Let’s “Inspect” Home’s Newest Feature
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
We are curious creatures. It is human nature to see things and wonder about them, to want to know more than our senses can tell us about things. Ever since Home has been around, one of the questions most asked is, “Where did you get that from?”
This week’s update arrived, and along with the newest apparel, locomotion items and furniture and active items came something that kind of slipped in under the radar. This is something we have asked for in Home since they started adding new items, especially at the pace that they have been added for the past two years: Player Inspect.
This feature is available to everyone, and Sony has once again footed the bill to create a great new addition to Home. It works like this: say you see something that you like that another person has on or a companion that they are using. In the old days, your only option was to ask and hope that the person was nice enough to reply with how to get it; now you can simply click on them and see all of that information at your fingertips.
This works with all inventory items you add — even dances, emotes and locomotion items. Here is the blog entry from Sony: “This week sees the launch of a new Inspect system in Home, allowing players to see what items other players are wearing and where they got them. So, if you spot someone wearing a great outfit or using an awesome portable item you can quickly and easily find out more about them.”
To use it you simply walk up to the person you want to “inspect” and click on their name or avatar and a screen will pop up with everything they have on or are using. Not only can you see what it is, you can also buy it immediately if it is still available or not a reward item. The feature will also tell you that information, including the developer who gave the reward so you can go after it there if you so choose.
How awesome is that? This feature will also be of great use to those with huge inventories of clothing to fend off those questions about items that were bought so long ago we can’t even remember where they were from. Many times we have things stored away for months and when we take them out of storage to use it can be a real challenge to tell someone where to find them.
This feature will also boost sales of items, I believe. People will have all the information they need and also the ability to purchase them right on the spot. This is a very smart move on Sony’s part.
Some old, some new. Feel free to copy!
There seems to be some dissension about this new feature from people who think that they somehow have a right to a certain look they have put together. They seem to believe that people will copy them and their style as though that is a bad thing. I too like to put together outfits that are uniquely mine, it is a meta – game for many like myself. But unlike some I believe that someone imitating me whether it be clothing or even my furniture layouts in my spaces is the sincerest form of flattery. It means that they think I have a certain flair and they want to emulate it , that flatters me, it doesn’t make me angry.
Even if someone tried to make a perfect copy of my outfit, they still won’t be able to make a copy of my avatar. The feature doesn’t give them all the stats that I used for creating my avatar, after all. The idea that you have rights to a particular look or a particular item is a bit strange to me.
The new Inspect feature is a welcome one in my eyes. It is going to save countless hours digging through the stores and my wardrobe looking for things that people I meet or know like and are interested in. I can’t tell you how many times I have done that in my four years in Home, but it is quite a few.
If I could have one more wish fulfilled it would be that they allow us to do this same feature for all of the furniture we get, as it is easier than looking through the stores for things. But I am happy with what they have done and I hope you are too. Thanks, Sony, for listening and giving us this wonderful new feature.
September 20th, 2013 by Burbie52 | 1 comment
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
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Yaaay!!! Thank you very much, Burbie!