New character appearances available and makeover-kits

[Oberwaldmeister.8239]

Hey there,

I had the experience that whenever Arenanet publishes new appearance-settings I found one that fits better to an character on which I used a Total Makeover-Kit not that long ago or which I created before. This might be bad luck but through this I came to an idea.If Arenanet could add more appearance settings (faces, hairstyles, etc.) in a slightly bigger scale they could also give everyone one free use of the black lion asthetician within 24 hours after the first login after the release of the changes.I think a good amount of people would appreciate this because one big aspect of the game is the character customization.

Let´s see what you guys think about this!(Sorry for grammar mistakes; a foreign language spreaking person)

[Klowdy.3126]

I would love to get a free makeover, but I dont see this happening ever, not even a small chance. It is a money maker in this game, so they aren't just gonna give everyone a free makeover every time they add new options, otherwise everyone would just wait for the free one every time. They also don't have the new options in character creation for that very reason, which is another indicator that free makeovers have a 0.00000000% chance to happen.

[Biff.5312]

What I find is that everyone has tons of makeover kits but no reason to use them. What's needed is a lot more customizable appearance options. Then maybe I would have some use for the 36 hair kits and 5 complete makeover kits that are rotting in my bank.

[Vavume.8065]

@Biff.5312 said:Then maybe I would have some use for the 36 hair kits and 5 complete makeover kits that are rotting in my bank.

Make more alts, then you will have a use.

[Eme.2018]

@Oberwaldmeister.8239 said:I had the experience that whenever Arenanet publishes new appearance-settings I found one that fits better to an character on which I used a Total Makeover-Kit not that long ago or which I created before. This might be bad luck but through this I came to an idea.

I can't see this being a problem since they rarely release new appearance settings.

[kharmin.7683]

It never ceases to astonish me how often people want free stuff from a game that, for most intents and purposes, is already free. How do these people expect the company to stay in business? /rhetorical

[Wakthor Thorwak.2819]

plz no more i alreyd have way to many rottin in my bank if its mail able i would love to mail those to people since i never use them

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

There's never a player who will say "no, I don't want a free makeover opportunity that won't require storing something in an item slot." But that doesn't mean it's a good thing for them to do.

[Ardid.7203]

What I don't understand is why the aesthetician doesn't allow you to use the makeover kits you already have.

[Sarrs.4831]

What I'd like is just some more appearance options. That would be nice.

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

@Ardid.7203 said:What I don't understand is why the aesthetician doesn't allow you to use the makeover kits you already have.

If you already have one why do you need to speak to the aesthetician? Just click on the kit and check out what’s available.

[Timbersword.9014]

While new hairstyles and faces are nice, is there a reason they can't expand on body/face customization, or are there just reasons explaining why they won't? Still not a huge fan of this whole body template thing. Like, body sliders were old news when Guild Wars 2 released, surprised they weren't in by default.

[Sojourner.4621]

@Timbersword.9014 said:While new hairstyles and faces are nice, is there a reason they can't expand on body/face customization, or are there just reasons explaining why they won't? Still not a huge fan of this whole body template thing. Like, body sliders were old news when Guild Wars 2 released, surprised they weren't in by default.

Can't really speak for GW2 specifically, but I can say from modding the skeletons and character models from other games that if the game is not built for body sliders from the start (whatever their reason in the beginning, probably a time/cost cutting measure for a company that wasn't nearly as large at the time as it is now, kind of like how they used the engine from GW1 to create this one) it can be exceptionally difficult to add that functionality in later and is likely to break animations and a few other unexpected things (like every NPC in the game) in the process of getting it right. It's time consuming, which means man hours and money, and there is a definite return on investment issue involved for a game company to make that change 6 years in to the game life-cycle. Maybe a potentially easier solution that would be acceptable would be to add new variety to the existing body templates, the same way they add base faces, as it doesn't fundamentally change the way the character skeletons and animations are structured.

[Omega.6801]

Who doesn't like free stuff? But the game also needs to make some money on the way and charging money/gems/gold for a new look in a game with cosmetic endgame is what keeps the wheels turning for GW2.

[Timbersword.9014]

@Sojourner.4621 said:

@Timbersword.9014 said:While new hairstyles and faces are nice, is there a reason they can't expand on body/face customization, or are there just reasons explaining why they won't? Still not a huge fan of this whole body template thing. Like, body sliders were old news when Guild Wars 2 released, surprised they weren't in by default.

Can't really speak for GW2 specifically, but I can say from modding the skeletons and character models from other games that if the game is not built for body sliders from the start (whatever their reason in the beginning, probably a time/cost cutting measure for a company that wasn't nearly as large at the time as it is now, kind of like how they used the engine from GW1 to create this one) it can be exceptionally difficult to add that functionality in later and is likely to break animations and a few other unexpected things (like every NPC in the game) in the process of getting it right. It's time consuming, which means man hours and money, and there is a definite return on investment issue involved for a game company to make that change 6 years in to the game life-cycle. Maybe a potentially easier solution that would be acceptable would be to add new variety to the existing body templates, the same way they add base faces, as it doesn't fundamentally change the way the character skeletons and animations are structured.

You see, the problem I have with this rebuttal is I have I problem believing they didn't use some kind of program that just scaled out things like the shoulders, busts, hips, etc. All humanoids already follow the same base animations. There really isn't a solid reason, except MAYBE racial armors (and I doubt this is the case) a female Sylvari or Norn couldn't have the bottom left most form of the female human, which I see everywhere for obvious reasons. The only reason I can come up with is one of art direction. In short, Anet avoiding giving people the same power as Aion's freak-show character creator.

I admit to being ignorant in this case, I don't know Anet's specific case, but I'm convinced if they put in sliders for the face and character size, they could do it for parts of the body, at least to a basic/generic degree of not just height, but also girth, fat, curves, etc. if not specifics like arm length, hip width, shoulder size and width and other more specific elements.

I will always demand exceptional work from developers asking for money from me. I really don't care if it's hard work for them. Finally, it would sell makeover kits and just improve the quality and enjoyment of the game's core and anchoring aspect, the player character.

[Steve The Cynic.3217]

@Ardid.7203 said:What I don't understand is why the aesthetician doesn't allow you to use the makeover kits you already have.

If you have one in your inventory, she'll take it as payment, although it would be convenient if she could take it from the bank instead.

[Steve The Cynic.3217]

@Just a flesh wound.3589 said:

@"Ardid.7203" said:What I don't understand is why the aesthetician doesn't allow you to use the makeover kits you already have.

If you already have one why do you need to speak to the aesthetician? Just click on the kit and check out what’s available.

The obvious answer is "because the aesthetician is right there and my existing kit is in the bank", and she won't take them from the bank. She will, however, take them from your inventory.

[Steve The Cynic.3217]

@"Timbersword.9014" said:I admit to being ignorant in this case, I don't know Anet's specific case, but I'm convinced if they put in sliders for the face and character size, they could do it for parts of the body, at least to a basic/generic degree of not just height, but also girth, fat, curves, etc. if not specifics like arm length, hip width, shoulder size and width and other more specific elements.

The question to ask isn't, "Could they have included more sliders at the start?". The answer to that question is that obviously they could have.

The more interesting question to ask these days is "Can they, for a reasonable cost, retrofit those sliders to this game that has been around for nearly six years?". The answer to that is just as obvious. "No, not for a reasonable cost."

[Timbersword.9014]

@"Steve The Cynic.3217" said:The more interesting question to ask these days is "Can they, for a reasonable cost, retrofit those sliders to this game that has been around for nearly six years?". The answer to that is just as obvious. "No, not for a reasonable cost."

Not actually a determination either of us could make. It's not going to take weeks just to get the system up and running. I can tell you that. The core functionality and processes are all there as proof of concept in the varying body templates and actual existence of sliders for the face itself (wholly different from the body height slider, which in GW2 is just a scaler.) The bulk of the effort will be in testing to make sure things don't break (and I'm willing to bet they won't unless cartoonish extremes are possible.)

Mostly, I guarantee you they did not carve out each individual body template and custom fit every piece of armor over each one. If they did, they're working horrifically inefficiently and I'd be surprised they even bothered in the first place. So logical reasoning dictates the functionality to widen and mold individual/paired parts of the body is already there on some rudimentary, non-end user friendly level.

And only Anet can tell me I'm wrong about that. At which point I couldn't say I'd have much trust for their foresight and planning capabilities in game development.

[IndigoSundown.5419]

@Ardid.7203 said:What I don't understand is why the aesthetician doesn't allow you to use the makeover kits you already have.

You can use the aesthetician and make the changes using a makeover kit you already have. I did so about two days ago, now. All that is required is that you have the kit in your inventory. It doesn't happen if the kit is in your bank. However, to use the kit without the aesthetician the kit must be in your inventory, also.

[Chasind.3128]

I don't think we need anything free. More discounts, YES! But a free makeover kit? What'd you do to earn that? Makeover kits are probably a large portion of things purchased by players, so anet would actually lose money.

We do however NEED MORE CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION! Tattoos, Charr Ears, Asuran Ears, Larger bodies, More and better beards, More hair options for everyone, Scars, Make-up options....

[Goldammer.4352]

@Chasind.3128 said:I don't think we need anything free. More discounts, YES! But a free makeover kit? What'd you do to earn that? Makeover kits are probably a large portion of things purchased by players, so anet would actually lose money.

We do however NEED MORE CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION! Tattoos, Charr Ears, Asuran Ears, Larger bodies, More and better beards, More hair options for everyone, Scars, Make-up options....

I agree with the more customization options! Would especially like to see scars for all races and tattoo options for humans!

[Ardid.7203]

@Steve The Cynic.3217 said:

@Ardid.7203 said:What I don't understand is why the aesthetician doesn't allow you to use the makeover kits you already have.

If you have one in your inventory, she'll take it as payment, although it would be convenient if she could take it from the bank instead.

This is what I meant. I have my makeover kits in the bank somewhere and normally use the Aesthetician only to preview certain ideas I'd like to implement later. However, from time to time I make some change in the Aesthetician that I instantly like... then I never get to save it because my kits are on the bank.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

You could always pretend theAesthetician is at/in the bank (only use Kit for preview). Then, you'd never be caught out.

Good luck.

[sorudo.9054]

@Ardid.7203 said:

@Steve The Cynic.3217 said:

@Ardid.7203 said:What I don't understand is why the aesthetician doesn't allow you to use the makeover kits you already have.

If you have one in your inventory, she'll take it as payment, although it would be convenient if she could take it from the bank instead.

This is what I meant. I have my makeover kits in the bank somewhere and normally use the Aesthetician only to preview certain ideas I'd like to implement later. However, from time to time I make some change in the Aesthetician that I instantly like... then I never get to save it because my kits are on the bank.

agreed, all the BL key's tokens have that option but this never got it and it's really frustrating.