Perspective of SKINS (as far as ROF goes)

[BMA_West]

When speaking about skins, please do put things in perspective ...

 

What do you expect from it: to see yourself in it or do you want to be seen in it?

To see yourself in it, not much of a problem: install skin packs an chose.

However in order for others to see you in your chosen skin as far as ROF goes they need also to have downloaded and installed the available ROF skin packs.

For the moment that means 14 fictional and 14 historical + one official pack, the later is the only pack whose contend changes with the upgrades so needs reinstall after each update.

The former get added after the updates mostly when new planes become available and hold the skins for those new planes.

Beside they also hold all new skins admitted by community vote.

 

Installing all those skins packs will bloat your skin folder making it even bigger than the rest of the game folder.

Meaning each time you go to a plane's hangar it takes +time to load that screen the +skins installed ....

So most only bother with the official and squad's skins since there is a modded skin-pack manager for opening the packs for making you own selection.

 

Besides those packs however I suppose every upgrade, brings also a few elemental skins of it's own.

It is safe to suppose that the unique BOS founder skins will get installed with the game and blocked to chose out the hangars of non founders.

 

Also means if you want a vanity skin it has to pass voting for adding to the next skin pack, however you can not oblige anybody to install it, nor the whole pack nor individually.

Neither can you keep others from using it.

However you may make your own skins and even add them in the game folders for running it under modded conditions.

[LukeFF]

And your point is...?

[Tone71]

As far as Rof goes, this is a good summary, but the devs haven't confirmed how skins will work in BoS.

[BMA_West]

Doesn't sound like the most efficient system.

 

Perhaps it's just to stop people flying in ... 'ugly' skins.

 

Seems a shame to limit creativity and individuality.

 

Perhaps BOS will use a different system.

 

Every reason to hope exactly that, the while giving our little push ...

Edited October 29, 2013 by West

[Cybermat47]

Perhaps it's just to stop people flying in ... 'ugly' skins.

 

No, it's to stop people cheating.

 

Say you're flying on multiplayer sometime. You see a friendly plane beneath you. How do you know it's friendly? Because it's got red stars on it, just like your LaGG 3! So you continue on - or at least you would, if the Bf109 beneath you in friendly markings hadn't put several 20mm rounds into your floorboards.

[DD_fruitbat]

No, it's to stop people cheating.

 

Say you're flying on multiplayer sometime. You see a friendly plane beneath you. How do you know it's friendly? Because it's got red stars on it, just like your LaGG 3! So you continue on - or at least you would, if the Bf109 beneath you in friendly markings hadn't put several 20mm rounds into your floorboards.

 

In il2 it was never a problem for 10 years or so of online flying.

 

Server could set 'no custom skins' if thats what they wanted to do, and if not and anyone was found doing what you describe (never ever seen it myself), the server admins could just kick and ban them. 

[FlatSpinMan]

Yeah, I'd much rather have the IL2 system of skins, too. The RoF ones do all look good, but there were so many great ones in IL2, and give the huge variety and interest in WWII I wonder how the approval system will hold up on o the volume I'd anticipate.

 

I'd also love an IL2 MATmanager type system of decals for markings.

Not any time soon, I guess.

[Reflected]

It didn't prevent people flying ugly skins in RoF, and I  agree it was messy. I hope it won't be implemented in BoS.

 

However, I do hope we get high quality psd templates for each plane, and the skin preview app we got with RoF was absolutely brilliant.

[SR-F_Winger]

It didn't prevent people flying ugly skins in RoF, and I  agree it was messy. I hope it won't be implemented in BoS.

 

However, I do hope we get high quality psd templates for each plane, and the skin preview app we got with RoF was absolutely brilliant.

+1 AND i hope we get it soon:)

 I wanna start working.

[[JG54]Vyper]

Sorry, but I rather like the system ROF has in regards to skins.

 

You can have any skin you make by selecting mods on.

 

I prefer my virtual skies to not be filled with hello kitty skins or all enemy air skins shown as international orange.

 

I don't see how anyone could confuse that with " limiting creativity and individuality.". Seems to me any option is available, historical, fictional, or modern pop art. 

 

While I am hoping for a mostly ROF skin system, being able to select squadron and other historical markings additionally would be awesome.

[BMA_West]

+1 AND i hope we get it soon:)

 I wanna start working.

Good news, Winger, yours were among the best I always thought & for sure a lot did with me.

 

Anyone into ROF from Alpha/Beta days still remember how that weird system came to be?

 

If one has to guess it probably was a dev/community compromise?

One goes for the best of both systems but ends with a lot of warts ...

 

Thou the skin manager was good, no q about that.

You just got rid of anything not becoming and ended seeing those in defaults.

Edited October 29, 2013 by West

[SR-F_Winger]

 

Good news, Winger, yours were among the best I always thought & for sure a lot did with me.

 

Anyone into ROF from Alpha/Beta days still remember how that weird system came to be?

 

If one has to guess it probably was a dev/community compromise?

One goes for the best of both systems but ends with a lot of warts ...

 

Thou the skin manager was good, no q about that.

You just got rid of anything not becoming and ended seeing those in defaults.

 

Thanks! I dont know how the system came. However i dont find it too bad. community decides if a skin is worth it. And if you dont want to see em just dont load em. Problem solved. I personally found the variety very interesting and also its VERY good to actually know whom you are flying against.

Edited October 29, 2013 by VSG1_Winger

[Tone71]

Sorry, but I rather like the system ROF has in regards to skins.

 

You can have any skin you make by selecting mods on.

 

I prefer my virtual skies to not be filled with hello kitty skins or all enemy air skins shown as international orange.

 

I don't see how anyone could confuse that with " limiting creativity and individuality.". Seems to me any option is available, historical, fictional, or modern pop art. 

 

While I am hoping for a mostly ROF skin system, being able to select squadron and other historical markings additionally would be awesome.

 

What about those that do want their virtual skies filled with hello kitty skins? And selecting "mods on" severely limits server choices, as this enables any and all mods, which is a whole other can o' worms.

I hear what you're saying, it's just difficult to find a solution that pleases everyone. For example, I'd like to be able to create my own skin, it won't be bright pink, see through, or covered in X-Box logos, but it also won't be entirely historical. I'd like to use this skin on dogfight servers, and in online missions, so me and my squad mate can identify each other. If a server is running historical missions, I'll happily use a default skin instead.

Having to ask the devs to add my skin to a "skinpack" seems a bit much, especially seeing as most people won't want to use it, and quite frankly I'd rather they didn't, as I'm using it to uniquely identify myself. This is one of the few minor issues I've had with RoF, and I just can't think of a solution that will keep everyone happy! Maybe between us all we'll think of something!

Edited October 29, 2013 by Tone71

[BeastyBaiter]

I like the RoF system and hope they keep it (from what I've read, they will). Yes it does result in some very large skin folders but it causes no problems for my 3 year old budget machine.

[BMA_West]

I just remember that from a certain point on there got lots of doubles in my game while like for 30% of the later additions the thump prints were missing so you were not presented with a preview while selecting.

Pointed to lack of follow up or nobody cared any longer.

Also the voting could stink sometimes like some squads got away with everything while others ...

However the freedom in the installing I did find very good.

 

Thou never knew how the IL2 skin system works.

Somebody cares to explain in short?

[FlatSpinMan]

In IL2 someone made a skin, uploaded it somewhere - generally on sites with hundreds if skins - then whoever wanted it could download it, put it in their folder and play.

Players without that skin would see defaults.

[Pupo]

In IL2 someone made a skin, uploaded it somewhere - generally on sites with hundreds if skins - then whoever wanted it could download it, put it in their folder and play.

Players without that skin would see defaults.

 

 

not really. if you didnt have the skin the game would download it and put it on a temp folder and you could see other players skins. This of course if both you and the server had the "custom skins" available.

[BMA_West]

Now I get how someone mentioned server determined skin availability, presume that means a client server while there was no need for a master server?

[dkoor]

Sorry, but I rather like the system ROF has in regards to skins.

 

You can have any skin you make by selecting mods on.

 

I prefer my virtual skies to not be filled with hello kitty skins or all enemy air skins shown as international orange.

 

I don't see how anyone could confuse that with " limiting creativity and individuality.". Seems to me any option is available, historical, fictional, or modern pop art. 

 

While I am hoping for a mostly ROF skin system, being able to select squadron and other historical markings additionally would be awesome.

+1

 

I agree with this PoV.

 

Quality always make it into the game anyways (into the official skin packs etc.).

There is a simple solution to this all really.

 

And it pleases just about everyone.

 

Those who want skins outside of official packs turn this option on and see all custom skins outhere including theirs.

Those who don't wanna see it turn option off - and see defaults instead of custom skins.

 

Problem solved.

Plus there should be some kind of decal system so you can easily select what tactical number (and maybe sq emblem too) you want to paste on your skin... saves hard disk space, it's much more clear to select than endless series of the same skin.

Edited October 30, 2013 by dkoor

[BMA_West]

Isn't it the case that if you allow mods for skins you're also allowing game-altering mods?

 

Won't the vast majority of servers (presumably) be run mod-free?

 

I don't play ROF so am unsure how the mod system works.

With mods on ROF gives just that kind of MP server selection but which was never much used.

Mostly it was used for unofficial skins or AI tweaking mods.

There are now also certain third party objects not (yet) included in the game that you can now download for install, eventually with the JSGME mod manager, which give you access to their specific missions and for which you do not need to run the game  mods on. However interest for those MP missions seems low probably 'cause ppl don't care for the extra hassle.