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In this audio post, I talk about the change to battlegrounds in which you now get experience. I made this show before I had read the following quote, so a little bit in there is pointless now, but I know you listen to the show just for my sexy voice and not for the content.

Players will now be awarded experience for completing objectives and actions that yield honor in Battlegrounds (honorable kills not included).

I know I don’t sound terribly enthused, but trust me, that’s how I sound in real life too. That’s not just me being annoyed at having to do these; it’s just how I speak. Also, as with all of my audio posts, you will probably need to turn it up to full volume. I know I speak quietly. I really do need to work on that if I want to keep up with this whole audio thing…

If you would like to download this show, right-click the link below and select “Save Link As” and specify a save-location.

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Edit: Listening to it over, now, I’m realizing that I said “honor” instead of “experience” a couple of times. I’m pretty sure you can figure out what I meant, though.

I knew that going around and collecting all of the bonfires got XP on a non-max-level character, but I recently found out how much money a max-level character gets per bonfire.

I’m estimating here, but a max-level character gets about 6g for every fire they honor and about 13g for every fire they desecrate. So, with all of the fires in Azeroth and Outland, I believe that’s about 582g. Now, some people may scoff at that, but I am pretty broke at the moment, so that seems like a lot of money to me.

So, I’m going to go get some more fires. I want a mammoth, but I still have about 14.5k to go! That’s what I get for refusing to do dailies…

Today, I’m going to talk about a few addons I use that I think make crafting professions much easier.

LilSparky’s Workshop – This is an awesome little addon that displays the cost to make an item and the price you could sell it for on the auction house. So, it’s very useful to be able to, at a glance, figure out what’s profitable to make.

AuctionLite – LilSparky’s Workshop needs auction house information before it can display data from the auction house, though. So, that’s where AuctionLite comes in. You can also use Auctioneer, but Auctioneer is rather bloated and takes a long time to scan. I prefer AuctionLite for it’s slimmed-down interface and small footprint.

Advanced Trade Skill Window – I hate Blizzard’s standard tradeskill UI; I can never find what I’m looking for in it. So, that’s why I get Advanced Trade Skill Window. It replaces Blizzard’s tradeskill UI with a double-paned window. It also has features like queing things to be made. A really nifty feature of Advanced Trade Skill Window is it’s ability to make things that you need to make a recipe.

For example: I want to make a Bolt of Imbued Frostweave. I have Frostweave Cloth and Infinite Dust. I can click to make one Bolt of Imbued Frostweave, and it will make the Frostweave Cloth into Bolts and then make the Bolts and the Infinite Dust into the Imbured Bolt, all with one click.

LibPeriodicTable – This is just a library that LilSparky’s Workshop needs in order to see vendor items.

SellFish – This tells LilSparky’s Workshop the costs of the vendor items.

Enchantrix – For the most part, anyone with Enchanting would have this addon anyway, but it also links in to LilSparky’s Workshop and displays the value of the object disenchanted.

Fizzwidget Disenchant Predictor – This is a very useful addon for Enchanters. It tells you what you will most likely get from disenchanting an item. It will also tell you, when you mouse over an enchanting mat, what that mat disenchants from.

I think that’s about it for crafting addons. That’s all I use, anyway.

I love Midsummer… I’ve been leveling my Death Knight lately, and I hate leveling. Then, Midsummer rolled around, I collected all of the bonfires, and now I’m two levels higher than I was. Yay.

Now, my Death Knight is level 68, and most of the quests I was working on in Terokkar are green now. So, I’m going to finish up Terokkar and move on to Nagrand pretty soon.

On Bacclor, however, I’ve started collecting the mats I’ll need to make my Death Knight some tanking gear. I will be following my own guide that I wrote awhile back called Hit the Defense Cap on a Death Knight Without Running a Single Instance.
I’m going to first make all of the crafted gear possible, and then when I get higher up, I’ll start working on the rep gear. I should already be defense-capped by the time I’m level 80, though, definitely.

Then, I can start running Naxx and get some better gear. That’s all assuming that I actually have the attention span to level my Death Knight all the way to 80. I might just burn out at 70 or something; I don’t know. I’m going to keep working on it, though, and hopefully, I’ll get to tank for the first time pretty soon (well, I’ve tanked VC on my druid, and I tank Razuvious every week in Naxx, but I’m not counting those).

[Click here to see what my UI was like before]

When my WoW started messing up a while back, I deleted all of my addons trying to fix it. Well, when I finally did get it fixed, I had to rebuild my UI from scratch. So, this time around, I pretty much made it look the same as it did before, but this time, I used memory-friendly addons. So, here it is:

My New UI

Click on the picture for a better look, if you like.

Action bars - This time around, I used Dominos, where I normally use Bartender. I don’t think I like Dominos as much, but I’m going to give it a shot; I haven’t been using it for very long, so maybe I just have to get used to it.

Raid Frames - In my last UI post, I was using Xperl, and now I’m using Grid. I actually switched over to Grid a little bit before I rebuilt my UI, but yeah.

Unit Frames - I’m using Pitbull at the moment, instead of Xperl. I’m trying to find a good replacement, because I’m not very fond of Pitbull. It’s the best I’ve found, so far, though.

Chat - I’m used Prat before, and I’m still using Prat. Prat is awesome.

Bags - You can’t see it, but I’m actually using Bagnon and MrPlow at the moment. I was using ArkInventory before. I really like the way it turns out with Bagnon and MrPlow, but I don’t like having to plow everything whenever I get a new item.

Decursive – I used Decursive before, and I’m still using it.

Cast Bar - I was using Quartz before, and I’m still using it. One thing about Quartz, though: after I download it, I delete the Buffs folder; the Buffs function of Quartz has gotten me hit by void zones before.

Minimap – I’m not using any minimap addon at the moment. I was using SexyMap before, but I think it was just an unnecessary resource hog. The reason I liked it before was that it auto-hid all of my minimap buttons when I wasn’t hovering over it, but with this new UI, since I tried to keep the addons to a minimum, I don’t have that many minimap buttons.

Deadly Boss Mods – I was running both DBM and BigWigs at the same time, before. Now, I’m only running DBM.

Blizzard’s “Addons” - I’m actually making full use of a lot of Blizzard’s things that they stole from addon developers. I’m using the Equipment Manager instead of Outfitter, I’m using the in-game calendar instead of GroupCalendar, and I’m using their Scrolling Combat Text instead of SCT. I’m hoping this will help performace a little bit.

So, I got the Sims 3 last week, a day or two after it came out. I didn’t think I was going to get this one, but EA used their hypnotic mind powers on me, and now I have it. I picked it up for $40 at Best Buy, so at least I didn’t pay full retail for it.

My first impression of it was that it was totally different and much better.

After playing it for about an hour, I realized it was basically the same game with a new interface.

I can’t honestly tell you that I expected something ground-breaking when I got this game. I got it for something to kill some time over summer break when I don’t feel like doing something productive. It accomplishes that. It will suck up appalling amounts of time if you’re not careful.

Obviously, I’m not going to discuss everything that they changed, but here’s a little rundown of things I thought were interesting.

Moodlets

The aspect of this particular game that makes it different from all of the other Sims games is called Moodlets. These are little… buffs and debuffs, for lack of better terms… that you get for certain things.

You can get a Well-Rested buff that will increase your Sim’s performance at school and work and whatnot, then you get the Sleepy and Tired debuffs that decrease your performance.

They have these little things for everything: having just had your first kiss, having just moved into a new house, having ridden in a new car, etc. etc.

Skills

One odd thing is that you don’t start out with all of your skills at 0. You don’t even start out with the skills. You actually have to discover the skill before you can ever start building it up.

Also, they ditched the Creative skill and instead, you have guitar skill, writing skill and painting skill.

Furniture and Appliances

The big thing with furniture in this one is that you can position your furniture diagonally. Whoop-tee-freakin-doo. Just what I’ve always wanted to do…

The thing that I’m more interested in, though, is that if you have a high enough mechanical skill, you can actually upgrade your appliances. You make make them self-cleaning and unbreakable and whatnot.

Another neat little thing is portable items. In the Sims 2, you could put anything in your inventory. In the Sims 3, you can only put portable things in your inventory. So, you can actually carry around a laptop (yes, there’s a laptop in this one), and whip it out wherever you are. You do have to have a desk, though; your sim won’t actually use his lap.

No Load Screens (Almost)

I’d say that the biggest difference between 2 and 3 is that in 3, the entire town is loaded, not just your lot. You can actually have your Sims roam around town without having any load screens. Obviously, though, you still have the huge load screen when the game first starts out and when you select which family to play.

Story Progression

This one, I was not expecting. I was thinking that this game would be like the Sims 2, where you select a town and then you select a family. Then, when you don’t feel like playing that family, you can go back to the town view and select a different family to play in the same town.

Well, in this one, you can only have one active family per town. All of the families you’re not controlling, go on living their lives without you. They age, they die, they have kids, etc. etc.

So, the Sims 3 is a great way to waste time, but if you’re looking for a good gaming experience, why would you even be looking at a post about the Sims in the first place?

My Rating of the Sims 3

7.5/10

I’ve been wanting to level my death knight for a really, really long time. If you’ve ever read a post I’ve written about leveling alts, you’ll know that I absolutely despise leveling. Leveling is not my strong suit; raiding is where the game is at to me. I don’t really have the patience to grind out 80 levels just so that I can actually play the game. It’s amazing I got the 80 on one character.

So, when the death knight came out, I was obviously very happy. I love playing alts; I love having that variety in playstyle, and I’ve been wanting to play a tank for a really long time now. I just haven’t been able to put up with the leveling.

Well, yesterday I got another level: I’m level 66 now. At this rate, I might hit 70 (yes, 70, not 80) before the next expansion comes out. I ran all around in Terokkar doing quests and whatnot, and I finished out a couple quests that I had left over in Zangarmarsh. In Levels to Zone, I’m actually only a little bit ahead of where I was when I was 66 on Bacclor. I find it kind of surprising, considering the leveling buffs and whatnot, but I guess I could attribute that to running instances on Bacclor. Whatever.

So yeah, I don’t think I’m going to make it to 80 on my Death Knight, but I want to try. I think it’s kind of frustrating that Blizzard introduces leveling buffs now, though. Right after I actually start leveling, they add things that make me want to wait for. I’m not waiting, though. I am going to keep on until I get bored! (so… two days, tops…)

Keep in mind throughout this that this is just what I did to get it working. These steps may or may not work for you.

Step 1: Get Wine.

Pretty much all you have to do is follow the instructions at http://www.winehq.org/download/deb.

Those instructions for those too lazy to click a link are as follows

1. System -> Administration -> Software Sources
2. ‘Third Party Software’ tab
3. Add
4. Enter the key for your version of Ubuntu; for me, it is deb http://wine.budgetdedicated.com/apt jaunty main #WineHQ – Ubuntu 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope”.
5. Download and save Scott Ritchie’s key (I’d say put it on the desktop for easy access, but wherever).
6. ‘Authentication’ tab
7. Import Key File
8. Select ‘Scott Ritchie.gpg’
9. Delete the Scott Ritchie key since you don’t need it any more
10. Close
11. Reload the package information
12. Click here to get Wine

Step 2: Installing WoW

I have only tried two of the three methods of installing WoW (copying a Windows copy and the digital download), so I will only list the two that I am familiar with. Go to WoWWiki’s Wine page or Ubuntu’s WoW page for help with installing from the discs.

Method 1: Copy from Windows

This way is rather obvious. You can just copy over your Windows installation of WoW onto Linux. Then, all you have to do is right-click your Launcher.exe and select “Open with ‘Wine Windows Program Loader.’

Method 2: Install Using The Digital Download

This way, again, is rather obvious. All you have to do is download the game files from Blizzard. It should download a small little file on your computer, and all you have to do is run that file in Wine, and you should be downloading WoW.

Step 3: Configuring WoW

After you have WoW installed, you may think it’s smooth sailing from there, but no it is not. You still have a couple of very important steps.

First, you have to edit the config file.

1. Navigate yourself to your WoW folder.
2. WTF -> Config.wtf
3. Display

Now, just copy and past the following lines of code into the file:

SET gxApi "opengl"
SET ffxDeath "0"
SET ffxGlow "0"

Step 4: Editing Wine’s Registry

Now, this is the part that stumped me for weeks. So, this part is rather important.

1. Open up a Terminal
2. Type “regedit” (without quotations, of course)
3. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wine\
4. Right-click the wine folder
5. [New]
6. [Key]
7. Name the key “OpenGL”
8. Right click anywhere within the blank space on the right
9. [NEW]
10. [String Value]
11. Name it “DisabledExtensions” (Case sensitive)
12. Double click anywhere on the string value
13. In the dialog box that should pop up, type “GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object”

Step 5: Running WoW

Now, you should be all done and ready to run WoW. There are a couple more steps that are totally optional, but they add convenience. So, if you want to navigate to your Launcher.exe and right-click to run it in wine every single time you want to play WoW, go ahead, but I make things a bit easier.

Setting Wine to Automatically Run Windows Files

Now, if you double-click a Windows file such as WoW, you should get a dialog box asking you which program to run the program with. Select Wine, and then you can specify that you always open that type of file with Wine.

Creating a Launcher

I, personally, have a Launcher on both my desktop and on my top panel. Creation of both Launchers is pretty much the same, so I’ll only go over desktop.

1. Right-click your desktop
2. Create a Launcher
3. Name: WoW
4. Command: [Browse]
5. Navigate to your Launcher.exe file
6. Click the spring to your left
7. Navigate to a WoW icon
8. I like to use this, but you can use whatever icon you like.

Step 6: Have Fun

Now, you should be completely up and running. I hope you liked my how-to.

In my last post, I said that I had broken WoW. Well, I got it to work again. I’m glad it’s working without issue now because it was really frustrating to not be able to play the game that I’m paying $12 a month for. Also, I’ve been falling behind on my finances in WoW, since I haven’t been able to do anything like dailies or farming or anything like that. I only have like 2k left! :-O

It was a real pain to try to get it to work, too. I tried so many different things it could have been, it’s ridiculous. I deleted my interface and wtf folders (they needed to be cleaned out anyway), I messed with the config file for a long time, I ran the Blizzard Repair tool, I reinstalled the game twice, I messed with the sound settings; I did pretty much everything I could think of, and none of it helped.

The issue ended up being that I had to disable extensions in Wine’s OpenGL registry. I’ll have a post up pretty soon explaining everything I did to get WoW to work in Linux from the very beginning. That way, I won’t forget, and I might even help someone else out.

I’ve been having a lot of problems with WoW since 3.1.2 came out. I’ve been having issues where the graphics would bug out, and I would end up having to terminate WoW and log back in. It was doing it so frequently, I could hardly play the game any more. It would only do it while I was either in Dalaran or on a flying mount. As long as I was on the ground, I seemed to be fine. It was doing it frequently enough, though, that I couldn’t really play the game any more.

So, yesterday, I started messing with it to get it to work. I ended up deleting my interface and wtf folders (well, I have the backed up, but still) along with running the Blizzard Repair feature. Neither of those worked, so I tried to install WoW fresh. Of course, it didn’t want to install in Linux.

So, I downloaded a program called PlayOnLinux that claimed to make installation of WoW relatively painless on Linux. It was fine for WoW and Burning Crusade, but it didn’t support Wrath. What good does that do me?

So, now I’m back to square one: I can put my Interface and WTF folders that I backed up back in and go on getting booted out of the game, but I’m too proud for that. I am going to find a solution to this. If I do, I’ll be sure to post what I did up here, but if I don’t, I don’t know what I’ll do.