vultures
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The 3D-printed eggs that could save vultures from extinction
It's hard to drum up sympathy for vultures. They do, after all, feast on the carcasses of dead (and diseased) animals. But at the International Centre for Birds of Prey in the UK, conservationists are hoping to keep extinction at bay for one African species by 3D printing vulture eggs. The replicas, which are made to simulate the same shape, weight and feel of actual vulture eggs, pack sensors inside (kinda like a Kinder surprise egg, except not at all) to gather data on the complicated incubation process. Wired reports that researchers at the ICBP have already begun testing these faux eggs on captive vultures to cull temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, carbon dioxide, light and rotation data -- all transmitted wirelessly -- for its captive breeding program.
The Lions of Kheshatta eat people
As with all things in Age of Conan, the lions of Kheshatta are not to be taken lightly -- or in otherwords don't mess with these cats. They're big, mean and have no issue with turning your body into a bloodied, mangled, vulture magnet. Should you decide to confront one of these lions, it would be a good idea to keep in mind that they hunt in packs -- or prides -- and will generally fight in numbers. Fair? No, but who said anything about primal beasts being good sports?We're pretty big on lore here at Massively, it's something of a passion for us -- especially when it's Robert E. Howard related lore. So to say we get a kick out of reading these new lore bits is like saying dragons are kind of popular among fantasy fans.
How would a Starcraft MMO work?
Speculation over Blizzard's upcoming MMO continues unabated, even with the lack of anything new to feed upon. The biggest hope, I dare to say, is that it's going to be Starcraft that gets the treatment, even if it's still a long way away from release. Starcraft holds fast in many gamers' hearts, including mine, so it's only natural to want more. But when actually considering the possibility, how would it play out?Our Krystalle has already given this a glance over on WoW Insider, and our recent Ask Massively asked a similar question, but I'd like to take it deeper. Let's take World of Warcraft as a point of comparison and see if we can run down this mythical beast.
"A challenge based on an influenced probability reliant on time investment"
What is that crazy assortment of buzzwords in the title of this post, you ask? You already know-- you probably spent a lot of time playing it this weekend. That, says Drysc, is what WoW is.When Nickleplate of Bloodscalp posted the perennial question of why we're still stuck killing n boars for x eyes, Drysc responds with a pretty insightful (some might say cynical) comment: we're doing it to waste time. Why doesn't every vulture you kill drop a tailfeather to collect? Because quests are designed to take time to do them, and to reward you when you invest that time.Now, I hope Drysc doesn't really think that about this game-- saying quests are designed to steal free time is like saying Jack Bauer defeats terrorists because the script says so. Jack Bauer defeats terrorists because he's Jack Bauer, and we're completing quests because in WoW, we're heroes and that's what heroes do. We aren't really "waiting for those eyes to drop"-- we're supposed to be collecting them to save a village or earn a new faction's respect so we can better save the world.But leave it to Drysc to rain on the parade. Most players, I think, want and get more out of WoW than just a simple timesink-- they want to have fun with (or play against) friends, experience building a character in a story, or simply develop a strategy (... on how better to obtain boar eyes, maybe, but a strategy nonetheless). I ask for more than "a challenge based on an influenced probability reliant on time investment" from WoW, and most of the time, I get it. Do you ask for more? And do you get it?
