Dev Discussion #42 - Gear Color Customization

Vaknar

Glorious Ashes community - it's time for another Dev Discussion! Dev Discussion topics are kind of like a "reverse Q&A" - rather than you asking us questions about Ashes of Creation, we want to ask YOU what your thoughts are.

Our design team has compiled a list of burning questions we'd love to get your feedback on regarding gameplay, your past MMO experiences, and more. Join in on the Dev Discussion and share what makes gaming special to you!

Dev Discussion - Gear Color Customization
How do you feel about dying your gear? How far would you like the system to go? Do you prefer a full-color range that allows for some odd color combinations, or a more limited one that preserves visual fidelity and realism?

Keep an eye out for our next Dev Discussion topic regarding World Map Discovery!

Ludullu

Limited to whatever the gear's style is. Don't wanna see some neon green wooden shields or whatever.

mcstackerson

I feel dying is very important for customization which i feel is very important in MMOs.

I prefer the more limited one as long as it allows for all colors. I want to avoid the crazy neon colors but besides that, I think i should be able to tint my armor whatever color i want.

Luvik1114

It would be cool if you could chose the colors with a color wheel, using options like this: https://www.canva.com/colors/color-wheel/

Plutar

Limited dye sets for pieces. Based on the items original pallet, assign a set of dyes that can be applied. Provides the user with flexibility/customization but doesn't break the style/immersion

Roofian

I wouldn't like that others use colors that could ruin the fantasy, like fluorescent colors, or may be not fluorescent but pink, yellow, light blue, If ppl want to customize their look it would be better if you use the same system as WoW where you unlock the appearance once you get the original gear with the desire looking.

Kyuyan

I love BDO's version of gear dyeing where you can apply both a color and a type of material (leather, silk, metallic, etc) to an item as well as dyeing parts of each piece individually. But I also really like GW2's version of gear dyeing where you can just dye separate parts of a piece and some colors would appear slightly different depending on if an item was say... cloth vs metal. However as far as what colors would be available, I agree with

mcstackerson wrote: »

I feel dying is very important for customization which i feel is very important in MMOs.

I prefer the more limited one as long as it allows for all colors. I want to avoid the crazy neon colors but besides that, I think i should be able to tint my armor whatever color i want.

I would really like to avoid the absurd neon colors. But everything else is fair game in my opinion.

Anduin Kayvaan

How do i feel about Dying Gear?
I think in the modern world of gaming, more customization is required. Steven once said that he wants Ashes to be the most unique and customizable game out there to make every person able to enjoy the game and create things that are completely their own.

Dyes are the answer to that. Dyes give you the ability to have red, tan, gold, or whatever other color you want on your armor and weapons. It makes it unique and also allows for players to change gear colors to colors that fit them.

How far should the system go?
I believe that a few games have done a phenomenal job on dyes like ESO which had a wide variety of dyes that you could dye every piece of the armor with every piece having 3 dye channels.

Dyeing should be more than just changing the color on the cloth of a suit of armor, it should also be able to select the color of the metal, the furs, and the trims that go around.

Bring on the customization to allow us to change colors of things and truly be immersed in our own world.

The more options to dye different parts on a piece of gear the better.
ESO Example

GW2 Example


Full color or Limited?
There is arguments for both, on one hand I think neon colors are awful in fantasy settings but I also like the freedom of being able to select that.

Personally I enjoy the gritty colors but still having access to a full spectrum of colors but perhaps not having them so sparkly or bright.

Additional dye ideas

Mount gear dyeing. I think it would be cool to dye saddles, armor, and other things on mounts that are man made so it can match your armor.

Guild Dye schematics. Basically a guild can create a "Guild Dye Pack" that can be used on a set of armor and it will dye the armor/ gear in that guild dye pack color

Bot

I prefer a good balance of the two. It just depends on the style of the game. I believe Ashes has a more realism visual style, so I'd prefer to maintain that standard. I also do want extensive options for colors just for originality and the ability to morph gear into how you would prefer. I think a good balance is having at least 3 color variations (light, normal, and dark) for each color or an extensive color code available similar to one you see as default colors for Photoshop. I'd rather not see neon green clowns running around the map, so I do think the gear should retain some degree of the original texture to the color.

Grizi

I definitely agree that depending on the armor set, the dye choices should be limited to a specific range of colors. Definitely want to have a wide variety of choices, but like others have stated, not some neon pink on an earthly gear type. Keep the dye choices in line with the vibe and style of the gear, but have there be plenty of choices and combinations to choose from.

Maouii

I would like all the colors to be made with crafting, that the black color is not more difficult to get than another, and that the players are free to choose among all those that will exist, also on the skin.
and if some people want to look like a rainbow to be walking targets that's their business

Skallagrimm

All Colors not the neon one, it should be color my armor like i want, costumize my armor and my charackter, thats what i want, dont look like others. my own touch

Liniker

I would love to finally play an MMO with a full range of color customization in every gear/cosmetic including pet/mount gear, freehold buildings, ships and maybe even being able to dye our mount cosmetics, I just don't want to see crazy neon colors or rainbow sets, so not being able to change every piece individually, but only the color palette itself (with any colors) on All gear colors and especially, be able to change the colors for the cosmetic costumes!

I am really hopeful that me and my guild members will be able to use my guild colors in all our costumes, like for example in this costume:


we would be able change all the purple materials to green, and the plate armor to black (true black), but not be able to change the helmet to green, cheast piece to pink, gloves to blue etc, only the overall color palette

same with all the others costumes, being free to change the color palette to any color we want as long as its not neon or really strong colors and changing individual parts making a rainbow costume. This also applies to gear.

Also, Please, for the love of God: Do -Not- make important dye colors Exclusive for early backers, I know you promised exclusive dyes for Kickstarter people for example, not sure how will you deal with this (bad) decision, but at least don't give them Important dye colors such as Black, White, Gold... and not allow anyone obtaining those. Maybe give them a random color off-shade of red/yellow and let people buy/obtain Very similar colors, but not black/white/gold

Bayzul

I would like to see a full color range .. i personally like my gear to look more realistic but i wouldn't want to snuff out other peoples desire to be extra colorful and live their best lives in game .. with a full color range everyone can be what they want

Lash

I prefer them to match the material they are being applied to. Also I would prefer if they were tied to the profession system or exploration. I think them being consumable would make some colors more desirable if they were rare and locked behind a specific node being advanced. Makes the economy more interesting and allows for people to have some semi exclusive colors. However I would never sell colors as MTX or make them limited time only. There should always be a way to acquire a color even if it means a node siege.

Sunhawk

I am more in line with BDO's color dye system where each of the differing parts of the outfit from the trim to the cloth to the metal are separate parts. On top of that, they added different palettes that seemed to have material tied to them. So like you could have a piece of cloth, but with the dye from a certain column, the material was made to look more like leather or metal or silk and so on. I always thought that was a neat feature. You could have a certain set that someone dyed look completely different from another off of just material alone, let alone color. I always found it to be the golden standard of dye systems in my opinion.

_Ct_

I agree with most the sentiments here, most basic colors while avoiding the super bright non sensical colors. The more outlandish colors would be more tolerated if they were able to be added to minor parts of the gear (hilt, trim, socks, etc).

Westergard

https://youtube.com/watch?v=f-Iol2bOfog&ab_channel=HeroicFlamingo
The video details the GW2 dye and skin system pretty well so I included it for people who want to see.

I'd like to see the GW2 dye / skin system implemented. So far it's one of the most intuitive systems I've used. Every piece of armor has around 4 dye slots that color different details on the armor
Like
1 = buttons/metal bits
2 = outer
3 = inner
4 = decorations

The system makes sure you don't get penises drawn on a cloak and at worst you get someone who looks like their mum shagged a bird of paradise. While the account wide dyes and skins might not work for Ashes (cooks/alchemists could make money this way?) I think it would increase the longevity of the game. And especially for RPers and online fashionistas it would improve their experience a great deal.

Zettrex

My Thoughs

• Should be not be a full colorwheel.
• Should be INGAME achivement unlockable colors.
• Basic colors unlocked from start
• Several material varriants

Example of how to 100% do it ESO.
they have maybe one of the best systems to take inspiration from.

Evaolan

I'd love to be able to dye anything & everything, including outfits purchased from the shop. I'd either like a system like SWTOR, where you can buy very expensive crafted dye, but only need one to color an entire outfit with "match to chest" toggle or a system where you use crafted dye to dye a piece at a time, but with different dye channels for different bits of the item, such as fabric, stitching, piping, & buttons.

Wololo

I'd like to see pure colors like black / white being more rare then off-shades since most ppl aim to collect the pure colors for that clean look.
Its also realistic having to extract the darkest ink from a squid, the purest yellow from flower pollens, the most blendable vibrant red from dragons blood etc. Just in general more populair color = higher rarity.
Especially the dark black with the least light reflection should be rare since dye light reflection seems to matter alot in modern mmo's for the overal look. Just look at gw2, if you go full bright lightbar it actually looks cheap, let those colors be the easyest to get. (avoid neon though)

CareFreeCactus

Changing colors of my gear has taken a good chunk of my time in other MMOs and I love it.
It helps me match gear that normally does not work with my class or other gear sets. However I feel there are a few rules to follow.

1. Gear metallic and gloss should not be changed. Wood won't glow and metal will still have a shine to it.
2. I find myself dying my gear to the color of my abilities. Adding the ability to change the main color of your abilities would be fantastic!! Gives all classes the option to use all colors.
3. Make them easy to get or reusable. I'm not looking to spend half my savings on changing the color if my gear.
4. Not all parts of the gear need to be changeable, would be nice but not needed. Just the main sections of the gear similar to GW2 would be great.

Velein

The more dye channels we have, the better. It allows for players to express themselves in the style they want. However I do feel the channels should be different.

A channel for metal shouldn't have the same bright colors as a channel for cloth. Seeing bright purple metal may look strange and out of place, but bright purple cloth may look normal.

As for systems that I have seen that work: ESO, Wildstar, Rift, GW2. They all have [or had] good dye systems that gave freedom to look unique, but without going too crazy.

I do think dyes should be one-use, while having unlimited/reusable once you gain it is nice from a player standpoint, it is bad for a crafter/economy standpoint.

Dygz

Interesting question for Ashes, specifically.

I typically don't dye much. As some form of Rogue/Druid who loves Invis and the Shadows, I like to have black gear and will use black dye if I must.

I might be interested in racial dyes or Religion/Social Org dyes. Dyes that designate Node Type or Biome could also be fun, but...
I'm almost reluctant to suggest those with the penchant Ashes has for that hideous combo of pinkish-purple/green.

I think I might enjoy dyes that create a steam-punk aesthetic.

Lailesh1

I want a full Color palett, with all exotic colors. Becouse i like it

RyanTheSiren

Please:

a) Let us dye cosmetics, including pre-order ones. I wanna dye my red dress into a white wedding gown! I've seen you guys are hesitant on fully dyeable cosmetics and I think that's a shame as it heavily reduces their potential for RP/customization and thus inherently lowers their value.

b) Let us fully dye all of various parts of our gear, from the fabric to the metal adornments to the lining

c) Let us have access to a wide variety of colors and shades. I understand that bright colors might "break realism" but we also have an entire literal Underrealm that looks like it came out of the mind of someone on shrooms so I'm not sure why it would be unrealistic for people to have gear in similar colors to the bright neon flowers and crystals and mushrooms down there.

THEmightyCARL

Gear dyes are awesome and a must if you have the means to implement them into the game. However, it is just my opinion that you shouldn't go overboard with them. As cool as an army of rainbow highlighter soldiers sounds, the immersion lost isn't really worth it.

Keyozen

I am fine with the full spectrum, but in my opinion realism in a mmorpg looks and feels better for immersion.

I think full spectrum is the way to go as it gives players more options to customize their character.

That said I will kill every neon pink or whatever wierd color combination player I see.

PhantomKnight

I personally would love maximizing customizing I love individuality and seeing what everyone comes up with in their outfits colors and styles.

fully dyable cosmetics/outfits and gear should be a thing so we can design the layout the way we want with matching weapons. a color wheel would be an amazing addition to the game for customization instead of pre selected limited color options

in addition we can use color pallets for different ranks within guilds for group activities

Snekkers

I want advanced but limited gear coloring, i wanna customize colors very depply, but from limited color range

CROW3

I'm a big fan of armor / weapon / other gear / mount gear dying. I think the comment earlier about being able to pick material and pigment would be awesome. I'm open to full color wheel, but would find it understandable if the really exotic/bold/neon pigments would be restricted to accents (like buckles, brooches, feathers, etc.).

Examples of games with solid dye systems I enjoyed: Neverwinter, BDO, and ESO. I know GW2 had a lot of dyes, but I thought their armor art assets looked so awkward and shoddy it's hard to see their dye system out of that context.