Friday, August 29, 2008

Freebie Friday - The Sims 2 - Wall and Floor

Red and Blu
This Friday I have a new wallpaper & floor combo for your The Sims 2 game. Red and Blu is usable in any The Sims 2 game. Looks great for a game room, kids room, shop--any place where you need a little lift.
Download Red and Blu floor and wall by clicking here.
Have fun with this download and see you next week!

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Thursday, August 28, 2008

IGN Uses Mah Wallpaper!

Look! IGN is using my wallpaper.
Browsing around today, I thought I was losing my mind for a bit when I found that IGN used my free Spore wallpaper for an article about the MashON Spore Comic Book Creator! The wallpaper was made from the free stuff I got from the Maxis website, but too bad I didn't get a link back. Frown face here. Also, it was really made in Photoshop. But it does look like it could have been something a comic book artist person made. That's because I'm just such a great designer. Ha, HA! Now someone please give me a job or something because money is so nice and I'm nice, too.
In case it gets taken down or changed: Screenshot or it didn't happen.
You can get this free wallpaper, too! Just by clicking my link on the sidebar, or by clicking here.

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Spore @ PAX & Will Wright in London

The recent Spore Newsletter says that Spore will be at PAX (the Penny Arcade Expo) in Seattle August 29-31 at the EA booth.
And from the Urban Online Entertainment forums, we learn that Will Wright will be in London at an Apple store on September 3rd at 3pm. Click the links for more info.

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Spore Space Phase Video

Got an email newsletter from EA last night that the Spore website has been updated with a new Space Phase Video. Only 10 days until release!

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

2 Spore Prototypes From EA

Today the Spore official website was updated to include two prototypes, GonzagoGL and Waterboy. GonzagoGL simulates "an environment with predators, prey, shelter and vegetation." while Waterboy is a "a fluid dynamics simulator." Check them out at Spore.com!

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Patch for the Creature Creator Live

EA Violet tells us that there is a new patch available for download for the Creature Creator, both the free and trial versions. Fixes include:

  • Improved thumbnail resolutions for saved creatures.
  • Added five new animations, recorded when creating animated GIFs in Test Drive Mode.
  • Fixed a randomly occurring system hang.
  • Fixed a crash associated with EADM.
  • Creatures no longer disappear from the Sporepedia when the save flow is interrupted.
  • Corrected the Audio buzzing found on systems with nForce2 integrated audio.
  • Updated Spanish and Polish readme files.
  • Updated the EULA found in the installer.
  • Integrated the newest save creature PNG. NOTE: This allows creatures PNGs made with Spore to be drag-and-dropped into the Spore Creature Creator. Spore Creature Creator players who do not patch will not be able to drag-and-drop PNGs created in patched versions of the Spore Creature Creator or Spore.
  • Improves overall stability.

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Spore Prototype Guides

A very nice reader sent me an email asking about Spore Prototype guides. If you don't know what Spore Prototypes are, they're aspects of Spore broken down into simple games to help the developers test. Spore Prototypes can be found on the official Spore website.
So far, there are 9: Particle Man, Biome, City Maze, Cell Structure, Space, SPUG, Crowd, Gaslight, NetCity...and after today (Tuesday), there may be one more (they update every Tuesday).
Well, anyway, was I able to find any guides?

User KazarSanaga over at the EA forums was kind enough to direct me to this Space Prototype thread and this thread, which lists they keyboard controls for the SPUG Prototype, and also one about Netcity, Gaslight, and Crowd. I also discovered two very good threads for the City Maze Prototype; this one, and this one that explains the controls very well.

Does anyone know of any more guides for these great prototypes?
Please comment below or drop me an email at ansleyasher at gmail dot com.
Thanks!

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Monday, August 25, 2008

Spore Community Day Details

It's less than 2 weeks away from Spore's release date of Sept 7th! Spore Universe links us to a really great thread on the Gaming Steve Forums about Spore Community Day. Several fansites got to go to EA to test out Spore for the day. Read their reports on what happened!

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Friday, August 22, 2008

Freebie Friday - World of Warcraft - Addon

Wigglebutt & Me
If you play a hunter in World of Warcraft, Nomnom Pet Feeder by Safari is the addon for you!

"Nomnom saves a list of the foods you want to feed to your pet, lets you know when your pet needs feeding, and lets you feed your pet in one click. Nomnom goes down your list and checks to see which foods you have in your bags and chooses food to use in the order you prefer."
I've been looking for an addon that lets me choose the foods I want to feed my pets easily, and while Feed-O-Matic and King of the Jungle have some good features, I felt like they took a lot of control away from me. I just wanted something simple that did what I wanted it to--put in list, feed pet. That's all I wanted. So I made it.

You can download Nomnom at WowInterface here.

Hope you have a great weekend & see you next week!

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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Make a Comic, Get a WotLK Beta Key

Looks like WowInterface.com is giving away 20 Wrath of the Lich King Beta Keys AND a mini Tyrael pet in a comics contest! All you have to do to enter is draw a comic they can use on their site(s). If it's picked, you win! Follow the links for more information. They explain:

  • "Submission deadline is 11:59pm pacific, Friday, 29 August, 2008.
  • The WoWI staff will pick our favourite 20 over the weekend and post our decision on Monday, 1 September, 2008.
  • Codes for the Beta key and mini Tyrael pet will be sent to the winning members via private message here on the site.
  • All decisions by the staff of WoWI are final."

Hope you win!

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Blizzard Ticket Drawing Begins

The opt-in part of the Blizzard Blizzcon 2008 Ticket Drawing is live. To enter, eligible customers must log in to the Blizzard Account Management system. From the World of Warcraft website:

"The opt-in period will last until 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, August 24. After it ends, we will select 1,500 people from the opt-in pool and offer them a chance to purchase up to two tickets to BlizzCon 2008."
Visit the World of Warcraft website site for details. Good luck!

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

1UP Spore Weekly Contest

Somehow I missed this on Friday when it was announced, but looks like 1UP is having a Spore Launch Countdown Contest -- The Sporelympics?! It's a weekly challenge, so head on over and have a look at what they want this week and get it in by Friday 12 p.m. EST.

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Spore Milestone Contest

The folks at Spore have announced a contest "to give cool Spore prizes to the authors of 'milestone' numbered creations all the way up to our 4 Millionth Sporepedia creation." Prizes include:

  • Spore bumper stickers for every 50,000th creation
  • Exclusive Spore t-shirt for every 100,000th creation
  • Grand prize for the 4 Millionth creation - a PC and monitor
Have a glance at their rules to make sure you are eligible, and get crackin'! Remember, timing is everything.

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Creature Creator Dance Contest Finalists

Spore Universe has a list of the 10 finalists in the Creature Creator Dance Contest.
Hope you're one of them! If not, better luck next time and check out what EA thinks are the best of the best.

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Yet Another Ticket Update

In an attempt to drag things out, Blizzard has listed some details about the lottery on their main page today while still not actually announcing when the ticket lottery is to be held. They even made a FAQ. More to come.

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Monday, August 18, 2008

Blizzcon Ticket Update

Nothing's changed yet--the ticket lottery was announced but nothing finalized--but Blue reminds us of a few details of which ticket buyers must be aware:


"[E]ligible Blizzard Account holders who created accounts prior to 9:00 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 will be able to opt in for a chance to purchase up to two tickets to the show... Please note that a Blizzard Account is an account created for the Blizzard Online Store -- as opposed to an account created for a Blizzard game, such as World of Warcraft. If you have any questions regarding Blizzard Accounts, please read our Blizzard Account FAQ."

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Spore Galactic Edition - $60 @ Best Buy

Just got an anonymous tip that Best Buy is selling the Spore Galactic Edition for $60; a pretty good deal considering it sells elsewhere for $80ish.

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Friday, August 15, 2008

Freebie Friday - The Sims 2 - Tiger Painting

Purple Tiger Picture

I forgot it was Friday until a few hours ago! That's how busy this week has been. But I still have a great Freebie Friday for you.

I saw this beautiful purple tiger in World of Warcraft and just had to turn it into a painting for The Sims 2. This painting will work even in just the base game as long as you have CEP (Color Enable Package) installed. You can get the free download at Mod The Sims.

This painting uses the Rainy Day Main Street painting base, so when you find that painting in your game, just choose this picture instead of the default.

Click here to download the Purple Tiger Painting.

Have a happy and safe weekend!

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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Blizzard Announces Blizzcon Ticket Lottery

Blizzard Entertainment President and co-founder Mike Morhaime has posted a personal statement on the World of Warcrft Forums. After an apology, he announces:

[W]e've reevaluated our convention hall space and come up with some solutions that will allow us to offer 3,000 more tickets for sale. We know this will not be enough to satisfy the very high level of demand for tickets this year, but we want to ensure that BlizzCon remains a great experience for those of you who are able to attend. To avoid the issues many of you faced this week, we'll be selling these 3,000 via a lottery.

Anyone looking for tickets might have an equal chance now. Blizzard will post an update explaining how the lottery is to go down. However, some states don't allow contests you have to pay to participate in (like the World of Warcraft comic contest*) so not everyone may be able to take part in this lottery. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

*Yes, people in some states cannot participate in the monthly comic contest. In those states, because you have to pay to play World of Warcraft, you cannot enter or win a contest Blizzard runs. The comic contest included. Crazy, huh?

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The Sims 3 Website Update

Got an email last night from EA that said The Sims 3 website has been updated. And it has--there's some new screenshots and developer blogs (which don't have much in them yet, but you gotta start somewhere). There's also two wallpapers to download if you signed up for The Sims 3 VIP.

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Blizzcon Sold Out - Angry Fans Post

Was there a better way for Blizzard to have sold their tickets than through their crashy and clumsy webstore? Thirty-five pages of angry Blizzard customers* would like to know. Now scalpers are selling tickets on websites like Stub Hub for $1500 while fans claim they got only errors and tickets ripped from their shopping carts. "The availability of one or more products in your cart have changed while you were shopping. Your cart is empty," has been repeatedly posted by fans who expected the tickets to still be in their carts at checkout. One writes*:


"I've worked in retail for over 20 years and this entire thing has been enough to give me an aneurysm. I put in my security code no less than 30 times in the last 48 hours, I have screenshots at different stages of progress. How can you have a store where someone puts something in a basket and you make them fill out umpteen fields, and when they're done you say "oops we sold it to someone else" I'd love to watch that in a Walmart or a Sears..."

On a side note, it's always interesting to me how the scalpers manage to get through and buy tickets when customers can't. Some customers claim to have gotten charged though they got no tickets*, and some got charged for (and got) extra tickets*. To add insult to injury, Blue posts, "DIRECTV will be broadcasting BlizzCon,"* as if that's some kind of solution. But it seems no one wants to take the bait of paying for Direct TV just to watch other nerds have fun (unless they're masochistic).

I've debated about posting this on my blog. I want my blog to be positive. But, just like The Sims 2 Store distaster, I don't think pretending there's a not a major problem with the way something was done will make the problem fix itself. I'd also thought about trying to make (the difficult and expensive) plans to go to Blizzcon, but I think instead I'll just buy the bear on eBay. ;)

* (WARNING: the Blizzard forum contains bad language and descriptions of what angry customers would like to do to Blizzard. Please be aware when following the link.)

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Monday, August 11, 2008

Blizzcon Tickets On Sale Now

Blizzcon tickets are now on sale! If you're planning on going this October, now's the time to get them. Check their website for more information.

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Friday, August 8, 2008

Freebie Friday - The Sims 2 - Kid's Sofa

Spore Kid's Room Sofa
Today I have a sofa I made to help complete the sim kids Spore decorated rooms!
This is a recolor of the Durable Value Sofa and should be playable in any The Sims 2 game that has the CEP Color Enable Package installed.

Cute little sporelings dance across the blue field of space on this overstuffed sofa. Great for napping, playing, or just sitting around.

Download the Spore Kid's Sofa here.
See you Monday!

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Special Olympic Tabard & Pet from Blizzard

This has been quite a World of Warcraft week for this blog, and the fun doesn't stop today. Maybe tomorrow. But certainly not today.

MMO Champion reports that--between now, August 8th and August 25th--you can get an Olympic tabard and a special Olympic pet. From MMO Champion:

  • "To get the new tabard, you only have to play one battleground. Winning or losing doesn't matter, if you stay for the duration of the battle you will be mailed a Competitor's Tabard.
  • To get the new pet, you must defeat your rivals in any of the Battlegrounds. With every victory, there is a chance that a Gold Medallion will be mailed to you."

No matter how you feel about the tabard & pet, you have to admit it's nice to be able to get some fluff items in game anymore for doing game stuff, since the trend with all games seems to be to make players pay real money for virtual geegaws.

But I won't ever make you pay for a Freebie Friday! I'll be posting it later on today as usual. See you then!

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Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Zhevra Mount in World of Warcraft

MMO-Champion is covering the details of Blizzard's new recruit-a-friend program: get a friend to join and get a new zhevra mount. Some additional perks are:

  • While adventuring with your linked friend/family member, you will each gain triple experience.
  • For every two levels the new player earns, the new player can grant one free level-up to a lower-level character played by the veteran player.

Yes, people have been calling it the "multiboxer's special". Though, either way, the mount is kind of pretty. Blizzard explains how to get it:
"For each person you refer who upgrades to a retail version of World of Warcraft and purchases two months of game time, you will be able to give a character on the account you sent the invitation from an exclusive in-game zhevra mount. This unique mount can be claimed through the website, is only available to Recruit-A-Friend participants, and can only be applied to a single character."

Okay, Blizzard, sure, an extra two months of membership from a new player is great, but--where's the reward for us long-time players who have been giving you money from the start? You know, we fools who have never stopped our subscriptions? I'll be waiting for a reply...a long time, probably! ;)

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Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Blizzcon Goody Bag Stuffed With Bears & Murlocs

Blizzard tells Blizzcon-goers what to look forward to:

"And of course, a new BlizzCon brings with it a lovable murloc to welcome into your heart--but murlocs don't always come alone. This one has developed a taste for speed, and sits astride an exclusive polar bear mount, waving a BlizzCon flag. It's the perfect way to cruise Northrend in style."


Blizzcon will be October 10-11 in Anaheim, California this year, and tickets are going on sale August 11th.

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Christmas in Northrend

According to this article at Eurogamer.net, Blizzard's Wrath of the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft will be coming out in time for Christmas 2008:


"WOW players will definitely be exploring Northrend's snowy wastes this Christmas."

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Friday, August 1, 2008

Freebie Friday - The Sims 2 - WotLK Fan Poster

Wrath of the Lich King Fan Poster

I liked the posters I made last week so much, I made another! This time, it's for Wrath of the Lich King, the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion made with material from their fansite kit (which you can get for yourself here).

This download should work in any The Sims 2 game that has the CEP Color Enable Package installed.

You can download the wotlk poster here.

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