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Washington, D.C.'s Marriott Wardman Park gets 32-inch LG plasmas
If you were impressed with the $6.2 million renovation at the Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center, you'll be blown away by the upgrades found on Washington, D.C.'s largest hotel. The Marriott Wardman Park has just underwent a whopping $100 million refreshing (a "comprehensive revitalization," as it were), which added in a 32-inch LG plasma to each and every guest room. Additionally, each PDP will be equipped with Marriott's proprietary plug-in panel, and while 64 channels of programming will be available, we aren't told how many of those will be in high-definition. Looks like the competition in the D.C. hotel market is getting even fiercer.
Breakfast Topic: Those little annoyances
So like Alex, I figure I probably have a few more alts than your average player. I have 3 level 70s, 3 more characters above level 60, and a few more at various levels of play. I even started a new shaman just this past week, just because I decided I had a really cool character concept for a female Orc shaman. Anyhow, I've been playing the shaman quite a bit, and I've actually not been twinking her at all, enjoying the challenge of starting a character from scratch and making sure I still have my mojo despite getting all fat and sassy from all that easy daily money from Sunwell Isle. WoW's done a pretty decent job of keeping the lower level game easy enough for characters, but there's a couple things I've noticed while playing that still feel like they need some work. If I could highlight one, it would be the complete lack of Shaman trainers in Lordaeron.
American Explorer ready to air this fall on HDNet
Ready for a new nature series coming to your HDTV? Courtesy of a specially equipped EarthRoamer expedition vehicle, Keith Neuman promises a new look at adventure travel this fall on HDNet. American Explorer has been filmed completely in 1080i, bringing to life his 60+ day, six country journey. As much as we'd enjoy setting up base camp in some jungle on the back of a Jeep, letting him take the point and then just catching the (commercial-free) show in prime time this fall was probably the best choice for all involved.
EVE Fanfest 2008 dates and travel packages announced
EVE Online fans, rejoice! CCP Games has announced details about Fanfest, as well as the travel packages they've arranged. For those who've never heard of the EVE Fanfest, for the past four years CCP has put out this call to all pilots: Join us at the top of the world for the ultimate party: the EVE Fanfest, held in our hometown of Reykjavik, Iceland. This is the best experience of EVE Online: your chance to meet the people behind the avatars in person, including friends and foes alike from the battlefield, plus the CCP Devs. Catch an inside glimpse of what's in store for EVE; participate in live PVP and CCG tournaments versus other pilots; and, if you dare, venture out into the world-renowned Reykjavik nightlife afterwards!If there's one thing CCP knows how to do right, beyond that whole 'internet spaceships thing', it's throwing a party. EVE Fanfest 2008 will be on November 6-8 at Laugardalur in the heart of Reykjavik, and will be the fifth annual event hosted by CCP. Fanfest is clearly a big deal to the Icelandic game developers, as they've made arrangements for airfare and hotel travel packages for fans wishing to make the journey north. At present, they've announced three 'early bird' travel packages through Icelandair for Germany, Holland, and the U.S.; more packages for other countries are in the works and will be announced at the official EVE Online site as details become available. Note that the offer for Germany ends on June 15. Read on for the full details about the U.S.-Iceland travel package.
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?
aloft opening swank hotel near Philadelphia airport
Just in case Jacksonville and Chicago aren't on your upcoming itinerary, aloft is hoping that you'll be spending at least a night near PHL. Beginning this week, aloft is accepting reservations for its Philadelphia-based hotel, which is scheduled to open wide for guests on September 8th. Per usual, each room will see a 42-inch flat-panel HDTV with a connectivity panel for connecting up cellphones, DAPs, laptops, etc., but we haven't got the nerve to actually phone 'em up and hesitantly inquire about nightly rates.
Updated LotRO stable route travel chart
With gas prices skyrocketing through the roof these days, it's nice to know we have other options in store. Luckily, there is no war over horses in Middle-earth, so the price of travel tends to stay consistent. But when it does change, TheBrasse.com is here to help keep us informed of the changes.In the latest, most updated stable route chart, you can see the exact routes from stable to stable, as well as the price in silver and minimum level requirements for each one. This chart includes the latest from the Evendim update. Each route is also color-coded for regular overland travel, swift travel and there's a separate section for the Ettenmoors PvP travel. So next time you're scraping together some loose change for gas money, think of the horses!
Player vs. Everything: Fear is the missing ingredient
When I was playing EverQuest in the Kunark-era days there was one item that stood head and shoulders above all the others for me: the Fungus Covered Scale Tunic (affectionately called "The Fungi"). It was the ultimate twink item, allowing you to regain your health at a rate unheard of in the days when long rest periods between each minor battle were the norm for solo players. The Fungi was something I lusted after, wished for, and dreamed of, but I was never able to actually lay hands on it during those days, due to the extreme difficulty of obtaining one. If you wanted one, you had to take a full party of maximum level characters into an exceedingly dangerous area, far from the reaches of civilization, and fight your way to a rare spawn deep in the ruined city of Old Sebilis. Very rarely, he would drop the prized Fungi, which you could then pass on to your low-level alts or sell on the open market for hundreds of thousands of platinum pieces. Other than the fact that it was a fantastic twink item, what made the Fungi so compelling? It was that you really had to risk something to get it. EverQuest, with it's naked corpse runs, experience loss on death, and horribly dangerous dungeons, made adventuring into a real adventure. Getting to Old Sebilis required traveling across several dangerous and hostile jungle zones in the forgotten continent of Kunark, far from the nearest hub of civilization. Dying in the depths of Old Sebilis was a sickeningly punishing experience in those days -- something you avoided at all costs. When a battle started going sour, you could feel your hackles rising, panic setting in, and a real sense of fear that made victory that much sweeter and death a soul-crushing experience. Is that sense of fear something we're missing out on in the modern MMOG?
LodgeNet bringing HDTV / broadband to Loews Hotels
Look out, avid travelers -- LodgeNet is at it again. After announcing that it would bring HD to 17,000 hotel rooms in early 2007, the company is now talking up an agreement with Loews Hotels. The deal will bring a comprehensive HDTV and broadband internet solution to US and Canadian Loews properties, meaning that 8,000 rooms across all 18 Loews hotels will be upgraded. Guests who find themselves in one of these venues for the night will soon be enjoying HD movies and TV, video-on-demand and the DirecTV Sports package to boot. Unfortunately, there's no word as to when the new services will be implemented, but the sooner the better, we say.
Jamaica's The Palmyra Resort & Spa opening with cable HDTV
Looking for something a bit more elegant than just another hotel? If you've been toying with the idea of shipping yourself off to Jamaica this fall for a nice dose of R&R, you may want to put The Palmyra Resort & Spa on your short list. After all, you can't make it a whole week without a little high-resolution action, right? Said venue is being launched by the former president of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Horst Schulze, and aside from luxurious amenities throughout the place, you can expect 299 well-appointed guest rooms with HDTVs, "cable HDTV" (that's programming, we presume) and high-speed internet. Sound too good to enjoy for just a week? Call these guys up -- you can buy yourself a private residence if you've got the scratch.
aloft Dulles-North hotel sets sights on November opening
Just in case the recently revamped Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center isn't close enough to all the action for you, aloft is getting set to bring its traditionally modern style to a new hotel in Ashburn, Virginia. The 136-room aloft Dulles-North is merely minutes away from the Dulles International Airport, and besides being near a plethora of shopping and dining options, it also offers each guest free WiFi, their own flat-panel HDTV and a "one-stop connectivity" panel for interfacing with gizmos in tow. No word on just how pricey a night in this place will be, but you can find out for yourself starting on November 6th
Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center: now with HDTVs in every room
Ever wonder what a $6.2 million renovation can do? It'll buy 284 32-inch LCD HDTVs, that's for sure. At the Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that's exactly what has been added to its guest rooms, and all eleven floors have now been refreshed with the oh-so-useful "plug-in panel" that enables patrons to sync up their travel gadgetry with the in-room flat-panel. You'll also find wireless internet and more HDTVs in the lobby downstairs, and the free on-site parking makes you feel as if you're much further away from D.C. than just a half hour.
WoW Insider's Guide to the Mounts of the World of Warcraft
WoW Insider has put together the ultimate guide to every mount in the World of Warcraft. From the first Pinto you'll get as a budding Human Mage, to the rare epic flying mount the Ashes of Al'ar, we cover every mount available to every race, faction, and class in-game.A Warcraft mount holds a special spot in all of our inventories. It allows us to travel Azeroth, Outlands, and soon Northrend in blazing speeds rivaling those of the mighty Alliance Gryphons. Many people have names for their mounts and become uniquely attached to them. Others make it a point to try to get every mount available to them, often spending years collecting the necessary reputation with each faction.And who doesn't like to go even faster on the fastest mount? For the speed demon in all of us there are several enchantments and trinkets that make our rides travel faster than before.Check out WoW Insider's Guide to the Mount of the World of Warcraft for every mount in the game. And don't forget to check back whenever there is a new content patch - as the World of Warcraft grows, so will this guide. Alliance Draenei Mounts Dwarf Mounts Gnome Mounts Human Mounts Night Elf Mounts Horde Blood Elf Mounts Orc Mounts Tauren Mounts Troll Mounts Undead Mounts Class Specific Mounts Flying Mounts Holiday Mounts Profession Mounts PvP Mounts Rare Drop Mounts Reputation Mounts Riding Skills & Mount Mechanics TCG Mounts Index %Gallery-18308%
iPhone on the Road: a substitute for paper boarding passes
Some things sound really cool -- until you actually have to step up and do them in real time. TUAW reader Gerald Buckley's story about traveling with his iPhone strikes me as belonging to this class. When he approached the American Airlines counter to use his iPhone as a boarding pass, the coolness quotient for his entire trip got bumped up several notches. It seems that he navigated over to AA.com using Mobile Safari, signed in and displayed a PDF of his boarding pass on-screen. The American Airlines counter agent in San Antonio "humored" him and scanned the barcode as displayed on his iPhone. The scan worked, and Buckley proceeded with his travels (much to the envy and amazement of his fellow passengers, no doubt). Here's the thing though. If it were me, this would have totally gone another way. First, while waiting on line, I would have had bad WiFi. It would have taken me about 20 minutes to type in my information and the people behind me on line would have been coughing *significantly* to get me to keep moving along with the line as I tried to type, move all my luggage and possibly keep three extremely rambunctious children in order. Finally, I would get to the gate agent and I would have gotten the snarky impatient version -- somehow I always do. Assuming that I could even get all the typing and navigation done, I know in my heart that the response would have been "you need a printed boarding pass, ma'am." Of course, this is entirely academic because I have not been granted a boarding pass for the last 5 or 6 years due entirely, I'm sure, to my last name. It's always "You must check in at the counter" -- which is way easier than even a boarding pass because I just swipe my credit card. All that having been said, TUAW congratulates Mr. Buckley's ingenuity and offers the example of his experience to speed you your travels in a uniquely geek fashion. If you've got the travel bug (with or without your iPhone), be sure to visit our sister site Gadling for all things flight-related.
Player vs. Everything: Loading...
A few weeks ago, I was reading an Age of Conan interview with Shannon Drake where he was discussing several of the features that would be present in the game. One of the questions he was asked was why Funcom made the choice to use world zones for AoC instead of a seamless world. If you haven't heard the terminology before, games with world zones are games like EverQuest, EverQuest 2, and Guild Wars, where you have a loading screen when you pass from area to area. Seamless worlds include games like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, where you can pass between different game areas without a loading screen. Seamless worlds still have loading screens, of course-- just not for most major zones that you'll be traveling through. Shannon's answer was interesting. He admitted that their choice was partially due to the trade-offs required when designing a next-gen game (graphics are a major resource hog), but then he also talked about immersion and world design. Although Hyboria was supposed to be an enormous landmass, they didn't want to make a game that took forever to walk across. On the other hand, they didn't want to reduce the epic scale of the world by reducing a cross-continent journey to five minutes. Now, maybe that's just their canned answer to keep the fans happy with loading screens, and maybe it really was part of their game design-- probably a nice helping of both. Either way, it's worth considering. Do loading screens really help your game immersion?
Trump's Las Vegas Hotel / Tower gets Cox HDTV, LG LCDs
Earlier this year, we heard that Trump's New York Hotel & Tower would be showing its guests with all sorts of IPTV goodies; now, we've learned that The Donald's Las Vegas counterpart will be fetching services from Cox Communications. The two have worked together in order to deploy a triple-play solution, giving the hotel voice, video and data services from the same provider. To the patron, this means that a host of HD channels / VOD material will be available on the 42-inch / 32-inch LG LCD HDTVs (located in the bedroom and living room) and the 19-inch LG flat-panel in the bathroom. In case you're hoping to get connected, each room will also have Ethernet jacks as well as 802.11a/b/g WiFi access. As for paying your tab for the week? Let's just say we hope the slots treat you right.
blueLounge's The Sanctuary keeps your gadgets encased, charged
We'll be honest -- we weren't exactly feeling blueLounge's grossly overpriced SpaceStation, but its boldly-named The Sanctuary actually strikes us as quite useful. The gadget organizer allows technophiles to stuff their handhelds into this black or white container for easy carriage / storage, and moreover, it includes a built-in panel of labeled plugs in order to connect all your gizmos to power at once. The unit comes with a dozen connectors for the most popular items around, but since it's universal, your options are bordering on limitless. Heck, there's even a USB port thrown in to charge any oddball device you may have laying around. Yeah, $129.95 is still a touch steep, but for the avid traveler who can never find room for 12 or so AC adapters in that carry-on bag, it's probably well worth the cost.[Via iLounge] %Gallery-20427%
Acentic Panorama HD-ready platform ready for five-star hotels
For those traveling to select parts of Europe (on the company's dime, of course), you may get to enjoy an all new entertainment delivery system if you're greeted with Acentic's Panorama. The high-end platform is aimed squarely at five-star lodging facilities and promises to deliver "in-room digital broadcast, on-demand and interactive TV services in hotels." Aside from boasting a new graphical user interface, the HD-ready system enables guests to access content on the web, check out on-demand material and tune into hundreds of broadcast TV channels with the "use of the DVB-C standard and support for IP applications." As of now, Panorama is already entertaining patrons at Arora International's Sofitel London Heathrow, and it should be deployed soon to the Wyndham Grand London Chelsea Harbour and The Cavendish London.
Breakfast Topic: The long run
I was, once again, leveling an alternate character. Since I already have three level 70s that I regularly play, I'm no longer fascinated by new bits of scenery. True I haven't seen it all, and I love the screenshots from Around Azeroth. I'm just really bored with the run from place to place. As I was running across Ashenvale from Splintertree Post to Zoram Strand I began thinking about the marathon runs to pick up a new flight point. I came to the conclusion that my least favorite run is from Gadgetzan in Tanaris to Marshal's Refuge in Un'Goro Crater. It's just too long and unexciting. I know that I will have to make that run with every character I level. It always feels good to get there, just remember to pick up the flight point. What's your least favorite run?
XCOR's Lynx aims to enter space tourism business in 2010
Crazy though it may be, XCOR's looming Lynx isn't the first rocket ship built to take Earthlings to outer space, but it's definitely taking a different approach than that of the SpaceShipTwo. Unveiled as the "sports car of commercial spaceflight," the smallish craft is only designed to carry two individuals (or a driver and cargo), meaning that you and your SO will have to take turns shooting up to some 61-kilometers above the ground. Reportedly, Lynx would be fueled by a kerosene / liquid oxygen mixture and could take off and land from traditional airstrips, and while it could manage several flights per day, each one is only slated to last 25 minutes. Sadly, the $64,000 (likely more, actually) question of how much this joyride will cost has yet to be answered, but optimistic minds are hoping to see test flights commence in 2010.[Via NewScientist]
