You think they'd do it via such a primitive mechanism as actually painting the armour? Holo-fields man, holo-fields! Just a bit more Predator and a bit less Harlequin.
Greetings. I've acquired a founders pack just recently and the first thing I did was head over here in order to get some questions that have been bothering me for a while, answered. After reading through the 25 pages I was presented with I'd like to state my personal opinion and ideas. 1. Regarding the helmets on/off issue...the cases in which an eldar has fluttered around without their helmet are more than limited, presenting themselves in as much as a single lore figure if I recall correctly and in several characters in the DoW series. The only class that would not be hindered from the lack of facial protection (if we don't count the lack of anything between your face and say an ork fist as a hindrance) is the howling banshee if we consider that GW took some interest in the DoW series and actually supervised them. I draw this conclusion from the following picture and several similar ones: It is clearly visible that Kayleth, is presented with a seemingly half-assed version of the banshee's helmet/mask which still grants her the ability to bleed the ears of her enemies with a dazzling display of singing abilities while protecting her own ears. Regarding the other classes I generally did not find enough proof or reason that they can do well without their helmets. (To SS fanboys- Just because banshees have such a thing, doesn't mean that the scorpions do too. <3) 2. As far as I recall (no source can be provided as my knowledge has been acquired over the years from numerous places) aspect warriors CAN have colors which do not match their shrine yet in those rare cases they are colors similar if not identical to those worn by your rank and file soldier of the Craftworld they represent. Thus I believe it would be rather gruesome to have as they have been called before "hot pink" aspect warriors pew pewing the enemies. 3. And now regarding my idea... In order to lessen the strain on the devs and especially the ones working on drawing, animation and sound effects...the reasonable thing could be done and the low ranked players be denied any customisation with the exception of color changing and such. With the advance through the ranks as they prove themselves upon the battlefield and make their craftworld and shrine proud for producing such fine individuals they could gain customisation slots or something similar, allowing newly joined players to be easily distinguished from higher-ranked ones. This would in turn imho allow for greater immersion as after all no shrine would give their best equipment to their newbie warriors. But then we'd be left with only in-game customisation and no rogue trader so to make it fair on both the devs which after all need to get salaries and the ones that got founders packs, there could be additional accessories so to say from perhaps "Previous campaigns" or hereditiary objects which would be purely cosmetic and rarer than those that could be acquired in-game yet just as significant. 4. Apologies for the rant and if I have repeated the words of many before me, it is to be expected after reading through all that was written at 1 am. I'd like to express my gratitude to anyone who bothered reading this and my eternal love for each single staff member that works on the eternal crusade starting from the owner of the company to the newly hired janitor. Keep up the good work so we may bloody the fields of Arkhona.
I haven't finished reading all of this (on page 5) but I post before I go to sleep and lose my train of thought. "When an Eldar assumes the role of an Aspect warrior they give up their identity and become the Aspect (for the time being)..." to reflect that players could start off as the Aspect colors then can customize more to your craftworld as you play. Either based on total play time or direct correlation to class progression. Because if I pick a craftworld I would like to represent it by having my craftworld colors as main colors with whatever Aspect flare represented in markings, symbols, motifs, colors in certain spots (such as kneepads or shoulder armor) and some unique color patterns featuring both Craftworld and Aspect. The option to reverse the colors would be nice too(Aspect=Main colors, Craftworld=Secondary colors) but if I had to choose I would go with Craftworld colors being Primary. Simple examples would be 1. Primary color Craftworld with kneepads, gauntlets and shoulder armor as Aspect. 2. Primary color Aspect with Craftworld colors as secondary in a Mass Effect N7 armor fashion just more Eldar-y with spirit stones and runes and replace the N7 stripe with vine and thorn pattern Biel-Tan use (thinking of that makes me want to switch to Biel-Tan hehe.) For everything else, Decorative pieces to add to armor and weapons maybe even vehicles? What Kudzu says in post #2, sounds great. For Founders, unique cosmetic designs and decorative patterns for armor and weapons such as Joram said in post #3. If possible to extend that to vehicles would be great. Also don't H. Banshees have a chakram throwing weapon? That'd be awesome to have instead of a pistol but perhaps too cool to restrict only to founders. It wants to fly free after all. (note I don't know if Joram meant specifically for Founders when saying that.) The forum threads "Eldar Artwork" and "Favorite Piece of 40k Art" have good examples too. A couple things that stood out I have seen, a little because Howling Banshees are my favorite Eldar unit. Maybe I'll post more after sleep...of other Aspects too. the grey chestplate & armguard armor could be decorated to represent aspect or craftworld. (image found @wikia Howling Banshees page) Eldar Howling Banshee Tarot v2 by Sokil-Su @deviantart. Everything about that image is awesome. The blades on the forearms, the shoulder and helmet designs in particular but the whole armor is great, the markings and even hair braids. Little details stack up to form a nice whole. EDIT: Dawn of War 2: Retribution Ulthwe DLC has a few examples relating to what I've said in giving craftworlds their flare (Biel-tan vinesþs, Saim-hann stripes) and I am not sure if Elite Mod team has made some custom schemes for Eldar but if they have I'd imagine them just as good as the other ones they made.
I have read all here. *plays Final Fantasy 7 victory music* In regards to camo options, I think the question to ask is "Do these Sub-Factions use camo?" Unless they're Reasonable Marines, I don't see LSM or CSM, especially the sub-factions involved in EC, wearing any camo because of this line: "The uniforms of the Imperial Guard are camouflaged in order to protect their wearers by hiding them from sight. The principle is that what the enemy cannot see he cannot kill. This is not the way of the Adeptus Astartes. A Space Marine’s armour is bright with heraldry that proclaims his devotion to his Chapter and the beloved Emperor of Mankind. Our principle is that what the enemy can see, he will soon learn to fear…" -Chaplain Aston, Fire Hawks 10th Company Eldar I figure their pride, dedication and technology result in them feeling the same with only variances in color palette swaps and patterns to represent their Aspect, Craftworld and shrine. If they want to be hidden they can use holo-fields or deploy a stealth field generator to laugh at the others while they have picnics in front of their bases. Or have it be an activated ability for something like Farseer Webway gate in Dawn of War 2 (stealths nearby units for a short time) or the item that does the same thing in DOTA 2. And for Orks...well, they're orks so only a handful of them will care about stealth. Have paint camo reduce time revealed when you're spotted? Kommando Hero gives that as a buff? But even then I've never heard of an ork using a silencer or doing sneaky backstabs, so such things are possibly pointless. It's either WAAAAGH! or *set up ambush/move up staying out of line of sight then* WAAAAGH!" I don't know. For helmets, at least for Banshees, since it's part of their wargear used for the scream, taking it off could take away that but free up load out points for something else. Not sure similar trades for the others. For the example given at page 6 someone said "that's a good way to destroy your own ears" then have the helmet off but still have ears covered with some sort of "half helmet"/mask/frame. You can see parts are still on the side of her face and another example in Cheezelizard's post #252 above. For Striking Scorpions, the Autarch Hero in Eternal Crusade Rogue Trader Store seems to have mandiblasters and the helmet tendrils of the Scorpions. But sometimes it is indeed fashionable to go without a helmet . "But that should/will get you killed quicker!" But also it's the first step into getting plot armor that main characters have . Headshots will be strong enough with helmets, no need to make them stronger without. So my concluding thoughts: have pre-set colors for Eldar players which have reversible Primary/Secondary for Aspect/Craftworld to Craftworld/Aspect and color palette swaps with craftworld flare (Biel-tan Vines & Thorns, Saim-Hann Stripes, etc.) If not then have whichever is secondary to have enough noticeable difference to associate with it at a glance in the form of broad trims, accessories, tabards, elements of armor dedicated to that secondary color such as the chest/forearm armor in Banshee example I gave in my last post, or helmets and shoulders.
Guys. The Eldar helmets consist of several parts. On the picture above you can see the lower part of the helmet, the chin section. It's always put on with the armor, and provides the mounting for the helmet's upper part. You never see the Eldar in armor without a basic chin section of their helmet. The helmet's vital parts like mandiblasters or psycho-sonic amplyfiers are mounted there too. The rest of the helmet is a helm part and a mask. Never seen them separately, to be honest, but it seems logical for the mask to be removable.
I am a strong supporter for traditional aspect colours. I think aspect warrior's customisation should focus on keeping the traditional colour primary and then adding craftworld flavours or unqiue shrine colors to certain parts of the of the ritual armour. For example a Howling Banshee of Biel-tan may choose to represent their craftworld by dying their loin cloth green and placing the unique thorn pattern as a trim. Perhaps then placing the craftworld rune (black instead of white) on her helmet or even a simple red heart on her knee cap. This might even be reversed the helmet with the thorn pattern, like a crown. I want to be able to represent my craftworld without having some half blue half green dire avenger (that would look awful). The customisation should be based around deciding how I as the player want to represent my craftworld. Do I want to my swooping hawk to have a red and white wings to represent its from Siam-Hann or do I simply want to put black stripes on the helmet with a white cosmic serpent.
In my opinion Aspect Warrior Visual Customization can take multiple forms, from Extra rune placement around the armour or even runes worn as necklaces (this is in lore) as those that leave the path may take these runes with them as a reminder of the time upon this path. The helm / no helm option personally don't feel that fits with Aspect Warriors in general as has been mentioned all ready in this thread, the sealing of helm to the rest of the armour does finish the transformation from craftworlder to actual warrior and is very important to the Eldar mentality to do this, Some Exarchs sure they may go helmetless but standard aspects no. Extra ribbons / soul stones to several locations is also within lore, again topping out at Exarch grade which can have lots of soul stones scattered about the armour. Finally colour scheme is also do able but cant be to radical as certain colours will not go with certain aspects.
all I can suggest is to read what TT players have long discussed when it comes to Aspect colour schemes and the different versions of them that have been found in GW approved magazine articles and codecii/suplements http://www.wargamerau.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=169798 http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?54087-Eldar-Armour-Colours http://www.warseer.com/forums/showthread.php?389455-Different-Color-Schemes-for-Aspect-Warriors http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=16692 http://www.40konline.com/index.php?topic=211747.0 http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/eldar/171280-aspect-warrior-colour-schemes.html http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?47473-Craftworld-Eldar-Aspect-Colours with particular notice to the statements like ... so it would seem even GW doesnt really mind what colour they are (probably as long as you brought the minis and the paints off them lol)
Wow that was a long read... It's a good question regarding upgrades and aesthetics. Eldar players will have one option the other factions lack, choosing between male or female as every aspect is able to taken either gender. Even H.Banshees and D.Reapers. For a character to go without a helmet...A guardian would be at less of a loss due to there helmet not being a vitally integral part of the armour. But an aspect warrior needs their complete wargear to ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness. I would imagine being without a targeting array or vision mode would be a severe detriment to them. However this is a game. Even if you had the option to remove your helmet, would it do anything other than appeal to our ego and create more work for the art, UI and programming teams? When an ork is unleashing a stream of hot lead into your face no one is going to notice the fancy tattoos and warpaint. The minute the character dies your opponent is going to rush off to the next person in line, not sit and inspect the beauty of your avatar. Providing the plethora of options found in an mmorpg designed for player to player social interactions in an action TPS focused on defeating as many opponents as possible could end up distracting the development team from tasks that need more attention. Some aesthetic choice is a good thing, having options for the sake of having options isn't. In regards to different armour, aspect warrior armour is highly specialized and expertly crafted. It's not manufactured on an assembly line like a piece of guard flak armour. A bone singer uses every ounce of artistry to craft a set. Some sets are thousands of years old and no two sets are exactly alike. When a new aspect warrior joins a shrine they're given their armour which has been passed down through generations of warriors. No doubt bits of the armour have been severely damaged and replaced. A little bit of the bone singer's character influencing the design. I'm sure there are lost pieces of ancient armour scattered around...some mounted onto an ork bosspole. Weapons would bear the same kind of artistic influence in some small degree. These touches being absent on the TT are a result of efficiency and cost rather than hard and fast lore rules. Absence of evidence does not always mean evidence of absence. Before you develop your colour customization system it would be prudent to take a look at TT vs Lore design. TT colour schemes vary as wildly as the player base itself, because it's a personal choice of the player of that army, we bought the miniatures and we paint them how we like, even if they break the lore. GW can't have a lawyer behind us making sure we paint to their specifications. This is why there are aspect warriors in non-canon colour schemes...and orks with red skin...hello kitty space marine chapters. BEhaviour is bound by the GW design police to ensure the product follows all the lore GW wishes them to use. Which could mean a very limited palette for customizing very well defined units. Apologies for the slight threadomancy.
