Maybe they are going for the intimidation factor and society status.......but that's if this was real life. And real life is too real, so lets just have fun with it and stop complaining.
I suppose that is the problem with developing a virtual world versus a real world.Bad Jim said:I think ornate armour is okay as long as:
1) It's restricted to important people. Fancy armour is a status symbol. If common soldiers could afford it, it would no longer be a status symbol and in fact no-one would wear it. Colourful uniforms are okay, as they serve a function, allowing units to be identified from a distance. If all soldiers are nobles, they can all wear ornate armour, but there can't be 50,000 of them.
2) It's not compulsory. Ornate armour was custom made, and those who got it could choose their own design. The player should therefore not be required to wear ridiculous looking armour just because they need the plusses late game. There should be some plain, high level armour. Ideally, it should be customisable, but since that adds a lot of work for the dev team, they don't have to.
3) Features that would clearly be detrimental to performance should not be included, unless the armour is strictly ceremonial. Big spikes would be a liability, some peasant would jam his pitchfork into them and the wearer would be unbalanced. And if a woman wants to be nigh indestructable while wearing very little, she must use magic or advanced technology. Pretending that a metal bikini could offer her real protection is just silly.
Because Dwemmer take a great deal of pride and personalisation in armour and weapons, because elven armour is poncy and they make things as much ceremonial as anything else, orcish armour isn't ornate and is based on the samurai style, because Daedric armour is horribly warped hellspawned metal forged with the blood of Daedra. Iron armour is semi rusted and bashed up, leather, studded and hide is not ornate and Nord Steel has runes around the wrists and boots because thats what vikings do. Also Rule of Cool.A Weakgeek said:I don't want to fill this topic with 100% opinion based... OH SHIT I cant! Armor in fantasy is so freaking hideous 70% of the time. I mean in RPGs usually the weaker armor looks alright, and by alright i mean actually functional. But! The better it gets it starts to have more brighter colors , more freaky spikes and some times it just becomes a unbearable eyesore that resembles more some kind of art relief than a suit of armor. I mean for the most time its because the armor is made by elves and stuff and it should look different, but in most games its taken way too far!
Take skyrim for example: The first light armors are hide, studded hide, leather and scaled armor. These to me look good, and also look like LIGHT armor. But as soon as I get glass/elven/dragon armor start to realize that not only are they not visually appealing but there is nothing that looks LIGHT in them. They are just as heavy looking as the heavyarmors. (And i know they are supposed to be made from some special light material but my point still stands) Elderscrolls has had these atleast for 3 games now, so its understandable to a degree. But when most fantasygames are like this it makes me a very sad gamer. Dont know what started this trend but i know for sure that WOW atleast helped to make it mainstream.
So apart form my venting, What do you think? Do you like the "Complex" design of armor, or are you like me who likes them just a tad more simplistic looking?
EDIT: Removed the word realistic, because people grabbing that and calling me a retard.
Yet, he implied that something becoming mainstream is bad by itself. I thought that in The Escapist saying something like that would mean death by firing squad.Hobonicus said:I say you overreacted because he specifically said "WOW atleast helped to make it mainstream" and you ignored the word "helped" in favor of spite. WoW is the most mainstream fantasy video game ever made, it most certainly helps establish what is popular in other fantasy games. That's how pop culture works. He wasn't insulting WoW at all.
I don't know, look at these so called "failed states" where the life expectancy is in the mid-30's, they wear tattered clothes, things held together with patches and just straps for magazine/grenade pouches.Mrhappyface 2 said:I've always thought "armor" looks hideous in post apocalyptic settings. It's like everyone wears a mixture of leather fetish gear/Hot Topic/auto parts.
I mean look at this stuff!