The #1 feature DDO needs from LOTRO

[etelan]

I've been playing DDO since launch and I played the LOTRO free trial for the first time last month. There is one feature that stuck with me as an absolute must for ddo. That feature is outfits. There are many discussions pertaining to the issues of duplicate looks in ddo, like this recent thread here:
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=253849

I will leave the discussion of why we need it for other threads, but I thought I needed to post this so those who haven't played lotro can revel in the intelligence of the solution. For lotro newbies I'll go over the main features

1. Each player has an typical equipment page, but with several items that display on your character. Each visual item has a small box next to it to toggle display (much easier than /showhelmet on/off).
2. Each player also has TWO outfit pages. An outfit page can be equipped with any items that fit into visual slots. Any item equipped to an outfit slot is equipped with no effects or stat bonuses. Instead the bonus is applied from your equipment page for that slot.
3. Any item equipped to a outfit slot stays in your inventory so that it can be used again in another outfit or as equipment. However, any outfit slot remembers what item you placed it in regardless of what you did with the original item afterwards. Bank it, sell, or give it to a friend and the outfit slot will stay the same until you replace it. At which time you will receive a warning.
4. Any item equipped to an outfit slot can be toggled by the show on / show off boxes just as in the equipment panel. An outfit with an item toggled off will show the item from the equipment panel instead. Unless of course that item is also off in which case nothing will show.
5. Players can switch between equipment, outfit 1, and outfit 2 on the fly at any time. Key binding can be added for switching.
6. Lotro has several items (some you can buy from vendors) which are outfit only. These are all just cool unique looking items that have no stats. They can be purchased and set in an outfit and then given to a friend for their outfit. DDO could add some low level vendors, but could also drop these as rare or expensive bound loot. They could also be added as an option for guild airship vendors. Personally I would like to see each guild of high enough level allowed one outfit that they can texture themselves so that we can have guild uniforms.
7. This last point has come up before for ddo, but in my opinion is the least important of all 7 features I've layed out here from lotro. Equipment and outfit items in lotro can be color dyed.

With all the influx of development I hope that we can get the devs to spruce up some unique character looks soon rather than adding more adventure packs that no one plays. I for one have quite a few armors and helmets sitting in the bank that I would like to show instead of my boring dragontouched armor that I use on every toon.

[Ormindo]

If I understood well, I can wear a Plate of the Defender in the equipment slot, but show a +5 plate that looks good in the ouftit slot ? That'll mean I have the Defender stats with the +5 plate look ?

[Doomcrew]

yes

[Tinrae]

/signed

I play both games and would ♥ to see a cosmetic system of some sort here. I've tossed out a lot of ugly armors.

[Consumer]

Stoneskin

BAM

Ugly all round no matter the look

[Keely]

It would be really awesome to have more control over how you look. All my characters have to wear dragontouched and so it's very boring. I would love my cleric to wear the white dragonscale, but she needs the devotion VIII.

/signed

[AestorTheKnight]

Hi Etelan! Thank you for detailing the Outfit System featured in LOTRO. It sure does sound like an excellent system and exactly what DDO needs to solve its current Armour, Shield, Helmet, and Weapon appearance problems.

Considering the fact this feature has been in DDO for a couple of years now, it seems utterly ridiculous that Turbine have not already ported this Technology to DDO. As far as I concerned there is no excuse for them not doing this and it is long overdue.

My complete puzzlement as to why Turbine havent introduced this to DDO sometimes makes me think that they have some alterior motive for not doing it. But all of the possible motives for not doing it are either superficial or ruthlessly capitalist. It frustrates me that something that is in LOTRO, and many other games for free (IE purchasable with in game currency), may be given to DDO as something you have to pay for with real life $$$. This is completly unnacceptable to me. Anyways...

Thanks again for posting the LOTRO system. I very much hope to see it in DDO soon, as would the rest of the playerbase, undoubtedly. Oh and thanks for qouting my Thread!

...
With all the influx of development I hope that we can get the devs to spruce up some unique character looks soon rather than adding more adventure packs that no one plays. I for one have quite a few armors and helmets sitting in the bank that I would like to show instead of my boring dragontouched armor that I use on every toon.

Yep I feel exactly the same.

[Kza]

/signed

[Comfortably]

stoneskin

Bam

Ugly All Round No Matter The Look

Mass Camo Your Ass B!tch!


but yeah would be an awesome feature to add.

[etelan]

If I understood well, I can wear a Plate of the Defender in the equipment slot, but show a +5 plate that looks good in the ouftit slot ? That'll mean I have the Defender stats with the +5 plate look ?

That is correct. DDO has a similar concept with the new party hats, but the lotro system is just so robust and complete that, with all due respect, makes the ddo store bought bunny hats look like a poorly put together joke to get more money out of players.

[AestorTheKnight]

... makes the ddo store bought bunny hats look like a poorly put together joke to get more money out of players.

This.

Oh I forgot to +1 you Etelan

[FrozenDonkeyWheel]

I don't know if I'm a fan of the idea of showing a different armor fashion than the one you're actually wearing, simply because it'll go back to everyone looking the same again. Everyone with full plate, from normal to +4 will don the +5 look just for the "coolness" factor. Instead I think, first, we should be able to see what the armor looks like before purchasing it. Second, maybe instead we could have two equipment slots, one for combat and one that's strictly fashion based. Anyone who's played the Perfect World games knows how extensive you can get with pure fashion items

The other thing I'd like to see brought over though are the titles. I don't know why, I just think they're cool. These could be obtained from say... wilderness explorer or slayer, beating a particular boss or dungeon on elite, obtaining a certain level of favor from one of the factions, etc.....

[Sinni]

/signed

i was always wondering why it still isn't in the game...

and after the outfit stuff they can proceed and add the music system. i don't know how many hours i invested into that.
for those who don't know: in LOTRO you can take an instrument and play notes, either by hand or as "playback" from a textfile that says what note should be played how long (ABC notation). if you use the playback you can synchronize several players, each playing another instrument (or several the same) and different tracks. so if you got a few people and the right files you can play amazing songs.

[AestorTheKnight]

I don't know if I'm a fan of the idea of showing a different armor fashion than the one you're actually wearing, simply because it'll go back to everyone looking the same again...

Err what?

[Consumer]

Err what?

Most of the armours in this game are either ugly, unimpressive or bland, if you give people the option they'll pick the limited good looking ones leaving many people still looking the same.

[AestorTheKnight]

Most of the armours in this game are either ugly, unimpressive or bland, if you give people the option they'll pick the limited good looking ones leaving many people still looking the same.

Alright, thats a fair point. But at least it would add much much much more variety than there is at present

Armour dyes would also be a massive improvement in this regard - ok the people are wearing the same skins - at least they could have different colours.

[Uryamore]

Everyone with full plate, from normal to +4 will don the +5 look just for the "coolness" factor.

If they can't equip the +5 yet, they wouldn't be able to put it in a cosmetic slot. Also, why would everyone look the same? Have you considered that maybe people have different fashion preferences? In LotRO, not everyone goes around looking the same, or even looking the same for a given class and level, because some people would rather show a baker's apron as they slaughter goblins.

[Ormindo]

/signed for sure.

[sirgog]

I don't know if I'm a fan of the idea of showing a different armor fashion than the one you're actually wearing, simply because it'll go back to everyone looking the same again. Everyone with full plate, from normal to +4 will don the +5 look just for the "coolness" factor. Instead I think, first, we should be able to see what the armor looks like before purchasing it. Second, maybe instead we could have two equipment slots, one for combat and one that's strictly fashion based. Anyone who's played the Perfect World games knows how extensive you can get with pure fashion items

+5 Full Plates don't always look the same.

I'd like to have the appearance of my old set of Black Dragonplate Armor on my current Dragontouched Shroud.

[TiranBlade]

I love this Idea and would love to give my character a long brown coat as his outfit rather than the platemail he has now.