Allow custom skins on the ranked servers

[SharpeXB]

What is the reason that custom skins are not available on the ranked servers?

[Alkyan]

So you have a place to go where you can be sure to not meet any purple 109 or pink yack?

[SharpeXB]

That won't happen because unless you have their skin downloaded on your machine you won't see it in the game.

[SOLIDKREATE]

That won't happen because unless you have their skin downloaded on your machine you won't see it in the game.

 

This will only happen on un-ranked servers. The reason you can't see skins on 'ranked' servers is to control the display of the Swastika. It is illegal in some countries to display it publicly (for sure) or privately (I think). I don't agree with this policy because it's part of history. And to re-write or re-teach or suppress makes them as bad as the people they are trying to censor. I mean why not censor images of the pyramids? They had slaves and oppressed the Jewish people. We had slaves in America yet the 'rebel battle flag' is still allowed to be displayed. Not on federal or state building but on t-shirts, stickers, posters ect. Sorry for the rant but I love history. I really think it is a grave in-justice to censor it. - And no, I do not condone or support what Hitler caused to happen.

Edited February 12, 2015 by SPEKTRE76

[SharpeXB]

I figured it was because of the swastikas yet that problem really doesn't exist since anyone who doesn't want to see it can simply not download the historical skin. You can only see them in a banned country if you "illegally" downloaded them. They aren't really "in the game" they're "on your hard drive". The game is not publicly displaying anything, you're displaying it to yourself. What about the VVS skins? Those don't contain banned imagery.

I hope the custom skins would be available on all servers since they're such a great part of the game. This needs to be reconsidered.

Edited February 13, 2015 by SharpeXB

[TG-55Panthercules]

There was some discussion about this in the early days of RoF (about "mods on" versus "mods off", which seems to be similar to the thing that's playing out here with the ranked server business).  At the time, concerns were raised that if you allowed custom skins to be used in MP (that in RoF's case had not been approved for use in mods off mode) then people could cheat by creating essentially invisible planes by manipulating their alpha channels.  Other people would see them in the default skins (because they would not have D/L'ed the cheater's skin) but the skin would be invisible on the cheater's PC so he could see though his wings and other plane parts to gain an advantage (sort of a "Wonder Woman" view when one isn't supposed to be available).

 

I've tried it on a couple of BoS planes (IL-2 and Fw-190), and that wouldn't be quite as much of a problem in BoS as it would have been in RoF because there's a lot more of the plane's internal structure that remains visible even if you make the skin invisible. Although it looks in the viewer like maybe you would get at least some advantage, when you actually use it in the game it doesn't seem to help at all.  So, based on what I've seen on those two planes anyway, I'm not seeing any real reason not to allow players to use custom skins on ranked servers.

Edited February 13, 2015 by TG-55Panthercules

[SharpeXB]

Maybe the developers can do a set of skin packs as in RoF, non-historical of course. Although Jason did say specifically that this was not planned for BoS. But there are so many good ones being made its a shame they can't be included in the entire game, heck they could be awarded as unlocks

[SharpeXB]

If a skin cheat is possible, then it's just as upsetting for the players whether it's on a non-ranked server as a ranked one. Also there's no practical difference at this stage between ranked and un-ranked, there are no leaderboard or points scored for anything on the ranked servers. Also whereas RoF has very few "mods on" servers, the majority of BoS servers are non ranked.

Perhaps the skin pack system could be revisited. It is a very good idea since it gives all the players easy access for the skins and allows them to be used online as well. Just like RoF has Historical and Fantasy packs, BoS could have "Luftwaffe Histoical" pack with a User Agreement that addresses the legality problem. IL-2 Wings of Prey had something like this. Perhaps with the unlock system the packs could be awards in the campaign instead of just the few official skins. Players who don't get the unlocks could always use custom skins on the unranked servers, winning them in the campaign just allows them to be used in the ranked servers.

[-NW-ChiefRedCloud]

I think this is a very productive and informative discussion to two important points. Skins we, as individuals, don't want to see and the swastika. I'm not sure but I think it was Sharpe that straightened me out on this earlier (on outlandish skins). As for the swastika, I observe the sensitivity of this even if I do enjoy historical accuracy. I had give thought to a small app created over in the ATAG forums to allow the swastika to appear but only on a players computer. If you didn't run the app, you would not see it. However in checking to see if this could be applied I found that CloD and BoS are different in how they apply their emblems. So this app can not be adapted to BoS 

 

However, if what Sharpe says is true, then a skin baring the swastika if it's not installed will not appear and thus break no laws or offend the wrong person.

 

Chief

Edited February 13, 2015 by -NW-ChiefRedCloud