Arbiter d'Phiarlan, the Weaver of Guises [omni-cosmetic system suggestion]

[Valerianus]

A cosmetic closet is one of the most requested features, and i was thinking, after all, why suggesting or developing one when we can instead think bigger and directly jump to the next level, hoping whatever next level is not impossible to do?


*** The intro, or about how to make it plausible whatever "plausible" means in a heroic fantasy videogame setting ***

When we think about Phiarlan, it evokes mastery of subterfuge and illusions, but also art. And we can see a nice example at the Livewood Theatre. Art and illusion. So let's imagine now, the master of these arts, the one considered the arbiter elegantie of Stormreach, this elf can be found where he always is, in the theatre backstage, where he works and craft costumes, scenes, mix of real and illusionary works of art for what he loves, for the theatre shows. Out of love and passion for his work, he'll be glad to assist the adventurers in looking good even while crawling into the most dusty and dirty sewers and ruins. He will craft and weave around you a Guise, a disguise part real and part illusion, like he does for the stage, actors, musicians, the lights, the sounds, and so on.

He is Arbiter d'Phiarlan, the Weaver of Guises.


(this is some backstory if it is needed, a lot of players love when a fantasy world has some internal consistency even when after all the answer is always a variation of "you know, magic", it's something nice to have, i'd personally just add a dialogue option to open the interface i'm about to propose to the npc Aelonwy Maelodic , quite rightfully i say, since Arbiter d'Phiarlan, the Weaver of Guises sounds cool but Aelonwy Maelodic, Glamersmith and Designer sounds better and that npc exists for good reasons, i insist)


*** The concept, or about when it can get tricky but cool and hopefully not impossible at least not as a whole ***

The whole concept is about hack\override\expand the standard visuals or the cosmetics already equipped.

I was getting inspiration from that new-ish option, the "disable full character overlay effects". Cool feature, but it works only for how you see yourself, limited but hey, better than nothing. So i was thinking...i am saying the game not to show e.g. the elemental form when it is on....cool even if it works for me only...and the standard cosmetics are something that overrides what you wear. Why can't we put these 2 concepts together? Is it possible to have a system used to instruct the game about how your character looks for everyone and at the same time go beyond the concept that a cosmetic is just something to wear?

I imagine this interface and an npc to separate the whole thing from storage and inventory, because all of this is not based on items to equip, but on selections in some interface. Something like the monster manual, i say this because it has dropdowns and a graphic window. You select the looks of this and that and you get the preview. With my less-than-zero tech knowledge but some imagination, i am asking, what if such a system can be used to hack\override the current one (that can of course still exist) and all its limitations to give us more cosmetic categories? i mean, we know that some cosmetics have like the same base look and then get additional layers\accessories, i am tinking about some cosmetic armors light\medium\heavy. Also we know that some random gen armors are actually a really interesting mix of themes from like 2 different cosmetic sets. What if we had the option to customize the wholeness of elements? layers? channels? accessories? and beyond: auras? forms? buffs? all the stuff that do not exist "physically" in game as a cosmetic to equip but exist behind the scenes as stuff to visualize, stuff that is there already, somewhere. In the end, an interface to control all of this visuals of course in a pure cosmetical way. Example, you like a blackguard evil paladin concept. It does not exist in game, but you, like, get your hands on some evil looking black armor and a "shroud of the lich" cosmetic. Not the real pale master form, just the cosmetic. Maybe add cosmetic demon wings like the ones from divine purpose: fallen? Now you look pretty evil. Yay. Just pretend not to be lawful good and you are set.

Ideally this will allow us to "dye" our stuff, but the dye is not an item to be applied, is an option unlocked. Anyway, consider that this idea embraces all, from a simple armor cosmetic to some perma green fireshield cosmetic effect, from making you weapon look like a plain longsword to float like a ghost without being one, but no black shroud if you fancy a golden one instead. Would it be possible to make a gnome look like an orc with tielfling horns? Or have a tabaxi with no tail?
Another example may be the option to redo your face and change hair style, atm you can do it only via reincarnation. Instead of changing how tr works, you override your looks. New hair styles\colours? No need to change the base races, unlock them in the system and apply them.


*** The market, or why imho will sell nicely ***

I'd make this a free feature, but obviously with no spending will be pretty limited, like, to some randomgen looking sets and basic hairs\beards. Still decent compared to some randomgen patchwork if you have no cosmetics. Imagine cosmetics being sold individually and in bundles. It may accept shards, ddo points, or even glamerdust to recycle and convert old cosmetics, or all three. I'd make most of the stuff unlocked for vips, as an extra vip perk, there can also be some vip-only specials, also vips may be able to open the interface via menu and not npc. The others can buy individual cosmetics, like we do\mirror now, or even the bundles, like, e.g. the sharn closet: all the already existing really nice visuals of named armors and weapons unlocked for your account, and retroactively, if you got some ultimate bundle expansion you get the special cosmetics, a bundle added to the system. The future expansions may offer cosmetics in this fashion, not physical copies to hand out but unlocks in the interface. Not even needed anymore to hand out copies.
Bundles and single items not available in the ddo store, but available into the interface itself, this is why i said to make it a free feature, cause in my imagination it has as already said a preview window, and you can see the stuff you don't own but grayed out but hey, you are showing it to me and letting me preview it and selling it in the same place and i can impulse buy...like...a shop, where you are selling tunics, armors, helms, accessory layers like rings, earrings, backpacks, belts, cloaks, elemental forms, undead forms, floating forms, wings, goldskin visuals, races, hairs, dyes, whatever visuals the game already has, this is also the point, stuff that is there already, and future ones, without the need to create items that occupy space, just entries in a menu to instruct the game to stick em on our characters. There are so many nice models the art department made in all these years, sell them. Show them, and sell them. All now old stuff, like alchemical weapons, or the borderland barter weapons, this stuff has really cool models, show them, preview them, sell them.

Note, you are not only selling the visuals, you are also selling the "none" visuals !!!

I'd buy asap e.g. a "none" form visual. i like cosmetics and if i play e.g. a sorc or a druid in elemental form...it covers it all. I hate when i get e.g. a stoneskin because it covers it all. I'd buy asap both "none" visuals for this effects to override them with a none, and make my look immune from them, no one will see them on me.


*** Addendum, or go overboard ***

Another wild dream is to apply this system also to mounts, druid\arti\pm pet, hirelings.
Anything you want to add here? Ideas?





What do you people think? i'm curious about any kind of feedback, good and bad alike.

Thank you!

[Altra]

I love cosmetics, but no place to store them, so I suffer with whatever stuff normally looks like. I keep one cosmetic armor if something I loot looks really, really bad.
I think this is great, change your look without taking up storage!

[Valerianus]

I love cosmetics, but no place to store them, so I suffer with whatever stuff normally looks like. I keep one cosmetic armor if something I loot looks really, really bad.
I think this is great, change your look without taking up storage!

yeah, not taking up storage! and another improvement past the closet concept would be....closets, like e.g. lotro, usually works as a shared bank, they have limited slots. you will run out of space anyway, sooner or later, if you are a cosmetic lover. even if you buy all the slots. and for a cosmetic lover is a tragedy to trash something to make place for more. this way, like a menu, it's all there on display account-wide...and you can safely push people on a shopping spree with no storage limitations hehehehe also not only for a dress, but also, like, lipstick colour. or a different beard...

or "turn off the visuals", it's there but no one see it, of some horrible backpack that ruins it all.... https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Cormyr...agonhide_Armor or just visualising another accessory instead of that