:woohoo: WOW!!!!!!!!!! :woohoo: VERY impressive guys! What program/online service do you use to create a signature? I've used an online service for WOW, but don't know if the same one will also create SWTOR signatures as well. I'll go check that one out again then I have to figure out how to save it to our forums. :unsure: I, unfortunately, know absolutely nothing about this kind of cool stuff. Someday, I hope..........

Episode 498 - Voyager - "Innocence" - 04/08/1996

http://www.allstepisodes.com/megvid.php?n=4222

Tuvok crash-lands on a moon and finds children who have been abandoned.

Enjoy!

I am having a very hard time capturing a screen shot. Print screen just creats a black box when I hit it. Anyone have a tip for me to help me get my character's picture?

-Kevin ~ Captain Xal Starlighter

This ad just popped up on Facebook, by "register.perfectworld.com" and for STO. This is the copy:

"Follow the rules of acquisition as a Ferengi in Star Trek Online & bribe & cheat your way to the top! More is good. All is better!"

Whoever wrote that copy has not played a Ferengi in-game. (I have a new Ferengi alt.) Ferengi have as a species trait a discount for requisitions. That's it. No wheeling and dealing, no cheating. Also, it's clear from "The Path to 2409"/"The Needs of the Many" that a Ferengi who is joining Starfleet has likely done so to spite these characteristics of the Ferengi culture.

It's just, weird. The ad has no relevance to the game whatsoever.

Quote by DakonKor

The only way that I am aware of to do animation without the limitations of GIFs would be HTML 5 (which I know nothing about) or using a Flash animation. I'm not sure if either would work in our forums though.

Only one way to find out! I'll give it a go and see what I find out.

I have included the availability information provided up to this point in the Leadership Thread. I've included times as GMT, EST, and PST. Most were fairly easy to convert, others I was unsure but made my best estimated guess.

Please let me know if you notice any discrepancies I need to correct.

Here is an example for those who are visual like myself.



Although it may not seem like a lot when you add up all the lines in this game into a massive image it can make a huge difference to the overall look and feel.

Quote by DakonKor

Thanks for the post Jon. Even though I'm aware that SW:TOR is the first MMO for many Stonewallers, it's easy to forget this basic information should be shared when you've been involved with these games for over a decade.

I would add that I use Avast! Anti-virus.

It is always highly reviewed by respected PC magazines and sites, and even the free version usually outscores Norton or McAfee due to lack of bloat, stability, ease of use, and the speed with which new threats are added to the protection.

It's been a few years since I've dug into the adware/malware issue, but my plan of attack continues to be both the free version of AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy. I run them, one after the other, once every 3-4 months and have had no issues with malware or adware in over 8 years.

Yeah being in a house full of gamers in different age ranges it's a wake up call to always remember the basics. Thanks for the link I added it to the list.

Thanks for the post Jon. Even though I'm aware that SW:TOR is the first MMO for many Stonewallers, it's easy to forget this basic information should be shared when you've been involved with these games for over a decade.

I would add that I use Avast! Anti-virus.

It is always highly reviewed by respected PC magazines and sites, and even the free version usually outscores Norton or McAfee due to lack of bloat, stability, ease of use, and the speed with which new threats are added to the protection.

It's been a few years since I've dug into the adware/malware issue, but my plan of attack continues to be both the free version of AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy. I run them, one after the other, once every 3-4 months and have had no issues with malware or adware in over 8 years.

Interesting Jon. I remember before the last Turkey day weekend beta we had AA but then it was removed in one of the later builds. I was hoping to see it come back. Do you see a visible difference when you enable it? This may just be an incorrect tool-tip text. I can't wait to get home from work and try it out.

@Seannewboy - That's not a dumb question. Basically it makes everything look smoother (but can reduce performance depending on system resources and configuration. AA reduces the amount of jagged edges you see on all the models. I'm gonna really geek out here :P , here's the definition from Webopedia:

In computer graphics, antialiasing is a software technique for diminishing jaggies - stairstep-like lines that should be smooth. Jaggies occur because the output device, the monitor or printer, doesn't have a high enough resolution to represent a smooth line. Antialiasing reduces the prominence of jaggies by surrounding the stairsteps with intermediate shades of gray (for gray-scaling devices) or color (for color devices). Although this reduces the jagged appearance of the lines, it also makes them fuzzier.

Quote by Justjon

I will continue to look but my assumption would be it will always be grainy as a gif is automatically limited to 256 colors where a normal screen shot has more than that. If I do happen to find a solution I will pass it along though!

Quoted for truth.

GIF compression works based on color where JPEG works based on pixel data. GIF will only ever allow 256 colors max, which is what causes the graininess. JPEGs by comparison can reproduce three times that (256 each of red, green, and blue at 8bit) at a minimum, and as many as 65k colors (in 16bit).

The only way that I am aware of to do animation without the limitations of GIFs would be HTML 5 (which I know nothing about) or using a Flash animation. I'm not sure if either would work in our forums though.

Dumb question of the day: just what does Anti aliasing do? :blink:

I'm patching!!

Quote by Kirian

I slept :laugh:

Good morning and oh yeah

Servers Up! :woohoo:

I slept :laugh:

Quote by kiddkasper

"What have you done while the servers have been down?"

"Patched the others games that I haven't played since SWTOR has been out"

:lol: :whistle: :huh: :P :cheer: :)

I stalked our forums while the game was down. Click home it looks like the Justjon show! lol

So the patch notes said that Anti Aliasing was added to the preferences. So I figured I'm bored let me go look at the preferences to see if anything else changed. When I mouse over Anti Aliasing this is what it says!



I'm really hoping this is major overlook and that they really didn't take time to add the drop down but the feature isn't officially in the game yet.

"What have you done while the servers have been down?"

"Patched the others games that I haven't played since SWTOR has been out"

:lol: :whistle: :huh: :P :cheer: :)

Quote by Halish

Great job, Justjon. It looks great!

When I try to use screenshots in my animated gifs they go grainy as well. If you work out a way to fix that, let me know pleaaase!

I will continue to look but my assumption would be it will always be grainy as a gif is automatically limited to 256 colors where a normal screen shot has more than that. If I do happen to find a solution I will pass it along though!

This is a bit of information that I compiled in order to help people better protect themselves. When playing an MMO there will always be people that want to trick you so they can steal or hack your account. There are plenty of steps you can take to keep yourself protected.

So why bother?
Well you spend hours working on your characters. Even though this is a game it is also an investment of your time. When someone is hacked it can truly feel like a violation of privacy as if someone had broken into your home. I have also seen where in some situations on other MMO's people would get hacked and in turn empty complete guild banks which in turn affected 100's of people.

This game should be fun but the need to protect yourself should also be remembered.

Anti-virus/Firewall
There are many free/inexpensive anti-virus programs out there to scan your computer for malicious software.

• Malwarebytes
• Avast! Anti-virus

Security Key (Authenticator)
Adding a security key to your account is a great added layer of security. If you have an Iphone or Android there is an app that you can download (for free). For people ordering the key chain it will cost $4.00(USD) plus shipping and handling.

• Physical Security Key
• Android App
• iPhone App

Emails and Communication
Email is the number one way of contact for most companies and Bioware is no different. If you receive an email from them that seems out of place then the best you can do is manually open your browser and visit swtor.com. Any information that they may send you as far as alerts and information will also typically be found under your My Account section.

When in Doubt
If for some reason you feel your account may be compromised for any reason the best thing to do is immediately log into the website and change your password.

If anyone else has anything else to add please feel free to let me know and I'll add it.