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Guild Wars 2 sells makeovers, explains authenticator issue
If you haven't been completely satisfied with how you styled your Guild Wars 2 character to look but don't have the heart (or time) to reroll, ArenaNet has a solution... for a price. The studio added two options to the game's cash shop that allow players to fiddle with their characters' visuals. The new items are a self-style hair kit (which costs 250 gems but can be purchased in bulk) and a total makeover kit (this goes for 350 gems and also has a bulk purchase option). While the total makeover will allow for a change in height, hair, skin, and even gender, it does not include a name change. ArenaNet also addressed an authenticator issue that arose when players noticed that the game stopped asking for the code. It turns out that the team switched to an updated version of the system that remembers computer locations verified by email and will not ask for an authenticator code from that place. Security Coordinator Mike Lewis reassured players that their game was still safe: "Please be aware that your accounts are still protected by the mobile authenticator at this time."
Mists of Pandaria: New customizations for pandaren females
It's going to take me an hour to make my new female pandaren, because they now have additional earring choices and even more hair embellishments -- five earring options and eight neon highlight options. The highlights change position according to your chosen hairstyle. The hair and earring customizations are live in the MoP beta right now. Unfortunately, the button for the hair streaks has not been implemented yet, so currently you're given a random color when you create a character. To see all of the new highlight and earring options, head over to Wowhead News. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
iGrow promises to regrow hair with lasers, accessorize any wardrobe
Laser combs? Old news. The latest in laser-based hair rejuvenation is the iGrow, a stylish new wearable device from Apira Science that packs 21 laser diodes and 30 LED lights. According to the company, that matches the output of most clinical hair lasers, and it should result in "thicker, fuller and healthier" hair in just a "few short months." But that's not all. The iGrow also includes a remote that has been programmed for both men and women, and it has a built-in set of headphones that you can use with your own iPod or MP3 player -- we can't imagine why you'd ever want to take it off. Sure, it costs $695, but Apira is so confident in its miracle helmet that it's offering a six-month money back guarantee. You really have nothing to lose... but your hair. %Gallery-117309%
Periodic table blasted onto a single human hair using ions, human reportedly wants his hair back
We've seen the Torah inscribed on a surface the size of a pin, and the atomic pen making inroads into even more impressive feats, but tiny writing never ceases to amaze us. Now, it seems, the entire periodic table of the elements has been scribed onto a single hair -- that of Martyn Poliakoff, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham. The project involved magnifying the hair under an electron microscope, and 'writing' on it with ions using an ion beam writer to imprint the entire table of elements onto the hair. As you'll see in the video after the break, the results are quite impressive albeit very small.
Panasonic's hair-washing robot: rinse, kill, repeat
If Panasonic can build an exercise horse then surely a robot that washes your hair should come as no surprise. Imagine being lifted from your robotic bed by a plush care-assist robot and placed into a chair for an automatic shampoo and scalp massage. That is the future of care for the elderly and sick in Japan, or the rich and lazy everywhere else. Panasonic's hair-washing robot scans each human head three-dimensionally to apply just the right amount of pressure during the shampoo, massage, and rinse phases. It recognizes repeat customers and then applies that person's preferred massage course using its human-like sixteen "fingers." Each arm contains a trio of motors to power swing, press, and massage motions... or to snap your spinal column should you decide to sass.
Video shows CCP's incredible cloth and hair simulation
We've known for some time that CCP planned to use physics simulation to make the clothes in EVE Online's Incarna expansion and their upcoming World of Darkness MMO more realistic. They even gave a talk on using NVidia's APEX cloth simulation at the 2010 Game Developer's Conference. Until now, all we've seen are technical details and the occasional screenshot, which makes it hard to work out how the end product will look. NVidia have released a new video this week of CCP's cloth simulation in action, giving those of us that are interested a sneak peak at the incredibly impressive results. Although APEX cloth simulation will be introduced to EVE when Incarna is released, the video looks much more like something out of World of Darkness. As an added bonus, the system seems to simulate realistic hair and not just clothes. Hair in most MMOs has always been limited to shorter styles which would look alright without animation. The ability to simulate complex clothes and long hair styles make character customisation in World of Darkness and EVE's Incarna expansion look very promising. Skip past the cut to watch the video in HD. [Thanks for the tip, Patrick!]
Breakfast Topic: A trip to the stylist, part two
Yesterday's Breakfast Topic was revealing. Revealing in that I revealed that I watch Project Runway. You guys said some stuff, too, I think? I'll have to go back and look. Ah, yep. Okay. You guys hate the Goku haircut as much as I do. It's probably the worst one in the game. But hey, we're not here today to decry current hairstyles. Our trip to the stylist today is all about what we'd like to see added instead of removed. I commented yesterday on the sheer number of awesome hipster haircuts that female goblins are getting, and that's what I want. I want more modern haircuts for all of the races, especially the girls. I think I count three bobs for blood elf females alone! Give 'em an awesome Rock Band-style pixie cut. Give troll females a few haircuts that don't make them look like Bugs Bunny antagonists. Let my night elf male be Morrissey. Let human males have a haircut that doesn't make them look like a member of the Village People (or Fabio). Give tauren females ... I don't even know what. Something. What do you guys want to see added to the game in terms of hairstyles? Any cuts you can't live without?
Breakfast Topic: A trip to the stylist, part one
Full disclosure here: The main thing that makes me want to play a particular race is their choice in hairstyles. Especially the females. Sometimes when I go to Stormwind and enter the barber shop I say, out loud, "All right, designers, let's send our models to the L'Oreal Paris hair salon! Make it work!" Okay, that last part isn't entirely accurate. Or is it? Anyway, yeah. Hairstyles are important to me, which is why I'm simultaneously happy and a bit miffed about the new styles in Wrath, a lot of which were just copy-paste jobs from other races. Night elf females still have a grand total of two good haircuts and human males can, joy of joys, be Goku now. So my question to you, dear readers, the first in a series, is this: What are your favorite and least favorite hairstyles in the game? When you see a human male with the Goku haircut or the foxtail, do you want to kill a man? For female troll players, you don't even need to answer. I mean, you have what, two hairstyles anyway? Neither of them any good? Maybe next expansion. Addendum: And just why do goblin females get all the good hipster haircuts, Blizzard? They can be Tegan or Sara. I can't even be the girl from La Roux.
World of WarCrafts: Custom Bows
Every Thursday, Shelbi Roach of The Bronze Kettle guides you in creating WoW-inspired crafts using real world mats with World of WarCrafts.While World of Warcraft may be a MMORPG primarily played by men, there are a few of us made of sugar and spice and all that's nice, who fancy frilly things such as ribbons and bows.Today's craft is courtesy of SugarPopRibbons, a shop I recently perused and from which purchased an adorable set of custom warlock bows. The ordering process was simple. I sent in an image of a Tier 5 warlock illustration I did and the colors of ribbons I'd like to use. The shop owner was courteous enough to send me a preview of the bow and upon my approval, crafted and shipped them.The shipping was fast. The quality is superb. The ribbons are very sturdy and SugarPop definitely has an eye for mixing and matching different styles of ribbon.
A few bits on shaves and haircuts
The biggest news of the day so far would have to be the Achievements system. Linked within Blizz's Achievements page is the screenshot you see above (click to embiggen), which contains some interesting new hints for the highly anticipated haircut system that we'll be getting access to in Wrath: You'll be able to change: Hair Style Hair Color Facial Hair (and presumably the attributes in that slot for other races/genders, like jewelry) It looks to be pretty cheap - the example price here is a mere 2 silver. This is surprising to me because I was pretty sure it was going to be a big gold sink. The barber shop looks pretty cool; apparently, this one is run by goblins, although the engineering on the chairs looks more Gnomish to me. Alright, there's not a lot there, and as the beta has not even begun yet any of this may well change (especially the price), but it's something. By the way, does anyone have a clue as to what the icon on the top-right of the minimap is? That's where the sun/moon icon usually goes. David hazarded a guess that it's a picture of a window, indicating that you're inside; my only theory is that it's the icon for the Achievements interface, though it's oddly big and in a strange place.
What's the point of new hairstyles?
One of the trumpeted features of Wrath of the Lich King are new dances and hairstyles. The new dances, I can understand. They're visually distinctive, fun at parties, and you can never dance enough on top of the mailbox. On the other hand, is there really a point to new hairstyles? I know Daniel has big plans for his characters, and my wife is excited at the prospect of finally being able to change what she disdainfully calls her 80's look. Personally, I've got half a mind to get one hairstyle change on one of my toons, but does anyone actually remember how your character's hair looks?I keep my helmet graphic off for PvP purposes, but most of the time, a lot characters have their heads all covered up. Even if they weren't, do you really remember if your Tauren buddy's horns are curved or straight? Or if your Troll guildie has green or orange hair? I'm willing to wager none of your friends remember what kind of haircut your Human Priest has, or what color it is. With few exceptions, even if players choose wacky, colorful hairstyles, most of us won't notice. I don't even really remember if my Rogue Arena teammate has a lower jaw. We simply don't pay enough attention to other people's characters for it to matter.On the other hand, new hairstyles will probably make us happier with our toons. My wife's looking forward to playing her Priest again, after regretting a hair choice she'd made ages ago while Daniel is excited to get royal purple samurai hair. Even if other players won't really remember how you look, the important thing is being happy with the character you play. The paid name change, for example, is one character customization feature I'm still happy about, even though I have yet to take advantage of it (my customization budget tops off at $10). So while the dances will be something everyone can appreciate the next time someone plays a piccolo at the Auction House, new hairstyles will be something more personal. Even if you cover it up with a helmet, at least you know no one can mess with your new 'do.
Breakfast Topic: Are you getting a haircut?
So like I was saying the other day, one of the things I'm looking forward to the most out of WotLK is the character customization options, such as the dance studio and the barber shop. I've already got a few ideas in my head for how I'm going to change my characters. For my Night Elf druid, I've been tired of his green hair for a while now. It's not bad, and it blends in well with most Druid tier armor, but I feel like I want to stand out, so I'm figuring royal purple, one of my favorite colors, should look awesome. I'm also figuring I'll give him the short beard (he's clean-shaven), and maybe restyle his hair to be the long topknot style, if only because the Samurai look would be pretty sweet. As far as dances, I'll have to see how the system works, like if it lets you pick any dance currently in game or just gives you access to a couple extra dances for each race, but If it's an option, I am totally switching him over to the Tunak Tun dance, if only because I absolutely love that dance.
Photoshop a JGE dev, get a closed beta spot
In one of the more bizarre contests in recent memory, the NetDevil boys are submitting the hair of two of their developers to the whims and amusement of the larger Jumpgate Evolution community. In order to participate in the contest, you just Photoshop whatever freaky color you think would look good on either of the pair of developers, and the two that most amuse the team will earn the winners a signed Jumpgate Evolution print and a guaranteed closed beta spot. Oh, and did I mention they're actually going to follow through and dye their hair that color as well?Now, this is pure speculation, but this blogger has a sneaking suspicion that this contest may have been the product of some heavy drinking. In any case, entries must be submitted on the official forums by May 20. So get cracking!
Silk'n light-based hair remover gets FDA approval for home use
Believe it or not, this actually isn't the first FDA approved personal hair remover we've come across, but for those looking for something capable of handling some seriously hairy ordeals, look no further than Silk'n. Created by Home Skinovations (har har), this unit relies on proprietary Home Pulsed Light technology to zap unwanted hair and bring back the smooth. Of course, this thing still has to be used "under the direction of a physician," but after waltzing into his / her office with three inches of sprawling chest hair blossoming from under that halfway buttoned shirt, we'd wager you'll have the requisite signature in no time.[Via medGadget]
DS Daily: Shigeru Miyamoto's haircut
In a recent piece summarizing Famitsu's 1000th issue and its extensive Shigeru Miyamoto interview, Next-Gen's Tim Rogers makes an impassioned plea to the celebrated game designer to visit a competent hairstylist. Well, geniuses have been known to let their hair go wild -- just look at Albert Einstein, Ludwig van Beethoven, and, uh, Don King. Rogers argues that he's never seen Miyamoto with a decent haircut, adding, "My father, though he eats salad with his mouth wide open, has never designed a video game, and is not in the habit of being photographed for magazines or appearing on television, has a better haircut than Shigeru Miyamoto."The father of modern video gaming will always be remembered for his classic characters and games, regardless of his hair situation, but we still want to hear your thoughts on his hair -- just fine or in need of a trim? Bring a pair of scissors past the break for a couple more Miyamoto photos.
New hairstyle pictures for Lord of the Rings Online
As people who spend a lot of time in massively games, we always appreciate it when developers give us more customization options. Turbine went even further by giving players both a barbershop and two different sets of clothing for when they don't feel like hanging around taverns in their armor. As with any upcoming additions, the forums are filled with posters putting together all sorts of pictures for your viewing pleasure. Community response has been really good to this stuff, so hopefully we'll see even more hairs, clothes and other ways to further customize your character in future updates. The value of adding this stuff could be argued over, but at the end of the day we think it's always good to get some more variety into your massively games. Although we're still not sure if we want our hobbits to have long, flowing, curly locks or not. Apparently, all the cool hobbits are getting them now.
Crapgadget CES edition, round 14: Hello Kitty with human debris
Hello Kitty meets hair.
Breakfast Topic: What do you want your character to look like?
You're likely already aware that one of the great new features to be unveiled in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion is the ability to change your character's hairstyle. A number of players (including myself) have actually stopped playing certain characters just because our original appearance choices didn't turn out as good in play as they seemed in the character creation screen. Some (including myself) have spent a long time thinking about what a new character should look like and trying out many variations, playing for a bit, deleting them and trying again until you get something you know you can live with for the rest of your character's life.Soon, however, our characers' hairspray will no longer be stone-stiff, and a new era of creative exploration will open up to Azerothians. Existing characters with ugly hair may get a second chance at coolness -- but as many already satisfied players know, your characters' good looks often come from a desire to make them fit, as closely as possible, some image we already have in our mind.So tell us of your dream for your character, how you envision him or her when you close your eyes. Do you want your Death Knight to look like Darth Vader, or -- heaven forbid -- Chuck Norris? If you like, you could link to a picture you like, or even draw your creative vision for us!My own most vivid character visualization was for a night elf rogue I had in mind. I wanted her to have the look of an angel who used to live among the stars in the sky, but had somehow gotten lost on earth and forgotten her way home. In hindsight, I was probably very inspired by my favorite Neil Gaiman novel, Stardust, in which a star actually does fall to the earth... and breaks her leg.
Restoration Robotics creates hair transplanting robot
Though some companies are more focused on getting hair off of your person, the California-based Restoration Robotics is hoping to help doctors do quite the opposite. Reportedly, the company has just garnered some $25 million in funding, and is hoping to release its robotic hair transplanter to aid docs in the actual planting process. Moving forward, the firm purportedly hopes to use its newfound wealth to "conduct clinical trials and move to market," but it's still staying relatively mum on the details for the time being. Of course, we all know real men prefer their strands over gizmos (right?), so we'll be on the lookout for any guinea pigs who (eventually) give this a go. [Warning: Read link requires subscription][Via CNET]
Beyond Northrend: WoW's beauty and dance school
If there is anything that the World of Warcraft trailer pretty much said outright, it's that hair styles and new dances are important to many in the WoW community. The fact that Wrath of the Lich King would have new hairstyles and new dances were bullet points number five and six after some major game changing information. Having been witness to people getting rid of characters they've been working on due to their hairstyle, a little trip to the beauty shop to see Miss Latifah could have prevented such needless deletion. WoW Insider opens up the creepy questions like wondering if there will be quests for dances and hairdos. We fear the idea of an epic hairdo quest. All that grinding for reputation with some faction just to have that '80s punk hairstyle we've always wanted. Although, an epic hairdo would probably stand out just as much as an armor set without all that pesky raiding. We're just happy to know that no more senseless toons will be dipped because their owner got tired of their hairstyle.
