Character Face Customization

I wasn’t saying people would complain because of the barber, just acknowledging that some people will complain whatever you do.

[quote=“Wicker, post:60, topic:23609”]
You realize this could instantly alleviated by adding a dialogue box that states Henry is a set character, or that the reason you can’t change his face is because of mocap. Why wouldn’t that be a better alternative than removing something they wanted to add? (not that I know they do).[/quote]
Should the devs really have to put in a note explaining every design decision that might be unpopular with some of their audience? I just think it’s simpler to leave out pre-game character customisation altogether, especially since DrFusselpulli has stated that even the barber/hairstyle thing is a low priority. That way, rather than having to explain why players can change X but not Y, they can just say “this is what Henry looks like; take it or leave it.”

You didn’t answer me entirely, why is this one feature special? People complain about everything, why does that suddenly matter in regards to this feature? Why?

It isn’t, really. I feel the same way about a lot of the other things people ask for (multiplayer, for example) - if something is impractical to implement for reasons of time, realism, etc., it’s better to leave it out altogether than include a stripped-down version that will probably please nobody. I’m focussing on character creation/customisation here because that’s what the thread is about.

I don’t see how this is on par with that, it’s just a few recolored textures compared to a massive undertaking like multiplayer.

I don’t think anyone would be annoyed at having that little bit of customization that helps you connect, even if it is technically superfluous. Small things like that help set characters feel more like whatever version of that character you’re going for. Hence the desire for a barber as well.

Wow, these two are really Duke-ing it out…

:stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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That is a terrible pun and you deserve a like for it.

Well, at this point I guess it comes down to a judgement call on the devs’ part. They clearly don’t feel it’s worth the time and effort, and I’m inclined to agree with them.

I am not still sure what you are discussing here.

How things are:

  1. Full character customization

This feature wont be in the game. Because main hero has to be certain things for realistic RPG with this specific story to work (male, white) and additionaly his face will be mocaped in cutscenes.
Toghether it is almost imposible to have customizable face.

  1. Barber

Customization by barber has some chance to make it into the game, if there is enough time. At least Dan Vávra mention it in Warhorse stream after release of Alpha 0.5

Reasons for even considering adding this are:

  • It makes sense (if you can choose to be evil/good, why not choose to have long hair to go with your personality?)
  • It is not so much of additional work

Thats it.

3 Likes

I don’t disagree with any of that. I’m happy it wouldn’t be too much additional work, not that I thought it would be.

We were only talking about the effects of small scale customization.

There’s no need for a barber, in Witcher it didn’t worked well either (the only good parts of the game were where playing as Ciri anyway) but it would be really nice to have some barber event or mission right in game, as crawling through woods and having to deal with low bastards needs a bit different approach than dining with nobles imho. If I remember it well, it was said there will be three ways to do things, three approaches. This mean perfect opportunity to make look of the main character automatically adapt to the chosen way (thief/diplomat/warrior) without much fuss.

On the other hand, I don’t care about textures and details much. I could live with Henry’s face being taken right from Crusader Kings 2 portraits… some of them were really good by the way…

What is wrong with you. Looking through your posts, you seem to hate male characters in general. “even playing as Geralt in W3 was extremely annoying, since he’s ugly and male” - You.

Saying they’re the best parts because she’s female is awful. I wouldn’t think this if you didn’t say Geralt is male as if it’s inherently bad. Which you did.

Then I don’t see why you feel the need to say there’s no need for a barber, of course you don’t care. It’s like someone that hates MMOs saying there’s no need for them to exist. Just say it doesn’t matter to you. Plenty of us like small bits of customization.

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I have absolutely no problem with Henry’s backstory and the role he’s been put into by Warhorse. I can also appreciate the time and effort they put into molding this character into something flexible and believable. However, I support the argument that hair and facial hair customization should make it into the game. After all, the way you play the game is often by impressing and persuading nobles, or looking rough and tough and acting the part. So why does that have to stop at the type of clothing or armor Henry is wearing? Also it’s not just an aesthetic dimension of the game, it’s also another obvious element of real life that adds to the rpg they’re shooting for. This is all just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt and believe what you want. Maybe these features won’t make it into the base game but I’ll definitely still play because this game looks incredible in every other category.

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I’ve read a lot of this thread, and I believe I’ve gained enough information to post an appropriate response. I’ll break them into pieces to make it easier to look over.

[Character Customization/ Design]

The idea of a set character took me aback when first announced, not because it was wrong but because it was bold. This model is usually taken with the JRPG genre, yet in those games it was also pretty linear as far as story, progression, and overall moral character/ personality of the character. The only problem I see people having is the fact everything is open for choice except player customization, which makes us all question why when the world (within the boundaries of lore) are at our feet, you can admit no matter what side that it does beg the question, why? I may have a theory. I’m not familiar with Bohemia at all (past/present), but if the game is accurate it doesn’t look like much outside trade was happening, at least around the areas Henry grows up in/explores (as of now). I say this because then the idea of a set char. becomes reasonable. If this was Timbuktu during the salt boom then I can see the customization making sense, you can have come from anywhere being anyone, but your not. I agree with hair, beard, tanning (slightly, fire embers take a tole) and scarring. The purpose of the game I feel is to engulf you in a story left for the history books to tell, now you get to live it in a historical fiction environment, looks more like a chance for understanding and education more than anything.

I recommend reading up on the Kingdom of Bohemia. In doing so, you’d appreciate that during the 14th century the Kingdom of Bohemia developed into a significant regional power in Europe. Charles IV was elected as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and the seat of his Empire became Prague…

Now this really sets the scene for the years that follow, and even though KCD is set in 1403 (15th Century), Prague and the Kingdom of Bohemia are still central to the Empire. This time under Sigismund (Charles’ son).

So when you speak about trade, I’m not overly sure whether in the context you write it above; if you’re referring to trade of goods and services, or simply immigration. Bohemia was known for it’s silver, as well as glass production. And as the centre of the Holy Roman Empire, it was no doubt visited by hundreds of thousands of people from all over Europe and beyond.

Anyways, do yourself a favour and read up on it. If this game even remotely interests you, then it’s good to understand a little bit about the country, the political and religious landscape and the period in which the tale takes place.

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At that time, Prague was an imperial capital (although generally the centralization of germany wasnt high at that time), there was developed mining industry (silver etc.) and there were many italian (as well as french, german, dutch) traders settled in there. On the other hand, major and long-distance trade routes led rather through the european lowlands around Oder and Donau, true, and most of the local trade was realized with culturally similar areas of Franconia/Central Germany anyway…

LISTEN: IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO INTRUODUCE NOW CHARACTER CUSTOMIZATION AND DEVELOPERS WONT WANT TO.

SO I PROPOSE TO MAKE THE PLAYER ABLE TO CHOOSE LITTLE THINGS LIKE HAIR AND EYE COLOR, AND MAYBE SOME OTHER EASY STUFF.

How could we get the developers to know this wish?

We already know about it. And Thinks like changing hair styles, going to the barber are already on our table, but it will most likely not make it into the release version, as we have to do other more important tasks first, most likely story and gameplay elements.
In the end, the game also will have mod support. If you want to change the eyes of your character, why not use a mod for it?

Every litlle MMORPG has a minimum of character customization, and your game is bigger than that.
Another thing is that it would be great the optionof mods; but, please, do not make the mistake that Bethesda always did with their games so that their games require lots of mods if you want a complete experience.

Appart from that: why dont you create a donnation button on your website? I think a lot of people will like it.

Thanks

Yeah, it looks great in every other category, and it would be sad that it was not on character customization…

Because you dont want to play as the same guy as everyone else running around in your MULTIPLAYER game…This is story driven SP game tho.

It is about trade-offs here. I DO prefer playing as me or anyone that I can imagine… and there are many great games which I love because they allow me to do that. But such games cannot portrait my random character as detailed as Gerald the Witcher, whose personal story was also more original and deeper, than stories of my own characters in other games…
So I became reconciled with the set character history and his background, but still, I would quite appreciate that barber option!