From Dust: The Making Of

From Dust is not just any type of video game. It is very unique and its creation can pave the way to enlightenment! There may be some who would consider the Mystical Law as mere fiction, but there are also people who adhere fully to that – it’s just a matter of personal conviction.

Anyone who understands the mechanics of the game likewise learns the mysticism of elements of nature -- though the publisher and developer do not want any taint of religion in it. In playing the game, the player is transformed into a “supernatural being“– a god for that matter – who can control the surrounding forces of the environment.

Indeed the game was nicely thought but however failed miserably to appease PC gamers when it was ported to that platform. The lack of a smooth keyboard/mouse experience compromises what would have been the best god game to come after Black & White 2.

Evolution

How did the game come into existence? Let us take a look at the genius behind it.

Inspired by the powerful force of nature, a Frenchman named Eric Chahi, who happens to be a computer game designer and most popularly known for introducing the cinematic platform game “Another World” – also known in the US as “Out of This World” and in Japan as “Outer World” – engineered From Dust.

The idea was conceived while he was taking a break to explore other interests aside from video games. Among them was the study of volcanoes which includes magma, lava and other pertinent geological occurrences. Narrating his unforgettable trip, he said:

“I decided to create Project Dust during a trip in Vanuata in 1999, I was near the Yasur crater and it was strongly active. I could see its explosion; the sound was incredibly loud, like an air plane breaking the soundwall. Bombs were falling everywhere and sometimes really close to us. I was at the same time fascinated by this breathtaking beauty and really scared. I remember I had two thoughts at this very moment: 'I want to create another game before I die' and 'in the game I want to convey this ambivalence of Nature, beautiful and potentially violent at the same time'.” – Eric Chahi on June 15, 2010 (Q&A with Project Dust Creative Director Eric Chahi)

Technorati Tags: from dust

Flame Orb

First introduced in Cataclysm, mages learn Flame Orb at level 81. When cast, an orb appears in front of the mage and moves forward until a nearby enemy is in range to deal Fire damage in short intervals.

In-Game Description: Launches a Flame Orb forward from the Mage’s position, dealing Fire damage every second to the closest enemy target for 15 secs.

Mana Cost: 6% of base mana

Casting Time: Instant

Casting Range: 40 yd

Spell Cooldown: 1 minute

Check out my Mage Guide for more tips and guides to the most destructive class in the World of Warcraft!

Talent Improvements

Fire Power: The Flame Orb explodes when it either reaches its 15-sec duration or cannot find a target.

Frostfire Orb: Exclusive to frost mages, the orb will instead deal Frostfire damage and slow targets further by 10% when chilled by Frostfire Bolt.

General Tips

The orb travels fast at first and will unfortunately disappear when cast where no enemy is reachable. When it manages to target someone, however, its movement becomes slower albeit continuous until the end of its duration.

Any polymorphed characters are ignored by the orb, although other types of crowd-control are reportedly still damaged upon.

In many situations where the mage is constantly on the move (such as in PvP), the Flame Orb is a great way to deal damage if casting non-instant spells is impractical. The attack range of the orb is rather short, so – especially when combating melee classes – keeping close distance with it is important.

Globe Tattoo Postpaid to offer speeds of up to 21 Mbps soon

When I received my latest statement of account from Globe for my Tattoo postpaid account, it had an attached letter by the telecom’s president, Ernest Cu. Contained were promises for network modernization that will eventually lead to better 3G/4G signals, call quality, and web browsing.

And it seems expectations are being met early this year with the latest Tattoo postpaid plan. Previously, the fastest mobile Internet you can avail from Globe was their 12 Mbps Tattoo Tonino Lamborghini, a product name that later caused brand confusion. With the Personalized Plan, up to 21 Mbps is now possible for just Php1,199.00 a month.

The base plan at Php999.00 monthly already gives you maximum speeds of 7.2 Mbps. To “resist uniformity,” the plan can then be customized with perks such as a subscription of your choice to an online publication (e.g. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Cosmo, FHM) and an upgrade option for your modem. More importantly, you can increase your burst speed up to 12, 15, or 21 Mbps when you add Php100, 150, or 200 to your base plan, respectively.

But don’t rush all the way to a Globe service center just yet. This latest Globe Tattoo offer is not yet available (as of this writing), although their website mentions pre-orders are already being accepted.

Perhaps more annoyingly, the new speeds are only offered to new customers. Those who already have an existing plan/subscription (like me) will have to wait for a while as Globe is still in the process of extending the product to all subscribers, according to the product FAQ page. Yes, you can drop out from your current plan but will have to pay a termination fee if you are still under the contract period.

Technorati Tags: Globe Tattoo