deciphering
Latest
Alt-week 27.10.12: ancient texts, super-Earths and special-ops mice
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. If, like us, you struggle to read the front of the Corn Flakes box of a morning, you likely gave up any hope of cracking ancient codes long ago. If you didn't, however, then your time might be now -- as one of the oldest scripts know to man is still up for grabs. Prefer just to observe? No problem, as we've got super-Earth-searching satellites, military mice and vertical farms, all for your viewing reading pleasure. If you hadn't guessed already, this is alt-week
Maps and quest levels explained for Final Fantasy XIV
Since the earliest days of MMOs, players have asked a very simple question: "Where the heck am I?" And thankfully, the ubiquitous in-game map is there to provide an answer to the question. Of course, it's all too easy to feel a bit lost anyway with Final Fantasy XIV's maps, which are long on flavor and in-game writing and a bit short on what the various symbols actually mean. So the most recent developer dispatch on the official player site has clarified the symbols on the map and helped explain where to find crucial information. In addition, the dispatch covers the game's strength-indicating icons for monsters, as well as the intervals for new quests. There are also unlocking intervals for new class-specific guildleves, both regional and local. It's a good incentive to continue leveling a few classes instead of dabbling too broadly, something that's a definite possibility with Final Fantasy XIV's permissive cross-class system. Take a look at the full dispatch for more details on the most recent round of developer-answered questions.
