Customization Woes

[Kipper]

You still refuse to acknowledge the economics of it.

[laelgon]

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

"If you disagree with me you must be messed up in the head!"

Yup, you nailed my argument well.

People have this strange need to be a unique snowflake, and make sure that everyone knows they're a unique snowflake as well. I really don't understand how your enjoyment of a game is ruined by someone else not seeing your fashion choice. Do you walk down the street making sure everyone you walk by notices the clothes you're wearing? If you do, you're crazy. If you don't, you're an adult and you realize that most of the people you encounter in a day don't give a damn about your existence. It's not like they're even going to remember you three seconds after you leave their line of sight, so why do they have to have there experience hampered so you can feel special?

[ArmedZealot]

Originally Posted by laelgon

experience hampered so you can feel special?

Why is their experience affected by what skin I have?

Your argument consists of calling your opposition crazy and childish.

[Kipper]

Originally Posted by laelgon

People have this strange need to be a unique snowflake, and make sure that everyone knows they're a unique snowflake as well. I really don't understand how your enjoyment of a game is ruined by someone else not seeing your fashion choice.

Point still missed or ignored. A persons clothing serves many purposes - to be comfortable, warm, well fitting, well made and to allow you to walk around in public without getting arrested, etc etc. Pretty much the least important function is how strangers perceive you unless you're specifically trying to make some point.

A game item serves one purpose and one purpose only - to be seen. Take away that purpose and you take away the value of the item.

If the item has no value, people won't buy it, if people don't buy items, the game won't recoup or go into profit. If that happens, best case is no patches/development/new content. Worst case is no game at all (servers cost money to run).

[laelgon]

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

Why is their experience affected by what skin I have?

Because for some people, they like to be immersed in the experience, and seeing a neon rainbow camo pattern breaks that immersion and ruins the fun. That's why I play most games with names turned off, so I don't have to see xxleetxsniperxx over a player's head.

Why do people feel their purchased is devalued by someone else not wanting to see it?

This is just going to go back and forth until we actually get in the game and see what there is for customization. Hopefully they're all done tastefully and it won't be an issue.

[ArmedZealot]

Originally Posted by laelgon

Because for some people, they like to be immersed in the experience, and seeing a neon rainbow camo pattern breaks that immersion and ruins the fun. That's why I play most games with names turned off, so I don't have to see xxleetxsniperxx over a player's head.

So you acknowledge that how I look does affect your feel of the game in some way, right? So you do care how I look?

[LostAlgorithm]

You still refuse to acknowledge the economics of it.

I simply disagree with how you view the economics on it. It would not be a huge cut in the number of customization sales. It would only lead to more money going to the developers through the sale of the option to hide customizations.

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

Why is their experience affected by what skin I have?

My experience would be negatively affected because I want it to be like PS1. I want it to feel like massive, uniform armies duking it out, not a bunch of individuals in golden armor, and neon armor, and desert camo, and snow camo, and whatever else who just happen to be on the same side.

Your argument consists of calling your opposition crazy and childish.

Well, to be fair, one of the reasons you asked to not have customizations hidden was so that you could dress like an "asshat" and have people get mad at you about it.

A game item serves one purpose and one purpose only - to be seen. Take away that purpose and you take away the value of the item.

There. Is. No. Value. To. Be. Taken. Away. If a person does not approve of the customization you have chosen, there is no value to be gained from them seeing it. Having the option to hide it increases the overall value of the game experience as it provides more enjoyment to the parties involved.

So you acknowledge that how I look does affect your feel of the game in some way, right? So you do care how I look?

Yes, it does affect me and those of similar opinion to me, but not in a positive way. As I've said, just because you want to grief and troll people is not a good excuse for excluding the option to hide customizations.

[laelgon]

Originally Posted by Kipper

Point still missed or ignored. A persons clothing serves many purposes - to be comfortable, warm, well fitting, well made and to allow you to walk around in public without getting arrested, etc etc. Pretty much the least important function is how strangers perceive you unless you're specifically trying to make some point.

A game item serves one purpose and one purpose only - to be seen. Take away that purpose and you take away the value of the item.

If the item has no value, people won't buy it, if people don't buy items, the game won't recoup or go into profit. If that happens, best case is no patches/development/new content. Worst case is no game at all (servers cost money to run).

But I still don't see how players are going to know if other people have opted out of seeing their customizations. If people don't know how many have, they're going to guess. I'm about to make a generalization here: The people who care so much about being seen are probably going to assume that everyone else is going to want to see them. The value all depends upon the mind of the player, and the people who really want others to see them are probably willing to pay even if some people don't see them.

[Toppopia]

Couldn't this problem be solved by having a primary color that can't be changed? (Because how am i supposed to know who the enemy is if everyone is a different color) so that TR would be Red or Black, NC would be blue or gold, and VS would be purple or ?. so then people customise their secondary colors so that its not as bad as seeing a pink player because we will see a Blue and pink player, and still allows people to be unique in how they look.
Also make turning off this feature $100, that will make SOE lots of money

[ArmedZealot]

Originally Posted by LostAlgorithm

Yes, it does affect me and those of similar opinion to me, but not in a positive way. As I've said, just because you want to grief and troll people is not a good excuse for excluding the option to hide customizations.

It is the best reason to buy a skin. I will be killing you, and on your death screen you will see me in my skin. You having the ability to turn that off makes purchasing a skin fairly useless.

The devs have even acknowledged this in talks over taunts being available in the store.

[Kipper]

Originally Posted by LostAlgorithm

here. Is. No. Value. To. Be. Taken. Away. If a person does not approve of the customization you have chosen, there is no value to be gained from them seeing it.

What? No! It has nothing to do with indivudals - its mathematics. If its worth $10 to have 100% of people you come into contact with see your item, if 10% of them are never going to see it, then its worth 10% less, aka $9. That's decided when the purchaser is purchasing, not afterwards. 10% across the board is $100,000 for every $1,000,000 of revenue, why would a business do that to itself?

The value isn't gained or lest when people see it or don't. Its just there at the point when people buy it. It doesn't fluctuate (although it may decrease if its popular and people want to be unique, which is what the developers will hope for, a sort of cosmetic arms race to bring in the cash).

Originally Posted by laelgon

But I still don't see how players are going to know if other people have opted out of seeing their customizations. If people don't know how many have, they're going to guess.

And I bet you they'd guess higher than the actual figure, so it makes it worse.

[LostAlgorithm]

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

It is the best reason to buy a skin. I will be killing you, and on your death screen you will see me in my skin. You having the ability to turn that off makes purchasing a skin fairly useless.

It's not like I'll be upset at you for having the skin, I'll simply think the developers made a poor choice in selling it. You showing up on my kill screen in pink armor isn't going to make me rage, it'll just make the game less enjoyable as it won't feel like Planetside to me.

[ArmedZealot]

Originally Posted by LostAlgorithm

It's not like I'll be upset at you for having the skin, I'll simply think the developers made a poor choice in selling it. You showing up on my kill screen in pink armor isn't going to make me rage, it'll just make the game less enjoyable as it won't feel like Planetside to me.

It affects you enough that you are willing to pay to not see it.

[Kipper]

Originally Posted by Toppopia

Couldn't this problem be solved by having a primary color that can't be changed?

I can't see silliness taking over, I'm arguing devils advocate / business case on here but the fact is, I want Planetside to look like Planetside too - but I also want it to make money so that it will continue to exist and grow, we've waited long enough for it ffs

I don't think SoE will go too heavily (if at all) down the clown hats route, it will just be different designs - in keeping with your empire - that make you look a bit more personalised without taking away from the fact that you're supposed to be a killing machine.

[LostAlgorithm]

Originally Posted by Kipper

What? No! It has nothing to do with indivudals - its mathematics. If its worth $10 to have 100% of people you come into contact with see your item, if 10% of them are never going to see it, then its worth 10% less, aka $9. That's decided when the purchaser is purchasing, not afterwards.

The value isn't gained or lest when people see it or don't. Its just there at the point when people buy it. It doesn't fluctuate (although it may decrease if its popular and people want to be unique, which is what the developers will hope for, a sort of cosmetic arms race to bring in the cash).

But you see, it's not ever worth that 100%. No where near 100% of the people you run across are going to care that you are wearing that skin. For all intents and purposes, you might have well as have not spent that money.

The value goes beyond who can just see it, the opinion of every person you run into also influences the true value of the skin. If people don't care, then it doesn't matter even if they can see it.

The devs have even acknowledged this in talks over taunts being available in the store.

Can you elaborate on this? What kind of taunts? Such as the verbal ones from the original Planetside? Those wouldn't be nearly as bad as a constantly seeing a large hodgepodge collection of soldiers in different armor who are supposedly on the same side.

It affects you enough that you are willing to pay to not see it.

True enough. And I simply don't think they should listen to griefers and trolls when it comes to deciding who to support on this matter.

"I want him to be pissed every time I kill him cause of my armor.", isn't a perspective I'd want to support as a developer at least.