Balandar

I don't get the joke...

Never thought to try that... Why would you try that?? I doubt she would understand Orcish.

The World of Warcraft Town Hall is now up to date with pages for both the Trolls and the Gnomes - the last two player-character races announced for the game. Included in the update are descriptions, screenshots, art, and information on which classes are playable for these races and where their starting locations are in the world. Also, the latest edition of the Blizzard Insider has just started going out to subscribers. Featured in this issue are an extensive, detailed interview about the Trolls and the Gnomes and exclusive information about how trade skills will work in World of Warcraft.

Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday! For those that do not know Borg... he established The Honor Empire.

That's sad. First time I have heard of a famous suicide.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/games/g...sor/default.asp

http://svt.se/hogafflahage/hogafflaHage_si...or/hestekor.swf

A new update on the blizzard website, read about the trade skills in WoW here!

Go here for 6 new images. As to the info. Will characters in World of Warcraft have alignments (good, neutral, evil, etc.)? Traditionally in RPGs, a character’s alignment helps determine how NPCs react to that character. Currently in World of Warcraft, the way that this sort of interaction will be affected is through the character’s faction and reputation. World of Warcraft’s factions are the Horde (comprised of the Orcs, Tauren, Undead, and Trolls), and the Alliance (made up of Humans, Dwarves, Night Elves, and Gnomes). In keeping with the history established in the previous Warcraft games, there is an uneasiness between these two sides that permeates the atmosphere of the world. Non-player characters - such as quest givers and vendors - will respond accordingly. The reputation system is still being tweaked, but the basic idea is that a character’s reputation can change throughout the course of the game as he or she performs actions that one group of NPCs or monsters might value highly but that another might despise. Some things that a character’s reputation will help decide are whether certain quests are accessible and whether or not certain non-faction groups will attack on sight. Will Warlocks have combat spells, or will they just be able to summon demons? They will absolutely have combat spells. While the Warlock’s summoned demons will be able to dish out their own special flavor of direct damage, the Warlocks themselves are masters of fire and shadow magic. This class will have access to a library of combat spells - such as firebolt, death coil, immolate, corruption, demon armor, sleep, and much more. We’re still in the process of balancing the character classes for the game, so which particular spells the Warlocks end up with is likely to change between now and when the game ships. Be sure to check out our World of Warcraft classes page at Blizzard.com for a closer look at Warlocks and other characters classes in the game. Will ranged weapons in World of Warcraft require ammo? Yes. Ranged weapons, such as rifles and bows, will require ammo (shot and arrows, respectively), of which there will be a wide variety in the game. There will also be a number of ways for characters to obtain ammo: they could purchase it from NPC vendors or other players, receive it as part of a quest reward, find it in their adventures, and in some cases, even make it. In addition, we are looking at the possibility of allowing some characters to learn ways to augment their ammo to make it more powerful.

'Changing the entire political climate of this state' SACRAMENTO, California (CNN ) --Facing a large state budget crunch, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in at the California Capitol on Monday as governor, succeeding recalled incumbent Gray Davis. "I say to everyone here today and I say to all Californians: I will not forget my oath and I will not forget you," Gov. Schwarzenegger told the crowd as soon as he'd been sworn in. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George administered the oath of office, as Schwarzenegger stood with his hand on a family Bible that George said dated to 1811. Band music played as the oath was completed, and as Schwarzenegger shook hands with Davis and made his way to the podium. Prior to his taking of that oath, Vanessa Williams sang an a cappella rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the ceremony, which was backed by wide navy-blue banners studded with white stars. A group of children then recited the Pledge of Allegiance. California's new first lady, Maria Shriver, read a passage from the work of poet Maya Angelou. Immediately after taking the oath, Gov. Schwarzenegger told the dignitaries gathered at the statehouse, "In recent years, Californians have lost confidence. They felt that the actions of the government did not represent the will of the people. "This election was not about replacing one man. It was not about replacing one party. It was about changing the entire political climate of this state." Out of the gate Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has said he will start work almost immediately after the ceremony. Organizers had said they wanted a "simple and dignified" event, given the state budget woes that helped fuel the unprecedented campaign to oust the unpopular Davis in the October 7 recall. In prepared remarks for the ceremony -- obtained before his inauguration -- Schwarzenegger, 56, said the recall "was the people's veto of politics as usual," and he pledged swift action to lead a state he says is "in crisis." "We spent ourselves into the largest budget deficit in the nation," his prepared text states. "We have the worst credit rating in the nation. We have the highest worker compensation costs in the nation." Schwarzenegger said his first move will be to order a repeal of the widely unpopular 300-percent increase in state vehicle registration fees. That "car tax" tripled this year, helping to shrink a $38 billion budget gap down to $8 billion, but analysts believe the move contributed heavily to Davis' defeat. Schwarzenegger will then have to deal with a budget gap expected to be at least $11.5 billion next year -- a gap he promised voters he would eliminate without raising taxes or cutting education spending. He is expected to propose that the state Legislature back a $20 billion bond issue, which would have to be approved by voters. Schwarzenegger promises to convene a special session of the state Legislature to address the fiscal crisis, overhaul the state's workers compensation system and repeal a measure Davis signed that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses. "When Schwarzenegger was campaigning he was talking about action, action, action -- how he needed to come in and sweep up politics as usual in Sacramento and so on," said Kimberly Nalder, a government professor at California State University in Sacramento. "So people will be expecting that." In his prepared inaugural remarks, Schwarzenegger quotes President John F. Kennedy -- the slain uncle of his wife, Maria Shriver -- calling himself "an idealist without illusions." But he also invokes former President Ronald Reagan and the framers of the Constitution, who faced a deep crisis when they met in Philadelphia in 1787. "The dream of a new nation was falling apart," Schwarzenegger says in his planned remarks. "Events were spiraling downward. Divisions were deep -- merchant against farmer, big states against small, north against south. Our founding fathers knew that the fate of the union was in their hands, just as the fate of California is in our hands." But those delegates in Philadelphia produced what he called "the miracle of Philadelphia." 'Miracle of Sacramento' "Now the members of the Legislature and I must bring about the miracle of Sacramento -- a miracle based on cooperation, goodwill, new ideas and devotion to the long-term good of California," Schwarzenegger says. Former Los Angeles Mayor Dick Riordan, who will serve in the new administration as the state's education secretary, predicted that Schwarzenegger will govern the state "in a non-partisan way." "People are ready for change right now," Riordan said. "What they know is that we are in moral and economic shambles in this state, and we need solutions that are going to reach out to everybody." About 7,500 of the new governor's campaign supporters, state legislators, the California congressional delegation and other dignitaries were expected to attend Monday's ceremony. Though the recall campaign was rancorous, the transition has been marked by cooperation on both sides. "I talk to him almost every day," Davis said. "I think he has good instincts, is appointing good people and is off to a good start." CNN Correspondents Frank Buckley and Kimberley Osias contributed to this report. Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/17/...gger/index.html

I am trying to gather information about PvP in WoW.. From what others have told me the 10% area of PvP is not final yet. There will be guild vs guild warfare, but a possible limitation will exist. What they did say is that there is faction vs. faction and and consensual PvP (whatever that means). "They said in the Korean Videos that all pvp(outside of duals/arenas) would be in 'isolated instanced areas' also. " - jooka

I just picked up a copy of Warcraft III Battlechest (has both games in it) and created an account on Battle.net. If anyone wants to get together for a game let me know, just post here. I am on Azeroth (U.S. East) as Balandar. I am also a newbie, so I will need some tips Oh, if we can, I would like to setup the Skullcrusher Orc Clan on Battle.net for Warcraft III. We will need 10 people total to setup the guild. Might be a good way to promote the guild for WoW.

Yeah, I even accepted it.

Summary Priest Summary - Priests do not use plated armor - Priests can mind control one enemy at a time - When possessing a player, the priests fall into a trance and can use the abilites of the possessed unit - Mind control can be resisted - Priests can cast Damage Over Time spells - Priests may also have Direct Damage spells - Resurrect spells come at later levels - Priests can solo to a point. Cast possess in a field of Ogres and you will be the ogre. - Priests also act as sights. Meaning that they can sense traps and ambushes. Warrior Summary - Weaponry and Armor Mastery - Three fight stances that might change as it still is in alpha - Two pools that act as mana (Rage and Shouts) - Shouts can either buff you, your party or scare away baddies - Taunts always land if you have enough rage - In the Battle Stance the warrior gains rage from taking damage and dishing out damage - In the Defensive Stance the warrior gains all his rage from taking hits - In the Berserker Stance the warrior gains all his rage from the damage he deals. General Summary - Spell casters will be able to channel through melee - When casting a spell, a casting time bar appears, if you are hit while casting the spell, the spell will still be casted, but will be delayed - Bash, stuns and the like will stop the cast of spells all together - Warriors and Paladins will be the 'tank' classes - Shaman and Druids can also do some light tanking

The hulking Orc hovered above the bodies of the fallen. It would be a successful ambush, led by Warlord Aesma, Fury of Orgrimmar. Surely he would receive a feast in his honor, and perhaps someday, a monument to reflect upon his greatness; a symbol of power and fear for all of Orc-kind to see and honor. As it turned out, one among the Humans that lay before Aesma and his clan was an outcast High Priest of Stormwind. The Warlord’s Shaman was quick to identify the figure as High Priest Shar Drakowen. Rumors had circulated amongst the Orcs that one among the Humans had been banished from Stormwind because of an immeasurable cruelty towards the muddled races - those non-Human and thus, impure. It was said that Drakowen and his followers wandered the hostile territories of Kalimdor, brutally exterminating all forms of life that had the misfortune of crossing their path. A glorious victory for the Horde, indeed. Aesma began to rummage through the caravan, claiming first right to any treasures that may have been stowed within the wreckage. The Orc lord was stopped short, however, when he heard a faint whisper coming from the direction of the High Priest’s broken body. Aesma shook his head in disbelief. Could it be possible that the High Priest survived the surprise attack by the mighty Orc clan? It would be impossible, he thought. The High Priest had been asleep when they had attacked, caught completely off guard. Aesma would take no chances. He drew his war hammer and turned toward the body of Drakowen. As he approached the figure, he noticed that the Priest was attempting to speak … The Warlord’s men noticed slight apprehension in Aesma as he had approached the corpse and quickly took to arms. The mighty Warlord raised his fist and commanded the men to stand down. One mortally injured Human would not and could not pose a threat to the Fury of Orgrimmar. He could barely hear the words coming from the High Priest but identified them to be Orcish. Upon one knee, Aesma sank down to the bloodied and beaten body of Shar Drakowen. Still, he could not make out the words. He turned his head to face the High Priest… a mistake he would regret until the end of days. Drakowen’s eye shot open, looking straight into the eyes of Aesma. “I claim dominion Orcling…. Today I drink in your agony…” Aesma felt his consciousness slipping, fading... He had lost control over his own body and could only watch in horror as to what would happen next. The powerful Warlord stood up and turned toward his horde. With a few mighty sweeps of his war hammer, twelve of his own were quickly dispatched. The remaining Orcs fled, running for their lives, hoping to escape the enraged Warlord’s vengeance. As the Warlord’s rage died down, he began to regain control of his body. His state of consciousness only lasted a minute, though, as he was quickly entranced by the High Priest, who was now standing proudly, a grin drawn wide upon his face. Drakowen slowly began to raise his fallen comrades, drawing intricate runes in the air over their bodies. One by one the men stood up, regaining consciousness… regaining… life. All hope was lost for the Orc. There would be no feast, no celebration in his honor - he would die here, disavowed by his own, at the hands of the Humans, whom only moments ago were corpses piled at his feet. Drakowen had completed the final resurrections and was now walking towards Aesma. He circled the entranced Orc. Was he laughing? Aesma had never encountered such cold cruelty, something he once thought impossible considering his own upbringing. The High Priest began to speak. “I am not going to kill you Orcling. Your life will serve a far greater purpose than your death ever could. You will run back to Orgrimmar. You will tell your filthy brethren what transpired here today… For the rest of your days you will live as an outcast among your own kind… dishonored and despised… “ “Tell them I come for them, Orcling… I will drink in their agony and pain as I have in yours… the torment shall be divine…” ____________ This is the first in a series of stories that I will be writing to introduce World of Warcraft character classes. I have chosen this format to give the readers a bit of a feel for the world. This short story represents the Warrior and Priest class of the World of Warcraft. It is worth mentioning that the underlying point of the story is to demonstrate one thing: Good and Evil don't make their homes within the player based on their race, but rather, what that player's mindset is in regards to the gameworld. Evil and good, after all, are relative... The Priest This is not the Everquest Cleric you know and loathe. "There will be no complete heal chains in the World of Warcraft." That was one of the first things said to me last Friday as Jeffrey Kaplan (Tigole) and Rob Pardo (Ariel for those of you that know your Legacy of Steel history) demonstrated the Priest class in action. And what a show it was... The World of Warcraft Priest shuns plate armor and instead opts for cloth. What they lose in defense, however, they make up for with some new abilities that definitely differ from any traditional cleric roles found in many other MMORGs. Most notable is the ability of the World of Warcraft Priest to use mind control on their foes. The Priest can mesmerize/entrance enemies and can also use a spell/ability to dominate the will of others. A Priest, however, is not the Enchanter of the World of Warcraft. Their crowd control ability is strictly limited. The Priest can only mesmerize one opponent at a time. Additionally, when using their Dominate ability, the priest falls into a sort of stasis or trance, unable to move or cast any spells, but instead possessing their target. When Dominating, the priest gains whatever abilities their opponent may have within their arsenal and moves/functions within the body of the enemy. Of course these spells can be resisted and the duration on the Dominate ability is still being tuned. Naturally, the Priest shines in groups but is also able to solo with some success. Aside from different types of heals, which would fall under Holy Magic, the Priest is also able to make use of Shadow Magic. These would be Damage over Time and possibly some Direct Damage spells. Additionally, the Priest has a self rune type spell that they can cast upon themselves that allows the Priest to channel their magic through melee attacks more efficiently. This is basically a form of insurance for the Priest, allowing them to make certain their spell is cast without delay. It should be noted that spell casting classes (Priests/Mages/etc...) will be able to channel through melee normally, but the use of Holy Word Shield is a spell intrinsic to the Priest. How channeling normally works in the World of Warcraft is as such: As you begin to cast a spell you bring up a casting time bar. If you are hit while casting the spell, it does not interrupt the spell but rather it delays the casting bar for each hit that is taken by the spellcaster. There are, of course, abilities that NPCs and players alike have that can interrupt a spell outright (bash, stuns, special strikes, counterspells, etc…). These abilities, of which I've barely touched on, as well as the ability to resurrect players at later levels and myriad other abilities and spells, are sure to make the Priest a very popular class within the World of Warcraft. Now my personal opinion of the Priest is simply this: They kick ass. As we were porting around the world (which I will discuss in some depth in a future update - and no, it most certainly will not be so easy for the players to move around the world, we cheated) the guys (Jeffrey and Rob) put the Priest through its paces. We visited a hostile Ogre outpost where the Priest Dominated an Ogre or two and showed off some fancy moves while in the body of the fatties. They showed off some of the spells I mentioned earlier, healing, nuking, dotting, and falling back on the Priest's staff, administering some good old fashioned beatings. I also got to see some of the Priest's sight abilities, akin to Everquest's Bind Sight line - excellent utility spells for scouting and detecting some of those ambush traps I will undoubtedly be setting up to kill you in... Rule #1, never foolishly run up to a pile of gold conspicuously lying on the ground. Now I don't know if I can actually put gold or lewtz on the ground in the PvP areas, but I'll be damned if I don't try. You've seen the rule now, we both know you're not going to listen to the rule, which will inevitably result in me wearing your ears around my neck, pinned to my 'Necklace of Greedy Fool's Ears.' Don't be that guy... The Warrior Where to even begin? As many of you know, this is the class I play and have played for the past 5 years in Everquest. Comparing the two Warrior classes, Everquest versus the World of Warcraft, is like comparing your skinny cousin with the bad acne to Superman. World of Warcraft has a definitive advantage over Everquest, in that the classes are not as watered down and diluted, allowing for much more power to be allotted to individual classes. Sure there is another Tank class (The Paladin and to a lesser degree the Shaman and Druids can do some light tanking, but I digress) but he does not totally usurp the Warrior class, and in Warcraft our friend the Warrior is pissed off and packing something I like to call 'the pain.' The Warrior is a class with depth. Aside from being a master of weaponry and armor, they are able to fight in three distinct stances (I was told that this may very well change, either reducing the number of stances or increasing them - it's in Alpha still people!). Additionally, a warriors special abilities come from two pools. First are the abilities the warrior may draw upon from becoming enraged, known as gaining 'Rage.' Gaining Rage is essentially the reverse of the Spellcaster's mana bar which exists in Everquest and other MMORGs. A warrior starts at zero Rage and gains Rage totally dependant upon the stance they are in and the actions they take while in the stance (more on this to come). Rage decays when the Warrior is not in battle, resetting to zero when the Warrior is at peace (think Hulk). The second pool with which they draw their power from are their shouts. As a warrior levels and gains power, they also gain the ability to perform shouts. Shouts can have various effects on the warrior, their group, or on the enemies they fight. One shout may increase the overall damage of your party, bolstering their spirits and weapon speed, while another shout may cause the warrior's targets to flee (something that could be very useful to the soloing warrior who gets more than he can handle while adventuring). No, you will not be able to 'twist' shouts - these are not Everquest Bards. Naturally the warrior gets a taunt ability. Taunt in the World of Warcraft requires the use of Rage, has no effective Cooldown or refresh, and adds/builds up hate towards the Warrior instead of the train wreck which is taunt in Everquest. Speaking of Everquest, EQ Warriors should pay close attention here, if you're playing World of Warcraft, you will encounter a strange and new sensation while playing the Warrior. Once the initial shock wears off, you will realize that when you press 'Taunt' it actually taunts your opponent – it does not fail and end up doing absolutely nothing – it is always building up hate, so long as you have the necessary amount of Rage built up to make use of the ability. It's like reinventing the wheel, or as I like to call it, COMMON SENSE. Certainly high DPS classes can overaggro if they are not careful, but the World of Warcraft warrior is well equipped to deal with the absent minded mages and rogues of the gameworld. Hallelujah! Stances The Battle Stance: When taking a Battle Stance, the warrior is a balanced fighting machine. In this stance, the warrior gains Rage from taking damage/hits and dishing out damage. As the Rage bar builds up, the warrior is able to perform special moves and abilities which cost a certain amount of Rage. Intrigued? You should be. These abilities are many, and can range from a simple extra attack at early levels, such as kick, to as Tigole said, 'AE Whoopass' which is the Whirlwind ability, gained later on in the Warrior's life. A side note here, in Warcraft you won't ever have 5 mobs messed/crowd controlled in your camp in a normal adventure group. The warrior is meant to dish out the AE damage, taunts, shouts; trying to keep some control of the chaos which will inevitably find you and your friends. Which stance you use will be totally dependant on the situation. With all that said, the Battle Stance is something Warriors will probably use most often when soloing. The Defensive Stance: If you're going to be tanking in your group or raid, you're going to want to be in this stance. While in the Defensive Stance, the Warrior gains Rage from taking hits. With that built up Rage, they are able to perform various abilities that bolster their defenses. Some of these abilities substantially reduce the damage taken by the Warrior, while others empower the Warrior's shield with various attacks and strikes that can cripple their enemies. The Berserker Stance: My personal favorite and one that probably most closely resembles my style of play. In the Berserker Stance, the Warrior gains Rage from dishing out damage. As the Rage builds up, the warrior is able to unleash devastating attacks upon his opponents. The aforementioned Whirlwind being one of those abilities, Cleave being another, which allows the warrior to exert such force upon their enemy that their weapon hits and damages the poor ###### standing next to the recipient of the Cleave. The saying, "I'm gonna hit you so hard your baby's mamma gonna feel it," comes to mind... To the Warrior in a Berserker Stance that's not an empty threat, that's a promise. Believe it... With all of these abilities and powers, and from what was shown to me in gameplay, the Warrior will be an amazing and fun class to play. Definitely another class which I will use to kill you with... I've only barely scratched the surface of what the Warrior can do in World of Warcraft, but I am quite certain it's more than 'press 'a' to attack, 'taunt,' and '/disc defensive,' for their 3 minutes of glory.

Fires of Heaven, an EQ guild has posted a fairly long article on Priests and Warriors and Stances. Wonder if this means that some guild leaders are already in the Beta of WoW?

Wow, found out something about the wallpaper. They took the login screen, http://www.wowpvp.com/oldschoolpvp/loginscreen.jpg, and made the wallpaper from it. Assuming they do not change it you can see the word QUIT in the lower right hand corner of the wallpaper. It's hard to see, but it's there.

Blizzard has just released another new wallpaper! It can be found at the url below. http://www.blizzard.com/wow/wallpaper/wall...llpaper08.shtml

From slashdot.com gpmap writes "From the London Free Press: As voters across Ontario were preparing to head to the polls today to elect their municipal leaders, a technological first was quietly taking place in the easternmost reaches of the province. About 100,000 voters the counties of Prescott-Russell and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry were registered to cast their ballots online. Under a new system developed by CanVote Inc., an eastern Ontario startup company, registered voters in 11 area municipalities had the option of voting via the Internet or telephone. "I believe we're the first to do a real full Internet election in North America," said Joe Church, president of CanVote Inc. "People vote by Internet or telephone at their choice. There is no conventional ballot at all." Voters were issued a PIN number with conventional registration cards mailed to area households. Since Nov. 5, people have been logging on to a CanVote website to vote. Church said the new system makes democracy more accessible by removing such barriers to voting as limited mobility or even poor weather." Of course, systems like ProxyVote have been around for a while, but those are commercial issues, rather then state issues.

From slashdot.com Angry Black Man writes "The Digital Bits is reporting that there is finally some official informationfrom Lucasfilm regarding the release of the Star Wars OT (episodes IV, V, and VI) on DVD. The movies are coming to DVD in September of 2004. The animated series of Clone Wars shorts appearing soon on the Cartoon Network will also be released on DVD, possibly before the end of this year. The teaser campaign for Episode III will begin in January of 2005, leading up to the May theatrical release. Finally... Episode III will hit DVD in November of 2005."

From slashdot.com ParticleMan911 writes "The Shrek 2 movie trailer(other formats) has finally been released by Dreamworks. Apparently Dreamworks has a goal to release 2-3 animated movies every year through 2006. Will Shrek 2 live up to the original, or will it be a dissapointment like most sequels?"

From slashdot.com Chembro writes "Looks as though Ubi Soft is making a Matrix MMORPG. Everything is still pretty sketchy now that Revolutions has "ended" the series, but so far it seems pretty interesting. I wonder when the game will be placed (i.e. before Revolutions or after) but this could be the way the Wachowski brothers keep the universe going and how it will end. Pretty cool if you ask me." http://www.thematrixonline.com/ Hmmm, wonder what this will mean? Shadowbane was a complete dud... hope they don't screw matrix up too.

What's wrong with Jello?

For those that were unable to attend Tristons farewell, we have a couple of pictures of his departure. http://www.thehonorempire.org/gallery/UO/T...ell1_11_09_2003 http://www.thehonorempire.org/gallery/UO/T...ell2_11_09_2003

Hmmm, think I will hold off on that. Without PVP I would lose interest, also it would take a bit of time to learn the history for roleplaying. I think I will hold out for WoW and do something else until then. Study I suppose.. get a job after I get my degree this winter too I guess.