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Reddit author offers custom SWTOR load screen mod [Updated]
Is your Star Wars: The Old Republic loading screen getting a bit stale? Have you always wanted to see your character's mug emblazoned with corporate branding from BioWare, Electronic Arts, and that killer old-school Star Wars font? Look no further than a cackle-worthy mod recently developed by a Reddit user named ranier511. It's basically a layered Photoshop file, ready and waiting for your avatar's closeup. All you have to do is rename it LoadingScreen.jpg and use it to overwrite the image in your Program files/Electronic Arts/Bioware/Star Wars – The Old Republic/swtor/retailclient/LoadingScreensfolder. PC Gamer has a few examples to get your creative juices flowing, and you'll find the original thread on Reddit. [Update: Goldnames on the official forums have warned that mods like these can corrupt your game installation, so install them at your own risk!]
City of Heroes hosts contest for player-created loading screens
While loading screens are a reality of life in City of Heroes, there's at least the advantage of the loading screens themselves being attractive. Each screen highlights the variety of scenery within each zone, having been carefully picked out by the developers and the artists. But the developers don't want to force their opinions of the best parts of each zone upon the players, so the team at Paragon Studios has devised a contest for players to pick out their own best loading screenshots -- with the usual chance at fantastic prizes. The official announcement includes Photoshop files for several loading templates, along with detailed instructions on assembling an eligible sceenshot. And the prizes are quite generous -- the top prize includes a six-month subscription to the game, as well as a copy of every single Super Booster. Take a look at the full list of rules and the list of eligible zones, and then log in to City of Heroes and get to work on your best Ansel Adams impersonation in-game.
Cataclysm Beta: New loading screen gallery
A new build of the Cataclysm beta just dropped, and with the update came a makeover for the loading screens for all four continents. They now feature the faction leaders for Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, Maiev and Akama for Outland, and the most recent Lich King in Northrend. Check out the gallery below. %Gallery-99394%
Forum Post of the Day: Spicing up the splash screen
The tips that pop up as WoW is loading usually cover the most basic mechanics of the game. I have to admit that I was once surprised by "You can eat and drink at the same time." The idea was completely novel to me and I actually learned something. We've probably seen them all before, and pay them little attention. Some of the ones I've seen lately are: Your items do not suffer durability damage when you are killed by another player. The auction house in each of your factions' major cities are linked. Nearby quest givers that are awaiting your return are shown as a yellow question mark on your mini-map. Well, we've all made the effort to ignore them. Canika of EU-Spreggar felt that these tips needed an update. He inaugurated the thread, inviting others to share their splash-screen tips with "Common sense; the path toward most epics." Several others chimed in: Thalanor of EU-Al'Akir " When interacting with other players - a little kindness may cause them to latch onto you like a leech." Jidiro of EU-Sporeggar "It is not which class has more survivibility, it is which class the rogue goes after first" Raith of EU-The Maelstrom "Friends come and go epics are soulbound." Stronza of Ghostlands "Bring your friends to Azeroth, but don't forget to take them to Outland as well." Nagaraz of EU- Earthen Ring "No, you are not the most awesome player on your server." The thread is filled with similar delightful little gems. I have a few additions of my own. Beware of Warlocks bearing gifts. Look before you leap, especially if you don't have Slow Fall. If at first you don't succeed, it must be the Hunter's fault. Every time you dance on a mail box, Blizzard kills a Nightsaber. What would you add to the character loading screen?
Winners announced for LotRO's loading screen contest
The Lord of the Rings Online loading screen contest has finally been judged, about a month on from when the last submissions were entered, and we now get to see the winning shots. Two screenshots were selected, and these will soon feature as loading screens for the game. In no order, the winners were Decay and Twofry; clicking either of those names will take you through to a full-sized screenshot.In the congratulatory forum thread, it seems that not everyone is happy with the choice of winners -- while it is hard to please everyone, we do have another option for you. If you have a picture that didn't win and still want to show it off, why not send them to us at one shots AT massively DOT com, and let your fellow MMO gamers see it in our One Shots series?
Bored of the Loading Screen Tips?
I think I disabled this feature seconds after it was added to the game. None of the tips were very useful to me, as a player who had been around a while, and many of them were downright silly. And even if they were useful in the first place, I'd imagine by now they may be getting stale. CM Drysc has recently hit up the forums requesting user tip submissions - and even if you don't have a tip to submit, they're entertaining reading. My favorite so far must be Tip: Tauren can not be milked for mana regen purposes. [Fan art by Sarah Jaffe]
