Armors in this game seem to be lacking in aesthetics

Ashchild

On a slight tangent, i'd be more happy with designing my character if we had either:

- the ability to create and save our own costume based on what we are currently wearing. (Really like that calcinium look but hate voidsteel?)

- or just straight up vanity slots. I feel light armor, until balanced, is superior. But I prefer the heavy armor look. I'd shut up about the inferiority of heavy armor/medium armor if I could just wear my Khajiit heavy. Yes - I know. 5/2, but I LOVE the Khajiit heavy-shoulders, so I'd have to go for a 4/3 light/heavy set up and we both know thats silly. :-)

Anywho...

Gern_Verkheart

WrathOfRegicide wrote: »

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

WrathOfRegicide wrote: »

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

I do agree that Deadric Armor should look like it does in the promotional vidoes, that armor looks amazing. However, I do not think most armors look bland. And as an example, I give you my Dark Shaman:



Like or dislike the look, there is certainly nothing bland about it.

That armor is a skin tight mesh it has no depth to it. If you compare it to oblivion armors; which this game was being created around the time oblivion was and computers have since evolved in the past 10 years, so you can tell the developers just slacked when creating the armors in this game.

First off, there is a difference between something being bland, and it having no depth. Something can be not bland and still have no depth, similarly, something can have plenty of depth and still be completely bland.

Second, I agree with you when it comes to armors in ESO needing depth, but only chest-pieces and gloves. Head-peices, shoulders, pants, and boots are clearly fine, they have plenty of depth. Chest-pieces and gloves however: a lot of them look like they have been painted on, even the ones in my picture. The fur, metallic emblems, and leather straps, should stick out a bit.

Lastly, to prove my point, I am going to subject you to a the white legs of a pants-less Nord:

I do this not just to show off Gern's pasty legs, but to show how some pants in the game will bunch up at the knees when worn with high boots such as the ones Gern is wearing. Look a the above picture, then look at my previous picture in your quote, surely You can see what I'm talking about. Now that's depth, and uniqueness, especially since not all pants do this, as is proven by these wonderful Altmer pants that Gern is sporting here:


And here with his boots on:

See, no bunchyness at the knees. Because the Altmer pants are made by a skilled Elvish tailor, and hemmed to fit perfectly to ones legs. Perfect for a Thalmor assassin, who can't be encumbered by loose noisy clothing. Whereas the pants Gern is wearing in my original picture are barbaric style, stitched together in some backwoods camp using raw materials from some unskilled brute's latest kill. They are loose and baggy because they are made to fit anyone, cause it's not like the barbarian could measure anything anyways, nor does he particularly care about being stealthy.

Now if only ZOS put that much thought and care into the depth of their chest-pieces and gloves.

But as far as the detail and texture of their armors: I once again submit my photos as proof that they are quite high quality in those areas.

Hey guy would you put some pants on! :P Maybe "no depth" wasn't a good term to use to generalize the armors. There is some depth to the shoulders, boots and maybe pants; but the most important area that should have depth to it is the chest area, because in reality that's what you most likely would want to protect the most (besides your head of course). We are in agreement though the armor is lacking in aesthetics, am I right? They could have easily improved the graphical looks of the armor; I know this because, there were complaints about player characters in this game looking too cartoonish, and maybe a month or two after that they altered the appearance of player characters. I think they either were too lazy to adjust the appearance of armor or rushed it and just threw out what they could and hoped it looked good.
(link to a discussion about graphics and player characters looking too cartoonish and WoW-like) http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/669684-the-elder-scrolls-online/62752150

(link to a picture of argonians before they altered player characters)https://www.google.com/search?q=argonian+eso&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=_JqmU-PhDdijyATq-4H4Cg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=934#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=c10Ic4PHBB_99M%3A;QUYoNtUMjzIyTM;http%3A%2F%2Ftamrielfoundry.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F10%2FArgonianGroup.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Ftamrielfoundry.com%2F2013%2F02%2Fexamining-argonians%2F;1920;1080

(here is a picture of present day argonian appearance) https://www.google.com/search?q=eso+argonian&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=hZumU-7dKIzfsAT774KYCA&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=934#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=E__HODWKF433wM%3A;tc0Wq0zU_iEQkM;http%3A%2F%2Fesomasters.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F04%2FESO-Argonian-Race.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Fesomasters.com%2Felder-scrolls-online-eso-races-overview-of-playable-races%2F;510;384

This shows Zenimax can change the appearance of armors they are just don't want to put the effort in it.

I think the aesthetics of the armors are fine, I just would like to see the depth on the chest-pieces and most gloves improved, and the floating elbow pads fixed.

It sounds like you want big garish and completely unrealistic armors like in other games such as WoW. If they ever do that in this game, I will be done with it. One of my favorite things about ESO, and TES games in general is the fact that the armors always look like they would actually be possible to wear, not necessarily always practical, but they never have things like shoulder pads taller than the wearer with molten lava dripping from them.

I think a lot of your opinion is derived from looking at the lowbe armors. Those armors have low detail, and frankly look terrible. But I think they should be that way; you shouldn't look as awesome wearing level 10 armor as you do wearing vet-10 armor. the high level armors have a lot of detail, are complex and clearly have a lot of thought behind their design. It's just that the chest pieces and gloves have no depth, making them look painted on.

If you have looked at a lot of the high level armors, and still think they lack aesthetics and detail, then I guess we just have different tastes,

ArcaneBlue

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

SnarkyQB wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of thick edging on armor (e.g. that second image the op posted... it screams "THICK EDGING") but it could be just me being fussy.

hopefully the armor dyes make the situation better but again, I don't really like it that they are tied to the achievements.

What do you mean? Real armor is thick, if it's not, then it's not very useful as armor. I think most people want the armor to look thick, that's why so many people complain about the armor looking "painted on."

I didn't say I don't want the armor to look thick.
I just don't like the thick edging/hemming on armor but like I already said, could be just me.

*the original image borrowed from esofashion*

Gern_Verkheart

SnarkyQB wrote: »

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

SnarkyQB wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of thick edging on armor (e.g. that second image the op posted... it screams "THICK EDGING") but it could be just me being fussy.

hopefully the armor dyes make the situation better but again, I don't really like it that they are tied to the achievements.

What do you mean? Real armor is thick, if it's not, then it's not very useful as armor. I think most people want the armor to look thick, that's why so many people complain about the armor looking "painted on."

I didn't say I don't want the armor to look thick.
I just don't like the thick edging/hemming on armor but like I already said, could be just me.

*the original image borrowed from esofashion*

I see what you are saying now, and I agree to an extent, I guess.

Real armor does have thick edges though. It was typical to weld or rivet a small strip of metal to the edges of the armor to ensure there were no jagged edges. As you can see here:

WrathOfRegicide

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

WrathOfRegicide wrote: »

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

WrathOfRegicide wrote: »

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

I do agree that Deadric Armor should look like it does in the promotional vidoes, that armor looks amazing. However, I do not think most armors look bland. And as an example, I give you my Dark Shaman:



Like or dislike the look, there is certainly nothing bland about it.

That armor is a skin tight mesh it has no depth to it. If you compare it to oblivion armors; which this game was being created around the time oblivion was and computers have since evolved in the past 10 years, so you can tell the developers just slacked when creating the armors in this game.

First off, there is a difference between something being bland, and it having no depth. Something can be not bland and still have no depth, similarly, something can have plenty of depth and still be completely bland.

Second, I agree with you when it comes to armors in ESO needing depth, but only chest-pieces and gloves. Head-peices, shoulders, pants, and boots are clearly fine, they have plenty of depth. Chest-pieces and gloves however: a lot of them look like they have been painted on, even the ones in my picture. The fur, metallic emblems, and leather straps, should stick out a bit.

Lastly, to prove my point, I am going to subject you to a the white legs of a pants-less Nord:

I do this not just to show off Gern's pasty legs, but to show how some pants in the game will bunch up at the knees when worn with high boots such as the ones Gern is wearing. Look a the above picture, then look at my previous picture in your quote, surely You can see what I'm talking about. Now that's depth, and uniqueness, especially since not all pants do this, as is proven by these wonderful Altmer pants that Gern is sporting here:


And here with his boots on:

See, no bunchyness at the knees. Because the Altmer pants are made by a skilled Elvish tailor, and hemmed to fit perfectly to ones legs. Perfect for a Thalmor assassin, who can't be encumbered by loose noisy clothing. Whereas the pants Gern is wearing in my original picture are barbaric style, stitched together in some backwoods camp using raw materials from some unskilled brute's latest kill. They are loose and baggy because they are made to fit anyone, cause it's not like the barbarian could measure anything anyways, nor does he particularly care about being stealthy.

Now if only ZOS put that much thought and care into the depth of their chest-pieces and gloves.

But as far as the detail and texture of their armors: I once again submit my photos as proof that they are quite high quality in those areas.

Hey guy would you put some pants on! :P Maybe "no depth" wasn't a good term to use to generalize the armors. There is some depth to the shoulders, boots and maybe pants; but the most important area that should have depth to it is the chest area, because in reality that's what you most likely would want to protect the most (besides your head of course). We are in agreement though the armor is lacking in aesthetics, am I right? They could have easily improved the graphical looks of the armor; I know this because, there were complaints about player characters in this game looking too cartoonish, and maybe a month or two after that they altered the appearance of player characters. I think they either were too lazy to adjust the appearance of armor or rushed it and just threw out what they could and hoped it looked good.
(link to a discussion about graphics and player characters looking too cartoonish and WoW-like) http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/669684-the-elder-scrolls-online/62752150

(link to a picture of argonians before they altered player characters)https://www.google.com/search?q=argonian+eso&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=_JqmU-PhDdijyATq-4H4Cg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=934#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=c10Ic4PHBB_99M%3A;QUYoNtUMjzIyTM;http%3A%2F%2Ftamrielfoundry.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F10%2FArgonianGroup.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Ftamrielfoundry.com%2F2013%2F02%2Fexamining-argonians%2F;1920;1080

(here is a picture of present day argonian appearance) https://www.google.com/search?q=eso+argonian&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=hZumU-7dKIzfsAT774KYCA&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=934#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=E__HODWKF433wM%3A;tc0Wq0zU_iEQkM;http%3A%2F%2Fesomasters.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F04%2FESO-Argonian-Race.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Fesomasters.com%2Felder-scrolls-online-eso-races-overview-of-playable-races%2F;510;384

This shows Zenimax can change the appearance of armors they are just don't want to put the effort in it.

I think the aesthetics of the armors are fine, I just would like to see the depth on the chest-pieces and most gloves improved, and the floating elbow pads fixed.

It sounds like you want big garish and completely unrealistic armors like in other games such as WoW. If they ever do that in this game, I will be done with it. One of my favorite things about ESO, and TES games in general is the fact that the armors always look like they would actually be possible to wear, not necessarily always practical, but they never have things like shoulder pads taller than the wearer with molten lava dripping from them.

I think a lot of your opinion is derived from looking at the lowbe armors. Those armors have low detail, and frankly look terrible. But I think they should be that way; you shouldn't look as awesome wearing level 10 armor as you do wearing vet-10 armor. the high level armors have a lot of detail, are complex and clearly have a lot of thought behind their design. It's just that the chest pieces and gloves have no depth, making them look painted on.

If you have looked at a lot of the high level armors, and still think they lack aesthetics and detail, then I guess we just have different tastes,

I have never said I wanted "garish" and unrealistic armors if you look at the first page of this discussion about mid-way through I said "I don't want that anime s***". which that means I don't want outlandish looking armors and giant swords that a person incapable of carrying, I find all that crap stupid and I usually stay far away from games like that. I want armors that have depth look like they can realistically take a beating instead of these skin tight mesh (chest arms and glove) they call armors. like take a look from a screen shot of bonemold armor in skyrim. It has depth detail and in my opinion looks great.
I also have a vr 6 I'm not just looking at the low level armors and the screen shots I showed were I think vr 10 armors. The details don't change much as you progress through vet ranks, they may change in colors and that's about it. so yes, clearly the armors in this game are really diverse and worth changing an item to white>legendary.

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130213031242/elderscrolls/images/0/08/Bonemold_Armor_-_Both.png

WrathOfRegicide

Sharee wrote: »

WrathOfRegicide wrote: »

GW2 discredits your argument, which this game has a lot of similarities to. I also have never seen a ESO AvA video with at least 200+ people pvping.

GW2 WvW has a 2000 total player limit, same as Cyrodiil.

However, unlike Cyrodiil, GW2 WvW takes place in 4 separate zones. That means you can have theoretically up to 500 players in one battle (166 per side).

In Cyrodiil, you can have theoretically up to 2000 players in one battle, four times as many as GW2.

Show me a video of 2000 player AvA battle, I have never seen it nor do I believe there was one. Also cyrodill is HUGE compared to the zones in GW2, it maybe larger than all 4 of the pvp zones in GW2.

ArcaneBlue

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

SnarkyQB wrote: »

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

SnarkyQB wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of thick edging on armor (e.g. that second image the op posted... it screams "THICK EDGING") but it could be just me being fussy.

hopefully the armor dyes make the situation better but again, I don't really like it that they are tied to the achievements.

What do you mean? Real armor is thick, if it's not, then it's not very useful as armor. I think most people want the armor to look thick, that's why so many people complain about the armor looking "painted on."

I didn't say I don't want the armor to look thick.
I just don't like the thick edging/hemming on armor but like I already said, could be just me.

*the original image borrowed from esofashion*

I see what you are saying now, and I agree to an extent, I guess.

Real armor does have thick edges though. It was typical to weld or rivet a small strip of metal to the edges of the armor to ensure there were no jagged edges. As you can see here:

that armor looks pretty neat, even with thick edging.
I don't have a pic handy at the moment but take a look at some robes with thick edges... they remind me of tracksuit pants.
I guess I have a problem when the main colour of the armor is dark(er) and the edging is light(er) like the pic I posted earlier but it's just my personal taste maybe.

vyndral13preub18_ESO

Honestly to me the armor in all the TES games have mostly been craptastic. There was usually 1 or 2 cool sets, and the rest were modded goodies. So I guess I had pretty low expectations going in. And have been mostly pleased with the armor looks. Can't wait for dyes though! Go go pink plate!

isengrimb16_ESO

SnarkyQB wrote: »

Gern_Verkheart wrote: »

SnarkyQB wrote: »

I'm not a big fan of thick edging on armor (e.g. that second image the op posted... it screams "THICK EDGING") but it could be just me being fussy.

hopefully the armor dyes make the situation better but again, I don't really like it that they are tied to the achievements.

What do you mean? Real armor is thick, if it's not, then it's not very useful as armor. I think most people want the armor to look thick, that's why so many people complain about the armor looking "painted on."

I didn't say I don't want the armor to look thick.
I just don't like the thick edging/hemming on armor but like I already said, could be just me.

*the original image borrowed from esofashion*

Whoa .. the whiteness ... it hurts ... my eyes.

isengrimb16_ESO

vyndral13preub18_ESO wrote: »

Honestly to me the armor in all the TES games have mostly been craptastic. There was usually 1 or 2 cool sets, and the rest were modded goodies. So I guess I had pretty low expectations going in. And have been mostly pleased with the armor looks. Can't wait for dyes though! Go go pink plate!

Yes, I found the armours in vanilla Skyrim to be quite .. boring. Had a lot of fun after installing Realistic Armours and Weapons mods, though; it had a lot of nice designs to experiment with. ESO has been pleasing me, so far, but it'll be nice to see what race goes with what design (no, I can't recognize racial styles on sight, except for Khajit helmets and beast-foot boots.)


And yes, dyes. I guess I'll be the only one NOT in pink, lol.

twnakita

ArRashid wrote: »

BTW, anyone noticed that there is an ACUTE LACK OF THE COLOR RED in ESO?
I haven't found a single red item. And I've tried, because I always liked the breton mage on the Betnikh's loading screen.

Everything just seem to range from light blue to dark midnight blue, light green to dark acid green, light gray to dark gray, occasionally something beige, gold or pink, but there is NO RED ANYWHERE.

/cry

I've noticed this and I wonder why. That problem will be solved as soon as dyes come out obviously, but I wonder what their reasoning was for all the shades of gray, brown, green, blue, and gold, but no red?

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

I can see two reasons why red is not used a lot in the game:

Virtual goods of a red colour are more expensive to send over the Internet across the Atlantic because of a special data import tax which the EU introduced a couple of years ago. Details are in a 600-page document you can order from your local customs authorities, but basically, the prettier it is, the more expensive it gets. Browns and grayish greens are cheap, and bright reds are most expensive.

Plus, red contains some wavelengths of light which are not environmentally friendly, so red pixels are not safely recyclable between frames at the client. You need to put them in a special trash pile and send them back to the server for toxic waste processing. It is taxing for a slower computer to sort them out, and sending them back can be troublesome for people with asymmetric connections.

I'm sure there are other reasons as well.

Ser Lobo

I don't like all the armor styles. But then again, I didn't like most of them in Skyrim or Oblivion, and if I did, there was always something wrong. Like the width of the ebony armor helmets.

But I think, besides a dye system, they should introduce 'alternate' motiffs. Just keep expanding the motiff stylebooks. Dwemer, Ebony, Akaviri, Glass. And then alternates for each race, with a 'modern' look that reflects the later generation of games, and a more 'primitive' look that could be older in style.

Thunder

One of the saddest things to me about armor is that it actually gets uglier and uglier as you level up. It's like the designers said to themselves, "Let's throw more and more junk on there until the final level of armor where the ultimate look will be like we just scribbled all over it with a pen!"

grizzbi

I love the armor design, their details, their realistic look!
They could be a little bit more colored - maybe - but I hope that it won't be too much with the upcoming changes.
Please keep on the good job with the artistic direction: it's amazing.

ArRashid

Thunder wrote: »

One of the saddest things to me about armor is that it actually gets uglier and uglier as you level up. It's like the designers said to themselves, "Let's throw more and more junk on there until the final level of armor where the ultimate look will be like we just scribbled all over it with a pen!"

Yeah, pretty much. For example, I like third tier of Nord heavy armor way more than fourth tier. Same with some other armors.



What's worst is how Breton heavy looks on females. On males it's pretty much epic, but give it to a girl, and pauldrons are just flying in the air at the very edge of shoulders..
behold the uglyness:

jeez.. that helmet is about twice as big as the head... unless it's a bosmer on pic, they have way too big heads compared to their bodies..

now compare that to the epicness of tier 2 (steel) breton heavy, worn by a muscular male:

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

To be fair, that oversized helmet was designed for humans, but shamefully put on a Khajit. It is oversized to cover the beautiful ears and the attractive nose. Why anyone would want to cover those is a mystery to this one. If you want Khajit to look good in a helmet, pick Khajit crafting style. Personally, this one would rather take an axe to the face than wear a human helmet to battle. Style is very important to Khajit.

And no, this one does not like the Dovahkitty picture that is inevitably going to be posted below. This one hates you all for looking at cats on the Internet for laughs.

Laura

the day we do some crazy wow stuff will be the day I leave.

Tasteful improvements sure

frogprincess_q4

One of the things I constantly marvel at in this game is the huge variety of armours in this game. I may not like them all and some of the heavy armours are perhaps more form-fitting than they should be. And for sure some of those floating pauldrons/epaulets/hipflaps/etc are just weird, but to say there has been no effort put into them? That's pretty harsh. Skyrim (with no mods) had only a couple of dozen armour styles for the whole game and half of them were too weak to wear.

As for red armour. I accidentally made a set of medium Breton Armour that was about lvl 46. It was - almost - red. It looked pretty good, too.

I would love preview panes for the armours though. Sometimes I make several outfits in a row if I have the mats for it, just to try out different variations.