Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with wow

Headset For WoW

Yasuo — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:10:19 -0800

Recommend me a headset for a friend who plays World of Warcraft. I dug up some old MeFi threads dated a few years back asking the same question, but I'd like recommendations to newer products please. I have no knowledge of how Ventrilo works on World of Warcraft, nonetheless what to look out for in terms of compatibility. My budget is $50, and preferably something I can buy at a local Best Buy, Target, or Wal-mart for some last minute Christmas shopping!

How can my friend get through his dad's Orwellian firewall?

bewarethewumpus — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:54:22 -0800

My friend's dad has decided he's not worthy of an internet connection. How can my friend get through his dad's Orwellian firewall? Ok, so here's the situation. I have a friend who is a student living with his parents. He doesn't get along with his parents particularly well, and things have come to a head recently. They think that he is spending too much time on his computer, locked away in his room, and not spending enough time with the family. Because of this, they have decided to take an Orwellian view of the Internet they provide him. As of right now, he is not able to get through the firewall through any method but Steam (a fine program, steam chat really has come through for us here.) His browsers will not find anything, and all his 'net games are non functional.

A couple of things to consider; first, he has very few friends, and most of them he only sees online (yes, he plays WoW.) So while he does get out of the house when he can, the majority of his socialization is done online. Second, his grades have not suffered as a result of playing WoW. Third, when his family is together, it seems that all they do is sit around and watch the boob tube, which really isn't his cup of tea.

So, here's the question: How can he get around this overly restrictive firewall? I'm afraid I'm not intimately familiar with the local network infrastructure, and he doesn't have admin rights, obviously. Is there a good solid catch all application that can at least get his browser through? (it would of course be preferable to get all his apps to work again.)

Couple of tidbits. He is running Vista, he is able to connect to the LAN (but nothing outside it) via the wireless network (his dad won't let him have a physical connection), and the way he'll have to pull any applications from the net is by finding a wifi hotspot, so nothing too huge ;).

Wake on WAN is within my grasp (with your help)!

bering — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:25:08 -0800

I'm so close to getting Wake-on-WAN to work, I just need a little more help! Wake-on-LAN works... Currently I can wake up my desktop from my laptop using this setup. But if I enter my external IP address instead of my internal (192.168.1.101), nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?

Also: is there any risk in showing my MAC address publicly? If so please hack me :-)

Desktop: Windows 7
Laptop: Win XP
Router: WRT54G

Where to?

furiousxgeorge — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:16:32 -0800

If you had a dying WoW guild, full of buddies who have been playing together since Tribes 2 as a core with a band of new guys picked up along the way who have squeezed all of the life out of WoW and are looking for something new, in any genre as long as we could have some new experiences hanging out and having fun on vent...what would you suggest? I hate Wrath of the Lich King.

Obviously looking for something fun for a big band of people playing together, but not many other requirements. What is out there in the PC Gaming world?

Fixing wow and flutter on Numark direct-drive turntabes?

multiphrenic — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:21:29 -0800

Can I fix wow and flutter on Numark direct-drive turntables? The pitch varies while playing records and I'd like to fix this myself if at all possible. I have a pair of Numark direct-drive turntables I received as a gift. They do not keep the pitch constant. Often I'll hear a song slow down then speed-up as it loses and regains pitch. I would like to use them with Traktor 3, using the control vinyls supplied but this obviously a little difficult if the pitch starts to vary.

Any ideas on some things I can try myself to fix this, if any? Is it necessarily the turntable that's bad? The needle's might be old and could likely use replacement. I haven't heard of that causing pitch variations, but who knows.

Thanks in advance!

Use MacBook mic instead of headset in WoW? Why not?

musofire — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:02:29 -0800

Why can't I use my MacBook's microphone to play World of Warcraft? Why do I need a USB headset? We're out in the country without my stepson's headset, and anyway, I'd like to hear the chatter. (He's showing me the game.)

Is there a way in WoW to use the regular microphone and speakers instead of a USB headset? If not, is there software that will allow me to use the regular mic and speakers to spoof a headset?

World of Warcraft on UMPC?

jeffhoward — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:56:03 -0800

Does anyone have experience playing World of Warcraft on an ultra mobile PC like the Samsung Q1, OQO or Sony Vaio UX series? I know it's technically possible to run by watching the demos on YouTube but I'd like to get some feedback about whether it's actually a playable experience long term or more of a novelty. The Sony device seems to have been discontinued so if you have other recommendations for an ultra mobile form factor I'm all ears. More importantly if you've actually tried playing WoW in a mobile environment what are the major issues to watch out for in terms of these UMPCs?

My druid had a backstory

MrVisible — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:45:44 -0800

What's the best massively multiplayer role-playing game for actual role-playing? I almost succumbed and installed World of Warcraft again last night after a couple of years WoW-free, when I realized that if I'm going to descend into the depths of an MMO again, I might as well try something new.

Looking back on the things I enjoyed about WoW, it was all about creative player interactions; story circles on Thunder Bluff, clever banter with passing strangers, handing out gold to good role-players in newbie areas. I liked actually playing my characters as characters, and finding others who'd play along.

What's the best game for that sort of interaction? Are there games out there that have active communities that do role-playing, or is it all like in WoW, where even on role-playing servers finding someone who was RPing was rare?

(I realize that my best bet might still be WoW, in which case... how do you find good role-playing players?)

Los Angeles Area Cyber Cafes for WoW?

felix — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:44:03 -0800

What's a good, clean, safe cybercafe/lan party place with decent computers in Los Angeles? Objective: 5 hours of World of Warcraft. A catastrophic billing error has put me without internet access at home for the next two weeks. But, I run a world of warcraft raid guild, so that's clearly not acceptable. All my neighbors are rightfully paranoid and have protected wireless networks.

What's the best way for me to get back up and raiding, given that I have to get out of the house to do so? Have raid-capable laptop with 802.11g/n, blizzard authenticator, car, and UNENDING TWITCHING FROM NOT BEING ABLE TO DO MY DAILIES FOR MORE THAN 2 DAYS NOW

sound like wow?

defmute — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 05:03:24 -0800

hey, does this sound like a "wow"?

Why is World of Warcraft so addictive?

Sully — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:40:20 -0800

Why is World of Warcraft so addictive? I've curious about WoW. I've heard a lot about it - how there's millions of people playing it. But I've also heard that it's ruined lives.

There are some sites where people talk about how WoW has ruined their lives, but they only go into details about how their lives are ruined. They mention that WoW is incredibly addictive, but they never go into detail about how exactly WoW addicts them.

Even the short Youtube documentaries about WoW just talk about how many hours they spend on the game, how they miss classes, or ignore responsibilities. They talk about the fallout from WoW without looking at the mechanics - which is what I'm interested in.

I have to say, I kind of want to try it. I play a lot of single-player games, like Fable 2, Fallout 3, Crackdown. I'm familiar with reward systems, and am curious about WoW's. I mean, to get millions of players, they must have an incredible reward system. But I am also afraid that if I try the game, I will find it so rewarding that I won't want to stop.

I've even read things where people say they've been playing this one game for years - doesn't it become boring? Can someone who has played WoW dissect for me how WoW compels or manipulates you into coming back for more?

Thanks.

World of Warcraft: Looking for a PvP Addon that marks enemy players by class for Arena and Battlegrounds.

spinko — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:06:32 -0800

World of Warcraft: Looking for a PvP Addon that marks enemy players by class for Arena and Battlegrounds. Fed up having to search for the healer to kill in BG or Arena.

Is there any addon that will put a icon (or anything) about the enemy team to indicate a 'Healer' class?

I use 'Gladius' in Arenas to show the other team. This would be great to do if it just shown the nearby enemy healers.

If you have any other recommended Addons to make Arena / Battlegrounds / Ganking easier.

Cheers

Small, Cheap, Plays WoW

Skorgu — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:03:41 -0800

I'd like to buy my ~10 year old nephew a laptop to play World of Warcraft on. Smaller is better, cheaper is better. I'm hoping that a netbook will work as it's just the right size for him but I can't find anything newer than a few years that gives a comprehensive answer.

I don't want him to be playing a slideshow but at the same time he doesn't need an alienware. I'm a sysadmin by trade so I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty to e.g. top up the ram if it saves some cash.

Help me find some WoW bedding for my boyfriend.

internet!Hannah — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:22:12 -0800

Attention WoW users! I'm trying to find a World of Warcraft blanket or pillow for my boyfriend's upcoming birthday, does anything like this exist? My google-fu is weak. Secondary question: If they don't make these, do you have an recommendations for those websites that will custom make pillow cases and whatnot? I'd like something quality and comfortable, not those cheap looking and feeling homemade pillows you see.

Tertiary question: Any other gift suggestions for a WoW obsessed boyfriend? He's already preordered the new one coming out, and I don't play myself, so I'm kind of at a loss here. T-shirts aren't possible, as he would wear them in public with me (my enabling only goes so far).

Thanks!

Blow my Mind

god particle — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:01:53 -0800

The world (and universe) is an incredible place, as I've learned from awesome series such as Planet Earth and the Universe. What are some other high-quality mindblowing box sets? Or even just a single eye-opening documentary? I just want to watch something and leave with the sensation of, wow, the world is a crazy/amazing place. I'm not looking for pseudoscience pieces such as What the Bleep Do We Know or "issue" documentaries that show how the people on this planet are insane or evil or suffering (though they are interesting). I'm really looking for things about the natural world and universe, such as the Elegant Universe.

Guilds as social units

empath — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:57:58 -0800

I have a few semi-related questions about how MMORPG guilds operate inside: Are there any guilds that operate across multiple games? Guilds carry benefits and obligations within a particular game, but do they carry across from game to game? Can favors given in one game be repaid in another game? Do guild members tend to help each other with real life problems? How far do guild obligations go -- would you drop real life stuff if your guild asked you to do something in a game? Does anyone have any stories of kids and their parents being in the same guilds? If your guild were warring with another guild in Eve, would that carry over to other games or real life interactions?

I'm really just kind of interested in stories of how guilds operate as social units outside the context of individual games; if you have any that are outside the scope of the specific questions I asked, i'd be happy to hear them.

Opensource Wiki Software

spinko — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:43:48 -0800

Open source Wiki software! I'm looking to setup an open source wiki service very similar to wikipedia.org (but slightly different). However I know there is open source software available to download... ...

I'm looking for:

1) Totally open editing (if registered)
2) Report if abused content
3) Upload images for the wiki post
4) SEO friendly i.e. www.wikipedia.org/post_name

Php, SQL, etc

Very simple, I like the way wowwiki.com is run. I know they use opensource but I dont know which one.

Cheers if you can help.

So what if you're a level 70 rogue...

rancidchickn — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:52:10 -0800

How can I help my long-time friend get over these addictions and be more sociable? I have this friend that I've known since I was 5 years old. We are both juniors at different high schools but hang out on the weekends often. Lately, however, he has practically become a hermit and has no desire or energy to do anything. I say lately, but this has definitely happened gradually over a longer period of time.

It seems that his only two interests are World of Warcraft and weed. He has no problem putting off real friends to play WoW. I believe he's logged somewhere around 200 days on that stupid game. A couple of my other friends and I used to play the game too, but we pretty much all got bored of it a year ago. Basically, his routine from what I understand is go to school, come home, smoke, play WoW, rinse and repeat. He goes to a private school, yet doesn't put much effort into schoolwork and doesn't really talk to his parents.

Now don't get me wrong, I'll smoke with him too, but I'm not down with smoking and watching TV all day. Some of our mutual friends and I have tried to get him interested in other things. We've invited him to parties, brought girls around him, etc. Not interested.

I guess my question is how can I help my friend be more sociable and spontaneous and less of a zombie? Or should I even be concerned with this? Am I overstepping my bounds here?

Why does World of Warcraft slow down when I ALT-TAB to Windows?

katala — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:17:09 -0800

Why does World of Warcraft slow down when I ALT-TAB to Windows? I'm having a weird graphics problem with World of Warcraft, if you're able to help I would be eternally grateful! :)

When I ALT-TAB out of the game to go back to Windows, and I do this 10+ times over say an hour, my World of Warcraft graphics get all 'chuggy' and the game runs so slow it becomes unplayable. I have to quit and restart it before it's useable again.

I've tried patching my graphics drivers, but it makes no difference. If it's helpful I'm using an Nvideo GeForce 6600 GT.

Is DSL fast enough to play WOW?

vilcxjo_BLANKA — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:11:36 -0800

My son is having terrible problems playing WOW. He gets framerates of about 1-2fps, which is ridiculous. Help me diagnose the problem. My son is having terrible problems with performance in WOW. I have no experience with Windows computers, so I have no real way to approach a diagnosis. It's a big problem for him, as his guild makes fun of him and laughs at the fact that he's often fighting monsters who are already dead. (I don't know epsilon about WOW, so I just take his word for it.) It's always been slower than he would like, but the last few months have been a disaster. I thought it was slow servers, or maybe latency between the Eastern US (MA) and his guild, which is in the Western Part of the the US (CA) but that's just a guess.

I have a tiny home network with three computers - four if you count the linksys router, and five if you count the Nintendo Wii. The Wii is not often on the net, though. The router is connected to the internet through 1.5/384 DSL from Speakeasy. The router is a linksys running the White Russian release of Open WRT. I have one slow linux computer, one really slow linux computer and one slowish XP computer, which is the one I'm interested in.

I have several conjectures. First, I think it's possible that 1.5/386 DSL is just too slow to run WOW. I may have to upgrade to a faster internet service. Second, I think it's possible that the computer he's using is running a bunch of services which are not needed, and which are causing it to be slow. I don't know the windows equivalent of "ps -aux". I don't even know the windows equivalent of xterm, but I presume there is one. Third, I think it's possible, but unlikely, that excessive network traffic caused by spam (see below) is saturating the connection and killing his performance. Fourth, it's possible, but I think unlikely, that the router is slow.

The really slow linux computer has a web server and a mail server. The mail server seems to get a lot of spam, which is properly thrown away. (I periodically check various testing websites to see if it's an open relay, and I seem to have it configured properly.) The problem does not go away or even improve when I disable the mail server, though, so I don't think this is the problem. It's always possible that the internet connection is still overmatched with spam, even though there is no server to read the messages. Maybe the best test would be to just block the SMTP port temporarily.

The slow linux computer doesn't actually use the net much, except for reading blogs. I sometimes download music from emusic, which causes him no end of grief, but I expect that. The problem happens even when I'm not doing anything, or if the computer is powered off and unplugged.

I don't really have a fancy firewall on the router. I just created iptables commands to forward ports and do NAT from the router to the other computers. I have not done any capacity testing on the router, but it's a very recent LinkSys router - the one with 32Mb of RAM - so I don't suspect its speed at all. Maybe I should reinstall LinkSys' firmware and see if that clears up the problem.

So, those are my conjectures. Maybe someone else has a better suggestion, or can tell me more about Windows.

Gold Farming Spam, and its Malcontents (me).

SPUTNIK — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:03:58 -0800

I saw this today, and couldn't figure out what the hell it was. It's a website photo gallery for a relatively famous Philadelphia pizzeria, which (a pizzeria photo gallery) is kind of lame, but hey, it's Philadelphia. What I'm wondering about though, is all the comments. "Wow Gold" "Buy Wow Gold" Wow Power Levelling" etc etc, ad nauseum. I know Gold Farming is big business, but what the hell are they trying to achieve spamming website comment pages that no one will read anyway?

Mold in the US.

spinifex23 — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:59:25 -0800

I have a two part question, about mold in the US, in buildings and the like. I'm thinking of moving, and I'm also allergic to mold. So this is a huge concern for me. a. What parts of the US is mold rare? and b. What parts of the US is mold commonplace? I'm not talking about situations where there's shoddy workmanship, a leak, Hurricane Katrina and the like, where mold will grow no matter what.

Instead, I'm interested in the parts of the country where it's rare, and the parts of the country where it's ubiquitous, *under normal living conditions*. 10 years ago, I moved from Madison, Wisconsin, where I never had a problem, to Seattle, where it's cool and rainy climate seems to be a perfect incubator for the stuff. As a result, it's made me ill.

For a myriad of reasons, including mold exposure, I'm thinking of moving out of the Seattle area. While this will not (obviously) be the only determining factor, I'd rather not relocate to another city (like Portland, OR) just to realize that mold is prevalent there as well.

So, I'd like to hear what's out there. Many thanks!

World of Warcraft: Want to BUY the most bad ass account possible!

Bob Dobbs — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 11:54:18 -0800

Yes I know it is totally lame to buy a WOW account. Don't Care. I want to buy the most bad ass World of Warcraft character possible. Its a present to myself for finishing a 10 year long project. Anyway, how do I go about doing this, how do I evaluate the bad ass-ness of the account? I'm willing to spend thousands of dollars. Yes yes yes, I know it is lame. Whatever. WOW looks pretty cool and I'd like to get into it no matter how lame.

Fraps alternative

furiousxgeorge — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:09:08 -0800

Could you suggest an easy to use freeware alternative to FRAPS for recording video in World of Warcraft?

Hong Jun?

furiousxgeorge — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 19:02:18 -0800

What does the phrase "Hong Jun" mean? Guild of primarily chinese players on my wow server, just curious what the name means.