Hood up and hood down is still in the works. Unfortunately, it requires a few changes to our art pipeline and reprocessing those assets by the artists. The team has been hard at work on our upcoming content, and priorities put hood up/down on the back burner just a bit, but it's still on the To Do list and we are still very much aware of the demand - by developers and players alike!

They tend to be bundled with our updates simply due to the extensive testing required. As for "something more," I think you just may be reading a bit too much into it, TUX. It just makes sense from a customer relations, developer, and studio perspective to continually improve our tech which is what I was trying to get across in my original post. We want optimizations/improvements as much as you guys do and are actively working on them.

Hey all, I just wanted to pop in and say we are actively working on various optimizations (both server and client) and will continue to do so. It's extremely important for us to continually make improvements to our technology so we can have users across a variety of system specs and support large living worlds for those users to craft their virtual lives.

Many people in the studio are looking forward to a Ready Check system as well. We have one in the works, but unfortunately, I can't give an ETA. Rest assured we hear you and things are in motion.

Hey Shingara, The ability to hide companion helmets will come in with companion match to chest. This is something I've worked on and you'll be seeing it before too long! Enjoy

Hmm... I seem to remember taking that out. Is this occurring in 1.3? I just checked the code and it appears to be nuked.

This one is a bit harder to do as it requires some changes to our art pipeline. I can't promise anything but many people in the studio want that feature (myself included).

It actually is a very high priority. Identity is incredibly important in an MMO and we're always looking at ways to help players better express themselves and facilitate strengthening that identity. You list some very thoughtful suggestions, and while I can't promise any of those things will ever happen, we definitely appreciate your feedback and take it seriously. However, I'm happy to let you know that we do have plans for extra customization coming in the near future. For instance, companions will have all the match to chest options (as well as hide helmet) that a player has, and those settings will store per companion. Obviously some companions won't get the benefit of this feature (i.e. Khem Val, SCORPIO, etc. - anyone who doesn't really wear the armor you give them), but you won't have to stare at multi-colored Aric Jorgan anymore - that's gotta count for something.