Character Creation Aesthetics and STUFF

[Sirabot]

 My main focus here is going to be on the forced use of Character portraits. I understand they are near and dear to a lot of people in this type of community but I'd again rather have a system that just shows a crop of my created character. I don't want to have to use a custom portrait and spend 20 minutes of my life every time I created a different character due to me being unsatisfied with the provided (vanilla) character portaits.

 

 

Now, moving on to lack of customization options for faces and my issues with bodies and height. Why is it that all of the faces have the same deminsion and size? why are our options of facial hair and other things so limited? I also find some of the races (Humans) to be awkwardly stumpy in demenor. Very short with large heads as if for no real reason other than to say all human males are 5ft tall. I didn't care for this much. Or rather I do care. A lot.

 

And lastly Over all texture quality for the NPCs in the world are too low. Everything else in the world is seemless and beautiful but the characters take away from it. They stick out like a sore thumb against these 2D backgrounds, and not in a good way. They appear at times to be pixilated, jagged, and their animations bring about a strong desire for me to have the option to turn texture filtering up to X18 and X8 antializing. But then I realized it wouldn't do anything to change these settings when they are provided because the textures themselves are made to be old looking as if to pay homage to an older game. This is not however, an older game. I'm running a machine capible of playing the witcher 3 on max settings. I would just like to see some more quality and higher texture resolution.

 

Also, heavier NPC and character shadows and possible character outlines to make NPC's stand out more from their background.

 

 

Thanks guys. Sorry If I was a jerk. It's 5am!

[Wolf_Amarth]

I feel you on some of these, but I think it's way to early just yet to judge aesthetics and textures during the backer beta.

 

Portraits are a part of this type of games legacy. And I can't agree with you on removing them. I love the portraits.

That being said, the portraits need a tonne more variety and racial variety.

 

About the actual character customisation though? I also feel it to be extremely limited for this day in age. More of everything needed.

 

I hope, hope! That these issues will be addressed...

 

BUT again, this is a backer beta and extremely to early to be worried about aesthetics I'm sure they will add tonnes of stuff and clean up the graphics as we go!

[Wolf_Amarth]

.this second post was an accident. How do we delete?

Edited August 19, 2014 by Wolf_Amarth

[Sirabot]

I feel you on some of these, but I think it's way to early just yet to judge aesthetics and textures during the backer beta.

 

Portraits are a part of this type of games legacy. And I can't agree with you on removing them. I love the portraits.

That being said, the portraits need a tonne more variety and racial variety.

 

About the actual character customisation though? I also feel it to be extremely limited for this day in age. More of everything needed.

 

I hope, hope! That these issues will be addressed...

 

BUT again, this is a backer beta and extremely to early to be worried about aesthetics I'm sure they will add tonnes of stuff and clean up the graphics as we go!

 

 

If you read the backer email, they told us to judge aesthetics and textures.

[Lillyhime]

We need more portraits, and.. Godlike need to look way less bald. The Fire and Moon Godlikes whispy glowy "hair" needs to be darker or more defined, cause right now they just look like they are bald and look very little like the portraits. 

[AdaMusic]

 And lastly Over all texture quality for the NPCs in the world are too low. Everything else in the world is seemless and beautiful but the characters take away from it. They stick out like a sore thumb against these 2D backgrounds, and not in a good way. They appear at times to be pixilated, jagged, and their animations bring about a strong desire for me to have the option to turn texture filtering up to X18 and X8 antializing. But then I realized it wouldn't do anything to change these settings when they are provided because the textures themselves are made to be old looking as if to pay homage to an older game. This is not however, an older game. I'm running a machine capible of playing the witcher 3 on max settings. I would just like to see some more quality and higher texture resolution.

I agree with you on this point. Hope they really do something about it. About the other points: nah. I like the portraits and really dont care about customizing the 3D-models more than as is.

Edited August 19, 2014 by AdaMusic

[Msxyz]

will the final version include more portraits and personalization options? I thought I read so but I couldn't find the source...

[fr0sty]

I agree with everything except the portrait comment. It would be very nice to customize girth, height etc of your character, all the humans currently look like their torsos are way too long. I love the portraits, we just need 3x more of them. 

[Ell]

And lastly Over all texture quality for the NPCs in the world are too low. Everything else in the world is seemless and beautiful but the characters take away from it. They stick out like a sore thumb against these 2D backgrounds, and not in a good way. They appear at times to be pixilated, jagged, and their animations bring about a strong desire for me to have the option to turn texture filtering up to X18 and X8 antializing.

I agree. Moreover, on the character creation screen the 3d models are especially ugly. Why not show them smaller (same size as in the game)?

 

Also - my subjective opinion - I don't like some hairstyles (on both portraits and models). They don't fit my perception of how a wandering adventurer should look in a quasi-medieval fantasy world. I am talking about "punkish" haircuts or "fancy" hair styling (which looks like the character has just been to a barber shop).

[Sirabot]

Keep in mind that I wasn't asking for the universal removal of character portraits, just an option to Opt out of having to use them. A camera bubble showing each character's face like in Dragon Age: Origins. Might be out of the realm of possibility to ask for such things from the developers, but asking me to constantly create/scale/shop for custom character portraits could be asking too much of the player. I'll do it if I must, but I won't enjoy it. lol

[GreatGreen]

Why not just grab a screenshot of your character during creation and import that?

[Mrakvampire]

I would recommend two variants here:

1. Improve actual 3D models or add more customization to them (height, weight, etc.)

2. Reduce size of 3D models during character creation so their... ugliness.

[AdaMusic]

I would recommend two variants here:

1. Improve actual 3D models or add more customization to them (height, weight, etc.)

2. Reduce size of 3D models during character creation so their... ugliness.

 

Yea. Technically, in Unity, it is very easy to scale characters up and down. I could probably do this for them in less than 1 hour if they gave me graphics for the slides. :D

Edited August 19, 2014 by AdaMusic

[InsaneCommander]

I'd like to see more hair options. Longer, braids, ponytails, bangs, hair covering an eye, goatees for man, godlike hair... As much variation as possible, please.

[Kronos]

I feel strongly about this topic. I feel that characters look very clunky and immediately lost interest in the beta upon character creation. I actually preferred the dimensions used on wasteland 2 models. The characters all look overweight to me and are quite unattractive surely we can make it more life-like and have more attractive characters with better Hair options all hair options look like a variation of dreadlocks to me.

 

The biggest headache for me is the godlike races. I'd love to play godlike due to the cool concept, but I can't cope with how weird they are, surely there is a way to have variations that are a lot more subtle as in tieflings from bg. Just can't handle my character running around with a shell for a head for the entire game.

[Kuripakk]

I think the portraits are fine. Good thing because the 3D faces are pretty bad in my opinion, so I'm glad they're practically not visible in-game. Some of them, particularly the human and dwarf faces, look like borderline Nintendo Miis.

[jiijiujiu]

I'll be honest.  The character models are fugly.   Yes, FUGLY.  Humans look weak and small.  Hair is awful.  Faces are awful.  Body shape is awful.  I want my Barb to look like Conan and Valeria not Jim and Susan from down the block.

 

All races lack chiseled features.  The Orlans are probably the worst.  Their portraits are great, but the model looks nothing like them.  Dwarves look like fat-bellied little knee-highs.  The NWN2 models were better ffs.  Doesn't make sense.  

 

The shapes just seem all wrong.  It feels too comical.  Kills my immersion.  

 

Is it really that expensive to make character models that look good?

[Tartantyco]

Kronos, how dare you use the same avatar as me? I will slap you.

[Mrakvampire]

Just can't handle my character running around with a shell for a head for the entire game.

 

Same as I. It's really too weird, you know, just too weird.

[Kronos]

Kronos, how dare you use the same avatar as me? I will slap you.

lol, You'll have to stand in line behind my wife and mother- in-law

[InsaneCommander]

all hair options look like a variation of dreadlocks to me.

I have a similar feeling.

[Enoch]

I think the portraits are fine. Good thing because the 3D faces are pretty bad in my opinion, so I'm glad they're practically not visible in-game. Some of them, particularly the human and dwarf faces, look like borderline Nintendo Miis.

 

It is probably a tactical error to put the zoomed-in in-game model right in the player's face at the very start.  It gives a rather poor first impression and is not representative of the visuals in the rest of the game. 

[Sirabot]

well I'm glad we can agree (too some degree) the level of detail of and love put into the character creator is not up to snuff.

[Lillyhime]

I don't mind the Death Godlike "shells" to much, as their description does say that they have growths that cover their eyes and most of their faces. As it stands, the only Godlike I'll be able to play as is Nature and Death. Which makes me super sad, cause I really wanted to play a Moon Godlike. But being pretty (or at least not bald..) is near and dear to my heart. The Nature Godlike (at least the female) are actually almost pretty to me. I don't mind the Death ones to much, and actually have a character idea for one. She's gonna be a former slave I think~

 

My most wanted feature at this point will be longer hair (or any sort of hair) for ALL the Godlike. Especially Moon and Fire. I'd just love, love, love some braids for them. (really braids all of them in general would please me.) 

More portraits to would be great, but if push comes to shove I'd just draw my own. I think I can match the art style well enough, coloring would be the tricky part though. :/

 

In any event, if they don't add anything more to the Fire and Moon Godlike, I'll feel really put out. Cause as it stands, without any romantic subplots and now super ugly Moon Godlike, my optimism and excitement levels for this game have dropped to 0.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Lillyhime

[Tartantyco]

The facial hair looks like play-doh.