[Vortex2]

I was just watching basketball... As I was looking at the Chinese New Year adjustment on the GS Warriors' jersey as Steph Curry was taking a free throw, I thought to myself: wouldn't it be awesome if we could have a degree of customization that would allow for individual players, teams and clans to be distinct from one another during in-game play without the added responsibility of having to press tab and match names and armband colours to get specific information about the players right beside us (or across the map)?

I'm not sure how difficult it would be to implement, but I was thinking about the possbility of user-uploaded insignias on the chest or back of the player-model, and/or perhaps on the armband (in addition to being able to select the solid bg colour)... Perhaps these logos would need to be monochrome, transparent and a certain image type (so as to remain low-key)?

I think it would add emphasis to finding a clan while also making lonewolf players more easily identifiable over time... perhaps helping them to seem even cooler than before (maybe they can have their own logo). Most importantly, expression makes us feel good about ourselves and regardless of how we do it, it's always nice to emphasis where we come from and who we represent.

Additionally, it could also make things more interesting by allowing players the opportunity to recognize one another at spawn and during skirmishes. This could present greater opportunity for veteran players to act as examples in their play-style and attitude for newer players who are less confident in their ability to fight head-on and get involved in different places on the map. Also, maybe a newer player would be more likely to pick someone who seems to be doing well and keep an eye on them, especially when they are hesitant and unsure about how and when to proceed.

While relying on armband colours is one way to do this, it is often not a consistently reliable method unless someone has chosen a unique colour (which many skilled and respected players have chosen not to do). The colours are often shared among different players in-server and cross-server and are even disabled in some scrims and matches (forced to defaults).

Gameplay-wise, I'm thinking this feature would likely help player-development by drawing attention to the neccessary skill of anticipation and map awareness over the duration of a given map. We call this gamesense, but it's as simple as being aware of patterns of progression which occur for specific reasons and which are more/less likely to occur depending on odds which are often based on the character of players which is simply based on observing their play... However, it is almost always done by FEEL rather than by calculation... hence gameSENSE. :)

Now, by having the added distinction of logos or armbands... a newer player might be more likely to follow and pay attention to the positioning of individual players, which would likely make the game easier to follow for them, resulting in a better overall experience for everyone by simple virtue of there being more access to more helpful information available at a given time. I think that by helping each player to become more and more aware of his opponents with less pressure to keep tabs by watching the top left (and bottom-right) of the screen (taking valuable focus away from the present moment), they will naturally develop better gamesense over time as they play.

The best part imo is it may encourage each person to practice a variety of paths and positions throughout the map because it will be that much easier to identify a stale pattern and instinctively find the way to counter it... I'm hoping that we will see an increase in versatility of playstyle as players learn to adjust situationally according to what's happening around them rather than focusing on rigid strategies of simply getting to an advantageous position before someone else does and doing whatever it takes to gain that 1s advantage...

As a player, I am confident that I can compensate for a positional disadvantage or being caught off-guard (in a public server) (depending)... but a newer player who has not yet made up their mind about the game will probably have a better experience and will consequently be more likely to stick around if they encounter less 'tactical situations' and more head-on firefights which do a better job showcasing why UrT is such a great game as they realize that they must develop the ability to react (think and do at once) very quickly and often in what would be seen at the time as unconventional play-style for an FPS game.

Personally, I've always lost focus on playing when I think in terms of strategy, or how to edge someone else out of the game. I've always been at my best when I play without second thought, fearlessly, honestly and sincerely as myself... the better I feel about what I'm doing -> the faster I am able to think -> the more reactive I am able to be -> the more creative I am in my reaction -> the better I can perform and the more I enjoy the game. I think this is the only way to perform at the highest level in UrT and probably the way to master any game worth playing, really... it's not done by learning the strategy of the game so much as it is done by feeling, following your heart and truly being in the moment.

Anyway, I think I understand the appeal of uniform player models and I respect this feature of UrT (it's actually something I love about it). I leave all the decisions up to the developers, this is just a thought. I love this game and I want the best for it! Anyway, I'm not sure if it something which is being considered already but I would like to know your thoughts.

Also, how do we feel about the possibility of customized items, so boots and helmets and gloves? I was thinking if anything, only subtle changes to things like trim-style and textures would be appropriate... not much, but enough to see that something is a little different. Maybe a worn look would be suitable for veteran players, something like a chipped paint texture for a helmet or something, right? :P

-Vortex2

PS: I think gun skins look silly for two reasons being weapons deserve at least some respect and in the end they're just guns... (and all beautiful works are singular, not customized and replicated...and vandalized) Multiple unlockable knife skins might be cool if it encourages players to use the knife more, though not if it would mean opening the door to discussion about gun skins. :P

This post has been edited by Vortex2: 29 January 2017 - 07:51 PM

[FS HappyDay]

Currently in urt Resurgence our player models are modular. We can swap out clothes, like boots, pants, gloves, holsters, etc. and also the hair. Our materials are customizable, meaning we can easily change colors of any part of the clothing, like blue/red/green pants or golden/silver zippers or belt buckles, etc. The logos on our characters (Red dragon's logo and UTRT crest) are not interchangeable yet, but we can easily implement that. We haven't made a final decision yet, how much of that will be customizable for the players. Having said that, we want to keep the identity of both fractions, so the red team will always have a certain individual civilian style with reddish colors, while the UTRT will keep a more uniform, blue military style. So you won't be seeing pink Takeshi's with green hats and yellow boots. But yeah, showing clan tags/logos on the characters is something we consider implementing. Like always, no promises though. :)

We'll probably showcase this in more detail in the future. In the Christmas video I just changed Sarah's default suit colors to a Christmasy red and white and gave her a Christmas hat. Very easy to do that.

So the short answer to your wall of text is: Yes, probably. We have designed our characters to allow that.

[Vortex2]

Ok, cool. Thanks. Sorry for the wall of text. I finished writing it at 2am after several edits. :P I'm back from a break and I was feeling particularly enthusiastic! :)

This post has been edited by Vortex2: 29 January 2017 - 09:40 PM

[FS Frankie V]

As HappyDay has said our player model design is modular based on the need to future proof as to what we have to put into place today wrapped in the ideas of what we can do later down the road so although a wall of text, by the way don't even come close to the design docs I write up, is very encouraging that the other shoe that is Resurgence is starting to drop.

Resurgence is defiantly going to revolve around what would be considered Social Network friendly and E-Sport driven as to the needs to give the average player the ability to become a Rock Star in the world of UrT as well as providing ways and means o allowing those in the community to become a bit more involved at a level that they feel comfortable with. This is something that we have always talked about but simply could not do because of the limitations of the idtech3 engine.

With UE4 "everything" is modular and almost anything could be boot strapped as a plugin solution and is a no brain addition based on on going ideas that have surfaced over the years which over the years has become more or less a crowd sourced video game.

The ideal is one day there will be World Cup events with a million dollar in prize money and corporate sponsorship so keep in mind that texture space is valuable real state to just give away. ;)