Gnome and Mechagnome Wish List
In order to keep the two races are distinct as possible, I believe any intended further customisation for Mechagnomes must focus more upon their unique features (or what some players call their drawback) their lack of moggable arms and legs due to having mechanical parts, as well as their facial mods. Whilst I think it is a good idea to keep the two race hair style and colour palettes seperate (largely to preserve something for OG Gnomes) as the Mechagnomes are, well, mechanical gnomes, that’s where their distinctiveness should lie, rather than being “gnomes with different beards”.
Anyway, below aremy suggested lists with some supporting text
Gnomes
First I will say I won’t discuss some of the following: eye colour, skin colour, makeup, as there’s evidence these areas are already being developed. I’ll add a few notes for some of them though.
Skin Colour
Happy with what i’ve seen, but for OG Gnomes, I think it would be great to see a few Leper Gnome skin tones - Distinct green, yellowish-green and brownish green for example.
We know the Gnomes can cure the radiation poisoning from the start quests in the Gnome experience, it’s plausible that since then they’ve worked out a way to restore the sanity of Leper Gnomes where rather than being ostracised, they can begin to be incorporated back nto Gnomish society, even if they can’t be fully cured. I think a lot of Gnome fans have actively mentioned they’d like this option as well.
Hair Colours
Gnomes have a colourful array of hair colours, but a few more wouldn’t hurt: electric blue, gaudy orange, sunflower yellow, magenta, lilac, dark grey to mention a few. Trolls have a good rainbow of colours in bright tones, for Gnomes aside from the green and pink, some of their “zanier” colours are quite mute, brighter options would be welcomed.
Hair Styles
I won’t go into an individual thesis for each gender, but some more styles for each gender would be good. Males would benefit from shorter hair that isn’t necessarily receding and doesn’t have a quiff/cowlick at the front for example. Females would benefit from some longer hair options that aren’t a ponytail and incorporate elements such as long overly complicated plaits etc.
Both genders would have a copule of options that are “explosive genius” type options, scuffled wiry hair like a bomb went off in their face, with parts of the hair singed to black, irrepsective of the original hair colour. This could even go as far as to give them bald patches signifying where hey lost their hair when a device blew up in their face.
Also, some hairstyles that aren’t necessarily wacky but incorporate accessories in the cut. E.G hairstyles with a pencil behind the ear, or tied in the hair in the case of longer cuts. Maybe a ruler/protractor nestled in the hair for quick measurement, nog cogs or gears however as these are clearly Mechagnome accessories and they need to be kept different.
Eyes
Eye colour seems largely fine, however giving gnomes a “glazed over” option to help support the Leper Gnome fantasy would be good. I see their is evidence of this on datamining so looks promising, just wantto say i hope it goes live!
Faces
Males need more variety in their faces. Their faces are either very young looking or they look extremely old and either worried/angry. Some more moderate middle-aged faces would be good. As well as faces with happier expressions
Also can males please please please get eyebrows on their faces whether they have beards or not. This would really reduce how samey some of their younger faces look.
Facial Hair
Male Gnomes should have a couple more full beard options as they only have one. Also more facial hair options that don’t have moustaches but have burns for example. There is one Gnome facial hair option that gives eyebrows and doesn’t shroud your face in moustache, but if you don’t like that beard, your only other option that doesn’t obscure your gnome’s face is to have no facial hair at all.
Accessories
Female Gnomes would benefit from a few more piercings, like studs for exmaple. Currently they can pick larger hoops, small hoops or have their ears absolutely riddled with piercings. A couple of more modest options that result in just dual studs for eample would be nice. Also option of nose studs would be nice. I don’t think they should get nose rings however.
Details
It would be nice to be able to pick additional details on the gnome’s face such as small burns or smudges of dirt etc to show how they’ve been getting dirty tinkering. A really cool option might be a slightly ashy overlay to their face which leaves a clean “goggle-print” over their eye area like industrial workers tend to end up with.
Mechagnomes
Mechagnomes should be repurposed in the direction of their mods, as this is their USP. I will leave a few comments on their hair and skin first however.
Hair styles and Colours
Mechagnomes have cool hairstyles, a few more options for both genders wouldn’t be remiss, so long as they aren’t the same as OG Gnomes. I think the “greaser” fantasy of Mechagnomes has been pushed well in their hairstyles, i’d like to see more of the “steampunk” angle coming through. Mohawks for example or half-shaven hairstyles which communicate the idea some of them are quite scrappy individuals. I think many of the male goblin hairstyles that have receding hairlines and involve bolts would be good for male mechagnomes as well.
Rgarding colour I believe the palettes should be kept seperate to preserve a unique feature for OG Gnomes. Clearly the Mechagnome palette is very much focused on “metallic” colours - coppers, browns, grey, white, black etc. So a few more that satisfy this would be cool. A peroxide blonde, greyish-electric blue, an off-green brown, or variants of their current hair colours that incorporate dual tones such as flecks of white/grey to show how theemchanisation process is steadily freezing out their organic identity.
Skin Colours
Give Mechagnomes whatever base skin colours Gnomes end up with in SL excepting any Leper tones. So dark-skinned etc.
Seperate the skin colour from modification colour, so as to prevent the skin colour slider being obscenely large!
Regarding the modifications/metal, more colours, absolutely. We currently have Silver, Gold and Copper. A few more would be wonderful! A greenish-bronze, near-white chrome, blackened iron, platinum are a few i’d like to see.
Eyes Colour
Mechagnomes should be able to choose their head modification “eye” colour. Given MGs pick and choose ow they build themselves up, it seems odd they all use blue bulbs or lights. White, yellow, green, red, orange are some additional colours i’d like to see, as well as the option for dual colours (hetereochromia style) or even “dead” eyes where a bulb on one eye has gone out.
Facial Mods - Eyes
Firstly, seperate the Eye Mods from the other facial mods (chin plate).
I love the three options we have, but more would be amazing.
More specifically, given MGs “work with what they have” it seems odd they all end up with pretty symmetrical facial mods right? So how about letting us have some options where only one eye is modded, or options where the two eye mods don’t match each other?
Visors could be an option as well.
Less invasie eye mods would be amazing as well, so rather than a whole model built over the eye, small mods like the way the eyes show up with many hoods (look at my char) but where you can choose the colours, and even versions with a “digital pupil” for example. Dual-eye and one-eye versions!
Facial Hair
More full beards for males please, or facial hair tyles that don’t have moustaches, so very much the same as OG gnomes but in different styles.
Facial Mods - Mouth
The Chin-strap mod would be moved into here. Other options would be added as well such as rebreathers or partial masks that cover the mouth area in a variety of different styles.
Arms Mods
Firstly, seperate the two arms. Mechagnomes are supposed to be into customisation, so the idea both their arms has to match seems a bit at odds with this. Allow us to choose both arms seperately in order to give us some autonomy where we lose some with lack of mogs!
A few more options would be good too:
- Pincers that have three-four claws rather than two.
- Hands that are blockier in appearence with cube-like fingers
- Arms that lack a hand, but have a “holder” so any weapons held look as if they’re directly attached to the arm itself.
Leg Mods
Keep these symmetrical because it might get messy otherwise. However i’ll divide these into realistic, and unrealistic (but cool) options
Realistic:
- “Running blades” similar to those paralympian atheletes wear. Could have a sleek version and one that is chunkier, blockier and less bladed but still have the same “foot build”
- Mechanical feet that resemble true feet, with a foot modelled on original gnome feet, rather than the cog-stampers we have currently. So they’d essentially look like fully plated boots that match whatever our chosen mod colour is.
- Feet with wheels, a la roller blades. May need a new running for these, maybe not.
Less realistic options, but give it a thoguht!
- Wheels without feet. This would require a different running animation to imitate “skating” (maybe the carpet animation modded?).
- Tracks. Similar to the roller-blades option, but lacking feet, having a pair of catapillar tracks instead.
- Wackier still, legs cut short and ending in either jets or propellars, where we end up floating a small distance above the ground. Use Voidform animations for our movement (without the crazy hands!)
- Spider legs a la mechanospiders. Sleek leg versions and chunkiers versions. three-leg, four leg, etc.
Ear Mods
More options, again, give options where one ear can be unscathed, the other modded, or we have combinations of two different mods on the ears.
Some additional options might be aerials/receivers, small electricifed coils, whirring gears/cogs, aerials that sit perpendicular to the head etc. SYmmetrial options might be full headsets like industrial-style headphones.
Thanks for reading!