Our First Look at Dimensions in Rift

A friend of mine in college once said that if you want to get your girlfriend into video games, get her a copy of The Sims.  He referred to the game as the "gateway drug" of PC gaming.  After all, and let's be honest, who doesn't like carving out their own little space in the world?  The concept of player housing is as old as MMOs themselves and countless, differing implementations have found their way into the games we've played.  With Storm Legion, Trion is bringing their own flavor of player housing to Telara.  These alternate realities known as "Dimensions" allow players (and guilds!) to carve out literally any spot of Telara as their own.  The result is an alternate reality of that particular area you've chosen within which you can craft your personal kingdom.

Recently Trion demonstrated where they are with Dimensions and, to be modest, they did not disappoint.  Let's take a look at this new feature in action:

So what did we learn?

• Players will acquire "keys" that allow them to access their own dimension.  You may have as many dimensions as you want but only one active one.
• The dimensions themselves are completely customizable in the sense that you can place any object, anywhere.  Further, each item can be scaled and rotated.
• You can even adjust the environment of your dimension.  Dip your toes into the dessert sands, throw your arms in the air and yell "Make it rain!".
• You can invite other players into your dimension
• Guilds can carve out their own dimension for the guild
• Since the dimension is completely customizable, you can think outside the box in terms of making it your own.  As you saw, they built a tree house!
• Lighting will be dynamic.  Want a lamp in that corner?  Move it around and, in real time, see how the lighting would change in the room.
• You can give other players "edit" control in your dimension.
• Items for dimensions will be obtainable through all different aspects of Rift including, but not limited to PvP, raids, crafting and dungeons.
• Guild dimensions can even be set inside of dungeons or raids as "hinted" at by the following Trion post:  http://forums.riftgame.com/rift-general-discussions/general-discussion/329861-gamescom-video-featuring-housing-more.html#post3925494

The above is by no means an exhaustive list of what we've learned so far but it's certainly enough to whet the appetite.  Speaking entirely for myself, I believe the above video alone added one more day of vacation to my already planned absence from work when Storm Legion is released!

With all this said, there is still quite a bit to speculate on.  Here's a list of questions that comes to mind almost immediately:

1. How much will dimensions cost?  Is there an upkeep?  
2. Will it be possible to add training dummies to your dimension and perhaps a buff bot (i.e. Fervor) therein so you can practice your rotations?
3. What about bank access?  Or, alternatively, will there be alternate storage in your dimension?
4. How will players "carve" out their place in the world?  Will they literally carve out a plot of land that will then be presented in an alternate reality or are the locations predetermined?
5. From an RP perspective, are new animations such as sitting in a chair or lying down on a bed going to be implemented?

The list could proceed ad nauseum but why not sound off with your own questions?  What would you like to see done with Rift Dimensions on top of that which has already been revealed?