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Rumor: Interview with a 3D modeler from Blizzard
We're going to go ahead and throw this out there, even though it's likely as fake as the 3.1 patch notes that come out a little while ago. But WotLK Wiki has an "interview" up with someone who (without any proof at all) claims to be a 3D modeler for Blizzard, and it's got some interesting info in it about a few of the future patches and the way things work behind the scenes over there.The good news is that we'll someday know if this guy's full of bull or not -- he says that the optional boss in Ulduar will be vehicle-based, and that part of the raid will deal with the boss, while the other part of the raid runs around destroying parts of the environment in vehicles. He also says there's a whole new Azjol-Nerub zone going into the game in patch 3.2, and that the next expansion will likely focus on the Maelstrom and Caverns of Time, which will send us back in time and have Sargeras and Azshara as the main baddies. This could all be complete and total boloney (most of those things have already been rumored before), but at least it's stuff we can verify in the future.The rest of his insights could just be made up, and unfortunately, he says some unkind things about a few other developers that Blizzard would probably frown upon if they were true. So take this with a metric ton of salt -- I looked around the Something Awful Ask/Tell forums to see if that's where this was originally posted, but didn't find anything, and WotLK Wiki didn't share a source at all, either. But we do have to agree with one of their sentiments: it would be nice if Blizzard was this forthcoming with some of their official outlets.
WotLKWiki offers interactive Northrend map
The folks at WotLK Wiki sent us a note that they've got an interactive Northrend map up and running. It's nothing too surprising (they basically just put all of the map screen maps from the beta together), but it is in a nifty Google maps interface, so you can drag, click, and zoom around the new landscape at will. And of course, the pictures don't mean too much at this point -- of course big landmarks like The Nexus and Ulduar stand out, but it's assured that actually seeing these places will be much more amazing than just seeing their flat representations on the map.What's really interesting, though, is going way back to the beginning and comparing this map to all the different versions from Blizzard's planning stages. Though a lot of things have been added in to fill in all the space, they've really been faithful to the overall design since the beginning. Even the Warcraft III maps match up pretty well. Blizzard really sticks to their mythology, and that's probably at least one reason why fans enjoy exploring it so much.
What's brewing in Northrend
I love you, WotlkWiki, I really do. First you bring us specifics on Inscription, and now we get the effects of the new potions, elixirs, and flasks that your friendly neighborhood alchemist will be cooking up in the frosty north. We got all the names for these items a few days ago, along with details on the transmutations (I'll take any excuse to make a pretty diagram), but the effects of them had not yet come to light, until now. There's nothing stunning, I'm afraid; more like some nice upgrades to current favorites. But I certainly expect be popping flasks and pots in Naxx at least as much as I currently am in Zul'Aman. Anyway, let's see what we've got. I'll compare to the BC or old-world versions where appropriate.
Insider Trader: Professions from the Wrath alpha
This week, Insider Trader will be taking a further look into the future of professions in World of Warcraft. Although Wrath of the Lich King is still only in alpha testing, what little we do know, though it might change, helps us anticipate the direction Blizzard is taking. In fact, we can even begin to see what the army of Death Knight Inscribers might take as their second profession, which will undoubtedly have repercussions on the market. Not only will the amount of competition skyrocket, but opportunities to make a buck selling to lazy Death Knights will abound. For these and more details, head on through the break.
The rise, fall, and rise again of the WotLK Information Wiki
This past Monday, June 23, The WotLK Information Wiki relaunched on a new web host after having been pulled down by a Cease and Desist order from Blizzard. Darkside, one of the admins for the WotLK Information Wiki, gave an interview to Medros over at All Things Azeroth to explain what happened. The interview was conducted as part of Medros' podcast Episode 53. Some highlights from the interview include: Most of the information that the alpha wiki provides is a result of file and image extraction from Blizzard's publically-available alpha client. The alpha client files contain all the information on the spells, creatures and environments to be tested and new things are added or subtracted each time the alpha is patched. The alpha wiki folks set up a "sandbox" where they could fly through the new locations and spawn creatures for screenshots. A small portion of the WotLK info -- some screenshots, for example -- has come from Blizzard employees under non-disclosure agreements the identities of whom the alpha wiki admins protect. Blizzard, Vivendi, and Activision IP addresses had visited the wiki frequently since it began. The Cease and Desist order from Blizzard arrived last Friday, June 20. Over the weekend the WotLK wiki admins tried several ways to appease the lawyers and eventually settled on moving to a new web host. The wiki's readership is approximately 200,000 page views per day. Go to All Things Azeroth to hear the rest of the interview. Make sure you listen to the first few minutes of the podcast to hear a very humorous and well-sung parody of Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues called Pugging Kara Blues.[Thanks, Matticus and uber.]
The best of WoW Insider: June 17-24, 2008
It has been a wild week in WoW -- first, we heard about patch 2.4.3, with level 30 mounts and big changes to the talents. Then, new loot cards for us to drool over. On Saturday, the Midsummer Fire Festival started, with new quests and a new boss to fight. And this week, we're all puzzling over what Blizzard will announce at the Worldwide Invitational (and what "Icefield" means -- it's like Cloverfield, only colder). Big stuff happening at WoW Insider! Here's all the links you need to catch up. News Patch 2.4.3 patch notesLevel 30 mounts? A new bag from Haris Pilton? Cheat Death nerfed? It's the patch we never saw coming. Upper Deck announces new loot items, including an Ethereal vendor petNew items to drool over from the WoW TCG. WotLK Wiki is back in action After suffering a C&D late last week, the fan-run wiki covering all the alpha leaks is back and running. GotFrag releases videos of the MLG 3v3 Tournament What's almost as exciting as playing WoW? Watching other people play it. Blizzard's Icy splash screen changes, hints at Diablo and Wrath of the Lich King for WWIWhat's behind the icefield? WoW Insider wraps up all the rumors (here's hoping for Diablo 3, since, as you can see above, Diablo is clearly hidden in the ice. Clearly.). Features Lord Ahune strategy and walkthroughWe tell you exactly how to take down the new event boss (and nab his tabards, if you know what we mean). Azerothian Spore creatures continue to crawl inCreatures from Azeroth have invaded Spore -- here'a gallery of some of the best. Midsummer Fire Festival quest guides Everything you need to know about getting the most out of Blizzard's mid-Summer event. Patch 2.4.3 gallery of eye candy Construction in Stormwind! New TCG items! Feast your eyes on everything there is to find in the new patch. The Art of War(craft): Farewell to season 3Season 4 starts today -- before you get to all the good stuff, take a look back at what just happened. Update: Did we mention that Season 4 starts today? WoW Insider has both a roundup of Season 4 news as well as an in-depth gear guide to the new set. Go get that Arena gear!
WotLK Wiki is back in action
Don't count the WotLK Wiki out yet -- after going down late last week due to a suspected cease-and-desist order from Blizzard's lawyers (now confirmed), they have returned with a completely different host and all the information from the leaked Alpha they were originally hosting. They say that their original wiki hosts, Wikidot, were extremely supportive on both the traffic and legal fronts, as they upgraded their servers just to keep the site up, and originally did help with legal troubles. When Vivendi Universal took legal action against their ISP, however, Wikidot had to fold, and the wiki has now moved hosts to wotlkwiki.info.Last week, there was also mention that the C&D didn't ask them to remove all information, only "over-the-line" info, such as screenshots or video. But apparently that clause doesn't apply to the new host -- there are still screenshots all over the site, and though Vivendi has pulled video from YouTube before, it's still there as well.Of course, any C&D sent to the old site would still apply to the new one -- it's just a question now of whether the wiki's new host will comply with Vivendi's demands (the wiki's creators sound very sure that they won't). And after that, it'll be up to Vivendi to determine how far they want to take this -- if they really feel that having this leaked information on that site has hurt them in a justifable way, there is a possibility that an actual lawsuit could be issued, and if this escalates even further, the two parties could eventually end up in court. As always, we'll be watching to see what happenes.
