6.1. How will you handle character naming, unique names, etc.? Can my character have a first and last name?
Our plans are currently to require characters to have a first and a last name at character creation in order to allow players to have unique names.
Source: Official FAQ
Yes, the current plan to is require a first and last name at character creation in order to hopefully enable us to have unique names across servers, etc.
Source: Aradune Mithara
See also:
Article on Customer Support and Naming Policy from Silky Venom - July 2005
In-depth post by Aradune regarding possible systems dealing with names - August 2005
6.2. Will there be localized servers for international players?
Yes, but not at launch. French and German are the plan right now, and we will be sure everyone who wants to move to those servers will get a free character transfer when they come up.
Source: Nick Parkinson, Community Manager
6.3. What are the design decisions behind your player character models?
Essentially, all player characters and many of the humanoid NPC models are really the same model and then are morphed in real time using bone scaling and some other fairly cutting edge tech. So, sitting in memory is the core model and then the data that we apply to that model to turn it into a human or a dwarf, etc.
In addition to memory savings, this also allows us to do the same with clothing/armor/etc. The advantage there again is memory savings, but also that a particular suit of armor, for example, looks the same when worn by two different races (unlike, say, EQ 1, where the same item of leather armor looked different depending on what race was wearing it and actually referred to multiple models and texture sets).
Not only does this make things more consistent and realistic, but it also gives us room to have a lot more different types of clothing and armor because we don't have to store X number of leather armors in memory (where X is the number of player characters), we just have to store the 1 and it morphs and fits everyone we want it to. So now we can have a bunch of different types of, say, leather armor that are not only represented as different items in your inventory, but also look different in-game on the actual character.
This ability to scale and morph in real time then not only allows us to change a base character model into both a human and a dwarf, but it also allows us to scale and morph the figure after it's already been turned into, say, a dwarf.
So whereas the difference between a dwarf and a human are significant, we can also make smaller changes, allowing us to change a dwarf's facial or body to make players look more unique. This has been done to some extent in other MMOGs (for example, SW:G and EQ 2), but we can take it much farther because virtually every aspect of the model is scalable/morphable. And by being able to make more significant changes in appearance, you can easily make, say, two elves look very different, even at a distance (whereas older games you often couldn't discern the differences unless you got really close). And, again, this applies not only to facial features, but also the body, e.g. you can have fat and skinny player characters.
So, if this all works out, and it looks like it will (we were almost ready to show it completely at E3, but missed by a week or two -- ah well), everyone can pretty much look unique. And this also applies to humanoid NPCs. As you walk through a city or village, the guards should have different faces and body types, etc.
Lastly, because this is done in real time, we could even do some crazy stuff like have spells that deform or change a character for a period of time, which I think would be pretty awesome.
Source: Aradune Mithara
6.4. Can I customize my stats?
After talking to the team we've decided not to talk about the specifics of attribute customization or when it will happen. That said there /is/ player driven attribute customization in Vanguard. We are simply not ready to disclose to the public how it works right now.
Source: Tagad
From a skill standpoint, Vanguard is not a fully skill based game, so do not expect ultimate customization in regards to the abilities and skills your "Warrior" for example has. There will be customization here, just not to the degree of other games which are skill based.
Source: Tagad
6.5. What about my character’s appearance and clothing – will I be able to make my character appear unique?
When making an item acquisition-centric game, the appearance of those items when worn or wielded is extremely important. You ought to be able to look at someone and say 'Wow, she's got an Iron Crown of the Fire Giant Warlords on!! I’ve never seen one – only heard stories! Where did she get that?'
Source: Official FAQ
We intend on having a fair amount of graphical character customization, and as stated in the above post, we have a relatively large number of races which players may pick. […]
Character appearance will also be augmented by the items you find in the game world.
Source: Tagad
No, you cannot get naked. 'nuff said.
Source: Aradune Mithara
Character customization, including facial customization, which we've just wrapped up but haven't had a chance to show off, is equally applicable to all races, including the cat, wolf, and fox people.
Source: Aradune Mithara
6.6. Are we going to be able to see things like rings, amulets, etc. on ourselves?
Yes. Although keep in mind, as with all in-game clothing, that there isn't a 1:1 match between items in your inventory and your appearance. In other words, you might find a cool ruby ring of fire resistance, but it may show on your finger as a generic ring and the same as someone else, wearing something different. That said, at least we got rings and some other adornments to show up in our layer system.
Source: Aradune Mithara
6.7. How many servers are there expected to be at launch?
Around 18, but this may change. It depends on pre-sales and we don't have those final numbers yet.
Source: Brad McQuaid, Jan 15, 2007
6.8. Will characters need to eat and drink?
No, although we hope to include consumables that affect gameplay (for example, a potion that provides a temporary stat bonus, etc.)
Source: Official FAQ
6.9. Will players be able to custom color their armor or hair?
The programmers and character art teams have put together a very flexible system, so there should be a lot of visual variety. Still not a 1:1 ratio of actual item to appearance, though. If we have player-tintable stuff, it will likely be decorative items, but that's not certain at this point.
Source: Official FAQ
Armor and cloth dyes for non-crafted gear = almost certainly not
Dyes for crafted gear = almost certainly yes
Dyes for hair = I see no problem with it as long as the colors are "believable". Did you see any blue hair in LotR? –
Source: Kemsos
6.10. Will the sex of my character effect its stats?
We have no intention of adding any statistical modification based upon character sex.- 26 July 2005
Source: Tagad