by admin on July 17, 2009
In the last PTR build 4 new textures of Halloween masks have been added.
2 of them are for Goblins masks – Helm_Mask_Halloween_GoF and Helm_Mask_Halloween_GoM
2 of them are for Worgens masks – Helm_Mask_Halloween_WoF and Helm_Mask_Halloween_WoM
Even if the Goblin texture would make sense as an addition to the game, adding Worgens texture out of nowhere is definitely a sign that the 2 new races of the expansion will be the Worgens (most likely for the Alliance) and the Goblins.
I know that a lot of people will love to argue with that over hundreds of replies. I would just like to add that it usually takes a lot to make me post something on the front page and I don’t think I’ve ever been wrong everytime I did. Hopefully Blizzard will react fast enough and add tons of new masks in the next build just to pretend that it was intended. (Suggestion: Pandarens please)
by admin on June 29, 2009
InformationWeek reports that the Chinese government has officially banned Gold Farming in China.
“In addition to its ongoing crackdown on Internet porn, the Chinese government has declared that virtual currency cannot be traded for real goods or services.
Virtual currency, as defined by Chinese authorities, includes “prepaid cards of cyber-games,” according to a joint release issued by China’s Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Commerce on Friday.
“The virtual currency, which is converted into real money at a certain exchange rate, will only be allowed to trade in virtual goods and services provided by its issuer, not real goods and services,” the Ministries said.The Chinese government estimates that trade in virtual currency exceeded several billion yuan last year, a figure that it claims has been growing at a rate of 20% annually. One billion yuan is currently equal to about $146 million.
The ruling is likely to affect many of the more than 300 million Internet users in China, as well as those in other countries involved in virtual currency trading. In the context of online role playing games like World of Warcraft, virtual currency trading is often called gold farming.
The most popular form of virtual currency in China is called “QQ coins,” a form of virtual credit issued by Tencent.com.
Tencent.com, which has about 220 million registered users — about as many as Facebook — is quoted in the Chinese government news release as “resolutely” supporting the new rule. The government justifies its ban on virtual currency trading as a way to curtail gambling and other illegal online activities.
The extent to which the Chinese government will apply its virtual currency rule to online role playing games remains unclear. A report in the English-language China Daily says that in-game gear is not considered virtual currency, so selling virtual items may be allowed to continue.
The trading of virtual currency for real cash employs hundreds of thousands of people worldwide and generates between $200 million and $1 billion annually, according to a 2008 survey conducted by Richard Heeks at the University of Manchester.
He estimates that between 80% and 85% of gold farmers are based in China.
“[M]any online games have a virtual economy and an in-game currency,” he states in his survey. “Gold farmers can play in-game to make some currency. They then sell that for real money — typically via a Web site and using the PayPal payment system — to other players of the game.”
Game companies typically forbid gold farming but committed virtual currency traders find ways around such rules. Some game companies have recognized the futility of trying to ban the practice and have built virtual commerce into their game infrastructure.”
by admin on June 29, 2009
Nethaera wrote:
Faction-Change Service in the Works
We wanted to give everyone a very early heads-up that, in response to player requests, we’re developing a new service for World of Warcraft that will allow players to change their faction from Alliance to Horde or Horde to Alliance. There’s still much work to do and many details to iron out, but the basic idea is that players will be able to use the service to transform an existing character into a roughly equivalent character of the opposing faction on the same realm. Players who ended up creating and leveling up characters on the opposite factions from their friends have been asking for this type of functionality for some time, and we’re pleased to be getting closer to being able to deliver it.
As with all of the features and services we offer, we intend to incorporate the faction-change service in a way that won’t disrupt the gameplay experience on the realms, and there will be some rules involved with when and how the service can be used. The number of variables involved increases the complexity of implementing this service, but we plan to take the time needed to ensure that it lives up to expectations before officially rolling it out. We’ll go into much more detail on all of this here at http://www.WorldofWarcraft.com as development progresses. In the meantime, we wanted to let you know that because this type of functionality requires extensive internal testing well in advance of release, you may be seeing bits and pieces of the service in the test builds we use for the public test realms moving forward.
A large number of young people who regularly play video games, 8.5 percent of them, show signs pathological dependence on this type of entertainment, the conclusion is a new study of American scientists.
Study researchers from the Iowa State University in Ames say that not only are children spending too much time playing video games, but how their activity interferes with success in school, interacting with friends and families, and even brings health problems.
“What’s most concerning to me is really the total percentage, just the vast number of kids that are having real problems in their lives because they play games, and they may not know how to stop it,” said study leader, psychologist Douglas A. Gentile.
Video games as alcohol
Gentile believes that “we’re at the same place now with video gaming as we were with alcoholism 40 years ago”. Alcohol was not listed as a disease, and dependence on video games has not been listed as a psychological disorder.
The next edition of the Manual for mental disorders American psychiatric society will be the 2012th, and Gentile hopes to do it could redefine the term dependence on video games.
The study is based on data from a national survey that included about 1200 children and adolescents throughout the United States and aged between eight and 18 years.
Respondents answered questions like “Have you ever played video games to escape from the real world” or “Have you ever lied to family and friends about how much you play games.”
Questionable methodology
Gamers were classified as pathological players if they exhibited at least six of the 11 criteria. Pathological players play games more often and longer, get worse grades in school, and often notice problems with the monitoring of school attendance of non-pathological players. They have a greater chance of having attention.
His critics doubt the methodology, and ask how the 8-year child is able to adequately fill out the survey. They said that a pathological dependence on video games is only a symptom of deeper problems.
