Sites
Latest
Allakhazam gets a refresh
Well, this was certainly unexpected. Allakhazam, one of the WoW database sites that has been around the longest, has undergone a complete revamp. There are all sorts of new features, including: User-editable pages Tagging Profiles, with 3D model viewer and upgrade searching Not to mention a re-skin which makes it look much more up-to-date. That's not all – they're currently running a contest, wherein every contribution to their wiki, forum, or comments, for the entire month of June, has a chance to win one of the following: One of 72 60-day game cards One of three Wii Galaxy bundles Grand prize: a gamer-friendly laptop So go forth, and make Allakhazam a more complete site. Overall, I like the redesign; it makes Allakhazam feel much more relevant, and helps answer the quest of what's going to differentiate it from sister sites Wowhead and Thottbot. I'll still probably go to Wowhead most of the time, but that's just me.
Wowhead says Bonjour, Hola, and Guten Tag
The good people at Wowhead, WoW database extraordinaire, have just warned me that the French, the Spanish, and the Germans are invading! OK, not really. Actually, the site is set to go live with localizations in those three languages, which will appear in the next 24 hours. You will then be able to read descriptions of quests, spells, and items, and everything else on that marvelous site, in any of those languages (plus of course English). Each language will have its own comment thread on each page, although the forums will remain English-only. I imagine this will come as welcome news to the many WoW players out there who do not have English as a first language; even on the North American realms, there seem to be a fair amount of French speakers. Hooray for multilingualism!
WoWWiki levels up
Those of you who have been around for a little while will no doubt know about one of the most useful resources in this World of Warcraft: WoWWiki. If you're new to the party, let me tell you about it. WoWWiki is, as the name suggests, a wiki about all things Warcraft. From boss strategies to patch history to insanely detailed lore, if it's about the Warcraft series, it's probably on there somewhere. And if not, it's a wiki, so you can write it yourself!The occasion for this particular post is that they have just completed some major upgrades to their software and infrastructure. Here are the highlights: WoWWiki is now hosted in a distributed fashion across the Wikia network, which should mean more stability and less chance of catastrophic failure. A new default skin, which looks nice and classy. The OpenSearch plugin is now working again, so you can add WoWWiki as a search engine in Firefox or IE (though I still prefer Firefox's search keywords). Click on the menu by your search field while browsing WoWWiki to check it out. A proper sidebar menu, with links to important parts of the site. This fixes my single biggest complaint about the site, which is that it was hard to navigate. The sidebar is also now customizable; users can pick which widgets they want to see over there, and in what order. This is very cool. A new version of MediaWiki, which brings many feature improvements and bug fixes. Head on over and check it out! And thanks to Kirkburn and everyone else who has helped make WoWWiki such a fantastic site.
Popular hunter pet site Petopia gets a facelift, new informational pages
Here's a nice little bit of news for all leveling Hunters, people looking into starting a hunter alt, or people looking to switch out or tweak out their current pet: the popular depository of all things Hunter pet related in WoW, Petopia, has gotten a facelift and a few handy new reference pages. The quick links and references seem to be a lot more streamlined now, and it should be even easier to find information. Some pages are still making the transition, and some of the pet pictures have not been updated to the new color scheme, but Mania assures us she is working on that. In the meantime, she's also added a few new pages to the library, namely the Retired Pet page and the "Fake" Pet Skills page. The former deals with formerly tamable pets that can no longer be tamed, while the latter deals with pet skills that are present during the newbie hunter taming quests, but not on any permanently tamed pet. I rather like both of the new pages. Not only should the information be helpful (if sad) to any newbie wondering where they can get that awesome ghost wolf, but the pages were a nice walk down memory lane for this old hunter. I remember when I made first Tauren Hunter, I was always disappointed that Swoop wasn't an actual bird pet skill, and I was considering a pet crab for my Dwarf Hunter at one point, and would have loved to have a thorny pet to add a bit more damage and threat power for tanking. Crabs could probably use some love anyway, as they seem to be competing with the likes of Sporebats and Bears for most neglected pet family. But anyway, if you're a Hunter, and you haven't checked out Petopia in a while, it's worth a look, there's some pretty cool stuff going on over there.
Curse launches oddly familiar WoW database
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Curse_rips_off_Wowhead_in_new_site'; There are quite a few WoW database sites out there. Thottbot was the first big one that I was aware of; other big sites include Allakhazam, the Goblin Workshop, and of course Wowhead. Then there are some lesser-known contenders (at least to me; it took me a bit to come up with them), like WoWd.org, WarCry (I use their news constantly, but never saw the database), GameAmp, WoW Guru, WoWDigger, and TenTonHammer (again, I know TTH for news, but didn't know they had a DB).And now Curse, long one of the big names in Add-On and news sites, is throwing their hat into the ring with the very capitalized WOWDB, which appears to be in beta right now. It seems like a pretty complete database; it's got all the items, quests, NPCs, and so on that you would expect from a serious act like Curse. But hold on a minute, doesn't it looks a bit similar to a certain other WoW database site of which Curse doesn't seem to be too fond? (Update: Curse has contacted us to say that the linked article wasn't written by anyone on their staff-- instead, it was posted by a user of their site, and that they have no ill will towards Affinity Media or Wowhead). Ignore the Wrath of the Lich King-esque blues for a second, and...oh. Oh dear. Well, at least it's a good design they're copying from, I suppose. See the gallery below for more comparison screenshots. What do you guys think -- is this within the bounds of inspiration and homage, or a blatant rip-off? Update: Someone named Kody, who claims to be a representative of Curse, has appeared in our comments, and claims that Curse has obtained an "exclusive content contract" with WoWWiki for the use of their information. An interesting claim, especially since most of the content on WoWWiki (written by users) should be covered under Wikia's terms of use and the GNU Free Documentation License, and thus available for use to anyone who credits and sources it. We've sent requests to both Kody and WoWWiki for more information.Another update after the jump.%Gallery-15333%
Wowhead evolves again
The best WoW database site (in my opinion) just got better. Several features have been added to Wowhead over the past couple days; as the site's "Adorable Bearcat Overlord" Miyari notes, they are perhaps not strictly essential (her term is "icing"), but nice to have anyway. My favorite addition is that users' comments will now be annotated with the patch number that was in effect when the comment was made, so you can more easily spot information that might be outdated (see screenshot).Alchemical recipes that are attained via discovery are now noted as such under the "source" tab, and the corresponded spells will state their provenance as well. Elixirs will now be annotated as to whether they are Battle or Guardian elixirs. Pet skills will now show which pets can learn the skill, as well as which mobs can teach the skill. And finally, tradeskill spells will show at what skill levels they change from orange to yellow, green, and gray. I say well done, Wowhead folks! If you have any ideas for how Wowhead can improve, hit up the their Site Feeback forum.
Multisite and iWebSites for iWeb now supports '08 version
For most users, iWeb keeps things simple by creating and managing a single, all-encompassing site file stored in your home directory. The downside for anyone who would like to create more than one site with iWeb, however, is that the app doesn't offer any easy way to do so; users have to drill into ~/Library/Application Support/iWeb/ and either manually move or delete the single site file in that folder, or pick up an app like Multisite for iWeb or iWebSites. Both of these apps allow you to easily create independent iWeb site files that can be published to different local folders and subsequently uploaded with external FTP apps to anywhere you chose. Fortunately, both apps have just been updated to work with the new iWeb '08, though note that iWebSites is at a 2.2 alpha stage, as the developer isn't positive all the kinks have been worked out yet. While I haven't used either of these apps, a quick perusal of their features sets reveals that iWebSites has a unique trick up its sleeve: it can merge two different iWeb site files into one, though it apparently can take a while. Anyone have experience with these apps?Multisite for iWeb is available from Clarkwood Software for $19.95 with a demo available, while iWebSites is offered as donationware from Cocoadrillo Software.
New database site: WoWDigger
For those of you who are still a little uncomfortable about Wowhead, here's a new alternative. By IncGamers, the people behind the venerable WorldofWar.net, WoWDigger aims to fulfill your databse needs and then some:WoWDigger is not only a World of Warcraft game database, but also a place where your character matters. Upload your character and see your recipes, quest log, bank, talents and more!. Choose what information you share with your friends, the WoW community or your guild!IncGamers has always been staunchly anti-RMT (real money transfer), so you don't have to worry about that when using their sites; they promise that "There will be at no point gold selling adverts or any affilition to gold selling on WoWDigger." And with "choose what information you share..." in their description, they seem to be taking a bit of a jab at the Armory, with its privacy concerns. Furthermore, they are trying to keep the site banner-free:As you may have noticed the site contains no banners. We intend to keep the site this way as best we can with the backing of the community. If you like the site and use it you can help the dev team by pressing the donate button on the right, this will go to cover server hosting costs. We know such a site like this is resource hungry but are going to do our best to keep the site ad free. Overall it looks like a decent site; a little bare-bones in terms of content at the moment, of course, because it just started, but once it gets off the ground it might provide a nice alternative to the Affinity triad. Personally, I plan to still use Wowhead (due to design, speed, and content), but more options never hurt. [via Into the Web]
Wowhead sold for $1M? Update: Confirmed.
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Wowhead_sold_for_1_million'; We're still waiting for official confirmation on this, but word is that Wowhead, my favorite WoW database, was just sold to Affinity Media for around $1 million. The source claims to have worked at IGE back in the day, so he seems somewhat credible. The rub here is that Affinity Media used to own IGE, the notorious gold dealing empire, but according to this Gamasutra interview from a few weeks ago, they sold IGE, and "If you go to any of our sites, you'll never see a gold-selling ad." Affinity Media also owns Thottbot and Allakhazam, so if this rumor of Wowhead acquisition is correct, they will now own all three of the major databases. So far we have no official confirmation of this story; WoW Insider is trying to reach both Wowhead and Affinity Media for comment. But if the rumors are true, our supposed last refuge against gold sellers may have just been sold.[ Thanks, Ahmed! ]Update: Wowhead has posted a confirmation on their front page and says that since IGE is "out of the picture," they decided to join Affinity Media's ZAM content network. They also promise more information later today.
Final Opera browser showdown with the PS3
So we're pretty happy with the Wii browser, and apparently you guys are too. Still, it's not a PC, and there are sites out there with whom our Opera browser doesn't play happily. It only features Flash 7.0, after all, and Java is a no-go. Still, can it handle some of the most popular sites out there? Games Digest takes the Wii browser on a spin through fifteen of the most popular sites in today's intertubes, and compares its performance with the PS3's built-in browser. We won't spoil the outcome.We're actually quite surprised at the Wii's performance at Last.fm, essentially radio over the internet. If you've got a killer sound system hooked up to your TV, you can set the jams on high and rock out. Just like we do. Check out which sites are Wii-friendly, and which not! You might be surprised.
April Fools Alert #4: Blizzard buys Wowhead
Skosiris of Wowhead graciously let us know that they are being bought by Blizzard, for no less than nine million dollars! This is great news for my favorite WoW data site. In addition, Skosiris and Evilseed will be joining Blizzard as WoW's new lead class designers. They promise the following immediate improvements: Removal of the Hunter class Implementation of Pandaren as a playable race New Engineering schematic for Mages to let them create an actual vending machine Kudos, Wowhead, for making it big-time. I hope this doesn't affect the quality of your layout, though; make sure not to let Blizzard's web designers near your site. And as far as Hunters go -- it's about time!
Wii Warm Up: Your sites of choice
In our happy pastel-colored dreamworld, every one of our devoted readers checks naught but our RSS feed every seven minutes and twenty seconds. No other site even enters your minds! But alas, such may not be the case. We're tough enough to accept it.With that in mind, where do you guys head for the rest of your news? Our mother-site Joystiq covers the breadth of gaming for most, but there are also rival blogs: Kotaku, Destructoid, and the lot. Or do you prefer more professional, down-to-Earth sites like Gamespot or IGN? Where do we rank on your list of awesomeness? We'd also like to take this opportunity to remind you about tips. We comb the intertron (and on occasion, the real world!) every single day, looking for the finest filet mignon of news stories to bring to you, our readers. Alas, our paltry few bloggers are nothing compared to your vast legions.The link is small and sadly difficult to find; many readers have no idea it even exists. But check it out: in the column directly to the right of the main posts, under "Resources", is a small "Send us news tips" link. Use it! If you send us a hot story or interesting article, we'll bake you cookies credit you with the tip in the post and you'll be totally famous.
iWeb 1.1 can handle multiple site databases
I was pretty darn happy with iWeb's update the other day, and good news of feature enhancements is still cropping up. Comments on my review of iWeb's new features pointed out such handy additions as a pop-up calendar when clicking on a blog post's date - great for adjusting its schedule. There are also six new themes that add some much appreciated diversity to iWeb's style.Then today I noticed this Apple Support document that details iWeb 1.1's ability to handle more than one website/database file. Now, you can create multiple database files and work on them separately. In fact, you can keep these files anywhere you want to; not just in your Application Support folder.Check out the Apple Support document for details on how to create a second iWeb database and how to handle working with multiple sites. There are a couple of minor gotcha's, but overall, this should be good news for anyone who wants to use iWeb to create and manage multiple, completely separate websites (publishing to non-.Mac locations, of course).
iLife 06 Tip: Edit iWeb sites on more than one Mac
I've been poking around in iWeb to create a wedding site for my fiance and I. While I really like the app, I share one of the big peeves around the web: sites created in it are only edit-able on the originating Mac.Thankfully, MacOSXHints has come to the rescue again, with a fairly simple method for giving your iWeb sites some portability so you can edit them on more than one Mac. Basically, the tip involves tracking down where the iWeb support/package file lives in your Home directory, moving it to something like a flash drive and creating an alias (of sorts) so iWeb is none the wiser.While this is a fairly simple work-around, I second MacOSXHInts' call to Apple: this really needs to be enabled natively so a work-around like this doesn't have to exist.
