The simplest way to run two instances of WoW

Brian had mentioned on more than one occasion the practice of “multiboxing” which as best as I can define: a single user running two ore more World of Warcraft accounts at the same time.

I had always precieved that there was a certain level of complexity to operating two machines at the same time (multiple keyboards/mice, using KVM, etc.) however, it’s really quite simple:

• World of Warcraft permits mulitple instances as-is.
• WoW also has a ‘Windowed mode’ for reducing your gaming experience down to a manageable 1024×768 or even 800×600 window.

Now the final ingredient to this recipe is my trusty 1st-generation G15 keyboard:

Equipped with a gratuitous 18(!) macro keys (which was later revised to a manageable 6 in the second revision), setting ready-made commands up is a snap:

For this demonstration, my “slave” account is my wife’s level 62 priest who makes a good heal-bot <g>

The basic multiboxing strategy is as follows:

1. Set ‘slave’ character to follow the ‘master’ character – this is accomplished by hard-coding the sequence into a G15 macro titled “Follow Me”:
   1. Alt-Tab, to change focus from the master window to the slave’s window.
   2. “/target <character name>” this command, hard-coded to the master character’s name guarantees the right character is being followed.
   3. “/f” – to set the slave character to follow
   4. Alt-Tab  to return focus to the master’s window.
2. Use slave healer & support functions when necessary – this requires the use of multiple “G-Keys” my personal preference is to use two macro sets (M1 and M2) one for solo multiboxing, and one for full group use.  This is accomplished in much the same way that the follow command is accomplished:
   1. Alt-Tab
   2. F1, F2, F3, F4, or F5 to select the desired party member (note: use one G-key per party member)
   3. Cast desired spell
   4. Alt-Tab  to return focus to the master’s window.

Note that during battle, healers need to be standing still to get their heals cast, so be sure to use the “stop follow” command

So the layout for a priest command set on the G15 would go something like this:

This layout resides in memory set one (M1) on my keyboard its purpose is for soloing with the multibox slave assisting the master.

Set 2′s (M2) macro layout focuses on full party play such as instances or group quests by switching up the layout to cover heals/buffs for up to five party members Note the use of two major spells in columnar format:

Note that the importance of the Start/Stop Following Master commands is not to be underestimated!  To avoid interrupting healing spells during cast, the slave needs to be stationary.  Forcing the master to remember to hold still during critical healing moments is not an effective way to go about it, quickly “parking” the healer with the “Stop Following” (Alt+Tab, down arrow, Alt+Tab) command resolves this.

Fast forward to a few months ago. I had just started playing WOW, and this article caught my eye. I thought to myself, could a more comfortable biking position + a very addictive game work? I mulled it over for a while, then a few weeks ago I purchased an inexpensieve recumbant bike at Walmart. I really thought I would have to spend several hundred dollars to get a good bike, but this one only cost a hundred, and has a digital miles/speed/calories/time readout. It’s also solid and makes very little noise.

I’ve spent time trying to get a setup I like, as well as come up with some goals. I think I’ve found what I need, so as of today I am beginning a 6 week plan to lose weight and get a lot of WOW stuff. I’m posting my plan here to help keep me accountable. I’ll be posting updates weekly, so stay tuned!

Here’s the plan:

Cycle 2 hours per day, 5 days a week
5AM to 6AM, and then 5:15PM to 6:15PM

20 Miles per day
500 Calories per day
3 Lbs / week
50G per day
750 honor per day

Over 6 weeks (30 days) this works out to:

600 miles
15000 calories
18 lbs lost
1500G
22500 honor

Is this reasonable? I think so. Originally my goal was for 1K honor per hour, but thats simply not possible every time. If I win the daily and play 2-3 Alterac Valley’s, I can get over 1000, but that usually isn’t the case. Note that I’m not counting marks here. Physically my goal is a challenge, but reasonable. My current Body Fat % is around 26%. At 5’11″ 200 lbs, my BMI is is 28, which is well above my normal range of 18.5-24.9. The trick to lowering that weight is burning enough calories to deplete my extra fat stores, and lowering my caloric intake. However I can’t starve myself either. If I fail to eat enough fats & protein, my body will literally begin to cannabilize itself. The minimum a healthy adult of my BMI should eat is around 1200-1400 calories, with 1800 – 2200 being the norm. I’m going to shoot for 1400-1800, which I’ll adjust based on weight loss and hunger levels. The other quantity I can vary is the bike resistance, which will equal more calories per hour. I’ve done ten sessions so far, and I’ve worked up a good sweat by the end, but I haven’t been exhausted either.

If all goes to plan I will drop down to 1 hour per day once I’ve reached my target weight of 180-185. Even for someone as obese as Kit <sic>, there are still several benefits to doing some type of aerobic exercise each day.

]]> http://rivalrockets.com/blog/2008/04/warbiking/feed/ 5 http://rivalrockets.com/blog/2008/04/new-family-member/ http://rivalrockets.com/blog/2008/04/new-family-member/#comments Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:54:58 +0000 Kit http://rivalrockets.com/blog/?p=81 The baby lady had a baby and named it Suki:

Feels like post-modern art.