[Mega Thread] - Character customisation - the IPG (Part 1)

  • Hyaenu
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @exist0 Surely you can at least agree that being able to pin a few of the generated pirates to be safe from the regeneration would be a good improvement. Otherwise you just get stuck cycling through it wishing you had picked that last one when you had the chance.

    No fear or deep insecurity at all, Be it a cool looking, goofy, or ugly, people have their types of characters that they like to pick, and this game has a very nice variety of parts to choose from for those various looks, and I'm one that would very much like to dig my hands into all those parts to make my doofy pirate as I please if we had gotten a more advanced option of customization on the side.

    Even then, just being able to have a way to influence to types of pirates the IPG generates would be good enough for me, as I mentioned in a few posts back.

    That aside, as stated at the begining, even the bare minimum of being able to pin a few of them to be safe from replacement would be better than nothing, so that way we can save a few as we go if we aren't 100% sure yet, and then be able to go back to those saved ones if we find nothing else that suits our fancy. Otherwise some of us will just be stuck constantly refreshing the selection for an hour until we either finally find one we like, or just disgruntly settle on something else.

  • Saltyzar

    @hyenanoises I could agree to a pin system and maybe a gender filter. I was focusing on people that want the whole slider stuff etc.

  • Tyverus89
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    I would like to add my two cents here and declare the IPG a great tool for originality.

    For too long have I toiled over an hour to make my perfect character in a game (my sources include MMOs like WoW, FFXIV and SW:TOR). With the IPG you could still spend 30 minutes cycling through all the random characters.

    The only fiters I feel that are needed are age, gender, height and build. Also adding a feature to 'save' a pirate you like is almost required as there is no guarantee that you will see that pirate again once you've cycled the next two pages.

    After my estimated half hour of flicking through the IPG, being able to browse, for example, the eight pirates I have saved and choosing the most appropriate makes a lot of sense.

    The pirate you choose will be your pirate for life, so picking the best is absolutely essential.

  • SortableKeith
    Founder

    I feel like there should be a holding option for the pirates that are randomized, because if I like a pirate but none of the others and I want to see what else comes up, I think there should be a 1-2 pirate hold and the rest can be randomized again

  • Ironuzuka
    Master
    Insider

    @flowerofcarnage said in [Mega Thread] - Character customisation - the IPG:

    @arcangelo87 Um. No. I'm not playing a game with a horrible looking character. I wouldn't even consider buying the game in the first place if I thought I was going to be stuck with an ugly character. Like 0% chance would ever buy any game with an ugly main character even if it was fun. I just couldn't get into it.

    Ahoy, I remembered something me mum used to tell me. Ye see nature wasn't so generous with me.
    "Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder"
    I never understood this so I became generous by nature!

    YO HO HO HO HO

  • Evil Wolf Snipe

    will tattoos be an option?

  • Tyverus89
    Commander
    Insider
    Founder

    @maximillianzeus said in [Mega Thread] - Character customisation - the IPG:

    @katttruewalker

    This is the comprehensive guide of I.P.G Filtering/lock requests from the community. This is at least what most people want from the full game when it launches.

    alt text
    alt text

    On the other hook we have the comprehensive guide for a full Pirate character creator from the community. This is roughly what the rest of the people want.

    alt text
    alt text
    alt text

    Here are the other community requests related to these topics.

    alt text

    Obviously no system is perfect so if I missed anything or need more detail let me know.

    ~Captain Maximillian Zeus:
    The Damned Rider of the Ferry
    and Master of the Song of the Dead

    This needs more upvotes.

    The ability to to progress to pirate legend and then retire said pirate to create a new pirate is a fascinating idea and would add to this game's lifespan considerably.

    Also, the idea of finding a journal that lists all the achievements and exploits of Tyronius 89 adds the ability for us to literally build our own stories within the game.

    On a side note, I hope we can hang portraits of our pirate(s) in the Captain's Cabin.

  • Joe Krakatoa
    Commander
    Insider

    Here's the thing about the IPG. You don't get to play God.
    Rare has made a design choice that forces you out of your comfort zone and consider a toon that may not be your ideal hero, but could be a fun pirate to play.
    It would help if players knew that hair, eye patches, peg legs, and hooks are interchangeable in-game. Presumably hair color, scars, and tattoos can be change somehow after launch.

    Still I don't see why you couldn't have a couple candidates on standby.

    Then there's the matter of recourse, for those players that are dissatisfied with their choice.

  • Hyaenu
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @tyronius-89 While this thing does seem well made and has some interesting ideas in a few spots, the whole "This specific randomly generated pirate will be forever blocked from being generated again!" will never work, there's only so many parts in the mix for the IPG to mix and match unless the devs make like thousands of em.

    Other than that, sounds close to how I thought they could set up some form of player influence, though more of just influencing in what the IPG generates, to help keep some randomization alive in it.

  • MaximillianZeus
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @tyronius-89

    Glad you liked the post I worked really h*****n it. I made that post using Microsoft Paint :D

    @HyenaNoises

    Yep I recognize that The No Identical Pirates feature would probably not work out however the reason why I added it was because it was one of the community's ideas. I made it my job to compile the many ideas together in a functional system; the ideas don't necessarily have to be practical.

    ~Captain Maximillian Zeus:
    The Damned Rider of the Ferry
    and Master of the Song of the Dead

  • Hyaenu
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @maximillianzeus Would be nice if any of the devs would pop up at this point to give their own POV, or even respond to the idea's for improvement.

    I don't really think we can such much else new that's not already been said, from a simple pinning system to save pirates from being regenerated, to some filter system so we can have some influence on what the IPG generates, to full blown character customization.

    I already feel like a broken record now, and it's only been about a day since I joined in on this thread
    I'm just very passionate about character customization

  • MaximillianZeus
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @hyenanoises

    Yah, this whole thread sounds like a broken record. Which again is why I built the compendium post so that Rare can clearly see the community's requests in a non-broken record format.

    ~Captain Maximillian Zeus:
    The Damned Rider of the Ferry
    and Master of the Song of the Dead

  • Hyaenu
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @maximillianzeus And the endless scrolling thread style makes it quite the mess to navigate

  • MaximillianZeus
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @hyenanoises

    Perhaps but the forum format doesn't give me many options to work with.

  • FlowerOfCarnage

    I'd like a system where I can return the game and get a refund if I can't roll a decent looking pirate after 1000 tries. Because I'm not going to play it if I don't get a character I like.

  • WrothAmoeba388

    @usa4thewinn said in [Mega Thread] - Character customisation - the IPG:

    As long as I able to further customize my character after selecting a pirate, I see no problem with this. I think it will be nice to know that I wont see my same character running around in the world.

    But, there is no guarantee of this. It is just a random roll of misc parts. The rolls could come up in exactly the same order for another player. We don't know how many actual parts there are in game, but when you add millions of players into the mix, repeats are bound to happen.

  • Ghost 0f Dawn
    Master
    Insider
    Founder

    I like the IPG and I don't see the problem with it. What does concern me is the idea of being stuck forever with one look. At first glance a less informed player might not be aware of the system and have no way of going back. People change over time as well, you may not always want to BE the same character. You may log in one day and maybe you want to role-play out a different character. In a game about the player making their experience it certainly helps to allow character variety. Maybe one day you want to be a big beefy pet lover who loves to eat kebabs, but the next you want to play as a savvy bilgerat woman who will stab someone in the back for gold. Or maybe you just feel like playing as an old crazy guy sputtering nonsense of the ocean and far-fetched tales.

    Its not really possible to have that sort of variety when you are stuck with one character forever. An option to change later on would be great, even if it's a gold sink, or even just having multiple character slots, so you can build more than one role. That would be more perfectly acceptable.

  • Dje La Planque
    Master
    Founder

    I got a problem during the last scale test of this week-end.

    2 weeks ago, when the IPG system was tested by players, I choose an old skinny guy. But with some dark grey hair, a skin burn by the sun and some tattoos.

    Then this week-end I found him with a white skin, without tattoos and some clear grey hair.

    At first I hoped we could save some characters before choice but I result to choose one, but then the game doesn't save any particularity of it. I hope it's just a bug from scale test and that will not happened on the release because I guess, if we can't change by anyway the skin, the hair color and tattoos, many will be disapointed by this system.

    Fix it before release or let us choose more.

  • CoffeeArt687098
    Marauder
    Insider

    If you look outside the clothing shops on each of the outpost islands, you'll see the clothing chest and vanity chest, but also a big earthenware pot with sticks and brushes poking out of it. It's covered in paint splashes. This will most certainly be the tattoo vanity customisation spot (or where you can dye your hair)...
    I found the IPG frustrating- because I was keen to get onto the Scale Test & was surprised to find it as a feature on login. I enjoyed trying it out, but did not find a pirate that was exactly what I wanted. I went with something close enough & got on with my sailing, knowing that this was just a temporary choice & not my 'release pirate'...
    Now- I think the IPG is going to be where we all pick our pirate 'blank canvass'. Height, weight, body type, age, gender- all of these basics are covered on the carousel- but to say that this is your final pirate is being short-sighted. The true customisation will come in-game, using the chests and other customisation spots available to us.
    The 'starting pirate' is pretty vanilla- & they do seem quite samey on the carousel- but on release I'm sure there will be plenty of different hairstyles (other than admiral & bilge-rat) just as there will be more than 2 clothing sets. Hair colour, tattoos, scars- all will be fully changeable- and the full release scope of choices will be huge, I'm sure.
    All of the pirates that we've seen from 2+ years of gameplay & trailers had widely differing hair colours, lengths, clothing, accessories, etc. We will be able to use all of them, otherwise, why would they have been on show for so long?
    So, if the 'vanilla' pirate from the carousel doesn't exactly meet your idea of who your pirate persona truly is, then don't be put off- there will no doubt be a whole scope of tweaks that you can make at the vanity chests to get them exactly right for you...

  • Dracon5460
    Castaway

    If they don't want to add a character lock where you can save them for a few rolls. What if you could choose a pirate that was generated and the next roll it would be similar but only like 1 thing would be changed

  • R0B0Tmonkey

    I think the IPG is great, its different that no other game has really done. Plus look at the game ARK? when do you ever see a character that looks somewhat normal. I think RARE is doing another great thing with the IPG. the characters are weird looking pirates, tattoos, peg legs, hooks for hands. some are fat, skinny, lanky, short, etc. in the scale test I did find an interesting looking pirate that I choose and I loved it. I can't wait to find the next pirate when the game is released.

    I will add though I would love to see a slot style kind of character selection. maybe I see one I like and add that guy/girl to a slot of five. in which I can choose one of out the five pirates that I thought was cool.

  • MrGuyMM
    Master
    Insider

    This idea is maybe not 100% on topic for this mega thread, but it's close enough I thought I'd put it here instead of out by itself. This customization could in theory be applied to individual pirates, or whole ships and crews... Pirate Mascots. As a game mechanic, this would take the form of a cute AI controlled critter, a parrot, monkey, dog, or whatever seems appropriate... personally I would like to see the promised Kitten with Eye Patch from that one Tales from the Tavern video. Mascots would live aboard ship and be able to interact with the crew in some fun and interesting ways. Scratch the dog's ear, set the parrot on your shoulder, feed the monkey a banana, that sort of thing. Perhaps they could also dance along with music played on your pirate instruments, or other sort of cartoonish things in keeping with the game's humor. The Mascots would be hardy, sea-worthy animals, so unlike critters kept as cargo you would not have to worry about them during storms or battles... as long as the ship stays afloat they can look after themselves. Additionally, to add a bit of extra flavor, the Mascots might sometimes go ashore with the crew. Cats and dogs might chase chickens and such on the beach for fun, parrots and monkeys might go sit in a tree and munch some local fruit, and so forth. Also, I'm not sure whether the Mascots should be tied to a whole ship and crew, or to individual pirates... thoughts/opinions anyone?

    Of course, unless this is all already planned, none of it will be happening for release day, but what do people think of this as potential future content? Thanks for taking the time to read!

  • Drone Bros
    Ship Mate
    Insider

    @ser-pineapples the moustache gets replaced by the beard or whatever you decide to put in its place

  • Skahabeg

    Please let us re-choose that pirate in the login screen!
    I get it that RARE do not want to have 80% Jack Sparrows running around the game, but telling me "choose once, be stuck with that guy/lass forever"?
    This really really p****s me off.

  • Captain Aircool

    Just a few requests.

    Have two or three placeholders when choosing a pirate so you can compare. The reason for this is because you can't see your Pirate close up and you can't move your Pirate around.

    This brings me onto my second suggestion. When you click on a Pirate, give the option to zoom in (because subtle facial features can go unnoticed), spin around (so you can check out your Pirates bum) and a few preview actions such as dancing, shooting etc...

    I'm totally fine with the random pirate generator, but you can't see much of your Pirate on the selection wheel, nor get a taste for their personality until you've seen them perform a few actions.

    Oh, and the ability to hold one or two aside so you can choose your favourite.

    • I spent ages trying to find the right pirate, and in the end, wasn't at all happy with my selection. Had a previous Pirate been better? Will the next spin give me a better Pirate? A little bit of choice in the matter would be appreciated as spending all your game time with an avatar you don't really like isn't fun.

    How...ev...er... I can see that this method of choosing a character open up the possibility of using microtransactions to re-select your Pirate. That's fine by me as long as I have at least some sort of control over my original avatar, such as being able to hold two in reserve and pick the best.

  • D3adking

    i think for a character creation its good enough. but i hope i get to customize my character later in game.
    I mean there could be a spell from the order of souls, that can change anything from your character. so that we can add or remove tattoo's change the gender or just the height/ weight of our character.

    i think that's a good system because you can start relatively fast and you dont start the game with a 2h character customization. And if you reched your legendary status, you still can invest and change your character so that you like it 100%.

    maybe we can even buy "bodies" like the different clothes we can buy. I think that would be fun and open options for roleplaying.

  • DoctorViolet716
    Master
    Insider

    Hair color being changed in game was confirmed in the behind the scenes video today. At least thats one detail i don't have to worry about when choosing a pirate on launch day. Will make finding my pirate easier for certain.

  • Buckminister87
    Founder

    Dear Rare,
    Like so many other people have said before the IPG needs work. I have been in all of the scale test and now just started the open beta. After spending 57 minutes searching for a character that is close to what I want "my pirate" to be, I was frustrated enough that I just chose the next character that even resembled what I would have like. I know this may not be a big deal to some players, but when you are building a game where all of the progression is about how your pirate looks I just feel the IPG is a bad start. I have tried to give it a chance but it just feels like the same characters kept coming up with small things changed each time. So I went through each spin hoping for the build skin tone and face I would like to come around. Sadly the closest I got was about 5 minutes in but kept going because I hoped for something far better. 57 minutes and I did not see one character I would have liked. I know its only the beta but my consern is that when the game launches I have to go through the painful process of finding a character that I will want to play with and I am just not looking forward to that.
    I feel I speak for so many other people and say I hope this is changed by the finale game. It just puts such a bad first impression. So many players are going to be stuck with characters they do not want. You guys have done such a great job creating an awesome game. But when you start a game and right away you are put off by it, thats just not something you want players to feel about a game you have worked so h*****n and really is a great game.
    Rare if you are even reading these please let the community know what your thoughts are on the matter. It would help put us to ease if we know that our ideas are something we can expect to make the game even better.
    Thank you,
    Cpt. Buck

  • Hyaenu
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    Seeing all the new faces added to the generation pool just makes me wish even more for customization options at the character 'creation' part

  • C4TCH XXII

    @buckminister87 well said, I'm past 2 hrs into looking for a character in the finale beta, I'm not giving up because I'm curious at this point to wether I can even find the pirate I want or how long it will take, I know the gender, the face, the body type, skin tone, and tattoo pallet I'm looking for I just can't find them together, please do something rare, before the release, I'm begging you. It will save me such a headache lol. I ended it at the 2hr 45min mark when I found a guy who met all my criteria except for his face, it seemed like every time I seen the face I wanted it was on a huge guy, idk why. But in the actual release, I will scroll until I hit my perfect pirate!

  • DoctorViolet716
    Master
    Insider

    Ok this issue has me worried. I choose my pirate after spamming page down alot. Exactly what i wanted. Green eyes,one blind eye,dark brown hair,and correct skin tone/body size. A bug happened recently before i quit for the day though which resulted in my inventory being broken. I killed myself and respawned onyl to find my characters eyes were way more squinted,eyes were orangish pink colored,and hair was black instead of dark brown. If this can happen in the final game then its unacceptable. Who wants to be the pirate they wanted to be only for a random issue one day to randomly make them not the pirate they chose in the ipg? For those with a planned character design none of us. This issue needs to be seriously addressed and dealt with before launch and during launch. If i can't trust the ipg to keep the character i chose midway into the game then why trust it at all? I liked the idea but after seeing my character get altered out of nowhere is making me uncomfortable. Alot more then i was originally. (Would post screenshots but imgur links don't seem to do the job right and thats only place i could see posting them.)

  • JamieThe1egend
    Founder

    We do need limited customisation

    Hair Colour
    Height/Body Type
    Gender/Race

    (Thats it) That's all we need!

  • Savage Alien
    Legend
    Insider

    @jamiethe1egend Sounds like Hair Colour will be customizable in game., hoping for the same to be true about tattoos

  • ZetsubouKibo
    Captain
    Founder

    Choose a pirate then customize him/her afterwards

  • Arch Fable

    Theoretically this sounds cool, but technically does the opposite. This is why devs won't introduce it.

    Logic:

    More locked pirates mean less slots to reroll which therefore means even more time is spent generating them each round. Hence locking a pirate at its core implies that the feature is not actually used to lock those perfect pirates in the first place, but just somewhat interesting ones at best that you still feel lacking and troubling. None of them are exactly the one you are looking for so it's better to reroll all slots anew to find that specific one remarkably sooner, which draws you toward itself like a spark in the cosmos, than later with locked slots slowing down the generation pace.

    TL;DR: The less slots you can roll at each moment, the longer it takes to find your perfect mate. The more slots you can roll each moment, the sooner you get the pirate you truly love to play as.

    However, IPG could benefit from body types that affect some feats, e.g. acrobatics the most, the mates can perform and more specifically how they perform them while providing believable fantasies that are fun to experience. I explore these possibilities in the topics below. Just be ready because they are long. Maximum topic length to be exact.

    MegaThread: Predictions & Ideas Part 1

    MegaThread: Predictions & Ideas Part 2

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