Armor and weapon, cloth damage ?

I have a id i t hank would add depth to the game and to game play, say as you armor/ weapons get damaged. It shows on your toon, so that the more damaged it get's the more it looks damaged on your guy ie you cloth armor leather and steal. i thank this would add depth to the game since irl you see damged stuff little worn on you guy. Just a ID so tell me what you guys thank

 

Generally speaking I think this kind of thing would be well received by the players. The problem is the technical aspects. There are two ways to really do this. Either by replacing textures on items being damaged or by overlaying textures.

In both cases it involves creating damage versions of all of those textures to be applied. That takes time and money. Of course, it's up to the devs to weigh the costs versus other features. As B might say it's bang for buck. It's an awesome idea but one we shouldn't expect to see in the first game. Doesn't mean we shouldn't ask for it though.

If we're talking texture overlays we could take it a step further and suggest dirt and grime. Maybe even the odd blood stain we'd have to wash out. Fewer textures would need to be made as they can be used on multiple items. The question is whether or not the game could properly render all those extra textures without taking a performance hit.

If we're talking complete texture replacement we don't have the performance issue but it's a lot more work to make different versions of all the textures.

 

Apologies scorn, opposed and here is why. In cases where you are going to get into combat conditions with other players, I don't want the other player to have the ability to assess my readiness based on condition of gear.

That being said, I do think that showing gear is important so that you have some idea on what you are getting into. Thus, I also believe that cosmetic gear should be force hidden outside towns so that combat gear is exposed.

 

Honestly, I think this is essential. This should be the reason you repair your gear, more than any other. I really don't want gear giving a statistical advantage.

 

InsaneMembrane as far as i can tell, the durability will have no effect on how much damge and how much u can take it just looks better give you a fill of being in combat.

 

You can't really say that now- we don't know combat mechanics (this is always some crazy math and I like that ).
I like the idea! And as PrimeRib said: it would be good motivation for you to repair your gear, because anyone can see it and asses you. On the other hand you can do just the same.

Technical issues is what worries me as Bowen pointed out. Have you played Fallen Enchantress? It's kind of like civilization game with an awesome idea of creating your own troops by giving them equipment of your choosing. Problem is, it just make some serious stutters and performance drop, when your PC has to render real time a lot of troops that are custom made.
So if thechnically it's possible then I'm all for it.

 

Cadogantes I just brain storming here just thought this would add to the game not sure on the Technical side, but i like this idea

 

It really comes down to what the engine can handle with the target specs they're shooting for. It shouldn't be terribly difficult to implement. The code should be relatively simple. It's the number of textures at once that is potentially troublesome. It's basically the same issue as custom crests and maker's marks as a texture overlay. These have already been tested and seems the engine can handle it.. but I'm not tech savvy enough so be able to say what would happen when you do that to all equipable gear.

The thought occurs to me.. that since the only real concern here (apart from bang for buck) is possible performance issues.. could this not be an optional setting under advanced graphic settings? You really wouldn't want to do that for custom crests as they are a means of identification.. but what we're talking about here is pure aesthetics. It's not really any different that choosing between low and high rez textures or fade distance.

So why stop at damage? Add some mud if you're going through swamps or burn marks on cloth if you're hit with fire. Perhaps some rust even? Ok that might be going a little too far but it would be pretty darn cool.

 

I guess in my mind you could make "glowing chain mail of awesomeness" and "old rusty damaged chain mail" really just be the same stuff. So you can spent a lot getting a master smith and all the goodies and it starts at 10 on the scale, but it degrades to 1 over time. Not all armor will start at 10. Armor can be repaired, improved, reforged, etc.

Overtime, of course, you could add very different chain skins that aren't actually "better" than the other - just different. But I'd rather start with one kind of chain that can go through this cycle than 10 different kinds.