Shad0wmancer
New Member
Alright, I realize there are a variety of things people would like to see added into the game. Bear with me through my favorite rant, because it's the only thing keeping my role-playing from being immersive. I know that some people aren't fans of capes, and that's fine, this is just my personal opinion. I wanted to call to attention Bethesda's "arguments" pertaining to why they won't add capes or cloaks for console players such as myself, and see what everyone else thought about this issue.
First of all, I know there are people who don't like capes. But...why do these people claim that they don't want them in the game? What do they care? As far as I'm concerned, the game is already almost completely cape-free. What I would propose is for the character to have a cape slot for equipped armors.That way, the player can choose whether or not to wear the cape or cloak with whatever set of armor their character may have. He or she could mix and match colors to see what looks more epic. Rather than having the cape be a part of the armor, like the Nightingale Armor, I'd like to see it be a separate piece of equipment that can be put on any armor set.
With that said, I know that one of Bethesda's arguments as to why there aren't capes in Skyrim is that "It's not realistic." Supposedly, in medieval times, soldiers did not wear capes because they were 'impractical.' That isn't completely true, however, the top commanders and lords did wear capes to symbolize their rank and their power. In the feudalism period of history, women and men wore capes to keep warm through the frigid winters. But all that's beside the point. Bethesda, and some players, are stating that wearing a cape in Skyrim would be "impractical" and "unrealistic," but in the same day there are talking dragons, walking cat people, and lizard mages in Skyrim.
I think we can take the 'unrealistic' excuse out. Don't you?
Next, I think we can all agree that Skyrim, beyond simply being an epic fantasy game, is an RPG. Probably the best RPG in existence. I, like many other players, sometimes strive to make my character similar to heroes found in other epic fantasy stories. However, this is absolutely impossible with the absence of capes and cloaks in the Elder Scrolls. Think about it for a second. Name one epic fantasy in existence where there are NOT the presence of a cape or cloak.
For example, the Lord of the Rings. One of the best fantasy stories that exists, in my opinion. Capes were worn by Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, the Hobbits, and the Witch King. Perhaps a Skyrim player would like to make his character resemble Aragorn. He can make his characters' face look almost exactly alike, but I can't think of a single scene that Aragorn appears without his elven cloak. If he does, it's always brief, and he definitely doesn't go to battle without wearing it. It's a symbol of power and strength.
The list goes on and on. Besides Lord of the Rings, there are capes in 300 (in which the blood-red capes are almost the sole distinguishing aspect of the Spartan's war uniforms), Assassin's Creed, where Ezio used a cape (and a cloak in a fun mission in Assassin's Creed: Revelations), Fire Emblem, The Legend of Zelda (Ganondorf was always made to look strong and epic with a long black cape), World of Warcraft, where there's tons of cape choices, Final Fantasy, King Arthur, Batman, Superman, Thor. The list keeps going even though I can't think of everything off the top of my head.
But even more amazing is that you don't even have to look outside of Skyrim to see epic capes and cloaks. How, Bethesda, can you idolize your most epic, ancient heroes to the player and not give us a way to resemble them? For example, the gigantic statue of Talos in Whiterun. Talos looks epic with a long cape at his back, symbolizing his strength, power, and place in the Elder Scrolls' Divines' Lore. How can Talos be given a cape, yet the player cannot get a cape at his or her back also? More examples: Ysgramor. Ysgramor, the one who settled Tamriel with humans in Bethesda's Lore. In his tomb, Ysgramor stands tall with an epic helm and cape at his back. How can these Skyrim heroes be depicted with epic capes, and the player cannot? I can pray to Talos' shrine if I want to, but I can't even wear a cape like his. It's very frustrating.
I still reinforce my same complaint: the player should be allowed to wear capes in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I know there are more changes players would like to see, myself included. But the thing is, some things that I want are too big or complicated to expect Bethesda to add. That's fine. But I don't think it's too much to ask to allow the player to wear a cape or a cloak of my choice of color at the back of whatever armor I choose to wear. It's very hard to find a character out of another fantasy story to roleplay with the absence of capes in Skyrim.
I know it's tough to make them flow in the wind, but I don't really care about that, I just want the cape at my back. I don't care about the physics being changed, I don't need my cape to flow in the wind. The Nightingale Armor is still my favorite armor in the game just because it's the only one with a long(ish) black cape, and I couldn't care less about the physics of it blowing in the wind. I just want to be able to wear a long cape or cloak that reaches to my ankles so that I can fully roleplay my characters and feel more immersed in Skyrim.
With these constraints, it shouldn't be a problem for Bethesda to add a scrap of cloth to the players' back. They can make dragons fly around and attack at will...they can do this. The lack of capes and cloaks has always been a questionable aspect of The Elder Scrolls; since it is an epic fantasy RPG, I don't even understand how it has never made a cape available for the player. Mods, while awesome, are not available for console players, and not everyone has the ability to convert their Skyrim play style to a gaming PC, and sometimes wouldn't want to, even if they could.
I apologize for the length of this post, but I have never posted anything about this issue before, and it's really starting to frustrate me. I love Bethesda and love their game, but this is my one point that I will argue. Their game is so fantastic that I trust them for everything else.
If you are feeling the same as me concerning this issue, please respond/thumbs up/share this with others, because I'm curious to know how people feel about this. I know there are many more changes people would like to see, myself definitely included, but in this thread I'm curious how people feel about the cape/cloak problem. This could be a start or a gateway since it is such an easy addition for Bethesda to make. I am aware this post will probably avail me nothing with Bethesda, and I may be spitting into the wind, but this is my opinion and I'm giving it a try.
Cheers
P.S. We've all seen the Incredibles spoof about capes, but I don't think that's relevant here. In the virtual land of Skyrim, I don't think players need worry about snagging their cape on airplane turbines. Just a side note.
First of all, I know there are people who don't like capes. But...why do these people claim that they don't want them in the game? What do they care? As far as I'm concerned, the game is already almost completely cape-free. What I would propose is for the character to have a cape slot for equipped armors.That way, the player can choose whether or not to wear the cape or cloak with whatever set of armor their character may have. He or she could mix and match colors to see what looks more epic. Rather than having the cape be a part of the armor, like the Nightingale Armor, I'd like to see it be a separate piece of equipment that can be put on any armor set.
With that said, I know that one of Bethesda's arguments as to why there aren't capes in Skyrim is that "It's not realistic." Supposedly, in medieval times, soldiers did not wear capes because they were 'impractical.' That isn't completely true, however, the top commanders and lords did wear capes to symbolize their rank and their power. In the feudalism period of history, women and men wore capes to keep warm through the frigid winters. But all that's beside the point. Bethesda, and some players, are stating that wearing a cape in Skyrim would be "impractical" and "unrealistic," but in the same day there are talking dragons, walking cat people, and lizard mages in Skyrim.
I think we can take the 'unrealistic' excuse out. Don't you?
Next, I think we can all agree that Skyrim, beyond simply being an epic fantasy game, is an RPG. Probably the best RPG in existence. I, like many other players, sometimes strive to make my character similar to heroes found in other epic fantasy stories. However, this is absolutely impossible with the absence of capes and cloaks in the Elder Scrolls. Think about it for a second. Name one epic fantasy in existence where there are NOT the presence of a cape or cloak.
For example, the Lord of the Rings. One of the best fantasy stories that exists, in my opinion. Capes were worn by Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, the Hobbits, and the Witch King. Perhaps a Skyrim player would like to make his character resemble Aragorn. He can make his characters' face look almost exactly alike, but I can't think of a single scene that Aragorn appears without his elven cloak. If he does, it's always brief, and he definitely doesn't go to battle without wearing it. It's a symbol of power and strength.
The list goes on and on. Besides Lord of the Rings, there are capes in 300 (in which the blood-red capes are almost the sole distinguishing aspect of the Spartan's war uniforms), Assassin's Creed, where Ezio used a cape (and a cloak in a fun mission in Assassin's Creed: Revelations), Fire Emblem, The Legend of Zelda (Ganondorf was always made to look strong and epic with a long black cape), World of Warcraft, where there's tons of cape choices, Final Fantasy, King Arthur, Batman, Superman, Thor. The list keeps going even though I can't think of everything off the top of my head.
But even more amazing is that you don't even have to look outside of Skyrim to see epic capes and cloaks. How, Bethesda, can you idolize your most epic, ancient heroes to the player and not give us a way to resemble them? For example, the gigantic statue of Talos in Whiterun. Talos looks epic with a long cape at his back, symbolizing his strength, power, and place in the Elder Scrolls' Divines' Lore. How can Talos be given a cape, yet the player cannot get a cape at his or her back also? More examples: Ysgramor. Ysgramor, the one who settled Tamriel with humans in Bethesda's Lore. In his tomb, Ysgramor stands tall with an epic helm and cape at his back. How can these Skyrim heroes be depicted with epic capes, and the player cannot? I can pray to Talos' shrine if I want to, but I can't even wear a cape like his. It's very frustrating.
I still reinforce my same complaint: the player should be allowed to wear capes in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I know there are more changes players would like to see, myself included. But the thing is, some things that I want are too big or complicated to expect Bethesda to add. That's fine. But I don't think it's too much to ask to allow the player to wear a cape or a cloak of my choice of color at the back of whatever armor I choose to wear. It's very hard to find a character out of another fantasy story to roleplay with the absence of capes in Skyrim.
I know it's tough to make them flow in the wind, but I don't really care about that, I just want the cape at my back. I don't care about the physics being changed, I don't need my cape to flow in the wind. The Nightingale Armor is still my favorite armor in the game just because it's the only one with a long(ish) black cape, and I couldn't care less about the physics of it blowing in the wind. I just want to be able to wear a long cape or cloak that reaches to my ankles so that I can fully roleplay my characters and feel more immersed in Skyrim.
With these constraints, it shouldn't be a problem for Bethesda to add a scrap of cloth to the players' back. They can make dragons fly around and attack at will...they can do this. The lack of capes and cloaks has always been a questionable aspect of The Elder Scrolls; since it is an epic fantasy RPG, I don't even understand how it has never made a cape available for the player. Mods, while awesome, are not available for console players, and not everyone has the ability to convert their Skyrim play style to a gaming PC, and sometimes wouldn't want to, even if they could.
I apologize for the length of this post, but I have never posted anything about this issue before, and it's really starting to frustrate me. I love Bethesda and love their game, but this is my one point that I will argue. Their game is so fantastic that I trust them for everything else.
If you are feeling the same as me concerning this issue, please respond/thumbs up/share this with others, because I'm curious to know how people feel about this. I know there are many more changes people would like to see, myself definitely included, but in this thread I'm curious how people feel about the cape/cloak problem. This could be a start or a gateway since it is such an easy addition for Bethesda to make. I am aware this post will probably avail me nothing with Bethesda, and I may be spitting into the wind, but this is my opinion and I'm giving it a try.
Cheers
P.S. We've all seen the Incredibles spoof about capes, but I don't think that's relevant here. In the virtual land of Skyrim, I don't think players need worry about snagging their cape on airplane turbines. Just a side note.
