customizations
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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!
How to: Share iCal calendars without MobileMe
This how-to over at Gearz.de will help you share your iCal calendar around even if you don't have a subscription to Apple's online MobileMe service (a very forgivable offense, especially since its expected replacement iCloud service is now just a week away). Unfortunately, the writeup is a little technical, as you'll need to actually configure your local web server to share out and broadcast the calendar to anyone who needs to read it. That means you'll need to do a little console typing and config file editing, but as long as you follow directions, it should work just fine. A simpler solution might be to use an app like BusyCal to do the syncing for you, or even just use a service that's already in the cloud, like Google Calendar (which is what I actually do). But if you're already tied to iCal, either because you've got a calendar on there or just because you like the app, following those steps should help you get sharing to anyone up and running.
APB Reloaded character migration now live
We talked earlier this week about APB Reloaded's impending open beta date. Thrown into the mix was a mention of character restoration services for those veterans of the original (i.e., Realtime Worlds) version of the game. Today we're happy to report that the service is live in Reloaded's closed beta. A brief blurb on the official APB forums outlines all the details. Players will need to have an open character slot on their G1 accounts as well as their old RTW login credentials (the process involves logging into the RTW account to initiate the transfer). GamersFirst notes that this is not a comprehensive restoration. "The main items being restored are clothing and symbols. Please understand that no progression, APB cash, RTW Points, Action Time, weapons, or vehicles will be restored," says the post. Also, only two outfits are being restored due to technical issues (though any symbols and clothing items used in other outfits will still exist on your character). Check out the APB forums for more.
GamersFirst to preserve old APB customizations
Good news is in the offing for APB fans, above and beyond the fact that their favorite game is rising from the dead. GamersFirst CEO Bjorn Book-Larsson has checked in with his weekly APB Reloaded blog entry, and while the piece is shorter than what we've become accustomed to over the last couple of months, the discussion is quite interesting. First up is an official confirmation of the fact that the new version of APB will let players keep all of their customizations from the Realtime Worlds version of the game. Book-Larsson acknowledges the fact that this might lead to some weird pairings (i.e., players may have items that fall outside of the new progression systems), but he supposes that most veterans will be OK with that. "You will basically be unique thanks to you having played the game "back in the day," and our goal is to make sure your many gazillion hours of investment do not go to waste," he writes. The second item up for discussion is endgame PvP. Book-Larsson indicates that this is an ongoing challenge for the GamersFirst devs, and as such, the new system(s) probably won't show up in the closed beta. The goal is to give high-level players something to do after they've survived the grind and to eventually turn APB Reloaded "in to a platform for many different unique experiences."
Nokia grabs the Windex, clears up 'erroneous' Maemo carrier customization claims
We aren't too sure where a number of outlets overheard that Nokia was planning to pass on customizing its Maemo-based devices, but one of two things has happened: either Nokia is lying to our faces and has secretly had a change of heart, or everyone was just misinformed from the get-go. Regardless of the hows and whys, Nokia has now come clean and stated that those very reports -- you know, the ones that "erroneously suggested that Nokia will not support operator customization for Maemo devices" -- are "simply incorrect." A long winded explanation follows, but the long and short of it is that the suits in Espoo are (at least now) very open to letting operators "tailor future Maemo devices to suit their needs," which may or may not be a positive in your eyes depending on the carrier you're chained to. Now, aren't you glad we had this little talk?[Thanks, Dallas]
Nokia putting foot down on Maemo, won't allow carrier customizations
Google and Apple have both managed to wrest a great deal of control over the mobile user experience from carriers over the past couple of years -- cheers to that, by the way -- and now Nokia's decided it wants a piece of that action with the introduction of Maemo 5 and the N900, which it says will be free of the branding that Symbian products frequently get subjected to. It makes total sense that Nokia would be looking to come play in that rarified air that Android, iPhone OS, and webOS are all playing in -- a place where ARPUs are high, UIs are slick and modern, and the apps (and data) flow like water -- but since the majority of customers for these types of devices rely on subsidies to justify the purchase, they'll still need carrier buy-in to pull this off effectively. At least Palm and the gang have all proven that there's precedent for it, and it's definitely a noble fight to wage -- no one wants a bright magenta interface, right? [Via Phone Scoop]
