Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

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Biggs On: Replacement Refs

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On September 25, 2012

In Biggs On

We are now three weeks into the NFL season and it seems every week the calls from the replacement referees seem to be getting worse. There will be blood soon. I suspect that right now the NFL and the Referees Union are playing chicken, while the rest of us twist and turn in anguish as we see bad call after bad call. I have seen more and more people suggesting a boycott of the games by either not attending or turning the TV off. As avid of a football fan as I am, I am actually considering this suggestion.

Unfortunately for me, turning off football is like asking a crack addict to put down the syringe. I can appreciate what both sides are trying to accomplish, neither party wants to feel like they are getting screwed over. Sadly the fans and the players are the ones getting screwed over while this feud persists. I’m not suggesting that either side just capitulate, the professional referees should feel like they are properly compensated, but the NFL shouldn’t just bow down to the unions (unions in this country have enough power as it is).

It’s a conundrum that I wish I had an answer to, not that I have the power to influence the NFL directly. Week 4 is approximately a quarter of the way through the regular season. I think if something doesn’t happen this week, and we have another weekend of blundered calls, I think we are going to see a huge backlash and even I may consider leaving the TV off until something is resolved.

Biggs On: iPhone 5 Announcement

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On September 17, 2012

In Apple, Biggs On, Technology

I know I am about a week late to be posting a comment on Apple’s latest announcement but I had other things I was working on and other posts I wanted to finish first. Unless you are living under a rock you should be aware now that Apple has unveiled a new iPhone, the iPhone 5, and its already available for pre-order and it will start shipping this Friday (September 21st).

The Apple-haters were quick to proclaim how anti-climatic the announcement was and that expectations were shattered and thousands were left unimpressed (by the way, the iPhone 5 has broken AT&T sales records). Personally, the announcement met all of my expectations. I wasn’t really expecting the unveiling of some new technological feat, what else could they possibly do to a phone. It will be faster, more streamlined, and the camera is vastly improved; which is pretty much what I was expecting. It was a humble upgrade for an excellent device.

If you hadn’t heard enough about what to expect in the next iteration of iPhone, here are a few of the key features I was excited to see:

  • 18% thinner, 20% lighter (constructed entirely of glass and aluminium)
  • A 5th row of icons and a 16:9 aspect ratio
  • “ultrafast wireless” with LTE; wi-fi can now receive on 802.11n band
  • A6 chip (twice as fast as the A5)
  • 1080p FaceTime, panoramic pictures at 28 megapixels
  • Cameras use Sapphire lens (?)

These are just a couple of the upgraded features in the new iPhone so its just a fundamental feature set upgrade. I won’t be rushing out to buy the iPhone 5 and not because of alleged “lack luster” features but because my 4S is only a year old and I’m too cheap to try to buy a new phone every year. I will most likely wait until the next iteration (whether that is the 5S or the iPhone 6). I will admit though, if economics weren’t a factor, I probably would have already pre-ordered one.

Cheers.

Biggs On: Trolls

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On August 24, 2012

In Biggs On

If you are not a gamer, then you probably won’t relate to this post. I am not going to talk about the kind that live under bridges (more like the kind that live in their parents basement). I am going to talk about how there are some terrible trolls out there and good trolls (both in-game and on the web).

I know what you are thinking: “Is there such a thing as a good troll??”

I say there is. Have you ever read a comment on an article or in Trade chat and it just got you all flustered and riled? You start developing an involuntary compulsion to make personal assaults using profanity and caps. In my opinion, that is a good troll and only good in the sense that they probably don’t believe a word of what they said, but they know you do. They have a talent for pressing the right button to make your blood pressure spike. I am just as guilty for falling victim to this ploy as anyone else, especially when it came to defending SWTOR.

There are days where I swear I will never read another comment or enter Trade chat again. Unfortunately, by doing so, you might miss out on some pretty excellent comments and comedy. I admit I’m not perfect so despite the fact that most of the time I know that people are only saying things that make me nerd rage, sometimes I still cave in and flip out. You may have noticed the times when I have done that from some of my past posts (i.e. most Soapbox posts).

So you are probably thoroughly confused. If the people that I just described are the “good” trolls, then what are the bad trolls? The bad trolls are the dorks that try too hard. The kind that you would swear are 12 years old because they clearly have no idea what people are discussing. You ignore them because they are annoying, not because they irked you right off.

The anonymity of the Internet gives the trolls courage so the best that we can do is remain civil and maintain our composure, which is easier said then done.

Wait, did someone say [Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker]??

Biggs On: SWTOR Going F2P

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On August 11, 2012

In Biggs On, SWTOR

I have to admit, while I knew that Bioware would eventually go F2P with SWTOR, I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon. I know this game has been under very heavy scrutiny by players and gaming pundits since its release, and now they are all screaming “First” upon the Free-2-Play announcement. It does sadden me that this game has become such a flop because I honestly really enjoy this game, though I am beginning to understand the end-game criticisms.

What does Free-2-Play mean for me? Well I think I am going to try to maintain my subscription until it becomes Free-2-Play and then make the switch, especially since I will be playing Mists of Pandaria. I hope to have earned enough Cartel Coins to unlock some of the F2P restrictions so I don’t notice the changes so much. There are many that are saying that this will save the game, and in a way I hope it does. I know that the servers will likely become flooded with players and trolls.

Honestly its the trolls that have me most concerned.I know there will be trolls that will make it their purpose in life to grief players by trying to belittle Bioware and the game as much as possible. I hope that people will take advantage of the ignore list and other methods to diffuse the trolls instead of abandoning the game. Unfortunately all the trolls will also contribute to any login queues.

I hope the decision to go Free-2-Play is a success. I hope to see Bioware receive the same returns as SOE did with DCUO. I am excited that it seems several of my friends will be returning to the game when it does go Free-2-Play and the ability to use my Cartel Coins to unlock some of the restrictions is pretty cool.

Biggs On: Why I Still Play WoW

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On July 9, 2012

In Biggs On, World of Warcraft

I decided that since I wrote a post on why I still play The Old Republic, I thought perhaps I should do the same for World of Warcraft. I actually have an active subscription for both games. I have been playing WoW since it was a year old and I have many friends (most of which I know in their physical form) that are still playing as well. Most of us are on the same server and in the same guild. We don’t care about how our guild does compared to other guilds on the server, we just play to hang out. We all know that we have our own lives and that sometimes we can’t log in and raid because life happens.

My friends are predominately the reason I still play WoW, but there are other facets of the game that I still enjoy. I know the game has changed tremendously since vanilla and many people have criticized Blizzard for making those changes. While I understand their viewpoint, I think they are being a bit obtuse. The game has to evolve. Only a small percentage of the player base were experiencing the bulk of the content, if Blizzard hadn’t evolved the game to appeal to more players the game would have died years ago. I’m glad they got rid of 40-man raids and implemented 10-man raids. I love the dungeon finder tool and transmog. All of these changes improved the quality of life of the game and are the other reasons I keep logging in.

I doubt I will play WoW until the servers shut down, it all depends on what life brings for me and my friends. Despite my feelings for the name of the expansion, odds are that I will be playing Mists of Pandaria. I’m not really looking forward to the changes to the talent system but I’m sure I will adjust, just as I did for all the other expansions where they made dramatic changes. In a few days it will seem natural again and I’m willing to give the new talent system a chance. Perhaps after 6 years of trying to meticulously construct the perfect build, it will be nice to only have to worry about six talents.

I’m also kind of a fan of the Asian culture and I’ve always been a big martial arts fan. I’m looking forward to making my own “kung fu panda”, I’m already working on some names so I will be ready at launch. I don’t know if I am going to buy the collector’s edition. I’m not sure that I am as much into the game as I was for Lich King and Cataclysm. I might just buy the digital version instead of going to Best Buy at midnight.

Blizzard has done a fantastic job with World of Warcraft and I’m glad that I chose to make it my hobby because I have made some terrific friends. It’s also been fun to unexpectedly meet a complete stranger because they yelled “For The Horde!” when they saw your Blizzard t-shirt.

Cheers!

Biggs On: The Secret World

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On June 25, 2012

In Biggs On, Gaming, MMORPG

I was fortunate enough to participate in the past two beta weekends for The Secret World so I thought I would offer my review/general impressions. The release date for this game is July 3rd, early access starts this Friday. If anyone is not familiar with this game, its that latest MMO developed by Electronic Arts and takes place in a modern world but in a fictitious location. There are no races (in the orc/elf/dwarf sense) – everyone is human. There are three factions: Illuminati, Templar, and Dragon.

Character creation is a bit reminiscent of Aion or SWTOR where you can modify the physical appearance of your head, nose, chin, eyes, etc (but not quite as granular as Aion). You will also choose your outfit and choose wisely because your outfit will not change. You will be able to set a first name, last name and nickname. Your nickname must be what is unique and finding a nickname that wasn’t taken and/or allowed can be quite challenging almost to the point of aggravating. I’m not going to describe the story because I would rather you experience it for yourself but basically you are part of a secret society (which is associated with your faction) and you fight your way through strange activities occurring in the world (almost like something out of a Stephen King novel coupled with a Dan Brown novel).

Probably the most interesting concept in this game is how you level. It isn’t a traditional leveling mechanic in that there isn’t a numeric value to your level. What gear you are wearing and how deep you have gone into your skill/ability tree dictates how far you have leveled. Your weapons consist of magic, guns, swords or clubs … all of which seem pretty cool. Your weapons are the only noticeable changes to your character as you swap gear in and out. You don’t receive chest, legs, feet or gloves. Your gear primarily consists of a weapon (or focus for magic users), a couple talisman, rings, neck, etc.

Ok, so what did I think. Its not a bad game. It’s different. I like the modern world aspect of the game. The artwork and graphics are pretty amazing but you will probably want a pretty decent video card and processor to properly experience the game. It’s not a game I would pay a subscription to play. Something that I didn’t like is that sometimes what you are suppose to do and where you are suppose to go for quests wasn’t very clear. I found myself just running around without a clue as to where to go until I stumbled onto the right path. Sometimes you have to “pause” current quests in order to pick up new quests so you can’t pick up everything and do them all at the same time.

The game definitely has potential but its not going to be the next WoW, in fact I doubt there will ever be a game that will generate the same player base and have the same impact as World of Warcraft. I’d say that if you get a chance to check it out for free, give it a shot, I think its going to be a game, like Aion, for the A.D.D Gamer who briefly needs something different.

Click here to go to The Secret World website.

Cheers!

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