Player Persistence

[RocketFodder]

We've talked a bit about how rank will affect appearances with the new batch of weapon screenshots. We know that the more dominant the secondary color becomes, the higher rank an officer is. This is one of the best things about PlanetSide--persistence. When you create a character, you create your online avatar for all your in-game wiles. You'll have customization. Rank. Stats. A history, once you spend enough time in game. A reputation.

One thing, however, is what the rest of you will look like. How different will everyone look? Will implants be visible? How cool would that be--each character not only has their own personality, but also a unique configuration to provide a more "custom" look in-game. I realize it'd be too difficult to have a million options for everyone to go nuts with, but with a few sets of model/skin changes for different things, you could get an exponential increase in possibilites for what characters look like.

In the games we've seen so far--Tribes, Halo, Counter-Strike, SoF2, BF1942--you basically just pick a model and go with it, having tons of people that all look the same. Cookie-cutter soldiers. However, this isn't really a problem since none of these games are even remotely persistant. Unless you always play with one server and one name, each time you log on you're a different person. There's no identity. Planetside, however, is the first FPS offering players this option. We've seen some pretty crazy customization with RPGs in the past, as they seek to really immerse the player in who they are, what they are, and what they do. This is a liberty enjoyed with ongoing characters. With PlanetSide, how do you feel this should be handled? I'd like to see the ability to make your character YOUR character. What do you guys think?