As I said, I would like to have the ability, but please fix the paint job requirements first, then I would not be arguing.

Also, remove that lantern (looks stupid if you ask me), ,and have it work with stealth, and I would be very happy.

You've never doodled on something that you didn't care was thrown away, only for it not to be thrown away?

I agree that these things shouldn't just be there from the off. You shouldn't get to do them until you actually meet the group(s) in question, unless, rather than this stencil/schematic system we currently have, they gave us the ability to style the paint job ourselves. Like how you can design shirts in Animal Crossing, only significantly more refined (Actually, that would have been nice in other areas of crafting too).

Personally, the Railroad having iconography at all seems to be a little self-defeating for what is supposed to be a clandestine group.

I fail to see how free customization makes things forced. It seems completely contradictory. Being able to paint a symbol on one suit but not the other is forced and illogical.

How is it forced or pointless? Player freedom is one of Todd Howard's favorite things to trumpet about Bethesda's games, so this seems like a rather obvious omission on that front. Your explanation about how the different power armors represent different group's technological levels doesn't seem to be supported by anything the devs have said or is observable in game, and if it actually is their reasoning, then I'd be very disappointed in them because that's a stupid justification. It'd be less stupid if the various factions had lots of members sporting their models of Power Armor, but even then, it'd be pretty stupid.

I was a bit bummed out when I tried to paint the X-01 PA today in a BoS "Sentinel" paint job... but my reasoning for not being able to do so is that the X-01 is from the Enclave, so why would the BoS paint that armor with their color?

that being said... I really do wish we had the ability to paint that X-01 armor with more colors. I tried the Institute white and it was "ok"... but nothing spectacular.

What I meant by forced, was that is did not feel like it was natural to the game, like the devs just forced themselves to put something for the 'failsafe' endgame option.

For pointless, read my argument a few posts above, where I explain that.

Would you mind quoting yourself, because I've looked through this thread and I haven't found a thing where you really make an argument for it being pointless, outside of maybe the idea that "do what you want" i.e. "Player freedom" i.e. that thing Todd Howard says is of the upmost importance is the reason it's in the game. Even then, considering it confers a status buff, if nothing else it isn't pointless for that reason.

*sigh*

It's like being told you can paint a "53" on a Volkswagen Beetle (but only if you're part of the team), but you are not allowed to paint it on a Porsche. At all.

Being able to paint a "53" on any car you want is neither illogical, nor forced.

It is when it is the only thing you have left.

But I am not getting into more arguments over this. Simply put, it feels like it was not originally meant to be in the game and the devs forced it to be in the game by forcing themselves to put it in.

The fact that you don't have a need for it doesn't make it pointless. And if we extended your rationale, there wouldn't be a need for any of the faction armor. You don't need to wear Minutemen gear to do their quests, or Institute gear to do their stuff, and you don't need to have a bowler hat. But that doesn't mean those things are pointless.

...What?

Here you go

If that amendment is supposed to clarify your "It is when it is the only thing you have left" comment, I'm not seeing it. But if you're done, oh well. I might be too out of it to have a proper dialogue about this anyway.

Honestly, paint jobs and color schemes giving stat buffs is weird to me, and the idea that you can only put a symbol on a certain model power armor is the only thing about the customization thing that strikes me as stupid, illogical, pointless, or forced. But as stated earlier, I'm the guy who thinks the customization abilities should have been much more extensive, to the point that we were working beyond stencils and pre-determined aesthetics. If my character is a weirdo who wants to draw chickens on their power armor, that's their business.

Out of everything in this post, this I agree with. makes no sense at all that paint (even if it is not paint per se) should provide any buffs. they should only be cosmetic.

err you do realize power armor could have micron thick coatings IE paints which provide it benefits? Energy resistance, heat resistance, radiation etc etc and what not. One thing to understand is fallout verse's material science completely [censored] our current understanding of materials.

He is talking about the +s that the some of the armor paint jobs, mostly the faction ones add to the SPECIALs. I highly doubt there is an IE paint that increases charisma just from slapping a rifle with a lightning bolt and stars on a chest plate.

Plus it seems weird that we are able to paint power armor at all, considering that there does not seem to be any paint used when painting. or a paint bucket involved in painting.

Charisma also reflects if a person appears intimidating. Clothes make a man as they say, so yes a good paint scheme which is pleasing can raise your charisma.

Doesn't explain why slapping the Institute's symbol on your gear improves your Intelligence.

charisma maybe. Intelligence and strength, not so much. The vault-tec and Military paint jobs in particular actually use materials, which is odd because adhesive and aluminum are not in any kind of paint I know of. Plastic used in the Vault-tec paint either i think.

Neither does putting on a lab coat, but the game does it anyways. So it is consistent with the game logic.

He's right your argument makes no sense. my player should be able to paint any of his armor how he wants . There's nothing forced or illogical going on here. This is always a custom job done by the player. Your argument makes no sense to me.