Here is my level 39 hunter in the cosmetic gear (visual appearance only – what people see):
Here is my level 39 hunter in the equipped gear (the gear that I am actually wearing):
Seriously, what is with the pants in this game anyway? The rest of it looks like he is wearing spandex armor. Ugh.
– Ethic
SWG just added an appearance tab, which it seems does the same thing as the LotRO cosmetic dealy.
Like the first set much better.
*longs for an equipment system where you get your stats but can choose the look*
(is that what this does?)
Yes, to be clear, the top photo is how I look via the appearance tab. The bottom picture is what I look like with my appearance tab set back to my actual equipped gear.
You can place any gear you can equip in the appearance tabs (there are actually two appearance tabs so you can perhaps have social clothes in the second tab if you wish) and make it active. The equipment tab is where you place whatever you are really wearing. The appearance tab saves a copy of the gear you place in it for looks only. The actual appearance gear can be put in the bank or sold or whatever after you place it in the appearance tab. To top it off, you can toggle the view on or off for almost every single piece of gear like the helm, gloves or shoes.
It is a very sweet system and should be standard for any MMO. FYI, the appearance tabs do not function in the PvMP areas as far as I understand it.
In the leather sets I find that the dwarf and elf make gear is usually better looking than the Breeland. And heaven forbid that you dress a dwarf or a hobbit in breeland gear, the results are horrific.
The gear in LoTRO is oddly hit or miss. Due to the appearance tab slots, dye system, and variety of racial gear variants my toons generally look fantastic. But why do I have wade through so much janky looking gear to come up with outfits? And what the hell is up with the headgear?
One thing that really helps is to try every single piece of gear you come across out for appearance. I have found some very nice looking pieces that aren’t in any crafted or dungeon set (as far as I know) that way. I’ve also found some oddities I never would have guessed were in game. It’s sort a fun “game within the game” for me.
I wonder if, since the advent of the Cosmetics system, Turbine has put less caring into how non-cosmetic/non-set equipment actually looks? Case in point: I received a pair of pants in Moria which are red with white spots. No kidding. They look atrocious, but nobody will ever see them thanks to my cosmetic outfit.
Personally, I don’t mind how my quest equipment looks, I just wish there was a little more variety in cosmetic gear (which I’m sure will happen over time). Add that to the ability to dye your clothing different colours and you end up with a pretty good end result, far better than what is available in WoW.
Well…a picture I actually like. That first image of clothing for appearance is actually kinda cool.
Yet, all I can remember is that second outfit, and how EVERYTHING looked like that.
Bad models, and bad textures..
Ugh
My question would be, if you (modelers, texturers, detailers, etc.) create gear that looks like frog ass(*), then turn around and create gear that look good… well, why not just create the gear that looks good in the first place. I’m talking about pure graphic assets here.
Yes, I understand this is one of the way in which you represent progression; when you’re a wimpy character you wear rags, when you’re powerful, riches. Granted. But one thing is rags and another is frog ass.
I just don’t see the wisdom in wasting all that time and energy in creating the frog ass gear and then turn around and say “well, but hey you can just use all these other good looking assets for cosmetics. Look however you want!”. From a player’s perspective, yeah wonderful I can look however I want, but otherwise what’s the point of creating assets that generally speaking will not be worn. Ever. Because they are frog ass and everybody knows it.
(*) I also realize that “looks like frog ass” is largely subjective. I’m sure there’s a few people that for some godawful reason like the look of the low level rags. But the key word here is ‘few’. There is such a thing as a consensus, even in something subjective as aesthetics.
@Julian: I think almost all the armor in LotRO looks like frog ass. I don’t know why. The worst is the helms and the pants. I’ve seen some higher level stuff look good but still, ugh.
Yes, thank goodness for the appearance tab and the ability to turn off helm display… I love Turbine, always have since 1999 and AC, but their armor is ugly as sin. The “outfits” the vendors sell are all the same except color scheme, but at least they are presentable.
This is one thing some Korean games get right. You look badass from start to finish. The only difference is that you progress from badass to utter badass.
I’ve never quite understood all the craze about starting from scraps and working your way to golden shiny armor. I’m sure some people like that sort of progression. I play the game to be a badass, not to strive to be one. I’m just waiting for that over the top game with badass armor and extremely flashy animations to come out that’s still fun to play. Stop making me play some poor peasant that makes their way to greatness. I know it fits in with most MMO’s stories, but it gets old after a while. Lets get a new basis for a story in there some time.
Ethic: It is a very sweet system and should be standard for any MMO. FYI, the appearance tabs do not function in the PvMP areas as far as I understand it.
—–
Well, EQ2 had this before SWG did… not sure where that fits with LOTRO’s adoption. Heck, City of Heroes has had appearance totally divorced from stat enhancement for nearly 5 years now- they avoided the issue entirely.
I’m glad SWG, EQ2, and LOTRO have the option, but this is a cumbersome system that doesn’t need to be there at all. Yes, it probably is the best of a bloated, sloppy situation for the already-released MMO’s, but newer games can avoid all this by divorcing stat-enhancement from gear altogether (or allow any stat the player wants to be embedded into the gear of his choice).