Posters on MMO-Champion’s boards have gotten into the Cataclysm alpha and started datamining female worgen models and animations. While the models don’t have textures yet (i.e. you’re only going to see a bunch of black and not their faces or anything) and some of the animations are placeholders borrowed from existing models (mostly female draenei), this is the first look we’re getting at one of Cataclysm’s most hotly anticipated features.
WARNING: This post is stuffed full of spoilers. It is a spoiled piece of concentrated awesome wrapped in spoiled paper boxed and shipped to Spoilertopia courtesy of Spoiler Express. Don’t click below if you don’t want anything to do with unofficial information.
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I love numbers. I love facts and statistics, I love looking through them and speculating on the different possible interpretations. As we move into the end of Wrath, I thought it would be a nice time to take a look at everybody’s favorite number, DPS, and see how each spec is doing in ICC.
But rather than just looking at the top DPS of each spec, I thought it would be more interesting to see where the average DPS for each spec is, across all gear levels, all skill levels — to get a glimpse of how the average raider is doing. While we don’t have access to the DPS of every raider out there, we do have something close, and that something is World of Logs.
Read more…
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The past couple of months have not been kind to Mythic Entertainment, with an uncomfortable double-header of a huge billing fiasco followed by the closure of the Mythic Store. The billing especially produced a great deal of outrage from players, understandably concerned about their account security as well as the potential impact on their bank accounts. Even reversing the charges didn’t leave everyone completely mollified — but Mythic has put in the effort to try and not just apologize and reverse the error, but help regain the trust and goodwill of the players.
Both Warhammer Online and Dark Age of Camelot players will receive two items of their choice on all current and future characters, with Warhammer Online mailing out tokens and Dark Age of Camelot simply allowing you to talk to a Royal Accountant. The items include dyes, decorations, temporary disguises, and other fun toys for players to help recover from the aftershocks. On the off chance that you didn’t receive the items and were billed multiple times, the team at Mythic has a specific appeals process to ensure correct delivery. As bad as the error was, it’s good to see that players will be compensated nicely for as long as they keep playing.
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It’s not quite as stunning as the earlier announcement regarding Turbine and Warner Bros, but for the free-to-play world a big shakeup has taken place. Nexon, known for MapleStory, Mabinogi, and the upcoming Vindictus among others, has acquired a controlling share of NDOORS Interactive, known principally for Atlantica Online. The deal was announced in Korea late Monday evening, with Nexon explaining that they had acquired 67% of the company’s shares including those of the former chairman, Seung-Mun Kwon.
Nexon CEO Su-Min was quite pleased about the acquisition, stating that the addition of the technical expertise and experience of the NDOORS team would help with the company’s long-term plans and global expansion. There’s no word yet on what this will mean for the operation of Atlantica Online in the US and elsewhere, although it’s reasonable to assume that Nexon would likely consolidate their operations. We’ll have more for you on this story as it develops and as further details come to light.
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Reports on the official forums this morning are that those who completed the Dalaran orphan’s quest (Oracle pet/Wolvar pet) last year are currently unable to start the quest again today. Blizzard has already chimed in with a response:
Aredek — Children’s Week not workingI’m terribly sorry about the delay in getting back to you all regarding this issue; however, this is an issue we are presently looking into. At this time, players who completed the Dalaran Children’s Week quests will be unable to re-accept the quests. We hope to resolve this issue as soon as possible, but we do not have an ETA to provide at this time.
We will surely let you know as soon are more information becomes available.
Thank you all for your patience!
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This annual reset glitch has happened a few times in the past with other seasonal events. This issue should not be affecting the Stormwind, Orgrimmar or Shattrath orphan quests. It should also not be affecting those who are doing the Dalaran orphan quest for the first time. More information about the current seasonal event can be found in our Children’s Week guide updated for 2010.
We’ll update this post when Blizzard announces the fix.
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World of Warcraft on the iPad? Apparently, thanks to an interesting service called Gaikai. Gaikai, currently in beta, is a new technology that will let you play any game online in your browser. Here’s how it works — Gaikai hosts the games on their servers and worries about the hardware and software updates, then they stream the games to you through your browser. They call this technology “Streaming Worlds.” What does this mean for the average WoW player? Well, when you have a computer that otherwise looks seemingly impossible to play WoW on such as the iPad, you can use Gaikai to stream the game via Java, Flash or Silverlight to your computer, resulting in the screenshot shown above.
While the screenshot is amazing, there are doubts to its credibility since iPad’s browser doesn’t support Flash. Unfortunately no video of the game in action was provided. However, the concept surrounding Gaikai, and the implications for browser-based games that are graphically intensive like World of Warcraft are fascinating.
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Reports on the official forums this morning are that those who completed the Dalaran orphan’s quest (Oracle pet/Wolvar pet) last year are currently unable to start the quest again today. Blizzard has already chimed in with a response:
Aredek — Children’s Week not workingI’m terribly sorry about the delay in getting back to you all regarding this issue; however, this is an issue we are presently looking into. At this time, players who completed the Dalaran Children’s Week quests will be unable to re-accept the quests. We hope to resolve this issue as soon as possible, but we do not have an ETA to provide at this time.
We will surely let you know as soon are more information becomes available.
Thank you all for your patience!
source
This annual reset glitch has happened a few times in the past with other seasonal events. This issue should not be affecting the Stormwind, Orgrimmar or Shattrath orphan quests. It should also not be affecting those who are doing the Dalaran orphan quest for the first time. More information about the current seasonal event can be found in our Children’s Week guide updated for 2010.
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From the official WoW Spanish forums today comes three important new facts about Cataclysm:
You will need to discover the dungeon first before it will appear in the Dungeon Finder It is possible heroic dungeons will require attunements The internal gear checking will be stricter for Cataclysm heroics than it is for current Wrath heroics The translated blue announcement is as follows:
DraztalLooking to Cataclysm, maybe you want to know that, for normal dungeons, players must discover the dungeon in the world prior to access it from LFD tool. It is possible that you could see attunements for heroics and raids (which would be similar to the one of Karazhan). Developers arent sure yet of whether they use attunements or not. However, heroic dungeons at level 85 would probably have more gear requirement (in comparison) than heroic dungeons at level 80.
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As the years have passed in the World of Warcraft, I find myself meeting more and more players who have no idea what I’m talking about when I mention some memorable quest or tiny hideaway in a level 50 zone. This is by no means unexpected in a game as old as WoW, but I find it quite tragic that those near and dear to me are missing out on things that once captivated me. So what do I do? Well, I grab my semi-interested guildmate and whisk him away on a field trip; I take on the role of an Azerothian tour guide. Sometimes I even wear a funny hat.
I really enjoy the concept behind achievements like The Loremaster and World Explorer. It has a very “go see and experience the world for yourself” feel to it that I can agree with. The problem is I think those achievements are a bit overwhelming for the average person, myself included. I really can’t imagine actively going out and doing the hundreds of “gather 10 berries/feathers/saliva samples” quests for fun. What I’d really like to see is an achievement system that focuses more on quality than quantity: Loremaster Lite, for example, or World Explorer’s Top 20 spots. Kind of like Blizzard’s way of saying, “Hey, here is the stuff we are most proud of. Go see it.”
Blizzard is busy, though. But hey! I’m here, and I even have a funny hat to wear in real life! It’s not an explorer hat; it’s a squid hat. (It looks like a squid is eating my head when I wear it.) As I sit here, allowing my brains to be munched on by this crocheted Cthulhu, I have to wonder: are all those things I love about the old world going to exist once Cataclysm comes out?
Read more…
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This multiple-rule-breaking screenshot was sent in by obvious sadist Stache of on Korgath. This reminds me that it’s about time to update our forbidden screenshot list. Anyone have any suggestions? One of the slots is already going to be filled by Celestial Steeds, so you can skip that one.
Do you have any unusual, beautiful or interesting World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We’d love to see them on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as emailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!
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Do you want to talk to your friends even if they’re on other servers, or the opposite faction on your server? Well, Blizzard aims to make that possible via Battle.net, and it’s coming before Cataclysm.
Zarhym – Re: Cataclysm Friends List Idea
This is exactly what we are working on implementing with Battle.net and real-life friends. You’ll be able to add friends at the Battle.net account level and talk to them while in-game whether they’re on the opposing faction, a different realm, or another Blizzard game entirely. This is coming prior to Cataclysm.
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Q u o t e:
Please tell me that people will not be able to “friend” me without my consent. I don’t care to be tracked across servers and factions except by a couple people I know IRL.
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This is correct. No one outside of your faction on your realm will be able to communicate with you unless you accept their friend request, or they accept yours. You will still have your normal World of Warcraft Friends list, but we’ll be adding in the ability to have Battle.net players on your Friends list as well. The characters on your Friends list will allow the same communication functionality which exists today. It’s only when you’ve confirmed someone as a Battle.net friend that you can take advantage of the additional communication features.
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The real surprise for me is that people playing, say, StarCraft II or Diablo III will be able to chat with people playing World of Warcraft via their Battle.net accounts. It’s a definite extension of their Real ID program mentioned during the StarCraft II preview, and I’m even more surprised that it’s going to be out before Cataclysm ships. I know that even if I don’t play Diablo III (which is unlikely, how will I be able to resist the barbarian?), being able to talk to the various friends I have across six servers will be a positive boon for me.
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With the 3rd anniversary of Lord of the Rings Online rolling along and a new connection between Turbine and Warner Bros ensuring no shortage of operating funds, it seems like it might be a little strange to find Lord of the Rings Online’s newest expansion Siege of Mirkwood being offered on deals.woot today. That said, it’s there nonetheless, and for those who may have been holding off on picking it up until the price dropped, there’s no time like the present!
The deal offers everyone a chance to pick up the Siege of Mirkwood Complete Edition, which includes the core game, Mines of Moria, and Mirkwood as well as 30 days of free game time for the incredibly low price of $9.99. Now, with that said, this is for the US version run by Turbine, and is strictly digital download only. However, for $10 you really can’t beat it — especially if you’ve never played before or haven’t touched the game since launch, but have been thinking about picking it up recently.
And hey, if you’re new to the lands of Middle-earth, be sure to check out our handy information on how to get started in skirmishes, skirmish rewards, or Justin’s excellent on-going column chock-full of LotRO tips, tricks and more — The Road to Mordor!
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Digital distribution is the in thing these days. Steam, in particular, has turned PC games into something that’s almost easier to buy at home rather than in the store, with a ridiculously wide selection and the promise of never worrying about lost discs. The biggest drawbacks are the download times and potentially losing your login, and what MMO player doesn’t plan for those issues? But there’s still something nice about a boxed copy, which is why European gamers can take joy in the fact that Global Agenda will be releasing a boxed retail copy of the game starting in September 2010.
Thus far, the game has been using primary distribution through Steam, which has worked well — but as the official statement explains, a retail box helps improve visibility. The game will launch in an English version in cooperation with Iceberg Interactive, with a German version due out a bit later. No word is given on whether or not an American boxed version will be available. It’s a unique opportunity for Global Agenda, which itself is a very unique game, and success with the boxed copies likely will lead to more developing projects and more content for the game’s fans.
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On the EU forums, a character named Redbranch from Thunderhorn came up with what I thought was a pretty nifty idea — getting his/her fellow players to chime in on a list of 101 things to do in old Azeroth before Cataclysm hits. It’s sort of the WoW equivalent of The Bucket List, and the responses range from the violent (”Slaying as many people as possible”) to the nostalgic (”Go base jumping again in Feralas”) to the practical (”Prepare plentiful supplies of gold”).
Then Slorkuz chimed in with the following:
SlorkuzQuote:
The old world is changing forever. Let’s compile a list of things to do before the end.
1) Play through all the starter zones, to give some idea if each race’s lore.
Visit the Shimmering Flats!
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We already know that Thousand Needles is going to be mostly underwater in Cataclysm, but it was another nudge to the realization that the world we know is going bye-bye forever. Right now, my personal “bucket list” includes doing the dungeon set 2 quest line, but I’d love to hear from other players on how they’re approaching the “end of the world.”
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There’s an understandable problem with selling game currency in subscription games, where it’s generally considered verboten for good reason. While some subscription games will sell you things in addition to the monthly fee, there’s a general sense that you should earn your advantages. But in free-to-play games that have a cash shop allowing players to purchase items directly… well, the very idea of gold selling seems kind of silly. But it can happen, and Runes of Magic has experienced a bit of a problem of late with the trade of Diamonds (their cash shop currency) for gold.
The game has traditionally treated the currencies as interchangeable insofar as players with lots of Diamonds and not enough gold could sell their excess to other players. Unfortunately, the current spate of RMT activities have called for draconian measures: they’ve taken away the ability to trade Diamonds for gold. They’ve also temporarily removed the ability to send gold through the mail. The official announcement stresses that this is a temporary measure to combat unacceptable behavior. While less gold spam is a good thing, fewer features are a negative, so this new is a mixed bag for Runes of Magic players.
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