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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Turn off cosmetics
superhero6785
Member, Alpha Two
I found some old discussions from several years ago about turning off cosmetics, nothing definitive. Figured I'd bring it up again since it's been a while.
One thing I loved about 'old school MMOs' is being able to see people's gear and know they earned it. If I'm not mistaken, I think Intrepid is taking a 'halfway' standpoint by locking cosmetics to 'equivalent tiered' gear. So you at least have to earn a piece of gear of equal value to then apply the cosmetic. It would still be nice to be able to turn off others' cosmetics so you can see the gear they ACTUALLY have equipped.
What's everyone's current view on being able to disable cosmetics in the settings?
One thing I loved about 'old school MMOs' is being able to see people's gear and know they earned it. If I'm not mistaken, I think Intrepid is taking a 'halfway' standpoint by locking cosmetics to 'equivalent tiered' gear. So you at least have to earn a piece of gear of equal value to then apply the cosmetic. It would still be nice to be able to turn off others' cosmetics so you can see the gear they ACTUALLY have equipped.
What's everyone's current view on being able to disable cosmetics in the settings?
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Comments
I don't think this is a good idea.
If Intrepid gave us this option, turning cosmetics off would instantly become the meta, since being able to see players' exact gear gives you an undeniable competitive advantage. (Something something players will optimize the fun out of the game.)
If turning off cosmetics (including transmogs) was the meta:
1. It could severely reduce Intrepid's income from the cosmetic store, as the strongest incentive for your average player to buy a cosmetic, is to look good in front of others. (One could argue that some care more about looking good for themselves, but I'd be surprised if this was more common.)
2. It could make the transmog system almost completely useless. Potentially ruining the game for players who consider fashion to be the "true end-game".
3. It could cause issues with the 100k+ people who bought exclusive cosmetic packs, knowing that they will be able to show off their cool items to others. I don't even want to think about the PR and legal shitstorm this would unleash on Intrepid.
This would be a dream come true for you, me and many others, but a nightmare for Intrepid and the majority of players.
Supposedly the best cosmetics will still be earned in game, so seeing them will still let you know they earned them.
Like Garren and Tyrol said, a shitstorm would ensue if you could turn off cosmetics.
Just show them like this.
So cosmetics can be a actual in-game "win/advantage" scenario.
Interesting.
When you transmog your gear to look a certain way, you do it because you're projecting an outward appearance, at at least in part thats what motivates most people chasing skins. Knowing that people might not see it, lessens the rewarding social feeling of showing that off.
They just need to make sure there are really cool skins that are earned through hard work or challenge in game.
I would buy them just for my character, to add variation, if it is immersive.
My concern is that players what so much to have certain cosmetics and the developer to sell them, that the world immersion gets destroyed. I would pay a bit more just to get my immersion back.
This is the correct answer.
The whole point of cosmetics is showing off your appearance. Allowing players to toggle your appearance waters down that achievement (or purchase).
Cosmetics aren’t pay-to-win … no matter how much players try to bend logic otherwise.
You can look up the definition of pay-to-win online.
Don't you mean "Transmogs" ? Because no matter if a Skin is a (Shop)-Cosmetic Skin, or a Skin from another Item on the actual Item you wear,
what You mean when shutting things off is the Possibility to simply see the normal Gear of that Person without anything transmogged onto it, right ?
Because why stop only at Cosmetics ?
This would be really hurtful though, if People could have their Cosmetic Looks only during a certain Level Range
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Guild is " Balderag's Garde " for now. (German)
That being said, I am absolutely aware that this discussion has been going on for so long that change in the system will only happen if it turns out to be broken during the Alpha 2. So what I would like to see is dedicated tests of the transmog/cosmetic system. This could be done through organised PvP events with and without transmog available in the combat zone.
Here is what I think would be a compromise many could live with:
Option 1: In non-PvP zones (I guess Freeholds & Nodes that are not sieged) everyone should see the applied cosmetics/skins/transmogs of everyone. In areas where PvP events take place, skins should not be applied to the characters of other players we see, while we ourselves can still see ours.
Option 2: If Intrepid defines skins/cosmetics as an "in world" thing rather than a feature for players, there could be items that allow players to see the actual gear someone is wearing, this would mean that player would need to use time, effort, ingame money & a gear slot (missing out on potential stat gains through a different gear piece) to negate the effects of the "visual enchantment" that is the skin/cosmetic, making this feature part of the risk-reward / trade-off system underlying Ashes.
Side note:
I think there is one scenario that I haven't thought about until today: What if skins and cosmetics could only be applied as sets? > In such a scenario I would be less worried about cosmetics as they'd be much easier recognizable as a cosmetic.
The idea is interesting. But for the sake of Intrepid, I would probably not. Some people buy cosmetics for themselves, some buy them to look cool infron of others. I think there is an argument to be made, that the sales would be lower, if people could turn it off. I want Intrepid to earn big money doing this. I said in another thread earlier. AoC, is the last big, old school mentality MMO, that is made with love, for players. If this becomes a success, this will get seen and copied. Other studies might get money to make good MMOs again, because the business world is able to see a profit in it. It might just be me blowing it up, but I really do belive this. I have played MMOs consistently since UO beta, and I have seen the decline in quality.
At this point the best solution is likely to make it such that no one can know what someone is wearing unless they tell them, and all we see are their transmogs.
Because if clicking on someone's nameplate and inspecting them gives them an advantage, that is such a lame gameplay loop. It should never be to someone's advantage to do something cumbersome, lame and boring. And it is the game designer's job to make sure that's the case.
The incentives to do things that give your character an advantage in the game should always be "the fun part" of the game.
And i am against cosmetics for: armor and weapons / mounts / skins that completely change the design of something that makes it unrecognizable on first sight and you have to check description to know what it is
The consequences of fully disabling all the sold cosmetics that go onto gear and mounts would probably be so large that it could ruin intrepids reputation and possibly their finances. While I kind of agree that not having gear and mount cosmetics would make things much easier, I don't think we can realistically hope for that.
Quietly add it then collect player data on how many switch it to "cosmetics off". Then widely advertise it as a
beta only feature then collect more data. Finally discuss it as a potential release feature and see how many make use of it. Collect data on when it is used, both in combat and out, as well as in the various combat flag states.
When enough data is collected then management can make the decision on whether or not keeping it as a release feature would substantially harm income.
Quietly add it then collect player data on how many switch it to "cosmetics off". Then widely advertise it as a
beta only feature then collect more data. Finally discuss it as a potential release feature and see how many make use of it. Collect data on when it is used, both in combat and out, as well as in the various combat flag states.
When enough data is collected then management can make the decision on whether or not keeping it as a release feature would substantially harm income.
There is plenty of data out there proving it's a negative idea. Like I said above, gaming industry is relying a lot on cosmetic shops to bring in revenue and increase growth. That is enough data for you. There's no need to test or gather data here. If it doesn't work for any other game, it will never work here.