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Turbines Character Generator
DeaconX
Member UncommonPosts: 3,062
While I really love this game, the one absolute sore spot for me would have to be the Character Generation Turbine uses [Much like the one from their previous effort DDO]. This game by far surpasses DDO and I believe to be a huge step in the right direction for Turbine – it WILL be very successful – but I just can’t get over the ‘weak’ character generation system and overall style.
Not all the races suffer thoroughly from LotRO’s CG tool, but it’s not unlikely to see clone after clone.
You’d think by now more MMO’s would switch to a rich character generation tool such as the one found in games like CoX or the single player Elder Scrolls Oblivion. Instead, we have a few choices of each section of the body – many of them looking the same as the last.
For instance the human heads are all wide jawed clones of each other. Every human head has only the slightest difference from the last, generally being the shape of the nose. Although choices are limited, what actually doesn’t attract me so much is the ‘style’ of character appearances. Everyone looks… kind of ‘thick’.
Now it’s far too late to change the STYLE of character appearance, I do hope they at least add a heck of a lot more options in character creation. I mean… lips selections.. what the heck is that there’s like 3 choices of different shaded lips? Eyes? 3 choices of how old your eyes appear? Deatails a whopping maybe 8 different scars or wrinkles on your characters face?
Before you think I’m asking too much, consider that MMO’s are no longer that new. It’s been what – 15 years now? For pay to play games I really wish they’d invest more in character creation and I’m sure other games [Age of Conan] in the future will.
I love the world Turbine has build with Middle-Earth, but the character’s just really look like toons to me… many of them being toon clones.
For a visual explanation of what I mean by styles, here’s an example of what a LotRO character looks like, and what I think LotRO characters would look much better as:
The overall body shape and detail is just much better – the character looks more human and I believe a player should totally be able to create a character that looks like this with more humanly form than our wide-jawed flat faced friends. Maybe not at such high res, but it should still be doable.
One last thing that’s been bugging me is how poorly the facial hair is done. It’s atrocious to me. Hair looks like a piece of plastic a character super-glued to their head. What happened to the 5 o’clock shadow? It’s very easily doable but instead …
Once again, I don’t hate LotR:O but I am a bit disappointed in the overall character generation process -what it’s capable of and it’s style of almost ‘WoW’ like bulky figures, but it does look much better than WoW at least. If this game really looked like WoW I know I wouldn’t be playing.
Why do I write, create, fantasize, dream and daydream about other worlds? Because I hate what humanity does with this one.
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
Comments
There is a fatter<---->skinnier slider, but I agree, more customisation would have been nice.
I'd also like to someday see aging in a game - start as a teen and visibly grow older as you gain xp...
Redoing your looks as a game progresses would be nice, too.
<p align=center><a target=_blank href=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm><img border=0 src=http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/20.jpg></a></p>;
I'm not sure what u are referring to when u mention the WoW characters, but I do have to say the characters look kind of strange. Would be nice with a update to graphics and look at them, ur supposed to look at them the whole time u play the game.
But on the note of the LOTRO characters they don't all look like the op's my chars for one i think look pretty awsome and i've seen a ton of great looking characters in CB. Depending on the combination of the different faces and hair/body size sometimes you end up with an odd looking character but AS A WHOLE they are pretty good... deffinitly NOT the best quility of the game (specially the male elves down syndrome like forheads) but it's not as bad as the OP makes it sound plus he's not using the high quality textures of the actual game release he's using the low quality CB textures.
See it's not so much the resolution and texture detail I was trying to point out, it's the body shape of bodies... it doesn't really look too natural. Especially their 'fat heads' if you know what I mean hehe... I agree though I enjoy the game it won't affect my enjoyment much... I just wish characters looked more natural than... I can't even put my thumb on it but seeing my JAW on every other human man is just bleh... 'Hi Clone!'- ya know?
Ah well it's just something I'm very picky about - character customization. Call me vain
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
The customisaton is poor at best.
The faces all look the same, which should be a feature focused on. Hair being the next feature.
I have no doubt in my mind Turbine will improve the character customisation.
They have done an EXCELLENT job in listening to their player base.
Oceanic pre-orders? They cleared it up.
Cross nation IP checking? No more.
More instruments being available to more classes? They made the lute accessible to all classes.
I have never seen a company listen and react to the playerbase so often and with haste this much. Well done Turbine, hopefully you will address this issue before launch, or shortly after. It is an important one.
Currently Playing: Everything but MMORPGs
Cancelled: L2, FFXI, VSoH, LotRO, WAR, WoW
Looking Forward To: SW:TOR
I totally agree, Turbine has been nothing short of STELLAR for their player base with LotR:O
I totally praise them and despite the great character generation, that's why I'm going with this game. Other than Guild Wars' ArenaNet I've never seen a company care soo much ... this is no $OE.
During the beta's I loved watching my comments make a difference -- I'm sure I wasn't the only one to make those suggestions but the fact is they listenned. I hope character customization will get a huge revamp but I'm not sure how that will be possible post launch
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
needs work
a lot of work actually - ho-hum
Comparing DDO from Day 1, to now. I just gotta say... they're definately learning from mistakes, and not necessarily all their own.
That, in itself, is very promising.
who me ?
I like pie !
Sadly, because this is a solid mmo, this has been the back breaker as to why I haven't purchased this game... I am used to playing mmo's that are rich with unique character customization. I really couldn't get over my weird little hang up on my virtual characters looking like "The Santa Claus 2" plastic santa... a little realism would have been nice with this aspect.
The technology is there, I just feel that it wasn't important enough for them to impliment it.. even after the players screamed for it... I do have to agree with a previous poster, they did improve over DDO, in a huge way. Oh well. I look forward to trying AOC.. it sounds as if they are taking it serious.
So really is it more that there is only 4 races , rather then actual "customizing" ?
who me ?
So really is it more that there is only 4 races , rather then actual "customizing" ?Well to be brutally honest. And don't get me wrong this is a solid game, a bit basic, and AI needs alot of work, but, with that being said. I have played many mmo's. I can honestly state that it's character customization, not race selection. I think a huge huge easy fix would be height preferences. I don't like to see star wars attack of the clones in middle earth.. lol. anyway just trying to make light of a tweak that could have brought them alot more business.. I am probably weird, and you may think I'm an idiot. I just have a bit higher standards if I'm paying a monthly fee, thats all. No need to get anyones hackles up. It's just my personal preferences, which also seem to be concerns of others here as well.
"About Kynogon
Kynogon develops and markets A.I. software for real-time behavior simulation. Kynogon's technology is used by the world's leading game developers (Electronic Arts, Sega, Atari, Real Time Worlds, Lionhead Studios, Pyro Studios, Artificial Mind and Movement, ...) as well as industry leaders (EADS, British Aerospace, ...) Kynogon has 6 years experience providing AI production solutions for the games industry, working with our clients from preproduction to gold master. The company's latest offering is Kynapse, a unique A.I. engine. With Kynapse, Non Player Characters can move around in any 3D dynamic world, understand their environment, hide, communicate, cooperate, drive vehicles, etc. For more information please visit www.kynogon.com."
Would say turbine has licensed probably the best a.i. available, and it shows, so I am not to sure what you are talking about, maybe an exact example ?
I agree with the height slider , though we don't know if their was a clause in the I.P. contract from restricting height adjustments... Be interesting to see someone post that on the official forums, maybe they can do something cause it is still open beta ..
who me ?
I am not trying to banter , just don't understand about the a.i until you give an exact example ...
who me ?
One thing I've noticed is that character customization varies widely in LOTRO depending on race and gender. In this regard, Elven males are the worst regarding diversity of look while dwarves are possibly the best.
Now I did enjoy the slider system in Oblivion, but to be honest that system was just a bit TOO open ended. You practically have to have a Masters in Fine Arts to make a decent looking character.
I've also noticed that the devs are keen on adding character customizations features that are noticable from a distance, rather than the subtler customizations like nose flare, lip thickness, etc. I think a height slider would fit into this design philosophy that I'm seeing.
_____________________________
Currently Playing: LOTRO; DDO
Played: AC2, AO, Auto Assault, CoX, DAoC, DDO, Earth&Beyond, EQ1, EQ2, EVE, Fallen Earth, Jumpgate, Roma Victor, Second Life, SWG, V:SoH, WoW, World War II Online.
Games I'm watching: Infinity: The Quest for Earth, Force of Arms.
Find the Truth: http://www.factcheck.org/
Honestly, the different noses, eyes and mouths are minor changes and most of the time you can't tell the difference. In fact, because they had to use a different method to making character faces, they look worse than the NPCs. Seriously, all the NPCs in the game look way better than the characters. It would have been better for Turbine to have dozens of different static faces (like say WoW but have more choices) and more hairstyles.
At first when I entered beta in January I said to myself 'UGH...WEAK... okay okay.. it's beta whatever it'll improve...' but it hasn't really yet... Really hope one day down the line it will.
BTW what's with the little fire on the icon to this thread? Is it labelled as a flame? Cuz if it is... well that's just ridiculous... I love lotro but I point something out and it's a flame? That's Flametarded.
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.
Yeah I'm looking at this game and on the fence. Part of me wants to love it but part of me is concerned about the limited ammount of innovation they can create in an IP. I mean it's not like they can have new races or a floating city of dragons. They're kinda forced to conform to the tolken lore and while I love tolken lore, I just dunno if it's diverse enough to entice me in a mmo world. Plus the rather flat character faces. I've played Asherons Call, Asherons Call 2, DDO and have always felt turbine needs some better character artists. I've never been a fan of their joe-everybody racial looks. They just don't pop sillouhette enough to give people diversity.
Now that being said I know tolken fantasy is not as high fantasy as say everywhere where it's more a D&D sytle world with orcs/elves/dragonkin/dark elves all as player races. We're grounded in a very basic pallet of races here in order for the rest of the world to feel supernatural and high fantasy by contrast. I'm just concerned that turbines previous titles left me rather unimpressed with my avatar and that my avatar will simmilarly evoke an unhappy feeling in me whenever I log in. The world is very pretty but the photo-referaned flat textures that relly on the games lighting engine to give them 3d depth (ala Everquest 2) make me worry also that as soon as an object isn't 5 feet in front of me it's shadows/specular will drop and it will appear totally flat. (Heck the terrain textures in LOTR:O are re-used from Asherons call 2. Remember that orange rock for the hillsides?) Just leery to invest in another turbine game after how much I got burned in AC2 and DDO. Plus I haven't seen any epic armor, weapons, or battles which thrill me. Things seem kinda vanilla to me. Very grounded in realism. And since that is sorta the world designed by tolken, I worry if that vibe won't keep the game from feeling epic for me.
Arioc Murkwood
Environment Artist
Sad but true.