This is mainly just a suggestion about how custom clothing in ranked games can be tackled, and not a general suggestion of custom clothing, as I know workshop/custom clothing has been suggested quite a few times.
before I make my suggestion, I want to explain what “Ranked” games are for those who do not know the concept in relation to Tower Unite. Keep in mind that this quote I’ll be using to explain it was last updated in jun 2015, so some of it may not be accurate at this time. This quote applies to lobbies, but it gives a general idea of what I mean by ‘ranked’.
the concept of custom items this quote references (as I understand it) were items, supposedly condo furniture, sold through unranked lobbies that could be placed in your condo for anyone to see and interact with. I will be suggesting my own way of implementing and obtaining custom clothing, however.
Okay, so my idea of implementing custom clothing in a way to allow it in ranked games is this:
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you can modify an existing clothing item you own (hat, accessory or other clothing items) and change its texture and model via “replacing” (or swapping out) the appropriate hat asset with one from either your documents or off the workshop, and this can be used in any gameworld for all players to see. (could also be a savable preset for the hat so you can easily change it if you want to easily switch to a different look, like the original hat)
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Users can choose if they want their client to render custom items, and if not it will render the custom item’s base item instead (what the item originally was). There could also be an option for blacklisting a person’s custom items if they wish to not see their’s, but still want to see others’.
I feel that this way would be appropriate, as it allows anyone to easily implement their simple re-texture/model mods and express themselves their personal way.
Also, treating the mods as modifications for existing items allows users to decide whether or not they want to see user-created content in regular gameworlds or plazas/condos.
This way of custom looks could also be implemented into other game items (possibly as part of the upgrades store), such as modified ball race ball models.
An alternative way of organizing custom items could be adding the requirement of having them uploaded to the workshop as a single item in order to retrieve and use it. The custom clothing would still be treated as “skins” for a desired owned clothing the user chose, so someone with custom clothing disabled would see the base item instead of nothing. Workshop-only custom clothing could also help moderation of custom clothing as well.
On a side note, it would be nice if custom clothing can decide whether or not to render some of the playermodel bodygroups when it is in use, such as hair, as its inevitable that some custom hats can have clipping issues, and modders would greatly appreciate the ability to remove clipping issues without modifying the hat to fit an unnecessary limitation.
What do you think? Also, if some of this is not clear, let me know and I’ll try to elaborate on it. I’m typing this at midnight and some of this might not make sense and quite a bit of rambling is probably in this.