Cataclysm Opening & Blizzcon Closing In

So Blizzcon is starting on friday this week and I am ready to be informed, amazed and maybe gain some clairty. I am not going there physically though so I have bough the nifty virtual ticket so I can partially join the fun with a couple of friends from my couch.

Medal of Honor - Short and Easy but Partly Satisfying

So after a good while of waiting the game finally released in Europe this week (14.10.2010). I cannot even remember when I pre-ordered it on steam but it was when it first got available. Now I feel a bit empty after playing the single player.

Guild Leveling and a few Tier 11 Sets

Crazy workweek almost done so it is time for a post.

I just rerolled Horde (yet again) for the sake of playing with IRL friends (and for troll awesomeness) and now I am excited to get my hands on the coming Guild Mount for the horde, The Kron’Kar Annihilator.

Larísa about the Min-Max Problem

I read a great blog post today written by one of my favorite WoW bloggers Larísa (The Pink Pigtail Inn). In this post she discusses the problem that has been haunting the playerbase in WotLK, Min-Maxing, or as she puts it: “The Phobia of (in)efficiency”.

At Blizzcon last year and the following months during the creation of Cataclysm the playerbase was promised more “fun” and utility talents in their trees. Now that Cataclysm release is closing in on us the forums are getting a good deal of posts relating to this case.

GhostCrawler has answered a lot of these posts and is in a kind of despair because of the constant beating on the case that talent trees are not like Blizzard promised. Players still being able to min-max their talent trees with every talent point available seem to fall in distaste with the playerbase.

This is mainly what the post discuss and you can read the whole thing here: What can Blizzard do to fight the phobia of inefficiency?

Doom is upon us! (On PTR)

Apparently the Doomsayers had some truth in their words and look what happened.

Orgrimmar Burns!

WoW Mobile: Correction

So yesterday I posted about the new WoW Mobile feature, Guild Chat. I also “predicted the future” of the next WoW Mobile app but I was shockingly wrong. The next app was sadly not Peacebloom vs. Ghouls (/cry) but an update for the Mobile Armory app. The update features 3-D models of your characters, activity feeds and optimizations for iOS 4.0. So now you can show off your character in splendid 3-D and view feeds from your and/or other saved characters on your iPhone (and hopefully for Android phones as well in the near future).

Oh well, maybe the next app will be Peacebloom vs. Ghouls. But more Mobile functionality for WoW is sure to come.

WoW Mobile Armory

WoW News - A Small Roundup

There have been a couple of news since my last post so I thought I could make a collective post. I will also start using jump breaks so I my home page will not get so clutched and big with whole newsposts. So press the "Read More" button below for the whole post. 


"Flying and talking about doomsday in your mobile after drinking the octoberfest ale made by your alchemist is not a good idea."

Peacebloom vs Ghouls, Guild Level 25 Rewards and 4.0.1 Patching

BlizzCap?

So here I was browsing MMO-Champion and reading the latest updates for the beta and then I found the achievements “Dont' Want No Zombies on My Lawn” (Survive 25 waves on the Endless Mode of Peacebloom vs. Ghouls) and “Bloom and Doom” (Survive 100 waves on Endless Mode the Peacebloom Vs. Ghouls quest.)

 

My first thought was Plants vs. Zombies but my question was how? For those who does not know what PopCap’s big hit Plants vs. Zombies is, here you have the trailer for XBLA: PvZ for XBLA

Today I got the answer for my suspicions. Here is a video created by TotalBiscuit of the Peacebloom vs. Zombies game in the beta. Apparently it starts out as a regular quest where you have to fend off two regular waves and one massive wave from the “Sludge Fields”. After you have done this quest you can do it again in an “infinite” mode to get the achievements mentioned before. This will be a fun addition to the game in my opinion.

 

Guild Level 25 Reward

MMO-Champion also posted the Guild Level 25 rewards for both Horde and Alliance. We have seen the Alliance reward earlier but now we finally got to see the Horde one as well.

 

Here is the video of the Alliance reward:

Sadly there is no ingame video of the Horde reward but here is the model in video format:

The mounts will be available for members of level 25 guilds (with exalted status?) for the price of 1500 gold.

Patch 4.0.1 Background Downloader

Last week I posted something related to the background downloader and the upcoming patch. This weekend the background downloader started downloading a new part of the patch and this one is huge. The first part was on 1,74GB but this one is 4,45GB. That is 6,19GB in two parts and more may come. 

I actually wondered why they are so big but then I remembered that even people who do not buy Cataclysm will get the “new Azeroth” so they have to get the new changes as well. My guess is that most of the content that is in these files will not be available until Patch 4.0.3 which is the world changing event patch according to wowwiki. 

And on a side note. Worgen being their own mount is awesome. 

Where did the Whiners and Trolls go?

I found a post by Blizzard’s Nethaera today where he stated this:

“The next major content patch is coming and sets the stage for Cataclysm with many great new changes, updates, and pure epic fun. We’ve packed it to the brim with so many new things that this patch proves to be the biggest one yet. In order to smooth the way”

So let me get this straight. This content patch (4.0.1), which is a PRE Cataclysm patch is packed with more content than ANY other patches? Sounds a bit weird and in my head I saw the trolls storming the post saying something like this:

“OMGWTF! Why are you using so much time and effort with a PRE expansion patch instead of giving us some post ICC content that is more than a single roomed instance!? “

To be honest it stroke my mind as well but I could see the reasons and the biggest of them would be this: Most of the content in this patch was already created with Cataclysm and they are just pulling out segments that people can use pre-launch. I guess this may include things like:

• Graphics
• The new troll and gnome starting areas
• New talents and skills
• Class changes
• User Interface changes
• New glyph system
• Achievements
• Guild Changes

This would at least count for a lot of the data in the patch.

Such is my reasoning at least but I know there are a lot of trolls and angry gamers out there and so I looked through the forum post and I was amazed. In the five pages that were posted when I read it, no posts contained any trolling or whining. Not that it is a bad thing since I (and Blizzard) would like a more well behaved and constructive community. But this post is only a drop in the vast ocean that is the forum.  

I am eager to see the full patch note when they release it and I am looking forward to get started with Cataclysm when it launches. I guess we will see this patch in maybe three weeks so my hope for release day of Cataclysm is 4^th or 5^th of November. According to history it seems that the start of November is what Blizzard is aiming for as well. But I guess we will know for sure at Blizzcon or a date close to it.

Up and Running Again

Been quite a while since I have posted anything here now but now I feel like I want to do some blogging. While writing this one sentence I my mind screwed with me thinking “oh I should write this (wtf is this?) and then post a picture of awesome cat!”. After I found the damn picture and tabbed back to write I had no idea what to write and now I have a picture with nothing to relate it to. Here is awesome cat anyways:

Maybe I wanted to post it because it is awesome that I want to start writing a bit more seriously or something like that. 

If you have been on this blog before you may have noticed that I have changed the layout on the page a bit. I feel it is cleaner now and it has more space for the posts itself rather than other things. I am open to other design options and gladly receive comments with ideas of how to make the page better.

And oh, the theme you ask?

My thoughts about things in my daily life I guess, like most other blogs. Though my life primarily consists of gaming, movies, TV series, anime and LAN. Something my old posts on this blog suggest. Though a good deal of my posts may be about World of Warcraft because I am pretty hyped about the new expansion Cataclysm.

Hope you will enjoy reading my blog.

  

The Gathering 2009 - In The News, World Records, Disco, Greetings and Aliens

Hyping Up

With under 24 hours until the doors to The Gathering opens there is alot of news on their site and some hype in the media. The Norwegian newspaper VG posted today an article on their website about The Gathering (Norwegian) where they use a pretty nostalgic picture from The Gathering in 2001 (Gogo CRT Screens?). In the article they link to another article where they say the new "Nerd" is a very social one. They also point out that Guinness is going to be present and the hype according to the ticket sales.

Setting the Records

As I allready said Guinness Records Gamers Edition will be present at The Gathering to validate tries and new entries for the book. If you would like to participate or try out for a world record you can see in this article and post in this forum.

Aliens at The Parking Lot

A few days ago it was posted a news article on The Gathering website where they found "strange alien looking vehicles" on the parking lot outside "Vikingskipet". It looks like some people are very eager to get inside and join the fun a bit early. Though the will not be allowed inside until the opening they are willing to wait over 61 hours! You can find their blog here (Norwegian).

Disco Fever

As some of you may have seen The Gathering had a live stream from "Vikingskipet" which they now have turned off to save the suprises. One thing they managed to slip however was a gigantic disco ball getting moved in and now someone have posted a picture about it:



The discussion about this humongous ball and what is going to happen at The Gathering is currently being discussed by the attendants in this forum (Norwegian).

Big Names with Greetings

As I have stated in an earlier post The Gathering had an unpleseant case with the Norwegian goverment last year with VAT/Tax as the subject. The case was won by KANDU/The Gathering and now before The Gathering starts we got a few greetings from three quite renowned people here in Norway. You can watch the greetings below or go here for more information and the greetings.

Harald Zwart - Movie Director



Kristin Halvorsen - Minister of Finance



Trond Giske - Leader of Cultural Affairs

The Gathering 2009 - Planning a Shelf

The Gathering is closing in so me and some friends made up our mind and wanted to build our own shelf this year. The shelf we are going to build is not very flashy and is actually very plain and simple. The reason behind building a shelf like this is because we want to have a place to put our bags and get some extra space by setting our desktop computers a level higher than our LCD screens. We have bought an extra spot as well so we can have 20cm extra space each for our keyboards and mousepads. So in total this shelf will be 400cm x 60cm x 150(?)cm (LxDxH).

This is our sketchup of the shelf.


Click on the picture for a larger view. The details are a bit diffuse but I will come back to it later with a worklog with pictures to show in detail how we will do it. Stay tuned!

The Gathering 2009 - Ban On Bringing Food

Today the staff of The Gathering announced that the attendants will not be able to bring their own food inside the ship. They also announced that they will have lockers ouside in the sleeping tent for rent so that people who bring food can store it there and eat it outside and in coordinated areas inside later on.

The cause of this is the massive amounts of garbage that the attendants generate throughout the period The Gathering is held and the owners of "Vikingskipet" and the people cleaning it all up is not satisfied with how it has currently been handled.

For the full news, read here at The Gathering's own site!

World of Warcraft - P1mp My Mount

Today Blizzard announced their newest addition for their Massive Multiplayer Online game World of Warcraft, P1mp My Mount. With this excellent addition you as a player will be able to P1mp up our scrawny looking mount and make it look EPIC!

The process of pimping your tired old mount is quite simple. Drop by Zazzber's local Fix-'Er-Up (available in Orgrimmar, Ironforge, and Dalaran with a very special PvP-oriented shop over in the phrigid lands of Wintergrasp) and talk to our resident mount pimp, Zazzber or his high-tech redneck assistant Janie Sue and, for a small fee, they'll overhaul your hauler, tricking your tired old vehicle out into something worthy of the Achievement "Pimp My Mount."


Still not convinced? Then check out some of our insanely satisfied customized-ers!


It used to be that whenever I rode my horse past the Exodar, the other draenei laughed at me. "Silly girl," they'd say, "get yourself a proper elekk!" But now, thanks to Z-dawg's ultimate pimpage, those other goat-heads all wish their mounts were half as fly as this guy!


The other trolls, mon, used to think I was strange for preferrin' my kodo to a raptor. But then my main man, Z, hooked me up with some upgrades to my sleek ride. I've got some shade even under the blazin' beach sun over in Stranglethorn and my kodo? He's pimpin' it out with his superfly hat!


Maybe coming back from the dead changed me; I'll never know for sure. But all I know is that I've always loved my kitty-cat. Sure, the other death knights thought it was a little silly but now I fire up my cat's phat nitro-boosters and blast those death knights on dead horses out of this life!

Uro:Spredere at The Gathering

As some may know the documentary movie "Uro:Spredere", a movie about the file-sharing war, will have it's premier at The Gathering which will open it's doors in under two weeks. Yesterday it was shown as a pre-premier and they had a debate after it was shown. A representative of the music industry, Christer Falch, who is a renowned record producer in Norway showed his thoughts of the case with enthusiasms which you can read in this article (Norwegian).

Here is some of his quotes translated:

"I am sick and tired of working for free"
"We consider from record to record if we are going to bother making and releasing it"
"Filesharers are a bunch of technological freaks which who listen to trance"

This is probably how most of the music business feels these days but from my view it is only the corporate side and not the musicians themselves that have this view of the case.

A while ago the Norwegian hardware news-site hw.no had internet meetings with the producers of Uro:Spredere and EFN which is a organization that works for the Norwegian citizen's rights on the internet. You can find the EFN Q&A here and the Uro:Spredere Q&A here (Norwegian).

With this debate going on in at it's fullest now and the premier of the movie being shown at The Gathering it will be exiting to see if the documentary will get the file-sharing case to move from it's standstill with a good debate between the attendants of The Gathering, politicians, the makers of the documentary, representatives from the music industry and more.

LAN – The Gathering 2009

In just two weeks Norway’s biggest LAN gathering is going to start. On the 8th of April they open their doors at Vikingskipet in Hamar to their 5000+ participants. Personally I have been there five times and this will be my sixth and I look forward to what they have to offer this year. Every year they overcome their previous year when it comes to organizing, participant care, hardware & network functionality and entertainment. Since last year was a really good year I am excited to how they are going to overcome their selves this year.

To be honest I was a bit afraid that we would not going to have any “The Gathering” this year and the reason to that was this. The article is not translated but this is the result of the tax/vat case that happened last year. When The Gathering was holding its yearly LAN event last year they got the news that they had to pay VAT for every participant because the Norwegian government did not see The Gathering as a cultural event. After a lot of back and forth with the case and the protest march of two and a half thousand computer enthusiasts through Hamar city last year during The Gathering, they won their case at last and became VAT free. I marched in the cold snowy weather that day as well and I am proud of the other participants which were willing to sacrifice some of their time to help with a big case like this.

Here is a highly detailed panorama picture from the protest march.

So now that The Gathering is on its way and coming fast you may ask, “Why participate?”

There are several reasons a person would go to a big gathering like this:

• Gaming: The gaming part of a LAN is vastly superior to the other categories but it is not the only thing a person would participate the gathering for.
• Competitions: This category applies to multiple sub-categories. At “The Gathering” there are several types of competitions and here is a few: Game Development, Software Programming, Graphical and movie making is but a few of the many competitions held at “The Gathering”.
• Prizes: Some “hardcore” gamers would participate because of the big prizes that “The Gathering” has to offer in some of the competitions. As well would the elite from the some of the other categories I mentioned.
• Socialize: Many would not think this but LANs like these are very good places to socialize with other members of the same kind of community that you represent. Many people also seek to learn from other types of communities that are represented here.
• Learning: This is possibly not the most common activity at “The Gathering” but several times a day there is held courses for many types of activities. Examples for this are the C++ and Java scripting courses they have had earlier.
  

As you can see there are many things to do at “The Gathering” and you will always have something to do if you want to. They often have scene shows with loads of entertainment, there are many different and interesting stands around in the ship and they have a movie theatre which shows movies regularly.

Hope this gives people some insight of what The Gathering is and that people are as exited to get there as I am. Later I will write more about this great event and when I attend it I will try to show you how it unfolds.

The Gathering 2009 Website
The Gathering 2008 Website
News Article on VG.no

No time, no posts, no fun

The last week I have had so much to do that I have had no time to post any pictures or make any constructive articles. I hope to get some time to post and write as soon as possible. Have patience and it will come ;)

Picture of the Day - InuYasha

[large][AnimePaper]wallpapers_Inu-Yasha_xRedangelx_12928, originally uploaded by bluenyellow06.

The picture of the day is from the anime series Inu Yasha, which sadly did not finish <3

Inu, Yasha, InuYasha,

Picture of the Day - Full Metal Panic!

Full Metal Panic!, originally uploaded by Shinkazo.

Today's picture is from a comedy action anime series called Full Metal Panic!

Picture of the Day - Basilisk: Kouga Ninpo Chou

Basilisk - 3 -, originally uploaded by [TRSF]Anime Resim Albümü.

Todays picture is from the anime series Basilisk: Kouga Ninpo Chou.