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Behind the scenes as a [REDACTED] Game Master
Once upon a time, I worked as a game master for a very popular MMORPG. My duties were relatively simple: help players out of sticky situations and enforce the rules of the game when it came to cheating, harassment, and general player behavior. A game master's role is to protect the player from any and all potential game dangers, up to and including the player himself. In my work as a GM, I saw many amazing things. I saw guild members contact support staff because they were worried about another player's real-life wellbeing. I saw incredibly complex scams across multiple players and accounts that, while infuriating and exceptionally against the rules, were astonishing in their genius. And of course, I saw lots and lots of cybering.
Save your chat logs; they're being deleted in patch 5.0.4
If you're diligent in your record keeping where WoW is concerned, you probably have a bunch of saved chat or combat logs in your Logs folder. Well, back those suckers up, because when 5.0.4 hits, all of the data in that folder is being deleted. Nethaera provided this helpful notification on the official forums: Save Your Chat Logs With the upcoming release of patch 5.0.4, all items within the Logs Directory for World of Warcraft will be deleted. It is advised that if you have WoW Combat Logs or WoW Chat Logs that you would like to save, that you do so prior to the release of the patch. source It's not like saving them is a big deal, of course -- you can just move them to a new folder and you're fine. Good on Blizzard for letting us know, at least; now everyone can save their combat logs from Molten Core and their extended ERP sessions in Goldshire or whatever.
The Daily Grind: What if everyone turned over server logs?
One of the pieces of news that came out yesterday is the decision by SOE to fork over all server logs for the last four years of EverQuest II to a group of researchers from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In saying "server log" one would assume that this means not only your combat log, what you've stuffed into the bank or sent through the mail, but also the entirety of your chat logs; public channels, guild chat, and private tells. The question today is - even though it is completely acceptable for MMO companies to do so per their TOS/EULA, how would you feel were you to find out your MMO company forked over all their information - including all your private discussion - to researchers? Would it cause you to seriously reconsider your membership in their games, if not cancel outright? Or would you be entirely OK with it, so long as it were only being used for scientific research? Updated to reflect new information from SOE stating they did not release chat logs.
E308: Live reactions from the Nintendo conference
With our staff split -- some sitting in LA, waiting for the conference to begin, and others back at home watching via live stream, we decided to bring you something a little different this year: our live chat log. You'll get our reactions as Nintendo unveils their big hits at this year's E3, including impressions from JC and Dave as they get closer looks at everything as it happens. Reload often and share your own impressions in the comments!Hit the break for the chat log, and don't forget to bring your bingo card![Update: Chat is done! We'll be bringing you bingo and conference recaps soon!]
LotRO dev chat log gives more insight into Book 14 and Mines of Moria
The Stratics team is at it once again bringing us the most recent House of Commons dev chat log with the LotRO developers. In this one, we get some treats in regards to Book 14 information, and the highly-anticipated first true expansion to the game: Mines of Moria.So we're all busy people right? How about a quick summary of the topics in this log? An improved Monster Play login screen is in the works, with no definite timeframe yet. Since Book 13 focused so much on solo play, expect Book 14 to refocus on group play. Three new 6-man instances will be be introduced, as well as new deeds for the Urugarth, Carn Dum, Barad Gularan and Annuminas instances. Two new session instances will be introduced. These will not be at the level of the chicken play, but they do have plans for several more with MoM. One of the core focuses with MoM is character customization and improvements as far as traits and new features. The next Hobby is almost ready, with many more to come. Poison will not be introduced for the good guys, as it is restricted in Tolkien lore to evil use only. Check out the rest of this dev chat log for more information on each of these topics!
Addon Spotlight: ChatSettingsFix (Patch 2.4)
In this installment of Addon Spotlight, I wanted to give you all a chance to alleviate the irritation that came with Patch 2.4 and the changes to the chat log. Notorious addon developer Tekkub has put together a quick fix to force the chat frame to apply filters at login. This will also apply to ChatFrame2, your combat log. Blizzard tried unsuccessfully to fix the problems with the chat log in Patch 2.4.1, so until they work out the problems, this addon can be your solution. Here is Tekkub's write-up:'Patch 2.4 introduced a bug where ChatFrame1 does not apply channel filters on login. This addon forces them to be applied. It will check your game version and build and not run after patch 2.4.1 build 8125. If the bug is not fixed in the next patch, a new version will be released."A man of few words, but an active member of the WoW addon community nonetheless. He has his own site, as well as a collection on WoWInterface.com. I'm new to Tekkub's addons which are either aptly named or named with a unique, and borderline naughty, convention. However, this dev has been very proactive about his addons and responds quickly to changes in the game. Check out this addon if you've been struggling with the chat log and combat log changes since Patch 2.4. While you're at it, test drive some of Tekkub's other gadgets and let me know how they're treating you, as I'm in the process myself and would love to hear your opinion as well. Dismissed!
Lord of the Rings Online developer chat tonight
If you're a Lord of the Rings Online player, then be sure to check this one out if you've got the free time. Later today at 5pm Pacific (8pm Eastern) Allakhazam will be holding a developer chat with the LotRO team (in the #lotro channel) on their own IRC. The discussion will be focused on general topics, so we're not really sure what you can expect to get out of the dev-chat this time around. If you can't make it to the chat, there is bound to be a chat log released sometime afterwards. You can find more details on how to connect at the Allakhazam post over on their site.
Warcry's Vanguard developer interview chat-log available for perusing
A few days ago, the Warcry Network hosted an IRC chat with some of the developers and the team involved with Vanguard to hit them with some of the community's questions, and find out about the state of the game in general. There is now a chat log of this discussion available for you to find out exactly how the interview went.The log is 5 pages long, showing the extent to which the Vanguard team made themselves available, and the wealth of questions that Warcry had to ask. Some of the issues raised were PvP imbalances, leveling rates and the experience curve, notification of server downtimes and downtime length, and expansion questions, to some lighter stuff like what kind of scripted events the players can expect, and what "About Vanguard" comic the developers like best.It's a worthwhile read for any Vanguard fan, or anyone that has been away from the game and wants to see how it has changed, and will change in the future. Also, don't forget that past account holders have had their accounts reactivated until the 17th of January, so you can experience the efforts that are being made to improve the game first-hand.
