matticus

MEME: When Matt was a Young Warthog

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pumba

Kudos to Game Dame for tagging me with this excellent meme last week. Due to the lack of free time over the past week with school (and this blog thing breaking), I haven’t been able to p ost my version of things.

I have to confess.

I’m a little perplexed as to why she tagged me because of 2 reasons:

  1. I’m Canadian
  2. I’m quite possibly the youngest WoW blogger in existence and I don’t recognize these events.

In lieu of that, I guarantee you that this will be a very quick list.

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

I wasn’t around for this event. In fact, I wouldn’t be around for another year. On the other hand, what I was around for was the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. I was in tenth grade and I had just woken up. It was around 730 AM for me at the time and I powered my computer to check out my news sites. Yes, at grade 10, I read news sites. My source? Fark.com. I woke up my dad about it and we flipped on the TV to catch what was happening on CNN.

September 11 attacks

This one I remember fairly clearly. I was in my drafting class working on various technical drawing exercises. The mood was different that day. It felt more somber and I had a feeling something was up. I didn’t get the opportunity to check the news that morning. Many of my classmates were crowded around various computers. I figured they were playing some SNES emulator game like Gundam Wing or Street Fighter. To my amazement, they had CNN streaming live on one of the terminals. Even more amazing, my teacher came by and actually stood there and watched along with us.

Hurricane Katrina

This happened during my graduating year. I don’t remember much about this one. To be honest, as a Canadian and an outsider, it didn’t have as much of an impact on me as the others did. I don’t know why and I can’t really explain it. I think it was because the event occurred over a longer period of time instead of striking all at once within a limited time window. I just can’t remember.

Reagan Assassination Attempt, John Lennon’s death, and Kurt Kobain’s death

I’m sorry gamedame, I’m just way too young for those.

What about you? Where were you at? And why not try these on for size?

World of Matticus Gets a New Face Lift

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rebirth

Of course, sneaky tech savvy blog readers (or even Google RSS readers) would have been able to access the blog while I was undergoing upgrades. That flimsy placeholder page does absolutely nothing to restrict people. Need to find me a maintenance mo

If my blog was my toon, I’d go all out on it trying to maximize rep and getting all the necessary gear to make it better. Looking at it now, I think I did a pretty good job! You can tell what how much a blogger loves their work by not only the way they write but how they present it.

Let’s discuss the set bonuses features about the new look, eh?

Front page
  • Same blue Matticus: The blues are staying. It’s the official colors of the Alliance and it’ll be the official colors of Matticus.
  • Featured video: On the right side, Wyn and I have the option of embedding interesting videos there that we think our readers would love. They don’t have to be necessarily WoW related. For example, if you play it now you’ll recognize the tune from the Macbook Air commercial (which I believe is very fitting for the occasion).
  • Individual author avatars: This wasn’t a problem months ago as I was the only writer. But with the embrace of a coblogger and accepting guest posts, identity becomes much more important. Cemented with 110 x 110 pixels of writers.
  • Headline ticker: Don’t miss out on the latest highlight reel posts. You’ll notice the massive billboard-like plugin at the top. It will cycle through 5 recent posts that we think you’ll enjoy!
  • Advertising: Yes, advertising has become a little more prominent. They won’t interfere with the content (due to tactical and strategic placement). However, if you don’t want to be exposed to them, why not subscribe to my RSS Feed or via EMail above instead?
  • Expanded blogroll: The recommended reading on the sidebar has been expanded to encompass more blogs. Criteria? Bribery.
  • Tag cloud: Categories have disappeared from the side. Instead, you can find random “streams of thought”. The cloud functions as a keyword type thing. Actively discussed topics are the ones that are in large fonts.
  • Refined categories: Instead of being on the side, categories now appear at the top beneath the pages. Mousing over them reveals a javascript powered drop down menu that will take you to the posts that match what you’re dying to find out more of.
Article page

I’ve not only refined the look of the blog, but I’ve taken care to add extra details to the post pages themselves. Take a gander:

  • Breadcrumb trail: Never get lost again! A breadcrumb trail at the top of each post will let you know where you are at all times.
  • Related Articles: Not sure where to go after you’re done? At the bottom of every post has a list of suggested reading to follow up on.
  • Share this: If you like a particular article or post, why not share it with a friend or guildmate? Supports multiple avenues like Digg, Stumbleupon, and Technorati. You can even share it on your Blogger or WordPress blog (Twitter and Typepad too!)
  • Gravatar support: Gravatar support has finally been implemented. Now you can have your own cool image to help distinguish you from the rest!
  • Comment and trackback separation: In the past, I found it confusing to read through comments and click on trackback links from other blogs. Sometimes I would forget to visit the other blogs because I was so enamored with the comments. No more! When viewing posts, you’ll see the comments by readers first and then link backs from other blogs and sites at the bottom.
  • Commentluv support: Not exactly new, but I never announced it either. If you’re a blogger who posts a comment, the blog will automatically try to pull the latest headline from your blog.
Temporary
  • Banner and header: That will change. I’m going to try and enlist the design skills and support of the same guy that designed the Plusheal banner.
  • Twitter: I found a nifty spot for it in the top right corner. I did a lot of changes to it but I can’t see the little Twitterbird icon. I hope it shows up. Otherwise people will wonder what that random block of text means.

Whew. Time spent? Well over 20 hours. Now I can stop tinkering, coding, and tweaking and get back to the real fun stuff of writing posts!

Actually, I’m late for my raid. Oof!

Matt & Wyn Live

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We’re about to go live soon on UStream soon. It would be cool if you made a user name, but it’s not required. It just means we address you as “Uberustreamgamer-87277875143742135248624”. Or something.

How to get in

Link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/twisted-nether-blogcast

Password: tnb73

Then you might have to enter it again.

Join myself, Wyn, Fim and Bre!

Podcast over! Thanks to everyone who joined!

State of the Blog Address

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My friends,

It’s been a rough few days here in the World. First week of school, blog randomly breaking for reasons yet unknown and so forth have kept me frantically working to keep this ship afloat. The theme you see right now is only temporary. But I’m also excited. The great blogtastrophe could very well be a blessing in disguise. I’ve wanted to do a new layout for the new year and spent most of my time scheming, planning, and drawing. Alas, I can’t wait until the Fall semester is over to put my plan into motion. What you see right now is a temporary look designed to keep blog functionality going. I have a very limited window here since exams and assignments start piling up towards the end of September and late October.

On a side note, if you have two midterms, how does that work if they’re supposed to be done during the middle of term?

Anyways, with that in mind, I’m setting an extremely ambitious plan to have a functional blog layout operational by Monday the 8th. With luck, I’ll finish in time before my hockey fantasy draft (Ovechkin or Crosby first pick?)

Schedule

Friday

0600: 20 Questions with Veneretio (tankingtips.com)
1000: SYTYCB Bloggers critique and bottom 3 announced (and an explanation on Tulani’s absence which I’m sure many of you have noticed)
1800: SYTYCB cuts announced
2130: TNB Podcast (Live!) hosted by Fimlys and Breana (Matticus and Wyn guesting)

By around that time tomorrow night, I should have a theme ready to go.

Saturday

0600: Responding to the Where the hell was I? meme from Gamedame
1200: Assigning Healing Strategy: Part 5 of 5 – Things to Watch For

Blog logistics and other minor and trivial details need to be handled. Certain categories will be axed and remade. Lots of retagging and reorganization of posts will be happening. I have like a billion posts. This is going to take a while :(.

Sunday

Blog will be in maintenance mode for the entire day which means it will largely be inaccessible. I have to raid from 1630 onwards until 2100 which means I may not be able to finalize deployment just yet. If all goes according to plan, then you’ll see the 4th reincarnation of the World.

I’d like to take a moment to recognize Lassirra for her tremendous support and technical expertise in troubleshooting the majority of the cataclysms affecting World of Matticus recently. Thanks Lassirra!

I have to confess. I came *really* close to throwing in the towel and calling it a career. That feeling only happened for a split second but it was long enough. Of course, I needed only to look up at the Feedburner counter to realize that I had at least 731 reasons to keep pushing.

All I ask is for more patience.

In the mean time, here’s a trip down memory lane:

v1

Version 1: This theme ran from early August until late September. I didn’t care much about the layout at the time. I focused more on writing as much as I could.

v2

Version 2: I opted for something new and fresh. Something that was more vibrant. Something more… me! This one was live from September on until towards the end of December.

v3

Version 3: The longest lasting theme thus far, this theme served me well from the start of 2008. My only regret is that I could not make it work long enough for the whole year. This was by far my favourite and I’m disappointed that I have to retire it earlier than usual.

Go beyond what’s asked of you. Never settle for just being “good enough”. This new theme will be better than the old one. It has to be. I won’t be happy with anything less. I will do whatever I can to make sure it reaches that point. My readers deserve no less.

Thanks for sticking it out this long.

Your friendly Priest blogger,
Matt L.

Be a World of Warcraft God in 5 Steps

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wow-god

You’ve got the game. You’ve done the raids. You’ve finished the PVPing. For some reason, and you can’t quite place it, there’s still a hole within you. It feels as if though there is something missing. You were a hardcore gamer before. In Counter-Strike you’d consistently dominate with the AWP in your hand. In Warcraft 3, dominating the opposition was nearly effortless especially with multiple tournament wins and top place finishes.

Not only that, you actually beat Tetris.

You’ve mastered shooters. You’re renowned in RTS games. Now you’ve set your eye on the MMO world. How does one “conquer” World of Warcraft?

Raid. Raid a lot.

The best gear in the game can only be acquired by tackling the hardest bosses in raiding instances. Until you’ve taken down Illidan and Archie (and now Kil’Jaden), you’re just a small pup. Get the best gear you can possibly get!

PvP Endlessly

What good are all those shiny weapons going to do if you can’t actually use them? It’s one thing for your opponents to make a note of the firepower you’re packing. It’s something else entirely when you go up to them and cleave them in half. Furthermore, a strong push to the 2000+ rating is almost a must. Non-stop BGs and Arenas are your ticket to be the Unstoppable Force.

Post often to forums

Forum trolling is an acquired skill. Some people just grow up having the innate ability to cause an uproar. The point here is to make your presence known and felt. A real gaming God is not content with just be a one man wrecking crew. Their name has to be known in households worldwide. The only way to do that is with constant posting. Reply to other threads, answer other questions, or start some discussion of your own.

Have insane amounts of gold

Like it or not, the WoW economy is one of the central pillars that drive this game. Gold makes the world go round. Without money, you can’t buy the supplies you need. Yes, although WoW Gods don’t need trivial things, armor and weapons could use some buffing and shining every so often. Although some players would be willing to do it for free, the merchants in the cities need to make a living somehow.

“Contribute” to Trade chat

It’s not enough to own the forums. You have to own trade chat! Start making references to bad movies! Make fun of Canada! Go ahead and randomly insert support for some political candidate! Get people to react to you! I saw this one guy in trade chat who said that “heals can’t crit” and I observed in amused amazement as the entire channel went off in an uproar for a good 45 minutes citing every resource base in the game that “yes, heals can in fact crit”.