Soulhuntre, The Palace was just an overly commercialized variation of WorldsAway, which was a better version of Habitat. We've been creating areas for people to socialize for decades now. (I've been in the games industry for 15 years.) The graphics in UT and Quake are very rich, but the interaction is exceedingly limited. I realize that the engines are capable of doing more, however, anybody using one of those engines has to prune out a lot of code... even from the artist's viewpoint. If we are to build true 3D worlds (and I've been building mazes and haunted houses and such since I was a kid, so I'm more than eager for the day), the graphics will have to stand up to prolonged viewing AND people will have to be offered more choices than "stand & chat" or "run & die" which seem to be the main options. I think if we monitor The Sims to see which activities are preferred after the novelty wears off, we might have a handle on what people really like. I suspect that people will most want to be themselves... as they see themselves from the inside. Carolly