Sunday, January 21, 2007

Vanguard: End of Beta Date Set

 

With Vanguard's beta programme about to end, Sigil have announced a date for the end of the beta and what they plan to do with the accounts of the players who have worked and played so hard to get the game to where it is now. The Vanguard: Saga of Heroes open beta will close just before midnight on 23rd January according to Sigil Games Online and publishing partners Koch Media and Sony Online Entertainment....

Source: Vanguard: End of Beta Date Set
Originally published on Fri, 19 Jan 2007 11:58:00 GMT

VoIP Deal for Eve and Second Life

 

Eve and Second Life have signed a deal with VoIP provider Vivox to bring voice communication to the world MMOs. Course, players have been using Teamspeak and Skype for ages but now this technology will be included in games. Voice chat in gaming is something that's come a long way over the last few years....

Source: VoIP Deal for Eve and Second Life
Originally published on Fri, 19 Jan 2007 12:07:00 GMT

Ryzom - Monday is Patch Day

 

The official Ryzom website are reporting of a new patch for the game to go live on Monday the 22nd. On Monday the 22th we will apply a small patch to the live shards. As a result, they will be closed from 8 am to 11 am GMT. This patch is currently on the ATS and is accessible to all subscribers....

Source: Ryzom - Monday is Patch Day
Originally published on Sat, 20 Jan 2007 07:34:00 GMT

Monday, January 15, 2007

Stray Bullet working on new MMO

 

New massively multiplayer online game on the way from Stray Bullet Games.

Source: Stray Bullet working on new MMO
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:42:10 GMT

WoW - Attack of the Dongle Planned?

 

An interesting story/rumour this one. Over at World of War.net there is talk of a planned security dongle for use with World of Warcraft following a recent survey from Blizzard. This evening Blizzard sent out an email to WoW subscribers which encouraged them to take part in a general survey....

Source: WoW - Attack of the Dongle Planned?
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:22:00 GMT

Creating alarmist press release for marketing purposes

 

 

GamePolitics was on the ball when they noticed this attention grabing headline about video games screaming, "First Violence, Then Sex, and Now Drugs in Video Games." The funny thing is that the headline, and accompanying text, is actually a marketing maneuver being implemented by sexually-themed MMO Red Light Center to get press. So, in essence, it's a sensational press release, by a fringe company, to gain attention from the mainstream press. According to GamePolitics, TV news sites in North Carolina and Canada have already picked up the story.
The best part of the release is this quote by Psychologist David Walsh, spokesman for the National Institute on Family and the Media, "Games are interactive and psychologically powerful. Now we have a game that glorifies drug use. Where do we draw the line?" As GamePolitics points out this statement was actually made in 2005 about NARC, not Red Light Center like the release implies.
It was only a matter of time before we saw this level of manipulation. Using the anti-games advocates that get a lot of press to hype games is a brilliant move and Red Light Center's marketing team deserves serious golf claps for the maneuver. In a situation like this, all we can do is try to show those that will be manipulated by this information that they are being used, and hopefully they'll find it out before they go off the handle and give press to something that doesn't deserve it. Time to wait and see if this goes mainstream -- after all, it is a slow newsday in the states.

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Source: Creating alarmist press release for marketing purposes
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:45:00 GMT

A few reminders regarding SL's teleport issues

 

Just a reminderWe've previously reported that the hardworking people from Linden Lab have finally isolated the problems bugging Second Life users for quite some time now. And while this is excellent news, it can't be avoided that there are still some minor glitches that'll appear every now and then. Good thing Linden's on top of things 24/7.
In case some of you are still experiencing difficulties with teleporting, Linden suggests that you try reducing your attachment load. These are just minor things like HUD, bling, or even your avatar's prim hair. This should do the trick... according to the devs.
Furthermore, Linden mentioned that to be able to fix the problem and improve the performance of teleports across the grid, they re-balanced their bandwidth to some simulators in their co-location facilities - all 164 regions.
We should expect everything to be A-Ok now for all of you happy Second Life residents, and we should also try to look at the bright side as these up-keeps only mean that the the game's bound to get better everyday.

Source: A few reminders regarding SL's teleport issues
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 15:17:57 GMT

WoW SongWatch: Rapwing Lair, the best song ever made

 

 

On this, the last day before Burning Crusade, I feel the need to share with you the best piece of WoW media I've ever seen. Better than Leeroy Jenkins, better than 50 DKP MINUS, better even than Subudai ... I present Rapwing Lair, done by Shaunconnery of Advent on the Tichondrius server. To listen to the two parts of the song, click the purple buttons next to "Rapwing Lair Part 1" and "Part 2" on the right side of the screen.

Shaunconnery's explanation and lyrics follow behind the cut, but you really have to listen to appreciate the true genius of Tichondrius.

"3 months ago, I started a rhyme project titled "Rapwing Lair" which was a rhythmic story of how to do every boss in BWL. It was really just a joke at first, but it evolved into a multitude of styles, impersonations, humor, and rap narration. A bunch of people said I couldn't flow from earlier raps that I've posted, but Rapwing Lair is like a potluck of Rap Genres all over America. Hopefully, you'll find the style that fits with you. I impersonate old/new/westcoast/south/eastcoast/midwest to give "dynamicity" to a rhyme representation of what used to be Blizzard's most dynamic instance. We can all recall learning BWL for our first times around, and I hoped to pay tribute with this song. I enjoyed writing, making, and recording this song from start to finish and I hope you guys enjoy the time I put into it as well. After posting this on Tich for a few days, I'm going to re-edit the song to be less Tichondrius-oriented and less personal so I can submit it to Community Watch and hopefully have Blizzard put all of us and this song on the map. Enjoy guys! I know I did." - Shaunconnery

Introduction: Alright men, we've done it. We've beaten Ragnaros, and now we stand at the doorstep of Blackwing Lair. Does any man have any idea how to do this instance? None, whatsoever? (What about you Shaun Connery, do you know?) Well then, shall I lead the charge? It's time to call on my masterful techniques of rhythmic explanation, also known as Hip Hop.

Tichondrius Server Operational, Commence Rapwing Lair."

Rapwing Lair
Razorgore (Underground Hardcore)
Blackwing Lair, zoned in as we phased through
40-man crew, with 8 classes in the raid group
So we know whats in store, MT controllin the orb
Breaking the eggs to bring him out to phase 2
Lets get it happenin, Hunters kitin dragonkin
Running up and jumping down ramps for the fake route
With the last egg down, Razorgore gonna break through
The MC, MT settin the pace to
DPS him down, Line of sight the fireballs
Stay behind in spite before it bakes you
So Off-Tank, stand at your 90-degree angle
So when he breaths, it doesnt conflagrate you
Slow and steady, Razorgore givin his paid dues
Tier 2 bracers from his grave loot
Then we line up, 40-man raid group
To move to Vaels room, BWL Take 2

Vaelastrasz the Corrupt - (Midwest Story-Telling)
Now hold up hold up, Im rememberin
We need to kill some goblins for looting elementium
Odd groups to the left, even groups to the right
Attack the goblin mobs, dont lose them in sight
Aight, Good Job, with a standing ovation
Now line up on Vaels right in battle formation
Tank 1s in front of the big 3
Tank 4s got an FR of 315
Vaelastrasz making one hell of a big scene
Hes 30% life, do you wonder what this means?
Everyone ready? Lemme do a head count
Aight, start the encounter, essence of the red now
Tank 1 in line gotta agro manage
A healer for every class, theres no bandage
Tank 1 BA, max out on the low damage
Ok everyone stop, Rogues Vanish
Hunters feign, lemme see the priests fade
Cant no one OT when we move to each phase
Tank 1s dead, tank 2 face him to the east
Tank 2 watch where you placing the beast
20% and hes getting hostile
Mage BA, so move to the tail and start throwin out frost bolts
Vaelastrasz gives out some of the better loot
So Warrior DPS it, lets see some executes
45 seconds, somebody check the time
Tank 2 BA, tank 3 youre next in line
Tank down, tank 3 make him turn around
Aight hes got aggro, everybody burn him down
Ah geez, stop having a laugh
Paladins keep your groups up! Stop casting the hammers of wrath!
Vael down, we all here did well
Now we can loot the body for our tier 2 belts
Aight everybody line up, matta fact
Our next agenda is the next 2 death talon packs

Broodlord Lashlayer - (Tupac Shakur Impersonation)
Aight MT you ready? Lets get this thang started

Aight now MT move to the middle, it aint a riddle
Son, you gotta get the hatcher situated and settled
Uh, Need that AoE on the whelps too
Mages do it, Paladin bops are finna help you
Once every pack is down, move to the corner
Quiet on ventrilo son, we need order
Nobody can die, healers take it personal
Aight we done here, take it out the first floor
Lets move to the second, we be wrecking
Warrior sweeping strikes and blade flurries with weapons uh
Move in and counterspell the healing prayer
Gather your lifesavers, its Broodlord Lashlayer
Now we at the corner before him, priests get out forts and
Shield after mortal strike, thats important
Warriors charge him, you got heals, no stressin
Rogues heres your lesson, get on the suppression
AoE Knockback, aint no way to stop that
Broodlord on a new tank, Druids get them HoTs back
Mages and locks, youre the cloth pack
The tanks at 30%, lemme get a healer to top that
Do what the raid leader says
If we get a warrior down, we need a druid wit a battle rez
I pulled aggro, looking like he wants to kill me
I'll move to the tanks so some of y'all betta heal me
Broodlord at 5 percent, pierce him through
With everything you got for our tier 2 boots
and DPS zerg him, and hes at dead rest
Random 1000 if you need him for yo head quest
Everyone line up
We finna clear the trash mobs in front of Firemaw before the times up

Firemaw - (Dirty South - West Coast)
MT, best be holdin' still
gripping tight with a sword and shield, gotta keep it real, 9K AC with the plated steel
gonna roll with Firemaw, how we gonna keep the fire off?
the first warrior gonna need more than 315 FR
Now listen here dude, priests gonna heal you
and after shadow flame, priests gon shield you
Now I'mma say it plenty times up in plenty rhymes
That Fire Buffet stacks up way up over twenty times
Name of the game is LOS, if you hit, call an SOS
Here's the test for Firemaw, y'all gotta be the best of the best
MT's in the corner, step up to the border
so you don't get hit by the fire buffet, keep that order
and go slower, on the dps so you don't pull
and let me take a dura hit to make myself po'er
let's get it on tonight, and stay organized
when firemaw's beginning to cast wing buffet, then y'all taunt him right
Offtanks get on Firemaw, cuz he deaggroes
Now give him back to the main tank, I'm calling "DPS GO!"
Let's make it happen, push to the front and y'all start casting
But remember to move to the back when the fire buffet begins to stack 10
We right in the action, He's at 5% let's drop this dragon
And no homeboy, killing Firemaw does not increase faction
Finishing blow, now we gon hear wassup
Somebody link the loot, let's see them tier 2 gloves
Done with that boss, y'all be like "that's all?"
Nah dawg, now we finna clear some trash mobs

Trash Mob Packs - (East Coast - New School)
Aight y'all cats in da raid group, y'all need to be with me
And every warrior to the front, ready to assist me
We ain't gonna stop till every boss in this place is gone
So everyone take a breath, and put yo game faces on
MT 1, 2 you're both on a warlock
We'll DPS those first, assist using the fourth box
I want a Hunter in the front that's armed with a full clip
5,4,3,2,1, alright pull it
MT 3, 5 you're on spellbinders, here's the reminder
for MT 6, your mission is technicians
The orc locks gotta die first, their AoE is savage
Enraged Felguards, gimme a banish
So keep the dps fast, and the heals competent
Melee on Spellbinders, the rest ta kill goblins
There's an overseer that's still wobblin
So let's dps him down, and now the real problem is
Not enough MT healing, throw a shield on to them
Kill the last technician, and now I feel confident
We can move on to the packs of wyrmguards
Y'all need to keep in mind that each one of these things hurt hard
Clearing this trash can take close to one hour
So we need a off tank that's ready for bronze power
Another backup for green, get up a network
of healing for the tanks, and we're dropping the red first
Once the wyrmguards are down, it's all rinse and repeat
Ebonroc and Flamegor gon be seeing defeat...

Ebonroc (Underground Hardcore)

Check, Check, Check.

Raid Group with 20 killers, armed with 20 healers
Locked down with a strategy that's proven to be plenty iller
So get them buffs out, hunters with them guns out
MT run down, and put him between any pillars
Yeah I'm talking about that Drake Ebonroc, dawg
Don't make me scream at you until I got lock jaw
I ain't got a repair bot y'all, so drop yours
Everyone repair, no excuses because you're not poor
We must use warriors plated from the knees up
to please taunt every single shadow debuff
In WoW, we trust, Ebonroc will drop some neat stuff
to suck all of your DKP up
So MT, put your back to the wall
Before he puts a crack in your jaw, when wing buffet happens you need to be fast with the call
Everyone who's playing bad with a flaw
Your occupation is slaying dragons and all, not practicing law
So be professional, this boss is the biggest of jokes
And the strategy's fine, we ain't gonna fix what ain't broke
Ebonroc is easy but before you think it's a hoax
there's a rogue down, why? he ain't wearin' his Onyxia cloak
So keep the Mortal Strike on him
Warriors might taunt him? Nah, do it right before I make it my problem
5 percent, dps til he's reduced to nada
Loot the gold, that's enough to buy you out some gucci prada
There's a mage afk, so I'm gonna boot him outta
the raid to go to Flamegor, a.k.a. The Loot Pinata

Flamegor - (Snoop Dogg Impersonation)
now when we step in the corner, it's real breezy
Blizzard made Flamegor to be too easy
We need a pally that can stay ooc
so he can rez shaun dogg
every dps in for the onslaught
I'mma just watch cuz I'm a pimp, call me Shaun Dogg
Tanks gotta taunt the wing buffet
Then we can get ourselves a chicken wing buffet
Or is it wing buffet, put the plates away
cuz y'all smooth cats can't be afk
and y'all zoom out, this ain't a fps
Need the dps with the hps
y'all healing cats, check the LoS
So use that LoH, and the NS
if the main dude starts droppin' HP
Top him off using all up that MP
single target damage, no AoE
just instant attacks and some DoT's
you can front like a balla in RP
Or PvP to PvE
But y'all cats need to listen up tho
Cuz if you be pullin' a g g r o
run to flamegor, or it won't be funny
Gotta take him down so we can make that money
So y'all hunter cats, bust a tranq cap
Loot that gold to make the guild bank phat
celebrate, like what the hell
pass that bread and the roasted quail
we ain't sippin on the gin n juice y'all
naw, we sippin' on da thunderbrew dawg

yayuh, that's how a pimp do it...

Chromaggus - (Jurassic 5 Impersonation)

This one's a big dog, have you heard of him man?
I heard you gotta tank him facing down the circular ramp
He looks nasty, make you blow a turd in your pants
But we gotta down Chromaggus, cuz we yearn to advance
I'm a knight like Lancelot, exotic like Bangkok
sword and shield armed, with a rifle that's hand-cocked
So before this damn dog chews through me like ham hocks
Every hunter gotta shoot him with tranq shots
Hold the DPS, wait for first breath
Healers LoS me when I take the first step
Incinerate, but it ain't gonna hurt yet
Wait for next breath, then we'll pass the verdict
Perfect, it's frost breath, DPS in
Run in, Run out, repeat it again
I'm bleeding my friend, please make the healing ascend
Watch the seconds rogues, y'all best be leaving at 10
If you die, don't run, you'll encounter a locked door
Just sit tight and play around with a mock sword
Druids pass the innervates if you got more
mana, then you need to be decursing the top floor
Do it clean with the encores
and our repair bill gon be cheaper than a Counterstrike awp !@!#&
Chromaggus down, someone check if he dropped hoards
of loot that would make every one of us flock towards
Take the gold, stash that in the sock drawer
Pull my broadsword blacksmithed from a hot forge
Nefarian is the number one boss for
This instance, and we're making the top score

Hook:
He's C, H, R, O, M, A, double G, U, S
You gotta be the best ever yet
If you want to beat him, you're gonna catch wreck
Put on a kevlar vest, this dog will set you to the test

Nefarian - (NYC Gangsta-ish)

Readied up in front of Nefarius with a Big Crew
40 main raid turned into split groups
20-man part moved into tight form
Warriors plugging up left and right doors
Locks set up blood pact, all because that
We need the buff, hunters move, set up frost traps
Lemme lay down some ground rules, keep your eyes glued
Even heal the even, Odd heal the odd groups
Ready up the swords, shields, staves, and guns y'all
Nefarius said the game has begun y'all
Y'all dps follow this system
Each side has a main rogue, just assist him
Popping off shots with an automatic burst
Colors 2nd, we finna dead chromatics first
If it's green, no problem
If it's blue, every single caster move away from the bottom
If it's bronze y'all, that's just a joke too
Intercept that, a chromatic just broke through
Don't get too cozy, yo matta fact
Paladins turn on FR, for red and black
MT get ready for the take down
How many drakonids dead? 38 count
Nefarian lands, here we go to phase 2
MT back to the wall, you betta have him face you
Finish both gates off or we might die
When we done, casters stack on the right side
Cut him down, buckin' shots till you're empty
Dwarf Priests, fear ward on the mt
Everyone stand by for the class call
Paladin phase, dps take your hands off
Let it run out, druids get them hots up
Priests if you heal during your call, you'll get locked up
You'll put the wrong dots up, Sit in the back row
Hunter class call, use deequip macros
DPS go, drop him real fast
make him feel that, buckin' shots from mah steel gat
Druid class call got us on the reverse
I'mma say 3 words, mages please decurse
Warrior call, don't make start me cursin' man
Every overheal now, MT's in berserker stance
Mage call got me nervous with a tense grip
Every healer in the raid group gotta cleanse it
druids gotta mend swift, when the tank's hurtin
Rogue Class Call, MT gotta turn him
Swerve him, Hurt him, now and it's payday
Warlock Call, drop infernals with the melee
20% percent health, Nef will take a clean death
Zerg incoming, caster stack gotta reset
Every warrior gotta keep it real y'all
Stand with the caster stack, keep the spread real small
Challenging Shout the zerg with a Shield Wall
Cuz they'll run to the stack from the heals y'all
Zerg over, spam with an execute
Damn don't forget it dude, hand in the better loot
Hang Nef in Stormwind when we run out
BWL Clear, the instance is done now

Permalink 

Source: WoW SongWatch: Rapwing Lair, the best song ever made
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 15:30:00 GMT

New Second Life beta - 1.13.2(7) on beta grid

 

1.13.2(7) on the beta gridThe latest beta is up on the test grid. Remember, we've got an update going ahead on Wednesday January 17 (in case you'd forgotten). The latest beta is 1.13.2(7).
If you're a Mac user you'll spot pretty quickly that the viewer crashes whenever you cross a sim border. Apparently that's being worked on, and is not actually considered to be a final feature for Wednesday's release.
This is a last chance to spot any show-stoppers before Wednesday's update. Do yourself a favor and make the most of it. The download is in the usual place, and the release notes will be here, when someone remembers to update them.

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Source: New Second Life beta - 1.13.2(7) on beta grid
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:01:00 GMT

Broken CE pet for EU players, but Blizzard makes up for it double

 

Filed under: Items, Blizzard, Burning Crusade

So Burning Crusade is now live on the European servers, and one mistake has already been made. It's also been fixed, however, and the fix is pretty darn sweet.
A few players opened up their expansion packs to find that their code for the Netherwhelp pet didn't work, and they weren't able to get their pet ingame. But Blizzard wasted no time in fixing things: they put up new instructions to get the pet, and they compensated players with not only the Netherwhelp pet, but another pet named Lurky the Murloc (brother, we assume, to Murky, the Murloc pet available at Blizzcon, and Gurky, the pet Blizzard has been giving away in a few places). In addition, they gave 2 free days of play to people affected.
On one hand, I'm impressed that Blizzard fixed things so quickly, and was so generous in doing so. But on the other hand, I'm wondering: maybe my expansion could be broken somehow? Please?

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Source: Broken CE pet for EU players, but Blizzard makes up for it double
Originally published on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:16:00 GMT