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[Azimer]

So after logging nearly 120 days /played on my World of Warcraft account, I decided to hang it up. With the 1.11 patch, my Shaman class outlook as gone from bad to worse. Within recent weeks, we've been told there will be no futher updates until after the expansion. I took a hard honest look at things and drew a lot of parallels between MMORPG Raiding and Emulation coding....

- In both you spend countless hours doing the same thing for little progress
- In both you get a small "happy" each time you win an uber epic (or a new game works)
- In both you draw the attention of people who admire your hard work
- In both the quest is never complete

Now there is one SHARP contrast...

- Emulation coding is casual friendly. I can pick it up and put it down around my schedule not 39 others.

I have chosen to help out some people in the emulation community. I may or may not return to full capacity on my projects as I have forgotten a lot of the progress I was making. Consider this a "Welcome back to the fold" message post... I will need a lot of support to overcome my MMO addiction. Thanks.

[ScottJC]

You're forgetting that theres very few who can follow your footsteps in emulation coding, in an MMO people can achieve the same things with a lot of time as you did.

Welcome back.

[revl8er]

Well I never quite liked the idea of only being able to make lvl 60 in the game, or at least that's what I was told. It just wasn't worth it, cause I believe that MMORPGs should allow you to lvl constantly and they could keep adding stronger monsters to give u challenge, but thats just my thought on it.

[Azimer]

Thanks for the welcome Scott. As far as WoW goes... it's a horrible timesink. I like games where I can get to the end and dance around in victory! I can promise you this... I did NOT spend 120 24hour days on any of my projects. If I had... they'd be amazing. It really makes a guy feel guilty and the worst part about it... once my account is canceled, I still have nothing to show for all my hard work unlike emulation.

[Jaz]

Just wait til Blizz shows up. ;)

[BlueFalcon7]

OK, Recovering from a WoW addiction, is like quitting smoking. My theory, is that the patches that Blizzard releases are subliminal messages that make you want to keep playing. And thats why it lags your graphics card so much.

Anyways, I admire your work in emulation much more than the fact that you got a level 60 in WoW. I know many people who have level 60's and in person at that.

[Miretank]

Yeah, forget WoW and join us!:happy:

[LazerTag]

Jaz's avatar makes me want to buy a Xbox 360 or two :)


Welcome back Azimer. I hope you find something that fills that void. I have many friends who are lost in WoW. I currently am lost in emulation on my PSP. Before that it was FPS online shooters (many years there). things come and go.

[ShizZy]

Good to hear mate. Can't wait to see your work now that you're back in the emu scene. :)

[smcd]

I finally broke down and bought "The Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind" and I have to say, the gameplay is very open ended and time passes very quickly. I can imagine WoW is very much the same, but I'd never go for it because I don't like the idea of having to buy the game *and* pay to play. Anyhow, welcome back to the world of living, thinking people. :)

[Azimer]

Good to hear mate. Can't wait to see your work now that you're back in the emu scene. :)

lol. I blame you and gent. You better start feeding me cigarettes when my WoW cravings become uncontrollable. :angry:

[WhiteX]

I shall provide you with bitches and beer.

Welcome back, the community is weaker without you.

[zilmar]

hey welcome back azimer, long time since you got me back in to the fold with banjo tooie .. but it always more enjoyable actually having something at the end of the day then playing games ... tho playing games is still fun

[Quvack]

Welcome back Azi :P good luck with whatever you decide to persue, and with the WoW cravings :P do they have a patch for WoW cravings? o_O

[ShizZy]

lol. I blame you and gent. You better start feeding me cigarettes when my WoW cravings become uncontrollable. :angry:
:D

[Gent]

Nice to have ya back \:D/

[Cyberman]

lol. I blame you and gent. You better start feeding me cigarettes when my WoW cravings become uncontrollable. :angry:Need to get you into a 12 step program! For WOW ;)
The whole industry is on crack I think. They all talk about bigger revenue sources. They are chanting for more money instead of making better games and using inovation. Now they make 'cool looking game' but in reality not better and oft worse (Blood Rayne is a lot better than Blood Rayne 2 for example).
So you are doing yourself and the world a favor in more than just working on emulation. Besides how will working on a a character for hours improve your mental acuity any like pondering a difficulty in a program?

Anyhow good to see ya 'bout. I've commited myself to a something akin to an emulator ... In about 2 months I might post some news about it. Currently it's a mostly mum project. I've learned more about IS9660 disk images than I ever WANTED to let me put it this way. LOL

Cyb

[zAlbee]

Emulation coding is casual friendly. I can pick it up and put it down around my schedule not 39 others.
Hehe, so how far did you get? Lots of MC/BWL? :teehee:

I agree, WoW is a huge productivity killer. I'm still managing somehow, but am cutting back my hours. It's still fun, if only there were no monthly cost, it would be nice to log on every few weeks and chat, after quitting.

Welcome back to the real w- emulator world. :)

[thepreserver]

Welcome back Azimer. It's great that you are coming back to the emulation scene. Similiar to WoW, I lost a friend and cousin to RuneScape, plus an addicted MySpace cousin. It's pretty sad actually, wish I could stop them. :(
Well, like I said, welcome back. :)

[JinXD]

wb!

I'm still lost in my own WoW addiction, full DS armour last night though \o/

[blizz]

*takes a deep breath and invokes the spirit of Shatner.

Khan!!!!

although a mate sent me the trailer for Mass Effect on the 360... damm that might pull me off WoW..... nah

[flowrent]

What is going on in this Wow game anyway that keeps people so addicted ?
Don't laugh ,i'm really a noob when it comes to pc games .

[BlueFalcon7]

What is going on in this Wow game anyway that keeps people so addicted ?
Don't laugh ,i'm really a noob when it comes to pc games .
Like I said earlier, all the patches that blizzard releases, I suspect that they contain subliminal messages that somehow keep you to want to play WoW. Dont know how they work, but thats the conclusion that I have come to.

[RatTrap]

Hej azi.. sup.. I myself am again under piles and piles of work in the world of work buried in a grave of work dugg by myself while i was working on something :p..

anyways... last summer i had like 4 months free so i tried GuildWars and WOW.. liked GuildWars more.. mostly cause of the fact that you are limited... i prefer limits in games than no limits because then it usually takes more time to just "setup" for a quest than to actually finish the quest.. in GW you need to go on a quest and you just buy some potions and go (there's not much to setup in that game)..

But that's my opinion anyway.... I quit WOW after 2 months and the last month i hardly played.. i had a lvl 40 something shaman darkelf or whatever she was... GuildWars i put away after 3 months or so.. í hit lvl 20 there (i think that's the max in GW)..

anyways nice to see your still around :p... this is my first post here in months... but who knows.. maybe i'll make a website again here hehe... l8r azi... /be good :p

[Shpongled]

I finally broke down and bought "The Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind" and I have to say, the gameplay is very open ended and time passes very quickly. I can imagine WoW is very much the same, but I'd never go for it because I don't like the idea of having to buy the game *and* pay to play. Anyhow, welcome back to the world of living, thinking people. :)

I bought that one a few months ago too, and I thought it was "alright." Then I downloaded some MODs (huge MOD community!!!) and my interest in the game grew exponentially. Totally updated textures, faces, NPC models, new game mechanics, more realistic NPC schedules...

If you find any nice MODs let me know! :) My current favorites are:

Better Bodies
Better Heads
Better Clothes
Herbalism Redux
Slof's Better Beasts
Potion Sorter
Galsiah's Character Developement MOD (gets rid of the lame multiplier at level up)
Potion Icons
Scroll Icons

Anyway, I could go on for a while, PM me if you're interested in what each do and where to get them. :bouncy:

[Shpongled]

I also was addicted to WoW on and off for a year and a half. :(

The leveling was pretty fun and the PvP servers always kept life interesting... I never knew when someone was just gonna pop out of nowhere and slaughter me. Luckily as a Shadow Priest I had the easy win most the time. :D

The game really lost me once I started going to Molten Core and doing the "end-game thing." Grinding Battlegrounds became a chore, and the politics of trying to get into end-game raids, DKP, and that whole thing just totally killed the game for me. :(

My life has improved, honestly, since I stopped playing... It truely is a timesink and I love being back to offline games. With offline games I don't need to be on all the time for raids and I can play casually without dealing with guild politics.

The only problem is the character customization system was so amazing in WoW that now whatever game I play I end up comparing everything to it! >_<

[Shpongled]

What is going on in this Wow game anyway that keeps people so addicted ?
Don't laugh ,i'm really a noob when it comes to pc games .

They actually hire psychologists to try and figure out the best ways to keep gamers addicted. It's true.

You gotta spend hours and days and months killing particular mobs in order to "gain reputation" with certain factions. Like, if you want the Furbolg bears to like you, you gotta kill literally thousands of their enemy before you become a "hero" with the Furbolg.

You gotta spend days and months killing people in PvP battlegrounds in order to gain higher ranks for your faction (faction = Horde or Alliance). The higher your rank, you eventually get access to cool-looking weapons and mounts that make you that much better at PvP.

... Don't get me started with Final Fantasy Online, it's even worse than WoW in terms of timesinks!

Sorry for the 3 posts, I'm done. :)

[Azimer]

Hey rattums. It's good to hear from you again. Thank you all for the words of encouragement. My account officially expires August 11th and I've spent the last couple weeks quitting my guild and saying goodbye to friends. It's really a cold and uneasy feeling. The addiction to WoW is the addiction to the people you play with. There are few things in life that encourage people to gather around and socialize with strangers. I think that is what I am addicted to. :) That... and calling someone a n00b after I CL crit their ass for 1400 followed by a 1200 ES. :)

[Cyberman]

Hey rattums. It's good to hear from you again. Thank you all for the words of encouragement. My account officially expires August 11th and I've spent the last couple weeks quitting my guild and saying goodbye to friends. It's really a cold and uneasy feeling. The addiction to WoW is the addiction to the people you play with. There are few things in life that encourage people to gather around and socialize with strangers. I think that is what I am addicted to. :) Ahh nothing wrong with enjoying people. You should get out more ;) LOL
Well The with drawl will be severe I'm sure.

That... and calling someone a n00b after I CL crit their ass for 1400 followed by a 1200 ES. :)
AZ I am not going to even GUESS what that means. LOL
PS
Are your experiences anything like this Az? (http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060211&mode=weekly)

So what are you up to (Other than probably 6' or more).

[WhiteX]

the addiction to WoW is the addiction to the people you play with. There are few things in life that encourage people to gather around and socialize with strangers. I think that is what I am addicted to.

You can find that kind of socialization in any bar and pub...and you can even get some too! :P

[Azimer]

Thanks for that Cyberman. :) Bars and Pubs?! You've got to be joking! The last time I went into a bar without a group of friends, I ended up hooking up with my ex and lived life unhappily for a long time. It's what really caused me to stop emulation in the first place. :p You don't want me drinking!!!

[ScottJC]

As homer simpson said: Alcohol is the cause of, and solution to, all of lifes problems.

[WhiteX]

Well, Azimer, socialize here then.

[zilmar]

at least with VOIP these days it is a lot easier to have conversations with other people online. It has been great to talk to gent and jabo online.

What emulation project would you like to work on again, still audio ?

[Azimer]

at least with VOIP these days it is a lot easier to have conversations with other people online. It has been great to talk to gent and jabo online.

What emulation project would you like to work on again, still audio ?

I'm going to tinker with GC graphics a little bit. If you can think of anything else that would capture my attention, I'd be happy to consider it. I need to keep my thinker ticking. :)

[zilmar]

not sure, I am still paying attention to the n64. Maybe someday I will start another emu project. Just at the moment to much todo with my spare time to even look at how other things are going to see what would be intersting to play with.

[Azimer]

I hear you. I currently have a limited social schedule since leaving the area I lived in for six years. The free time I had was spent playing games to keep me from watching too much TV. Not really a better option. I'll let you know if I find anything interesting :)

[apexad]

Congrats on giving up WoW. right now my vice is still the EVE: Online MMO, but my subscription ends when august does, and I am pretty sure that I am not going to pay for another month, but who knows what could happen in a month.