Monday, December 21, 2015

Lord of Ultima Resource Layout

11 comments :
lord of ultima

Once the basics of resource production in Lord of Ultima is understood, the next logical step is identifying an effective layout for resources which allows for both adequate production and storage. There are many places to find information on potential resource layouts, including forums, the wiki, and through alliance memberships in LOU.

Overview of Resource Layout

This layout requires a minimum of 15 spaces in a 3 by 5 grid, either horizontal or vertical. Additional surrounding spaces can be used to increase production through the use of cottages. This layout is designed to support two resources, as well as increased storage for the two resources.

Setting up multiple grids of this layout, separated by cottages provides adequate production to support the city. This layout may need to built in pieces depending on the level of the town hall in the city.

Building a Warehouse to Increase Resource Storage

This layout is centered around a warehouse structure to increase the storage space for the bordering resources. Build the warehouse in the third row of the third column. A level ten warehouse will provide storage of 200K of each resource.

Build Specialty Buildings Next to the Warehouse

Determine which resources will be supported for this grid. For each resource, identify the specialty building. In this example, the specialty buildings are a sawmill for wood and a stonemason for stone. Build one of each of the two chosen buildings immediately next to the warehouse, on opposite sides.

In this example, build the sawmill in row two, column three and the stonemason in row four, column three. When all buildings are at level ten, the warehouse bordering these buildings will be capable of holding an extra 75% - up to 350K of each resource for which there is a special building.

Build the Resource Buildings

Once the warehouse and special buildings are in place, build six of each of the two chosen resource buildings. Make sure that the buildings surround the existing special building on all sides, and build on one side of the warehouse. Level ten resource buildings produce 300 per hour, before bonuses.

With the 75% bonus from the special building, this resource layout will produce at minimum, 3150 per hour. Additional resource bonuses can be obtained by building cottages around the buildings.

Resource Layout Strategies in Lord of Ultima

The layout presented here is only one of many possibilities and does not take into consideration any potential bonuses from surrounding resource fields. Other layouts for resources can be found on the LOU forums or by asking alliance members in the game.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

FreeRice - Online Free Fun Game Helps the Hungry

34 comments :
World hunger is projected to have reached a historic high in 2009 and continues to increase with 1,020 million people going hungry every day. Recent analysis by theFood and Agricultural Organization says that the increase in hunger is not the consequence of poor global harvests but is caused by the world economic crisis that resulted in lower incomes and increased unemployment. This also reduced access to food by the poor in many countries.

free rice


A solution anyone can be part of is by playing a free web game called FreeRice. Known as one of the best deals of the internet, FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program in partnership with Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. It is a web based game which gives knowledge to the player and food for someone in need. The goals of FreeRice are to:
  • Provide education to everyone for free
  • Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free

What is the On-line Fun Game About?

The game tests the vocabulary and knowledge of the participants. The player is presented with a word and four possible definitions, and asked to click on one. For each click on a correct answer, 10 grains of rice are added to a wooden plate which acts as a score card.

When the game was launched in 2007, it had only English vocabulary but it evolved and enhanced quickly as a result of continuing enthusiasm. Now the game is multilingual with words in English, French, Spanish, German and Italian. In addition to vocabulary, there are now questions in the game covering Art, Math, Chemistry and Geography.

FreeRice has a database containing thousands of words in each subject at varying degrees of difficulty. The player can choose the level of difficulty as the game progresses and watch the pretty wooden bowl fill with virtual rice, and know that someone in need is being helped.

How is Revenue Generated by the Free Web Game?

The answer is advertisements. Companies advertise on the website and in exchange donate money to pay for the rice and other expenses. FreeRice in turn underwrites the donations to buy and distribute the rice by the World Food Program. The web site keeps track of the grains by month. For example, in November 2009, 1.4 billion rice grains were collected.

There are about 48 grains in a gram of rice. In countries where rice is a staple part of the diet, the World Food Program provides about 400 grams of rice per person per day as partof a food basket containing other ingredients. This is intended to ensure a minimum of 2,100 kilocalories and other essential nutrients.

Who is Behind the On-Line Game Phenomenon?

FreeRice is the invention of John Breen, a computer programmer and online fundraising pioneer. He set it up so that the rice is distributed through the World Food Program.

Mr. Breen and the millions of FreeRice players can feel proud seeing the examples of where the rice from the popular internet game has been distributed:
  • In Bangladesh to feed 27,000 refugees from Myanmar for two weeks
  • In Uganda to feed 66,000 school children for a week
  • In Combodia to provide take-home rations for two months to 13,500 pregnant and nursing women

When is the Game Played?

Like any online game, FreeRice can be played any time of the day or night. There are people who regularly spend 5 to 10 minutes a day when they start their computer or just before closing it for the day. Playing even 5-10 minutes means donating 500-1500 grains of rice a day. Each grain adds up to feed a hungry child.

Spread of FreeRice Game through the Internet Communities:

Cited as viral marketing success story, word of the game has spread. The game’s appeal is such that FreeRice ‘communities’ have mushroomed on Facebook and MySpace.There’s a group on Facebook called Free Rice Challenge that asks the visitors to play FreeRice and post the score on the group’s wall. The totals are added up to see just how much of that rice is coming from Facebook members.

Success of the On-line Game:

Since the players help the hungry and also gain knowledge in the process, the online game can be said as a win-win situation. The fun game has been especially successful among students and teachers with more school children expanding their vocabulary as they help someone in need. For adults the imagination of feeding a hungry person with the rice they fill in the virtual bowl makes it meaningful and interesting.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Prestige and Honor: Understanding the Different Evony Stats

8 comments :
When getting started in Evony, few pay any significant attention to the countless stats of your player or your city. Most players feel that they have a slight understanding of what is occurring, but don’t really know what different things mean, or how to make best of each statistic. This is unfortunate, as it definitely holds back one's ability to succeed.

evony

Understanding the Player Stats

To begin with, each user has a specific set of stats that should be noted. These statistics include Evony prestige, honor, and achievement points, and each is exactly the same for every one of their cities. Prestige is typically seen as a marker of one's "reputation" in Evony, and is what many people use to compare themselves to different gamers. The user footer will actually show you how your prestige compares with other players, and a lot of gamers regularly make it their mission to become one of the most prestigious players in the entire game.
Another noteworthy measurement is honor. Honor refers to how well you are doing in battle. If you are often defeated by your enemies, and have lots of resources looted from you, it is likely your honor will be low. Lastly, achievement points measure how well you have achieved the many achievements, which are actually different from the quests. Each of these measurements are important and should be upgraded as often as you can.

Understanding the City Stats

Along with your gamer stats, which are identical for every one of your cities, each city has its own exclusive statistics which also must be considered. The majority of these statistics are your city’s resources. These resources include food, lumber, stone, and iron, which are each acquired through sawmills, farms, ironmines, and quarries, and are essential for creating buildings, growing an army, and making upgrades. One other resource is gold, which you get from taxing your citizens, and is essential for advancing at the academy and upgrading to new levels.

Along with resources, your city also contains a few additional noteworthy stats that should be kept in mind. Loyalty describes how large your population is in relation to your maximum potential population. If you have a big population limit, but not much loyalty, you're not taking advantage of a lot of residents that you could control if your loyalty was bigger. To add to loyalty, you can either lower the tax rate or perform acts such as “disaster relief” at the town hall. Also, along with population, another imperative statistic is labor force. It is important to make sure that your labor force does not ever exceed your population, or else you won't be getting as many resources as you potentially could. If this happens, don't forget to set up more cottages and increase loyalty in order to add to population.

Conclusion

While many players may dismiss the measurements of their cities as meaningless, understanding your city and gamer stats is quite imperative for success. Only once you have comprehended what's going on in your city and what its weaknesses are will you be able to dominate Evony forever.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Playing A Shadow Priest on World Of Warcraft

10 comments :
wow

 Hitting level 80 a Shadow Priest can focus on PVP or PVE. These two distinct pathways require very different play style and gearing. This article focuses upon PVE where the first step of a Shadow Priest is to run 5 Man Heroics. These Heroic runs will develop skills, improve group dynamics and provide essential gear upgrades to allow further movement towards 10 and 25 Man Raiding Teams.

Shadow Priest Role

The role of a Shadow Priest is to deliver high Damage Per Second (DPS). In addition to delivering the maximum damage a Shadow Priest must also maintain Buffs on party members and be prepared to dispel damaging magic when a party member is targeted. Examples of magic to be dispelled are forms of Crowd Control such as sheep. At the start of each instance run and after a member dies the Shadow Priest should apply Power Word: Fortitude, Divine Spirit and Shadow Protection. Each of these Buffs can also be applied using their group equivalents “Prayer of Fortitude, Divine Spirit or Shadow Protection” at the cost of a reagent, in this case devout candles.

Healing as a Shadow Priest

Whilst high DPS is the focus of a Shadow Priest they also bring a range of healing abilities to any Heroic run. If the healer is killed a Shadow Priest can take over healing of the party to prevent a wipe. Divine Hymn provides a very strong emergency healing spell to quickly heal the three party members with the lowest health. Power Word: Shield can also be cast during encounters to assist the main healer without breaking Shadow Form.

Gearing Up A Shadow Priest

Players running Heroics are a mix of those already well geared who are farming emblems of triumph and new 80’s attempting to improve their gear. Heroic drops are generally item level 200 with harder heroics dropping up to item level 232. Before starting 5 Man Heroics a Shadow Priest needs to improve the quality of their gear to ensure an effective contribution to the group.

wow couple

 Purchasing or making crafted items can significantly boost overall DPS, such as the Titansteel Guardian from the Blacksmithing trade. Running Normal Mode Instances will provide gear at item level 187 and Normal Trial of The Champion has drops at item level 200. Obtaining a mixture of gear at level 187 and 200 would provide the Shadow Priest with enough health, mana and spell power to run 5 Man Heroics. Choosing the correct enchantments and gems will also provide a valuable boosts to overall DPS.

Gemming and Enchanting A Shadow Priest

The priority stats for a Shadow Priest to obtain in Gems and Enchantments are:
Hit > Spell Power > Haste

After these; Critical Strike, Intelligence, Spirit and Stamina are important however most items will include these in conjunction with Hit, Spell Power and Haste.

Spell Priority for a Shadow Priest

Spell Priority refers to the order of spell casting to minimize wasted time and maximise DPS. Using an effective Spell Priority will greatly improve DPS on both Boss fights and trash. Inner Fire and Vampiric Embrace buffs should be reapplied to the Shadow Priest every time their duration ends. The healing boost provided by Vampiric Embrace, healing all party members for a percentage of shadow damage generated by the Shadow Priest, greatly assists healers when dealing with AOE damage.
To maximise DPS use the following casting priority:

Vampiric Touch (VT), Devouring Plague (DP), Mind Flay (MF) and at this point Shadow Weaving will have hit 5 stacks so the next cast is Shadow Word Pain (SW:P) followed with Mind Blast (MB).
VT > DP > MF > SW:P > MB

After this initial opening VT and DP should be reapplied as soon as they come off cooldown and MB cast every time it is available, generally after two MF. Pain and Suffering from the Shadow talent tree, an essential talent, will remove the need to reapply SW:P as MF will reset it’s duration. MF acts as a filler in-between cooldowns and to avoid negatively impacting overall DPS each spell must fully complete before recasting.

wow

For effective AOE on mobs of more than three targets, cast VT on each target then cast Mind Sear rotating which mob is targeted on each cast.
Elitist Jerks provide a detailed breakdown for Shadow Priest Spell Priority.

Maximizing DPS as a Shadow Priest

Release the Shadow Fiend on every boss fight to improve DPS and also restore mana. Use Dispersion as it comes off cooldown to maintain mana through the 5 Man Heroic to avoid having to stop and drink. This is especially important with a geared group who will run from mob to mob without stopping. Trinkets should be activated whenever off cooldown and especially for all boss fights.

Running 5 Man Heroics

To make the most of 5 Man Heroic runs as a Shadow Priest obtain gear of at least level 187 from Normal Instances. Gem and enchant these items to focus on Spell Power and Haste while trying to pick up additional Hit. Utilise the Spell Priority detailed above and if required switch to support healing to survive difficult encounters

Monday, December 7, 2015

Avatar Customization in Second Life

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Second Life is a booming online universe with endless possibilities. From dance clubs to real estate to self help seminars, residents of Second Life are never at a loss for things to do. Second Life residents can customers their avatars, the character that represents them in the online world, to look however they want. The user created shops and malls sprinkled all throughout Second Life are a cornerstone of avatar customization.

second life

Shape and Skin

Choosing a shape and skin in Second Life is possibly the most important decision that a user can make when it comes to their appearance. When an avatar is first created, or born, it has a distinct new avatar look. Second Life is similar to real life in that first impressions matter, and if a user decides to stick with the avatar that she chose at character creation, she will have a vastly more difficult time socializing and working in the online universe.

Second Life body shapes are infinite in variety, and most can be customized to the user's liking. Prices come in a vast range, with some shapes being free at freebie malls and some being as much as $1,000 Linden (the Second Life currency) or more. For those who have limited funds, the Gerri shape collection is more than adequate and the shapes are a bargain at $190 Linden. Other shape shops include Body Doubles, Dragonfly Designs and LAQ.

A good shape won't do much if there isn't a good skin to go with it. Purchasing a skin is not something to take lightly, as it is probably the most expensive item on any avatar. While some skins can be found for free and are great for starting out, when it comes time to purchase one, it's best to take it slow.

Skins can run as high as $2000 Linden for a pack of five or ten makeup varieties. However, for anyone interested in a Second Life career that requires a quality skin such as modeling or exotic dancing, it is well worth the cost and pays for itself rather quickly. Some high quality skin shops include LAQ, Curio and Redgrave.

Hair and Eyes

The default avatar hair tends to look like a mullet if you give it any length at all. Luckily, user's having the option of buying prim hair, or a user-created object that attaches to the avatar's head and looks more similar to real hair. Prim hair can be sculpted with no movement, or it can be long and flexi, meaning it will flow and move as the avatar moves giving it a realistic appearance. Some of the best hairs are a combination of the two.

second life avatars


Most hair retailers supply a wide range of colors and styles, and prices average $100 Lindens to $400 Lindens. As with any other item in Second Life, mid-quality hair can be found at freebie shops, and some hair shops have gift bags at the entrance with one or two free hairstyles. Leading hair merchants in Second Life include Magika, Analog Dog, Truth, Calico Creations and Damselfly.

Finding eyes is pretty simple, and using free ones will work just as well as paying for eyes. For those who choose to pay for them, they average $50 to $100 Linden for single colors with color packs increasing in price. Curio and Dragonfly both carry eyes as well as other avatar customization items.

Animations

Everyone starts out in Second Life with the same walk. The default walk is fast paced, hunched slightly at the shoulders and stiff. Despite this, there is still a chance to add a little swagger to an avatar's step by purchasing an animation override, or AO.

An AO attaches to the avatar but cannot be seen by other users and overrides the default animations by adding different walking, sitting, standing and flying animations to the avatar. It's controlled by switch, which is normally located in one of the corners of the screen when it's attached to the avatar.
A large variety of AOs are available in Second Life by visiting various animation shops, and are priced at $1,000 to $2,000 Linden. SEMotion and Vista Animations are just two of the leading suppliers of animations overrides.

Freebies

For those who cannot afford to customize their avatar at leading Second Life retailers, there are always freebies. Freebies are mid-quality when compared with more expensive items. However, for somebody just starting out in Second Life, freebies may be good enough to get a job and get used to Second Life.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

NES Games on Facebook

2 comments :
The Nintendo Entertainment System revolutionized video games for an entire generation of gamers in the 1980s and early 1990s.

nes

While the system has been out of circulation for over 15 years and it's very difficult to track down an original NES without paying a high price, old school gamers can still enjoy their favourite Nintendo games without having to pay thanks to the advent of Internet flash games, particularly the many NES applications on Facebook.

The following is a glimpse of what features the Facebook Nintendo programs offer gamers and what kinds of games they can play.

Facebook NES Games by Lance Strish

There are several NES applications on Facebook, but the most popular one was created by Facebook user Lance Strish. His NES Games application has over 22,000 monthly users.

In order to play these games, users need to install Java. It can be downloaded for free here.

Strish's program has over 3,000 Nintendo games that players can enjoy. Gamers can play classic NES games such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Mike Tyson's Punch Out and Metroid.

super mario

Gamers can write reviews and give ratings on each game they play so subsequent users can decide what to play based on which games are the most popular. Players can also tell which games are popular by looking at how many times a particular game has been played. This option appears just above the rankings option.

mike tyson

There is also a section that lists the last 20 games people have played so they don't have to scroll down each time to find a particular game they enjoy playing.

If games don't work because of a broken link, there is an option players can click on to report it.

Strish's NES Games Features

Lance Strish's application also has many features gamers can use to enhance their gaming experience. These features include an option to save game progress, use game genie codes, play in full screen mode and play with a friend.

These features require that the game be downloaded and it will cost one credit to do so. One credit can be purchased for 49 cents.

However, gamers don't need to buy credits if they just want to play the games for fun and don't want any of the extra features.

NES Games Message Board

Like almost all aspects of Facebook, Strish's NES application also has a message group people can use to communicate with each other.

People can post their video game inspired artwork, start discussion threads and post general wall posts about NES related topics.

To play Lance Strish's NES Games application on Facebook, click here.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Evony Combat Tips: Defeating Another Player or NPC

2 comments :
evony

When preparing to do battle in Evony, countless gamers unfortunately put very little consideration into what their plan of attack is or how they expect to win. Not surprisingly, these players are seldom victorious and lack what's necessary to every become an Evony world power. By dedicating some time to prepare for your attack, you can save yourself a significant amount of trouble that would normally arise and can greatly increase your chances of victory.

Choosing the Right Target

The first task when preparing for combat is simply to choose an appropriate valley to attack. This is an extremely vital stage of preparation, and should not be neglected. For one thing, you must decide upon a target whose protection isn't so great that there is no way you could possibly win. If you decide to attack a level ten NPC, for instance, you must have a powerful army or else there is no chance that you will possibly be able to win.

It’s also necessary to avoid choosing a very low leveled city, however, as the plunder simply will not be worth the losses. Not only will you likely lose more units than the amount of plunder that you gain, but you will also be sacrificing precious time that could be better spent attacking more worthy enemies.

Scout Your Enemy Before Attacking

Another imperative stage of preparation is scouting your enemy before attacking them. Numerous players often skip this step, presuming it is not important, while in reality, it is one of the most significant things you can do to increase your chances of victory. If you don’t spend time scouting your opponent before attacking them, you will have no idea what units their army is made of, and have very little assurance of coming out victorious. Thus, spending the time to scout out your opponent is also critical for success.

Using the Scout Report to Assemble Your Army

Next, put together your army accordingly, based on what the scout report revealed about your opponent's defenses. Most players simply assemble as many total units as they can and attack each different target with the exact same arrangement of troops, putting very little thought into whether or not their troops correspond well with the opponent's defenses.

evony screenshot
 
For example, if you are attacking an enemy NPC city who does not have any trebuchets, an excellent idea would be to bring ballista. If you're attacking a city that contains a huge number of abatis, a good tactic would be to hold back your cavalry and replace them with other types of units. Using your cavalry may slightly increase your strength, but you will forfeit so many cavalry to the abatis, you will definitely lose too many to ever justify such a decision. Regrettably, most players neglect to consider these things when attacking, and their success suffers considerably because of it.

Deploying for Battle

Lastly, dismiss your units in waves. Sending off your army in waves works much better than sending a massive force just one time, and should be the approach you use for best results. Also, make sure to bring plenty of transports in order to bring back resources to your city. Few things are worse than putting forth the time and effort to defeat a city, only to have the resources stolen by another gamer because you neglected to bring ample transports.

Conclusion

By spending time planning out your attacks, you' will notice that you become significantly more successful during Evony combat.