Friday Facts #40

[RPGtrainer]

Love the new direction for the character model. Really fits with the industrial tone of the game.

I agree however I don't think it fits on an alien planet may be a mask and air tank of some type

[FreeER]

The new model looks cool and all.
But I kinda like the old model very much.

I...kind of agree here, the eyes especially look a bit cartoonish to me and I'm unsure that it really fits most of the game (you very quickly stop mining things manually). It does look great, but there's a "but" for me At the very least it'll take some time for me to get used to it once it's actually introduced, very much like the idea of it changing over the course of the game though It makes me curious if that will be done with masks or actual separate models/textures though (seems more like the former)? It'd be pretty awesome if armor masks were possible so that all armor would show on the character, even mod added armors and characters, though I imagine that'd be a bit more difficult to implement.
Also, personally I agree with a female character (or gender neutral) being available...especially considering you're taking the time to remake it now anyways.

[Khyron]

About the character model... it's not what I expected. It seems very mundane. Much more like a guy who's visited the hardware store to play dressups than a space colonist who survived a crash landing. I get that you've worked on the player model extensively but... it needs more work.

I agree with those who said it looks too bulky. I'd add that the miners cap and welding mask dominate the appearance and those are 20th century equipment.

I'd rather see it go in one of two directions: a more steampunk look or a futuristic look. The golves are good, they suggest something. But they're too bulky to be practical.


Above: From STALKER, note the boots, belt, satchels and helmet.

Above: From the movie Oblivion, a very lightweight body armour. Clever use of lines make parts of the armour look flexible while other parts are stiff, like the kneepads and elbow pads. Those lines help it avoid the power ranger/wetsuit/lycra appearance and move more towards bmx/motorsport body armour.

Above: Deadspace armour. I don't love this armour but many people do. It does achieve the industrial look while also being suitable for space and combat, so it seems pretty relevant. The blue lines across the faceplate are iconic.

Oh well, hope that's some food for thought.

[Marconos]

Love the new direction for the character model. Really fits with the industrial tone of the game.

I agree however I don't think it fits on an alien planet may be a mask and air tank of some type

Umm, we are colonizing the planet .... air tank means it's not really a colonization target.

I like the new character, eyes are a little weird but since the gear changes as we research, no one really knows what it looks like as the game progresses.

[Creedless82]

About the character model... it's not what I expected. It seems very mundane. Much more like a guy who's visited the hardware store to play dressups than a space colonist who survived a crash landing. I get that you've worked on the player model extensively but... it needs more work.

I agree with those who said it looks too bulky. I'd add that the miners cap and welding mask dominate the appearance and those are 20th century equipment.

I'd rather see it go in one of two directions: a more steampunk look or a futuristic look. The golves are good, they suggest something. But they're too bulky to be practical.


Above: From STALKER, note the boots, belt, satchels and helmet.

*snip*

Oh well, hope that's some food for thought.

I totally agree on that, the new model just isn't what I expected, especially when taking a look back at Friday Fact 35 when showing us these awesome concepts


They were closer to the player model as it is at the moment. But well, let's see how it works out in the future, when more concepts towards endgame armor arrive.

[ataaron]

Why not use these different player models for different armours

[MF-]

The new model looks cool and all.
But I kinda like the old model very much.

I liked the old and descriptive (Yeah, I said that on every change).
In factorio it's the factories I focus on, not the player, where I prefer imagining whatever I like.

The new one looks more detailed true.. but.. somehow it looks clobby :I and very.. miner like?

Exactly. Very miner-like.
And that feels quite strange for an engineer.

The clobby, thick looking suit somehow makes him look so slow and unmovable.
Like... how can you run around in that without sweating rivers? Or work with machines with those thick gloves on?
And how can you agiley fight enemies with this suit on. sure it protects, but I personally would prefer speed and light equipment over thick clothes.

I liked the old one a lot especially because it wasn't clear if it was a man or a robot (personally I like the idea that the character is a high tech robot (especially for the general mission about researching rocket-defences) fits the theme better^^

When you're a robot, it also makes more sense that you, the character, can build nearly everything assembly machines can build.
It's a machines build machines thing^^
that would fit the theme greatly XD

Again. This is all my opinion.
I'm not saying the new model isn't good.
I'm just saying I find the old one more awesome^^

+1 to the whole post

PS: I also don't like the character being a military-type.
I am the one who is trying to build things and survive.
Even though that I tend to terror natives when I get hight-tech-enough,
I really dislike any hints that masacring the native inhabitants is what I live for.

[Turtle]

Also as the player progresses through the game so will its visual representation. In the images below you can check out renders for no armor (early game) and basic armor (mid game) models.

I think we're all getting ahead of ourselves. We have the following armor types: Iron, Heavy, Basic Modular, Power Armor, Power Armor MK2. The images show two (slightly) different models. I'm assuming those are no armor and Iron armor. But it could very well be that by "basic armor (mid game)" he means Basic Modular. Still, there are two more armor types after that. I think by the time you get to MK2, we will end up with something like the armor mentioned in Friday Fact 35.

Also, for those freaking out about the eyes, those are goggles with reflections of something. You can see it if you zoom in. If you're using firefox, you can right-click and view image, then in the image, Ctrl-scroll to zoom in.

[ssilk]

I think the first character model shows exactly, what he is: someone, who don't wanted ever to be involved in a fight on a planet with strange natives. He is a very basic engineer, making his engineer diploma within a week before the colony ship started. He don't like this planet. He even don't like his job. And then this awful accident. He nearly didn't survive. And he knows, he has no other chance: either him or they.

And the second shows, that he will accept this challenge, begins to fit in his role.

When it is right, that the first is without armor and the second with iron armor, then we should have three more stages. I think the last one will look much more like that from #35.

[Tardan]

After the female character model disaster in assassin's creed unity and all the web discussion about this, i think a female player model is really important. a female model must be make with the same effort as a male player model. the player models are the identification for the players. much more important as polishing many other graphic items.

the only excuse is, there is no male or female model because of the lore.

[Turtle]

I think the first character model shows exactly, what he is: someone, who don't wanted ever to be involved in a fight on a planet with strange natives. He is a very basic engineer, making his engineer diploma within a week before the colony ship started. He don't like this planet. He even don't like his job. And then this awful accident. He nearly didn't survive. And he knows, he has no other chance: either him or they.

And the second shows, that he will accept this challenge, begins to fit in his role.

When it is right, that the first is without armor and the second with iron armor, then we should have three more stages. I think the last one will look much more like that from #35.

I totally agree. For some reason, I keep thinking about the Ironman movie where he builds his prototype in the cave when he's captured and it looks junky, but cool. Then he builds a really nice one when he gets back home.

[MF-]

IMO The player should not look so violent before the biters attack (If you want to play the "self-defense" card)

[Ric]

Yeh the new player model looks really amazing.

Really has that survivalist rustic look.

Can't wait for multiplayer!

[aka13]

You know, I hate forums. I am disgusted by the whole idea of forums. But you guys actually do manage to get me write a reply.

This whole gender thing - you know what it is? It is cancer. You are the cancer of the gaming industry. You really can not play for a male character and request a female/adrogynous one for your psychological comfort? Now, seriously? How did you play your first person shooters? How did you play samus? Did you also have problems with selfidentification? Seriously? What is the next step, this tublr utter shit with 100+ gender options?

It is FRIGGIN LATE ALPHA. ALPHA, GUYS, THIS IS FUCKING ALPHA. Now, for the ones banned from google, I will explain what it is. Alpha is the stage when key gameplay functionality is implemented, and assets are partially finished. A game in alpha is feature complete, that is, game is playable and contains all the major features.

The dev says, "we replace a placeholder playermodel with a almost finished one, but we leave room for discussion how you would like to see it."
A normal person would state their opinion, maybe complain, maybe show some interesting ideas. What do you? You ARE FUCKING SERIOUSLY complaining about not having boobs on the character? Are you that lonely? If you have problems, you can pm me, I will send you a list of websites with boobs, so you do not have to produce shitstorms in factorio.
The devs say, we will work on bugfixes and new content and friggin new gameplay mechanics, what is your reaction? "B-but boobs, how can we go on without boobs in alpha stage?"
You are sure disgusting. Just leave. Stop posting. Please.

[Rahjital]

You know, I hate forums. I am disgusted by the whole idea of forums. But you guys actually do manage to get me write a reply.

Excellent, so the very first thing you write is an insult to all of us here, and then you continue to attack someone for asking about a female character too even to the point of being sexist and completely disregarding the female part of the playerbase.

Please, ssilk or anyone from the dev team, could you delete the comment? Factorio has a very nice community that does not deserve to be tainted by such hate-overflowing rants.

[aka13]

You know, I hate forums. I am disgusted by the whole idea of forums. But you guys actually do manage to get me write a reply.

Excellent, so the very first thing you write is an insult to all of us here, and then you continue to attack someone for asking about a female character too even to the point of being sexist and completely disregarding the female part of the playerbase.

Please, ssilk or anyone from the dev team, could you delete the comment? Factorio has a very nice community that does not deserve to be tainted by such hate-overflowing rants.

Whiteknight, again? I already stated, I do not have anything against female community and nothing against female player models. I have something against whitekngihting and formalities. Having a dropdown-list male/female is not important at this point. I am absolutely ok if we get only a female version, too. It's not an rpg, it does not have any effect on the gameplay. It's just wasting everyones time for a few "social" "players" here on the forums. Not more, not less.

I also like your way of saying you=community.

[MF-]

IMO The player should not look so violent before the biters attack (If you want to play the "self-defense" card)

FIX: It should have stated "@Ironman" before complaining about violence.
Sure, it might be necessary at later game stages.

remark: oh, right... The last time factorio worked for me biters were still pretty much moving ambiguous spots.
I really wonder how I'll feel about factorio if it starts working again (there was an interesting suggestion about texture maxwith maxheight override in the config file, which should help tracking the cause)

PS: Regarding those offensive posts above in this thread.... I guess he cannnot believe that WE are all polite here ?
It is natural that absolutely any redesign is met with some criticism, by the way.

[Sander Buruma]

I don't think cussing, insults and swearing is a valid form of constructive criticism. Though I've been known to be wrong.

[FishSandwich]

[vleilamitchell]

*ahem*

I'm a female gamer. I'd like a female model. Sure, I've put up with having only a male character to play games most of my life but... it'd be really nice if I could get that little extra bit of identification with my little busy-bee avatar. I love the game so I'm okay if it's just too much of a PITA... but as it's a simple graphic set, I don't think it's a huge ask.

P.S. - Guys, I really don't think this needs to get into some whiny "OMG, PC is killing gaming like cancer and icky girls." Sheesh, guys.