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Detailed character appearance info - is there a way to view it?

purdydotpurdydot Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 8 Arc User
edited October 2013 in General Discussion (PC)
Basically i want to make a new character (or change appearance on an alternate character) that will look *exactly* the same as one I have already created.
So i'd like to know if there is a way to view all of the stuff like the numbers i put in on all the sliders and things.
Like, is there maybe a file saved in my neverwinter folder that i could open with a text editor or something?
I already attempted to make another character that looked the same as the first one I created by looking at a screen shot of my other character and selecting what I thought were the same selections (for things like basic body size/type) and such, but the new character ended up having quite a few little differences so I really wasn't very happy with the end result.
It's one of those things where I can't really tell *exactly* what's wrong, I can only tell *something* is wrong, so I don't know what it is that I would need to change in order to fix it.
Like, for example, for some reason the second character seems to be baring her teeth a little bit like she's growling or angry or something, and whatever caused that, it wasn't visible while I was creating the character, It was only visible after finishing the creation process and viewing the character in game.
Might seem like it's not a very important thing, but it's one that gets more annoying over time.
In other words, the more I play the character that looks "wrong" or "funny" or whatever, the more it bugs me and the more I notice it, to the point that I either want to just not play that character at all, or want to buy an appearance change or something to *fix it*.
Without some way to view all (or at least most) of the original character's detailed appearance info though, it seems pointless to buy an appearance change, since I still wouldn't know what I'd need to put in order to make a "duplicate" of my original character.
So if anyone has some ideas or suggestions as to how I might be able to get the creation info from one character so I can use it on another (either for a new character or so I could use an appearance change on the one that's ugly), I'd appreciate it.
If anyone wonders why I don't just use the original character, there are 2 main reasons.
1) I play great weapon fighters, and with the feats and such I like to have one character set up more for party/aoe work, and have another one set up more for soloing/pvp.
and 2) the "original" character was one I actually made for my daughter, helping her out because she didn't really know where to start with the character creation. So it is on her account and is her character (unless she decides to delete it some day).
I wasn't even playing the game back then, except on occasions when my daughter wanted me to do stuff, like fight a boss or stuff for her, using her character. So all of my original gameplay experience was on her character that I had created.
So when I decided to get my own account and have my own character and such and "play the game for real" instead of just messing around on her character, the first two characters I created for myself were completely different short dwarf guys that seemed fun at the time but I never really "bonded" with them and got sort of bored with them.
So I bought another character slot and made my "imitation" of the of the original character I had created for my daughter, and that felt *right* because it was like I was finally playing "my character".
But... as i said, there's still little differences that keep bugging me.
I swear, the first one looks like she's in a good mood and all up for/ready for anything, but the one I made in an attempt to clone her looks all tired/grumpy and beaten down/worn out, like she'd rather be taking a nap or something.
Might sound silly, but it affects my motivation! lol
Anyway, if anyone has any ideas I'd appreciate any info I can get:)
Post edited by purdydot on

Comments

  • rowin4010rowin4010 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 64 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    My comment may or may not help, but I fully understand the problem with a character looking 'wrong' and wanting to change the appearance. When I first created my TR, I gave her vibrant red hair, but forgot that the eyebrows could also be set and left them at the base (sandy) colour. This bugged the heck out of me so much I finally stumped up the ZEN to make the change, and now she sports eyebrows of an almost dark brown colour, and looks (to me, at least) a whole lot better!

    However, to what you are looking for:

    When making the alterations, I noticed that I could determine (if I wished) what had gone into making up her original appearance by the panels alongside the character model - each of these is labelled and all you need to do (as far as I can tell) is make a note of the panels that go to making up the original character, then use these to recreate the duplicate. The sliders are more problematic as they don't use numerical values, so trying to determine where to set them could be very hit-and-miss. One option would be to take screenshots and refer to these when creating the duplicate - either that, or plot their relative positions on a sheet of notepaper.

    But how to determine what went in to creating the original? Simply go to the House of Alterations (or whatever it's called) and choose to change the original characters appearance. This will allow you to see what is already there - you don't need a Change Appearance token to be able to do this, the token is only needed to confirm the changes (if any). Once you've discovered what went into creating the appearance of the original, simply create (or modify) the duplicate to get the (hopefully) desired result.

    Hopefully this will help - after all, I've only made the one change of appearance and this is what I can remember from when I did it.

    Luck to you!
    "I have never considered it polite to comment upon the ravings of the insane, nor profitable to engage in arguments with lunatics." - King Avallach (Taliesin - Stephen Lawhead)
  • purdydotpurdydot Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 8 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    Thanks for the input:)
    I'll go mess about with the alteration thingy and see if maybe screen shots of everything will do it.
    I thought that you could see some value changes (numbers changing) when adjusting the sliders, but I guess that must have been on a different game or something.
    At least if I take enough screen shots of everything I should be able to tell what sliders are obviously different and can go in and maybe "*count the clicks* from where it's at to the left side/minimum, then start from the left and count over to till I get them where they are supposed to be.
    might take a while that way, but better to spend the extra time once to get it right, than to be stuck with an annoyance or buying a second appearance change or whatever.
    I think I will test it by using that method on a new character (since I can just delete it if it doesn't come out right for some reason) and then if it all works out I can look into getting an appearance change for the one that currently "looks wrong".
    Honestly I doubt it would bother me as much (if at all) if it was a male character. I only really start getting "picky" about appearance when I play female characters.
    I mean, when I play a guy character I don't sit there thinking, "does this armor make my butt look funny?" lol
    guess something about creating a female character triggers something in my head that makes me more "appearance conscious".
    oh well, it's easier to change the character's appearance than it is to change my brain, so I wont worry about *why* I feel the need to do it.
    anyway, thanks a lot for the input:)
  • bioshrikebioshrike Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,729 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    Champions Online allows you to save & load your appearance... I wish NW had that ability as well.
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  • purdydotpurdydot Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 8 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    Haven't played champions online, but that sounds like a nice feature.
    I wasn't able to get into any real testing before the server maintenance, but I did take a quick look at the appearance change wizard.
    At first it showed a generic character, so I cancelled and went back in.
    The second time I got what appeared to be a "heavier" version of my character.
    As in, the face looked pretty much right, but the body seemed a bit wider than normal.
    Sort of like the aspect ratio was a little off or something.
    So I'm not really sure if it's just a visual oddity, or if the current face info loaded, but some or all of the body data didn't.
    I'll have to try going back in to do some testing/comparing after the servers are back up.
    What would be really nice is if there was a sort of "character sheet" somewhere that had all the names of the parameters and and stuff already typed out in order.
    Not that it'll take all that long for me to make one, but since I use a TV for my monitor, some small text like the words on the character screen are kind of hard to read, so it'd just be nice if there was already a list made that I could copy/paste for a template.
    If I don't find one before I make my own, then I'll probably paste the basic list in here in case anyone else ever ends up needing such a thing.
  • zohar101zohar101 Member Posts: 12 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    Just be careful with the alteration thing. I've found that regarding face features, what you pick in the appearance wizard can come out looking decidedly different in the game. I don't know if it's numbers or lighting or what, but facial features/sizing/proportions seem very different to me in game from what I pick in the appearance wizard app. So I have to stare at my face in game, switch to the wizard, compare the two, figure out in game what needs fixing, then in wizard, get it as close to what I've picked before and then blindly adjust the parameters to what I've noted needed to be adjusted in game.
    Maybe I'm just fussy but I spend great time on little details and it's very obviously different to me.
  • purdydotpurdydot Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 8 Arc User
    edited October 2013
    Thanks for the info/warning/heads up:)
    It's nice to get some verification that those screens aren't completely accurate compared to what you get in game.
    I *thought* they were a bit off, but there is always a chance that I am just imagining things. lol
    I'm about to go into game and build a new test character to see how close I can get based on some of the suggestions you guys have made.
    I figure that the easiest way to test things to see if I can get a good and reproducible result before actually buying an appearance token.
    I went ahead and made a basic template so I can keep track of what I put in and/or end up changing, since I had some time to kill while waiting for the servers to come back up.
    Of course, I guess I'm *assuming* that the same settings in the character creation/customization window will have the same effect/result if I put them into an alteration window. lol
    Anyway, I'll start by seeing if I can make a new *clone* of the original to see what happens.
    Wish me luck;)
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