why cant we use different types of armor skins on the same set yet

[Entropo.1524]

just imagine the fashion war possibilities to be able to use all types of armor ( light , heavy , medium ) on the same set  ... im no progamer but i cant imagine that being difficult right ? but why is it restricted i mean they could maybe just do that for legendary armor 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Entropo.1524

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

You can't imagine it being difficult because you are not a programmer/designer/developer. 

[kharmin.7683]

Please use the forums search feature to find the threads that have already discussed this and answered your question.

[Sigmoid.7082]

Everything is easy and doable unless you understand why it's not. 

[Linken.6345]

Short answer light medium and heavy coats/pants/gloves dont have the same cut off point on your character and thats they they cant be mixed and matched.

[The Greyhawk.9107]

18 hours ago, Entropo.1524 said:

just imagine the fashion war possibilities to be able to use all types of armor ( light , heavy , medium ) on the same set  ... im no progamer but i cant imagine that being difficult right ? but why is it restricted i mean they could maybe just do that for legendary armor 

To do this Anet would have to almost completely remake the entire armor system and each and every armor set.

Its not worth it and its not going to happen.

[TheLadyOfTheRings.9148]

I think same reason we can't use other professions' skills if we're not playing that profession? 😛 

[Rasimir.6239]

21 hours ago, Entropo.1524 said:

but why is it restricted

Do you know those old paper dolls that you can dress with cut-out paper clothes? Each doll has their own clothes, because they (usually) are drawn differently and the clothes wouldn't sit right on the wrong doll.

 

In a way armor weights in this game are similar. Each weight has different models with different places where the armor pieces line up. If you put for example the shirt of one armor weight on a character model and the pants of another armor weight, there's a good likelyhood that they don't match up, but either clip into each other, or worse leave a slice of empty space between them.

 

It was a design choice when this game was first created, probably to create distinctive silhouettes for each armor weight. I suspect that the developers would do things differently if they would start from scratch today, but as it stands, they choose to go that route back then, and to change it now would mean to re-do most if not all armor pieces in this game from scratch.

[Gibson.4036]

So, zoomed out, completely non-technical, light armor has their butt capes attached to their pants, medium armor has theirs attached to their chest piece. Not compatible.

This is just the most glaring example, for clarity.

[Batel.9206]

I'd like it if we could simply switch armor weights in looks only. So a heavy-armor class could wear medium armor - and only medium armor. If they wanted to switch to wearing light armor, they'd have to wear only light armor. No mixing and matching between a heavy coat, medium pants, light gloves, etc. If you wanted your guardian to wear the Council Watch coat, then you could do so - which would then force you to transmute the rest of your clothes into medium armor as well unless for some reason you don't mind wearing nothing but a shirt. You'd still have your original armor stats.

...but I suspect that would also break a lot of things with transmuting armor of one class to look like armor of another class. 😕

[starhunter.6015]

9 hours ago, Linken.6345 said:

Short answer light medium and heavy coats/pants/gloves dont have the same cut off point on your character and thats they they cant be mixed and matched.

Pretty much this,  The devs explained a few times the different armor weights are cut and rigged differently . 

 

[starhunter.6015]

2 hours ago, Batel.9206 said:

I'd like it if we could simply switch armor weights in looks only. So a heavy-armor class could wear medium armor - and only medium armor. If they wanted to switch to wearing light armor, they'd have to wear only light armor. No mixing and matching between a heavy coat, medium pants, light gloves, etc. If you wanted your guardian to wear the Council Watch coat, then you could do so - which would then force you to transmute the rest of your clothes into medium armor as well unless for some reason you don't mind wearing nothing but a shirt. You'd still have your original armor stats.

...but I suspect that would also break a lot of things with transmuting armor of one class to look like armor of another class. 😕

AN this is why we were given outfits.  Simple solution and easier on the devs.

[Khisanth.2948]

23 hours ago, Batel.9206 said:

I'd like it if we could simply switch armor weights in looks only. So a heavy-armor class could wear medium armor - and only medium armor. If they wanted to switch to wearing light armor, they'd have to wear only light armor. No mixing and matching between a heavy coat, medium pants, light gloves, etc. If you wanted your guardian to wear the Council Watch coat, then you could do so - which would then force you to transmute the rest of your clothes into medium armor as well unless for some reason you don't mind wearing nothing but a shirt. You'd still have your original armor stats.

...but I suspect that would also break a lot of things with transmuting armor of one class to look like armor of another class. 😕

That is solvable with a custom outfit system and easily monetize with "Custom Outfit Slots".

 

[Epsilon Indi.2031]

On 12/16/2021 at 5:41 PM, Sigmoid.7082 said:

Everything is easy and doable unless you understand why it's not. 

Nah, see, it's easy! All you've got to do is this:

(Sixteen page dissertation on how to code and rig 3d models later)

And that's why it's so easy.  Wait, what?  What do you mean mesmer can't queue f or pvp anymore and we deleted revenant?

[Epsilon Indi.2031]

22 hours ago, starhunter.6015 said:

Pretty much this,  The devs explained a few times the different armor weights are cut and rigged differently . 

 

What it sounds like is this;

They'd have to literally redo the armor system from the ground up, using universal points for rigging the armor.  This is, according to GW2 efficiency (And this is just released things in the API, it doesn't include future armor sets from EoD and beyond); 2324 pieces of armor.  This is no small feat, as they'd have to do it five  times; once per race.  This assumes that it's not just the chest and legs that'd need to be reworked.  If it, by some miracle, was just pants and chest, that'd only be 564 pieces.

.. Honestly, though, if they put in the work, I think it'd make  designing and rigging armor as easy as making outfits.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Sure it's just five?  Every male armor exactly fits female?

Edited December 19, 2021 by Inculpatus cedo.9234

[Zalavaaris.5329]

What I'd like to see is 3 check boxes, one for each armor type,  and be able to use anything on any character as long as the 6 pieces are the same. 

[Epsilon Indi.2031]

On 12/19/2021 at 7:31 AM, Zalavaaris.5329 said:

What I'd like to see is 3 check boxes, one for each armor type,  and be able to use anything on any character as long as the 6 pieces are the same. 

That would be a neat compromise.  A select  skin weight option that allows you to design armor with light, medium, or heavy pieces respectively without having to make a light, medium, and heavy variant of t he same character.

  

On 12/18/2021 at 5:23 PM, Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:

Sure it's just five?  Every male armor exactly fits female?

I'll admit, doing the maths, I thought ~2364 pieces of armor was enough of a reason for it not to be done.  But doubling that.  Yeesh.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Sir Alymer.3406