I'm not updating this blog any more

You may have noticed that the post before this is 6 years older (edit: like, exactly, as I just noticed; nice coincidence!). Honestly I'd forgotten about this blog until I had to log into my Google account to post a comment somewhere else, so just in case you missed the small notice in the subtitle, this is my old World of Warcraft (ostensibly) blog, which I'm no longer updating or maintaining. My new one is at https://blog.andyf.me/ and to be honest I'm not doing a much better job of keeping that one up to date either, but at least it's not entirely forgotten, just low down in my list of priorities.

Some terrible puns

Transcribed from this image of some tearable puns.

A dyslexic poet
writes inverse.

I break into song
if I can’t find the key.

Bakers trade recipes
on a knead to know basis.

Jumping off a Paris bridge
makes you in Seine.

Acupuncture is
a jab well done.

Once you’ve seen one shopping centre
you’ve seen the mall.

If a clock gets hungry
it goes back four seconds.

The bride got a new name
and a dress.

A bike can’t stand alone
because it’s two-tyred.

[photography] My perspective

Robert Boyer has written a couple of really interesting blog posts on (primarily) the differences between a 35mm and 50mm field of view, from the perspective of someone who is very much a ‘50mm guy’, i.e. someone with a lot more experience with, and a strong preference for, the field of view provided by a 50mm lens.

Given that the comparison was between the Fuji X100S, with its APS-C–sized sensor and 23mm actual lens, and a Nikon D600 with a 50mm actual lens, there’s also some discussion on the differences in how much control you have over depth of field when comparing the two sensor formats.

The bulk of the text, though, is about how shooting with a different lens than you’re used to is a pretty uncomfortable and disorienting experience at first, but one that can also open your eyes to new possibilities.

These posts resonated with me, as in the 10 or so years I’ve been doing photography, I think I’ve mostly settled into being a ‘35mm guy’, although I didn’t really know it until I got an X100 whereupon it became clear that this field of view matches well the kinds of pictures I like to shoot – ‘contextual’ stuff, pictures of things in their surroundings. The view feels comfortable: just wide enough to avoid feeling claustrophobic, but not so wide as to swing the other way into attempted agoraphobia.

Look around you

I say ‘attempted’ agoraphobia because I’ve found it impossible to really reproduce the feeling you get when standing outside and looking up to the sky, really looking and feeling how enormous the world is, and how tiny and insignificant you are in comparison. It just doesn’t come across in reasonably-sized photos. All you achieve by attempting this using a super-wide lens is making things in the middle tiny, and things at the edges weirdly stretched.

So given that I’m never likely to make any multiple-metre–wide prints, and I have little interest in exploring how super-wide affects near–far relationships, that kind of lens holds no appeal.

Over there, in detail

I felt, and still do feel, that most of the time the field of view of the X100’s lens was just right, but there were times when I yearned for something longer, something I could use to close in on the detail of a thing. I think this was partly influenced by Kirk Tuck and his various posts of cityscapes and portraits taken at or around a 75mm field of view. That is to say, his posts helped me recognise something that was already within me, kindled that small flame a little, enough that I could no longer ignore it.

And so it was that I began to look for a way to satisfy this need. The Olympus 45mm lens seriously tempted me, but the only compatible camera that I felt had the necessary features (built-in viewfinder, small size) was the Olympus EM5, and alas it just felt horrible in my hand: cramped, squishy buttons, and uncomfortable bits digging into my palms. NEX? Not with those lenses. So that left Fuji, and either the XE1 or the XPro1.

I can see clearly

After an initial couple of months with the X100, trying both viewfinders, I eventually settled into using the electronic one almost exclusively, despite previously using DSLRs for years and being thoroughly used to optical finders.

Used to, but never entirely comfortable with, it seems: I find EVFs to be less of a mental strain, in that I can see before I shoot what the photo will (more or less) look like. I can see when the camera’s meter is getting confused, and dial in some exposure compensation accordingly (gotta love that EV dial).

Thus, the XPro1’s biggest differentiator from the XE1, its viewfinder, wasn’t an advantage to me. That combined with its larger size, and the fact that the XE1 came in a (money-saving) kit with the well-regarded 18–55mm zoom, made up my mind.

And then a funny thing happened

So then everything was fine, right? After all, the 18–55 has as much telephoto as I’d realistically want, and of course goes pretty wide too, covering the same 23mm the X100 does, making that camera basically obsolete. Right?

Not really. First of all, the XE1 + 18–55 is still pretty big, significantly more so than the (coat)pocketable X100. It’s also heavier, right on the threshold of being uncomfortable to carry in my hand for an extended period of wandering around, and not particularly fast in terms of aperture compared to the f/2 of the X100 (it’s certainly a good bit faster than most 18–55mm lenses, though).

At first I didn’t really notice any of this, since I was still in the ‘newlywed’ phase. Eventually I felt it, though, and wondered about getting a prime to put on the camera for ‘days out’ and other casual uses. Of course, apart from the 18mm, there’s only really one other suitable prime lens: the 35mm f/1.4 (the 60mm is too big, and the 27mm wasn’t available at the time, and besides, doesn’t have an aperture ring).

I thought I’d mostly use the 18–55 still, and keep the 35 for low-light stuff or for when I really wanted to travel light, but as it turns out, I kinda really want to travel light all the time. So why not just use the X100? Well, I’ve become spoiled by the XE1’s faster AF, much nicer AF point selection, and generally nicer buttons.

And the XF 35mm f/1.4 lens is really nice. Really nice. I considered the Zeiss Touit 32mm as an alternative at first, but the Fuji lens just seems to do everything better: nicer bokeh, smaller and lighter, less expensive, and apparently a little sharper too, not that sharpness is particularly important to me – most lenses these days are plenty good enough there.

Tightness

This is where talking about this gets a bit confusing, because I tend to switch pretty freely between using actual focal lengths and equivalent focal lengths, so for the sake of clarity I’ll stick to equivalent, since it’s a more common reference point. The Fuji 35mm lens has an equivalent field of view to a 50mm lens, while the X100’s 23mm lens has a 35mm equivalent view.

Anyway. After using focal lengths mostly on the wider end of things, 50mm feels tight. It’s right on the boundary between wide and tele, so I guess for someone who started out with it, the field of view feels just right, and can be used as either a short tele or a moderate wide depending on the needs of the photo.

Working with a 50mm field of view is not something that comes naturally to me, though, especially not after a year and a bit of using nothing but a 35. For now, my mind is still in ‘35’ mode when I’m shooting with a 50: I try subconsciously stand at the right distance for a 35 view, and I see compositions that work for that kind of perspective, then get frustrated when they don’t fit. I mentioned this in a comment on Robert’s blog – about how I try to compensate for a lack of vertical viewing angle by holding the camera vertically, for some reason not minding that I’m cutting off the sides. That said, a brief look at my Flickr stream shows that of the photos taken with the XF35/1.4 lens, most are in horizontal orientation, so perhaps I don’t do this as often as I think, and/or when I do, the results aren’t very good so I don’t bother uploading them to Flickr.

Wrapping up

When I started writing this, I’d intended to condense some vague, cloudy feelings into something more solid; I felt like 50mm was uncomfortably tight and that I often compensated for the lack of vertical angle of view by framing vertically. Actually looking at my photos, though, shows scant evidence of this, and in fact demonstrates that I can frame horizontal photos with a 50mm just fine, as least enough to satisfy myself for now.

Still, the feeling persists, and I don’t really know what else to do about it other than keep shooting with the XE1/35 until it’s no longer uncomfortable. And hey, now that I think on it, that’s probably another factor driving me to prefer that lens over the 18–55. Maybe once I’m comfortable with the 50mm view, I’ll be happier using the zoom? Let’s see wait a year and find out.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 29, 30 & 31

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

Here we are, at the end: the final three screenshots, which fully catches me up!

29: Lucky

Sometimes when you’re out farming stuff, you’ll get caught up in combat with a monster and while you’re busy with that, another player will swoop in and nab the node you were after. This is unlucky.

Sometimes, you will see a rare node. This is lucky. You will get tangled up in a fight with some monkeymen when trying to grab it. This is unlucky. Another player will show up. This is usually unlucky, doubly so if there is more than one.

Sometimes, though, once in a blue moon, that player won’t be a selfish bastard and will instead heal you whilst smiting your enemies for you, allowing you to grab the valuable node. This is most rare and most fortuitous turn of events.

A friendly chap helps Yalaera grab a Golden Lotus. Click to enlarge.

30: Cluttered

We’re redecorating my home office at the moment, so for now my work computer and my gaming computer are in the living room together, along with piles of other stuff that should probably be stored away somewhere, and not dumped on my desk.

My desk, cluttered. You probably don’t need to click for a closer look.

31: Dangerous

Outside of endgame group content, there’s really not much in Azeroth that’s dangerous to a well-geared player on a PvE server. Old raids, especially, are doable solo, although most encounters are better with two people.

Unless Mind Control is involved.

A mind-controlled Yalaera smites poor Helvecta while Kael’Thas gloats. Click to enlarge.

The end

At least, the end of this month’s screenshots. Tycertank has a [new word list] for September, if you’re interested, but I think I’ll mix it up a bit and use the words for a #GW2ScreenshotADay instead.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 28: Corridor

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

I’m still behind, and I forgot to save #29 to my Dropbox, so I couldn’t edit it and upload it on my Mac. Tomorrow’s Saturday though, so hopefully I’ll have time to do three days’ worth and finally catch up again.

Anyway, corridor… plenty of those in World of Warcraft, and many dungeons are nothing but corridors, albeit sometimes decorated to look like caves and such. I love the art style used for Titan architecture the most, but I think there’s one particular place that new Alliance (and really determined verteran Horde) players are amazed by at first but which sadly doesn’t see as much use in these days of flying mounts.

The undersea section of the Deeprun Tram, complete with Nessy the thresher. Click to go deeper.

Image notes: It takes ages to run this far down, and woe betide the clumsy fool who falls off the platform – you have to run all the way back to the beginning before you can get back on it. I'm told.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 26 & 27

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank. I’m a little behind on the themes lately, so here’s a two-in-one.

26: Entrance

I thought I’d try to do something a bit non-obvious with this one, starting with a different interpretation of what the word ‘entrance’ even means. There’s the usual definition: “a point or place of entering; an opening or passage for entering, as a doorway.” But it’s also coincidentally the same spelling as the word which means “to fill with delight or wonder; enrapture.”

Ophelia, the Siren of the Highlands, entrances Ephram Hardstone’s crew. Click to bring yourself closer to her radiance.

27: 10 minutes from home

My first idea for this one was to fly somewhere and capture a screenshot of the TomTom waypoint arrow and its (surprisingly handy) estimated time to arrival readout.

Turns out, you can’t fly in any direction from Stormwind for 10 minutes without ending up over the sea dying of Fatigue.

What you can do, however, is follow roads on land for 10 minutes.

What 10 minutes of fast mount land travel looks like. Click to explore.

Image notes: Fortunately, the maps for Burning Steppes, Searing Gorge and Redridge Mountains are all roughly the same scale. The map of Elwynn Forest, though, needed enlarging a little to fit with the others

[WoW] Re: Missing Words

The Godmother recently posted a list of five things she reckons should be included in the next expansion, and it’s a good list. I originally was going to reply in a comment, but it got a bit long so I’m posting my thoughts here instead.

Player housing

THERE I SAID IT. Just go look at Animal Crossing, New Leaf and tell me that people don’t care about the place they live in. Look at how people dutifully Tilled their way towards Exalted in the Valley. People care about stuff no-one else can see. Just go the whole hog, let people share their homes on Facebook/Twitter and have a contest for the best Decorated Home every month. GO ON YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO.

I… really don’t think it would be that hard to implement? I mean it’s basically a tiny raid instance with no enemies, right? Ditto Guild Halls. Of course, the question “how hard can it be?” is the bane of any developer’s existence, so I’ll trust there could well be Implications that I’ve not thought of.

New profession

Do it from the ground up in a way that is easy to level and fun, and then change all the old Professions to match this. You can make NPC’s in each Expansion’s Capital to sell the old patterns for a currency that you get as a drop whilst herbing, mining, enchanting, milling and prospecting. Everyone is happy, nobody loses out and you finally get to streamline all the Professions the same way. If you have problems designing this, gimme a shout. I’ll be happy to help.

I think GW2 has the results part right, in that the stuff you can craft is genuinely useful mostly regardless of level, and the top-end things (level 80 Exotic) are basically equal to anything else in the game. This plus the recent change that makes all currencies account-bound means the ‘gearing up alts’ market is pretty lucrative, and makes it actually worth the effort/cost of levelling professions.

Another thing GW2 does right with professions is making it less of a burden to switch: when you unlearn one in order to try a new one, you don’t lose any progress in the old one, so you’re free to switch back if you don’t like the new.

On the other hand, the actual mechanics of crafting in GW2 are really not that much better than in WoW. There’s a couple of quality-of-life improvements (access to stored materials from any crafting station), but it’s still ‘combine these things and click a button to make a new thing’. There’s zero player skill involved and it’s about as exciting as filling in paperwork.

Couturiers

In every Quest Hub there are people who JUST SELL MOGGING GEAR. That’s right, just mogging stuff: make it recolours of existing gear. I’m not expecting new stuff. Just get the old stuff out there so people can mix and match more stuff. How hard would it be?

This is something Zoe and I have discussed quite a bit, too. We ended up deciding that we’d rather see another GW2 feature: armour dyes! Although the big problem there is WoW’s armour models aren’t at all designed for custom recolouring, so I’m not sure what the solution would be – redoing all (!) the models in the game to make them compatible with a dye system would be a huge undertaking. In GW2 dyes can be made by cooks (as well as being random drops or purchasable from the AH or gem store), so a similar thing could work in WoW, although I personally reckon scribes would be a better fit, since they already make inks :D

More Lorewalker Cho-type NPCs

I’m not asking you to change old stuff, just add an NPC from the Explorer’s League/Reliquary in the levelling zones, to give us more lore background to what’s going on around us. They can be linked to Archaeology certainly, and maybe if you have the time you could do the same kind of stories you’ve utilised with Cho in Pandaria.

<3 CHO IS THE BEST. Well Taran Zhu is cool too, but I like Cho more (and the guy who does his voice. I’m aware they may be the same actor :p ). I love the Seat of Knowledge stuff where he tells the stories of what’s happened so far, and how you play the scenarios to experience the story yourself. If we could auto-follow NPCs who walk around, even better – sometimes I just want to look about, take in the scenery and listen to Cho/other NPC (like the bit in Shattrath), without having to constantly move in tiny increments just to keep up.

Class-specific quests

You proved it worked with the Warlocks. They were ace in Vanilla. Bring them back for everybody, and link them with proving Ground-type ‘learn your class’ quests as you level. Instantly better players, happy because they had a story ALL TO THEMSELVES :D

Well I wasn’t around for þe olde vænilla, and the current class quests you get aren’t terribly exciting (“go on this arduous quest for a reward that you’ll outlevel by the time you finish!”), but the idea of tying them into Proving Grounds is a good one! Blizzard could do a lot more to improve in-game player education, I reckon. The ‘Core Abilities’ thing in the spellbook is an ok start, but many people won’t ever read that, or even know it’s there, and the problem is made worse because it often lists abilities you don’t even have when you pick your talent specialisation.

I wonder if some kind of instanced class- and spec-specific quests would work best? You could start them from one of your class trainers (who basically serve almost no purpose now anyway), and they could accompany you in the instance, giving advice on how your class works. The instance could be different depending on what level you are (maybe one each time you get a talent point?), so by the time you visit a new one, you’d have some new abilities to try out, on which the trainer could advise you of situations where they’re best used.

Proving Grounds could then be a sort of ‘final exam’ – a way to practice everything your spec can do, and really push you to be skilled enough at it so that when you jump into your first raid (be it LFR, Flex, etc.) you’ll at least have some idea about what you’re capable of.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 25: Culture

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank. I’m a little behind on these, so please bear with me!

World of Warcraft has a lot of history, and very deep and rich lore. The various races all have well-defined characteristics, and it took quite a bit of pondering to come up with something that epitomised each one, yet would fit into a single image.

Can you identify them all? Click to examine more closely.

That’s not all of them, as time constraints meant I had to limit myself somewhat.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 24: In the background

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

Have you ever had a good look around the instances in Caverns of Time? There’s an amazing number of lore-famous people wandering about, doing what they did before … bad things happened.

My priest Yalaera chilling in an inn in old Southshore, with Pamela Redpath in the background. Click for larger version.

Image notes: if you haven’t been here, Pamela’s mum and dad are also present, sitting opposite from Yalaera, and wandering around outside is pre-lich Kel’Thuzad, chatting to Helcular. I considered using a different picture but went with the more emotionally appealing one in the end.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 23: Yellow

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

This one took a bit of work. First of all I needed the right robe, and thankfully my fiancée’s character is a tailor, so all it took was a trip to Darnassus to buy the pattern for a Greater Adept’s Robe, then a visit to the flower vendor in Stormwind for some Beautiful Wildflowers, and my outfit was set (I can’t remember at the moment what the belt is).

The next challenge was to find somewhere suitably yellow (or golden) to serve as a backdrop. At first we tried Eversong Woods, but alas it was night time, making everything more green and blue than yellow and orange. Also I ran into Silvermoon City by mistake and got PvP flagged. Oops. Luckily almost nobody ever goes to the city, so I didn’t encounter any bother.

Next stop: Isle of Quel’Danas! I had hoped that entering an instance would magically make it daytime, but this turned out to not be the case, alas, as we discovered upon entering Sunwell Plateau. Still! As my memory of the instance was a little hazy (I’ve only ever been there a handful of times, never when it was current), I couldn’t remember if there was anywhere suitably bright and lit either with neutral or yellow-hued light.

The clue’s in the name, really. Click to feel the raw power.

Image notes: it took a surprising amount of time to find just the right spot to stand in for this picture – the lighting around the rim is fairly uneven, with only this area being bright enough to prevent Yalaera looking like a silhouette. It also took around three attempts to get a shot with the phoenix hatchling’s wings in the right place. Processing-wise, it’s a single frame with contrast increased a bit, and emphasised saturation in yellows, in particular. Oh and I got Yalaera’s hair dyed blonde for this shot too (it’s normally white).

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 22: A room

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

I knew immediately which room I wanted to use when I saw this theme word. I started playing World of Warcraft just before Wrath of the Lich King was released, so I never got to raid any Burning Crusade content while it was still current. Since it took me so long to get to 80, being a bit of a noob and all, by the time I was ready to begin my career as a raider, Naxxramas was on the verge of being obsoleted by the majesty that is Ulduar, so that’s where I got my first real taste of progression raiding. Because it was my first, and also because it’s objectively awesome, I have fond memories of that Titan wonderland.

Apparently, some folks weren’t as impressed with it as me. Too big, they said, too spread out. You needed teleporters to even get around in a sensible amount of time! And there was sooooo much trash to wade through! Wouldn’t it be awesome (they said) if there was a raid with no trash, one where the bosses came to you?

YOU FACE JARAXXUS NOW. Click to make less trifling, gnome.

Turns out, a one-room (sorta) raid with no trash is actually kinda bland. Who would have imagined?

Image notes: 6-frame panorama, with the usual contrast etc. boosted in Aperture. Previous bosses defeated easily with the invaluable aid of my fiancée, as was Jaraxxus and every other boss thereafter.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 21: Slow

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

Of all the slow things in World of Warcraft – levelling, gearing up, raid progression – there’s one that’s always there, even though its impact is greatly lessened by the time you reach level 70: I’m talking about travel.

Azeroth is a pretty big place, although not realistically so – Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms are roughly 12 miles long, and put together they’re not much bigger than Manhattan island – but even so, getting around can feel like a bit of a slog at times, especially on foot, or in places where you can only use ground mounts.

I made Avenir the shaman specifically for this picture. Click to get closer to the elements.

Image notes: not much to report for this one; cropped from a full scene, and some minor contrast and colour tweaks in Aperture.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 20: Stairs

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

There are so many staircases in Azeroth and Outland, it’s kinda hard to pick just one for a screenshot. A particularly impressive one is the Stair of Destiny in Hellfire Peninsula, moreso because it’s the first thing seen by players newly arrived in Outland. Then there’s the stairs leading up from the Court of Bones to the entrance of Icecrown Citadel, with that imposing structure looming overhead, striking fear into the hearts of those who dare approach.

In Pandaria, however, such dread fortresses are few and far between, with the architecture generally being of a calmer and more inviting appearance.

Jaluu the Generous, quartermaster of the Golden Lotus, sitting outside Mogu’shan Palace.

Image notes: panorama image, with colours adjusted in Aperture to produce a retro, almost painted look.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 19: Lost

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

Not spatially lost. Not when you didn’t win. Truly lost: when there is no hope for you; when everything you hold dear is gone; when your loved ones fear you; when you can no longer resist the powerful darkness that has taken hold of your soul.

Arthas, at the tipping point, about to begin the Culling of Stratholme. Click to spread the darkness.

Image notes: black and white conversion in Aperture, along with contrast smashing and vignette, then sky darkening and bloom added in Acorn.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 17 & 18

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank. As I was away at my fiancée’s parents this weekend, I’m posting the screenshots for yesterday and today in one post.

17: Someone you spoke to today

When I first started playing World of Warcraft, just before Wrath of the Lich King was released, I generally read all the quest text, not realising that unlike any game I’d played before, there was lots and lots and lots of it. This was in the days when the default was for the text to appear line by line, slowly, and I didn’t even know there was an option to make it all appear at once.

Since then I’ve become a little more jaded, and have very rarely read the quest text (with one exception – that whole chain is great). That is, until I got to Pandaria.

I’ve actually levelled two characters to 90, about seven months apart. The first was shortly after Mists of Pandaria was released, and also around the time I bought Guild Wars 2, and I only reluctantly spent any time in WoW; really I just wanted to explore the new shiny that was Tyria, so I basically just sped through the Pandaria content as fast as possible, not really enjoying it or paying it much attention.

Eventually, a confluence of events meant I began to spend less and less time in GW2, and when my fiancée finished her third year at university and was free for the summer, we decided we’d have another go at WoW. I decided that this time I would give it a proper shot, invest myself in it more, and most importantly, heed the advice of the Pandamen to slow down. There was, indeed, no hurry to get to 90, as our guild isn’t actively raiding at the moment.

All of which lengthy preamble is to explain why I love this guy so much, and have spent quite a while speaking to him, both today and many times in the past few weeks:

Lorewalker Cho in the Seat of Knowledge. Click to learn more.

Image notes: another panorama, this time using an equirectangular projection. Contrast etc. boosted in Aperture.

18: Exercise

I’m afraid I only had a short amount of time to think of ideas for this one, so it’s a little unimaginative (and I suspect several other folks may have had a similar idea). Still:

Practicing shadow priestery in Darnassus with Yalaera. Click for MORE DOTS.

Image notes: as ever, processing in Aperture, although this time I used ‘devignette’ to give the edges a bit of glow, instead of darkening them. Also reduced saturation and nudged the white balance a little cooler, for a more moonlit feel.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 16: Cooking

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

It’s commonly said that for a really good steak, you gotta get your pan really hot.

That ought to do it. Click for a bigger taste.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 15: The best

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

I tried to think of something in World of Warcraft that I think is ‘the best’, and there’s just so many good things in the game that it was hard to pick just one. Thinking outside the box a bit, it occurred to me that, as described in my Day 6 post, the best part of WoW is that I met my fiancée playing it!

Playing alongside her is the best part of the game, for me, whether we’re levelling, doing dailies, running dungeons, or enduring LFR; everything is made better by being with her.

Zoe in a quiet moment, fishing.

Image notes: ok so it’s not strictly speaking a ‘screenshot’, but it is a shot of a screen that has WoW on it, even if the screen is a bit out of focus.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 14: Trash

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

Funny how the word ‘trash’ in MMOs has a particular meaning: basically any enemy mob in a dungeon that isn’t a boss. Although they’re not really rewarding to kill, and are often though of more as an annoyance than anything else, dull stuff getting in the way of the Real Action, they do serve a few important purposes. First of all, they make a dungeon feel more like a real place, more alive, and without them the instance would feel very empty. Secondly, they can provide hints about what’s to come – they might use a weaker version of an ability the boss uses, for example. Finally, they provide a way of pacing the instance, and a break for the intensity of boss fights.

Of course, the trash mobs themselves aren’t just unimaginatively-named robots; they often have themed names based on the dungeon you’re in, to give a better sense of immersion.

Usually. Click for larger trash.

Image notes: once again, Ornate Spyglass comes in handy, and once again, image processing in Aperture to give a sort of ‘telescope’ look. Many thanks to the Creative Director for accompanying me to Ulduar and through the first few bosses just to get this picture.

[WoW] #WoWScreenshotADay 13: Fast

This post is part of a series of screenshot entries into a competition run by Tycertank.

Much like yesterday’s entry, today’s doesn’t use the obvious interpretation of the theme word. My fiancée and I are trying to lose weight (and succeeding!), using what’s known as the “5:2 diet”, where each week we fast for two (non-consecutive) days and eat normally (but healthily) the other five.

If you’ve not tried fasting, it’s pretty hard going at first, especially if you’re not used to being hungry.

Click to increase hunger.

[WoW] WoWScreenshotADay 12: Macro

As you’ll no doubt have picked up if you’ve read other posts on this blog, photography is my hobby. Thus, when I see the word ‘macro’, I think not of a list of commands for doing mouseover healing or whatever, but of small things made large: macro photography.

Small bug, big. Click to further embiggen.

Once again making use of the surprisingly versatile Ornate Spyglass, I had a hunt around for something that would a) not look too bad when made huge and b) would keep still enough for me to get a shot of it (quite tricky with a super-zoomed-in view).

Image notes: as usual, colours and contrast tweaked in Aperture, then fake depth-of-field blur added in Acorn.