Character Customization

**Bear** · 26th August 2011, 01:30 AM

Okay, I'll start off with saying that character customization is always a big part for me in games, and I could spend hours making a character (and I have). This becomes incredibly more important for me when the one character you make is the only one you get.

Now I'd like a character customization as indepth as say MO, or single-player games, but most of the time you won't get that.

What is a given in an mmo like this:
-Adjustable heights (though hitboxes should be the same for everyone, I hate people taking advantage of height for pvp purposes. Then again, maybe a smaller hitbox would be offset by a larger armspan and superior strength and speed. I think this was done (not well though) in MO.)

-Variety of hairstyles/facial hair (I'd love a system that had variable growth of hair and facial hair that made you depend on a hairstylist (or if you just wanted to be short for combat you could just go to a mirror and lop it all off) to maintain if you so wanted to be cleanshaven. This could be a sort of status among players who could afford going to the best hairstylist in town to get that oh so perfect fauxhawk. lol.)

-Eye Color (Wish for something more than just 5 preset colors, maybe a color wheel. You guys should check out SWTOR's character's eyes. They seem soooo alive, even though the models are kinda artsy/cartoony or as they call it stylized realism, there is something about the reflection in their eyes that makes me go "whoa".)

-Skintone (Though I'd like to see a sort of system that makes you more tan the more you are out in the sunlight, and depending on the region you are in, such as a desert will make you more tan and the nordic tundra will make you more pale. As well as a crafter that spends most of his time indoors will be paler than a guy that spends all day tracking a beast in direct sunlight. I'm not asking for specific tanlines or anything, though that would create an immersion never before seen in an mmo, but even just an all body tan would be awesome, especially for increasing my fondness for my character. This could be done with a sort of invisible number that your character had, and certain areas had UV indexes. Deserts would say have a 10 while outside, inside would have a 0, and the north on a clear day would have a 5. Each minute you spend in the UV area you get values added to your invisible number.)

-Build (though I believe it should be mainly dependent on your skills, if you have 10str you will be pretty wimpy, if you have 100str you will be adonis among men, as well as dex or agility should create a sort of lean muscle type.)

-Tattoos/Bodypaint (This is a given in most fantasy mmos, but you never seem to be able to adjust it after character creation. I would like to see a system that allows for mixing it up every once in a while. With tattoos I think they should be permanent, and maybe limit them to a certain area or require a certain type of magic or rudimentary surgery to remove them)

-Physical Decorations (Jewelry, Piercings, Makeup, Social Clothing, Armor Ornamentation)

Let me hear some of your ideas and maybe I can add it to this list and we can get the perfect system that the players want. I know I have forgotten some as well. I'll just leave it at that and see what you guys think. Some people don't even really care too much about this kind of stuff, but I do.

**Dubanka** · 26th August 2011, 01:44 AM

I like as much char customization as possible*

* Char customization is pointless (imo) if it doesnt have any effect in game..with caveats of course. Vanity effects should not have an effect...well you do get into charm type stuff...but whatever.

I disagree on the height subject. If you make a shrimp, well you should have a smaller hit box...but you should as have reduced max str, carrying capicity, reach, potential ability to wear gear, etc. etc. etc.
If you make a fat toon, well maybe that extra girth limits the max weight you can carry (since your'e fat), but maybe you have increased tolerance to poison (more mass to absorb it), whatever.

customization is only good...from a replayability standpoint...if every adjustment creates potential tradeoffs. so that the moment you build a character, you are wondering if another combination would be more effective.

ideally, it wouldnt be more effective, just different.

**Bear** · 26th August 2011, 01:55 AM

Originally Posted by Dubanka

I like as much char customization as possible*

* Char customization is pointless (imo) if it doesnt have any effect in game..with caveats of course. Vanity effects should not have an effect...well you do get into charm type stuff...but whatever.

I disagree on the height subject. If you make a shrimp, well you should have a smaller hit box...but you should as have reduced max str, carrying capicity, reach, potential ability to wear gear, etc. etc. etc.
If you make a fat toon, well maybe that extra girth limits the max weight you can carry (since your'e fat), but maybe you have increased tolerance to poison (more mass to absorb it), whatever.

customization is only good...from a replayability standpoint...if every adjustment creates potential tradeoffs. so that the moment you build a character, you are wondering if another combination would be more effective.

ideally, it wouldnt be more effective, just different.

If you read the second bit of the adjustable height, I said that I wouldn't mind it as long as it was balanced correctly.

**Rathius** · 26th August 2011, 01:59 AM

I agree on all accounts. Granted, some may be a little much to work with from a technical viewpoint. But I do agree based on the sole reasoning that we are to have one character, we should be able to highly customize it and really make it ours.

**Borborygmus** · 26th August 2011, 03:16 AM

Originally Posted by Rathius

I agree on all accounts. Granted, some may be a little much to work with from a technical viewpoint. But I do agree based on the sole reasoning that we are to have one character, we should be able to highly customize it and really make it ours.

agreed. we should take some pride making our sole toon. our appearence should be as distinctive as our name. i dont know that i agree with having body features effect stats etc, but many appearance features must be a given for a one toon game.

scars, posture, varied hairstyles, slider bar body sizes and shapes. all would lead to a much richer game.

**Lee Perkins** · 26th August 2011, 06:50 AM

This has come up a few times in the office, I will need to look into good character customization like facegen etc.

What software for this are peoples favorites?

**Saint** · 26th August 2011, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by Lee Perkins

This has come up a few times in the office

You guys actually have an office? I thought you guys did it all digital or something could enlighten us a bit more where you guys work and how? (In another thread ofcoarse because going off-topic is useless)

On topic: I agree the more complex a character creation is the better I like it. I liked the char creations from MO and Xsyon a lot. But of coarse I am already happy if there are dwarves.

**Lee Perkins** · 26th August 2011, 10:58 AM

Yeah our virtual Skype office :P

**Dubanka** · 26th August 2011, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by Saint

You guys actually have an office? I thought you guys did it all digital or something could enlighten us a bit more where you guys work and how? (In another thread ofcoarse because going off-topic is useless)

On topic: I agree the more complex a character creation is the better I like it. I liked the char creations from MO and Xsyon a lot. But of coarse I am already happy if there are dwarves.

xsyon's was awesome, untill you realized that nothing you did had any effect on your toon

from an ability standpoint, shadowbane's system was outstanding...the degree to which you could customize your chars abilities, stats, base class, etc. when there are hundreds of ways to make a viable toon, you have a good system.

**Rathius** · 26th August 2011, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by Lee Perkins

This has come up a few times in the office, I will need to look into good character customization like facegen etc.

What software for this are peoples favorites?

I'm not really familiar with the different software out there. But face-gen seems to be pretty good at what it does. If possible, having something similar for the body parts would be nice as well. I'd show a video of Entropia Universe/Planet Calypso... but I can't seem to find any oddly enough. Not only do they have the facial side of things, but the body as well. I can easily say that everyone in there has their own look, without having that pre-defined 'buff' body style of everyone else of their 'race' grouping.