WuphonsReach Blog

Overall, I'm mostly content with the UI overhaul that I tackled on Sunday/Monday. It now looks tremendously cleaner then it did when I was using the default UI. Some elements like the buff area, the debuff area, the mini-map, the character portrait frame, the target and focus target frames -...

I've been working on the Insane in the Membrane achievement for a while (even before I took a break from World of Warcraft). One of the things that you have to do is gain back all the goblin town reputation that you trash during an early portion of the achievement....

Here's one example of my old UI vs my new UI. This location is Durnholde Keep in Hillsbrad Foothills. The reason that I'm running around killing everything that moves is to grind reputation with Ravenholdt for the Insane in the Membrane achievement.And the new UI

So, I want to overhaul my UI, because the current UI is *very* busy (as can be seen in the ICC-25 videos. From looking at the different UI packs on Curse.com, it looks like you start with a basic look and feel, and then add/adjust other elements.My original user interface...

Just a few videos from the Icecrown Citadel 25-person PUG-style gDKP raid that I attended over the weekend. This is my first raiding in over a year, so I'm very rusty. My user interface also leaves a bit to be desired and I really think I need to remap one...

One of the new things that seems to have taken the community by storm in the year that I've been gone is something called "gDKP" for pickup-raids (PUGs). DKP or "dragon kill points" has always been a system whereby guilds attempt to reward people with good attendance records by giving...

Reactivated my WoW account late Tuesday, but didn't really play with it until tonight. Things are different after a year, but not radically, and the core group of people that I enjoyed spending time with are still there.So, after patching everything (including the dozens of add-ons), I managed to:- role-play...

This is old-school, a visit back to 1999 when this was considered cutting edge graphics work by Valve. Video cards back then were lucky to have 8-32MB of video RAM and most work was done by the CPU. So it runs very well on modern machines.

One of the bigger impact mods that I'm trying out lately is Xepha's Dynamic Weather. It adds sand/dust storms, fog, along with rain and thunderstorms. The sandstorm effect is quite intense, with the sky turning a more redish/rust color and visibility decreasing to less then 100 meters.One of the minor...

An example of using the console to resurrect a dead NPC. This particular example is what to do if you can find the dead body. Due to the mods that I'm using (Mart's Mutant Mod w/ Increased Spawns), a lot of the exterior NPCs run the risk of early death...

Current mod load order that works for me.Fallout3.esmPointLookout.esmAnchorage.esmThePitt.esmBrokenSteel.esmZeta.esmMart's Mutant Mod.esmDCInteriors_LEnfntPl.esmDCInteriors_Georgtown.esmDCInteriors_Mason.esmDCInteriors_SewardSq.esmDCInteriors_Takoma.esmXepha's Dynamic Weather.esmStreetLights.esmGalaxyNewsRadio100[M].espDelayAnchorage.espDelaySteel.espdelaypl.espDelayThePitt.espdelayzeta.espGifts4Kids.espMaintenanceShed.espAmmo_Dispenser v 2.espMerc Adventurer Armor - eng.espHellsDistressedLeatherJumpsuits.espLongRangeReconnaissancePatrolLRRPArmor.esp3EFhelmlessstealthsuit.espBD Merged Camo Battlearmor.espsunglassescollection.espRealistic Death Physics.espSlower Degradation (-50%).espKarmaHard1010.espreduced karma loss for Stealing.espchoose_XP.espVanishingPiles.espBlankJournals.espGlow Sticks.espLonger Days & Longer Nights.espResponsive Kill Reactions.espPowerArmorRebalance.espRandom Bobbleheads.espRandomizedSkillbooks.espRandomExtraTraps.espDeadlierExplosiveTraps.espStreetLights - Wasteland.espRealistic Interior Lighting - BS.espRealistic Interior Lighting - OA.espRealistic Interior Lighting.espXepha's Dynamic...

This is a weird graphical glitch that I found down in the Jury Street Tunnels of Fallout 3. The static models inserted by the level designer flicker in and out of view depending which way you face. The actual model data and collision box is still there, but the model...

I was making a list for someone else, figured I'd post it here. I use *most* of these mods, but not all of them. They were all interesting enough to make it to my "download" folder along the way though.Better Litter-CMS- Community Share Load ScreensColor Hi-Detailed map and iconsEnhanced Blood...

Test video for a mod that I am working on (Random Extra Traps) which adds numerous extra traps to the wastelands in Fallout 3. However, each trap is independently evaluated when you enter the cell and there's only a 30% chance that a particular trap will appear.Ultimately the mod's goal...

Dry Sewer (Super Mutants vs Talon Company) Broadcast Tower KB5 (Hitmen hired by Mr Burke)

Random factoid:Last time I ran Mothership Zeta DLC I hauled home about 93,000 caps worth of loot (at perfect prices). This time I came back with about 86,000 caps, but I didn't have MMM's increased spawns running and I generally didn't pickup shock batons or alien disruptors.One big money pile...

More play testing of my "Deadlier Explosive Traps" mod. This shows how difficult it can be to get into the Seward Square game cell from Anacostia metro station due to the deadliness of the DET mod combined with Mart's Mutant Mod increased spawns. MMM makes it so that you end...

One of the things that has annoyed me with vanilla Fallout 3 is the static placement of all the skill books. Which means that if you have the list, you can make beelines to those locations to get your skills up quickly. That's not really fun in the long run,...

Released the first version of Deadlier Explosive Traps this weekend. Only 2 responses so far, but 1 endorsement and 2 positive comments. It's not a very complex mod, other then creating the 2nd special effect for the Baby Carriage Trap. Definitely something that I'll consider revisiting for Fallout 3: New...

I've been mucking around in GECK, mostly because I can't find a grenade/mine mod that does a good improvement to the basic grenades and mines without adding anything. (Grenade Realism comes close, but not quite.) I want something more dangerous then the defaults, especially frag mines which are still too...

(contains spoilers) This shows how to get into the broken bow portion of Rivet City when you are searching for Pinkerton (or his ghost). It was not the best attempt at getting inside as the mirelurks managed to corner me in an underwater corridor before I could get to higher...

One of the mods that I use is called MMM (Martigen's Mutant Mod). If you thought Super Mutant Behemoths were large and a PITA, well the mod adds Gargantuans which are even larger and meaner.If you are very very unlucky, you can even discover them out in the middle of...

Here's a bunch of screenshots of my modified copy of Darker Interiors - Fear the Dark. I've brightened up a lot of locations, but left them still dark. It's easier to see this with screenshots compared to video. I'm not the author of the original mods, but I got annoyed...

(Contains spoilers) Farragut West Station, dealing with the ghouls in the first area by making use of the gas leak. A few key mods are in effect: Mart's Mutant Mod adds additional spawns and also makes possible that ghouls will not stay dead until their head is destroyed. Darker Interiors...

Giddyup Buttercup mechanical ponies on the alien mothership. One of the high points of the Mothership Zeta DLC as the aliens have an apparent fascination with the toy pony. Includes the audio log by Sally where the aliens show her this section of the ship.Hello, Mr. Alien. Yeah, I know...I'll...

One of the mods that I've been using for a very long time is "Darker Interiors - Fear the Dark" by Rednaolrac. It removes (lowers) the ambient light value in almost all indoor / underground / interior cells to make the wasteland a much darker place when you're not outside....

Swapping out the physics mod that I use. For a long time, I've been using Real Physics, which is supposed to decrease the issue where enemies go flying when you hit them with bullets. However, I've been plagued with lots of small issues when using this in conjunction with MMM...

Fallout 3, Mothership Zeta DLC expansion. This section of the mothership is called "Steamworks" and contains alien workers (not hostile) along with regular aliens and ceiling mounted turrets.Overall, MZ isn't one of my favorite areas and I don't care for the sound effects of the alien weapons when you get...

This clip from Fallout 3 is more interesting because of the complexity of the scenery then the actual content. For the most part, when I convert raw FRAPS footage from 1600x900 down to 720p x264 w/ AC3 128Kbps audio at CRF 21, I get a video in the 2000-4500 Kbps...

Here's one possible solution to the Power of the Atom quest, or at least part of it. If you are a female character and have the Black Widow perk, you get an unique dialog option when talking to Mr Burke. This causes Mr Burke to lose track of his purpose...

An example of the Gifts4Kids PC mod (ID #9418 at Fallout3Nexus). In this particular case, I gave Maggie in Megaton my baseball cap to wear. You can also give toys, teddy bears, ice cold nuka-colas, etc. There's no karma hit/gain to giving things to the children.(I'm not the mod author,...

Part of the level 16-20 destiny quest chain called "The Awakening III" for Demonologists (and possibly the other caster classes). After fighting through Tortage Underhalls, you'll meet up with your mistress, Mithrelle, in the entrance to Strom's castle. She goes off to distract Strom while you search the castle for...

Shows what happens when you leave Vault 101. The safe and switch right outside Vault 101 are added by the PC mod called choose_XP (ID #2812 at Fallout3Nexus). It lets you change your rate of XP gain on the fly by using the item. Shows lockpicking and one of the...

See my previous post, "FO3: Age 16 and the infamous GOAT", for more details on this section of Fallout 3. There's a few choices you can make on the way to the exam (I show one of the "good" choices), so save early in this section so that you can...

See also my previous post on this called "Age 10".Things you'll want to keep in mind:There's a few different ways to approach things in this segment. So save right at the start and try again if you're not content with the outcome.The [Tab] key will bring up the Pipboy, pressing...

One of the nice things about Fallout 3 is that, other then the main quest, there's very little that tells you where to go or what to do in the early levels. Now, at level 2, having recently arrived in Megaton from Vault 101, that can be a bit daunting....

Starting stats for Astike, who is going to be a rather sneaky sniper type. More of a thief then a brawler, firing from cover and evading retribution.STR - 2PER - 7END - 2CHA - 7INT - 6AGI - 8LUC - 8Planned perks:2 - Black Widow3 - Intense Training4 - Educated5...

Note: See FO3: Load order, current thoughts on mods for an older version of this post.Latest load order per Fallout Mod Manager (FOMM)Fallout3.esmAnchorage.esmThePitt.esmBrokenSteel.esmPointLookout.esmZeta.esmMart's Mutant Mod.esmDCInteriors_LEnfntPl.esmDCInteriors_Georgtown.esmDCInteriors_Mason.esmDCInteriors_SewardSq.esmDCInteriors_Takoma.esmdelayzeta.espDelaySteel.espdelaypl.espDelay ThePitt + Anchorage.espGalaxyNewsRadio100[M].espGifts4Kids.espMaintenanceShed.espAmmo_Dispenser v 2.esp3EFhelmlessstealthsuit.espBD Merged Camo Battlearmor.espsunglassescollection.espNightvisionGoggles(Powered).espRealPhysicsWithCarExplosions.espgranade-realism.espSlower Degradation (-50%).espKarmaHard1010.espreduced karma loss for Stealing.espchoose_XP.espVanishingPiles.espBM08RandomBobbleheadsFixed.espBlankJournals.espLonger Days & Longer Nights.espXepha's Darker Nights.espDarkerInteriors.espDarkerInteriors - Broken Steel.espDarkerInteriors - Point...

One of the slightly frustrating things if you create a Khitai (far eastern looking) character in Age of Conan is that you start in the "Gateway to Khitai" zone with no apparent way to get to one of the three major cities (Old Tarantia, Khemi, or Conarch Village). Instead, it...

A few short clips showing the character creation process and some basic questing in the new player city of Tortage. Players spend the first 16-20 levels in and around Tortage as they learn their classes and work through the first part of their "destiny" quest chain. This is probably one...

Some EVE University fleet movements during wartime can result in rather large fleets with dozens of pilots.

Bit of a blast from the past. I dug up one of my old Call of Duty: United Offensive multi-player recordings and tossed it up on YouTube. Unfortunately, back in 2006 when this was recorded I was converting everything into MPEG2 and storing it on a video DVD. So the...

A partial run through Villa Verda in the Old Tarantia Noble District. The "villas" are single-player instanced dungeons that automatically adjust themselves to the player's level upon entry. They're popular because they're moderately easy to do, always have level adjusted mobs and there's no competition for mobs.Normally, you'll hit the...

Tater Salad takes a keep that is undefended. Players are standing on the roof of the inner keep to enjoy the fireworks. We were hoping for a better defense, but when we showed up - there were zero defenders. So we ended up spending a somewhat boring 45 minutes taking...

After a siege, the 40-odd Taters decided to parade through Old Tarantia and into the trade post.Sieges can have as many as 48v48 going at it in the "Border Kingdom" zones (one for each of the 3 main cultures). The goal is to erect catapults, destroy walls or gates, get...

Herein lie a few spoilers.Before leaving CandlekeepBefore leaving, you're going to want the following items (including what you have equipped):- (3) slings, one for yourself, one spare, and one for a future party member- (5) stacks of sling ammo (bullets)- (3) short bows, one for Imoen, one spare, and one...

There's a lot of useful information out there for getting started with Baldur's Gate, but not much directed specifically at starting a cleric and getting past the start of Chapter One. Nonetheless, you'll want to at least read the manual (available in PDF form on the 4-in-1 boxset) and make...

So I got the Baldur's Gate 4-in-1 boxset recently and installed it on my Windows XP box. Everything works fine (unlike some other older games), except that the sprite overlay animations (butterflies, birds flying overhead) would display as black boxes. This is due to a bug in the NVIDIA display...

Tectonicshttp://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=149278Tectonics does a very good job at creating semi-realistic land masses with interesting terrain and choke points. I recommend using either "Earthlike (70% water)" or "60% Water" settings to get a nice collection of continents with a few small islands spread around.For a naval-centric setup, try "Islands", which creates a...

If you thought Zero's "Supply Lines..." mission was hard, wait until you get a load of "New World Army" where you only have 8 minutes to tackle the objective. Personally, on the PC, I found this mission to be so frustrating that I delved into editing the main.scm file to...