thoughts on new info about Gemini skins?

[_Anise_]

I heard on stream that the Gemini skins are launching with 1999 and will cost platinum. It seems like you can’t equip them as permanent skins like regular Warframe skins; instead, you have to activate them with an emote, the latter we already knew.

At first, I thought the skins might be given as part of the story since you can’t keep them enabled permanently, and they’re only for the Warframes that show up in 1999. But now I’m not entirely sure if we’ll get to play the protoframes in 1999 without spending platinum. They showed warframe Mag in 1999, and she switched to Protomag with the emote (maybe that was just for demo purposes?).

Since they’re just cosmetic, I guess it makes sense that they’re pay-to-acquire. It also explains why they’re reworking Trinity and Nyx—players might not want to buy these skins if those frames need adjustments.

I was really excited to try out the skins, but now I’m thinking I might only go for one, and that really depends on how the reworks turn out. They need to be impressive to sell me; otherwise, I might just pass.

I’d love to hear other people’s impressions!

Edited September 28 by _Anise_

[Zahnrad]

My biggest concern is that we won't be able to change the colors, or customize the "skin" (not the helmet) of Protoframes.

The tease with Aoi/Mag seemed to suggest that customization may be limited, but I'm not sure if they just wanted to show the Gemini skins as their "base" appearance.

Come to think of it, would too many people be bothered if you equipped a helmet on the Protoframes if they still spoke? Most people hide the Drifter/Operator's face anyway.

[OniDax]

I'm not really interested in the gemini skins. They likely won't be as customizable as the standard Warframes (if we can use custom skins on the gemini skins, it'll likely only be the Voidshell skins, if that, and of course we can add attachments/syandana/sigil/emblem) and not being able to customize the human head is a no-go for me.

I'd think you'd be able to acquire the skins for free if you do the romance thing and if not, then you could pay plat for them. I'm not interested in the romance system anyway, so I'm thinking much about it.

An aside: one thing I'm surprised people aren't talking about is the confirmation of a seasonal system for Hollvania.

11 minutes ago, Zahnrad said:

My biggest concern is that we won't be able to change the colors, or customize the "skin" (not the helmet) of Protoframes.

The tease with Aoi/Mag seemed to suggest that customization may be limited, but I'm not sure if they just wanted to show the Gemini skins as their "base" appearance.

Come to think of it, would too many people be bothered if you equipped a helmet on the Protoframes if they still spoke? Most people hide the Drifter/Operator's face anyway.

You can change the color (the Tennocon demo already shows that), but I expect you won't be able to change the underlying skin. And the default helmets won't fit all the frames. I know Arthur is skinnier than default Excal and has a longer neck, so Excal's helmet won't fit.

Edited September 28 by OniDax

[PublikDomain]

Even more confused how these will work with Umbra. We'll just have to see I guess.

Overall, eh, I dunno. None of the frames I play are getting a skin on launch anyways, and even if they add more over time it's not like they'll ever be able to keep up with all the frames there are. They're like Deluxe skins but they also need voice-acting and a character behind them. Expensive to develop, slow to release, and generally just weird. How'd Voidshells turn out? They still haven't caught up on those. These'll be the same just even slower.

I'd be much more interested in just a set of '99 Deluxe skins. Something like:

Then they could do this style of skin whenever they wanted, without needing someone to voice it and be romanced, without needing to play some emote, etc.

Edited September 28 by PublikDomain

[(PSN)slightconfuzzled]

I am still very hyped and excited. I always assumed they would cost Platinum. The work on the skins is quite detailed and complex, and they look like.. I am not sure what the most correct technical term would be, exactly, but the base models look different (compare Warframe Deluxe skin versus Tennogen skins), but I am also not exactly sure either. Plus they are getting voice lines, which is money... Plus they are interesting in the sense, we effectively get to have two different fashion sets for a mission. 

Also and this might be a spoiler for some that don't read interviews, streams etc 

Spoiler

but I am pretty sure we will only play as Arthur for the beginning of 1999 before switching to our Drifter and Warframes, with the rest of the Hex being the faction. So not playing as them. Sort of how in New War we started as Kahl, but the rest of the quest was us, as Operator, Drifter, our regular Warframes. 

Basically I view them as a type of Deluxe skin or Voidshell skin. The exact price points will be interesting though. I will personally probably eventually get all of them. I like some more than others though, so I will probably prioritise Mag, Nyx first, and then Excalibur, Volt, Trinity, Cyte... I will have to wait and see, how much I enjoy their abilities. If I like them a lot, will push them up, if not, then get them much later. 

Edited September 28 by (PSN)slightconfuzzled
Small edit

[C11H22O1]

Could end up with the Lotus situation where you can get the skin for free depending on who you romance but you pay for the rest.

7 minutes ago, Zahnrad said:

The tease with Aoi/Mag seemed to suggest that customization may be limited, but I'm not sure if they just wanted to show the Gemini skins as their "base" appearance.

They already showed on tennocon a customized Arthur so we'll definitely be able to mess with their fashion.

[(PSN)slightconfuzzled]

8 minutes ago, Zahnrad said:

My biggest concern is that we won't be able to change the colors, or customize the "skin" (not the helmet) of Protoframes.

The tease with Aoi/Mag seemed to suggest that customization may be limited, but I'm not sure if they just wanted to show the Gemini skins as their "base" appearance.

Come to think of it, would too many people be bothered if you equipped a helmet on the Protoframes if they still spoke? Most people hide the Drifter/Operator's face anyway.

 

Based on some screenshots DE Reb has shared on Twitter, I believe we can change colours of Proto Frames, but I may be misremembering. 

[Birdframe_Prime]

7 minutes ago, Zahnrad said:

My biggest concern is that we won't be able to change the colors, or customize the "skin" (not the helmet) of Protoframes.

That's already been 'leaked' by 'people'. I think one of the Warframe team dropped a screenshot showing a pink-coloured Arthur.

This was along with dropping the Koumei/Volt/Nova/Caliban vs the new Infested trailer an hour before the Tokyo DevStream.

[(XBOX)TheMadCash]

Im still exited for it. I may just buy the ones for the frames I play the most. So Mag & maybe Trinity or Nyx depending on how their soft reworks are. Im okay with it costing plat

[Straythe]

I suspect they had to make it that way because of specific missions, archwing etc... forcing the base warframe so it would be awkward with the human form. 

 

 

They also confirmed the protoframes are fully customizable (so gear, syandana, colors of everything, including hair).

 

Not word yet on face gear options. I feel like down the road they definitely should add stuff like sunglasses, bandanas, eye patches etc.. 

 

Edited September 28 by Straythe

[TennoPain]

I have also thought it will be free (once a certain part of questing is done)

it was a bit of news for me I will go for 1 of them at least but I just they cost symbolic amount of plat. 

If done right perhaps even more ''I would like to support part of DE that did animation switch animation between regular and gemini skin (IMO it looks cool and it could improve even more in the future)

All of that being said as much as I think faces are cool I hope it does not stress DE financialy if it does I would go without it I like voice actors but as somebody said again I'm a bit in the middle with it if too much of resources are going to it. Idk im sure other ppl have different opinions. 

Tho I would give everything I have in my account if we ever get a specific voice actor (no naming) for somebody who is going to be Epic in future in Warframe lore. 

[_Anise_]

3 hours ago, Straythe said:

suspect they had to make it that way because of specific missions, archwing etc...

they could have made it select as default with joining for archwing/railjack overrides to a standard skin but this explanation works for me, I wonder what happens on Neptune/railjack? probably going in the water/archwin just untransforms you?

1 hour ago, TennoPain said:

I will go for 1 of them at least

same, I feel like 1 maybe? selection not the best and again these reworks going to have to be impressive to win me over! it also makes me wish they had chosen different frames tbh, if I am going for one I think id rather they 100% added wisp to the roaster maybe Ivara, guess it now also makes sense why basically Excal, Volt and Mag or on the list because you can sell a skin to whichever frame a new player chooses (I am assuming buying a protoframe is not going to be tied to where you are at on the story at all)

10 hours ago, C11H22O1 said:

Could end up with the Lotus situation where you can get the skin for free depending on who you romance but you pay for the rest.

I hope so but I am not banking on it, it would be humorous for excal fans to have to bromance Arthur to get him free! 😅

11 hours ago, (PSN)slightconfuzzled said:

The work on the skins is quite detailed and complex

In hindsight I shouldn't have assumed instead set my expectations according to what we knew, I figured it was going to be another Duviri style thing since they were forcing drifter and we wouldn't be bringing our warframes along again, because there were also variants of our warframes in 1999 I thought we would be playing as those variants ... that's also why I thought they recorded voice lines and reworked those frames because we would be getting them as part of the story... oops!

the part where Reb anounced they were plat felt a little tense ?she says they are for plat then is like maybe someone talked in her ear or gave her a look because she says "just didn't want people to..." then is cut of and never finishes that thought, wonder if she wasn't supposed to announce that or it was just some other miscommunication idk?

 

[SneakyErvin]

4 hours ago, Straythe said:

I suspect they had to make it that way because of specific missions, archwing etc... forcing the base warframe so it would be awkward with the human form. 

 

 

They also confirmed the protoframes are fully customizable (so gear, syandana, colors of everything, including hair).

 

Not word yet on face gear options. I feel like down the road they definitely should add stuff like sunglasses, bandanas, eye patches etc.. 

 

It that a screenshot provided by Megan or did Arthur crash through a paint store on his own while on a bender?

Anyways, I'm here for the perverted warmachines, DE can keep the regular skinsuits for all I care.

[(PSN)slightconfuzzled]

9 hours ago, _Anise_ said:

In hindsight I shouldn't have assumed instead set my expectations according to what we knew, I figured it was going to be another Duviri style thing since they were forcing drifter and we wouldn't be bringing our warframes along again, because there were also variants of our warframes in 1999 I thought we would be playing as those variants ... that's also why I thought they recorded voice lines and reworked those frames because we would be getting them as part of the story... oops!

the part where Reb anounced they were plat felt a little tense ?she says they are for plat then is like maybe someone talked in her ear or gave her a look because she says "just didn't want people to..." then is cut of and never finishes that thought, wonder if she wasn't supposed to announce that or it was just some other miscommunication idk?

 

That does make sense and is decent intuition, so all good. Its also just that... well another way to think about it, is that the Cavia are also voice acted, and by some pretty big voice actors too. Most of the Syndicates, so I think they just want to really flesh out those characters, of the Hex, no pun intended. So depending on what order of presumptions you make, the rest can follow. Sometimes a character has depth, not because you play as them, but because you interact with them (this is just a rare chance, where the people we can interact with, can also be skins we can also play as elsewhere). 

Oh, I think the bit with Reb, at TGS, was just friendly in joking. I think it was between Reb and Sheldon. Just total total speculation on my part, but if I had to guess context, its that Sheldon was probably smiling or giving Reb a look, because he knows that she is too transparent or wants to be as upfront about certain details, like clarifying that the skins will be for Plat. She is probably aware that some people might be assuming you can get them for free, so in that case, in her mind, its probably more ethical and honest to give heads up. However you could argue, from a business perspective, sometimes its more in a businesses self interest to keep vague on such details, and let people think otherwise, because when people load up the new update, they will be excited and eager to see all the new flashy things, and hyped people can be prone to overlooking small issues, and if they see the skins are Platinum, they might be more susceptible to spending and so on. We are talking about work colleagues who have been working with each other for. along time, and probably know each others personalities very well, so I interpreted as a sort of friendly acknowledgement of what I described above. I think she cut herself off, because she probably realised it was more of a knowing vibe. Like if you have a friend and you go to justify an action, but then realise they already know, and you don't actually have to explain anything. 

The DE people we usually see on the Devstream do seem to value transparency a lot, plus they are... Sort of relatively rare for people in those positions. To put it another way, in the Devstream, at one point Reb played peekaboo with the crowd and we got like a whole minute just talking about how to translate Muscle Mommy in Japanese. 

Cheers! 

[_Anise_]

3 hours ago, (PSN)slightconfuzzled said:

got like a whole minute just talking about how to translate Muscle Mommy in Japanese. 

thanks forthe breakdown and yes! that part was pretty funny even the translator asking the crowd for help ^^

[0_The_F00l]

I am happy such a thing exists , but I think it will be a bad precedence for future updates.

By which i mean that there will be no Gemini cosmetics for the other frames we have in our arsenal , so it will create a schism based on cosmetics (not that it didn't already exist) 

And DE also has a bad habit of "release and forget" , so Gemini will be a forgotten thing not too far down the line. 

We do get deluxe skins semi regularly , so Gemini could technically follow the same path.

 

But ... If it's an emote based cosmetic , maybe , maybe , it can be universal (highly unlikely). Yes it's going to cause issues with some frames animations if it happens.