Things that amuse me. http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog A place for anything and everything I find entertaining or interesting. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:04:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Copyright © Things that amuse me. 2012 sbalfour@live.ca (Things that amuse me.) sbalfour@live.ca (Things that amuse me.) http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg Things that amuse me. http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog 144 144 A place for anything and everything I find entertaining or interesting. Things that amuse me. Things that amuse me. sbalfour@live.ca no no A neat traffic map http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=59 http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=59#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:46:14 +0000 The all-mighty master of this blog http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=59 https://www.waze.com/livemap/
This is a cool site that shows you traffic zones, cops, etc. on any map you choose in real-time. Very neat and handy to have.

(Thanks to my friend Levi for this)

]]> http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=59 2 Back in business http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=35 http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=35#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:18:59 +0000 The all-mighty master of this blog http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=35 Continue reading →]]> Unfortunately, my blog has been buried under a pile of homework and other unpleasantries (bills and the like). However, because a friend just pointed out that it looks like I didn’t survive the holidays, (har har), I’m going to get back into posting at least (hopefully) once a day.

]]> http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=35 1 Survive the Holidays http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=49 http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=49#comments Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:32:56 +0000 The all-mighty master of this blog http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=49

I’ll try my best.
Taken from The Weather Network

]]> http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=49 1 2012 Stingray Concept http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=41 http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=41#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:35:10 +0000 The all-mighty master of this blog http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=41 Continue reading →]]> I’m not a massive Corvette fan — I’ve always been more interested in its Camaro and Firebird siblings — but this is looking pretty sweet. Now that Pontiac is gone and Chevy’s making ugly blocks called Camaros, it looks like this is the next best thing.

Please don’t not make this, Chevy. It might be enough to win me back.

]]> http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=41 0 Realm of the Mad God http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=12 http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=12#comments Sun, 11 Dec 2011 02:29:04 +0000 The all-mighty master of this blog http://www.scottbalfour.com/blog/?p=12 Continue reading →]]> Well, here we go. First ever blog post, so let’s make it memorable. “Realm of the Mad God” is a massively multiplayer co-operative third person shooter, and possibly the best browser game I have ever played (and I’ve been around the block a few times). In short, you set up an account (takes under a minute) and start your first character: the Wizard. RotMG has a massive class system similar to the Final Fantasy series in that you unlock new classes by reaching milestones in others. For example, getting your Wizard to level 5 unlocks the Priest class, which unlocks the Archer class at level 5, which… well, you get the point. There are 5 base classes – Wizard, Priest, Archer, Rogue, and Warrior – which lead towards unlocking the Huntress, Necromancer, Assassin, Knight, and Paladin (irrespectively) – which then contribute to unlocking the Sorcerer, Trickster, and Mystic. Although the game seems very simple at first glance, it is surprisingly complex. Getting your character to level 20 (maximum level) is just the first “challenge” per se, because after that you battle with Gods to earn stat increasing potions on a journey to max out all your stats (the typical RPG stats like vitality, speed, etc).

Possibly what makes the game so fun is that it’s based around “pick-up groups”, or PUGs. To join another player’s party, you just have to be within ~2 screens of them. When you’re in a group, you share experience points on any kill made (and it doesn’t divide it up), so grouping up is highly beneficial. When fighting bosses or clearing special dungeons, it’s basically a necessity, because most bosses are significantly stronger than an average player character. Fortunately, valuable drops (like stat increasing potions) from bosses are “assigned” to players who do a certain amount of damage to them, so that the level 2 experience-leeching wizard can’t come running over and steal your hard-earned loot.

One downside (which is actually quite refreshing) is that death is permanent. If your character dies, it’s essentially deleted and all of your equipment (except the items in your storage) will be deleted. When your character kicks the bucket, you earn a certain amount of Fame – the in game currency – depending on their level, accuracy, kills made, equipment worn, etc. Fame can then be spent on various items like dragons which will fight beside you and Amulets of Ressurection which will save your character from the cold grip of Death.

Another downside is that the luxuries in-game (more storage space, extra character slots, custom clothing colours/patterns) cost actual money. You start with 100 which is enough to get some cool clothes, but that’s about it. It’s not a major deal — I got each class to level 20 without spending a penny — but it does kind of suck when you have to pick which items you’re stashing and which ones you’re junking.
Anyway, all in all, RotMG is a great pick-up-and-play game. Whether you have 10 minutes or 10 hours to play, there’s stuff for you to do.

Check out the wiki for more info:
Wiki

Or jump in and start playing!
Fun abounds

Have fun! I certainly am.

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