixed, mostly because old farts like me never really stopped calling them "Epic Pools" despite them not being called this, just like I keep calling Bastion "Citadel" when my brain slips up.Originally Posted by Cobalt Azurean
When levelin' up and you get the option to pick a power from'em, it says Choose One Epic Power Set. This was double-checked on a second build on a hero.
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I've suggested as much before, actually. I would not be in the slightest opposed to an Inventions power pool with its own power picks and slots outside of the regular build system. This would constitute a small pool with slots for powers unlocking as you level up (and possibly doing a mission), as well as enhancement slots that open up in a similar fashion. You would, in essence, have a "template" pool that you fill up with things that you "invent."
As a point of fact, I wouldn't be entirely opposed to an entire powerset of these things. Nine powers, call it nineteen extra slots between them, and a much larger selection of tempermanent Inventions powers. That's actually the path to some serious customization, as you very much CAN have a Scrapper with rifle or a Blaster with a sledgehammer or a Defender with some extra shotgun support. So long as these powers obey AT mods and are balanced separately from limited-use temps, I'm absolutely in favour of this.
I'm a bit biassed, though - I want Dual Pistols attacks on my Katana Scrapper
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Quote:At some point, some genius at Cryptic decided that it was a great idea to create story arcs which still locked you into a story but followed no particular narrative and were given in random order. What they did was essentially take what were one-off missions in the Launch and I1 game and just called them "zone arcs." These were touted as the new benchmark of mission design (a claim I scoffed at even back when it was new) and so were jammed into everything new for the next few Issues.Originally Posted by Lemur Lad
Indeed. Doesn't make it any less annoying. I too think it should be changed, but yeah, it's not the only by any means.
The Hollows was I2, and this is where these started. Then came Striga in I3. Finally, we had Croatoa in I5. All three of these are plagued by the same "zone arcs" that neither tell a story nor present a coherent experience a team can run through. Luckily, City of Villains had been in the work for I believe a year when it came out, so most of its missions followed the older proper story arc structure, and so its story arcs didn't suck. I'm happy to report that beyond Willy Wheeler, I'm not aware of any other "zone arcs."
And thank god for that.
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Yes, I would be very much in favour of locking those arcs down to a logical, rigid story progression. And re-writing them so they tell actual stories while we're at it. Cause and effect and all that. -
Quote:In a game nazi werewolves fight walking plants in the street while we're busy fighting off an invasion from the OTHER hostile alternate dimension all the while aliens are taking over ancient Rome in search for the power of the gods? I'm not sure "realism" is a very convincing argument.Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
That's called realism.
The part where you didn't actually answer his question and instead chose to sidestep it. Did they reanimate every single power in the game to work with Ninja Run and Beast Run? No, they did not.Quote:Originally Posted by Forbin_Project
What part of BaBs worked on Walk in his spare time did you not understand? -
Marrying a roll on roll off ferry with a cargo bulk carrier is the kind of slight of hand that would quite simply never, ever happen. It makes no sense and it looks unbelievably ugly.
That's not to say that the lines CAN'T be unified, though. We could, theoretically, do that by just getting rid of the cargo ships entirely and set up a ferry service to Striga Island. There is, after all, a legitimate town on that island, seedy as it may be, and it looks to have a serious shipping port. I can definitely see a ferry travelling there to deposit unsuspecting tourists for the local mob to swindle out of their money. Sure, sure, the island is a square mile of land with a smoking volcano within eyeshot of the pier, but the game's land are is supposed to be representative, and an actual Striga island would be something more substantial, such that the Council base isn't clearly visible from the bedroom window at Stephanie's pub. -
Quote:I, on the other hand, hated it. Failing a respect trial that you need is one of the least fun experiences in the game. There are places to look for a tough challenge. The Respec Trial ain't one of 'em.
YES! This trial used to be so hard. I loved it!
Speaking of which, can we please make the Treespec a lot easier? I've failed more trials at the Vines stage than I've succeeded by quite a margin. -
All that needs to be said here is "never sell power." This remains true regardless of which game it doing it - selling power is the worst thing you can do to a game. Even the most soulless of Korean grindfest MMOs don't sell power. If you need to sell something, sell convenience. Easier transport, easier acquisition of rewards, easier recovery from losses and so forth. That way paying customers get there faster, but the NET TOTAL is always the same. A "Pay to Win" player won't be any stronger than a basic subscriber, he'll just be strong sooner.
This is unballancing, because the game is designed with the expectation that you'll have to decide what to slot and what to NOT slot. Slotting everything to 6 or 7 completely invalidates that entire system. Do you know what happened the last time an entire system was validated?
ED
Yup, that's right. The game was originally designed and balanced around the idea that SOs would be rare, so people would have to choose what to slot with SOs very carefully, and would therefore be using a few SOs, some DOs and mostly Trainings. That didn't work, and when people ended up slotting all of their slots with SOs, ED became inevitable. Game balance broke, enhancements tiers became pointless and something had to be done. ED was it. Years later, Inventions were the answer to enhancements that you couldn't just buy 90 of and slot all your powers.
In short, never say power, especially such that breaks core game systems. -
Quote:To be fair, I want his arms. He's using the Robotic Arms tech to get much more muscular arms than his model physique should allow. I'd kill to get those arms on a couple of my female characters, since even at max "muscle," their arms are still toothpicks.Originally Posted by Xanatos
Foreshadow can go die in a fire.
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Quote:Eh, bugs I can deal with. With complaints, most likely, but that comes with the territory. So long as I feel the game is going in the right direction and the development team is focused on providing compelling content and amazing extras, as opposed to cutting corners and relying on Skinner Boxes, I'll be happy. And if I get a Titanic Weapon or two out of the deal, then that's all the betterOriginally Posted by Yydr
I look forward to adding my lists to yours when FREEDOM is on live as intended. (aka After the major post-release bugs are cleaned out.
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Seriously, though, if Freedom is as packed with content as I suspect it will be, that in itself will be praise-worthy. But it's not JUST that. I also feel that the content that's being advertised with it is also targeted to entertain and made to enthral, rather than just to serve as a time sink.
This, tangentially, is something I've noticed with so many MMOs going F2P - it's no longer as crucial to keep your players playing as long as possible by bogging them down in hideous time sinks. It's increasingly becoming important that you keep your players happy so that they're more likely to spend money on unimportant things. If I LOOOVE a game, I wouldn't think twice about plopping down $5 or $10 for a few costume items. If I'm already irritated with a game, I'm not going to do that, not a chance in hell.
The City of Heroes development team has a lot of very responsive, communicative people on it, and with the model moving forward thriving on a happy playerbase, I expect them to be given more leeway to respond to the playerbase than ever before. I every time I see David Nakayama or Tunnel Rat post, it makes my day a little happier, even if all they post is just "Googly googly googly!" (looking at you, David!). It makes me feel that the developers care and what I say is being heard. What we ALL say, as a point of fact. Because, really, that's the way to give the players what they want - ask them
The red names deserve their praise, I just want to accumulate a little more first. -
Quote:/\Originally Posted by MasterElemental
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See him? I want his shoulders. Preferably without the shoulder fur. Just those shoulders. -
Quote:Here's the thing - I generally don't like to see armoured designs with a heavy build. It makes characters look fat because it balloons their chests, waists, butts, thighs and biceps, but it leaves their hands and feet pretty small, so they look like Yahtzee's imps. This is made even worse when you put on the Armoured top and bottom on them, since those bulk them up even more, as you found outOriginally Posted by Serpine
That is the Male model (not the Huge) at about 75% Physique, very low chest, and no waist. My theory is that the in game GF is at about 25% Physique with a near maximum Chest. I may drop down a picture of the lighter build I had tried but I'd have to reconstruct it first; I didn't bother saving it at the time because I frankly liked him better "fat".
I'd honestly go with a much smaller frame - mid-slider if not less, and instead go with larger armoured pieces. The Armoured chest and legs along with Big or Banded gloves and boots tend to look best on low-to-mid sized muscle sliders. If you want to make him bigger, though, you can always go with a skinny Huge model. The heads on these are... Square, no matter what you do, but the Huge model comes with big shoulders an large feet, which may serve to give the armoured look a heavier feel without making it feel fat.
I think Kong Bao, the Skyway City Tsoo contact, could use a makeover. He's supposed to be Asian and from the Humong community, but he's basically just a fat guy with a pony tail, if I remember correctly. I haven't the foggiest what you could do with him, but he deserves a makeover. Also, you may want to look at Rachel Torres, the 5-9 Galaxy City Natural contact. She's supposed to be a young detective, but she looks like just a woman in a sweater and jeans with a pony tail. I remember finding her to be pretty cool when I first started, which is why she's stuck in my head.Quote:Originally Posted by Serpine
That being said, any suggestions on some better targets (I'm kind of running low on the Atlas/Galaxy Basement crowd)?
*edit*Quote:Originally Posted by Serpine
Yeah I have a lot of issues with those three faces. I think Older Face 2 looks the scariest, more like a stretched flesh mask rather then a real face. Older Face 1 has very deep lines so it comes off as really old. And Older Face 3 heavily shades the cheek bones and chin tip so its harder to get a soft shape. If you could give me some slider recommendations I'd happily try them out, or do you think just going with Older Face 1 would be better?
OK, I found an "old guy" I made to serve as a an evil butler to one of my signature villains (and then swapped him to another...), who I think has a decent old man face that doesn't come off as too evil, even if it's a bit... Unsettling. That's the one:
I used Old Face 3 on him, but I sort of hid the most unsightly parts behind glasses and a moustache, which I think just add to his characters, rather than looking like bandaids. The sliders are difficult to explain over text, so here's a costume file if you're interested:
Code:{ Scale 1.718 BoneScale -0.2989 ShoulderScale -0.4198 ChestScale -0.2857 WaistScale -0.201 HipScale -0.2835 LegScale 0.01433 HeadScales -0.34, -0.49, -0.3 BrowScales 0.57, -0.57, 0.66 CheekScales 0.62, 0.75, 0.7 ChinScales -0.67, -0.78, 0.6 CraniumScales -0.04, -0.62, 0.68 JawScales -0.68, -0.57, 0.54 NoseScales -0.61, 0.77, 0.49 SkinColor 255, 195, 155 NumParts 28 CostumePart "" { Geometry V_MALE_PANTS.GEO/GEO_Hips_Pants_Biz_Slacks_01 Texture1 !Hips_V_Suit_Slacks_01 Texture2 !Hips_V_Suit_Slacks_01_Mask DisplayName P887196332 RegionName "Lower Body" BodySetName pants Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry Jackets_Sleeves Texture1 !Chest_FancyShirt_01 Texture2 None DisplayName P566009771 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Jackets Color1 255, 255, 255 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry V_MALE_HEAD.GEO/GEO_Head_V_Asym_Standard Texture1 skin_v_head_19 Texture2 None DisplayName P687117166 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 167, 0, 255 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry Smooth Texture1 smooth_matte Texture2 None DisplayName P3937616722 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Jackets Color1 255, 255, 255 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry Smooth Texture1 smooth_01 Texture2 None DisplayName P2104750136 RegionName "Lower Body" BodySetName pants Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry standard Texture1 MARTIAL_ARTS_01 Texture2 None DisplayName P177456852 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Jackets Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry V_Male_Hair.GEO/GEO_Hair_Crew_Cut_01 Texture1 !Hair_V_Crew_Cut_01 Texture2 !Hair_V_Crew_Cut_01_Mask DisplayName P2681220175 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 255, 255, 255 Color2 115, 115, 115 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry Glasses_07 Texture1 Glasses_01a Texture2 Glasses_01b DisplayName P2793026233 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 255, 255, 255 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None DisplayName P2281134661 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Jackets Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry V_MALE_SPADR.GEO/GEO_SpadR_V_Bowtie Texture1 !Top_V_Tux_01 Texture2 !Top_V_Tux_01_Dual DisplayName P772741860 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Jackets Color1 255, 255, 255 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx weapons/custom_mace/male_mace_tech01.fx Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None DisplayName P1596236415 RegionName Weapons BodySetName Weapons Color1 255, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 11, 31 Color4 167, 0, 255 } CostumePart "" { Geometry Mustache_02 Texture1 Beard_01a Texture2 Beard_01b DisplayName P2371314042 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 255, 255, 255 Color2 115, 115, 115 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx capes/WeddingTux1.fx Geometry V_MALE_TOP.GEO/GEO_Top_Wedding_Tux_01 Texture1 !Top_Wedding_Tux_02 Texture2 !Top_Wedding_Tux_02_Mask DisplayName P828551227 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Jackets Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 87, 87, 87 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry V_MALE_SLEEVES.GEO/GEO_Sleeves_Wedding_Tux_01 Texture1 !Top_Wedding_Tux_02 Texture2 !Top_Wedding_Tux_02_Mask DisplayName P90216369 RegionName "Upper Body" BodySetName Jackets Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 255, 255, 255 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None DisplayName P1848153390 RegionName Head BodySetName standard Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Fx weapons/customshields/space1/male_shield_space1_01.fx Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None DisplayName P621611857 RegionName Shields BodySetName tech1 Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 255, 0, 0 Color3 0, 11, 31 Color4 167, 0, 255 } CostumePart "" { Fx WEAPONS/CustomShields/None.fx Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None DisplayName P4035132623 RegionName Shields BodySetName tech1 Color1 0, 11, 31 Color2 167, 0, 255 Color3 0, 11, 31 Color4 167, 0, 255 } CostumePart "" { Fx None Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Geometry None Texture1 None Texture2 None DisplayName P546439883 RegionName "Lower Body" BodySetName pants Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } CostumePart "" { Color1 0, 0, 0 Color2 0, 0, 0 Color3 0, 0, 0 Color4 0, 0, 0 } } -
Quote:No, no, I agree with you completely. My apologies if that didn't come through in my post. I just find blanket agreement to be... Empty, put it like that. I could simply say "I agree." and leave it at that, but that seems unconstructive if I can't something else to comment or expand on. It's what makes threads interesting, I've found.Originally Posted by Yydr
My point in writing this was spurred by a different motive. Rather, I feel I do not thank all the rednames enough for the proportion of expectations I demand.
As for thanking the developers, I agree with you in that regard. I, myself, have spoken against the game's direction quite severely over the past year, and while I'd like to take much of what I've said back, I'm holding my tongue until AFTER Freedom goes Live and I see it with my own eyes. What I'm hearing of the future and the benevolent response of the development team since Freedom was announced have been nothing short of admirable, but I'd like to see a final product first. Rest assured, though, everything good I can think of to say is going in my list of praises for AFTER Freedom
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Quote:For a favourite male design, I'd have to go with Requiem. He's pretty much the archetypal villain in a simple military uniform. The faceless mask helps tremendously, as does the burning head, but what makes him stand out the most to me is that he's so ordinary. All the other super villains have to attach random junk to themselves or grow big and ugly, but Requiem just dons a mask, puts on a uniform jacket and proceeds to kick PANCAKEPANCAKEPANCAKE with the best of them. In a game of absurd and obvious archvillains, the one that looks ordinary is the one that stands out. Plus, Requiem looks the most sinister of them all, I think.Originally Posted by Noble Savage
Wonder if it's possible to identify a "Favorite Male Design"? Or a 2nd favorite female design, since GW ran away with the top spot.
My second favourite would have to be Lord Recluse. I love how well he pulls off that complex design, and the way he manages to combine class with menace. This is an exquisite example of combining two disparate themes in a single character without making it look juxtaposed. Recluse is both threatening in a brutish way, in that he looks like he could rip you in half, as well as threatening in a sinister way, in that you've already fallen into his spider's web and you don't even know it.
Those are my top two votes for males. -
Quote:Words have greater power than you might think, especially towards those inclined to listen. You're not going to chance an entrenched opinion, that much is a fact of life, but a strong argument has a deeper impact than it seems. Even if a person refuses it out of hand, a strong argument will stick with him. He'll think about it, try to justify his disagreement, it will come up in subsequent discussions and eventually, perhaps years after the fact, it will have an effect.Originally Posted by Yydr
After all, hadn't I started out the conversation the exact same way? Entrenched in my rightness I tried to change another with words alone so that person would with the same vision as I.
This is doubly true for people on the development team who are genuinely open to suggestions. I'm speaking of people like David Nakayama and Tunnel Rat, people who come to the player base, essentially asking "See what we made? What do you think about it?" This is the fundamental truth of good game design - feedback. Knowing how players feel about what you're making and having more information going forward.
Words matters.
Subscribing to a game is somewhat different from being in a mutually-accepted relationship. I am a customer, I pay good money for this service, and I feel I am entitled to at the very least make my opinion heard. It's a basic truth of business that a business owner is in no way obligated to kowtow to his customers, and can in fact choose to burn them all by taking away their service. It's in our EULA, after all. But it's also a basic fact of business that a good relationship with your customers is very beneficial. Especially in entertainment, you are creating works for other people to enjoy. To feel that you are somehow creating art for yourself is the height of arrogance when you're charging other people to view it.Quote:At first, every little effort is appreciated. After a while, repeated efforts are expected. Finally they are demanded, and kindness is lost.
Obviously, players have no ground to demand changes as they have no power to make demands of any kind. At the same time, players are still justified in requesting what they feel the service would benefit from and what they - personally - want to have. Problems tend to arise when such requests are drowned out by dissenting customers, often for no real reason other than to be contrary.
Customers have the right to demand a satisfying, functioning service and the right to request said service to be expanded. The new Freedom model will, in fact, allow us to put our money where our mouths are and act on our own demands. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is the right way to go about it. -
Just so I can also post on topic:
Quote:I can actually answer that, albeit with fairly subjective reasoning. Ghost Widow is far better designed than Sister Arilia for one simple reason - her colour scheme is much stronger in its delivery. Ghost Widow is almost entirely black, just a big, solid, uninterrupted silhouette that stands out and is so simple that your eye can take her entire look all in one go and your mind can keep it stored as you look. Where white details appear, those too are predominantly drawn in large, monolithic shapes, like her big white hair growing out of her ghostly white head, or those big uniform shoulders. This is pretty much the very definition of stylised design.Originally Posted by Redlynne
I am honestly hard pressed to decide which of these two is better designed and more ... signature ... in appearance. All it takes is one look at these character designs and you just KNOW that you need to watch your step around these women. You don't even need dialogue to get that sense of menace that their costumes convey.
Sister Airlia, by contrast, is complex. VERY complex. You have the black and white belt, the-black-and white bracelets, the black-and-white gauntlets, the black-and-white choker, all with fine, intricate designs, all distracting from the character's overall look. When you look at Ghost Widow, you see a woman in a black catsuit with white flowing hair. When you look at Sister Airlia, you see a jigsaw puzzle, a mish-mash of shapes, lines, contours and images. You also see a lot more of her white skin contrasting with her black clothes, so a lot of the simplistic stylised design is lost to what I can only describe as patchwork contrast.
This is a design pitfall I've fallen into many times before, giving every piece as many colours as it can hold. Here's a simple lesson I had to learn the hard way - just because a costume piece CAN be given two contrasting colours, it doesn't mean it SHOULD be given two contrasting colours. Sister Airlia's design would be far, far, FAR superior if her gear were all black, instead of black and white. This would have given a stronger contrast of the black clothes against her white skin and made her design simpler to look at. And, no, black-on-black pieces don't compromise detailing. You'd still be able to see the engravings on her boots, gloves and belt because they're all bump-mapped, so they'd have shown up regardless. -
Quote:Precisely.Originally Posted by Red Valkyrja
You mean like the original thread that spawned this?