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Order and Destruction guild heraldry art collected
It seems that plenty of Warhammer Online fans are excited about the standards and heraldry aspects of the game. Some of us here at Massively feel the same way. In fact, we've just come across a slew of guild heraldry images, for both Destruction and Order, which are certainly worth a look if you're into the customization aspects of Warhammer Online.Check out the hundreds of examples and combinations (we're not exaggerating) of Destruction guild heraldry that Atole of Monolith has put together, grouped by color, shape, pattern and emblem. For a look at the Order side, you'll probably want to see this equally impressive collection of guild emblems. Take a look below the cut for a sampling of each. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Nexon's Combat Arms launches today, tournament to follow at E for All Expo
Today marks the commercial launch of Nexon's newest title, Combat Arms, a free-to-play hybrid first person shooter/MMO. If the words 'free-to-play' make you cringe, have a look at the trailers on their main page, which show gameplay and customization options. You might just change your mind. While Combat Arms is heavier on the first person shooter end of the spectrum, the title has many of the elements we've come to like about MMOs -- rank rewards, in-game currency and massively multiplayer social aspects are all tied into the game. (Combat Arms has a cash economy called the "Black Market" but it's not necessary to purchase anything to play the game.) Be sure to check out Joystiq's hands-on with Combat Arms for a closer look at the title and a brief interview with Nexon about the game's features. Timed with the commercial launch of the title is Nexon's Combat Arms Tournament with Pandora's Mighty Soldiers (PMS Clan), to be held on October 4th at the E for All Expo. Pandora's Mighty Soldiers are said to be the world's largest multi-platform online female gaming group, with divisions for PC and each console on the market. If competitors can handle PMS, the tournament prizes will include Nexon game cards, t-shirts, DVDs, and an assortment of Razer gear. PMS will definitely make you work for it though.
Realtime Worlds seeking fresh blood for All Points Bulletin
Some of us here at Massively are excited about the upcoming wave of urban crime MMOs, especially All Points Bulletin from Realtime Worlds. While we haven't seen much in the way of actual gameplay, the degree of customization shown at GDC '08 as well as the video footage of APB's character creation shows some real promise.Realtime Worlds seems to be pulling out all the stops in getting the title ready for beta, and to that end has announced a number of career opportunities on their site. The jobs offered are varied, ranging from concept artists to programmers and database administrators. Check out the full listing and see if there's anything that fits your skillset. They're trying to fill 25 job titles, in addition to taking on multiple QA Testers. At the very least, it's good to see they're bringing in some fresh blood. This title is one we'll certainly be keeping an eye on in the months leading up to beta. How about you? Do you think All Points Bulletin has the potential to fill a new niche in MMO gaming? [Thanks, KnowledgeJunkie]
Vanguard Game Update 6 goes live, adds free trial/newbie area
One thousand. That's how many bug fixes are in Vanguard's sixth game update, which has now gone live. In addition to the fixes, there's a new newbie area for levels one through ten called the Isle of Dawn. Word is that it will eventually serve as a free trial setting. For now, though, it's just an easy place to get a new character started.SOE also redid character models, offering new customization options and making some changes that lower the models' system performance hit. You can keep your old look if you want, though.The most controversial changes are a whole slew of class damage adjustments. SOE looked at every single class in the game and adjusted its damage output to ensure "that each lands in their correct place in the spectrum of classes." The details of all those changes are buried in the patch notes. Did you get nerfed or buffed? Read up to find out.
Massively goes to Dragon*Con: Cryptic Studios Q&A
Cryptic Studios was on-hand at this year's Dragon*Con, where they held a Q&A session regarding all things Champions Online. What follows is as much of the event as could be transcribed from the audio we brought back with us. This writeup was completed based on audio with some garbled sections. Some details may be glossed over as a result. Without further ado:Cryptic Studios is Champions Online. This is not a product that we licensed. We actually partnered with them and purchased the intellectual property. So when all the additional supplements come out for the Champions pen and paper game, they're actually coming out with our cooperation. It's kind of jointly being developed. Cryptic Studios is now the owner of the Champions IP.
New Aion videos give aerial tour of environments and classes in action
Flight in MMOs is often focused on having mounts that let you take to the skies. NCsoft's latest twist on this idea is to give players their own pair of wings in Aion: The Tower of Eternity, which Massively recently got to see at PAX. So far we've seen a video showing off the character customization in Aion and a bit about the game's lore as well. NCsoft is steadily releasing more video footage of the new title though, most of which shows off some gorgeous graphics. Our friends over at BigDownload are offering up two new Aion videos. One gives a soaring aerial tour of the game's environment an the other is a breakdown of the available classes, showing each of them in action. Check out the footage of both videos below the cut, as well as the links for BigDownload's HD versions.
Some fresh Star Trek Online customization info (for humanoids only)
Cryptic Studios made clear the basic framework of its vision for Star Trek Online immediately after announcing the game, but the occasional interview or FAQ has revealed greater detail over the past few days. The latest example is a video interview at MMORPG with Cryptic's Jack Emmert, who in the interview reveals specifics about character, race, and starship customization. He also talks about Cryptic's relationship with the previous holders of the Star Trek Online mantle, Perpetual Entertainment.As far as the customization goes, you'll be able to customize the "skin, eyebrows, antennae, and hair" of your characters and races. At launch, it's likely that all players will be humanoids. Ship geometry, colors, decals, names, and even serial numbers can all be set by players. It sounds like they'll use basic "kits" of tools based on which faction (Federation or Klingon) they choose.Emmert also says that "war games" within factions would be possible, allowing players to engage in PvP with members of their own factions in a limited way. He doesn't sound at all certain that it will be possible at launch, though.
ColorWare does their thing for the iPhone 3G
If black and white aren't enough for you, ColorWare is now offering their gadget coloring service for the iPhone 3G. Their iPhone site allows you to customize parts of your phone with 35 different colors on an à la carte basis. Obviously you have to send in your iPhone and the service takes about two weeks.Unfortunately, it's not cheap. Just to color the back of the phone is $150 (all prices are US dollars), with additional color options for the frame, home button, SIM tray, earbuds, and dock running $10-$20 each. In fact, if you went wild and purchased full customization, your bill would be $230 -- more than the iPhone 3G. On the other hand, can you really put a price on being the only guy whose lilac-colored iPhone has a Candy Apple button?[via Gizmodo]
Stargate Worlds video interview shows off interface customizations
MMORPG.com's Managing Editor Jon Wood is definitely on a roll with providing Stargate Worlds fans with new video content. We already mentioned that he put together a hands-on Stargate Worlds combat video, but he's also done a video interview with Stargate Worlds Art Director Howard Lyons about the game's user interface. The UI is built to be completely customizable, both in terms of graphics and the layout, Lyons says. Players will be able to swap out button types and adjust the visual priorities of the various interface elements. Multiple UI profiles can be saved and then exported and shared with other players. Have a look at the video for a closer look at the Stargate Worlds user interface, but MMORPG.com does has one caveat -- what you see is pre-alpha footage.
An eye-opening Aion preview
It's very likely that you've either only heard whisperings of the game Aion or haven't heard anything at all. We honestly couldn't blame you with the huge amount of hype currently gushing out every which-way for Warhammer Online. The human mind, while able to absorb hype like a dry sponge to water can only contain so much of it at a given time. Our hope is that with the release of Warhammer Online just around the bend, you can eek out a little room for NCsoft's upcoming Aion, which was just given a wonderfully entertaining preview over at Eurogamer.The gist of Aion is that it's a game being developed with the best of breed concepts from Eastern and Western MMO developers. User-friendly, PvE and PvP content coming out its nose, highly customizable characters, gorgeous graphics and uh, wings. To be fair, the wings thing is a lot cooler than it sounds when you just say 'wings' like us. You get the idea, however. Currently, Aion is looking at an early 2009 release date.
City of Heroes respecs now available for purchase with real cash
NCsoft announced yesterday that players of City of Heroes are now able to purchase respecs (opportunities to rollback character development decisions they've made in their characters' lifetimes) for $9.99 from a store in the character select screen. The company noted that this feature "does not allow the primary or secondary powerset to be reselected; it functions like existing respecs currently available in game."Players are still able to find opportunities to respec through gameplay, but NCsoft claims that the community has been requesting a shortcut like this.Some sites are characterizing this move as the introduction of microtransactions to a subscription-based game. That term conjures up images of players buying powerful items and stat bonuses with real-world currency. But Blizzard has been charging for character name changes in World of Warcraft for a long time. What's the distinction between charging for what's deemed an expected service, and the microtransaction business model?
E308: Warhammer Online's customization options explained
One component of Mythic Entertainment's Warhammer Online that we haven't seen a ton of is character customization. We know that the collector's edition will contain 'rare heads', for example, but what of in-game options. That's exactly what the team set out to correct at last week's E3. Mythic's Adam Gershowitz lays it out for us - make sure to read below the cut for some exciting news about guild banners!I noticed earlier there was a demo for what looked like character customization options? Adam Gershowitz: One of the things we've been having a bit of a hard time with, because we show people live demos, is showing the breadth of customization in the game. So we've put together this presentation which shows off what we have. As you're aware, all of our equipment is career-specific. We've taken a page out of the FPS playbook – we want you to be able to identify a character's career from a distance. Expanding on that, we're showing the armor progression from low to high level in the game. We have over 400 armor sets in the game, they're split pretty evenly amongst the 20 careers. What you're seeing here are just three of the careers - the Warrior Priest, the Witch Elf, and the Chosen – going through some of the armor. I don't think it's all of the armor, maybe just half of it.
Neth teases about tattoos in Wrath
Nethaera has been pretty visible on the forums lately, answering a lot of questions about Wrath of the Lich King. She even popped into one discussion asking about the possibility of being able to change faces in the expansion if only to say that plastic surgery isn't in the cards quite yet. However, Neth mentions that players will be able to change hairstyles, facial hair, and possibly even get tattoos. So while some of us who've chosen wrinkled, old mugs might not get a rejuvenating facelift (and Undead who don't have jaws will continue to miss them), a lot of customization will be available in the form of new horns for tauren, jewelry, and maybe tattoos. Salthem states the same thing in another thread, saying that there's a lot of development to be done, but that this was the direction they were taking.The April Fool's prank that Blizzard pulled this year featured the Guitar Hero-inspired Bard class, and pictures of the character had intricate tattoos on both arms. Some early speculation posited that it could be from the new profession Inscription. It could be that the tattoos were just an artist's embellishment for the prank, but it's equally probable that the barber shops in Northrend just might be tattoo parlors, as well.
I Play WoW on Facebook
A little while back, we checked out a Facebook app to show your WoW characters in your profiles, and just this week, reader Orangelick asked for an update to the other app we linked to, called I Play WoW. Previously, I couldn't get it working, but I gave it another try, and as you can see above, it works just fine. In fact, it's pretty customizable, even moreso than what I implemented above -- you can upload a picture for your character, and even give status and description updates for every character on the roster.If you're looking for some WoW representation on Facebook, it'll do you right. The only real complaint I have is that it doesn't by default show off any armor or stats that you have (the other app, WoW Armory, does, and here's another app that's even flashier if you want to go that way), but then again, how many of your Facebook friends really want to follow your characters that closely? And there's a quick link to the Armory page for those who do. All in all, nice app, and the perfect way to show a little WoW pride on Facebook.
Why APB's customization options might be a big deal (or not)
There's a clip over at GameVideos (embedded above) that depicts All Points Bulletin's character customization system. We say "customization" instead of "creation" because we doubt all the exhibited features will be available to new players. We learned at GDC (in the very same session this video originated from, actually) that visual customization options will be among players' rewards for successful play.Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Kieron Gillen was nevertheless impressed with all the options. He commented on the exhibit, and posited that APB has that Grand Theft Auto je ne sais quoi. The culprit: the art style, which when combined with creativity will give the game a human quality that transcends the mechanics of the game. Because of that, Gillen is looking forward to APB more than he is to any other MMO.He took a jab at World of Warcraft, saying that because each item of clothing in WoW has critical stats tied to it, no one expresses him or herself through clothing. Stats are more important than self-expression in WoW society, right? Gillen prefers the City of Heroes approach, which he believes APB shares. But does it? We don't really know yet, do we? Maybe your clothing style affects your skills. That's something to wonder about. We'll see.
Dizzywood mapped by Worlds in Motion Atlas
Dizzywood is a Flash-based virtual world for kids, with a wide variety of environments to explore, ranging from Mayan-themed jungles to skateparks. Worlds in Motion took at in-depth look at Dizzywood and weighed in on how Dizzywood innovates, and how it flounders. The game is developed by Rocket Paper Scissors, who have been getting some love by the media in recent weeks. It's clear to see why; the relatively new company has a simple, compelling vision:Our aim is to create a website for kids that inspires a sense of imagination, discovery, exploration, and most of all, fun. Frankly, when we took a good look at what was already out there, we felt that kids deserved a lot better. Our hope is that through a commitment to quality storytelling, creative vision, and technological innovation, Dizzywood will deliver an outstanding entertainment experience for young people that inspires the imagination in a safe environment. Our goal is to be the most popular web destination for kids in the 8-12 age range. It's a lofty goal, to be sure, but we're all about dreaming big.Dizzywood runs in a web browser, with no additional install beyond Flash required. Rocket Paper Scissors has billed the title as free-to-play, but there are pay options to unlock new clothing, items, emotes and powers, as well as avatar customization. The games in Dizzywood are solo-friendly, but encourage cooperative play and socializing in order to solve mysteries. The excellent Online World Atlas over at Worlds in Motion put Dizzywood through its paces, ultimately finding some flaws in the virtual world, yet praising it as one of the 'tween worlds to watch. Via Gamasutra
Wrath will bring new forum icons
Tactial mentions on the forums that all of the Rogues (in fact, this is true about almost everyone) are still in Tier 4. When Burning Crusade first came out and we all reached 70, Tier 4 was where it was at -- some people were excited about being in Tier 4, even if they hadn't earned it yet. But nowadays, Tier 4 ain't that great, and yet all of our forum icons shows us in the (now old) armor.Drysc does say that the Armory is a click away from the forum icons, but surely Blizzard could take an afternoon and code a little customization into the icons. It seems like everyone else can render icons out of game -- why can't they? There is some good news for those looking for a forum icon update, though: Drysc says that when we're all level 80, we'll probably have new icons yet again, with shiny T7 on our characters.Which will be great -- until a few big content patches after Wrath, when T9 will be out and we'll all be whining that we're still dressed in T7. Thus goes the circle, the circle of life.
He Said She Said: Hypermasculinty
He Said , She Said is a new feature at WoW Insider, which looks at the game from masculine and feminine points of view. This week we discuss the difference between bearing among male and female characters. David: What's the big idea with all the macho attitude in male characters? I wrote an article about this problem some time ago, and I'd like to see what you think about it. Many people don't even realize it's an issue though; they just assume: "This game is about killing things, therefore, as a male, I should look as violent and intimidating as possible." For those people that think this this way, that's fine; those people should have that option. But let's look at all the male avatars that are available to us in WoW and find out how many options there are for those of us who don't want to look like a football player on steroids. The answer is... one! Other than Gnomes, every single male avatar in the game is pumped full of that "I'm gonna kill you if you get in my way" attitude that I just don't want to play. Where's the old wizard who spends all his time reading books rather than pumping iron? Where's the skinny rogue who kills things by knowing when and where to put his dagger rather than slashing it around with arms the size of some tree trunks? Where's the option for a male to actually look wise and eloquent instead of brutish and arrogant?
Custom "Stealth iPhone" from ColorWare
If you're willing to go the extra mile (and paycheck) to customize your gadgets, but you're not a big fan of the flashy ColorWare colors that we've covered before, the new custom edition matte black iPhone (Stealth iPhone) may be the ticket. ColorWare has been making drastic hue adjustments on iPhones for a while and recently announced that their color-customizing services were available for the MacBook Air. While they've offered a gloss black before, the new "stealth" iPhone's matte black finish is a departure from their usual eye-catching pigments. I imagine it's also more appealing to a good number of people. The customization is only available on new phones purchased from ColorWare, and with the matte black customization your new iPhone will run you $675 for the 8GB iPhone, $775 for the 16 GB. A 1-year warranty is standard, but you can extend that to two years for an additional $149. You can find more details on the ColorWare site.
Character planning in World of Warcraft
The building of a character in World of Warcraft can be just as painful as balancing a budget by hand without a spreadsheet. The number-crunching side of the game where you have to figure out hit ratings and mana regeneration rates and dodge percentages is something that few people can say they really enjoy. This is especially true when you are nearing the end-game in WoW and you can't just count on your fingers anymore. What if there was a tool that let you play "what if" games with your character (or your planned character) to see how different combinations of gear, talent points, gems, enchants, and even buffs would affect your character? Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that day is here.Chardev.org is not only a fantastic web application, it also has a gorgeous user interface that is simple to use. You can either build a character from scratch or import your existing character from the Armory. Once you've made it that far, it's as simple as pointing-and-clicking to swap out gear, switch gems, redistribute talent points and add or remove buff effects. The display of thirty-five essential statistics remains fixed on the left side of your screen during most phases of editing process. At the present time, it only supports gear from level thirty and up but that's no real drawback. There are way too many customization options on this site to describe every one. You really need to experience it for yourself.The Chardev site is a dream-come-true for people who enjoy playing with numbers, but hate doing the math. Check it out!
