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The Daily Grind: How realistic do you like your avatars?
From the highly detailed characters in EVE Online to the beautifully impressionistic avatars in LOVE, there's a wide variety of avatar types available in MMO games. Whether you use your avatar purely for humorous results as the above EVE Online pilot did, attempt to create a character that looks at least somewhat like you, or are out to create a completely foreign fantasy being to role-play, choice abounds these days. Character creators go from automatically generated with no choice to insanely complex and detailed -- and everywhere in-between. Nonetheless, with the sheer number of options out there, this morning we thought we'd ask which you prefer? Do you like your avatar so realistic that it's almost bordering on uncanny valley? Perhaps you prefer more middle-of-the-road options like Guild Wars or other games in that general neighborhood -- not too realistic, not too cartoony? Or do you prefer to go as far into your imagination as the character creator will let you with avatars such as the ones in LOVE or World of Warcraft's stylistic, non-human offerings? 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!
First PlanetSide Next character model revealed
He's tough, he's gruff, and he ain't going down without a fight: This is the Terran Republic Soldier in PlanetSide Next. While we've seen a number of vehicle models for the upcoming MMOFPS, this is the first PlanetSide Next character model to grace the public domain. SOE has been using fansite PlanetSide Universe to promote the game by passing along exclusive pictures, although the studio has remained tight-lipped about the project as a whole (and has yet to release a PlanetSide Next website). The character model here -- a grim, dark-eyed soldier with a buzz cut -- shows a much higher level of detail and resolution than PlanetSide's current avatars. The red, black and grey color scheme puts the Terran Republic in somewhat of a sinister light. You can catch up on all of the revealed pictures of PlanetSide Next in the gallery below. %Gallery-115730%
Does this look like a 'Dance Paradise' to you?
As certified screenshotologists from the School of Hard Knocks, we've been trained in the brutally honest art of just knowing from a single, static frame. And so, we just know by looking at this image that THQ's Dance Paradise is best avoided when it's released next Tuesday, February 15 for Kinect. Of course, if people just listened to us professional know-it-alls, then Just Dance wouldn't have happened like it did, and THQ wouldn't be trying to imitate that, and we wouldn't be writing this post, and what purpose would we serve, and ... You know? On second thought, it doesn't look that bad, and you've already played Dance Central to death, and you haven't bought a Kinect game in awhile, and you did drop $150 for it, and ... %Gallery-116331%
Full House Poker offers Windows Phone 7 connectivity
Full House Poker isn't simply notable for its inclusion in Xbox Live's House Party lineup. It's also one of the first examples of connectivity between Xbox Live on the console and on Windows Phone 7. Not only is it the first Xbox Live-enabled mobile game with Avatar integration, but players will be able to transfer their progress from the console to mobile, and vice versa. As an Xbox Live representative explained to Joystiq, "you'll be able to carry over both experience points and the bank roll you earn." While stats will be persistent across both versions of the game, the connectivity doesn't run much deeper. For example, each title will have different Achievements that are "tailored specifically for each platform." It also doesn't appear there are any plans for cross-platform multiplayer support. Full House Poker will be available on Windows Phone and Xbox 360 on March 16. While the XBLA version will go for 800 Microsoft Points ($10), the mobile version will be $2.99.
Massively's EVE CSM interview: Incarna and nullsec PvP
In part one of our interview with EVE Online's player-elected Council of Stellar Management, we asked council member Deirdra Vaal about EVE Gate, the upcoming forum revamp, CCP's microtransaction policy and other topics discussed at the December CSM summit. In three meeting sessions, CCP and the CSM tackled some hard-hitting issues, the biggest of which were Incarna and nullsec PvP. Most of the details on Incarna are currently locked under NDA, but that didn't stop us from asking the CSM about it. Nullsec PvP has also been a hot topic recently with the revelation that levels of PvP have actually been declining since the Dominion expansion. Dominion was intended to open up nullsec for smaller entities, but we still see EVE's political landscape dominated by massive coalitions of alliances spanning several regions. Massively: The CSM expressed significant concerns about the Incarna development plans it had access to. Does the CSM think that CCP is heading in the wrong direction with Incarna? Deirdra Vaal: We feel that the approach taken to Incarna is the wrong one, and we emphasised this to CCP. However, CCPs general idea to set Incarna as an "off the grid" environment where we go for shady deals is something the CSM is reasonably happy with. It's just that so far we haven't really been shown any compelling gameplay. So we think they might be heading in the wrong direction, if they are lazy about it. They might also be heading in the right direction, but so far we haven't seen compelling gameplay that would support this assumption. Skip past the cut for the rest of our interview with EVE's CSM on Incarna, nullsec PvP and the future of EVE.
Freddie Mercury spotted in EVE Online
EVE Online's new character creator went live yesterday in a mammoth 1.2 Gb patch. While some players (myself included) are still waiting for the patch to finish downloading, it's already clear that the new characters are a big hit with the EVE community. Immediately following the Incursion expansion's final release yesterday, the forums exploded with topics full of people trying out the new avatar customisation process -- with hilarious results. Players have even begun faithfully re-creating real-world celebrities, from Freddie Mercury and the Village People to the cast of Star Trek. On the other side of the fence, some visually impressive, realistic and even emotive avatars have been produced. Before the new character creator went live, people had some reservations about it. While the new characters were expected to look very realistic, some players prefer to pull funny faces and create hilarious avatars that better suit their clownish approach to the game. Other players expressed concerns that there might not be enough variety, and that all the members of one bloodline would look almost identical. While the choice of clothing is likely to remain limited until Incarna, it seems that all other fears have been squarely put to rest as players continue to make some fantastic and often hilarious avatars.
Old EVE portraits to be backed up -- log in today for high-res captures
EVE Online's Incursion expansion's final phase is upon us, bringing with it the cataclysmic destruction of several hundred thousand disembodied heads. Those passport-photo-style mugshots next to characters' names on the forum and in-game chat channels will all be removed in tomorrow's patch. In their place, we'll create new photos using an advanced new full-body avatar generator. We've seen this new character generator in action, and it can produce some really impressive results that far outshine the old avatars we currently use. More importantly, the new avatars will be full-bodied characters for use with the upcoming Incarna expansion, rather than just small passport photos. Players have expressed concerns about losing those EVE character portraits they've have had since as far back as 2003. In response, CCP has announced that all of the current portraits used on the forum are being backed up to an alternative web-server which will be kept open to public access. However, these portraits are limited to a width and height of 256 pixels. If you'd like to capture your current character in full high-resolution glory, you'll need to log in tonight to capture it. In a new last-minute devblog, the hilariously-named CCP Purple Tentacle has just posted details of the portrait backup service and instructions on exactly how to capture your character in high definition. If you're caught away from your PC tonight and unable to capture your portrait, we'd like to help out. Please leave a comment with your character name and I'll be available for the next few hours to log in to capture the image for you. I'll then email the image to the email address you use on Massively. If you'd like it sent to a different email address, please include it in your comment or mail your request to brendan@massively.com and I'll send it to that address. When I'm no longer available to process requests, I will update this post. UPDATE: The deadline has now passed and old portraits an no longer be catured in high resolution. Lower resolution portraits of up to 256 width and height can be downloaded using CCP's portrait backup service, which is now live.
Avatar Kinect's magic mapping tech demystified
Wanna learn how to deliver a keynote like Ballmer ... with your Avatar? This video explains the face and body mapping technology behind the upcoming Avatar Kinect app for Xbox Live.
Full House Poker preview: Know when to hold 'em
After leaks about the secret beta appeared way back in November, Microsoft finally unveiled its Full House Poker game during an event at CES this past week, and I sat down with members of the gaming press (and celebrity guest Shannon Elizabeth) to run the Xbox Live Arcade poker title through its paces. The rumors of the game being part of 1 vs. 100's legacy are true. "This is pretty much a spiritual successor" to the popular-in-certain-circles event-based massively multiplayer arcade title, says lead designer John Scott Tynes. But rather than a snappy trivia game show, this is definitely a Texas Hold'em poker game -- there's no celebrity hosts or mob members here. If you don't know your straight flush from your two pair, ace high, the game does have a tutorial to teach you the basic rules, but you'll have to find your own way to figuring out when and how to go all-in. %Gallery-113483%
Avatar Kinect bringing Avatar control, facial expressions to Xbox Live Gold members this Spring [Update: Now with video!]
As expected, "Avatar Kinect" was unveiled during Microsoft's annual CES keynote. It's "a new way to socialize on Xbox Live" allowing direct Avatar control using Kinect, enabling the obligatory gesture control and adding impressive facial expression support. The service takes the form of "stages" which give users talk show-like sets to interact with their friends. Ever wanted to spend time with friends after the latest episode of your favorite show, assembled in a virtual roundtable, and then post the video to Facebook for friends to see? Yeah, neither have we ... Ballmer says that Avatar Kinect will be available for Xbox Live Gold members only this Spring and comes with fifteen stages. We're working on getting the video of the demo up – hold tight! [Update: Now with video demonstration and trailer after the break!]
Rumor: 'Avatar Kinect' Xbox feature to be unveiled at CES
Glimpse Dog received what it purports to be a snapshot of a leaked slide from Microsoft's CES keynote (seen above) showing off something called "Avatar Kinect." This by itself isn't all that exciting, but Winrumors believes that Avatar Kinect will be part of a forthcoming software update -- one that "will allow Kinect owners to interact with each other using their avatars" much like Sony's Home. Furthermore, the site believes that "the Avatars will have a separate area, much like the Nintendo's Mii Channel, that will allow for users to control them using Kinect and interact to watch content or play games." Does this mean Kinect-based A World of Keflings wrestling matches? 'Cause if so, we're totally on board -- just as long as we don't have to queue for them. We'll presumably find out more when Microsoft's CES keynote is broadcast live this Wednesday from Las Vegas. [Image credit: Glimpse Dog]
Dragon Age 2, Your Shape and Disney come to Xbox Live Avatar Marketplace
The Avatar Marketplace has received a bunch of new items, including Dragon Age 2 gear, some Your Shape: Fitness Evolved props and ... Disney sidekicks? Sure enough, you can own a virtual version of Sebastian from The Little Mermaid. Talk about a sentence we never thought we'd have to write. Pricing on these new Avatar duds is pretty much par for the course. Your Shape and Disney sidekick props will run you 240 MS Points ($3) a piece, while some of the more complex Dragon Age 2 ensembles will set you back upwards of 400 MS Points ($5). Hit the links below for your preferred Avatar gear.
Force Unleashed 2 items hit Avatar Marketplace, PS Home Dec. 9
In the galaxy you currently reside in, LucasArts plans on hocking more digital Star Wars wares. On Thursday, avatars can tap into whichever side of The Force their inner fashionista prefers on both Xbox Live and PlayStation Home.
Xbox Live 'Thanksgiving Week' sale detailed
Apparently, Thanksgiving is a full week now. You might be thinking that makes sense -- the olden-times harvest festival on which the holiday is based must have been, like, days of celebration, right? No, no, that's not it at all. Thanksgiving Week is the period beginning on the Tuesday before Turkey Day (that's today!) and lasting through the following Monday in which you put all miscellaneous nothings aside and align your actions with one all-important focus: tremendous savings. Sure, the bulk of your effort will be expended on Black Friday (why else would you feast the day before?), with some impulse clicking for good measure on Cyber Monday, but don't neglect Microsoft's Thanksgiving Week of Xbox Live sales. After all, you're most thankful for your Xbox -- aren't you? After the break, we've posted the complete list of deals for the week (effective today through Monday, November 23). All sales are offered to both Xbox Live Gold and Sliver "Free" members. Also, check the promotion page on Xbox.com this Friday for additional, one-day savings, including 'Splosion Man for just two bucks. [Image credit: Steve Johnson]
Pre-order Halo: Reach Noble Maps at GameStop for flaming helmet, inconvenience
If you pre-order the Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack from GameStop, you'll receive a Flaming Mark V Spartan Helmet for your Xbox Live Avatar. Yay, free stuff -- but that's beside the point. The point is that GameStop is taking pre-orders on downloadable content. Isn't the reason for pre-ordering to secure a copy in case the store runs out of stock? Not ... really a problem for DLC. It would seem that GameStop's strategy for dealing with a scarcity-free market is to hope nobody notices the lack of scarcity. The best part: This offer is available in-store, but doesn't appear on GameStop's website. So you have to go to GameStop to pre-order the DLC, and then go to GameStop again so you can get the code to download your map pack from Xbox Live. Unless you're a Power-Up Rewards member, in which case you only have to visit a GameStop once, and then the code is available to you online. That's ... more convenient. %Gallery-105054% [Thanks, Matt]
Activision hands out 'free' Black Ops gear for female Xbox Live Avatars
Due to an error on Activision's part, any female Xbox Live Avatar can be outfitted in some Call of Duty: Black Ops virtual gear free of charge. Having only printed codes for male Avatar gear inside of the Hardened and Prestige edition packages, the publisher had to quickly create two universal codes for female gear, allowing any account with a female Avatar to nab the two outfits -- with the right codes. Thankfully, a CAG user has shared these codes with the rest of the world. (Those bears would be so proud!) By inputting the code GYVF8-PF7RY-28D7V-VGWV8-CFGRM into your Xbox (or online), you can snag the "SR 71 Flight Suit"; while inputting R76BQ-CR3MF-G2TTF-9G36R-BQWJD will net you a "Woods Outfit." The duds aren't available through the Marketplace otherwise, so sorry ladies, you can't try them on first -- but, hey, beggars can't be choosers! [Thanks, David from Berkeley]
FPS Trainer seeks to enlighten your gaming illiterate loved ones
Next time your Dad's all, "I wanna play Halo with you, little Billy, but I just can't get a grip on the controls of these crazy new games!", there could be a better answer than "Eff off, Dad!": FPS Trainer. The browser-based first-person shooter is designed to improve FPS players' skills by offering coaching tips and providing a detailed rundown of player strengths and weaknesses. Developed by Play2Improve, the game is described as "a series of mini-games to practice various FPS techniques and skills utilizing a real-time coach to provide constant feedback and advice, along with an online multiplayer mode that also includes coaching and the use of Microsoft's Xbox Live Avatars (not shown in playable demo)." Play2Improve reps explained the odd inclusion of Xbox 360 Avatars to Joystiq this afternoon, saying, "We were previously developing FPS Trainer for consoles, following a successful concept pitch at GDC last year; however, after developing a playable demo, we decided to take the product in a different direction and are going down the browser-based/online route initially, prior to a potential port to consoles early next year." FPS Trainer's visuals are stylized along the lines of Quake Live or Team Fortress 2, with the intention of giving it a "trainer" look, we're told. You can head past the break and get your eyes on the game's introductory trailer, or give the game (in pre-Alpha state) a shot right now -- we like to offer you options. The game arrives in beta form this coming January, and is planned for a full release in April.
Amazon sending out Dead Rising 2 Avatar bonuses after all
Amazon handed out $10 credits and, just this week, offered Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for half-off to customers who pre-ordered Dead Rising 2 on Xbox 360 -- all because the retailer couldn't deliver promised Avatar bonus outfits. Now, Amazon is delivering the Avatar duds. Two readers have written in to tell us that they've received emails from Amazon, containing the codes for the Dead Rising 2-themed Avatar jackets and Servbot heads originally promised with pre-orders of the game. So if you see one of your friends' Avatars wearing a giant Servbot face, you can be sure their real face will be holding a similar expression, after having just been customer served. [Thanks Andrew and Colt!]
Risk, Snoopy lead this week's pet-themed Xbox Live deals
Whether you're a cat or dog person, the choice between the two most popular pets isn't so easy when it comes to aligning with a side on the irresistibly cute ... battlefield -- especially when both are enlisting you at a discount. Check out what's on offer in the Xbox Live Deal of the Week.
PlayStation Rewards program to offer free PSN bonuses for 'highly engaged' fans
Sony is preparing to launch a new incentives program called PlayStation Rewards. A closed beta for the offer is currently invite-only -- for "highly engaged" PlayStation owners -- but the full service will open up to include everyone next year. The program will reward players with a number of PSN bonuses, including "exclusive" avatars, dynamic themes and PlayStation Home content. In addition, Rewards will feature "member-only" sweepstakes, events and giveaways. At first glance, PlayStation Rewards seems to offer many of the same features as PlayStation Plus. However, the two services are separate from each other and will offer different bonuses. Rewards is free, and will be open to all PlayStation owners, regardless of Plus status -- although, Plus members are more likely to be offered entry into the service during the beta. Like Club Nintendo and Square Enix Members, PlayStation Rewards is tiered, separating its members into three groups: Select, Pro and Legendary. Playing games, downloading demos, using PlayStation Home, being active on the PlayStation.com Forums, answering surveys and buying content on the PlayStation Store are some of the ways in which members can increase their ranks in a Trophy-inspired leveling system.
