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EVE Evolved: The battle of Z9PP-H caught on camera
If you're the kind of person who loves reading about the political shenanigans that go on inside EVE Online, you should be aware that a colossal war has erupted in the wake of the Odyssey expansion. The expansion redistributed the value of nullsec moons and gave the two largest alliances in the game, the Reddit-based TEST Alliance and Something Awful-spawned GoonSwarm Federation, a good excuse to go to full-scale war. Allies have piled in on either side, and nullsec has erupted into full-scale region takedowns, spy-jacking, and more of the lovely political tomfoolery we love to hear about. EVE News 24 has been doing a good job of keeping players up to date on what's happening in nullsec, and its reporters are not the only ones keeping tabs on the war. Streamer Mad Ani has been setting up cameras in strategically important locations throughout the contested regions and providing live coverage of huge battles whenever they happen. A few days ago, the war came to a head in what could have been the deciding battle of the entire Fountain invasion. Over 4,000 people watched the stream as TEST's entire capital fleet of over 100 carriers was taking a pounding in Z9PP-H, when suddenly the server crashed and disconnected everyone in the fight. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at what happened in the battle of Z9PP-H, how CCP crashed its biggest piece of PR in months, and how player livestreams are changing the face of EVE Online for the better.
Amron Experimental 'Rinser Toothbrush' is back, now with more fountain (video)
The original Rinser Toothbrush was a dental delight. Now, Amron Experimental has updated its classic "Brush & Rinse" for the modern mouth. So, what's new in 2012 for the revolutionary chomper-washer? First of all: Power Fountain. No more lowly trickle of water to chase, this time a proud stream of H2O leaps upwards from its center. Secondly, the heads are now replaceable, meaning you can keep your Brush & Rinse in service much longer. Still have the taste of "unconvinced" in your mouth? Watch the tap of awesome flow in the video after the break. Think this is what your morning routine has been missing? Then head to the source where you can pre-order now for a minty-fresh $22.
Lost Pages of Taborea: A peek behind the fountain rune
Runes of Magic's fountain rune is one of many slottable runes that fall outside the standard attribute boosters. Its job is simple: It increases the rate at which you regenerate mana points. It doesn't fill up one of the six statistic slots that are burned onto an item. It gets plugged into one of up to four slots that are found randomly or drilled on accessories. It's also a great eater of time and resources to tier it in the arcane transmutor. I've been testing a tier 4 fountain rune on two of my characters that are different levels in order to see the difference in output. If you look on the Runes of Magic Database, you'll see it says a fountain 4 adds +22 MP recovery rate. Those who use the addon StatRating will see the same figure. Now I know that the numbers that equipment and runes show are not indicative of what you actually get. I also know that StatRating is there to tell you the actual numbers you get for any stat, but 22 for a tier 4 rune sounded like a lot. It doesn't really tell you how that number is applied, but I think of mana regen in terms of ticks. If a tier 4 fountain gave +22 mana per tick, and we can upgrade it to tier 10, and we can stack different tiers on five different accessories... there's just no way that number can mean that, can it? This week I found my own answers to what the fountain rune gives you. I also share some thoughts on using -- or not using -- the fountain rune.
[1.Local]: No one plays WoW because of clams
Reader comments – ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week. My city of ruinsWe suspect that reader Vektorix may have a bright future as a developer. Confronted with the state of Quel'danas today, he offers an idea that meets with resounding approval from other readers: "I really think that after all the work that was put in to taking and holding the Isle, killing Kael'thas and banishing Kil'jaeden, Blizzard should declare the war won and Quel'danas should become WoW's first resort. Beautiful golden sun, pleasant environment, no mobs -- it'd be the perfect sanctuary for weary adventurers. Who would hang out in Dalaran or Shattrath when there's a beach!!?"
Breakfast Topic: What would you wish for?
Today's breakfast topic is a bit of a roleplaying question as well. Yesterday we heard about the new coins that were added to the water fountain at Dalaran in the Beta of Wrath of the Lich King. There, usinging your fishing skill, you can find coins tossed in by anyone from King Terenas Methenil to "Prince" Magni Bronzebeard, and see what it was that they once wished for. It got me thinking, what would your character wish for if you could toss a coin into the fountain? Even if you don't roleplay, just imagine it for a moment. Or if that's really too much of a stretch for you, imagine that you the player could stand at the edge of that fountain and toss a coin in. Would your wish be any different from a fountain in the real world somewhere? Would you wish for epics, PvP glory, class buffs or something else related to your real life?Even though my main character is a hunter, and war has kind of become her business, she's still a pacifist at heart. She always tries to disable her enemies rather than kill them, and she silently prays to the Light for the soul each person to cross her path, whether friend or foe. At the fountain, she would wish for peace on Azeroth. For my part though, I would personally wish for less QQ, bad mouthing and generally stupid communication in the game (I would save my wishes for peace on earth for a real fountain).
Coca-Cola readying 100-flavor soda fountains
Your typical soda fountain in a fast-food joint features eight boring choices, usually offering nothing more exotic than "Orange." It's been that way for decades, but one of the oldest players in the market is finally shattering that paradigm. Coca-Cola is introducing a machine that can pour 100 different flavors. Early prototypes underwent testing earlier this summer and second-gen units are headed for limited markets early next year -- the same thing they said about those self-cooling bottles last year. Assuming they do come to market, swapping out the highly-concentrated flavors is likened to changing a print cartridge, meaning new choices can come and go quickly depending on popularity. It all sounds refreshing, but we're not looking forward to the lines as the thirsty yet indecisive ponder 15 different flavors of Diet Coke.
GDC: Networker's paradise, but beware
One thing we like to do here at Joystiq is bring you some of the more offbeat information that concerns the culture of games, gamers, and the people who make them, so file this under the rubric of "offbeat" (careful not to transpose those syllables, because getting them right is important given the subject matter to come). I stationed myself in a very busy GDC restroom for approximately five minutes just after the lunch hour and counted the ratio of hand-washers to neanderthals who didn't wash their hands. This is just my first data point, and an incomplete one at that. Given the evil looks that that I got for standing there, I chose to curtail the survey. So: knowing that these numbers are based on a very small sample size, and knowing that a more robust statistical survey would be more desirable, I provide these numbers anyway. The ratio was 11 to 3 in favor of hand-washers. Not bad! Two of the fellows who skipped the hand-washing were the unkempt sort who probably don't wash much else, either. The third gent was wearing a suit. Guess he was just eager to get back to gladhanding. We'll conduct a 10-minute survey at E3 to see if the ratio's any different when the audience is more international and the so-called "unwashed masses" are present in greater quantities. [Image comes from Duchamp's Fountain ]
