im-on-a-boat
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World of Warships unveils E3 trailer
Between World of Warplanes and World of Tanks, Wargaming.net has your need for mechanized warfare covered. Almost, anyway. Sure, you can shoot at other planes and other tanks, but how are you going to also blow up a whole lot of boats? You can't... until World of Warships comes out, anyway. Then you can blow up war machines pretty much anywhere you want. So when is it coming out? That's still something of a secret, but it's obvious that World of Warships is the next game to get a big push from the studio, starting with this year's E3 trailer embedded just past the break. While the trailer doesn't include any in-game footage, it does give you a clear picture of what you'll be doing in the game -- shooting at boats from other boats. Actually, you probably could have guessed that one without the trailer.
Ultima Online's high seas move into open beta
It's difficult for an MMO to be any longer in the tooth than the venerable Ultima Online, a game whose presence and launch has defined much of the genre for years. But the game hasn't stopped updating or running through its long history -- in fact, the game is expanding yet again in the near future. The High Seas booster pack, a mini-expansion for the game, has just gone into open beta, complete with a new dedicated forum and FAQ for players looking forward to an array of nautical adventures. When the booster goes live, every Ultima Online player will benefit from enhanced boat movement. Players who purchase the $15 expansion, however, will also receive a plethora of oceanic improvements, including improved ship combat, paintable boats, fish markets, and NPC ship combat allowing you to attack both pirates and merchant vessels. Add in new ship types, and players will be well-served on their nautical ventures by the expansion. You can take part in the open beta now, or just keep your eye on the main forums for discussion of the experience.
The making of the Gunship Battle encounter
Last night, Blizzard unveiled a new behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the Gunship Battle encounter in Icecrown Citadel. Although it's light on technical details, it's an interesting look at how they reasoned through both the mechanics and lore of the fight. They wanted something epic that allowed for some of the ship-to-ship combat that players have asked for, and it was a great opportunity to integrate the ICC raid with one of Icecrown's most important quest hubs. I've gone on record before saying that this is one of Blizzard's best and most unique fights, and it's particularly fun if you're part of the "away team" making the jumps to and from the enemy ship. That really nails the "controlled chaos" angle they were aiming for. If you're part of the "home team" defending your own ship, I'll grant that the fight feels a little more by-the-numbers. Oddly enough, this is one of the few encounters where the achievement version (I'm On A Boat) actually makes it less engaging, as most raids assign static teams to the ships and either kite Saurfang/Bronzebeard or swap taunts. However, if you've already got the achievement or just aren't worrying about it for the moment, all the joys of a personal explosives pack are yours for the taking. If you're not part of a raiding guild but get a shot at doing ICC, go for it; the first two bosses aren't too tough, and the gunship battle is an absolute hoot.
WoW Moviewatch: I'm on a Mount (NSFW)
Warning: This video is Not Safe For Work. It's got cursing. In fact, it has cursing about every 5 to 15 seconds. Lots of cursing here. If you click play, please do not be surprised by cursing. They use naughty words. If this offends you, don't watch this movie. We've got plenty of other content for you today.I generally try and keep videos featured on Moviewatch to a reasonable level of "acceptable in any venue." People watch these movies at work, around kids, and in front of their aging grandmothers. Today's video, however, has a very high level of cursing in it. Why would I feature this parody video, titled I'm on a Mount?Because it's freaking awesome. Granted, I'm a pretty big Lonely Island fan anyway, and generally enjoy their stuff. But Nooglide has managed to do more than just make a filk-version of I'm on a Boat (also NSFW). I feel the creator has truly captured the feel, spirit, and general tone of the original video. If the Lonely Island guys had been writing this song about WoW, this is probably the song they would have written.Nooglide is, granted, probably not the first person to create a I'm on a Mount video, but this version's animation also is similar to the absurdist approach of Lonely Island's original piece. The surprise Murloc attack, also, was incredibly funny.I'm totally going to have this stuck in my head all day. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
