Filed under
PC News on March 26th, 2008
Blizzard/Vivendi games up in arms over the Warcraft bot ‘WoW Glider’, the legal docs describe a legal battle that’s unfolding in US District Court over WoW Glider, a bot that automates just about anything in World of Warcraft. According to plaintiff Blizzard, the program infringes on their copyright, and violates Blizzards EULA, WoW Glider argues that since no copy of the game is used, it does not violate any copyrights. Here’s a snip with some of the details:
In its legal submission to the court last week, the firm said: “Blizzard’s designs expectations are frustrated, and resources are allocated unevenly, when bots are introduced into the WoW universe, because bots spend far more time in-game than an ordinary player would and consume resources the entire time.”
‘Infringed agreement’
Blizzard argued that Michael Donnelly’s tool also infringed the End User License Agreement that all parties have to adhere to when playing the game. More than 100,000 copies of the tool have been sold, according to Mr Donnelly. More than 10 million people around the world play Warcraft.
Mr Donnelly said the first time had had been aware of potential legal action over his program was when a lawyer from Vivendi games, which publishes Warcraft, and an “unnamed private investigator” appeared at his home.
In his legal submission, he detailed: “When they arrived, they presented Donnelly with a copy of a complaint that they indicated would be filed the next day in the US District Court for the Central District of California if Donnelly did not immediately agree to stop selling Glider and return all profits that he made from Glider sales.”
“Blizzard’s audacious threats offended Donnelly,” according to the legal papers.
Mr Donnelly says his tool does not infringe Blizzard’s copyright because no “copy” of the Warcraft game client software is ever made.
Blizzard has said the tool infringes copyright because it copies the game into RAM in order to avoid detection by anti-cheat software.
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I was going to do an intro for this story that I found on Wired, but I can not stop laughing to even come up with anything. Keep reading and you will know why.
Hans Jørgen Olsen, a 12-year-old Norwegian boy, recently survived a moose attack by feigning death, “just like you learn at level 30 in World of Warcraft.”
In WoW, “feign death” is a skill acquired by hunters at level 30 that allows them to take a page from the possum playbook, collapse to the ground, and convince their enemies — who lose all ingrained animosity in the process — that they’ve died.
According to Norwegian site Nettavisen , Hans and his sister apparently enraged one of the local moose (mooses? meese?) during a walk in the forest near their home. After shouting at the gigantic creature to ward it away from his sister, Olsen dropped to the ground, and presumably his lifebar plummeted to zero.
[Source Wired]
According to a post on blog On Warden, new updates to a World of Warcraft cheat detection software, Warden, could, in theory, be used by Blizzard to install malicious software on the users computer. The post says several times, “Blizzard has not, in my opinion and to the extent of my knowledge, broken laws with Warden’s use in World of Warcraft. Nor do I believe they would knowingly and willingly do so.”
The writer claims to be one of the foremost experts on Warden outside of Blizzard employees and has “first-hand knowledge of Warden through reverse engineering nearly every minute detail of the software since its inception.”
Full Disclosure: the On Warden blog’s about me only has a link to Lavish Software, which develops WinEQ2, a program that allows “forcing the game into windowed mode, session-switching hotkeys (two-way cycling and global activation), custom window titles, custom eqclient.ini and eqlsPlayerdata.ini for EQ1, automatic CPU Affinity setting and more.”
Warning: technical language after the jump.
Full Story »
DIRECTV, Inc., the exclusive distributor of the Championship Gaming Series in the U.S., and Blizzard Entertainment are offering the world’s most popular, massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft, to new DIRECTV customers across the country.
Available now through Nov. 30, 2007, new customers who sign up for DIRECTV with (Promo Code “57417 NEW”) you will receive 11 months of free World of Warcraft game time (worth approximately $150 if purchased separately). New DIRECTV customers who are not current World of Warcraft players will be able to download a trial copy of the game, upgrade that to a full version at no cost, and also receive 11 months of free World of Warcraft game time.
Filed under
PC News on August 8th, 2007
The first details on StarCraft II are starting to hit the game sites. Designed to be the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game, StarCraft II will feature the return of the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg races, overhauled and re-imagined with Blizzard’s signature approach to game balance. In addition to its unique single-player campaign, which picks up the epic saga where the last entry in the series, StarCraft: Brood War, left off, StarCraft II will offer fast-paced online play through an upgraded version of Battle.net. We found CreepColony great site for maps, game info along with some good info about StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft2.
Check it out some good Starcraft info old and new.
Filed under
PC News on August 3rd, 2007
Here is a nice little FAQ with the developers atBlizzard about World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.
Q: What are the features of the new expansion?
A: Wrath of the Lich King builds on the rich foundation established in World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade, providing a wealth of new content for players to explore. The harsh, forbidding continent of Northrend, home of the Lich King and his undead minions, will be uncovered on the world map, and to contend with the new challenges found there, players will be able to advance to level 80, acquiring potent new abilities and talents along the way.
In addition, Wrath of the Lich King will introduce the death knight hero class to World of Warcraft. Once certain criteria are met, players will be able to create a new death knight character, which will start at a high level. Furthermore, player-vs.-player battles will reach a new level of intensity with the addition of siege weapons and destructible buildings, not to mention a new battleground. There will also be an abundance of new quests, dungeons, monsters, items, and recipes - as well as a new profession, inscription - for players to try out. The expansion will include some additional character-customization options for players as well. We’ll be going into more detail on all of these features in the months ahead.
Q: How will the death knight class fit into the game?
A: The death knight combines martial prowess with dark, necromantic energies. Players might be familiar with the death knight from previously released Warcraft games - most recently, in the campaigns for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and the Frozen Throne expansion, the former paladin Arthas became a death knight and wreaked havoc across Azeroth and Northrend before fusing with the spirit of Ner’zhul to become the Lich King. The death knight is the first hero class in World of Warcraft; once certain criteria are met, players will unlock the ability to create a new death knight character, which will begin play at a high experience level. We’re currently exploring various options for how the death knight will play and the types of abilities at its disposal, and we’ll be revealing more information about this new class as we get further along in development.
Q: Will the death knight have any abilities from previously released Warcraft games?
A: The way we portrayed death knights in past Warcraft games is certainly a source of inspiration, but we are still determining how best to capture that feel within the mechanics of World of Warcraft, and haven’t made any final determinations on specific abilities.
Q: What role will the death knight play in groups and raids?
A: In general terms, the death knight can be considered a type of class that combines damage dealing and tanking, but naturally it will have an array of unique abilities as well.
Q: What races will be allowed to play death knights?
A: We haven’t yet made a final determination about which races can be death knights. However, the class will be available to both the Alliance and the Horde.
Q: Will there be additional hero classes in the future?
A: Yes, we do intend to add more hero classes in the future, but right now our focus is on the current expansion.
Q: What is the story background of the expansion?
A: Players last visited Northrend in the Warcraft III expansion, when Arthas Menethil fused with the spirit of Ner’zhul to become the Lich King, one of the most powerful entities in the Warcraft universe. He now broods atop the Frozen Throne deep in Icecrown Citadel, clutching the rune blade Frostmourne and marshaling the undead armies of the Scourge. In Wrath of the Lich King, the greatest champions of the Alliance and the Horde will do battle with the Scourge amid Northrend’s howling winds and fields of jagged ice, and ultimately face the Lich King himself.
Q: Will players actually get to encounter Arthas himself?
A: Players will be skirmishing with the minions of Arthas from the moment they set foot on Northrend. He will be a constant presence as players progress through the expansion content - which will culminate in a showdown with the dread Lich King himself.
Q: Can you discuss some of the new talents and abilities that will be available from level 70 to level 80?
A: As with character advancement up to level 70, players will gain access to an array of potent and exciting new abilities and talents as they make their way from level 70 to level 80. However, it’s still too early to get into specifics on these.
Q: How long will it take to advance from level 70 to level 80?
A: We were pleased with the pacing from level 60 to level 70 in The Burning Crusade, and we intend to take a similar approach to pacing character advancement in Wrath of the Lich King. However, the specific amount of time that it will take players to reach level 80 will vary widely based on play style.
Q: What can you reveal about Northrend?
A: The first area of Northrend we’re showcasing is the Howling Fjord, a region of grasslands overlooking massive cliffs at the southeastern edge of the continent. This, along with the Borean Tundra, is the front line of the war against Arthas, and players will come face to face with his minions as soon as they set foot on Northrend. Eventually, as players progress further, they will explore the Grizzly Hills, Dragonblight, and more. We’ll be showing off some of these new areas in the months ahead.
Q: What’s the level requirement to enter Northrend?
A: Players of any level who have purchased the expansion can visit Northrend. However, all of the content is designed for players level 68 and up.
Q: How many new dungeons will be in the expansion?
A: The first dungeon players will enter is Utgarde Keep, which is intended for five players around level 70. Utgarde is inhabited by the Vrykul, a Viking-like race bent on proving their strength to the Lich King, who will raise the most worthy of their warriors to serve him beyond the grave. We intend to provide a variety of dungeons comparable to that in The Burning Crusade and will be revealing more details about some of these in the months ahead.
Q: Do you plan to continue with the 25-player model for raids?
A: Yes. We’ve been pleased with the tactics, intensity, and variety of the 25-player raid model, and plan to continue with it.
Q: Will the new dungeons have heroic versions?
A: Yes. We feel that the heroic versions of dungeons are a great way to add another level of challenge and reward for experienced players, and we intend to continue creating these variants.
Q: In what ways will players be able to further customize their characters in the expansion?
A: In addition to the numerous new character-customization options that will be available with all of the new weapons and armor added by the expansion, we’ll be offering some fun ways to alter both existing and new characters with regard to dances and hairstyles, but we’re not ready to go into more detail just yet.
Q: What can you reveal about the new profession coming with the expansion?
A: The Inscription profession will allow players to permanently enhance their own spells and abilities and those of other players. We’ll provide more specific details on the mechanics of this new profession in the months ahead.
Q: What can players expect with regard to player-vs.-player combat in the expansion?
A: Players will be able to take control of siege weapons and use them to destroy opposing buildings, adding a new layer of complexity to PvP battles. Naturally, we’ll be providing some fun places to put these new tools to good use, and we’ll be revealing more information about them in the months ahead, in addition to the new battleground content being added.
Q: Can you give a sneak peek at the new recipes and items in the expansion?
A: There will be hundreds of new recipes and thousands of new items available, but we’re not ready to discuss specific examples just yet.
Q: Will there be any graphical enhancements?
A: Yes. We’re currently working on some technical enhancements to the game’s graphics, and we’ll be discussing these further in the months ahead.
Q: How many zones will be in the expansion?
A: Northrend will be roughly equivalent to Outland in terms of size and scope.
Q: Will there be any new cinematic scenes?
A: Yes, our cinematics department is hard at work preparing a new intro movie for the expansion.
Release/Availability
Q: Do you need to own the expansion to play with friends who have it?
A: There will be many aspects of the expansion that will be available to all players. However, in order to experience certain content, such as Northrend, or be able to play as a death knight, players must purchase the expansion.
Q: Will there be an open beta test of the expansion?
A: We have not yet determined whether the expansion will require an open beta test. If we do decide to conduct a beta test, details will be posted on the official World of Warcraft website once we’ve gotten further along in the development process.
Q: When will the expansion be released? How much will it cost?
A: We have not yet announced a release date for the expansion set. However, we expect to announce further details, including the release date and price, on our community website in the months ahead.
Q: Will there be a collector’s edition?
A: We have not yet made any determination about whether there will be a collector’s edition of Wrath of the Lich King. We’ll be announcing details such as this closer to release.
Q: Will a Mac version be available simultaneously with the PC version?
A: Yes. As with all of our games, Wrath of the Lich King will be compatible with and optimized for both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
Q: What are the system requirements?
A: We’ll continue to ensure that the game is playable on a wide range of hardware. However, we have not made a final determination on the system requirements as yet.
Q: Will the expansion be released globally at the same time?
A: We recognize that players throughout the world will be eager to experience all of the new content being added with Wrath of the Lich King, and we will make every effort to release the expansion simultaneously worldwide. However, there’s always the possibility that unforeseen circumstances could delay the launch in any given region. We’ll share the launch timing with players in each region as soon as the plans have been finalized.
Filed under
PC News on July 24th, 2007
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that World of Warcraft, its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has reached a new milestone, with a player base now totaling more than 9 million subscribers worldwide. The company is currently working with its partner for World of Warcraft in China, The9, to prepare the game’s first expansion, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, for launch in mainland China and anticipates an influx of new and returning subscribers in conjunction with that event.
“We’re thrilled that gamers around the world have continued to embrace World of Warcraft so enthusiastically,†said Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve worked hard to provide a compelling experience for our players, and we plan to continue updating the game with exciting new content for them to enjoy for many years to come.â€
Since debuting in North America on November 23, 2004, World of Warcraft has become the most popular MMORPG around the world. It was the bestselling PC game of 2005 and 2006* and has remained at or near the top of the weekly PC-game sales charts for much of 2007 as well. Blizzard’s Burning Crusade expansion released to critical acclaim in several regions earlier this year and shattered PC-game sales records in North America and Europe, with nearly 2.4 million copies sold in its first 24 hours of release and approximately 3.5 million in its first month. World of Warcraft is available in seven different languages and, in addition to North America and Europe, is played in mainland China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
