Horizon Cobra Optic-Projector Helm
Written by: Ripshot
So we're all familiar with AR and Trid projection being used in fashion, right? A long handful of years back, a videogame company of all things called Hideo Productions helped pioneer the concept as an aid for rigging and animating their game characters over the faces of mocap and voiceactors. The first models looked kind of like a skin-tight mask with holes for the eyes nose and mouth, worn underneath a big clunky space-helmet looking thing that was so heavy it needed a rig worn on the back and neck to prevent spinal injuries. The mask would stick tight onto all the contours of the wearer's face provide references and a blank surface for a series of trid-projectors on the inside of the helmet, which would project the image of a pre-recorded or entirely homemade facial model onto the mask, and whatever motions or movements the wearer made, the projected face would mimic perfectly, right down to the smallest involuntary movements. It was more of a novelty back then, something that they'd pull out at conventions and Q&A sessions so voiceactors could answer questions 'in character' as whatever videogame character they were playing, and people couldn't get enough of it.I've got it linked elsewhere, but there's a recording out there of a fan pulling a shiv out and nearly stabbing the drek out of Tanaka Pliskin because they didn't like the character he was voicing. Fandoms, eh?The technology faded out in favor of newer and less bulky alternatives, with AR-based layering sitting at the top, but in the nature of fashion, what was once 'out of season' became 'retro', and retro is always in. January 2080, Hideo Productions now owned by Horizon, brought out a hell of an expensive piece of merch to celebrate the 'ultra-remastered collection' of a few of their older games: a modernised version of their old trid-projection rig, with all the hardware miniaturised with its contemporary counterparts and called the 'Cobra' after the main character of Hideo Production's flagship game-series. The thing still has its old spacesuit-lookin' aesthetics, with a big tinted visor mounted onto a wraparound helmet just hard enough to double as an expensive-ass motorcycle helmet, but everything's been slimmed down so the whole thing sits nice and snug around your skull without straining your neck, with just enough gap between the visor and your face - no mask needed this time - for the Horizon 'Mini-Joy' projectors to project whatever trid-image you want over your own ugly mug, either as a static model or for fans with more cash, a 'Structurally-Dynamic Rig' that imitates the movements of its user's face via surface-scanners build into the sides.
You can even set the projectors to overlay AR-feeds infront of your eyes, gives you that wiz sci-fi stormtrooper look.Even with Horizon's fancy tech, the projected facade is very obviously a projection as soon as you get even remotely close. Partly because of the limited quality that can be squeezed out of such tiny projectors but also because Horizon didn't want it to be used for identity-theft or what have you, as if the helmet wasn't a giveaway. Generic versions are pretty affordable, but the brand-covered 'Patriot-Eater' version that came with the Collectors' Ultimate Pre-Order Edition of the Remastered Premium Collection can go for tens of thousands online these days. Good look finding one in ork and troll sizes, chummer!
Item type
Armor
Rarity
10
Weight
0.9 KG
Base Price
600¥/1,100¥
The second listed price is for versions with the Structurally-Dynamic Rig option, allowing for projections to mimic the facial-movements of the wearer. The helmet can take further visual enhancements, as well as normal helmet modifications.
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