Sadly, Pax is over, fellow gamers are packing up, and exhibitors are leaving before the cleaning crew shows up. There was a lot of SWAG, a lot of people, and a lot of games. I mentioned a few booths in my first post, so this time I am going to try and cover some notable booths I did not mention or did not get a picture of the first time around. I am trying to cover some of the major features here, but this is by no means a complete feature list.
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I bought a new computer recently, complete with the new Core i7 from Intel, 6GB DDR3, and GTX 275. The last time I did computer hardware research was when I built my old computer 4 years ago so I have been a little out of the loop. After getting some pointers and doing research myself I put this computer together and I am so impressed that I wanted to write something about the Core i7.
While working on the BAF file project I learned a very interesting life lesson. See like most new computer science graduates I have worked on few actual projects, and quite frankly the few I have finished could not be considered corporation ready. While writing a few console applications, file parsers, corba interfaces, etc I learned a valuable lesson in documentation and log files. Log files can save your life if done correctly, and if you are really up to speed they can save many long hours of debuging too. In my case I fell in love with trace log messages. Trace logs are the log files that trace a programs execution so you can get a general idea of where your software is failing or producing an error. Now, most trace logs I have had the pleasure to work with are not quite where I wanted to be when I approached trace logs in my program. Most of the time they are a little more helpful then debug messages when trying to pinpoint an application’s problem. So when I faced the decision to add trace messages I decided to go all out.
My first logging framework was log4cplus, which is a very nice and complete logging framework for C++. I used it for one linux application I wrote and it works perfectly despite being several years old. Unfortunetly I was uncomfortable with how much work it took to write a message each new function ( two lines instead of one ) and it would not compile in windows so for my next application, bafprp, I set out to write my own.
When I completed the class I was left with one macro to print a log message depending on the level you wanted, ie, LOG_TRACE( string ), LOG_DEBUG( string ), etc. I then made sure I was adding trace messages to each and every function as I made them, instead of later on in the design. For example, an empty function would look like
void BafRecord::getType()
{
LOG_TRACE( "BafRecord::getType" );
LOG_TRACE( "/BafRecord::getType" );
return;
}
Each function would have a start and stop trace message.
Now this might raise an eyebrow or two but I assure you it definitely helps when your program crashes and you do not have a nice debugger on hand. Like say, if a non-technical user is using it.
This is how my linux application was programmed and I went the extra step in bafprp to work these in while I was working. Enough about this though, a short while ago, after adding one of the major structure types to the program my application slowed down from parsing a 12 meg file in 2 seconds to 2 minutes and I was greatly concerned over the well being of my design.
I tried many things, first I greatly reduced the number of memory copies my program executed, then I changed my file input so that it would read the entire file at the start and reference a data bank instead of reading the file each cycle. However none of these things put a dent in the processing time. So then I went online to try and find a nice and easy code profiler. Code profilers will basically watch your program execution and tell you which function your program is spending the most amount of time in. I ended up finding LTProf which allowed me to profile my program without recompiling or changing my program at all. I am actually very surprised at how well it works with compiled binaries. After running a release version of my program it was still able to accuratly determine function names and operate like it had a window into the source code.
I found that my time stamp function, NowTime, which returns the current time as a string, was taking a noticably large amount of my program’s time. Thinking back to what code uses this function I discovered the flaw.
When I wrote the log program I wrote the log level exception into the log class. This way if the program tried to log a trace message it would get sent to the output class, which would then pass it on to the logs if the level was at or below the log level type. However this was not enough. as it turns out simply creating the log message twice in each function had a substantial effect on the processing speed of my program.
Needless to say as soon as I moved the log level check to the macro the process speed dropped from 2 minutes to 30 seconds. Now some might say that trace logs this detailed are excessive, however I believe they can help greatly when dealing with a malfunctioning program. So as a final statement, be careful when you design systems, and beaware of how to use your tools. And if your program runs 3 times longer then a similar program, there is probably something horribly wrong.
Ever want to get more out of your music? Feel like your relation
ship is entirely one sided? Then you probably have not played Audiosurf yet. In a nutshell this program turns you music into a game that you play for points and against other people if you so wish. There are quite a number of cool features in Audiosurf but they are easily discovered while playing or researching the game. Instead I wish to make this post about a problem Audiosurf has, which is that tracks can be inconsistent across operating systems.
If you have ever seriously tried to play Audiosurf with someone or maybe a group of people you might discover that another person’s track is different then yours, in both congestion and block positioning. It so happens that me and my friends have setup a mini competition where we get scored for points and positions in several weekly songs. For full details: http://surfoff.blogspot.com/
Back to the main purpose of this article, yes, tracks do differ between operating systems, most common are windows xp to windows vista. The problem seems to be with the mp3 decoders, or so they say.
Here is how to fix this problem, simply use an open source audio editor like audacity and export the mp3 as a wav file. Then distribute and surf the wav file. You might want to use a good compressor, like winrar, for the file however, as it will be big.
Why does this work?
Audiosurf must first decode an mp3 before it can process it for block positions and colors. This process can differ between operating systems as previously discussed. So what we do here is decode the mp3 once on one machine and distribute the song uncompressed. This way Audiosurf does not need to decode anything, which in turn means it is not operating system sensitive.
Happy surfing
Last semester I was unceremoniously captured and tormented by the game we all know as World of Warcraft. During my adventures as a mage in this game I progressed as far as the first boss in black temple before wow-quiting. As I am sure many fellow gamers can understand, one day the game finally clicked for me and I did not sign on it for weeks, only to be destroyed when I reformatted last week.
But enough about that, I learned quite a few things from this game, and I would like to share some of the more practical lessons. I have compiled a mage ‘guide’ that I believe might just be the most comprehensive on the internet, concerning addons, macros, and gear tips anyway. You will still have to read elitistjerks to learn how to play your class.
I was the mage officer for my guild and so I had a big thread that detailed what I expected each mage to do, and various tips and tricks I had picked up. So without further delay, here is quite possibly the longest post I will ever make in one sitting.
Raiding
In order to raid you must first have the appropriate gear and stats. As a general rule of thumb, mages should have around 8k hp unbuffed. Usually that number is 8.5k, however mages do have a lot of survivability so I lowered it a bit. If you want to raid please get the appropriate gear either through badge loot or a few lucky heroic/kara/gruul runs. When picking who I will take to a raid you can follow this list.
- Have the time
- Know your class
- Know the fight
- Have the gear
I consider all these when choosing who to bring to a raid, please be aware of how you score and how you can improve.
Mage Sweet Information Thread
http://elitistjerks.com/f31/t18441-mage_sweet_informational_thread/
Consumables
Flasks
[Flask of Pure Death] +43 dps
[Flask of Blinding Light] +43 dps
[Flask of Supreme Power] +38 dps
[Flask of Distilled Wisdom] Acceptable for arcane mage use, 1125 mana, 1% to crit
[Shattrath Flask of Supreme Power] +38 dps
[Unstable Flask of the Sorcerer] Only for gruuls
Elixers
[Adept's Elixir] BATTLE ~+20 dps
[Elixir of Major Firepower] BATTLE +30 dps
[Elixir of Major Frost Power] BATTLE +30 dps
[Greater Arcane Elixir] BATTLE straight up damage, no crit
[Elixir of Draenic Wisdom] GUARDIAN
[Elixir of Major Mageblood] GUARDIAN +16 mp5
[Elixir of Major Fortitude] GUARDIAN If you need a little extra hp
Oils
[Superior Wizard Oil] Cheapest and easiest
[Superior Mana Oil] If you need the mp5
[Brilliant Wizard Oil] Damage and crit
Food
[Blackened Basilisk]
[Crunchy Serpent]
[Poached Bluefish]
[Skullfish Soup]
Potions
[Super Rejuvenation Potion]
[Major Dreamless Sleep Potion]
[Destruction Potion]
[Flame Cap]
Spec
Mages have 3 possible specs
2/48/11
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=obZxgRzfcIoeRtVhM0o
40/0/21
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=oi0ic0czxIziZZVA0coc0o
10/0/51
http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=obhVZZVAGcofLoiqt
Macros
There are a lot of things that help a mage get max dps and macros are one the top ones. Here are some handy macros I use, consider integrating them into your ui if you have not already.
Firstly, the most important,
/cast [COOLDOWN]
/stopcasting
Make a macro for all cooldowns you pop, including trinkets and gems. You might notice that when you use a cooldown you get global cooldown. This is not suppose to happen and can severely cut your dps. When you use stopcasting it will cancel the global cooldown. For example, as 40/0/21 I keep this macro
/cast Icy Veins
/stopcasting
/cast Cold Snap
/stopcasting
This pops both cooldowns at the same time and I can immediately follow up with a spell and save myself 3 seconds of global cooldown.
Second most important, focus targeting
Every mage should use these macros for cc. The command is simple, its just /focus
That will set a target as your focus. For those unfamiliar with focus targeting, think of the focus as a second target. You have your main target (the skull) and your cc target (star) both targeted at the same time. In this way you can easily see the timer on your sheep AND you can easily resheep without changing targets. Obviously this is a big deal, so use it. Here are the macros
/focus mouseover
then
/cast [target=focus] Polymorph
I bind the mouseover focus to mouse 3, or the middle button. When I click that on a mob I set my focus target. When it comes to cc I have polymorph target set to F and polymorph focus set to ctrl+F. I highly recommend the use of the modifier key, that way you can have one ‘sheep’ button, but it can do 2 different things.
If you have any questions about this please talk to me in game.
This handy little macro will delete any Mana Emeralds you have in your inventory and conjure a new one. Good if you want to replace the one that only has 1 or 2 charges left.
/run for x=0,4 do for y=1,GetContainerNumSlots(x) do l=GetContainerItemLink(x,y) if l then if GetItemInfo(l)==”Mana Emerald” then PickupContainerItem(x,y) DeleteCursorItem() return end end end end
/cast Conjure Mana Emerald
Addons
http://files.wowace.com/scorchio/scorchio.zip
Lets you know how long the scorch debuff has left, regardless of who owns the stack
Aloft
- Better overhead enemy health bars. There is also an option to include a sheep timer and cast bar
Banzai Alert
- This addon will tell you the second you pull agro or are targeted by an unfriendly mob/player
BigBrother
- This addon will tell you who breaks your sheeps, and has an optional announcement feature for parties and raids
Bongos
- Very customizable action bars, and easy to use key bind system.
Distance2
- Addon that scans your talents and displays an approximation of how far you are away from a mob
DrDamage
- Calculates your expected and effective dps given your talents, gear, etc. Displays damage for spells on your action bars, and much more
ElkBuffBars
- Very nice and clean buff bars
ErrorMonster
- If you are tired of all the ‘You Cannot Use That Item’ blah blah error messages, use this addon to filter them out.
FreeRefills
- Auto buy stacks of reagents
Grid + Click2Cast
- I use grid for my raid frames and love it. You can also combine grid with an addon called Click2Cast and effectively make decursive, removing an extra addon you dont really need. You will need some prowess in order to set it up but it is worth the trouble.
ag_UnitFrames + MobHealth
- ag_unitframes will replace blizzard’s default ui with a much cleaner and nicer ui. I combine it with mobhealth so that I can get really good approximations at how much health the boss really has.
OmniCC
- Will place a countdown on your action bar for your cooldowns.
SCT + SCTD
- Scrolling combat text and more importantly, scrolling combat damage. Can be easily configured to show you when you are taking damage and such.
Talented
- Allows you to store templates for other specs and even will respec for you. Combine this addon with Talented_DrDamage, and DrDamage will tell you expected dps with whichever spec you have open in talented
WitchHunt
- Will display a message when an enemy within range casts something, anything.
You might notice that a lot of these addons are ACE addons. I did this on purpose for if you download the ACE Updater you can easily update the majority of your addons in 1 click. Its just my preference though. Happy tweaking.
Gear (Mainly badges)
[Scryer's Blade of Focus] : 150 Badges
[Chronicle of Dark Secrets] : Rage Winterchill
[Wand of the Forgotten Star] : High Astromancer Solarian
[Cowl of Tirisfal] : Lady Vashj
- [Chaotic Skyfire Diamond]
- [Runed Crimson Spinel]
[Adornment of Stolen Souls] : Prince Malchezaar
[Loop of Cursed Bones] : Zul’jin
[Mantle of Tirisfal] : Void Reaver
- [Potent Noble Topaz]
- [Infused Amethyst]
[Brute Cloak of the Ogre-Magi] : Maulgar
[Tormented Demonsoul Robes] : 100 Badges
- [Brilliant Dawnstone]
[Cuffs of Devastation] : Rage Winterchill
- [Runed Living Ruby]
[Enslaved Doomguard Soulgrips] : 75 Badges
- [Brilliant Dawnstone]
[Belt of Blasting] : Crafted
- [Glowing Nightseye]
- [Veiled Noble Topaz]
[Corrupted Soulcloth Pantaloons] : 100 Badges
- [Runed Living Ruby]
- [Runed Living Ruby]
[Boots of Incantations] : 75 Badges
- [Potent Noble Topaz]
[Band of the Eternal Sage] : Exalted: The Scale of the Sands
[Fused Nethergon Band] : 60 Badges
[Hex Shrunken Head] : Hex Lord Malacrass
[Serpent-Coil Braid] : Morogrim TideWalker
[Sextant of Unstable Currents] : Fathom Lord Karathress
When all is said and done, according to thise nice dps calculator you should end up with about 1920.64 dps fully buffed.
Obviously this gear is geared more towards an arcane mage, so get to know and love the arcane mage rotation. I suggest occasionally spec’ing 40/0/21 and doing 5 mans to get the hang of it.
Stats in this gear (unbuffed)
7933 hp / 10691 mana
30% crit / 10% hit (3% off cap [buffs increase this])
1249 Spell Damage
Stats (buffed)
8603 hp / 13226 mana
40.51% crit / 13% hit
1481 Spell Damage
Buffed stats assume a shaman and moonkin in the group
Total Badge Count: 560
Gear (PVE [aka lazy])
[The Maelstrom's Fury] : High Warlord Naj’entus
[Chronicle of Dark Secrets] : Rage Winterchill
[Wand of the Forgotten Star] : High Astromancer Solarian
[Cowl of Tirisfal] : Lady Vashj
- [Chaotic Skyfire Diamond]
- [Runed Crimson Spinel]
[Adornment of Stolen Souls] : Prince Malchezaar
[Loop of Cursed Bones] : Zul’jin
[Mantle of Tirisfal] : Void Reaver
- [Potent Noble Topaz]
- [Infused Amethyst]
[Brute Cloak of the Ogre-Magi] : Maulgar
[Tormented Demonsoul Robes] : 100 Badges
- [Brilliant Dawnstone]
[Cuffs of Devastation] : Rage Winterchill
- [Runed Living Ruby]
[Enslaved Doomguard Soulgrips] : 75 Badges
- [Brilliant Dawnstone]
[Belt of Blasting] : Crafted
- [Glowing Nightseye]
- [Veiled Noble Topaz]
[Leggings of Channeled Elements] : Kaz’rogal
- [Runed Living Ruby]
- [Runed Living Ruby]
- [Runed Living Ruby]
[Slippers of the Seacaller] : High Warlock Naj’entus
- [Runed Living Ruby]
- [Runed Living Ruby]
[Band of the Eternal Sage] : Exalted: The Scale of the Sands
[Ring of Captured Storms] : High Warlord Naj’entus
[Hex Shrunken Head] : Hex Lord Malacrass
[Serpent-Coil Braid] : Morogrim TideWalker
[Sextant of Unstable Currents] : Fathom Lord Karathress
When all is said and done, according to thise nice dps calculator you should end up with about 1810.60 dps fully buffed.
Obviously this gear is geared more towards an arcane mage, so get to know and love the arcane mage rotation. I suggest occasionally spec’ing 40/0/21 and doing 5 mans to get the hang of it.
Stats in this gear (unbuffed)
7173 hp / 9791 mana
32.5% crit / 11% hit
1289 Spell Damage
Stats (buffed)
7763 hp / 12251 mana
43.69% crit / 14% hit
1566 Spell Damage
Buffed stats assume a shaman and moonkin in the group
Total Badge Count: 175
Tools and Resources
There are quite a lot of tools and such mages can use to figure out how they can be better. Here are some of the programs and web sites I use to keep tabs on everyone.
Rawr
http://www.codeplex.com/Rawr/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=12354
Gear comparison, dps calculator, spec inspection, this is by far the BEST mage program
Loot Rank
http://www.lootrank.com/wow/rank.asp
Does almost the same thing as Rawr but provides a bit more info and easier to use in a certain respect. The thing with loot rank is you have to assign numbers to stats for it to choose the best gear for you. These numbers can be tweaked a bit depending on how you feel, but here are some example builds.
High priority on stam and haste, not the best for all of us atm.
This weighting is more suited for our mages at the current moment. Check it out.
I might make some tweaks based on layout here or there but this guide is not going to change much so consider it current to today’s post date.
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