Wallpapers Everywhere
Over the last few months I have been collecting high res wallpapers and loading them on my Flickr for people to grab. I thought I would post a link here in case anyone wanted a few new wallpapers.
nullword
addicted to the internet
She is Retired?
It is a little bit hard to read, but well worth it.
Ulduar Preview
For countless millennia, Ulduar has remained undisturbed by mortals, far away from their concerns and their struggles. But since its recent discovery, many have wondered what the structure’s original purpose may have been. Some thought it a city, built to herald the glory of its makers; some thought it a vault containing innumerable treasures, perhaps even relics of the mighty Titans themselves. They were wrong. Beyond its gates lies no city, no treasure vault, no final answer to the Titan’s mysteries. All that awaits those who dare set foot in Ulduar is a horror even the Titans could not, would not destroy, an evil they merely… contained.
Beneath ancient Ulduar, the Old God of death lies, whispering…. Tread carefully, or his prison will become your tomb.
As the next step in tiered raid progression in Wrath of the Lich King, Ulduar is set to blow players away with gorgeous setpieces, sprawling battlefields, and innovative boss encounters. Ulduar’s design aims to provide a fun, unique, and innovative raid experience, but it also includes additional challenges – and rewards – for seasoned raiders. In this sneak-peek at World of Warcraft’s newest raid dungeon, we’ll take a look at some of the new content that makes Ulduar rise above the crop of amazing dungeons already available in World of Warcraft.
Welcome to Ulduar
Many players have already gotten their Wrath of the Lich King raiding feet wet in Naxxramas and the Sartharion raid, but Ulduar is the first example of the expansion’s much larger, truly epic scope of raiding, as will be evident from the second you set foot in the instance. The most obvious difference between Ulduar and its predecessors is that the dungeon actually comprises two separate raid areas. The first section is an epic battle against a vast army standing between you and the entrance of the dungeon proper; in the second area, you will dive into the heart of the dungeon itself and finally discover the secrets of Ulduar.
Many players have already gotten their Wrath of the Lich King raiding feet wet in Naxxramas and the Sartharion raid, but Ulduar is the first example of the expansion’s much larger, truly epic scope of raiding, as will be evident from the second you set foot in the instance. The most obvious difference between Ulduar and its predecessors is that the dungeon actually comprises two separate raid areas. The first section is an epic battle against a vast army standing between you and the entrance of the dungeon proper; in the second area, you will dive into the heart of the dungeon itself and finally discover the secrets of Ulduar.
Ulduar’s new master has rallied his own massive Iron Army to guard the entrance to Ulduar and to prevent any unwanted guests – including you, especially you – from reaching the inner sanctum. Thankfully, you’ll be able to face the Iron Army on even footing: although the main Horde and Alliance forces are focused on the forces beyond the Wrathgate and on each other, some who are better able to appreciate the true magnitude of Ulduar’s threat have managed to scrap together a small fleet of siege vehicles to aid you in the assault.
You and your friends will have to use these vehicles wisely to break through Ulduar’s defenses. A mix of motorcycles, demolishers, and siege engines will be at your disposal, each granting unique abilities to the pilot and the passenger. Motorcycle drivers, for example, can create pools of liquid tar that snare opponents and can be set on fire by area effect attacks, while demolisher passengers can load themselves into the vehicle’s catapult so that the pilot can launch them into the distance. If used judiciously, these and other abilities will help decimate the Iron Army and any other threats lying in wait between you and Ulduar.
One such threat is the Flame Leviathan. After you’ve plowed through the innumerable ranks of the Iron Army, you will be confronted by an enormous tank. Mimiron built the Flame Leviathan as part of the V0-L7R-0N weapons platform, which means that it packs quite a punch. Normal spells and abilities won’t be enough to take down this juggernaut, so you will have to rely on your siege vehicles to outmaneuver and defeat the boss. After wearing the massive war machine down, you will have to launch players onto the tank’s back to destroy its defense turrets and sabotage the Leviathan before you can move on. Of course, if you’d like an additional challenge beyond this naturally frantic (but extremely fun) fight, you can try your hand at one of the Flame Leviathan’s different Hard Modes (see sidebar).
Of course, the vehicle gauntlet, the Iron Army, and the battle against the Flame Leviathan are only the start of World of Warcraft’s most ambitious raid to date. Patch 3.1 will hit the Public Test Realms very soon, so you will be able to see for yourself what other challenges await beyond the gates of ancient Ulduar.
Hard Boiled
Ulduar brilliantly illustrates the new design challenges and innovations that come with the bigger scope of the expansion’s raids. In order to make raid content more accessible, it has to offer a lot of variety, but it also needs to include a very granular means for players to adjust a raid’s difficulty. This concept was first realized in the Burning Crusade with the introduction of Heroic mode, and Wrath of the Lich King is developing the idea even further with new Hard Modes.
Boss fights that have a Hard Mode are affected by certain variables which players can control and which change the encounter’s difficulty. For example, spread throughout Ulduar’s vehicle section are four defense towers you can destroy. The more towers you leave intact, the harder the encounter with the Flame Leviathan will be, but the loot will also be better.
Ulduar isn’t the first dungeon to include Hard Mode, but it certainly makes the most use of it. Out of 14 bosses, 11 will have a Hard Mode that offers additional challenges and rewards. Ulduar will appeal to a wide range of play styles, but the dungeon also has great longevity and a high replay value.
Blame The W’s
Thanks to my addiction to MMOGs (WoW and WAR) kicking in overtime, I started to completely ignore nullword.com, but as I have weaned myself away again, I think it is time to start updating.
Look forward to more inane posts and random crap coming very shortly.
Ga-Ko Alarm Clock
It is here! My Ga-Ko alarm clock has arrived. I have barely even played MGS:4 because I’ve been busy with life and now I’m prepping for Burning Man, but I knew that I loved the Ga-Ko clock and that I had to have it. Here it is. It’s great. It Ga-Ko’s at you and you press a button on his foot to make it stop. Pictures and an action video after the break.
Warhammer Online Release Date: Part 2
So, it looks like the date got pushed up. Multiple sites are now showing the Collectors Edition of the game is due to ship on Sept 16th, and they are listing that the servers will go live on Sept 18th.
That sounds a little more solid than a guess.
Warhammer Online Release Date Set
After multiple delays and push backs EA has announced the release date for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. September 23rd. Link Here. I am excited. You should be too.
Please God, NO.
No. Just, no. DO NOT DO IT! #$^%^&%^$&^%^#%^$%#$%^#$%^&! Of all the movies that really should not be remade, this one probably tops the list. There is absolutely no way they can do it justice.
i09 is reporting that MTV is remaking Rocky Horror.
With the civilized world’s eyes turned to Comic-Con, there was nobody alert enough to protest the news about scifi sex extravaganza Rocky Horror Picture Show yesterday. Yes, it’s being remade. I know that already sounds hurty, but it gets worse: MTV is remaking it. The very same MTV that brings you movies like Aeon Flux. This remake, which will possibly open as early as Halloween next year, will be based on the original script but include new songs. But the fact is that Rocky Horror Picture Show doesn’t need to be remade — it’s already its own remake.
The movie remakes and respawns itself week after week as new generations of teenagers discover it at local rep houses and learn that freaks are everywhere (and they can be freaks too). How can you remake something that has already been remade thousands of times over by its audiences? And by theater troupes who reenact it? Plus, there’s simply no way that the 1970s sexytime tale of a “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania” could ever be told or retold in an era of safe sex and gay marriage. These days, Frank N Furter would just get married to Rocky, settle down, and move to the suburbs. The characters we love in Rocky Horror, and that audiences talk back to in cities across the world, cannot be “updated.” And they cannot ever be remade in a way more pleasing than we can remake them ourselves, in our local theaters, wearing silly makeup and carrying umbrellas.
MTV Readies Rocky Horror Redux [Variety]
Has the Age of Conan Already Past?
The website WoWRiot has an interesting article up today about Funcom stocks and AoC’s performance. I think a lot of us who played the game have been expecting this, and I am also predicting an even bigger drop on the 20th of this month (the chart only goes to the 15th), as the 20th is the 2 month mark for people who subscribed on release day, and thats the day peoples accounts would have expired if they canceled after their initial free month. The 20th was the day my account went inactive.
Here is some more from the article, it seems pretty biased against Funcom, and I couldn’t tell you how much is actually fact, but interesting never the less.
It has been hard to separate the truth from the spin in the ongoing Age of Conan saga, but we’re seeing more and more evidence that neither players nor stockholders are satisfied with Funcom’s campaign of misinformation.
After repeated misleading press releases, Funcom still has no answers for people wondering where all the players are going. Populations on all servers are down, forum activity is dropping, and the community at large seems content to simply pack up and go home. Funcom refuses to acknowledge this fact, and seems comfortable giving no response to its waning Conan fanbase.
This negligent treatment of customers has investors fleeing in droves, dropping the share price of FUNCOM.OL down by 60% since Age of Conan’s launch (see image above). In a climate where customers are outraged and the “company line” reports no problems, serious trouble is the unspoken implication.
You can see the rest of the article after the jump. Read more
I Hate AT&T and Apple
There, I said it. Right now I am very upset with both AT&T and Apple. Let me also say, I want an iPhone, and I have been waiting for one for a long time. When the original came out I decided to wait for the second gen with 3g, which I just knew was coming. So far the iPhone has lived up to the majority of the hype, and I really want one. Finally, my wait is over, and I can go get the lovely new iPhone 3g.
Now here is where stuff gets annoying. My original first gen Razr decided to stop working 8 or so months ago, and I was forced to get a new phone. Of course I was eligible for an upgrade at the time, so I used it. Now I am unable to get an iPhone at the advertised price of $200/$300 because my line isn’t eligible until November. AT&T will not help me. My only options are to pay the full $400 or $500 price, or I can cancel my current plan with them and start a new plan. The catch? I lose my number, which I just can’t do right now.
Eff you AT&T.
Now Apple. Eff you too. The current tag line of “Twice the Speed, Half the Price” is bullshit. Its still full price, in fact it is more when you consider the new +$10 a month for Data, and another $5 a month for text messages. Even if you qualify for the subsidized price, it still ends up costing you more over the life of your 2 year plan.
So is it worth it for me to spend an extra $200 to get the iPhone now or wait till November. I do not know yet. The worst part is that I will probably cave in and go buy one at full price, then I will not only be mad at AT&T and Apple, but at myself as well.
