modifications
Latest
Fans dig out a hardware mouse in Final Fantasy XIV
One of the more regular complaints against Final Fantasy XIV's current open beta has been the lack of a hardware mouse. The currently implemented software mouse has certain issues, among them the fact that (like any software mouse) performance can vary wildly depending on your framerate within the game. Amidst all the clamoring of fans for an official fix, a fan looked into the code and realized that the game already has the support coded in... it's just not enabled. The fan-written patch to address the issue notes up front that it's an entirely unsupported change, will be wiped out by each new patch to the beta (patches have been coming almost every day), and simply enables the existing code hidden within the game client. There's also no word from Square-Enix at this time as to how the company views this alteration, as it technically falls under the aegis of being a non-permitted modification to the client. Still, if you're in the Final Fantasy XIV open beta and have little hope Square will activate the code on its own, a fix is being made available. [Thanks to Cliff and Amana for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: What game would you like to see go open source?
For a game long known for its emphasis on player-created content, mods, and even skills, the big Ryzom announcement perhaps should have been expected. But the revelation that the game was going into the murky waters of open source, albeit with a few omissions such as height maps and sound files, is a far-reaching one for almost any game not wholly built around user generation (a la Second Life). And it naturally leads to the question: what other games would be nice to have access to from the source code up. It opens a huge number of doors, everything from private servers to full-on rewrites of the game as a single-player experience. For knowledgable coders, it turns every single patch and design decision into something that can be modified by the players. The breadth of options is almost overwhelming. Of course, Ryzom is a niche title with a strong emphasis on these kinds of innovations, so in a way it's to be expected. But it's the closest we've seen to a mainstream game going this route -- so what would you like to see? An older game that could benefit from the publicity? A newer game you feel could be improved? Or a sadly-cancelled game whose source code could be used as a resurrection?
The Mog Log: A little more conversation
Well, gee, not much has happened since the last time we did a community spotlight in this column. Except maybe for that little VanaFest thing, and huge drops of new info on Final Fantasy XIV, and the beginning of the latter's beta testing. So, yeah, slow month all around. This should be a pretty short column, I might just start talking about my favorite beers toward the end. All joking aside, a lot has been happening, and it has produced more than a few diverse opinions. The immediate response to the VanaFest announcements for Final Fantasy XI was covered a couple weeks ago, but there's still the specifics to be hammered out. After all, it's hard to take in server merges, level cap raises, massive content drops and new add-ons all in one go. Not to mention that we do still have another game coming in the not-so-distant future, one that's shaping up to have an interesting positional aspect to gameplay. So let's take a look at some of the noteworthy talk from Final Fantasy's webwide community.
TUAW Tips: Get a better view with Quick Look
Quick Look is such an awesome feature of Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6, making it really fun and easy to view files and folders from anywhere on your Mac. But what happens when you have a folder with multiple items and want to get a better idea of what's inside? Well, you could always just open the folder in Finder, but there's a cool modification you can make to get an even quicker view. You can get this working on your Mac in a few simple steps: Quit/Relaunch Finder using the Force Quit menu Open Terminal Paste (or type) the following command: defaults write com.apple.Finder QLEnableXRayFolders 1 Relaunch Finder The contents of the folder will now be shown when you use Quick Look. In true Apple elegance, the files will even fade and cycle through the contents. [via Mac OS X Hints]
UC Irvine to compare WoW players from America, China
The University of California at Irvine has been granted $100,000 to study the differences between Chinese and American World of Warcraft players, according to the Orange County Register. The study will mostly focus on explaining why American players are much more likely to employ modifications such as Cosmos than Chinese players are, but project lead Bonnie Nardi made some interesting observations outside the scope of this particular endeavor.For example, she noted that Chinese players are for some reason more likely to talk about the aesthetic appearance of the game than are Americans. Whereas American players often play with their children, parents, or siblings, Chinese players are unlikely to do that. "The older generation dislikes video games," she said, and playing with siblings is obviously rare since most Chinese of the gaming generation have none."The vast majority of Chinese players are not gold farmers," she said. "They're ordinary players like anyone. The media has blown that story out of all proportion. Many people think Chinese play for a job. They play for fun." Enlightening stuff. We're looking forward to seeing what else comes out of her research.[Via Ten Ton Hammer] One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Forum post of the day: Get your motor runnin'
I love motorcycles. Always have, and I probably always will. I was very excited to see that Blizzard is introducing them in Wrath of the Lich King. I'll probably spec engineering on most of my characters just to make my own little biker gang. Wouldn't it be great to see a guild rolling around looking like Fel's Angels? But how would others know you are a guild? Stonewhisper of Scarlet Crusade suggested some additional accessories from other crafters. I like his idea of having guild jackets for raiding. He also suggested using engineering for performance modifications. Something like a rocket fuel for a nitrous-oxide-like speed boost.* I could see a world of after-market parts for WoW bikes: blacksmiths could sell sissy seats and wheelie bars. Tailors could make saddle bags to add to carrying capacity. Taurens and Draenei would probably need some kind of suspension upgrade.
Forum post of the day: Doomsprocket's Dilemma
I have this annoying habit of taking things for granted. For instance, have you ever really thought about how wonderful bone marrow is? My hands, feet, heart, and all the other parts work just the way they should. What would WoW be like if I couldn't use both hands? Doomsprockt of Mauradin faced just such a dilemma. He (Jaime) was in a struck by a car in an accident that left him paralyzed on the left side of hisbody. Among the challenges of recovery, Doomsprocket sought to regain access to WoW, but his first solution, a frog-pad failed to do the trick. He appealed to the Mac Technical Support forums for assistance.
Xbox 360 crammed into laptop form
Master of all things portable and playable, Ben Heckendorn has managed to create an Xbox 360 laptop within the space of three months. The unit weighs approximately 14 pounds, is 2.8 inches thick and, more importantly, can play Dead Rising. Through an intricate process that undoubtedly involved soldering, bending and the use of arcane magic, Ben combined the 17" HD monitor, Wi-Fi adapter, a keyboard and a water-cooling system with the innards of an Xbox 360 to produce what is likely one of the least productive (and possibly best) laptop devices we've seen yet -- this stance will likely change should robotic lap dancers suddenly become the norm.Ben's official site seems to be taking a hammering, but the page dedicated to his latest creation still appears to be functional. If you encounter problems when viewing the images (none of which depict the system placed on an actual lap), wait a few moments and refresh. If you're wondering how exactly he put it all together, you'd best start reading the article right from the beginning.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Top 10 strangest Mac mods
Behold, ladies and gentlemen: the Top 10 strangest Mac mods at TechBlog. Johnathan Ive's blood would surely boil if he were to feast his eyes on such mutant Mac modifications as the NecroMac of the PowerMac G4 Aquarium!I know we've linked to a few of these in the past as we heard about them, but it's nice to see them all in one big list - and ranked.
