COSMETICS QUESTION FROM GRUMMZ IN DISCORD ...

Faeryl

Omni Ace
Staff member
Community Manager
Kaiju Slayer
Jul 26, 2016
901
2,604
93
Planet Earth, USA, East Coast
discord.gg
#1
Grummz: Oh I wanted to ask
Grummz: What game has a cosmetics system you like. I was comparing Anthem and Warframe
Grummz: I guess I mean more in games where buying cosmetics is a key thing
Grummz: Fortnite has shown you don't need a town to show off your cosmetics...at the other end of a shotgun blast

The TL;DR ? I like some of each of - Warframe's, Anthem's, AND Dauntless' cosmetic systems.

I like Warframe's, Anthem's, AND Dauntless' cosmetic shop ideas. If Em-8ER were to combine some or all of the ideas from these cosmetic shops, I think it would be a GREAT cosmetic system. [Even adding something, down the road, similar to Wildstar's housing cosmetics but, in a miliary sci-fi theme, I think THAT would be COOL too!] So here are the Cosmetic System ideas I like from Warframe, Anthem, & Dauntless:


===========================================
SO. MANY. COLORS.
===========================================
- Warframe has "Color Palettes" rather than just lots of colors to choose from.
+ I LOVE this idea because it gives you so many more colors to choose, rather than only having a limited list such as - royal blue, navy blue, sky blue, and teal in the "Blue Family".
- There are SIX segments on each Warframe players can add/change color on.
+ This is awesome giving more flexibility on what pieces change color!
- Also in Warframe, there is the ability to color your weapons to match (you can copy the "main colors").
+This would be a great idea in addition to offering skins (which Warframe also does).

- Anthem has the potential for greatness in this aspect. I do LOVE how players go into ONE screen to "Paint" ALL pieces of the Javelin.
- Anthem also has where players can choose fabric types and "wear state" as well as colors. I love the idea of "wear states"! "Bite my shiny metal ass!" LOL! xD

- Dauntless has a very small small color palette and the UI is clunky but, I believe it will slowly grow and improve over time. They're getting ready to add a tertiary area for players to color on their outfits, soon.

============================================
SKINS/TRANSMOGS/ALT PIECES.
============================================
- Each Warframe has alternate helmets to choose from.
+ Basic one is free and others cost platinum (in-game currency, bought with real money) or players pay cash for Steam-created ones.
- Each Warframe has multiple "skins". These range from color patterns (like warpaint patterns in Firefall) to changing the look of the basic Warframe itself. They cost platinum (in-game currency) or players pay cash for Steam-created ones.
- Warframe also has skins for the primary, secondary, and melee weapons, as well as the ability to color them to match the player's warframe with six segments (if applicable).
- Melee weapons have two additional cosmetic options - the holster and attachments. These can both be colored to match player's warframe with six segments too (if applicable).

- Anthem has 3/4 very simple areas to change with a skin: Head, Torso, Arms, and Legs (the Colossus doesn't have a head - it's part of the torso). Players pay (in-game currency, bought with real money) to purchase the skin once and can equip or unequip at a will.
+ I'm kind of torn at the moment about whether I like Anthem's or Warframe's skin system more. I think more options (Warframe) is better in the long run because it gives players more variety.

- Dauntless has allows players to "transmog" any gear and weapons to their favorite existing gear; the cost is 1 transmog stone per equip (no unequip cost ofc).
- Dauntless also gives players the option of clothing, armor, and weapon transmogs in the Season Hunt Passes. Since they are included in the Season Hunt Passes, they do not cost transmog stones to equip/unequip. Hunt Pass cost is free for Standard Track and 1,000 platinum (in-game currency) for the Elite Track.


============================================
ANIMATION SETS/EMOTES:
============================================
- A person could go WILD here with a serious amount of emotes.
- Warframe seems to have limited choice on resting poses but, 1 or 2 exist for each Warframe.
- Anthem has so much potential here. Although I didn't see many emotes in their store available to purchase.
- Dauntless has so many. There are Island Arrival emotes, Celebratory emotes, Hunt Pass emotes, and Seasonal emotes.


============================================
ATTACHMENTS:
============================================
- Warframe players have chest, left arm, right arm, left leg, and right leg pieces to choose from; these are in addition to skins and colors. And can include things like ribbons to support a cause, or seasonal items such as a wreath pin to celebrate the Winter Holidays.
+ With something like this, I'd prefer to see everything that is available in the shop, once it's been released in-game; rather than keeping it hidden away.
- Players can copy main color scheme, press random, or make a custom color scheme.
- There are SIX areas to color on these attachments too!

- Anthem has torso, arms, and legs. When you change one leg, you change both and it's the same for the arms. They also don't differentiate the head from the torso (they're one and the same).
+ Here I'd prefer a separation of the torso and head ... but maybe for Anthem, it makes sense keeping them since its basically a "frame" the character crawls into from the backside.

- Dauntless has their gear and weapons in sets for each behemoth. Currently they only have two sets of gear for each behemoth - one set for male and one for female characters.
+ I could imagine at least 2 more gear sets per behemoth to choose from for male and female characters; and that would give players more options on mixing and matching passives and bonus skills which are on the gear.

============================================
SYANDANA: (term exclusive to Warframe)
============================================
- These are what I would call a sort of "cape".
- In Warframe players have the ability to color six segments (if available) on these too.
+ I'm not sure how I feel about capes or syandanas. Personally, I think they cover up things more than they add to gear. But it could be an option for players.

- Anthem may or may not have capes. In the time I played, I don't recall seeing any.

- Dauntless has "capes" but they are attached to the "chest" part of gear and so not a separate piece that can be changed or colored.


============================================
EMBLEMS/SIGILS:
============================================
- These both seem similar if not the same type of cosmetic item.
- Emblems are a holographic display on the upper arm of a player's warframe.
- Sigils are a holographic display on the chest or back of a player's warframe.
+ Neither the Emblems nor the Sigils seem to be that big of a deal or popular in Warframe. I think they get kind of lost on frames that don't have a surface they will show up well on.

- Dauntless has banners and sigils that players can randomly use as part of an emote to "plant their banner" to show off whatever design they may have on the banner, its colors, and the banner standard as well. They aren't carried on the character, they appear like "magic"; reminds me a bit of the Tiki Torch but, no music or dancing.
+ There is a basic banner/sigil Dauntless players are given. Then players can earn new ones on the either the Standard/Elite Track of the Hunt Pass.
+ I like all the options and choices but, sometimes I would rather be given the option to just purchase what I want in the in-game store.

- Dauntless also has flares. These usually have a design to match the sigils on the banners. Sometimes the two are sold as a pack (flare & banner sigil, with banner fabric). I have lots of fun with these but, I tend to stick to using only a few. Sometimes I think maybe I have too many, lmao! Collect them all, right?!? xD


COMPANIONS/PETS: (Warframe)
- In Warframe, players can choose to use sentinels, kubrows, and kavats.
+ These have a functional purpose and not solely as a cosmetic. Some help you collect loot and or open loot crates. Some help you fight. I really like this idea because then you don't spend as much time collecting everything that drops during a shoot-out; and they help in a fight.

- In Anthem, to my knowledge, there are no pets or companions.
- Dauntless is also lacking in the pets and companions part.



I think that's about it ... If I missed something from one of these 3 games - Warframe, Anthem, or Dauntless ... please feel free to ask me or add it in your own post!!
 
Last edited:

Pandagnome

Kaiju Slayer
Fart Siege
Welcome Wagon
Happy Kaiju
Jul 27, 2016
7,730
10,079
113
Island of Tofu
#3
like the idea of SYANDANA but in Em8er for me the glider wings are iconic.

For the pilot various uniform styles and clothing/accessories is good especially when we all meet up in the safe zone in our personalized style.

Different textures is nice too remember a particular skin that i like for excalibur it looks to have tyre like pattern its how i best describe it.
1559044354544.png
 
Likes: Wyntyr

Torgue_Joey

Kaiju Slayer
KAIJU 'SPLODER
Jul 27, 2016
1,123
2,703
113
Germany
#4
I DON'T WANT TO WRITE AN ESSAY-WHATEVER WALL OF TEXT CRAP!
I'LL TRY TO KEEP MY SH*T SHORT!

I LIKE THE COSMETIC SYSTEM FROM GUILD WARS 2
A LOT OF SKIN TO MIX 'N MATCH
HEAD GEAR (4 color section)
SHOULDER (4 color section)
TORSO (3 color section)
GLOVES (4 color section)
PANTS (3 color section)
BOOTS (4 color section)
BACK PIECES (skins only)
OUTFIT (<- colorable only, outfits are single cosmetic only; 4 color section)
WEAPONS (skins only)
MOUNTS (1-4 color section depending on skin)
GLIDERS (<- not skinable, but colorable)

EVEN GATHERING TOOLS ARE SKINABLE!

SKINS AND COLOR ARE AWESOMELY PERMA UNLOCKED ACCOUNT WIDE!
REGULAR/BASIC SKINS ARE UNLOCKED THROUGH CRAFTING/SALVAGING CERTAIN GEARS

BASIC AND SIMPLE COLORS ARE CRAFTABLE WITH THE COOK PROFESSION (WTF?! You can't drink paints!) OR UNLOCKED THROUGH LOOTS, SPECIAL LOOTS AND LOOT BOXES (<REEEEEE incoming) GIVES EXOTIC AND EXQUISITE COLOR LIKE METALLIC/PEARL PAINTS.

BLING-BLING SKINS AND UNIQUE SKINS/COLORS ARE IN-GAME CHOP ONLY.
 

EvilKitten

Well-Known Member
Ark Liege
Jul 26, 2016
777
1,557
93
#7
I don't really have much input on games that focus on monetizing cosmetics other than Firefall itself. One thing I really really really really dislike however is the same design sold as different color schemes separately.

I am currently playing through Dragon Age Inquisition and while I feel that the armors themselves are pretty crap, I really like the system they added where you can go in and spend resources to tint some of the leather cloth and metals in the armor. Perhaps something like that can be put in place for Em-8er?
 

zdoofop

Firstclaimer
Jul 26, 2016
531
766
93
Noneofyourbeeswaxistan
#8
One thing I really really really really dislike however is the same design sold as different color schemes separately.
I also don't like the idea that colours have to be bought separately. I think it was said that there would be different customizations for different parts of the frame (eg shoulders, head, legs, etc). That would be cool. I am also okay with patterns such as camo and declas being sold separately, but not solid colors.
 

Pandagnome

Kaiju Slayer
Fart Siege
Welcome Wagon
Happy Kaiju
Jul 27, 2016
7,730
10,079
113
Island of Tofu
#9
Could they be obtained by crafting, and special colours made available for the events e.g. in warframe valentines day they have a colour pack given out with special valentines effects and for those using bows a cupid arrow etc,

I hope there will be a wide selection shades of colour to depict a variety of races and to even make weird alien skin colour.

Could tattoos have some transparent slider to make it look like the tattoo blends with the skin e.g. have a zebra pattern on the arm etc

Effect packs are going to be nice say you could have lightening pack and these would have various lightening styles effect that surrounds the body or particular area of your choice e.g. eyes, hands etc.

Apart from the normal stance could we obtain different stances from completing achievements
Lets say depending on the area e.g. The antigravity region a stance that makes you look like your floating or hovering could be obtain for either the mech, pilot, thumpr, pet hmm
 

Thorp

Omni Ace
Jul 27, 2016
193
518
93
California, CA
#10
I have not spent a lot of time in games focused on my character's cosmetics though I know I'd eventually do it. Usually when I get to the end of a game I'm still getting better gear that I don't stop to ponder if it looks good or not.

I'd like to be able to swap appearances on the fly similar to a loadout. LOTRO has a nice system where the cosmetics can change on the fly without transmuting gear. While playing LOTRO I could change my character's Ranger-esque clothing appearance to something more festive simply by clicking a loadout button in the wardrobe menu (great for roleplaying environments).

All in all, ideally, I want to be able to swap appearances without individually transmuting gear. All item color schemes would be customizable similar to Guild Wars 2. I recall in Firefall I really liked a visor but I really wished I could change the color of the glass or even the opacity to better match the color of the battleframe. (fortunately as a dragonfly with a green frame the green glasses matched okay).

As for art style...of course it's easy to describe what I do not like...which is 'over the top' aesthetics. Things that are so obviously prominent and noticeable especially if it does not blend with anything else. Examples such as Elf ears so long and pointy they could stab someone, shoulderpad and thigh armor so large the head is comically dwarfed, armor that shows why less armor cover has a higher rating especially for the female characters.

P.S. I remember in Firefall the Turkey Hat put up text boxes as if the hat was actually gobbling. I'm still to this day unsure if I'd rather the hat had made gobble noises. But can you imagine 20+ people standing in town with turkey hats that make gobble noises?
 
Likes: Pandagnome

Pandagnome

Kaiju Slayer
Fart Siege
Welcome Wagon
Happy Kaiju
Jul 27, 2016
7,730
10,079
113
Island of Tofu
#11
But can you imagine 20+ people standing in town with turkey hats that make gobble noises?
Yes i can it would be gobbledy great :p

Elf ears so long and pointy they could stab someone
That is true, they could also be used as antenna's, but what if the elf ears could turn like mini radars hmm

shoulderpad and thigh armor so large the head is comically dwarfed
Like this very stylish :D



1559161208030.png

While playing LOTRO I could change my character's Ranger-esque clothing appearance to something more festive simply by clicking a loadout button in the wardrobe menu (great for roleplaying environments).
Yes!
 

EvilKitten

Well-Known Member
Ark Liege
Jul 26, 2016
777
1,557
93
#12
I also don't like the idea that colours have to be bought separately. I think it was said that there would be different customizations for different parts of the frame (eg shoulders, head, legs, etc). That would be cool. I am also okay with patterns such as camo and declas being sold separately, but not solid colors.
I feel that selling unique patterns is a VERY good idea, provided we can pick a few colors within those patterns as desired.
 

Lomgren

Just your friendly neighborhood moderator
Staff member
Ark Liege
Ember Moderator
Omni Ace
Jul 26, 2016
12
38
13
Sitting at my computer
#14
So, earlier I was discussing the ways I would try to monetize various cosmetics with a friend, and what those cosmetic options could be. I know there's already been a decent amount of discussion on this, so I know I will likely repeat things, but I want to put all of them here for some coherency. I'm going to group them into several sections. If you want to TLDR, you can read the first sentence of each section and skim through the post.

0. Make sure everything is designed with customization in mind.
- Start off by designing all pieces of gear, THMPR parts, Omniframe chassis parts, dropship parts, with multiple dye AND pattern channels. This is essential to maximizing customizability long-term and will make players very happy with what they can do with their characters/frames/etc.

1. Dyes/paints.
- These would allow you to change colors on outfits, frames, THMPRs, dropships, and bikes (for the M3 backers). But to make this a fair system, I would say buy once, unlock it forever. And to have some colors earnable through gameplay. There could be gradient-based paints for some extra bling, not to mention chroma patterns.

2. Skin patterns, similar in nature to Firefall.
- These would be patterns that could be applied across different regions/channels on frames/outfits/etc. Paints and dyes would work along with these for more customization. More special skin patterns could have sections that would always be chroma.

3. Different meshes, but based on the same skeletons for rigging purposes.
- These would probably only apply to Omniframes and THMPRs, though different body types for your pilot might be a thing, or new hairstyles, earrings and other body adornments, etc. These would again work in concert with the patterns and dyes/paints. And could include some "silly" stuff as noted above (like the turkey hats/etc).

4. Decals that can be placed on top of paints.
- Also similar to Firefall, though I think you could only place 1 decal on your frame, maybe a couple or 3. The sky's the limit here, especially if we can resize, rotate, and move them around. And if you could dye them to change their colors as well? Yeah, I just suggested that, BAM!

5. Voice packs for your Omniframe, THMPR, Dropship pilots.
- (And also allow some customization of your Dropship pilot, which might tie in to Grummz's ideas of "collecting pilots" mentioned during the stream).
- Here, I'm imagining a lot of different accents, not just "southern drawl" "irish" etc. And this could also tie into localization if people want to listen to their dropship operator in German, for instance. Maybe have some that have references to classic movies and other games, if you can get away with it.

6. The concept of "cosmetic loadout slots".
- A lot of games seem to start you off with a couple of costume slots for you to play around with looks, but then sell more slots to allow more freedom in switching looks. Roleplayers can really get behind this, with the ability to have "casual" outfits for use in town vs "armored up" outfits for battle, etc, and this would potentially help the social aspects as well.

The next couple of sections depend on guild bases and/or player housing being a thing, so these are probably much later down the road after the game takes off. This also depends on a robust housing editor like Wildstar had to really get the full potential here.

7. Various decoration pieces able to be bought on the cash shop.
- Note that these particular items would be "single use" - meaning if you bought, say, a desk on the shop, you would only be able to place that one desk, and then you would have to buy another one. Of course, it would be an awesome desk to be on the shop in the first place. And these don't have to be specially-made assets... Wildstar devs just used pieces already available in the world and gave them to housing enthusiasts.

8. The ability to upgrade decor placement limits.
- In Wildstar, when initially decorating in player housing, you had a limit of around 500 pieces of decor able to be placed. You could buy extensions of that on the cash shop to allow up to 2500 pieces of decor to be placed. Of note, this was an account-wide unlock, so if people created multiple characters, their alts could also place that many pieces of decor.

9. The ability to buy simple pieces of decor with in-game currency.
- I am just including this here for completeness, because this is very important to keep housing enthusiasts happy and going.

And finally, something very important to the concept of stickiness:

10. A way to earn a potential alternate cash shop currency just by playing the game.
- Wildstar also did this to great effect. If you are able to buy things off the shop just by playing the game, it will ease you into wanting to spend real money on the shop. Most of the items on their shop were available for both real money and in-game earned cash shop currency. This alternate currency wasn't earned very quickly, but you could potentially buy a thing or two off the shop per month.

...I guess I did more thinking on this than I thought.
 

EvilKitten

Well-Known Member
Ark Liege
Jul 26, 2016
777
1,557
93
#16
0: Yup
1: NO NO NO NO NO! I do NOT want to have to pay RL money for colors.
2: Yes
3: Yes
4: Yes
5: Been saying this from day 1.
6: I made a suggestion on similiar lines earlier about making loadout kits, so yes to this as well.
7: Maybe in the far future? Housing really shouldn't be in the game at launch
8: Same answer as above.
9: Same answer as above.
 

zdoofop

Firstclaimer
Jul 26, 2016
531
766
93
Noneofyourbeeswaxistan
#17
A way to earn a potential alternate cash shop currency just by playing the game.
- Wildstar also did this to great effect. If you are able to buy things off the shop just by playing the game, it will ease you into wanting to spend real money on the shop. Most of the items on their shop were available for both real money and in-game earned cash shop currency. This alternate currency wasn't earned very quickly, but you could potentially buy a thing or two off the shop per month.
One thing I will say about this is Firefall did this in a very interesting way where the only other way to get red beans was to trade credits for them. In this way, each red bean was accounted for financially, but those that didn't want to pay real money didn't have to. I think that would be a good system for em8er.
 

AhmNee

Omni Ace
Jul 23, 2017
13
29
13
#18
I DON'T WANT TO WRITE AN ESSAY-WHATEVER WALL OF TEXT CRAP!
I'LL TRY TO KEEP MY SH*T SHORT!

I LIKE THE COSMETIC SYSTEM FROM GUILD WARS 2
A LOT OF SKIN TO MIX 'N MATCH
HEAD GEAR (4 color section)
SHOULDER (4 color section)
TORSO (3 color section)
GLOVES (4 color section)
PANTS (3 color section)
BOOTS (4 color section)
BACK PIECES (skins only)
OUTFIT (<- colorable only, outfits are single cosmetic only; 4 color section)
WEAPONS (skins only)
MOUNTS (1-4 color section depending on skin)
GLIDERS (<- not skinable, but colorable)

EVEN GATHERING TOOLS ARE SKINABLE!

SKINS AND COLOR ARE AWESOMELY PERMA UNLOCKED ACCOUNT WIDE!
REGULAR/BASIC SKINS ARE UNLOCKED THROUGH CRAFTING/SALVAGING CERTAIN GEARS

BASIC AND SIMPLE COLORS ARE CRAFTABLE WITH THE COOK PROFESSION (WTF?! You can't drink paints!) OR UNLOCKED THROUGH LOOTS, SPECIAL LOOTS AND LOOT BOXES (<REEEEEE incoming) GIVES EXOTIC AND EXQUISITE COLOR LIKE METALLIC/PEARL PAINTS.

BLING-BLING SKINS AND UNIQUE SKINS/COLORS ARE IN-GAME CHOP ONLY.
I admit I'm quite fond of the GW2 system and their in-game store.
 
Likes: Torgue_Joey