Padded and Leather Armor look great! What sucks is that the best and most used light armor, Studded Leather, doesn't look so great. Too many odd details, patches and color tones.
Hide and Chain Shirt are cool. Except you can't see any chain in the female version of chain shirt +2. Scale Mail suffers from the same thing as studded leather. Too many odd details, decorations, patches and layers of everything. Breastplate looks nice but really fancy and I'd like a more plain version. I can't imagine my stealthy Ranger wearing that in the wilderness. Female half plate has... boob plates and a skirt with no leg protection at all. I'm speechless. It looks more like a dress than plate armor. Change please.
Ring Mail looks really thin and light. Not heavy enough for heavy armor. Since it's made out of cheaper materials, it should be very bulky. Chain Mail is fine. Splint is very Samurai. Plate Armor looks really fancy again. I just want something less decorated.
Overall I think many armors look way too high fantasy and decorated. More like ceremonial armor for kings than actual armor for battle. In many cases I would prefer something more real and utilitarian. I'm not against decorations but these seem overdone for the most part. The better the armor gets, the less I like it. Should be the other way around.
The weapons seem all very elven style. Same thing again.. they look too fancy and decorated. I'd prefer more utilitarian looking weapons. Less gold, more steel. Unless these actually ARE elven designs and we get more normal stuff later.
Special mention for the Greatsword +2 which I probably can't use while it has the ridiculous morning star for a cross guard.
I agree with some points you make, especially your critique.
I like armor design even less then you, overall. I see odd details, decorations and patches as absolutely unnecessary and taking away from the main idea of the armor: it should protect and be comfortable. And if you are making a statement with your armor (as you should, because if you are a combat-oriented character, your life partially depends on it) - there is a stealth, shiny or intimidating approach. (To be undetected, to be detected and relied upon, to be afraid of). Form follows function.
Designers, you are making less of this statement by blurring the borders and having no single style approach in the most given armor. Please rely on realistic examples of armor - just look at the museum pieces, Royal Tower as an easy example. All you may need is between IX and XVI century. Sometimes no need to invent the wheel, when there are proven forms. Not everything needs to be creative.
As for Greatsword+2, I think they have just misnamed it. It's Loviathar greatsword, of course, sado-maso. Scare your enemy by inflicting pain on your own hands while swinging.
