On Saints Row 3 and it's pared down character creator

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Togs

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Dec 8, 2010
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Well as most of you probably know Saints Row The Third is being released in 2 weeks time and considering the last game alot of people are very excited.

However there is also there is alot of bellyaching going on as when Volition released its demo of the games character creator it became readily apparent that compared ot the last one alot of features had been removed, chief amongst these is clothes layering (i.e. in SR2 torso "slots" consisted of bra, undershirt, overshirt and coat- any item from any slot could be worn simultaneously with any other item from any other slot).

The response to this has been almost unanimously negative, Volition quickly released info explaining why- giving reasons that they used a different system that made it impossible whilst greatly improving the games performance.

Ive been trying ot work out why everyone (and Im including myself here) is so upset about this and Ive just had an idea.

If you think about in SR2 all the customisation was a means to an end- the end being a way of creating a strong emotional attachment to your player character, you could pretty much create any character you wanted and this served to make you identify with said character as you could decide so much about them, from the clothes they wore to the cars they drove to their ethnicity and what (if any) martial art they knew.

I think ultimately that this is the root of bitching- everyone is worried that as the new iteration doesnt allow for the same degree of customisation that it won't foster the same level emotional attachment, one of things to me at least that made the last game.

But this is where the crunch happends- few if any of us have played the game and fewer still have played it for any length of time, we can't know for sure if this is the case or if it is the case if the same ends is reached through a different means- I know its conjecture at this stage but all the game footage Ive seen has shown the boss having a much greater degree of interaction through dialogue with the world around them, if there was another way of achieving emotional attachment this would the 1st way that sprang too mind.

So please guys can we reserve judgement until the game comes out, our fears maybe completely unfounded.

(Wow holy wall of text Batman, but I do hope you guys read this and give me your thoughts- do I have a point or am I just talking out my arse?).
 

everythingbeeps

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I'm someone who spent a LOT of my time in SR2 customizing my character. Driving around to stores to buy clothes, dashing off to the plastic surgeon every half hour to tweak one little thing, and just generally spending an idiotic amount of time with my character's appearance.

So yeah, I was pretty disappointed that SR3 took a step back.

However, SR3 still has a lot of customization options. It's got less than SR2, but more than most other games. So that counts for something, I think.

There's one thing I don't yet know about the game (I've been mostly avoiding previews); is the player-character in SR3 the same as the character in the previous two? Or is it a new character?

Because if it's the same, I'm gonna be pretty disappointed that we can't import our characters from SR2, at least their faces.
 

nyysjan

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Mar 12, 2010
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Lack of layers kinda sucks, lack of logos/patters/material choices is a minor annoyance, what bugs me the most is bad hairs and hats (no long dreads or the camo scarf).

Still, it is pretty decent imo, especially compared to most games out there.
 

WolfThomas

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Dec 21, 2007
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It's sucks I can't super customize my character, but on the upside there's way more stuff for me to actually roleplay a supervillain.
 

SageRuffin

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Dec 19, 2009
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I like meticulously editing my character so that he/she comes out exactly how I like, but I'd debate that the little Imagination Station is just a taste of the customizing options. I'm assuming you'll still be able to visit and buy new stores and whatnot throughout the game, so I'm not worried about it.

And if can't... well, shit.
 

everythingbeeps

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SageRuffin said:
I like meticulously editing my character so that he/she comes out exactly how I like, but I'd debate that the little Imagination Station is just a taste of the customizing options. I'm assuming you'll still be able to visit and buy new stores and whatnot throughout the game, so I'm not worried about it.

And if can't... well, shit.
I saw it stated somewhere (think there was even a link provided, but I didn't go to it) that Volition stated that the outfits in the Initiation Station constitute about 80% of what's available in the full game.
 

andreas3K

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As long as the clothes look alright and there's plenty of them, I'll be happy enough. I never really did anything cool with the layers anyway.
 

Jaloopa

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I found the initial customisation a bit overwhelming, and never really tweaked afterwards apart from a few new suits, so I'm not really bothered about this at all. As long as the gameplay is as outrageously over the top as ever I'm happy.
 

WolfThomas

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Dec 21, 2007
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Actually played with the editor all afternoon. I love it. Yes it has less options, it's not really the layering that annoys me as there is still a lot of choice, but more the lack of asymetry in some things (like eyes, they have real cool opaque eyes but you can't one with a normal eye).

But the characters you can make are far better than in the second, skin colours are better (you can have realistic looking Black characters again) and there's a whole range of crazy colours like pitch black, transluent blue and everything in between for creating zombies, demons and supervillains. The eye are awesome with normal ones, plus opaque, cat eyes and demonic void eyes. The costumes that are available are far more diverse with steampunk and matrix-esque costume, super hero skin tight suits to full bondage gear. Because it's all one piece it also looks a whole lot better too. There's also a whole variety of decent good looking formal wear and casual clothes for the normal character.

There's more stuff like scars, black eyes, freckles, dimples to things like lizard or leopard skin. There's so many compliments and taunts (thought the mens voices aren't as good as before).

It's good.
 

Lizardon

Robot in Disguise
Mar 22, 2010
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There seems to be more variety in the types of clothing and appearances but less customisation.

There also seems to a greater emphasis on the "wacky" options.

I'm okay with the changes, it's not worse than SR2, it's just different.

Although the British voice doesn't sound right to me, it's to gravely or something.
 

LawlessSquirrel

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I actually wasn't too bothered by the clothing limitations. I'm unable to create the exact kind of look I want, but I can get close enough that I'll settle.

That pretty much sums up the editor as a whole for me, actually. I can't seem to replicate my previous character with much accuracy, but it's not a bad editor in it's own right. It won't get me what I want specifically, but it's enjoyable nonetheless.
 

Amnestic

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Aug 22, 2008
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Daystar Clarion said:
The only thing that really annoys me, is that your hairstyle will change while wearing a hat.
That happened in Saints Row 2 as well, granted. My lass with long flowing hair switched to a neat ponytail once she donned her classic fedora.

Would be nice if they changed that, mind, just pointing out that it's not a new thing.
 

Saviordd1

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Jan 2, 2011
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I personally think the creator was just fine. I kinda miss the coats part but it didn't hinder me that much considering it quickly remade my character from SR2 without much incident.
 

Normandyfoxtrot

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Feb 17, 2011
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Eh, testing all those layers and the individual types for clipping and other graphical errors probably wouldn't have been very cheap.
 

iFail69

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Nov 17, 2009
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If I can be my London-accented moustache-totting badass, I'll be happy enough.
 

SageRuffin

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everythingbeeps said:
I saw it stated somewhere (think there was even a link provided, but I didn't go to it) that Volition stated that the outfits in the Initiation Station constitute about 80% of what's available in the full game.
Are they available in piecemeal setups? If so, then I'll be happy.
 

violinist1129

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Oct 12, 2011
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Zachary Amaranth said:
Why? Pretty simple. They took something away. Who really wants less from anything they buy?
True, but they made everything look tons better, and they added a lot on the more ridiculous side. As long as I can have blue skin and wear a pink tuxedo, I'll be satisfied :)
 

Something Amyss

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Dec 3, 2008
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violinist1129 said:
True, but they made everything look tons better, and they added a lot on the more ridiculous side. As long as I can have blue skin and wear a pink tuxedo, I'll be satisfied :)
Well, I'm happy for you, but a lot of people want a little more detail than that.