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Archive for December, 2009
The best of WoW.com: January 2009
Dec 20th
In backchannel team discussion, Dan O’Halloran asked us to nominate our best stories for the year. "I don’t mean the most popular or even the most commented on," he wrote, but "editorials, class columns, analysis, or even funny or touching posts," the ones we were happiest and/or proudest of writing. I’d like to think that our list captures (or at least tries to capture) the zeitgeist of the player community, and how things evolved from the very beginning of Wrath to the patch where players will (eventually) face the ultimate boss of the expansion.
Yesterday we realized that, as of today, there are 12 days to go until 2010, so we though what we’d do is break down our favorite posts into each month of 2009.
Today, obviously, covers January. Wrath was less than two months old when the new year rolled around. While most players were still leveling their mains, gearing them up, and taking their first steps into heroics, others were already steamrolling Tier 7 or trying to steamroll things like Glory of the Raider.
Continue reading The best of WoW.com: January 2009
A Christmas Warble (Christmas 2009) – news from RuneScape
Dec 20th
Christmas time has come round again and the Queen of Snow has invited guests to her realm for one of her legendary Christmas feasts, and perhaps a snowball fight or two. Hop into one of the Christmas cupboards in Varrock, Falador or Draynor to join in the festivities along with Santa Claus, Jack Frost, and an entourage of guests from across RuneScape.
Hard as it may be to believe, not everyone in the Land of Snow is full of Christmas cheer. The Queen of Snows neighbour, Ebenezer Scourge, isnt known for his goodwill or for his love of a good party, but thats nothing to worry about. Nothings going to go wrong. Im quite sure that this year well have a quiet Christmas. Im almost certain that therell be no kidnapping, ghosts of Christmas past, magical curses or vigilante snow imps.
Adventurers with the impish cunning to see this one through will be richly rewarded with a dramatic new emote, a fiendish costume, and not to mention a tasty-looking and festive wieldable item.
Merry Christmas from all of the RuneScape team!
Mod EdamRuneScape Content Developer
Summary:
Where to start A Christmas Warble: Enter one of the magic wardrobes in Varrock, Falador or Draynor Village.
Requirements to complete A More >
Cantiga de Natal – notícias de RuneScape
Dec 20th
Para celebrar a chegada do Natal, a rainha da neve convidou seres de todos os cantos de RuneScape para um de seus famosos banquetes – e talvez até uma guerra de bolinhas de neve. Para chegar lá e comemorar essa festa de fim de ano com o Papai Noel, Jack Frias e muitos outros convidados, basta entrar em um dos armários natalinos em Varrock, Faladore ou na Vila Draynor.
Porém, apesar de ser difícil de acreditar, nem todos os habitantes de Nevópolis estão entusiasmados com as festividades. Ebenezer Scourge, o vizinho rabugento da rainha da neve, não tem a menor fama de ser generoso – e nem de gostar de uma boa festa. Mas não se preocupe: tudo vai dar certo. Acho que esse ano o Natal vai ser tranquilo. Tenho quase certeza que ninguém será sequestrado, que fantasmas dos Natais passados não precisarão visitar quem se comporta mal e que diabinhos da neve não estarão envolvidos nessa aventura.
Aventureiros com espírito natalino serão recompensados com uma nova ação e uma roupa um tanto macabra – sem falar na guloseima deliciosa que eles receberão.
A equipe de RuneScape deseja a você um feliz Natal!
Mod EdamDesenvolvedor de Conteúdo de RuneScape
Resumo:
Onde começar Cantiga de Natal: Entre More >
Le drôle de Noël de Scourge – nouvelles de RuneScape
Dec 20th
Noël est de retour et la reine des neiges a invité les sujets de son royaume à son légendaire banquet de Noël (et peut-être à une ou deux batailles de boules de neige). Entrez dans lune des armoires de Noël à Varrock, Falador ou Draynor pour retrouver le père Noël, Geoffroy Desglaces et tout plein dinvités et faire la fête avec eux.
Aussi incroyable que cela puisse paraître, tout le monde nest pas dhumeur festive. Le voisin de la reine des neiges, Ebenezer Scourge, na rien du joyeux bout-en-train, bien au contraire. Mais il ny a aucune raison de sinquiéter. Tout ira bien. Je suis sûr que cette année, Noël se passera sans problème… sans kidnapping, sans fantôme des Noëls passés, sans malédiction, sans diablotin des neiges aux ambitions de grand justicier.
Les aventuriers qui sauront le mieux embrasser lesprit de Noël se verront récompenser par une nouvelle émote, un costume fantastique, sans oublier un objet de fête à manier joyeusement dans RuneScape.
Léquipe de RuneScape vous souhaite à tous un joyeux Noël !
Mod EdamDéveloppeur de RuneScape
En bref :
Pour commencer Le drôle de Noël de Scourge : Entrez dans lune des armoires magiques à Varrock, Falador ou Draynor.
Prérequis : Aucun.
Et aussi…
Nous avons implémenté une More >
Ein Weihnachtsmärchen 2009 – Nachrichten aus RuneScape
Dec 20th
Es weihnachtet sehr und die Schneekönigin hat die Gäste in ihr Reich zu einem ihrer legendären Weihnachtsfestessen eingeladen und vielleicht springen auch ein oder zwei Schneeballschlachten dabei heraus. Schlüpft in einen der Weihnachtsschränke in Varrock, Falador oder Dorf Draynor, um mit dem Weihnachtsmann, Jack Frost und anderen Gästen aus ganz RuneScape Weihnachten zu begehen.
Es mag vielleicht schwer zu glauben sein, aber nicht alle Leute im Schneeland sind in Weihnachtsstimmung. Der Nachbar der Schneekönigin, Ebenezer Scourge, ist nicht gerade als Verfechter der Besinnlichkeit oder als Partygänger bekannt. Aber das ist kein Grund zur Besorgnis. Nichts wird schiefgehen. Dieses Jahr können wir an Weihnachten sicher eine ruhige Kugel schieben. Ganz bestimmt wird niemand entführt, mit Geistern vergangener Weihnachten konfrontiert, magisch verflucht und niemand muss sich mit Schneebolden zusammentun, um Gerechtigkeit walten zu lassen.
Die boldig-gerissenen Abenteurer, die dieses Ereignis zu Ende bringen, werden reich belohnt mit einer dramatischen neuen Geste, einem geisterhaften Kostüm sowie einem lecker aussehendem, festlichen Gegenstand, der gut in der Hand liegt.
Das ganze RuneScape-Team wünscht euch frohe Weihnachten!
Mod EdamRuneScape-Entwickler
Zusammenfassung:
Wo ihr ’Ein Weihnachtsmärchen’ beginnen könnt: Betretet einen der Weihnachtsschränke in Varrock, Falador oder Dorf Draynor.
Mindestvoraussetzungen, um ’Ein Weihnachtsmärchen’ abzuschließen: Keine.
Weitere Neuigkeiten
Wir haben ein neues Grafik-Feature namens Partikel in die Spielengine eingebaut. More >
The Art of War(craft): Getting your groove back with a little PvP
Dec 20th
Zach is a Battlegrounds freak. Even if he doesn’t raid or quest or sell things at the auction house, he’ll make sure to get a small dose of Battlegrounds PvP to brighten up his day. You should, too. They’re like vitamins. Bloody, face-melting, honor-gaining, sword-clashing vitamins.
This little thing called patch 3.3 came out some time back, maybe you’d heard. I had planned it to be my return from an unintentionally self-imposed hiatus from hardcore play, considering that all the tools would now be in place to allow all players of all gear levels to catch up the the penultimate level of content. It was a good plan, except that a few things here and there kept me from jumping right into it when the Fall of the Lich King went live.
The new Dungeon Finder system is getting rave reviews from everyone who’s tried it. I think it’s an awesome tool — quite possibly one of the best things to happen to the game. The coolest thing about it for me is that the concept stemmed from the Battlegrounds! That’s right… the Battlegroup-wide grouping system is inspired by the way Battlegrounds get players from various realms from way back since Patch 1.12 in More >
No skipping the story in the Culling of Stratholme for now
Dec 20th
The story of the Culling of Stratholme is cool, the first time you do it. However after about the hundreth time it gets to be a bit much. And thanks to the random heroic dungeon finder, I practically have Arthas’ speech memorized now; he and I yell in sync at the end of each run "To the ends of the earth!"
Be honest, I know you do, too.
What has to be the most requested feature of this dungeon — the ability to skip the long and repetitive story — isn’t coming anytime soon. When there was some discussion about this in the general forms earlier this week, Eyonix appeared and enlightened us as to Blizzard’s thoughts on the matter:
We agree, but unfortunately with the current tech/flagging that exists in regards to this — it’s just not possible for the game to recognize this sort of thing and allow for a bypass. It’s always a possibility for the future though.
So for the time being we’ll have to live with this, but at least Blizzard is on the same page with us all. And if the Trial of the Champion and Halls of Reflection instances tells us anything, it’s that Blizzard won’t be More >
WoW Insider Show Episode 121: So long and thanks for all the Fah-jords
Dec 20th
Our podcast reached the end of part one last weekend, as both Turpster and I announced that we’d be leaving the show. But we didn’t let it become a sad affair — Matthew Rossi and Chase Christian both joined us for some Warcraft discussion (including when it’s ok to votekick someone, and lots of Battered Hilt discussion), and we finally were able to have one of our favorite guys stop by: Scott Johnson from The Instance podcast. It was a great show, and as usual, you can tune in at all of the links below.
Thanks again for everything — even though Turpster and I are moving on, the podcast will continue, so be sure to come back and see what they brew up for you. But it’s been a heck of a ride these past two-plus years, and we’ve had measurable metric tons of laughs and fun together. Thanks so much for listening and chatting with us and all the emails and excitement. Enjoy the show, and don’t forget to grab your sword and fight the Horde. Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] More >
Zeschuck: JRPGs lack evolution, progression
Dec 20th
"Innovation" is one of those buzzwords we hear every now and then in the games industry. Which games or consoles innovated the most? Which ones didn’t? According to BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuck, JRPGs as a whole have been guilty of being stagnant for the past few years.
"The fall of the JRPG in large part is due to a lack of evolution, a lack of progression," Zeschuk told Destructoid in a recent interview. "They kept delivering the same thing over and over. They make the dressing better, they look prettier, but it’s still the same experience.
While he acknowledges that there are definitely exceptions — Demon’s Souls is mentioned as one — Zeschuck believes that the role-playing in JRPGs have fallen behind that offered by their Western counterparts.
"We have big debates on whether GTA is an RPG, for example," he said. "It’s got all the elements, it just doesn’t have the numbers. And what gamers here want is that higher depth, that higher integration of features…Mass Effect 2 is in some ways a continuation of that evolution."
Well, JRPG fans, what say you?
Via [Destructoid]
[1.Local]: The relative value of being "First!"
Dec 20th
Reader comments — ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.
Hang on, guys, while I reach back for my Drama Mamas hat … Just a sec, turning on my helm display … There. Ok, here’s the score: I delete all "First!" comments on my posts, so readers don’t have to wade through nonsense posts simply to get a shot at making relevant conversation. Those who persist get hit with the Hammer of Ban Justice. (Don’t say you haven’t been warned!) Off-topic comments are pointless and rude, and they achieve nothing but demonstrating how spectacularly clueless you are on how to comport yourself in public on the internet. Don’t do it, please.
/unequip [Drama Mama Helm]
Ok, now that that’s on the record — shhh, c’mere. Peek around the corner with me, because this "First!" on a recent Around Azeroth turned out to be rather entertaining. (Just don’t tell anyone it was me who told you so.)
Continue reading [1.Local]: The relative value of being "First!"