Death and the Station Store

ArmedZealot · 2012-03-18, 03:54 PM

With the purchase of cosmetic items from the station store it seems that the Art department of SOE will be kept employed for a good long while (I hope). However, due to the nature of battles and fighting in Planetside most of their work will go unnoticed and unappreciated.

In battles the size of the player, the effects, and the distraction of battle don't allow players to notice each others cosmetic items. This in effect will lessen demand for said items.

However with the removal of the kill cam, there is a spot for you to see who actually killed you in detail. So with some Paint magic here is a death screen that could be useful.

That way you can see what items the player had that killed you and will hopefully make you want to deck yourself out to match.

However from what I've read vanity items seem to be a sore point for veteran/hardcore people who think it will break immersion. And seeing those items here will break that. So Vets, what would you allow? Would you allow silly hats? Or does everything have to fit in Planetside's universe?

Coreldan · 2012-03-18, 04:07 PM

Higby did say that ideally the death cam he wants is that a 3D model of your killer appears on a "blank" background (not really blank, but such that you cant get free intel off of).

So basically exactly what you are trying to say here

Ale · 2012-03-18, 04:11 PM

I like this.

I would like it more if it was this concept used as an overlay, not unlike the one on the alpha killcam with an extra avatar pic, superimposed on top of the spinning deathcam / waiting for medic cam / getting legit teabagged cam.

xSquirtle · 2012-03-18, 04:28 PM

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

This is actually not a bad idea. It eliminates the kill cam debate. While at the same time gives a players recognition as well as showing off their gear.

Stat showing like that on the side, could become kind of personal. So a option to allow other players to see, should be up to the player it self.

megamold · 2012-03-18, 04:37 PM

yeah i would like to choose what to show, it would be cool if you could enter a short msg.
kinda like a catchphrase.
i would use my xboxlive one

i'm not weird, i'm limited edition !

Knocky · 2012-03-18, 04:46 PM

I so WANT a 3d render of myself in your face as you wait to spawn.

Preferably with me give you the /Finger or maybe a /GrabCrotch emote.

BTW cash shop guys....I would pay $5 for that.

NCLynx · 2012-03-18, 04:51 PM

Cosmetic stuff is optional it's not supposed to be insanely "Hey look at me" in the midst of a battle (IMO) unless it's super noticeable like a custom helmet or full body armor skin.

I think of it as more like the merits from the original. If I was shooting at people I wasn't worried about if they saw my merits, but during base caps and times where we were locked down I know I'd be looking at peoples merits etc.

Skitrel · 2012-03-18, 05:29 PM

This is more or less exactly what Higby said, stats and character that killed you on a blank background not in world.

I presume it will actually be the player, not just a rotating model of the player, this then makes the taunts and emotions that are going to be in game something that players can perform when they knife gank someone and then taunt them while they know they're looking at their death screen.

I'd prefer this over the automatic suggestion others have mentioned previously, showing a deathscreen with a taunt all the time. I don't want someone to see a taunt EVERY single time I get a kill, just on the special ones.

Tatwi · 2012-03-18, 05:41 PM

For at least 80% of people, 99% of the appeal of vanity items is that the owner can see them. The other 1% is that other people can see them.

*Statistical analysis provided by M. Atebal International Inc.

sylphaen · 2012-03-18, 05:55 PM

I still think that when you die, you should have information about the closest adv. medic that revive you and those 2 click options:
- open respawn menu
- open death info menu (shows your spawn/session stats and enemy players info)

A kill cam is nice but what if the damage to your 100% of health was shared between 10 persons ?

It would be much nicer to see damage stats (how much, by who, with what) and being able to click the name of the enemy players to look at their stats/avatar.

Similarly, if we could also see the stats about how we helped our empire during this spawn, it would be fun.

Ideally, the quick death info would be only shown for the guy who took you down while the full (or complete) death info could show up when you choose to release.

That way, you have more time to look at data and it can also track how many times you were revived, how long you played before you were forced to respawn, list all players who shot you, etc...

Lonehunter · 2012-03-18, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

most of their work will go unnoticed and unappreciated.

I'm probably in the minority, but I like skins/camos because I like the way they look, not because I think others think they look good.

But Higby did give an example of the same concept all ready in the works so you should be satisfied.

Question for the OP: If you couldn't see any cosmetic stuff purchased for your character, but other people could, would you still buy it?

ArmedZealot · 2012-03-18, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by NCLynx

Cosmetic stuff is optional it's not supposed to be insanely "Hey look at me" in the midst of a battle (IMO) unless it's super noticeable like a custom helmet or full body armor skin.

Why not? If someone is going to pay 100$ for full golden armor complete with codpiece then they should have a way to be noticed in it. The more people you kill, the more notice you.

I doubt many people would pay money for dinky little ribbons that you can put on your shoulder.

artifice · 2012-03-18, 06:15 PM

I really like the idea.

Originally Posted by NCLynx

Cosmetic stuff is optional it's not supposed to be insanely "Hey look at me" in the midst of a battle (IMO) unless it's super noticeable like a custom helmet or full body armor skin.

I think of it as more like the merits from the original. If I was shooting at people I wasn't worried about if they saw my merits, but during base caps and times where we were locked down I know I'd be looking at peoples merits etc.

Cosmetic stuff is what is going to allow you to play PS2 without a monthly fee.

megamold · 2012-03-18, 06:16 PM

Originally Posted by ArmedZealot

I doubt many people would pay money for dinky little ribbons that you can put on your shoulder.

i would, and i am sure many others will to.
compare it to the visual namefields you can get by doing special action in the MW series ( i mean like the avatar pics and the "shields" i geuss you could call them )

i have seen people ponder wich one to use since they had to earn those visual tags.
ok in MW these are highly noticable, but i dont see why people wouldnt pay for a medal on their armor to show a medal they worked at to aquire.

on another note, i think it would be nice to have a visual friendslist.
so that when you click on someone in the list you could select to see what they are wearing, commendations,.....

also maybe a command like /showplayer insertnamehere
with a popup to show the player in more detail.

ArmedZealot · 2012-03-18, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by megamold

On another note, i think it would be nice to have a visual friendslist.
so that when you click on someone in the list you could select to see what they are wearing, commendations,.....

also maybe a command like /showplayer insertnamehere
with a popup to show the player in more detail.

Eh, I think the friend list thing is a little unnecessary. I mean, you could just go up to them and look at them if they are on your empire.

I like the command but it should be the secondary option to see someone. If there is an actual player browser then it should be tertiary.

I never played anything since COD:MW so I can't really comment on the system that they've used.