Improving WSG

It occurs to me that by posting these ideas, I'm actually screwing Blizzard (and WoW players) out of possible improvements. Blizzard probably can't implement my ideas even if they did like them and wanted to, without actually buying them from me. Yes, I've put them out here in the public domain, but the ideas remain mine, and if I don't post "Blizzard, you've got carte blanche to use my ideas" then they can't use them for fear of me suing them. And if Blizzard can't use my ideas, it means the players lose out, too (assuming my ideas really are that good ;)

So how do we fix WSG? Well, what's the biggest problem with WSG?

It takes too long, right? Your team gets 2 Flag Caps and what happens? Everyone on the other team falls back to their base and now you've got a turtle. How can we fix this?

We could implement a Timer...but a Timer can actually negatively affect two evenly matched teams who are fighting an ebb & flow battle. Where Flags are constantly being picked up, huge fights are being fought mid-field, Flags are being dropped and returned, or dropped & picked up again, or returned and...someone hiding in your Base picks it up again! These are the fun WSGs where players are trying to support each other, they're actively PvPing, nobody is trying to Turtle or just let the other team lose, and everyone is having a blast. Then 15 minutes later...Bam! Everyone finds themself dumped back in front of their Battlemaster. Talk about Coitus Interruptus!

So while a Timer might be a good idea when you're up 2 & 0 and the other team is Turtling and try as you might you can't get their Flag out of their Base, but for a game where that's not happening? Where it's just two evenly matched teams thrusting, repelling, counter thrusting. Then a Timer literally is Couitus Interruptus.

If we look at the other BGs they all have Timers of a sort. Okay, it's actually a Counter.

AB - every few seconds the two Teams get points based on how many Bases they hold. First Team to 2000 points wins.
EOTS - every second the two Teams get points based on how many Bases they hold, with Flag Caps awarding more Points the more Bases you hold. First to 2000 wins.
AV - Both Teams start with 600 points. You win by reducing your opponent's Points to zero, by defeating their General (instant win), taking enemy-held Keeps & Towers, killing their Captain, or just killing opposing players (1 pt each).

WSG is (currently) the only BG that does not use a Counter/Timer. Get three Flag Caps and you win. That's it. If that takes you 10 minutes, or an hour, or half a day, it ain't over 'til one of the teams has scored 3 points.

But what if the game was played to 150 points, and a Flag Cap was worth 50 points?

That doesn't sound much different than it's current scoring system, right? But if we incorporate part of the AV Counter system, and for every HK your team gets you score 1 point, now it becomes a little more interesting.

Now if two teams are evenly matched, and they're fighting mid-field tooth & nail but neither team is giving up any ground. Flags are getting picked up, dropped, returned, then picked up again. Players are fighting and dying, then rezzing and running back in, but neither team's Flag Runner can break through. With each death the counter slowly ticks up. Now you need to win by attrition, and if one Team turtles, the team on the outside can either send players to the roof to rain death down upon those below with AOE attacks, DOTs, etc, and slowly kill them one by one. Now you don't need to get their Flag, it's enough to know that with every death they incur, your Team moves one step closer to Victory.

Would this work? Would you like to see a counter like this incorporated into WSG? Are Blizzard likely to do anything like this?

Not now, at least not unless I write: If there is anyone out there who could use this idea to compliment one of their games, you are more than welcome to it. Now it might get incorporated, assuming anyone from Blizzard reads the ramblings of the Famous Wizard 101 Blogger ;)

Fucking brilliant!!!

So I've been reading a few Yahoo! Answers lately, and I ran across this one, which asked "Can you tell me why your[sic] voting for the candidate that you are?"

One of the respondents wrote (IMHO) this Fucking Brilliant Gem of a response.

* * * * *
Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read: 'Vote Obama, I need the money.' I laughed.

Once in the restaurant my server had on an 'Obama '08' tie. Again I laughed--just imagine the coincidence.

When the bill came, I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama 'Redistribution of Wealth' concept. He stood there in disbelief as I told him I was going to redistribute his tip to someone I deemed more in need--the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $5 and told him to thank the server inside. He looked at me questioningly, so I explained that even though the server did the work and had earned the money, I decided that he, the homeless guy, was more in need of the money. The homeless guy was grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment, it had been clearly proven that while the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, the waiter was very angry that I gave away the money he did earn, even though the actual recipient deserved the money more.

It seems redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept, than in practical application.........

You want me to give your hard earned money to someone else. This is what I will continue to do daily until the day Obama is out of Office, that is if he makes it.

Vote for the closet Democrat over the flaming Socialist any day.
* * * * *

The lesser of two evils?

It doesn't have to be this way, so don't be a sheep and don't allow the media to brainwash you. A vote for someone other than one of the two evils is not a wasted vote.

When it's not compulsory to vote you should be free to vote for the candidate of your choice, in fact you should be commended for taking an interest in the running of your country, not made to feel guilty for doing so.

The truth is if everyone who could legally vote did so, and if everyone voted for the candidate of their choice, not just for one of the two evils, then both evils would probably be more than a little shocked at the result.

Although I am the famous Wizard 101 Blogger, I don't claim to have a huge readership, but perhaps the following will inspire others to get the message out and together we can educate the masses.

You have a choice, and it's your own choice to make. Don't make a choice out of fear, don't feel you have to vote for one of the two evils. Vote for the candidate you think actually has the knowledge and experience to run the country.

Because they already get enough air time I'm not going to name either of the two evils here (or even link to their pages), instead, here are the people the two evils would probably much rather you didn't know about.

The Libertarian Party candidate, Congressman Bob Barr.

The Constitution Party candidate, Pastor Chuck Baldwin.

The Green Party candidate, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.

Independent candidate Ralph Nader.

Of particular note is that Cynthia McKinney is not just a woman, but an African-American woman! Now why the hell isn't she getting more press time?

Because the media want you to vote for one of the two evils, so they promote them and forsake everyone else.

Don't let the wolf lead you astray, or the shepherd pull the wool over your eyes.

Vote (or don't vote) for the candidate of your choice. Now if your choice is one of the two evils, good for you, but be true to yourself, make sure it's your choice, not that of the media.

What WAR could have been...

but would it have been better?

Mythic could have made WAR a squad-based (sort of) game, not unlike the real, table-top Warhammer game. I know, I know. GW's stable of table-top games are almost all Army-based games (as opposed to squads), but that would make you a General and WAR an RTS and that's already been done, in countless incarnations (some good, some bad). Being an MMO, WAR needed to be a little more personal, but to capture that true GW feeling while also making WAR stand out as an MMO, WAR could have been a squad-based game, instead of the individual-based MMO it currently is.

Like all MMOs, to start with you'd create your Avatar, but then you'd get to create your squad, based on the avatar you chose.

If you played as a Black Orc, Orc Shaman, etc, your squad could consist of 4 Orc grunts, or up to 9 Goblins. Your choice.

Want to join Chaos? Then you'll have several Servants of Chaos at your command, maybe Northmen or Cultists.

Join the Empire, and depending on your Class you'd get several Knights or a squad of soldiers at your disposal.

And so on.

You wouldn't be able to customize too much about your squad, because units would die and get replaced when you get back to town and "repair". So it wouldn't be like creating 10 different characters to serve under you. Changing "hair color", for example, would change everyone's hair to within a shade or two of the selected color. Choosing a Gaulish-style mustache would give everyone a long, flowing mustache. Hired reinforcements would automatically (magic, perhaps? ;) resemble your current troops, in order to maintain uniformity. The character over whose appearance you'd have the most control, would naturally be your own Avatar.

Game play would still be remarkably similar to current WAR, where you go out, get Quests, do Scenarios, etc, but instead of fighting by yourself, or grouping up with others, you'd have a Squad at your command, led by your Avatar, and now you'd do battle with more than just one Mob at a time.

A typical battle, in this example with you as a Black Orc leading a squad of Goblins, could feasibly go like this:

You approach your opponents, half a dozen Grudgebringers, and you slowly move up until you're within bow range. Then you give the order to Open Fire.

Your Goblins draw their Bows and 8 arrows soar through the air before arcing gracefully down towards the squad of Dwarves. One of your Goblins looks a little embarrassed as he holds up a bow with a broken string.

A couple of the arrows strike the ground around the Dwarves but most find their mark and the stunned Dwarves yelp in pain. Then they turn towards your squad and begin charging your position.

Your Goblins draw their Bows and loose another flight of arrows. The thud and grunt as arrows embed themselves in Dwarven flesh is particularly satisfying to you, but even more so is seeing two of the Stunties fall to the ground with several red & black-fletched arrows sticking out of their bodies. (Red & Black being the predominant colors in the heraldry you've chosen for your troops.)

Not only undeterred but spurred on by the death of the comrades, the four remaining Dwarves roar a battle cry and charge onwards.

With no time left for another volley of arrows you pick a target and hit your own Charge hotkey, which by default orders your goblin troops to Attack!

With a gutteral roar and much high pitched squealing (not unlike finger nails being drawn down a blackboard or wet fingers across a pane of glass) you and your squad of goblins rush forward, meeting the Stunties charge head on.

And now the game more closely resembles combat in a traditional MMO, with, perhaps, one big exception. You're not going to be jumping and spinning around like you see Rogues and Elves doing WoW's PvP. And you'll learn very quickly not to do this. Oh, yes. You will learn.

You see when you walk around the land, you're not just in control of your Avatar; you're the leader of your squad, they echo your own movements. You move forward, they move forward. You back up, they retreat. And so on.

So if you're fighting, and you try to run through your opponent or leap around them like a hyperactive flea on Red Bull, your squad is going to try to follow your lead. Inspiring Chaos among your troops is good if you worship Khorne, it's not so good when you're leading easily confused goblins.

"'ere! What's da boss up to?"

"I dunno! He's leapin' about like he's a flamin' Elf!"

"Ya fink 'e wants us ta do that, too?"

"We'd better! Ya 'member what 'appened last time we didn't do what 'e said?"

"Oi, yer right! Come on, lads! Make wif da jumpin'!"

Suddenly your squad of Goblins break combat, stop attacking, and start leaping around like they're also flamin' Elves. Because that's, essentially, the command you've just given them.

The Dwarves, however, do no such thing. They quickly carve up your leaping Goblins, who make no attempt to parry, block or defend themselves (Sorry, Boss! Too busy jumpin'!"), and now it's you versus four very angry Dwarves. You were not a good role model for your troops, you just got them killed. If it's any consolation, you've probably just gotten yourself killed, too.

However, if you don't leap all over the place, and instead use your combat skills to fight strategically and successfully, you'll find your goblins are buoyed by the prowess of their fearsome Black Orc Leader. Their morale will increase, and they'll hit a little harder, doing a little more damage. Perhaps they'll parry or block more often, and when one or two of their mates fall to the flashing hammers & axes wielded by the Stunties, they won't mind so much, because you're such a great leader they're more than happy to die for you. Well, maybe "happy to die" is not entirely accurate, but it serves its purpose.

Now had you not been fighting so well, but instead were losing combat to your own Dwarven opponent, your Goblins would be dismayed at the pathetic skills displayed by their leader. As the Dwarves proved themselves to be more than worthy opponents, your Goblins' morale would have dropped. They might parry less often, their attacks would do less damage, and perhaps the Stunties would step it up and start hitting harder themselves. If you think that means you're losing the battle, you're right.

A Rallying cry might help here, or a Challenging Roar to demoralize, even Stun your opponents. If you're losing, there would be ways to rally your troops and perhaps turn the tide of battle back in your favor. While this is squad based combat, the success of your squad depends on you being a successful, inspiring leader, doing the right thing at the right time, and not jumping all over the place like you're a flamin' Elf.

Now picture you teaming up with several other players, each in control of their own squad, in pitched battles consisting of, quite possibly, hundreds of units. Hmm, that's probably why Mythic didn't go this route. We're talking Lag Central. If we wanted a game that played like this to look as good as it should, you'd probably need cutting edge machines just to play it, unless you want the graphics to take a huge hit.

Ahh well, I guess it'll just have to remain a pipe dream...unless, of course, someone thinks they can really do this. So if you can and you want to, go for it. You don't have my funding, but you do have my blessing to turn my dreams into your reality :)

*EDIT* to respond to Joseph's comment, because this was becoming a FHUGE comment of my own ;)

Joseph, it seems like what you're saying is your squad members' AI needs to actually be IAI, as in Intuitively Artificially Intelligent, instead of today's standard AI, being (usually) Atrociously Incompetent.

I would agree with you. If controlling the squad requires too much micro-management, this theoretical game would fall flat on its face (or needs to be developed as a Turn-based game, which can be fun but is not quite what we're looking for here), however, if your squad could coordinate their actions a little better, based on what you're trying to do with your own Avatar...

I'd like to use WoW's Hunter class as an example here, expanding the Pet from a single entity into several entities, which all obey the same command from you...except WoW's Hunter is notoriously known as the Huntard and for very good reason. Part of the problem is the Player, but part of the problem is also the horribly scripted AI of the Pet.

* * *

PET: "You want me to attack the Mob in front of us? Okay! I'll just run down these stairs behind us, out this door, then circle back around through three rooms to come up behind the Mob. As a bonus, I'll even aggro every Mob I find on the way."

Hunter . o O (Where'd my Pet go?)

30 seconds later.

Hunter . o O (Aah, there he is.)

Party: "WTF? Where'd the Adds come from?"

Hunter . o O (Uh oh.)

* * *

That's why I say the Squad would need to take orders from you in a more intuitive fashion (with intelligent pathing and AI).

When you attack from ranged (with a Bow, Fireball spell, etc), your squad would likewise use any Ranged Attacks they may have against the same target (or units of the same squad you're targeting). Of course if you're a Shaman in Melee using what could be considered a Ranged attack, such as a Chain Lightning spell, your squad would need to intuitively know, "I'm in Melee. I shouldn't try to use my Ranged attack just because Da Boss is."

So when you Charge into Melee, your Squad should intuitively recognize you're closing with your enemy and likewise attempt to do the same, to the same enemy/squad, without anyone peeling off to dry hump a nearby cargo ship. (Thanks to Joseph for that line ;)

The less micromanaging of your squad, the better their IAI, and the more it controls like a single-player MMO-RPG where you can almost forget about your squad because they'll intuitively do what you're wanting them to, the better this game would be.

*Last Edit* I just reminded myself of one of (IMO) the best wrestling video games, to date. Oddly enough, from yesteryear on the N64, it's WCW/nWo Revenge.

I could play this game for hours on end, and often had, and one day even after logging hundreds of in-game hours playing it, something happened which totally blew my mind.

My opponent had gained the upper hand, slammed me to the mat, then climbed up on the top turnbuckle. But just as he got to the top and was getting ready to launch himself through the air to come crashing down on me, my wrestler recovered and got to his feet.

Without thinking, literally acting on instinct, I ran to the corner and hit the grapple button...and my wrestler did exactly what I wanted him to.

He reached up, grabbed his opponent, and body slammed him off the top turnbuckle.

Just to make this clear, in all the time I'd played Revenge, and I'm literally talking hundreds of hours, possibly thousands (don't scoff, just check your /played time in WoW...not you, Tesh :P) in all that time I'd never once seen this move before. I'd never done it to anyone, never had it done to me; I didn't even know it existed.

Up until this point turnbuckle moves had always involved beat downs on a wrestler slammed into the corner, or a high risk, high flying move from the top rope that could help you win or cost you the match.

Running to the corner and pressing the grapple button was a purely intuitive move on my part.

I knew what I wanted my wrestler to do. I'd never seen him do it before, I didn't know if he'd do it or not, in fact whether or not he would do what I was asking never entered my mind. But he did. He did exactly what I was expecting him to do.

That's how much work went into the AI and script of a game written over 10 years ago. If they were able to program so much into a 64-bit cartridge-based game 10 years ago, there's absolutely no excuse for poor AI coding these days, other than laziness, and that's not an acceptable excuse.

$100 Starbucks Card

For quite a few months now the folks at my local Starbucks have been after my Starbucks Card. When I make the purchase which brings its balance down to $0, I have to ask for it back.

"Oh, you want it back?" they say, as if people frequently burn them down then just reload a new one.

I do get a new card when they come out with them, but they all go in The Drawer at home, this particular card I've been using for a couple of years now.

Then today, the cashier asked if he could have it when I'm finished with it.

I told him when it's empty I just reload it.

He then offered me $100 for it.

I looked at him. "I might take you up on that," I said to him, "if I thought you were serious."

"I am serious," he replied. "I spend more than that on shoes."

"$100 for my card," I repeated. "I guess it would give you bragging rights. I know you all have been after my card for months."

He laughed and mimed flashing my card around at the other 'Bucks employees. Apparently it's the same style card that you get from Seattle, which you can no longer get down here in California.

"When I get paid," he said, "in two weeks time. Think about it."

I am thinking about it. One hundred dollars for my Starbucks card. And he'll be getting it empty, of course, or at least with a very low balance.

I guess it's time to look through The Drawer, and find my new Starbucks Card :P

Griddle Cafe

With Monday being Columbus Day and a Public Holiday, at least for me, Liz decided we would have breakfast at The Griddle Cafe. After dropping the kids at school (JE wasn't too happy that he had to go to school when Dad wasn't going to work) we jumped on the Freeway and headed for West Hollywood. We had an interesting conversation on the way about if North Hollywood has been dubbed NoHo, does that mean West Hollywood should be called WeeHo? Liz disagreed, and also said she thought NoHo sounds silly, too. I asked "What about Soho?", which totally confused her.

We found The Griddle Cafe fairly easily (south side of Sunset, just west of Fairfax) and pulled into Hayworth Ave. where we found street parking at 25c/hour. Not bad for that part of town. The Griddle Cafe has tables on the sidewalk out front but even at 9:30am on a warmish Fall morning nobody was sitting outside. All the customers were inside, where just a couple of tables were free.

The greeter waved us further inside with a "sit anywhere, I could care less" attitude. Almost as an afterthought he handed me two menus. We sat ourselves down at a cozy (small) table-for-two and I handed Liz her menu. I thought Liz wanted pancakes so I chose the "Addicted to Noiselle" Stuffed French Toast, then Liz said she wanted Eggs and was going to order a Manhattan Frittata, so I switched my order to the BLUESBerry Pancakes. They came with Blueberry-laced Sour Cream and weren't too bad, but the portion was so large (and doughy) that as hungry as I was, I barely ate half of the three very large blueberry-stuffed pancakes.

Liz's Manhattan Frittata wasn't too bad but she couldn't finish it either. I needed protein, not just empty carbs, so I polished off the last of her ham steak and we took the rest of the pancakes home.

The coffee comes served in a 6-cup French Press and was pretty good, although the waitress was slow bringing out the cream. When it arrived I was glad she brought two little jugs because one of them had little black bits of something floating in it. I don't mind little black bits of something floating in my coffee, but I'm not too keen on little black bits of something floating in my creamer.

Although the triple-stack serving of pancakes is huge, I'm not quite sure they were worth the $10 price tag. Liz's Manhattan was also $10 though, so that's not too bad. We got out of there for $30+tip, which is a little more than I like to spend on breakfast, even for two, especially at what amounts to (in my opinion) nothing more than a rather pretentious diner.

Overall, given the neighborhood in which it's located, I'd give The Griddle Cafe 2 stars out of 5.

Now given my druthers, I'd rather eat at Le Roy's on Huntington in Monrovia, where a very hearty breakfast for two is more likely to weigh in under $25, including tip, and where I can get some of the tastiest and crunchiest Tater Tots this side of the Pecos.

Le Roy's has their own parking lot (which they share with a neighboring mechanic) so parking is free but limited; it fills up quickly when they're busy, which they usually are as it's a popular spot with the locals. Besides being small, the parking lot is also hard to navigate in anything much larger than a sedan, but street parking is also available, sometimes right out front if you get lucky. That said, if you get there early, or don't mind a wait, or don't mind rubbing shoulders with your neighbor at the counter or a communal table, Le Roy's is a good place to go to get a hearty, home-style breakfast at a reasonable price.

The warm welcome from the staff at Le Roy's is also more convincing than the display put on by the lack luster greeter at The Griddle Cafe. If you go during the week and you can wait until after 8:30 to 9am, you should be able to just walk in and sit down. Go during prime breakfast time, or on a weekend, or just turn up without your full party, and you can expect a wait, but it's a wait worth bearing.

Harvest Moon: Online

If you're not familiar with the Harvest Moon video game series and want to know more, click here. Basically, the game is an RPG Farming Sim, and it's a lot more fun than you'd expect.

Harvest Moon: Online does not exist. If it did, I'd have a link to it...and I'd probably be playing it :D The following is how I'd like to see Harvest Moon done, if it was ever made into an MMO game.

Like all MMOs, at the start of HM:O you create your avatar. But before you begin playing you're presented with a choice: Do you want to play HM:O as an MMO Farming Sim? Or do you want to play it in the more traditional MMO vein, a la WoW, EQ, WAR, LOTRO, etc?

Cast your mind back to the first Dungeon Siege game. You began life as a farmer, and when you entered the game your farm was being attacked by the Krug. So you grabedb a nearby pitchfork and drove them off. You then set out into the world to become a mighty hero.

But imagine if you'd been able to choose to stay on the farm, remain a simple farmer, and just work the land.

That's HM:O in a nutshell.

Some people want to be the Hero, others are more the stay-at-home type. HM:O would give you that choice.

So your first choice is whether you want to be a Hero or a Farmer (unlike typical MMOs, in HM:O a Farmer is not necessarily a bad thing ;)

If you choose to be a Hero, you're plopped down into the world where you can join up with other like-minded souls, go out, slay monsters, obtain shiny armor and powerful weapons, become a Hero, etc.

If you choose to be a Farmer you'll be presented with a second choice.

Where do you want to "build" your Farm?

You'll be shown a map of the game world. That's a real map, where you'll see existing farms being managed by other players, etc, along with all possible locations in each zone. Naturally most of the prime locations will already be taken if you're coming in late, but, HM:O will have a tax/upkeep system in place so if you stop playing for a while you'll lose your farm, thus making your plot of land available for other players.

If you're a regular Farmer, logging in just a couple of times a month would be sufficient to keep your farm running and your taxes paid. If you do lose your farm, HM:O will "sell" off your assets, deduct any outstanding taxes, and deposit any remaining gold into your toon's bank account. So if you come back to the game after losing your Farm, you can choose a new plot of land (or maybe your old plot is still available) and you'll be able to rebuild.

We don't need to talk too much about the Hero side of HM:O because most people know how traditional RPG MMOs work. However, there will be no open world PvP, otherwise Heroes could just gear up then come into town and slaughter/grief the Farmers. Heroes can still choose to Duel each other, and perhaps there'd be a BG system similar to WoW, but unlike WoW the BGs would just be for fun. If it turns out that one or two classes are the strongest when it comes to PvP, and everyone else gets slaughtered by them, then that's just the way it goes. The designers would not try to balance PvP by nerfing those classes because PvP is just a side game in HM:O, and if everyone rolls a Mage or Priest, or whatever the two OP PvP classes are, then that's fine. Personally, I think a BG would be a lot more fun if every player was the same class, or one of two classes, and everybody was fairly evenly matched. But that's just me.

Back to the Farming side of HM:O.

Players could grow crops, raise livestock, etc, and sell them on the in-game Auction House. Now I say Farmer, but in HM:O a Farmer could be one of many different types. A Farmer in HM:O would actually be a dedicated Crafter in another MMO. For example, you might have a Farmer who's chosen to settle down on a very rocky, barren plot of land.

Why?

Because he's not so much a Farmer as a Miner, Stonecutter, or Stonemason. Unlike WoW and other MMOs, Players cannot just wander the land and mine random lodes. A Player needs to become a Miner and work their own Rock Quarry in order to gather Stone. And in case you're wondering, two neighboring Miners could not Ninja each other's stone. Now as the Player improves his Farmer/Miner within the game, his Farm/Rock Quarry will likewise improve. The Quarry will initially produce the most basic rock, but as the player levels his Miner and Rock Quarry with new Buildings, learns new Techniques, etc, his Rock Quarry will produce better grade stone, perhaps even ore or gems at higher levels.

The Farmer/Miner can then take his finished goods and sell them on the in-game Auction House where another Player will buy them to advance his own Blacksmith, Armorsmith, or Weaponsmith. If nobody chooses to be a Miner, the game itself will seed the Auction House with Stone & Ore of various grades, but it will be expensive to buy, thus players will be encouraged to create Miners to take advantage of this seemingly profitable profession.

Another Farmer may choose to raise Cattle for slaughter, to provide other players with Meat and Leather which they turn into Pies or Sausages (the Meat, not the Leather), which provide Food Buffs to Hero players. The Leather is naturally bought by Armorsmiths, for quite obvious reasons.

Hero classes cannot be Gatherers or Crafters, which only makes sense.

A Blacksmith may leave his hearth & anvil to become a mighty Warrior, but in doing so he is no longer a Blacksmith. He still knows how to wield a hammer and beat out a sword, but he's no longer a Blacksmith.

The Farmer who leaves his land to become a Soldier and fight for his King will still know how to till the land and raise crops, but he's a Soldier now, not a Farmer. He's not going to do those things even if he still knows how.

Essentially the Hero players will be relying on the Farmers to outfit them, which is how the Real World works. Yes, the Heroes can still do quests, kill 10 rats, and pick up weapons and armor (& vendor trash) but in most cases armor & weapons dropped by Mobs will be inferior to what the Farmers/Crafters can make, with Epic Items from Instance Bosses being the exception.


*Edit* - Just had a thought, that with this being a Harvest Moon game versus your more traditional hack & slash RPG, that Instance Bosses and Raid Bosses should not provide better items than what can be manufactured by the best in-game Crafters. But rather, they should drop Recipes or Patterns which would be used by those Crafters to manufacture the desired item.

PROBLEM? - How can the Hero trade his Pattern for an Uber Hammer of Thumpiness to a Weaponsmith and not get ripped off?

SOLUTION! - A Weaponsmith or Armorsmith's "Farm" could have an RFP Ledger where Hero-types could deposit their Pattern and...Ooh! The Hero providing the Pattern must purchase and provide the Mats along with the Pattern. As said Mats are purchased The Game will check if they have a Pattern in their inventory, and if so, will ask the Hero if they want their newly purchased Mats linked to said Pattern (assuming, that is, said Mats are a requirement of said Pattern). The Hero can also Examine/Read the Pattern at any time and when they do, the game will again check their inventory (& bank) and if it finds required, unlinked Mats, will ask if they want them linked to a particular Pattern.

Once the Hero acquires all the Mats and has them linked to the Pattern it can then be deposited in an RFP Ledger. The Hero will be prompted to pay a fee for the service (yes, on top of acquiring the Mats) which the Weaponsmith can accept, reject, or counter with a higher offer (or a lower offer if they're feeling benevolent). On accepting the RFP the Smith will immediately and automatically begin crafting the desired item, which will be automatically mailed to the Hero on completion. At any time, prior to acceptance by the Smith, the Hero can choose to cancel their RFP, and the Recipe, linked Mats, & fee will all be returned to him/her.
*END EDIT*

Unlike traditional MMOs, the Blacksmith will not need to make lots of super expensive Items for those last few Skills points, because a Blacksmith doesn't level his profession by making countless weapons. Instead he gains the ability to build better Weapons & Items by upgrading his Smithy, perhaps with an improved Forge, a better Anvil, higher quality hammers & tools, etc. He's also not reliant on selling weapons to the Hero players; the Blacksmith can also build superior Tools that other Farmers can use to improve their own lot in life.

A Farmer could just buy a Hoe from the Sears & Roebuck catalog, but if he wants to increase his yield and make more Gold and improve his Farm, he'll till his land with a Superior Hoe made by a Blacksmith. And if nobody is buying the Blacksmith's Tools, or perhaps there's a glut of Tools on the Auction House? The Blacksmith can just vendor them rather than sell them at a loss. Remember I mentioned the game will seed the Auction House with Mats? The Tools the Blacksmith makes will always vendor for more than the combined price of the Mats at the inflated AH price. So he can still make a profit and still, slowly, improve his Smithy.

Just as in traditional MMOs where players acquire more and more powerful weapons and armor and their Avatars become more and more visually impressive, as the HM:O Farmer/Blacksmith upgrades his Farm/Smithy so too would its appearance change and improve.

I could go on, but that's what I'd like to see in Harvest Moon: Online. A vibrant, living community where towns and even cities are built, quite literally, by the players.

Nintendo DSi - Now with less portability

Joseph alerted me to one of Nintendo's latest products, the DSi.

It's a revamped DS with bigger screens and TWO built-in cameras, and yet it's somehow lighter than its predecessor. Pretty fricking awesome, right?

But wait, there's more! It also comes with Regional Locking, just like your Gaming Console and DVD player!

Yeah! Regional Locking!

Wait a minute? Regional Locking? As in...I visit a games store in another country, like Japan, and find an awesome RPG that hasn't been released in my country...and there's no point buying it because it won't play in my DSi? That kind of Regional Locking?

Yes. That kind of Regional Locking.

You know the chip to incorporate Regional Locking had to increase the base cost of the DSi, even if only by a small margin. And once word gets out of the Regional Locking, other gamers like Joseph and myself, who may have bought a bigger, lighter DS with TWO Built-In Cameras, won't buy it now.

For some reason Nintendo increased the production cost of the DSi while also decreasing customer demand. The decision to incorporate Regional Locking will increase expenses while decreasing revenue. How on earth could that be perceived as a financially sound business decision?

Nintendo did issue a statement re: the DSi and Regional Locking, claiming: "DSi software (ie, DSi games/cartridges) is region locked, eg: European DSi software can only be played on European DSi consoles.

Nintendo DS software however is region free so you can play any DS software on DSi from any region. You can also browse the Internet on your DSi wherever you are in the world and exchange your photos with friends from around the world."

However, Nintendo did confirm that download-able games and future DSi-only cartridge-based games would be region locked.

So yes, you can play your old DS games on your new DSi, regardless of which country you bought those DS Carts...but your DSi Carts? You'll only be able to play them on a compatible DSi.

How can Nintendo ensure customers will buy the technically flawed DSi? By releasing DSi-only cartridges. How many new GBA-SP games do you see now? I don't mean units that have been sitting on the shelf for a year or more and haven't sold, I mean new releases? You don't see any, they're all DS, and by the time the DSi comes out Nintendo will have already begun phasing out the DS carts. After all, what better way to sell the DSi than by having some awesome new titles already available for it at release.

I wonder if Nintendo and the DSi will receive similar treatment from the gaming community as did EA & Spore? I feel that as a Gamer who vehemently objects to Regional Locking on a portable gaming unit, it's my duty to give the DSi a negative, 1-star review on Amazon, once they have a page up for it, that is.

The Nintendo DSi. Now with even less portability.

President Harry

Hmmm...would you vote for this man?

A heroic weekend

Not much to report. Thursday at our Cub Scout Den Meeting I had the boys do Paper Mache, with the plan to make masks for the Pack Meeting later this month. Friday morning the DISH Guy turned up and took a little over 2 hours to install our Dish. He did a pretty good job so I tipped him $10. After lunch we picked up the Paper Mache (I'd left them in the Teacher's Lounge at the school where we meet), then dropped off our old DVR Cable Box. When we got home I discovered The Blood of Heroes DVD had arrived from Netflix so I popped it in and watched it. The final match between Hauer's "challengers" and the League team was just as intense as I remembered.

Afterwards I popped in the first Disc from Heroes season 1, in spite of Liz's protests that she was already over it even though she hadn't really started watching it.

2 1/2 DVDs and several hours later, we crawled into bed at 2am after watching the first 7 episodes. Saturday we got up, and while Liz took the bunny to Ballet class I cleaned the house. Liz bought home In 'n' Out for lunch and after we'd scarfed down our Double-Doubles (Animal-style, of course) we resumed watching Disc 3 of Heroes...then put in Disc 4, and so on :D

This morning JE and I sold Popcorn outside the local Trader Joe's for 3 hours to raise money for the Cub Scouts. After we got home we had lunch...and then it was Heroes time. We've just eaten dinner, and now it's time for the season finale. We watched 23 episodes of Heroes this weekend! :P

AT&T DISH Customer Disservice

About a month or so ago, shortly after we switched to AT&T DSL, Liz tried to order DISH through AT&T as well. She went online because that was their best price, except when she got to their website and entered our Zip/Area Code, she was informed we couldn't order online, that we'd need to call an 800 number, so we did.

When we called we were informed the only way we could get the same online package & price was if we signed a 24-month contract. No contract is required if you order online, which pissed off Liz no end, so she hung up.

Tuesday afternoon she'd finally calmed down enough to go online and try again, and this time she was able to place the order online, except the order could not actually be completed online. A Service Rep would need to call us to complete the transaction and schedule the installation, so Liz left my Cell Phone number as the one to call and specified a time between 8am & 12pm.

Yesterday morning, around 9:30am, they called us...at home. We missed their call because we weren't home which is why Liz had specifically requested they call my Cell Phone.

I'm a considerably patient person (most of the time) which is why I've just spent almost two hours on the phone, getting bounced around between AT&T and DISH, then AT&T again, then DISH again, and again, and again. Nobody could help me, nobody could find my order. They did confirm a note in my account left by "somebody" who logged that they'd called us at 9:30 yesterday, but nobody could actually determine which department or person had left the note.

Just like last time, the Reps who tried to help me could not honor the Online price until I was finally able to talk to somebody at the Online Order Dept., who even though they are the Online Order Dept. were still unable to find the order we'd placed ONLINE less than 48 hours ago.

Finally, after spending an hour & a half on the phone, I dealt with a woman who helped me place the order, and lo & behold, she got me a cheaper price than ordering online.

This Rant and seriously o_O moment brought to you by AT&T DISH Network.

Last Chance, allegedly ;)

This just in, from the W101 News Page in the Launcher:

I know, I know. I've been raving about Wizard 101, and I've even become known as the Famous Wizard101 Blogger ;)

$60 for a 12-month subscription. That's just $5 per month.
$60 is about the price of one, new release video game (@ $50+tax).

Now, there's no guarantees KingsIsle won't extend this offer, and maybe they'll even introduce a cheaper offer in the future, but if they do. Well, when they introduced the Family Plan (still not as cheap as two 12-month Subs at $60 each) anyone who'd bought several regular subscriptions and upgraded to the Family Plan got an in-game Crown allowance. Apparently enough Crowns to buy a couple of items, per account. And if you've seen what Crowns get you in W101, you'd realize that's not a bad deal.

At the very least, I encourage you to head over to the Wizard101 site, download the program for free and play it for a bit for free. Check it out, see if it's to your liking, and if you like what you see then now (and the next few days) is a good time to consider subscribing.

Blizzard and WoW kill PC gaming

Purely hypothetically, of course ;)

Several years ago, before I began playing WoW, I used to buy a new PC game every month or two. There were probably a lot of folks like me who did the same. The PC Gaming Industry survived because of our never ending search for The Perfect Game®.

Then I found it, or at least I came the closest I've ever been to finding The Perfect Game®. I got sucked into WoW and it was glorious! Even with the subscription model I rationalized that at $13/month, it was cheaper than buying a new game every month or two. In fact with a new PC game costing $40 to $50, it was like slowing down my habit of one game every month or two, to just one game every three months. The big difference of course is that now I was buying the same game every month, over, and over, and over again. Instead of my money going to various, different gaming companies, it was all going to Blizzard.

And there were/are probably a lot of gamers like me.

We ceased our search for The Perfect Game®, because we'd actually found it (or a Close Facsimile Thereof®). We stopped buying a new and different game every month or two. We stopped funding innovation. We told the PC Gaming Industry, "We like This Game. If you ever want to see our money again you'll have to make a game just like this one, only better."

But the small gaming companies can't make a game just like WoW only better because that costs a lot of money, money which they didn't have. And they didn't have it because we, the Gamers, were no longer buying their games.

Not too long after I began playing WoW, rather than look at racks & racks of shoes with my wife, I wandered into a Best Buy and made my way to my favorite part of their store.

No, wait. These are PS2 games.

Here? No, X-Box games.

Then...where are??? I found a clerk.

"Excuse me. Where are your PC Games?"

He showed me one shelf.

One shelf of games. Filled with rows of WoW and Everquest, and oddly enough boxes of the very same puzzle games you can download off the 'net for free then pay $10 to $20 to "unlock".

The shelves of innovation were gone. The gaming companies that survived on me, and others like me, buying their games every month or two? They'd fallen by the wayside. They'd been driven off the road and left eating the dust of an 18-wheeler with WoW on the side.

PC Gaming is dead, but the Consoles cannot take the credit; that dubious honor belongs to the World of Warcraft, the PC Game that killed PC Gaming.

Local P.D. What's in your speed dial?

A long time ago I reprogrammed the #9 speed dial on my cell phone from 911 (its default) to the dispatch for my local Police Dept., and it's come in handy more than once when I've needed to reach my local P.D., the most recent occasion being today.

I'd picked up my kids from school and was two blocks from home when the light at the intersection ahead of me turned Red.

Cool, I thought to myself, I'm first in line. I don't have to sit behind someone in the left lane and wonder if they're going to switch on their turn signal after the light turns green.

Just as I pulled up to the intersection an SUV on the cross street to my left tried to make a left turn in front of a car on my right. And the inevitable happened.

I stared at the two cars on front me and the mess of glass, and looked at all the cars backing up on my right (the direction from which most of the traffic was coming), and my first thought was of self preservation.

Crap, I thought to myself, they're blocking the intersection and now I'm stuck.

Then almost without thinking I grabbed my cell phone from under the radio (where it was charging), flipped it open and pressed & held 9 to engage the Speed Dial.

Then my light went Green and miraculously the cross traffic stopped, and thank heavens I have a little car because I had room to get around them, even steering with one hand, as I spoke to my local Dispatch who'd answered within seconds.

"Hi. We've got a two-car collision at..." I reeled off the intersection. "We're going to need at least one unit and possibly paramedics."

I could hear the quaver in my voice and the dispatch girl (it always seems to be the same girl) asked me to repeat the intersection, then started asking me about the accident, what cars were involved, their color, etc., then she thanked me for calling and hung up. I drove into the 7-11 parking lot right on that corner and pulled into a parking spot, got my kids out of the car, and hit 3, the Speed Dial for Home, as I walked over to the corner.

The young lady driving the sedan had got out practically as I drove behind her car, and she was now on the corner with her little brother. She was also on the phone, but she was obviously talking to her parents, and she was freaking out. By now I had calmed down, explained to Liz that we were going to be a tad late but if she wanted, she could come up to the 7-11 and pick up the kids. She declined. Before I'd finished talking to her we could hear the sirens, and it must have been a slow afternoon because we had two cars, a K-9 unit, a Fire Truck and the Paramedic's Truck all pull up.

They wasted very little time in assessing the situation and quickly had both vehicles moved out of the intersection and also parked in the 7-11 lot...fortunately beside, not behind my car. Then I noticed the 7-11 Clerk beside me. As we're both immigrants from British Colonies we have a bit of connection, so we chatted about the accident. He'd been on his break and seen it happen, too.

Eventually I gave my statement to one of the officers, and when he asked who'd been driving the SUV I said I thought it had been the guy. He asked if I was sure. I said I wasn't positive, and explained how the young lady had got out and been in the road as I drove around her, and after parking my car I was more concerned with keeping her out of the road as she tried to go back to her car. Apparently the couple in the SUV were saying the girl was driving, and maybe she was. I thought I'd seen her in the passenger seat of the SUV but I couldn't be positive, so I told the Officer I couldn't honestly say Yes or No either way, and he seemed satisfied with that.

Finally we were finished and I bundled the kids back into the car, and home we went.

And this is exactly why I like to have my local P.D. speed dialed into 9 on my cell, instead of the default 911. In California, if you dial 911 from your cell it doesn't go to the closest Emergency Dispatch Center, it goes to CHP. I've called 911 before from my cell, they're not always quick to answer your call. And in my case today they'd have needed to reroute my call to my local P.D., or notify them themselves, and that all takes time. Today, within seconds of dialing, I was speaking to my local Dispatch, and within minutes we had emergency services on the scene.

Isn't that the response time you'd like to see if(when) you have an emergency?

Software EULAs

Are they worth the paper they're not printed on?

Your rights as a consumer are fairly varied, but in most cases, if you're not satisfied with a product, you're usually entitled to a refund or some form of remuneration.

Buy a shirt, take it home, try it on and Ow! That tag scratches! So you take it back and get a refund.

Buy a pair of jeans. Take them home and...woah! My butt looks huge in these! (Yes, yes, it's the jeans. Of course it is :P) So take them back.

You order a Medium Rare steak at a restaurant and they bring one out that's Medium Well, so you send it back. They bring you another, this one Medium. You send it back. Now you've pissed off the Chef so this time you get a steak that's seared on the outside but not even cooked in the middle. You call the Manager over, the Chef gets chewed out, and you get your meal for free.

You buy a PC Game. Take it home, start to Install it and the EULA pops up. So you sit there and read it.
You read the EULA??? Sure you do.
No really, you do. You read the EULA and you decide that you cannot in good faith Agree to it. So you click Cancel, or Disagree, and the EULA window closes along with the Installation program. Unless you Agree to the EULA you cannot Install the game, so you package it up and return it to the Store and get your money back.
HA!!! That's almost as good as the one about you reading the EULA!!! Get your money back for opened software? Yeah, right!

Why can't you get your money back?

The software contains a EULA to which you were not privy at the time of purchase. At least not unless you went online prior to purchase and checked it out, but, is that a reasonable expectation? I doubt the Courts would think so. The Courts usually like all terms and conditions of a contract to be made available at the time into which said contract is entered.

If I read the terms of the contract, decide I don't like one part and change it, we now have a new contract. If you'd already signed it, I cannot make the change then sign it and insist we have a binding contract. We'd both have to initial & date the change to show we both agree to it, and if we do so, then we'd have a binding contract.

Likewise changing the terms of the contract after the contract has already been established requires both parties to agree to it. This is what makes a EULA enforceable: you agreeing to it, ipso facto. You've already purchased the software. You take it home, start to Install it and the EULA pops up. You scroll down and click Accept and away you go. You accepted the terms of the EULA, so you now have an established contract between you and ACME Software Company for Game®. The only thing that makes the EULA unenforceable is if it places unrealistic demands or expectations upon you, the consumer.

EULA
1. You, the User, agree to become a walking billboard and will allow us to tattoo ACME Software Company on your forehead.

That's not going to be enforceable.

1. You, the User, agree that ACME Software Company retains the sole, property rights to all virtual objects created or acquired through the use of Game®.

That's more likely to be enforceable.

So you read that first line in the EULA and say to yourself, "Hell NO! I'm going to eBay everything I make/find in Game®."

If you click Agree to the EULA, later you'll be in violation of it when you do try to eBay your virtual goodies.

But if you don't agree to it and you click Disagree, as stated earlier the EULA window closes, as does the Installation program.

Now you've got an item you purchased that comes with a EULA with which you disagree, so you cannot in good faith install and run said program.

With that said, why are you unable to return Game® to the store for a full and total refund?

Technically, you'd be well within your right to do so. The Store may have an internal policy that opened Software can only be exchanged for the same title, but in your case that creates a problem. You don't want another copy of Game®, you want your money back. At the very least the store should offer you Store Credit, but realistically they should offer you the Refund you're demanding. If they don't, you could file a case with the Small Claims Court. You're entitled to a Refund because the product you purchased came with an additional Terms Of Use to which you weren't privy at the time of purchase, you'd probably win your case, too. Unfortunately in California, filing with the Small Claims Court costs you $30 (at this point in time), so you pay $30, win your case and get your $40/$50 back. You win! Or do you?

On the plus side, most establishments hate drama as much as Average Joe hates causing it, so if you're willing to stand up, be a loud mouth, and insist on a refund or you're going to file with the Small Claims Court, you're probably going to get what you want. But don't expect to shop at that store much in the future, because they're well within their right to refuse you service from that point forward.

Everyone has rights. Know yours.

Instancing in Wizard 101

I dinged 15 this weekend, completed practically all of the Wizard City quests, found the entrance to Krokotopia (the next major Questing area), and got the quest to enter the first W101 Instance known as "The Sunken City".

If you thought WoW was MMO 4 Dummies, but you've never played W101, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Oh, before we get started, one other accomplishment I achieved this weekend was collecting a second Potion. In W101 the number of Pots you can have is limited (at least at the start of the game), but using a Pot will fully restore ALL of your Health & Mana. You could have 1 HP & 1 MP and using your Pot will still completely fill your Heath & Mana. So I managed to obtain a second Pot, which is really only useful for Instances as any other time you can just go play a Minigame to restore your Mana & Health. The Minigames are also, coincidentally, where you refill Pots, too, unless you're pressed for time and want to pay the Pot vendor 150g per refill.

I decided to have a go at Sunken City so I went to the entrance and waited to see if anyone else was interested. A couple of people turned up.

"Hi. Want to do Sunken City?" I typed. (I can do that, because I enabled Text Chat in my account).

"Yes, but I'm waiting for friends," replied the girl who first arrived.

Another fellow turned up, hit X and started the Countdown Timer. I hit X and followed suit. The girl joined us (so much for friends, or maybe he was one of them), and in we went.

The Instances are a little tougher because you're often facing multiple Mobs. In most areas outside, if you're fighting one Mob by yourself, other Mobs will (usually) wander up to your combat zone then despawn. It's only in the tougher zones where you'll face multiple Mobs, but similar rules still apply. If 2v1 Combat is allow, and you're already facing two Mobs, other Mobs approaching your combat zone will despawn rather than join the battle.

The Sunken City provided us with a quest quiver who sent us to the first Tower to retrieve a Key to unlock the first gate. Naturally there's a Miniboss in this Tower guarding said Key. The Group I was in was able to coordinate our battles fairly well, and it was amusing to see almost all aspects of combat in a more developed MMO are also present in W101.

As an Ice Mage I'm technically the Tank class. As I level more I'll be able to get Spell to Taunt Mobs & Bosses so they'll attack me, rather than my allies. Because of this the Armor for my School tends to provide more health & mana than that of other schools. To counter this potentially making the Ice School over-powered, my spells are often less damaging or powerful than the other Schools. There's also a Life School (& its counter, the Death School) which naturally can be the Healer class, capable of healing not just themselves (as most Schools can do) but also others, including the entire Party. There's the standard Heal spells, group Heals, and even HOTs...and yes, that means there's DOTs, too. There are Spells which can Stun Mobs for 1 Turn (most likely higher level Mobs can Stun players), and there are Spells to summon Minions. There are even AOE spells, as I saw utilized by a Fire Mage in Sunken City.

Getting back to that.

The problem with Combat in W101 is you cannot break away from Combat without Fleeing, but Fleeing reduces your Mana to just 1 point and works as if you were a Paladin Bubble Hearthing. If you get defeated in Combat you also "flee" and this is actually a good thing for Instances, as I later realized.

We killed the first Miniboss, got the key, unlocked the first Gate, and received our second quest to unlock the second gate. These quests do reward you with XP and by the end of the Instance, after completing the entire Chain, I'd put on almost a full level.

The final Tower contained the last Miniboss who was guarding the key to the Boss's chamber, and we fought our way up, floor by floor. With each fight my Health got lower and lower and that was when I realized being "killed" in W101, even in an Instance, is not really a big deal. There's no repair costs, and as I mentioned, unless you're in a hurry, you can just play the Minigames to recoup your Health & Mana.

We got to the final Miniboss and I decided against drinking my last Pot, foolishly wanting to keep it until before the Boss battle. I was hopeful we could defeat the miniboss without suffering any casualties, specifically mine, but that was not to be. As my health was reduced to zero (or zero point one, perhaps ;) I typed "I'll be right back." and I "died" and Fled from battle.

The point at which you spawn after Dying/Fleeing from battle is right down the road from the Pot vendor. I quickly guzzled my second Pot, totally rejuvenating my Health & Mana, then ran to the Pot vendor and bought two refills. And it was then that another aspect of W101's simplified play style came in very handy.

Earlier in the Instance the four of us had made "Friends" with each other, and as Friends can Teleport to each other's location with a few clicks of the Mouse, it was a piece of cake to rejoin my comrades in arms, with full health and mana.

"Did you miss me?" I typed. Yeah, we all know I'm a bit of a smart arse ;)

The Miniboss went down and we made our way to the Boss's chamber. The fight was long, but not overly taxing. The most annoying aspect are the defensive spells Mobs can throw up, mitigating in some cases up to 80% of the damage your spell would have done. A clever Wizard learns to use his Wand to dispell these, although it's not so much dispelling the debuff, but rather using a low level spell to negate the effectiveness of your target's protective spell. Which would you rather do? Wait 3 turns to use a powerful spell, only to have it do 80 points of damage instead of 400? Or use your wand and have it do 10 points of damage instead of 50 ;)

With the Boss defeated I earned myself another title/achievement: "Sunken City Survivor". Now other players can see my avatar and know that I've conquered Sunken City.

Clicking the Home button on your Map act as a Hearthstone with a cooldown of 60 seconds. Yes, I'm serious. So I Hearthed then looked through the Loot I'd got out of my run. There were a few decent Items in there, but none suitable for an Ice Mage, or at least not upgrades for me. One or two would have been good for JE's Myth Mage, and that's the downer with not being able to Trade Items among each other, not even those you get from regular Mobs in non-Instanced areas. Several times I've picked up Items that would have been great for JE, but I couldn't give them to him.

/sad panda :(

Anyway, that was my first PUG'd W101 Instance, and I must say it was inherently less painful than any WoW Instance I've done, and understandably so given the target audience of W101. That said, from start to finish I think it still took us well over an hour, maybe even close to two (it was long enough that Liz was getting pissed because I hadn't done the vacuuming :P) It was not exactly a walk in the park...more like a walk in an overgrown park where you have to hack your path with a machete ;)

It was actually fun :)

Taunting in PvP

Blizzard totally dropped the ball on this, making up some ridiculous excuse about not wanting players to lose control of their characters.Then what the fuck are Fear and Sap and Polymorph? What are Seduce, Banish, Wyvern Sting, and Mind Control? They're all means by which players totally and completely lose all control of their character.

A thumping great Tauren Warrior standing almost 10-feet tall and weighing over 500 pounds wades into Melee and roars a challenge. Are you seriously trying to tell me nobody is going to turn and look at him? Bullshit! You know almost every head is going to swivel in his direction. And when he picks your face out of all those in the crowd, stares you down, then points at you bellowing "You! You're next!" Are you seriously telling me you're going to ignore him?

Blizzard's outrageous statement about Taunts not being in PvP as a "player control" issue is pure bullshit. They either don't want to do it and are afraid of the backlash, as if it's not okay to be forced to target another player for 10 seconds, but it's okay for a Priest to Mind Control a Hunter then have him kill his own Pet, or...Blizzard can't do it. Maybe that's the real reason. Their programmers literally cannot implement Taunting into the PvP game.

Taunting should exist in PvP, and there's absolutely no logical reason for it not to. The only reason it's not in the game is because Blizzard have an ulterior motive for not implementing it, or they physically cannot do it. Claiming Taunting causes Loss of Player Control and they want to avoid that is just a bald-faced lie.

Oh, come on!

I know I'm enjoying it, but is Wizard101 really this popular?
That's an average of 25 Unique Visitors to my Blog each day this week. Sure, I know my traffic increases for a day or so when I leave a comment on Tobold's Blog, that's to be expected, but this?

Now admittedly a few of those are hits from Search Engines, one of which came from www.boxing.com Yes, a boxing website, as in "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" kind of boxing. They landed on my dual-boxing in W101 entry. I don't think that's the sort of boxing they were looking for.

But an average of 25 visitors per day? That's over double what I usually get, and it's sustained, not a spike. And what have I been blogging about all week? The fun I'm having in W101.

Oh yeah, someone did come here from a search for "John Master Karaoke", and my Blog (at the time of writing this) is in the top 5 search results if you Google Wizard101 Game Installer.

Checking the stats for the last couple of weeks it seems I had a FHuge spike on Sept. 17 (that'd be the Tobold Phenomenon), then the number of visitors dropped back down to my usual level on the 20th (probably because I didn't post anything for a few days) but on the 21st the number of visitors jumped back up into the 20s, then you stayed here.

So, to my new lurkers and virtual stalkers (and I mean that in the most complimentary of ways), thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed your 5-second visit ;)

Dual Boxing in W101

JE finally got his 1,600 gold and promptly spent it all on a Red & Black Dragon Pet. But he'd also dinged lvl 10 so for 560g he could have bought a bigger Spelldeck allowing him to field more Spell cards, meaning instead of going into Battle with 40 Spell Cards to choose from, he could have 50. (Those number might not be accurate, they just exist to illustrate my point.)

After the happy little Dragon Owner went to bed I logged into his account and played some of the Minigames to get him some more gold, and I discovered an interesting thing about one the minigames that I normally wouldn't have played. I could play it using the chaos theory, and I could make more gold in less time than by playing one of the mini games that I'm actually good at it. Just rapidly & randomly clicking and moving my mouse cursor around was more successful than actually playing the game properly. But also very boring. And tiring if kept up for extended periods.

I'd made JE about 460g when I gave up on the Minigames and decided to do some quests. But I decided to be sneaky about it. I was already logged in on JE's account, so I Alt-Tabbed out to Windows, fired up a second copy of W101, and logged in on my account. This is known in the MMO world as dual-boxing and with graphically intensive games like WoW, Everquest, Warhammer, etc, it takes a decent gaming rig to be able to do this without suffering severe slowdown.

With a game like W101, dual-boxing is a piece of cake. I looked at our quests. We needed to talk to a Witch a couple of streets over. I ran my Wizard over there and...remember I mentioned that Friends in W101 can Teleport to each other? Well, I ran my Wizard over to the Witch, Alt-Tabbed to JE's Wizard and Poof! Teleported him straight to my Wizard and the Witch, who wanted us to talk to her apprentice on the next street over.

I ran JE's Wizard around the block to the next street, found the Apprentice, Alt-Tabbed to my Wizard and Poof! Joined JE's Wizard next to the Apprentice. The Apprentice wanted us to collect some items from barrels in the nearby Cave. I ran my Wizard into the cave, found the barrels, collected all my items and Poof! Teleported straight back out to JE's Wizard and turned in the Quest. Alt-Tabbed to JE's Wizard, rinse & repeat. We...I mean I :D I did this all the way up to the end of the Quest, for which the final step was defeating a Boss Mob.

And that's when the slower-paced, card-based, turn-by-turn combat of W101 works brilliantly with dual-boxing. I'd select my Spell, then Alt-Tab to JE's Wizard and select his Spell. You get up to 30 seconds to choose a Spell so even if my PC was a slow & clunky machine (which it's not) I'd have still had plenty of time to Alt-Tab between our two Wizards and choose their Spells. With another MMO, the few seconds a slow machine would take to Alt-Tab between two open programs could be enough to cause the death of one or both Toons. With W101's turn-based combat, a few seconds is irrelevant.

The Boss went down faster than Divine Brown, and the Gold we earned from completing all the Quests in the series meant JE's Wizard now had the 560 Gold he needed to buy the bigger Spelldeck.

Actually, that also highlights one aspect of W101 which exists as a double-edged Sword. My Wizard has over 2,000 gold. JE needed 560 to buy a new Spelldeck. In almost any other MMO I could have just given him the Gold, but W101 does not allow any Trades between Players except for Treasure Cards, which cannot be sold to Vendors anyway, so there is literally no way to move Gold between players.

/sad Panda :(

This means W101 will never see Gold Sellers (which is a good thing), but we may see some companies farming high quality Treasure Cards and selling them. But even if Treasure Card Farmers/Sellers do immigrate to W101 they'll have a lot of trouble hawking their wares because of the limited chat features. W101 will never suffer the plague of Gold Farmers/Sellers seen in other MMOs, but it also means there's no way to loan a friend some Gold, thus it came to me dual-boxing in order to make some Gold for my son.

Wizard101: One week later

With the placement of our home PCs (mine being in the family room while JE's is at his desk in his bedroom), and with W101's limited in-game chat option (coupled with an 8/yold being a slow typist), solving the communication problem between JE and I while we played W101 together was paramount, but easily solvable, nonetheless.

One desktop microphone, one download & install, and JE and I were talking as if we were right next to each other, instead of in separate rooms.

"OK, mate. What quests do you have?"

"I need to defeat the Harvest Lord. Four Lumbering Trolls. Find the Fire Alley Smith..." he basically reeled off every quest he had. He can read alright, he's just not a proficient Typist.

I picked a quest that I knew was part of a Chain and off we went.

In WoW, Warlocks can summon party members if they have a couple of helping hands.

In W101, two players who are Friends can Teleport to each other's location as easy as clicking the Mouse a couple of times.

Unfortunately dedicated Grouping is not (yet) part of the game, and the combat mechanic meant that when I ran into JE's battle sigil to help him fight a Lumbering Troll, a Lumbering Troll of my own entered combat along with me, so we ended up fighting two Lumbering Trolls, which worked to our advantage because we needed Quest Drops from them. But that exact same game mechanic could lead to Griefing if Players Train Mobs into Combat with other Players then Flee, leaving the original Player facing two or more Mobs. Although some people did join our battles, we never experienced any griefing. The Quest Item Drop Rate is also pretty good, and when JE needed 6 items from a particular Mob for one quest I think we killed about 10 Mobs to get all 6 drops.

We took care of several quests in the Chain before we were up to the Boss Mob quest. Most Boss Mobs are in Mini-Instances of their own, usually nothing more than a one-room Tower. While Players cannot "group" in the traditional sense, outside the Tower are four Entry Sigils and players can "group" to fight the Boss by meeting at the entrance then pressing X at the same time (or within 10 seconds of one another) to move into an Entry Sigil. As soon as the first player presses X to move into an Entry Sigil a 10-second countdown timer appears in the doorway, and at zero all players who occupy an Entry Sigil (my term, by the way) teleport inside the Instance to face the Boss.

* * *

A couple of nights ago while helping JE, another player stopped next to us and asked for help defeating a Boss that was just down the road. I agreed, as I knew JE would think it cool to fight a Boss, and off we ran down the sidewalk. Yes, sidewalk (or footpath, if you will). Most zones in W101 have paths alongside the roads, and if you stick to the paths you can actually avoid most of the wandering Mobs, which is kind of neat. Even if they're a high level Mob they won't Aggro onto you if you're on the path. We got to the Boss's Tower, the other Player hit X, as did I, then I quickly ran next door (this was pre-Skype) and told JE to press X to join us.

"I am," he yelled, "but it's not blue!"

The 10-second timer meant I had no time to trouble shoot and I ran back to my PC as I zoned into the Instance. The other Player and I defeated the Boss & his Minion, then we zoned back outside again.

I ran next door to find a tearful JE almost getting ready to quit the game. The Entry Sigils outside the Tower were not glowing blue for his avatar, as his level was too low, so him pressing X to enter the Boss Instance with us was pointless. I told him we'd go back to fighting the Monsters we'd been working on earlier, then ran back to my PC.

The other player had just asked for help with another Quest.

Quickly I hit the Pulldown Chat icon and found...Ah ha!

"Sorry. I'm helping a friend."

"Okay. Goodbye." was his reply, and off he went, and JE and I resumed our questing.

* * *

Tonight the Boss we were about to fight was for JE's Quest, so I knew the Entry Sigils were lit up for him and he wouldn't be left out in the cold like the previous night. In we went, and with Skype it was very easy to coordinate our attacks. Most W101 Bosses (that I've encountered) have Minions, who may not be as strong as the Boss but are not push overs, either. JE and I focused on the Minion first to burn it down. JE also summoned a Golem Minion of his own which helped with our Damage Output, and in very short order both Boss and Minion were defeated.

With that Chain done we started on another Chain that I was already on.

One good thing about W101 is that in some MMOs, if you group up for collection quests it makes it harder to gather your Quest Items, but in W101 there's no such thing as a Loot Ninja. When a Mob drops an item, every Player who helped defeat that Mob gets the item (at least that holds true for Wandering Mobs outside Instances), so on collection quests every Player on a collection quest can get an Item from the same Mob. We ripped through the Quest Chain and in no short order were standing outside another Tower, ready to face our second Boss of the night. He went down to our coordinated attacks just as quickly as the first Boss we'd faced.

By the time we'd beaten the second Boss it was getting very late and we were drawing wife/mom aggro, so I called it a night and started getting the kids ready for bed.

After JE was in bed I took care of a few things for him. I logged into his account and sold all the useless armor he'd picked up, then ran around and took care of a few Messenger Quests and a couple of Kill Quests; I ended up getting him within a Quest or two of dinging level 10. Finally, knowing he's saving his gold for a Dragon Pet, I hit the Minigame Faire. At the Faire there are several, basic puzzle or arcade games, and if you score high enough you get rewarded with gold and armor. I say Armor, but as everyone plays a wizard you're looking at cloth hats, robes & boots, just some items have stats/buffs more beneficial to certain Schools of Magic than others. After playing several games and selling the prizes, I logged for the night leaving JE with a shade over 1,000 gold.

Mike, you were wondering just how much fun W101 is compared to WoW. The two games can't really be compared because they're both targeting different demographics, and other than both being MMOs they're not really that similar. But if you've got two (or better yet, three) PCs on a home LAN within close proximity to each other (in the same room would be excellent), I strongly suggest you download & install W101 on each PC, then jump in and start playing with your two boys. You'll be amazed at how much fun you all have, and what a kick you will get out of playing an MMO alongside your sons.

If you're playing by yourself W101 won't have the appeal & polish that WoW does to a solo player, especially as there's no Guilds, so no Guild Chatter in the background to keep you company as you single-handedly kill every last Kodo in Nagrand. Just like WoW, though, your W101 experience will be greatly enhanced if you're able to play with family or friends. After all, that's how MMOs are meant to be played ;)