One Shots: Falling through the world
Did you get a chance to say goodbye to Vanguard and perhaps take a screenshot or two in its memory before it shut down? Reader Agemyth did, submitting the following odd image and fascinating tale.
"The Vanguard shot that looks like I'm in a cave is actually because I flew my griffon straight into the peak of a mountain. Thanks to Vanguard's being the lovely lump of lovable bugs it is, I fell off my mount and right through the mountain," Agemyth writes. "Silly Vanguard, I thought, but instead of falling to the bottom of the virtual world as typically happens, I fell on top of a dungeon of some kind! I never got to explore Vanguard as much as I had hoped, but what started as an annoying bug ended up being a shortcut to an ancient forgotten underground structure soon to be forgotten for good by the end of Telon itself.
"In Vanguard's final hours, it showed me the beauty of its true open-world design. You never know what mysteries lie below the dirt when your world is designed to be lived in rather than 'progressed' through."
If you're ever devoid of a screenshot idea to submit to this column, you really can't go wrong with showing off your mount or vehicle, particularly if it's something in the "non-equine" category.
"I got lucky on RIFT 2.8 patch day," reader Bill exclaimed. "I opened a chest and the new mount fell out. So, what does the fox say? 'Sweet!'"
Or he says, "Get off my back; I'm a predator who's now grown to 500% of his normal size and am quite willing to bite your head off!" Either way, it'll be entertaining.
I'm glad that we're starting to see a few screenshots from Destiny, especially considering that taking screenshots from a console might be a hassle. Is it these days? The last console I had was a PlayStation 2, and taking a screenshot from that involved using a Polaroid camera and the pause button.
"I am sending you a screenshot from the beta on PlayStation 4," reader John said. "Sorry about the UI, as I don't think you can disable it. I just have to say that this game is really, really pretty. Here's my Awoken Titan, wondering about that building off in the distance."
Our last picture is from WildStar, a game where when spaceships and laser guns are so commonplace, players still go, "Yes, I will swing a sword for fun and profit." Hey, more power to them, but I don't think they're going to win against my rifle at 200 yards. That might get a little demoralizing.
"Leapin' lizards!" reader Wolfyseyes exclaims. "OK, so the Draken are actually dragons, but whatever. Here's my Warrior, Vexxera, about to crash her big 'ol sword into a Mammodin because it looked at her funny. That's a completely legitimate reason for wanton slaughter."
Our screenshot challenge of the week is to explore something underground -- cave, temple, dungeon -- and get a few good pictures and stories out of the trip. You'll thank me later!
Want to be featured in a future edition of One Shots? Send your favorite MMO screenshots to oneshots@massively.com, and don't forget to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of the scene. Large, colorful, UI-free shots that tell a story and really show off the game make for the best images. Look ma, we brought back One Shots!
