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Warlords of Draenor: Music, sounds, and maps
While we've been seeing a lot of screenshots and art from the upcoming Warlords of Draenor expansion, much of WoW's in-game atmosphere is set by the music -- there's only so much we can get from these still images. So if you want to get a feel for the ambience of Draenor, you'll definitely want to check out the music and sound files Wowhead has compiled. There are 21 music files -- most no more than a minute and a half long, so it's not likely to be the entire soundtrack -- as well as numerous ambience, FX, creature, item, and spell sounds. Though it's a lot to sort through, the reward is great for fans of WoW's soundtrack. But if music isn't your thing, Wowhead also has 17 area maps to peruse -- and until launch day (or at least beta day), this is as close to Draenor as we're likely to get.
More WoW Maps using the Google Maps API
After posting the World of Mapcraft site the other day, I got quite a few comments and tweets about not only World of Mapcraft itself but other, similar projects that map the World of Warcraft. Here's a rundown of some of the links I've received. Cal Henderson, the creator of World of Mapcraft, actually wrote a post about the project on his personal blog in which he explains where he got the idea, how he extracted the data, and how he integrated it into the Google API. Mapwow.com is considered by many to be the granddaddy of WoW Google maps, and it inspired Cal to create his version. But far from covering just the base maps, it has a lot of useful menu bar features that show every thing from flight path connections to resource node locations. Unfortunately, everything on it is woefully out of date, and it doesn't even have the updated Cataclysm maps. That does, however, mean that it's perfect browsing for nostalgia purposes. Want to take one last long look at the unruined version of Southshore? You can at least get a bird's-eye view. Wyrimaps appears to be the most developed up-to-date version of WoW Google maps I've seen yet. It includes both Cataclysm- and Wrath-era maps and has a widget for resource nodes. It also appears to have the best ability to zoom, with more zoom levels on the way. Marlamin.com also has its own version of the project, which includes some preliminary Pandaria maps. Probably the most intriguing addition this version offers is the possibility of adding screenshot markers. It looks that whole WoW street view feature I wished for might be a possibility after all. As someone who's loved MMO fan cartography since the early days of EverQuest, when you had to use third-party programs and sites like EQAtlas to map zones because Sony didn't actually provide in-game maps, it's pretty exciting to see where it's going in WoW with modern technology. Thanks to everyone who commented or tweeted links.
WoW gets the Google Maps treatment
Being a fantasy world set in a vaguely medieval technology level (the odd gnome or goblin invention or steam tank aside), one does not generally expect all the perks of modern life to invade the World of Warcraft. Today, that's changed a little as Google Maps comes to Azeroth. World of Mapcraft features all of the current lands of WoW (minus Pandaria) from a bird's-eye view using Google technology. You can zoom in and try to find your favorite landmark or city (I looked for the twin pillars of Feralas and the Ruins of Southshore) or finally figure just how Dun Morogh's snow transitions into the green of Wetlands. You can even take a look at your favorite raid, dungeon, or Battleground. Alas, there's no street view, but who knows? Maybe someone out there's just crazy enough to take that task on. It's definitely a fun new way to look at the world. Check it out.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Runes of Magic addons
I have no idea why some MMOs don't support addons. I love the ability to alter my gaming experience and change the way my user interface looks. They are great, free programs to change how you interact online whether to reduce annoyance, change how game features work or just to liven up your screen. Why wouldn't you want an MMO to have that ability? I've been hooked on addons since the Runes of Magic community first started making them. I spend countless hours using them to tweak my user interface, on top of having ones that are actually functional. If you didn't know that RoM supports addons or don't know which ones to try, then allow me to breakdown some of the more popular ones for you.
Roadmap to Cataclysm zone overhauls
Okay, how did we miss this? We've been wondering about the level of change in each old-world zone for Cataclysm for months now, and the answer has actually been under our noses since BlizzCon. During the Art Panel, the above planning map was shown, along with some information to either side of it. We can't make out everything in it, but there's a lot of information if you know what you're looking at. The zone colors, from what we can infer, indicate the level of overhaul each zone is receiving. Red is a heavy overhaul, yellow is moderate, green is light, and blue means a brand-new zone. The yellow stars indicate a dungeon, and the red stars indicate a raid. The white tabs each have a letter on them, indicating what in the zone was being changed at that particular point -- L for level, Q for quests, etc. Astute readers will see some things jump out at them immediately, like Thousand Needles having two stars on it. The full list of visible zone changes after the break, along with other pertinent info. Disclaimer: While this image was captured during the BlizzCon 2009 Art Panel, the capture displays a photo taken by Blizzard staff, which is undated. We don't know if it was a day before BlizzCon 2009 or six months before. Things could have changed between when this picture was taken and when this article was published.
Patch 3.3 PTR: Icecrown 5-player dungeon maps
You want Icecrown 5-man dungeon maps, you say?You need cross-server instances as you make your way up the Citadel?You've got it. In the gallery below we're happy to give to you the Icecrown 5-man dungeon maps, fresh off the Patch 3.3 PTR. They cover the three wings of the 5-man version. The maps for the raid are not on the PTR yet. The three wings of the 5-man are the Pit of Saron, Halls of Reflection, and the Forge of Souls.Check 'em out below.%Gallery-74485%
Sunwell Isle map and PTR news
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playable_web_games/New_Sunwell_map_is_discovered_for_World_of_Warcraft_Patch_2'; Thanks to Michael for alerting us to a post over at the WoW LiveJournal. He has managed to piece together a map of Sunwell Isle and the new Azeroth world map from the beta files currently available for patch 2.4. Of course, this is just beta information and may change at any time.As far as the PTR goes, you can now download the patch files. However, when you try to copy a character you get the error message "You have no characters on Anvilmar," or what ever server you live on. This is because while the patch files are available, the server is not up yet.Stay tuned to WoW Insider all this weekend for the latest patch news!See the new maps after the break.
