1.2 New armor models!

[Dreamborn]

Additonally - for some insperation / fun, and for those who havent allready seen :

 

Check out this guys "Steampunk" take on some iconic star wars chars :

 

http://www.ufunk.net/en/star-wars/steampunk-star-wars/

Edited March 31, 2012 by Dreamborn

[-Denise-]

First off, I'm not a Star Wars fan. I play(ed) and enjoy this game because playing with friends is fun and because I like the merger between Mass Effect type storytelling as well as MMO gameplay.

 

That said, there isn't a single piece of armor in the entire game that I'd personally rate higher than mediocre, the 1.2 armors included. This might very well be due to my personal ignorance of being unable to appreciate the "typical" Star Wars art style.

 

 

All armors can be summed up into:

 

a) Robes. *Yawn* Mandatory in any game ever and should really rather be worn by extremely overweight people.

 

b) Brown things. Extremely apparent when playing Republic other than Trooper. Brown is the colour of dirt, not glorious armor of space heroes.

 

c) Power armor, the favourite choice of Republican Space Rangers everywhere.

 

What I personally find extremely lacking are sexier, skimpier armor choices. There are only two in the entire game, both requiring some weird things, namely:

 

- Imperial / Republic Dancer, which not even everybody has access to since it's restricted to Security Key people, and

- Slave Girl, which I am personally sick and tired of because you see it everywhere and because it's not that sexy after all.

 

Now I know all the pretentious backwards moralists will troll this but it doesn't mean we need space lingerie (although that WOULD be an option I'd appreciate!), but, say, why not a skintight leather outfit (in black!), all shiny and leathery and smexy, for Agents?

Put on some nightvision goggles that... actually just Google for Splinter Cell.

 

 

TLDR;

 

Armor is grey and boring and looks like dirt, need more sex-appeal.

[hargrave]

i just want a plain black hood up robe like the sith have in the new movies i.e dath maul/emperor thats it all be set why this is such a hard thing to do i dont know. I dont care about wz's or uber armor just a plain black robe that it nothing more

[Idunhavaname]

You know... the knight PVE set would actually look amazing if it werent for the shoulders.

[Cubertt]

I'm thinking Bioware has lost it a bit with these designs, like people have already said the only sets that come close to SW is the trooper PVP and Sage PVE.

 

It would be nice to be able to look a class in game and think yeah thats looks like a BH, trooper, operative, (instet class here) rather than go ROFLMAO WHAT is that?!

 

There seems to be no identities with armour and the armour art is generally meh at end game. I remember seeing the posts (especially in BH and SI forums) about the end game armours being pants to look at, was none of this feedback taken into account when designing new sets?

 

Anyways my feedback from the pics provided (Thank you btw)

 

Inqusitors - not sure on these. The PVE set im still trying to figure out why with all the metal bits, kinda fits with an assassin type but not with a caster. The PVP set looks ok for a caster but not an assassin and neither look iconic.

 

Sith Warrior - not too bad here, I kinda like the simplicity of them compared to the sets we have now. Although the PVE helm would get turned off (force charge and take off!) and the PVP boots dont look right with those knee pad wing things.

 

Bounty Hunter - I think the PVE set looks awful and more like something a character would wear around level 25 rather than end game. The PVP set I like though i dont think it fits with BH, might have looked better as a trooper variant.

 

Agent/Sniper - OMG was this the last to get designed. Scrap both sets now please they are horrible. Both sets look more like a maintenance workers uniform.

 

Counselor - PVE i think is going to sit well with the healers but not so much anyone else and the PVP set the other way round - quite like both though.

 

Knight - PVE yeah ok looks Knightish but dosnt look like end game armour and the PVP, just LOL it looks terrible - show that pic to a focus group and tell me with a straight face that every single one said 'Oh yeah thats a Jedi Knight' Only thing im thankful for here is that Knights got it and not BH's

 

Trooper - I like the PVE set but feel it would have been much more suited to BH. The PVP set is not bed either but looks too Imperial and again with the wingy knee pad thing.

 

Smuggler - Not too bad overall but the helmets let them down and personnaly I prefer the ones already ingame and yeah these dont scream end game armour to me either.

 

 

 

I have to wonder though, that with the upcoming crit craft on orange gear that Bioware wasnt all that bothered about these sets. Most people will likely just be pulling the mods out of them anyways and vendoring whats left. Kind of a shame though.

 

reading ur post and looking at the pictures makes me think they made all the gear and assigned them to classes instead of the other way around.

I agree with a lot of ur "this should be this classes and this should be this classes..."

[Locustone]

All advanced classes should have their own individual look with armor sets. Not just different colors.

 

All armor sets should be designed around the species. (i.e. Tauren, Forsaken, Worgen, etc. like blizzad does in WoW)

 

some pictures:

 

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs19/f/2007/244/9/4/Sith_Empress_by_namesjames.jpg

 

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100615163921/starwars/images/5/5d/Sith_Legacy.jpg

 

http://monsterscifishow.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/starwars_sith.jpg

 

http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/b/be/SithStalkerArmor-TFUUSE.jpg

 

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081202053633/starwars/images/e/e3/Sith_trooper_concept_art.jpg

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XdP6Lp2ceqY/SwTSznfyTyI/AAAAAAAADgs/eeScgGc-qt4/s1600/altair.jpg

 

http://reignguild.net/gallery/plog-content/images/star-wars-the-old-republic/concept-art/timeline08_malak_revan.jpg

 

I love the looks from the post above, sith warriors should not look like robots... They should look like the ones in the links.

[SmokeDopeStuff]

Ok....after thinking about it I have a better answer:

Make an orange version of every gear set in the game!....problem solved!

 

Agreed. But that might be too much work for BW. They should rather implement a wardrobe system (like in LotRO), so you can wear everything you want. Would be much better if you ask me, since personally i like to wear light armors as Jedi Guardian just for the looks, or trooper armor as a Smuggler, and thats currently either not possible or simply stupid wearing light armor as a heavy armor character.

 

I would really like to see a wardrobe system in SWTOR !

Edited March 31, 2012 by SmokeDopeStuff

[Destrucshot]

The smuggler gear looks bland AND disgusting, just to get my personal opinion out of the way first. Bolts on the side of my head? whut?

 

I think for smugglers, you should experiment with a variety of styles. The themes you should be exploring are tech expert, desert walker, street thug, nobility [but more like Lando nobility], alderaanian [ties in with nobility], demolitions expert, combat medic, raggy-yet-fully-covered clothing [fits with desert walker], and I think you could dip into the bounty hunter style of armor every once in awhile.

 

Regardless, ugh, i hate the smuggler set.

[SillyTurtle]

You dont really need to make many changes to whats already there

Maurader 1

 

Maurader 2

 

 

Wow, I want that! Where in the game was that, that I missed?

[LongGui]

I'm personally less concerned about how others view the appearance of my character as long as I'm happy with how he looks. The current sets (Tionese/Columi/Rakata) for the Jedi Knight at least are close to appealing. At first I wasn't that interested in the robe but it grew on me. The helmets for Trooper and Consular look absolutely ridiculous and in terms of helmets in general I prefer the simple circlet looking ones to everything else that is available. My favorite look for the Jedi Knight has been the one used in the concept art where he is wearing the armor plating under the simple hooded cloak.

 

Same, Practical and believable are what I like, most the of the posts from deviantArt are nice. Costumes that shout look at me from a 100 yards are ones I steer clear of.

 

You dont need huge helmet atachmets to look great, if anything I prefer the simpler gear, with the higher level stuff having more detail and design rather than extra bits being stuck on.

 

Right now for my smuggler all the best looking gear for me has been jackets, but this is deemed low level stuff for some reason.

 

Edit: To the post above, I haven't rolled a maurader yet, but that is what I would want to look like when Im level 50.

Edited March 31, 2012 by LongGui

[veevito]

Honestly, expanding the armormech and synthweaving professions to allow some type of option to take a piece of normal gear and get the design schematic for an orange version of it would significantly help the issue. There are expansions coming to the professions in 1.2 but offering players a means to acquire the visuals of gear they enjoy is key.

 

 

I agree. In all honesty, and this could be my mind playing tricks on me, but I would have sworn that BW had mentioned that there would be an orange version of every piece of armor in the game. And that crafters would be the ones sought after to get them.

[Wodaz]

There are very simple ways of making a simple robe look much better than just throwing out a simple robe. For instance, since wea are obviously refering to republic, you could add a glow or other embeleshing effect to those high level armor sets. On the empire side you could do the opposite, a shadowing effect that would allow the hood to hide just enough of the face to make you look like a killer and add the glowing eyes effect with a dark aura. I'm surprised your team doesn't think of this...

 

Agreed, simple can still look powerful with the right things added!!

 

I'll be removing most of the mods from gear and putting them into my favorite orange gear because this gear doesn't look Star Warsy at all! Kinda makes me think "Star Wars hits Broadway!!!" LOL!

 

Very nice ideas!

Edited March 31, 2012 by Wodaz

[Panthy]

I have to agree with a lot of what has been said. Many of these sets are very over-designed for the Star Wars universe. There are so many great, simple-looking outfits that are either green and thus useless or are restricted to NPCs. Please don't make the Blizzard mistake of thinking that more texture and more detail is always better. The best designs are simple, practical and lean.

 

Give Bounty Hunters the Mandalorian armour that the NPCs are allowed but we are not, give Jedi more of the simple robes and humble trappings that are one of the tenets of their order in the first place. The simplest orange gear really is very popular, because it tends to be the most iconic and the most fitting for the Star Wars setting. Not everybody wants to be noticed for the volcanoes on their shoulders or the power plant on their back. For many people the ideal is to create their own unique, Star Warsy look. More choice in all things is best, but in my experience the simple and elegant designs are often better received.

[veevito]

Also, I think that a dying system absolutely needs to be adopted. However you want to handle it.

 

I know the devs are against it, but to my way of thinking it is necessary in any mmo now.

 

Reason being, even if you come up with a stellar design pattern for an armor piece, people are going to want to add the final touch themselves with the colors of their choice.

 

That isn't a bad thing.

[Efialtis]

100% 100% agree

 

 

+100000

[Danakar]

In terms of 'progression', you guys had the right mindset but went overboard in the end.

 

The right way: Aspiring Knight -> Battle Expulsor -> Jedi Battlelord

 

Most (if not all) sets leading up to endgame made you look like actual Jedi Knights (you know, the 'humble warrior monk' as depicted on your walls of armor sets and progression videos and trailers).

 

It's at endgame where your designers went insane and suddenly came up with all the stabilizing fins, space samurai, Power Rangers and other ridiculous (and very impractical) designs to 'make it more cool'.

 

Less is more, and be mindful of Functionality and Practicality when creating armor sets.

 

We don't want armor progression to be

; we want Star Wars The Old Republic

 

Thank you

Edited April 1, 2012 by Danakar

[Sylvan]

I understand fully the issue of balance between high end exclusive armour that people want to work hard to get (working hard means playin equals Subs) vs satisfying the very obvious player need for elegant or "classic" armour/clothing.

 

I think you've done a good job, especially come 1.2. However, on the Jedi side of things there is still a rather glaring gap in the "classic" look.

 

http://blog.swagvault.com/2009/01/08/guide-to-force-protection-jedi-robes-cloaks-and-equipment-by-glzmo/

 

These are the classic SWG Jedi armours (ignore the pure white ones). Now, they weren't perfect, but most people would admit, the Elder Jedi robes look wonderful and the simple black/brown Jedi cloaks are exactly what we need at least a few options of.

 

Also, this shot of Count Dooku shows a very classy style of clothing which isn't specifically "force user" but lends itself well. It has an elder statesman look to it, but he doesn't look odd. Notice the lack of shoulder pads, wacky gauntlets, pure white skirts and silly hats.

 

http://fanon.wikia.com/wiki/File:Count_Dooku_Pose.jpg

 

I'd grind for months to get clothing this cool.

Edited April 1, 2012 by Sylvan

[veevito]

I see alot of people talking about the Jedi Battlelord set. It seems to be highly sought after. I myself am seeking it. When a piece appears on the GTN, it is more expensive than others and disappears quickly.

 

Also, the new legacy armors for the jedi will include a version of it, indicating that BW knows it's something people like. It has no spikes, no blades on the shoulders, no backpack and no space helmet.

 

Should this not be an indicator of what people want for the class?

Edited April 1, 2012 by veevito

[Miscai]

Here's an open question in regards to that.

 

We always have to balance two things with armor. On the one hand, there's the gameplay requirement of "Make high level, very exclusive armor look like it's unique and powerful so other players can see that at a glance".

 

On the other, there's the aesthetics requirement - to make clothing echo the simple, almost plain looking clothing that's seen on some characters in the Star Wars saga. That led, in part, to orange gear in the game, which allows you to have an iconic appearance that doesn't suggest your gear's statistics.

 

The question is, how do you balance that? Arguably Obi-Wan's robes in Episode IV are very 'low level' in appearance. Would you want to see that as an armor set for a high level character? Would you not be concerned that players would see you as low-level? Or do aesthetics trump gameplay for you?

 

Personally, I like to see armor sets look more basic the higher you go, not more complicated and for the love of all that is good and evil, not with more things randomly sticking off of them.

 

Why are Obi-Wan's robes, or any Jedi's robes in any of the movies for that matter, so "low level" looking? Simple - his skill negates the need for drastic armor and protection.

 

The same goes for the sith in the movies. The emperor's robes are very simple, as are Vader's and Maul's. The most outlandish thing on any of them is Vader's helmet which is there for reasons other than protection.

 

I play this game because I love the Star Wars universe as a setting. Included in that "setting" is the overall look. Based on the movies and subsequent books, I do have certain expectations of what things should look like. I have not seen anything in any of the movies or read anything in any of the books (of the ones I have read and no, I have not read them all) that suggests anyone would ever wear something with a bunch of metal hooks sticking out of it. That is especially true for a force user - they are almost exclusively shown and described in simple robes.

 

In fact, the only ones who ever wear extensive body armor are storm troopers and bounty hunters, at least that I can remember. Please, please, PLEASE keep this in mind when future armor sets are designed.

 

If I wanted the outrageous looking stuff I am seeing in 1.2 armor models, I quite frankly would have stuck with something ultra-cartoony, ie World of Warcarft. This is not WoW, it is Star Wars.

[Danakar]

I see alot of people talking about the Jedi Battlelord set. It seems to be highly sought after. I myself am seeking it. When a piece appears on the GTN, it is more expensive than others and disappears quickly.

 

Also, the new legacy armors for the jedi will include a version of it, indicating that BW knows it's something people like. It has no spikes, no blades on the shoulders, no backpack and no space helmet.

 

Should this not be an indicator of what people want for the class?

 

Indeed, the Legacy armors are a good indication of BioWare being 'on the ball' as most of them are good examples of Star Wars inspired sets without delving into the lands of the insane. What they have provided as Legacy armor is what they should focus on further in my humble opinion; NOT peacock feathers, neon lights, gigantic spikes, stabilizing fins and Cthulhu monsters.

 

And yes, for those of you still seeking something similar to the green/orange Jedi Battlelord set, there is a silver/blue version available as Legacy armor.

Edited April 1, 2012 by Danakar

[bbates]

Haha is it just me or do Sorc's always get the best armor. I was hoping the warrior armor might be a little more aggressive looking but that was just me.

 

I really like the pvp armor looks like I have some grinding to do if I want to earn it just to put PVE mods in it.

[nafum]

Honestly it's going to be nearly impossible to make armor that represents what truly powerful Star Wars characters wore.

 

Think about it this way. Game update 1.3 comes along, the devs buckle down and make the "Plain and Simple" style everyone wants. Then 1.4 comes along (or a new expansion, w-e) they have to build on that idea some more? How? How do you make simple robes keep their classic look and make it to where it's something other players can look at and be look "He/She is an experienced player"? This is an mmo, armor aesthetics are part of the genre. Higher leveled characters with lots of experience with HM/NM ops need to be recognized somehow by just seeing them roaming around.

 

I know it sounds stupid but this is how it works. For those that want the simpler, more Star Wars look, they can look to Orange gear (which will inevitably be better than tier 2+ gear because of mod swaps+augments) from now on. There will be more orange gear, HOPEFULLY that looks like what everyone wants, and the devs can keep making the flashy gear for the rest of the people that like to look flashy.

[Miscai]

Honestly it's going to be nearly impossible to make armor that represents what truly powerful Star Wars characters wore.

 

Think about it this way. Game update 1.3 comes along, the devs buckle down and make the "Plain and Simple" style everyone wants. Then 1.4 comes along (or a new expansion, w-e) they have to build on that idea some more? How? How do you make simple robes keep their classic look and make it to where it's something other players can look at and be look "He/She is an experienced player"? This is an mmo, armor aesthetics are part of the genre. Higher leveled characters with lots of experience with HM/NM ops need to be recognized somehow by just seeing them roaming around.

 

I know it sounds stupid but this is how it works. For those that want the simpler, more Star Wars look, they can look to Orange gear (which will inevitably be better than tier 2+ gear because of mod swaps+augments) from now on. There will be more orange gear, HOPEFULLY that looks like what everyone wants, and the devs can keep making the flashy gear for the rest of the people that like to look flashy.

 

While I generally agree with what you say, there is a big difference between "flashy" and "over-the-top". With the 1.2 armors I think they crossed the line into the latter. For me I find this especially true of the inquisitor armor (my main is an assassin). All I can think of when I see it is the old game A Barrel of Moneys with its lttle plastic monkeys that hook together in strings.

 

There are ways other than adding stuff that sticks out of the armor to make things look more elite - embroidery, accent colors, accessories, engraving, enamel, gilding, insets, etc. I would definitely like to see not only more orange armor, but mods that will allow such armor to be truly on par with the elite gear even at the highest level. So far it has been my understanding that at some point you don't have a choice, you absolutely must change from the orange armor. Again, this is my understanding - I cannot say it is absolutely true since I have not gotten to that point yet.

 

I also agree there needs to be a way to custom color your items. While I am glad they are doing something along those lines in 1.2, I would really like to see it go further so you can dye all your armor in not just one color, but at least two.

[Dumyungguy]

Is Bioware F-ing serious?!?!?! This has to be the worst gear in any MMO i've ever seen in my 10 years of playing them. I think the gear in 1.0 looked better, and i thought 1.0 gear looked like pure crap. Seriously Bioware, after two overwhelming fails at republic gear design, I suggest getting a new team of artists and art director. I really hate to do it, but I will be canceling my subscription if this set of gear gets released to the live server in 1.2 because the devs have failed to show concern or an eye for the way their content looks. So sad.....

[Shaz]

There is a vast difference between a basic robe and an ornate robe. They're both still clearly robes, and, in general, there is no need for extraneous non-robe items to be added to the ornate version.

 

Give it more embroidery. More fabric. More drap-ing (remove the hyphen, that word is falsely filtered without it). More colors. More design. Silk or velvet robes look 'higher quality' than burlap or cotton, do they not, even if they're all the exact same pattern?

 

 

I would like my Sorcerer to look like the Machiavellian, distinguished, regal Dark Council member that she is - not like someone who's been locked away on Belsavis for centuries until her clothing fell to tatters and she went feral, nor like someone with an obsession for shoulderpads large enough to land shuttles on.

 

Stylish can be simple.

(And I'm really tired of wearing the exact same gear I've worn since Black Talon.)

 

 

(p.s. Open-front robes would be great, with pants underneath, or even straight-up chest/vest and pants. Variety would be nice. Especially with how ridiculous anyone wearing a robe looks when they mount the standing lvl 25 speeders, and the robe is stretched to MAX WIDTH OMG.)

Edited April 1, 2012 by Shaz