Err, no. Mail, for example, is often not specifically tailored for body type. It’s a shirt or coat or hauberk or whatever you wear, maybe tighten with a belt, and look like a person in a thick coat. Helmets cover the head.
Plate armor, on the other hand, was custom-made for the wearer. There are famous historical examples, including Jeanne d’Arc who did actual fighting in the armor, and Elizabeth I, who did some posing and gave some speeches while wearing armor. These “female armors” were shaped to deflect blows, not to seduce opponents, hence their general shape is very similar to those worn by men.
Or so the artists portrayed them. There’s no surviving imagery of Jeanne d’Arc wearing armor that was made during her lifetime, but the paintings etc. later artists made depict her in armor that looked like real plate armor, not boob-plate.
Women play a more active role in warfare in modern times, but we don’t really see kevlar vests etc. shaped for female police officers or soldiers.
I can dismantle your entire argument there with a single word.
Codpiece.
And guess what. The U.S. military has spent a lot of time, money and research developing body armor specifically designed for women after 9/11 because wouldn’t you know it, women have boobs and existing body armor didn’t take that into account. Women serving the military in positions where they would need armor is historically a very new thing. Sure you can find an exception or two, but no where near enough to argue that the difference would have had no effect on armor design.
Also the differences may not necessarily been noticeable from the surface of the gear, but from the inside. Comfort values don’t necessarily always influence how the gear ought to look, from the outside. Just wanted to add this here.
I think you also need to take into account different breast sizes. A woman with a small bra size can probably wear a mans armor. However, someone like Pamela Anderson would probably need a custom armor size.
Well, the thing is they can still wear men’s armor. It’s just ill fitting and uncomfortable. That’s why research is being done to adjust for female figures. It’s not just the breasts. Those are just the most obvious difference. Soldiers are wearing this stuff for days at a time. It needs to fit properly for them to be at their best.
And as I mentioned earlier, had women been more active historically, armor design throughout the centuries would have had more feminine aesthetics as well. Not necessarily “boob plate” with special attention paid to expose as much cleavage as possible, but certainly more feminine shapes in the overall design, including curves that say “yes there are indeed breasts under here”.
Okay…
Now I’m concerned…
My toon actually wears something similar like that toon in the comic.
Wardancer Chest/ zamorian dancer chest plus rest being sanguis armor from calamitous.
Basically looks the same like above…
What’s really scared?
Even hair matches…
Also I dont really get why people started to discuss about sex…
But I cant helpmyself but agree with the following:
Even further… even the actual thing takes place in the brain. At least a fair chunk of it.
I don’t think this is a case of men vs. women, even. There are men with very different body types serving in the military, from the wiry and athletic to the big and brawny. It’s something that can’t be accounted for by simply increasing the size without altering the shape otherwise. The unisex, uni-form body armor I wore in the late 90’s was definitely uncomfortable because it was designed for someone with bigger muscles than I had.
But, soldiers throughout history have often complained how armor is uncomfortable and how, if given the choice, they prefer to wear less, even if the risk of getting serioucly injured increased. In 1521, Hernan Cortés had to specifically order his troops to wear leg armor before a pitched battle against native Mexicans because he was low on troops and couldn’t afford any more wounded. Modern day soldiers dislike wearing bulletproof vests because they prioritize mobility over protection.
Plate was probably among the most comfortable armor because it was custom-tailored for the wearer. It’s just hot. The same design strategy would probably help with modern-day armors - customize them for the wearer, and it’ll be easeir to wear. The problem is simply the same it was since the Roman Legionary times - cost. Lorica segmentata was designed to be built from individual pieces so it could be customized for each wearer on the fly.
Probably about as many times as people registering just so they can ask for mounts to be included. Because a game isn’t a game without mounts.
Makes me wish someone would take building parts and build a giant Trojan Horse, and then post a screenshot everytime someone asks for mounts and say “Here you go.”
Edit: On further thought, this would be a HILARIOUS joke for Funcom to pull. Give us an update where a giant stone horse is found in the desert. Those finding the secret entrance will unlock a special horse mount.
Everyone can run and find the Hyborian Horse. And when they open it, a Purge falls on top of them.
I actually agree with the OP, I have had some small trouble getting my badass female guard outfitted properly if I didn’t want them to look like a harem. Which I didn’t. Not that I have a problem with that or anything, but y’know, that’s elsewhere in the base.
A small (tiny) problem as problems go, but still.
Small note for those who got offended by the comic: Here’s a safety blanket. Now go sit in the corner where the bad comics can’t hurt you.
True. When I had my brush with it (this would be around the year 2000), for a lot of items (not shoes) it was still “one size fits all”. Which of course turned into “one size fits none”. Granted that was for recruits, and since I decided not to make a career of it and never even came close to seeing combat or active duty, I would imagine it would have improved if they felt like you were worth taking seriously.
I quite like the Black Dragon (Aquilonian DLC heavy) armor look for women. Stygian heavy looks elegant on both sexes (although the hat is a bit of an acquired taste). And Hyrkanian Raider trousers look good on everyone and take dyes easily. And in one of my bases, everyone wears Khitan Imperial. The guards in my base near Mounds of the Dead wear Cimmerian heavy looted from the natives (except Dalinsia - she always spawned topless so I let her continue with the easy-to-breathe fashion style when she entered my service). and Silent Legion looks badass on everyone and can be dyed to look even badasser (although it is a bit too expensive to mass produce, a select few of my elite get to wear it).
There are lots of armors that look good without making the wearer look like she works in a brothel. (The men and women who work in my brothel look like they work in a brothel - but they all have a Hyperborean loincloth, so if a Purge ever spawns inside that particular base, they won’t go down easily.)
Jokes aside, this same sort of issue is happening in Monster Hunter World. Only it seems a bit worse.
Male characters get badass looking armors. Female characters mostly get stuff that shows off the legs, boobs, or belly. And makes them look like cutesie waifus the biggest part of the time.
Case in point, the Harvest armor, done for Halloween.
On the left we have the badass looking pumpkin-head lord of death looking pretty damned nice.
On the right, we have his grandmother with her cute pink sun hat on.
At least CE’s armors look related to each other. Whatever you think of Darfari armor, both the male and female version look Darfari. That set looks like two completely different armor sets.
BTW, @Mikey, I’m right there with you bud. Either that threshold is set way too low or there are a surprising number of people playing CE who probably shouldn’t be.
Most of the armor in World are kind of like this. Some are worse than others, however. It varies. You can see some of the new incoming armor sets for the expansion in September on this video.
Lots of complaints from people about the female (on the right), having lots of open faced helms, and the waifu look in some cases. The one I posted above is a festival armor. Stats are mediocre, it’s more just a halloween-style look for the layered (which replaces your normal armor look with something different, people call it transmog)
However, I think this also has a few instances where you can have the male/female look and it works well.