The Unofficial Appearance Customization Thread

[Rzacron]

A-Tab and a Barber shop... Its as important to me as anything in game. My character isn't truly my Character in its current form, days of playtime, level 50, but he's just a clone of every other person who PVP's in my Class.

 

 

SIGNED!

[JeramieCrowe]

A-Tab and a Barber shop... Its as important to me as anything in game. My character isn't truly my Character in its current form, days of playtime, level 50, but he's just a clone of every other person who PVP's in my Class.

 

 

SIGNED!

 

Yep, being able to transfer your PvP gear's stats to any gear you choose is coming in 1.2! Can't wait!!

[Vagessel]

Yep, being able to transfer your PvP gear's stats to any gear you choose is coming in 1.2! Can't wait!!

 

And that addresses haircuts and changes in jewelry and skin complexion how?

[Garibaldi_Scipio]

Again, quick costume changes is not the goal, unique signature looks are. The expense even serves to protect player's unique looks from being quickly and easily copied.

 

I'll also point out that a little patience and tolerance are all that is needed to weather the storm that is finding a new pair of cool-looking gloves. By switching the armor mod only, those gloves will be mostly current and you can pretty quickly collect enough credits to update the rest piece by piece as you go. Unless you have a particulalry tough boss fight coming up, you should be fine rocking the gloves with your prized armoring mod and what ever others it came with and you should probably have a pretty good idea whether you should wait until before or after that notably tough fight before changing gloves.

 

 

For you, a quick costume change may not be the goal. For me it might be. For Bioware, obviously the goal for them is to keep subscribers longer so the "grind for gear with good stats, then grind again for gear that you like with good stats" goal works perfectly.

 

I get what people are saying about working for things. That's fine, but I'd rather play the game than grind away for hours just because I found a new pair of boots or gloves or hat or whatever.

 

I'm sorry, but I will never agree with your stance. Most MMOs nowadays have some sort of appearance slot. I think this one should as well. It's quick, easy and I can get on with the more enjoyable portions of the game. And don't tell me that this is the way MMOs work and that if I don't like it I shouldn't play one. Because, as has been stated before, plenty of other MMOs have this feature.

[VicSkimmr]

It's hardly a grind. You have your orange piece, you get a new piece of gear. It takes all of 2 seconds to pull the mods out and put them in the orange piece. Done. It's exactly the same as an appearance tab, but you also get the benefit of being able to customize your stats however you like all in one system.

 

 

I honestly don't understand why people don't get this. An appearance tab is the lazy way out.

[JeramieCrowe]

And that addresses haircuts and changes in jewelry and skin complexion how?

 

It doesn't. It addresses the "a-tab because PvPers all look the same" part of his post...

[JeramieCrowe]

For you, a quick costume change may not be the goal. For me it might be. For Bioware, obviously the goal for them is to keep subscribers longer so the "grind for gear with good stats, then grind again for gear that you like with good stats" goal works perfectly.

 

As I've said, on my 50 smuggler, I already have 4 outfits all BiS slotted. It really was not a grind, at all, to accomplish that. I "quick costume change" to my heart's content.

 

I get what people are saying about working for things. That's fine, but I'd rather play the game than grind away for hours just because I found a new pair of boots or gloves or hat or whatever.

 

I'm sorry, but I will never agree with your stance. Most MMOs nowadays have some sort of appearance slot. I think this one should as well. It's quick, easy and I can get on with the more enjoyable portions of the game. And don't tell me that this is the way MMOs work and that if I don't like it I shouldn't play one. Because, as has been stated before, plenty of other MMOs have this feature.

 

It's true that it has, unfortunately, become an MMO standard. But there are a LOT of "MMO standards" that are being shattered in this game. And that's a good thing. The MMO genre was heading down a dark path to death, hehe.

 

It's quick, easy and I can get on with the more enjoyable portions of the game.

 

Here's the thing, though: getting the gear with the stats to pull so that you can build another outfit isn't something you're actually going out of your way to do. If you're taking part in the endgame at all, you're already doing it.

 

Just keep doing what you do, and you'll have plenty of outfits in no time.

[Matte_Black]

For easily the first 10-15 iterations of this thread the cry was for avoiding the "clone wars" and being able to "adopt a look". What is being added completes the system that allows us to do exactly that. You can have and maintain a unique signature look comprised of any gear your character can get on. Just like a particular build, it's something you need to work towards and takes some effort to modify. Edited March 29, 2012 by Matte_Black

[illgot]

It's hardly a grind. You have your orange piece, you get a new piece of gear. It takes all of 2 seconds to pull the mods out and put them in the orange piece. Done. It's exactly the same as an appearance tab, but you also get the benefit of being able to customize your stats however you like all in one system.

 

 

I honestly don't understand why people don't get this. An appearance tab is the lazy way out.

 

For the same reason people want dual spec options, drive automatic cars, and store phone numbers in their cell phones so they can call those people at the touch of a button.

 

People do not find it fun to waste their time on bad design when they know better designs have already been developed.

[Rzacron]

you do know it costs 27k + to pull mods from a BM piece right? thats a lot of cash to put mods from an ugly piece of armor and put it in one of a handful of "Chosen" Orange pieces, that probably arent the ones I would choose to wear. A-Tab is easier and waaaaayyyyy cheaper.

[Garibaldi_Scipio]

Alternatively, there is no limit to how many of the same mods you can have. Personally, if I have 2 pairs of gloves that I like, regardless if I like one a little better than the other, I get 2 sets of mods.

 

Simple as that. No need to rip them out of one to put in the other.

 

 

You're right, it's simply easier to grind for hours to get enough commendations every time I get a new piece of gear that I like the look of. Yup, that's much more simple than oh say dragging an item to a slot.

 

And technically, (yes I'm being nit picky) there IS a limit to how many mods you can have. You are limited by inventory and your bank. And if you craft, you will probably have a lot less free space than you'd like. Oh I suppose you can play the game where you perpetually email items to your alts, but that's simply too much effort.

 

Of course, if I'm a fashionista, then I'll never have enough space regardless of there being an appearance slot or not. But that's not the point. The point is that having an appearance slot makes my gaming experience that much more enjoyable.

[JeramieCrowe]

you do know it costs 27k + to pull mods from a BM piece right? thats a lot of cash to put mods from an ugly piece of armor and put it in one of a handful of "Chosen" Orange pieces, that probably arent the ones I would choose to wear. A-Tab is easier and waaaaayyyyy cheaper.

 

And that price is, in no way whatsoever, final. Hell, they've already said to expect adjustments.

[JeramieCrowe]

You're right, it's simply easier to grind for hours to get enough commendations every time I get a new piece of gear that I like the look of. Yup, that's much more simple than oh say dragging an item to a slot.

 

And technically, (yes I'm being nit picky) there IS a limit to how many mods you can have. You are limited by inventory and your bank. And if you craft, you will probably have a lot less free space than you'd like. Oh I suppose you can play the game where you perpetually email items to your alts, but that's simply too much effort.

 

Of course, if I'm a fashionista, then I'll never have enough space regardless of there being an appearance slot or not. But that's not the point. The point is that having an appearance slot makes my gaming experience that much more enjoyable.

 

And NOT having a clunky UI overlay where I'm wearing two of everything, but actually being able to actively CUSTOMIZE my look and gear makes my gaming experience that much more enjoyable.

Edited March 29, 2012 by JeramieCrowe

[Matte_Black]

A-Tab is easier and waaaaayyyyy cheaper.

 

Again, cheap and easy were not the goal.

[Garibaldi_Scipio]

Again, cheap and easy were not the goal.

 

Lol, so the opposite of cheap and easy is expensive and difficult. Yup, I'll have two orders of expensive and difficult please! Now those are goals.

 

Or did I read it wrong and you are actually in favor of an appearance slot?

[illgot]

And that price is, in no way whatsoever, final. Hell, they've already said to expect adjustments.

 

I expect it the price to go down. I just hope they further develop the system or tie it into the dual spec option.

 

The simple dual specs only change your skill trees.

 

The more advanced ones change your skill trees, your spell bar layout, and equipment to what you saved it to.

 

I'm really hoping Bioware is doing something similar to the latter.

 

Again, cheap and easy were not the goal.

 

Right, cheap isn't the reason why an appearance tab is superior. Even if Bioware tacked on a high price to click over to a new outfit, the superiority of an appearance tab is the fact that it is convenient to use. Players can change their look on the fly without clogging up their inventory with 3-4 different outfits and constantly changing the mods (more space requipred) every time they want a new look.

 

If Bioware really wanted to impress us they could even add in a hide slot option. That way players could hide their bets, bracers, or even chest if they want to be a mofo sith warrior.

Edited March 29, 2012 by illgot

[VicSkimmr]

you do know it costs 27k + to pull mods from a BM piece right? thats a lot of cash to put mods from an ugly piece of armor and put it in one of a handful of "Chosen" Orange pieces, that probably arent the ones I would choose to wear. A-Tab is easier and waaaaayyyyy cheaper.

 

You're ignoring facts to support your argument, fun. ANY orange piece is viable for this system as of 1.2. So is ANY purple piece.

 

Credit sinks are an important system for all MMOs, and this game currently doesn't have nearly enough of them. Otherwise they wouldn't be giving out rare saber crystals for millions of credits a pop just to help reduce the amount of credits in the economy.

 

 

In the end it comes down to laziness. You have all the tools you need to create your own personal look with customized stats, but you refuse to support it because you don't feel like doing any work to obtain it.

[illgot]

You're ignoring facts to support your argument, fun. ANY orange piece is viable for this system as of 1.2. So is ANY purple piece.

 

Credit sinks are an important system for all MMOs, and this game currently doesn't have nearly enough of them. Otherwise they wouldn't be giving out rare saber crystals for millions of credits a pop just to help reduce the amount of credits in the economy.

 

 

In the end it comes down to laziness. You have all the tools you need to create your own personal look with customized stats, but you refuse to support it because you don't feel like doing any work to obtain it.

 

people need to stop confusing bad design with money sink. Appearance Tabs and even Dual Specs can be easy to use but still function as a money sink.

[Matte_Black]

For the same reason people want dual spec options, drive automatic cars, and store phone numbers in their cell phones so they can call those people at the touch of a button.

 

People do not find it fun to waste their time on bad design when they know better designs have already been developed.

 

Some do, some don't. Plenty of people love that ease and convenience and seek out all inclusive cruises for vacations while others go on 100 mile hikes across the mountains and like to seek out a different experience. People have different ideas of what is fun. Just because a thing is easier, does not mean it's better or more fun. In this case, some portion prefer the challenge of gathering all the parts of their look. Lot's of other games offer easier methods and many of you clearly enjoy that but, that does not mean everyone wants to go on a cruise.

[JeramieCrowe]

people need to stop confusing bad design with money sink. Appearance Tabs and even Dual Specs can be easy to use but still function as a money sink.

 

Here's the thing:

 

In beta, they showed us this stat slotting system. Then they took it away, and Stephen Reid alluded to an a-tab. The outcry was enormous. Thousands of people were posting that they would rather have the stat-slotting system over an a-tab. Beta testers overwhelmingly supported the stat-slotting system over an a-tab.

 

So, they went back to that.

 

Majority rules.

[Garibaldi_Scipio]

And NOT having a clunky UI overlay where I'm wearing two of everything, but actually being able to actively CUSTOMIZE my look and gear makes my gaming experience that much more enjoyable.

 

Who said the interface would be clunky? Or does the concept of a tab confuse you? You know there's a Companion tab on your character sheet, right? Well, all the devs would have to do would be to add [insert drum roll or pause for dramatic effect] an appearance tab! Tada! And guess what? YOU would never have to use it! YOU could continue playing exactly the way you are currently playing and it wouldn't change anything. YOU could spend lots of time and money on putting in or ripping out mods to your heart's content. Meanwhile, others like myself would simply drag and drop in a new skin and continue doing whatever it was we were doing.

 

How do you "actively CUSTOMIZE your look and gear" ??? I know you can put in different mods, but that doesn't change the look of any given piece of gear. Oh, you mean by putting something different in that slot? How is that different than putting something different in an appearance slot? I don't get what you are saying.

[illgot]

Here's the thing:

 

In beta, they showed us this stat slotting system. Then they took it away, and Stephen Reid alluded to an a-tab. The outcry was enormous. Thousands of people were posting that they would rather have the stat-slotting system over an a-tab. Beta testers overwhelmingly supported the stat-slotting system over an a-tab.

 

So, they went back to that.

 

Majority rules.

 

I don't think Bioware was ever serious about an appearance tab. They already had an open mod system with every item be modifiable. What would stop them from also developing an appearance tab? Player say so?

 

Is the hero engine so limited players can't have a mod system and appearance tab? Bioware, base on their time constraints, had to work on more important things, like making all armor mods neutral, locking down the mods in all gear and developing "orange gear", and taking out the color matching system.

 

All of the above EVERY SINGLE BETA PLAYER told them was a bad design choice. They ignored it and pushed it through to release anyway. Now they realize the truth of what the beta testers were saying and are reversing all those last minute changes.

 

The majority does not rule and it shouldn't. Smart design choices should take priority, not bad design choices and constant back peddling to fix the mistakes that never should have avoided in the first place.

 

Some do, some don't. Plenty of people love that ease and convenience and seek out all inclusive cruises for vacations while others go on 100 mile hikes across the mountains and like to seek out a different experience. People have different ideas of what is fun. Just because a thing is easier, does not mean it's better or more fun. In this case, some portion prefer the challenge of gathering all the parts of their look. Lot's of other games offer easier methods and many of you clearly enjoy that but, that does not mean everyone wants to go on a cruise.

 

No one is saying we get rid of the orange mod system. If you enjoy having multiple outfits taking up your inventory space and enjoy taking the time to remove 4 mods for every piece of gear you want to change, no one will stop you.

 

Those players for an appearance tab are asking for the same level of convenience the dual spec option is going to be given. They want the option to have tabs for different outfits and store those outfits on tabs, not in their inventory. Once dual spec option becomes available do you think they are going to delete the option to run to fleet and manually reset your skills?

Edited March 29, 2012 by illgot

[JeramieCrowe]

I don't think Bioware was ever serious about an appearance tab. They already had an open mod system with every item be modifiable. What would stop them from also developing an appearance tab? Player say so?

 

Is the hero engine so limited players can't have a mod system and appearance tab? Bioware, base on their time constraints, had to work on more important things, like making all armor mods neutral, locking down the mods in all gear and developing "orange gear", and taking out the color matching system.

 

All of the above EVERY SINGLE BETA PLAYER told them was a bad design choice. They ignored it and pushed it through to release anyway. Now they realize the truth of what the beta testers were saying and are reversing all those last minute changes.

 

The majority does not rule and it shouldn't. Smart design choices should take priority, not bad design choices and constant back peddling to fix the mistakes that never should have avoided in the first place.

 

If it was due to time constraints, they would have went the "lazy design" way (their words) and just plopped in an a-tab.

 

It's not in because of choice. Not because of any time constraints. Were you even around during the 24 iterations of this thread? I was. People overwhelmingly did NOT want an a-tab over the current design.

 

Sure, there were a few hold-outs who insisted that the a-tab was the God Almighty of appearance flexibility, but there weren't many.

[illgot]

If it was due to time constraints, they would have went the "lazy design" way (their words) and just plopped in an a-tab.

 

It's not in because of choice. Not because of any time constraints. Were you even around during the 24 iterations of this thread? I was. People overwhelmingly did NOT want an a-tab over the current design.

 

Sure, there were a few hold-outs who insisted that the a-tab was the God Almighty of appearance flexibility, but there weren't many.

 

Nothing you just said helps Bioware.

 

You admit Bioware went with a less flexible design. One that will take them more man hours to complete, and that offers nothing over an appearance tab, just on the say so of the players?

 

Really, because that sounds like a management issue.

 

If one of my people came up to me and said "hey, we have this new way of setting steel girders for the building, but it takes more work and doesn't offer as much flexibility if an earthquake hits," do you want to know what I would say?

 

Anything that encompasses design should only take more work if it offers greater rewards.

Edited March 29, 2012 by illgot

[VicSkimmr]

In your opinion it doesn't offer anything over an appearance tab, but that's just your opinion.

 

Would an appearance tab be convenient? Sure, but I'd much rather put some effort into custom tailoring my look and stats. I'm glad they went with the system they did, even if it is still getting ironed out. I have an entire cargo hold chock full with orange items that I can switch out if I get tired of my current look. It's fun collecting them all. I look forward to trying different options and matching them to my chest theme.

 

 

It's funny that Bioware gets called lazy with their approach to this game by most people, and then they get insulted for trying something innovative instead of taking the lazy way out like every other developer. They're damned either way.