Might I suggest that higher ranked units (mainly thinking of Astrates) might put something different in their "head" slots rather than a helmet. Helmets are all fine and good, but perchance a different kind of headgear might lower the defence in favor of other stat increases, like a cybernetic implant for better aim or higher headshot damage. The main purpose would be for more experienced players to focus on damage or the strength of their skills rather than soaking damage, which new players might need more.
Well I hope there will be an option to hide the helmet - reality or not - but I'm a true fan of PVP and when I'm dancing on one of my enemy's corpse and make a screen shot I would like to be recognisable But joke aside, I know for an eldar taking off your helmet not a big deal as in the case of the Astrates but to feel yourself connected to your character its important to be able to see what makes you stand out from the crowd. So, please devs give us the chance to see our and our enemy's face No matter it's sometimes not lore wise. Also, I hope that as others wrote there will more than just helmets to the head slots. I really would like to see some horrid-neat cybernetic implants, also ornamented chaplain helmets etc. About the character creation stage customization: tattoos? For eldars I think its important to have, and the others could use them as well.
To OP. The SMs are imprinted with their Primarchs genetic code, and most come from the same planet or planets, so outside of large fluctuations in radiation exposure they will mostly look like brothers with similar features and appearance. Not to say there isnt any deviation, but most of the time there isnt going to be any big differences.
Space Marines come from different planets and lifestyles, but each individual chapter is pretty homogenous within itself. Space wolves, for example, are all ethnical pseudo-nordic since they're based on vikings. Salamanders are ethnically black before the effects of their chapter's mutation, because they recruit from Nocturne, the inhabitants of which are black. Not really that gutsy, since the marines who go helmetless canonically have a forcefield generator to pick up the slack. It would be cool to customize what you wear out of armor too, for when you're in your ship. Although it's probably beyond the featureset required at launch. Presumably referring to fleet-based chapters.
Dark Angels have a large number of recruiting worlds, many of them on different sides of the galaxy. They recruit whenever the Rock happens to be in that particular system. So the idea of all the recruits coming from the same general area does not apply.
I'm not sure how canon it is that gene grafting changes apparent ethnic makeup. Do you have a citation for that?
As much as I hate to agree with a Dark Angel, it makes sense to be able make different ethnicities available. Even the extremes like the pitch black, white haired, red eyed residents of Nocturne, to the ghost white, black eyed children of Nostramo. Just b/c you see most space marines iconically Caucasian doesn't mean they're not ethnically diverse. Dark Angels, Imperial Fists, and Black Templars all recruit from whatever stock they can get there hands on. Ultramarines recruit from many worlds in Ultramar. Even Fenris has an equatorial belt where the population gets a little extra solar radiation causing the skin pigment to darken. Just cause you've never seen a black Space Wolf doesn't mean they don't exist. I imagine they look similar to Kimbo Slice though. It's just my opinion that if I was black or Asian or Hispanic or middle eastern, I'd wanna be able to make my character look like me.... Everybody should have that option. It's only fair.
