It tears at the core of the art direction of the game. Should SC be its own consistent scifi universe, like Star Wars, Star Trek, or the Expanse? Or should it be a platform, like fortnite, for selling items attached to current pop-culture trends? I understand why these mandalorian helmets are added, it appears to be a quick thing to make money off a current trend. However that creates lasting negative impact to the universe of SC. Look at pictures 4 and 5 of this selection: That helmet appears to be designed to look like the Panzercop helmets from a japanese show/comic (picture 6). The panzercop itself appears to be inspired by the German M35 helmet (picture 7) from WW2. It has an infamous, iconic and recognizable shape, which makes the panzercop appear more dangerous. Now if SC adds their panzercop-inspired helmet, then it is basically porting a design from panzercop which itself was ported from real life. That would be like Star Wars having a helmet design, that would be copied by Star Trek and then the Expanse copying that. The function of the helmet is more important than the coolness. While goofy kitten ears would be a nice prop on a party, it would have no use to come pre-installed into a helmet designed to keep a person alive in the vacuum of space. And I would also argue that no one wears kitten ears on the street. So the purpose of them is to cause irritation to others or just look meme. Then there is this weird mohawk helmet (#7 above). On the Reliant Kore the ceiling in the rear area is so low, that I think the helmet mohawk would collide with the ceiling. On the hammerhead, the ducts in the hallways leaev only 10 or so centimeters of headspace for players with normal helmets. Now who would wear a helmet like this in a Hammerhead? Imagine running through the ship in an emergency and risking to hooking your helmet to the ducts. Or how about someone taking a swing with a sword or metal pipe on the helmet in combat. On a normal helmet, the round shape would help deflect the blow. However on this mohawk, the melee weapon would get stuck and create instant leverage on the targets head. The same with the Kitten ears, they are a great place for bullets to get stuck in, and knock the wearer around. Or imagine crawling through a tight crawlspace with exposed cables and wires and metal grating. A helmet with cat ears would cause many hazard for getting stuck. This is a helmet from The Expanse. It has decorative elements painted on, but the helmet itself does not come pre-installed with cool adornments. Because it is a helmet for space. SC actually has a lot of very nice helmet designs, however they are the understated functional designs. It's currently very hard to dress normal in SC . Most helmets and suits create a metal space ninja look(#1). The game should leave goofiness as a side thing that players can with some effort, try to create. Here is an example: I walked into an elevator and saw these 2 guys(#2). The guy on the left was already dressed as a space ninja complete with glowing eyes. The guy on the right was holding a teddy bear. The guy on the right was funny and goofy and it was good, because he chose to carry a teddybear around. he did not wear a furry bear suit with bear ears. He chose to create a funny situation. The situation was not preconfigured by the game. He was being creative. It's hard not to be a metal space ninja This metal space ninja appears to be a trend that the game is heading towards. And I think it's not good. Because the metal space ninja is overrepresented. However what if I just want to be a space man? Or a space citizen? Not a space samurai, space demon, space furry. Try it for yourself, pick a random combination of armor and helmet and I think you will end up with metal space ninja most of the time. This is how I like to dress. A functional helmet in muted colors, with only a body armor. I tend not to wear other armor pieces because it creates that space ninja look. Players should obviously be able to dress as they want, however the game should have an overwhelming amount of normal looking clothes and armor, and a small amount should be for the goofy stuff. Fallout The fallout series is famous for its pop-culture references. However these were hidden out of sight and not all over the place. And I would say the helmets in fallout are very unique and instantly identified as fallout designs. (#5 above row). The new vegas ranger design is a gasmask with a helmet and slightly futurized. It looks like a WW1 trenchcoat, with a revolver, which was a handgun used in WW1. It has historical references in it, however they are elegantly integrated so it is not a straight copy. And it also avoids futurizing it too heavily. That's what SC should have: Function + slightly futuristic, without losing functional realism. So I think, the best helmet and armor designs should be based on original designs, heavily inspired by function and realism. One of my personal favorites is the helmets in Prospect. (#4 in the row above). Because the helmet designs look like cold war era space helmets with a matching suit. About the nova tank. It's a tank. Not a tonk. The goofy meme stuff has even penetrated into the writing of the game. SC should have a firm grip on the artistic consistency of its universe. Star Wars, Star Trek, Expanse, Alien did not compromise on their artistic consistency (with some unfortunate exceptions in later movies). Star Wars dates back to the 1970s. Its designs were original and timeless. SC is original and timeless too. If the videos shown recently (lol recently) of SQ42 is an indication, then the SC universe will have legendary scifi locations and designs. It's just that the goofy meme stuff tears at it. Armor should not come pre-memed and pre-installed to look goofy. Let goofiness be a side thing players can choose to engage in, instead of it being all over the place. Add decal and painting for helmets like in War Thunder, where players can choose to use historically correct marking decals or goofy decals. This way the realism is preserved of the function. The goofiness can still be applied on top of it, without interfering with the realism.