Duty Uniforms
I know we are all in army, but it allowed people to have uniform a bit unique to their chars. With 30b duty uniform it was possible. Just the fact that you could choose to wear pants, long skirt or mini-skirt could say a lot about the character. Now we have all these limiting instructions and it is just not as fun. And hey, dunno about you, but I do like having fun here.
Getting a consistent look was the main reason we adopted the Type 35 version of the duty uniform. Before then, the uniforms were a rather messy mix of different colors and shades, and pretty inconsistent accessories. The Type 35 still allows some minor variation in footwear and the choice between a standard skirt, pleated skirt, or pants, so there's still some customization options available. I'm glad that our uniforms look like uniforms again instead of sweaters, and I think it was a great move the return to the classic Star Army look (The Type 35 is highly based on the original male uniform, the Type 22) .
It just has to look like it's from the SAoY, and appear consistent when compared with its predecessors. The Type 35 Uniforms did not.
This is false, as illustrated by the comparison above. The Type 35 uniforms were a return to the traditional look, with some minor changes to look more dressy. Keep in mind the original Type 22 uniform was used in the field and the Type 35 is not (it's more for office work, events, etc).
Also, I have no plans to change the Type 35 uniform, particularly since
- it's used on hundreds of Star Army character artworks which are all made within the last 2 years, costing hundreds of dollars, and I don't want to devalue those. For that reason I am not really looking for change suggestions for the duty uniform, at least for another few years.
- The Star Army generally re-evaluates everything on a 5 year cycle (including the YE 30 uniforms, which got re-evaluated for YE 35) so the next planned look at the duty uniforms will be in YE 40 (2018).
- As this thread demonstrates, any change to the uniform lineup tends to cause a lot of consternation so I try to avoid them unless necessary.
Coveralls
Why does this coverall exist? Let me explain:
Imagine you're a Neko. You're on a muddy, forested planet with 99 other nekos as part of Century hunting a former NMX terror cell. You're in the field so wearing your nice duty uniform is a no-go. The jacket alone costs 100 KS! You could wear the working uniform, but it's blue with a brightly colored panel across the chest. The bodysuit is no less bright. The old, discontinued field uniform is camouflage but too much combat gear considering you only do combat in your armor and it fills your bag with bodyarmor and other useless crap for someone who fights wearing power armor. What are you going to wear? You need something that's...
- Easy to get on and off
- Somewhat camouflaged (skintight plugsuits that emphasize the outline of a human figure and have glowy bits are not)
- For the field but not necessarily for combat (doesn't need a helmet, etc - that's what we have DAISY armor for)
- Is okay to get dirty when you're in the field or changing the brake fluid on your STV
- Can be worn over whatever nice uniforms you have, like bodysuits
Enter the coverall. It does the above. It's a blend of a utility garment and a uniform. It's easy for commission artists to draw (field uniform was a nightmare). You're in a military trailer park living out of CRDM modules, not out on the town looking pretty for the public. Yes, it's not particularly sci-fi or Yamataian sleek, but it has a very military look and is easily recognizable as SAOY by the hinomaru and that blue sailor cap. More importantly, it's exactly what I needed for my nekos (mainly ground forces) as manager of the Star Army. Also keep in mind this uniform is an addition, rather than a change. The field uniform was already scrapped so this is technically not replacing anything.
Also, I have these already and they're usable, and no one has come forward with anything better. I'm willing to accept submissions of other looks that meet the above bullet points but I would need at least basic sketches. In the meantime, the coveralls will be used and are already being distributed ICly.
Bringing Back a Type 30 Uniform Look
I have to agree with Cadet on this one, I was a big fan of the Type-30 uniforms, as old as they may have been. The newer duty uniforms have alwyas a certain Trek feeling to them in their mix of realism and futuristic fantasy. I like them because they brought a bit of stockiness to the appearance of the Star Army. Yet, I always thought that the smoothness of the Type-30s were more indicative of Yamatai as a nation, fitting their sleek and ultra-modern style. Comparing the two, the 35s seemed to be more a throwback to the older model of uniforms. If anything, I'd like to see a throwback to the model of uniform we got so much milage out of.
I might be okay with a sort of a revived Type 30 as a cold-weather sweater wearable under coveralls, the black coat, and as swappable with the Type 35's jacket. The thing is I never really cared for the color panels on it because it's like "how do they attach to the ribbed part?" and because people draw them as armor so much that I actually had to make the text say they had armor properties on the Type 30A (it was drawn
shiny!). So what we're looking at is a ribbed sweater, maybe like this but with a turtleneck (or alternatively have the top of a Type 35 sticking out from under it):
I hope I've answered everyone's questions and addressed the concerns. And again I'm willing to give considerations to new designs, particularly when they come in the form of concept artwork.
