Evening Reading: How Long 'Til Cataclysm Unlocks?

Hope everyone enjoyed a great weekend. I spent the bulk of mine playing Gran Turismo 5 in hopes of eventually having played enough to write a review. I also made the potentially fateful decision to reinstall World of Warcraft so I can hop in and play some when Cataclysm drops tonight.

More so than either of the two previous expansions, this one seems to have everyone excited almost like when the game was really in its heyday. Maybe it's the massive changes to the world; maybe it's the new races; or maybe it's just been long enough to pull people like me back.

While we've been waiting for Cataclysm to unlock, here's what's been going on around the Shack today:

And here's a couple things from around the rest of the Net:
From The Chatty
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    December 6, 2010 5:02 PM

    My boss is taking a week off from work to play Cataclysm. How do you feel about that? Would you ever spend your vacation on playing a game 24/7?

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      December 6, 2010 5:03 PM

      staycation is better than vacation

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      December 6, 2010 5:03 PM

      Only if the game were named Diablo 3

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      December 6, 2010 5:04 PM

      I feel disgusted that you havent done the same

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        December 6, 2010 5:06 PM

        I never played a Blizzard game and I don't care for it, it's not my type. I can understand that the games are fantastic and fun, but they don't appeal to me. I don't like fantasy so much. I may give Diablo 3 a try.

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          December 6, 2010 10:40 PM

          You don't like fantasy but you'd try Diablo 3? You realize it's a fantasy game, right? :)

          What about their various RTSes?

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      December 6, 2010 5:04 PM

      I spent most of the last couple weeks playing video games while on vacation, do what you like when you have the time

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        December 6, 2010 5:06 PM

        right, but an entire week? I guess I read the OP a bit too literally, but it makes it sound as though that's all he's going to do. don't you find that a waste? and I'm not judging here, I've wasted so much fucking time it's not even funny. I just think a week off work to play WoW is a little too hardcore. but maybe i'm being judgmental without realizing it.

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          December 6, 2010 5:35 PM

          yes, pretty much it was the vast majority of two weeks and it's pretty much all i did except sleep and eat except for the weekends when my girl came over and we did stuff together

          i didn't see it as a waste, it was what i wanted to do with my time off and i enjoyed myself quite a bit

          that said, i didn't take the vacation specifically to play games, rather it was a vacation i was going to take one way or the other and what i did while i was away from work was play games

          so maybe there's a slight distinction there

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            December 6, 2010 6:56 PM

            yeah I think I'm just being anti-WoW tonite and an overly literal faggot

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      December 6, 2010 5:05 PM

      If that's all he's going to do and he has no major life issues causing such a scenario, I find that really odd.

      I mean, I've done worse when my life is in shambles...but when you have a job and your health and....just....I mean is he literally playing it all day long each day? Or is he going to do other stuff like actually go outside, spend time with family or friends, shower

      it's weird, but I guess it's becoming slightly less weird as time goes by. stories like this don't surprise me anymore. which is weird.

      and this is coming from a gaming/internet addict.

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        December 6, 2010 5:08 PM

        He's a great guy and he's a lot of fun, but yea he'll be going total nerd crazy on it for an entire week. No wife/girlfriend doesn't really help.

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        December 6, 2010 5:11 PM

        You may be taking it too literally. I have taken time off to play a game before but I did more than just that. The game just happened to be why I took *that* time off.

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        December 6, 2010 7:00 PM

        i agree

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          December 6, 2010 7:01 PM

          well let me clarify..
          i agree that on the surface it is weird for someone to take time off just for a game. i think that its probably better to find something better to take time off for. like maybe a music festival or some kind of actual vacation

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            December 6, 2010 11:26 PM

            i don't really see how a music festival is any different. it's a hobby that he enjoys. he's obviously successful if he's snipergen's boss, so he's doing something right in life. everybody has hobbies that other people would find odd or a waste of time.

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      December 6, 2010 5:05 PM

      Half of my Christmas vacation will be devoted to playing games.

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      December 6, 2010 5:05 PM

      Are you still rolling the dice that everything will be stable when Cataclysm rolls out? I haven't played WoW in years, but I'll never forget the clusterfuck that was BWL patch day.

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      December 6, 2010 5:06 PM

      [deleted]

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      December 6, 2010 5:06 PM

      I'm doing the same thing this week, but only by sheer luck. Our company goes through a merger next year and I will lose excess vacation time unless I use it by the end of the year. I'm not using it over Christmas because I'm spending Christmas in town and instead, leaving that week open for someone who has to travel to take the time off.

      Win / win / win

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      December 6, 2010 5:07 PM

      I've got two days off... I suppose if I had more PTO to spare, I would have taken the whole week!

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      December 6, 2010 5:08 PM

      Yep absoloutely - I'm a gamer - let's stop pidgeon holing us in as nerds and freaks.
      If your hobby was sailing and the Americas Cup was on, would you not want to participate?
      What if your hobby was WRC - you're an amateur driver and then a US rally is on, once a year - in your state - would you go?

      I took 2 days off for GTA4 and it was worth every fucking cent (350$ + lost in wages)

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      December 6, 2010 5:08 PM

      in life there are few opportunities to truly explore, so if i have a week off i'm going to be on a plane to singapore or something. however, some people just like doing the same things to a high degree , i dont mind.

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      December 6, 2010 5:08 PM

      Eh, if it's fun... go for it.

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      December 6, 2010 5:12 PM

      [deleted]

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      December 6, 2010 5:13 PM

      it's kind of funny but he can use his vacation however he wants so that's cool. I'd probably take a day off for some games but I am not really into MMOs

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        December 6, 2010 5:17 PM

        Didn't we have a shacker post once that his boss denied a day off for gaming.

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          December 6, 2010 5:21 PM

          no I think someone took off a couple of days for gaming and everyone called him a lazy faggot or something. it was a pretty terrible thread from what I recall. par for the course judgmental assholery.

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      December 6, 2010 5:15 PM

      To each his own. I would rather be somewhere new and out doing things I dont get a chance to do at home. I can game any other day.

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      December 6, 2010 5:20 PM

      Yes. Yes I would. Not cata though. Maybe Half-Life 3 or GTA5 or Battlefield 3.

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      December 6, 2010 5:20 PM

      if i'm taking time off of work, i better be laying on some beach, not sitting at the computer! >:(

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      December 6, 2010 5:21 PM

      i did this for Wrath IIRC and it was fun as hell

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      December 6, 2010 5:26 PM

      I feel that as adults, we get to make our own choices, and this one results in no negative effects, so I'm cool with it. I might do the same, for the right game. Maybe.

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      December 6, 2010 5:28 PM

      It's his time off.. if that's what he considers a relaxing way to spend it, who are you to judge?

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      December 6, 2010 5:29 PM

      who gives a fuck. I could buy a fuckin cake right now and name it dinner

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      December 6, 2010 5:31 PM

      you're assuming that's what he's really going to do, 24/7 gaming. I mean, he may play for a few days, but what if he's doing something else he didn't want to tell you about, eh?

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      December 6, 2010 5:31 PM

      I wouldn't take a WEEK off. A couple of days maybe. Two of my friends were going to take two days off and just blow through the content as fast as possible. If I play I don't want to be left behind as I level very slowly by myself and just getting it down in a day or two seems way better.

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      December 6, 2010 5:37 PM

      i'm appalled! he should be going for walks 24/7! and when he's done walking, he should walk some more! there's nothing as wholesome and invigorating as a good honest stroll in the sun! except for maybe a refreshing shower! if he ain't walking, he'd better be showering!

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      December 6, 2010 5:40 PM

      Fallout NV ate my Thanksgiving, so yeah.

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      December 6, 2010 5:45 PM

      I am on vacation the 7th and 8th. I had 2 days to burn so i said what the hell.

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      December 6, 2010 5:45 PM

      it is useless to put aside time to play the first day. the servers are always a wreck 1st day of an expansion

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        December 6, 2010 5:50 PM

        They've been getting better with that recently. I'm amazed that the shattering went so smoothly.

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        December 6, 2010 5:51 PM

        why do people still post this? first day of Wrath was fine (at least on med-pop servers)...and with the way they preload almost everything now, Cataclysm should be even better

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        December 6, 2010 5:55 PM

        Never happened really. The login servers get pretty hosed for about an hour or so, but after that everything is fine. That was the case with BC, and with WoTLK there was no hang ups at all.

        This is just a myth perpetuated from previous MMO experiences. Blizzard has their shit together.

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          December 6, 2010 6:02 PM

          nobody will be happier than me if servers are perfect tomorrow, but betting a vacation day on it is too much to ask.

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            December 6, 2010 6:03 PM

            There isn't not much of a risk. At worst they are done a couple hours, there is no way they would be down for the whole day, Blizzard is full of redundancy and backup plans for the exact reason.

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              December 6, 2010 6:26 PM

              Yeah the Wrath launch is one of the smoothest I've seen for any MMO, expansion or initial release. I was shocked that the servers were totally fine after the Shattering. I had no issues at all logging in and playing. Worst thing was updating my mods again, which was not Blizz's fault anyway.

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      December 6, 2010 5:50 PM

      I've done it at least twice that I can remember.

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      December 6, 2010 5:51 PM

      I've taken time off work for several games. Grabbin a bunch of beer, munchies and sitting down with the express purposes of ignoring real life for a few days to marathon a game is something I always look forward to.

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      December 6, 2010 5:56 PM

      [deleted]

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      December 6, 2010 5:59 PM

      [deleted]

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        December 6, 2010 6:06 PM

        With the way that Blizzard does expansions, and particularly this one, it pretty much is like releasing a whole new game.

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      December 6, 2010 6:04 PM

      [deleted]

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      December 6, 2010 6:10 PM

      I may do the same thing. I've got three weeks of use or lose leave...

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      December 6, 2010 6:11 PM

      I would love a vacation to my couch / desk.

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      December 6, 2010 6:24 PM

      If my vacation is about to expire anyway, and I have enough for the holidays, then hell yes I'll take it off for a game, WoW or not. Some folks don't get carry over vacation after the new year hits, so when they have two weeks in December to take or lose, they'll take it, most likely. If a game is released at that time, then awesome.

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      December 6, 2010 6:35 PM

      [deleted]

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      December 6, 2010 6:36 PM

      If it's what he wants to do, what do you care?

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      December 6, 2010 6:40 PM

      No, but I would love to take a week off, game when I want, and not think about anything else.

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      December 6, 2010 7:05 PM

      Yes.

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      December 6, 2010 7:19 PM

      I asked one the managers if he was going to take a day off for Cataclysm and he got a sad, depressed look in his eyes because he can't afford the time off. Hehe.

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      December 6, 2010 7:31 PM

      its definitely a money saving vacation

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      December 6, 2010 10:26 PM

      I'm saving my PTO for Episode 3

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      December 6, 2010 10:47 PM

      We have people who are about to lose vacation if they don't take it before the end of the year. If I was in that boat I'd totally blow some vacation time to play WoW. Other than that, I don't feel like taking vacation to play a game, but I'm fine if people decide they want to dot it.

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      December 6, 2010 11:30 PM

      Who cares. Gaming is a hobby, like anything else. If he gains enough satisfaction out of playing WoW with no interruptions or distractions to justify spending a weeks worth of valuable time off, then more power to him. I personally think sitting at home and watching 8 hours of football is a waste of a day off, but it's culturally acceptable so no one cares if you do. Do I care that people do it? Not in the least. Hell I think I jerked off for 8 hours straight once. Fuck it.

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      December 6, 2010 11:31 PM

      fuck yes. if it's fun, and you have a good crew to game with, that basically IS a vacation.

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      December 6, 2010 11:44 PM

      My PTO is capped so I'm taking 2 days. Evenings I'll still be hanging out with the gf.

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      December 6, 2010 11:50 PM

      I usually do for Christmas. I usually take a couple days off (pretty much the only days I ever take off in a year) go to my parents house for like 5 days and do nothing but hang around the house playing a console game or two. It's pretty much my refresher for another coming year of hard work.

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      December 6, 2010 11:56 PM

      [deleted]

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      December 7, 2010 12:01 AM

      HELL to the fucking NO

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      December 7, 2010 12:03 AM

      Doing this isn't such a bad idea. Doing it with an MMO doesn't really work though, since you can't beat the game.

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      December 7, 2010 12:21 AM

      i did for black & white :( worst vacation ever.

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        December 7, 2010 12:25 AM

        [deleted]

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          December 7, 2010 1:26 AM

          i cant until thursday and then the STO update is released and i need to pick which ship i want to use
          i have the choice of
          USS Panic Attack III ( tactical defiant class retrofit)
          USS Science Fiction III (science ship intrepid class retrofit)
          USS NO PANTS (engineering Galaxy class retrofit)

          all three ships are fucking awesome, the defiant has a cloak and lots of power
          the intrepid has ablative armour and a fuck ton of awesome powers.
          the galaxy has fireworks what are pretty and can split into two parts, and has shit loads of weapons and shields but turns like a boat but is also awesome.

          its hard to pick and customise which ship i want as they all have good points (the tactical has cannons which fucking PWN, but have limited radius of fire.) the science ship has things like spacial rifts and crap you can do.

          i love the space battles in this game so very much (the land stuff , not so much)

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            December 7, 2010 1:52 AM

            [deleted]

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              December 7, 2010 2:06 AM

              oh there are DPS stats for everything so many stats it hurts my brain. also its star trek so its automatically awesome.

              really the only issues with the game were (and some still are) Land based (3rd person shooter stuff) is clunky and some times annoying, its a lot better than it was at launch but its obviously not the focus. and originally a lack of content. but now that they are doing monthly'ish episodes that is solved.


              and now they have a mission creator. the space battles are the best battles in star trek EVER. EVER EVER.

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      December 7, 2010 12:25 AM

      [deleted]

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      December 7, 2010 12:31 AM

      Why not? Georgeb3dr did it developing DNF(but he spaced his
      playtime over years, not weeks) :p

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      December 7, 2010 12:50 AM

      Sure, not WoW but sure, some other game.

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      December 7, 2010 1:41 AM

      Yup. Work Xmas party Wed, Thurs and Friday off. Gonna play a Shaman and Druid non stop with only fud and half an hour exercise each day to break it up!

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      December 7, 2010 1:51 AM

      Have a friend doing the same. A bit extreme perhaps, but as long as it is under control normally, go for it. It would basically be the same as a vacation in a foreign land, without the sun and ladies.

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      December 7, 2010 2:03 AM

      fuck no

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      December 7, 2010 2:37 AM

      [deleted]

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      December 7, 2010 3:10 AM

      [deleted]

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