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Just The Facts
I didn’t witness this event at Blizzcon, but my hat goes off to the dude who played his nerd card strong at the Quests and Lore Q&A and managed to get some ownage for what I guess would be the first time in his entire life.
You know this got him laid. Again, for the first time in his entire life.
Oh who am I kidding. He still didn’t get any. Chicks, that is.
Still, he showed plenty of guts by getting up there in front of the thousands sitting there live, and the tens or hundreds of thousands watching at home, and laid down the Lore to the people who developed the Lore in the first place.
He’s had his balls busted over his delivery, his pasty and pimply complexion, his blank robotic stare. Blue Poster Nethaera came to Red Shirt’s defense:
I don’t think that’s his fault really. Keep in mind a few things (and those that have asked questions before will understand this):
Every person asking a question is standing there perhaps for the first time, with a microphone in front them, a very large TV camera in front of them and very bright lights shining on them. Then, add to it that as you talk, you can hear yourself echoing through the hall. If you wait for that echo to fade, you end up talking much slower than you normally would. It’s a bit disconcerting to say the least for anyone who isn’t used to that. Getting up in front of thousands of people to ask a question is unnerving for many people given those circumstances. It’s not easy and I applaud anyone who gets up and asks an informed question of the panelists under such conditions.
While Red Shirt never did get the babes that usually follows his level of bravado, he did get two things that probably meant just as much to him (which is sad, but I’m not here to judge) –
He got the Lore fixed in-game, and got a nod from the Developers.
Sometimes Blizzard can be pretty cool.
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Speaking of facts, I’ve updated Fury 101 to reflect the changes made to Fury Warriors in Patch 4.0.1 – courtesey of Ensidia. Check it out by clicking on the tab up there.
Blizzard Likes Surprises
Photo by Laughing Squid
Okay, I think I’m done playing the guessing game with these clowns.
As has been stated in various locations across the Internet, Blizzard has thrown out plenty of hints and comments regarding release dates for Patch 4.0.1, as well as Cataclysm itself. Much of that seemed to revolve around Arena Season 8. If that’s the case, then Boubouille believes Cataclysm will be released by December 7(?). He dug up some text that revealed that Season 9 will start on December 14. Zarhym stated in a blue post that Cataclysm will be released a week before the start of the new Arena Season.
It makes sense. Blizzard wanted Cata to drop before the end of Q4. It’d be great if they managed to get it out before Christmas. You know Bobby Kotick would love those Holiday dollars in his sweaty palms. But I know, and those who don’t have their head in the sand know as well, that on release day we’re going to be downloading a big patch. They’re still working on end game mechanics, and probably will be right up until the day Cataclysm goes live.
Patch 4.0 is the one I’m a little more anxious about. It affects how we play, how we make gold, and how we see the game. And by “we” I mean “me and my team of alts”. Early October was supposed to be the day of the Big Patch, but the downloader message has had the date removed. What does this mean?
At this point, I just want the patch to not screw things up when it comes. I don’t want a bunch of broken mechanics and bugs stuffed into my computer, just so they can reach a deadline. I want Patch 4.0, but I want to be able to start working with the content they give me. There will be minor patches of course, but hopefully they’ve got things “right enough” for me to start playing. It looks like they’re done with PTR tests with Patch 4.0.1, so October 5th as a patch day seems as likely as anything.
Whatever. I’m not holding my breath for the patches or expansions anymore. You can hold your breath, or Blizzard will hold it for you.
Photo by lamazone
Not shown: Bobby Kotick and a whole lot of plastic wrap.
This is Herculano. You might as well enjoy the game now. The changes will be here sooner or later.
Blizzard Keeps Us Guessing
You just can’t believe what you read on the Internet.
Imagine my shock and dismay when I read that BB over at MMO Champion had changed his Cataclysm release date prediction. While he has never come out and said he has an “insider source”, it’s pretty obvious he does. If he didn’t, the most logical explanation would be that he had his own Psychic Hotline and would probably be pocketing millions through lottery winnings and sports betting.
Psychic Cat says -There’s either a large dragon in your future or your mama needs to lose a few pounds.
Cataclysm’s new Release Date: Early December (Dec 7 or 14).
The new release date is just vague enough to come off as more of a prediction, which is probably why he labeled his post as (Not Official), as if any of his information is (Official). It still looks like the expansion will be out in time for the Christmas rush, which means I know what I’m putting on my Christmas list.
Like I’d wait for Christmas to get the expansion.
After playing mischief with the release calendar, Blizzard decided to mess with us a little more. They decided that the citizens of Azeroth were looking a little on the husky fat side and that they needed to get some much-needed exercise. Therefore, the Faction Capital portals in both Dalaran and Shattrath will disappear in Cataclysm. No more free rides for the homesick, says Blizz. But to show they’re not completely without sympathy (when it comes to fat characters, at least), the portals will be replaced by Class Trainers and Auctioneers.
This makes no sense. Class Trainers and Auctioneers are the two main reasons people would go to the Faction Capitals anyway. Put those in Dalaran and Shattrath, and people still have no reason to leave. Good thinking Blizzard!
I’ve got everything I need right here.
This is Herculano, getting his exercise the old-fashioned way: Cheeto Curls!
Cataclysm Release Date – What Does It Mean?
The harbinger of doom has spoken from on high.
And by that I mean Boubouille from MMO Champion has released his forecast for Cataclysm’s release date.
Now that Patch 4.0.1 is on PTR, I get a lot of mails asking for a release date and I guess I can answer that without too much risk now.
Keep in mind that Blizzard didn’t announce it because the release can still be postponed, but as far as I know the target release date for Cataclysm is the first week of November (that would be November 2, if you like numbers). The first part of the Cataclysm prologue started exactly 8 weeks before that and the next part of the pre-Cataclysm event will probably happen in 2 or 4 weeks depending on their schedule.
You got your answer, and hopefully people won’t yell at me if something goes wrong.
Link HERE.
Now I’m always skeptical when anyone from a non-official website starts passing along knowledge like it was gospel. I got heated last year when MMO Champion started telling folks that the new playable races were going to be Worgen and Goblins. This was based solely on the fact that they happened to datamine some new halloween masks. They released the information just before Blizzcon last year, which had Blizzard a little bent out of shape. MMO Champion had information (including the name of the as-yet-unnamed expansion Cataclysm) that they only could have obtained from inside sources. WoW.com was quick to pick up on this and pass along the information. My rant was based on the fact that nobody offered any solid facts, only theories, yet the masses gobbled it up like it was chocolate-covered awesomeness.
Of course, MMO Champion was right.
Do they have an inside source? Of course they do. They repeatedly drop “rumors” that turn out to be true. Even the wording of the release date doesn’t come off as something that’s speculation.
This time around, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. The proposed release date is November 2, 2010.
The question is this: Now that you have an actual number to deal with, what are your plans for that day? Will you start on the road to level 85? Start a Worgen or Goblin?
Myself, I may not even get the expansion on that day. There’s always issues on release, and the zones are going to be so packed it’s going to be hard to get anything done. With server crashes and zone lag, the first day will be insane.
What about you? Have you booked November 2 off yet? Let me know what your plans are in the comments below.
Nobody Likes A Quitter
World of Warcraft is on a decline, as it often happens during this late phase of an expansion. Content has been done to death, raid bosses have been slain, and people are spinning their wheels looking for something to do in-game. Many have simply quit until Cataclysm comes out. I wonder what WoW Addicts are doing now.
That’s something that hasn’t been run into the ground lately – video game addiction. Remember the days when the mainstream media was all over World of Warcraft as the evil game that ruins lives? It’s digital crack, online heroin. Yet I find it so hard to feel bad for these people. Maybe that makes me a horrible person. Maybe. But not as horrible as some of the people I’ve been reading about on WoW Detox.
I missed my Sons 5th birthday party. I didn’t get him a gift or anything at all. I completely forgot about it. My guild setup a raid for the same day. I had been preparing for it all week. I’m the off tank usually and this time I got chosen to be the main tank as the other guy in my guild went on vacation. I was more excited about this than my own Son’s birthday. I forgot about it completely I was so busy studying and researching the dungeon and bosses. My wife told me I was supposed to pick up the cake and bring it to funtime Pizza at 12:00 on sat (like chuckycheese) but I forgot to I thought she meant next saturday. I spent the day wondering why it was so quite. Apparantly my wife took our two kids and their friends to the funtime pizza for his party. I turned off my phone and prepared myself for a day full of WoW. They all got back at 9:00pm my guild and I had just got to the 2nd boss. I’m sitting at my computer being the moron I am not paying attention to anything with my headphones on and my screen goes black. I look over and I see my computer in pieces. My wife knocked it off the table (to say it lightly).
When I looked at her I didn’t know why she was so upset. Untill she started screaming out about how I let down our Son and that I’m hardly ever there for him or her or any of our kids because I’m always paying attention to the game.
She explained to me how all the kids waited an hour for me to show up with a Cake and it never happened. I felt like pure crap. Worse than forgetting to bring a cake I forgot it was even his birthday. My wife was upset with me she had our kids stay over at their friends house just so she could discuss our future it was a long night.
I let this game eat up at me and destroy my marriage and my relationship with my children. Now I’m on the verge of a divorce.
I don’t blame my wife for hating me. I wouldn’t blame my kids if they hated me either. I hate myself for what I have done to them. I don’t remember a single time in my adult life where I honestly cried but that night I did before my wife.
It hurt so much to know what I was doing. My Son is always going to remember his father letting him down and not being there for him. How do I make something like that up to him? How can I get my wife to love me again?
My Wife was right “I did this to us”.
That’s an addiction. That’s pathetic, like sniffing rails of coke off a dirty toilet seat.
Damn it! I flushed my Authenticator!
I have no sympathy for those kinds of people. You have people in the house, people you live with, but you give priority to online voices? That’s grounds for a kick to the testicles. But there are others, folks with a bit of a clue, that I find myself wanting to give a little hug to.
I was playing WoW for seven months. I felt it consuming more and more of my life.
It was the one place I really felt important. But I realized it’s only half a reality.
I think that’s why many people find themselves “addicted”. They have such a low feeling of self-worth that anything they achieve in-game gives them the rush that real life can’t give them. Hey, I’ve been there. It takes alot of work to get beyond that point. It isn’t easy, but it can be done. But the first step is taking responsibility for your actions. Not like this twit.
I got tricked into buying it (WoW) and got tricked into playing it. Then I get tricked into continuing to play it. Every time I brought up leaving people would beg me to stay. I just wanted to quite because I didn’t enjoy the game. I felt it was boring and annoying. Boring because you do the same things over and over again and annoying because of the selfish pricks you have to deal with while doing so.
Tricked into continuing to play? Brilliant. Yes, sinking money into World of Warcraft is clearly someone else’s fault. What a brave soul, to finally walk away from the digital faces that continuously held a gun to his head and forced him to renew his subscription.
No. Stop. Save me from myself.
The ones who have a real chance, are the ones who have a degree of self-awareness about their situation.
The hardest part of quitting so far is knowing that in Azeroth I was pretty and popular and had lots of friends but IRL I’m shy and plain and lonely and nobody really likes me or notices me. I know though that I can’t get my self worth from a game. I have to find a life somehow while I’m young and can enjoy it. Two weeks clean after 6 months /played in two years and this is hard. I’m sad and lonely and starved for people like me to talk to. This site is a life saver though. I have been reading through all the stories every single day. It keeps me from reinstalling. That and warcrack widow’s blog. That made me stop in the first place.
World of Warcraft is known by the player base as being such a “social” game. But for the socially inept who can’t forge relationships face to face, being able to wear the mask of a digital avatar can be a godsend. It lets them connect with their fellow gamers. These people soon find themselves unable to quit the game, because there’s no way they can go back to life without their mask.
I’m no addict. I haven’t missed obligations so that I could play. Given the choice between real life activities and in-game activities, real life always wins. But I understand how people get drawn into World of Warcraft. It gets comfy, like a big warm blanket. Cataclysm is going to breed a fresh batch of addicts, guaranteed. I just hope that more folks remember that, no matter how much of a “social game” World of Warcraft is, it is still a “game”.
This is Herculano. Know when to draw the line.
Rokk Talk 