When I think of plate armor I don't think about it realisticly. I picture it being over 200lbs, one inch thick, and impervious to bullets somewhat resembling a knight's set of armor. Obviously it would be a pain in the ass to move in it nor would it have as many joints allowing swift movement but you'd literally be a tank.
Chain mail I picture as being less densely chained and wheighing less. But I notice how in MMOs chain mail doesn't really have that many chains on it to begin with. Maybe some chain dangaling under the shoulders or something but not a full piece.
QFT! When I think plate armor in MMOs (oor fantasy games in general(, I expect it to be a couple of inches thick so not everyone can wear it o.o and like..for chain mail I just think its a realy thin chain of metals
Edit : Off topic : Haiiiii justt1~~
The bunny returns! Hai, Castillle!
On topic:
I think similarly to you guys. I don't think of plate armor as QUITE so thick, but I do think of it as thicker than other armors, heavy, and not something that someone small could wear. It's for the big burly types or super athletic females even, but not for just anyone. I most often think of it as made with steel whereas I imagine chainmail being light and made with mithril. /shrug Don't know where I got those ideas for sure, but that's how I see it.
I've held these views on plate and chain for a long time. I don't remember where they came from initially.
The whole idea that chain is less restrictive than plate isn't going away anytime soon. It's a perfect example of the Coconut Effect. It's being done incorrectly, but we're all so used to seeing the wrong version that just about everybody would think "They got it wrong!" if it was corrected. It's why we continue to put noisy *PUNCH* sound effects in movie fight scenes, artificial mediciny smell in medicated creams, and a totally brown-grey palette in gritty FPSes. We perceive these familiar things as realistic and we object when they're not there.
Chainmails are in opposite to what most MMO devs seems to think actually both heavier and harder to move in than a plate mail. In have been proved again and again (if you want to see an example, see when they test them against each other in “The deadliest warrior – Jeanne Dárc Vs Wilhelm the Conqueror from a few weeks back).
Chainmail and platemail represent 2 different technologies and generally are chainmail primitive and offers a lot less protection. Platemail is a evolution of it that offers greatly improved protection and better movement. I own a chainmail myself and have tried out plate as well.
And yet in MMOs chainmail is a lighter armor often used by rogues or swashbucklers side by side with warriors using plate mail. It makes no sense whatsoever.
Sure, the Romans had both a breastplate and chainmail armors but the Roman breastplate were a lot more primitive than the 15- early 16th century plate armors that MMO plates are based on.
Why do some classes have acess to chain armor but not plate? It just makes no sense.
Didnt read all the treads but.
Chainmail was actually worn under platemail - this was full set of knightly armor.
Chainmail alone was cheaper more acessible. (Even by looting bodies of fallen soldiers)
Now while its true that chainmail is one heavy MF. ( I worn it myself. )
But it does give you superior maneuverability.
Plate was so bulky , you could not get up if you fall. And it was generally worn only while mounted on horse.
So that above could be one of the reason RPG uses chainmail as fantasy equivalent of roguish armor.
Plate was so bulky , you could not get up if you fall. And it was generally worn only while mounted on horse.
...
that's nonsense. plate was body armor designed for combat. any armor that gets you killed is not worth wearing. tournament jousting armor might have weighted more as it was designed for mounted combat, but field plate was the best armor money could buy that could protect you from most threats without limiting mobility. of course, you wouldn't win a running contest, but standing up was never an issue.
Plate was so bulky , you could not get up if you fall. And it was generally worn only while mounted on horse.
...
that's nonsense. plate was body armor designed for combat. any armor that gets you killed is not worth wearing. tournament jousting armor might have weighted more as it was designed for mounted combat, but field plate was the best armor money could buy that could protect you from most threats without limiting mobility. of course, you wouldn't win a running contest, but standing up was never an issue.
It might be misconception, or innacurate history presumptions.
But fact is that plate wearing infantry didnt wear plate leg protection.
Also
When we talk standing up. Its standing up quickly and easily.
Because no plate will protect you , if you need that extra moment of time to stand up.
are you aware that knights used to be hoisted onto their horses with rudimentary cranes because their armor was too heavy and cumbersome to mount by themselves?.....think about that for a second.
Chainmails are in opposite to what most MMO devs seems to think actually both heavier and harder to move in than a plate mail. In have been proved again and again (if you want to see an example, see when they test them against each other in “The deadliest warrior – Jeanne Dárc Vs Wilhelm the Conqueror from a few weeks back).
Chainmail and platemail represent 2 different technologies and generally are chainmail primitive and offers a lot less protection. Platemail is a evolution of it that offers greatly improved protection and better movement. I own a chainmail myself and have tried out plate as well.
And yet in MMOs chainmail is a lighter armor often used by rogues or swashbucklers side by side with warriors using plate mail. It makes no sense whatsoever.
Sure, the Romans had both a breastplate and chainmail armors but the Roman breastplate were a lot more primitive than the 15- early 16th century plate armors that MMO plates are based on.
Why do some classes have acess to chain armor but not plate? It just makes no sense.
Not all MMO follow that rule,Vanguard has chain and plate available to Warriors, PaladIn and Cleric plus Death Knights.
I can understand the desire for a game that's trying to mirror reality in medieval arms and armor, but that doesn't really interest me.
For me, the game is the determinant of what is light, heavy, gives more protection, etc. much more so than any real life comparison.
Come on. There are dragons and healing potions and spells that let you fly and all sorts of stuff that has no correlation to the real world .
Who's to say the plate mail in such a world is light, heavy, or gives this protection or that? I'm happy letting the world designers make those desicsions, and then making decisions about my character accordingly.
If they want to tell me that plate is lighter that chain, or heavier than chain, fine with me. Usually there's 10 kinds of chain and 10 kinds of plate anyway.
Chain Mail level 10 ight be vastly superior to Plate Male level 1, or vice a versa. There's usually some magic involved as well in the upper levels.
Originally posted by zymurgeist "Plate mail is the least bendy, but offers the most protection." Not true. Plate is actually easier to move in than heavy leather or chain mail with far superior protection. It's also difficult to make godawful expensive and must be fit to the individual.
Plate mail does not give you a full range of motion. Chain mail is much less restrictive in terms of how much you can flail your arms about, etc. For instance, you will not see anyone in full plate armor shooting a bow because the motion of their back and upper arms/shoulders is restricted by the armor.
Even if chain mail is heaver, both chain mail and plate mail are lighter than what U.S. soldiers currently carry into battle every day. Time and training would make up for a lot of the extra weight and mobility issues, so even in plate knights could move around very well. They did, after all, train their entire lives to do it.
A major difference in the two armors is that chain mail just hangs and plate mail is stiff. Plate could be made to feel lighter, even if it was heavier. It's like the difference between carrying an unconscious and a conscious person. They weigh the same, but the conscious person is easier to carry because they can actively distribute their weight so it's not all at the end of your arms.
Knights would be more encumbered than someone not wearing armor, but unless you could actually kill the knight while they were laying on the ground (for instance with a spiked hammer or where four people hold the knight down and a fifth pulls the helment off) they would get up and flail about killing everyone within range who wasn't armored. Even without a weapon, getting punched in the head by a steel fist is probably pretty damaging.
But why do game makers do it the way they do it? Because weight is not an issue and neither is reality. We're hopping on the backs of animals that can't possibly fly or in some cases exist. Reality doesn't apply much to most games. Most people have never seen or wore armor, so in their heads, heavy, slow knights wear plate and lighter, faster moving people wear chain or leather.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Chainmail can be easily concealed under other clothing, whereas plate is too bulky to be concealed. It makes sense for a rogue-type class to hide their armor, as it can give them an advantage, and also adds to the mystique of the class. It doesn't make perfect sense, but it seems reasonable enough.
Developers would rather give their classes a "look-and-feel" that is more imaginative and attractive than realistic.
The way our weapons magnetically stay attached to our backs o.O
And the ease at which our characters can unsheath weapons over their shoulders without hurting themselves or anyone even if it's a greatsword as big as the character themselves!
LOL.
I didn't know about the plate versus. mail thing, but I can easily rationalise it away. Perhaps it's some sort of magical process in how chain is made? Air is woven in between the rings when the armour is being forged to give it the lightness? Or the way the rings are made make them durable, but 10 times lighter than plate? Who knows. Mithril doesn't exist but it sure is cool.
Maybe I have too much imagination. Or maybe I am just crazy :P
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
Plate mail does not give you a full range of motion. Chain mail is much less restrictive in terms of how much you can flail your arms about, etc. For instance, you will not see anyone in full plate armor shooting a bow because the motion of their back and upper arms/shoulders is restricted by the armor.
Even if chain mail is heaver, both chain mail and plate mail are lighter than what U.S. soldiers currently carry into battle every day. Time and training would make up for a lot of the extra weight and mobility issues, so even in plate knights could move around very well. They did, after all, train their entire lives to do it.
A major difference in the two armors is that chain mail just hangs and plate mail is stiff. Plate could be made to feel lighter, even if it was heavier. It's like the difference between carrying an unconscious and a conscious person. They weigh the same, but the conscious person is easier to carry because they can actively distribute their weight so it's not all at the end of your arms.
Knights would be more encumbered than someone not wearing armor, but unless you could actually kill the knight while they were laying on the ground (for instance with a spiked hammer or where four people hold the knight down and a fifth pulls the helment off) they would get up and flail about killing everyone within range who wasn't armored. Even without a weapon, getting punched in the head by a steel fist is probably pretty damaging.
But why do game makers do it the way they do it? Because weight is not an issue and neither is reality. We're hopping on the backs of animals that can't possibly fly or in some cases exist. Reality doesn't apply much to most games. Most people have never seen or wore armor, so in their heads, heavy, slow knights wear plate and lighter, faster moving people wear chain or leather.
Archers who actually could afford plate (something rather rare since it was considered somewhat "common" with bows) had a special armor on the arms. But crossbows were a lot more common, at the plate period were it more or less just people from England and Welsh that used bows at all.
Sure, modern soldiers have heavier gear than the weight of most period armors but you also have to think that the knights at the time had more stuff on them than just the armor.
Fighting in either plate or chainmail is still easier than most people think but I can tell you that running around in the forest dressed in chainmail is pure murder, particularly in the summer.
(pictures removed due to space, go back and check the original post)
is lighter and less restrictive then this:
i'm sorry but i cannot agree with you.
are you aware that knights used to be hoisted onto their horses with rudimentary cranes because their armor was too heavy and cumbersome to mount by themselves?.....think about that for a second.
First of all: Have you ever had an actual armor on you? I have and own a short 11th century chainmail (weights 11 kilo for the body and shoulders). I also tried on plates (I own some plate parts like my nice Czech gauntlets).
Secondly: The chain user in your picture does not wear full chain and should be compared to someone on half plate.
are you aware that knights used to be hoisted onto their horses with rudimentary cranes because their armor was too heavy and cumbersome to mount by themselves?.....think about that for a second.
Actually that isn't true at all. That was a myth that became popular in fiction and immortalized in the movie Henry V.
Most armor is neither so heavy nor inflexible as to immobilize the wearer. Most men-at-arms would have been able to simply put on foot in a stirrup and mount their horse without assistance. A stool or perhaps the help of a squire would have made the process even speedier; a crane, however, was absolutely unnecessary.
Venge
Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
Actually that isn't true at all. That was a myth that became popular in fiction and immortalized in the movie Henry V.
Most armor is neither so heavy nor inflexible as to immobilize the wearer. Most men-at-arms would have been able to simply put on foot in a stirrup and mount their horse without assistance. A stool or perhaps the help of a squire would have made the process even speedier; a crane, however, was absolutely unnecessary.
Venge
I heard it was from the first Ivanhoe movie. But you are right, there are no evidense of something similar, it is just another Hollywood invention, just like people having their swords on their back.
But the armors made for tournaments were heavier than actual combat armors, it was not for actual combat and should be compared to modern hockey and football protection gear.
Chainmails are in opposite to what most MMO devs seems to think actually both heavier and harder to move in than a plate mail. In have been proved again and again (if you want to see an example, see when they test them against each other in “The deadliest warrior – Jeanne Dárc Vs Wilhelm the Conqueror from a few weeks back).
Chainmail and platemail represent 2 different technologies and generally are chainmail primitive and offers a lot less protection. Platemail is a evolution of it that offers greatly improved protection and better movement. I own a chainmail myself and have tried out plate as well.
And yet in MMOs chainmail is a lighter armor often used by rogues or swashbucklers side by side with warriors using plate mail. It makes no sense whatsoever.
Sure, the Romans had both a breastplate and chainmail armors but the Roman breastplate were a lot more primitive than the 15- early 16th century plate armors that MMO plates are based on.
Why do some classes have acess to chain armor but not plate? It just makes no sense.
Plate armour (usually only available to tank classes in MMO's) is not the same as plated mail. The plate armour in MMO's look more like a mix between heavy jousting armour (the clumsy heavy stuff for which they needed pulleys for putting a knight on a horse) from late middle ages and renaissance plate with decorative etching.
Plated mail is splint mail. This is not the same as plated armour. Plated mail are small squares of plate attached to each other with metallic rings. Sometimes you see armoursets in MMO's having this name. But then its just in the name of some medium armourset and is interchangable with chainmail sets (and scalemail).
Plate armour (usually only available to tank classes in MMO's) is not the same as plated mail. The plate armour in MMO's look more like a mix between heavy jousting armour (the clumsy heavy stuff for which they needed pulleys for putting a knight on a horse) from late middle ages and renaissance plate with decorative etching.
Plated mail is splint mail. This is not the same as plated armour. Plated mail are small squares of plate attached to each other with metallic rings. Sometimes you see armoursets in MMO's having this name. But then its just in the name of some medium armourset and is interchangable with chainmail sets (and scalemail).
Eh, no. When we say platemail we usually mean armors like the Maximilian armor and what the landsknechts (like the black company) wore. We are talking 15 and 16th century armor here, not brigandine armor that rarely appear in any MMO. There is also the typical conquistador armor.
Maximilian armor
Conquistador armor, also rather similar to what we see in many MMOs.
These armors are still easier to move in than in a Norman full body chainmail.
Plate mail does not give you a full range of motion. Chain mail is much less restrictive in terms of how much you can flail your arms about, etc. For instance, you will not see anyone in full plate armor shooting a bow because the motion of their back and upper arms/shoulders is restricted by the armor.
Even if chain mail is heaver, both chain mail and plate mail are lighter than what U.S. soldiers currently carry into battle every day. Time and training would make up for a lot of the extra weight and mobility issues, so even in plate knights could move around very well. They did, after all, train their entire lives to do it.
A major difference in the two armors is that chain mail just hangs and plate mail is stiff. Plate could be made to feel lighter, even if it was heavier. It's like the difference between carrying an unconscious and a conscious person. They weigh the same, but the conscious person is easier to carry because they can actively distribute their weight so it's not all at the end of your arms.
Knights would be more encumbered than someone not wearing armor, but unless you could actually kill the knight while they were laying on the ground (for instance with a spiked hammer or where four people hold the knight down and a fifth pulls the helment off) they would get up and flail about killing everyone within range who wasn't armored. Even without a weapon, getting punched in the head by a steel fist is probably pretty damaging.
But why do game makers do it the way they do it? Because weight is not an issue and neither is reality. We're hopping on the backs of animals that can't possibly fly or in some cases exist. Reality doesn't apply much to most games. Most people have never seen or wore armor, so in their heads, heavy, slow knights wear plate and lighter, faster moving people wear chain or leather.
Archers who actually could afford plate (something rather rare since it was considered somewhat "common" with bows) had a special armor on the arms. But crossbows were a lot more common, at the plate period were it more or less just people from England and Welsh that used bows at all. Sure, modern soldiers have heavier gear than the weight of most period armors but you also have to think that the knights at the time had more stuff on them than just the armor. Fighting in either plate or chainmail is still easier than most people think but I can tell you that running around in the forest dressed in chainmail is pure murder, particularly in the summer.
The example of the bow was for the restriction on movement. A person's movement, in full plate armor is more restricted than in chain armor. A person can wear partial plate, something like a Roman soldier and get a lot of movement back, but if they are in full plate armor, they do not have a full range of motion.
Remember, we're talking video games, where we're trying to draw a logical link* from cloth->leather->chain->plate. Weight is ignored in favor of bag space. So plate armor supporting its own weight or being lighter/heavier doesn't matter. Mass doesn't really seem to count either, so neither does inertia. We're left with how much protection the armor offers and how much range of motion it offers.
* I'm calling silly shenanigan on this. There doesn't need to be a real logical reason when you can fly around on a winged horse made of stars.
** edit ** I've never worn plate mail or chain mail but I have slept at Holiday Inn many times. If plate mail is easier to move around in, it's because it supports its own weight much better than chain mail. Chain mail just hangs off of you. It's like trying to carry an unconscious person versus a conscious person. The conscious person can actively support or redistribute their own weight instead of hanging there at the end of your arms.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
The example of the bow was for the restriction on movement. A person's movement, in full plate armor is more restricted than in chain armor. A person can wear partial plate, something like a Roman soldier and get a lot of movement back, but if they are in full plate armor, they do not have a full range of motion.
Remember, we're talking video games, where we're trying to draw a logical link* from cloth->leather->chain->plate. Weight is ignored in favor of bag space. So plate armor supporting its own weight or being lighter/heavier doesn't matter. Mass doesn't really seem to count either, so neither does inertia. We're left with how much protection the armor offers and how much range of motion it offers.
* I'm calling silly shenanigan on this. There doesn't need to be a real logical reason when you can fly around on a winged horse made of stars.
Sorry, but it just isn't true.
Ever wore a platemail or a chainmail?
A chainmail that covers arms and legs restricts the movements a lot. If you want a pop cultural TV program ala mythbusters to show you, see the deadliest warrior season 3 e02, it is not really science but they loose about twice as much movement in the Norman chainmail as in the Frensh 15 century plate there. Or go down to your local ARMA and talk to someone there.
See, what would really be the most historically accurate is if rogues didn't use chain armor at all and just stuck to studded leather armor. You know, it's like leather armor... but with studs! For protection!
All these are warn by the same classes..Warrior..Paladin..Cleric..Dread Knight..
Yeah, but in many games (like AoC, EQ1 & 2 and so one) can certain classes wear chainmail but not plate, and the point is that that makes no sense whatsoever.
See, what would really be the most historically accurate is if rogues didn't use chain armor at all and just stuck to studded leather armor. You know, it's like leather armor... but with studs! For protection!
Agreed. I remember trying to sneak in a chainmail many years ago in a fantasy live, not something I recommend.
Some reinforcement on a leather armor in no problem though.
Comments
The bunny returns!
Hai, Castillle!
On topic:
I think similarly to you guys. I don't think of plate armor as QUITE so thick, but I do think of it as thicker than other armors, heavy, and not something that someone small could wear. It's for the big burly types or super athletic females even, but not for just anyone. I most often think of it as made with steel whereas I imagine chainmail being light and made with mithril. /shrug Don't know where I got those ideas for sure, but that's how I see it.
I've held these views on plate and chain for a long time. I don't remember where they came from initially.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
The whole idea that chain is less restrictive than plate isn't going away anytime soon. It's a perfect example of the Coconut Effect. It's being done incorrectly, but we're all so used to seeing the wrong version that just about everybody would think "They got it wrong!" if it was corrected. It's why we continue to put noisy *PUNCH* sound effects in movie fight scenes, artificial mediciny smell in medicated creams, and a totally brown-grey palette in gritty FPSes. We perceive these familiar things as realistic and we object when they're not there.
Didnt read all the treads but.
Chainmail was actually worn under platemail - this was full set of knightly armor.
Chainmail alone was cheaper more acessible. (Even by looting bodies of fallen soldiers)
Now while its true that chainmail is one heavy MF. ( I worn it myself. )
But it does give you superior maneuverability.
Plate was so bulky , you could not get up if you fall. And it was generally worn only while mounted on horse.
So that above could be one of the reason RPG uses chainmail as fantasy equivalent of roguish armor.
that's nonsense. plate was body armor designed for combat. any armor that gets you killed is not worth wearing. tournament jousting armor might have weighted more as it was designed for mounted combat, but field plate was the best armor money could buy that could protect you from most threats without limiting mobility. of course, you wouldn't win a running contest, but standing up was never an issue.
It might be misconception, or innacurate history presumptions.
But fact is that plate wearing infantry didnt wear plate leg protection.
Also
When we talk standing up. Its standing up quickly and easily.
Because no plate will protect you , if you need that extra moment of time to stand up.
to OP:
are you saying that this :
is lighter and less restrictive then this:
i'm sorry but i cannot agree with you.
are you aware that knights used to be hoisted onto their horses with rudimentary cranes because their armor was too heavy and cumbersome to mount by themselves?.....think about that for a second.
Not all MMO follow that rule,Vanguard has chain and plate available to Warriors, PaladIn and Cleric plus Death Knights.
http://realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Misc/Jesus/Jesus.htm
I can understand the desire for a game that's trying to mirror reality in medieval arms and armor, but that doesn't really interest me.
For me, the game is the determinant of what is light, heavy, gives more protection, etc. much more so than any real life comparison.
Come on. There are dragons and healing potions and spells that let you fly and all sorts of stuff that has no correlation to the real world .
Who's to say the plate mail in such a world is light, heavy, or gives this protection or that? I'm happy letting the world designers make those desicsions, and then making decisions about my character accordingly.
If they want to tell me that plate is lighter that chain, or heavier than chain, fine with me. Usually there's 10 kinds of chain and 10 kinds of plate anyway.
Chain Mail level 10 ight be vastly superior to Plate Male level 1, or vice a versa. There's usually some magic involved as well in the upper levels.
Wouldn't mind getting away from the traditional CLOTH > LEATHER > CHAIN > PLATE combo personally.
Maybe add a few more things into there.
Plate mail does not give you a full range of motion. Chain mail is much less restrictive in terms of how much you can flail your arms about, etc. For instance, you will not see anyone in full plate armor shooting a bow because the motion of their back and upper arms/shoulders is restricted by the armor.
Even if chain mail is heaver, both chain mail and plate mail are lighter than what U.S. soldiers currently carry into battle every day. Time and training would make up for a lot of the extra weight and mobility issues, so even in plate knights could move around very well. They did, after all, train their entire lives to do it.
A major difference in the two armors is that chain mail just hangs and plate mail is stiff. Plate could be made to feel lighter, even if it was heavier. It's like the difference between carrying an unconscious and a conscious person. They weigh the same, but the conscious person is easier to carry because they can actively distribute their weight so it's not all at the end of your arms.
Knights would be more encumbered than someone not wearing armor, but unless you could actually kill the knight while they were laying on the ground (for instance with a spiked hammer or where four people hold the knight down and a fifth pulls the helment off) they would get up and flail about killing everyone within range who wasn't armored. Even without a weapon, getting punched in the head by a steel fist is probably pretty damaging.
But why do game makers do it the way they do it? Because weight is not an issue and neither is reality. We're hopping on the backs of animals that can't possibly fly or in some cases exist. Reality doesn't apply much to most games. Most people have never seen or wore armor, so in their heads, heavy, slow knights wear plate and lighter, faster moving people wear chain or leather.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Chainmail can be easily concealed under other clothing, whereas plate is too bulky to be concealed. It makes sense for a rogue-type class to hide their armor, as it can give them an advantage, and also adds to the mystique of the class. It doesn't make perfect sense, but it seems reasonable enough.
Developers would rather give their classes a "look-and-feel" that is more imaginative and attractive than realistic.
You know what really makes me scratch my head?
The way our weapons magnetically stay attached to our backs o.O
And the ease at which our characters can unsheath weapons over their shoulders without hurting themselves or anyone even if it's a greatsword as big as the character themselves!
LOL.
I didn't know about the plate versus. mail thing, but I can easily rationalise it away. Perhaps it's some sort of magical process in how chain is made? Air is woven in between the rings when the armour is being forged to give it the lightness? Or the way the rings are made make them durable, but 10 times lighter than plate? Who knows. Mithril doesn't exist but it sure is cool.
Maybe I have too much imagination. Or maybe I am just crazy :P
"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."
I need to take this advice more.
Archers who actually could afford plate (something rather rare since it was considered somewhat "common" with bows) had a special armor on the arms. But crossbows were a lot more common, at the plate period were it more or less just people from England and Welsh that used bows at all.
Sure, modern soldiers have heavier gear than the weight of most period armors but you also have to think that the knights at the time had more stuff on them than just the armor.
Fighting in either plate or chainmail is still easier than most people think but I can tell you that running around in the forest dressed in chainmail is pure murder, particularly in the summer.
First of all: Have you ever had an actual armor on you? I have and own a short 11th century chainmail (weights 11 kilo for the body and shoulders). I also tried on plates (I own some plate parts like my nice Czech gauntlets).
Secondly: The chain user in your picture does not wear full chain and should be compared to someone on half plate.
Full Chainmail
Half plate
Actually that isn't true at all. That was a myth that became popular in fiction and immortalized in the movie Henry V.
Most armor is neither so heavy nor inflexible as to immobilize the wearer. Most men-at-arms would have been able to simply put on foot in a stirrup and mount their horse without assistance. A stool or perhaps the help of a squire would have made the process even speedier; a crane, however, was absolutely unnecessary.
Venge
I heard it was from the first Ivanhoe movie. But you are right, there are no evidense of something similar, it is just another Hollywood invention, just like people having their swords on their back.
But the armors made for tournaments were heavier than actual combat armors, it was not for actual combat and should be compared to modern hockey and football protection gear.
Plate armour (usually only available to tank classes in MMO's) is not the same as plated mail. The plate armour in MMO's look more like a mix between heavy jousting armour (the clumsy heavy stuff for which they needed pulleys for putting a knight on a horse) from late middle ages and renaissance plate with decorative etching.
Plated mail is splint mail. This is not the same as plated armour. Plated mail are small squares of plate attached to each other with metallic rings. Sometimes you see armoursets in MMO's having this name. But then its just in the name of some medium armourset and is interchangable with chainmail sets (and scalemail).
Eh, no. When we say platemail we usually mean armors like the Maximilian armor and what the landsknechts (like the black company) wore. We are talking 15 and 16th century armor here, not brigandine armor that rarely appear in any MMO. There is also the typical conquistador armor.
Maximilian armor
Conquistador armor, also rather similar to what we see in many MMOs.
These armors are still easier to move in than in a Norman full body chainmail.
The example of the bow was for the restriction on movement. A person's movement, in full plate armor is more restricted than in chain armor. A person can wear partial plate, something like a Roman soldier and get a lot of movement back, but if they are in full plate armor, they do not have a full range of motion.
Remember, we're talking video games, where we're trying to draw a logical link* from cloth->leather->chain->plate. Weight is ignored in favor of bag space. So plate armor supporting its own weight or being lighter/heavier doesn't matter. Mass doesn't really seem to count either, so neither does inertia. We're left with how much protection the armor offers and how much range of motion it offers.
* I'm calling silly shenanigan on this. There doesn't need to be a real logical reason when you can fly around on a winged horse made of stars.
** edit **
I've never worn plate mail or chain mail but I have slept at Holiday Inn many times. If plate mail is easier to move around in, it's because it supports its own weight much better than chain mail. Chain mail just hangs off of you. It's like trying to carry an unconscious person versus a conscious person. The conscious person can actively support or redistribute their own weight instead of hanging there at the end of your arms.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Sorry, but it just isn't true.
Ever wore a platemail or a chainmail?
A chainmail that covers arms and legs restricts the movements a lot. If you want a pop cultural TV program ala mythbusters to show you, see the deadliest warrior season 3 e02, it is not really science but they loose about twice as much movement in the Norman chainmail as in the Frensh 15 century plate there. Or go down to your local ARMA and talk to someone there.
Here we have Chain Leather Armour
Here we have Cleric plate armour..
Heavy Armour..
Heavy Plate..
All these are warn by the same classes..Warrior..Paladin..Cleric..Dread Knight..
http://realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Misc/Jesus/Jesus.htm
See, what would really be the most historically accurate is if rogues didn't use chain armor at all and just stuck to studded leather armor. You know, it's like leather armor... but with studs! For protection!
Yeah, but in many games (like AoC, EQ1 & 2 and so one) can certain classes wear chainmail but not plate, and the point is that that makes no sense whatsoever.
I've never seen chaine used by roges, it's always been leather or studded leather.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
Agreed. I remember trying to sneak in a chainmail many years ago in a fantasy live, not something I recommend.
Some reinforcement on a leather armor in no problem though.