Art Poll: Signature Characters
By
Acemace,
Posted on: 2011-08-01 13:23 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
Back Alley Brawler is probably my favorite member of the Phalanx. This is somewhat unusual for me, as I'm a big fan of tights, masks, and capes, and he has none of these. However, I like him in all aspects-- design, concept, and background. Jeans and a tank-top just fit who he is.
Statesman, as much as his persona in the comics has poisoned me against him, has a good classic patriotic superhero costume. The only way it could be improved is if the helmet was a full helmet instead of that weird faceplate.
Synapse has a good costume. It implies speed with the blue and red blend (blue and red shifts come to mind), and the goggles and pads seem like something a speedster might need. The chest symbol doesn't really mean anything to me, though that may be due to ignorance of neurological images.
Captain Mako looks exactly as he should. He's a humanoid shark, and you can't really beat the simplicity of his design for that purpose.
Ghost Widow is the most intriguing of all the signature characters, though I can't really say that it's due to her costume. It does look fantastic, though. The waist cape and the shiny outfit help make her look both sinister and attractive. She's mysterious and graceful looking.
Dr. Vahzilok is CREEPY. I remember when I first saw him, I thought he was some kind of Frankenstein's monster. Then I was able to get a closer look in a screenshot and saw that he is wearing a giant meat-suit! So creepy and awesome.
The Clockwork King is classic. The Brain-in-a-jar + clockwork body combination couldn't be better for him.
Nemesis was totally unique and new to me when I first saw him (or at least, his Fake). The idea of a steam-powered robot designed to look like the man that created them is so cool, and the detail on the model is fantastic. Just look at it:
Don't forget his bizarre, beautiful, and interesting weapon.
If I had to pick a favorite, Nemesis would be it, hands down. I think he's the best designed signature character in the game.
But, if you're looking for input on designing new signature characters, I'd really like to see more classic tights/mask/cape types. I feel like we've got a lot of variety, but I'd like to see more classic superhero costumes on some new signature characters. I don't feel like we have that many, and this is a superhero game, after all.
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I concur that Ghost Widow has a fantastic look. I always seem to envision her as perpetually wet, as if the afterlife is some sort of endless ocean. As she is bound to Arachnos rather than free swimming she's 'out' of that ocean yet still dripping with its spectral waters.
Lord Recluse actually has a really unique look to him. The giant spider legs aside, the fur collar and the shape of his helmet really evoke the spider look. It really is some inspired design.
Statesman is the ultimate clichéd pastiche, yet it works. The patriotic colours, red cape, and big ole' star on his chest really cement the 'iconic' feel. His face plate is his one truly unique item and its pseudo greco-roman styling reflects his Incarnate origin.
The promo artwork for Tyrant (I don't know if that model exists in game at all) is great example of taking one idea, saying "what if" and coming up with something that resembles the original, in this case Statesman, yet looks and feels grander and more ostentatious. I can't wait to see him in game with a cape.
Hero-1 is another pastiche. He's just a cape away from being Captain Britain. But it's that epic Union Jack cape which makes him stand out. Like Statesman he's got a large cape mantle that wraps around his shoulders (something which I think players ought to have) that acts as the focus for attention, which then draws the eye to his face and Union Jack helmet.
Romulus Augustus is another awesome looking character. The combination of the massive pauldrons, tall crested galea and magnificently ornate cheek guard, plus the long double cape rig loincloth (and the fact he's about 11 foot tall) make him one of the most physically imposing characters in CoX.
That's all I can think of at the moment. More when my brain gets into gear.
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I'm sure he did look like that at the beginning of his career with Arachnos, but even if he still thinks he's a good guy, he sure ain't anymore, and it shows. Perhaps I feel this way due to my great love of Star Wars and the KotOR games, especially the second one: I actually played that character (romantic hero gone horribly wrong in his quest to exterminate evil) and have thus gotten rather used to such a man looking like he's been dead for a week.|
Originally Posted by Arilou
I think it kinda doesen't fit. Scirrocco should look... Good? A bit of a rougeish swashbuckler or romantic-hero gone horribly wrong. Not like someone who's been dead for a week.
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Originally Posted by Liquid
Nemesis was totally unique and new to me when I first saw him (or at least, his Fake). The idea of a steam-powered robot designed to look like the man that created them is so cool, and the detail on the model is fantastic. Just look at it:
Don't forget his bizarre, beautiful, and interesting weapon. If I had to pick a favorite, Nemesis would be it, hands down. I think he's the best designed signature character in the game. |
*Except Dr. Vazhilok. He's neato as a character and I wish he'd show up once or twice in higher-level content, but the awesome meatmech is much too smelly.
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Reichsman and Nemesis have always stood out as the cool villains to me. Atleast the current nemesis that we are allowed to see because we all know he looks different and isn't showing his true self.
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Mako: There is just nothing else like him in game imo. That and sharks scare me.
Nightstar, or the other Viki models: Their arm blades are just wicked.
PPD Hardsuits: Man those are amazing!
The Warworks: Our Preatorian CW costumes are pretty cool, but the face body and gloves of the Warworks is just crazy!
Types of Swords
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I can't believe I forgot Maestro. His outfit is fantastic!
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Originally Posted by Nalrok_AthZim
Requiem and Maestro.
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I'm quite partial to designs on, generally in order :-
Signature Characters.
-- Scirocco (Combination of pieces are great), Ghost widow (Comic book look and best hold in game, fit), Hero I (Pre and Post Rikitified), Marauder (love the gauntlets an general look), Noble Savage (asymetrical goodness), Nemesis ( the detail work on the costume fits the group perfectly and stands out today), The pre GR Black Swan (just for the shoulder draped feathers , I like the new look but meh), new Neuron (snazzy, nice exo-speed armour), The GR concept for suited-up Tyrant (not the current human dictator look, which fits, just..I like the super look), Goddess Hequat (just looks great), GR Vanessa DeVore (Carnie to a T) and pre GR Malaise (the costume just worked).
GMs.
--Updated Dr. Vahz (grotesque and fascinating), Jack in Irons (detailed look with powers to match), Adamastor (he could use tweaking, but the changing chest glyph, size ,zombie skin detail, spawn location and powers make him one of my favs), Kronos (giant robot goodness) , The Jade Spider (I don't even need a reason to love that NPC =p) and the Kraken in PP (I've just got a soft spot for the old jello mold).
Bosses.
--Maestro (reminds me of Ming with a cool cape), Senestrus (Fits his story as a low level villain and it's colourful, but not to the point of ridiculousness), Totems and Mask spirits from BP (Exceptional detail work), CoT Bosses (detail work fit the atmosphere in which they reside) and Frostfire (costume was fine for his level)---** After reading the thread, DUH...Freakshow too.
..and I can't think of anymore at the moment.
***Edit 2 :Oh yeah! Imperious and that darn cape mantle, for which I think I might sell my firstborn.
Pinnacle & Virtue:
A bunch of Heroes - Alpha Team, Legion of Order.
A bunch of Villains -Black Citadel , Pinnache.
The Blue King Crew, namely Apex (as he looked in the comics -- the Vanguard Armor he's got now doesn't really suit him) and War Witch. Oh, and can we please somehow get Horus in-game somewhere?
Other than that, I think Positron has a great look. The glowing outline on his armor pieces really make the outfit.
Hero One/Honoree too has an awesome look.
Statesman is almost awesome, but his faceplate needs to be turned into a full helmet. It just doesn't quite look right as-is.
Back Alley Brawler's uniform has a "don't mess with me" vibe that I like.
Most of the other Signature Characters have costumes/uniforms that are just too...what's the word I'm looking for here?..."busy" for my taste.
Final Straw, DM/Regen Scrapper
Solari, Fire/Fire Blaster
Real Americana, MA/SR Scrapper
Task Force Timmy, Grav/Rad Controller
Astral Paragon, Spines/Regen Scrapper
Mr Drama King, Katana/Regen Scrapper
Psi-Stunner, Psi/Mental Blaster
I'm going to go with Manticore for something different. Specifically, his headgear. It's a unique look and stands out from some of the more generic, "we can come close to this in the editor" styles.
Villain side I've always liked Mako's style the best. The shark-like face, the unique clawed hands, and the amphibian skin really sell it.
Loose --> not tight.
Lose --> Did not win, misplace, cannot find, subtract.
One extra 'o' makes a big difference.
I love these guys. From the chest cannon to the over the shoulder electrical zap.
As for Archvillains, I would have to say Barracuda. More characters like this please.
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Statesman's faceplate is a nice piece of design, displaying both Classical and comic book influences. The Silver Age version's full-helmet look doesn't strike me as nearly so interesting. For purely personal tastes, though, I prefer his original costume, with its retro/pulp feel, and hold out hope for genuine time travel signature missions in CoH to see more of that design, particularly for my retro heroes. (Come on, the Steam Punk costumes are crying out for a new NPC group.)|
Originally Posted by Arilou
Statesman needs to have his face-plate thingie converted into a proper helmet.
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As for NPC group, the Menders are my favorite, with The Pilgrim and Mender Tesseract coming up on top, and Mender Ramiel and Mender Silos on the bottom. I'd likewise love to see some signature arcs with them.
Incidentally, Going Rogue's Praetorians are also uniformly excellent, not simply as goatee/eyepatch variations on their Primal Earth counterparts, but as examples of what the CoX engine can be coaxed into pulling off. Here's hoping other NPCs can be upgraded to similar success.
Jack In Irons
Jurassik - just for his Titan Weapon
Ghost Widow/Nocturne
Lusca - Giant Octo, what more could you want
U'Kon Gr'ai - That's pretty cool duds; even for Rikti
Jade Spider (Model 2)
Black Scorpion - gotta dig the armor
Scirocco - has a look that fits his station; looks like a mystic leader
Regent Korol - creepy like Arachnoids are creepy (would love to hear her voiceover)
Penelope Yin - because not every super needs to look like one
Imperious
Romulus
Praetor White/BaBs - Gloves and because he's a big ballin' a** brotha
Nighstar - doesn't get much slicker than that
[Nemesis and the War Hulk]
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Agreed on all of that... Scir just looks like a guy who's been through a lot, and came out showing the scars. Which is pretty much exactly as it ought to be, I think.
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Originally Posted by FlashToo
I'm sure he did look like that at the beginning of his career with Arachnos, but even if he still thinks he's a good guy, he sure ain't anymore, and it shows. Perhaps I feel this way due to my great love of Star Wars and the KotOR games, especially the second one: I actually played that character (romantic hero gone horribly wrong in his quest to exterminate evil) and have thus gotten rather used to such a man looking like he's been dead for a week.
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@Brightfires - @Talisander
That chick what plays the bird-things...
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Another good one to point out. Senestrus/Mordrogar is just an all-around good costume design, and his use of only player-available costume parts makes him (and the Paragon Heroes, Rogue Isles Villains, Faultline, and Fusionette) stand out to me as being analogous to player characters... which works extremely well with their behavior. Mordrogar's bio looks like something a player would write. Faultline and Fusionette gain levels, join Vanguard, and update their costumes. The other Heroes and Villains start to slip out of their original alignments. Because these are things that players do, it really helps these characters feel like "people," even though most of them don't have detailed story arcs behind them.|
Originally Posted by KemLi
Senestrus (Fits his story as a low level villain and it's colourful, but not to the point of ridiculousness)
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I think what I'm trying to say is that it's important to know when an NPC should look like a PC and when they shouldn't (see also: Black Swan and Sister Psyche in my first post here).
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I really like Maelstrom. The powers, the back story, the look... it all works for me.
Though they have yet to make into the game: Spark Blade and Rose Star, based on their concept art, look fantastic.
Finally, just some classics of which I'm fond: Manticore, Ghost Widow, Black Scorpion, Nightstar, and Noble Savage. Honestly, the first time I saw Noble Savage, I was just like, "What the EFF?"
@Winter. Because I'm Winter. Period.
I am a blaster first, and an alt-oholic second.
Swan. 
Makes Manticore look short.
H: Blaster 50, Defender 50, Tank 50, Scrapper 50, Controller 50, PB 50, WS 50
V: Brute 50, Corruptor 50, MM 50, Dominator 50, Stalker 50, AW 50, AS 50
Top 4: Controller, Brute, Scrapper, Corruptor
Bottom 4: (Peacebringer) way below everything else, Mastermind, Dominator, Blaster
CoH in WQHD
Lord Recluse pulls off the vile, evil mastermind look so well while still looking physically intimidating.
Ghost Widow, although looking like a normal Fortunata, somehow still manages to pull off the spirit thing very well.
Captain Mako has always been one of my favorite NPCs purely because he's a shark man that takes no guff from anyone, and that's how he looks.
Black Scorpion looks exactly like the giant, bulky, dim-witted henchman that's not goofy but actually intimidating.
And Scirocco does come across as rogueish and has quite a history, as least to me. I also love his general theme and wish we had more costume pieces like that.
Also like Foreshadow and wish we had costume parts and hair like his.
Dr. Vahz does an excellent job of looking like a demented, sick doctor.
As to NPCs that need updating, I really wish Statesman would just turn the faceplate into a helmet and lose that cape. It just feels like someone put a cape on him for the sake of him wearing a cape, and it just doesn't flow with the rest of his outfit. It'd be like putting a cape on Captain America.
Also wish Countess Crey would get an updated look. Something more professional and not showing off as much skin. Crey is still a respected organization within the general community, their leader doesn't need to look like an obvious, costumed supervillain.
Hrm...
Well, Citadel and Luminary look a bit bland compared to Siege and Nightstar.
Siege and Nightstar look like the pinnacle of Clockwork tech.
Citadel and Luminary, who should be the pinnacle of Primal Robotics, look... like people in robot costumes, somewhat. At least the in game models do.
Back Alley Brawler is really cool, though I do think some new hair to keep in line with his art wouldn't hurt. I mean... he has the same hair as Doc Aeon right now.
Statesman has that classic heroic look, but (and maybe I'm biased, as I tend to make large characters), he looks kind of... small.
I mean, look at this art (that you drew!)
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/w/images//1...sman_Comic.jpg
http://www.ncsoft.com/newsletters/co.../en/banner.jpg
He looks like this big, imposing guy. Not as huge as Back Alley Brawler or Citadel, but -big-.
Now look at his in game model.
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/w/images//t...-Statesman.jpg
He's got good definition, yes. But... well. He's kind of small. People always comment on how short he is.
And look: http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/File:Synapse1.jpg
He's got very similar proportions to Synapse. A bit more muscular, but -very- similar.
Now look at someone like Reichsman, who is supposedly the same person.
http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/File:Reichsman1.jpg
What I'm trying to say is that the Primal Statesman looks like kind of a wimp and really needs to be bulked up a bit to keep in line with his doppelgangers and official artwork.
Hee... I forgot all about Eddie. He's another fun one.
I like his over-all look a lot better than Desdemona's... Although I'm also fully aware that I'm not exactly part of the target audience Dezzie's look was designed to appeal to.
@Brightfires - @Talisander
That chick what plays the bird-things...
I'm not gonna be indecisive, therefore I'll just pick one, Dr. Vazhilok.
I'm a kool kid.....and so is Dr. Vazhilok. 
Lol, the real reason is that he's the first archvillain I was introduced to. Nowadays I've seen them all, but none of them are as wicked and cool as Vazhi. I mean the dude is so skilled that he's been able to create a battle armor out of dead flesh, that's pretty damn sweet and creepy at the same time. Sometimes I even wonder if it's really an armor he's "wearing" or did the guy just stitch his severed toso to a lump of flesh.
I remember picking this game up in 2005 at the age of 17. I got the boxed DVD edition from a Finnish game retailer. When I got home I started digging through all the shiz inside the box and I found the Blue King Coh Comic Issue 1 inside. I began to read the issue while the installer was running and man I was getting so pumped to face this guy!
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I'm sure she wears a power suit* with giant 80s shoulder pads when she goes on TV, and (as far as public appearances are concerned) saves that dress for cocktail parties.|
Originally Posted by Xzero45
Also wish Countess Crey would get an updated look. Something more professional and not showing off as much skin. Crey is still a respected organization within the general community, their leader doesn't need to look like an obvious, costumed supervillain.
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*the fabric kind, not the armor kind
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AV´s
1. Dr. Quatrexin
2. Scirocco
Their costumes do fit perfect into their story.
normal Enemies
1. PPD Shell/PPD Hardsuit
2. PPD Assault
3. PPD Enforcer
4. PPD Transcended
If there would be only one enemy group whose costume parts would be converted, i would choose the Powered Armor Cops Subgroup from the PPD.
Well, i think i really like the technical kind of characters.
I actually like Recluse and all four of the Patrons... As mentioned by other people up-thread, Ghost Window in particular has an interesting design. Mirror Spirit is another good one, and I pretty much adore the various Aspects of Rularuu. Very spiffy guys, those. Nemesis and the Clockwork King also make me grin. 'Love them both.
There are others that I really dislike the look of, though... Mynx's outfit is just several shades of ugly. Swan's costume barely counts as a costume (Although even she's way ahead of our player characters when it comes to having anything "feathery" bits-wise to work with- <_<) and Sister Psyche could use a higer resolution make-over.
@Brightfires - @Talisander
That chick what plays the bird-things...