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Warcraft III's Orc appears on fireworks
What better way to celebrate the Fourth of July today than to sit outside with some good beer, some tasty BBQ, and a whole lot of cheaply made fireworks? Brom and Seku on the Llane server were kind enough to send us this picture they took of a firework they found at a store in Pittsburg, Kansas -- apparently the "Behemoth," made by the Consumer Fireworks company in China, not only "emits showers of sparks," it also blows copyright law completely out of the water. Very nice.One more gigantic pic of the Behemoth and its Warcraft III orc cover art after the jump. If you do use fireworks (or break copyright law) today, do it safely, and have a great holiday!%Gallery-26839%
Happy Fourth of July from WoW Insider!
Yes, it's time once again for those of us in the United States to celebrate our nation's birthday with fireworks, BBQ, and hopefully a day off. From all of us here at WoW Insider to all of you, happy Fourth of July. And to everyone else outside of America -- get back to work, it's Friday!As is traditional around Midsummer Fire, the capital cities of Azeroth should have free beer and food available this evening, as well as hourly fireworks displays to watch. If you ask us, the best place to see the festivities is Booty Bay -- nothing like seeing the explosions light up the sky above the Bay, though we've also seen some good displays in Stormwind as well.No matter what you're up to this holiday, in-game or out, have a terrific and safe Fourth of July.
The fireworks start early with this Big Bang Mini trailer
What better way to celebrate the impending anniversary of the United States' Declaration of Independence than with less than thirty seconds of video footage of an upcoming DS game? That seems to be the idea behind the timely release of this Big Bang Mini trailer. It's a smart move to promote your fireworks-based game on the eve of one of the most colorfully explosive days of the year!As it turns out, the game would look brilliant on any day of the year. This trailer cycles through completely dissonant visual styles, from retrogaming to winter to aquatic to a cityscape to ... a place of some kind with some flying clowns. If you haven't been paying attention to Big Bang Mini until now, we hope that all the explosions and flashy stuff got your attention!%Gallery-18714%
World of Warcraft's Midsummer Fire Festival ends soon
There's only a few days left before the fireworks fizzle out as the Midsummer Fire Festival comes to an end on July 4th. Why not go out with a bang, the next time you fire up World of Warcraft be sure to grab one last ribbon do-si-do, juggle a few torches, honor and steal those remaining bonfire flames, or slay Lord Ahune for that friend you promised, you do keep your promises don't you? If you have nothing else to do you could run your lower-level alts around the world to collect all the different bonfire flames for some pretty decent experience gains. If you are struggling on what to spend your burning blossoms on WoW Insider has you covered. A lot of players are saying this is the best event in a long time, thanks to some new festivities. You better celebrate the good times before its too late and back to the dailies routine again!
Fiesta: to have and to hold, 'til death do you part
Ten Ton Hamster recently spoke with GM Dakkon from Outspark, about the new marriage system coming to their super-cute MMO Fiesta. They say the perfect spouse is someone who can be your best friend as well as your lover. Well as of June 30th, friends in Fiesta will be able to tie the knot in-game, by purchasing rings (that "allow the couple to warp to each other from anywhere within the game") and a marriage license. That special day is celebrated with a wedding dress and a tux, fireworks, and cute mini-pets. While Outspark is saying "I do" to virtual weddings, thus far there isn't a system for digital divorce in Fiesta. Is it unreasonable to assume that roughly half of these marriages will end up there? One envisions this playing out with much drama... and so many possible scenarios. Custody battles over the mini-pets, and of course who gets to keep the house? Green card hunters looking to marry their way onto another server. And who knows... maybe even a black widow, marrying her way to greater and greater wealth. All jokes aside, Outspark is onto something interesting here. It seems to be a bit of a social experiment, but definitely one to watch, at least until the devs implement prenups. But one real question remains: will Outspark ban same-sex marriages in Fiesta? Perhaps controversy will ensue after all.
The European connection in 9Dragons
Acclaim's martial arts MMORPG 9Dragons is about to gain some more European fans, with the launch of Bardo Euro -- their new European server. Bardo Euro promises to offer the European playerbase an improved game experience with better connections all around.Apparently the players have been calling for a European 9Dragons server for some time; Acclaim is delivering on their promises to improve the game and is holding a number of special events to celebrate the launch: 30% off sale: All items in the 9Dragons Item Mall will be 30% off for 3 days only. June 6-8. Bonus exp rate events: Earn 2 times experience points by playing on the Bardo server. June 3-9. Monster spawn event: High level monsters will invade Bardo. June 3-5, 6, 8-9. VGM/GM PvP event: Test your martial arts skills battling against Acclaim VGM and GM staff. June 3-6, 8-9. Fireworks in Bardo: To celebrate the official launch of the European server, fireworks will light up the sky at random times from May 30 to June 8 on the Bardo server. If you're in Europe, why not give 9Dragons a shot? Roll yourself a Shaolin or Wu-Tang badass and see if you can take down a GM or two in martial arts combat. Via Warcry
TUAW Review: Fireworks CS4 beta
Ah, Fireworks. I remember it as the app that introduced me to the PNG file format in 1999. I was disappointed when it was excluded from Adobe Creative Suite 3 (Design Premium Second Mortgage Edition), and kept my copy of Fireworks 8 in protest. I was elated when it married Jeannie, but then saddened when it left her for Diane. Fireworks CS4, part of the group of beta apps that Adobe introduced on Tuesday, is the latest in the long line of Macrome -- I mean, Adobe's -- rapid website prototyping tools. Long-time users of Fireworks will be pleased that most of the app's functionality has been retained -- at least in the beta. Users looking for a more Photoshop- or Illustrator-like experience will probably be disappointed. If my last review is any indication, there will be nothing but fireworks after the jump.
Adobe releases Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Soundbooth betas
Adobe Labs today released public betas for the next generation of Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Soundbooth apps, part of their Creative Suite product. Once downloaded and launched, the betas will only be active for 48 hours -- unless you have a CS3 license. Creative Suite 3 customers will be able to extend the trial period (presumably until the final versions are released, though the deactivation date is not mentioned in the press release). The Dreamweaver beta includes a much-anticipated (at least by me) change to the WebKit rendering engine for previewing and live editing. Fireworks has been re-vamped to look and feel more like other Creative Suite apps, and now allows users to export design comps as interactive PDF documents. The Soundbooth beta now includes multiple track support, and the new ability to match volume levels across multiple files. Plus, users can preview MP3 compression settings before saving them. Soundbooth (719MB) requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later, running on an Intel processor. Fireworks (634MB) and Dreamweaver (262MB) have the same OS requirement, but can run on a G5 processor or better. Thanks, Kent!
'Fireworks-themed shooter' Big Bang Mini lights up DS
"We usually only get to see fireworks, but with Big Bang Mini you get to make the fireworks," says Melanie Mroz, SouthPeak Interactive CEO and touter of handheld fireworks. Don't be alarmed, however, as the company's latest bomb is safely confined to the Nintendo DS. Dubbed a " fireworks-themed shooter" by the press release, Big Bang Mini tasks players with destroying enemies overhead using stylus strokes and dazzling explosives."With Big Bang Mini, we're trying to combine the thrill of an intense action shooter with the beauty of a grand fireworks display," explains Camille Guermonprez, Managing Director of developer Arkedo Studio. "If there's anything players won't like about the game, it will be that they're too involved in striking and dodging to appreciate the light show they're creating." As many a mad scientist has come to learn, your creation can and probably will come back to harm you, with missed firework shots raining down sparks from the sky. You'll want to avoid those, we think.If you choose to rock it on your DS when it launches this Fall, you'll discover Big Bang Mini is infused with four gameplay modes, a handful of multiplayer options and over 90 levels to explore and explode.%Gallery-18836%
TR's Chinese New Year late?
Earlier last month the Destination Games crew announced that they'd be honoring the Chinese New Year in Tabula Rasa by sticking some black, blue, orange, yellow, and red fireworks in the pack of every member of the AFS in good faith. I was looking forward to seeing the mini fireworks shows that were bound to spring up in Foreas Base and all the other big player hubs. So you can imagine my confusion when I log on today and find no goodies waiting for me! Was the Chinese New Year delayed?Sort of, it would seem. I logged onto my new Forean hybrid and started going about all the newbie motions in the Forean Wilderness when I spotted GM_Bellum putting on a little fireworks show around the Alia Das waypoint. He wished me a Happy Year of the Rat and traded me some fireworks. I asked him when the event was starting, as the original announcement had pegged the event for today, February 7th. He said he'd just jumped the gun a bit with the fireworks, and wandered off. By all indications, I would assume that they'll announce the celebration tomorrow, as Fridays have always been their favorite day to announce things.
The Lunar Festival is underway in Azeroth!
World of Warcraft has a ton of special holiday events all year 'round, most of them in homage to real-world events. The Lunar Festival is no exception. Coinciding with Chinese New Year, the Lunar Festival has more to offer players than just eye candy. Inhabiting every major city in Azeroth, on both sides of the fence, stand elders of each race, ready to provide special Coins of Ancestry to those who show respect. These Coins may be redeemed for various novelty items.And don't forget to check out the fireworks celebration in each city that begins after sunset and runs each hour. This event will run until February 23rd, and today, which marks the actual Lunar New Year, there will be festivities Stormwind, Thunder Bluff, Booty Bay, and Moonglade. For a complete listing of elder locations and rewards, check out this link. Kung Hei Fat Choi, warriors!
Blood Pact: The real Lunar Festival
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.Today being the first day of the lunar new year (for the eastern hemisphere at least), I shall lay my shadow bolts down and talk about something close to my roots: the Lunar Festival. Hey, even evil warlocks come from somewhere, you know.WoW's Lunar Festival is based pretty closely on the real life Lunar New Year that millions celebrate all around the world. It's a really nice gesture on Blizzard's part to move in-game festivities each year to match the real life celebrations, as Lunar New Year doesn't fall on the same day each year on the 'normal' or Gregorian calendar. In fact the 15-day festival is determined by the lunisolar calendar, and it begins on the first day with a new moon of the new lunar year. This is the third year we're having the Lunar Festival in WoW: 2006 – The Lunar New Year was on Jan 29; WoW's Lunar Festival was held Jan 27 to Feb 14. 2007 – The Lunar New Year was on Feb 18; WoW's Lunar Festival was held Feb 16 to Mar 8. 2008 – The Lunar New Year is on Feb 7; WoW's Lunar Festival started yesterday and will continue till February 23rd. What happens during WoW's Lunar Festival, besides Asian-style outfits, fireworks and funky red decor around towns?
There is no Dana, only Omen
Happy Lunar Festival! Ae as we celebrate the festival of the moon in World of Warcraft, we should take pause to reflect on the many dogs in our life. From the hounds in MC (can't you just hear your old raid leader yell: "LOOT THE DOGS!"), to the annoying wolves that get in our way when farming Netherweb Spider Silk. But for a short time, there is no other top dog on the block then Omen.Hanging out in Moonglade, he's a real pain. Before you even think of killing him, you need to get to Moonglade first. Since I mainly roll with my warrior when attempting new things, I wasn't able to just take the easy way to Moonglade and teleport myself there. However, many thanks to Toast who filled me in on a little tip: talk to the Lunar Festival Night Elves in any major city to get a scroll that'll teleport you to Moonglade. To get the scroll all you have to do is complete a quest that has you light off a few fireworks that you can purchase from a near by vendor. Easy as pie.Once you arrive in Moonglade, head up to the northeast corner of the map, in particular around coordinates 53, 35. You'll find the quest "Elune's Blessing" from Valadar Starsong, giving you the task of killing Omen for some handy rewards.
The Lunar Festival begins today in Azeroth
This annual in-game holiday is scheduled to coincide with real life Chinese New Years. Asian style outfits, ceremonial fireworks, delicious dumplings and a once-a-year raid boss are all part of the celebration. Quests send you to find 50 coins and turn them in for various goodies as well. It's a fun RP event taking place across player cities throughout Azeroth, but mostly centered in the Druid village of Moonglade.The real question this year is if this holiday is going to upgrade the event like they did for Hallow's End. Will there be fireworks in Shattrath? Elders in Arcatraz? Revelers in Zul'Aman? Shouldn't a major celebration like this have Omen dropping some welfare epics, too? Recently they promised an older holiday would get a make over. Is this the one? We'll have until February 23 to find out.%Gallery-15360%
Breakfast Topic: Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2008 from WoW Insider! Most of you were probably at home or out with friends watching the new year come in, but some of you surely celebrated the new year with fireworks in Stormwind, Orgrimmar or Booty Bay, enjoying the festivities online friends as well as offline. Did you have any special new year festivities in Azeroth?
New Year's Eve in Azeroth
Just in case you aren't headed out to a party this evening, let this serve as your reminder that it's New Year's Eve in Azeroth this evening as well. As usual, there will be hourly fireworks in all the major cities after sunset, free drinks in public areas, and revelers aplenty (make sure to blow them a /kiss). Additionally, while it's not listed on Blizzard's official page, there are two quests available (one for each faction), and tradition says that the guards in Booty Bay will get drunk and pass out, which means PvP is going to be welcome in the neutral port town (usually, attacking someone there will get you beat up).Wherever you are this evening (in Azeroth or the real world), here's hoping you have a safe and happy New Year's Eve! Thanks for all you've done for us at WoW Insider in 2007, and we'll see you in 2008!
Orange Island's Virtual Arts Week in full swing up until Friday
As reported here and here, Orange Island is committed to bringing Second Life residents great events and content, centered around the creativity of its users, and the Art Week event currently taking place is no exception. On the roster for Thursday and Friday are RacerX Gullwing's fireworks display, and musician Grace McDunnough with something intriguingly named 'musimmersion'.I heartily applaud the vigor with which the Orange team has entered SL, and the continued excellence of its events. This is the sort of thing we like to show off to naysayers of the platform. It's all about building community, guys. The wacky avatars, the wild buildings, the controversial animations, those are all merely window dressing. It's the people that makes SL unique. Check it all out here.[Thanks, Adri!]
The DS Life: Holding handhelds in public
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handheld and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.Every July, over a million visitors flock to Osaka's Tenjin Matsuri, a thousand-year-old tradition and one of Japan's three biggest festivals. The city's streets are choked with wandering crowds, food vendors, and parading pageants; police officers struggle just to keep the flood of people in order. At the chaotic celebration's edges, though, quiet, romantic moments can still be found.
Pyro Spectaculars to use HD-friendly fireworks
There's nothing like oversleeping on a Wednesday, only to realize that all is well thanks to a day we Americans get to celebrate our independence and utter obsession with pyrotechnics. This year, however, you may be better off watching the action from the comfort of your own sofa, particularly if you can tune in to a high-definition broadcast of a Pyro Spectaculars show. The firm will be utilizing a specially formed "HD shell" that's designed to "perform at a lower altitude" and react more cooperatively with cameras. Moreover, the fireworks emit "fuller bursts with more density and deeper colors," which purportedly perform quite admirably when captured in HD. The firm's wares will be used tonight at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California and also at Dodger Stadium, and those not in Schwarzenegger's state can catch them at the Macy's New York show as well as in Boston, Seattle, and Houston.
Midsummer Fireworks tonight
Don't forget, if you don't happen to already be out and about and looking at real fireworks this evening, the celebration will be happening in Azeroth as well. This evening, I believe every hour on the hour, firework displays can be seen over all the major cities in Azeroth (Booty Bay has been my favorite place to watch in the past, but I'm interested in seeing what happens in Shattrath this year as well). Additionally, there will be free booze outside the city gates, so get drunk and party!And if you haven't done the Midsummer quests yet, don't forget that IcftB will be running all over the world this evening also-- that will kick off around 8:00 pm EST. No matter what you're up to today in-game or out, have a great and safe time, and happy Fourth of July from all of us here at WoW Insider!
