My wish

[why]

 

...I also love that female armor is not, in fact, a chain-mail bikini purposefully designed for titillation rather than protection...  ...Besides, how would a glass armor be of any help? It would shatter instantaneously, harming its wearer. And I don't think I can picture anyone dual-wielding staves

Its called magic, AC. :pFor consistency sake, I assume you also frown upon the rings and amulets? After all, how can a little band of metal that only covers a fraction of skin, confer protection over the entire body?

I see your magic point and reply that magic should not be an excuse to make your stylistic vision turn into something resembling a perp lineup from the regulars in the Tattoine bar in Star Wars.

[SkySlam]

The witch doctor costume is always cool looking, albeit deja vu.

 

The other concepts feel a bit out of place, but I trust Obsidian's artists to keep a coherence in the game's visuals.

[FlintlockJazz]

I'm with AndreaColombo and others, I prefer the more realistic, toned-down, not over the top stuff and don't really like the overly stylised armours some have put up here, nor find it fitting to Pillars.  Ironically, I find the huge shoulder-pads over-stylised High Fantasy stuff to be unmemorable to be honest.  By trying to be cool and have loads of stuff nothing about them stands out, the green armour above being an example for me: all I remember is that it glows green, nothing else about the armour really sticks out for me.  Bland. 

 

A lot of those armours also stink of "BMW Driver" for me: I feel like the wearer is overcompensating for something, something they lack either in ability so they have to try hard to look badass or down there...

[Gfted1]

Imo, people should just call a spade a spade and admit they simply do not like the aesthetics instead of all the mental gymnastics on how ONLY boobplate couldn't possibly work but everything else is totes feasible.

[DreamWayfarer]

Imo, people should just call a spade a spade and admit they simply do not like the aesthetics instead of all the mental gymnastics on how ONLY boobplate couldn't possibly work but everything else is totes feasible.

Define everything else, because I have yet to see equipament with design as bad as "boobplate" in PoE.

[AndreaColombo]

What exactly are you guys referring to when you say "boobplate" with regards to PoE?

[why]

I actually think there are two ways to see it.

 

First, I would agree that for me at least, I don't like the anime oversized weapons and overcluttered armor with huge pauldrons and the like. I admit freely that it is an aesthetic thing for me.

 

It's more than that, though. I see the armor and weapon design of Pillars are being more or less cohesive around a certain design vision. There are other designs I like quite a bit. For example, I'm a huge admirer or ancient Roman and Greek stuff, but I would never want to impose my love of these features to dilute what is a sensible thematic decision on the part of the developers.

 

So, I'll concede the point on one end, but I still argue the point on the other end.

[DreamWayfarer]

What exactly are you guys referring to when you say "boobplate" with regards to PoE?

The kind of armor females wear in bad fantasy videogames that has an individual "slot" for each breast instead of a more pratical design, for the purposes of looking "sexy". Thankfully, Obsidian didn't include it.

[AndreaColombo]

^ Yeah, I was kind of taken aback at the suggestion that PoE had "titillating armor" (aka boobplates) since I saw none.

 

My main gripe with them is that they are clearly designed to be sexy because sex sells, and if I'm playing an RPG I'm not looking for sexual titillation. On the contrary, I'm looking for blood-soaked weapons, big monsters, and possibly good storytelling. There are other venues than RPGs that provide better titillation, so it is beyond me why anyone would look for it in a boobplate. It just looks ridiculous and screams "designed by horny males for horny males." Are you trying to survive a battle or to get some private time with the troll?

 

 

There are many other things I would generally dislike in a fantasy RPG because realism and pragmatism. I'm fine with magic, but there's no magic that can make dual-wielding staves any less goofy and impractical, for example. And of course

 

Wizard, "Good news, everyone! I've just enchanted this glass so that it's as hard as steel. We can now shape it into a wearable armor, following which I'll devise an incantation to make it go easy on the wearer's articulations when they move. It will be as good as a steel armor!"

Everyone, "And that never struck you as needlessly complicated compared to just going for a steel armor?"

Wizard, "Not until this point, no."

Edited January 29, 2016 by AndreaColombo

[DreamWayfarer]

Wizard, "Good news, everyone! I've just enchanted this glass so that it's as hard as steel. We can now shape it into a wearable armor, following which I'll devise an incantation to make it go easy on the wearer's articulations when they move. It will be as good as a steel armor!"

Everyone, "And that never struck you as needlessly complicated compared to just going for a steel armor?"

Wizard, "Not until this point, no."

To be fair, there may be some properties from glass that may make it useful for armor, if enchanted to be as hard as steel. Like not conducting eletrecity, in a world druids can conjure storms from sunny weather.

 

But then, maybe the wizard could conduct metal to not conduct eletricity or something. In fact, when you add magic with badly explained rules, the down to earth look of Eora starts feeling a little less realistic and you need magic to keep magic from making it more alien.

Edited January 29, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[Sedrefilos]

What is an "exotic equipment" anyway?

I'd personally like to see the sequel take place in Ixamitl Plains with its Balkan style design and my main character wearing foustanella and fez cloth armor :D

[Gfted1]

 

This is "boobplate" and this picture was the original working concept art for an NPC named Cadegund. Soon after the release of the picture by Obs, there was a huge outcry and the concept art was immediately changed to remove the offending armor curvatures.

[Cyseal]

What is an "exotic equipment" anyway?

It's more historical, geographical or completely unordinary or fictional origins.

Scepters, falchions, scimitars, katanas, chakrams, mauls, talons, scythes, kukri ...

Edited January 29, 2016 by Cyseal

[DreamWayfarer]

 

 

What is an "exotic equipment" anyway?

It's more historical, geographical or completely unordinary or fictional origins.

Scepters, falchions

Scepters are fancy looking maces, at least when non-magical. PoE already has magical sceptres and normal maces.

 

And aren't falchions very similar to sabres, if not the same thing?

Edited January 29, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[Cyseal]

They are similar.

You could use every exotic weponry as a base and create a custom one and consistent to the lore adding details similar to soulbound weapons.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Cyseal

[DreamWayfarer]

So you wish for weapons mechanically identical to the ones we have, but with different looks? As long as it isn't anything over the top or impratical looking, I suppose that could work fine. Like, for exemple, a "sabre" from Rautai that was actualy a katana.

 

But no magical chakrans spinning around the battlefield please.

Edited January 29, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[Cyseal]

So you wish for weapons mechanically identical to the ones we have, but with different looks? As long as it isn't anything over the top or impratical looking, I suppose that could work fine. Like, for exemple, a "sabre" from Rautai that was actualy a katana.

 

But no magical chakrans spinning around the battlefield please.

Yes, similar details as soulbound weapons. 

 

Why not the chakrams too ?   It can be balanced as every other ranged weapon.

You see how greatsword becomes something unique and unordinary adding this flourish pattern above the hilt? This you can do  with every weapon and reworked it to be consistent.Though, I'm not demanding it.

 

 

[DreamWayfarer]

You see how greatsword becomes something unique and unordinary adding this flourish pattern above the hilt? This you can do with every weapon and reworked it to be consistent.

No, having all weapons ornamented feels unconected with PoE's tone and setting. Weapons should look pratical first, and pretty only with some justification and much subtleness. Exceptions should either be unique or rare weapons or be less useful, like enghtwithan gear that drops from animats.

 

Having some non-unique weapons ornamented is OK tough, as long as they belonged to fancier types, not random thugs. But nothing much fancier than the screenshots in your last post, unless they are weaker than normak weapons.

Edited January 29, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[Eisenheinrich]

Age of Conan (by Funcom) had one of the best armour-designs I've ever seen in a fantasy-rpg. Exotic, but not cheesy. Pretty down to earth. Sure, this is not your typical High Fantasy-stuff, but it's awesome nonetheless. PoE always had an high middle ages and renaissance-flair to it.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Eisenheinrich

[Gfted1]

That first pic is pretty cool.

[DreamWayfarer]

Nice armors. Seem more early medieval for me, but still very nice and mostly down-to-earth, even if not necessarily realistic.

Edited January 29, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[why]

Actually, it is pretty thematic stuff. There's early medievalesque period stuff with some vestigial classical elements and some kind of late medieval kind of Mongol looking stuff. It's all a bit mixed. It looks like the mongolesque dude is wearing silk undershirt, which is cool, but he's using a crossbow instead of riding a horse and using composite bow. I dunno. I don't mind anime looking stuff. I liked the armor and weapons in Skyrim well enough, and they had some funky looking stuff in there, but I appreciate the fact that Pillars has stayed true to a central theme, both visually and musically.

[DreamWayfarer]

I liked the armor and weapons in Skyrim well enough, and they had some funky looking stuff in there, but I appreciate the fact that Pillars has stayed true to a central theme, both visually and musically.

I never really liked the armor and weapons in Skyrim. They don't imitate real armor from any time period or place I know of for the most part, yet often felt too generic to leave a lasting impression in my mind and lacked variety.

Edited January 30, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[Lord_Mord]

Speaking about high fantasy: In my opinion, magical effects could be toned done a lot, too. The bigger fights look like new years eve in Bangkok. Often there are so many red, green, blue and of course violet effects, that I can't see my characters. Unfortunatly there are no medieval real life exammples for that.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Lord_Mord

[Elerond]

I think we should let Gfted1 and others have their wishes come true in PoE2 and include armors that give zero protections, and that make moving next to impossible but they look cool/sexy as hell

 

Stats are something on line -30 DR (because they actually not just fail to protect wearer but actually make even glancing blows to become life threatening)  and-90% to recovery time penalty (because they are so tightly fitted and use design choices that limit movement of body to enhance look of bodily assets)