Would it be possible to add visible belts?

[Iscah]

It would take a lot more effort then you think, because belts DO exist in this game as is. (like my last post explained) it was a 1.0 >2.0 change and from what i know thus far, SE never touched core coding changes like that. Basically you have to remove all the belts in the game that are attached to shirts and be replaced by this predetermined list.

Maybe one of us is misunderstanding the other, but I wasn't meaning they should make the existing belts visible. They would however need to make the slot visible if they were going to use it for a general glamour slot, so I guess that would mean deleting the visible model of any belts that have them? Assuming that hasn't already been done to save data.

The reason we haven't seen [wings] thus far is that there would be no way of "turning off" that gear slot if the effect got annoying. In another game, the "special effect" slot was basically a mount, eg you walk at normal speed/fly-at-mount-speed for wings. So you would get conflicts if the special effect let you do something that other players can not do.

Like, the game really has no reason not to do the "wings as a mount" type of effect, as long as they are flying, and it limits combat. But if an effect was only available by being glamoured over the belt slot, it has to function even during combat. So adding anything like decorative wings would not be able to make the player fly, at best they would sparkle, or enable a different move set that takes into account the decoration, but that still requires as much work as adding another emote.

One way of resolving both (at least for something that would make the character fly) would be to have a "wings" effect glamoured over the belt slot, but to actually fly requires summoning a specific invisible mount that makes your character fly (a la superman) and if you don't have the wings, well it just comes off as superman.

Ah, I wasn't meaning functional wings when I said they could go in the belt slot - was thinking of "dress-up" costume wings. Like that other topic about the angel and devil costumes, with people wishing they could have just the wings or just the coat - wings as a 'belt' item would solve that.

(I did bring up in a different topic that functional wings-as-a-mount would be great, but I think that would have to be an "either/or" situation - either implement costume wings that can be equipped, or functional mount wings that only appear when "summoned", but not both to avoid weird double-wings when wearing the costume piece and using the 'mount'.)



But yes, glasses are maybe a tricky thing for this idea because they already exist as headgear and you'd have to duplicate them - and I don't think you'd just want to move them all over to the other slot, because people might want to wear "glasses and bonus item" but no hat - but I think completely new items that don't clash with existing item slots could be more of a possibility. Although then, as Vstarstruck said, if the old belt models are still in the coding and would all need deleting, perhaps they see that as work they don't want to have to undertake. Or is there possibly a risk of missing/breaking something? Do some NPCs maybe still have visible belts on their models?



I guess another issue for the designers would be - suppose they do implement this idea. Now *some* costume sets involve a piece that goes in the belt slot, and others don't. Is this okay? Do they now need a belt-slot idea for every costume? Will people ask why some things in that slot are visible and some aren't? Perhaps that's why they'd be hesitant to do it even if it could be really useful in some ways.

[KisaiTenshi]

But yes, glasses are maybe a tricky thing for this idea because they already exist as headgear and you'd have to duplicate them - and I don't think you'd just want to move them all over to the other slot, because people might want to wear "glasses and bonus item" but no hat - but I think completely new items that don't clash with existing item slots could be more of a possibility. Although then, as Vstarstruck said, if the old belt models are still in the coding and would all need deleting, perhaps they see that as work they don't want to have to undertake. Or is there possibly a risk of missing/breaking something? Do some NPCs maybe still have visible belts on their models?

I guess another issue for the designers would be - suppose they do implement this idea. Now *some* costume sets involve a piece that goes in the belt slot, and others don't. Is this okay? Do they now need a belt-slot idea for every costume? Will people ask why some things in that slot are visible and some aren't? Perhaps that's why they'd be hesitant to do it even if it could be really useful in some ways.

Well "belts" in the game are essentially part of a different gear slot, so really the "belt slot" is just an invisible accessory that has an armor value.

Like there are a few things in the game that I'd like to see different, like different glasses that are independent from helms and hats. But for THAT to work essentially requires another "earring" type gear slot that has no armor value.

Another slot that is "missing" from FFXIV that other games have are ammo/quiver/backpack type of slots. They aren't really needed in this game as ammo is unlimited. However a "backpack" that is part of the belt item as a glamour might be interesting.

However I feel turning the belt slot into anything would just be as kludge. What the character model really needs is a "costume effect" slot that isn't an item, but rather something that can be switched on/off with the glamour plate. The actual "belt" item likely can't be turned into something visible because it would clash (visibly if not clip through various gear.)

[ElHeggunte]

I hated the belts in 1.0 for the same reasons mentioned already. If making them visible again also means a return of that graphical nightmare I'll have to say no thank you.

[Iscah]

Well "belts" in the game are essentially part of a different gear slot, so really the "belt slot" is just an invisible accessory that has an armor value.
[...]
However I feel turning the belt slot into anything would just be as kludge. What the character model really needs is a "costume effect" slot that isn't an item, but rather something that can be switched on/off with the glamour plate. The actual "belt" item likely can't be turned into something visible because it would clash (visibly if not clip through various gear.)

Absolutely, and I'm not saying that the invisible belts should become visible - rather I'm trying to think of how the "costume slot" could be implemented in the system as it exists, and from what I can guess of the underlying restrictions. For example, the "convoluted" setup they introduced for the glamour dresser instead of just giving us separate free glamour slots. Why do that instead of the simple version? Maybe it's impossible to create new slots, so they can only work within the rigid existing framework of gear slots and applied glamours that are linked to a base item.

So if I've guessed right on that, then they can't just give us a new item slot that doesn't currently exist - but what they *do* have is an item slot that doesn't visibly exist and so perhaps it is within their limits to adjust how that slot is used. It would continue to be a "belt slot" that holds the functional-but-invisible belt equipment, but that invisible belt functions as the base item on which we can apply a visible glamour. (The backpack you suggested could be one of those glamour items for this slot, too.)

Like there are a few things in the game that I'd like to see different, like different glasses that are independent from helms and hats. But for THAT to work essentially requires another "earring" type gear slot that has no armor value.

Interesting idea - even if they can't create a new slot, could glasses be available in the "ears" slot?

[Shurrikhan]

Funny thing is in 1.0 most people hated the belts that's why they made them invisible

Strange. I'd never seen that complaint in the years I played 1.x. Were that the case, the solution would be much simpler -- /showbelt, much like /showhelm. Done.

I had heard that one's belt of (stat) choice didn't necessarily fit with its surrounding gear, whereas -- apart from said belts -- the value of item level and the scarcity of gear was enough to ensure that BiS sets were almost always a single gear set, and therefore worked together aesthetically. This was also the reason Yoshida gave for combining belt graphics to chest pieces. However, with the implementation of glamour, that issue, too, would be obsolete.