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Randomizing the Strand of the Ancients spawn points
Strand of the Ancients is a battleground that's gotten relatively short shrift lately -- it came along into the game with the crown jewel of Wrath PvP so far, Wintergrasp, and while it's still frequented on honor weekends (it's one of the best ways to farm honor, actually) and for achievements, lots of players, specifically those on the Horde, aren't happy with it. Why? Because right now, Alliance always starts the battle on offense first. The battle is a regular attack-and-defend map, and Alliance reportedly has a "significant advantage" by beginning on the attack side: they only have to play offense for a few minutes, and then defend for the same amount of time, while Horde have to defend the whole first round and then attack if they want to win. Plus, the battleground doesn't always start full, which means whoever attacks first usually is fighting fewer defenders.So how hard would it be to throw a coin flip in there and randomize who starts first? The good news is that Blizzard is working on it, but the bad news is that it's taking longer than they thought. It's not as simple, unfortunately, as choosing a faction randomly -- there are apparently mechanics in the spawn points that make it difficult for them to randomize who shows up on the moving ships. Go figure? We've never understood how Blizzard's code works, and we're not starting now.But again: Zarhym says a fix is incoming in a future patch. So if you're Alliance and you want to do some honor farming, better start now.
The limits of Video Mode Ultra
I think I've found the limits of Video Mode Ultra -- when we first hard in the 3.1 patch notes that Blizzard was adding in a superspecial video mode for high-end computers to use, I was excited. I just recently "updated" my PC (read: "it broke and I had to spend a lot of time and money to fix it"), and it's been running like butter, so I was interested in putting it to the test. The day after the patch dropped, I flipped the switch to Ultra, and had no problems -- until this past Saturday. While wandering around Dalaran, I noticed my framerate had dropped quite a bit. I lowered a couple of the environmental settings just a bit and I was fine again, but apparently even with a 2.5 GHz quad core CPU, 4gb of RAM, and a GeForce 9600GT, Video Mode Ultra is still just a little too hardcore for me.What's interesting is that I ran Wintergrasp a few times before having those slowdowns in Dalaran, and never had a problem. But then again, Blizzard did say that they had spent a lot of time making sure Wintergrasp was streamlined enough to run huge battles with minimal slowdown, so maybe Dalaran didn't get that same makeover. And I should say as well that I had no issues anywhere else in the world -- even my Naxx run the other evening looked perfect with Ultra flipped on.Having a "future" graphics mode on PC games is nothing new -- for most games, the highest graphics setting is usually "experimental," so there's a little leeway in terms of release time (the game looks good with current hardware, but even better with next year's gear). And Video Mode Ultra is just that -- Blizzard trying to send a shot across the bow at those who are already saying the graphics look a little dated.
FusionFall hits the 4 million mark (with bonus Bubblehead, free!)
We got some great news today from our friends over at Cartoon Network. It appears that their freemium family browser-based MMO, FusionFall, has crossed the 4-million registered member mark since their official launch in January! That's a tremendous chunk of growth, and we're glad to see FusionFall getting the love. (Any game that incorporates flying monkeys as a method of traveling around in-game rates an "awesome" in our book.)To celebrate this excellent milestone, the crew over at FusionFall headquarters decided to whip up a special in-game item, the Zak Saturday Bubblehead Helmet, as a way of saying thanks to everyone for playing. All you have to do to get your hands on this limited-edition special celebratory goodie is to head over to the FusionFall site, grab the code, and add it to your account. Of course while you're logged in, you'll want to check out all the new missions and crazy items that the FusionFall team have been hard at work adding in.
A random pet macro for your noncombat buddies
This is pretty simple (I know there are a few versions floating around), and just a few minutes with the macro API will probably get you something just like this (or probably better), but if you, like Bornakk, have so many noncombat pets that you don't know what to do with them, this macro that a guildie gave me a while back might help. Plug this text into a macro, save it as "Critter" and throw it on your toolbar./run CallCompanion("CRITTER", random(GetNumCompanions("CRITTER")))As you've probably surmised, it'll choose a random critter from your noncombat pets and bring it out for you to play with. As I said, this is super-simple -- you could add /dismount on to the front of this and use it as a one-stop "dismount and summon pet" macro, or I'm sure our commenters (who are much better at this macro stuff than I am) will have lots of other ways to play. We posted a more complicated one a while back, and you can still replace CRITTER with MOUNT, but this one's even easier than that.But like Bornakk, I tend to collect way too many noncombat pets and I can never choose which is my favorite. A random macro like this helps pull out a friend I haven't seen lately.
Hey, cheaters, this is how you unlock every song in Guitar Hero: World Tour
Have you been plugging away at Guitar Hero: World Tour, only to still be lacking those last few songs to complete your set list? Are you the type of person that enjoys cutting corners and finds diligence to be nothing more than a nine-lettered word? Well, we've got something for you: the code to unlock every song in World Tour.We're not going to leave it on the front page for everyone to see, however. We've tucked the code past the break, away from those of you who want to earn your songs and not hit a specific button sequence in order to unlock them. Enjoy.%Gallery-23491%
Ryzom devs describe plans, promise free play through October
Ryzom (or the game formerly known as The Saga of Ryzom), came back to life a little over a month ago. Rumors of its death had apparently been greatly exaggerated. Now the development team has published a document detailing its plans for the immediate future.The first item on the agenda is "to get profitable." Good plan! Money will surely be helpful. The second item: "To get all our new Developer Teams up to date with the Ryzom code," a task that is apparently quite difficult because there are millions of lines of code to get used to. Finally, the team is putting together a development schedule for adding new missions, content, and features to the game.Our first impressions of the re-launched game were positive. It's a bit laid-back compared to other titles. We're glad to see that some clear goals are being set for the game's future, but of course until the dev team manages "to get profitable," that future will remain uncertain. If you want to give it a try, though, the devs say it will remain free at least through the end of October.
Mythic publishes Warhammer Online pre-order FAQ
Mythic has created the beginnings of a FAQ intended to help would-be-customers sort out all the details about pre-ordering Warhammer Online. Info included in the FAQ: how to pre-order in Canada, who to poke to get pre-order codes when you place your order through an online store, and details and definitions on the beta testing phases, among other things.Mythic promises that the FAQ will be updated with new information in the future, but doesn't say what kind of information it'll be.The FAQ has some helpful information if you have those specific questions, of course. If you want a more in-depth and badass guide to pre-ordering WAR, though, check out our WAR collector's edition pre-order guide. Which retailer distributes codes in the most helpful way? Which one gives you the best extra goodies? It's all there!
Vintage cassette tape holds Apple I BASIC, killer modem tune
Fair warning: this here post is nerdier than usual, and those who begin to feel nauseous at the mere mention of data-bending may want to refrain from continuing on. For you brave, hardened souls that are following through, feast your eyes on the "first piece of software ever sold by Apple." The Apple I BASIC cassette wasn't even included with all of the 200 Apple Is produced eons ago, but a few engineering souls have managed to extract the data and create an MP3 of the wave structure. Not surprisingly, the tone resembles that of a 1200 Baud connection, and if we should say so ourselves, would make for a wicked ringtone. Believe us, it gets even weirder in the read link, but you'll have to determine whether venturing down is something your brain can handle.[Via BoingBoing]
John Mellencamp to release high-resolution audio DVD
Just days after we pondered the eventual fate of Blu-ray audio discs, we're faced with John Mellencamp's attempt to deliver high-resolution audio on a format that nearly everyone in America can handle. Reportedly, the artist's "Life, Death, Love and Freedom" will arrive in a CD / DVD combo package, the latter of which will hold tracks with "twice the sonic detail heard on most CDs." The secret lies within CODE, a process developed by the album's producer, T-Bone Burnett. According to Mike Wanchic, who has played guitar in Mellencamp's band for more than three decades, the end result "is comparable to sitting in on the original, in-studio performance," and he hopes that the release will "bring listeners into the room." Better still, anyone with a standard DVD player can reap the benefits of the $10 (street price) set. It'll be interesting to compare sales figures between this and Neil Young's Blu-ray release, wouldn't you agree?
Manaprincess reopens store, offers sale to WoW Insider readers
Our good friend and talented WoW crafter Manaprincess is back, and she's gone from Etsy to break out into her own World of Warcraft crafts store at manaprincess.com. She's got the usual Hearthstone key charms, as well as the WoW soaps up there, and a new section of "potion pendants" -- Health, Mana, or Rejuv potions to wear around your neck, just in case. And she says that all the items have been redesigned, so even things you've seen before may look a little different.And as a thank you to you WoW Insider readers for all your support, she's having a sale just for you: from now until August 31st, you can put in the code "wowinsider" without the quotes at the checkout screen to get 25% off your entire order.Manaprincess is definitely one of the best vendors in the crafting community, and it's great to see her up and running in a brand new store. If you're looking for some fun WoW-related gifts or crafts for yourself, her store is definitely one of the places to look.
The Archangel Tyrael pet revealed
You may remember that we recently told you that Worldwide Invitational attendees would be receiving a Tyrael pet as part of their goodie bag haul as soon as patch 2.4.3 went live. The PTR servers when down for a little bit of an update a while ago, and when they came back up, WoW Insider commenter Darkra came through with the picture of my new favorite pet, which you can see above. It's actually pretty strange, he looks both cute and bad ass at the exact same time. I'm not sure how it pulls it off, but I suppose that's just the awesomeness that is Tyrael. Congratulations to all you WWI attendees on what is surely the coolest non-combat pet to date, and for those of us unlucky enough not to make it to the WWI in person, let the Ebaying begin!
Discounted code for Social Gaming Summit
Previously reported, the Social Gaming Summit is full steam ahead and ready to go on June 13th at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco, CA. It will be a day full of interesting panels and discussions about the interface between social networks and game spaces. If you were thinking of going but were on the fence, perhaps this will sweeten the deal for you: Massively readers have been offered a 10% discount code by the kind-hearted organizers behind the Summit! To register, visit the site and enter 'MASSIVELY' (minus the quotation marks, of course) where appropriate. This blogger will be in attendance, nosing around for news and interviews -- hope to see you there![Thanks, Charles!]
Google releases Visigami, open source image browser
The guys over at the Google Mac blog have dropped a new little open source application called Visigami, which serves as a more "interesting" and "fun" way to browse and play around with images online. Basically, after installing the app, you can then pull in pics from Picasa, Google Images, or Flickr (iPhoto is just a suggestion so far), and then search, animate, zoom in or out on them, and even turn them right into a screensaver.It's a pretty neat little application -- not exactly the kind of thing that anyone has probably been hoping for (it seems more fun than utilitarian), but if you find yourself often browsing photos online, this definitely seems like a more fun way to do it. And it's one more reason to praise all the great developers working on our platform -- it's little apps like this that make the Mac user experience so much better.
Fun with DoTs in Star Wars Galaxies
Lead designer on Star Wars Galaxies, Blixtev, compares going through the old Damage Over Time code to rummaging through your grandmother's attic. "It's loaded with old junk and it sure smells really bad", he says. Still, that's exactly what the SWG developers are doing as they work to revamp Commando abilities for the upcoming Game Update 4. In some posts to the official forums, Blix talks about opening up moldering trunks and tossing aside ancient silverware to get at the DoT code beneath. "The DoT system is one of our oldest systems, and it sure does some wacktacular things. We found 10 different calculations amoungst 5 functions to determine just the value of absorbtion from armor against DoTs. For folks who don't code, that's alot."He goes on to describe their upcoming plans for the system, which will spread DoTs to two different abilities and substantially change the way they're applied. After the update they're going to stack up to 10 a piece on a single character, a process that could take some time. Because of this change, DoT removal will change as well. Taking long minutes to apply the full 10-stack to a PC shouldn't be automatically negated by a Medic power. Instead, DoT removal will take away part of the stack, and make the recipient immune to further DoT additions for a short period. Meanwhile, the existing debuff will continue to tick down - harming the character with an element type determined by the Commando's weapon. A later update indicates that these trials are proving very effective in making the Commando a more fun profession to play, a claim we'll be able to put to the test hopefully very soon.
Konami replacing botched Metal Gear Online beta codes
Fans of Kojima's genre-defining stealth action series only have to wait two more days until Konami flings wide the floodgates of the Metal Gear Online beta, giving North Americans with a pre-order bonus access code fourteen days to hide in cardboard boxes or perform questionable chiropractic procedures to their heart's content. Unfortunately, there are a number of Snakes-in-training who dropped a Lincoln to secure an incomplete beta code, due to a printing error at Konami HQ.Konami Support requests that those that are missing digits shoot them an email with the partial code and a return email address so that they can respond with a functioning code. With less than 48 hours until the beta launch, we suggest they step on it -- with the rising costs of torches and pitchforks, we're not sure the gaming populous could afford another Halo 3 beta delay debacle.[Via PS3F]
How to fix the Parrot Scrolling Combat Text Addon
If you're an Ace mod fanatic like I am, you may use Parrot for your scrolling combat text needs. If you've used Parrot since 2.4, you've noticed, like I have, that the dang thing just plain doesn't work. Even though the ever handy WoWAceUpdater continues to update it, there's some block of data it's missing. And that means that when I get into combat and look for my scrolling information... nothing happens. There's no pretty numbers to the side of my characters. Hey, that's fair enough. 2.4 was the patch of the great combat log change, and it's understandable that not every addon is quite caught up. That said, I like how I have Parrot set up, and I didn't really want to try to find and install a new mod, or heaven forbid, use Blizzard's base system. So, I went searching, hoping to find some way to bring back my beloved Parrot.
The DS Life: Portable paramours
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handhelds and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.Have you already found someone to spend this upcoming St. Valentine's Day with? If not, you have only a week to develop a stratagem to trade Luvdiscs with someone, or you'll wind up spending February 14th playing Mario Party DS ... in single-player mode. Protip: Don't be that guy (or girl). Jump past the break to see how your V-day could turn out if you play your cards right (or if you use hackz).See also: The DS Life: Holding handhelds in public
Winning Eleven's Mii support video turns heads
Very big heads, that is. The folks behind the Official Nintendo Magazine posted a video showing off Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008's RTS-esque plays and what the pitch will look like when you replace your team of normal-sized-head players with a squad of Miis, goofy expressions and all. It's worth watching the five-minute clip for both of those details!The game looks as goofy as NBA Jam's Big Head code, except with soccer! Also, PES 2008 matches will feature full commentary by Jon Champion and Mark Lawrenson, and not some guy yelling out a bunch of foolishness like "Razzle dazzle!" and "Boomshakalaka!" If that sounds like a minus to you, you always have the option of shouting those lines out yourself; that's what we do whenever we're at the dinner table. Kick the read link below for the video. %Gallery-14410%
Stand up for Blade's Edge bugs
This is the best bug I've heard about in the game yet so far-- Drysc has confirmed that there is a known bug in the Blade's Edge plateau area which will cause everyone, when someone starts up the Bombing Run quest, to stop eating and drinking and stand up. It's a respect thing, you know? Stand up for the cause!No, it's just a really, really weird bug, and a fix is on the way in an upcoming patch (I'm a little surprised they don't aim to fix it earlier, but apparently all that will be lost is the food anyone sits down to eat at the wrong time in Blade's Edge). Once again, I am dumbfounded at trying to figure out just how Blizzard's code works-- seems like they have the absolute weirdest bugs happen to them sometimes.
Armory delays abundant, fix expected
What's up with the Armory lately? I've always had a problem getting in there (the pages load super slowly, although I'm pretty sure that's just all the database pinging they're doing), but lately, players have been reporting lots of character progress missing from The Armory. I spent all day yesterday on my Hunter ploughing through Hellfire Peninsula's big gear giveaway, and none of that new gear shows up on my profile. One of WoW Insider's writers hasn't even seen one of her alts on the Armory-- that's 40+ levels worth of missing info.To be fair, the Armory is more or less an extra service, and Blizzard knows there are problems and is supposed to be working to fix them, so there's not that much to complain about, really. Unsubstantiated rumors being passed around say Blizz is working on updating the code to allow level 80 characters (for the expansion), but the fact is that we don't know what's going on-- they could be adding in even more features that we don't know about (like, say, what the Figureprints folks get, or a nifty little API system). But, as a WoW Insider writer told me, at least there always is one way to see what's up with any character in the game: make an alt, run out to where they are, and /inspect away.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!Update: Looks like we lit a fire under somebody over there-- the Armory is redirecting to a maintenance page at the moment.
