787 réponses à ce sujet

[Melissa Russell]

I LOVE this armor customization concept.  All I can think about is how awesome all of those Seeker bits look and how I want to cosplay each one of them.

I am slightly concerned with the idea of full customization from a costuming perspective, however.  If everyone plays their characters with different color sets, that's incredibly cool, but it makes uniformity and recognition almost impossible from a costuming perspective.

Can we have a "default" look for each character?  I don't want to restrict any means of customization, but I'd love for there to be a certain distiguishable "look" for everyone to be familiar with before they start adding extra pieces.

Like, Varric, for example.  Everyone knows him as the guy with the crossbow, the leather jacket, the black pants, the red shirt, and green sash.  I have that.  I'm good.  Then Silent Grove comes along and his shirt is brown and he has a chest plate.  Not bad, but clashing.  If I update my costume, will I still visually mesh with my Isabela and Alistair friends?  What about Hawke?  Everyone knows the established Red/Green/Black outfit, at this point, so there's nothing wrong with changing his shirt to brown or adding an armored chestplate.  If we start giving people the option to put a hat on him, or to grow a beard, or to give him daggers instead of a crossbow, his "look" gets lost.

On the other hand, I love costume "sets."  Hawke, for instance, has a default look for each profession.  People introduce their outfit as "Rogue Hawke" or "Mage Hawke" and they are instantly recognizable.  When a Hawke cosplayer shows up in a Ser Isaac Clark armor, we know they're from the DLC.  But if armor was fully customizable, we'd have a Rogue Hawke showing up wearing the Fugitive's Mantle and the Dogs of War -- which completely throws off the image.

Just my two cents. 

[upsettingshorts]

Atakuma wrote...

Hopefully you guys can make this work, because it sounds pretty great.

[Nerag]

It certainly looks like a great improvement from DA2 and DA:O. Hope it really works and the tech helps.

[JerHopp]

Thumbs up about the idea!

[atheelogos]

JerHopp wrote...

Thumbs up about the idea!

Indeed!

[Dragoonlordz]

One thing would like to stress is there is a desire from my view point that variation in a few peices is not ideal, large variation of peices plays a large part in my enjoyment too. I have no objections to peices that have unique appearences on specific companions (variety based on who uses) but also the need to have large variation in amount of peices (variety based on quantity of items).

There is a lot of time required I admit in creating such items but with regard to how works as a system I imagine would not be too difficult, much akin to database development where customer > order systems rely on a key ID for customer linked to multiple secondary IDs for orders. I imagine the same system could apply in ID for example set ID items A, linked to secondary ID of 1/2/3 with the numbers referring to individual peices linked to that set A then based on simple equations of if pick item set ID A and chose a companion the system checks which companion and allocates designed set peice 1, 2 or 3.

Anyhows I have high hopes for this proposal set forth by the team and hope you create enough varitations in set peices/individual parts both in terms of visual differences and quantity of them. I look forward to seeing what you do. Also please do not forget weapons play a part too not just armour with regards to customisation.

Modifié par Dragoonlordz, 13 avril 2012 - 09:59 .

[Firnwind]

I really really like this idea, because for me its the best of both worlds. I can still collect equipment for my companions and see the "work" I am doing for them, but they don't fall back looking like clones and keep there characteristic appearance which I really liked in DA2.

So thumbs up from me, would love to see that system in DA3!

[atheelogos]

Also to any devs lurking. Are these NPCs just random or could they be concept art for future companions? : )

[Alek the Great]

Really nice. I was very disappointed in DA2, this looks like a step in the right direction. Now please for the love of the Maker, remember to give us back our multiple origins and more meaningful choice, then DA3 will be a definite buy for me.

[Cutlasskiwi]

I like the sound of this very much. It certainly looks like a system I've wanted for some time.

[gangly369]

I like the idea a lot. It makes sense to me that we should have companions that actually look unique. I've never really seen the appeal that people have of trying to put a mage into heavy armour. Thats just me, though. I say that Bioware should go for it

[eyesofastorm]

Here's my thing explained in another way... You got Alistair early on enough that, though he was obviously configured for sword and board, you could switch him up a bit if you wanted and make him a viable fighter for you with medium, heavy, or massive armor. It sounds like this system you propose will remove (as DA2 did) the choice for how you will build a character because you are only going to be able to put the latest re-skin of the same exact kind of armor on a given character that that character was wearing when you first met them. So though I might be able to equip a character with the newest armor I've found, it's going to be a new color, a new texture maybe, have better stats, but there is no real choice involved. It's just a matter of equipping them with the next piece that the devs have decided that that character should be equipped with. That's my issue. If I'm interpreting this incorrectly, please tell me.

[DahliaLynn]

I'm liking the fact that you are changing not only color and retex, but certain model pieces per follower as well. Conceptually, an excellent idea.

Modifié par DahliaLynn, 13 avril 2012 - 09:40 .

[xScarecrowX]

I love this idea! I hope there are more armors than(then?) in DA2, though. Also, less robes for mages, please. My fem-whoever doesn't wear dresses! Anyone else think the Seeker (The 5th set of pictures down) with the blue on didn't look right? She looked too much like a Warden, IMO. Glad to see you guys listening to our feedback. DA3 is going to be great!

[Deviija]

I never cared for unique looks. It seems gimmicky for reasons beyond character recognition and the 'iconic look' deal. It seems more like a cosplay and sexytime outfits (for women) thing. From a roleplay perspective and a free choice angle, I never understood why there were attire restrictions relating to class. As in, if you are a mage then it must mean you never lift weights or keep in combat shape because you're too busy reading books? Not even able to put some light chain or leather armor on at least? After all, we've seen rogues and warriors running around in battle with little clothing on in their unique costumes already.

The *idea* of changing out pieces of armor that show up on unique slots per character, so that you can combine/mix and match sets to make a more personalized look is good in theory. I just have knee-jerk reservations that a piece of plate on a dude warrior is going to turn them into a power fantasy hulk with bulk and stern designs while a lady warrior is going to end up sleek, lithe, bodyfitted tight against every contour of her body (boobplates) and to make her appear more graceful and 'sexier.' I don't want that. Plate on a dude should look like plate on a woman.

I remember on the old forums we had conversations about how in games, like MMOs, it made no sense for a dude to put on a piece of armor and have him look like a steam engine, covered from head to toe, but when a woman put the same piece of armor on she suddenly had more skin showing than protective covering. This is kind of treading that same ground for me. Every look is unique to the companion and their 'personality' seems more like an easy artistic excuse to design a look however one wants even if it is a plate piece (or what have you) going on a character.

I may just need to see more of this system before making a better opinion, but right now I'm not really liking it any more (or any less) than DA2's unique full-bodied costumes.

Modifié par Deviija, 13 avril 2012 - 09:44 .

[Borghal]

Mike Laidlaw wrote...


It's a little weird, sure. However, I consider it to be no weirder than moving the same armor from Oghren to Sten, who would logically be -awfully- squished, so it falls into "acceptably gamey" on my personal radar.

Thanks for getting back to me on this one. Personally I feel that this crosses the proverbial line... but that's just me, of course :-)

You make a good point about the size of the armor - I guess people never talk about that because this has become common in all RPG's over time... but I for one wouldn't mind added realism, maybe having a smith/armorer customize the armor for the character you want to put it on.

Off the top of my mind I recall a single RPG that required armor modification prior to equipment - Venetica. But there was no party there and not too many types of armor, so employing such a system in DA would be something else entirely. And it probably wouldn't be appreciated by less die-hard RPG realism fans, so too bad for me...

[beermat77]

Mike Laidlaw wrote...

Borghal wrote...

Ugh... so now we have magical morphing armor pieces, or has Dragon Age gone Sci-fi and this is actually some kind of nano-armor?

The resulting visual style is of course cool and stylish and all that sells, but how is it justified from a game world logic standpoint?
Also, maybe it's just me, but when I put full plate armor of a certain style, I expect that character to be clad in such armor. But as these concepts show, put it on one person, you get an open helmet, but put it on someone else, you get a closed helmet. No consistency sucks :- /

It's a little weird, sure. However, I consider it to be no weirder than moving the same armor from Oghren to Sten, who would logically be -awfully- squished, so it falls into "acceptably gamey" on my personal radar.

Makes sense for store brought armours.
Found armour should be character/size specific.
Eg Elven armour found while exploring wouldn't fit a character the size of sten

[David Gaider]

Melissa Russell wrote...
Can we have a "default" look for each character?  I don't want to restrict any means of customization, but I'd love for there to be a certain distiguishable "look" for everyone to be familiar with before they start adding extra pieces.

If you look at the first pictures, I think that would be the "default" look for those followers. Yes, it could change after that point... but part of the idea is that no matter what armor pieces they end up wearing they will never stop looking like the character they are.

So if you put the Chasind Robes on Morrigan, they look a bit different from the same robes on Wynne. And there could be variations, based on a Chasind "look"... so you could end up with different versions that are black or red, shiny leather or padded cloth, with furry shoulders or golden epaulets, etc. Same with rogue armor on Varric as opposed to Isabela... Varric might continue to wear his jacket over top of such armor, or keep the front open. Or it might change the color/material of the jacket he wears. But it should still look like Varric.

Would that make it harder to identify the character? Ideally it shouldn't... I mean, people have no trouble remembering Morrigan when they see her being cosplayed at a convention floor, despite the fact the player might have changed her robes by Lothering and never looked back. So I guess it depends on how strong the identity remains between the various appearances.

[upsettingshorts]

beermat77 wrote...

Makes sense for store brought armours.
Found armour should be character/size specific.
Eg Elven armour found while exploring wouldn't fit a character the size of sten

Logically, yes.  But this seems like a lot more tedious to implement than I imagine you are assuming.

Games are ultimately games, and short of turning Dragon Age (or even Bethesda games which don't make this distinction either) into a full-bore simulation such diversity in armor fitting is unrealistic.

[TheCharmedOne]

Upsettingshorts wrote...

Atakuma wrote...

Hopefully you guys can make this work, because it sounds pretty great.

[Mike Laidlaw]

eyesofastorm wrote...

 It's just a matter of equipping them with the next piece that the devs have decided that that character should be equipped with. That's my issue. If I'm interpreting this incorrectly, please tell me.

This might clear it up:

What it is: You could find any piece of plate, and put it on any follower (or yourself) that wears plate, and see a visual difference as a result. The visual difference is, however, tuned to the character, not globally shared.

What it is not: You find a piece of plate armor for Alistair and put it on him, but not on Sten.

[Maria Caliban]

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura had three sizes of armor: small, medium, and large. Gnomes and Dwarves could only wear small; Humans, Orcs, and Elves could only wear medium; and Half-Ogres could only wear large.

It was annoying at times but I wouldn't call it tedious.

[Satyricon331]

For me, it sounds like a lot of extra resources for something that's a little too gamey. I begrudgingly inured myself to the old system of having the armor pieces fit anyone - I kind of imagined mages reshaping the armor a bit, but not precisely enough to endanger the livelihoods of actual blacksmiths. Now it's even more of a stretch, but the armor issue was never a big deal for me so it's something I could live with, I guess.

I'll add though that ultimately the blog seems to be making the case that this new system might cost more than the previous two systems, but it's worth that added expense since there's a bigger payoff... which just doesn't resonate with me since this issue just isn't a big priority for me. I seem to be in a minority though so I'll just have to hope it doesn't cost other areas too heavily.