Armour & weapon designs - a plea (part II).

[Karranthain]

 

I think that this design would easily fit into a fantasy world.

 

Everything works except the great helm. You'd end up with crushed cervical vertabrae and/or a 26" neck size if you wore that thing for any length of time unless the horns and frill weighed next to nothing. They'd be fine for ceremonial or parade gear, but not for an active adventurer.

 

Indeed, but since it's a fantasy game I personally don't mind a small concession here or there; the overall look is rather realistic otherwise.

 

I used that image as an example of something that looks appealing, while retaining a believable design - one that's influenced by historical examples. It's a compromise of sorts - one that I wouldn't have any trouble accepting.

[Karranthain]

I'd also love to see Gothic Plate in the game :

 

 

Or Italian plate designs :

 

[Jarmo]

Too feminine waistlines for my fantasy tastes.

The helms are neat though.

[Karranthain]

The helms are usually neglected in fantasy games - more often than not looking unappealing. I'd be great to see crested or plumed designs such as these :

 

[HumanFlesh+5]

I'd really like to see designs such as these :

 

 

I'd love to see two-handed mace's (cudgel's?) or giant swords, but my character should be almost dragging them and attack very slowly (Unless having a ridiculous amount of Strength). Giant weapons generally, within reason and with realism/authenticity taken into consideration.

 

EDIT: One tactical aspect of this could also be to buff my Warrior a lot with a Chanter, making him even more capable of wielding the two-handed weapons. So if he attacks super slow without buff's, I can buff him so he attacks "slow" or even "average".

 

In other words it would almost be a disadvantage having a giant weapon, because it'd need an upkeep of 2 characters. However, tactically the two handed weapons could be advantageous (as they should be) against a large crowd of enemies (sweeping and cleaving attacks).

 

Osvir, you might find this topic interesting : http://forums.obsidi...pon-mechanics/.

 

Landsknecht for Eternity ...

[HumanFlesh+5]

stupid internet .... sorry double post

Edited October 15, 2012 by HumanFlesh+5

[Loranc]

I actually really love the outfits and character creation in Drakensang the River of Time. One of my hidden gem, all time favorite pc rpgs.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_HyBQWPYnA

[Osvir]

Why? Look at his armor, don't bother with the sword... for now. He also has a cannonball Megaman arm (which shoots pirate cannonballs).

Some might say "Batman!" to this next one, but the armor is in fact possessed by an evil (wolf) spirit. Or rather, it awakens the evil spirit existent in our protagonist (it's deep, Berserk is an amazing manga, check it out). This is the Berserker armor:

Edited October 15, 2012 by Osvir

[Karranthain]

And another picture of a Gothic Plate :

 

 

That helmet's just amazing.

[descalabro]

the way they did it in IE games was pretty good: models looked simple yet pretty bad ass and gear looked like it was meant to do what it was supposed to do, and the epic factor was enhanced by colors (sometimes animated to really cool effects), item descriptions and high quality sound effects.

 

Having said this, I think the problem you're referring to concerns 3D games where there's a lot of gear design possibilities. I don't see much reason to be worried about this question in PE or any similar game.

[Karranthain]

the way they did it in IE games was pretty good: models looked simple yet pretty bad ass and gear looked like it was meant to do what it was supposed to do, and the epic factor was enhanced by colors (sometimes animated to really cool effects), item descriptions and high quality sound effects.

 

Having said this, I think the problem you're referring to concerns 3D games where there's a lot of gear design possibilities. I don't see much reason to be worried about this question in PE or any similar game.

 

We definitely won't see arms & armour in great detail - possibly just suits of armour; but I'm hoping that we'll see good designs for these all the same.

 

The secondary aim of the topic is to share inspiring historical (or not so historical) examples - or designs you'd particularly like to see in the game. Here's another :

 

Edited October 15, 2012 by Karranthain

[Monte Carlo]

Love the look of Asian armours --- check out this Rajput armour.

 

 

But possibly my favourite movie 'fantasy' armour was from King Arthur --- I know they were Dark Ages an' all but I really liked their gear ---

 

 

 

And it would have been tough for Mads Mikkelsen to get any cooler as Tristran, Ranger archetype that blows Aragorn out of the water....

 

[Karranthain]

You might like this one, Monte :

 

[Takamori]

Hope there is a option to forge your own armor with the many historical designs available.

Or at least give the option to the player to seek X culture inside of the game to pick that design philosophy.

 

Sorry for the somehow necro, but didn't want to start a new thread with this one alive.

[Chabneruk]

Oh dear, yes! I can only sign this plea: No overdimensional swords. No revealing unrealistic armor for women (it has become a really boring clichee by now). And please, no kind of armor that no sensible person would wear because of the weight or overdimensioned parts. There is so much good-looking, realistic armor out there - stick to that, dear developers.

[Freshock]

I agree that there's limits of how much swag a weapon/armor should have. But this is also a fantasy game, so there should be more to it than regular, real items. I'm going to design a weapon, but I've not yet decided how it should look and I still don't know how much I can edit it. It says in the reward tier that the weapon/armor have to "be within reason", so I don't think you'll see very flashy gear in the final game.

[Takamori]

I agree that there's limits of how much swag a weapon/armor should have. But this is also a fantasy game, so there should be more to it than regular, real items. I'm going to design a weapon, but I've not yet decided how it should look and I still don't know how much I can edit it. It says in the reward tier that the weapon/armor have to "be within reason", so I don't think you'll see very flashy gear in the final game.

As long is not a cutting neon bar its all right.

And yes having some design besides the historical one is a good thing, the designers won't feel attached to a few set of armor, they can develop ones to be visually appealing but following the basic armor laws.

[Calmar]

Chris Avellone said that there will be "a 16th century technology level much like our high or late Middle Ages with the exception of the printing press". I am confident that means there will be plate armour and two-handed swords that resemble real world gear, no overly fantastically shaped weaponry.

[Ignatius]

Erm, this is Obsidian we're talking about, and they're creating a game with it's roots in IE games. Do you recall there being any gaudy equipment in that game? Plate-mail was plate mail. Swords were swords. The detail was in the descriptions and whatever you could find in the image that went along with it. Yeah, we're working with 3D now, so that offers some room for flair, but even then, based on character art so far, and the team working on this game, I just don't see this being a huge concern. So relax, it'll be fine!

[Hatori1181]

I hope there's no boob-plate. Nothing pisses me off more than that. Let a female character be feminine in personality. A woman can be all done up in frilly dresses, then when her adventure mates inform her it's time to go kick down the door of the local kobold den, she goes upstairs, puts on her plate armour, grabs a spiked mace and shield and joins her companions in kicking some ass.

 

Heck, I love the idea that a female paladin looks forward to getting back so that she can wear her dresses and look pretty instead of tromping around in heavy armour all day.

[qloher]

RE4 armored Ashley was pretty good:

[SarcasmoTheGreat]

Chris Avellone said that there will be "a 16th century technology level much like our high or late Middle Ages with the exception of the printing press". I am confident that means there will be plate armour and two-handed swords that resemble real world gear, no overly fantastically shaped weaponry.

 

The 16th century was a fascinating time for technological and medical advancement. If this game is to include some of our better achievements, expect rudimentary microscopes, flushing toilets, detailed anatomical diagrams, simple thermometers, pocket watches, and cannons.

[Karranthain]

Here's an example of an armor that's very much in the fantasy realm, but doesn't go too far :

 

 

 

 

 

Might not be very practical, but it's at least somewhat believable.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Karranthain

[deamon451]

Oh dear, yes! I can only sign this plea: No overdimensional swords. No revealing unrealistic armor for women (it has become a really boring clichee by now). And please, no kind of armor that no sensible person would wear because of the weight or overdimensioned parts. There is so much good-looking, realistic armor out there - stick to that, dear developers.

 

Actually I can see OE putting this in as a joke or easter egg. Meet random adventuring party who don't have a clue what they are doing and will get slaughtered very quickly without any advice from the player.

[Calmar]

Here's an example of an armor that's very much in the fantasy realm, but doesn't go too far :

 

 

 

 

 

Might not be very practical, but it's at least somewhat believable.

 

I think the armour in the Lord of the Rings movies has also a good balance of fantastic and practical.