Patrick wakes up early in the morning. He sets up the configuration on his computer and TAGAR to ensure connectivity and minimize input lag. Patrick also tries out the demo of the new major update for WoW that he downloaded. He adjusts audio, graphics, and controller input configurations, especially the input from TAGAR and output for TAGAR.
Patrick's computer and TAGAR are super high-end class with processors delivering top-notch performance and efficiency, accompanied by the highest-grade GPU available at that time. RAM and SSD don't need to be questioned anymore, even Patrick has made adjustments and modifications to optimize the capabilities of the four RAM sticks and three SSDs he owns.
The TAGAR owned by Patrick is also produced by ReTecs, with the Elecstab 01 model being the best TAGAR with a super cool input lag of just 0.001ms and a slightly higher output lag of 0.004ms.
Patrick indeed lives up to the title he earned as an games enthusiast. However, he's also able to afford those expensive gaming gear with the money he gained from the gaming competitions he joined, and also from the sponsorships he received.
Patrick just played the demo to set all the settings to maximum mode, he never really goofed around while playing.
After finishing the configuration, he exits the game and messages his friends, "Configuration done, ready to launch in 30 minutes." Without waiting for his friends to reply, he heads straight to the shower and grabs breakfast.
###
Steve, Hector, Ethan, Vincent, and Logan have responded to Patrick's chat. They are all ready and have configured according to their preferences. Meanwhile, Daniel told the group that he's having issues with TAGAR, so he needs to reconfigure it, and it'll take some time.
Actually, it's not a big deal because their scheduled gaming session is set to start in fifteen minutes as agreed beforehand. But seeing their friends flooding the group chat with WoW info and their excitement, Daniel feels a bit bad about delaying their fun.
"Everybody, join the VC." Patrick ordered, immediately opening a private channel in the VC.
VC or Voicecord is a paid app service with integrated features in major games, including WoW. VC is usually used for team internal communication, but in WoW, there's a required feature called Realistic Voice Communication or RVC.
RVC is a feature that makes players allow others, like fellow players, to chat through a private channel they use if one of their teammates in that channel meets certain conditions. This includes giving permission for others to join, broadcasting audio to other players, being caught and the channel or communication tool being taken, player with role of a hacker can eavesdrop on communication channels in the game, and communication tools left behind, making them accessible to other players, are part of this.
That's why Seamons could enter Preta's intracom with his friends when Seamons caught Crocils.
VC, or in WoW games known as intracom, is one of the most widely used third-party services by WoW players. VC has even partnered with WoW.
Steve and Hector immediately joined a private channel in VC and started making noise, so Patrick had to mute them. Ethan joined shortly after, followed by Logan, who also made noise and got muted by Ethan. Daniel was the last one to join.
"Natasha isn't here yet, anyone know if she's up yet?" Patrick said over VC.
"Nope, I tried calling her but got no answer," Ethan replied.
Patrick unmuted Steve, Hector, and Logan and asked, "How about you guys?"
"Nope. By the way, Dan, where do you have issues?" Hector asked.
Steve sent a text saying he's grabbing a drink, while Logan didn't respond.
"Vincent also hasn't joined VC yet, Pet," Ethan said almost simultaneously with Daniel answering Hector's question, "Computer connection to TAGAR."
Fortunately, Patrick uses this exclusive class in VC that can scan sound sources and tell who said what when a sound clash happens. So, what Ethan said and what Hector said are both equally clear for other users.
"Sorry, Hector, I'll take over for a bit," Patrick requested as Hector was about to speak. "Ethan, can you reach out to Vincent, and I'll contact Natasha. Hector, do you know the problem-solving approach for Daniel's issue?"
"Got it," said Ethan simultaneously with Hector saying, "Check the cable from the GPU to TAGAR, use the C2T software, it's free, just download it. It'll help analyze the source of the issue. But still, check the cable first."
"I've checked it, no issues. C2T has analyzed it too, and everything's fine. I'm just rebooting TAGAR," Daniel replied.
"Okay, just reach out if there are still problems, and make sure TAGAR has the latest software."
"Got it."
Meanwhile, Ethan, calling Vincent, got turned down, but shortly after, Vincent joined the VC.
"Sorry, just hit the restroom. So, are we starting?" Vincent said after hopping into the private channel.
"Nope, we're still waiting for Natasha. Do you know where she is?" Ethan asked.
"Yeah, she texted me earlier, said she's still connecting TAGAR to her computer. Her dad's helping her, by the way, so it sho-"
"Hey... you guys waiting, huh?" Natasha's cheerful voice interrupted Vincent.
"Done," Daniel said.
"Alright, welcome to the board, Nat and Vin. So, everyone's here, any issues?"
They all answered simultaneously, and it was a bit confusing even with the special features in VC. But their answers were similar, they were all ready.
"Alright, before logging in, let me fill you in on a few things. It looks like we're gathering at HCU, and if you're creating a new character, feel free to make it however you want, but try to stick to the specialization you're currently into. We'll meet up at Hill Gold behind HCU. Please note it down or just remember, 'Dungeon of forest is burn, then we go to war,' that's our code to make sure we're friends. Any thoughts on this?" Patrick gave instructions to his gaming friends.
"If anyone wants to change specializations or anything that might affect teamwork later, let me know now," Ethan added.
"Nope. I'm good," replied Natasha, followed by Steve, Hector, Vincent, Logan, and Daniel, all saying they're okay with it.
"One more thing, don't take too long to create your character if you need to make a new one," Patrick said. "Login now."
###
Patrick logs in with his account, and instantly, he's in the gaming world. All of his senses feel the sensations as he enters the gaming world.
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As a simulation to signal that he's entered a different reality, TAGAR provides sensations for each sense.
The sight sense is flooded with bright, dazzling static, causing the user to close their eyes until it turns into a deep, dark black, making it impossible to see. Additionally, various scenes of nature, cityscapes, and other views are displayed, offering a diverse range of colors to the user.
The hearing sense will get all sorts of sounds, from human voices to animal noises, from small object sounds to big buzzes. Everything's simulated real quick. Plus, cool features like surround audio are thrown in, so users can tell where the sounds are coming from. Even echoes from reflections can be tracked by the user's hearing sense.
The touch sense will give you the touch sensation, from a soft sensation like the touch of falling cotton to a rough sensation like the touch of a saw hitting and scratching the skin. Pain sensations are thrown in too, but it's just a simulation without actually hurting the user.
The smell sense will be treated to a variety of scents, from those that almost make everyone want to throw up due to their foul odor to really pleasant ones that you'd love to inhale. The availability of oxygen and other substances with every breath is also simulated, allowing users to feel a lack of oxygen or the sensation of inhaling water as if they were drowning —of course, it's all just a simulation, not reality.
The taste sense will receive stimuli through other senses, especially on the skin around the head, to trick the brain signals that would normally receive taste signals from the mouth. So, even if the user's mouth doesn't feel anything, the user can sense something in his/her mouth due to the signals stimulated by TAGAR.
The brain's performance is also monitored by the embedded AI in TAGAR. The function of the AI is to ensure users are in good condition and will directly contact medical personnel, even on a priority basis if the user shows poor brain performance, like a drastic drop in brain performance.
TAGAR's system security has been tested thousands of times by ReTecs. When it's in the hands of users like Patrick and his friends, its safety is guaranteed.
After TAGAR's simulation is done, Patrick is on his Self-UI to pick the character he wants to play.
Previously, Patrick had three characters. One character named Herold was used for competitions and had earned the CCO or Character for Competition Only status, meaning the character was designed by the WoW developer team for use in competitions and had some advantages, so it couldn't be used in normal gameplay.
Patrick's second character is Patrick, as his name, but this character has been killed. Characters that die in WoW are still saved in the player's character slot. This is indeed one of WoW's standout features compared to other games. This feature is used in case the player's new character manages to find and revive her/his old character that has died. In that case, the old character that died will be reactivated and can be used again.
Patrick's third character is Preta, his created this character from over a year ago following the death of Patrick's second character named Patrick. There's nothing special about Preta, but he isn't overly weak either.
Unfortunately, all three characters vanished from Patrick's character slots.
"The rumor is indeed true, damn," Patrick muttered to himself.
In the end, whether he likes it or not, Patrick has to create a new character again.
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Character Creation:
Select Species:
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* Humans
* Elves
* Vatts
* Lehurs
* Dwarves
* Gnomes
* Drasons
* Orcs
* Trolls
* Mihs
* Deitos
* Goblins
* Pandoras
* Hellhos
* Araguves
* Hass
* Juraks
* Fsakes
* Neves
* Pocos
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Patrick is checking out the strengths and weaknesses of each species. Self-UI display only provides basic info on body shape, mindset, and attributes for the viewed species.
There are six main attributes known as the core attributes, which are body, brain, spiritual, magic, aura, and dark energy.
Body attributes related to physical stuff like strength, stamina, speed, height, and so on.
Brain attributes related to brain stuff like intelligence, memory, comprehension, analytical skills, and so on.
Spiritual attributes related to soul stuff like beliefs, emotions, empathy, sympathy, feelings, and so on.
Magic attributes related to magic stuff that can't be explained by the laws of physics like arts and spells.
Aura attributes related to the character's aura when interacting with objects and creatures in the world of Buarth.
Dark energy attributes related to other dimensions stuff like dark power and dark force.
After pondering for quite a while, Patrick finally chose the Juraks species with the highest strengths in spiritual and brain attributes but weaknesses in dark energy and body attributes.
After making his choice, Patrick's Self-UI downloaded data related to Juraks and is currently loading to display the form of Juraks' body.
Juraks is a humanoid creature slightly taller than humans and larger. They have two hands with two elbows. Their legs are similar to humans except for their proportions, where the thigh part is much shorter compared to the calf.
Juraks' eyes have two layers of eyelids. The first layer is clear and acts as a shield to protect the eyes from water, while the second layer, similar to humans, shields the eyes from light, allowing them to rest. The function of the first layer is based on Juraks' natural habitat, originating from the cool and calm depths of the sea.
Juraks's skull is shaped quite like a human's, except for the forehead, which dips in a bit. Besides that, Juraks also has gills on both cheeks close to its ears, serving as a breathing tool when underwater. Meanwhile, Juraks's nose only has one hole for breathing on land. Juraks's ears are a bit different from humans, it still has two ears, but each ear has two holes. The upper hole helps stabilize the sound received by the lower hole with the help of the air pressure it receives.
Other than that, all parts of Juraks' body remain the same.
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Character Creation:
Select Races:
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* North Juraks (Norigon)
* South Juraks (Sorigon)
* High Juraks (Lekogon)
* Human Juraks (Magon)
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Due to Juraks' natural habitat originating only from the two poles of Buarth, there are only two races in Juraks, namely Norigon and Sorigon. Meanwhile, Lekogon is a Juraks race descended from Juraks and Elves, and Magon is a Juraks race descended from Juraks and Humans.
The Self-UI doesn't display the strengths and weaknesses of each race, only containing background information and appearances for each race, which aren't significantly different.
Without much thought, Patrick chooses Norigon as his race simply because he likes the North Pole, and he thinks the name sounds cool.
After that, Patrick is directed to the customization of the character he has set. No class or sub-class, no profession or expertise. Something lacking for Patrick, unlike previous WoW versions that were full of options for customization, including class, sub-class, profession, expertise, education, and main faction.
But Patrick can see the positive side of it. Having no choices during character creation might mean that customization later on will be limitless. Previously, there were some professions that could only be chosen when selecting a specific class, but, according to Patrick, maybe after playing, everything will become possible, and there won't be any more restrictions.
Patrick is the type of player who prioritizes skill over cosmetics, so he only customizes his character a bit and is ready to play. But, of course, before that, Patrick gives his character the name Preta Jur.
> "Welcome, Preta Jur.
>
> Buarth is a planet rich with life for trillions of years. Various living creatures coexist peacefully, but Ibusa, the ruler of evil, arrives and brings catastrophe to the once-beautiful Buarth.
>
> Plants fall, animals are killed, intelligent species scatter in search of shelter. No one knows how all this chaos began, except for the total darkness that blinds everything.
>
> All intelligent species living on Buarth have united, putting aside their egos, forming the Councils of Buarth, the highest authority to provide protection for those in need.
>
> However, those who are distant and hindered by the terrifying mystical forces of Ibusa cannot meet the Councils of Buarth directly. They need messengers to convey their messages and seek help from the Councils of Knights under the Councils of Buarth.
>
> You are one of the messengers trained directly by the Councils of Buarth. You are the hope for those who wish, you are the hero for those in need of assistance.
>
> You are the messengers who help the unfortunate find a glimmer of hope and protection. You are one of the Heralds, the bearer of messages of certainty for protection and victory. But you are you, full of freedom for yourself..."