Why does so much of the armour look so bad?

[Bakabaka.6185]

Take this game for instance https://ffxiv.eorzeacollection.com/glamours/loved all these you see here are individual armour pieces from ingame.

In guild wars 2 https://www.reddit.com/r/GuildWarsDyeJob/ https://gw2.mmo-fashion.com/ ,  the combination of the clothes of many pieces are very chaotic. Many of them need to use heavy colours, or glowing/Bloom effect to make it look good.

 

the fact that 'The Dreamer', 'The Moot' and 'Quip' exist as a legendary, says enough about the designer team.

I can only imagine the designer team brain storming session, keywords: disco ball, clown, confetti, rainbow, unicorn.

Its supposed to be a legendary, any other MMO would not mess up something like that.

 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Bakabaka.6185

[DeanBB.4268]

-shrug- Tastes vary. Not everyone feels as you do. I have at times used both Quip (dual Quips even!) and the rainbow unicorn shortbow, and will use them in the future if desired. And while I agree many armor pieces do not suit my tastes, a great many do, so I don't have a problem with the game offering many choices.

[Dante.1763]

1 hour ago, Bakabaka.6185 said:

Take this game for instance https://ffxiv.eorzeacollection.com/glamours/loved all these you see here are individual armour pieces from ingame.

In guild wars 2 https://www.reddit.com/r/GuildWarsDyeJob/ https://gw2.mmo-fashion.com/ ,  the combination of the clothes of many pieces are very chaotic. Many of them need to use heavy colours, or glowing/Bloom effect to make it look good.

 

the fact that 'The Dreamer', 'The Moot' and 'Quip' exist as a legendary, says enough about the designer team.

I can only imagine the designer team brain storming session, keywords: disco ball, clown, confetti, rainbow, unicorn.

Its supposed to be a legendary, any other MMO would not mess up something like that.

 

I love my Dreamer. Second legendary i made and i dont regret it at all. One of the only ones i dont reskin over either.

[Xanadrine.4352]

Serious? do people know how to create a look?  I find the in game armor pretty nice, you can mix and match and create a good looking set. But the most sparkly shiny armors and skins are the ones from the shop, but you can make do ingame believe me. Ofc leather needs a revamp......

Edited July 27, 2021 by Zuldari.3940

[Aecho.5491]

Agreed. 99% all ugly. Here we are at the start of 2022 and I'm still wearing EXACTLY the same one set I found that wasn't offensive that I purchased back in 2012. There hasn't been a new outfit in years. Dev is dead as far as Style is concerned. They just keep recycling old ugly sets periodically on the Gem Store. Very disappointing.

[Ashen.2907]

43 minutes ago, TheOuroborus.6387 said:

There hasn't been a new outfit in years.

Of course cosmetic appeal is subjective but this part is objectively false.

[Vayne.8563]

Not everyone is equally creative. That's fine. Because I don't have to be like everyone. I make my characters to suit me, not anyone else.

I walk into a school in real life and half the kids look and dress the same. I walk into an office in real life and half the guys are in similar suits, wearing similar ties.  This isn't just the game. It's about people and creativity.

The ability to have quite different looks is absolutely in this game. The game isn't the problem here. It's people who either don't care to spend the time to differentiate their character (which is fine because that's their choice) or people who don't know how.  When certain haircuts are in in real life, everyone gets them. You see them everywhere. Why should Guild Wars 2 be different.

[Astralporing.1957]

1 hour ago, Vayne.8563 said:

Not everyone is equally creative. That's fine. Because I don't have to be like everyone. I make my characters to suit me, not anyone else.
I walk into a school in real life and half the kids look and dress the same. I walk into an office in real life and half the guys are in similar suits, wearing similar ties.  This isn't just the game. It's about people and creativity.
The ability to have quite different looks is absolutely in this game. The game isn't the problem here. It's people who either don't care to spend the time to differentiate their character (which is fine because that's their choice) or people who don't know how.  When certain haircuts are in in real life, everyone gets them. You see them everywhere. Why should Guild Wars 2 be different.

Although i do agree with you on general principle, i have to point out that you used a bad example for this.

Unlike in games, in real life  the driving motivation behind how most people dress is not a desire to stand out, but something exact opposite - the desire to conform. In many cases it's not that someone lacks the creativity to dress in a more unique way - the could, but simply chose not to. Not to mention that many schools/jobs do have a dress code that is designed to curb that creativity and force uniformization.

None of that stuff is present in the game. As such, RL is not so good of an example to use when talking about in-game looks' creativity.

[Danikat.8537]

5 hours ago, TheOuroborus.6387 said:

Agreed. 99% all ugly. Here we are at the start of 2022 and I'm still wearing EXACTLY the same one set I found that wasn't offensive that I purchased back in 2012. There hasn't been a new outfit in years. Dev is dead as far as Style is concerned. They just keep recycling old ugly sets periodically on the Gem Store. Very disappointing.

Are you aware that the vast majority of armour skins are not sold in the gem store? If that's the only place you look you're going to end up with a very limited selection (although there have been new pieces sold on the gem store too).

Have a look at the galleries on the Wiki (use the links at the bottom to choose other races and armour weights): https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Human_male_light_armor

There's also a list of stand-alone pieces which aren't part of a full set, but that's not a gallery: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List_of_non-set_armor_pieces#See_also

 

1 hour ago, Astralporing.1957 said:

Although i do agree with you on general principle, i have to point out that you used a bad example for this.

Unlike in games, in real life  the driving motivation behind how most people dress is not a desire to stand out, but something exact opposite - the desire to conform. In many cases it's not that someone lacks the creativity to dress in a more unique way - the could, but simply chose not to. Not to mention that many schools/jobs do have a dress code that is designed to curb that creativity and force uniformization.

None of that stuff is present in the game. As such, RL is not so good of an example to use when talking about in-game looks' creativity.

I have sometimes wondered how people would dress in real life if a lot of the social expectations and practical considerations could be removed.

You can sort-of see it in some situations, like music festivals and conventions (not counting the people in cosplay, that's a whole other thing). One of the festivals I'd go to regularly actually had to remind people to wear something in the arena (they didn't mind nudity in the campsites it seems) and while it's a rock festival so there's very much a social expectation that most people will dress a certain way (blue or black jeans and a black band t-shirt is the 'default') there's also a lot of variation. Including people wearing things like fake wings and cat ears. I've even done it myself, once when I went to a convention I wore a full length gothic gown, not as cosplay but just because I hadn't had an opportunity to wear it in years and it was a place I could 'get away with it'.

I wouldn't do it all the time though, even if I could, because it was annoying. Which is the other problem. In real life elaborate or unusual clothes can be very impractical. You have to get in and out of them, they can get in the way, get damaged, aren't appropriate for the weather etc. I think that's part of the reason in real life I'm very much a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl but in games I'll choose elaborate costumes for my characters - all those practical issues disappear. (There are some games where your character can be too cold or too hot, depending on what they're wearing, but that's about it.)

[Vayne.8563]

2 hours ago, Astralporing.1957 said:

Although i do agree with you on general principle, i have to point out that you used a bad example for this.

Unlike in games, in real life  the driving motivation behind how most people dress is not a desire to stand out, but something exact opposite - the desire to conform. In many cases it's not that someone lacks the creativity to dress in a more unique way - the could, but simply chose not to. Not to mention that many schools/jobs do have a dress code that is designed to curb that creativity and force uniformization.

None of that stuff is present in the game. As such, RL is not so good of an example to use when talking about in-game looks' creativity.

I don't know if a desire to conform is actually accurate, but I agree with your premise anyway.

 

Is it really conformity that drives fashion or is it that this really looks good on them so if I wear it I'll look good too. Does a person that gets the same haircut as an actress or actor necessarily want to conform, or do they want to attract  a mate.  It may seem like splitting hairs, but it's really not.  I've had people I know mimic my look to some degree, and I don't care. They're not trying to conform to me, though, they just think it looks cool.  And they, for whatever reason, are never as satisfied with their creations.

To be fair there are probably some people who want to conform, but I think just as many people want to be noticed. And they see wearing certain outfits or having their hair a certain way of getting noticed.  They are, in fact, conforming, but is that really what they're trying to do...that I'm not sure.

[Monarc.9726]

I guess what doesn’t make sense to me is that a lot of the outfits (in my opinion) look really good, but not so much the armor sets. Although there is more than enough to work with in each armor weight to put together a good mix. I have discovered many cool armor combos for each race at this point.

For me what is missing, if any devs even care what I think, is more sets that offer a traditional fantasy style, such as the human Protectors heavy set (either gender), or the male version of the Phalanx set. Or the light version of the heritage armor is a different example. Just a more classic style imo that I prefer. Most of the sets are too busy with too much extra crap for my taste, or have those darn butt capes.

I’ll add that the heavy Warlords set is also pretty good for a more classic armor style. Well done on that one, although it does still have a butt cape. What is it with all the butt capes?

Edited January 6, 2022 by Monarc.9726

[Ashen.2907]

12 hours ago, Vayne.8563 said:

Is it really conformity that drives fashion or is it that this really looks good on them so if I wear it I'll look good too.

That is a form of conformity,

[Zaoda.1653]

On 7/26/2021 at 11:43 AM, Bakabaka.6185 said:

I prefer GW1 skins, they look so much better...

Almost everyone in GW2 use the same armour skin set, they only difference is the colour. Not many people might notice, but if you pay attention to it you will see.

 

To cover up the flaws of in their looks, people use bright colours, legendary effects and stack coloured infusions. Turning themselfs into a black shade, bright purple or white walking lamp..

That is because almost all armour pieces do not match up with different armour sets.

 

Outfits are too static, it looks better than most regular skins, but for some reason there is always something missing in the outfit to make it your own. 

you pay 700-1000 gems for an outfit and the only thing you can change is the colour, so that you can transform into a walking lamp.

 

 

I agree. I find there are so many skins that I don't like - particularly light armored male legs - for some reason they're very 'hippy' and by that I mean it gives my character the illusion of wide hips. Guys don't usually have wide hips (just sayin'!). There's also hardly any 'skimpy' male skins, and don't get me started on all the 'trenchcoats' and 'derrière capes' for medium classes in particular.

 

I've also come to a point now where I just refuse to buy any more outfits. While there are many beautiful outfits, it's just that - they're glorified "onesies". I like to mix and match, so to not be able to take a piece from this outfit and a piece from that outfit, to create a unique look, really disappoints me. I actually regret all the gems I spent on outfits that I hardly even use because of the mere fact that you can't mix and match.

 

I also agree with your point on GW1 skins looking better. Take for example the Tormented Shield. Players who didn't play the original Guild Wars wouldn't know this, but I'm sure they would agree if they did, in that it looked absolutely stunning in the original Guild Wars version. It was bigger, it was wayyyy more detailed (the circular ancient-looking-granite-looking centerpiece for example), and the reflections and shinyness on the shield were hypnotically beautiful to look at. Combine this AMAZING shield with a Black Dyed Voltaic Spear, and you were literally BOSS in Guild Wars.

 

The tormented shield skin, when it came out in GW2, was such an incredible disappointment to me. It looked half-done, plastic-looking (like the edges of the shield for example), it was a lot smaller, less shiny, and in general, felt like a completely different skin altogether. If you compare the GW version of it to the GW2 version of it, I'm sure many players would agree with me on this.

 

My favourite combination was the chaos gloves, tormented shield, and voltaic spear, on my Paragon.

 

I also absolutely loved the paragon armours from GW. Why can't Anet bring these skins back as individual armour pieces? Even if it's from the gemstore? They would SELL LIKE HOTCAKES!!! Of course you'd get complaints that it's gemstore only, etc. - but Anet has to make money somehow, and what better way than to bring back all that nostalgic goodness via separate skins so people can mix and match till their heart's content?

Edited January 6, 2022 by Zaoda.1653

[Vayne.8563]

7 minutes ago, Ashen.2907 said:

That is a form of conformity,

Maybe. When a lot of people do it, they don't think they'll look the same as that other person, they think this would look good on me. I can make this work. Obviously some people do do it to look like the other person.  A perfect example is when a new good looking weapon skin comes out.  The dark matter skins were really popular because everyone liked them, so everyone bought them..well not everyone but tons of people. Drove the price up. But I don't know that anyone bought them to conform. They weren't buying them to be like everyone else. It's just a really good looking skin.  That's what I'm talking about. They're incidentally conforming, but it's not conforming to be like everyone else.

[Ashen.2907]

8 minutes ago, Vayne.8563 said:

Maybe. When a lot of people do it, they don't think they'll look the same as that other person, they think this would look good on me. I can make this work. Obviously some people do do it to look like the other person.  A perfect example is when a new good looking weapon skin comes out.  The dark matter skins were really popular because everyone liked them, so everyone bought them..well not everyone but tons of people. Drove the price up. But I don't know that anyone bought them to conform. They weren't buying them to be like everyone else. It's just a really good looking skin.  That's what I'm talking about. They're incidentally conforming, but it's not conforming to be like everyone else.

By adopting a look because it looks good on others one is deciding to adopt the same  "good" that those others have. This is particularly the case today because pretty  much everything is produced with the intention that it be adopted by the masses. One may not be thinking about conforming when buying something, such as the dark matter skins, but one is still doing so because one is adopting an aesthetic that one has been conditioned to like by design and marketing implemented for the purpose of driving sales through conformity. 

[Vayne.8563]

1 hour ago, Ashen.2907 said:

By adopting a look because it looks good on others one is deciding to adopt the same  "good" that those others have. This is particularly the case today because pretty  much everything is produced with the intention that it be adopted by the masses. One may not be thinking about conforming when buying something, such as the dark matter skins, but one is still doing so because one is adopting an aesthetic that one has been conditioned to like by design and marketing implemented for the purpose of driving sales through conformity. 

We'll have to agree to disagree.  I don't see that as conformity.  A lot of people exposed to the same things coincidentally like the same things. Star Trek caused stuff like Star Wars to come out, and a lot of other Scifi as well, but it was just something that was popular that a lot of people liked. 

My idea of conformity is that you do something to be like other people. If I do something independently that just ends up that a lot of people are doing, to me that's not conformity. YMMV.

[ardhikaizecson.3697]

Heavy armored class has a varied looks, medium and light on the other its the always the chest piece that looks like bra.

[Obtena.7952]

Can't believe someone necroed such a no-value thread. 

Edited January 7, 2022 by Obtena.7952

[Ellye.9123]

Only thing I dislike is that way too many armors and weapons have magical glow effects and such. Would love for those visual effects to be a toggle, as I like some of those pieces but dislike the effects.

[sasya neko.1985]

GW2 is kinda like a project that doesn't have the right flow, you can put a ton of stuff in it but it doesn't make it pretty.

GW1 on the other hand has a solid and working flow, it's pretty from the start and doesn't bother with tons of failures.

[Svarty.8019]

On 8/16/2018 at 2:32 AM, chrispy.7182 said:

So much of the amour in GW2 looks awful.Question to the designers: Why?

If you downloaded the template for the 2017 Design-a-Weapon Contest you will begin to understand the sort of contraints that the team works within.

They are so confined that they generally take an existing set and just tweak colours and elements of the skins. I suspect this is  one reason they won't allow players to recolour weapons - it'll be revealed that some are recolours/retextures of existing models.

 

On the positive side, it seems to be a time-efficient way to create skins. On the negative side, the nice looking stuff is few and far between because the base items/armours they are elaborated from were bloody ugly in the first place.

 

One reason the original stuff is ugly is because they have to suit such a broad range of characters - from tiny, disproportionate Asura to ridiculous long-necked Charrs - so it takes ages to make stuff that suits all of them.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Svarty.8019

[Tails.9372]

On 1/7/2022 at 12:30 AM, Zaoda.1653 said:

don't get me started on all the 'trenchcoats' and 'derrière capes' for medium classes in particular

There is a reason for that and it's one of the few areas where A-Net should take 100% of the blame for it as they are legitimately doing a horrendous job here. You see the issue here isn't actually the design of the sets themselves but rather how the skins mix together, in almost all cases they just slap textures that belong to the leggings on the crestwear leading either to some textures that seemingly "float" in the air or more notoriously to the "trenchcoats" you mentioned earlier. But let me visualize this effect with the example of the "Raven Ceremonial" skins:

Heavy / Light Chest

Medium Chest

Heavy / Light Leggings

Medium Leggings

As you can see both the heavy and light skins have their textures split up more in line with how it is shown in the icons but the medium chest has textures which clearly belong to the leggings making the later ones extremely lackluster across the board while also making it impossible to properly "mix and match" as the chestwear is usually going to dictate the main part of the visuals.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Tails.9372