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Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest news on Alpha Two.
Check out general Announcements here to see the latest news on Ashes of Creation & Intrepid Studios.
To get the quickest updates regarding Alpha Two, connect your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Egyptian Themed Cosmetic Pack
Yokai Theater
Member, Phoenix Initiative, Royalty, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
This is going to be a log one with lots of images for reference and I'll be going over each cosmetic piece so please forgive me.
If I had to say a pack that I would really want right now based off of a theme we haven't done yet I'd say an Egypt themed pack. I really love Egyptian mythology and I think if done right it could check a lot of boxes for a lot of different people.
Costume Cosmetic Skin: So let's start off with the armor cosmetic just because it’s the thing I’m going to be the most opinionated on and think they need to do right for the pack to work. It would be more of a light-medium set mostly being composed of gold and cloth, something you would more see maybe a mage wearing and would be on the more revealing side, not too revealing but also not too conserving. It would be one of, if not the most revealing sets we have had so far for both male and female characters (something like the “Garb of the Silent Hurricane” from the September 2019 cosmetic set).
They would both be about the same for the most part, A gold Egyptian style necklace/shoulder piece with the male version’s chest showing a lot more skin (almost the whole chest) and the female version covers anything above an “M” or even “T” rating with cloth/silk (similar to what you see with “Garb of the Silent Hurricane”). A egyptian skirts/belt thing for the legs made from gold and cloth/silk that goes to about the knee (for the female version you can have it be longer with a open end on one side to show a bit more leg on that side or have it just longer on one side / the back with the front / other side being normal knee length). From the knee to about the ankle have a kind of braided looking armor or a more stylized gold plate both with sandals on the feet. The armes would either be a few gold bands on the upper and lower arm or a more stylized gold plate arm guard going from elbow to the wrist (maybe a little bit covering the top of the hand). For the head I’m actually going kind of the going the opposite approached from the rest of the armor and this is honestly where more of my own personal preference comes in, In most games I’m never a big fan of helmets, hats, and headpieces (will get into this more in a separate post) so make it a full covering Egyptian style animal helmet of a Bird/phoenix (AoC’s God/Goddess of Creation) or a Anubis style jackal, if players want to they can toggle off the helmets and still keep the overall style of the armor so why not go full cover. Finally add some bandages but have them more form fitting, with some of the bandages hanging off and tattered. This gives it a little bit more edge and adds to the overall theme/style and can help cover a bit more skin if needed (feel that with this set the more revealing the better).
Being more revealing I feel helps gives more focus to people’s characters be it showing off muscle, tattoos (be they from character creation or from the tattoo system), fur, scales, giving people a little bit more of a sex apeal option, or even more of an edgey look and if we ever get am Undead/Lich racial skin (never confurmed but was talked about as a posibliaty in the past) I feel people will want more of the skin with the armor as an additive. (Also just to add, people have been asking for more sexy sets or more options for sexy sets for a long time now and sexy doesn't always need to equal revealing).
Accessory Cosmetic Skin: For a few of the accessories they take up slots of armor pieces slots and so you can’t use them with the Cosmetic Armor that’s sold in the packs (as far as I know you can because the armor in the packs is a full set and can’t be mix matched), I kind of disagree with this and feel that the accessory in the packs should be able to be used with the armor set so just don’t make the accessory an armor piece. Other than that I’m not too picky on what the accessory ends up being but sense I’m doing this might as well go all out. For an easy option you could do an Egyptian Ankh necklace or maybe a cloak of some kind (you can do a lot with a clock and it just adds to the overall theme especially if you make it a little tattered). But We don’t have any Weapon Skins really that I can think of other than the Shield of Reverence (from the April 2018 pack) and I’m not sure if there is a reason for this so why not do an Egyptian Style Staff.
Pet Cosmetic Skin: For the pets I think the thing that first comes to mind when I think Egyptian cosmetic pet is a bird of some kind like a Hawk or a Falcon but we already have those and really not what I want with this set ( we already have too many birds for right now I think anyway). I’m not a fan of the more golem pets we have so far either like the Bog Brute, Crystalline Revenant, and Guardian Nimbus so please no mummy pet. Going to be honest and say I would want an Anubis style jackal pet (this may be because I’ve been reading a lot Tomb Raider King) or you could even do a Egyptian style cat.
Mount Cosmetic Skin: So with the pet and the mount you kind of need to stick with Skeletons and Animations that Intrepid already has done and just so this is more realistic and my wish has a better chance of being fulfilled that's what I’m going to do but I do want to also throw in some cool ideas and some that I think/predict Intrepid mite already have planned.
So the one I mainly want is an Ammit mount, she is the Egyptian monster/goddess that would eat your heart if Anubis weighed the heart against a feather and it turned out it was too sinful. She is depicted as being part lion, hippopotamus, and crocodile and we already know Intrepid is making alligators and crocodiles because we see an alligator pulling the “Verdant Voyager” (Caravan from July 2020). You could also do an Ammit style animal for the pet if not for the Mount and it would still fit fairly well.
Another cool idea and this one is a bit tin foil hat theorycrafty is to have a giant snake mount of some kind and the reason I think this is doable is because we see a lot of snake statues in AoC in game looks at cities and in concept art, leading me to believe that we will see a giant snake in game.
Last would be a giant scorpion mount and you can do a lot with this from just a normal giant scorpion to one made out of stone and crystal. But sadly this one is the least likely because we don’t have any Skeletons and Animations that could be used for a giant scorpion or anything that would lead us to believe Intrepid is working on one.
I do kind of want to think of another mount that uses the Skeleton and Animations of the “Glimmering Geode” (from February 2019) but could not think of anything that fit this pack and there are others that I would want more.
Caravan and/or Ship Cosmetic Skin: So for each pack you either have a Caravan or Ship Cosmetic Skin, Intrepid never does both in the same pack and when you think Egypt I don’t think the first thing that pops in your head is ships. Nor do I think a historically accurate Egyptian ship would be very cool (I could be wrong) and it would most likely be on the smaller side so let’s go with a caravan skin.
Now you could just do an egyptian chariot pulled by horses, camels, or even undead/mummy horses (and yes that would be cool) but that’s not what I want. No what I want is something a little more out there, What I want is a stone construct elephant (a smaller one mind you, not the big one we have seen for group mounts) pulling a mini pyramid caravan or a sarcophagus kind of like the “Caravan of the Radiant Kingdom” (from February 2019).
Freehold Building Cosmetic Skin: Now this one should be the easiest right? Just do a Pyramid (maybe do a magic Pyramid where the top is levitating above it a little) and it’s almost criminal not to but there is just so much you can really do. Egyptian architecture is some of the most awe-inspiring and thought provoking architecture in the world (there is a reason the The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only wonder of the ancient world still in existence) and if you add a little bit of modern fantasy or sci-fi to the mix you can’t go wrong. So I really can’t say what one thing I would do for the freehold building and if I tried to list all the ones that come to mind this post would be WAY! longer than it already is but I will leave some pictures below that spark some ideas.
Closing Notes/Thoughts: As I’ve said I love Egyptian mythology and my goal with this pack is to hit a lot of boxes for a lot of different people. I think a lot of people share in my love for Egyptian mythology, by being more on the revealing side you have a set that puts more of a focus on the character with the armor more acting as a frame or accessory, because it is on the revealing side it gives people that more sexier option they have been asking for without being immersion breaking (in my opinion), you give people an edgy look (everyone loves a little edgy), and I would make the argument that nothing says Lich / Undead / Necromancer more than an Egypt theme (even though the words themselves have origin in old english and late latin) both historically and in modern fantasy / pop culture.
If I had to say a pack that I would really want right now based off of a theme we haven't done yet I'd say an Egypt themed pack. I really love Egyptian mythology and I think if done right it could check a lot of boxes for a lot of different people.
Costume Cosmetic Skin: So let's start off with the armor cosmetic just because it’s the thing I’m going to be the most opinionated on and think they need to do right for the pack to work. It would be more of a light-medium set mostly being composed of gold and cloth, something you would more see maybe a mage wearing and would be on the more revealing side, not too revealing but also not too conserving. It would be one of, if not the most revealing sets we have had so far for both male and female characters (something like the “Garb of the Silent Hurricane” from the September 2019 cosmetic set).
They would both be about the same for the most part, A gold Egyptian style necklace/shoulder piece with the male version’s chest showing a lot more skin (almost the whole chest) and the female version covers anything above an “M” or even “T” rating with cloth/silk (similar to what you see with “Garb of the Silent Hurricane”). A egyptian skirts/belt thing for the legs made from gold and cloth/silk that goes to about the knee (for the female version you can have it be longer with a open end on one side to show a bit more leg on that side or have it just longer on one side / the back with the front / other side being normal knee length). From the knee to about the ankle have a kind of braided looking armor or a more stylized gold plate both with sandals on the feet. The armes would either be a few gold bands on the upper and lower arm or a more stylized gold plate arm guard going from elbow to the wrist (maybe a little bit covering the top of the hand). For the head I’m actually going kind of the going the opposite approached from the rest of the armor and this is honestly where more of my own personal preference comes in, In most games I’m never a big fan of helmets, hats, and headpieces (will get into this more in a separate post) so make it a full covering Egyptian style animal helmet of a Bird/phoenix (AoC’s God/Goddess of Creation) or a Anubis style jackal, if players want to they can toggle off the helmets and still keep the overall style of the armor so why not go full cover. Finally add some bandages but have them more form fitting, with some of the bandages hanging off and tattered. This gives it a little bit more edge and adds to the overall theme/style and can help cover a bit more skin if needed (feel that with this set the more revealing the better).
Being more revealing I feel helps gives more focus to people’s characters be it showing off muscle, tattoos (be they from character creation or from the tattoo system), fur, scales, giving people a little bit more of a sex apeal option, or even more of an edgey look and if we ever get am Undead/Lich racial skin (never confurmed but was talked about as a posibliaty in the past) I feel people will want more of the skin with the armor as an additive. (Also just to add, people have been asking for more sexy sets or more options for sexy sets for a long time now and sexy doesn't always need to equal revealing).
Accessory Cosmetic Skin: For a few of the accessories they take up slots of armor pieces slots and so you can’t use them with the Cosmetic Armor that’s sold in the packs (as far as I know you can because the armor in the packs is a full set and can’t be mix matched), I kind of disagree with this and feel that the accessory in the packs should be able to be used with the armor set so just don’t make the accessory an armor piece. Other than that I’m not too picky on what the accessory ends up being but sense I’m doing this might as well go all out. For an easy option you could do an Egyptian Ankh necklace or maybe a cloak of some kind (you can do a lot with a clock and it just adds to the overall theme especially if you make it a little tattered). But We don’t have any Weapon Skins really that I can think of other than the Shield of Reverence (from the April 2018 pack) and I’m not sure if there is a reason for this so why not do an Egyptian Style Staff.
Pet Cosmetic Skin: For the pets I think the thing that first comes to mind when I think Egyptian cosmetic pet is a bird of some kind like a Hawk or a Falcon but we already have those and really not what I want with this set ( we already have too many birds for right now I think anyway). I’m not a fan of the more golem pets we have so far either like the Bog Brute, Crystalline Revenant, and Guardian Nimbus so please no mummy pet. Going to be honest and say I would want an Anubis style jackal pet (this may be because I’ve been reading a lot Tomb Raider King) or you could even do a Egyptian style cat.
Mount Cosmetic Skin: So with the pet and the mount you kind of need to stick with Skeletons and Animations that Intrepid already has done and just so this is more realistic and my wish has a better chance of being fulfilled that's what I’m going to do but I do want to also throw in some cool ideas and some that I think/predict Intrepid mite already have planned.
So the one I mainly want is an Ammit mount, she is the Egyptian monster/goddess that would eat your heart if Anubis weighed the heart against a feather and it turned out it was too sinful. She is depicted as being part lion, hippopotamus, and crocodile and we already know Intrepid is making alligators and crocodiles because we see an alligator pulling the “Verdant Voyager” (Caravan from July 2020). You could also do an Ammit style animal for the pet if not for the Mount and it would still fit fairly well.
Another cool idea and this one is a bit tin foil hat theorycrafty is to have a giant snake mount of some kind and the reason I think this is doable is because we see a lot of snake statues in AoC in game looks at cities and in concept art, leading me to believe that we will see a giant snake in game.
Last would be a giant scorpion mount and you can do a lot with this from just a normal giant scorpion to one made out of stone and crystal. But sadly this one is the least likely because we don’t have any Skeletons and Animations that could be used for a giant scorpion or anything that would lead us to believe Intrepid is working on one.
I do kind of want to think of another mount that uses the Skeleton and Animations of the “Glimmering Geode” (from February 2019) but could not think of anything that fit this pack and there are others that I would want more.
Caravan and/or Ship Cosmetic Skin: So for each pack you either have a Caravan or Ship Cosmetic Skin, Intrepid never does both in the same pack and when you think Egypt I don’t think the first thing that pops in your head is ships. Nor do I think a historically accurate Egyptian ship would be very cool (I could be wrong) and it would most likely be on the smaller side so let’s go with a caravan skin.
Now you could just do an egyptian chariot pulled by horses, camels, or even undead/mummy horses (and yes that would be cool) but that’s not what I want. No what I want is something a little more out there, What I want is a stone construct elephant (a smaller one mind you, not the big one we have seen for group mounts) pulling a mini pyramid caravan or a sarcophagus kind of like the “Caravan of the Radiant Kingdom” (from February 2019).
Freehold Building Cosmetic Skin: Now this one should be the easiest right? Just do a Pyramid (maybe do a magic Pyramid where the top is levitating above it a little) and it’s almost criminal not to but there is just so much you can really do. Egyptian architecture is some of the most awe-inspiring and thought provoking architecture in the world (there is a reason the The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only wonder of the ancient world still in existence) and if you add a little bit of modern fantasy or sci-fi to the mix you can’t go wrong. So I really can’t say what one thing I would do for the freehold building and if I tried to list all the ones that come to mind this post would be WAY! longer than it already is but I will leave some pictures below that spark some ideas.
Closing Notes/Thoughts: As I’ve said I love Egyptian mythology and my goal with this pack is to hit a lot of boxes for a lot of different people. I think a lot of people share in my love for Egyptian mythology, by being more on the revealing side you have a set that puts more of a focus on the character with the armor more acting as a frame or accessory, because it is on the revealing side it gives people that more sexier option they have been asking for without being immersion breaking (in my opinion), you give people an edgy look (everyone loves a little edgy), and I would make the argument that nothing says Lich / Undead / Necromancer more than an Egypt theme (even though the words themselves have origin in old english and late latin) both historically and in modern fantasy / pop culture.
5
Comments
What I mean is we got a roman theme cosmetic suite this month. I am pretty excited about a cosmetic other than the snail-boi for once.
I don't know if Egyptian is a aesthetic the in Ashes, but if it is I hope we get it too.
Egyptian is in my top five for ancient world themes.
This is my personal feedback, shared to help the game thrive in its niche.
just want to say this though, I despise wings on a playable character and similar things as a cosmetic choice in video games, and even as a traversable feature in MMORPGS.
as @vhaeyne mentioned, not sure if it meets the aesthetic design for ashes, but they do make a good point about the spartan Roman/Greek aesthetics for this cycles pre-order cosmetics. Noticed quite a few questionable themes in relation to immersion (hasn't really been fully revealed yet either to be fair)
(i put both roman/greek due to helmet flair similarities).
I generally am more partial towards undead, grim, life and death duality side of things as a preference for cosmetics and immersion.
good job though, pictures definitely bring it in to perspective
EDIT: despise sounds more negative than it needs to be. I do not like wings as cosmetics, I find them too favourable towards theme park styles outside of immersion design.
In regards to a traversable feature, it has to suit the game properly or it just ends up being hang gliders mechanics. I find the glider mounts more than enough for a game such as this.
also @vhaeyne house of batiatus! considering watching that series again, quite good from what I currently remember.
EDIT:
oh, i see the spartan roman/greek theme is empyrean inspired and influenced after revisiting the content provided in the root of conquest. that's the relation for that, lol my bad!
I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how you would respond.
This is my personal feedback, shared to help the game thrive in its niche.
Kaelar Humans - European influence
Vaelune Humans - Middle Eastern influence
Dünir Dwarves - Nordic influence
Niküa Dwarves - Polynesian influence
Ren'Kai Orcs - Japanese or Asian influence (never 100% confirmed just going off of 4-5 years of following the game and the concept art)
Vek Orcs - Mesoamerican influence
Empyrean Elves - Greco-Roman Imperialistic influence
Py'rai Elves - Navajo Native American influence
Tulnar - Supposedly will be a mix of all of them but we will have to wait and see, we don't have anything really on them as of now.
the Vaelune Humans with their Middle Eastern influence would fit the Egyptian theme but most of what we have seen of the Vaelune so far has almost all been Aladdin.