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A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The replacements
Hey, guys, did you know that Going Rogue is launching in less than a week? That's crazy. It feels especially strange to me, since this was an expansion that had barely been announced when I started here, and has since become pretty personally important. But we're not here to talk about my vague feelings about the impending launch, we're here to talk about its larger implications for City of Heroes -- namely, the obvious systemic changes that might well be coming when the expansion goes live. Now, some of you are doubtlessly going to point out that we're not even getting our first Incarnate slot, the expansion isn't changing any part of the system, and so forth and so on. But you forget that there is an interesting change to the system coming that we all know about: the fact that archetypes will no longer be allegiance-locked. That's right -- whether you're in City of Heroes or City of Villains, you'll no longer be limited to five different archetypes. And considering the fact that the archetypes are roughly analogous on both sides now, this might have just a bit of an impact.
Party like a rock star in Final Fantasy XIV
There are players out there who might be dreading parties in Final Fantasy XIV. Well, not precisely; they might well be dreading that the mechanics will be similar to the parties from Final Fantasy XI, where some classes could seemingly wait for ages without a trace of a group. Mercifully, the fine bilingual team at FFXIVCore has continued its apparent tradition of translating information to coincide with the new beta testing, with the newest translation being a guide to getting a working group in the game. Guildleves are the game's core leveling mechanics, but new ones can only be accepted every so often, and they can be hard to complete on higher settings alone. By grouping up, players gain access to more guildleves from other players and more support in tackling the game's bigger challenges. The full translation has information on everything from the interface to form a party to the game's battle regiments, the equivalent of Final Fantasy XI's skillchains. (We're guessing they meant regimens, but that's the challenge of translation.) Final Fantasy XIV fans are advised to take a look at the article to start gearing up for the game's release in two months.
The Mog Log: Those grapes were probably sour anyway
So, guess what beta I didn't get an invitation for. You can go consult with the instant replay if you want, I can wait. I know that everyone is stunned. I certainly was. Of course, I assuaged my sadness by telling myself that I didn't really want to be in their stupid beta anyway, because I bet it smells bad and it sets my computer on fire. That line of reasoning worked real well. I don't honestly think my column got me kicked from the running for a Final Fantasy XIV beta slot, but it's a bit more reassuring than the idea that I just didn't get picked for some other reason. (I'm putting money on Square-Enix not knowing I exist, for the record.) All things considered, I can live without the beta, even though I'm chomping at the bit to play the game. But I'm not the only person, place, or thing not currently darting about the world of Eorzea. And as long as I'm on a streak of making long-winded predictions, why break with formula? There are three other things that I suspect aren't in the beta either, and I intend to make a guessing game out of seeing how close I am to the truth.
Macworld 2010: Adam Savage re-enacts the EFF's history
We visited a lot of parties last night (and the TUAW bloggers are nursing hangovers because of it), but the best was undoubtedly the Electronics Frontier Foundation's 20th anniversary bash at the DNA Lounge. It wasn't strictly Mac-related, but Mythbuster Adam Savage was in the house, and he led a hilarious re-enactment of some of the major moments in the EFF's history, assisted by various objects and people "found around the club". Of course, since there were quite a few luminaries in the house (including the founders of the EFF, the crew from Steve Jackson Games, and other tech who's whos), the re-enactment actually ended up being re-enacted by most of the actual participants. We captured video of the event, and it's both informational and hilarious -- you can catch it in two segments after the break below. Stay tuned for more from Macworld 2010 all this week -- the floor opens today, and we'll have live streaming video right here on the site, as well as hands-on, interviews, and news from the show in San Francisco all week long. For the iPhone-friendly YouTube video, click here.
More options for party communication
Our buddy Rufus from the WoW LJ brings word of a sneaky change in the recent patch: raid warnings (those warnings that pop up in the middle of your screen, created by typing "/rw" while leading a raid) no longer work in parties. Apparently you have to be in a raid to actually toss off a warning. Of course, that could have happened before this patch, but at any rate, it's in the game now. No more /rw in party chat. Not only is it a bummer because some people used to use it constantly to keep party members in line, but this also means that there's one less means of communication between all of these random parties forming out there on the realms. Sure, in a perfect world, everyone would know the fights and chat would be enough to make sure everyone was on the same page (or depending of your vision of a perfect world, everyone actually uses the in-game voice chat -- a quick survey of our staff here presumes that it works in cross-realm PuGs, but given that I've never actually seen it used on the live realms by anyone, who knows?), but we're hardly running instances in a perfect world. Sometimes chat is not the best way to get a complicated boss fight organized and ready.
Partying at BlizzCon
Tickets are only going on sale today, but already people are planning the most important part of BlizzCon: the parties. There's a whole crew of people planning to meet up at the Hilton, and if the past few years are any indication, all of the restaurants and bars around the area will be hosting roaming groups of World of Warcraft and Blizzard fans after the show every night. Whether you're meeting up with your guildies or just sitting down with random strangers to talk about whatever Blizzard announced previously in the day, partying at Blizzard's big event is always a good time.Most plans are still up in the air, though we do have one event for you to mark on your calendar: our regular WoW Insider meetup will be held as usual on Thursday night again this year (that'll be August 20th). We haven't quite figured out a location yet -- unfortunately, I think we've finally outgrown The Lost Bar, as last year it was not only packed to capacity, and not only did my throat wear out from yelling to the crowd, but the bar's lone bartender has soured us on going back there. We're looking around for someplace a little bigger, preferably with a stage and a mic, where the drinks can flow freely.Wherever we end up, it's sure to be a hoot -- we'll likely have giveaways, WoW Insider editors and staffers aplenty will be in attendance, and, probably the best part, you'll get to meet all of the fellow readers who fill the comment fields next to you. If you're grabbing tickets today (or even if you're just planning to be there anyway), stay tuned as we get closer for more news on where the meetup is going down. BlizzCon 2009 is coming up on August 21st and 22nd! We've got all the latest news and information. At BlizzCon you can play the latest games, meet your guildmates, and ask the developers your questions. Plus, there's some great looking costumes.
Anti-Aliased: Yu rack disriprine
A few nights ago, I was in one of the worst pick-up groups I have ever seen. It was World of Warcraft, we were in Halls of Lightning, and we had opened up with a dramatic wipe on the first boss. (He wasn't even in his powered mode, which surprised me.)Valiantly, we tried the battle again, but found the same effect. Everyone looked like they had enough gear -- I had done that boss with "worse" people backing me up. Of course, while I was pondering that, the squabbling had already begun in the party. Priest blames hunter, hunter blames mage, mage blames paladin, then the paladin stops pondering why we were failing, realizes people were blaming her, and becomes flustered that someone would actually blame her for the wipe. Meanwhile, the rogue sat in stealth and went afk. Perfect party dynamics.Before long I found myself outside of Halls of Lightning again, sitting on the steps in my pristine holy plate armor. I held up a sign that said, "Will tank 4 food," while I kept up hopes that another party would take me in. (Note: Apparently Game Informer used "Will tank 4 food" in their latest magazine, which just read 5 minutes ago, well after this article was completed. Scary.)Party dynamics seem to be on the decline, but why? Pick-up groups were always a scary prospect, but lately they seem to have become something entirely more nightmarish. What the heck has changed?
The Daily Grind: How do you say 'shut up'?
Yesterday, Matt Low of the our sister site WoW Insider and the very awesome World of Matticus blog pointed out a fairly interesting conversation going on over at PlusHeal. Apparently, the original poster had been using the phrase 'shut up' during a raid to try to quiet down people cross-chattering over voice comms, but after dealing with the upset it caused, they're looking for something new and more effective instead of 'shut up'. Having been a group/raid leader myself, I can say in all honesty that this is absolutely one of my pet peeves; talking during instructions/pulls or loot distribution. It distracts from the important things and can cause quite a bit of confusion. On the flip side, clamping down on cross-chatter too much will make a group or raid feel less like fun with friends and more like a second job. As such, this morning we thought we'd ask you - how do you tell your group to quiet down without sounding like the guy from the Onyxia Wipe animation? (Link language NSFW) Are there any phrases or methods you've found effective to quiet a noisy group down without ruffling feathers? Or sometimes are you justified in telling people to shut it?
EverQuest II anniversary celebrations much larger than SOE had planned
When are overcrowded servers and multiple crashes a good thing? Probably when you work for SOE and your game's fourth anniversary party has more people in attendance than you'd ever imagined.EverQuest II had its fourth anniversary last month, and the parties were a bit more epic than SOE had imagined, or planned. According to Kiara, SOE's EverQuest II Community Relations Manager, the parties were so large that she was crashed multiple times herself, and the EQ2 devs had to actually come in and create hotfixes for mixed parties on the PvP servers and a way to distribute presents to an entire room at one time. This story by Kiara seems to mostly be a light-hearted look back at how much fun those anniversary parties were, but it also goes to show just how strong the EQ2 community remains four years after the game's launch.
Party on Wayne, Party on Tetris
When you can't think of an original name for a new Wii title, simply add "party" to the end and call it a day. The Wii is great for parties, so reminding everyone of their obligation to entertain friends while gaming is standard issue these days. The upcoming Tetris game for WiiWare admirably follows this trend, with the latest information on Hudon's Japanese website displaying a name change and a lamentable delay.Tetris Party is no longer released in July 2008; we're stuck with a "sometime 2008" instead. Well, that's for Japanese Wii owners, but hopefully the localization won't take a decade or something. All joking about the name aside, there's no reason this shouldn't be a great game. Tetris always is!%Gallery-18122%[Via Siliconera]
Students throw real Mario party, with matching drinks
Graduate students at the IT University of Copenhagen take over their local bar Scrollbar (great name!) every Friday night, and recently decided to deck the place out with a Mario theme. More than just decorations and music, however, the theme also included a cadre of customized cocktails and shots, all appropriately inspired by the Mushroom Kingdom and its denizens.Drinks included the Princess Peach (a modified Southern Peach) and the Mario and Luigi Shot (half grenadine, half kiwi Bols). The Yoshi cocktail was popular enough to be added to the bar's standard repertoire, and patrons downing the 1UP Shot were treated to that all-too-familiar sound effect upon completion.Nintendo fans can check out the site for more details about the event, and recipes for mixing every cocktail and shot (assuming they're of the legal drinking age). Now all they need is some Tetris ice.[Via DS Fanboy]
Throw the hippest gaming parties with Tetris ice cubes
We suppose that they're technically ice tetrominoes, but that just sounds so much less hip. Next time you have friends and colleagues over for caviar and Rock Band, keep their cocktails cool with these Tetris-themed ice "cubes," fashioned like those seven shapes made famous by Alexey Pajitnov's classic falling block puzzle game. Of course, you could always make them yourself, but nothing says swanky like flexible silicone trays.Unfortunately, the designer states on his website that the "Tetrice" tray hasn't been put into production yet, but that he's currently seeking out companies to produce it. We hope he finds one soon, because we're already planning our first fancy soirée: black tie only, and you must bring your own controller.[Thanks, GreasyGuide]
Wii Warm Up: Launch parties
In Japan, game launch parties are associated with personal appearances from games' creators, free stuff, and huge lines. In the U.S., however, they're all business, generally just an opportunity to get a game a little early. The Nintendo World Store is an obvious exception to this rule, with crazy, publicized launch events taking place for every big Nintendo game.Whether at the NWS or at your local Sam's, do you go in for these events? If so, do you go just to pick up your game, or is there a special appeal to hanging out at a store? We've never participated in the whole midnight-launch thing or really any other launch event, but that's only because they're, like, outside of our house.
Sleeper Cartel throws second annual Summer Party tomorrow on Perenolde
Sleeper Cartel on Perenolde is a great guild-- they've shown up on Guildwatch more than a few times before, not for drama, but because they routinely put on really cool server events. Their events have a roleplaying flavor, but they aren't really hardcore RP-- rather, they're just a fun way for people to get together and do social things in game.And now, finally, they've told us about one of their events before it's happened, so we can tell you. Tomorrow (still not very much notice, I know), Saturday, August 18th at 7pm server, they're having their second annual serverwide party, and they are throwing quite a bash. Player-run quests, pirate costumes, a player wedding to kick everything off, tons of giveaways, items, fireworks, and they're even giving away a Professor Plum-- yup, one Epic will be handed out to a lucky winner.The whole thing is going to be held out at Fray Island (and probably a few other places around the server), so if you're free tomorrow afternoon, you'll definitely have to check it out. I've been super impressed with everything else SC has done, and I don't expect tomorrow's event to be an exception (and now that I've posted this, they'll probably have more people than they know what to do with). Should be a lot of fun.
Wii party tips from college finance site
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Wii_party_tips_from_who_else_college_finance_company'; We may be Wii experts, but we aren't exactly party experts. We hear a lot about the Wii being great in social settings, but since it doesn't come preloaded with friends, we e-hermits remain alone in our (separate) caves.Lucky for you, then, that some real party people are willing to help you plan your shindig: NextPath, a newsletter about student loans, has compiled a list of helpful household hints for your next college Wii party. Who would know more about partying than a corporation that finances student loans? Besides anyone else.The list of suggestions, which was probably generated by a computer and then focus-tested on other, younger computers with Mountain Dew logos on them, includes among its 15 essentials things, stuff like Icy Hot, headbands, Ace bandages and eye protection. That makes their ideal event sound a lot more like the kind of party we'd plan, and not the kind of party that someone who is successful at making friends would even deign to attend (guys wearing #8 "Ankle Support" are certain to be a big hit with #2 "Ladies.")We wonder if this kind of mainstream coverage of the Wii is indicative of a real cultural phenomenon, or if Nintendo marketing just helped finance a few student loans.[Via NeoGAF]
Macworld 2007 party roundup for Wednesday, January 10th
Macworld certainly isn't all work and no play, so I thought it would be handy to round up any parties and gatherings that are happening *off* the Macworld Expo grounds. For simplicity, I checked Upcoming's Macworld tag, though we have heard of at least one other non-listed event (and I would bet there are plenty more). If you have a gathering going on this week, let us know at tuaw.com/tips (use relevant subjects like: "Party at Macworld Wednesday!" and "Party at Macworld Thursday!" etc.) and we'll include them in our daily roundups, updating as we receive new tips through the day. For now, here is a list of Wednesday's gatherings: Spymac.com Annual Reader Meetup, 5:30-6:30 pm Macworld Expo Web Developers BoF 6-7:30 pm Mac small business dinner 6:30-8:30 pm DialyTechTalk's open Macworld party at 9 pm MyDreamApp/MacHeist party at 7-11 pm
djay - a "groundbreaking" audio application
djay, as you can see, is a "groundbreaking" new audio app that offers a slew DJ-oriented features to get your party started, including: Real-time audio mix transmission over Bonjour network Real-time audio mix recording iTunes Integration Automatic artwork image loading on both turntables Time-Stretching Pitch-Shifting with amazing blend effect Audio Unit Effects Support Pre-Cueing (requires multichannel sound card) Crossfade automation Magnetic tempo slider for precise beat matching GarageBand instruments integration via network AppleScriptability for mixing automation and a whole lot more. Seriously, I had to whittle out quite a bit from djay's feature list just to fit these key points into the post. I'm not a DJ myself, but checking this out sure makes me wish I was.All these features come in (what looks like) a slick package for the low, low price of $0; in fact, I can't even find a donation link at the product's site, algoriddim.net (clever). If any more DJ-capable TUAW readers check this out, please share a few words of your wisdom with the rest of the class.[via digg]
Summer of XBLA hits San Fran
John Porcaro of GamerScoreBlog is doling out the last few tickets to tonight's Xbox Live Gold Experience event in San Fancisco. Unfortunately he doesn't give an exact location for this particular "lifestyle initiative."If you're in the Bay Area, try wandering around until you find a bunch of people enjoying hi-def versions of Frogger and Pac-Man. Of course, most fanboys would trade their cheese cubes and free booze for some exciting XBLA news -- say a title or two from Rare. Notice I said "most."
"I Hate You, E3," declares Escapist writer
Okay, so maybe not hate completely.The eye-catching title of an essay from the latest installment of The Escapist puts the emphasis on the negative aspect of the love-hate relationship many industry vets have with E3, but there's surprisingly a lot of love for the trade show here, even if you don't subscribe to the hardened "I hate E3 because I love it" theory of convention devotion.While the Joystiq staff hasn't been to quite as many E3s as the founder of the International Game Journalists Association (IGJA), we can certainly empathize with the world-weariness that might accumulate after years of weeklong death- press-marches and working in overcrowded, sensory-overloaded spaces. We just hope our love of the game(s) will stay with us as it has for Mr. Thomas, whether we're watching from home or working the show floor in person in post-apocalyptic L.A. The parties will be sure to be awesome.See also: Joystiq at E3 2006 mega-site The Escapist's big E3 issue this week, with references within to Joystiq's Paris Hilton story and some E3 party pics orig. from Joystiq The Game of Journalism -- the IGJA's official web site
MMO players convene after E3
Those of us heavily invested in massively multiplayer games are part of a community, just as FPS clans have a brotherhood borne out of hours of playing together. Events like BlizzCon provide an opportunity for MMO guilds and players to meet up -- for the unknown to meet the infamous.E3 may have been over, but that didn't stop NCsoft arranging a player get-together last Saturday. Over 400 players signed up, some travelling from as far as Arizona for this one evening. While NCsoft had rented out a LAN centre for the event, players spent just as much time talking as they did playing, with a sizeable contingent of developers and community managers on hand to help the event along. NCsoft celebrities including Richard Garriott and Matt "Positron" Miller attended the event, showing a pleasing commitment to the player base.
