Summon
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Tesla's Summon upgrade turns vehicles into remote-controlled cars
Tesla's self-parking Summon feature is getting an upgrade, and it'll be ready in less than six weeks. In a series of tweets, chief executive Elon Musk revealed that the beefed-up feature will now allow vehicles to drive around parking lots, find empty spots and read parking signs. "Car will drive to your phone location & follow you like a pet if you hold down summon button on Tesla app," he wrote, without giving any further details.
Tesla's Model 3 can now park itself with Summon feature
Tesla tweeted today that the Summon feature is now available in its Model 3. The feature, which was already available in the Model S and Model X, lets Tesla owners have their cars park themselves. With Summon, a Tesla vehicle can also control garage doors, drive in or out of the garage and power down without the need for a driver behind the wheel. Tesla began rolling Summon out to Model 3s last month.
Tesla's Model 3 catches up on Autopilot and WiFi features
Tesla is still rushing to give the Model 3 some of the features you might take for granted in its EV stablemates. As part of a broader update across the lineup (including increased Autopilot nagging), Model 3 units now support a few key features, most notably Summon -- that is, the ability to move the car into and out of a parking space using either Tesla's phone app or the key. It's been something of a given for Model S and X drivers, but it'll definitely be appreciated if you'd rather not contort yourself to enter the 3 in a small garage.
Latest Tesla patch enables Autosteer at 80 mph for HW2 models
The new Autopilot features have been lurking in Tesla's latest electric vehicles for a few months and now they're ready to go live. For HW2 vehicles we're talking things like the Lane Departure Warning system, Autosteer at much higher speeds (80mph versus the previous 55mph), Auto Lane Change and the Summon feature. Auto Lane Change, as you might expect, will swap lanes after you activate the turn signal while in Autopilot. Summon is pretty self-explanatory as well, activating a self-parking-and-retrieval system that you can control via the Tesla mobile app or your key fob. The newer HW2 vehicles (produced after October 18th, 2016) rolled off the assembly line with better sensors and cameras, but this new patch brings the functionality up to par with the older HW1 models.
Tesla update helps users avoid self-parking mistakes
Tesla has issued an update for the "Summon" mode on its Model X and Model S vehicles, according to a Reddit user. The feature instructs your vehicle to autonomously park or come to you like Kitt from Knight Rider (though only at one mph for 33 feet). You now must confirm the vehicle's travel direction on the touchscreen, which should make users think twice about what's around them. The fix may be a response to a Utah user whose Model S rolled into the back of a trailer in "Summon" mode.
Tesla Autopilot promo shows what it can do for your commute
Why let fans make the videos when you can do it yourself? Tesla Motors just made public a new video -- if it ever runs as a TV ad, it could be the company's first one -- promoting its Autopilot feature that does a lot of the driving on its own. Now, there have been some (mostly driver caused) hiccups in the rollout, other cars have some similar features and the ability to summon your car from NY to LA is still pending. But, the video does do a realistic job of showing what Autopilot is actually capable of: hit Summon, the car turns on and pulls out of the garage, leading to hassle-free driving on a closed-access highway with automated lane changes, with self parallel parking at the end. In the video it doesn't seem to show the driver actually letting go of the wheel, which is also probably a good call. Elon Musk says Autopilot is a "super high priority" and now Tesla is making sure people know about it.
Tesla hopes cars will drive themselves cross-country by 2018
Tesla only just introduced the ability to summon your car from its parking spot, but it already has much, much larger ambitions. Company chief Elon Musk is predicting that the Model S' just-introduced Summon feature will work anywhere within two years, or around 2018. As he puts it, you could ask your electric vehicle in New York City to meet you in Los Angeles -- so long as you could afford to wait a couple of days, you wouldn't have to budge. The company's snake-like automatic chargers would keep the EV running on these lengthy journeys.
Tesla's Model S now drives up to meet you
When Tesla first unveiled its semi-autonomous driving upgrades for the Model S, it made much ado over the ability to summon your car -- you wouldn't have to go into the garage (or walk across a large parking space) just to get moving. Well, that option is finally here. The newly available 7.1 update adds a Summon feature to the Autopilot that has the EV drive itself to meet you, or park in typical spaces. It'll even open and close your HomeLink-compatible garage door. You have to be within 39 feet of your target for this to work (it won't fetch your car from the back of the company parking lot), but you may never have to grapple with narrow parking spaces again.
Final Fantasy XI launches the October version update
If you're an avid Final Fantasy XI player and you've missed your Wings of the Goddess characters, you'll be happy to know that you're getting a big dose of nostalgia in the game's most recent update. A new quest has been added that allows Summoners to call forth Atomos and everyone to summon Lilisette's Alter Ego, provided that you've already finished off the Wings of the Goddess missions. And that's only the metaphorical tip of the iceberg. The October update also rolls out new battlefields pitting players against Ifrit Prime, Shiva Prime, Titan Prime, Ramuh Prime, Garuda Prime, and Leviathan Prime at a higher level of difficulty. There are also several job improvements, including wide-scale buffs to pets over level 100, weapon skill improvements (such as Puppetmasters getting an A+ rank in Fists), and other assorted buffs (Ninja shuriken are now far more attractive and usable). Take a look at the full update notes for more fixes, improvements, and general buffs.
C9 introduces the Nightstalker
Webzen announced a new advanced class for its dungeon-based MMO Continent of the Ninth Seal, today. The Nightstalker is a mid-range class that can summon companions and absorb them for added boosts and skill gain. To help celebrate the Nightstalker's launch, the publisher is giving away an item code that can unlock free in-game rewards "including 10 Resurrection Scrolls, 5 Extreme Training Potions (100%) (one hour), Town Travel Level 1 (three days) and School look gear set (seven days)." Special prizes are also reserved for anyone who can get their Nightstalker to level 50. Both of these promotions run from now until March 26. Check out the Nightstalker in action during the video after the jump. [Source: Webzen press release]
The Mog Log: We all live in a community submarine
This week, like the week before, has seen an explosion of controversy about Final Fantasy XIV. I have not really taken part, as I have been far too busy playing Final Fantasy XIV to care one way or the other. But after a month of people's impressions, it seems like the perfect time to dive back into the meat of the community topics -- much like we did last month around the same time, as a matter of fact. Sadly, Final Fantasy XI has been fairly quiet, both due to the anger generation systems its successor features and due to a general sense of community burnout. After all, we're about two months away from another version update, and thus far we've heard nothing about what's due for December. Still, jump on past the cut for discussions about Final Fantasy XI as well as FFXIV, with the usual dosage of commentary to accompany each.
Sixth-year Veteran Rewards announced for EQII
If you've faithfully stayed with EverQuest II since launch, then you've got a handful of new Veteran Rewards to look forward to just around the corner. The sixth-year rewards have been announced on EQ2Players, and one of the bonus items in particular has the community cheering. Beginning with that most celebrated item, the rewards are: Call of the Veteran: A charm-slot item that can be used to teleport to a group-member, or summon them to your own location. This functionality was confirmed by EverQuest II lead programmer Rothgar on the forums; the EQ2Players page only mentions teleporting to someone else but leaves out the summoning part. It has a reuse time of 60 minutes. Hammer of Adept Hands: A charm-slot item that can be clicked to completely refill your tradeskill vitality. Its reuse time is 7 days. Destiny Accessory Bag, containing the Hood of Fate and Shroud of Fate: A hood and cloak to let those around you know that you're part of the six-year club. Rothgar also stated in another thread that up until some time this year, eligibility for veteran rewards was not being tallied correctly, with credit being given even while accounts were inactive. Going forward, an account must be actively subscribed to keep adding time towards veteran rewards. The rewards will be available when the Will of a Tyrant patch goes live on December 9th.
Addon Spotlight: DagAssist
Addon Spotlight takes a look at the little bits of Lua and XML that make our interfaces special. From bar mods to unit frames and beyond, if it goes in your Addons folder, we'll cover it here. I love it when people send in tips for cool addons. There was a time when I could subscribe to the RSS feed for an addon site and check out each new mod as it came out, but the scene is too big now; I'd be at it all day. Today we'll look at DagAssist, which was submitted by Rodney earlier this afternoon. DagAssist puts a single, quite attractive button on your minimap that, when clicked, opens a pop-up menu containing things like: Teleports and portals, for mages Summons for warlocks Profession skills Hearthstone You can see what it looks like for my warlock at right.
Blizzard opens up old instances to soloers, changes quest items
Blue poster Daelo has good news for people aiming to solo old instances -- Blizzard has made a few changes to the way keys and unlocks work in the old dungeons, so that you no longer need keys or multiple people to get to the good stuff. The rituals in Blackrock Spire and Uldaman only require one click now, and quintessence (in Molten Core to summon Executus before the Ragnaros fight), the Scepter of Celebras (in Maraudon), and the Mallet of Zul'Farrak (in the ZF, obviously) are no longer needed to do their jobs. Additionally, Nightbane will be accessible in Karazhan without the Blackened Urn.Some may be disappointed that items we worked so hard for are now pretty much useless, but as you probably know by now, that's the way of things when an expansion hits. The good news, obviously, is that people running through instances solo or with just a few people will be able to hit all the content they couldn't get to before. And if you happen to be running the content, you won't need to worry about whether you left the Mallet in the bank or forgot the Scepter on a Princess run.And unfortunately, collectors will be left out as well -- most of the items will actually change form into weapons or other useless objects, so even if you have the old items, they won't be usable in the same way. Sure, the Mallet was a pain to get, but it'll be a little sad to see it disappear in the way we know it forever.
Solving the holiday boss summon problem
We've heard about a lot of problems with the Headless Horseman summon this year already (and Coren Direbrew had issues as well), but Kimberly over on WoW LJ has the worst story I've heard so far -- a group asked her to heal, claimed they all had summons, and then after killing the HH with her summon, ditched her, presumably to find some other sucker with a summon. That's not just scamming someone into taking you along for a round of summons (as we heard about in Guildwatch yesterday), it's actually scamming someone out of the rest of their chances, because, assuming Kimberly is honest for the rest of the day, why would another group take her?So this is clearly a problem. Let's fix it for Blizzard: how can we make sure everyone has five chances a day at summoning the Headless Horseman (one per day per group member) without ripping off people for helping their guildies or friends? Basically, we need a clear way of seeing whether someone has a summon or not -- maybe a debuff that resets at midnight every night, or a changing number of candles on the pedestal based on how many people in the instance can still do the daily quest? Right now, there's no accountability at all, and with droprates the way they are, getting screwed out of another chance at the HH (or even four chances, in the worst cases) can make the difference between having the achievement and not.Any other good ideas on how to solve this problem and keep players accountable? I'm sure players with less than upright morals have no problem claiming their brother used their summon or lying to steal the summons of others, but it would be a lot more fair for everyone if the possibility for scamming wasn't there at all.
Guildwatch: Slow going
It's a little silly, we admit, to say "every time an expansion patch comes around," because this is really only the second time it's happened, but every time an expansion patch comes around, guild action slows down a bit, and as a result, this week (and probably the next few weeks) will find Guildwatch poking around for a little more guild news.But the good news is that lots of guilds are taking advantage of the easier endgame, so if yours is, be sure to drop us a line at wowguildwatch@gmail.com -- no down is too small, and no drama is too minor. Whether it's your guild or someone else's, we want to hear about it, and then post it here on GW for all to see.
Ask WoW Insider: Loot rolls and seasonal boss summons
Time once again to put a question to you, dear readers, and see what you have to say about a current issue in the World of Warcraft. This time around, Rylia has a question about loot ethics with seasonal bosses -- everyone and their guildie is taking down the Headless Horseman (making the Scarlet Graveyard an actual destination, strangely), and Rylia wants to know what the policy is when an item drops:What's your group loot policy for seasonal bosses? (a) Use the usual in-game loot roller; everyone roll Need on the rare items (mounts, small pets, etc.) (b) Whoever summons the boss for that particular attempt gets the rare item drop from that attempt. The logic behind (b) is that it prevents people who've used up their daily summons from getting more than one chance per day (and thus making their groupmates get less than one chance per day). If someone who didn't have a summon in your seasonal group wins a rare roll, do you think that's a ninja?RyliaPersonally, I think all the summons should get settled before you enter the instance -- if you invite someone in without a summon (for example, because they're a tank, and you just need them rather than waiting for a tank with a summon), they're a part of the group after that and have as much chance as anyone else to win a roll. And yes, if an item drops that someone can use, it should be a Need roll. So if that mount drops, everyone's got a chance to win it. That's just me, though -- I can see the point about someone without a summon taking loot from people who entered with a summon.Though I have no idea what to do if a mount and pet drops on the same run -- would the person who won one not get a chance on the second? What think you, readers, both of general loot rules on season bosses and of Rylia's summon policy?Previously on Ask WoW Insider...
The strange task of entering Dalaran
Here's a somewhat annoying little problem with the Beta. As of the latest build, you can't just walk into Dalaran, or rather, you can't just use the teleportation crystal go up. Instead, you have to complete a quest to align yourself to Dalaran. But this quest is only available at level 74. In the Outlands, it's not uncommon for a fresh 58 to head through the Dark Portal and right to Shattrath City. Binding in one of the Inns there essentially puts all of the Outlands before you, with flights connecting you easily to where you wish to go. It seems strange that Blizzard has put up this strange quest attunement roadblock to those who wish to alight from the boat to Northrend and head straight to the capital. Perhaps it's a similar decision that caused them to restrict flying mounts to level 77 and above -- they don't want people skimping on exploration and seeing content, so they make you hang around the newbie zones for a while before you can just stick with Dalaran. Luckily, not all is completely lost. Much like with Shattrath before level 58, You can still get teleported or summoned up by a Mage or Warlock before level 74. Still, it's a strange little extra hoop Blizzard's having us leap through to get the to top.
Phat Loot Phriday: Cannonball Runner
I sure thought that we'd covered this before, but all my searching tells me that we haven't. So, since the past few weeks have been late endgame epics, here's a bit of awesomely husky loot -- if you haven't ever gotten this one, you definitely should.Name: Cannonball Runner (Wowhead, Thottbot, Fishing)Type: Rare TrinketDamage/Speed: N/A (see below)Abilities: Summons a cannon that will fire at enemies in front of you. Lasts for 10 seconds, with a 5 minute cooldown. Will reportedly attack enemies that aren't aggroed, so be careful dropping it in a crowded area. Fires about seven shots with an average of 50 damage each (though can also crit), so about 350 damage, depending on whatever you're shooting at. And of course, the name itself hearkens back to the famous Burt Reynolds epic, Cannonball Run. And the icon (a smiley-face adorned bomb) is great, though Blizzard has since reused it as a number of different bombs and grenades. And finally, it's one of the best trinkets in World of Warcraft. How to Get It: You've got to drop Cannon Master Willey, hiding in the Scarlet Crusade's armory in the live side of Stratholme. He's down at the end of a hallway, and as you fight him, other people will show up, so one of your group has to sit on cannon duty and fire cannons at the bad guys that show up while the rest of you fight Willey. Down him, and the trinket will drop at about a 17% rate. At level 70, the whole instance is pretty much soloable (depending on your class skill and gear), so odds are that as long as you keep on top of things, you can probably make your way to him by yourself.We'll have to see if Willey shows up in some form in the upcoming Caverns of Time version of Stratholme -- considering that Old Hillsbrad (with all of its familiar faces) is the most popular CoT instance, it's not hard to guess that he will.Getting Rid of It: Sells for 1g 8s 50c, disenchants into a Large Brilliant Shard. Boom!
Blood Pact: Warlocks buffed in 2.4
Between Arenas, V'Ming spends his time as a lock laughing ominously in AV, tanking Olm with his own minions and pondering troll fashion from Zul'Aman. He's recently started to plumb the depths of SSC with his 0/21/40 build and bragging about 8k shadow bolts.With the current furore over patch 2.4, one may be hard-pressed to keep up with the latest news and developments, especially if you've got raid/ work/ school schedules to keep to and tax forms to struggle with. Ultimately, few of us really read through the patch notes line-by-line, often just skimming for parts that matter to us. As warlocks, we'd naturally be concerned with how patch 2.4 affects us - are we nerfed or buffed? Can warlocks ever not cause the world to end?Allow this intrepid columnist to dive into the murky depths of patch 2.4, to surface with hopefully some pearls of wisdom that answer the hundred-dollar question: What does it mean for me?For really busy warlocks, 2.4, in a nutshell, is a buff in terms of group and raid utility for warlocks.
