nuqneH Klingons!
The following is on the character art side of things but we thought it big enough news to put here in the GD thread...
We're excited to say there is a gradual but fairly good sized revamp in the works to the Klingon faction (both for players and NPCs) to make them look tougher, more realistic, and cooler
trying to capture more the essence of the shows.
In fact, due to a recent check-in bug, some of these changes are going in even sooner than we intended! (mainly updates to male boots)
Anyway, as youve probably noticed, many of our older Klingon armor pieces are a bit cartoonish and/or oddly shaped, gravity-defying, and often over-sized. This was an attempt to make the Klingons look bulkier as they do in the shows. The problem is the underlying body in STO is/was usually still skinny to average in size. So the end result often looks like a skinny kid wearing oversized foam costume armor and an old man mask :P
Rest assured, we have no intention of limiting the body scaling - so you can make just as wide a range of body types as you can now. But we want to make the default, starting Klingon body type bulkier, stronger and more natural and proportionate. Additionally, we plan on a similar treatment with other species/genders as appropriate, like Orion males.
Then, with a better base body, adjustments will be made to the armor components to give a better fit.
Next, and possibly most exciting to many players, will be to include a sheathed Dk Tahg (Klingon Dagger), fingerless gloves, and a starting rank 0 sash (leather strap) as optional starting gear for Klingon faction.
Visuals to help illustrate:
http://imgur.com/bpgiA71
As I said, the updates will eventually affect the NPCs and enemy groups as well. A rough mock-up of the general direction (note: this isnt the final pass, the armor is not refitted and/or necessarily the final combination, and the group will have more color variance):
http://imgur.com/2EeUnQ2
And yes, female KDF will get a pass too.
Sooo....while we don't intend to do before/after shots for each and every asset, the boots already show subtle but marked improvement. For the most part the feet are a more unified and proportionate size to the rest of the body. Many of the boots are generally taller, usually over the knee, which is more directly influenced from the actual costumes on the series. And many boots got a shape massage and an extra embellishment here and there. Before and after here:
http://imgur.com/lQXxy0I
Finally, long term goals will be to possibly add and/or unlock more hairstyles.
Final, final note
this is a big undertaking that is getting addressed little by little between many of our other tasks. There isnt a set date for it to go out, and it wont happen soon, but theres also a chance little bits will trickle in (or in big chunks as has happened w/ male boots :P). Were posting here to share our plans and receive feedback early.
Thanks and hope youre as excited about this as we are!
