Stuff WoW Hipsters Say

Monday is here, and normally I hate Monday's and this Monday is different. Why? I hate it more because it is the last day before I finally get to play Diablo III. It is like this Monday is taunting me...Laughing at me...Or maybe I am just crazy. Who knows really? Can you tell I am pumped to play Diablo III? Anyways, enough Diablo talk it is Monday and it is time for Machinima Mondays! Now this Machinima has no spectacular camera work. In all honesty it is nothing fancy, but when you see it you will know it is awesome. So without making you wonder any longer here it is "Stuff WoW Hipsters Say"



Hope you enjoyed it!

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes it is that time again. The time of the week to be depressed that the weekend is over. Or we can think about it is just 2 days till the release of Diablo III. A game many of us have been waiting for, for a very long time. Regardless of Tuesday today is Sunday, which does mean Ask Gauss time. The post of the week where I answer questions sent to me throughout the week. So why don't I get right to it.

Are you finally glad to be able to have a chance at getting your polar bear & turtle mounts with the upcoming Black Market Auction House?


Well it will be a great way to waste all of that stockpiled gold I have no use for. On the topic of the Black Market Auction House though I like it. I think it is a great way to have a gold sink for those people who actually have way too much gold. It is also a way that makes RNG less of an issue and doesn't make the gaining of such mount, pet, or whatever else trival. 20,000+ gold is in itself and achievement and remember you will be bidding against others on your server. So all of those times when you thought how much would someone be willing to pay? Well I think we will be finding out.


Planning on starting Diablo III right at launch time?


I actually haven't decided. It will be 3am here. I am going out to grab my collectors edition, and then will probably come home and install it. That will probably give me 2 hours to kill before I could actually play. I could take a power nap wake up at 3 then get to it. Or I could sleep till 7 or 8 and go from there. I guess it all depends on how I am feeling on launch day. I do know though when I start playing regardless it is going to be difficult to stop.


How would you describe the female pandaren dance?


/facepalm

There you have it. This week's questions answered. It is going to be a busy week one that I hope you are looking forward to just as much as I am.

One Of The Chosen

In case you were unaware this was posted on the Diablo forums yesterday


In celebration of a successful beta test, all players who were invited to participate in the Diablo III closed beta will receive the commemorative Feat of Strength, "One of the Chosen." For eligible players, this feat will appear automatically in the Feat of Strength list after logging in for the first time as well as unlock a unique sigil that can be used on character banners. 


In order to be eligible for "One of the Chosen," you must have had a Diablo III closed beta license attached to your Battle.net account (it isn't necessary to have downloaded or logged into the beta itself). Please note that players who participated only in the Open Beta Weekend, but were not invited to the closed beta, will not receive this Feat of Strength. 


Thank you once again to all of our beta participants. We look forward to seeing you in Sanctuary!

Now imagine how people reacted.

You got it. People's sense of entitlement has gone off like crazy. When someone gets something, which you can't they go crazy. Honestly what is wrong with these people? It isn't even a real achievement it is a feat of strength, which by definition is something that not everyone has. When you get a collector's edition you get a feat. When you are the first to do something, you get a feat. Like what is wrong with people, that this hurts them? Does it matter, does it make you a better player? Of course not, it is all about keeping up with everyone else. Even if this isn't keeping up with anything.

The best thing about it is Diablo is a game about randomness. The items themselves are indivdual lottery tickets. This would be the same as creating a forum post complaining about not getting the stats you wanted on an item and having to find another one. This sounds retarded and it should because it is. Why not give someone a feat for "Endless Bitching" or "Sense of Entitlement", "Deserves Everything Everyone Else Has". I am sick and tired of this crap. It wouldn't surprise me if Blizzard created this feat just to piss people off so everyone can get the petty crap out of their system before the game is released. Sadly though they won't and they will always find something to complain about.

Diablo III: Wrath

For those who don't know yesterday the Diablo III launch site released their 100% achievement unlock. This is actually an animation video done by Titmouse studios. It was extremely well done. I think the voice acting could have been better if I was evaluating it directly, but it doesn't take enough away from it to make it less enjoyable. Now I understand it is not Monday, but honestly this isn't a Machinima, and it is awesome so all of you that were thinking of emailing to complain can process that first.

Here is the official description of it

"Long before the creation of Sanctuary, the Eternal Conflict between angels and demons raged on for untold millennia. Blizzard Entertainment teamed up with renowned director Peter Chung and acclaimed animation studio Titmouse to create this unique vision of a fundamental moment in the battle between the High Heavens and the Burning Hells."

So without making you wait. Or the fact you may have already gone to the launch site before you finished reading it. Here it is Diablo III: Wrath



Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

You Fail At Complaining About The RMAH Fees If...

Fail Day! Yes it is that time of the week once again. The day of the week where I decide to make you feel better about yourself by making others feel worse. Unless, of course, you are one of the people I am making feel worse, and if that's the case it is all in good fun any ways. This week I am making a stab at the real money auction house fees in Diablo III. So sit back and enjoy.

You Fail At Complaining About The RMAH Fees If...

• You think Blizzard made it 15% to cash out to spite you
• You believe the fees are too high with nothing else to compare them to
• You quit your job because you believed you could make a living off of the Auction House
• You don't have a cellphone
• You think Blizzard shouldn't have any fees whatsoever
• You feel as if you are now entitled to make money off of a video game
• You wrote forum post upon forum post stating why these fees are too high
• You don't even think for a second that Blizzard may have researched what is a good fee
• You think this will force people to use Third Party sites
• You think people will buy things illegally when they have a simple easy way to do it legally
• You think it is stupid you can't set a buyout higher than $250
• You have put not thought into the fact the fees will be used to maintain the system so you can continue to profit off of it
• You still fail to see Blizzard is giving you the option to make money off of pixels, and yet you find something wrong with that

and finally

• You think you are going to be the first Diablo III Millionaire

There you have it. This week's edition of Fail. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

The Panda Exterminator

Monday! Oh the most hated day of the week. It is not your fault you were chosen to be the day that followed the weekend. So what to do about making Monday more likable? Well easy we have Machinima Monday! The day of the week where we showcase a machinima for all of you to see. So here I was with a few choices of machinima to showcase today when all of the sudden I see a new Oxhorn machinima. I watched it and instantly made to choice it would be the one for today. So if you haven't seen it yet I am sure you will enjoy it. So without going on and on I present you Oxhorn's latest the Panda Exterminator



Hope you enjoyed it and it made your Monday that much better

Ask Gauss

Sunday the weekend is finally coming to a close. Just means you have to spend your time accordingly so you don't regret it. So what better way to start it off by answering questions that have been sent to me throughout the week. What a wonderful idea! If somehow you still have no clue how to send in your questions; there is a link on the top right of the page or you can send them directly to gaussafication@gmail.com. Now since that is out of the way. Let's get right into it.

So D3 RMAH fees have been released and don't you think they are rather high?


Are they higher then I would like? Yes, but that doesn't mean they are higher then they should be. Blizzard has spent the time and the money to give us a safe and secure way of making real money trades within their game. Is there another game out there, which has a comparable system where we could say "such and such a game has cheaper fees" no there isn't so how are people able to base their decisions on this without their own personal bias. Sure this will probably cause the overall price of items in the long run to be higher then expect since players will learn to take the fees into effect, but overall that is all it will do. Blizzard won't change their mind no matter how much you complain. The research which goes into a decision like this is more then the average persons 2 minute thought and following complain session. I trust even if I would like them to be lower that it is in face the right decision.


Are you excited they are trying to bring the War back in Warcraft?


Frankly, this is one of the major things I enjoy about the games lore. Sure both sides want the same thing, but they have different ways of achieving that. Different ways of thinking, and of course different ways of acting. Some more spiritual, some more miltaristic, some more daring, and so on and so forth. Now my only concern in doing this is they will take away from the other points of the game in the same way as taking the war out helped them develop the other side of the game. There needs to be a balance so that everyone who enjoys the game can enjoy themselves. I am not saying make it a PvP game at all. I just want some tatical and world PvP elements, but I do understand that most don't want this unless there is some sort of reward. So these are those times when I am glad I am not a developer of WoW and I can just talk about the choices they made, and if I think they are good or bad.


Do you find the Panderen child model as disturbing as I do?


I am pretty sure it will haunt my dreams. For those who haven't seen it.

There you have it. Questions answered for the week. Hope you all got something out of it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Diablo 3 Strategic Mouse

First off apologies for yesterday and the missing of Fail Day. My computer decided to have a Fail Day of its own. So instead of trying to pass today off as Fail Day I will move it to next week. Thank you for all of the concerns that I received through emails. I am not running out of ideas and I am not dying. It seems whenever I miss a particualr post people go in the direction that I must be dying or something. I don't know how to feel about that really.

Anyways, one thing I want to say. Monday in the mail I finally got my Diablo Mouse. When big games like Diablo 3 are released, players often look for an edge. Some people might buy a Diablo 3 strategy guide while others might buy gold or characters. I got a  Diablo designed gaming mouse with 6 extra customizable buttons.

It is a very sick mouse. Now I have been messing around with it. Sadly I couldn't test it out on Diablo III yet because well the beta just ended. So even if I had access to it, wouldn't have mattered.

I don't normally recomend products, but with what I have seen from it so far. It seems there will be no better way to play Diablo III then with this mouse. We won't know until the game comes out how exactly it will play, but I have high hopes with everything I have been doing with it to date. Don't worry though I will be sure to tell you my exact feelings once the game itself is live.

Edge Of Time

Monday and yes there is probably very little that can make you feel better on a Monday, but I will make and attempt. Today is Machinima Monday and today I have something which recently has been one of the most recommend that I showcase. After watching it I am pleased to be able to give this artist as many views as possible, even if there alias Phenelo is close to one of my most hated Final Fantasy characters of all time. Now this is another scenic Machinima with some of the best camera work I think I have ever seen. Also this doesn't only contain static scenes, but also some player interaction which is always a plus. Now it is about 16 minutes long so make sure you have time to watch and please be sure to watch it in HD as it just absolute justice. Be prepared to be amazed



Hope you enjoy it, and it made the Monday Blues go away

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes, it is Sunday and it is time for Ask Gauss. For all of those that were wondering what happened to last week's post. Well it was Diablo III open beta so my time was taken. I figured all of you would understand. Also thought many of you would be doing the same thing. That was last week, and as you probably figured out today is this week. So why don't we get right to what you came here for and answer the questions.

Have you seen the latest models in the MoP for the new PvP sets?


Actually yes and I was quite impressed. One thing I stated when they were putting transmoging in that this would in turn allow the artists to create designs that maybe not everyone had to like, but I thought they would be more descriptive and more creative. Also they would go from people just liking to thinking they were awesome. Sure they wouldn't be everyone's taste, but if you liked them then you really would like them. Think of it this way. When a set is created the artists want you to choose to wear that set. It is like they are playing a game and trying to win, and truly this is the best way to go about things.


What do you think about this crazy back and forth with the customization argument in Diablo III?


The people going on and on about how there is no stat points allocation are stuck in that frame of mind. What they don't realize or remember is that there truly wasn't a choice in Diablo II each level. If you wanted to not have a gimped character then you had to allocate your stats in a specific way. Thus the stat points every level gave the appearance of customization. Now what made this even worse if someone was unfamiliar with the system or how it worked and put their stats in the wrong places then in order to fix it they would have to re-level  and start all over again. Now some would say this is their fault, because they didn't do it correctly. If there is only one way to do it effectively then why have it in the first place? This is the reason why Blizzard decided to remove the system and have auto allocating upon leveling. Just like they do in WoW. So instead to add customization they made millions of viable builds and can be switched at pretty much any time to encourage experimentation and creativity something which I think is far more important then following something which was easily googled.


You find being a Canadian and a gamer difficult?


What kind of question is that? That is like asking an American if it is difficult getting a gun.

There you go questions answered for the week. Hope you got some insight and something out of it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Item Restoration

For those who haven't heard

Starting today, players can access a new system that will allow players to recover World of Warcraft items that they may have sold, destroyed or disenchanted: Battle.net Item Restoration.


With this new self-service option the recovery of an item or items that were recently deleted or sold to a vendor can be restored to a character immediately when using the ticket submission system on our support site.  For any items that were accidentally disenchanted the same method can be used to request a review by Customer Support for restoration.


This restoration option may only be used once every 30 days on active World of Warcraft accounts that are in good standing.  As this option has a limited availability and use,  we still encourage caution when selling, deleting or disenchanting items.


While Customer Service always strives to help whenever we can, with the introduction of this self-help feature we will no longer be able to assist with these types of requests.


Additional details can be found in the following Support Article: Battle.net Item Restoration.

So what does this mean? Well basically this should allow for GM tickets to be answered quicker because they won't be clogged up with item restorations. I have actually been calling for this type of system for awhile as it seems dumb or silly mistakes seem to be over 50% of the tickets sent in. That and of course the random people sending in tickets claiming such and such is OP and who can forget "I'M REPORTING YOU". This will take some time to get right, but I think this sort of automated system is best for things which are quick fixes and in all honesty don't need direct customer support. Now I know people will be pissed off about this, because it is like everything else going automated, but really if you did one of these things by accident then really you have nothing to complain about.

Now don't go randomly deleting items just to try this out...

Just Simply Amazing

When I saw this I just hadto share. Also I felt since I wasted time doing it then other people should as well because it is only fair. This is brought to you by Nerzugal If you want to see more of his work you can click here

Yes That is a maze created from a Diablo graphic. Now wasn't he most complicated maze I have done. Although the last time I completed a maze was probably when Diablo II was a new game and that isn't even a shot at how long it has taken Diablo III to come out. Just the fact about how long it has been since I did one, in an effort to make myself feel better.

You Fail At Complaining About Diablo III If...

Fail Day! Yes, it is. I am right off of Diablo III Open beta weekend, which seems to be the only way I can get myself a beta invite nowadays. With that in mind I have been listening to everything people have been saying and well let's just say it gave me inspiration.

You Fail At Complaining About Diablo III If...

• You get finger cramps from clicking
• You have never played any of the game
• You have only played the game for the first 13 levels
• You believe having millions of options for builds implies lack of customization
• You think WASD movement in an isometric game makes sense
• You believe mandatory placing points in specific stats gives a game more customization
• You don't understand Blizzard's vision of a game that everyone is able to play
• You believe Diablo III should be have a first person option
• You just found out you cannot be an infinite leech with your Magic Find
• You have no idea what Magic Find is
• You want players to re level when they make a mistake

and finally

• You still find something wrong with the Real Money Auction House

There you have it this week's edition of Fail. Hope you enjoyed it!

Slaughter Your World

Monday Morning! Now I have realized something, every time I showcase an older Machinima I get emails upon  emails of people asking for me to show more and more older ones. Now I don't know if this is because the more common new ones everyone is showing or you all just appreciate my taste of the older gems. Either way I think I agree. I always want to make sure you have at least seen some of the great ones of the past. So I will always make it a point to show older ones if at all possible without showing the same ones over and over obviously. This was when I couldn't recall if I had ever shown "Slaughter Your World" by the LFG comic. Now this isn't a true machinima in the sense since it is animated, but I think you will forgive me for that fact. This is probably one of my favourites of all time. If you have seen it I now you will appreciate it, if you haven't then you are in for an obvious treat.



It still hurts me every time it ends and it says the movie is coming, Sadly it never came.

Inferno On Hardcore

There was a thread which started on the offical Diablo III forums yesterday. You can see it by clicking here clicky clicky. The original poster talks about how he claims Inferno mode on Harcore will not be beaten by the end of the year. Now for those of you who don't know how Diablo works. Hardcore is the mode where when you die, well you die and you do not come back. So it sucks to die. Everything you have found disappears and is then non existent. Also what is Inferno? Well Diablo has a series of difficulty. Normal, Nightmare, Hell, and Inferno. In order to move to the next difficulty you have to complete the previous. Essentially beating Inferno is beating everything the game has to offer. Beating Inferno on Hardcore means you completed the entire game without dying. Something which not only will be difficult, but will have bragging rights like nothing Diablo has ever offered.

Now on to the claim that it will not be beaten by the end of the year. Now Blizzard has stated Inferno will be hard, brutally hard in fact but I still think making a claim like this doesn't have a chance of coming true. Why you may ask? I really think he is comparing what he may be capable of himself and applying that to everyone. There is teams of gamers that will make this their goal of completion. Look at how guilds in WoW work. The top end guilds work endlessly to be first. There will be teams working day and night to be the person or person to accomplish this. Why? Well it is for those bragging rights. To say they were the one or ones who did the improbably the quickest possible. Now do I think it will be in the first few days? No, but I do think it will be within a couple months without issue. This is also without even seeing Inferno or Hell or Nightmare. I say this because I have confidence in the crazy gamers throughout the world who will make it their mission to be the first.

So I say to all you crazy people, don't let me down!

Monk Reveal

As I have stated many times when Diablo III goes live I plan on playing the Monk. Mostly because I am a melee at heart and I think instead of going straight for the Barbarian I will go with the more agile and quick Monk. If I don't like the play style I have no doubt I will go to my staple, but I am all for a little experimentation in the beginning. With that in mind the reveal video went up on the Diablo III Promotional site. So just as I always talk about and showcase Warrior type things in WoW I will do the same with Monkish things in Diablo III. So here is the Monk reveal video.

I know what some of you are thinking. It is not a pally, just because it says the word righteousness doesn't mean anything.

You Fail At Being An Old School Gamer If...

Tuesday! Otherwise known as the day that holds true in each one of our hearts, Fail Day. Yes it is that time once again when we will either feel horrible or laugh uncontrollably at someone else's misfortune. Such a wonderful day... This week I decided to go with one that I have been thinking of doing for awhile and I think that many of you will appreciate it. So here goes

You Fail At Being An Old School Gamer If...

• You don't crack a smile when you see the words "A Slime draws near!"
• You remember Mario before he was Super
• You broke many controls out of frustration because gaming companies could careless if their games were beaten
• You don't laugh when playing Final Fantasy 7 thinking how revolutionary the graphics used to be
• You find the Xbox vs Playstation war more exciting than the Nintendo vs Sega one
• You didn't know Playstation had a mascot when it first arrived 
• You have no idea what the Turbo Graphics 16 was and how badly it failed
• You don't know why gamer's cry tears for "Lester" and his encounter with the Zerg race
• You remember Solider of Fortune coming out and the outcry of how over violent it was
• You don't think Demon Souls is a walk in the park compared Nightmare Creatures
• You don't understand why people look down on Halo players
• "Ready to Work" means nothing to you
• You think changing more then background colour is needed to show you it is a new level
• You never scared your siblings with visions of The Butcher saying "Fresh Meat"

and finally

• You have never heard of or played Giana Sisters for Commodore 64

There you have it. This week's edition of fail. Hope you all enjoyed it!

Lament of Captain Placeholder

Monday... Yes I feel like it is a worse Monday then normal. For what reason? I have no clue really. So when I came to decide what machinima would be my showcase f or this Machinima Monday. I thought I would go along with the same theme that I had yesterday when I was talking about "remember when". So for those that don't know there was a time when certain things in WoW didn't work as they were supposed to. Boats would drop you in the middle of the ocean locking out your character. So Blizzard created a Captain. Known only as Captain Placeholder. When you talked to him he would instantly port you to the other side without a need to ride a ship. All great things though couldn't last and Blizzard fixed their problem and Captain Placeholder was retired. And now at the end of the story I leave you with this



Hope you enjoyed it. It made my Monday much better.

Ask Gauss

Sunday Sunday Sunday! If you didn't know today is Sunday. One of my favourite days of the week because I sleep in and I wake up and make sure I make myself some pancakes. Just something that has always been done since I was little and I have stuck to it. Last Sunday, was Easter which was the reason we didn't see an Ask Gauss post. Family stuff where I have to show up to or some people may actually report me missing or dead. I know eh? Just a little creepy. So this week's edition of Ask Gauss will be with questions sent to me the past couple weeks. As always if you don't know how to send in your questions it is pretty simple. There is a link on the top right of the page or you can email them directly to gaussafication@gmail.com. I know it is pretty difficult isn't it? So enough talk let's get right into it.

So Warriors in Mists of Pandaria will always have what they asked for. Every ability in every stance, no rage penalties and so on and so forth. How does it feel?


Honestly? As much as it may make sense and everything like that I tend to think this takes one of the elements away of where the best could shine. There are still other ways to showcase your own abilities, but stance dancing was something that I always thought was fun and added an extra element of game play. I guess though it is a thing of the past wanting to make all classes easier to play, but still have the separation. I am not going to call this catering to casuals because I don't talk like that and never have. I will just say it will be missed, and it will be something that the older players can say "remember when?" There are a lot of these things which exist in WoW now, but that tends to happen when the game gains age. There have been many changes over the years and no one knows their game better than Blizzard so if they believe this is finally a good change now after years of people asking for it. I will believe them, and enjoy the time I had with my stance dancing.


Is Battle.net 2.0 really as bad as some say it is?


I did do a fail post on this, but it is worth answering. You see I believe there is always room for improvement in anything that is just the way I am. I am not going to say that battle.net 2.0 is a failure like some. One of the main complaints of the original battle net was that you were forced into it even when you didn't want to be. Many people created random channels just so there wasn't endless things which they didn't want to hear or talk about. So what did Blizzard do? Well they made it an option to join the chats, which in my opinion is a great thing. Some people believe it or not want to just play the game they logged on to play and don't want to have a social experience. The people who claim 2.0 is a failure is because the chats are a ghost town, and that before they were always full. Now let's think about this for a minute. Were they full because people were forced to be in them? Or were they full because everyone in them was talking? I am going to say the first one. Now I think one of the problems there are now is that you have to look for them to join them. They will be making it easier. I also think the problem is now that people won't join channels unless a certain number of people are in it. To me this is just plain dumb. Like honestly? Do these people not see the irony in this? If you want your social experience join and wait, if it is that important to you it will be that important to other people. Not everyone can be a follower. 


Diablo III starting class will be?


Think it is going to be the Monk. Just have an itch to play one.

There you have it questions answered. Hope you got something out of it. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

New MoP Beta Mount

So I still don't have access to the Mists of Pandaria beta, but that's ok. I hear the content at the moment is pretty sparse and you get through it rather quickly. So Blizzard can make up for it by giving me access later so I have more to do. I have a feeling this request may actually get heard. Speaking of the beta though, a few days ago MMO champion showcased the new jewel crafting mounts which will be available. Before I comment on them take a look at them.

Now I know it is beta and models are not final, but really? I understand they are jewel crafting mounts and they want them to look as if they were carved out of jewels. At least that is what I would hope they were going for looking like this, but really? They look as if they are bringing Thundercats back from the dead in the worst way possible. I really can't stop looking at them and thinking "really?". Maybe it is just me though, but really? I honestly have no idea what to say. Maybe someone else has a better way to describe them so I am not at such a loss for words.

Diablo III Development Video

First off for those of you who haven't seen it. The first video was unlocked in Blizzard's develop video's for Diablo III, and here it is



The main points of this video are interesting. Why? Because they say that the game is pretty much complete and are just working on polish. Also stating that they hope to have it out by the end of the year. Why would they release such a video knowing that someone somewhere would go off on them on their forums?

Well the answer to that is simple. They want people to talk about the game, they also want their audience to know what happened or at least want them to know parts of what happened so there is a reason the game was delayed over 5 months. They're trying to get you interested in the story of how the game was developed and this is a great hook. They want you to be asking, "If they were talking like this over a year ago, what happened?" So don't be raging like crazy because they didn't keep to the little internal deadline they set themselves. They want to give you a glimpse into the development process of a game that may very well be one of the best if not the best ARPGs there will be.

You Fail At Complaining About Battle net If...

Fail Day. Yes it is that time again. Oh how much I have been looking forward to doing this Fail Day for some time. It just seemed something else came up and I just had to make sure that got done. So what is it that I am so excited about? Well Battle net. Seems weird, but if you have been reading anything on forums or gaming websites you know exactly what I am talking about. So here it goes.

You Fail At Complaining About Battle Net If...

• You think Battle Net should be more like Facebook, if you want Facebook go on Facebook.
• You blame Blizzard for your lack of friends
• You want to log on a game to not play the game, but to sit in a chat room
• You feel a chat windows size is the make it or break it feature of a game
• You want to be automatically placed in a channel you were in the last time you were logged on because it is a difficult task for you to join the same channel again
• You feel it should be easier to bother people endlessly while they are playing the game they logged on to play
• You enjoy paying $60 for a game you will never play
• You want to be able to report people endlessly because it makes you feel like you are actually important
• You complain chat channels are "ghost towns" but you never join them in the first place
• You believe games should be delay just to satisfy your social networking aspirations
• You are one of the those people who has a nervous breakdown when you realize someone removed you from Real ID
• You believe people should be forced into a channel when logging in just so it gives the appearance of them being full.

and finally

• You don't think I realize they could be better, but I don't make it my life goal to make sure they are.

There you have it this week's edition of Fail. Hope you enjoyed it!

Rabbit Stew

It is Monday and a holiday here in Canada so I do get to sit back and relax. That doesn't mean I should take the day off because I know a lot of you don't get the pleasure of a holiday today. I also know you come here for a laugh to help get you through the day. In that spirit I decided to go with a Machinima on this Machinima Monday that is a tribute to the holiday. This is older, but how can you not love an Oxhorn machinima? So here is Rabbit Stew.



Happy Easter Monday!

Best Video Game Quotes

So here I was thinking what I was going to write about today. When I realized I had not done a list of some sort in a long time. So long I cannot even remember the last time I did one. I then got to thinking what could I actually do a list on? Well why not think of as the best video game quotes of all time. These are not just going to be ones that I think are funny, because really there are tons of those. These are going to be ones that even even you didn't play the game the words behind them, and what they have become cannot be argued. So here are 10 in no particular order.

"Do a barrel roll" - Star Fox 64

This quote although meant at the time to be a hilarious. A plane doing a barrel roll? Has taken on a life of its own over the years. There has been songs and videos created in tribute over and over. Some people don't even known where the quote came from in the first place.

"Finish Him!" - Mortal Kombat

Is there a line in any fighting game that is more iconic? Regardless if you have ever played a Mortal Kombat game or if you despise Mortal Kombat with a passion you know, and realize this line in gaming's history

"I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow to the knee." - Skyrim

Now I know how people may feel about this particular line, but there is no arguing the life it has taken on. It has become a cult in its own right and I do not think that can be discounted.

"The Cake is a Lie" - Portal

The Portal series itself is full of quotes that no one will soon ever forget. I have always found though this one has stuck out more than any other. Who knows maybe it has something to do with it being written on a wall right beside a corpse. Regardless this is one I really don't think anyone can argue against.

"All right chums, time's up let's do this...LEEROOOOOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEENKIIIIIIIINS!!!!!!" - WoW

When sitting right thinking which line I should choose from WoW. I was stuck on trying to determine what is the line that sticks out in everyone's head. The thing is it is not something an NPC said, but a moment in history which will never be forgotten.

"I dreamt I was a moron" -Final Fantasy VIII

You could have played every Final Fantasy game ever made over and over. There will be quotes that will be epic in nature, well spoken, evil, charismatic, but there will only be one quote where when it was said you laughed for hours, and agreed with the character wholeheartedly.

"Stay awhile and listen" - Diablo

Oh Deckard Cain what would the world be like if you never existed? I honestly believe if everyone started talking to people like this more people would listen because they would think what was coming next would have to do with Diablo.

"Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle" -Super Mario Brothers

If you have ever played a video game you know who Mario is, and you know that his damn princess gets captured at every possible moment. This to me may even be the most memorable video game quote in history.

"You're an inspiration for birth control" - Duke Nukem

Duke has had plenty of lines over the years, but I think this is one of those ones you wish you could scream out in public more often then not. For this reason it is the one that makes the list.

"My life for Aiur" -Starcraft

Starcraft being a series that has taken joke lines from comedians, other games, or anything really. This I believe is something which will always be remembered. No matter how much you hate the zealot, you were happy when he warped in and said it.

There you have it. Think you know some better. I am sure you will let me know!

What's In A Name?

Today we are going to talk about the Diablo III collectors edition. Why? Well if you already knew why, why would you read this post?

To get on topic it's simple. For those that are unaware, the Collectors Edition does come with a lot of cool stuff. Also I am one of those people that I do like to have the collectors edition, but I wouldn't shell out an extra $40 for something if I didn't like multiple things which came with it. So this post has nothing to do with how much it costs or if it is worth it. That is completely beside the point. So please let's not clog up the comments or my inbox with how Blizzard is gouging people with the cost of the CE.

Now since that is out of the way, let's talk about the exclusive dyes, which come with the collectors edition. These are dyes which can be used on your armor which are bottomless and only available to CE buyers. Now these are the names and descriptions of the dyes themselves

Bottled Cloud
The gentle wind of the heavens cools the air, infusing the area with a soft glow


Bottled Smoke
An eerie howl emanates from within as creeping shadows spill forth.

Now reading this descriptions I would think that this would imply more than just the colours. I also don't think I am the only one. In fact though it was confirmed by Bashiok that it is just a grey colour or a white colour. Now this would be fine with me if it is just their way of making something simple sound epic. Now you may or may not know that when you dye an item putting it on the auction house removes the dye colour. As it should in my opinion, but you can dye something and drop it in front of you for someone else to pick it up. This for some reason will apply to the CE edition dyes as well. So people who didn't get the CE can get the dyes. Even if it is a more difficult way of doing it, they still can. This cannot be intended. CE content should just be that, and this really bugs me even if it is just the colour of your armor. That really isn't the point of it at all. The fact of the matter is if you tell the public something is CE exclusive make it that way, don't let something like this happen.

You Fail At Complaining About The Inferno Change If...

Fail Day! It is that time again, everyone's favourite day of the week. Why you ask? Well who doesn't like a day where you are either made to look like a fool or can point and laugh at people for no other reason then for your own enjoyment. See it all makes sense doesn't it! Today I decided to go into the world of Diablo and how some people are so up in arms about a change made to the highest difficulty of the game. So instead of going on about that let's get to it.

You Fail At Complaining About The Inferno Change If...

• You are just complaining for the sake of complaining
• You never had a chance in killing Inferno in the first place
• You start your argument with "I played Diablo I and II for years"
• You some how believe this will make less people want to complete it
• You wanted an easier end boss so that you could brag easier
• You believe this is the reason PvP will not be released with the game
• You think people weren't going to find easy farming spots in the old version
• You weren't going to make it that far with your character anyway. Since you believe you are awesome and would play hardcore and die repeatably in normal mode
• You think this is a conspiracy so that they can delay the release of the game
• You disapprove of anything that requires thought
• You are still complaining there is no Pally Class
• You disagree with anything only tested by Blizzard internally because you have been complaining for the beta to be longer since it began
• You think they did this because they couldn't get it to work how they wanted to

and finally

• You believe you know what is best for the game even though it isn't out and no one other then Blizzard employees has seen Inferno

There you have it this week's edition of Fail! Hope you all enjoyed it and are pumped for the release of Diablo III on 05/15/12 as much as I am.

Pandaria Postcard

Monday! And what better way to be disappointed on a Monday then realize you still haven't received a Mists of Pandaria Beta invite? Well to all of you that are in the same boat as myself I think it is worth mention that Olibith has done something that will not only help us get over that at least for the time during watching it, but he will also perfectly qualify himself for Machinima Monday. You know that post in the week where I showcase a Machinima. Now there is nothing like a super story or out of this world camera work so don't expect that. Think of it as just as the title says a Video Postcard. So without making you wait any longer here it is



Hope that dulls your beta blues for a little longer.

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes it is that day again. The day where we realize that although our weekend is still around it is coming  to a close, and the dreaded Monday is only around the corner. But, let's forget about that and remember that today is Sunday and with that comes Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I answer questions sent to me throughout the week. So why don't I do it.

Now this way seem weird, but I know Ask Gauss is on Sunday, which is April first so I want to know which April fools joke of Blizzard was your favourite?


Well that is simple the Zergotchi was brillant in everyway. If you haven't seen it you can check it out by clicking on this link. Sometimes I wonder though how much though goes into these. Do the developers sit around a table and think this stuff up? And if that is the case how long does this take? Now I know they are funny and great for a laugh, and sometimes in the future things can be made out of them. Look at the Panderen for example. They started out as an April Fools joke for Warcraft III. Just makes you think if Blizzard is actually seeing how far they can go and this is why they actually put a good amount of effort into these.


Inferno Difficulty has been changed, and what are your thoughts?


For those who didn't know. The original plan for Diablo IIIs Inferno difficulty was that after you reached Level 60 you would be able to complete the game now in such a way that the minimum monster level in Inferno was 61. Also the original plan was that they challenge would remain the same throughout all of Inferno. This has been changed so that there is also a difficulty curve going through Inferno. Meaning that it won't start as hard as it was, but it will finish harder. They feel this will make people want to finish all of inferno not only for the challenge, but also for the fact that the best gear will now drop in late Inferno. Now it has also been stated that Inferno will still be extremely difficult in all cases and won't be for the everyday player.


I am all for a harder challenge especially one that doesn't seem stagnant, which I think would be the case with a constant difficulty. Think of it this way. If it is not getting any harder why am I going to push myself and not just do the bosses I know over and over again? For the risk there is no reward, but now there is reward and an even greater challenge. I look forward to dying constantly attempting this.


What you hoping for this week?


Could really go for some Lindor Easter Chocolate.

There you have it. Questions answered for the week, and be sure not to fall victim to some April Fools pranks.

Forget Solar Power

Some of you may have seen the new Scarlet Monastery preview and if you haven't I suggest you take a look. Although it is shorter than the original, and may be disappointing to some because of this. The updates look like they are all for the better, and this is just the beginning of the beta. I would tell you what it feels like to play it directly, but Blizzard has this thing about not giving me beta access to anything. Wait that's not true I had access to classic WoW beta. It is like they have been punishing me for that.

Anyways, I saw this on Daily Blink and I thought not only was it priceless, but it contains the obvious humour which I know all of you can appreciate.

Yes, torturing Paladins is the greatest power source in history

Whose Fault Is It?

So here I was reading a bunch of emails many of you have sent to me. All of them basically saying that you enjoyed my insight to the whole Garrosh thing. You also posed a question "If it isn't Garrosh's fault then whose is it? Well this is when I decided to finally reveal my grand thoughts on everything that is Warcraft. So sit back and prepared to have your mind blow!

In determining where to start where better then the here and now? We have been told that Garrosh has decided to attack Theramore. Is he to blame for this though? Course not! Why did he decide to attack Theramore? Well there is the whole issue of the Alliance attacking Camp Taurajo. So does this mean we can blame the Alliance for the destruction of their city? Course not! Only reason Theramore exists is because Thrall felt guilty after killing Daelin Proudmore and allowed Jaina to have her city in peace. Ok so it is Thrall's fault.

Again no! Daelin was the one that came over and decided to attack the Horde and try and stop them from building their own homeland. Ok so we agree it is Daelin's fault. Well no, why did he come over to Kalimdor in the first place? Oh that's right he followed his daughter who took some of his fleet. So screw blaming Daelin it is all Jaina's fault. Sadly as much as I would like to blame her she had her reasons for leaving the Eastern Kingdoms. You know that whole issue with that guy named Arthas who was supposed to be her husband, but instead had the Lich King in his head driving him mad.

Well that's boring it is Arthas' fault? Of course not, that would be stupid. Arthas wasn't always the Lich King he merged with the Lich King. You know that guy who used to be an Orc Ner'zul. So it's the Lich King's fault aka Ner'zul. Now people could probably live with that, but sadly he just didn't end up their in Northrend all by himself hating everyone and everything. You see Ner'zul was punished after he was trying to run from Kil'jaeden and he ended up going through a portal that lead him straight to the very person he was running from.

Well that sucks for Ner'zul, so it was Kil'jaeden's fault because he punished Ner'zul and made him the Lich King. Well no it's not that either. Why was Ner'zul making those portals anyway? Oh that's right he was left in Draenor by his apprentice Gul'dan to die. Gul'dan I know no one likes that guy, but sadly he had a reason for helping to create the Dark Portal and enter Azeroth. You see Draenor was dying, and the Orcs wouldn't be able to live if they stayed. They needed to leave to have a chance.

So it all comes down to a dying world? No that would be a cop out! Why was the world dying in the first place. Oh ya, that's right they decided to practice and learn demonic magic and abandon shamanism. Orcs fault then right? Again no they were taught demonic magic so they could achieve victory in their war against the Draenei.

Sadly, though this war cannot be blamed. Why did this war start in the first place? Oh that's right it was because Kil'Jaeden convinced them that the Draenei were planning their destruction, and were not sharing what they knew with them. Again we cannot blame Kil'jaeden since you know you would have thought you know the Draenei would have mentioned when they met the Orcs that they pissed off this guy named Kil'jaeden and he is known as "the deciever" so he will probably try and trick you and make you kill us. But then we cannot blame them even for this incompetence, but they did fly through space to Draenor, but again why did they do this?

Oh that's right Velen decided to ditch his bros for a wind chime. Bros before wind chimes Velen! So it is pretty obvious it is all Velen's fault!

Siege Of Orgrimmar Fails Because

Oh it is Fail Day and is it ever one. I know you are probably all thinking that I have been on this kick of all things Garrosh, but the fact of the matter is I am extremely pissed off about it. I know I am not going to change anything, but if I was ever born for something I was born to complain. Frankly, I don't ever go off about something unless it really bugs me and this has just pushed my buttons in such a way that I have no idea how to descirbe. So here goes

Siege Of Orgrimmar Fails Because...

• Garrosh knows what his Father did and being corrupted makes absolutely no sense in terms of the character Blizzard has developed
• There should be war in Warcraft
• If your enemy is standing in your capital city and achieved victory they wouldn't just up and leave like nothing happened
• History dictates that War Crimes are determined by the winners, are we to believe now that Blizzard has chosen sides?
• Of all the Horde Leaders Blizzard chooses to take down, they agreed on Garrosh?
• I am sorry Garrosh isn't a mad scientist with a lab in the basement
• I don't think there is a character in the entire existence of the game that has had more screen time then Garrosh
• Blaming the entire conflict on Garrosh so Thrall can return and have no "bad" attached to him is beyond bad writing
• If this is an event to promote dual faction raids I want no part of it
• I don't care what story you write in to make us think otherwise. Varian is the exact same as Garrosh
• A "bad" Guy/Girl doesn't always have to be corrupted. There are ones which are just evil
• If this is an attempt to make up for "the Horde Winning" in Cataclysm it will just result in every expansion being a back and forth.

and finally

• Thrall doesn't fit as the Leader to the current Horde just like Malfurion doesn't fit as the Alliance Leader

There you have it. This week's edition of Fail. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. It actually felt good to get some of that off my chest.

Craft of War: Blind

Monday morning! Instead of going on my normal rant about it being Monday I am going to get right into it. Monday is Machinima Monday. The post of the week where I showcase of Machinima for all of you to enjoy. This week I am sharing one that I was reminded of when I saw it linked this past week on WoW Insider. This is an older Machinima. Has no voice acting, but it contains some of the best action scenes you will see in a machinima. This coming from one that is 4+ years old. If you haven't seen it you are in for a treat and if you have seen it well then you already know how epic it is, and I know you will enjoy it.



I knew it wouldn't disappoint.

Ask Gauss

Sunday, last day of the weekend and this the first Sunday of the spring season. Also with it being Sunday it is time for this thing here in Gauss land I like to call Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I answer questions sent to me throughout the week. So without waiting any longer let's get to it and answer them.

I saw your article on Garrosh was featured on WoW Insider. What was your take on their take on your opinion?


As always I appreciate WoW Insider reading and linking to my posts. I write them to be read, and agree with what I write or not they are still reading them. To quote WoW Insider"The problem with making assumptions like these, however, is that there is a gigantic chunk of information missing".In my opinion it doesn't matter what information is missing. The matter is they are removing a character that is everything that an Orc Warchief is supposed to be. They are doing this in a way to have someone else re-instated. Thrall in his own words wasn't a true Warchief. Garrosh wants the Horde to thrive, and yes he goes to war, but we have to remember this is WARcraft. The sides don't have to like each other. Each side has their goals. Doing some cheezy corruption way to get Thrall back is still wrong no matter the reasons I know behind it. Make Garrosh the bad guy? When all he did was exactly what Doomhammer did? You know Orgim? The guy the city we are assaulting is named after? So whatever story they come up with, however it is written, it won't make it right.


What are your thoughts on the Nephalem Valor Buff being added in Diablo III?


 I actually like it a lot. The concern was people would be switching their skills for trash packs, for bosses. Back and forth and back and forth. This gives you incentive to keep the skills and runes how you have it setup for your entire play period, which to me will fix the issue of skill swaping mid game. The other great idea of the Nephalem Buff is the fact that it will stop people from kill to a specific boss or a specific pack of monsters then restarting the game just to do it all over again. So there will be no specific "runs" to a boss and will make the entire content of the game active rather then farming specific spots over and over again. I really don't see how anyone could be against this buff. It is a reward for playing the game how it was meant to be played, which is just awesome.


Ultros and Typhon in the coliseum come Tuesday!


I know best DLC for FFXIII-2 so far. Cannot wait.

There you have it questions answered for the week. Hope you all got something out of it. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

Mists Of Pandaria Beta Is Live

Yes you have heard correctly. Now it is live and nothing has changed that I don't have access to it, but then that was expected. There is a ridiculous amount of information coming out, and I cannot begin to cover it as well as others. So have a look at MMO Champion for an unreal amount of coverage. There are models, items, mounts, and anything else you can possibly think of. Take your time look through it all and maybe it will do what it did for me. That is stop thinking about the decision with Garrosh. One thing to note is that some if not most of the models are in their testing phase so expect many changes to come from now and until release

The Siege Of Orgrimmar

So I have read the information, and I have sat and thought about it and my first thoughts are the same as they are now. This is wrong. I know why they are doing it, but in the terms of what they were doing with Garrosh and what he represents I cannot believe they are going in this direction.

"Beat them back! Remind these vermin what it means to assault the Horde! Lok'tar ogar!"

Garrosh is supposed to be hot headed and he is supposed to be militaristic. Does that mean that he needs to be killed and removed? The reason which has been given is he has become corrupted, which to me is the absolute worst thing possible lore wise. Garrosh is supposed to be everything his Father was, but the difference is he knows what happened to his father. Garrosh the knows the highs and the lows of his Father. Garrosh is the representation of everything, which existed in the Old Horde except for the demon corruption. He is essential Orgim Doomhammer incarnate. He knows respect, he knows honor.

"Have you given any thought to what this means, Sylvanas? What difference is there between you and the Lich King now?"

Does everyone forget what happened when he found out the truth about Cairne? Yes, he killed him, but not in a malicious way, he did so to protect his honor and prove he was capable of leading the Horde, as Thrall wished. He won unfairly, but again nothing of his doing, and he corrected that wrong. Even with Baine. We saw during Cataclysm that Garrosh was growing as a leader. He was adamant about the use of demon powers, he was wise when he spoke to Sylvanas in Silverpine, he was critical in Stonetalon, and most importantly he learned much along the way.

"It has come to my attention that you have deprived me of a rightful kill. Cairne Bloodhoof was a hero to the Horde and an honorable member of a usually honorable race. It is with disgust and anger that I discover you have caused me to bring about his death through accidental treachery. Such tactics may work well for your renegade, honorless tribe and Alliance scum, but I despise them. It was my wish to fight Cairne fairly, and win or lose by my own skill or lack of it. Now I shall never know, and the cry of traitor will dog my steps until such time as I can sport your head on a pike and point to you as the real traitor.You are on your own, Magatha, as friendless and disliked as you have ever been. Perhaps more. Enjoy your loneliness."
 
Garrosh may not be the perfect Warchief, but he is the one who has learned from the good and the bad. They would ruin this character by corrupting him? That is beyond the worst story arc in the history of Warcraft.Why put in all the effort? Show us he is growing, show us he is becoming the leader Thrall knew he could be only to destroy everything you created? It's dumb, it's stupid, it's completely retarded. If this is all an elaborate plan to get Thrall back as Warchief I really don't know what to say. The way in which Garrosh's character has developed I wouldn't be surprised if he stepped down and graciously gave it to Thrall. Out of respect. This was the way it was supposed to be in the first place when Thrall went away, why change it now?

"I will not fail you, Warchief. I will lead as well as I can, and I will consult with the advisors you suggest. I know what a tremendous honor you do me, and I will strive to be worthy of it."

If this is all some sort of plan to blame someone for Warmongering then congrats for ruining one of the greatest current Lore Characters in Warcraft in the process. Why don't we just bring Arthas back to life and have him marry Jaina and Varian will be the best man all taking place in the middle of Undercity. Does that sound dumb? Well in my opinion that makes more sense they assaulting Orgrimmar to remove a corrupted Garrosh from power. I know it is probably over and done with, and know it cannot change, but I am beyond disappointed and disgusted with it entirely.

"I learned much about the Horde in that time. While there, a wise old war hero told me something that I would carry with me forever... Honor," Krom'gar, No matter how dire the battle... never forsake it."

You Fail At Talking About The MoP NDA Lift If...

Oh it is that time again. You guessed it Fail Day. I hope you would have guessed it since it is in the title and everything. That actually leads me to the question do people actually read the title of the post, or do they just go right to reading it? Or do they read the title and decide if they actually want to read it? Anyway, that has nothing to do with anything. Today we explore the failure that is talking about the NDA.

You Fail At Talking About The MoP NDA Lift If...

• You did it before yesterday
• You think the female Pandern looks worse then the female Worgen
• You fort some reason have a reason to complain about AoE looting
• You automatically when reading "build your own farm" that farmville had made its way into WoW
• You are complaining there is no mention of player housing
• You think account wide mounts are a bad idea
• You believe it is unfair that Human and Orcs get their models updated next even though they were the ones that started it all
• You disapprove of world bosses
• Even after a whole explanation of why no 15 man raids you still start forum thread upon forum thread complaining there is none
• Jaina complainers are still complaining
• You have a problem with them making archaeology more exciting
• You find issues with tank, or healer, or dps not being specifically needed in scenarios
• You guessed that a cloud serpent would be the Pandern Mount

and finally

• You didn't know Garrosh Hellscream will be the final boss of the expansion

There it is this week's edition of fail. Hope most of you are on the non-fail end.

Gigolo Witch Test

Monday Morning! Normally this would be a sad day. Today though we had the lifted NDA of Mists of Pandaria and it is one day closer to the release of Diablo III. So when thinking of a machinima to showcase here on Machinima Monday I decided to go with one by Olibith, which uses a tool for making Machinima in Diablo III. Now this video is newer, but not brand new so you may have seen it, but it gets you pumped that we could be playing Diablo III soon and we could be seeing more Machinima of the Diablo III nature. So sit back enjoy this simple little short.



Hope you enjoyed it!

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes, it is that time of the week again. What a week in gaming this past week and it continues this week. Sunday though in Gauss land means it is time for Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I answer questions sent to me throughout the week. If you are interested in sending in questions it is pretty simple, there is a link on the top right of the page or you can just email them directly to gaussafication@gmail.com. So with that out of the way let's get right into the questions.

You surprised with when the Diablo III release date is?


Actually I was thinking it was going to be late May or early June. So pretty close to what I was thinking, but glad it was on the earlier side of my thoughts. This is actually a game I have been waiting to play for an extremely long time. Also as a mathematician I am excited what analysis I can actually do on how a real time online economy is working, that being the Real Money Auction house. Now I don't think people will be making millions of dollars, but they will be making something with their free time playing a game, something which I think is quite interesting. Regardless May 15th cannot come soon enough.


Mist of Pandaria NDA is lifted on Monday, excited with the information and such?


Well to be honest from the previous lifts of NDAs with WoW expansions there wasn't much information that hasn't been given out already. The thing which is exciting to see is the screens and actually everything you have been told and talking about in practice. Also you get first hand critiques of everything which is available. So that is what I am excited to see and hear. If you think there are going to be new features that we haven't heard about you are going to be extremely disappointed. Be prepared though because once all the information becomes available there is going to be a huge explosion everywhere.


What is a game not many people know about, but you would suggest playing?


Worms Ultimate Mayhem. Great game to play by yourself or especially with others.

And we are done, questions answered for the week. If I didn't answer your question on here it doesn't mean that I won't just wait a little bit, and I will without a doubt get to it. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

The Unheard Of Has Happened

Oh yes you have seen it, and it is not a fake. This was posted by Blizzard at 9:00am this morning. It ready for the countdown has begun only 61 days away. I am actually at a loss for words I really don't know what to say. Figured I would have something witty or funny to say about the entire thing, but sadly those words are not coming to me. So I guess I will just enjoy the moment!

Pi Day

π Day you ask? For those of you that don't know I am a Mathematician, and for us Mathematicians it is a day the we celebrate π, the Mathematical constant. Most people know what π is. This being the ratio of circumference to the diameter of a circle, but that is not all π is. In Math there are sometimes things which no one can explain. This is why there is beauty in Mathematics that not many people get to see or realize.

Think of it this way. Did you know that if you randomly drop needles on a sheet of lined paper the probability that a needles will cross one of the lines on the paper relates directly to π. Sure there is much math to it but the relationship is directly tied to π. π = (2l)/(tP) where l is the length of the needle, t being how far the lines are apart, and P being the probability. This relationship is called Buffon's Needle named after Georges Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon. That is not all the places it appears. It appears in Quantum Mechanics, Relativity Theory, and of course Number Theory. Do you know why π would show up in all these seemingly completely unrelated places? Of course you don't, but neither do I or anyone else for that matter. Does that mean since we can't explain it it is useless? Not a chance even if we cannot explain it, it keeps working, and it keeps turning up all over.

So yes that was a minor Math lesson, but maybe it is just me trying to show how Mathematics can be beautiful and amazing to anyone and everyone. So hopefully I was able to somewhat accomplish that. Mathematician or not have a great π Day

You Fail At Going On and On About No PvP At The Release Of Diablo III If...

Happy Fail Day Everyone! One day away from the day of days in Math Land. So what better way to pre-celebrate then to have Fail Day. This week I decided to make it about something that is on a lot of peoples minds, but frankly it is on some people's minds way too much. So without making you wait an longer here goes.

You Fail At Going On and On About No PvP At The Release Of Diablo III If...

• You think PvP in Diablo is anything but a side thing
• You believe having an Arena Death match without any balancing will actually be something worth playing for more than laughs
• You wrote a book for a thread on the forums then when everyone disagreed with you, you decided to make a new thread saying the exact same thing hoping for different results
• The only reason you were buying Diablo III is for PvP
• Your first thought that came to mind is "all the noob care bears are ruining my game"
• You think not releasing it is against Blizzard's Design Philosophy
• You didn't even know there was going to be PvP
• You believe this will make people less angry when you leech off them with your magic find
• You still think you can do the above, since you obviously didn't read those notes either
• You blame Activision
• You think this has everything to do with the layoffs
• You believe this is just so they can charge you for this later in an expansion

and finally

• The words release and Diablo III in the same sentence don't actually confuse you

Hope you enjoyed it. Enjoy your day before the epic of epic days tomorrow.

The Story

Monday Morning. Yes it is that. Being Monday though makes it time for Machinima Monday. Over the last few weeks people have asked me to do some older machinima that they may not have seen. Also some have been asking recently why I never showcase some of the music videos that are made. First of all I don't mind parodies or anything like that. I have a real problem with Blood Elf rap I am not a fan of it at all. But this week I decided to make both sides happy. Going to a staple being Cranius, but not to one of his original songs. One that he covered that also has an excellent video prepared by Legs. It is The Story Orignally by Brandi Carlile I hope you like it.

Hope this started your work week out well.

Ask Gauss

Sunday, yes the end of the weekend is here. In addition I had to lose an extra hour of sleep because of the switch to daylights savings time. Completely messing with my routine. Regardless today is Sunday meaning it is time for Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I answer a few questions sent to me throughout the week. So without me going off on a rant that could take several minutes of reading time. I will just get right to it.

So the PvP Arena System will not be active when Diablo III Launches. Do you see this as poor design?


Diablo is and never will be a PvP game. It is not going to be balanced for it whatsoever, and will just be a side thing to the game as a whole. Diablo is about slaying demons and being immersed into the environment, and of course collecting pretty treasures while you are doing it. No one knows who long it will take up to level a character in Diablo III at the moment anyway therefore by the time you are actually max level and put some effort into your character then you may see the arena patch has already happened.


Think of WoW for a second. Battlegrounds where not there when the game launched and when they were actually put into the game they were not even close to being an effective way of leveling. Therefore players couldn't get a real use out of them until they were max level something which had just happened for most active players slightly before they came out.


Blizzard is a smart company. They know people want to play this game, and they know that delaying something which is a great extra, but not fundamental to the game will not have much backlash at all if any worth noting.


Have you seen the Encyclopaedia Blizzanica?


Oh I did and had the pleasure of reading it an its additions. For those of you who haven't read it you can check it out by clicking here. Of all of them I think this is my favourite

Loot - The centre of the gaming universe. These magical collections of pictures and numbers have in the past inspired lawsuits, murders, divorce, brawls, real money transactions, oral favours and tons and tons of QQ. It also follows laws of it's own that frequently differ from the laws of physics. Adventurers are frequently shocked the first time they swat the mosquito which has just landed on their ear and it proceeds to drop a three hundred kilogram battleaxe.

So with MoP Beta soon should we expect complain posts about no beta for you?

You know me so well don't you.

There you have it. Questions answered for the week. Hope you all got something out of it. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

Spectral Mounts and Server Loads

I was looking at the Daily Blink today and I just had to share this. One because it is about the SoR and secondly because it has the movie War Games, and that movie was awesome back in the day. So get ready for a laugh

The best part of this you may have had to have seen War Games, but I still think many of you will understand the end regardless.

Scroll of Resurrection – Resurrected Soon!

If you haven't heard here is the blue post

Once your friend accepts your scroll and pays for at least 30 days of game, you unlock your choice of the following rewards:

• A Free Spectral Gryphon for an Alliance character
• Or a Free Spectral Wind Rider for a Horde character

And, to enable you and your friend to play together in Cataclysm's newest content, any friend who accepts your Scroll will also receive the following epic benefits:

• A single character immediately boosted all the way to level 80 -- DING!
• A FREE upgrade to Cataclysm -- regardless of your friend's original box level
• An optional FREE character move -- to your realm and faction so you can play together
• 7 FREE days of game time -- available immediately

A few other prerequisites apply -- such as a free upgrade to a Battle.net account for players who haven't played since 2009 or earlier -- so be sure to check out the FAQ below for full eligibility details.

So this is Blizzard's attempt to get players back to playing the game, and there is a lot of uproar about players who haven't left why they shouldn't get these rewards. Well one thing a few months back if you were a subscriber for 5+ years then you actually got a free copy of WoW. I know this because I got one. You could also say that getting a free 80 if you are already active i nthe game is laziness. This is for people that say haven't played in years and are behind. This goes hand in hand with the free Cata upgrade. The character move is the same thing. If you were away your guildies or friends could have moved to a more active server. You are being given this option as a way to get you back into playing and renewing your subscription. Lastly the 7 days of free game time was the thing that was always in the old Scroll of Resurrection.

You also are getting a free mount for getting people to come back on Blizzard's behalf just like you get a free mount when you recruit a new player via RAF. If  you haven't seen the mounts

So for all those people with the gimmie attitude about how because you have been loyal and deserve something because you haven't left. This is the type of thing that leads to washed out content, mounts being reissued, and so on and so forth.

You Fail At Complaining About Blizzard Layoffs If...

Happy Fail Day everyone! Yes, that is right it is that time once again. Time to feel better about yourself and someone else's misfortune, or think to yourself why am I such an idiot. Oh the wonders of Fail Day never cease to amaze me. With that spirit in mind let's get to the fail.

You Fail At Complaining About Blizzard Layoffs If...

• You think this has everything to do with the evil Activision
• You believe this is because battle.net 2.0 obviously is horrible
• You someone believe this is the reason Blizzard stole the Kung Fu Panda Idea
• You actually think they copied kung fu panda
• You think this is why my braces never drop
• You some how think this relates to everyone quitting my guild and has nothing to do with you acting like the 30 year old living in your mother's basement
• You believe this is all because you didn't get a legendary this expansion
• Your first words were "finally the people who designed the mule have been fired"
• You think this is because Terran is OP
• You think this is because Protoss is OP
• You think this is because Zerg is OP
• You think this means Blizzard is going the way of "Warcraft Adventures" and "Starcraft Ghost"
• You think this means Titan will never see the light of day

and finally

• You think this is the very reason I am living my life and not going without food or sleep because I am not mindlessly playing Diablo III

There you have it this week's edition of fail. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

I Am Forsaken

Monday morning yes I know you probably know what day it is. I just find if I remind myself it is Monday I will realize that it only happens once a week. This is why though that on Monday's we have Machinima Mondays. It is so we can sit back take a few minutes out of our days and enjoy the work of a machinimator. Lately many of you have been asking for older Machinima and some of you have been asking for Lore type. That was when I realize I could showcase this particular Machinima by Gary Lobine as you may know him as the one responsible for the "Rogues Do It From Behind" Machinima. I chose this machinima because it really hits the forsaken in the light most people see them as, and makes you realize what some of the civilians had to go through. So sit back and enjoy as I know you will



Wasn't I right?

Ask Gauss

Sunday here it is the last day of the weekend. An extremely beautiful weekend weather wise, well as good as you can expect in Canada at the beginning of March. So let's just leave it that I am in a pretty good mood. With it being Sunday you should know by now if you have been around long enough that this is the post of the week where I answer questions sent to me throughout the week. So with that in mind let's get to answering some.

With the revelation that Blizzard has gone through some layoffs can we assume this is the reason that Diablo III has been delayed?


Honestly they have stated that only 10% of the layoffs where made from development. I actually believe a lot of them where from Blizzcon committees, since there will be non this year. That being said still 10% were from development. Do I actually think this has delayed Diablo III? No. You see with the whole issue with the real money auction house in Korea and all of that Blizzard took some time to actually improve on the game since they had the time. In typical Blizzard fashion these adjustments are not just minor tweaks and they got over there head. This does mean that we will have to wait longer for the game, but it also means that the game we will receive will be better than expected since more time went into seeing how things were done.


Think of it this way. After an expansion to WoW is released they realize things that are good and things that are bad. The next time an expansion comes around they learn from what happened the first time, and therefore can make the experience that much better. With Diablo they were already able to do minor adjustments because the game itself had to be delayed to wait for the approval of the auction house. So it really is win win even if our win will be later in the year.


Do you think Mists of Pandaria is WoWs last shot?


The game has over 10 million currently active subscriptions. Does that seem like a game on its last legs? Honestly I think people are so focused on when WoW is going to "die" that every time a game comes out it has to be a killer, or every time an expansion comes out it will be the one that will ruin the game. Yes, the game has changed over the years and for the most part for the better. It has learned from its mistakes and other games mistakes and become the best selling and largest MMO for a reason. Why not focus on what the game is adding and if it is something you will enjoy rather than if the game will "die". 


Dr. Pepper or Coke?


Is that even a real question?

There you have it questions answered for the week. Hope you at least got something out of it. Enjoy the weather outside if you got something like what I have and take care for the rest of the weekend!