B&S seems not to safe NCSoft

[Taceus Jiwede]

In general: Please do not equivocate those of us who wear cosmetics and care about how we look, to the crap seen in such games as Bits and Tits. They are not equivalent. Taking pride in one's appearance is not a negative thing. I spent a few years in Vermont, and if one likes unshaven, uncosmetic'ed women with two inches of hair-growth under their arms and on their legs, I highly recommend it. Native Vermonters are a very au-naturel bunch; I want to go slather on yet more makeup at the very remembrance of their hairy, green-rubber-galoshes-wearing selves - and yes, I refer to the women. Its like another planet compared to the rest of the US.

Platforms of 2" or less are extraordinarily easy to wear and provide a very stable base for ambulation; for people like me who have trick ankles and such, they are great. It looks counter-intuitive, but they really are very comfy and stable.

With you 100%.  While of course I understand people's complaints about some of the characters being.....skimpy.  And I especially understand, and agree with, the "younger" looking humanoids
being to skimpy.  But other then that I am all for making your self look the best you can.  That is a huge raise of confidence, and it makes people feel good about themselves which can make them actually achieve more with their day if they feel good and they shouldn't lumped in with an oversexualized video game

The girl in the cosplayer pictures is either A) A model whose is simply getting paid and works very very very hard to maintain that look.  or B) A fan who wanted to dress up as a MMO character in which case she probably was thrilled to put on that costume and look like her favorite character, sure the shoes are uncomfortable but for a few minutes that will lead to a longer state of confidence and happiness. (Personal opinion from here on out)These games are also 19+ in Korea and most likely will be M in America at which point only adults should be playing those games anyway, and as an adult they can decide if they are comfortable with the in-game outfits. Personally, I like the skimpy outfits but I am also a 24 year old male.  Also I live in a very large college town, Halloween around is really more of a competition who can wear the least amount of cloths.  I see people wearing outfits that make the ones seen in these games almost seem prude.  And these people walk down public streets for the whole world to see, the parents either steer their kids away from it, or teach them at a young age that they are just outfits and women and men don't really dress that way and it doesn't define them as a person.

[LadyShin]

Oddly enough, Clockwork never seem to use the generic word "city", from my memory.  Their term for any city is always based on its proper name.  For instance, Praetoria is "PRA" and Neutropolis is "NTR".  Even Imperial City is "IMP".  I've personally always used "CTY" for "city" in Clockspeak, as there's no way to confuse it for anything else.

"CTZ" would be a good abbreviation for Citizen for the same reason, if Clockwork didn't already use "CIT" for it.

Y'know, that's got me curious if the idle-chatter text for NPCs is stored clientside, and if some enterprising data-miner could pull out all the lines for Praetorian Clockwork.

Not sure, but I've found various clockwork-speak pages around the net...

IF.EXIST=="Google",then(CWK.SPK==Found)

[Colette]

There's nothing wrong with looking nice and taking pride in one's appearance. That can lead to all sorts of useful lifestyle changes like eating right, eschewing bad habits like smoking, and exercising regularly.

While I admire this young model's obvious good health, I see the costumes she's wearing, and the image of women in the B&S ads, as trashy, degrading and objectifying. The black outfit is completely impractical, the red feathers, shoulder pads and brassiere are elaborate, but too busy to be artistic. The high heels, black latex with holes cut out, and the cat-o-nine at her belt... I'm gonna go ahead and say it -- this is obviously glorified S&M fetish wear. What we have here is a very expensive dominatrix.

This is further demonstrated by the obvious "schoolgirl" look of the preceeding pictures.

I will concede the red contacts, feathers and jewels against black are pretty, and could be salvaged.

The clothing in CoH was generally sexy but tasteful, showing off athletic figures for both genders, without obvious pandering. There were some exceptions... Swan looked ready to dance around a pole, and the Taste Police pull Desdemona over whenever she wears those shorts in public. CoH did poke fun at this sort of thing with the character of Silver Mantis.

Mind, I don't say this as a prude. I had a female character in-game that flew about in a thong (and it took a lot of work to make it not look trashy,) and another who swung an enormous sword. But there's a difference between tastefully sexy and just plain tacky. B&S has no class.

[Bliz]

Those may be 2" platforms in the front but the actual heel slope more. My estimates are approximate but I keep looking at those shoes and there's no way they're less than a 3" slope.

I also thought some of you might like to see what the feet are doing, more or less, inside those shoes.

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=imaginatorcentral.com%2Ftemp%2Fheels.png

It's true, a 2" slope is not that big a deal, 3" tends to be my limit. Platforms are especially nice for those of us who are considerably short and don't wish to/can't wear 4" heels.

[Colette]

Well, beware of those shoes anyway.

1. It's easy to break an ankle.
2. Prolonged wear causes hammertoe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammertoe
3. You can't run in them. So they're very bad for emergency situations.
(As a specific example, in the 9/11 catastrophe, many female office workers injured themselves, or left their heels behind and had to run barefoot in all that broken glass. The 9/11 Commission Report recommends all women keep a set of sensible shoes handy in the event of an emergency.)

[LadyShin]

Well, beware of those shoes anyway.

1. It's easy to break an ankle.
2. Prolonged wear causes hammertoe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammertoe
3. You can't run in them. So they're very bad for emergency situations.
(As a specific example, in the 9/11 catastrophe, many female office workers injured themselves, or left their heels behind and had to run barefoot in all that broken glass. The 9/11 Commission Report recommends all women keep a set of sensible shoes handy in the event of an emergency.)

Makes me wonder how Sister Psyche did it..  ???

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=images1.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20060924051319%2Fparagon%2Fimages%2Fb%2Fb1%2F196px-SisterPsyche.png

[General Idiot]

Psychic powers, obviously.

[LadyWizard]

She flies. Do we really need more explaination than that?

[houtex]

She flies. Do we really need more explaination than that?

Dang it, late again to comment.

[Kistulot]

Also if you look at her shoes in that picture, the heel itself is much more sensible.

I've run downhill over loose rocks in pointier heels than that.

[Aggelakis]

Yeah, and the render ingame of those shoes, it's one big platform sole instead of toe/heel separation. Those are even easier to do acrobatics and running in. A little heavier, but you get used to it and eventually don't even notice.

[Victoria Victrix]

http://foothealth.about.com/od/shoessocks/a/HighHeelsBad.htm

http://www.hss.edu/conditions_stress-fractures-foot-ankle.asp

[Lily Barclay]

Not entirely on topic... but did anyone else notice that it looked like Beyonce stole her costume tonight from one of the B&S girls?

[Taceus Jiwede]

Makes me wonder how Sister Psyche did it..  ???

She had a few years off riding around in another person's body:P  That and you can use psychic powers to help correct your spine and take the weight off your feet.  Its a fact I just made up.

I know I am late but darn't I had to say it!

[TimtheEnchanter]

Not entirely on topic... but did anyone else notice that it looked like Beyonce stole her costume tonight from one of the B&S girls?

I thought she already owned the patent on skankwear?

[TonyV]

Personally, I don't like high heels.  Whenever I see a girl wearing them, I can't help but think, "My god, that's GOT to be uncomfortable," and being a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy, I just can't get past that.  To me, a girl in sneakers or sensible boots is much sexier than me sitting there thinking, "How did she even get those things on?"

[JaguarX]

What is sexy to me, is a girl that is not afraid to be herself and not feel the need to hide behind a bunch of make-up or wear only what ever the fashion magazines say they are supposed to or not supposed to wear.

[TimtheEnchanter]

Wisdom. TonyV and JaguarX have it.

[FatherXmas]

Not entirely on topic... but did anyone else notice that it looked like Beyonce stole her costume tonight from one of the B&S girls?

Or Desdemona (or Frank N Furter) with a little witch lace and fish nets thrown in.

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=cdn01.cdn.socialitelife.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F02%2F03%2Fbeyonce-super-bowl-performance-02032013-08-435x580.jpg

And here she is with her bandmates from Destiny's Child

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=i.huffpost.com%2Fgadgets%2Fslideshows%2F278487%2Fslide_278487_2056829_free.jpg%3F1359943541089

[Kaiser Tarantula]

What's kinda sad, is that she's a lovely woman in sensible clothes.  She doesn't need to wear stuff like that to look good - and not just 'good' but outright hot.

Now, as a fan of superhero comics, I'll admit I enjoy some T&A, and some ridiculous outfits.  But y'know, I much prefer them when worn by fictional girls.  When you've got an actual flesh and blood beauty dressed up in that kind of stuff, and it's not deliberate cosplay or something, it tends to leave me scratching my head and wondering why.

As for Blade & Soul, my issue isn't so much the outfits alone, but the whole aesthetic behind the female characters - they're exaggerated to the point of uncanny valley, then they desperately attempt to cover it up with 'sex appeal' as though they hope I'll be too busy fapping to notice.  Even on characters designed to look underaged.  It's creepy as heck and weirds me out.

Since I often play retro games, I like to think that the graphics of a game really don't bother me if the gameplay is good.  I mean, heck, I can play The Binding of Isaac and enjoy it, despite the fact that the graphics and subject matter of the game (like in a lot of things Ed McMillan creates) are deliberately intended to be as juvenile and offensive as possible to those with particular sensitivities.  But Blade & Soul makes me question that assumption about myself, because even if my computer would run it, I would be so weirded out by every female character in the game that I'd have to avoid it on that reason alone.