Image Designer Archive

• The ability to make each player look unique


• The satisfaction of having enhanced a player’s gaming experience


• The creative process involved in achieving a desired look


• The flexibility of being able to match a player to their outfit, mood, or personality


• The great potential for role-play, both as a professional and customer

• Feeling that there is not enough content to justify the skill point cost


• Frustration with the large number of bugs and issues


• Decrease in business as more players only express interest in new content


• Boredom with existing options; Gave up hope that new content would be added


• Feeling of not being a part of the Star Wars experience

Over the past months, the community has transitioned from hopeful optimism, to impatient waiting and finally to loss of hope. What development time the profession has received has been minimal at best and mostly reactive (such as responding to exploits or the Mon Calamari/Trandoshan incident) rather than proactive (such as the addition of color palettes and slider numbers). The Image Designer profession is in a crisis. We have a group of players who are passionate about their profession, yet must constantly weigh that passion against the daily frustration of severe bugs, the decreasing interest of players for their services, and their own desire for something new. Are we an integral part of Star Wars: Galaxies, or a game within the game? Our vision of Image Design goes far beyond the current scope of the game, and our survival depends on that vision. It’s our turn in the spotlight.

BuGs aNd IsSuEs

• Hairstyle change - hair color default bug - If a new hairstyle is accepted, hair defaults to brown (humans), white (bothans), or orange (rodians) for everyone except the client. Horns default to brown for everyone, including the client. A server reset will fix it, but it of course is a huge pain in the butt for people wanting a certain look for an event later that day, or Image Designers and clients working together to get a certain look just right.


• Hair color change bug - If a client's hair color is changed, only they can see the change, the color will keep looking how it did after the last server reset to everyone else...until the next server reset when this rectifies itself. Sometimes a server reset is not necessary, but the variation in how much time must go by logged out for the correct hair color to be visible to all is so great, we cannot pin it down (this is also true of the #1 bug).


• Outstanding offer bug - Sometimes an Image Designer will get a message that their client has an outstanding image design offer. This used to happen VERY frequently in beta, but a time out feature was put into place to override this. Eventually if the client does not hit "accept" or "refuse" when offered something, the offer times out. Well in certain circumstances (some of them with no known cause), the time out never happens and the Image Designer will be unable to ID anyone for random periods of time, though a server reset always fixes it. It is more likely to happen if either the client or ID'er has a lag spike/crash or if a macro is being used with no pauses or pauses too close together. Workaround submitted by JonasBlackmore: “(1) Target yourself and type /imageDesign (2) Target your client and type /imageDesignSetValue eye_color 1 (3) Have the client accept or refuse the change (4) Tada your client is now fixed and working.”


• Slider bug - Sometimes (and we have never pinned down why this happens but it's frequent enough to affect everyone every so often) when you click on a feature you want to modify that has a slider bar as it's interface, the slider goes straight down to the zero position (all the way to the left) without you even touching it with your mouse. You have no way of knowing what setting the person's feature used to be at because it happens so fast you can't fix it. Even more horribly, the person's feature defaults to the zero setting first despite the fact that you haven't hit "commit" in order for them to receive the offer window. It has in fact been used as a grief by some, and has made many people scared to use our services, and us afraid to offer them. So while just checking things out (say I click on chin to see what chin number value they have) their chin automatically disappears and I have no way of fixing it. We then have to eyeball it and I have one very nervous and flustered client. This bug happens with all things controlled by a numerical slider including face and body mods: nose length, cheeks, height, etc. - VERY awful wicked bug. Workaround submitted by Kanewt: “Log and come right back and everything will be back to normal.”


• Ahhh! We’re shrinking! – Each time height is selected, and before the “commit” button has even been pressed, a person’s height shrinks by one point.


• Missing abilities - These are available in char creation but we can't do them: (1) Baldness (2) Male Zabrak and Male Twi’lek freckles (3) Eye shape (while eye shape is listed it actually does eye angle, we need both an eye angle AND eye shape option).


• Mind needed bug - I hear this is a bug in other professions as well. Some people with lower mind, such as 400 or 500 often complain that they can't do mods they should be able to. For example something might require 375 mind, and with 400 mind they are told they don't have enough. Some ID'ers therefore are unable to do some of the higher up skills.


• Female frame bug – This is a rarely reported bug, but has been noticed by the most hawk eyed Image Designers and customers, and been tested and confirmed within the community. Once a female has received a weight change, she permanently loses some of her roundness. Her frame can never again be as full in the hips and rump as it used to be. It has been suggested that perhaps some of the body settings revert to a male frame. However, while the hips and rump are narrower, so are the shoulders and back, and a male frame would have the opposite effect. This is a bug that needs further investigation, and is a very serious one for those affected.


• Preview hair bug - Before and even after you offer someone a hairstyle, you cannot preview what it would look like on a client, but you can do so with all other ID modifications. Result is that you end up offering things that look awful on the client, but you have no way of knowing.


• Hairstyle interface - Related to #7, the hairstyle icons on the ID UI cannot be resized, they are so tiny that some people with older graphics cards cannot even make out what they're looking at. They are helped some by screenshots (see ID websites sticky), so having numbers in the corner of each hairstyle would make life SO much easier. Even I with my ok graphics card can not tell a lot of hairstyles apart, especially the horns and short male hairstyles, and combined with not being able to preview the styles (see #7) I always embarrass myself offering comb-overs and other icky hairstyles to clients who came looking for something snazzy.


• We can't see what we're doing - A very common request is for a zoom in ability on the /examine window, or our own special ID window to see customer's faces well. We just can't see what we're doing. A related request is for a special ID lighting device.


• Cross-species hairstyle exploit - A hot fix went in so that those that had used an exploit to give themselves or others cross-species hairstyles would revert to a default hairstyle. Wookiees, Mon Calamaris, and Twi'leks were not affected by this hot fix and still have their exploited hairstyles.

FiXeS aNd EnHaNcEmEnTs To DaTe

• User Interface – Number values were added to our slider bar modifications (e.g. height); Color palettes replaced sliders where needed (e.g. eye color).


• Beyond Char Creation Range Exploit – A fix went in to disallow the assigning of values beyond the ranges allowed in character creation (e.g. height).


• Missing Abilities Added – Several missing abilities (available in char creation but not to ID’ers) have been added (e.g. Twi’lek ears, gullet).


• Cross-species Hair Exploit - A fix went in to prevent players from choosing hairstyles that were not meant for their species.


• Vanishing UI Wigs - At one point some or all of the rotating wigs visible in the ID user interface were not visible. Different ID's had varying levels of severity of this issue. The bug was fixed.

NoNo'D bY lUcAsArTs/LuCaSfiLm

• Species changes


• Gender changes


• Torsos for Mon Cals, Wookiees, Trandos


• Torsos beyond current max limit

WiSh LiSt

• New content – top five: more hairstyles, more hair colors, body tattoos, textured 3-D facial hair, hip/rump adjustments


• Temporary disguises – dozens of threads have been devoted to discussing the potential PVP ramifications, but it is very desired


• Buffs not available through other means (now that Musicians and Dancers are buffing) – could be tied into “massage” or visiting a “spa”, or perfume


• The ability to craft and sell makeup (little lipsticks and eye shadow), wigs (though this one is controversial as unlike makeup, hairstyles are a top ID request and there is concern we would lose business), or buffing spa products (e.g. massage oil).


• Image Designer missions - These have been requested very often, a case where we feel like the red headed stepchild of entertainment. Even in beta there were requests for ID missions to do a modification to an NPC.


• Image Designing vendors - This is also often requested in the Merchant forum. Merchants destroy dozens and dozens of vendors trying to get just the right look. Would be a wonderful boon to two content hungry professions.


• A Master Image Designer building, equivalent to those placed by Master Musicians and Dancers. Ideas have ranged from having it be called a Spa or Beauty Salon, to having two or three rooms accommodating the different things Image Designers get up to, such as hairstyling/makeup (beauty salon), personal training (gym), and plastic surgery (clinic).


• A way to advertise our prices, services, and location. We often wish there was a piece of paper graphic for putting price lists on the bazaar/vendor. Many of us are merchants yet there is no “Image Designer” section on the global map (Advertising III).


• Improved User Interface. A way to zoom in in the /examine window (a workaround used by some) or a new special ID UI window (similar to the character creation interface).


• A special ID lighting device (could be called a mirror)


• The ability to stop clients from fidgeting/moving during the ID session (it is SOO hard to determine how long someone’s nose should be if their face and body are constantly twitching).

WiSh LiSt AdDeNdUm (sent to Thunderheart and Runesabre in early March 2004)

Functions that might be considered critical:

• 1/ Disguises




• Lower various negative factions, possibly also lower positive factions as a balance; Are given via a visit to ID’er or via a disguise kit purchased from an ID’er; Temp duration


• Offer some protection against bounty hunter detection, for when bounties extend to others besides Jedis


• Re-covert overts – an alternate method with some benefit


• Make you less likely to be stopped for a crackdown/smackdown - can’t remember what the second one’s called Reason? You blend into the crowd, why would they pick on someone that doesn’t look suspicious?


• 2/ ID building with function




• Doubles as social interaction spot and city bldg for Image Designers (advertising, visibility)


• New function(s) could be connected to object(s) in bldg, but would require the presence of an Image Designer


• Some examples: Hot tubs that speed up stat migration, a mud bath or steam room that gives a charisma bonus, a disguise counter for applying disguises…


• Could also be used (though not required) for hairstyling, tattooing, plastic surgery, personal training, makeup artistry


• 3/ Charisma bonuses




• The premise is that improving your look enhances how others view you, and makes you appear and feel more charismatic and confident. Such an effect could domino through various areas of a player’s life…


• Some ideas: Higher mission payouts, Politician bonuses, Better buffs...

Functions that affect another profession:

• 1/ Ability to ID Vendors (Merchant)


• 2/ Droid that projects a holoimage of client (Droid Engineer)




• Customer (and others nearby) would be able to see potential changes on a life-size, projected image of themselves


• Would allow customer to preview several changes at once

• 1/ Ability to speed up stat migration


• 2/ New art content




• Top five: More hairstyles, Extended color palettes (especially hair), Body Tattoos, Textured 3-D facial hair, Bigger Hips/Rumps


• 3/ Last name changing




• Especially for role play reasons such as adoptions and marriages


• 4/ Poster Ads – Public Relations




• Could be created by Image Designers and placed on city bulletin boards for others to read.


• Some ideas: Could advertise roleplay events, a merchant’s store, a PA, or a politician

• 1/ Bug fixes


• 2/ Improved User Interface




• Cannot zoom in on face


• Hairstyle icons are tiny, not resizable, and you cannot determine what they represent


• You cannot preview what a hairstyle might look like on someone before offering it


• Would like a way to stop person from fidgeting, especially wild head gyrations


• 3/ Craftables




• Lipstick and eyeshadow, for fun and as a means to advertise on the bazaar


• 4/ Image Designer missions




• Give an NPC a makeover, hairstyling


• 5/ A way to advertise




• Way to register on global map, ID building, craftables to put on bazaar, some type of paper ad that can be placed on bazaar

Message Edited by Kwee on 03-14-2004 08:56 AM

Kwee,

Wow, is about all I can say. This post certainly is well thought out, organized, written, and to the point. I am very happy with this statement and I believe that you have captured the opinions of nearly every Imager and consolidated them into one very nice document. Just a wonderful picture of our profession.

Kwee,

Awesome post, i couldn't have put it better myself!!!! You have managed to cover every aspect for an image designer, and i wish the Devs would start doing more for us!! Its about time Image Designers get some more love from others, since we are the ones who make them look so **edit** cute!!!

Keep it up Kwee!!

Madison

Master Image Designer

Master Tailor<almost>

Bestine-Bloodfin-BEG

Truly spectacular.

Leia says, "why doesn't anybody ask for my haircut?"

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"...You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view." biwan:
Former Pistoleer Correspondent (02/04/04 - 09/05/04)

WoW!!!

You really nail it in the Image Designer State of the Profession section, hopefully they will wake-up and realize that Image Design profession will help them tap into the hug un-tap female gamer market $$$. (which is likely why they added ID in the first place.)

Yep, that pretty much summarizes the last few months into a short, concise document.

Now... we have to see what they do with that information.

Very well written. I look forward to Runesabre viewing it

Sutarion

im not an image designer , but i think your profession would be greatly imporved if they make it so if you take lots of drugs you get skinny and get white hair, eat a lot get fat , drink alcohol get drunk and a beer belly heh) with seeing double and stuff ,

that sort of stuff would want to make me look for a image designer , just a though

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RedVenom400 wrote:

im not an image designer , but i think your profession would be greatly imporved if they make it so if you take lots of drugs you get skinny and get white hair, eat a lot get fat , drink alcohol get drunk and a beer belly heh) with seeing double and stuff ,

that sort of stuff would want to make me look for a image designer , just a though

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