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[Player Feedback Request] Kaelar Female (3D model) - Feb 2022
Hello glorious community,
We’d like your feedback regarding the look and feel of the Kaelar female. We shared our most recent art of this race during the February Development Update livestream.
As a reminder, your feedback matters to us! For example: during Alpha One, players felt the Dünir race did not meet their expectations of a dwarf. Due to that feedback, we made adjustments to the Dünir race as mentioned in our September Development Update last year.
Kaelar Female
Kaelar race discussion from February Development Update livestream.
To help guide the conversation, here are a few thought starters:
We’ll be leaving this thread open for your feedback until the end of the day on Wednesday, March 16, so that we can begin compiling a report for our development team.
Everyone here at Intrepid Studios looks forward to reading all the great reactions to our latest character designs!
We’d like your feedback regarding the look and feel of the Kaelar female. We shared our most recent art of this race during the February Development Update livestream.
As a reminder, your feedback matters to us! For example: during Alpha One, players felt the Dünir race did not meet their expectations of a dwarf. Due to that feedback, we made adjustments to the Dünir race as mentioned in our September Development Update last year.
Kaelar Female
Kaelar race discussion from February Development Update livestream.
To help guide the conversation, here are a few thought starters:
- What do you like about the current art direction of this race?
- Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
- What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Kaelar female?
- Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Kaelar female?
We’ll be leaving this thread open for your feedback until the end of the day on Wednesday, March 16, so that we can begin compiling a report for our development team.
Everyone here at Intrepid Studios looks forward to reading all the great reactions to our latest character designs!
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Comments
The interesting thing with humans is the customization. To have a wide range of options to give everyone an option to make their Ideal self. A wide range of body types (if possible) and race types is the crowning achievement.
I think I speak for a vast majority of the community when I say I absolutely LOVE the art direction/style of the Pyrai. The same goes for the Vek. But a stark and persisting issue I see happening is that, while the other races don't necessarily look bad, they look like they are from a completely different game. When you look at all the races, whether it be concept or 3D, you can clearly see that the Vek/Pyrai have a similar art style, but different to the rest of the races.
I strongly, passionately believe that a unified art style is ESSENTIAL for a game. Of course, games should have a WIDE variety of aesthetics, but one should be able to see a character and identify its style and say, "yup, that's definitely an Ashes of Creation character." This can be done for many other games (i.e. League, Valorant, BDO, Archeage, etc.).
The Vek/Pyrai are unique, stylized without being too cartoony, and overall just very very polished. The rest of the races on the other hand, as mentioned, aren't bad, but are also quite bland. They lack a unique or interesting art style.
And so my suggestion is this: Please, please unify your art style/direction moving forward. I'm not sure whether this is true but it looks like the Vek and Pyrai concepts were designed by a completely different team, but everyone loves them. So please re-create the rest of the races in the art style of the Vek/Pyrai. It would give your game character, identifiability/uniqueness, and polish.
The model itself is well done, and I do like the Art style.
A) I like that if i wanted to play a humanoid there's a definitive choice
Q) Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?
A) I do like the direction. I think i'd prefer if there was a thing that defines Aela humans. I'm not sure what that could be, but "plain" human seems uninspiring.
Q) What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Kaelar female?
A) Looks more polished and defined. I'd like to see variations in age/height/proportions and see if it looks good on that, too.
I have had mixed opinions whenever I revisit the overall look of the face though. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's not anything specific and it's really bad feedback but I think at first glance the lips seemed a bit "duck-facey" but that could be nothing, it could even be the pose. I really need to see how we can vary this, change proportions etc. and perhaps a different "pose" for the idle face.
I like the details with the freckles even going to the shoulders and the idea that a freckle modifier could affect the whole body.
Do the eyes look symmetrical? Is it just the angle of the image? The right eye looks bigger than me but might be my mind playing tricks on me. But I like the actual look of the eye and the colour it really pops out.
I don't care TOO much for the underwear! Are there many records on authentic medi-evil underwear? Does Vera sit on a weird pants timeline? Who knows.
Based on the Py'Rai and the Vek - not only do I wonder how they seem to have evolved via some magical factor on Sanctus - world with no magic...but...
If that's the case why is the same not true for one of the sub-races of Human and Dwarf?
The area below the bellybutton looks like someone performed a c-section with a Zweihänder.
I don't like the underwear at all. Looks uncomfortable, and I have serious concerns about this causing chafing on various points, but especially between the cheeks on the back. This looks to me like it would become a pain to wear.
How about some comfy cloth underwear instead of what looks to be leather?
Bonus History Time about Medieval Cloth Underwear
You can look up terms like Lengberg Castle Underwear for more information
I'll give you a some links as well
15th Century Cloth Underwear
I'll include pictures
Around the eyes looks a little upset or unhealthy, but other than that it's a solid base model for a basic AF race.
Something I'd like to see in the character creator is a decent selection of Afro-textured hair options. So many MMOs offer just one Afro and one tight braid look, which often look pretty awful/unrealistic, and leave it at that. Hoping Ashes can deliver some great looks
But even if that doesn't happen.
Perhaps Kaelar include European, Indian, and Asian features, while Vaelune include African, Middle Eastern and Native American features.
I don't really care how they are mixed and matched as long as they are mixed and matched rather than just Kaelar are European and Vaelune are non-European.
I think the primary distinguishing distinguishing feature is supposed to be height. And the cultural (Kaelar v Vaelune) styles of armor.
Is there anything you dislike about the art direction for this race, and why?: The current humans have a stiff and lifeless feel to them. I'm getting too much uncanny valley. I'm not sure the best way to get away from that, but maybe all races need to look a bit more stylized or something. I know we're going for a realism feel but it gets weird when we're playing soulless and stiff dolls. Something about their eyes is giving off the soulless feel.
What are your thoughts on what was shown during the livestream for the Kaelar female?: "Same feeling as the dislikes"
Are there any specific Character Creator customizations you would like to see for the Kaelar female?: Underwear options. Boob&butt sliders. Non-human pupils, maybe like runic shapes within their iris or other abnormal eyes.
To sum up. There's something strange about the design of humans atm. Could be the general art style.
I think the rest of this model is pretty stellar.
This may sound shallow, but this is real world and I'm just being honest.
When you look at other games, especially those outside of the US. They are not afraid to make sexy male and female models. While I know this is not like those games and Ashes has its own direction its going... lets be honest with ourselves and understand that these games do extremely well and have player retention in large part because we as humans generally like attractive character models just like we like attractive partners in life. In addition to this, these games provide a plethora of cosmetics and such to emphasize this. This is in our DNA.
With that said, I do hope that the character customization allows for such models to include the "sliders" that I'm willing to guarantee most customers want. Please don't be afraid to allow for attractive character customization or unattractive for that matter if its what the player wants to create. Honestly when a customer can create a character they feel meets a criteria of their liking, they are happy, happy = a good game and retention. A game needs to accomplish this. Lets not get PC with this to a point its ridiculous given some of the recent events with other companies. Same goes for all the other races in their respective ways and art styles. Its called a character creator, because we want freedom to create.
The human model does look good from a technical standpoint, but I do think it is important to let gamers create the beautiful men, women or race they want to see. I know that the range of that is extensive, but we all know what someone generally means when they say attractive. I leave that up to your imagination.
The Kaelar are European, the Vaelune are Middle-Eastern. That has been the published plan since Kickstarter.
Keep in mind, it’s not only the physical features being influenced by real life cultures. They will also influence clothes, armor, weapons, gear, and architecture.
The Ren’Kai are supposed to have an Asian influence (though the latest concept art have seemingly abandoned that tact). The Py’Rai are supposed to have Native American influence.
I am glad they aren’t going for your idea of homogeny. That would be lame. Your suggestion is to remove any distinctiveness from the human races in the game, aside from “magical features”, which would make them no longer human.
Haha, yeah. Surprisingly for me, I hadn't really noticed until you pointed it out. I wonder if they'll be selling underwear cosmetics in the cosmetic store!