Random Musings of Brian A. Thomas. Love for Ari and Sidd.
Gaming
Want a Free Extended Trial to World of Warcraft?
Aug 8th
Dear friends and family, If you want to give World of Warcraft a try, let me know, I’ll send you a code that will upgrade the normal 10 day free trial to a 14 day free trial (how you get the client, via download or the $1.99 CD doesn’t matter). Then because you have that code we can quest together, gain experience points faster, and I can show you around the game world. (The CD has a 14 day free trial as well, but you will not gain the experience points three times as fast, and if you do the free 10 day code first you won’t be able to do the 14 day trial with double the experience points.) The client is free (if you download it) and you get 14 days to try it for free, you have nothing to loose but a little time (I would suggest that once you get the client, to let it patch overnight as that seems to be what it takes). More >
Dear Blizzard, Why I Should Have a Cataclysm Beta Key
Jul 26th
My Dearest Blizzard, I hope this letter finds you well. This is a busy time for you. Tonight at midnight you release Starcraft II to the world (my son is a huge fan of Starcraft I)… and then starting this week hopefully, some of the fan sites will be giving out Beta keys for the World of Warcraft expansion, Cataclysm of which I of course want to be a part of. My favorite WoW podcast, The Instance, is giving one a day away for 25 days, WoWJuJu is giving some away, Ace3 is giving WoW addon authors a chance to get a key (I am alpha testing an addon that uses Ace3, but not an active developer myself). So I know you have lots going on. But I gotta ask for a favor if I may. I would like to have a key or two myself please.
More >
The Instance to Give Away Cataclysm Beta Keys
Jul 24th
Already the best World of Warcraft related podcast, The Instance has recently announced they will be giving away keys to play the Cataclysm Beta! Oh Scott and Randy how much we love you already, but to bribe us with a Beta key? Oh you shouldn’t have… well, you should… to me. 
Justifying the Expense of WoW
Jul 24th
Short of being rich, we all have to budget our money. Money has to be set aside for housing, utilities, automobile expenses (unless you are in a city and take a bus, in which case you still need to budget for the bus), clothing, personal care and of course food. Those of us with kids have to budget for diapers and all other child related expenses. Some people have profession related expenses. There is also a small budget for entertainment. That entertainment budget comes at the end as all the others are a bit more necessary. It can include books, going to the movies, DVDs/Blu-rays, TV, video games, renting movies/shows/games, board games, and a whole host of other stuff. For most of us, that entertainment budget is tight, for some of us it is very tight.
Blizzard‘s World of Warcraft isn’t free to play. You have to buy the game. As I write this, the World of Warcraft Battle Chest
After you buy the game, install it, download all the patches (this is something that for us took overnight), setup an account and then you get to play the game for 30 days… after that you have a monthly fee. More >
The Problem With the Cataclysm Talent Calculators Thus Far
Jul 18th
I have looked at two or three talent calculators for Cataclysm thus far, and while they have the talents correct, you can spend them willy nilly, and one of the big changes coming to Cataclysm is that your first 31 points have to be spent in your first tree, so you have to choose wisely.
The calculators out so far let you spend a point or two in one tree, then spend more in another. To be accurate it should gray out the other trees until you have spent the 31 points. So all you people making talent calculators, get them up to spec.
Actually before I posted this, I see WoWHead has put their calculator up and it works exactly as it should. Well done.
I think this looks like a nice Balance Druid build…
I So Need to Roll a Goblin in Cataclysm
Jul 18th
When Blizzard releases the Cataclysm expansion for World of Warcarft (or I get in the Beta…puppy dog eyes at Blizzard) I need to roll a Goblin. Yes, a Worgen Druid as well, but the Goblin zone looks to be a ton of fun. TotalHalibut, who did the vids I posted before has followed up his Goblin one with the second Goblin area. It looks to be a blast. I think I’ll roll a Fire Mage for that alt. More >
Next Round of Cataclysm Beta Invites Going Out Soon
Jul 13th
WwW.com is reporting that next round of Cataclysm beta invites are going out soon with the usual warning not to click any links in any email you get, to log into your Battle.net account and check for your self. Most of the emails that are phishing, install keyloggers, trojans, and the like look like official invites.
Here is Blizzard's official take:
We hope to distribute additional invites to the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm beta sometime this week, possibly as soon as late Tuesday or Wednesday. This is only an estimate, though, so the schedule may change and, as a result, invites could be distributed earlier or later than anticipated. Either way, we'll work to keep you as updated as possible.
For those who might be behind on the news... Blizzard is getting ready to release their next expansion for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Right now they are doing what is known as Beta testing, where they invite a select group of people to test their software. In this case the goal is to test the new client with a vast number of different computer systems so that they can work out any issues with it before they release the game, and to test the new races, class/race combos, talent systems, dungeons, quests, etc. While in beta, lots of things can be flaky or just not work. For example, last I heard the Worgen female wasn't available for people to roll yet as they are still working out issues there.
Blizzard, if you are there. Please... pretty please... with sugar on top. Of course the email to this account isn't what the email is for the account, so I guess that makes it a bit harder to say, oh sure, lets toss one to that blogger...
More >
Quick Time Events in World of Warcraft?
Jul 10th
Not sure how I feel about this, Quick Time events come to World of Warcraft in the Cataclysm beta. Hey Blizzard... if I had a a Cataclysm invite I could tell easier.
New WoW Cataclysm Starting Zones
Jul 5th
I have been playing a bit of the World of Warcraft and having a good time. I have started and abandoned a number of characters. Right now I have Ardaamis, a level 44 Dwarf Hunter, and Sthel, a level 25 Night Elf Druid. I probably would be near level 80 now if I would stop creating new alts and leveling them for a while then deleting them.
Anyhow, there is a new expansion coming out this fall called Cataclysm, and it looks to be pretty exciting. There will be two new races to play Worgen, a type of warewolf, and Goblins, which we have seen around and interacted with a lot, but are just now coming up as playable. Two of the races get their own starting zones (they have been sharing) Trolls and Gnomes. It is all pretty exciting. Right now the game is being Beta tested (I am not on the Beta yet... grrr....)
Somebody made some videos of how the starting zones look and played through them. They are after the break. They are about 30 minutes each, but are all cool.
Brian’s Revised Birthday List
Apr 28th
This doesn't discount my last post regarding what I want for my birthday, just this time I am going to arrange things differently.
$50:
This gives us 13 months of XBox Live Gold membership. After using a trial of XBox Live Gold, it seems this is the new most wanted... well most wanted reasonably priced item anyhow. 
For $10 more, one can get Xbox 360 Live 12 Month Messenger Gold Pack
Other items in the $50 range on the Wish List (see the bar on the side) include Seasons 3 and 4 of Battlestar Galactica. Seasons 2 through 4 (season 5 is available for pre-order). Of those BSG is a bit cheaper per season. I still want Whale Rider (that's about $11). Also on the wishlist is some other games, though the XBox live would be preferred.
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Initial Left 4 Dead Impressions
Dec 7th
I got to play an offline, single player version of Left 4 Dead
Still, I have to think that the Game of the Year will be between Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3
Fun Game of the Moment
Jul 13th
Here is a simple enough game, my average error was 23 miles on my second time though. All you have to do is move a state to where it goes on the map.
If you get a few major states to fill out a few major spots early on, I think it would go easier. I never was off too much, even my first time though. If they really wanted to make it hard, the states would fade after you grabbed the next one so you don't have anything to help line it up since after a few states are filled up placing the rest is fairly easy if you remember where basically where it goes and can line it up with the states that are already filled in.
The game takes up a good deal of the screen and covers up my menus and stuff so it will be below the break:
More >
Wii
Jul 6th
We have been borrowing Sara's brother's Wii and I have to say that it is a very fun machine. I can see its value as a good game machine to have around during a party, let alone just a general all round fun thing to play with. My last Wii Age was 29, the one before that was 78 and before that 28 (the lower the better), and I don't test every day. Obviously I had a really bad day along the way.
I thought Nintendo should pull out of the hardware business (outside of handhelds) and concentrate on making games. It perhaps a good thing they didn't.
If you got the money and can actually find one (they are still impossible to find due to high demand, not a problem with the other machines) then by all means get one you won't regret it.
Another Great Game
May 22nd
Another really cool game from the game competition that I talked about the other day. This one is called Sprout, and it by far one very nice game. Fairly easy, I did it without any hints or walkthroughs, but it was still fun. It took me a while to figure out how to get past the desert, but after that I started figuring out the rest of the puzzles fairly easy. It appears to have won first place and the audience award, and with good reason.
Time Wasters of the Moment
May 20th
In Reunion you use some lights to guide a sleepwalking boy to find his cat around a maze in a side scrolling platform game of sorts. As you draw lines with the lights, how far along the line made with the other lights your leader light goes, the faster the boy will walk or jump. You'll get it when you play it. It is sort of calming to play. I didn't finish it though as we are going out today.
Build Grow the Robot is a really cool little game where you grow robots using fuses and Boolean logic gates to power the growth chamber. From Jay is Games, where I got the links to these games:
I can see on some of your faces that you're perturbed by the words "array" and "Boolean," but fear not, Starkraven Madd has made the game accessible to the computer programmer and the casual gamer alike by providing a short instructional animation and by the use of special shapes for each logical operation. The rounded boxes (AND) will only activate if the two inputs to it are active. The triangles with the curved bases (OR) will activate if either of the two inputs to it are active. Finally, the small triangles (NOT) will activate only if the input is not active. Although there may be multiple ways to activate the energy levels, Doctor Steel has only provided a limited number of fuses, so you should try to find the optimal solution
Seriously, this is cool, give it a chance. While you are at it, be sure to check out the rest of the games in the Casual Gameplay Design Competition #2, of which Grow the Robot is a part of.
Fun Time Waster for the Moment
Mar 25th
Time yet again for another time waster, this one caught my attention right before bed last night and I ended up playing it until 4 am. Dwarf Complete (Lineage II), is a rpg along the order of Zelda, but far simpler... well it took two hours of my sleep time away from me so not super simple, but you'll know what I am talking about when you see it. It's a great deal of fun.
Apparently the game is made by the people who make the Grow games, and the sounds do indeed sound like it, but this is nothing like those games.
The first room you go to in the dungeon after leaving the room you start in (that is directly South of that first room) you may get stuck in this little room. Here is a Rot13 solution for what what was the biggest sticking point for me.
Ybbx ng gur funqbjf sebz gur jnyyf pnershyyl.
Once you learn that secret and a few other easy ones, you should be able to solve the game without any other hints. There is one timed puzzle that is a bit challenging, but outside of that I doubt anybody really needs to get hints. (Due to how late it was, I did end up getting a hint on an ice puzzle, but had I been more awake I probably would have solved that one without the hint.)
Cool Time Waster for the Moment
Jan 19th
There is a really cool game called Rooms that you have to try out. Here is a screenshot from their homepage:
The idea is fairly simple. Using your arrow keys you move your character around, getting objects if needed. You then have to move rooms around like the old slider puzzles. So for the screenshot above, you would get the key, go up, then right then move the room down, open the door and then go up. The game uses Flash, so it should play on any computer that can play Flash games. Since so many people were playing it online, they took the online version offline and made it a download only game. Once downloaded and unzipped, you drag the rooms.swf onto the SAFlashPlayer.exe and the game will launch.
Trust me, it is a million times better than I make it sound here.
MoyoGo for Free
Jan 16th
Moyo Go Studio is now available for free. You won't be able to get technical support from the author, the database isn't nearly as big as in the paid version, the printing/publishing module isn't there, and you don't get the lifetime of free updates, but if you wanted to check it out you now can. Just follow the previous link to the programs homepage. You will need to use some sort of torrent software such as Azureus or utorrent, as the file is fairly big (205 MB) and torrent is the only practical way of distributing it, plus, I am sure, it saves him tons on bandwidth.
I Got a Go Board
Dec 30th
My dad had given us a gift certificate for the mall, so I used a bit of it at the game kiosk to buy a Go Board. As a bonus, since the holidays are over they have everything discounted so the whole thing came under $20 even with tax.
Go Game with Wood Board
That is the board I got.
I review it below the break.
More >
My First Teaching Game of Go
Dec 26th
I got my first teaching game of Go today, but before I did that I played yet another bot on KGS. I paid no real attention to the marking of dead stones at the end and hit done quickly. Bad mistake, as the game thought Black (the bot) won by 360.5, when the reality was that White (me) won by 66.5. Unfortunately that was a ranked game and is part of my record. So the lesson from that is, pay attention during the mark the dead stones phase.
Anyhow, for my teaching game, I played a game against a gentleman from Germany (I won't say his online name here as I am not sure the rules on such things). It was a quick 13 x 13 game where White won by resignation. I was Black and I had a 4 stone handicap, but was far too defensive. My weakness continues to be corners, which even with the computer I tend to loose out on.
Specific things I need to work on. 3x3 invasions when I am on the default 4x4 star point. Building corners period really. Remember to look to connect stones, even if I can't make a second eye close to the one set, if the other set I might connect to has one eye, then all of them will live. I need to view more moves down the line as I tend not to view too many moves ahead.
Reading the review is a bit harder to follow than the initial time through it since the comments appear when they were entered in, and some of my reactions may have been when he was a few moves from where he mentioned something.
Explore Loch Modan
Explore Dun Morogh
Explore Westfall
Explore Elwynn Forest
Ragefire Chasm
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