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WoW Ladies community, mods come out from hiding
The WoW_Ladies livejournal group is one of my very favorite WoW communities, so I was disappointed to see last week that their latest posts were closed to everyone but members of the community. They'd been dealing with an expanding audience lately (brought on partly by attention from WoW Insider), and apparently there were a few issues arising among the membership.But the community has started posting again (bringing about this completely awesome crochet Draenei), and the mods (formerly pretty unknown-- I've been watching them for a while, and I had no idea who was in charge over there), have made a very public statement about the future of WoW_Ladies. In addition to taking a more high-profile position, they have said that the recent closing was not their choice, but rather either a glitch, or the work of someone not a mod. And they've landed on a great compromise: all posts will be public by default, with an option for each poster to lock them to the community only. They've also made the very great choice of leaving the community open to men-- some men with significant others, they say, "like seeing the women here post - it helps them identify with their partners and helps them get ideas on how to join." Personally, I completely appreciate a place where a woman's perspective on the game gets placed front and center, rather then consigned to a minority, as in many other games media outlets.The other good news is that they're working on a brand new layout for the community, so it seems like things are jumping over there. We're glad to see they made it through the drama, and are back as one of the most intelligent and interesting groups in the WoW community.
Engadget's how-to make an Xbox 360 laptop (part 3)
Mod guru Ben Heckendorn, having taken a break to write a how-to for his PS360 pad, has returned like a trained Jedi (oh, wrong day, sorry) to complete the Xbox 360 laptop trilogy.In the final act, Heck puts all the pieces neatly together and fills in all the plot holes with with pretty pictures and Digi-key part numbers. Our enjoyment is hindered only by our jealousy and inability to follow in his footsteps. For those with engineering skills, give it a shot. For those without said skills, enjoy the show and wait until Heck reveals his next crazy contraption.See Also: part one, part two
Star Power made easy: an X-plorer mod
You know the feeling. You're playing Guitar Hero II, you've got full Star Power and here comes that sweet string of notes that will send your score into the stratosphere. Only one thing to do: tilt that controller and rock like you mean it. But what's this? You tilt the control and nothing happens, or maybe it's a little delayed, or maybe the act of tilting screws up your fingering. Whatever happened, you're stuck with a piddly x2 multiplier and a lot of wasted Star Power. If this sounds familiar to you, you may want to check out the fancy Star Power button mod at GrownUpGamers. As is the case with most mods, this will require you to crack open your X-plorer and do some soldering, so it's not for the timid. The mod also instructs users how to install a "kill switch" which essentially gives you a second strum button, helping you land those wicked solos.If you're chops are righteous enough for this mod, click the "read" link and check it out.See Also:Guitar Hero II cardboard fret mod
Microsoft booting modders off Xbox Live
If you've been using a modified Xbox 360 to beta test first-person shooters on Xbox Live, you're about to be shunned by the online world like a leper operating a Simple Plan Myspace page. "How could this happen to me?" you ask. Well, Major Nelson bluntly blurts it out on his temporary post-meltdown page: "As you can imagine, we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to modded consoles connecting to LIVE. We're very serious about this, and if we detect you have a modded Xbox then you will not be able to connect to Xbox Live."Aside from the sudden disconnection, modders will be informed of their newly-banished status by the above screen and the status code, "Z: 8015 - 190D." Those recipients without eye patches will no doubt be livid and ready to assault message boards with all manner of exclamations and emoticons, but when used for evil, the power of Mod can open the door to online cheating and other unfair unpleasantness. Sometimes innocent bystanders have to pay the price in Microsoft's war on enemy solders.[Thanks, keeel]
Power button mod sheds light on Wii status
It won't be long before LED mods completely overtake our Wii remotes, flushing its white plastic with neon warmth to the point where it burns our fingers whenever we try to wrap them around the glowing batons. We'll stare at the controllers sizzling on the coffee table, ruing the day we started outfitting our remotes with these ridiculous lights.Unlike his previous B-trigger hack which didn't do much beyond looking pretty, Loki's power button mod actually serves a somewhat useful purpose. Following the posted photo walkthrough and soldering instructions, you can install an LED that will let you know whether or not you've actually turned off your Wii after pushing the on/off button. Sure, you can just check the lights at the bottom of your remote, but where's the fun in that?
Pirates rule the Philippine seas
After a tour of the country last year, Indian President Abdul Kalam described the Philippines as a "smiling republic." Wherever he went, Kalam was met with smiling faces. Well, you'd be grinning too if you saw how cheap their games are. Thanks to the black market, popular Nintendo Wii titles are priced as low as $5 in some shops. Piracy has become so widespread in the Southeast Asian country, even Sony admits that most of its Playstation software sold in the Philippines are bootlegged copies.Filipino site GameOPS found that many stores also offer modchip installations. For about $51, you can have your system hacked to play these counterfeit games at the local mall or market. Furthermore, some shops advertise console bundles, selling imported and modded US Wiis with five copied games of your choice for around $450. Similar deals for chipped Xbox 360 systems with 10 pirated titles are actually cheaper at $388.With such a high level of piracy already in place, Nintendo will have a lot to work against when -- or if -- it decides to finally launch the Wii in the Philippines.
Ask WoW Insider: What's up with bar AddOns?
It's Friday, folks, which means it's time for our weekly edition of Ask WoW Insider. Last week we looked at the best way to power level alts, and this week we turn our attention to a question from Spyke about AddOns: Ok, my question is simple. I am a huge proponent of addons. When my friend first introduced me to them I gobbled them up, first trying out packages and then finally just searching around sites and downloading them individually. My question however is this, is there really a need for bar modification addons or is it pretty much player preference? I have tried using them a couple of times but didn't feel like spending the time required to configure them when I was happy with the default UI bars. Any answers would be appreciated. We've talked about Bongos, CyCircled, FlexBar and other bar mods before at WoW Insider, but Spyke gives us an excuse to ask you all: what bar mod(s) do you use, and why? Do you feel like it's game-breaking to live without one? If you've tried several, which is your favorite? Send us your questions for next week to ask AT wowinsider DOT com. Get on it!
New doodad kind of adds a joystick to the Wiimote
Cyber Gadget's new Wiimote add-on covers your d-pad with a thumbstick. We doubt this will improve the Wiimote's effectiveness in fighting games, but it might make the controller slightly more comfortable for people who just started gaming in the last two console generations, and for whom the d-pad as primary input is weird and alien.We remember going to the state fair once and buying an adhesive joystick that went over the NES's d-pad. That wasn't a good idea on our part or the manufacturer's! This thumbstick at least won't leave sticky residue all over your d-pad. If you're interested in the Cyber Gadget Remocon Stick, we found an $8.49 preorder link at YesAsia.
Wii LED stand mod gets more colorful
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Wii_LED_stand_mod_gets_more_colorful'; The pre-pimped Wii stand we posted earlier did not meet the required level of pimped-ness for one modder, so he cracked it open and continued to pimp it until it busted the pimpometer and blasted off into the pimposphere. Blue lights are reasonably pimpin', but by adding multicolored lights to the bottom of this stand, this guy's Wii has reached super-pimptastic levels of pimpitude never seen before on this or any console.Actually, this is more psychedelic-looking than pimped-out, but we think the use of the verb "pimp" (in its "decorating" sense) is hilarious. Check out the video after the break![Thanks, AJ!]
360 get another retail tilt mod: the BestTilt
Whether or not you think the Xbox 360 needs motion control is irrelevant, because somebody wants to sell it to you. First there was the DIY tiltBoard that was picked up by Talismoon for mass production. Now Xbox-Scene informs us that Team Xtender is jumping into the fray with its tilt mod, the XCM BestTilt. The video above shows the BestTilt in action. Team Xtender boasts that their tilt modification bests other offerings with its simple plug and play operation. We like the idea, but there appears to be some lag between tilt input and game output. We weren't thrilled with Team Xtender's XFPS keyboard and mouse adapter, so we suggest you wait on some reviews before you lay down your money for the BestTilt.There doesn't appear to be a product listing for the BestTilt at Team Xtender's website yet, so price and release date remain unknown.
Solderless Wii modchips on the way?
If you've been curious about fixing your Wii to dabble with homebrew or play titles from other regions, but don't trust your abilities enough to mess with the console's innards, there might be a solution in the works for you. WiiNewz forum member Takrin recently posted photos of his hardware project in progress, a prototype modchip that requires no soldering to install. With nothing to attach the modchip to though, how does it stay in place? Takrin suggests "double sided tape on one side" and "foam which presses it to your drive on the other." That doesn't sound like a very stable setup, but we hope to see this development spawn more sophisticated and accessible mods in the future. To be honest, if a monkey can't install it, we probably wouldn't be able to either. [Via MaxConsole]
Images of the Clements High student's "terroristic" maps
Images of the maps made by the Clements High School student have found their way to the internet. If there are small children in the room, cover their delicate eyes. Might want to close the blinds, sweep the room for bugs, and unplug your webcam, too ... just to be safe.The blood! The horror! The ... wait. Actually, they don't look half bad. Makes their school look rather appealing, wouldn't you agree? The "Let Freedom Ring for All People" banner is a nice touch, as well. Call us crazy, but we don't see what's so "terroristic" about these creations.[Via Digg]%Gallery-2937%
AddOn Spotlight: SpamSentry
"www. Buy cheapest WoW goldpwns4hire. We live to serve your every need!com And we certainly don't ruin the game for everyone else who just wants to play without cheating."Ah, gold spam. It's a bigger problem now than ever, and getting bigger every day. I feel like I get an average of one spam whisper per ten minutes when I play my level 70s, and about a mail a day or so. No, it doesn't really cost me anything, but it sure is annoying. Blizzard are allegedly working on some improvements to the situation for 2.1; one rumor says that trial accounts will no longer be able to whisper people who don't have them friended. I don't buy that, since Blizz have said several times that they want trial accounts to convey the full social nature of WoW, but we'll see.At any rate, there's something you can do about the problem now: SpamSentry. It's a mod that automatically catches and hides spam whispers and emails, and provides a two-click solution for reporting them to GMs (which you should definitely do so they can catch the buggers). It almost makes getting spammed enjoyable, since it's so easy to report and hopefully hinder their foul goals. It plugs in to FuBar and Titan, which is always convenient, and in general is a pleasure to use. Recommended to all who get spammed (but isn't that everyone?).Download SpamSentry at ui.worldofwar.netPreviously on the SpotlightDon't know how to use AddOns?
Reader UI of the Week: Omegi
This week, Omegi, a member of <J E T T> on Kalecgos horde-side sends in his fairly minimal UI. It gets me to thinking, and I hope it'll get you to thinking too. Here's what's on my mind - what's more efficient: well-placed buttons with easy visual clues, or an array of keybindings that you commit to memory? Omegi has a set of keybindings which are great, and I'm digging the large buttons for infrequently used items/skills. Here is the UI I have grown to love over the career of my mage. Here is a list of mods and key bindings. My mod list: CT Raid Assist: Only for the group bars to show buffs. A raid leader must know his class officers are buffing up their members properly. Bongos: This allowed me to move buttons around and make them smaller or larger. It also allows me to color the square for range notification and allows easy hover and click key bindings. Cryolosys Revived: A mage must have. Otherwise you have 2 bars of useless buffs Natures Enemy Cast bar: Shows enemy and friendly cast and cool down timers. I know when a soulstone is available or when someones polymorph timer is up. Deadly Boss Mods: Better than CT Boss mods by a long shot. Easy Combat log: It's color coded crap for idiots like me. Titan Panel: duh? Improved Camera2 : extends the range you can zoom out. EZdismount: click a spell while mounted and you dismount for the fast attack. Trinket Menu: better trinket management. Xperl Unit Frames: Better group frames Smart Debuff: Every debuff class must have it.
Have you hugged your mod writer today?
This week's issue of the Escapist has an excellent article by Greg Tito discussing the difficulties of being a mod writer in World of Warcraft. And we're not just talking about learning LUA or fixing bugs after Blizzard has released a major patch, but about the community itself. You've all read the official forums, so you know the community isn't always friendly. And when a mod you've written goes from being something you coded for yourself (and uploaded on a whim) to something used by thousands of people (each of them asking -- or demanding -- different bug fixes and improvements), I'd say things stop being fun. Mod-writer Gello explains some of the stress of the situation when he tried to help his users out by writing a German localization:I had spent a couple very intense months working on the localization of Recap. It got so I could understand combat logs in German.... It was just causing way too much stress and time for something I would never see or use.And when French players began requesting a French localization of mage water-summoning mod WaterBoy, Gello refused, suggesting that native speakers could make a localization themselves. And then, as Gello says, the flames began:When I stood by my position (probably not in the nicest terms), they continued in earnest. I got an email with an attachment I thought was safe and apparently it wasn't.... I basically abandoned the email address, formatted my pc, ditched the mod and didn't look back.Really, people: go give your favorite mod writer a hug. It can be an immense amount of work to maintain a good mod and most of it is thankless.
Trigger happy LED mod
Wii remote modders won't rest until they've installed fluorescent lighting on every button and pad, decorating the controller like some kind of rectangular christmas tree. Today's DIY project adds an LED to the usually unseen B button behind the remote. WiiCade forumer Loki has instructions and a photo tutorial on how to plant an LED under your own Wiimote's trigger. You can set the button to light up all the time or when the controller rumbles, whichever your fancy. Check past the post break for video of the glowing mod.[Via Digg]
DS Daily: Get your skin on
We were looking wistfully at this phantom Phoenix Wright decal set, as we are prone to do in unguarded moments, and we realized that despite the fact that this particular set was too beautiful for this world, we still have a desire to skin our DS.But we thought we'd check with you before we did anything hasty. What's your opinion on skinning? Is it universally tacky (er, in the style sense-- we'd kind of hope they were a little sticky) or a way to make your system unique? And if you're all for it, what do you go for? Bling? Anime tie-in? Or something from one of the online stores like Decalgirl that specializes in skins?
Reader UI of the Week: Silph
Another great and simple UI this week, but I still want to see your outlandish (get it?) designs and crazy UI schemes. Do you have something you think no one else has been able to show us yet? Send it to readerui at gmail dot com. Silph writes: Function over form. I follow that rule in my design work, and did so with this UI. Basically everything is suited to my needs, all while being simple and as minimal as possible. To begin with there are two chat frames, the on the left shows guild, part and raid chat while the one on the right shows everything else from trade to a tabbed combat log. Above the each chat frame there are a collection of buttons. The left ones have macros of my Outfitter gear sets (Tanking, DPS, FR, AR etc etc) along with profession buttons (Enchanting, smelting, cooking etc). The right ones on the other hands are my trade macros. Each button advertises in trade an enchant I can do. The macros will spam something along the lines of: "Enchanting Savagry (70 AP) on 2H weapon I'll wave my rod and make you glow©" but I digress.
Wii Warm Up: Homebrew, mods, and more
Are you the type to paint your controllers or crack open your Wii? Well, considering the worldwide shortages, it takes a brave soul to try the later, but that hasn't stopped a few folks out there from dressing things up. How about homebrew? Do you have a Wiibot, or have you perhaps played a little WoW with your Wii controller? If you're haven't tried any of the nifty things people have done with Wiimotes, why not? It does seem a little complicated from a layman's perspective, but gamers often like to poke around and hook things together. We have to mix it up to keep ourselves busy between awesome releases, after all.
Ben Heck creates the 360 Laptop mk2
Of all the wonderful things that can be said about the Xbox 360, "portable" doesn't usually come up. With a sizable case and a monstrous power brick, the 360 takes some effort (and preferably a comfy backpack) to haul around. Always there to heed our call, the venerable Ben Heck is at it again with the 360 laptop mk2. Many will recall his previous laptop effort, and we have to say the mk2 is definitely an improvement (the keyboard should come in handy for IM). There's no word yet as to how much the beast must have cost (HD screen = expensive), nor are there any "making of" pictures, but Engadget promises to reveal the whole process in the coming weeks. So, if you'd like to build one for your very own, stay tuned.In the meantime, hit the "read" link to check out some images and video of the 360 laptop mk2 in action.[Via Joystiq]
