trees
Latest
OSU foresters swap tree fibers for rubber in fuel efficient tires
Leave it to a gaggle of brilliant wood science researchers at Oregon State University to figure out that we've been doing this whole "tire" thing wrong for generations now. While studying some uses of microcrystalline cellulose, which can be made easily from practically any type of plant fiber, these Earth-loving gurus discovered that said material could actually improve the efficiency of vehicle tires when used in place of silica. Granted, only about 12 percent of the silica -- which is used as a reinforcing filler in the manufacture of rubber tires -- was swapped out, but the resulting tires gripped just as well in wet weather while decreasing the rolling resistance during those dry summer months. Furthermore, tires constructed with these fibers could be made with less energy, though long-term durability studies are still needed to prove that this whole plan is viable for more than a few thousand miles. [Via Gizmag]
GreenWorld mod spruces up Fallout 3's wasteland
There are many accolades one can lay upon Bethesda's post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 3, but it's impossible to commend the game for its lush, rich environments. Pools of standing, radioactive water? Yuck. Shelled-out buildings inhabited by sallow-skinned mutants? No thanks. Go ahead and say it was intentionally designed that way to create an unsettling, hopeless atmosphere -- we know a sorry excuse when we hear one.Thankfully, a modder by the name of Khyrin recently released "GreenWorld," a Fallout 3 patch that brings some much needed arboreal splendor to Washington D.C.'s unsightly landscape. You can download the mod here, then watch as Fallout 3's grotesque, sepia toned pallette is exchanged for something a little more viridian.[Via Ripten]
Know Your LotRO Lore: The Ents
Welcome to Know Your LotRO Lore, a new weekly column here at Massively showcasing the lore of J.R.R. Tolkien's world as it intersects with Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online."I am not going to tell you my name, not yet at any rate. For one thing it would take a long while: my name is growing all the time, and I've lived a very long, long time; so my name is like a story. Real names tell you the story of things they belong to in my language, in the Old Entish as you might say. It is a lovely language, but it takes a very long time saying anything in it, because we do not say anything in it, unless it is worth taking a long time to say, and to listen to. " - TreebeardThis quote from Tolkien's The Two Towers gives us just a glimpse into these fantastic creatures known as Ents. In this week's Know Your LotRO Lore, we're going to explore the "Shepherds of the Trees" a bit more and help you understand their importance in the grand scheme of Middle-earth. Follow along below for more on these curators of the copse, these guardians of the grove, these wardens of the woodland! Ok, I'll stop that now.
Encrypted Text: Our ancestors would not be proud
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we'll be talking about how Rogue weaponry is changing with the upcoming WotLK expansion.With a sharpening stone in one hand, he begins to hone the dagger to a fiercely sharp point. Sparks of metal and chunks of dried blood fall from the weapon with each stroke of his trained hand. Once satisfied with his work, the Rogue raises the blade high above his head; the edge catches a ray of the Sun's light and shines with a deadly glow. The dagger is lowered, and solemnly wrapped in a piece of black mageweave. The assassin hands the dark bundle to his apprentice, who is bowing in reverence. The neophyte takes the gift, and promptly places it in her backpack. Outraged, the elder Rogue demands to know why his student would insult him by not even admiring the gift. She sarcastically replies: "Sorry pops, nobody uses 1.8 speed daggers anymore! Read the patch notes." As she skips off to hunt down a rare panther, the master shakes his head in confusion and shame.
Ten Druids go on nom spree in Kara
First the bears danced. Then the cats tapped their paws. Then all heck broke loose with the moonkin and the trees and the ahhhhhhh! Then the ten Druid team from Immortal Trust on Anvilmar decided they'd better go inside the actual Karazhan instance and make with the serious killin'. Attumen the Huntsman and Midnight went down in cloud of feathers, fur, and branches. Then the druids took a dinner break, feasting on skeleton bones and the occasional orange. Their bellies (or whatever trees have) full, they invited an unsuspecting Moroes to join them, the druids telling him, "We're only here to serve Moroes." Mu-hahahaha! They dumped his bones in a vat of soup, declaring it a chunky brand. The Maiden of Virtue could not resist the Druids' musky allure and she also succumbed. Much posing and dancing ensued. Even little Peanut could not contain his joy at the victory. Alas, their tryst with Julianne was not to be. What sweet sorrow having no spell interrupts in any of the Druid talent trees. But next time, some way, somehow, she and Romulo will be theirs!And the most astonishing thing about this run? The screen-capturing druid using the default UI! Huzzah![Thanks, Shethornclaw!]%Gallery-24361%
Frost Mages and Frost Death Knights
Over on the forums, Scorp brings up a Death Knight concern that I haven't heard before: as we all have known since last BlizzCon, the Death Knight's three talent trees are "Blood," "Unholy," and "Frost," and the one that Scorp has a problem with is the last one. Should Blizzard change the "Frost" tree on the Death Knight class so people don't confuse it with Mages?If you're asking me: no. "Restoration," "Holy," and "Protection" are all reused in a few different talent trees, and for both of those, while the talents are different, the intent is the same. "Frost," for both Mages and Death Knights, will have the same aim as well, as far as we've been told so far -- both classes will aim for DPS in those trees, with extra consideration given to crowd control and slow debuffs. In fact, depending on exactly how the Death Knight's talents work, the "Frost" title might help newer players understand the tree a little better anyway, especially if they've played with a Frost Mage before.Not that people don't have ideas -- "Ice" (yes, Ice, baby), "Chill" and "Really, really cold stuff" are all names being thrown around on the forums. But Blizzard will probably stick with "Frost" -- no reason to change it up, especially if the abilities line up with the Mage tree as much as we expect them to.
Warrior Talents in Wrath of the Lich King
Warriors can rejoice today, basking in their newly leaked talents from Wrath of the Lich King. This information has been first obtained through a [redacted] but has since been independently confirmed by WoW Insider staff. Note that the information you're seeing here is correct, while the wiki page you're seeing now could be updated with false information. However, that's where our confirmation of the data comes into play.Read on after the break for the full list we have so far. This is a spoiler, so don't look unless you want to!Update: At Blizzard's request, we have removed the information from our site.Update: Please don't post notes or references to notes in the comments. We're just going to remove them. Thanks.
Welcome to the World of Treecraft
Science Daily reports that a Stanford computer scientist named Vladlen Koltun has produced a program that allows both amateur and professional creators of virtual worlds to select from countless possible types of trees (all modeled based on scientific research) and to customize those trees based on their own needs.The program is cleverly called Dryad, and Koltun and his associates hope that it will be one of the first steps towards making the development of believable 3D online spaces an achievable goal for creative types without enormous budgets. Koltun said that there is a very small community of 3D modelers skilled in creating objects like trees, and that the rarity of the skill is partly responsible for a lull in the progression of user-generated virtual worlds.So, if you are planning on making a 3D MMO, you can use the program for free at the Stanford website. Maybe then your army of expensive employees can be smaller! It's also just fun to play with.
Chibi-Robo: PR Stunt Patrol
Nintendo has announced another out-of-the-box promotional effort for Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol, this time focusing on the environmental theme. The game is about improving parks, and what improves outdoor areas more than a nice tree? To that end, Nintendo will send out 500 trees to a random selection of Chibi-Robo registrants who sign up between now and November 9th. The saplings will be mailed out just in time for America Recycles Day, which is apparently a real thing. We wonder if they're the same kind of trees that were pulped for the Chibi-Robo bookmarks.Cynics may wonder why, if Nintendo is so concerned about the environment, they're associating this game with ginormous Earth-killer Wal-Mart. Those of you with advanced degrees in cynicism may be thinking that these shows of environmentalism may be an effort to offset the association with Wal-Mart. Whatever the reason, seeing a big company like Nintendo do anything environmentally conscious at all is nice. Check the press release after the break for a little more information about Nintendo's green practices.
A failed real life attempt at a WoW quest
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/A_failed_real_life_attempt_at_a_WoW_quest'; Any readers in the audience who have played through the Draenei starting area (and you should -- it's a fun zone) must remember the Tree's Company quest, in which you are asked to disguise yourself as a tree in order to overhear a secret meeting. Well, while there's no suggestion that World of Warcraft was involved, this weekend a man in Manchester, New Hampshire robbed a bank while disguised as a tree. (He made off with less than $1000 and was later caught.) Obviously, the tree disguise idea doesn't work nearly as well in real life as it did in the game -- as you can see in the security footage to the right, the disguise just isn't working.[via Boing Boing]
