Should the thermal properties of clothing / armor matter? I've always found clothing / armor that didn't fit the player's current environment breaks immersion. For instance, a character wearing a thick wool cloak and a fur-lined armor shouldn't be running around in the hot desert.
I can see three main ways to deal with this:
1). VR doesn't address this and players are free to wear whatever they want. The look of the items is strictly cosmetic.
2). Clothing and armor have insulation (thermal) values and each zone has one of five basic temperatures: cold, cool, comfortable, warm, and hot. A character's total insulation value need to fall within a general range for the zone. Thus, if the insulation value should be 0 - 10 for a hot zone, the character would want the total insulation value of all items added up to be 10 or less. If a character is out of range, they suffer endurance / run speed decreases if too high (overheating) and dexterity / attack speed decreaeases if too low (hypothermia). The degree of impairment should vary, depending upon how far outside the thermal rating of the zone they are.
3). Clothing and armor have different temperature looks and the look will change, depending upon the temperature. So if you have one suit of armor, in hot climates it will appear minimilized visually (some skin visible underneight, lightweight and breathable), whiile in cold climates, the clothing and armor will appear thick and warm. This requires no real work from the players: it keeps everyone looking approppriate for the temperature of their zone, but it does mean that most armor will have multiple looks, which could bother some players.
Anyone else interested in making the thermal properties of clothing and armor matter?
When it comes to introducing survival elements into the game, I think the acclimation/glyph system should be the only thing players have to worry about. I wouldn't mind seeing some armor that provides additional acclimation bonuses, but nothing that negatively affects players and has to be micro-managed. I think that option #2 would cross the line between immersive features and tedious gameplay.
I think that option #3 is probably the best way to go if they wanted to visually increase the immersive quality of armor in relation to environments. However, this option also requires additional resources to be spent on each armor design. This would probably mean less variation in armor design if they had to focus resources on making sure every piece had various designs for different temperatures.
I honestly would prefer VR not to worry about this and just go with option #1. I think most players would be able to suspend their disbelief and use the acclimation system to justify why armor appearance doesn't really matter in certain climates.
Back in the long long ago, before this idea of glyphs and whatnot came into being, there was the design choice of situational gear which would have addressed this issue. You would be changing what you wear based upon the environment in which you found yourself. Adventuring into snow capped mountains would require you to have a wholly different set of gear than what you would wear for adventuring in a hot and steamy jungle. You wouldn't just be replacing non-visible slots ala EQ1 for specific resists although those pieces were going to exist as well.
Design wise, it is smarter to go with glyphs as you 1) only need to make a few version for each resist; and 2) they aren't visible items so you don't need to model anything. So given how slow everything is progressing, not spending the time and money to design and model, potentially, hundreds of visible armor slots is a good choice. VR doesn't need any more stuff on their plate.
"Design wise, it is smarter to go with glyphs as you 1) only need to make a few version for each resist; and 2) they aren't visible items so you don't need to model anything. So given how slow everything is progressing, not spending the time and money to design and model, potentially, hundreds of visible armor slots is a good choice. VR doesn't need any more stuff on their plate."
This.
I'm pretty much behind #1.
#2 Is an intresting system, and could be fun in various contexts. I just think it involves too much complexity to have any chance of being added at this point in development. It not only requires a whole new aspect be added to armor, but the affect of that aspect will interesect the climates (fracture?) system as we know it, the Resistance system, the weather system and the Crafting of armor. Plus personally, I'm not fond of baseline 'survival' aspects to a game like keeping warm, eating/drinking regularly, etc.
#3 Would be really cool, but would need multiple versions of the appearance of every 'externally visible' piece of armor in the game. Art assets are already a big part of the job of creating any MMO including Pantheon. So I'm in agreement with the point already made above.
Personally I just want them to focus on everything they've discussed/announced and finish the game and get it out as soon as possible.
Though things like this could certainly be added in future expansions. Although with the Acclimation system already being a thing, I'd find it kind of redundant to do both. Doing it through gear, instead of glyphs from the start could have been a cool idea though. Like Zelda BoTW gear system sort of.
Conan Exiles already has a climate system that makes you colder or hotter, affecting your regen or food/water rates. The Armor you wear has an insulation rating. This system is not too brutal on you until you hit extreme biomes. I actually like this aspect of the survival game and adds alittle more complexity and for-thought into your equipment loadouts. Knowing that you'll have a somewhat limited carrying space, i just hope you won't have to carry 7 full sets of gear, but alternativly, not have a single set that trivializes the climate system altogether.
FatedEmperor said:When it comes to introducing survival elements into the game, I think the acclimation/glyph system should be the only thing players have to worry about. I wouldn't mind seeing some armor that provides additional acclimation bonuses, but nothing that negatively affects players and has to be micro-managed. [...]
I like this idea. Looking at it from a loot table perspective these could be quested or mid to low level range armor drops. Armor with some acclimation built in, that is. It would still allow the pursuit of glyphs for higher encounters to boost or add to its small...glyphiness...but at the time it was obtained it would seem ubah. Min-Maxxers could get all DnD with it and if they have gloves with 2 aerobic glyph in them and put on +10 cold on those gloves, they can count the small +'s and -'s to get an even spread or tweek up or down a certain acclimation depending on the situation. Regular players would just be like, oh cool, some acclimation and play as normal and add to it playing the glyph game at higher up levels with the armor-embedded glyphs being a micro-bonus. Sure, there would be a few coveted class specific or even class/slot specific that are small but great because they would be unique to that slot like weapons do not normally have glyphi-ness to them but this certain weapon has a +1 lava or this octopus illusion clicky ring has +1 pressure..nothing else but- oh I get it *sings*- "I'd like to be, under the sea, in an octopus's garden, in the shade..."
Why stop at thermal properties? I wish acclimation was the basis of the horizontal gear sets. You want to go into the most acidic place on the planet? Normal gear cannot survive there, virtually everything you wear into this toxic death pit needs to be designed for this environment. It also is next to a volcano so you better glyph for some heat resists as well.
I expect glyphs to be the the main source of acclimation and it is disapointing when it comes to climates. I really hope people in blizzards are not running around in loin cloths.
Jobeson said:Why stop at thermal properties? I wish acclimation was the basis of the horizontal gear sets. You want to go into the most acidic place on the planet? Normal gear cannot survive there, virtually everything you wear into this toxic death pit needs to be designed for this environment. It also is next to a volcano so you better glyph for some heat resists as well.
I expect glyphs to be the the main source of acclimation and it is disapointing when it comes to climates. I really hope people in blizzards are not running around in loin cloths.
I get that - a lot of acclimatized gear would work well for horizontal character growth, and it would keep certain things from being 'best in slot', so to speak.