Well, if memory serves correctly, the devs stated that they were unable to allow pool power customization due to interface limitations at the time of implementation, but when they finally figured this issue out, they kind of surprised us with it. We didn't get any build up or annoucement, but when the issue with the capability went live it was "Surprise! Now you can customize epic/patron power pools!" Incarnate powers were available as well. They kind of hit the big stuff first, and I believe it was slyly hinted that they were working on power pools as well considering they released word of the Sorcery power pool, which was color customizable, and we found out later that there were four more "origin power pools" with various themed travel powers (Sorcery had mystic flight with a magical effect plus a short range teleport that came with, the science pool had a specialized version of super speed, tech had a teleport, etc. etc.), so odds are that they were working on giving us customizable power pools as well, which may not have given the option right out of the gate, but would have allowed for potential power "themes" similar to earth powers. We might have seen a teleport theme that made your character disappear/reappear in a column of flame or vanish and manifest in a puff of magical smoke, or even disappear and step out of the shadows at the new location. It was certainly doable and very possibly already in the works, so there's no telling what might be done with it once the game comes back.
As for the alternate leg models, they would have been cool, but it was said that they wouldn't do things like that because it would cause some severe difficulties for animations and general environment interactivity. If your character is floating on a trail of smokey shadows, then jumping would look really bizarre and, frankly, kind of stupid, not to mention running with the standard animation, swinging your arms back and forth and tilting side to side while your lower half shows no leg movement. Also consider this costume option with martial arts, which was, at one point, an exclusively kick-oriented power set. No legs + Kicks = Really stupid looking. They couldn't hook specific animations to costume pieces, so the option to disallow these combinations with certain power sets, or automatically give it alternate compatible power set animations would be impossible. The ghouls worked because they had a specific movement animation made to work with that look, and power animations that didn't throw it off as well. As cool of an idea as it is, it just wouldn't work with the game engine without looking entirely goofy and ruining the effect that you seem to want anyway. Frankly, I was always a bit disappointed that we never got a specialty arm pack that we could use with Robotic arms so would could have a big monster arm(s), or various things like that so we could make different concepts, because that WAS doable, but oh well. We'll just have to wait and see what the future holds for us.
