World of Warcraft Unofficial Tech Support
By flisk | January 14, 2012
I play WoW (that’s World of Warcraft for you people who don’t – and what do you mean you don’t play WoW??)
Anyways, every now and again I’ll run into an issue with the game that I just can’t figure out. I’m pretty savvy when it comes to computers but this one had me stumped.
I was standing in the game, had just run a couple of dungeons, but now I was ready to knock out a couple of Battleground Achievements so I was looking over my list. The easiest to knock out was over in Eye of the Storm, so that’s where I was going to go. I clicked the Join BattleGround button and waited a moment.
The box popped up for me to join, which I did, and I waited a moment for it to load.
Then the game crashed and gave me to following error:
This application has encountered a critical error:
ERROR #0 (0×85100000) Assertion failure!
(there was a lot more to the error but for sake of space I’ll just paste that).
So I tried to reload the game and it happened again!
Okay, now I’m surfing google trying to figure this out, and I run across an IRC chat called World of Warcraft Unofficial Tech Support.
“Sounds like it might work, let’s check it out!” I say to myself.
http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=wowtech
OR for you guys on irc:
irc://chat.freenode.net/wowtech
The first section prompts me to enter in a nickname (and a CaptCha)
Then I am greeted with:
Welcome to WoW’s unofficial Tech Support channel. Remember we are regular players of WoW, who give up their free time to help others. Anyone with @ beside their name is staff. They make the rules, so please treat them like the Gods they are.
Let me tell you, they truly are Gods over there. It wasn’t too long before I had everything fixed (turns out it was two things giving me issue, I had a nasty malware that I was unaware of, as well as something in game that needed to be toggled off IPv6 – it’s under Game Menu > Options > Network ).
Regardless I wanted to give these guys props, they would be welcome in my Guild any time!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Topics: World of Warcraft | No Comments »
Official Magic the Gathering App
By flisk | January 7, 2012
Written by Monty Ashley on Thursday, January 5th, 2012.
If you have an iPhone, an iPad, or an Android device, we have exciting news for you. Say hello to Magic: The Gathering Toolbox, the only official Magic: The Gathering app. And it’s FREE!
Magic: The Gathering Toolbox is more than a life counter. It also lets you build decks, research strategies, and find events, all from your mobile device.
Life Tracker
Do you mostly play in tournaments? Or do you prefer Commander games around the kitchen table? Magic: The Gathering Toolbox comes with a variety of premade settings that you can tweak to your precise specifications. Track life, poison, floating mana, Commander damage, and more! You can track up to six players per game and their save profile information for later. And on iPad, you can track up to eight players!
Card Search
It’s like having Gatherer in your pocket! Search and filter all 10,000+ Magic cards, with new card sets automatically added!
Deck Builder
Build decks on the road! Share them via email or on Facebook! When Magic: The Gathering Toolbox launches, you’ll be able to build decks for every card for free, As new card sets get released, you can pay a small fee to update the deck builder with the latest content.
Article Reader
You like DailyMTG.com, right? It’s the website you’re reading right now! Magic: The Gathering Toolbox will let you get content from the official Daily MTG website delivered daily to your device. You can also add other RSS feeds so you can stay on top of your favorite websites.
Event Calendar and Store Locator
Looking for an event to play in? The most popular Magic events come preloaded in the app, and you can select specific events to move into your calendar. Head to the Store Locator link to find your local game store and see what events they have waiting for you!
The Magic: The Gathering Toolbox app will come out for iOS devices later this month, and a bit after that on Android. Keep watching the skies! Or, if that seems impractical, watch @wizards_magic on Twitter and like Magic: The Gathering on Facebook!
Popularity: 2% [?]
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Getting Characters Together: A Dungeon Master’s Nightmare
By flisk | August 22, 2011
What are the odds that a Drow Elf fighter, a gnome magic user, a ranger from the outskirts of a haunted forest and a thief born of nobility will be in the same tavern at the same time all wanting to take on the same adventure?
Not likely.
Most DMs will agree that getting player characters together for the first time is not exactly an easy task. Sure, you can always throw them together and ignore their history and past, but where is the dynamic connection in that?
Many adventures start out as a notice tacked to the message wall in the local tavern, which is great for those few PCs born in that town, but what of the other PCs? One wants to be an elf from some forgotten era, one wants to be a barbarian from the mountains 200 miles to the north, while the last guy wants to be a nomadic ranger born in a major city on the opposite side of the realm!
Okay, it can be accepted that the party is by chance in the same tavern at the same time and they are each interested in the same adventure. It could be accepted, but it does not make for a very interesting game.
What if, instead, the ranger is tracking a band of thieves that took his daughter’s life? What if that barbarian from way up North had to go on a journey to prove himself to his peers? What of the elf rogue, perhaps she is undercover in the same band of thieves that the ranger is tracking (for they also stole her father’s prized dagger)?
That stands to hold more of a reason for the party of five adventurers to come together rather than ‘poof we just popped into existence knowing each other’.
“Yeah but who cares, we just want to play the game.”
Well, there is nothing wrong with simply rolling the dice scribbling down the numbers and jumping into the game. But keep this in mind: what if the scenario described up above happened three years ago? The elf need not play out her discovery of tracking down the rogues who stole her father’s dagger, the barbarian does not have to play out his 200 mile journey around the country side, he may have even returned home and proved himself but decided he enjoyed traveling the countryside than milling around the mountains all day. Then there is the ranger, he is a bit tough. The very nature of him dictates that he would not stay in one place for very long, but regardless, what if he falls in love, or someone has hired him to guard something?
The point is, regardless of the reasons, these backgrounds do not need to be played out. They are simply backgrounds and give the PCs more of a reason for being in the same place at the same time.
In the process of their background, each PC is able to meet each other PC. They spend time together and they all have likes and dislikes. Each one is able to flesh out the party and because of the background the PC itself is better fleshed out.
Three years, two years, even one year is long enough for a group of Five adventurers to get to know each other, but again, that history does not exactly have to be played out.
Of course, it stands to reason that as far as adventurers go, there is a much more diverse combination of PCs. Likewise, there are also many diverse backgrounds to come up with.
As far as all wanting to go on the same adventure?
Well…
The same guy that tacked that note to the tavern wall is the same guy that took the life of the ranger’s daughter, is also the one that stole the dagger from the rogue’s dad, and also is the same enemy of the barbarian’s clan of whom he must seek out to kill.
And what of the other two faithful PCs that grew up together in the same town? Not much was mentioned about them. Why? Well, we already know how they are acquainted, but of course that does not mean they cannot have backgrounds of their own.
The key element here is to keep in mind that assembling the PCs in the same place does not have to be a horrible thing. No Nightmare has to take place. It simply makes the idea of the adventure flow a bit smoother.
Think about it this way: the group that will play next week, how did they come to know each other? Not their Player Characters, but the Players themselves? Surely they did not all spontaneously ‘pop’ into existence sitting at the table, dice in hand, ready to play. Did one guy work at the pizza joint and saw your D&D hat and ask a question? Did the guy that sits at the far end of the table grow up three blocks away?
The point is your players have history that brought them all together to play. What history will their characters have that brings them together to adventure?
As a Dungeon Master, encourage them to develop that background and history and your nightmares will stop.
Then exploit that background and incorporate that into your meta-storyline. Three months from now they track down the guy that stole her father’s dagger and kill him… Two years from now that guy’s daughter tracks the party down and she is a very powerful mage…
Game on!
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Magic the Gathering Mirrodin Besieged Doom Inevitable
By flisk | January 27, 2011
Okay look, it’s rare when I come across a card that really WOW’s me. I build odd decks. Really odd decks. Ones that don’t seem like they should win, but 75% of the time they do. As we all know, February 4th is the official release date of the newest Magic the Gathering set; Mirrodin Besieged.
What I’d like to do is highlight one card that will cause me to break down a previous deck and rebuild it.
Today I picked up one of the intro packs, Doom Inevitable (blue and black deck) and a couple of boosters. The foil rare within very nearly caused me to wet my pants. I’m talking about Psychosis Crawler.
Now, I don’t normally play with artifact creatures. I don’t normally play Type 2 (or extended, or current, or whatever the most up to date term for that format is). I play Type 1 (Legacy is what I think you kids are calling it now). Black Lotus, Moxen, yeah, those kinds of cards. Anyway, I digress..
Okay, Psychosis Crawler…
For a measly 5 Colorless Mana you can pop out a */* artifact creature (it’s a Horror by the way), who’s power and toughness are equal to the number of cards in your hand. To add insult to injury each time you draw a card, each opponent loses 1 life!
I cannot imagine this guy is going to go for too much cash or be too valuable in trades mainly because you get one in every Doom Inevitable intro pack!
Just think of all the combos here… Howling Mine, Mystic Remora, Horn of Greed, Braingeyser, Gush, Ancestral Recall… oh man oh man it just goes on and on and on!
Okay, okay, I know I just got caught up on the very 1st card I’ve seen from Mirrodin Besieged. You want to know more right? Well, the best thing I can say is, go out and buy some! Let’s face it, you would not have read this far down if you were not into Magic the Gathering. Chances are if you are into Magic the Gathering then you know Mirrodin Besieged is very nearly here. You know you want a pack or two. Hell, you still have some cash saved up from Christmas time. Go spend it on some Magic!
Popularity: 18% [?]
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Warcraft Scams
By flisk | January 17, 2011
From Nigerian emails to fake Blizzard Beta emails we live in a world in which internet scams take place. I’m going to focus on some of the more common World of Warcraft scams and what you can do to prevent it from happening to you!
Most of what I am going to explain is what is known as a Phishing Scam, that is trying to con you into going to a website that looks official but it’s really not.
Scam 1 (the whisper scam):
Gifts from a whisper. I’ve received, oh I don’t know, probably about 20 of these whispers in the past 4 or 5 months. In essence they try to tell you that you have won a prize (gold, vanity pet, free gear, mount, etc) but that you have to go to a certain website to register. Once on that website it will ask you for your Warcraft Account name and Password.
Guess what? There is no prize. And on top of that, you just lost your account!
Scam 2 (mail scam):
In game mail scam. Isn’t that a Star-Craft title? Anyways, like the whisper, the email scam also tells you you have won a prize (gold, vanity pet, free gear, mount, etc) and to go to a website to claim it. Just like the whisper scam they will try to get your user name and password. Don’t even bother to reply to these mails. Usually the moment they are sent, within seconds the account is deleted so it cannot be traced when a GM ticket has been made.
Scam 3 (made to look official scam):
Here we have a whisper that has been made to look like it came from a Blizzard Employee. But it’s not. It is again asking for you to go to a website so that whoever it is can get your account name and password.
Scam 4 (various real-world email scams):
A) For about a year before Cataclysm came out (and before Lich King came out) I would get about 5 or 6 emails a day telling me that I’ve been accepted into the Closed Alpha Test or Closed Beta Test. It would then direct me to a website in which, you guessed it, they wanted me to enter in my account name and password.
B) As of writing this today, I’ve received an email supposedly from Blizzard claiming that they are investigating that I may be selling my account. They remind me that it is against their Terms of Service and that I must confirm that I am the original owner of the account. Again it directs me to a website wanting my account name and p-word.
C) I also got an email today explaining that many players are getting emails from people who are trying to steal their accounts. It goes on to say that Blizzard was to adopt some measures to safeguard my account and that they want me to download a ‘package of code protection’ and they they offer it to players ‘free of charge’. Ahhh! They want me to go to a website and enter in my Warcraft account name and password!
D) I also got an email today (this makes #3) telling me that my Warcraft payment was not made, so I need to log in and make a payment. Yep, it wants me to go to a website and enter in my account name and password.
I can go on and on about all the different types of scams out there, but the bottom line is, there are MANY! I’d suggest these scammers all be forced to sit down and watch Yo Gabba Gabba! until the message of ‘be nice’ and ‘don’t be mean’ finally hits home, but until then.. The best protection against these types of scams is this:
Blizzard World of Warcraft Authenticator!
This is a handy little device that will generate a 6 digit code that you will enter after you enter in your account name and password.
The other thing you can do is simply avoid clicking on or visiting those websites! Never EVER give your account name and password to anyone! Not even to your trusted best friend! Once it gets out of your hands, who knows where it will end up! Cats and dogs will start living together, it’ll be anarchy! Yes, the Authenticator costs a little scratch, but to have a good means of security is well worth it in my opinion.
Oh! And those of you with these new-fangled smart phones can also download an Authenticator Application from Blizzard. I’m not going to post a link to their online store (because hey, I just may be trying to phish you – I’m not but as Fox Molder says, ‘Trust No One”) but you can easily find it by using your favorite search engine.
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Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers to PlayStation®3 System
By flisk | November 23, 2010
Wizards of the Coast Brings Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers to PlayStation®3 System
November 23, 2010, Renton, Wash. — Wizards of the Coast today announced the North American launch of Magic: The Gathering –Duels of the Planeswalkers on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. Wizards has been working with Sony Computer Entertainment America to bring the popular digital extension of the worldwide Magic: The Gathering franchise to PlayStation®Network.
Already one of the most downloaded games on Xbox LIVE® Arcade and on PC via the Steam® platform, PS3™ gamers will now be able to join in on the action that Magic: The Gathering in digital form brings. Complete with crisp 3D graphics and animations, robust game play and a user-friendly interface, players can battle real life opponents or play through an extensive single-player campaign that offers unrivaled depth in which each game is different.
The core game is now available on PlayStation Network for $9.99 and all three expansions are available for $4.99 each.
Duels of the Planeswalkers is quickly proving to be the ideal way to introduce new players to Magic and reintroduce lapsed players back to the game. As its popularity continues to grow, Duels of the Planeswalkers will certainly be a driving force behind the birth of a whole new generation of Magic fans.
Special Launch Offer!
Celebrating the launch of Duels of the Planeswalkers on PS3, consumers that purchase the game will receive a special art foil Planeswalker promotional card (while supplies last). For additional information on Magic: The Gathering—Duels of the Planeswalkers and the promotional card, visit www.duelsoftheplaneswalkers.com.
About Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, Magic: The Gathering, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons, and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast Web site at www.wizards.com.
Wizards of the Coast, its logo, Magic: The Gathering, Magic, Duels of the Planeswalkers and Dungeons & Dragons are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. “PlayStation” and “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks and “PS3” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Other trademarks are property of their respective owners. ©2010 Wizards.
Popularity: 20% [?]
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Fire Elemental caught on Camera
By flisk | November 22, 2010
I live out in the country. As such I get many opportunities to indulge in my pyromania (always in a safe manner). Recently we have been under a Burn Ban (it’s just not rained in about a month and a half and it’s been windy as hell so everything is dried out making it very condusive to fire spreading). For the past four days it’s rained it’s ass off, so the Burn Ban has been lifted.
Having a stock pile of fallen branches and whatnot I did not want to miss the chance to get my burn on.
In the back I have one of those 50 gallon drum barrels. Like what you see Bums gathered around in the movies when it’s cold outside. Just after dusk I pulled out my camera and started snapping photos of the flames.
I never expected to capture something from another Plane of Existance, but I did.
Perhaps the invasion of Azeroth is more Earthly bound than even Blizzard thought…
Popularity: 20% [?]
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Map of Cataclysm Part II
By flisk | November 15, 2010
As Cataclysm draws closer I find myself wanting to learn as much as I can about the new “lay of the land”.
Not wanting to get into specific zones here (you can find those at other sites) I did want to share with you the changes of the world map itself.
In a previous post I set forth my speculation of what it would look like: Map of Cataclysm . In this post I’m going to show you the comparison of the actual in-game maps from Lich King to Cataclysm.
All in all, there really does not seem to be much of a change overall. Yes, I see that part of Stormwind is underwater and that Kalimdor kindav grew an inward penis with two balls where Thousand Needles is (tho it always looked like that I guess, just not on the world map).
Popularity: 21% [?]
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Azeroth all Asunder – Cataclysm grows near
By flisk | November 15, 2010
November 15th, 2010. We have 22 days left until Cataclysm hits the World of Warcraft. Until then we will continue to experience great rifts, earthquakes, and the occasional pissed off elemental.
On December 7th, 2010, Blizzard is dropping the newest expansion for World of Warcraft. Yeah, yeah, you already knew that. Did you know that you can go ahead and buy a copy of the game now and install it today? Yeah, install it today, as in before December 7th? I have mine already installed.
Here is a quote straight from their website:
“The Cataclysm looms near, and you can be ready to play the minute the servers go live by pre-purchasing the expansion digitally on Battle.net now. Simply complete the digital pre-sale process on Battle.net, and your account will be flagged for automatic access to Cataclysm when it launches at 12:01 a.m. PST on December 7.
Once you’ve completed the digital upgrade, be sure to log in to World of Warcraft at least once prior to December 7 to begin the background-downloading process and prepare for Deathwing’s return. Until then, keep watching the skies….”
I’m not going to post links but it’s easy enough to find how to get the digital download, just go to their website and take a look.
Popularity: 21% [?]
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Wrath of the Lich King Collector’s Edition
By flisk | October 8, 2010
Want a Wrath of the Lich King Collector’s Edition that’s never been opened? Too Bad! It’s already been sold, but for aechival reasons the post as it was originally made is below:
We posted one up over on eBay. These are the details:
This set includes:
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King on DVD-ROM.
- The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, a 208-page book featuring never-before-seen images from the game.
- An exclusive in-game pet: Frosty, the baby frost wyrm.
- A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, the Wrath of the Lich King intro cinematic with director’s commentary, and more.
- The official soundtrack CD, containing 21 epic tracks from the game, along with exclusive bonus tracks.
- A mouse pad featuring a map of the newly opened continent of Northrend.
- Two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game March of the Legion™ starter decks, along with two exclusive cards available only in the Collector’s Edition.
The behind-the-scenes DVD will offer developer interviews and commentary on all aspects of the creation of Wrath of the Lich King, as well as trailers and cinematics from the game, and even footage of panel discussions from BlizzCon 2007.
Collector’s Edition owners will also be able to take their adventures from the computer to the tabletop with two starter packs for the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game — one for themselves and one to share with a friend (or hell, just be greedy and keep it for yourself!). In addition, Collector’s Edition owners will receive two exclusive tournament-legal World of Warcraft Trading Card Game cards to incorporate in their decks or trade with other World of Warcraft TCG players.
With the Collector’s Edition-exclusive in-game pet, Frosty the baby frost wyrm, you’ll be the envy of your guildmates and other players as you roam the expanses of Northrend.
A soundtrack CD with stirring music from the expansion pack, a beautiful coffee table book with exclusive concept art, and a Northrend-themed mouse pad round out the wealth of bonus items available in the Collector’s Edition of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.
You know you want this. The holidays are just around the corner. Treat yourself.
Popularity: 23% [?]
Topics: World of Warcraft | No Comments »
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