it really was
one of the first major FPS to go all out with insane cosmetics/customizing and still one of the best implementations of it
Operators/Specialists/Skins are ruining FPS designs
- Thread starter Killer
- Start date
one of the first major FPS to go all out with insane cosmetics/customizing and still one of the best implementations of it
Cosmetics aren't ruining those games. Most of them are just shite. BF2042 and Vanguard in particular.
I was just complaining about this in Halo last night. There needs to be an option in the menu to turn off cosmetics so that everyone is red and blue. Plain and simple.
It's fine in Infinite so far. Vanguard was a bit odd at first but they probably wouldn't get away with charging people money to buy Nazi characters (bad idea anyway) so they kept all the characters on the same side.
I have only played the beta/trial for 2042 and don't much care for the specialists. Yes, in previous BF's each faction had 4 or so characters running around, but it did add to the illusion of being a bunch of grunts in a conflict. Now it's the same dozen characters with names and personalities copy pasted amongst 100+ players and it's kind of weird.
I have only played the beta/trial for 2042 and don't much care for the specialists. Yes, in previous BF's each faction had 4 or so characters running around, but it did add to the illusion of being a bunch of grunts in a conflict. Now it's the same dozen characters with names and personalities copy pasted amongst 100+ players and it's kind of weird.
Skins suck. Numerous times, I've had opponents in Rocket League who have ambigious or downright misleading car colors. Add some colorblindness and it's only worse.
While not the point OP is making, i fully agree.
Rainbow six seej went from being a down to earth game to this and it screws with the vibe
Rainbow six seej went from being a down to earth game to this and it screws with the vibe
I prefer outlines to Red vs. Blue. It's still easy to tell people apart, and I actually get to see my customized character outside of FFA. BF though I'm not happy with the change since it killed classes.
I'm okay with how Halo does it. But I do hate in other games where I can't tell if someone's a teammate or enemy.
This has "how do we get that Fortnite money?" written all over it. Yeesh.While not the point OP is making, i fully agree.
Rainbow six seej went from being a down to earth game to this and it screws with the vibe
I shoot the guys who don't have a nametag above their head or who are highlighted red.
Cold War did this as well (which I'm more familiar with) but since I played both sides so frequently I just shot whoever wasn't highlighted as a team mate. Sometimes I didn't know what faction I was on until I killed someone. "Oh that Portnova tried to kill me, I guess we're the good guys".
Cold War did this as well (which I'm more familiar with) but since I played both sides so frequently I just shot whoever wasn't highlighted as a team mate. Sometimes I didn't know what faction I was on until I killed someone. "Oh that Portnova tried to kill me, I guess we're the good guys".
I think customization is fine, but agree that clones of same established characters fighting each other in opposing sides in a non-silly setting just makes it feel goofy even if it's not the intention. Games being goofy isn't inherently bad, it is quite often a positive in my books, but it absolutely does damage atmosphere of shooters with serious settings.
Yeah I think this aspect of cosmetic-based class/character design is commonly overlooked. Similarly related, like with some Battle Pass systems, you can't just "ignore it" anymore when it's directly affecting gameplay, whether that be through visual readability or changing players' behavior.
Yeah, i think this is a good point, and this might be the reason, indeed. Seeing that both CoD: Modern Warfare (2019) and CoD: Cold War (which i just learned) both have operators and different factions, the World War 2 theme in CoD: Vanguard might have made it more difficult to include skins for different factions due to Nazi, as you mention. I didnt think too much about that to begin with, but i think that this sounds like a very plausible reason why they chose a different design route with the operators in CoD: Vanguard, indeed.
Ah ok, cool, i didnt know that, thanks for the info :) I basically skipped CoD: Cold War because i had already played Modern Warfare (2019) for hundreds of hours, so i needed a break from CoD in general, hehe (i did check out one of the beta periods, and the free weekend multiplayer period of Cold War though, but i never got around to play much the full version game).
I didn't play a lot of MW19, but my kid was obsessed with it and felt CW was a big step down, so you didn't really miss much.
That said, even outside of multiplayer my favorite mode was Zombies Outbreak and I loved unlocking skins. Yeah, I only saw them when I was driving motorcycles or during the rare cut scene and I wasn't playing multiplayer so I had no one to "show off to", but I liked unlocking customizations to make my character look cool.
It's not generally a problem… until you get some bullshit like a jammer, EMP, counter UAV that literally takes away the red name tags, the freaking ONLY identifier left to differentiate friendly vs enemy.
It's not the cosmetics themselves
1. In Call of Dutys case it has always been faction(good mostly) vs faction(bad normally) on a map that makes sense
So you'd have a map like Stalingrad that would be Russians vs Germans...
You know kind of the point of the setting.
With the new operator focus Activision clearly doesn't want to sell German/Nazi or Imperial Japanese operators so they eliminated the enemy factions all together so now at Stalingrad you have Allies(with a defecting German and defecting Japanese soldier) vs those same Allies.
It's just weird and entirely elements the old staple of the series as well
2042 situation is that there are literally 100+ players and only 10 super defined unique characters between them.
It's bad in a game like COD with multiples, in 2042 you will literally see 20+ of the same Canadian guy attacking an objective...
The Canadian guy's class and everything is perfectly fine but why does he need to be so specific?
Like just keep his setup the same but give 3-4 alternate heads per class at the very least.
You can literally sell skins the same but face options would immediately help change it up.
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I was skeptical about the change from the classic Red v. Blue team format in multiplayer, but after playing tons of the flights and current release, the highlight works perfectly for Infinite. No friends or foe issues, plus unlike many other team games in which you fill a roll, Spartans all have the same capabilities at spawn. Rather, its the weapons/equipment that needs to have to good visual feedback and ability to identify. Games like Battlefield where you fill a role should have unique class visuals and enemy faction distinction to quickly communicate friendly/enemy capabilities.
Didn't like the direction they took with BF2042. Unsure if the new releases do this, but didn't Modern Warfare reboot lock certain characters to specific factions? Seems like a better solution than BF. Just give me masked soldiers and allow us to change voice/gender/race, and I'm happy 🙏🏻
Didn't like the direction they took with BF2042. Unsure if the new releases do this, but didn't Modern Warfare reboot lock certain characters to specific factions? Seems like a better solution than BF. Just give me masked soldiers and allow us to change voice/gender/race, and I'm happy 🙏🏻
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I have played 48 hours of halo and I have not encountered a time where I was shooting my teammate cause I thought he was an enemy. The red or blue highlight is not a problem for me.
Call of Duty Cold War originally didn't have factions,I was skeptical about the change from the classic Red v. Blue team format in multiplayer, but after playing tons of the flights and current release, the highlight works perfectly for Infinite. No friends or foe issues, plus unlike many other team games in which you fill a roll, Spartans all have the same capabilities at spawn. Rather, its the weapons/equipment that needs to have to good visual feedback and ability to identify. Games like Battlefield where you fill a role should have unique class visuals and enemy faction distinction to quickly communicate friendly/enemy capabilities.
Didn't like the direction they took with BF2042. Unsure if the new releases do this, but didn't Modern Warfare reboot lock certain characters to specific factions? Seems like a better solution than BF. Just give me masked soldiers and allow us to change voice/gender/race, and I'm happy 🙏🏻
Everyone complained so they changed it in the final game.
That's why half the characters on the bad side are ex-USMC, ex-SAS, ex Norwegian intelligence, etc
Vanguard doesn't at all,
It's like all Allies with a defecting German woman and a defecting Japanese soldier fighting each other
This is the most "No fun allowed" post I've seen in a long time.While not the point OP is making, i fully agree.
Rainbow six seej went from being a down to earth game to this and it screws with the vibe
God help us if a game has some goofy and fun skins outside of all the tacticool stuff.
I haven't played Siege and ages and my Lord what a way to kill your visual identity for Micro transactions.While not the point OP is making, i fully agree.
Rainbow six seej went from being a down to earth game to this and it screws with the vibe
Why does every game need to have this goofy stuff even when it clashes with the tone of the game?
Really it feels more like every game has to be goofy and no one is allowed to be grounded more than the opposite nowadays.
I don't agree. It ruins nothing for me. I'm totally fine with it, especially with the different skins per operator.
If it's just like, an immersion thing for you, then I can't argue that, but if you're arguing IFF, BF 2042's IFF is just fine. If _I_ don't have issues (and I have constant issues with IFF in CoD) with it in BF 2042, then it's doing its job.
A game's visual identity is really really important.
If it's just like, an immersion thing for you, then I can't argue that, but if you're arguing IFF, BF 2042's IFF is just fine. If _I_ don't have issues (and I have constant issues with IFF in CoD) with it in BF 2042, then it's doing its job.
A lot of people that play tactical shooters wants tactical shooters to look grounded. That's not insane. I like goofy skins in some games, but I don't want some stupid pizza face dude in my Rainbow Six. That's dumb as hell.
A game's visual identity is really really important.
Nah I like it a lot. It's not hard to know who's who… they have different names above themselves and for the most part you know who your teammates are due to radar and the blue names.
This got real bad in CoD WWII. At launch the skins were all grounded WWII uniforms that were instantly recognizable. But by the end of the first year, everyone was running out in shit like the halloween grim reaper costume and you can't tell shit by looking at people. You're 100% at the mercy of the color of their nametag and it sucks.
I wish there was a way to turn off other character's costumes. "But PBalfredo, the whole point is that other people see your cosmetics" except no it isn't. No one cares. No one stops mid-teabag in Halo and says "whoa, cool armor, bro". The cosmetics are all for yourself.
I wish there was a way to turn off other character's costumes. "But PBalfredo, the whole point is that other people see your cosmetics" except no it isn't. No one cares. No one stops mid-teabag in Halo and says "whoa, cool armor, bro". The cosmetics are all for yourself.
I really enjoy it in halo infinite tbh. The fact I can have my own armor setup and appearance is great while still being very clear who the enemy is.
The main problem with halo infinite armor is everyone is around the same place in the pass because it takes so long and there's not that much variety really. So people largely look the same anyway.
The main problem with halo infinite armor is everyone is around the same place in the pass because it takes so long and there's not that much variety really. So people largely look the same anyway.
Never bothered me in Calladootie Blops 4. Just shot at anyone without a name above their heads. Plus you knew where enemies tended to be because of your own (spawn) position and your team mates' positions, especially when you have some experience and recognize how the game enforces a certain flow of battle.
To illustrate: I exclusive played hardcore modes which had friendly fire enabled and would automatically kick you on your third strike. Played hundreds of matches and didn't get kicked once.
The only time I had a slight problem with it was when they introduced skins you could collect in Blackout (Blops 4's BR mode) which were dark with flashing red numbers on them. Looked cool, but the red was confusing in MP because you were conditioned to shoot anything that looked red because that's the enemy color. But even then it was never a major deal and they eventually changed it to orange numbers.
In general I simply enjoy customization in games and how it lets you express yourself. FPS are no exception.
To illustrate: I exclusive played hardcore modes which had friendly fire enabled and would automatically kick you on your third strike. Played hundreds of matches and didn't get kicked once.
The only time I had a slight problem with it was when they introduced skins you could collect in Blackout (Blops 4's BR mode) which were dark with flashing red numbers on them. Looked cool, but the red was confusing in MP because you were conditioned to shoot anything that looked red because that's the enemy color. But even then it was never a major deal and they eventually changed it to orange numbers.
In general I simply enjoy customization in games and how it lets you express yourself. FPS are no exception.
Ah yes, the grounded world of Rainbow Six where a character with a robot arm shoots laser gates from her wrist while another can create a hologram of herself to run around. I'm sorry this one goofy costume is too fun for you.
Simple: The publishers saw how much profit Fortnite is making.
Because its popular and people want it. They wouldn't keep adding cosmetics people don't buy.
Honeslty it's not cosmetic for BF2042 only, but the way the focus of Specialists have permeated into design of the overall gameplay with the free loadouts. Basically risking stale metas developing because there's already the PP29 SMG meta which can lol outgun ARs & LMGs and if and when people unlock the NTW-50 Sniper which can basically kill tanks along with OHK meaning with Angel you can indefintely stay in one position. Honestly BF2042 has poor design that is only overlookable if you play with friends or treat it like MW2 back in 2009 where one could see it as fun.
Honestly BO4 had poor visibility for me at launch, ironically it was when all the cosmetics came it it was easier for me to acquire targets.
That was more of a rhetorical "why" to that poster's point that "some" games should be able to have goofy skins when really it feels like it's the majority that do these days even if it clashes with the tone/vibe of the game. I know it's done because it makes money - and to the point of OP why it's hard to ignore. It often clashes with the style of games with a more grounded tone until these kinds of skins end up releasing.
Completely agree on this. I hate how everything has to be goofy all the time. It was funny for a while when it was still novel, but now it's just annoying. It feels like a cheap way to avoid making actual grounded designs that match the game.While not the point OP is making, i fully agree.
Rainbow six seej went from being a down to earth game to this and it screws with the vibe
The worst stuff is probably pop culture/meme cosmetics. It completely kills any immersion and is obnoxious as hell.
Thats just how things are now, consumers buy personalised products, feel pride in it, shares it in social media, inadvertently become brand ambassador... micro-influencing the social circle.
Some game companies gives you the option to opt out of this shit by disabling paid skins in your end but thats about it...
Wait till NFTs and Metaverse settles in lmao!
Some game companies gives you the option to opt out of this shit by disabling paid skins in your end but thats about it...
Wait till NFTs and Metaverse settles in lmao!
I dislike it on the basis that it doesn't allow for much customization. It's made so that the developers create the entire set, rather than the player. I'd much rather have the possibility to change individual clothes and colors; at least in military shooters.
I feel like for multiplayer games it doesn't matter. Its not there's an important story or plot going on, and if there is most people really don't care. Most people, including myself, just want things that look neat, and it doesn't matter if they don't fit with the theme of the game. A multiplayer game that takes itself too seriously and tries to be grounded just doesn't seem as fun.
Definitely not on board with the Infinite criticism.
We've had six Halo games of mandatory red vs. blue. Thank goodness 343 finally gave us the chance to play as fully customized Spartans in all competitive modes.
Painfully uniform color schemes belong in the past. Or as a purely optional visual toggle.
We've had six Halo games of mandatory red vs. blue. Thank goodness 343 finally gave us the chance to play as fully customized Spartans in all competitive modes.
Painfully uniform color schemes belong in the past. Or as a purely optional visual toggle.
The thing is that you can get around this issue in games like Battlefield and COD by having different specialists for each team, like both COD Modern Warfare and Cold War had.
No idea why the teams need to share a specialist/operator pool.
