MotoGP: Season draws closer..

MotoGP 2010 Calendar

It is about this time of year I start to get a little restless where following my favourite sport is concerned. The winter testing has started with the teams heading to Sepang to thrash out the winter cobwebs. Wednesday 3rd February saw the test riders only on track, but today the racers jump on their metal steeds to see if they have consumed too much vino over the holiday season and to see what changes have been made to their bikes. The first test is always an eye opener and there is usually an unexpected performance from one of the riders. The new season should be fun, there are some hot new regs, most controversial of which is definitely the new ruling restricting the amount of engines and technology available to the teams throughout the season> There's a lot of unhappy team bosses, mechanics and Riders out there concerned about that rule!

On top of that Team Yamaha have unveiled the 2010 livery for their bikes. There's a piccy below. They look pretty damn good huh? Can't wait to see them in action at Qatar!

2010 Fiat Yamaha MotoGP livery

To finish off the wonderful anticipation of the upcoming season, MotoGP.com have had a fun little interview with Valentino Rossi which I have 'borrowed' and can be found below.  I notice when Vale was asked about heading to F1 this time he didn't seem so convincing that he wouldn't end up there. Usually when asked his stock answer is "if I move to 4 wheels, it will be rallying". Seems like he may be changing his tune. Now, apparently it is just 'difficult' to see himself in F1. Guess we'll see. If I have my way he would head to F1, kick all their arses and shame a returning Schumacher, then head to the World Rally Championship the season after and kick Loebs butt, then head back to MotoGP just to show the young whippersnappers who's still boss. Anyhow, here's Vale and don't forget to check out MotoGP.com for all your two wheel goodness.

What have you been doing during the off-season? How much training and how much holidaying?

It’s been split 50/50 between holidaying and training. The training during the winter is different compared to the summer, but it’s best not to stop training – it makes it more difficult to restart if you do stop.

How do you prepare for a new season? Is it more important to work on your fitness these days?

The physical preparation is very important for MotoGP, because you need power and resistance for the 45 minutes of the race, so I train at the gym as usual but at the same time I also try to train with the bike, or motocross or supermotard so as not to lose the feeling with the throttle or the brake.

At almost 31 years of age, do you think you’re still improving as a racer, or do you think you have reached the peak of your talents?

On February 16 I will be 31 years old! If you think you are at the top you have a big problem, because you always need to improve your style and speed, and try to adapt to the new bike, new tyres and new regulations and try to be that little bit faster than the year before.

Who do you think will be tougher to beat this season – Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner or Dani Pedrosa? Why?

It’s very difficult to understand who will be the main rival in 2010, because Jorge, Stoner and Pedrosa have all demonstrated in the past that they’re able to win Championships, are fast in all conditions at every track, and throughout the season. We also need to wait to see what level the bikes are at in 2010, but I think all three riders will be very difficult to beat.

You have made no secret of the fact that you’re not happy about the new engine rule restricting the amount of engines that can be used in a season. How would you change it if you could?

I think it will be a difficult rule or everybody because only six engines for one season is not enough – it’s very tight. If we had eight, or ten, it would be easier and less risky. But this is the rule, so all the manufacturers have to adapt to this rule, and also all the riders have to pay attention and try to save the engines throughout the end of the season.

Last year you made more mistakes than we’ve become accustomed to seeing you make. Do you think this was to do with the level your rivals pushed you to?

In 2009 I made three mistakes in races. That’s a lot, but two of them were because I had slick tyres in wet conditions. After the mistake in Indianapolis, which was the worst of the season, we will try and do much better in 2010.

What developments have you personally asked to be made to the M1 this season?

We’ve tried to improve the M1 in two ways. Firstly the chassis: we’ve tried to improve the stability of the M1 and create better grip. The second improvement is the engine, because we need a little bit more horsepower. At the same time we need to adjust to working with six engines for 18 races. So we need a little bit more horsepower but at the same time longer life for the engine.

What’s your opinion about Ben Spies? Do you think he can be a threat to the current ‘Big Four’ as many people say he will be?

A lot of people are waiting to see Ben Spies, to see his level. He’s the world superbike champion so it will be very interesting to see him in MotoGP. I think Ben has great potential, is a good rider, and is fast and brave. But I hope he will be a little bit slower compared to me, Jorge, Stoner and Pedrosa because four of us is already a lot!

What are your thoughts about the news of 1000cc engines returning in two seasons’ time? Is that an exciting prospect that makes you want to commit to MotoGP for even longer?

It will be interesting, and I’m quite happy because I liked 1000cc in the past. Now we have to understand the rules of these new bikes and new engines, and see if it’s possible to build an engine that is fast and fun to ride like in 2006.

Following your recent Ferrari F1 test, people are asking once again if you will move to F1. What do you say about this and how do you expect Ferrari to do this year?

I completed another test with the Ferrari F1 in Barcelona, and it was great. I enjoyed it a lot and did some quite good lap times, but I think it will be very difficult to see me in F1.

What do you think about Schumacher returning to F1?

I think it will be interesting to see his speed, after three years out.

Is what Schumacher is doing something you could see yourself doing: that is, leaving MotoGP for a few years and then returning, or do you think that when you do decide to retire it will be for good?

It’s a difficult question, I don’t know. A lot of great sportspeople come back, like Michael Jordan or Lance Armstrong.

When do you expect to make a decision about your future?

I think more or less during the summer. It’s possible I’ll decide what will happen with me in 2011 then.

Can you shed any light on what you’re planning?

On my future, I haven’t decided yet.


Be Well.

The Eye Candy Connection

Fantastic fun in Lotro over the weekend, and indeed last night too. Not as much time spent online as I had hoped but that was due to having fun with the family, so it’s not all bad :) Also, Emarald has reactivated her EQ2 account and as we only have one computer at the moment, and so we take it in turns. Nice and fair, but my online time has been cut in half effectively.

So, Lotro. Caedluuf is now sitting at level 12 and although I am not particularly watching the levelling, it has struck me how similar the levelling speed is to EQ2 (if you do it normally, not Blacke syrup slow stylee). Following the progression from the starter village of Archet into Combe I’m starting to get a bit more of a look at Middle earth as portrayed by this game. I have to say, I am damn impressed. Although I would say that the ability to customise your toon and the way they are represented graphically is nowhere near as good as EQ2, the scenery and the way they have planned out the world (from what I have seen so far) is quite simply amazing and offers scenery eye candy so good, to even start nipping at Lotros heels in this area, EQ2 would need to be run on absolute maximum settings. Even then I’m not sure the scenery comes close to Lotro. My brother keeps telling me that some of the later locations and scenery will blow my socks off. Well, if that’s the case and I am sure it is, I cannot wait. From what I have seen so far and the quality of design and forethought is of a very high standard indeed.

I wondered in to Bree yesterday. Not to pick any quests up or to do anything game or progression orientated. I went there because I wanted a drink in the Prancing Pony. That and I wanted to check out how they did Bree. What a great place. Little side streets, rambling what I would class ‘Tudor’ style houses, with stairs and walkways, parks to name but a few of the attractions of the large town. The way it has been put together is a real triumph and the look, feel and atmosphere of Bree is really really cool. The Prancing Pony was pretty good fun too. Not much going on in there by way of PC interaction (no roleplayers found there when I went), but it’s a nice place.

Anyhow, instead of me rambling on about how good it looks, why not take a look below at the first set of Lotro screenies I have taken. Enjoy.

Bree by Combe Gate

At the sign of The Prancing Pony

The Prancing Pony and Pipeweed

A Opinionated Local

Leafy Suburb

Ironforge Gate

The Stone Quarter

Private Garden

Until next time.

Be well.

LOTRO and the computer genius..

I have a feeling this is going to be a mammoth post, so go grab a cuppa and settle in. I have sooo much to tell you.. [Gather round children, the old man’s going to tell a story – Ed].

I finally got my graphics problem sorted out. I’m a bit of an air head when it comes to fixing computers, so what I usually do is keep notes so I can track what I have done and what changes I have made. That way I don’t forget what I have tried and can eventually eliminate resolutions I have tried to sort the problem. I thought I would share my notes with you so you can see how I got on fixing it. Apologies for the crappy scribble on the notes. They obviously were meant just for my use, and I can read them ok. Hopefully you can too. I used small note pad paper so have numbered each bit in the top right hand corner so you can read them in order. [If you can be bothered with the ramblings of a madman of course – Ed]

.

Scribblings of an IT specialist

So, what did I think of LOTRO? Well, I have played it before on release for about 4 days only. So I had completed the tutorial parts and done a little bit extra previously. To be honest though, I really didn’t remember anything so it was all pretty much fresh and exciting stuff!

Let’s start at the beginning. I rolled a Hunter from Rohan (Man). He’s called Caedluuf. So I started in the town of Archet and following a nice introduction that saw me assist a Halfling and a Ranger to escape some brigands I witnessed a crazy cut scene where Amdir the Ranger confronts a Black Rider. From the start little things like that help grab me in an MMO. I knew straight away (even though I had been previously told) that the ongoing plotline would be interesting and more importantly interactive, with me being able to witness key encounters and developments in the story it made it all the more immersive.

Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention was how the fear from such NPC mobs like a Nazgul effect your toon. The graphical effects of when you have this incredible fear are really great, it adds to the atmosphere incredibly. Turn the lights off, it’s really cool.

So after completing this short introduction I was duly deposited in the town of Archet, where I was met by my brother on his Loremaster Ghryff ( I think I got the spelling correct). He kindly helped me through some of the little foibles of Lotro, something I will mention later. Thanks for your help with this Bro, your insights were pretty darn useful. Cheers man.

This is where the gaming gets a little bit like other MMOs. Basically you are given tasks and a plotline and have to complete these to progress in experience. I liked the fact that I wasn’t just told to “Go and kill X of these”. Yes, I was told to go do some killing, but there was always a reason given and one that clearly linked with the plot. Because of this I didn’t feel like I was doing the normal, ‘gather 10 of these’ or ‘kill 10 of these’ for no reason. It made the experience a whole lot more worthwhile and something you wanted to be involved in. Then whilst you are going around completing the general quests given, you could also indulge in the plotline quest, which eventually led you to an instance to get out of the newby area. This was really fun! I could only enter the instance solo, so I had to disband from my Fellowhip (group for all you EQ2 followers), then headed on in. I had to help the to defend Archet from the brigands, who following a bit too much campfire bromance had obviously decided that Archet would be their revenge for me kicking their arses earlier. I only took me 5 minutes to go through and kill the brigands, but it was still a lot of fun.

One thing I did notice and something my Bro pointed out to me was that if you hear NPCs talking to each other, or indeed themselves, especially where you are supposed to get quests or possibly hand them in, in that area, it is well worth taking a couple mins to stop and listen to what they are saying. Some of the content given by NPCs is certainly interesting and I have a sneaky suspicion that later the information may prove useful with the main plotline.

A few other things my Bro helped me with was the options setup. For example you have to go in to the combat tab to make sure the correct box is ticked that will enable you to target through other toons etc. Also, little things like how to adjust your hotbars [They are not called Hotbars in LOTRO – Ed], how to use the UI and so on. All the things that after playing the same MMO for 5 years, you start to take for granted. I made a few other adjustments. Like when I wanted to look in my bags the key was ‘I’ for Inventory. When I wanted to look at my toon and his equipment, it is ‘C’ for Character. So I changed my bags to ‘B’ like in EQ2 and my Character to ‘I’, again like EQ2 and what I am used to. I feel there will be a hundred little adjustments like that until I ‘m fully happy with my UI setup. And that’s before I pick which UI I want to use.

So, that’s where I am at. Level 7 and progressing nice and steady (I’m in no rush to level, just to learn the game!). I’m hopefully going to be heading back in to Middle Earth tonight, and I’ll let you know how I get on.  Hopefully Jahf will be joining me at some point in game also :)

Last night saw me raid ToMC in EQ2 with the Fraternity. We ploughed through without much trouble and after just a couple of wipes killed Xebnok. So we went through to do it all again after an instance reset and again had no problems until we hit Xebnok again. We didn’t get him the second time, but I honestly think that was down to a bit of lack of focus. It was late, I know I was very tired and wasn’t concentrating as much as I should have been doing, and if just a few others in the raid felt like me and couldn’t give it their all (I tried but did actually fall asleep at one point), [Adurj has neglected to tell you he has actually been quite ill and is not recovered yet. – Ed] then I can understand why we failed the second time. I know it wasn’t the ability to do the mob, we have that down. It was just silly mistakes that cost us, and I reckon honestly that was down to lack of concentration. I did win my T4c boots from Thet, which was nice. So I now have two of the T4 set and the lovely bonus that ‘percussion of stone’ no longer costs me a concentration spot. Which is also nice.

After I had finished raiding and after a refreshing brew, it was time to log on to Blacke and finally go see what this Grender fella looked like who is a threat and a terror to Kelethin. And here he is, although he didn’t last very long, I must say. Anyhow, not the most fearsome of hairy legged goat folk.

The Grender. Terrifying.

Until next time,

Be well.

Grender bender

Last night didn’t quite turn out how I’d expected. I had built myself up to a frenzy of anticipation during the day [Really? Frenzy? – Ed], ready to sort out my graphics problems and finally get LOTRO running without crashes. But as these things usually do, I decided being a lazy ass watching TV with Ema was a much better prospect. We watched ‘Danny Dyers Toughest Towns’ or whatever it is called followed by a few episodes of ‘Worlds most amazing videos’ type of programs. Nothing ground breaking, but nice relaxing fun. Part of the reason aside from the riveting TV, was that I needed to supervise the drying of my motorbike leathers by the fire. It’s been raining here pretty much solidly for 3 days and of course I ride to work on my motorbike, so each day sees me drying out leathers, failing, then the next morning wincing as I put on damp leathers. It’s all very pleasant.

After TV last night I spent a couple of hours playing Blacke seeing as EQ2 doesn’t seem to freeze at the moment. I had great fun investigating the menace known as the ‘Grender’. I haven’t even seen the thing yet but the way the dialogue is building this creature up, I expect it to rival the best Hollywood monster creation. I had better be crying with fear when I see the thing (if I ever get to). I actually think it is just going to be a large Goblin. I guess we’ll see later on.

Levelling Blacke is going wonderfully slowly with my bar set to 75% AA / 25% EXP and I currently have 3 or 4 AAs and am only 33% into level 11. I have a feeling this slow levelling may get a bit tedious after a while, but as I am enjoying it especially as it means I am not out levelling quests all the time, there is plenty to do and I really get the feeling that I am exploring the content thoroughly. It’s creating a feeling of achievement and satisfaction I haven’t had for a while in EQ2, aside from the harder raid content of course.

One thing I have noticed, is the amount of toons I see wandering around that are green to me, then in a heartbeat they wander past in fully fabled T8. Ok, well that’s an exaggeration but I think you know what I mean. I’m not letting that sway me to level faster though. I’m enjoying the pace and actually have a bit of an evil side as I watch their twinked souls running around. When I see folks like that I quietly tell myself that at level 80 with 120AAs they are going to struggle. I know that because I have been there plenty of times myself. That’s why doing it this way is a bit of a novel idea for me, but really enjoyable and it should pay off handsomely in the end.

I’ll be back tomorrow to give you an update on my ‘mazing computer mendy skillage [You really are a dork. I bet you a fiver that you mess it up even more – Ed] and then hopefully give you some insight in to my journey in to Middle Earth. Hopefully my buddy Jahf [SHOUT OUT to Jahf - Ed] may be joining me in LOTRO, although he's on the other side of the pond and LOTRO has different client for US and EU players. Hopefully we'll be able to sort something out. Until then,

Be well.

LOTRO & The ATI Fry

It’s been an unusually long time since I have posted. Mainly due to family life, a crazy work schedule and computer problems at home. Yes, yes I know I could have posted from work, but I really have been busy, honest.

Anyhow, so what’s been happening? Well, a welcome return to Ed, welcome back home matey, glad to see your flights weren’t delayed and the fact that you lost your baggage sucks. Really. No, it does. For sure. *grin*. [It’s you who has to have the image of me sitting in my underpants editing your work pal – Ed]. Aside from the welcome return of our friend, I have been trying for the last few days to get LOTRO running. A few hiccups met me along the way, but a bit of tenacity sorts that out. So finally, last night I ran the game and sit back to create my new toon then the computer freezes. Just freezes. A kind of buzzing sound, then the freeze. Ctrl+Alt+del won’t work, the cursor won’t even move, Alt+Tab are useless, so I have to do a hard reboot. Tried again, and the same problem, over and over.

I have been having this problem ever since I decided to ditch the crappy onboard ATI card and installed a new Nvidia. I guess I must not have disabled the onboard one fully or correctly, coz this keeps happening. At first it would only freeze when I ran two windows at once and one of them had graphical content. For example, for the last week or so I have not been able to run EQ2 and ACT at the same time because I get the freeze [o...m...g. I bet that’s been killing you. I know you’re a parse junkie – Ed]. But this time, it froze with just LOTRO running and nothing else. It was in full screen mode and there were no other issues. So I guess tonight it is time to take the Nvidia out, properly disable the onboard ATI, then start all over again. It’ll be a pain, but hopefully worth it.

So, onto the other big question I can hear bubbling in your minds. Why LOTRO? It kind of was spurred on from a few conversations with my brother. For a while I have been wanting to give LOTRO a go again {I played on release for a couple of weeks} but have been so embroiled in EQ2 that I knew I wouldn’t have the time. As you have probably guessed since the arrival of Blacke in EQ2 I have been looking for some new stimulus to help me enjoy the game some more again. And it’s been working, I am really enjoying EQ2 when I play Blacke. But, it just so happened my Bro and I were having a chat , both on the phone and back when I saw him at Christmas and he was telling me all about the latest developments in LOTRO. It was during the latest conversation that I realised that my Bro has quit EQ2 for a huge amount of time now and has been well into LOTRO. I also realised that his is the opinion I value the most {especially concerning all things compy} and the one that is most like mine [strange that. You being brothers and all – Ed]. So I kind of got to thinking, if it has kept my Bros interest for so long, I just know it will keep mine...so why am I not playing it?? So I am. Trying.

Toon wise I have decided to have a Hunter, probably a man from Rohan. I am a big fan of DPS classes and normally end up having one or two on my books. Plus I know until I get into the game and get some experience I won’t really know what I will like playing and everyone has to start somewhere. I think when I first tried the game I had a Hobbit burglar. I only played him until level 13 way back when though, and have decided to start a fresh. If LOTRO is anything like EQ2 then it will be quite a different game from when it was first released so I am sure I will be on a steep learning curve. But that’s a huge amount of the fun for me. I love exploring new games and finding my way through both the rule sets and the content is great fun.

But before I do all that, I really need to get compy working and all healthy again. I’ll let you know how I get on with that. There are bound to be a few tears along the way.. [you BIG girls blouse – Ed].

Oh, and before I forget, thanks to my Bro for all your help with this over the last few days. Appreciate your help man.

Be well.

Rossi kicks off 2010

It seems like Rossi has had a very busy start to the year promoting Yamaha racing in Dehli a couple of weekends ago at India’s largest motor show. Meeting over 1000 fans and Indian Mega movie star Jon Abraham, Rossi commented that he had a great time and that he hopes one day MotoGP can head to India.

If that wasn’t enough excitement, Vale has spent the last couple of days testing for the Ferrari Formula1 Team at the Catalunya Track, Spain. Initially Rossi’s lap times were hindered by weather and technical problems with the car. By the end of the testing session and 68 laps Rossi had plummeted his lap time to 1m25s just 5 seconds off the World Champion Jenson Buttons 2009 pole position time at the same track.

Rossi on wet tyres. 2010 Catalunya Ferrari test.

Stating he was happy with the test Rossi went on to say “We had some problems with the track when it was wet, but in the afternoon on slicks we recorded some good times because the track was drying out.”

This is the sixth test Vale has had in a Ferrari F1 car, yet the MotoGP World Champion still has a huge passion for rallying and has always said that if he moved from 2 wheels to 4, it would be in that direction.

Good luck Vale. Not that you need it!

Be well.

Blacke Wednesday

I’m really enjoying playing Blacke. Aside from the fact I like Rangers I think the thing I am most enjoying is the way I am immersing myself in EQ2. It’s been a long time since I actually ‘enjoyed’ playing the game and not just going through the motions. I really do enjoy spending time with my guildies on my 80 toons, but that’s the company, not necessarily the game that fuels that fun. But now I seem to be finding enjoyment in the game again, which is nice. My rules mentioned here seem to be working out really well for me and are stimulating the interest in the game I thought I had forgotten.

Blacke has spent the last couple of days exploring and starting the questlines from the Sapling Spur outpost having finished the starter lines from the Nursery and Shroom caves. And he is still only level 10! I have set the exp/AA bar to 75% AA, 25% adventure experience. It seems to be working out well with my plans. I am levelling slowly enough to at least keep all of my quest journal in the blue and to ensure I get to indulge in all of the quests available without skipping them because I have outlevelled the content.

My quest to group as much as I can has been fruitless so far, but I guess that is to be expected at level 10. I did ask a warden (lev 10) if we could group who seemed to be popping up everywhere I was and completing the same quests. Unfortunately I was ignored so I tried again only to be told “I’ll be 25th by the end of today, haven’t time to grp. Sry. GL”. I suppose that’s to be expected considering the normality of the rush to 80. I did actually see the same toon returning to Kelethin later. I was still level 10 and they were 17th. Seems their prediction may have been correct. Previously that would have got my back up. Simply because using my old mindset my reaction would have been akin to “How dare they level faster than me!” But now, I can casually wave goodbye to those who pass me and carry on with my own story and goal for immersion. It certainly is a stress free way of playing the game.

I will need to keep up to date with my harvesting/forestry/mining etc, especially if I want to gather enough raw materials to have level 12 then 22 armour crafted for him. That’s not a big deal though and I am finding that with the relaxed playing style I have adopted it seems to come quite easily. In view of that I have also decided to begin woodworking to assist with arrow usage. When Shahlai was a Ranger (levels 72 to 80), that is the one thing that used to get on my nerves, the cost of arrows, so hopefully I can negate that issue by keeping up to speed on woodworking. I figured that although I do not enjoy crafting in EQ2 that if I could at least keep my crafting level within two or three levels of my adventure level then the process would be fairly painless with no mad rush later on to catch up. If I can get him to level 10 crafting, which of course I will, I then plan on gaining a crafter level every time I level in adventure mode. That way I will never get out of synch.

Well, I am going to give it a go trying to get a group again tonight, maybe even a duo to get that fun rolling along nicely. Aside from that I am simply going to continue to explore and complete quests, do a bit of harvesting, probably some crafting too. Oh, I just remembered. One of the things I am doing is instead of picking up a quests from an NPC then going into click-fest mode without reading the long dialogue simply to get to the ‘accept quest’ part, is reading the storylines thoroughly. I have always intended to do this, but it’s not easy when you have limited time online and the NPC has decided to pour their heart out to you. However, that was the old way of playing. The rush rush to 80 mindset. Now that I’m in a different state of mind over how I approach the game, I am finding very interesting and rewarding actually following the dialogue and spending the time reading it. It has really amazed me how much thought has gone in to most of the quests, even the short quick ones and some of them are indeed quite captivating and funny. So, I’m looking forward to more of the same tonight.

A quick mention from Ed, who sent me a text message yesterday. Here it is;

“Posts are crappy-bland-boring w/o my input. Say Hi to all 4 me. Idiot – Ed”

Nice to know he’s still compassionate as ever. Please rush back home Ed. *bird*

Be well.