character-creation
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Breakfast Topic: Do you choose your character's race according to physical size?
My husband refuses to play a gnome. He's not against the roleplay aspect of it per se, but he's a big guy in real life and simply feels more natural with Hulk Smash racial types. On the other hand, I've historically experienced so many problems with large characters in MMOs -– getting stuck in doorways, trapped in tunnels, tripped on stairways -– that even if I wanted to play a big character, I wouldn't. But I too feel more at home playing something that's a little closer to my own skin. I'm used to being in the front row in group photos. Bring on the shorties! (That's Robin Torres up there with her big ol' pink gnome head, by the way. Isn't she adorable?) Does physical stature guide your racial choices in WoW? If you do, is there something about being especially small or tall that you crave or avoid? Do you prefer to play something similar to your own Earth-human body type, or do you enjoy leaping across to the other extreme?
Final Fantasy XIV dev talks new servers and access restrictions
It's no secret that the long-awaited re-launch of Final Fantasy XIV hasn't gone very smoothly. In fact, the servers are taking such a beating that Square Enix has temporarily shut down online sales of the game. Despite the game's current woes, the FFIXV team wants fans to know that it is working overtime to get things running smoothly. In a lengthy forum post, producer and director Naoki Yoshida (aka Yoshi-P) outlined what steps have been taken to stabilize FFXIV's game world. Yoshida noted that all Final Fantasy XIV servers now have login restrictions to prevent a flood of logs and re-logs from causing them to crash. Login restrictions are most likely to be implemented during peak times, which Yoshida says are between 9:00 p.m. and midnight. Each server can support a theoretical maximum of 5,000 concurrent players.
Character creation benchmark now available for Final Fantasy XIV
You don't know when the next (and final) beta test is starting for Final Fantasy XIV. That's a bad thing, because it means you're going through a fair bit of withdrawal. And while nothing can really fix the fact that you want to be playing but can't, being able to play around with the character creator might at least help take the edge off. Which you can do today, as the newest benchmark and character creator is now available on the official site. Aside from offering another chance to test your computer's performance against the game, the new benchmark will allow you to create a new character. It also allows you to save the appearance data from that new character, which can be loaded up again in the launch version or the benchmark for further tweaking. So you could have your character ready to go the moment the game goes live later this month. [Thanks to Brandon for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: Do you genderbend in MMOs?
I've complained about genderlocked classes in MMOs before, but the truth is, genderlocking is abnormal for MMOs. Barring anomalies like Prime World, in which you're required to play a character matching your account's declared gender, most MMOs let us choose, and choose we do. Some people prefer to stick to their own gender with their characters, maybe because they feel more comfortable when roleplaying or don't want to confuse potential teammates on voice chat. Others welcome the chance to don different shoes, possibly motivated by a wish to see the world through new eyes (or cast those eyes on a shapely rear-end... ahem). And players of Cube World (shown in the pic) are thinking the question is silly since there's hardly any difference between the genders anyway, and besides, frogmen. So what about you? Do you roll characters as the gender you identify with in the real world, or do you genderswap? Why do you do what you do, and has it ever caused you any problems or provided a new perspective? 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!
Breakfast Topic: Do unlikely race/role combos disturb you?
Gnome warrior tanks disturb me. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I just can't hang with a gnome in this role. Especially in PvP content, their size relative to other PC races sends any semblance of reality out the window. In raids, their small size makes them annoyingly more difficult to spot. But perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this role/race combo to me is how much less confidence-inspiring these tiny tidbits of tanking are to me than, say, an orc warrior. I'll follow my orc warrior anywhere, even the proverbial cliff, because I trust him to fight off the baddies once we've rezzed at the bottom. But a gnome? Sorry, guys and gals. You're like Chicklets chewing gum. It's just not working for me. I have a friend who doesn't like to see human males in magic-using roles. He has a pretty classic view of spellcasters as refined in both intellect and physique, and he just doesn't enjoy seeing WoW's rather beefy-looking male models flinging spells in the field. Whether your reasons are aesthetic or practical, have you found any particular race/class combinations to feel a bit dodgy? Is there a race/roll combination in game that just doesn't work for you?
Breakfast Topic: Your cleverest character names
What's in a name? Only your character's identity from here onward! Without a doubt, finding the perfect name for a character is the toughest part of character creation. More than once I've created a character, carefully customized the face and looks just how I liked them, and was then stymied by the blinking cursor in the name box. (And, occasionally, I've timed out while trying to think of a perfect name that's untaken after my first choice wasn't available, meaning I had to go back and start again with customization.) But my trouble figuring out names just means I've all the more respect for those characters with particularly clever names -- those of you who not only managed to think up a clever name but also claim it before anyone else did. So, dish, fellow Azerothians: what's your cleverest character name?
The issue of gender and character creation
Earlier today, reddit user Izunai asked on /r/wow whether or not it's appropriate for someone to play a character with a gender different from their own -- more specifically, whether he, as a man, is allowed to play a woman. His question begins with, "Is this frowned upon or otherwise strange?" This is a topic that I've personally found very interesting over the many years I've been playing World of Warcraft and MMOs/RPGs in general. I've never considered it strange to play the gender opposite who you are in real life. Most of my characters in games are women. I also play men, I have male alt characters in WoW, but the majority of my characters are women. My death knight is a man. My paladin is a woman. My priest is a woman. My warrior is a woman. My rogue, who is now my main character, is also a woman.
Take a gander at Final Fantasy XIV's character customization possibilities
The team at Square-Enix has a treat for fans eagerly awaiting Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn today: several screenshots showing off the possibilities that await in the updated character creation tool. Several interesting looks are on display here, including vibrant hair color, hair styles, tattoos, long hair for females, plenty of sliders, and new colors for eyes. Check out these radical looks in the gallery below! %Gallery-188497%
Breakfast Topic: How do you start a new character?
When you've decided to create a new character in WoW, you'd think the actual creation part would be the easiest part of the process. After all the hard part ought to be leveling, advancing, and collecting gear. But for some players (myself included), character creation itself poses a challenge. If you've picked a class, there's still the question of which race to choose -- or if you've picked a race, the question of which class. And, while WoW's character creation mini-game is far from elaborate, there's still the matter of just what your character looks like. But most difficult of all tends to be picking the right name: WoW's been around long enough that many of the names you might usually use in a game have likely been taken. So tell us, early morning readers: what's your character creation challenge? Does name selection cause you to stumble? Do you have to get your character's look just right? Or is character creation something you fly through, eager to get to the real game?
Choose My Adventure: Framing my first foray in Darkfall
Break time's over! Now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get back to work building our latest Choose My Adventure. The first order of business is to establish the framework for the rest of our Darkfall Unholy Wars (mis)adventures. Of course, we can't just build willy-nilly; we need to follow a plan. And as with any major construction project, we couldn't really move forward until said plan was OKed by the planning commission. So while we waited for the foundation to set, we sought approval for which type of structure to base our continuing adventures on. And as is wont to happen with committees, there was trouble coming to a consensus; even though the proposed models were all pretty similar, disagreement arose as to which to pick. However, after some debate (one proposal won by only one vote!), we finally got the go ahead: The final word was to build a Mahirim Deadeye. I'm on it, boss!%Gallery-187735%
Captain's Log: Playing with Legacy of Romulus characters in Star Trek Online
In just over two weeks, Star Trek Online's first expansion, The Legacy of Romulus, will be released. The developers at Cryptic Studios have been working furiously, and we'll all get to see the results of all of the hard work on Tuesday, May 21st, 2013. I've had the opportunity to jump into the Star Trek Online's test server, Tribble, to catch a few glimpses of some of the character works in progress. With more material being pushed to Tribble on almost a daily basis, there should be lots to see in the next couple of weeks!
The surrealistic Dragon's Dogma tech demo
What you're looking at is an internal Capcom video made by the team behind Dragon's Dogma, designed to demonstrate the ease with which the game's character creation system can make universal use of animation data, regardless of a humanoid creature's size or configuration.Aside from being an effective measure of the technology's capabilities and a surprising glimpse into the lighthearted nature of Capcom's internal development process, it's also a surreal, often hilarious and pointedly bizarre carnival sideshow of bulging eyeballs and dancing cyclopes.As you may have noticed, it doesn't really look like footage from a fairly recent game, and there are two main reasons for that: First of all, this is an internal production that was never originally intended for mass consumption. Moreover, this is an early prototype from five years ago, when development on Dragon's Dogma was first underway, and the game still went by its original codename: BBS-RPG.You may have also noticed that this video has no sound, which is more of a legal issue than an effort to enhance the production's already potent hypnagogic qualities. Since Capcom never intended for this video to be distributed to the public, it had to have its uncleared soundtrack removed before the developer could share it with us. If you're willing to have two tabs open, however, we thing we've found an elegant alternative.
Star Trek Online's character creator revamped for Legacy of Romulus
The seventh installment of Star Trek Online's Legacy of Romulus dev blog is live. This time, the subject is character creation, and Cryptic has apparently revamped the system from the ground up to coincide with the introduction of the game's third faction. The dev blog talks everything from design flow to thematic presentation to the UI to selection presets, and it's clear that the company put a lot of thought into STO's character creator 2.0. Read all about it on the game's official website.
Storyboard: Profession discussion - the Builder
Human beings like to make stuff. It's in our nature, presumably because the humans who liked making things were able to create important inventions like clothing and weapons and homes and portable DVD players. That stuff gives you an edge over the guy hunting with a rock and a decent pitching arm. A lot of jobs and hobbies alike revolve around making things or changing existing made things into new made things. The Builder isn't just someone who enjoys making things but someone who lives by making things. Our previous professions have all focused around providing something, but the Builder is the person responsible for making those things. This is a profession that's all about creating, something near and dear to most roleplayers to begin with. But it's also a profession that has a bit more to it than simply being the guy down the road who puts cabinets together at a discount.
The Daily Grind: Do you randomize things during character creation?
If a game has more than four options during character creation, it has the option for you to randomize everything. In a game like World of Warcraft, this can be somewhat manageable. Games like Champions Online or the departed City of Heroes will almost inevitably produce utter insanity, since you're drawing from a huge pool of random parts and colors. And that's not even discussing games that let you randomize your class or abilities, or doing so yourself through the time-honored art of clicking without looking. But this isn't a bad thing. Sometimes the easiest way to cut through a sea of options is to just roll the dice and get something you can work into looking better. Heck, sometimes your random nonsense becomes memorable in its own right (as evidenced by Javier Placeholder up above). So do you randomize things during character creation, or is each of your characters carefully sculpted with no room for randomness? 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!
Neverwinter beta Half-Orc character creation video preview
Are you looking forward to playing Neverwinter but uninspired by the racial options that were available in the first beta weekend? Does the idea of creating a mundane Human or diminutive Halfling fail to get your adrenaline pumping? Is the potential of the dour disposition of the Dwarves ruined by their short stature? Would a passing thought of playing a delicate Elf be enough to unravel the very core of your being? If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you'll be happy to hear that Half-Orcs are now in Neverwinter! Want to see them in action? Enjoy Massively's Half-Orc character creation preview video after the cut.
Star Citizen base character model teased
Cloud Imperium has given us our first real glimpse of Star Citizen's avatars. The game's website features an early look at the human male head model that will serve as the starting point for character customization. But wait, Star Citizen is a space flight simulator, isn't it? Well, yes, but players will also have a fully customizable avatar for use in boarding actions and bipedal combat as well as a hangar full of ships. Cloud Imperium says that more character details will surface later this week.
Project Awakened's Unreal Engine 4 tech demo is impressive, gross
We don't know if you guys are aware of this or not, but the human body is a disgusting thing. Even the really top notch, showroom-quality human bodies are essentially sacks of greasy tubes and cartilage. Here to remind us of that fact in stunning detail is Project Awakened's Unreal Engine 4 tech demo, which shows just how elaborate the game's character creation system could be.Now, we doubt Project Awakened will allow players to select from a multitude of different organs or anything, but the super powers shown off are quite impressive looking, if a bit disturbing at times -- we're looking at you, weird split-open-hand-bone-thing.Of course, Phosphor Games will only be able to turn this flashy demo into something tangible if its ongoing Kickstarter proves successful, but with only four days left on the clock, and around $300,000 in funding still needing to be raised, that looks increasingly unlikely.[Thanks, Ryan!]
Storyboard: Profession discussion - The Aristocrat
Aristocracy is not a job in one sense. You can't apply to be an aristocrat, nor can you get a degree that leads to becoming an aristocrat, and there's a marked lack of professional guilds and unions for the field. You can't even really hope to be one when you grow up, since you're usually born into it. But in the broader sense of roleplaying character professions, "aristocrat" certainly qualifies, as it answers the question of what your character does while on the road. Some aristocrats might hit the road because they have a duty to those of lower status. Others might be out there because they want to be anywhere other than home. Some have tastes or curiosities that can be satisfied only in a more exotic location. Whatever the reason, many aristocrats pack up their elaborate and numerous bags and head off in search of adventure, or at least the various opportunities that adventure brings along.
The Daily Grind: Should gender and race matter in MMO character creation?
Camelot Unchained, Mark Jacobs' upcoming RvR-based MMO, is dipping into the old-school well in more ways than one. One design feature that caught my eye is the promise that racial and gender choices will influence character stats. MMO players are pretty used to the ancient RPG idea that some races or species are going to be better at magic or archery or punching people in the face or pressing Will of the Forsaken than others, but non-cosmetic gender differences are something that very few MMOs embrace. Even accidental gender imbalances send players into a tizzy. The implication in CU is that these initial starting stats will be changeable based on what characters actually do, such that an Elf woman who does nothing but swing hammers will bulk up or Viking thug who practices his poetry will see that reflected in his charisma skill (I am making these examples up). But the idea that my character might start at a stereotypical disadvantage still bugs me and makes me wonder how many min-maxers out there will just play to those stereotypes because they feel they must, thereby homogenizing the character makeup of the whole game. What about you guys? Do you think that gender and race/species should matter in MMO character creation as it matters in certain other RPGs? 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!
