I was a bit disappointed with the armour graphics in this game when I first saw it. Then I installed DDO which was a step backwards, and even later I installed Vanguard and was appalled to see an even further and huge step backwards (I honestly didnt think it was actually possible to get worse than DDO). Have you seen the state of the horses in Vanguard? I think a pantomime horse looks better. Currently EQ2 doesnt have just better looking characters - it has characters that are exponentially better than anything currently around, even in solo games from what I see. I guess I was spoiled by EQ2 being my first MMO. What has happened to the technology? Its slipping further and further backwards instead of forwards! If EQ2 improve their toon graphics even more I think they should rightfully put it on the box that it has "ultra-realistic toons" as a feature. If it has to compete with the truly woeful toon graphics in VG then it has no competition. IMO, how your toon looks is one of the core features of the game.
[p]In regards to the "social" clothing, I remain too mortified at the appalling appearance of the female versions to want to wear them. [/p][p]Slit up to the top of the thigh on both legs, plus the bare-footed indignity..ugh, it is just sad.[/p][p]Also revolting is the "high-end" status female formal wear one can get at certain guild levels. The white with gold trim version at least comes close to ok, but the bluish thing at the higher level...that looks exactly like a circus performer outfit. It looks like one of those little outfits the girls that ride the trick ponies wear. Ugh, ugh, ugh![/p][p]Two other things that continue to bother me about our character models are the bad looking hair (play-dough extrusion look), and the other is something to do with the way the eyes look.[/p][p]Or maybe I should phrase that as the way the eyes "don't look". Literally the eyes do not appear to be looking or focusing, they are just there. It seems to give all of the faces a strange mannequin-like look to them. Totally blank looking faces. Anyone else ever notice that?[/p]
While I personally wouldn't mind "more revealing armor", I don't need to see it in-game, either. I remember the female paladin model from before the game was released. It did look good. But to me (and maybe this is some weird fetish) I find women in full armor pretty attractive. LOL I figure my infatuation with it started many many years ago with Samus Aran... Anyway, what I'd like to see even more than "revealing armor" is more stylized armor. I think can be just as eye-pleasing and doesn't run the risk of "I don't want my female characters to look like a sex object!" (sorry if this gets double posted... forum issues right when I decide to post heh)
[p]My girlfriend wants to start playing the game, but is more concerned about how her character will look then how funtional it is. [/p][p]She doesn't need the "revealing" armor, but something that looks stylish to her. She watches the preview (video) before the game and says "Yea, like that" when it shows the two female mages. However, I do not think the exist. She wants to be a mage, but hates the "robe look". Is this her only option? Should she look at being something else? Any ideas?[/p]
[p] [/p][p]It is odd how when monk throw on a certain tunic, instantly the pants, boots, sleeves, etc, all change to that same white look, even though the monk still has on the darker armor.[/p][p] So, if sony will do things like that, (it is MAGIC ahh!) then why can't they also let women look like women, and men look like men?[/p][p] And, as to you needing to show skin to look sexy, I do not agree. I often find women in tight looking, wel dsigned clothes look nicer than many of the lesser clothes outfits.[/p][p] One example are victoria secret underclothes. I would rather see a lady in that than nothing on. it adds to the sexuality and mystique![/p][p] I woudl like to see more stomach's showing on women in EQ2, and men if they want it, heck, make some armor available depending on type and class. [/p][p]And for God's sakes, PLEASE let Mage classes have some nice non robes outfits!![/p][p] [/p][p] [/p][p]Nwonknu[/p]
Hmph. I guess I'm extremely wierd, then. One of the reasons I picked Iksar as my race was because of the appeal of the androgynistic appearance of the female model. Is it such a crime that I would rather not have the game obsess itself over sexual differentiation (which people do enough of in "real-life", frankly), and would prefer that functional armors remain functional on both genders? Should I be more concerned about expressing my 'femininity' in a game that, frankly, I play to escape the rigors and irritations of day-to-day living? (If you're wondering why I'm ranting about this, this [hr]"..why can't they also let women look like women, and men look like men?" [hr] ...is why.) I simply cannot understand the whole obsession with sexual differentiation. Is it really such a bad thing for both genders to share some common ground when it comes to their armor protection? I would hope so, otherwise we would have problems with one gender being superior to the other in actual combat! Let's not have it go there, please... Like I said before, if it *must* be done, it should be a stylistic change for the armors that are actually designed to *protect* (leather, chain, platemail), whereas cloth armor, as far as I'm concerned, can be as revealing or non-revealing as they want to make it. It's just cloth; it doesn't provide any protection to speak of in the first place. However, if it's revealing, it should be the case for both genders, and not a one-sided thing. Hey, sometimes it's nice to see guys show a little skin, too, y'know.
[p]I've got no problem with more 'sexy' armor...if I don't have to wear it. ;-)[/p][p]Okay, yeah, yeah, so I'm a roleplayer. My character wouldn't be caught dead in any of the casual female clothing currently in the game, let alone the guild level 30 piece. Poofy sleeves and skirts and what? She STABS and SHOOTS people for a living. She generally has to go wading through knee deep muck. Skirts and poofy sleeves and leather bikinis are for other women, not her. It was embarassing enough just wearing the 'boobplate' that is xegonite chain armor. XD[/p][p]But hey, if other people want stuff like that, sure. Just don't make me wear it, that's all I ask. I've still got nightmares of the full plate + leather bra look I had in EQ1 for so long.[/p]
Everyone and everything looks the same. I was in the bank and thought I was looking at me but it was another player. She looked identical to me. As a female I want to look good. FOR ME. I don't care if the armor is practical or functional. It's clunky, dull, and uninspired. Style means a lot to me (and probably others). I got this tunic last night on my ranger and though it doesn't really have better stats than my feysteel piece it looks different and it looks feminine. No annoying flaps. (sorry its dark and big)
[p]hey, whats up with all the political corectness fuss? I mean - you go on a street and you meet people in different clothes... does it really endanger a kid to see a nice lady in a top with generous neckline? Or in a short skirt? I seriously doubt that. Oh and what about these sick men in shorts and gym shirts![/p][p]As for more choices in the game's armor and clothes departement, i can not see this s a problem. I dont think that anyone wants to get rid of the funtional armors we have now - people only want more diversity and stuff to chose from. So anyone putting on a more sexy gear will do it as his/her personal choice. So what is the problem really?[/p]
The problem is figuring out a way to do so without forcing those who do not want such things to wear them when going for the stats. Perhaps an appearance preview would help, or better icons to show how the item *actually* looks before buying it? Sure would help a lot, as most of the icons currently in-game are very misleading and inaccurate. Also, I really don't friggin' care about the children. This is a T-rated game, political correctness doesn't even factor into it. I just don't wanna be wearing armor that doesn't look like it friggin' protects. I would love armor with more style and visual appeal, however.
[p] Well, for the first part - if you are after stats, its your choice and you have to deal with it same way people are now dealing with their mismatched pieces of fabled right now. And they are getting it much harder - they dont look sexy, they look like clowns, thats a shame as they had to prove their dedication to acquire such powerfull items. So really, nobody would force you to wear anything except your own need for uberness. For myself, as i stated previously, i used a lot a lvl20 robe on a lvl 40+ toon to make it look better.[/p][p]As for the preview feature - i am in. i mean it. its so sad when youpay for an item which looks so bad you want to throw it away regardless to its cost or stats. Like the new mastercrafted gear on my fury... instead like in fine leather gear made of preciou pelts she looks like stupid sheep in that wowen garb[/p]
Or even a leather bikini... Or robes that don't look bulky (I'm starting to get a complex about my backside every time I'm on a carpet). To me a robe isn't suppose to look protective. If I'm wearing a robe I'm a caster and as such justify "skimpy" because its magical and therefore I'm protected... Though saying that and falling after getting hit twice as is sort of makes any conversation of protection moot. I still say there should be cultural styles as well. Elves would have their own sense of what looks good, humans another, and trolls... well they are esthetically challenged... From the looks of things everything has a human look and feel.
[p]Actually, yes and no.[/p][p]Yes, there are lots of players - many of the women - who want to a more sexy and revealing look for their character's armor. [/p][p]However, there are also lots of players - many of them men - who don't want feel that this would be appropriate. (for a number of reasons: modesty, immersion, or even their personal sense of style.) So what would be more fun for you (and admittedly me) would actually make the game less fun for them.[/p][p]Add to that . . . [/p][ul][li]Many players also feel (justifiably in too many cases) that this would cause them to receive unwanted attention of the wrong kind. Sadly, far too many immature male players will behave very badly when they see a hot, scantily clad woman (I learned this the hard way. ). While the player may have no problem, personally, with having her (or his) female character running arround in a chainmail bikini, the kind and amount of harassment "she" will suffer may make the player reconsider.[/li][li]Also, there is a legitimate concern that if SOE were to put these kinds of gear into the game, would they do so with a good sense of style? Done well it would add to the beauty of the game, but done poorly . . . [/li][li]Would it be one sided? Often when this kind of "look" is put into a game, it is often only applied to female characters. While most developers and players are still male, women are a sizable minority in the MMO community.[/li][li]Cloth, leather, chain etc? Some posters have said that they would be fine with these only being for cloth wearers. I disagree. A player's desire to have her/his character look "hot" should not be limiting to her class options.[/li][li]Finally, as has been brought up elsewhere, would these new items have better or worse "stats" then comperable items. I would hope not! Again this should not be a limiting factor on character choices. I no more would want someone forced into a bikini due to uber (in game) stats then to have these items be inferior (thus discouraging their use).[/li][/ul][p]Actually, one good idea I have seen (similar to the way Monk/Bruser armor works now) is to implement any "new" looks with a "charm" item (with tier appropriate stats & hopefully player cafted) that would modify the existing armor to a more "revealing" look. [/p][p] [/p]
Bit of a soap box on this... skip over if you like... I think we spend way too much time worrying about who we might offend than offering the opportunity to be open. It OFFENDS me that we dumb things down and take the path of being politically correct, no one worries about that though. I just think political correctness is often veiled hypocrisy and the whole blame someone else attitude we have in the US. Take responsibility. The game is intrinsically violent yet we have no problem with that. We marginalize it, package it, and glorify it. But oh no hide cover your eyes if you see a little of the female form. Modesty is always the viewer's issue not the viewed. Modesty is because we are uncomfortable with ourselves and we end up projecting that on someone else. I just don't get it. I'll buy the "its not technically possible" argument that they can't make better looking clothes. But to not include such items because they are worried about offending someone is just not a good argument. The whole swine lord loin clothe comes to mind. Now they have them wearing bicycle shorts and they look foolish. I suppose it could be worse, THEY could be the ones in the chainmail bikinis... :shock:
[p]I agree Chayna , I think it is technically possible ( see dark elf female arses hanging out of leather chaps in eq1 ), this is sony here, if game like RF online can do it so can they. I dont know if it is just lazyness or what but they need to do something to keep their player base as well as raising the lvl cap and aa's.[/p][p]I just dont understand them sometimes.[/p]
I don't think it's fair to characterize one half of the human race as wanting one thing and the other half as wanting another (males vs females). That's just completely, wildly inaccurate and unfair. There are those who want to wear skimpy clothing and those who don't. It has very little to do with gender and more to do with personal inhibitions and tastes. If someone wants to run around half-naked, all the power to 'em. Give 'em the choice. Just give me the choice to wear actual armor, and I'll be happy. (Not this pink and yellow crap we've got handed to us, either.) Give us style, please! Hire new artists if you have to, because, honestly, this is one of the primary things that keeps me from enjoying the game as much as I can. I don't even have an incentive to run to level 70 anymore, with the way things are now.
[p]To give choice to players on the sexy/functional front, the Devs can add checkboxes in Options[/p][ol][li][] Allow revealing attire rendered on myself[/li][li][] Render revealing attire where allowed[/li][/ol][p]This way you get to control how players see you and how you see others, even being seen in functional gear while seeing others in sexy gear if they chose to allow it. Then of course items would need 2 models each unless they create a "sexy look outfit" for each armor type/class/gender, kinda like the monk gi.[/p]
I recall when the last group of casual clothing was released, that you could buy one outfit and it worked on either gender. I wanted a certain color dress for one of my female toons. The color that I preferred was only available on one of the male outfits (with pants and shirt). Of course, we are only talking about being off by a few shades of color. But I knew what was pleasing to me. So I purchased the male outfit, placed it on my female toon. Voila! I had the dress in the color I wanted. 8) An armor revamp is likely a more elaborate process to complete, though I would be in support of it.
[p]As far as functionality of armor in a fantasy game I myself am pretty open minded. Just by looking at the art used for the original Everquest, you could see that the genre doesnt exist purely on the basis of reality. [/p][p]http://www.larryelmore.com/images/everquest/EQ%202nd%20Dragons%20of%20Norrath.jpg[/p][p]http://www.larryelmore.com/images/everquest/EQ%201st%20Omens%20of%20War.jpg[/p][p] Look at any of the works of Keith Parkinson also to see the way characters are portrayed. And if you raise your eyes up slightly to the top of the forum you can see the female characters portrayed by SOE. If your a stickler for reality they should be dead for not being covered enough.[/p][p] I understand there are some people that want to be lvl 60+ and in tin cans but that shouldnt be the only option. There just needs to be a stronger effort by SOE to very their designs of higher level armor.[/p][p]I would totally love alternate slots for armor for appearance. It wuld make matching items a hell of a lot easier while not losing stats.[/p][p] [/p]
