The clothing makes the alt
Robot arms, monster legs, helmets, wings, ears, antennae and whiskers, all swaddled in tuxedo jackets paired with boxing shorts, stiletto heels and barbed-wire wrapped waists. And that's all on one character. Ah, the joys and perils of the City of Heroes/City of Villains costume creator. As Alec Meer notes, "The character editor, especially in the expanded form it takes these days, offers a vast array of possibilities." The important thing to remember is to be ... judicious ... in your development. Feel free to create eye-searing combinations, but don't be afraid to be subtle, either. Just let your vision take flight, and don't focus on trying to re-create extant heroes.
Aside from copyright infringement concerns, and the fear that your alt may be turned into Generic Hero 18242, there's the scorn and derision you'll face for being unable to imagine something unique. Admittedly, accidents can happen -- be they names or costumes on current characters or Golden Age heroes -- and if that's the case, no harm: no foul. However, if you're deliberately building a Huge model with green skin, purple shredded trousers, and no shirt, and you're saying he got his Super Strength/Invulnerability + Super Jump powers by being bombarded with gamma radiation, well ... let's just say it shows a marked lack of creativity. I mean, come on: with all the options NCsoft has made available to you with CoX's costume creator, the sheer variety of combinations is nothing short of astounding. And you're saying that you couldn't come up with one original concept? Please.
So come on, spill: what are your favorite features of the current (and Issue 12) costume creator, and what would you still like to see improved? Is there a particular alt whose outfit you'd like to show off, or do you have an idea for an outfit, but you're not sure how to create it? While we obviously don't mind talking about ourselves and our fascination with games, we also want to know what makes you tick. Tell us about your alts, would you?
