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Thread: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

  1. #1

    Default Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    How does it effect you or does it bother you at all?

    I've recently got back into gaming, which I thought wasn't possible but I'm really happy that I've begun finding enjoyment in games again. I'm currently at the start of ME2 but I've noticed that the distance between my character's nose and mouth is a little too wide. It doesn't look bad at all but it's these little things that have always bothered me in the past. A couple years ago, I would spend well over 30 hours starting and restarting characters, I would make a character, think "yeah that's good" then after the first mission and some cutscenes, notice something up with it. I'm trying to learn to let thoughts go, intrusive thoughts that aren't important like how the tiniest of features can really get me annoyed that I can't just edit the face during the game.

    It tends to be BioWare games that I spend this extra time on, Dragon Age Origins had the same problem, that one was to do with the cheeks. Anyway, like I said I'm actuley grown to this feature that is different to how I wanted, I didn't over-check everything which I should've done. Everything else is perfect just this little thing that seems to cause me more stress than it should.

    To be honest, I'm fine with it now, I've decided that nor is it that bad and it isn't something that looks obvious or is obvious to anyone other than myself for personal reasons perhaps.

    So, I'm asking this to hear your stories on this, your opinions and ways of dealing with it. I think it's more a problem with our thoughts/minds than it is the character/feature, there for maybe something positive can come from talking about it and finding ways to overcome it without resorting to re-creating a character 20 times just to get to the 20th, have the perfect character and no longer have any desire to play the game anymore.

    What do you think then?

  2. #2
    Razvus's Avatar Campidoctor
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    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    I once played halfway through Kotor then noticed my character had weird eyes. I restarted my game. I didn't have other problems though. In origins I found that I was able to produce only 2 faces that I was comfortable with, and they were generic ones anyway. I guess that's my answer really, pick one of the generic ones. Oblivion taught me that. it was the first time I was able to customize everything about my character, and I found out this way that I'm crap at it. So Dragon age 2? Just picked the regular Hawke. I did the same with the femshep in ME1 but somehow it ended up different from any other Shepard I saw out there. Working on your face in Skyrim for example is useless. You barely ever get to see your face ever again with all the helmets.

    protip: click randomize and stop at something that looks human. or pick a generic face if it's available.
    No.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    Quote Originally Posted by Razvus View Post
    I once played halfway through Kotor then noticed my character had weird eyes. I restarted my game. I didn't have other problems though. In origins I found that I was able to produce only 2 faces that I was comfortable with, and they were generic ones anyway. I guess that's my answer really, pick one of the generic ones. Oblivion taught me that. it was the first time I was able to customize everything about my character, and I found out this way that I'm crap at it. So Dragon age 2? Just picked the regular Hawke. I did the same with the femshep in ME1 but somehow it ended up different from any other Shepard I saw out there. Working on your face in Skyrim for example is useless. You barely ever get to see your face ever again with all the helmets.

    protip: click randomize and stop at something that looks human. or pick a generic face if it's available.
    Thanks for replying first and foremost.

    I agree that going with the already made characters has its advantages, I mean a game is a game and you need to draw the line on what's honestly required. I do think though that creating your own character can bring something at times, like perhaps more of a emotional attacthment with them because you made the character and it's unlikely if not impossible that someone will have an identical looking character. I don't think it's a bad thing as you mentioned that you said you created a character that looked nothing like any other character, that's a good thing, it just means it's unique.

    Anyway, I think for my nerves sake, i'll go for generic characters in future, thanks for posting.

  4. #4
    Razvus's Avatar Campidoctor
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    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    I got attached to ME's Shepard, but I think it's because I saw the character in a whole trilogy, everything revolving around you and it's fun to watch the subtle changes. Also, i think the voice acting plays a big part in it. Even though i chose the basic face in ME1, now i cannot imagine playing with any other Shepard:

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    But i think that comes from the character's voice. You get so used to it that it just gets attached to the face. I should mention that I could never play with the standard male Shepard face, because that one is on all the posters, and also I found out he has a double http://fenerbahceworldwide.com/uploa...r1v8kznfxy.jpg.
    In Skyrim, Oblivion, DA:O, Kotor... I never really cared about my guy/gal, because I was just reading text when he appeared on screen. That's half the personality washed away.

    Dragon age 2 had a voiced protagonist as well, but I was just one game and a mediocre one at best. It was hard to take it seriously. Now I have the face of Hawke and the voice forever attached to the idea of failure.
    No.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    I usually restarted the game several times over in ME because the character editor has lighting and a narrow field of view not giving a good impression of the character in game. The save game conversion was also somewhat lacking. I think one time I spent a couple of hours to edit the character profile in save games via ME modding tools to "fix" it.

    What I also did was that Shepard of ME1 got a short haircut and paler skin in ME2 and a regrown hair style in ME3 to reflect the events in game (aka someone fresh out of a medical facility). I think I also played around with the eyes turning from dark to silver because of it.




    I think Elder Scrolls Online, Eve and Sims 4 (which from the trailers all seem to use a similar approach to the extent I think the Eve guys might have sold their character editor since they presented it standalone first) do a far better job and allowing you to look at the character you create.
    Last edited by Mangalore; May 19, 2014 at 04:42 AM.
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  6. #6
    Lysimachus's Avatar Spirit Cleric
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    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    I noticed after playing Origins one of my wardens who I ported in to Awakening had kind of a weird looking face (...it took me 50+ hours to realise this, what) so I didn't even get inside vigil's keep, I just aborted the character

    I normally have this problem in GW2 as well, my character will look great in the character creator and then look like trash in 95% of maps in the game because of the awful lighting.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    Hey guys thanks for the replies. Lysimachus I bet it was difficult to get back into the game, i.e on the second playthrough?

  8. #8

    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    I only recall having the issue once with Mass Effect. You spend so much time looking at Shepards face which makes it worse. I kind of haphazardly made the face to begin with and slowly through the course of the game went from a nagging feeling to irritation to loathing it. In Mass Effect 2 a changed his face to one of the defaults, some meathead look, it worked.

    Any other game like Dragon Age, Skyrim or other RPG's I actually come out with a decent looking character that feels unique by tweaking off one of the defaults so I don't get outlandish.

  9. #9
    Lysimachus's Avatar Spirit Cleric
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    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    Quote Originally Posted by JDW View Post
    Hey guys thanks for the replies. Lysimachus I bet it was difficult to get back into the game, i.e on the second playthrough?
    That was like ... my fourth at that point. So I just restarted, made a character and all was good again.

  10. #10

    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    No matter how far into the game, delete.

  11. #11
    Inhuman One's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    Tend to delete and start over, untill I am happy with the face. It wont ever get far with me disliking it though, and I am quick to figure it out.

    Really dont like it when character creation has terrible lightning. Happens way too often in games. Bioware keeps doing it with dragon age and mass effect. And Oblivion.. well I never managed to get any remotely likeable character out of it without mods. Its that bad.

  12. #12
    Comes Domesticorum
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    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    This is the reason I loved the DLC in DA2 which let you change your character's appearance at any point in the game. The Black Emporium, I think it was called. Saved so many characters from deletion, I hope they implement it in every game.

  13. #13

    Default Finding faults in customized characters you make

    >No Starlow>No NaviI am disappointed.In case it wasn't obvious, I'm joking.By the way, can you make it so you can remove your vote? You have a thing with adding new options, and people need to change their votes sometimes?

  14. #14
    Demokritos's Avatar Domesticus
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    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    Discovered this thread just now and decided to hop in, despite being so late.

    I usually find many faults with my customized characters at first and take the time to correct them to a more satisfactory standard, if the face generating mode of the game allows it. This because I know I can do it and because the game becomes so much more enjoyable that way. A creation of your own the character of which can vary a lot also lends itself better to roleplay for added fun and playability, IMO. Here's a couple of screenshots illustrating the point:

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Mean Gene
    Ice Queen

    I find default John and Jane less immersive.

    But of course there's a limit to the time spent on character creation that I feel worthwhile. If I give up, it's either not a very interesting game or a pretty bad face generation mode for it.
    Last edited by Demokritos; April 23, 2016 at 12:05 PM.
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    Default Re: Finding faults in customized characters you make?

    I did the same with the femshep in ME1 but somehow it ended up different from any other Shepard I saw out there. Working on your face in Skyrim for example is useless. You barely ever get to see your face ever again with all the helmets.
    ME1 and ME2's character models usually mess up when you transfer the game over, so I fix my character every time I go from the prior game to the next.

    As for Skyrim, I love Skyrim's character editor (when it's modded). I usually play female main characters (for whatever reason, usually better voice acting case in point being Jenny Hale aka Femshep. No, not because I want a character running around in a bikini, I actually hate that) and usually I don't wear helmets or I wear helmets with exposed faces. My issue with Skyrim is the hair doesn't work under the helmet.

    I usually restarted the game several times over in ME because the character editor has lighting and a narrow field of view not giving a good impression of the character in game. The save game conversion was also somewhat lacking. I think one time I spent a couple of hours to edit the character profile in save games via ME modding tools to "fix" it.
    This. I hate character editors because the lighting always sucks and the face ends up looking different in-game than in-editor. Case in point: SWTOR. The character editor for SWTOR sucks, but the faces look way better in-game than in the editor/selection screen.

    I got attached to ME's Shepard, but I think it's because I saw the character in a whole trilogy, everything revolving around you and it's fun to watch the subtle changes. Also, i think the voice acting plays a big part in it. Even though i chose the basic face in ME1, now i cannot imagine playing with any other Shepard:
    YES.

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