LX_Theo Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) Why not? The rundown of how it works is this... (For the short version, see bold) I want to do it like Mass Effect In Mass Effect (2 & 3), the armor editor for the basic set of armor is customizable by pieces. Now, to the extent Mass Effect does it is similar to how the gear works already, with legs, chestpiece, helmet, etc. But what I'm suggesting is that it goes a bit more in dept than that. Lets start with an example of high level armor... Example Picture See those shoulder guards? Maybe you could choose to one have one on. Or you could choose a different style they could be in. See the gloves? Maybe the claws could change the number of them on it. Or they could be changed to minature swords, or a hooks/scimitar type look. And what about the chestpiece? Maybe the metal item on front could be taken off. Or maybe something different, like maybe something like a walkie talkie or a Mandalorian emblem, could be put there. I'm not suggesting for each armor set to take pieces from each other, though. I'd prefer to have the style of each armor stay with what the great and occasionally not so great designs Bioware has brought us so far. The ultimate short way of saying this is that I believe an in depth mix and match method of armor customization should be added to the game for high level armors. With the unify color feature that 1.2 brought, this could work astoundingly well. There are not a ton of armor sets that would need to be modified if its only done for the lvl 50 armor. It would improve customization (That people always love) a ton. It's a manageable system to be implemented, since it would be modifying and expanding on existing armors, rather than building everything from scratch. Please post if you support this direction going forward. If you have criticisms of what i have to say, please say as well. The method should be updated to the best way it can be done anyways. Thank you for your time reading, even if you only read the short version. Edited April 16, 2012 by LX_Theo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavensAgent Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Nice idea, but impossible due to the way MMORPG assets are structured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX_Theo Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 Nice idea, but impossible due to the way MMORPG assets are structured. Would you mind elaborating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavensAgent Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Would you mind elaborating?Items in an MMORPG are comprised of a single mesh, or model, which is then applied to your avatar when you equip them. Think of it as a paper doll. Because the mesh is a single unit, you cannot remove or change individual parts of it; nothing is separate. Additionally, a skin or texture layer has to be designed and applied to the mesh in order to give it color and shading. Each texture has to be designed in a way that it fits a single mesh design, and cannot be utilized for any others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX_Theo Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 Items in an MMORPG are comprised of a single mesh, or model, which is then applied to your avatar when you equip them. Think of it as a paper doll. Because the mesh is a single unit, you cannot remove or change individual parts of it; nothing is separate. Additionally, a skin or texture layer has to be designed and applied to the mesh in order to give it color and shading. Each texture has to be designed in a way that it fits a single mesh design, and cannot be utilized for any others. Since they are unique, wouldn't that make it possible to convert them into the new system? Mind you, I'm only talking about lvl 50 armors. I want this to be a reasonable suggestion. The meshs can be adjusted so that they are in the more detailed pieces. The textures can be adapted to work with the new structures. And when an item is equipped, the game can say to apply a selection of meshes rather than the single one. It seems possible, just a bit unknown in how much work it'd take. I understand this could take some work to convert the armor, but the payoff could potentially be huge without hurting the game design already in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavensAgent Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 What you're suggesting is possible but not feasible in an MMORPG, even on the limited scale you suggest. All of the effected equipment would have to be entirely redesigned. The existing meshes and textures would have to be scrapped, and new ones created from scratch. Each of these component elements would then have to be tested and retested, individually and as a whole, to account for avatar movement, clipping issues, and visible seams in the textures. That alone is probably an expansion-sized amount of new content right there. Additionally, this does not take into account the logistical issues of an MMORPG. Think of how the game slows down in high-population situations, especially with multiple, variable effects being utilized. This is because each element that has to be generated on your screen results in increased stress on the flow of data between you and the game server. One of the reasons items are added to MMORPGs as a single mesh is to help limit this load on the connection, but even that's not always enough to eliminate the strain. By turning these single meshes into multiple individual models, you would be increasing the strain even further. It's simply not viable for this type of game environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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