This Is Halloween

Well tomorrow if you were not aware is the start of the Hallow's End holiday in World of Warcraft. So with that in mind I figured I would share an iconic song linked with a great machinima from Drascier. So here we go!



Now time for everyone to try and turn into a leper Gnome

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes your weekend is coming to a close and you are only 1 day away from the new season of Walking Dead, and that is the good Walking Dead not the one that thinks it is. So while you are waiting for that an recovering from your week it is time to see what the questions are for the week.

What Civilization are you going to start with in Civ 6?

As always I start with Rome. Why? Well in my mind they are the greatest civilization that has ever been so I am always curious as to the way they are displayed in each game. After that I try to go with who I think plays well with the style of game I want to play in my next game. That really could be anyone because it really has everything to do with how the result of the first game ended. So really don't think that answers the question at all.

What do you think about the Blizzcon announcements?

Well so far they have just been talking about the esports tournaments and the panels. Of course, they haven't given away exactly what they will be talking about on each panel because that is all about what Blizzcon is about. I really am interested in what Diablo has going on, because really I feel there should be some sort of expansion announcement and not just some patching. We can only wait and see though.

Yay for Halloween Events Starting.

Headless Horsemen is always a great time!

There you have it the questions for the week. Hope you all got something out of it, and as always if I didn't get to your question on here I will get to it eventually. So please stay patient. Again this couldn't be possible without all of your input, and I know I have been slow with responses lately so please bare with me.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

What Is In Store?

Friday, we are here and wondering how our weekends will unfold. So after we stop thinking about that we settle here and wonder what is up for this week's Reader Post. Well we haves something from Golden Yak regarding their thoughts on how the rest of the Legion expansion will play out. It is well thought out and might even come true, but you know I just love the speculation. So here it is

With 7.1 approaching which will continue the story begun in 7.0. I have some ideas about how the rest of Legion might unfold, based on speculation and tid-bits we've gotten about the future:

End of 7.0/Nighthold: Gul'dan tries to summon Sargeras's spirit and infuse it into Illidan's body in the Nighthold, turning Illidan's body into the new Avatar of Sargeras. We manage to stop it, killing Gul'dan and banishing Sargeras, but Illidan's body is lost, pulled into the Nether.

7.1: Helya is slain, breaking the curse over the Halls of Valor. Odyn and his Valarjar are freed and join the battle against the Burning Legion, who are bringing through troops in greater numbers than ever.

7.2: Azeroth's forces are barely holding against the Burning Legion, who have constructed a massive demon city on the Broken Shore around the Tomb of Sargeras. As if things weren't grim enough, a strange new land-mass suddenly rises south of the Broken Isles - Ny'alotha, ancient city of the Old Gods, where the Titanforged bound and chained the Old God N'Zoth. N'Zoth's bindings are finally failing, and the Old God is about to break free. He summons his strongest servants to Ny'alotha, including the naga, to defend him until he can break his bindings completely. The Alliance and the Horde are sent to destroy N'Zoth while the Titanforged and the Valarjar hold the line against the Legion. The forces of Azeroth suffer great casualties just reaching N'Zoth's prison, and just as N'Zoth is about to be destroyed, Azshara appears and offers an alternative - Azeroth is on the verge of being overrun by the Burning Legion, and is in desperate need of allies. Rather than destroy N'Zoth in a costly battle, Azshara suggests N'Zoth be set loose - N'Zoth agrees to turn all of his attention against the Legion and ignore Azeroth's mortals, for now. Knowing that N'Zoth wants the world to survive (if only so he can corrupt it later), Azeroth's mortals make the decision to release him - likely this will be done by someone hinted at in Il'gynoth's whispers, possibly Magni, Khadgar, Jaina, or whoever. There's candidates. N'Zoth's bindings are broken and the Old God is unfettered - true to his word, N'Zoth directs the naga and the faceless ones to assault the Burning Legion, ignoring the Alliance and the Horde. Azshara retreats.

End of Expansion: we push through the Tomb of Sargeras to Argus, meet up with the Army of Light, and destroy the place, killing Kil'jaden in the process (and Archimonde too, if he's even still alive). We come back to Azeroth, but the final battle occurs at the Tomb, with Illidan's body transformed into the new Avatar of Sargeras who attacks us there. During the encounter, Azeroth herself uses the five Pillars of Creation to transform someone (I'm guessing Jaina) into her own avatar - the Avatar of Azeroth joins us against the Possessed Illidan, driving Sargeras' soul out of Illidan's body. Sargeras' spirit then takes over his old avatar within the depths of the Tomb as one last ditch effort to attack us. Players + Azeroth's avatar battle Sargeras until Illidan's soul retakes his body and he becomes the Champion of Light. We destroy Sargeras, and Illidan goes off into the universe to gather the rest of the Army of Light and the naaru to begin preparing for the battle against the Void Lords. Meanwhile, we've got to stay behind and deal with Azshara and N'Zoth, who are missing, presumed up to no good. I figure this would be a good time for a great seas expansion or even an underworld expansion, going into the depths to try and stop N'Zoth from burrowing to the worldsoul within Azeroth.

Well? I think this could run pretty close, but as with anything the things closer to the current time are most likely to be the things that turn out to be right, but as you move further from the current point in time then most likely not to be true. With that in mind, enjoy your weekend!

Starcrafts Mod Is Live

So here we are on a Thursday, you know the day I normally rant about something in such a way that you start to feel just as passionate about it or you just sit there with your blood starting to boil and you don't know if you should start typing angry messages or play with your voodoo doll with my face on it. Well today there won't be much of that. Today we are celebrating because if you didn't know on Tuesday Carbot Animations released the Starcrafts mod.

Yes you heard that correctly you can now play Starcraft II with the adorable Carbot style animation. I must say it plays a lot better than I ever thought it would. The gameplay is smooth and you can tell the effort that went into it. Here is the opening cinematic for it.



Now the question should be what is there now for Starcrafts? It seems now it is not just Cartoons, but it is the game itself. Well, at least, the mulitplayer version of it. So that is it then! We want a Campaign version of it all. I am sure they will get right to work on it as we speak, don't worry I will be waiting!

Fires A Beam Of Magic And Wonder

Wednesday is here even though it doesn't even feel like it. So besides getting ready for the start of the NHL season today I also have a list for you. What is it about you ask? Well that is simple, it is about the most ridiculous weapons that exist in gaming. So prepare yourselves

5. Cluck Shot - Gears of War 3

So have you ever fired a chicken at someone and wondered if it would explode? Well you don't have to Gears of War 3 has your answer and it is yes. This ridiculous weapon is something that will entertain ever all those atheist vegans you know.

4. The Bane - Borderlands 2

We have a weapon that makes your movement speed come to almost a halt, but will do an insane amount of damage for you in game. That is not all though it also has the ability to destroy your eardrums oh yes the screaming that happens when you use it is just legendary in itself

3. Foam Finger - Dead Space 2

The stupid most powerful gun in existence is nothing but a foam finger. It has unlimited ammo and says bang bang over and over among other things, besides looking completely ridiculous, but let's be honest after playing the game you need something like this.

2. Cat Silencer - Postal 2

Ever thought about putting a cat on the end of your gun? Ever thought if it would work as a Silencer? Well the makers of Postal 2 thought so. Only for 10 shots though because then the kitty goes for a ride in a tremendous amount of hilarity.

1. Mr. Toots - Red Faction Armageddon

So when you thought you have seen everything you then have Mr. Toots. A unicorn who shoots rainbow lazers out of his ass. No you did not read that incorrectly this exists, and yes you are now going to look this up to see that I am not bullshitting you.

And there you have it the weirdest weapons in gaming, well at least according to me. Have a different opinion? As always let me know in one way or another.

You Fail At Having Time To Game If...

So here we are on the Tuesday after a long weekend glad that it isn't Monday, but then we also realize it is the start of the week. Now you may also realize that it is Tuesday so that means it is time for Fail Day! This week is all about not having time to game. So here goes

You Fail At Having Time To Game If...

• You just haven't been feeling well enough
• You haven't found a game to get into
• You misplaced your controller
• You have no one to play with
• You are on a gaming "break"
• You are preparing for an inevitable game grind
• Your PC needs an overhaul
• Your console died downloading a Day One Patch
• You believe playing Xbox is "real" gaming
• You thought you should study for those midterms
• You have spent too much time reading reviews for games and not enough playing them
• You had time to spend with Family this Thanksgiving
• You are looking into a game with a deep story and they seem to be few and far between

And Finally

• You have been busy watching the Blue Jays 

There you have it this week's edition of Fail. Hope you all enjoyed it or maybe even relate to if not well then so it is.

Turkey Battle

Happy Thanksgiving! Well at least to my Canadian compatriots that is. Some while you are sitting their enjoying your Thanksgiving or wishing you had the day off for Thanksgiving you can enjoy a flashback to a great series in ROFLBear by Myndflame Turkey style.



Happy Thanksgiving!

Ask Gauss

Sunday! And first things first I know there wasn't a Reader Post on Friday. It was simply for the fact I didn't have time to go through the entries and give a good read before making the correct choice. I have been busy lately so I apologize and will get back to it next week. Now with that out of the way let's get to this week's questions.

What are your thoughts on the selling of Starcraft Skins?

Well my thoughts on it are simple. Why not? If it gets money into the game that keeps the team employed and keeping the game balanced and patched there shouldn't be an issue with it. They are cosmetic items that you don't have to buy. The game won't be balanced around them so there is no reason to freak out about it. The major thing people should be looking forward to is your mmr being based off of what race you play. Finally we will have split MMR including it for random. This is really what everyone should be talking about.

Why are you so upset about day one patches?

Well I saw that Gears of War 4 was being released with a massive day one patch for those who were buying a hard copy. And if you read any of my blogs this week you would know why. This just isn't good practice and makes the purchase of a hard copy useless. Honestly there didn't even need to be a disc in the box and it would have resulted in the same thing as those buying the digital copy. Gamers are not as upset about these things as they should be and I figured I would light a fire under some people. Hopefully that was accomplished.

So tomorrow is Turkey Day?

Well yes the one that matters.

There you have it this week's questions. Hope you all got something out of it, and to my Canadian Brothers and Sisters hope you are having a great Thanksgiving weekend, to everyone else wish a Canadian a happy Thanksgiving.

Day One Major

So as you all know there are many things that tend to piss me off gaming wise. Let me first state this post is not about Ret Pallies, Call of Duty, or Bagellord. What is it about then? Well that is quite simple it is about Day One Major Patches. First off for those of you who don't know a day one major patch is when if you happen to get a hard copy of a game then you have to spend time downloading the entire game because of 1 of two reasons

1. Game was made into hard copies way too early
2. Game was so buggy and awful they had to change way too much

In either case this is completely unacceptable. Learn how to develop a game and release it correctly. This is especially inexcusable if the release of the game is pushed back, because you know that means that it is both 1 and 2 at the same time. As a gamer you shouldn't accept these as being acceptable. Basically when you get a hard copy you shouldn't have anything, but a minor patch. These means the game is polished and really there might have been a few minor glitches and bugs that made it through the final cut. Final cut is the major point here. If you aren't going to make hard copies worth anything worth a damn then don't let the public buy them. There is nothing worse then getting a game taking it home especially when you are not aware of it and cannot play it right away because you have this massive patch to download to make it viable. Not to mention you may have paid extra for a hard copy that really isn't a hard copy of the game itself.

Now we as gamers can change this. Be vocal when companies do these things. This isn't something which is an ethical business practice and should not be allow to be a thing. Not to mention I am trying to think of a game that had a major day one patch that was actually well received in the long run. If so let me know for now I am just going to be angry.

Kweh

Here we are on yet another Wednesday waiting for another list to see what is going to be on the list. Well what is it? Well everyone knows games have plenty of unlockable characters, but what about the ones that are just out of this world? Well that is what this list is all about.

5. The Hand - Tony Hawk Underground 2

Yes you can play as a severed hand as if you are playing with a mini board in this game, and yes it is awesome.

4. Tofu Survivor - Resident Evil 2

So something which has always bugged people. Will infected people eat tofu? Well according to Resident Evil 2 the answer is yes. You can play the game as a giant piece of tofu once unlocked.

3. Yoda - Soul Calibur IV

So this may not be completely weird, but then the concept doesn't make sense in the least. Since by definition his lightsaber should cut right through all the others swords. Not to mention every grapple in the game doesn't work kinda of makes yoda OP and weird.

2. The Clintons - NBA Jam

When you thought it couldn't get any weirder and then this happened. Where you can dunk with the best of them as the Clintons. Yes it happened and everyone is still amazed by it.

1. Everything - Tobal 2

So it is a fighting game that pretty much allows you to fight as everything you came across. And honestly I am not joking.

Well what do you think? Is there any weird ones I missed? As always let me know in one way or another.

You Fail At Releasing Games If...

So it is Tuesday, and as you all know and are for, it is Fail Day. So it is time to poke fun normally at Gamers for things. Well today we are going after the developers because they fail a lot too. So why don't we just get to it.

You Fail At Releasing Games If...

• You never come up with a release date
• You are the developers of Half-Life 3
• You cave to your pushy community
• You ever worked on Duke Nukem Forever
• Your servers didn't work day one
• You think a world wide release will go off flawlessly
• You are trying to be fair to all players involved
• You don't have a digital copy of the game
• You have a patch every day for the first week
• You made promises you couldn't keep
• You are being looked into by the UK advertising board
• You have 90% of people returning your game week one

And Finally

• You think downloading a 55G first day patch is fair

There you have it this week's edition of fail. Hope you all enjoyed it and got something out of it in some way or another. You now have my permission to go back to whatever you are doing.

Epic NPC Man

Monday, yes it is here and none of us are ready to start the week. Not to mention if you are like me you cannot even believe that it is October already. With that in mind this week I was catching up on Epic NPC Man and realize that I have never shared any of the episodes with you all. I know most of you know Viva La Dirt League from there Starcraft parody song days, but they are still going strong now. With that in mind I am not responsible if you watch the entire series.



Well?

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes, we are here at the end of your weekend and while you may be excited that Fear the Walking Dead will finally be over it does mean that you wasted your weekend. It also does mean that I get to go through the questions sent to me throughout the week and answer some of them.

So Diablo questions. Is there big news coming at Blizzcon do you think?

I will say that over the last little bit. Diablo hasn't got much of the attention compared to the other Blizzard IPs out there. Now that could very well be because currently it is the oldest of the games they currently have out. People tend to forget that. Now this doesn't mean that Blizzard is "letting Diablo Die" as the forums would lead you to believe. I do though think we will get a major announcement regarding Diablo come Blizzcon. I have a feeling especially with the recent announcement of Eras it will be an expansion and not a completely new Diablo 4. No one knows for sure though until we are there.

Do you think Civilization VI will be good enough?

Enough for what? To sell? Yes, Civilization is one of the more popular IPs out there. The game could be the exact game with simple changes and will always sell. The games are always enjoyable to play through because they are different each and every game. I know it will never catch on with the more active gamer and one that doesn't enjoy the "thought" process, but it is will always be like that. It will never be the most popular game, but those who enjoy it will love it and that is really all the developers can ask for.

A Hearthstone Region locked hero is fair then?

It is cosmetic you will live.

There they are questions all answered for the week. Hopefully you got something out of them in some way or another. As always thank you to everyone who sent something in some way or another this would not be possible without you. Now you can enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Nightborne And The Night Elves

Friday is here and besides wondering where in the hell September went we look towards what is going on with this week's Reader Post. So what is on tap for this week's post? Well it has everything to do what the Nightborne will think about the Night Elves post Elisande. Well Mace is wondering the same thing so I am happy to let him take over.

I wonder how the Nightborne will actually regard the Night elves, who are actually the group that left Suramar to fight Azshara, and they won. Will they be ashamed that they hid under a shield? Would they venerate them? The Nightborne Thaedris Feathermoon seems to indicate that the Nightborne venerate the night elves who lost their lives defending the city. Which makes me wonder if they'll actually view the current night elves with awe - post Elisande ofc.. cos currently under Elisande, the loyalists seem to be the ones with the voice and they just look down on every one, like everyone. Therefore those who oppose them have been humbled and had to put away whatever arrogance they may have had to accept help, and as such will have more of an open and less judgmental mind especially after others have seen them grovelling for mana on the brink of death and have helped them. Thalyssra and the Nightborne alongside the rebels will never have that undiluted arrogance the loyalists and especially the Felsworn bunch have. 

I know how the Night elves view them, Valewalker Farodin, The Moonguard and Tyrande's views are being shown, and it seems to be endearing, the Valewalker really likes them and is confident they can be fully saved and are worth the efforts, the Val'sharah night elves and the Moonguard remnant have also found refuge under Thalysrra's wings and help the rebellion - Tyrande is upset with them, but it seems the kind of upset of a person who deeply cares and has been disappointed with a well loved family member they expected much better from is, it doesn't come off as a hate or disdain, but rather anger at a sibling who's been behaving foolishly - at least that's how it comes off to me. 

What I wonder is how the Nightborne populace will view their kin.. no one has really celebrated the Night elves victory over the Legion, twice - I wonder if the Nightborne under Thalyssra will find new heroes in their ancient kin who are from their city after all and probably have relations. I wonder if their memory is the stuff of Legends - The young High priestess who was thought killed before her time - the novel should be interesting. I wonder.. do you?

Well? definitely food for thought for the weekend. Enjoy!

The Rant That Wasn't Meant To Be

Thursday, and normally at this point in the week something is bothering me. For some reason or another nothing really has my blood boiling this week. I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Why you ask? Well I like to be adamant about things as you know. If something isn't up to the standard that it should be then I am going to go on about it. If a game doesn't live up to expectations I am going to say something about it. If a game doesn't deliver everything it said it was going to, well you are going to hear about it. And if a game is just a rehash of the same game the previous year well you will know.

Now as you know I don't always rant about things which are bad. Sometimes I am surprised and want people to know how good something is, trying not to go all out fanboy. I have ranted about so many things on here or just randomly at home that there is just too many times to count. One thing has changed though people actually want to know what I am ranting about. They care what I have to say and respect my opinion. To me though this is also good and bad.

And why you ask? Well as you have heard in previous rants I sometimes have issues with peoples opinions where they are not warranted. If they don't have the background in something why should I listen to their opinion about it. I shouldn't. What all of you need to realize is my opinion like any other is just that my opinion. Now I like to think I know things and probably more than the average person, but doesn't mean you should believe everything I say.

Now I know not everyone does that, because I get enough emails telling me that I am full of crap. Most of those have to do when I make Call of Duty jokes, but still even you xbox live fanatics should try to have opinions even if they are more wrong than Fox News on a daily basis.

So I guess I did rant, but it was more a rant about how my rants shouldn't always be taken as the rant of rants. Yes, it really was that confusing.

It Happened

So here we are Wednesday is here which means it is the middle of the week and it is time for me to make a list. Now what is the list about this week? Well for awhile I have been asked to do a list about the worst things which could possibly happen while playing a video game. So here goes.

5. Game Won't Auto Save

This is a feature in many modern games, but what happens when it isn't working. The worst part is when you have been playing the game for hours and don't remember when it was working. Then realize you can't save directly and know you have to finish the game or you are just screwed.

4. Wii Remote Breaks TV

Can't say I have ever done it, but have seen it happen. Sometimes Wii Sports gets intense and that remote just goes flying right through the tv. Those straps exist for a reason.

3. Save File Deleted

Not as much as an issue today as it once was. Plenty of times I have had my save files saved over by my little brother or have someone wipe my memory card because they weren't sure it was still being used.

2. Internet Goes Out During Online Play

It is one thing to lose or die when it happens because of something you did. It is another thing when it happens due to something completely beyond your control. Yes this sucks.

1. Power Goes Out During Final Cutscene

So you beat the game most of the time after an intense boss battle and you are finally going to see what the end of the story is. All that time you put in, all that effort wasn't for nothing, and then all of the sudden it was...

There you have it this week's list. What are your worst things? As always if not let me know in one way or another.

You Fail At Thinking Sports Games Are New If...

Fail Day! Yes here we are once again the day of the week where we sit back and enjoy the rest of the world's failures. So what are we talking about this week? Sports games and gamer;s thoughts about them.

You Fail At Thinking Sports Games Are New If...

• You don't think the biggest thing about them are roster updates
• You believe the hype every year
• You say it is not big deal when they removed something you liked
• You think full price for an update is worth it
• You think a feature is "new" when really they removed it 3 years ago
• You think the best thing about them is online with horrible servers
• You don't think it is a bad thing when each game doesn't have a competitor
• You don't understand why these games have the worst trade in value of any game
• You have no issue with the "we will fix it next year" attitude
• You enjoy dealing with the same bugs year after year

And Finally

• You don't believe anything I an saying

There you have it this week's edition of fail. Hope you all enjoyed it and you don't fall victim to the the fail.

I'd Be Cool If Lady Vashj

Monday! Yes there is not much at all to be excited about, that is unless you have not watched the latest I'd Be Cool If video from Carbot Animations. If you have even wouldn't it be great if there was a place where it was showcased so you could watch it once again? Well what do you know here it is



You are welcome!

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes, it is Sunday again and your weekend is once again coming to a close. Yes there is plenty of time as always to be depressed in one way or another, but before you get there why not sit back and enjoy the questions I have picked this week. 

So who do you think the whispers from Il'gynoth are from?

Well the ones I think are really up for debate are "The boy king serves at the master's table. Three lies he will offer you." and "The lord of ravens will turn the key". So who then? Well besides Wrathion being the boy king you could also look to Anduin. The question remains though if it is Anduin what about the comic with him on Argus fighting for the side of the light? Or is this a misdirection completely. Meaning he is a slave to the light. The lord of ravens seems to obvious to be Medivh, we do know Medivh was essential to bringing the Legion minions the orcs to Azeroth in the first place. Problem being what about his former apprentice Khadgar? We have seen on many occasions he used the same raven form as Medivh. Just some food for thought I guess.

Is Jania more powerful than Khadgar?

I don't even think it is close. Just like Khadgar is nothing to Medivh. Now that was due to him being granted Guardian powers. Medivh's powers could still be transferred to someone at some point, but the fact he was basically "buffed" changes what is actually attainable. Khadgar was chosen because of his potential something that wasn't seen in a very long time by Antonidas and the council of six. He later traned Jaina and nothing was ever mentioned of her potential. I know people use the bomb exposure to say how Jania might also be "buffed", but I just don't see the argument with all the other available evidence. 

How Old are the Old Gods?

Well Old.

There they are questions all answered for the week. Hope you all got something out of them in some way or another. Thank you to everyone who sent in something as always this would not be possible without all of your input. You may not feel free to enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Il'gynoth Whispers

So it is Friday and as always I am looking for a Reader Post. Also as always I am looking for something interesting lore wise Warcraft to think about. Well this week we got something with the Whispers before the Il'gynoth encounter in the Emerald Nightmare. What am I talking about? Well these specific whispers.

"To find him, drown yourself in a circle of stars.

"The boy-king serves at the master's table. Three lies he will offer you."

"Her heart is a crater, and we have filled it."

"The lord of ravens will turn the key." 

"Flesh is his gift. He is your true creator."

Being Old God things they always lead to be something interesting to talk about and Cirno writes in to give him his view of the them here.

1. Maybe this is referring to the a location in Suramar? The Nightborne have shown an interest in astrology (Star Augur Etraues, Court of Stars) and I think I remember hearing that N'zoth's prison was somewhere around there.

2. I think this could be alluding to Wrathion. Though his title is the Black Prince, maybe he felt he deserves the title of King. After all, he is the last black dragon, who have had a history of serving the Old Gods, who Xal'atath could be referring to as the master.

3. A tormented female character that felt dead inside, but was given a purpose by the Old Gods. This could mean that Sylvanas was somehow misled into pursuing immortality and power, which could be part of the Old God's plans. This could also be referring to Elerethe Renferal, who fell into despair after her death and then became empowered by the Old Gods.

4. Does this mean Medivh, or Lord Kur'talos? The Legion have shown interest in both, but I think it's more likely that Xal'atath is telling us that a treasure is to be found in Karazhan.

5. This could mean that Magni is being misled, somehow, or it could be referring to a yet to be revealed character. How interesting would it be, if Magni was actually being fooled by an Old God? We have seen that their influence still remains in Ulduar..

Well what do you think? I have my own thoughts, but I will leave those for Sunday that way you can think for yourself and enjoy your weekend

Rants Put To Use

I know this week I have talked about how there are plenty of fail features or consoles or all of these things in gaming. The fact of the matter is no matter what there are always going to be "bad" things in good games. Just like there will always be "good" things in bad games.

The most important things about both of those though is that developers and gamers alike realize that these things have happened. The greatest thing about modern games is that developers can fix mistakes they may have made instead of us having to live with them.

Sometimes we, as gamers, fail to realize what some of these companies have done for us. They listen to our feedback and suggestions and then move on. Now sometimes these requests go unanswered, but sometimes, and I would like to say most of the time, they make good on fixing things.

All of the examples on yesterdays list made good on fixing what was perceived as "bad". If you were to ask the developers directly about the mistakes they made in these certain circumstances I believe they would state directly it was from their communities feedback. That to me is something, which just shows game developers probably more so than anything else that is made listen to the consumer and want to improve.

Now games are a lot easier to change on the fly then other things with patches and such, but still it is not often that companies realize it was their mistake and they take the time to fix it. Normally the case is when a company makes a mistake you are forced to wait to the next iteration or have to pay to get the fix. Just take a minute to realize for a minute how lucky we are as gamers.

So with all the complaining and ranting I do. I guess it is nice to take a minute to thank the companies that make good on things when they have made a mistake, and I would like to think maybe even a little of my ranting has gone to good use.

Got 99 Problems And My Name Is One

Wednesday. Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is bad just like features in a video game. Now some times great games have horrible features that are removed and the communities rejoice. So that is exactly what this week's list is all about.

5. Minecraft - Infinite Water

Well this speaks for itself. The water would randomly update underground and cause serious problems while building, and would rise much higher than should have been possible. While this resulted in many hilarious videos wasn't good for the game as a whole.

4. World of Warcraft - Respec cost

One thing that was in WoW for way too long was the cost to change your spec that would increase based on how often you did it. This would basically penalize you if you were let's say PvPing and Raiding or changing your spec for your raid and so on and so forth. It was just a pointless gold sink that any player was glad when was removed.

3. Diablo III - Auction House

Something that has been talked about time and time again. The issue wasn't with the auction house itself it was that loot drops were inconsistent because of the Auction House. The whole thing was creating so trading could still be a central focus to the game even if it was automated. What Blizzard realized was if they fixed loot no one would miss trading and the game would be better for it, which is exactly what they did.

2. SimCity - Online

When SimCity launch it was coming off of massive success in its city building environment. The problem with it was that when they decided it was going to be always online they were not prepared with the servers they had ready and it resulted in one of the worst launches in the history of gaming. This caused them to months later to remove the online only requirement and also leaves the series in general in jeopardy.

1. Xbox One - Used Games

When the Xbox One was revealed they had all these features all of which didn't go over well with consumers. The one that caused the biggest problem was restricting games to one user. Basically making you unable to share a game with a friend or trade it in for other games later on. This caused an enormous outrage and something Microsoft eventually realized was a mistake and removed.

There it is. Do you agree or disagree? Any other bad features in good games you were glad when they were finally removed? Let me know one way or another.

You Failed At Predicting The Results Of Removing the Diablo III Auction House If

Fail Day! Yes here are here on yet another day where we get to be jerks talking about others failures. Something you may or may not be aware of 3 years ago almost to the day was when Blizzard announced they would be closing down the auction house for Diablo III. Obviously they didn't shut it down right away since people had a chance to adapt. With this in mind today is all about the people who failed at guessing what would go wrong with Diablo III when removing the auction house.

You Failed At Predicting The Results Of Removing the Diablo III Auction House If...

• You thought it would make Reaper of Souls a Failure
• You believed loot 2.0 would never work
• You thought everyone would miss trading
• You still think trading is one of the biggest draws of Diablo
• You didn't think anyone would be able to push top end content
• You thought it would kill the community and it would be a single player only game
• You believed gold would have no use
• You thought players gear in legendaries would never be the case
• You thought 3rd party sites would return
• You believe people wouldn't be playing end game
• You thought it would be impossible to gear followers
• You believed it would cause everyone to start playing Path of Exile

And Finally

• You are still hoping the Auction House comes back

There you have it this week's edition of fail. Hope you all enjoyed it in some way or another, and are able to look back and see the good.

Abathur & Vorazun

Monday! Yes it is Monday and the weekend is over, but before you get all depressed why not watch the newest episode of Starcrafts which is all about co-op this week with your friends Abathur and Vorazun. So enjoy I promise will make your day better.



Wasn't I right?

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Not only are you realizing that your weekend is about to end, but you are also realizing that what you heard about Chris Metzen wasn't a dream it has happened. So while you realizing that why don't we get to the questions for the week.

Will Chris Metzen's departure mean the end of the lore in Warcraft?

I am sure the story and the plan has been written for quite some time. They don't change the story week to week they know where it is going. The one thing I will say though it makes sense with how Starcraft II ended. That is the ending of the Raynor and Kerrigan story arc the perfect time to end his involvement. Diablo III is also in a spot where most of the leftover arcs are wrapped up so the story would be fresh and the perfect time for someone not involved with the old to start the new.

Final Fantasy XII remake coming in 2017 your thoughts?

I am excited about it, but I am iffy about the changes. That is not to say that I will not be buying it because I will be. As with FFX and X-2 I hope they give the option to choose the way to play through the game. Not that I think the international system is bad, but I enjoy the fact you could choose the job your character uses throughout the game mostly because different parts of the game require different jobs mostly due to hunts. Who knows though I might like it if I just treat it as a new game.

NHL 17 you getting it?

Will play, but as stated before I don't buy sports games anymore.

There you have it questions answered for the week. Hope you got something out of it in one way or another, and now you may enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Have A Great Retirement

So it is Friday and while I received many Reader Posts about the new Heroes of the Storm Battleground, Legion Lore, and some random Civilization VI information. I felt I still owed something to Chris Metzen for the time he has put into the games I love. With that in mind I was reading through the forums and found a post by WarlordPL on the Heroes of the Storm forums which really speaks to the common gamer who was touch by him so have a read.

Well,

I'm one of those 'far' person you touched virtually. (Since I live in Canada and never got the chance to go to a BlizzCon and meet you in person). 

But I must say I grew up with those game you started to work on. I started with Warcraft 2, (When I was 14 here) and was playing over a 56k modem that took the phone line when I wanted to play 'via TCP' back in those days.... I am now 33. I guess times goes by for everyone...

Hmm... wait did Lost Vikings was before WC2 ? Because I also remember this very fun puzzle game on PC.

Well, back to you, I wish you all the happy 'slow' time with your family and friends. (And I'm sure you'll keep in touch with your close friends at Blizz too ;-) as a 'partial time' consultant over a beer on a Friday night once in a while.

Anyway, thanks for all the game, the lores and what you have given to those franchises. (I remember reading the small bribe of lore in the Warcraft 2 game manual and I think I remember your name once in a while).

Well, thanks for this heartly farewell, best of the retirement for you!

I think that says it all don't you think? Have a great weekend.

A Farwell

First of all if you have not read Chris Metzen's Farewell here it is.

I had just turned twenty years old when I started working at Blizzard. Seems like a lifetime ago. Guess it was. Those first few years were the start of a very grand adventure for me, one that would take me around the world, introduce me to thousands of wonderful geeks just like me—and ultimately shape the course of my adult life.

Of course when I started, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I had no idea how to make games or build entertainment products.…

But I had an insatiable passion for ideas. For stories. For heroes.

My only real training before joining Blizzard was the long-running D&D campaign I had with my closest friends—Sam, Mike P., Daniel, and Mikey C. (you know who you are, boys…HAMRO!). Building ideas—vast worldscapes, characters, and plotlines with my friends was my first great love. I lived for it. It was a safe space amid the tension and change of some rough teenage years. The grand refuge of D&D was a glorious meeting of minds and imaginations where I felt I truly belonged. 

It was a space where friendship and imagination were inextricably linked. 

The sharing of ideas on the fly, the crazy, unexpected turns other players would take—it stretched our imaginations in ways we’d never have dreamt of on our own. I loved how roleplaying through adventures taught us so much about each other—and, more often than not, ourselves. Imagining together helped us make sense of the crazy world we were growing up in. It made us stronger together. 

I wouldn’t really understand the depth of it for many years, but I had learned an important truth from my friends back then: 

Creativity is relational. 

Looking back at my years at Blizzard, I see now how profoundly this idea has shaped my career. I see how profoundly my friends and coworkers at Blizzard have shaped me as a person. 

For nearly twenty-three years I’ve had the very distinct privilege of shaping worlds and building games with the brightest creative minds in entertainment. I’ve walked with giants (and stood on some giants’ shoulders, too). 

In short, I’ve had the time of my life. 

I pretty much had the coolest job ever—but the truth is, sometimes it was really hard. Building games with dozens of brilliant, passionate alpha-geeks with their own red-hot instincts and perspectives can be pretty tricky. Coming to consensus about certain design decisions, story motifs, or courses of art direction takes a lot of communication, patience, and “give and take.” It stretches you. Sometimes it wasn’t all that pretty. But engaging with your teammates and collaborating through the potential quagmire of all that creative tension is where the real magic happens. 

It’s not just the decisions you come to—or even the final shape of the product you craft.… It’s bigger than that—and infinitely more important. True collaboration builds trust—and trust is the basis of all lasting relationships. With trust you build more than just a great product. 

You build a TRIBE…that can build anything. 

A family of craftsmen.

That’s what Blizzard has been for me. My second family, through all of life’s ups and downs, it’s always been there. The great, geeky backdrop of my life. I don’t just mean “the job” or even the creative mission—but the people. The people who over and over lifted me up, believed in me—and pushed me to find my potential as both an artist and as a leader all these years. 

To my Blizzard brothers and sisters…I wish I had the words.

Everything just sounds…trite. 

All I can think of is…

You helped me believe in myself and achieve every one of my wildest dreams. 
I am forever grateful to you. 

I love you all with everything I’ve got.

Thank you.

And to all of you out there in Blizzard’s vast gaming community—those of you I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person and all of you around the world I’ve only heard about—thank you. 

Thank you all for letting me be a special part of your community. For letting me belong with you. We’ve shared countless adventures together and I’ve always been overwhelmed and humbled by your passion for our games as well your commitment to each other. Thank you for all the BlizzCon hugs, smiles, handshakes, and stories over the years. You will never know how much you’ve all touched my heart and inspired me to give my all into this craft. 

With that said, I’ll try to get down to the point, here. I’ve come to a turn in the road. A new, far quieter chapter in my life looms ahead. 

I am retiring.

Yup.

Hangin’ up my guns. 
Clockin’ out. 
Takin’ the last gryphon out of Stormwind. 
You get the picture. 

Crazy, I know.

It’s a massive change for me, but it’s one I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. It’s ironic given the fact that things have never been better or more energized at Blizzard. Just this year alone has been incredible. 

Legion’s arrival. 
The launch of Overwatch. 
The Warcraft feature film.

I’ve never been more proud of Blizzard and the quality of its products than I am now. It’s remarkable that even after all these years we can still reach new heights and take the world for an amazing ride. I believe Blizzard’s future is brighter than ever. 

I won’t lie—it’s going to be really hard stepping away from these worlds that I love. But I’m content that I’m leaving them in the hands of the most passionate, talented, and dedicated craftsmen ever assembled. 

I can’t wait to see where Blizzard’s worlds go next—and to experience them first-hand like everyone else does. As a fan. As an adventurer. Right back to the start. 

That’s just so cool…

The reason I use the word “retire” is because I’m not going to some other company or starting up new projects or anything remotely like that. It’s been a long, amazing stretch of years. Now it’s time to slow it down. Rest. Lay around on the couch and get fat. Well, fatter.…

Seriously though, I’ll be focusing on the one thing that matters most to me in all the world—my family. They’re the core of my life and the source of my deepest joy and inspiration. In addition to raising our two little ones, we recently welcomed our new baby into the family! Being home with them all, having time and space to really live…to love my wife with all my strength…that’s my career now. 

And I’ve never been happier.

Ever. ☺

Peace out, y’all.

I love you all.

I’ll see you online.

Chris

So I am sure there are many things going through fans minds. What is going to happen with the stories and lore of the games we love? Does this mean the final words Thrall ever speaks have already been recorded? Is this why Varian had to die? Does this mean no Chris Metzen speech at Blizzcon this year?

Honestly, I don't have the answers to all of those questions because I don't know the man personally. I do know he stated that he will continue to be the voice of Thrall. I also know it is hard to let people go when they have been apart of your life even if it is your gaming one for such a long time. Change is hard it really is, but it speaks volumes to Chris that people have all these questions about the worlds they love. So I like many others Say thank you Chris for everything you have brought to the world of gaming and in particular the world's Blizzard and you created for all of us to enjoy and love. It just isn't going to be the same without you.

He Survived

On Monday we learned something that will not only change Blizzard video games, but is my belief it will be gaming as a whole. Chris Metzen is retiring. He isn't jumping ship to another company or anything like that at the age of 42 he is calling it quits. He wants to enjoy his time with his family something he has earned the right to do. It doesn't mean us gamers cannot be sad for it. So for this week's list I decided to put together my favourite Chris Metzen moments.

5. Thrall's opening Words

Warcraft III was an amazing game. Not just because it mixed up the way the genre was played, but because it had a story for us to remember. A story that formed the basis for World of Warcraft as we know today. Thrall's words spoken by Metzen were what started it all.

4. Overwatch Reveal

I have never seen any game developer be so excited for the reveal of a game. They enthusiasm and the pride in his voice was something that I wasn't expecting nor accustomed to. It really was something to see and that was before we even got the cinematic.

3. Red Shirt Guy Returns

So the previous year the infamous "red shirt guy" you could say slightly embarrassed Chris Metzen with his questions about Falstad. The following year before he got any questions out Chris Metzen walked the audience to hug the guy for being such a super fan.

2. Geek Is

During the Blizzcon in 2010 Chris Metzen made a speech that will go down in the history of Gaming Culture. He showed pride in his past, present, and future and how it all unfolded. Let everyone in the audience and those at home know that there are much others like you and you all showed be proud of who and what you are.

1. Red Shirt Guy Owns Him

I wasn't sure this was going to be number one, but it had to be. We all know what happened and we all will forever know what happened. The moment itself is immortalized within the game with the "Ironforge Fact Checker" and the words "isn't Falstad dead?" are ones that will be forever be etched in our memories.

There you have it this week's list. I know all of you have plenty of moments to be remembered involving Chris Metzen. Share them and be sure to let him know everything he has brought to the gaming world as a whole.

You Fail At Being Ready For Machines Of War If...

Fail Day! Yes I am at it once again and there is no way to stop me. So what are people failing about this week? Well I thought I had not talked about Heroes of the Storm in awhile and plus with the new event starting what better time.

You Fail At Being Ready For Machines Of War If...

• You have no clue what I am talking about
• You didn't know this is a Starcraft themed event
• You are not ready to own it up with Alarak
• You have no idea who Alarak is
• You aren't going to take joy in killing SCVs at the start of the game
• You are one of those players who thinks nukes are dumb
• You don't like nukes
• You some how don't like nukes
• You don't think it is genius to have a Butcher Ultralisk skin
• You don't believe Rexxar could be part of Raynor's Raiders
• You are not wondering why Zarya is part of the this event and not Fenix
• You don't remember when Blizzard said they made Fenix, but chose at the time not to release him
• You think you can make an all Protoss team

And Finally

• You have no interest in playing

There you have it this week's edition of fail. Hope you all enjoyed it and maybe I will see you in the Nexus.

The Dark Riders

Monday and the start of the week is upon us. Which means while we are all depressed we need something to distract us. This week we have Nixxiom's new Machinima "The Dark Riders". His description will do it more justice than mine ever will so here it is

"Legion is out so that means you better get down to Deadwind Pass and get your artifact weapon! Just be careful, mighty hero... For the Dark Riders will be on your trail the entire way, bringing horror and chaos in their wake as they chase after you. Have fun!"



Well?

Ask Gauss

Sunday! It is the end of the weekend and it is time for some questions to be answered. So without going on some crazy intro to how I will be answering some questions here we go.

Is Hearthstone too RNG?

I think people are thinking too much about the Yogg play which has been taking over as of late. Old Gods has added a lot of randomness to the game while making it more exciting to watch, but it is frustrating for players. I think Blizzard has realized this and we see with Karazhan the move away from the insanely random to more strategic and skillful random. So really I don't think it is too random. It would be if they continued in the same direction for card making.

Is Legion going to hold the player base?

That is something we will have to see. Warlords saw a big boom upon release. Not nearly as big as Legion, but still a significant boom. They lost it after the first major patch so I believe that is why Blizzard is going big with the Karazhan patch. They know how much the older players love Karazhan like they love Illidan lore. I think it will hold for that the question is about after it.

Grats on your 7 years of blogging.

Thanks couldn't be done without all of you.

There you have it this week's questions all answered. As always thank you to everyone who sent something in this wouldn't even be possible without all of you taking part. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.