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The Daily Grind: How often do you inspect people?
I swear, I'm not trying to examine you for your gear. I really don't care about that. I'm examining you because your outfit looks really nice and I want to see how you did it. I want to find out your vanity-based secrets. I want to build on that outfit to produce something gorgeous the next time I hit the streets. Anyone can play Final Fantasy XIV, but I intend to do so with a fair bit of style. Some games don't really let you do this. I can't find out your clothing from examining your character in The Secret World. Some games reward people who are peeking at stats more than at a character's outfits. And some people really don't care in the slightest. So what about you? How often do you inspect people? In-game, obviously; if you're hovering behind Dennis from accounting and carefully counting the number of threads in his shirt, that's creepy, but not the sort of inspection we're talking about. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Do visuals change your opinion on classes?
I had a reasonably high-level druid whom I had completely abandoned in World of Warcraft simply because I didn't like forever being shifted into another form. Then I found that Glyph of the Stars exists, and suddenly I'm not only playing the class but enjoying it again. There's no practical mechanical difference, just that I can actually see my character now. And that might seem like a trivial thing, but the decision of how classes move and look can have a pretty big impact. Think about it -- the Engineer of WildStar could just as easily be summoning animal pets, but a big part of its visual appeal is the fact that it carts around robots. Mesmers in Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2 have a mechanical identity, but the pink-to-purple spell effects and obvious illusions are meant to impress players with a genuine sense of style. Do visuals change your opinions on classes? Or do you look purely at the mechanics and not care about how the whole thing looks in play? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: How do you choose your mount?
World of Warcraft used to make earning your first mount a pretty big deal. These days, it's less a deal simply because the game has so many mounts it's almost absurd. Almost anything large enough for a player character to fit on top is a mount... and if it's not big enough, a bigger version will be found for players to ride just the same. That's not the only game to do this, of course. Final Fantasy XIV now offers multiple mounts and multiple ways to dress up your mount. Dragon's Prophet offers you a variety of draconic options. Many games love to give players promotional mounts or special mounts for pre-order bonuses, subscriber bonuses, microtransaction items... you get the idea. So in this field of variety, how do you choose your mount? Do you plan for the cheapest option and aim for form over function? Do you display a special promotional mount with pride? Is your favorite mount a rare reward from in-game content? Or do you pick your mount based on character personality? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: How much time and effort do you spend on your character's appearance?
Guild Wars 2 has an interesting way of handling dyes, with a pool of colors that you can alter at any time that propagates to all of your present and future equipment. It also makes me stop dead in the middle of my leveling and spend about an hour trying out color combinations and then start over when I got a new chestpiece and a nice new pale green dye -- something that I will no doubt do all over again as soon as I replace the existing chestpiece. This isn't unusual. I spend a lot of money in Guild Wars on dyes and mixing them for just the right look. I've spent huge chunks of time in Star Wars: The Old Republic hunting for just the right modifiable pieces of armor. These are times spent looking for things that look the way I want, not actually spent playing the game or improving my character in any other way. But what about you? How much time and effort do you spend on your character's appearance? Is it a major part of the game for you, or just something that you barely consider? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
RuneScape general store makes its debut
RuneScape's latest update includes Solomon's General Store, an in-game shop that runs on the purchaseable virtual currency of RuneCoins. But don't start looking for ways to break the game with this store's items -- it sells vanity and aesthetic items like outfits, accessories, animations, and titles, but nothing that will upset the delicate balance of the game. Solomon's store can be accessed through your extras menu or customization interface. Within the store you'll be shown new items, a list of categories of items available, and a handy little button to let you purchase all the RuneCoins you want. Items and animations can be previewed, so you'll be able to see precisely how awesome whatever you're buying is. In order to display these items, titles, and animations, you'll have to go into the customization interface of your equipment panel, where you'll be able to fine-tune details like what item is controlling your stats, what item sets your appearance, what title is on display, what color your outfits are, and more. As a special treat, every RuneScape player can receive a one-time gift of 200 free RuneCoins through the store. [Thanks to David for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: Do you leave cloaks and hats toggled on or off?
I might just be thinking this because I recently watched Zoolander, but style is so very important to us gamers. We don't just want to kick butt; we want to kick butt and look incredible while we do it. And in my experience, style can be made and shattered depending on the accessories. Hats and cloaks are two visual options that many MMOs allow us to toggle on and off. Some folks like 'em; some detest them. For me, I almost never like cloaks (they hide the rest of the body and armor), and I'll wear a hat only if it completes an ensemble or doesn't fully cover up the hair. But that's just me, and I want to hear about you. Do you toggle your hats and cloaks on or off, and why? This is what we'll discuss over breakfast scones. Pass the jam, please. Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Those suave Google glasses are now patent-protected
Google has successfully patented the "ornamental design" of its augmented reality eyewear. To you, me and Aunty Dee they might look almost like regular Ray-Bans, but there's a lot of secret technology concealed within those sleek lines and Google evidently wants to prevent others from copying their appearance. After all, if people started faking Project Glass, it'd be impossible to tell if we're being properly scanned or merely checked out.
Massively Exclusive: City of Heroes previews the upcoming Mecha Armor
Do you dig giant robots? Of course you do. The team behind City of Heroes apparently likes them as well, seeing as how the game's next major update, Issue 23, allows you to dress up like one. The newest Tier 9 VIP reward is the Mecha Armor costume set, and the fine people at Paragon Studios were kind enough to give us a chance to take a sneak peek at the costume set before it's available on the test server. The gallery below contains an image of a male, female, and huge character in the new costume set, complete with wings, backpacks, and other armor reminiscent of any number of Gundam designs. Like other Tier 9 VIP rewards, the armor will only be unlockable for a limited time, so if you're feeling a desperate need to play with these costume parts -- and we can't blame you -- it's best save up your reward tokens now. %Gallery-9156%
Storyboard: To say nothing of cute shoes
Just as in real life, player characters in MMOs have more than one set of clothing for different situations. Sure, I don't divide my actual clothes up in usual MMO categories ("well, those are my PvP pants"), but I have things I wear around the house that I wouldn't wear out in public or when attending a funeral, for instance. But even that doesn't compare to a high-level roleplaying character, who has not only PvP gear and PvE gear and solo gear tand the like but also funeral gear and casual gear and so forth. It's all the joy of assembling a real wardrobe alongside the joy of stat comparisons. Roleplaying outfits are universally important. Even if your character is in a game without visible gear (such as City of Heroes), you probably have different outfits for different circumstances (civilian clothes, for instance). But there's an art to putting together a good roleplaying ensemble, and it's not just as simple as equipping the same equipment you wore 10 levels ago and calling it a day. You want to create a distinct impression, and that takes a little more doing. So how do you assemble a good roleplaying outfit?
The Daily Grind: What game do you think never looks good in screenshots?
Screenshots might not be the most important part of a game, but they're important before you decide to pop in and play. After all, part of what makes you decide that a game is worth trying out is the fact that it looks cool. Unfortunately, some games just hit us the wrong way. No matter how many different shots you get and how many different angles are tried, every time you see a screenshot of the game, it just looks bad. Maybe it's a game you don't like. Maybe it's a game you do like, and you know it looks better in play. Maybe it's a game you've never tried one way or the other just because the look of the game turns you off. You might have no opinion on the game whatsoever -- regular Massively readers probably see several screenshots of games they don't even remember that don't look good to them. What game just seems to look bad in static shots every single time? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Newest Ask Cryptic for Champions Online covers the flames of fashion
There are many components to making a great superhero game, but one of the key elements is ensuring that players can be astonishingly good-looking. So it's no surprise that the latest installment of Ask Cryptic sees several questions from Champions Online players about current, upcoming, and conceptual costume sets. That includes promises of more beast-oriented sets and a hard look at any powersets with major clipping issues (although minor clipping issues for certain poses are to be expected). Equally interesting to players will be the promise that the staff is hard at work trying to give players more options for power emanation points, such as staves or wands for magical characters. While some of the answers given will be seen as a bit disappointing, such as the fact that tattoos and scars will not be usable outside of the chest pieces already featuring them, overall the answers promise all sorts of ways for players to look as good as possible while fighting crime.
Toyota Fun-Vii concept car envisions instantly customizable interior and exterior
Look, the reality is that you can't drive your car into a Pay 'n' Spray every 15 minutes or so à la Grand Theft Auto, but what if you can simply change the vehicle's skin at the tap of a button? Toyota certainly likes the sound of that and has thus come up with the funky-looking Fun-Vii concept car. What's more, even the interior can be changed as well, and similarly it can be used as a display space for navigation or even racing simulation (assuming the latter's disabled while actually driving, of course). This is all good and well, but unlike many other concept exhibits we've seen, Toyota's mockup couldn't seat people -- we suspect the "car" only used a back projection from within, so we couldn't get to see what it'd feel like to play a Tron-like game inside the "car." Nevertheless, we look forward to day when this idea becomes a reality -- here's looking at you, flexible OLED! Video after the break. %Gallery-140617%
The Daily Grind: How important is your look?
Sometimes I'm not entirely sure I play City of Heroes. I definitely log in, and I definitely enter the game world. The thing is that I can enter the gameworld and then start staring at the tailor, and the next thing I know two hours have passed and I'm calling Ms. Lady over to see if the outfit looks better with one shade of cyan or another. I believe there are also elements of the game that involve superhuman antics, but at times it feels that my intersection with those elements is brief and often superfluous. Of course, I know I'm not the only one. There are people who will devote even more time than I will to getting a character's outfit just right, even in games that don't allow costume-customizing free-for-alls. And then there are players who couldn't care less that their RIFT characters appear to have been dressed by a blind MC Hammer as long as their stats are high. So where do you fall on the spectrum? How important is your look? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Ask Massively: Stir-crazy edition
With no power, no real Internet access, no running water, and no access to just about anything, I was getting a little bit stir-crazy. Fortunately, I've made use of my training as a Boy Scout and assembled a crude pastiche of elements to bring some of my favorite electronic online games into the offline space. Success has been mixed. Sitting in dowtown and periodically shouting that a level 34 Dragoon was looking for a party produced exactly the right reaction to simulate logging in to Final Fantasy XI, but my attempt at "logging in" to City of Heroes resulted in a lengthy discussion with police regarding the appropriateness of waving a Nerf sword at teenagers. My makeshift attempts at answering this week's lineup for Ask Massively, however, have proved pretty fruitful all around. Skip on past the break for discussions about some very meta considerations, not the least of which being a potential subdivision of the site. As always, leaving a question in the comments or mailing it to ask@massively.com will quite possibly get it included in a future edition of the column. Sometimes even if the question is ridiculous.
Ask Massively: You're missing the best part of the appearance tab news edition
I've made no secret of the fact that I've long since fallen out of love with World of Warcraft, but I think people are missing the best element of the whole addition of an appearance tab. Sure, it's something that players have been asking to get for years on end without receiving a response, but the best part is that its addition essentially invalidates every single answer we've received to date about why it can't be done. That amuses me to no end. This week's Ask Massively has nothing to do with that news, however; instead, it covers the excitement of upcoming games, the lack of upcoming games, and the relevance of functions within games. I'd promise a zebra as well, but he had places to go. As always, you can leave your questions for a future installment in the comment field or mail them along to ask@massively.com, whichever you prefer.
The Daily Grind: What are your thoughts on headgear?
In the real world, helms and hats are important bits of clothing, especially if you're talking about armor that includes a hefty chunk of metal complete with terrifying plume. So it makes perfect sense that pretty much every MMO set in a vaguely fantasy setting (i.e., nearly all of them) would feature a variety of important hats for characters to equip. But we also live in a society in which most men and women do not wear hats on a regular basis, and that's not even getting into the fact that most lower-level hats in MMOs look kind of dorky at best. Some people like having hats on their characters; hats are part of those characters' appearance. But for many other players, the hat detracts from a character's distinct look, unless it's a purely cosmetic addition without any kind of stats. So what are your thoughts on headgear? Do you like the way it looks? Do you think it should be more freely customizable? Or do you just walk around with the display of said headgear permanently off and never give it a spare thought beyond the stat boosts it provides? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Crash the Rusty Hearts beta with style with enhanced keys from Massively!
Rusty Hearts is heading into closed beta on July 27th, something that participants in our last giveaway of beta keys have no doubt zeroed in on. But we've got another batch of keys to give away just before the beta launches, and this time they're coming with a little something extra. Actually, several extras. Players who use one of the Rusty Hearts beta keys from Massively will be entitled to a special costume on the first character created -- the Night Witch costume for Angela, the Bright Uniform for Tude, or the Dark Seal outfit for Frantz. You'll also be granted a seven-day Gold Pass and a smattering of items, which should be enough to kick-start your beta experience nicely. What's that? You already took an entry from our first giveaway? Well, not to worry -- if you grabbed a previous key to the game from us, you'll still get all of the bonuses. But if you haven't yet nabbed a spot in the beta and the latest Perfect World outing interests you, maybe now would be the time to grab a code?
An exclusive look at RIFT's Update 1.2 and beyond with Scott Hartsman [Updated]
With almost two months on the post-launch clock at Trion Worlds, RIFT appears to be holding its own in the wild and woolly field of MMORPGs. With a major update and the first world event under its belt, RIFT is sailing into the future with the wind at its back and a hull full of subscribers below. We got Trion's Scott Hartsman on the phone to discuss RIFT's second big patch, Update 1.2, as well as to see how the game's progressed thus far and where the team is trying to take it into the future. And of course we couldn't let this opportunity pass by without a candid dissection of the uneven world event and how Trion plans to learn from its mistakes. So hit the jump and witness Scott Hartsman giving us a Care Bear Stare full of info and exclusive tidbits about the inner workings of RIFT!
A peek at Sector 4 of Fallen Earth
Sector 4 isn't available for players of Fallen Earth just yet, but it's impossible not to know that it's out there, the fourth piece of a building world. As it turns out, however, Sector 4 is more than just the next zone -- it's a look into what the game's world was like before everything went to hell. In a new diary from Chris "Devo" Deavellar, the aesthetics of the new zone are discussed, and he mentions that Sector 4 is the first branch away from the fairly realistic environments seen in the game up to this point. Deavellar mentions that just throwing a bunch of plant life around would have felt unsuitable for the game, but considering the newest sector highlights the insane experiments of the Globaltech company, the place needed an alien feel. Using several real-world plants such as kudzu for inspiration, the result is a world that still feels true to life in many ways... but also is filled with alien plants weeping amber fluid. Fallen Earth players should take a look at the full diary to get the smallest hint of what this newest zone will look like, a reminder of what would have been the future... before the end of the world. [Thanks to Scott for the tip!]
All you ever wanted to know about Rift's gear and were not afraid to ask
While some players may possess the tact not to come right out and say it to a dev's face, when an upcoming MMO is being discussed there's always the inner voice shouting, "What about my loots? Is the gear pimpin' or what?" Forget zones and races and dynamic events -- today at Ten Ton Hammer, the crowd finally got the Rift: Planes of Telara dev team to open up about the outfits that constitute a bulk of the rewards of the game. In this reader Q&A, Game System Designer Drew Clowery tackled numerous questions about Rift's gear. Rift will launch with 48 armor set models -- each boasting a number of variants and texture options -- but will not initially offer armor set bonuses. Veteran MMO gamers will feel at home with Rift's armor system, which is restricted by class (warriors will be able to wear heavier armor than rogues, for example) and can be bound on pickup or equip. Loot comes in one of four levels of rarity -- common, uncommon, rare and epic -- based on its utility and difficulty to attain. Crafted gear will be competitive (and apparently customizable) to dropped gear. And finally, Rift will not launch with an appearance system that replaces the look of worn gear with cosmetic items. Clowery feels that the team has struck a good balance between loot being useful and being a barrier: "Loot is an important part of our game, and so it has to have an important impact upon the characters. That said, it's not completely overwhelming... We don't design encounters to be gear checks. We design them to see if you can get together and do this."
