Archive for August, 2009

Q&A With Diablo III Devs

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

The Escapist has a great Q&A from Blizzcon about Diablo III.

Orig source: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/94096-BlizzCon-09-Blizzard-Talks-Diablo-III-In-Q-A-Session

Where’s the Paladin? Is there going to be a cow level? Key members of Blizzard’s Diablo III team took fan questions in a Q&A session today, and, believe it or not, there were productive results.

It’s just a feeling, but the impression I’m getting from the way Blizzard’s talking about Diablo III, this game isn’t coming out for a long time. Not next year for sure, maybe not even the year after that. How hard can it be to make a game where you just click things and get loot? I’m not going to try to say that it’s easy – that there’s a lot to consider was made clear enough during the Q&A session Blizzard held with fans this morning at BlizzCon.

Unlike the “QQ&A” sessions for certain other Blizzard games out there, there was actually quite a bit of interesting information that came out of reasonably sensible questions here. Some of the highlights follow:

What’s the deal with Diablo III’s PvP? Lead game designer Jay Wilson was conclusive when he said that Diablo IIIwon’t support an option to “go hostile” at any time in Diablo III, since it works against players working together, which is what Blizzard wants. That being said, Wilson said that Diablo III will “support PvP better than any of the other previous products did.”

How will Diablo III work with the new Battle.net? Blizzard’s mostly working on Battle.net as it relates to StarCraft II right now, so there will be some time until they can actually start thinking about how it relates to Diablo, Wilson said. Yeah, this game’s not coming out until 2013.

Will The Monk be able to do Ryu-style Hadokens? Don’t rule it out.

Will Necromancers show up? Blizzard here seemed to offhandedly imply that Necromancers won’t be a playable class, which I think most of us have figured by now anyway. That doesn’t mean there won’t be Necromancers in the game, though. They may very well show up in the game’s world, as part of the story.

Will Paladins show up? Similar answer to the Necromancer question. Blizzard says that they’re trying out the idea of making characters you played as in previous games into story characters in this game. So your D2 Paladin might show up in Diablo III. However, there might be more to it than that. Blizzard has “long term plans” for Pallies, Wilson added, saying that “stuff is going to happen.”

Will there be Hardcore Mode?: “We definitely want to do Hardcore again,” Wilson said, calling the permadeath mode the “only way to play, right?” The team doesn’t have any specific ideas about how to do it yet, though.

Are there plans to support UI add-ons?: Your user interface can be customized to your heart’s content in WoW, butDiablo isn’t the same game. Blizzard has no plans to support add-ons for Diablo.

“We feel very strongly what makes Diablo works is simplicity – simplicity of controls and UI design,” Wilson said. “UI mods are wonderful things but they vastly change the simplicity of controls and user interface, don’t want to do that withDiablo.”

Items, Items, Items: Randomly generated items will be the heart of the item system in Diablo III, but unique items with pre-ordained stats will also be prominent, maybe providing one-of-a-kind combinations of stats, properties and gear that could prove useful. There will also be items that are unique to each class (like the Wizard is the only one who can use orbs). These class items will be “cool, signature” items, like huge gnarly axes for Barbarians. They won’t be the only items you’ll want to carry though – they’ll work for different builds, depending.

More Items: Items will be transferable between characters, presumably more user-friendly than making a game, dropping some gear and then logging out and logging back in with a different character. As for how you get items the real way – by killing bosses, specifically – whenever you kill a boss in a party, each player will get his/her own drops, that only he/she can grab (old news but worth saying again). No getting ninja’d or frantically clicking hoping you get the drop.

It all sounds quite promising, but there’s a lot of “we’re planning on this” or “we’re thinking of that” and not much “we’re doing this.” Oh yeah, and nobody asked, but there is no cow level.

Sweet… but not for a couple years… hopefully theres a few more ladder resets in d2 before then.

Diablo III WILL Have Some Sort Of Light Radius And I Have Proof

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

There is a video on YouTube (which I found through Kotaku) of 3 people playing D3 at GamesCom this year.  And if you look, you will see a light radius on all 3 characters on those bottom screens.  Thank you Blizzard, we were very worried when you released those 30+ minute gameplay videos and there was no light radius on anyone.

YAY!!!

Random Thoughts That Are Totally True

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

I got this in an email from a friend who got it from a friend.  There are lots of websites and blogs with this posted but no one knows the origional author.  If you do, let me know so I can give them credit cause some of these are too great… and #15 needs to be a new manlaw.

1. More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

3. I don’t understand the purpose of the line, “I don’t need to drink to have fun.” Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they’ve invented the lighter?

4. Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

5. That’s enough, Nickelback.

6. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

7. The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase “Regards” again.

8. Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft..

9. There is a great need for sarcasm font.

10. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the **** was going on when I first saw it.

11. I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people… I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.

12. The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way… We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that’s is when I realized, yup, that’s a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can recognize their own image.

13. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

14. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

15. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die..

16. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

17. A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

18. Was learning cursive really necessary?

19. Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.

20. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

21. Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

22. My brother’s Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.” Classy, bro.

23. Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.

24. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?

25. I love the sense of camaraderie when a n entire line of cars teams up to prevent a **** from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

26. Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in….(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”

27. What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

28. While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.

29. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

30. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died..

31. I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

32.. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

33. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

34. Bad decisions make good stories

35. Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!

36. Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

37. If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

38. Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….

39. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

40. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.

41. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

42. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

43. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.

44. I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’

45. While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.

46. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail.

What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

47. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

48. When I meet a new girl, I’m terrified of mentioning something she hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

49. I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

50. Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…

51. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

52. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

53. It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood..

54. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

55. I think that if, years down the road when I’m trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

56. Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what do to with it.

57. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…

58. My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the hell do I respond to that?

59. It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

60. I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

61. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

62. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

63. The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

Top 5 “Box Office” Movies of the ’90s

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Hello there,  I haven’t made a post in a while so I felt like I should at least post something.  I am currently compiling a list for my Top 5 Greatest Arnold Movies, Top 5 Greatest Cheap Beers, Top 5 Greatest Pizzas, and more.  So, while I continue to compile those lists with real references other than Wikipedia or IMDb pages, here is a small list of some 90s box office movies.

Just as a note, I used the term “box office” because if I chose the actual top 5 greatest movies of the 90s, they wouldn’t even been in the top 100 of the box office movies.

#5.  TIE: Jurassic Park and The Fugitive.

Jurassic Park was a great thrill ride and one of the first best uses of computer animation outside of of a James Cameron film.  The Fugitive was one of the best TV series to movie adaptations ever made.  The 1993 movie is a non-stop mystery-action movie with a fantastic cast, great writting, and excellent directing.  US Marshalls has nothing on The Fugitive.

#4. Braveheart

Braveheart is a Mel Gibson directed and starred bloody action adventure.  There are a few quotable lines but the best parts of the movie are the battles.

#3.  Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is a fantastic World War 2 movie that has one of the most memorable opening sequences in modern cinema.  Some parts of the movie are slow for a war movie, but the direction and character development is above-par for any war movie.

#2.  Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is one of the greatest non-standard Hollywood movies ever made.  Aside from a fantastic ensemble cast, Quentin writes dialoge and situations that fly far above that of his other impressive works.

#1.  Office Space

While Office Space is not as big of a box office success as the others listed on this list, it has become one of the most quoted, referenced, and funny-in-repeated-viewings funny movies ever made in the 90s.  If you have never seen Office Space then you are missing out on jokes that employees, employers, individuals, bands, movies, and friends make every day.

Again, I appologize for the weakness of this list, but I just had to post something.

I Don’t Understand… If they are making weapons we have to stop them with our weapons

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

I don’t understand this whole philosophy in our country.  For years we have held the mentality that if another developing country acquires nuclear technology then we have to stop them because they could pose a threat to us or our allies.  I do understand wanting to protect your interests but ideals like this hold back the advancement of the human species as a whole.

Most recently, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that we would do everything in our power to stop countries like North Korea and Iran from obtaining nuclear weaponry.  So I know that those 2 countries are high on the US shit list but at least part of Iran really does want the technology for energy purposes and not for weaponry purposes (of course some people in teh military would for sure make a nuke or weapon of the sort just as we did).  But, why is it our place to say who can have what and why?

We claim to be the police of the world, but if you had officers in your town who act the way the United States does to it’s neighbors, they would be fired and most likely held on trial.

Nuclear energy, when done correctly, is more safe and reliable than petroleum and coal.  Our species NEEDS oil for future generations… not just for fuel, but for important products like plastics and life-saving healthcare devices.  By not allowing a country like Iran to develop this technology (granted it should be monitored but not influenced), we are draining what little oil is left in teh world while making our country seem like a bunch of asses to that entire region.

Part of science and discovery is first learning how to make something and how it works, but then passing it on and making it better.  What’s to say that one of these countries that we are not allowing to develop nuclear technologies might invent something that could save the planet from global warming or vastly improve the advancement of space exploration.

I just don’t understand.  Our country is trying to run the world like a corporation that doesn’t even want any competition to pop up.

Again, I do understand the need for safety and protection especially if that is your job.  But with the largest populations in teh world (like China and India) already possessing enough nukes to finish off the planet, don’t you think there are enough watchdogs in the world where the developing countries wouldn’t take it to the level that you claim they will?  With the exception of the India/Pakistan conflict, only we (the United States) have used Nuclear technology in the most inappropriate way (killing civilians with no military value).

Plus, if a country like North Korea did develop nuclear weaponry and used it against a country like South Korea, both Russia and China would invade and/or blow NK off the map.  I just think it’s foolish to prevent the advancement of technology just because you’re worried about someone else being allowed to sit at the big-boy’s table.