Author Topic: Cloaks Reloaded  (Read 9473 times)

Sarras Volcae

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #60 on: October 16, 2009, 07:36:39 am »
@Sarras: The Ringwraiths in Lord of the Rings didn't need any or much CGI to cover their faces, did they?

first of all, that's not something you use CGI for. the method of hiding their faces is an effect created by lighting and veils (or whatever they're called). (they could have used CGI for the faces but I really doubt they'd do that when there's less expensive ways.) second of all, that method won't work irl.

Akkaido Kivikar

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #61 on: October 16, 2009, 07:41:14 am »
For all intents and purposes, from this day forth, "cloak" = "bhurka".

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Morla Phlint

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #62 on: October 16, 2009, 10:16:12 am »
I'm not good at this but let me still have a try.

Cloaks aren't meant as a disguise. From Wikipedia:

"A cloak is a type of loose garment that is worn over indoor clothing and serves the same purpose as an overcoat—it protects the wearer from the cold, rain or wind for example, or it may form part of a fashionable outfit or uniform. Cloaks are as old as human history; there has nearly always been some form of long outer garment used to protect people from the weather. Over time cloaks have changed their look to match current styles and textile needs.
Cloaks generally fasten at the neck or over the shoulder, vary in length, from ankle all the way up to the hip, mid-calf being the normal length. They may have an attached hood, and may cover and fasten down the front, in which case they have holes or slits for the hands to pass through. However, cloaks are almost always sleeveless."


This means that according to weather you might see many and even the majority of the people in cities and on the roads wearing cloaks. My char as an example wears a travelling cloak which serves the purpose to protect her from the cold in the mornings too because she's more often on the roads than in the warm comfort of a soft bed. And this lifestyle is reflected in her garments covered with dust.

If you still need to see what a normal cloak covers, take a look at these. Didn't have time to search for better panels.
http://www.onemanga.com/Vinland_Saga/30/10/
http://www.onemanga.com/Vinland_Saga/20/18-19/
http://www.onemanga.com/Vinland_Saga/22/07/
My char rarely wears her hood up but she almost always has her cloak (cold mornings suck without proper clothes, you see...).

I like the idea of changing the clothes you normally equip on your char when you are disguised. I still ended up meeting Allola when she was wearing a helmet=disguise and saying "cool helmet" though. People will need some time to learn and get used to shady characters disguising in such a way. Of course, you should wear a disguise with some characteristic threads to allow being recognized. It can be fun to roleplay that too ;). Being chased is one of the highlights of being a baddy :P. Considering a victim will most likely be startled when attacked and therefore not being able to notice and remember all details from the attackers outside appearance, I think Marqsaynt's suggestion can be pretty useful (dice rolling thingy).

Oh, and btw a disguise are not always just clothes or any other material stuff.

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Rigwyn

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #63 on: October 16, 2009, 06:42:47 pm »
Hmm...

Being fashionably impaired my characters too lack fashion sense. Rigywn wears a cloak and some kind of mask when doing nasty things for the purpose of concealing his identity. He doesn't really care too much what he looks like. The decision factor in selecting appropriate garb for him is to get something that conceals as much of his body as possible ( within reason )

Getting back to PhoenixRizin's original topic .. it would be nice if there was an easy way to *visually* tell if a character was *disguised* or not rather than making a boo boo and then having to back peddle. I think by *cloaked* he meant *disguised* .. but I don't want to put words in his mouth. Perhaps leave the actual details and effectiveness of the disguise to the players.

The Idea of using an alt is good .. though It will take a little time to figure out how best to do it fairly and to see if other players agree with it.

Akkaido Kivikar

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #64 on: October 16, 2009, 11:35:28 pm »
Now we're getting to the part of the English language where you realise that one word has two different meanings.

"Cloaking" can either be the act of wearing a cloak, or disguising/disappearing through the use of some form of device (mostly used in sci-fi).

So by "Cloaking' he may have meant the second meaning, not necessarily the implementation of a cloak model.

Rigwyn

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #65 on: October 17, 2009, 03:25:47 am »

Yes, to cloak ( the verb ) thats what we've been talking about all along. For a native english speaker I think using the word cloak in this context is pretty obvious however perhaps we failed to take into consideration that the verb form of the word cloak may not be quite as common to non native speakers. Appologies if there was any misunderstanding.


Sarras Volcae

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #66 on: October 17, 2009, 04:01:27 am »

Yes, to cloak ( the verb ) thats what we've been talking about all along. For a native english speaker I think using the word cloak in this context is pretty obvious however perhaps we failed to take into consideration that the verb form of the word cloak may not be quite as common to non native speakers. Appologies if there was any misunderstanding.



I'm a native english speaker and that confused me. seems like you're a little mixed up. usually cloaking means to hide something completely (such as a submarine or troops), not disguise.

Rigwyn

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #67 on: October 17, 2009, 04:22:46 am »
 ::|

Marqsaynt

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #68 on: October 17, 2009, 04:24:19 am »
Considering the way cloaks (the clothing item) are used in PS, I don't think anyone can claim that this entire thread discussion was about science fiction style, beam-me-up-Scotty kind of cloaking. In fact, given the setting of PlaneShift, it seems an odd assumption to make that cloaking (the verb) would even be possible. However, I have always been for creativity in the ways a person can conceal their character's identity and am glad that the dialogue has expanded more to disguises and any other way a person can hide their usual identity.

And yes, I am also a "native." (English speaker ;))   

Timmothy Perriwinkle

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #69 on: October 17, 2009, 04:55:40 am »
Well, when you consider the Azure Way, and how peoples make up their own spells every day, beam-me-up-Scotty cloaking doesn't seem totally out of place anymore.


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Rigwyn

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #70 on: October 17, 2009, 12:42:08 pm »

We were never talking about a perfect disguise in the first place ...
The original post was just a request for a way to visually show that a person is disguised.



PhoenixRizin

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #71 on: October 17, 2009, 06:22:00 pm »

We were never talking about a perfect disguise in the first place ...
The original post was just a request for a way to visually show that a person is disguised.


Yes...the thread was originally about just having a visual cue instead of debating the quality of an individual disguise, but I am actually glad that many of the feelings about cloaks were brought up. It helps baddies try to do it in a much fairer way while helping goodies understand the purposes and motivations behind it. Hopefully this will lead to better RP situations and just more fun between the players. So I guess the next logical thing is...with everything that has been discussed, what does everyone think is the best visual cue to give players that someone is (or is at least trying) to disguise themselves outside of their normal appearance? A model change? A character change? A /say in main? What's the best way to prompt someone to check the description to find out if they would or could identify the cloaked assailant?
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Akkaido Kivikar

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #72 on: October 18, 2009, 12:19:11 pm »
Well, bringing it back on topic, the model for a cloak for each implemented race would not be hard to create, with a hood, the only nuisance would be creating a fitting animation for every animation PS characters have, so that the cloak does not sit still while the arms/legs move, and seems to cleanly flow with the character, whilst keeping him/her disguised.

Other decisions would have to be made such as whether to tuck hair out like with helmets, etc.

Edit: had a wee brainwave. This would only help the Outlaws while they're all wanting to be cloaked (I assume you often have guild events where you perform group crimes cloaked).

You can change your guild name to Cloaked and turn off secret, that way all players would know upon mouse over that you are in fact wearing a disguise. It solves a small amount of the problem.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2009, 12:54:34 am by Akkaido Kivikar »

PhoenixRizin

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #73 on: October 21, 2009, 05:37:02 am »
Not a bad idea, however there are more often then not instances where certain members will be cloaked to do evil deeds while others remain uncloaked elsewhere to avoid suspicion. I do like the idea of cloaked being somehow in the name tag. Perhaps this can be done in lieu of a model? Again the purpose is just to poke onlookers to that description, or to alert them that something is abnormal about the player's appearance.
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Akkaido Kivikar

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Re: Cloaks Reloaded
« Reply #74 on: October 21, 2009, 12:59:30 pm »
I can make hood type disguises (4 races modeled so far), but full cloaks are another matter due to complicated physics etc.... needs dev team work.