The entire concept of a legacy visuals toggle was advocated most often by preservationists against the removal of content. most people against the new armors are, and always were, still fine with new content so long as it was sourced from legacy aesthetics such as concept work, existing designs, etc. without deviating into original ideas or fundamentally changing underlying systems to accommodate changes divorced from the original development lifecycle. for instance, if it was made or designed during the games development lifecycle, and fit within the established customization methods and systems used, it would be for all intents and purposes non-contentious to legacy and welcome new content. Due to this, I do think concessions can, and should, be made for certain things to have exemptions when going back to that “OG” look, e**specially when it’s in tribute to the exact forms of content that would have been expected of a port from that era, or in some cases, intended to release during that era before technical limitations delayed that release to PC.
obviously it doesn’t apply to Gameplay/QoL content, but to me what should or shouldn’t be on the Legacy Toggle for Cosmetic Content should come down to 3 things:
- can it be sourced from the original games development lifecycle - does it conflict with original games established systems - does it replace something that already existsthe compromise is by keeping it as close as possible to what was already there, if it doesn’t meet the 3 criteria, it should not receive an exemption from the toggle. it also helps that by sourcing it from the original development, it keeps it within the games established artstyle and aesthetics. one good example would be if they upscaled and added the ODST chest plate and shoulders pads from the Halo 3 Campaign, just as the helmet was in 2007 by bungie, another was the addition of Reach’s long-time cut DLC armors before season 8, cosmetics created during the production of the anniversary update and held off till PC due to limitations of the time. none of it works against what existed, none of it replaces anything that was already there, none of it was too far removed from what H2Vista and Custom Edition had already done years before.
I know not everyone will agree, too many people wield the Legacy Toggle as a bludgeon against things they don’t like, when the truth of why so many people were upset with the H:O armors being added isn’t because they wanted the game 1:1 with 360 or OG Xbox, it’s that they wanted legacy designs and aesthetics to be preserved. but I still want to hear what peoples thoughts are about the idea of accommodating for specific exceptions that could still allow for legacy visuals players to enjoy new cosmetic content.