Hi Shasta,
I dont know, but i would hope so. It would be a nice quality of life thing if developers created a way to change your character after character creation. Sometimes playing the game comes first before somebody wants to really pour into character creation and i personally dont see where it makes sense to inconvenience somebody like that.
-Todd
I'mma be honest - I have no idea if OP is being serious or trolling the transgender community. Like, no idea whatsoever. A+ ambiguity there.
Regardless, I have always thought it interesting that changing basic attributes of a character like race or gender after creation has been virtually non-existent from MMOs other than real money items existing outside the realm of the game world. Even in single-player RPGs, changing the basic nature of your character is extremely rare, the only examples I can think of off-hand are the Elder Scrolls games allowing the transformation into a vampire. I would love to see something like a quest line that, for example, temporarily changes your character's gender or race, like some curse or something,and to change it back you must complete the quest. Or perhaps you choose not to, and remain the way you are.
As someone who does game development work, I can't imagine it being that hard to implement either. Just some smart organization of the character creation attributes across all races and genders, and a switch of some variables, and boom.
Im not sure I want to touch this topic...lol. but I guess I'm in the minority that's against this. Unless it somehow fits in the lore. People changing their character( not just gender) all willy nilly doesn't make sense to me. Im also not into cosmetic items/outfits. But that's just my style. To each their own
Ashvaild said:Im not sure I want to touch this topic...lol. but I guess I'm in the minority that's against this. Unless it somehow fits in the lore. People changing their character( not just gender) all willy nilly doesn't make sense to me. Im also not into cosmetic items/outfits. But that's just my style. To each their own
No, you definitely aren't in the minority here. The reason we don't see this option is generally because it is a role-playing game set in a fantasy world that doesn't have sexual reassignment or racial reconstruction of any kind. You make your character and stick to it, if you change your mind you roll a different character. I mean you can't change your class, which would be a far easier thing to do lore wise than somehow become another race or sex.
You play the role of the character you make within the confines of the game world, you build a reputation with that character, and people remember the Dwarf Warrior named Tumpy Tonic. Which is also why name changes used to not be allowed (and shouldn't really be allowed in this game, being that personal reputation stands to be much more important).
I believe tehtawd posted something to this effect a couple of years ago if i remember correctly. Will try and find that link
I beleive the ultimate character changer in game is a button called delete. If you create a character and decide you don't like it then with LIMITED character slots per account DELETE is the best choice if you want to change that character at all. This is a game people, many want to escape all the drama and ridiculousness of the real world in a virtual one. So if you watn to transgender then pick the opposite sex at character creation. Many people play opposite of their real gender. VR is not here to create a world to please everyone with every possiblity. They are here to create a world that THEY would want to be in if they could. Leave politics, religion and gender issues in the real world please.
I disagree with changing characters after they are created. Let the only changing of a character be a guise of the deceiver ;)
Since this is a Development forum, I will say the following:
1. Changing the database-held atrribute for sex from Male<->Female is easy.
2. So is changing your Appearance.
3. So is changing your Race.
4. So is changing your Name.
5. So is changing your Server.
So the real question is :
Should players be able to change basic characteristics after creation?
As for my answer :
Pantheon is designed to be a social game, where your reputation is everything to you. Your character's look, feel and the way it acts all add together to present to the world, and it's inhabitants, an identity that is your character. While Race, Name and Server are intrinsic to how your are perceived - your avatar's appearance is also important. Did you go for the 'aged Gandalf' look, the mischievous looking pirate look or a myriad of other looks.
Pantheon also seeks to get you to make decisions which will be impactful, not to mention cannot be reversed easily - if at all. You need to pick a Race, knowing full well that this limits which Classes you can choose. There will be many more of these as you play. Surely the next of these should be .... can you choose a sex and appearance?
In parting, I would point out a central question....
... would this cosmetic change cost?
... are you aksing for a $$$ shop?
In short .....
... create your character carefully. Make choices you are happy to live with for the next decade!
Evoras, will spend more time creating his character than he intends!
PS : Cromulants idea of a 'free makeover ticket' might work... but perhaps only given out at level 20 ding!
I think it would be a would be a good quest line along the lines of the novel "Left hand of darkness" or the movie "Enemy, Mine" if it can be develped properly and If the funding is there.
Possibly a good pet project for the devs for maybe a later expansion, but I also think it would be a hard quest to implement correctly in a game scenario so a possible mid-ground idea would be better. I would prefer the quest route.
To me, character creation is one of the most important parts of the MMO experience. I think being able to just change your charcter's sex after the initial creation cheapens the experience and makes character creation matter less. If you want to change sexes, why not just re-roll a new character?
shasta said:if I create a male monk and then later realize I was always too emotional and stuff, could I go to the NPC doctor and be changed into a female monk?
Why must the female be too emotional? Men can be just as overly emotional.
As far changing items of the character, the name is the only thing that matters. If I shave my beard, people will still know who I am. In armor, the sexes often look alike, at least so far in Pantheon.
So change everything you want, when you want. The name is what matters.
We shouldn't have a problem with this as long as we test it to make sure it can't be exploited in any way it will be fine, we are all for equality here at VR and little things like this seem fine, names are the important thing for reputation and behaviour that we will be more strict on :)
Kilsin FYI I am mailing a hug to you. Be sure to pick it up right when it arrives.
P.S - don't stab it.
=3
Kilsin said:We shouldn't have a problem with this as long as we test it to make sure it can't be exploited in any way it will be fine, we are all for equality here at VR and little things like this seem fine, names are the important thing for reputation and behaviour that we will be more strict on :)
Names ARE the important thing for reputation and behavior... so as long as VR is still willing to say 'no, I'm sorry.. you chose to turn from a female to a male, so now you are "A Boy Named Sue" you should have thought of that... :) we are not going to change your name for you...'
*Rumor listened to too much Johnny Cash as a kid*
tehtawd said:Kilsin FYI I am mailing a hug to you. Be sure to pick it up right when it arrives.
P.S - don't stab it.
=3
Lol, thank you! I promise I won't stab it, well maybe just a little bit but it will be gentle I promise, I will use one of my old blunt training daggers! :D
RumorHasit said:Kilsin said:We shouldn't have a problem with this as long as we test it to make sure it can't be exploited in any way it will be fine, we are all for equality here at VR and little things like this seem fine, names are the important thing for reputation and behaviour that we will be more strict on :)
Names ARE the important thing for reputation and behavior... so as long as VR is still willing to say 'no, I'm sorry.. you chose to turn from a female to a male, so now you are "A Boy Named Sue" you should have thought of that... :) we are not going to change your name for you...'
*Rumor listened to too much Johnny Cash as a kid*
Yeah, it would be on a case by case with gender name changes, obviously, we would take a look at their report history for griefing, harassment, cheating etc. before going ahead with it, all of which will be easily available for requests like this ;)
Changing gender I don't see as something big, but changing race I have trouble with. Can't make it work with race specific quest. If you start as Human and have many ongoing quests, then change to Skar what then? Would you be locked to human quests or would you lose the human quests? And if you made some lasting choices while doing the human quests, would that still effect your new Skar? I think being able to change race would be a bit messy :)
One thing I'd like to be able to change is the hair and beard. To be able to go to the hairdresser or barber shop once in a while to change your look is all good fun :D
-sorte.
ghost7 said:To me, character creation is one of the most important parts of the MMO experience. I think being able to just change your charcter's sex after the initial creation cheapens the experience and makes character creation matter less. If you want to change sexes, why not just re-roll a new character?
I agree, I have been known to spend hours at character creation trying to get my character exactly how I want him/her. If I knew I would have the ability to change all of that after the fact, I would just click next past everything and start playing. Having said that, I probably wouldn't have an issue with sex changes only, I will just choose not to do it myself. I have generally played female characters over the last decade or so (I'm a guy), so I don't care what other people chose to do. I don't feel like sex changes would really affect other players, at long as it is a rare and/or difficult thing to do, no flip flopping.
However, please no race/class changes at all! This seems as though it would be very prone to exploit. Anyone could roll an easy to level class (maybe a tank/healer or someone who can find instant groups) and then reroll to a harder to level class. Or maybe you roll a halfling warrior, but then you find some really good ogre only gear, no worries, just transform into an ogre...
I dislike any changes to a character after creation, with the exception of hair and facial hair changes, after all hair grows and can be cut and restyled easily...but I could live with other changes as long as they provide absolutely zero advantages in regards to gameplay. Sometimes people should have to live with the consequences of the decisions they make. The more decisions that you have to make that matter, the better the overall experience in my opinion.