Sooo. Work is done and the servers are down.
I’m pretty excited about this despite having not played for a year or more.
This post is in: Gamer Dork
Sooo. Work is done and the servers are down.
I’m pretty excited about this despite having not played for a year or more.
Comments are closed.
Teri
kid got home from school, said “patch day” I replied yup. Dinner? KFC when Dad gets home. All computers loaded with new patch, waiting for servers to come up 5 pm pacific means 8 p.m. eastern. So…..scrabble anyone?
BeccaM
Which game are we talking about here? WoW?
Carnacki
Game recommendation for you. A strategy classic that stands the test of time from 1995, Master of Magic for $5.99.
Poopyman
Not flying this week, but if I were I might find a reason to break into a rendition of this. Maybe even in costume.
Fencedude
Bah!
Anyway, Super Robot Wars L shipped today.
*looks around*
…I’ll just go sit in the corner by myself.
Bowser's Clown Copter
I logged out at the gong in Silithus. You know, just in case.
Grand Wazoo
I’m thinking either WoW or DAO. I’m pretty sure I’ll be breaking out the DAO or Fallout NV some time this weekend, or maybe Bioshock 2. Nerd-vana!
Zam
So glad that game takes so long to install or my life would be fucked
Mattminus
DCUO biznatches!
Roger Moore
@Carnacki:
I don’t know about that. I found that MoM wound up being rather disappointing because the best troops were just way too powerful. A couple of Paladins (Armor piercing, first strike) can wipe out an almost unlimited number of just about anything else. Team them up with a hero with a killer artifact, and you can wander around conquering everything. It’s a fun game for a while, but it’s not even close to Civ as an endless time sink.
jacy
Sheesh, way to make me feel old. This is like listening to my kids talk about their rap music and Twitter and such.
(secretly jealous, because I don’t have time lately to even sneak in games of computer solitaire.)
BeccaM
@Grand Wazoo: Aye… I’ve been playing Fallout NV for a while now, near the end of my 2nd complete run-through — this time favoring the NCR. Went independent the first time. Be interesting on the 3rd go to play ‘hardcore’ at insanity level — and be evil for a change.
The game I really want more of is Mass Effect — I adored the first one, enjoyed the 2nd one almost as much (they dumbed down the weapons & equipment too much IMHO). And I have Dragon Age 2 on pre-order but that one won’t show up until next spring… and who knows when the next Bioshock will finally hit the market. Trailer looked awesome.
I was into WoW heavily for a while, then maxed out on levels, and promptly fell into major boredom mode. Boredom with Star Trek Online hit even faster, although I might go back, given the new episode updates.
Teri
@Bowser’s Clown Copter: I am trying to remember where all my alts are. I am afraid some will get lost in the Booty Bay Tsumani
Carnacki
@Roger Moore: True about the paladins, but at the impossible level or by starting with one of the other races like Beastmen you can make it more of a challenge.
Teri
Joys of two nerds marrying. We have college age son who plays DODA for money. (Actually makes more doing that than fast food job) Kids friends are jealous of our comic book and game collection. We might pull out shogun or cosmic traveler instead of scrabble (I tend to kick butt) after dinner.
DarrenG
Have a cocktail or three. The current over/under on when the servers are actually playable is 8pm PST/11pm EST.
16shellsfroma30aught6
@Carnacki:
Been looking for this for years.
Thankyouthankyouthankyou etc.
ErinSiobhan
I know Blizzard has never completed a big patch like this on schedule but I still find myself very impatient and annoyed with them.
I logged out in Ironforge. I want to die.
Roger Moore
@Carnacki:
I still feel as though it’s one of those games where there’s a single dominant strategy. The tactical system ensures that a small number of elite troops can wipe the floor with an army of cannon fodder, and a hero with a maximally cool artifact can boost their power even further. So you always focus on building up to being able to get the top troop type, and then you are all but guaranteed to be able to wipe out any enemy you encounter. I prefer games where quick kill, build up to elite, and anything in between are equally viable options.
daveNYC
I always liked rampaging around with a pile of War Trolls. Just a tad overpowered.
I just don’t have the ability to keep the level grind going. I think I quit at 40something on WoW. Of course now I’m on Eve, where the leveling timesink is literally just a timesink. Go fig.
Anyone placing bets on how borked the login servers will be once they bring things back up?
Scott
I enjoyed WoW just fine when I was in the beta, but I haven’t found anything to win my heart since City of Heroes…
TooManyJens
I can’t judge. I’m a fanfic dork.
Dennis SGMM
Great games? X-COM: UFO Defense
One of the best games I ever played. Still play it sometimes. It’s now classified as abandonware so you can find downloads at several sites.
NobodySpecial
Minecraft.
Cris
I’d love to pedantically post the one-word comment “champing,” but the meaning is essentially identical.
Mark S.
@Grand Wazoo:
I’m not going to say Fallout New Vegas is addictive, but the cops did show up to inform me I had been declared missing a week ago.
Gravenstone
@Dennis SGMM: Actually, it’s on Steam now. I has it, and it’s just as addictive as ever.
taylormattd
Close your game clients and restart, they now have another 141 MB being downloaded.
Apparently the patch needed a patch or something. Lol.
J.W. Hamner
We’re about to head up to Maine… where the internet is dial up… so my look at shattered Azeroth will have to wait until Sunday night. I’m pretty excited about it as well… looking forward to rolling a troll dr00d and giving the new 1-60 quests a look when I get back.
Sarcastro
I cranked up a DOS emulator a while back to replay the original Syndicate. Good times. Good times.
I’m off to tweak the RE Amiyama FD file I found so I can beat a buck forty on the Akagi touge.
suzanne
Hey, I’ve got a random question for all the foodies. We’re going to some friends’ house for Thanksgiving, and I have to bring the stuffing and a vegetable dish. I’ve never done stuffing before, so I would appreciate any favorite recipes y’all have to share. I don’t eat red meat, so no bacon or sausage, please. I generally love cornbread stuffing, but am open to suggestions. THX!
Cat
If you want to try out the starting zones for gnomes or trolls just hit oceanic/US and Suggest a realm from the login screen and have fun.
I plan on giving up wow so IDC if I get banned. :)
taylormattd
This reminds me, I need to go get some wine for tonight. :D
Dennis SGMM
@Gravenstone:
Nothing like the early game where you find yourself with an easy shot at an alien – and then discover that you don’t have enough action points left to fire your weapon. :)
Geeno
OMG – that’s right – I’ll have to start a new toon for those early quests.
Steve
Seen at the WoW forums:
My kids are too young for WoW, but personally my instinct would have been to respond to the tantrum with “Cry more n00b.” My parenting instincts might need some fine-tuning.
j low
@Cris: I always think of “chomping” as cowboy slang. That’s what I always heard growing up in Eastern Oregon. “Champing” is something that happens at a New England country club, or at least with an English accent.
Martin
Close friend is project manager for Battlenet. Haven’t seen him or any of my other Blizzard friends for weeks. I should ride my bike over there after work and see if they’re still alive.
I’ve never actually played WoW. They invited me in during the beta (and I have a standing offer of a free subscription) but warned me that it’d suck my life away.
Martin
@Steve: Perhaps mine do as well, since that’s exactly what I’d tell my kids.
TooManyJens
@Martin: But then you wouldn’t get them to clean up the house!
Karmakin
At least for me many of those older games have lost a lot of their luster. The UI for most of them is pretty bad and tough to slog through, which makes playing them kind of a pain. The first two Master of Orion games were really good however, same with Civ II/III (IV is the best in the series to me)
For those who don’t know, tonight a patch is coming down with MASSIVE changes to World of Warcraft. To the point where it changes much of the 1-58 gameplay experience entirely. It’s a time skip of about 5 years since the end of the last expansion.
To be honest, IMO it’s practically a full sequel.
jacy
@suzanne:
I still use my grandmother’s recipe, which is a really simple traditional farm recipe.
9-10 cups torn good white bread (french or loaf)
1 stick melted butter
enough chicken stock to moisten bread well (usually a cup or two depending on how dry your bread is to start off with)
1 cup fine chopped white onion (not milder yellow)
1 cup chopped celery
Fresh sage, thyme, summer savory and salt and pepper to taste.
After mixing, the stuffing should be moist and just sticky. You can bake in bird, or in a hot oven (400 degrees until top is crunchy, around 35-45 minutes)
My husband prefers cornbread/sausage/fresh cranberry dressing, so I always make two kinds.
Teri
@Steve: your parenting instincts are in prime form for raising gamers. As the parent of teenage gamers raising them on snark, quests and timed events makes for good practice for life. Chores and homework must be done (and proven to standards) before gaming is done. Dinner can be eaten in front of gaming console (I am not a hypocrit) but breakfast is eaten at the table and conversation (no ipods, phones) is a must. Live long and prosper
Grand Wazoo
@BeccaM:
Mass Effect was killer and I’m most of the way through my first run through on ME2 but I agree, I don’t like the changes they made to the way armor and weapons are handled. I also have to say that the planet mining is kind of ‘meh’ at best and I miss my Mako, I really had fun crusing that thing around looking for stuff.
I also have my pre-order in for Dragon Age 2, Special Edition. Oooh, can’t wait!
Martin
@TooManyJens: Sure I would. I expect that I don’t need to remind them for the 2,000th consecutive day what they need to do to watch tv/play games/get dessert/etc. ‘Cry more n00b’ gets my point across perfectly well.
jl
like a few other commenters above, I have no clue what it is about. The those who do sound very enthusiastic and fanatical. So, I guess it is interactive 3D mass hordes contract bridge, or something similar.
Whatever, it is all small potatoes, what with the interactive 4D TunchForce Apocalypse war death cage match internet game I am expecting with the BJ site rebuild!
TooManyJens
@Martin: Fair enough!
(I have a three-year-old, so I’m taking notes for the future.)
Teri
Husband came home, downloaded patch and is now on server. Sometimes I hate him.
BethanyAnne
@Bowser’s Clown Copter: Are you at that point in the quest? Black bug mount for you if it glitches?
BethanyAnne
@Grand Wazoo: DA:O rocked. I’m in the early bits of the first Mass Effect right now.
jl
Maybe it’s about the Balloon Juice internet dioramas one commenter requested. Are they going to be online this evening?
Tim in SF
Servers are down for two more hours. However, I’m already TOTALLY HAPPY about the new login screen. That fucking Sindragosa scream on Wrath’s startup screen never sounded real or scary – just raspy and annoying and too God damn loud. AND since it was on a loop, you couldn’t turn WoW on and leave the room or you’d hear that shit into the next room until you turned it off. ANNOYING.
What server you on, JC?
Walker
@Carnacki:
GoG has Heroes III complete for $10, which is a much better turn-based strategy game.
Tim in SF
I stand corrected – IT’S ON! GO PLAY!
Steve
@Teri: My wife (who hasn’t gamed since the kids were born, but we met playing EverQuest) always gets angry with me when I talk about teaching our 4-year old how to fish in WoW. Look, she always wants to play Daddy’s games, and I’d get skillups! Plus I don’t have to worry about her seeing any nasty chat because she can’t read yet.
suzanne
@jacy: Thank you. Sounds great.
We’re having quails instead of a turkey, so it should be interesting. :)
suzanne
@jacy: Thank you. Sounds great.
We’re having quails instead of a turkey, so it should be interesting. :)
suzanne
@jacy: Thank you. Sounds great.
We’re having quails instead of a turkey, so it should be interesting. :)
Tim in SF
Well… scratch that. Servers may be up but I can’t get on. I keep getting DC’d every time I get to the load screen.
Comrade Mary
@jacy: That recipe looks great!
I’d add that you should try putting some of the stuffing under the breast skin. You just need to loosen the skin with your hand, like you’re trying to get change out of your jeans pocket, and push the stuffing into the new gap between skin and breast meat.
You can put in a good inch of stuffing without affecting the cooking time, but it will add flavour and, more importantly, keep moisture in the breast.
Remember, the only reason to baste the turkey is to help the skin get really brown and crisp. Basting will not do a damn thing to keep the breast meat moist, but a shield of stuffing (or bacon, or something else moist and rich) under the skin will do the trick.
EDIT: Ah. Tiny birds, and someone else is roasting them? Well, keep the breast-stuffing trick for the next time you roast your own turkey.
Sentient Puddle
Ah, the joys of being on vacation and having all kinds of shit to do for work up until about the 8th. I’ve managed to convince myself not to care about the patch or Cataclysm just yet, and when I do, I’ll be quite free to play!
On the other hand, I do have access to a computer that I discovered might well be too crappy to play Minecraft. I’m impressed.
General Stuck
It’s been 4 hours since our last TSA thread.
Why?
WHY?
Comrade Mary
It’s OK, General Stuck. Just pretend I’m touching your junk and everything will be fine.
General Stuck
@Comrade Mary:
You’ve made my evening Comrade Mary.
John Cole
@Tim in SF: I’m all over the place because I was server hopping before I just said to hell with it all. I have ally mage, pally, and dk on sargeras, and horde mage on mug’thol. Random rerolls all over the damned place, but I pretty much only play my mages. The paladin I use to tank as a backup for the guild and to make potions. The DK I played just to experience the DK experience. It sucked IMHO.
suzanne
@Comrade Mary: That’s a great idea. I haven’t roasted a turkey in years, but I will definitely hold onto that tip.
Yeah, little tiny birds. Not from a store, either—the friend’s brother is in culinary school and is a hunter, so he’s shooting them himself and then cooking them. What the hell.
asiangrrlMN
@jl: I’d back this in a heartbeat. I tiptoed into this thread since I was curious. Now, I’m tiptoeing back out again.
suzanne
@suzanne: I swear I only hit “submit” once. FYWP, very much.
Svensker
@Cris:
Heh. Pedants, unite!
Bob Loblaw
Is this the place where I make fun of willfully ignorant Americans watching American Idol (but not supez sweet MMORPGs with awesome dwarves and shit, yo, that’s just fine) instead of paying attention to global affairs?
/A second thread on this game? Are you sure you don’t have another airport security “gem” to post or something instead? We didn’t get our customary eight today, and I think there’s just so much untapped potential left…
General Stuck
@suzanne:
Hey, you hit a three bagger. Those aren’t easy. I, for one am impressed.
Cat
@Tim in SF: You need to relaunch the launcher and wait for the patch of the patch to come down. That happened to me too.
jacy
@suzanne:
When I was a kid we always had wild pheasant in addition to a turkey. (My family did a lot of pheasant hunting). But we wouldn’t roast the pheasant, instead cube it up and season it, the dredge it in milk and then crushed cracker crumbs, then fry in a hot skillet. Still one the best tastes I remember from my childhood.
Grand Wazoo
@Mark S.: I’m hoping so because the wife and I have no family obligations for Thanksgiving this year (last year we hosted a large chunk of my Western WA family) and she wants to catch up on DAO so she can hit the Awakening expansion and I want to finish ME2 and/or fire up FA:NV. The weather is supposed to be crap anyway so other than seeing the new Harry Potter film, I think we’re looking at a gamers’ paradise weekend. :)
suzanne
@General Stuck: I have mad skillz.
Grand Wazoo
@BethanyAnne: Loved, loved, LOVED the first Mass Effect. So much fun with all of the different abilities and character/NPC customization. The second one isn’t bad either, but the first one is really awesome.
suzanne
@jacy: Wow. I haven’t ever had pheasant, nor have I ever been hunting. I can’t imagine what that would taste like.
I, however, spent many years as a vegetarian. So there were lots of tofu turkeys from Whole Foods at my table. They taste just like turkey, but they squeak against your teeth as you chew. That sound is one of my more enduring Thanksgiving memories, heh.
Bnut
@Dennis SGMM: This times 1000.
themann1086
@Teri: Don’t worry, Blizz said that all toons will login at the nearest graveyard from where they last logged out, so as to avoid “oh god I’m inside a mountain/lava/ocean” syndrome.
At least we won’t Awaken In Razor Hill
jacy
@suzanne:
I personally never hunted (didn’t even care for fishing). I just liked shooting skeet. Funny thing, my dad gave up hunting when I was an adolescent, after figuring out the only reason he really liked it was because it gave him an excuse to spend time with his dogs, and the dogs were just as happy to lay on the couch and watch TV as go out and get their paws wet at 5:00 in the morning. Also, he ceased having to impress his father-in-law.
Roger Moore
@General Stuck:
Not to be confused with hitting a tea bagger, which is much easier and more immediately satisfying. Beware of the negative publicity involved, though.
Roger Moore
@suzanne:
I think my sister’s solution is much better. She doesn’t bother with a main course and just makes more side dishes. You have more space for all of the side dishes- and desserts- if you don’t fill up on a single main course. Since I find most turkeys to be bland to the point of uninteresting, I think this makes for a better Thanksgiving even for non-vegetarians.
General Stuck
Why can’t progressives have their own George Bush or Ronald Reagan?
Liberals and progressives cannot have such heroes, because they are fickle and think independently. That has it’s drawbacks for sure, but if we weren’t like that, we would be republicans, and Obama would get credit for what he has accomplished. With Libs/progs, not even the perfect gets a pass, if it did in fact exist. We want things, always. It is a matter of personal nature, that doesn’t end until it’s time for the long drink of embalming fluid.
I think this is a good thing, all things considered. Without it, social evolution is not possible. But it is not painless.
bobbo
It’s “champing.”
Sorry. I love you, John, but I my inner pedant will not be denied.
Tim in SF
Hey @John Cole: My guild is comprised of adults (average age about 40, I’d guess). We’re casual. East coast time but located all over. Guild leader has heavy NY accent – sounds like we’re getting cussed at by Travis Bickle sometimes during raids. We’re funny. We’re recruiting to get us up to the magic number 25. Email me if you have a horde toon on Tanaris and want to do some runs with players who, although may not have the highest skill level, probably have the most fun.
Quaker in a Basement
@Cris: Thank you, Cris. Saved me the trouble. And embarrassment.
Gravenstone
It’s game time!
Koszmic
Got a look at the riven Barrens, since I logged my dranei pally out in Ratchet last night. Pretty cool looking. Started up a gnome mage to check out the new Gnomeregan starter area. Silvermoon server — Radagest the gnome mage, Thorondir is my paladin.
As far as old games, I loved Crusaders of the Dark Savant, Doom 2, Master of Magic, Civilization 2, and Diablo 2. Looking forward to Diablo 3! I also have a teaching job, I swear . . .
Koszmic
Got a look at the riven Barrens, since I logged my dranei pally out in Ratchet last night. Pretty cool looking. Started up a gnome mage to check out the new Gnomeregan starter area. Silvermoon server — Radagest the gnome mage, Thorondir is my paladin.
As far as old games, I loved Crusaders of the Dark Savant, Doom 2, Master of Magic, Civilization 2, and Diablo 2. Looking forward to Diablo 3! I also have a teaching job, I swear . . .
Teri
@Steve: Blizzard has great parental controls. Since we pay for the kids accounts, we can turn it off at set time or timed amount of play (no after 11 p.m. Sun thru Thur) and the language filter puts symbols instead of words. You can also block chat/trade channels. Skill up on easy things like fishing or weapon practice. We started on games in preschool like reading rabbit and viking raid. I have a picture of my now 19 year old chewing on large foam dice when we was a baby and we played D&D around the table at our house on Sunday evenings. Our gaming groups kids all test in the 99 percentile and vocab and math skills are outstanding. Start them early to learn….life isn’t fair, they need to read all the fine print and know the rules before they play and to stick up for themselves. It also teaches co-operative play as well. (Can you tell I have had this argument before?)
BeccaM
@Grand Wazoo: Yep. Shopping in Mass Effect was a bit of an adventure, as you never knew who would have what. In ME2, it’s the same stuff on the same vendors all the way through — no surprises. And I liked upgrading my armor and weapons throughout the game.
Now it’s “Oh, I can research the Cain. Mini-nuking from here on out.”
Also, I felt that a few of the character classes in ME2 were all but unplayable — such as the Engineer. My impression anyway.
The ability to get money in the game, and the whole mining/fuel system is totally fubar’d. I kept wanting to say to the Elusive Man, “You paid untold billions of creds to bring me back from the dead, reconstruct the most advanced ship in the known galaxy — and you won’t even chip in for gas?! Stingy bastard.”
Fallout NV is pretty good though, and has the advantage of built-in modding capabilities. As for Dragon Age: Origins, I know they have several interesting DLCs and an expansion, but in a weird way, when I loaded it up and tried to play again, it felt like dating someone with whom I’d parted ways a year or more ago — just couldn’t click, felt old and familiar and not in a good way. Maybe I just played DA:O a few too many times. Hoping DA2 will be worth the wait.
Svensker
@jacy:
I second Jacy’s recipe — it’s the one we use, too, from the 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook (at least ours is). Delicious and subtle, yet straightforward. Sometimes I add pecans sauteed in butter and raisins soaked in brandy then drained. If you’re cooking outside the bird, make sure the stuffing is moist (use turkey or veg broth) and cover it for most of the baking.
And pheasant? Mmmmmm. My dad and uncles were hunters when I was a kid and I could never get enough pheasant and wild duck, just simply roasted with a little butter and salt. Delish.
taylormattd
Wow, this is actually shockingly great. I fucking love this. And John, you need to hop on your Horde mage if you haven’t yet, the goblin starting area / rocket highway thing is a blast.
lawnorder
@Poopyman: The song is well chosen. Flying in Kalimdor or East Kingdoms is just.. awesome. First time I flew above Stormwind I was mentally singing this :D
You will see in 2 weeks. All the wait will be worth it.
PS: As soon as you can, head to Lower Blackrock Spire and turn right at the entrance. Blackrock Caverns is the first cata dungeon and gives almost 10 bars xp per run. You will need to visit each cata dungeon once at least before using LFG so might as well get BRC “discovered”. Will be a nice break from questing and give you imba loot and xp. Lots of wipes there though so bring gold for repairs!!!
lawnorder
@themann1086: You should see where worgens or goblins woke up on beta… 100 ft up Gavin’s Naze on Hilsbarad. Felt like those cartoons where Wile.Coyote walks on air and plunges to his death :p
matoko_chan
One game to rule them all
One game to find them
One game to rule them all and in the darkness bind them.
:)
TomG
There’s this little voice in my head telling me I’m gonna miss not seeing all the new content (and the all-new continents). But then, I’ve played for 5 1/2 years. It has to end sometime…..
Gian
I do game
less than before I got a real job.
But I’m an old wanker – I will not pay a monthly fee to play I game I’ve bought. Period.
Life has changes. kid starts school, wife is PG – I’m not paying a fee to play a game I’d have to wake up and play between 3-5 a.m.
I mean do the WOW players know they’re getting rolled like I did playing castle telengard on compuserve dollar wise? I mean do the math
say 2 mil players
say five bucks (a fee hat I might actually pay) a month
that’s 10 mil a month for a product you already sold and made money on the sale
this game must be better than sex – causepeople pay to get in the door, and pay every month. Game would require some real output/enjoyment to make any dollars and sense
since it’s more popular than chocolate chip cookies, I figure I’m just some a-hole that time forgot
Blotto von Bismarck
I’ve never played WoW, even though I’ve easily spent thousands of hours of my life on video games. Is there anyone else in this thread who meets both of those conditions?
@ Mark S.:
I hear you on Fallout: NV. Sadly, when the DLC glitch struck, I lost all incentive for playing the game until the patch comes out. I save quite often, so I lost less than one hour of playing time each time the glitch hit me, but I feel a need to complete every last marked quest in the game. I was enjoying the side quests and exploring so much that I haven’t even bothered completing “Ring-a-Ding” yet.
My computer is shit, so I am forced to play it on a console.
@ Becca: Very Hard/Hardcore is not really that hard. The only annoying thing for me in the mode is that ammunition will really begin to weigh you down, so you should try limiting yourself to 1 or 2 regular weapons, and sell the rest or equip your followers with them. The rest is easy to adjust to.
machine
The Park in SW is *gone*. Just a big, smoking hole in the ground. And they reset my priest talents again, dammit.
I’m really tempted to form a guild named “Rolling Restarts” after cata goes live.
ProtoThad
The GF and I have been playing entirely too much Starcraft 2 lately. I justify it by saying its inspiration for our own video game in development.