I'll come right out and say it right now. I am a Warcraft player. I used to play an enhancement shaman full time, and got sick of the abuse so I rolled a rogue. I haven't started to hate my rogue yet, probably because she's only 68, but I can tell you that PvP, even with the Death Knight bullshit, is still an amazing experience.
Warcraft suffers from some serious drawbacks, though. The worst of it can be summed up in this guy. Namely, it caters to these people. It has to, because this guy- and people like him- are the loud minority, the power players who get to 80 in less than a week, who absolutely dominate PvP, who cleared Black Temple as soon as it came out and started farming it for These Puppies. One of the worst trappings of Blizzard's success with Warcraft has been, ironically, the creation of an entire class of player that is completely obsessed with the game, and as a result consumes the new content like a horde of locusts the moment it is released.
Now, I would describe myself as a casual player. I got my guy to 70 (before Lich King) and I would play him maybe for an hour at a time. However, with Warcraft, once you have hit the level cap, you are presented with two options. You can either 1) Farm battlegrounds for a week to get the requisite honor for an entry level set of PvP gear or 2) do heroic dungeons for the boss drops.
Both options are pretty painful. Granted, if you have decent skill with your character, option 1 is the easier to do alone, but if you are still learning, PvP is a very painful place to mess up.
The real question, though, is "why is this so hard? Why do i have to spend a week doing the same battleground, a month doing the same raids, a year constantly working towards that vision of perfection, pouring endless hours of effort for an imaginary character in an imaginary world? Why?"
The reason is these power players, and Blizzard's attitude toward them. Rather than innovate on the player experience with each patch- introduce new content that is interesting and original- Blizzard sought to produce more of the same: with the twist that it be more difficult. Keeping these players satisfied was Blizzard's first goal, and the logical conclusion was that the casual players would merely follow in these more dedicated player's footsteps. Eventually.
Of course, the obvious out for alot of casual players is PvP. Since its based largely on skill, a really talented person, even with only decent gear, can perform excellently in Battlegrounds. Since the gear really doesn't have as much an affect affect as in the dungeon content, and since it can be trained with moderate amounts of time invested, Battlegrounds have become something like the amateur leagues while the pros (the Athenes of the game) can duke it out in the Arena.
That said, I'd like an MMO that appreciates a casual players input more. I'd like a game that puts that PvP element front and center, a game that makes sane expectations of its players, and creates content that is both interesting and innovative.
I'm hoping that game is Warhammer.
Warhammer, right from the beginning, has RvR (their name for PvP) front and center. You can level, just from RvR. If you capture a few battleground objectives in RvR, you can get really cool items. All the time you are doing this, of course, you are honing that PvP skill that will make you capable of playing decently at rank 40- and you're still leveling to 40. That is what I mean by a sane expectation. Serious players in WAR will do the PVE content to get even better gear for RvR content, but casual players can still survive in the current climate without being destroyed.
Now, I'll admit, I rolled a Bright Wizard my first go. It probably wasn't the best choice, though I will tell you that, having learned mage tactics from my roommate, I can own with him. I'm not quite the level of being able to take down guys six levels higher than me (yes, he was able to with his mage in Warcraft) but I'm pretty good.
I'm thinking of making a Witch Hunter, just because I liked my rogue so much in Warcraft, though I know they are a different approach to the archetype.
The one flaw that mars WAR are it's graphics. The client is a glutton that, even on the lowest settings, was killing my machine.
If there was one thing for which I could ask, it would be a mac client that runs on a reasonably powerful machine. I'm not asking for miracles, but I own two very capable machines that just suffer under the Warhammer coding.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Saturday, November 1, 2008
New Direction
I originally made this blog in an attempt to branch two things I like to do sans TV. The first is search the internet for various somewhat useful pieces of information, and post them here. But as with many things, making it into a job makes it unbearably dull, so I decided to try something else.
So heres something else.
One of my Achilles' heels is my writing- in particular my editorial or philosophical writing. I have many ideas, which I'd like to get on paper, the only problem is they never seem to quite come out exactly right. I figure if I put some time into it, every week, and write something in a style that can convey what I think simply and smoothly, then it is time well spent, and just might help my writing elsewhere. Hence the blog.
Probably one of the most dramatic impacts on my style was Vergil's Aeneid, and as a result the way I write hovers in between Hawthorne and pretty much every other 19th century Victorian writer on the face of the earth. For instance, I am hoping this came out somewhat comprehensible, but it is an active urge of mine right now to start falling into ablative absolutes, relative clauses, perfect passive participles, etc. I'm trying really hard to keep this simple. It's a work in progress.
Some stuff about me.
I am a student at University of Georgia who is currently majoring in Physics (more on this later), and possibly Philosophy and Art as well. I know moderate amounts of Latin and English.
Before we really get started, I just want to lay this plain: I am not a physics person.
I guess the best way to describe what I do or the way I think is Brownian Motion. If, given the option of going from idea A to idea B along any possible route, the most likely method in which I will travel is a series of unrelated, random trajectories that might or might not sum to equal Idea B. Regardless, its more fun getting there than it is being there.
I like to apply completely unrelated things to each other, and enjoy seeking the other reason for an event than the obvious reason. I've applied Martial's Epigrams to the Second Amendment, Vergil's Aeneid to William Gibson's Neuromancer and Oscar Wilde's Portrait of Dorian Grey, and Berkeley's refutation of primary qualities to perspective drawing. I can't stand specialists, because there is nothing more basically awkward than someone who knows damn sure what material the window is made of, but nothing about what he can see through it.
When I was young the teachers and parents told me (and my peers) that I could be anything I wanted as long as I applied myself to it. Somewhere along the line, I guess, they sat everyone else down but me and basically told them that, yes, they COULD be anything they wanted, but they were going to have to choose one thing and stick with it. I decided quite a while ago that Anything could mean everything, and have made that my life goal ever since.
Back to the prelude: I am not a physics person. Physics people are specialists. They are Astrophysicists, or Condensed Matter Physicists, or whatever. They might play bowling quite well in their free time, or be excellent viola performers, but at the end of the day that's what they are. Physics People.
I am not that person.
So heres something else.
One of my Achilles' heels is my writing- in particular my editorial or philosophical writing. I have many ideas, which I'd like to get on paper, the only problem is they never seem to quite come out exactly right. I figure if I put some time into it, every week, and write something in a style that can convey what I think simply and smoothly, then it is time well spent, and just might help my writing elsewhere. Hence the blog.
Probably one of the most dramatic impacts on my style was Vergil's Aeneid, and as a result the way I write hovers in between Hawthorne and pretty much every other 19th century Victorian writer on the face of the earth. For instance, I am hoping this came out somewhat comprehensible, but it is an active urge of mine right now to start falling into ablative absolutes, relative clauses, perfect passive participles, etc. I'm trying really hard to keep this simple. It's a work in progress.
Some stuff about me.
I am a student at University of Georgia who is currently majoring in Physics (more on this later), and possibly Philosophy and Art as well. I know moderate amounts of Latin and English.
Before we really get started, I just want to lay this plain: I am not a physics person.
I guess the best way to describe what I do or the way I think is Brownian Motion. If, given the option of going from idea A to idea B along any possible route, the most likely method in which I will travel is a series of unrelated, random trajectories that might or might not sum to equal Idea B. Regardless, its more fun getting there than it is being there.
I like to apply completely unrelated things to each other, and enjoy seeking the other reason for an event than the obvious reason. I've applied Martial's Epigrams to the Second Amendment, Vergil's Aeneid to William Gibson's Neuromancer and Oscar Wilde's Portrait of Dorian Grey, and Berkeley's refutation of primary qualities to perspective drawing. I can't stand specialists, because there is nothing more basically awkward than someone who knows damn sure what material the window is made of, but nothing about what he can see through it.
When I was young the teachers and parents told me (and my peers) that I could be anything I wanted as long as I applied myself to it. Somewhere along the line, I guess, they sat everyone else down but me and basically told them that, yes, they COULD be anything they wanted, but they were going to have to choose one thing and stick with it. I decided quite a while ago that Anything could mean everything, and have made that my life goal ever since.
Back to the prelude: I am not a physics person. Physics people are specialists. They are Astrophysicists, or Condensed Matter Physicists, or whatever. They might play bowling quite well in their free time, or be excellent viola performers, but at the end of the day that's what they are. Physics People.
I am not that person.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
NASA at 50
Yesterday marked the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Despite the half century that NASA has spent on space exploration, the entire field seems oddly stunted. Though startling advancements have been made in the unmanned exploration of the solar system, the actual manned missions only ever got as far as the moon, and the last mission there was thirty years ago. NASA's progress, though explosive in the sixties, has largely stalled in recent years. Namely, the Space Shuttle and International Space Station have proved to be hideously expensive and altogether lackluster in their ability to inspire the public or private investors. As NASA reaches this milestone in it's history, a moment should be taken to consider if this is the right path to be followed if humans are to colonize our solar system.
Seventy years before the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, the Ming Dynasty drafted and released a fleet that could have easily circled the Earth created the first truly global trade network. This was three hundred ships, and 28,000 sailors charting the oceans under the Chinese banner. The reach of this fleet was unprecedented, traveling as far as Greenland and Antarctica. The ships, however, were recalled before they could reach Europe, and the entire operation was scrapped, just before it was to come to fruition. Why? A group of bureaucrats in the emperor's court felt that the entire effort was a waste of money, and that the fleet's continuation would bankrupt the empire. As a result, the fleet stalled, and the single greatest exploration of the Old World was allowed to die. NASA and the Ming Fleet have a similarity that should be taken note of today. They are both government sponsored programs, massive projects with enormous budgets that, unfortunately, are a ripe target for the accountants of any empire. They employ massive risk by the sheer scale of their operation, but also promise amazing profit for those seeking it.
Fast forward seventy years to 1492, where a Genovese explorer/pirate by the name of Christopher Columbus asked the Spanish king and queen for three ships and the money to travel across the Atlantic. A small voyage, and a comparatively small risk. The results of which, however, were dramatic. This small investment by a spanish king and queen launched the discovery of the new world by the West, and fomented the rise of Europe as the dominant power in the world. Three ships were all that was needed to send a group of men to discover a new world.
The charting of Space, like the Atlantic, cannot be done by a program that relies on government administration. The cause is simply too remote, and too expensive to escape the slashing of a bureaucrat's red pen. Like the Ming Dynasty's fleet, NASA is simply trying to do too much with too little, and as a result it is unable to produce truly inspiring results. The U.S. government, if it wishes to stay solvent in the exploration for space, should not concentrate on massive space stations costing in the tens of billions of dollars. What it should do is facilitate companies like Virgin Galactic, and other exploration companies to create their own vehicles and launch them into space. They can lend the ships, but like Ferdinand and Isabella, this shouldn't be their undertaking, rather, it should be someone with more profit motive and a greater vision.
Despite the half century that NASA has spent on space exploration, the entire field seems oddly stunted. Though startling advancements have been made in the unmanned exploration of the solar system, the actual manned missions only ever got as far as the moon, and the last mission there was thirty years ago. NASA's progress, though explosive in the sixties, has largely stalled in recent years. Namely, the Space Shuttle and International Space Station have proved to be hideously expensive and altogether lackluster in their ability to inspire the public or private investors. As NASA reaches this milestone in it's history, a moment should be taken to consider if this is the right path to be followed if humans are to colonize our solar system.
Seventy years before the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, the Ming Dynasty drafted and released a fleet that could have easily circled the Earth created the first truly global trade network. This was three hundred ships, and 28,000 sailors charting the oceans under the Chinese banner. The reach of this fleet was unprecedented, traveling as far as Greenland and Antarctica. The ships, however, were recalled before they could reach Europe, and the entire operation was scrapped, just before it was to come to fruition. Why? A group of bureaucrats in the emperor's court felt that the entire effort was a waste of money, and that the fleet's continuation would bankrupt the empire. As a result, the fleet stalled, and the single greatest exploration of the Old World was allowed to die. NASA and the Ming Fleet have a similarity that should be taken note of today. They are both government sponsored programs, massive projects with enormous budgets that, unfortunately, are a ripe target for the accountants of any empire. They employ massive risk by the sheer scale of their operation, but also promise amazing profit for those seeking it.
Fast forward seventy years to 1492, where a Genovese explorer/pirate by the name of Christopher Columbus asked the Spanish king and queen for three ships and the money to travel across the Atlantic. A small voyage, and a comparatively small risk. The results of which, however, were dramatic. This small investment by a spanish king and queen launched the discovery of the new world by the West, and fomented the rise of Europe as the dominant power in the world. Three ships were all that was needed to send a group of men to discover a new world.
The charting of Space, like the Atlantic, cannot be done by a program that relies on government administration. The cause is simply too remote, and too expensive to escape the slashing of a bureaucrat's red pen. Like the Ming Dynasty's fleet, NASA is simply trying to do too much with too little, and as a result it is unable to produce truly inspiring results. The U.S. government, if it wishes to stay solvent in the exploration for space, should not concentrate on massive space stations costing in the tens of billions of dollars. What it should do is facilitate companies like Virgin Galactic, and other exploration companies to create their own vehicles and launch them into space. They can lend the ships, but like Ferdinand and Isabella, this shouldn't be their undertaking, rather, it should be someone with more profit motive and a greater vision.
Monday, June 2, 2008
A young man. Wears the uniform of some restaurant. Red vinyl coat, white pants, hat with some icon, carrying the food he’s supposed to deliver. Walks through a crowd. Eyes like night, looking far away. Pale skin, almost the color of his pants. On his feet, shoes that were in fashion last winter, or so. Cheap. Blue plastic with red decals. Self-aware anonymity in his gait. Rock in a stream, people flow around him, blurred into a line. A face in the crowd. Lost in the mass.
Anderson Sanchez. First man with mirror eyes.
On the road. Quiet. No other cars. Driving gloves on the steering wheel, no reflection on the glass. Fall day, yellow sun through burnished leaves. The white hood reflecting no color. Silent curve in the road, almost not worth taking. Crashing of dark trees, rending of flimsy steel, the shriek of rubber tires on an asphalt road. No sign of the mirror eyes.
Anderson Sanchez. To see what he sees.
Hawk flies high. Riding a thermal into the sky. Cobalt blue, great bastion of cumulus. Pillars of ivory, wispy and substantial. Pylons of an electric tower, black against the lighted day. Hard angles, the skeleton of horn. Dominating the scene, form from absence. Shadow given shape.
Anderson Sanchez. Artist of a new world.
Anderson Sanchez. First man with mirror eyes.
On the road. Quiet. No other cars. Driving gloves on the steering wheel, no reflection on the glass. Fall day, yellow sun through burnished leaves. The white hood reflecting no color. Silent curve in the road, almost not worth taking. Crashing of dark trees, rending of flimsy steel, the shriek of rubber tires on an asphalt road. No sign of the mirror eyes.
Anderson Sanchez. To see what he sees.
Hawk flies high. Riding a thermal into the sky. Cobalt blue, great bastion of cumulus. Pillars of ivory, wispy and substantial. Pylons of an electric tower, black against the lighted day. Hard angles, the skeleton of horn. Dominating the scene, form from absence. Shadow given shape.
Anderson Sanchez. Artist of a new world.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Theories and Such
So about six months ago I had this GENIUS idea for a site called "Quid Pro Quo"
The user would make a list of what he would want (creatively called the 'want' list) and a list of what he had (called the 'have' list). Then people could view his want/have list and offer trades using the items on their want/have list. Like Craig's list, but without the prostitution.
Wouldn't you know that some imbecile made the site before I could find the time to code it. Damn.
I am now under the belief that a muse visited me in my sleep and implanted the idea in my head. When I opted for laziness, she went somewhere else.
Therefore, I am going to post all the odd theories I've had up here, time-stamped by blogger, so that I can say I thought of it first. So there.
One: I had an idea for a notecards program where instead of the normal split up style, you'd just input a whole pile of cards (essentially), and basically organize them into each pile. You could have stacks mode, sequence mode, and my personal favorite, desk mode, where you get them in a pile in the middle and basically throw them where you want. You could put more than one copy of a card in multiple stacks and (unlike many notecard programs I've seen) the cards would be all in one singe file, each tagged by keyword, so you wouldn't have to open multiple files to access all the cards you wanted. Call me crazy, someone is going to make this and it will be HUGE.
Two: I was thinking about how not all of Neptune's speed is accounted for, and how the Pioneer probes are moving oddly slow. So I had an idea (which is probably wrong) regarding the "density" of space-time. What if, and I'm probably wrong here, that gravity has a more pronounced effect in certain areas than others. I.E. G is not constant, but varies. Eh. To use the rubber sheet example, some parts of the sheet are made of rubber, and other parts are made of nylon.
Three:I have more links.
Very cool article on WIRED regarding a Polish Computer Scientist who has made a way for you to never forget anything. Companies have tried to make a method of learning a language without memorization (Rosetta Stone), and have been only marginally successful. This guy's program helps you with the memorization so that you can effectively become proficient in anything you are trying to learn.
This blog takes various weeks from the Guardian and attempts to represent them visually. Its a very cool way to revitalize how we produce and consume media.
Via the creators of LASER Tag, The Graffiti Research labs, I found a site called Instructables. It shows you how to make some of the coolest stuff i have ever seen, including the Electric Umbrella and LED Throwies. I really like the Electric umbrella, because what mixes better than electricity and water?
Finally, a site called Muxtape. If you can figure out the redeeming quality of this site, please tell me.
Wasn't that worth the wait?
Gen. Danvs
The user would make a list of what he would want (creatively called the 'want' list) and a list of what he had (called the 'have' list). Then people could view his want/have list and offer trades using the items on their want/have list. Like Craig's list, but without the prostitution.
Wouldn't you know that some imbecile made the site before I could find the time to code it. Damn.
I am now under the belief that a muse visited me in my sleep and implanted the idea in my head. When I opted for laziness, she went somewhere else.
Therefore, I am going to post all the odd theories I've had up here, time-stamped by blogger, so that I can say I thought of it first. So there.
One: I had an idea for a notecards program where instead of the normal split up style, you'd just input a whole pile of cards (essentially), and basically organize them into each pile. You could have stacks mode, sequence mode, and my personal favorite, desk mode, where you get them in a pile in the middle and basically throw them where you want. You could put more than one copy of a card in multiple stacks and (unlike many notecard programs I've seen) the cards would be all in one singe file, each tagged by keyword, so you wouldn't have to open multiple files to access all the cards you wanted. Call me crazy, someone is going to make this and it will be HUGE.
Two: I was thinking about how not all of Neptune's speed is accounted for, and how the Pioneer probes are moving oddly slow. So I had an idea (which is probably wrong) regarding the "density" of space-time. What if, and I'm probably wrong here, that gravity has a more pronounced effect in certain areas than others. I.E. G is not constant, but varies. Eh. To use the rubber sheet example, some parts of the sheet are made of rubber, and other parts are made of nylon.
Three:I have more links.
Very cool article on WIRED regarding a Polish Computer Scientist who has made a way for you to never forget anything. Companies have tried to make a method of learning a language without memorization (Rosetta Stone), and have been only marginally successful. This guy's program helps you with the memorization so that you can effectively become proficient in anything you are trying to learn.
This blog takes various weeks from the Guardian and attempts to represent them visually. Its a very cool way to revitalize how we produce and consume media.
Via the creators of LASER Tag, The Graffiti Research labs, I found a site called Instructables. It shows you how to make some of the coolest stuff i have ever seen, including the Electric Umbrella and LED Throwies. I really like the Electric umbrella, because what mixes better than electricity and water?
Finally, a site called Muxtape. If you can figure out the redeeming quality of this site, please tell me.
Wasn't that worth the wait?
Gen. Danvs
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Some Things I've Found
I was driving to school, wondering if I should drive in perfect squares or not, when I realized that no perfect square is farther than one from any multiple of five.
I shall illustrate
1*1 = 1; 5*0 = 0
2*2 = 4; 5*1 = 5
3*3 = 9; 5*2 = 10
4*4 = 16; 5*3 = 15
5*5 = 25; 5*5 = 25
6*6 = 36; 5*7 = 35
7*7 = 49; 5*10 = 50
and so on. Someone has probably figured that out already. It's still cool though.
I found a really skilled 3dMax/PS artist. The art is really good, but the site is really worth it just for the comments (the english ones).
There was an interesting coffee mug offered by Yanko Design. Yeah... I liked one of the comments though: Design A + Design B != innovation. Creative solution though.
My personal new favorite I've found, Smashing Magazine. It's probably the most useful site for just random web design stuff I've seen in a while. Plus it looks nice.
Ah yes, the best for the last. This is the coolest yardstick evar.
So yeah. I scrounge the pond scum of the Internet for pearls of wisdom, and you get to see it without all the effort.
I shall illustrate
1*1 = 1; 5*0 = 0
2*2 = 4; 5*1 = 5
3*3 = 9; 5*2 = 10
4*4 = 16; 5*3 = 15
5*5 = 25; 5*5 = 25
6*6 = 36; 5*7 = 35
7*7 = 49; 5*10 = 50
and so on. Someone has probably figured that out already. It's still cool though.
I found a really skilled 3dMax/PS artist. The art is really good, but the site is really worth it just for the comments (the english ones).
There was an interesting coffee mug offered by Yanko Design. Yeah... I liked one of the comments though: Design A + Design B != innovation. Creative solution though.
My personal new favorite I've found, Smashing Magazine. It's probably the most useful site for just random web design stuff I've seen in a while. Plus it looks nice.
Ah yes, the best for the last. This is the coolest yardstick evar.
So yeah. I scrounge the pond scum of the Internet for pearls of wisdom, and you get to see it without all the effort.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
It's del.icio.us!
I found del.icio.us on Friday. I already knew about it as a concept, but I thought it was pretty worthless until I actually went past the wikipedia article and visited the site.
Possibly the most powerful tool I've seen thus far was the top picks list. Updated constantly, the thing basically keeps a nice little treasure trove of worthless links- exactly the kind of stuff I explore the internet for.
One of these particular links I found is something called Laser Tag. This particular bit of digital graffiti is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen. See, this group got a really powerful projector, a camera, a laptop, and a green laser pointer, turned the projector to an empty building, and tagged a building with an image that could be see for miles.
Check it out:
http://graffitiresearchlab.com/?page_id=76
Also, in the blog post, under the link big fucking laser, a longer discussion over the actual software and (possibly) how to substitute the tools that they used for your own cheaper substitutes so that your own laser tagging doesn't cost $8000.
Anyhoo, I thought this was pretty cool, so I decided to share it. Someday, when I have about $1000 and a week of free time, I'll get to putting my own rig together.
'til then
Gen. Danvs
Possibly the most powerful tool I've seen thus far was the top picks list. Updated constantly, the thing basically keeps a nice little treasure trove of worthless links- exactly the kind of stuff I explore the internet for.
One of these particular links I found is something called Laser Tag. This particular bit of digital graffiti is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen. See, this group got a really powerful projector, a camera, a laptop, and a green laser pointer, turned the projector to an empty building, and tagged a building with an image that could be see for miles.
Check it out:
http://graffitiresearchlab.com/?page_id=76
Also, in the blog post, under the link big fucking laser, a longer discussion over the actual software and (possibly) how to substitute the tools that they used for your own cheaper substitutes so that your own laser tagging doesn't cost $8000.
Anyhoo, I thought this was pretty cool, so I decided to share it. Someday, when I have about $1000 and a week of free time, I'll get to putting my own rig together.
'til then
Gen. Danvs
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