Todd Blog

QQ About Raiding

Listen I think World of Warcraft is a great game, and Blizzard has done a great job recently making the game enjoyable for both Hardcore players and Casuals with the recent patches. But I am miffed about one thing. The Nurfing of the Tier 5 content to quickly get people doing the Tier 6 content. I mean why have Tier 5 content at all? It sort of reminds me of Back to the Future 2 / Matrix 2 / Pirates, or any of those part 2 movies that come out at Christmas and the third part is coming out that summer. Great if I get my second vial I get a pimp ring, that will be replaced by Wrath of the Litch King greens at level 81. Oh oh I get a title. In my mind Blizzard has to think of Raiding like they do PvP, and create "Seasons" of content. They are sort of doing it now, but come Wrath, they should make it a point to not include so much Raid content before its time. Personally I feel I wasted my fall busting ass in SSC and TK trying to finish by Xmas, only to not make that deadline and be burnt out by January. I could have been farming gold for an epic mount, or leveling my other three toons. I am in a great guild, but you could see the frustration building. We were pretty much looking past Kael anyway towards Mt. Hyjal and BT. We were only doing the content to pretty much get keyed. The gear out of TK and SSC wasn't really motivating people. It was all about the progression. Granted there are super hardcore guilds out there that finished Black Temple by the time we entered into SSC (Okay maybe not fully cleared, but I think it was close) so maybe there needs to be a super hard challenge out there to address this need, but from what I can tell these Raiders make up like 1% of the player base so it isn't a huge need.

In my mind to totally fix raiding, Blizzard should do the following.

1. Take away the token system and institute a crafting system for Raiding / PvP gear. Make it something that defines the character, takes some time to earn, but rewarding none the less. At the advanced levels allow the player to choose custom looks / colors for the gear, etc.

2. Make the Raid content modular, like Kara / Gruul / Mag were. 10 Players to get the first few pieces of your tier loot, but then 25 person or a little less to get your final pieces.

3. If it only takes 10 matches a week for a few weeks to qualify for PvP gear, why not make Raid content require about the same, 5 to 10 hours a week. That means not have tons of annoying trash, and make it so that an hour or two worth of attempts when learning is suffient.

4. To address the Hardcore Raider aspect, put time challenges in that offer greater rewards. Maybe even have it unlock unique enchants, etc.

The only thing I haven't figured out totally is how to suffently motivate players to want to do hard boss encounters. It seems to be the norm these days to skip these types of bosses until you either can do them or just by pass them all together. I think Blizzard will have to think of some interesting reasons to attempt these bosses. I would choose fun over anoying though.

The bottom line is we all know that gear is going to be replaced, it is a fact of life in WoW. Content will be come stale, that is also a fact of life. It would be nice if I took a few months off playing to not be penalized too much as the new content comes out. Etc. Etc.

April 12, 2008 in Current Affairs | link | 0

Things I Leave around

It has been a while since I have updated my blog. There is always a lot going on, I just never seem to take the time to write what is going on. Until now, a close friend of mine reminded of something I been leaving around and would like for me to return it ... I assume soon.

It has been an amazing couple of months, this past weekend I was at the ocean and got to enjoy one of my favorate thing in life... Nic-o-Boli's. I enjoyed many other experiences as well. I reflected on my past, my present, and envisioned a future... a bright future.

I just want to take a moment and thank everyone who has been in my life... the most significant people who have remained... and invite the return of those that have faded for whatever reason. I am truely thankful for everything you all have shared with me.

Love,

Toddler

February 18, 2008 in Things About Me | link | 0

Belkin N-52 Verses the Logitech G-15

I have had the pleasure of purchasing and playing with both of these gaming peripherals and felt I should share some of my thoughts for those of you considering a purchase of either one of these products.

First let me say that you can't go wrong with either of these purchases, both are good products. In fact I use both on my gaming rig setup. I do feel though that if you were to have to choose one or the other, there would be a clear choice though.

My Background/Qualitication
I would consider myself an average gamer. I am not a Fatality or some uber gamer, although I do seem to purchase the products they endorse. When it comes to using keyboard combos and the mouse, I would say I am now getting to be quite developed, although about two weekends ago I would say I was a "Hunt and Peck" gamer. So going from HnP to Average took some practice and a lot of research on how to configure the settings, but the results are that I am scoring better, and feel I am in better control in FPS and WoW.

Setup and Configuration
Both of these products have pretty easy setup, and the software / updates are easily downloadable. The G-15 seems to have better availability, but I haven't had problems locating N-52's in retail stores either... Although Belkin's website / store said they were out of stock this week.

Configuration of the software is where the differences are apparent though. The G-15 software is pretty easy to setup and create profiles. The macro recorder is also pretty good. The N-52 software takes a little getting used to setup configurations and profiles. You will find yourself reloading gaming profiles a few times till you get used to how to setup profiles for yourself and games. That being said, the software is pretty good, has good macro recording functions, and can perform loadouts based on the game loaded by .exe.... so you don't have to load a gaming profile before you play a game. You do have to make the association of the game .exe to the gaming profile though.

Overall G-15 is easier to configure, but the N-52 is more powerful once you get used to it.
Winner: N-52 (by a nose)

Features and Feel
The G-15 offers 18 separate gaming function buttons with a toggle button that can store up to three additional configuration. The keyboard is illuminated, and the also offer a HUD for displaying in game info. The feel of the keyboard keys is pretty nice, and it makes as a good alternative to a MS keyboard. It also has volume control, USB ports, and media player controls.

The N-52 offers 16 buttons, a scroll wheel, and D-pad with a way to toggle that can store up to three additional configurations. They keypad is not illuminated. The feel of the keys are a little stiff, with the red thumb button being the most stiff. It offers no other functions other being form fitted for your left hand.

Feature wise the G-15 offers a lot more features. Feeling wise, I prefer using the N-52 because accessing the buttons feels a little more natural, and I find the stiffer keys to be a little more accurate for my play style. I don't feel that the N-52 needs illuminated keys because you wouldn't be looking at the keys while playing a game.

Overall G-15 offers more features, but the N-52 feels right for playing games.
Winner: N-52 (by a nose again)

Cost/Value
The G-15 cost around $70.00 retail, and $60.00 online. The N-52 cost 39.00 retail, and pretty much online as well. It is clear that the G-15 offers more value in the way of combining a Keyboard with a gaming pad. The N-52 excels at offering the best gaming feel at the price of the extra key board function. The $20.00 to $30.00 difference of the N-52 is made up buy the fact you have to buy a keyboard.

The G-15 is much more versatile as a keyboard/gaming device, the N-52 excels at being a more focused peripheral for gaming. The G-15 is a "Jack of All Trade, but a Master of very little" where as the N-52 is more like a gaming scalpel.
Winner:N-52 (Clearly)

Overall I prefer the N-52 for gaming (FPS, MMORPG, and Strategy)

April 9, 2006 in Games | link | 0

Nanowrimo Prep - Magna Carta

I guess my image should be of a pumpkin, but I am preparing for the Nanowrimo so that is more on my mind than little beggars dressed up as Spiderman coming to my door. Don't get me wrong, I dig Halloween, I enjoy seeing the little kids dressed up, and adults at parties. The problem is the teenagers that don't make an effort to even put on a mask is what irks me.

1. Personalities that don't develop into characters or archetypes that they could be.
2. People who are abandoned.People who are social outcast or misunderstood.
3. Martyrs.
4. People who don't have any hope or who are doomed.
5. People who fall and can never get back up.

October 31, 2005 in Books | link | 0

The Rock has returned to Mars

Saw Doom this past Friday with some friends (you know how you all are). To sum it up, it doesn't suck and I liked it. It was balance between Sci-Fi and horror, with leanings towards horror. The thing they stayed away from was the "Hell" aspect and sticked mainly to the Doom 3 type stuff. Don't get me wrong, there are some cheesy scenes in the movie like the First Person Shooter stuff. Also towards the end, the movie turns into more Mortal Combat / Virtual Fighter than doom. They only complaint I had was that the squad in Doom had flashlights on their weapons.... and everyone knows to get that function in Doom 3 you have to mod the game :)

I also picked up Age of Empires 3 this weekend, haven't had much time to play it though. Initial impressions are that it is a tighter focused Rise of Nations with improved graphics. This week we will see Call of Duty 2, BF2 Modern Combat, and Civ 4. I think I know what I will be doing this weekend. Well that and get my gadget collection together.

I also attended a Swing Dance at Glenn Echo Park this weekend. Rather fun, and they teach you the basics of swing before the dance. I think I might do that more often, as it is rather fun getting out there and dancing.

October 24, 2005 in Film | link | 0

Aging and Rebirth

Getting a bit older, and hopefully a bit wiser. I had a crazy summer towards the end. I went on a nice cruise with friends and had a great time. I haven't play poker much and miss playing it, but my schedule and other things have caused me to limit play. I will probably get back into the swing in a couple of weeks. I also found out that I am a Type 2 diabetic, so that explains why I have been tired so much these past two years. My ex-wife used to get on me all the time about my health and not taking care of myself. I would see the doctor once a year, kinda strange that they didn't pick up on the blood sugar levels. fortunately, I have a pretty aggressive doctor now, and he got it the first time he saw me. It only took me a week to get my blood sugar under control. I am pretty active now, so diet and workouts are keeping it under control. I found all new types of energy to do things now that I got my blood sugar under control. So watch out world hehe.

October 20, 2005 in Current Affairs | link | 0

Vacation

Today begins my vacation. My hope is to get a lot of things done around the homestead. I am planning a party for the 11th, looks to be my first big bash. Also mom gave me picks of my floor work. So those should get posted soon. I have lots of irons in the fire, but really nothing to write about. That is the part of Blogging I find odd. I thought that I would gush all kinds of personal secrets and stuff once I got this thing looking the way I wanted. I find myself sometimes at a loss for words. I did figure out I tend to be a perfectionist and need things to be done a certain way before I relax. I gotta work on that more. It took me about 3 months to get the Blog the way I liked it... I still haven't posted my resume. I will probably do that next week as one of my chores. My Daily Drucker essay discusses a "Score" concept ... like music score. Saying organizations need to work on the same sheet of music to establish levels of expectations for the professionals. I would agree, sometimes organization in the Federal Government seem to become very compartmentalized and lose focus on who they service. I think I am pretty good at getting it, so I don't think I need to add any additional commentary. The previous days essay was about being self-managed. I think that is a very important concept for todays professionals to learn. I find many times people seek way to much approval to do the most mundane things. On a positive note, I had a great holiday, and look forward to the next 10 days of rest.

June 2, 2005 in Current Affairs | link | 0