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Poll: Should 40-mans make a come back?
Peeking around the official forums, I saw a few threads dedicated to the reincarnation of 40-man raids. Do you remember the old, pre-BC epic AQ-40/MC/Naxx days? I can honestly say I really do not. I was a freshly minted 60 when BC came out. I got my feet wet in ZG and AQ-20, but that's it. Perhaps I'm missing out on something important. It's entirely possible that others feel the same way.Since Blizzard has tuned Wrath raids to both 10 and 25 person versions, what's stopping them from rounding it out to a full 40. Perhaps they could even go for more. Many are already complaining that Naxx is too easy. They're looking for a real challenge. I don't know if Blizzard is open to the possibility of tuning up the dungeons, but we've seen evidence that the developers do listen to player feedback.
Forum post of the day: The challenge
As a whole was as WoW players are a pretty tough crowd to please. This is probably because of the diversity of the player base as well as the variable goals that we set for ourselves. We range from casual PvPers to hard core raiders. We all have our fair share of complaints, but judging by the games massive popularity, it seems Blizzard has done a decent job of responding to the competing demand of its subscribers. Amgusrex of Moon Guard is concerned that play in Wrath of the Lich King will not be challenging enough. He feels that Blizzard does a disservice to players by nerfing the difficulty of content with progressive patching. His post is pretty inflammatory, calling others cry babies and pointing toward a "massive population that is bad at video games." Taking a look at the Original Poster's Armory profile, I have to assume that he is not posting on his main, because if he is he still has to over come many challenges himself before declaring the game "easy mode."
Forum post of the day: Try a twinkie
Seska of Ysondre has posed the challenge of twinking to players who hate this style of play. She stated that the joy of playing a twink is in planning how to get gear for the effort. To her twinking proves that gear is more important than skill. To do it right, twinking requires considerable time and effort (not to mention cash from higher level characters), but is a valuable experience. Seska is currently a level 16 Shaman, and plans to keep that character as a twink. She was met with agreement by some other twinks, but also a lot of resistance and resentment. Some people say that they have tried twinking and gotten bored with it soon afterward, like playing any other video game with cheat codes. This practice can also be frustrating for other players who would like to battleground as they level up but become demoralized by twinks.
Is it really OK for Arthas to be 10-mannable?
So one of the most exciting announcements from the recent flurry of news about WoTLK, at least from my point of view, is the that there will be 10-man and 25-man versions of every raid. Think about that for a moment. Yeah, that's right. That means that you and 9 other friends will be able to scale the heights of Icecrown Glacier and topple Arthas himself from his frigid throne. This has more than a few people worried.
Uwe Boll thinks Michael Bay 'sucks big time', wants to fight
We were always taught to "use our words" to solve disputes between our peers and colleagues; but we guess if your words are ogreish and oft-incomprehensible, your fists will have to do. That's right -- Uwe Boll, much like the honor-bruised 1800 presidential candidate Aaron Burr, has officially donned the boxing gloves he wore in the Webcritic Massacre of 2006 (and while he wrote the script for "Postal", we assume) and challenged the king of summer blockbusters, Michael Bay, to twelve rounds in the ring.No offense, Bay -- we loved "Bad Boys 2", but you'll forgive us for putting our money on Boll's massive ham-fists. What that guy lacks in movie making ability and social graces, he more than makes up with his pugilistic proclivities.
Insider Trader: Tradeskills for noobs
You've entered Azeroth with a brand spanking new character and you're trying to find your footing in the world. Perhaps this is even your first MMO entirely, and while looking for guidance, you're overwhelmed at the sheer volume of information available. Sound like you? While our very own WoW Rookie column has a wealth of information specifically tailored to new players, this week's Insider Trader is going to go in-depth and personal with your profession choices to help make sure that you get the job you want. Whether you are looking for a challenge, thinking ahead to your future, or looking to maximize your profit, you'll find the advice you need to make an informed decision. Have you already chosen, and are regretting it? Never fear, I'll walk you through backing out of the deal and finding something that really suits you.Make sure not to skip the comments section, as input and personal experience will help you learn about the different outcomes you might face.
Automotive X-Prize challenge ignored by major carmakers
Sure, you'd think that major automakers would want to get in on the Automotive X-Prize challenge, a contest seeking to help create the first 100 MPG car, if only just to show off their engineering prowess and interest in future technologies. Of course, you'd be wrong. Not a single, big commercial carmaker has thrown its hat in the ring, and X-Prize organizer Donald Foley has a theory: fear of losing the game to a small start-up. Obviously, all the major players have an excuse when it comes to their lack of participation; Ford is busy with its EcoBoost program, GM is working with Carnegie Mellon University on similar technology. Unfortunately, the loser here is the consumer, who'd get another push towards more fuel efficient vehicles, resulting in less money spent at the increasingly pricey pump. It looks like another sign that the innovation which used to come from monolithic corporations is now emanating from the little guy. Can the Linux Car be far off?
The ganking challenge: Deathwing edition
We've already reported this week on new and exciting ways that players are coming up with to PvP, and it looks like another interesting and possibly unique challenge is taking place over on the Deathwing server. Ruzai, the creator of this thread over on the Deathwing forums that explains the details, calls it "The Ganking Challenge."It seems to have generated lots of interest, and sounds very fun! It's world PvP based, obviously, but it provides enough structure and basic rules to turn ganking into a game. Here's a quick overview: There are 3 targets at a time. Post a screenshot of your kill, and then pick 3 new targets from your own faction. All targets must be level 70 and not in a BG. You can't tell the targets that they're being hunted. Playing dirty is encouraged. Example: Targets are now Narkan, Pacsan, and Mitsuomi. If Volarun was to come into Orgrimmar and gank Narkan and post a SS proving the kill, the Horde hunt would end and Volarun would get to choose 3 new alliance targets. There are further details in the thread if you're interested, but I would love to have this challenge come to my server! I especially like that the active targets switch from Horde to Alliance after every kill, as it gives each side a chance at being the predator and the prey.[ Thanks, Craver! ]
DS Daily: Masochism
We like m-words around here! First we discussed a little machismo, and now we're moving onto masochism. Some days, we even like to discuss the ol' medulla oblongata! That's somewhere near your prefrontal cortex, by the way. But we're talking about masochism today -- that is, the things we do to punish ourselves in the name of fun ... like erasing your files on Clubhouse Games on purpose just for the fun (horror?!) of replaying Stamp Mode all over again. How about no-sword Zelda runs? We can't imagine why anyone would do that, but apparently, it happens. We'd also like to nominate playing the old game Deadly Towers at any time, for any reason. You obviously hate yourself if you do that (but don't worry, we did it, too).So what have you done just for the hell of it, to make a beloved game even harder than usual? We love a good challenge, and we want to hear about yours.
Going really, really hardcore with WoW
Tobold linked to a new blog about MMO gaming called Hardcore Casual, and the first entry is a nice one-- it's all about the differences between a "carebear" game like WoW, and the much more hardcore games of the past. His big example is Ultima Online, where players could gank each other and actually loot the corpses. Playing a game where others could steal your armor is very different from playing a game where BoE means it's yours forever.But you don't have to go back that far to find a really hardcore game-- in Blizzard's own Diablo 2, you could play "hardcore mode," which meant that when your character died, that was it. Game over, no respawns, nothing. Either you lived and beat the game, or you died and lost the ability to play your character and everything with it.To tell the truth, I'd love to see a server like that in WoW. Not because I'd love to play it (what are you, crazy?), but because the stories coming off of that server would be terrific-- we could all just stand in awe of the character who made it to 70 on the Hardcore server. Or would that even be possible? Especially if the server was PvP (and it would be, wouldn't it?), it seems like an impossible challenge to keep a character alive that long, especially since the other side would be gunning for anyone who got too high. Would you play on a hardcore server, where you could lose your life (and/or your gear)?
Mii Spotlight: Remember to send us those Miis!
Don't forget -- we've got two Mii requests for anyone who'd like to be in our weekly Mii Spotlight. Send us your ugliest Miis, the worst you can manage to make (funny is a bonus), and we also want reader Miis for a special edition Mii Spotlight. Don't be shy! Snap a few pictures and send them to us at mii at nintendowiifanboy dot com.We'd also like to ask: what challenges would you like? Television show casts (old and new), or cult movie characters, or ... what? Suggest it and we'll see about making it happen. There was a suggestion around here about requesting Welcome Back, Kotter Miis, and that made us think maybe what we really need is Travolta-through-the-ages ... but we're not sure our Mii Plaza can handle a disco inferno turned hitman.
Lost Garden's new prototype challenge: CuteGod
Similar to his previous Spacecute prototype challenge, Danc of Lost Garden has issued another call to programmers looking to flex their muscles. Using the provided tile set, designers are tasked to create a small-scale casual god game. Think Populus, but ... cute. Programmers send in their prototypes for discussion and critique, all in the spirit of making a better indie game. If you've got the urge to get some game making done, most of the design document is at Lost Garden, you simply have to fill in the blanks.
NASA's moon-dirt digging competition ends sans a winner
This won't mark the first occasion (nor the last) in which a NASA challenge ends without a winner, but just as noted before the competition began, it looks like the quarter-million dollars in prize money will indeed be rolled over to next year. NASA's Regolith Excavation Challenge beckoned teams to conjure up autonomous digger bots that could move a given amount of mock moon dirt into a cell within a half hour, and unfortunately for crews hailing from Pismo Beach, Berkley, Rolla, and Rancho Palos Verdes, everyone left with their heads a-hangin'. The excavator built by Technology Ranch was able to notch first place by relocating just over 143-pounds in 30 minutes, but fell quite short on picking up any award monies. So for those of you who weren't exactly ready to go mano-a-mano with these guys and gals this time around, next year you've all got $750,000 on the line. [Warning: Read link requires subscription]
PyWeek game challenge results announced, winners include a seahorse
The results of the latest PyWeek game design challenge have been released! Several dozen games were submitted to the latest competition, all with the theme of "the only way is up". Winners were announced in both individual and team entries and games are available to download from the PyWeek website.Winning entry Which way is up?, a puzzle/platformer game by Hectigo, uses levers to rotate the game world as you pick your way through blocks and enemies. The top team game, Barbie Seahorse Adventures, doesn't seem to involve plastic female body parts at all. Instead, it's a great looking 2D platformer where you play a seahorse trying to reach the moon.Also worth checking out is Trip on the Funny Boat, an arcade-style game where you pilot a ship with a cannon over treacherous waters.
DSLR dust removal / sensor cleaning shootout
We already know that megapixels don't matter (right?), but an oft hyped (but untested) feature that has emerged on DSLRs is automatic sensor cleaning. The anti-dust capabilities (or lack thereof) of Canon's EOS-400D, Olympus' E-300, Pentax's K10D, and Sony's Alpha A100 were put to the test, and although the methodology was less than scientific, the results were intriguing nonetheless. Essentially, each camera was given a before / after test shot in order to judge the results, and after the digicams sat through a dirtying process, they were "self-cleaned" 25 times and finally rated. Considering that Olympus was given credit as being the first manufacturer to include dust cleaning technology in its products, it's not too surprising that it took home the gold, but even sitting in first place, the E-300's effectiveness was only rated at 50-percent. Canon's EOS-400D came in with high expectations, but received a "poor" rating as the cleaning effectiveness clocked in a paltry five-percent. If you thought these two were bad, it only got worse when the Pentax K10D and Alpha A100 stepped to the plate, as both highly-regarded cams were deemed "useless" in the anti-dust department. So if your number one priority in a new DSLR is how well it cleans up after itself, there doesn't seem to be a standout option just yet, but feel free to hit the read link and decide for yourself.[Thanks, Romain B.]
Wii bowling "power throws": Whither the perfect 890?
In a roundtable discussion before the Wii's release, Nintendo designer Takayuki Shimamura declared that "in all of the endless testing which Nintendo has done on [Wii Sports bowling], no one has ever achieved a perfect score!" This factoid didn't last very long -- since the system's release dozens of players have posted YouTube videos of their own perfect games, complete with anti-climactic confetti endings. But while this seemingly impressive feat has now become commonplace, another Wii Sports bowling challenge remains seemingly unachieved and practically unachievable. We're speaking of a perfect score in the "Power Throws" training game, which steadily increases the number of pins at the end of the lane from a base of 10 to a staggering 91 pins in the tenth frame. Their are 445 total pins to knock down, but the game doubles the frame score for each strike, making a score of 890 the perfect ideal. Despite our best efforts, we could not find documented evidence of such a score online. The best we could find on YouTube was an 804, and even this impressive player used the well-known cheat to strike out on the last frame. A couple of players on EliteScores.com have claimed to max out the score, but neither submitted so much as a screenshot as proof. Gaming scoreboard Twin Galaxies doesn't even track the Power Throws minigame yet, probably because no one has bothered to send in a VHS tape of their achievement as per the rules. So we're putting out a challenge to the Joystiq community. Can anyone out there achieve the holy grail of Wii Sports and get a perfect score in this difficult minigame? The first person to submit video evidence of the feat (without cheating!) will get a handsome Joystiq T-shirt and eternal Internet glory as their reward. Entries can be submitted using the tips submission page. Good luck! [Update: The challenge has been met by Joystiq reader el moco, who sent in the below video to confirm the feat. Mr. moco also outlined his methods on the WiiModWii forums. Congratulation el moco, we'll be contacting you about the T-shirt soon.]
Motorola teams up with Ferrari for MotoRAZR MAXX V6
Although it's passing the checkered flag quite a few laps later than the McLaren-branded handsets we've seen of late, Ferrari has utilized that long-standing partnership with Motorola to kick out a flashy limited edition MotoRAZR MAXX, dubbed the V6 Ferrari. Although it's not like Ferrari to stop with just six cylinders, this handset sports a sleek, black finish, an unmistakable yellow Ferrari logo, two-megapixel camera, VGA webcam for video telephony, 50MB of internal memory, microSD expansion slot, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, USB 2.0 connectivity, and "OTA PC syncing" to boot. Additionally, you'll find HSDPA, EDGE, and GPRS options, and for that extra luxurious touch, you'll hear an F1 "roar" each time you switch the device on, images of the Ferrari F430 engine on the mini external display, and a Ferrari automobile on the internal display. So if you've been scouting the perfect mobile to accompany that newly-purchased piece of Italian engineering, you can snag the MotoRAZR MAXX V6 Ferrari in five undisclosed (but fairly easy to guess) continents starting tomorrow, and while the €490 ($633) pricetag might turn off the average joe, at least you get a swank red leather carrying case to keep this thing in tip-top shape. Click on through for a wide open shot.[Via Cellularmania, thanks The Infamous]
The notMac Challenge - make a free .Mac replacement, earn lots of cash
This is interesting. It's a challenge to produce a replacement for Apple's .Mac online services inspired by the contest earlier this year to boot Windows on the first Intel Macs (this was before Boot Camp for those of you who weren't around then). Apparently this guy Kent has decided that enough is enough; he wants a functional replica of .Mac and is willing to pay to get it. He's offering to match up to $10,000 in contributions to his site with the prize going to anyone who can:create a free replacement to dotMac's client-based services that's easy enough for a first-time Mac user to install and so fully and transparently integrated that a long-time dotMac user wouldn't notice the difference.Now there are several ways to get some of the .Mac services for free, from the geeky (and difficult) way, to the relatively easy way (MySync), to the Google-way. (The full rules to the challenge are here). Nonetheless, if this panned out it would be pretty cool for those of us with access to a WebDAV server (which would be necessary to duplicate the server-side functions). As someone who ditched his mac.com email address when Apple replaced the free iTools with the for-pay .mac I applaud this challenge. On the other hand, the $10,000 matching sounds a bit fishy to me. Kent claims that "to make it more interesting and give the prize a running start, [Kent's uncle agreed to] throw $10,000 into the prize pool." The fact that I can't even find Kent's last name on the site also sets my antennae twitching. What do you guys think?[Via MacDevCenter][Edit: HS provides a link to a Macworld article with a bit more info on the guy behind the challenge]
NC State preps Lotus Elise for 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge
If the Cardinal (or Tartans) think that the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge will be a gimme, they may want to sneak a peek at the looming competition. Students from NC State's College of Engineering are readying a highly modified Lotus Elise for next year's autonomous vehicle contest, and are working with Insight Technologies as well as Lotus' own engineering group to craft what's likely to be the sexiest unmanned vehicle on the track. Dubbed the Insight Racing team, the crew is loading the whip with "sensors and onboard computers that have been programmed to autonomously maneuver it through an urban setting complete with traffic, intersections and traffic circles." Moreover, the highly-coveted machine will be able to handle its own parking duties (and pose for glamour shots) when the day's done. After finishing 12th overall with just a Chevrolet Suburban in the 2005 Challenge, the Pack hopes its newfangled toy (and subsequent cornering abilities) can propel them to the top come next November.
NASA's second annual Tether Challenge beset by controversy, yields no winner
Apparently building space elevators in one's spare time is becoming a common hobby for jobless entrepreneurial engineers, as a bevy of eager teams set out to best NASA's "house tether" in order to get their rendition approved for intergalactic use. The contest requires that teams create cabling that weighs under two grams, sports a fiber loop with a circumference of at least two meters, and can withstand more weight (upwards of 1,662 pounds) than NASA's three-gram edition. While last year's shindig ended sans a winning party, NASA quadrupled the prize to $200,000 in order to attract more serious competition, but failed to crown a champion yet again. Three teams were immediately disqualified due to loop circumferences being less than the compulsory two meters, which sparked a "heated debate with contest organizers" about the supposed clarity of the rules. While a plethora of geeky expletives were presumably hurled, NASA only allowed the rule-abiding Astroaraneae team to officially compete -- but the Aerojet employees fell a bit short as their line snapped after withstanding 1,336 pounds of force. While we aren't sure if next year's challenge will offer an even larger purse (or yield an actual winner), we're fairly certain that the rulebook will be exorbitantly straightforward if nothing else.
