map
Latest
Map of WoW online communities
Keeping in line with a recent hypothetical map created by our very own Michael Zenke, which depicts a geographical equivalent to the MMO blogosphere's most popular sites, Tim Howgego decided it was about time he created one for the World of Warcraft community. This map shows an interesting assortment of sites, including a humorous take on gold farmers and an itty bitty island in the middle of the sea called GM Island.There is a thorough explanation accompanying the map on Howgego's website, including his reasoning behind the placement of each landmass versus the outlying islands. Even the directional arrangement has a purpose. Curiously enough, we find our sister site WoW Insider occupying a lone island in the murky southwestern corner of the map, although Howgego explains that placement as well. The best part about this map? Everything is linked!
The geography of WoW space
World of Warcraft has seen the rise of a massive community of diverse players. Most of us do not simply log into WoW, but visit a number of news sources, fan sites, and web-bases resources to stay on top of new developments in the game. Tim Howgego has created a map of the virtual WoW community. In this image he has categorized some of the most popular spaces that players visit outside of Azeroth. His map is divided into several areas:
The Daily Grind: Do zones kill immersion?
One of the complaints we hear rather frequently of Age of Conan is that the game's scattered zones have the effect of discouraging exploration amongst players. Those accustomed to traversing World of Warcraft's (mostly) seamless world have levied their displeasure at the fact that Age of Conan feels like a series of disparate maps instead of a single unified world.The explanation in terms of lore is rather obvious -- the universe created by Robert E. Howard's fiction is simply too large to contain within a single MMO world. But is that just hiding behind a convenient excuse? What would you rather have, a zoned game that fits more closely with the game's lore, or a seamless world that allows you to explore from one area to the next?
Traveling in LotRO: Are we there yet?
Traveling in any MMO can be a daunting task. In some older games, traveling across the large map was just par for the course, so to speak. Many players found it just a giant hassle and complained that it was simply put in as a way to get you to spend more time paying for the game. In more recent games, many developers have opted to add in waypoints or instant teleportation access for those more casual players who don't have the time to spend running from point A to point B. When we look at fairly recent games like LotRO or Vanguard though, we see that traveling across the map is just part of the immersion. Sure, it may be irritating when you have a quest that takes you from one end of Eriador to the other (unless you're a Hunter), but that's the whole thing with the Lord of the Rings lore. Exploration and taking your time, enjoying the scenery, is just what this game is all about. After all, it took Frodo three whole movies to get from The Shire to Mordor, right?
D&DO Module 7: Other updates, and the future of DDO
The new content wasn't all we saw -- there were a number of other good UI and feature updates we were shown that are set to enter the game in Module 7. One of the most interesting changes is something that we heard about for the first time on the walkthrough: the devs are going to be introducing a new quest type that players will be able to do once per day (examples given were for bounties and trophies on the local wildlife). They said that a lot of players had asked for quests that could be completed within a short period of time to advance their character -- obviously, World of Warcraft's daily quests design jumps to mind, and by the time they had finished explaining the idea to us, even they were using the words "daily quests." But whether the idea is lifted or not, it is a good one, and it should give more casual players (and anyone else with some extra time to spend) some more to do in game. There were some good UI updates as well -- the main update we saw was a revamped ingame map, that will show dungeons as red and green doors, so that players can easily see where the quests are and which ones they can enter at a glance. Also, the map now shows where a player has been with a "fog of war" type effect, though uncovered parts of the map are now shown at 50% opacity, so if you look close, you can even see details of where you haven't been.And we were also told that the Module will feature an improved chat system, as well as the addition of quivers to the inventory (so players can save all of their ammo in one inventory slot, rather than taking up extra space with all of it). And of course the crafting system is getting an anticipated update as well -- there are thirty to forty recipes being added, as well as "about a half dozen" eldritch rituals, so there should be more for players to mess around with in that system as well.Finally, we had a nice long conversation about the future of DDO. Goals for Mod 8, we were told, include the aforementioned player invasion of Shavarath, and the devs are working on a new tutorial section, as well as revamping the character generator (in order to make it easier for new characters who don't want to spend so much time choosing where to put skill points and abilities). "This is a marathon, not a sprint." And we also asked what the devs thought about the Age of Conan launch, and if any of the games on the radar this year were going to have an effect on their licensed property. Mersky, Turbine's director of communications spoke up at this point, and he pointed out that Turbine knows exactly what Funcom is going through right now: launching a major MMO is a tough but super exciting task and they wish them well. But at the same time, DDO's devs seem content to faithfully do their own thing, and not worry too much about the new kids on the block -- Paiz told us that their "very devoted audience" was "a pleasure to work for," and Mersky said that Turbine is in this competition as "a marathon, not a sprint." He said that both Lord of the Rings Online (another big licensed Turbine property) and DDO have ten year plans stretching out ahead of them, and that Turbine is committed to building their games over time, steadily releasing content and improvements with updates.We've heard for a long time that DDO was considering different forms of payment for their game (they've already tested the waters of free-to-play for former players, and Mersky said that the recently reopened lifetime option helps take the onus off of players to stick to just one game, so they'll keep considering options available for payment plans.Finally, we chatted about the MMO market at large, and it seemed we all agreed that big things are happening as the genre grows. Mersky said he was extremely happy that the industry is becoming "more than the WoW-killer story" -- that as more and more games enter the space, people are less concerned with having a gigantic online world, and more concerned with carving out their own niche and innovations with what they as a development team can do. Module 7 isn't a groundbreaking update for Dungeons & Dragons Online, but it is a solid core update -- the new classes and new mid and higher level content are serious additions and improvements to the game and large.We have one more treat for you -- an exclusive video of the areas and bosses we visited in Module 7.Click one last time to check it out.
All the World's a Stage: Character diamonds
All the World's a Stage is your source of roleplaying ideas n' stuff. The usual columnist is grateful to Alex and Matt for covering for him the last couple weeks while he got ready to defend his MA thesis.Getting into character isn't all that easy. First of all, as Matt demonstrated last week, one must have the desire and the gumption to just do it. You can't sit back and say, "But I don't know how to do it right!"or "But what if people don't like my roleplaying?" or any other excuse like that. You have to put your fingers to the keyboard and just start playing your role. Whether people like it more or less depends upon a bunch of things, including your skills and knowledge about how to do it well, but first and foremost it depends on your willingness to go out and try things out -- then look back and learn from your experience. You won't stop having problems and making mistakes, but you will get better over time.Today I'll share with you one idea I found that helped me a lot with a problem I was having: when I found myself having a bit of trouble "logging in" to a particular character's personality, I found the concept of the "Character Diamond" to be extremely valuable in pinning down exactly who this character is, how she would respond, and what it feels like to be inside her head. This concept was originally thought up by a screenwriting teacher named David S. Freeman, but it has gone through a bit of modification to suit the MMORPG world. So, with permission from the folks at Dramatis Personae who first taught me about it, I would like to sum it up for you here as a starter's guide and reference for making character diamonds of your own.
Explore Liberty City with Google Map application
Between the comprehensive in-game map, the GPS-imbued minimap, and the TomTom-esque functionality of certain vehicles, we've yet to misplace ourselves within Liberty City's digital boroughs. Still, if you find yourself lost whilst playing Grand Theft Auto IV, we guess this Liberty City map application (mapplication?) using the Google Maps interface would come in handy. A number of user contributions have already been made to the map, showing the location of hidden items, easter eggs, pigeon locations, stunt jumps, and yes, even hookers, whom we assume were fitted with GPS locaters by trained prostitute handlers before being released back into the wild. It makes for a useful cartographical companion for those with a laptop near their console of choice -- if you don't mind ruining the fun of exploring the nooks and crannies of Rockstar's intricately crafted metropolis for yourself, that is.
Unreal Tournament meets Super Mario
If any of you own either the PC or PS3 versions of Unreal Tournament 3, you might enjoy downloading this Mario-inspired map made by FrontAXL. The blocky platforms will look familar to players of the original Super Mario Bros., as well as many of the background elements. It's not an exact replica (nor is it meant to be), but the similarities are impossible to deny. Also, the PC version of the map includes music and sounds from the beloved classic. Check out the awesome in-game video of the stage in action after the break, along with some other screens. You can also download the stage here at the UT3 forums.
Laser scanning robot creates 3D map of silver mine
Apparently, Mexico is the place to be if you're a laser-equipped robot with 3D scanning on the brain. Just 11 months after the DepthX robotic submarine mapped the El Zacatón Cenote, the 3D-R1 has managed to collect over 5GB of map data in 3.5 days which was then used to create a "comprehensive 3D plan of the underground mining operation." The mine in question was the San Jose silver mine in Mexico, and while on duty, the robot scooted across some 2.2-kilometers of underground drives and access ramps in order to conduct over 240 total scans. There's no word on whether the mechanical creature is scheduled to map out any other nooks and crannies around the world, but given the accuracy exhibited in this run-through, we don't foresee it taking any kind of extended vacation.[Via Robots]
Fake Howling Fjord map released [Updated]
(click on image for larger view) WoW Insider has come across a potentially leaked image of a map of the new Howling Fjord zone. This information comes hot on the heels of our announcement yesterday of the closed alpha testing of Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion to World of Warcraft. The image has been posted today at several spots around the internet.Howling Fjord will be one of the two starting points for those entering into Northrend. The other starting zone will be the Borean Tundra. Wrath of the Lich King will raise the level cap to 80, introduce the Death Knight class, new PvP warfare, and new group and solo play.WoWWiki has the image listed as a "player made" image. However, the image itself has been found around several other galleries on the internet, and there is no credit to the original author on the image. Additionally, the map itself closely resembles the terrain and layout of the zone that was playable at Blizzcon in 2007. We'll keep an eye on this, and other Wrath of the Lich King media that might be legit, and get you all the latest information when we know it. Stay tuned!Update: The map is a fake, produced and propagated by user Kanaru on WoWWiki. Welcome to the World of Fakecraft. %Gallery-5525%
Frontline footage from Call of Duty 4's new Broadcast map
Those who played through Call of Duty 4's somewhat punishing campaign will probably recognize the locale featured in the newest downloadable multiplayer map, "Broadcast", as the theater of operations for the single-player level "Charlie Don't Surf". While we wonder how the stage's apparent indoor focus will affect the usefulness of helicopters and airstrikes, we definitely dig the idea of having a stage dedicated to more intense close-quarters encounters.If you haven't played the game, and all this photorealistic gunplay bothers you, just imagine that the bullet-riddled station featured in Broadcast has a programming schedule composed only of "The Nanny" reruns and the few episodes of the short-lived prime time trainwreck, "Viva Laughlin". It makes all the violence a tad more justifiable.
GTA IV Liberty City map sneaks online
GTAGaming posted several images of a map for Grand Theft Auto IV's streets and subway system. As for the authenticity of the Liberty City map, well ... that's a whole other issue. The six images are of varying clarity and one image even shows the PS3 controls for the game.A few things raised red flags for us with the images, like one image showing Liberty City "neighbourhoods" -- with a "u." Although this map could be for an international version of the game, it still seems odd that a map depicting an alternate version of New York City would spell neighborhood in an un-American fashion. Another issue is some awkwardly constructed sentences in the region details (like the first sentence in the Alderney description). We're sure people may find other things to make their spidey sense tingle, but check it out and make your own conclusions about authenticity.Update: Images pulled, kbai.
Le map du Blizzard
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Blizzard_maps_Paris_in_World_of_Warcraft_style'; Blizzard has released an interactive map of Paris, done in the style of World of Warcraft. Paris is the location for the World Wide Invitational 2008, and the map is a real gem. If you click on any of the locations, a tooltip will popup with two facts about it. One fact is real, and one is an in-joke tied to the World of Warcraft.When I found this, myself and several other writers were laughing out loud at them. While it's not as good as a Wrath of the Lich King map (to quote fellow writer Alex Ziebart, "Holy cow, is that a map for Wrath?" *looks closer* "Oh... it's just Paris. Lame."), it's still pretty darn funny and cool.For instance, when you click on the La Defense up in the left hand corner of the map, the quip at the bottom reads "If you put Tempest Keep in the middle of Stormwind it might look something like this – but with less dragonhawks." Just hilarious, especially if you've ever had to deal with the annoying dragonhawks in Tempest Keep: The Eye.
Bungie to release Halo 3 "Legendary Map Pack" details Tuesday
Fans of Bungie's fight-finishing FPS were undoubtedly pleased to learn last month that Halo 3, though falling behind in the Xbox Live activity rankings, is in no danger of going to the cybernetically-enhanced dogs, as it were. The map-crafting wizards at Bungie are already hard at work on a new trio of downloadable arenas -- the eight-man, objective-oriented "Ghost Town" was revealed during GDC, the other two remain shrouded in mystery.However, much like fresh Milano cookies at an Oprah's Book Club meeting, mysteries on the internet don't last very long. Bungie announced in a recent weekly update that they will reveal the second leg of their DLC tripod this coming Tuesday, dropping hints in the form of four images of the vehicles that will be playable on the map. Either these rigs have suffered a vicious antiquing, or the new map will be set in a crystalline winter wonderland -- we do so hope it's accompanied by a "Spartan Snow Angel" playlist.
Today's most brick-tastic video: The UT3 Legoland mod
While we can think of other childhood amusements we'd rather see as the inspiration for a Unreal Tournament 3 mod (like a recreation of a Mighty Max playset, or something of the Fraggle variety), this Lego-themed map is pretty ingenious (and completely free to download). Composed entirely of fully destructible Lego brick structures and populated with Lego people (whose smug smirks you can blast off their tiny, yellow faces), it's definitely the world's most vivid simulation of what going postal in Legoland might be like -- and the cleverest map we've seen from the UT3 modding community so far.
Sunwell Isle map and PTR news
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playable_web_games/New_Sunwell_map_is_discovered_for_World_of_Warcraft_Patch_2'; Thanks to Michael for alerting us to a post over at the WoW LiveJournal. He has managed to piece together a map of Sunwell Isle and the new Azeroth world map from the beta files currently available for patch 2.4. Of course, this is just beta information and may change at any time.As far as the PTR goes, you can now download the patch files. However, when you try to copy a character you get the error message "You have no characters on Anvilmar," or what ever server you live on. This is because while the patch files are available, the server is not up yet.Stay tuned to WoW Insider all this weekend for the latest patch news!See the new maps after the break.
Addon Spotlight: QuestHelper
We love quests, but they can be excessively frustrating sometimes. Usually they annoy you most when they make you wander all over, back and forth, without seeming to accomplish things efficiently. The fastest levelers will tell you to try to "stack quests," or do all the quests in a small area first, then gradually move around the map to other areas. But often the best way to do this isn't clear -- you may not even know exactly which area a quest is asking you to go to.Addons to the rescue! First, there was LightHeaded: an in-game database of comments from Wowhead.com that could help you when you get confused. Now, there's QuestHelper: an in-game guide which can tell you which direction to go, what to do, and what order to do everything in, all before you even get confused in the first place. QuestHelper isn't always right -- you still have to use your own brain, for sure -- but using this addon you'll be much less likely to make silly mistakes in your questing that slow you down and waste your time.
Taking a closer look at the Disney DS guide
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Don_t_Forget_Your_DS_Next_Time_You_Go_To_Disney_2'; Back when we reported on Disney testing out a program where the DS would be used as a tour guide, we had nothing to go on visually. We were left with only our imagination and a text description of some features. It was enough back then, but now we crave more.And, thanks to one forum poster over at the WDMagic forums, we're actually shown what it looks like. So head past the break for some screens of it in action.[Via WDMagic.com]
The AV map imbalance in patch 2.3
Alterac Valley has never been completely balanced. Before patch 2.3, most people generally agreed that the map favored the Alliance, but now, we can see that it favors the Horde. The difference mainly lies in which parts of the map are most important, and how either side can use the terrain differences to win the game. Before, the only way to win the game was to kill the opposing faction's general; anything less was effectively an on-going stalemate. But now that we have reinforcements, the general will automatically die of grief and shame once too many towers fall and players bite the dust, regardless of whether he's actually seen the enemy or not. This seemingly simple shift has totally turned the faction imbalance on its head, and placed the game entirely in Horde hands to prosecute as they choose. Assuming a relative equality of gear, player skill and morale (and of course AFKers), the Horde can decide to make AV a slow but certain victory, or else toss the dice and make it a quick but uncertain race to the end. Keep reading to see how they do it, and why the Horde can't play their ultimate best if they want to play at all.
Disney apparently already testing DS as a guide
Hot on the heels of the rumor that Disney would be trying to utilize the DS as a tour guide in its parks comes word that the company is currently in the testing stage. According to Jim Hill Media, the Magic Kingdom is already conducting field tests with its wireless device (which is utilized with a DS). And, the supposed functionality of this device is one that totally destroys anything else we were lead to believe.Not only will you be able to use your DS to guide you around the park, but it will also give you some very dynamic information. In real time, it'll tell you current wait times on rides at the park, as well as the best time for shortest lines at a certain ride or attraction. There will also be a function that tracks your favorite characters, allowing you to stalk Mickey like a champion.Everything that's being said about this new idea from Disney points to "success," if you ask us. It seems like an incredibly intuitive and functional device that should make the experience of being at one of Disney's parks that much better.[Thanks, Chris!]
