scenic
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Woot.com lines up $60 Blu-ray player, 4 for $10 Blu-ray disc sales
For tightfisted HD fans, Woot.com has a treat. Just a few minutes ago it posted two daily deals on Blu-ray, with the Magnavox NB500 player that we thought was a value at $128 two years ago on sale as a refurb for $59.99, and four "HD Over:" scenic Blu-ray discs for $9.99, plus $5 shipping on the discs or the player. A Bonus View (Profile 1.1) Blu-ray player from two years ago isn't going to compare to the latest and greatest, but at just six Hamiltons we're sure there will be a few of you clicking "I want one!"
Building MMO landscape scenes
Landscapes have been a staple component of almost every MMO in recent memory. With the exception of some sci-fi titles, most MMOs take place on the land of some imagined island or continent. Some use stylised fantasy landscapes that run smoothly on even low-end computers while others have managed almost photo-realistic visuals at the cost of performance. But have you ever thought about what's going on behind the scenes in your favourite MMO? Most of us don't think about how the computer is actually drawing the terrain we run around on. We don't give much thought to the different ways each MMO renders the water in lakes, rivers and oceans. And just how does your computer render so many trees and plants without grinding to a halt? As part of my masters degree in computer science, I got to grips with a number of these techniques and found it a fascinating thing to learn about. Now when I play a new game or see MMO screenshots, I can't help but think about what the computer is doing in the background and how particular visual effects could have been achieved. In this technical article, I talk about some of the components of an MMO landscape scene and a few of the techniques used in creating the graphics behind them.
Building MMO landscape scenes, part 2
From oceans and rivers to ponds and puddles, water is one of those things that really improves an MMO's visual quality. Practically every fantasy MMO makes use of water in one way or another and they all do it a little differently. This gives the appearance that the water is moving and I've seen the technique in World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2 and a few other MMOs.
Forum Post of the Day: Setting the mood
We've asked before where people would like to live or vacation in Azeroth, and have gotten a surprising variety of responses. There are many lovely, scenic, and adventurous places that would be fantastic to visit. But is there anywhere you'd like to go on a date? Sildurcausius of EU-Arathor (who needs an easier name to spell) asked on the EU-General forums where he should take his girl on a date in WoW. He said that he's bought a tux and some fireworks for the occasion. Amazingly enough, the responses offered some great suggestions: Delilan of Nordrassil, "On the cliffs at Hinterlands is very preeeetty at sunset on a clear day..And feels like a romantic sorta place.." (followed by "Cant believe I just typed that") Nyala of Steamwheedle Cartel, "In Feralas, the Twin Colossals. There is an npc near them that will teleport you to the top of one of the colossals. At the top is an npc who sells parachutes that allow you to jump down safely." Erinys of Vashj, "The view from the hunting lodge balcony in loch modan is pretty especially at sunset and sunrise." Thundernut of Quel'Thalas, "Perpetual autumn, very nice trees here. The sky is an orange/pinkish glow at night. If you like water an island in the bay of storms also gives a pretty view.
Scenic Routes
I had the unique pleasure of helping out an MMORPG newbie in the game today, and while we were running around Darkshire, they couldn't help but gush on & on about the sheer beauty of some of the scenery in the game. The waterfall north of Auberdine, the view from the Hippogriff route to Darnassus; they talked about it like an actual tourist on vacation. It made me realize that, I've been playing this game for so long now, that I almost take the scenery for granted.So much care & detail went into even some of the most obscure & remote areas of the game, and there are plenty of spectacular views & vistas throughout the land. What are some of your favorite scenic spots or landmarks in the game? Any places you'd take a new player to try and really dazzle them? Give me some ideas, here...
