What's *with* the female armour kits?

[ceiswyn]

But will people buy a cosmetic item if it looks like proper class atire?

I would totally spend TP on normal-looking armour if it had a striking design or came in black. (Maybe with a subtle but tasteful design in a contrasting shade of, err, black.) Or bright-shiny-white for paladins. Or if it were a monk outfit that wasn't baggy. Ooh, or how about non-medieval-Western armour designs? Chinese lamellar armour, Japanese Samurai armour, even Roman segmented plate - they could all look pretty cool.

Item appearance has never been sex-linked before. Why've they started now?

[DaSawks]

How did I know that this thread would hit the gutter fast. Female armor is not realistic. Hummmmm. That was wierd. I though this was a game. Art is in the eye of the Beholder. No pun intended.

[Dartwick]

Could we get at least 1 armor kit that made the women look pretty much naked?

maybe it could look like a pair of low boots - or even just ear rings.

[Lleren]

I would totally spend TP on normal-looking armour if it had a striking design or came in black. (Maybe with a subtle but tasteful design in a contrasting shade of, err, black.) Or bright-shiny-white for paladins. Or if it were a monk outfit that wasn't baggy. Ooh, or how about non-medieval-Western armour designs? Chinese lamellar armour, Japanese Samurai armour, even Roman segmented plate - they could all look pretty cool.

Item appearance has never been sex-linked before. Why've they started now?

I would love to Rock some Lorica on my Barbarian.

So I looted it, its good Armor =D

[Kelavam]

[QUOTE=dunklezhan;3512843]

agreed, +1

really annoyed me in WoW that the same armour on a woman suddenly became midriff showing skin tight stuff instead of the bulky plate on a male toon. One of the thing I loved about DDO was that it was immediately apparent that the armour was armour.

I'm a guy, by the way. I play a lot of female toons. I like girls. I like it when girls beat on stuff with large swords, or call down fiery death from the heavens. I don't know why, I just do, ok. Stop looking at me like that.

Hah.. You guys need to stop making me laugh out loud at work - i am going to get in trouble.

One of the things I liked about DDO when I first started was the fact the women did not look like hookers. I am sad to see that this is the way it is going. Every other MMO I have played in the past the women look like they should be standing on a street corner instead of blowing up orcs.

I do like the distraction bonus idea though. Hookerish armor automatically acts like a hypnotism spell.

[Alabore]

I don't like the message that the +5 Skankplate is sending.

+1 cookie for making me chuckle.
Skankplate... eh.

Rants aside, I totally want to see a major revamp to the character creation system.

So do I.
And other players too - if comments from the Lamannia forum are of any indication.


I agree with the general opinion here: DDO armour used to look like that, armour.
I don't really know what got in devs/artists' minds when they made these new kits.
I tried them on my character and I felt embarrassed.
I am one of those crazy individuals who tends to do some rp in his head, and I kind of identify myself with my characters - or at least some aspect of theirs or another.

The problem is not with revealing armour.
The problem is with inequality: armour should be equally revealing - maybe with some adjustments for gender differences - so I can choose.
The moment you have bulky plate for males and chainmail bikini for females, you're basically courting the lowest common denominator.

It almost feels like marketing dept. suddenly found out sex sells - internet is for p0rn, as the saying goes... - and devs duly obliged.

[Draccus]

Put me in the minority, then. It's a fantasy game and I like seeing scantily clad females in showy, unrealistic armor. It's as much a part of medieval fantasy games as trolls and dragons and magic swords and fireball spells. And my wife doesn't mind it either.

So cheers to Boris Vallejo, Frank Frazetta, and the DDO armor designers!

[Loromir]

Could we get at least 1 armor kit that made the women look pretty much naked?

maybe it could look like a pair of low boots - or even just ear rings.

Myabe something like Princess Leah wore when she was a prisoner of Jabba. Nice.......

[Kominalito]

the armour was armour.

not to derail the convo (which i agree with) but i remember saying this about the cosmetic discussion when it was petitioned. and the argument is precisely the opposite here. people FOR the cosmetic kits do not want armour for armour. they want to wear jammies, and look like they wear plate.

i just think its funneh that we have gone full circle mobeus on the subject.

[rest]

You could always.... not purchace the armor kits, and continue for your female characters to wear "real" looking armor.

I personally don't see the point in armor cosmetic kits that are

• ugly
• expensive
• bound to THAT PARTICULAR ARMOR
• hooker-esque

There are much better places for me to go when I want to be titillated by clothing, or the lack thereof.


I would have loved to be able to apply the skin from one armor to the stats of another. I would even pay for it. Or copy the LOTRO idea with a "functional" armor slot and a "cosmetic" armor slot, as long as they were the same type of armor (heavy, medium, light or cloth) But these ugly armor kits mean I won't buy them.

[Tharlak]

Put me in the minority, then. It's a fantasy game and I like seeing scantily clad females in showy, unrealistic armor. It's as much a part of medieval fantasy games as trolls and dragons and magic swords and fireball spells. And my wife doesn't mind it either.

So cheers to Boris Vallejo, Frank Frazetta, and the DDO armor designers!

^This^

[TeyaBrosna]

Speaking as a girl gamer, I have to say that I don't really mind the sexiness of the new armor kits...I just wish we had more new choices than that. I agree with a lot of the previous posts that the fact that armor looks like ARMOR in this game is one of its strong points. Being a girl, I'd also love the option of having something pretty to wear now and then, but surely there has to be a balance between something that looks lovely and something that looks like I just escaped from Jabba's clutches.

I really like the ideas others put forward about having class-appropriate garb...surely some of that gear can be attractive and at least somewhat utilitarian?

[Alabore]

not to derail the convo (which i agree with) but i remember saying this about the cosmetic discussion when it was petitioned. and the argument is precisely the opposite here. people FOR the cosmetic kits do not want armour for armour. they want to wear jammies, and look like they wear plate.

I remember that.
Feels almost like devs corrupted a wish to show us how wrong we were in the first place.



...

I am guessing the problem is a bit different here: people wanted robes/outfits to look anything but, because they wanted more variation in appearance.
This is exactly the opposite: some players wanted outfits to look like plate, and devs gave us plate that looks like spandex.

...

I really like the ideas others put forward about having class-appropriate garb...surely some of that gear can be attractive and at least somewhat utilitarian?

+1 rep cookie about sexy yet utilitarian armour.
How do those pants even stay up?



...

Speaking of sexy, I'm torn: what devs elected as sexy does not really bell a ring for me.
I love detailed outfits, with belts, buckles, pouches, sheaths and whatnot - with some key revealing areas.
A bare midriff with long pants and exposed pubes feels more appropriate for a sci-fi virtual reality disco lounge.
Sexy in fantasy, even "steampunkish" fantasy, is a different matter, by two or more leagues.

[madmaxhunter]

[QUOTE=Kelavam;3513931]

Hah.. You guys need to stop making me laugh out loud at work - i am going to get in trouble.

One of the things I liked about DDO when I first started was the fact the women did not look like hookers. I am sad to see that this is the way it is going. Every other MMO I have played in the past the women look like they should be standing on a street corner instead of blowing up orcs.

I do like the distraction bonus idea though. Hookerish armor automatically acts like a hypnotism spell.

Problem is 90% of the creatures in DDO would not be impressed by the outfits... okay, maybe a horc female in a bikini would fare well

[FoxCourier]

[QUOTE=madmaxhunter;3514418]

Problem is 90% of the creatures in DDO would not be impressed by the outfits... okay, maybe a horc female in a bikini would fare well

Augh.

Ogre cheerleaders.

Thanks for making that image resurface, you jerk. D:

[Kelavam]

[QUOTE=FoxCourier;3514425]

Augh.

Ogre cheerleaders.

Thanks for making that image resurface, you jerk. D:

I was misquoted!

That is a rather unpleasant thought.. *shudders*

[Trillea]

And beer. Don't forget the beer

Naah, that's what the dog's for.

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

[Alabore]

I was misquoted!
That is a rather unpleasant thought.. *shudders*

Not just a thought:

-> http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_...er_445x319.jpg

Open at your own risk.

...

That must be the ONE case where rule 34 does not apply...

[Swedishchef]

1 It is a game, not RL
2 Turn off the **** skin then and use your original armor
3 If you worrie about the kids, well they have the discovery channel and possibly national geogrphic aswell
4 Did i mention it´s just a game, if some dirty bag is going off from how a toon in a game looks then they, whom ever they may be, have some serious issues
5 Stop beeing so **** 1800 and live a little.

[Geodude07]

yep armor is largely boring for females. I mean I am sure some want to look sexy but there is no need for every single cosmetic to have exposed body when it is heavy armor. I mean I can understand an outfit being a bit exposed or a light armor to have that...but heavy armor should look heavy.

If a girl is supposed to be kicking butt in armor thats what it should look like, instead the armor kits make them look like tools.

I mean yeah you dont have to buy it, but it is disappointing to see if you wanted to change the armor you had to look nicer and instead realized all you could get was some bikini mail