Gear And Clothing: Kingdom Come - Deliverance
Dress for success
Kingdom Come: Deliverance contains the opposite of 'infinite dragons', which is to say that it contains 'no dragons'. Not one. Instead, the Kickstarter project from the super-group made up of Mafia and ARMA developers contains lots and lots of people, all fighting, living and exploring in a believable fashion. Nathan has shared his impressions of an early demo and the latest development video shows that Warhorse don't need a world full of orcs and elves to give their characters variety. Customisation is the key, and clothing, body types, faces and hair will all be constructed and altered using what the developers claim is the greatest character customisation tool ever invented. It certainly looks impressive, as can be seen in the video below, and I admire any game that allows me to wash the blood out of my clothes.
The moment I started watching, all I wanted to see was a rotund, mud-stained knight, and I wasn't disappointed. The layering of clothing across areas of the body isn't just attractive and a way of adding variety, it also makes sense from a combat design perspective. Chain mail combines with padded cloth or leather to provide multiple types of protection and it's good to see undergarments working in combination with overgarments rather than simply acting as the bottom rung on an upgrade ladder. While not entirely true to life - in which we begin naked, graduate to underpants during our student years and to three-piece suits once gainfully employed - the system allows for credible old-time fashions and armour.
Of course, this all made me think about the greatest current character customisation tool. I think it lives on the Row, with the Saints, but I'd be willing to acknowledge other contenders. Kingdom Come has sixteen days of Kickstarting left and has currently raised £600,000, more than double its initial target.
Next up - mounts. But will I be able to pop a hat on my horse?