In previous Bethesda games there has almost always one body type for each gender. I can't help but think it is a bit silly for some wrinkly old innkeeper to have a toned, muscular body. I would personally like to see at least 3 body types: skinny, overweight, and muscular, or perhaps a slider for deeper customization (IE manipulating muscle size, definition, texture). I feel this will add a lot more to realism and immersion. Anyway, there are my two cents. It may be a bit late to do something like this, but I think it would be a big improvement over previous games.

they already have said body features are customisable . no doubt npc's will have unique bodies

A slider might not work well, what about skin tight clothing/armor?

So you can make a really skinny or fat person?

Where did they say that? I haven't really been keeping up with the news about Skyrim's features.

Work well enough in Sims3 even on moded cloth meshes and other moded body morph like briast size.

It'll all depend, really, on how the clothing & armor are modeled. In Morrowind/Obliv/FO3, each armor needed to be modeled around the body shape (armor wasn't actually layered over the body model, it replaced it), so to have a different body proportion, you needed to make a complete second version of every piece of clothing & armor. Needless to say, the time & budget constraints didn't really allow for that. But if the system works differently in Skyrim..... well, we'll have to see.

Sims 3 uses a system with magnets who morphs the body,
http://hubpages.com/hub/Free-Sims-3-Mods--How-To-Mod-The-Sims-3
This is a mod who expand the range of the sliders.
It also works on clothes as you see, and sims 3 don't use cutting edge graphic.

In the Skyrim issue of Game Informer.



They haven't went into further detail on character creation and the races than that.

I just don't want to see a 60yo hag having the same briasts as the 20yo barmaid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvDgCT7JlDQ&feature=related

*shudder*

The way the current Skeletons work in Oblivion fit the clothes to the skeletons. I'm sure it will just be ajusting the player skeleton in-game like some mods do. Problem sovled.

Yes, I'd much rather my mage be skinny/lean than look like a hulking warrior.

I second the sentiment... the female bodies in Oblivion were particularly unattractive. I want my mage to be curvaceous and seductive (like her creator ), not fat, but not overly lithe either. I saw a body in the trailer that sort of looked like that, so I'm hopeful.

I would assume that the clothing will morph to fit the body shape of a character, I mean, that's something you have to think about if you're going to have customizable bodies in you're game. Alternately, maybe there's just preset body shapes to choose from, and there are models for clothing an armor for each one. Then the game just has to detect which body shape you're character uses and apply the appropriate model with clothing or armor. I don't think it's been explained how body customization works in detail, just that it exists.

In any case, I'm glad it's in. It will be nice to no longer see everyone, whether a noble, warrior, or beggar having the exact same physique.

I second this. Nords like their women soft and warm, with childbearing hips. More bodies like Nigella Lawson i say.

I made a mod to give npcs different bodies in Oblivion.
Maybe you want to have a look:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37013

It is W.I.P. but it works great, and will be better the next version i ll realease today.

So different body shapes are possible. If they won′t be in vanilla skyrim and the system would be nearly the same as in Oblvion i ll provide the mod also for skyrim.

I agree. It makes sense that Nords would want "real women" and not stick insects.

This is only vaguely on topic, but has there been any suggestion there might be options for piercings/tattoos/scars at all?

Yes, all those will be an option, scars and bodypaint are confirmed.

I haven't heard anything, but I imagine we'll have the option to get tattoos at least. Remember in Morrowind that cool preset Nord face with the facial tattoo? I for one will be very disappointed if I can't have that this time around.

Never worried about body types befoure, but now it is in, excellent. I play Altmer, and being Skyrim, will have to play a Nord, they really should be different.
The real problem I had was Oblivion's hands, they were truly awful, the very definition of sausage fingers. Seems that has been addressed in the body overhaul, and none too soon.

I beg to differ. -My- hands are the very definition of sausage fingers!

Oblivion's are second-best, at most. Mine are even -bigger- than your average cheap breakfast sausage. Trying to play Oblivion with a mouse instead of my 360 controller was a miserable year-long process. However, because your name begins with a 'Z'... I shall forgive your indiscretion.

[edit:]

I meant to actually comment... but I saw that another thread I had wanted to comment on got moved to the Community Discussion hellho-er... forum...

... so I had to go make a comment on that quick before promptly pretending it had never existed.


Anyways! Bodies being unique is something that I have wanted to see for a long, long time. Other games have been able to achieve this for decades. It never made sense that we were always so far behind the times.

Now here's hoping they don't botch it all up with terrible equipment clipping issues or something equally damning.

I do beleive Tattoos and scars were mentioned in passing.

And earrings have been an option in most TES games.