So I’m playing Warhammer Online again. I had to transfer my highest level (only 15) off of the closed server he was on. I think there is are only four servers left. It took Mythic 4 days to fix the problem with transfers. In their defense they probably only have a staff of two. For some reason I really like the easy to get into RvR of Warhammer. Below is one of the result screens from a scenario match.

I’m currently playing on a free ten day come back type of deal. Not totally decided if I’ll stay and pay after the ten days are up.

To get an idea what the RvR is all about here are a bunch of screenshots of a little skirmish in front of a castle that happened last night.

Edit
Ten days was all I needed. Not coming back for $14.99 a month.

Have you ever asked yourself is Sarah Palin still retarded? This website tries to answer that question. Below is a new poll to help figure this one out.

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So my website is now twelve years old. That’s all I got to say.

So I’m trying to upgrade to version 4 of vBulletin. This is the paid forum software I use. The shiny new version came out on the 21st and I want to use the thing I paid 160 bucks for. I’m not getting far. Right off the bat I got SQL errors at step 3 of 12:

Database error in vBulletin 3.8.4:

Invalid SQL:
INSERT INTO vb3_tagcontent
(tagid, contenttypeid, contentid, userid, dateline)
SELECT tagid, 2, threadid, userid, dateline
FROM vb3_tagthread;

MySQL Error : Duplicate entry ‘2-2-3068′ for key 1
Error Number : 1062

I posted in the support forums and put in a support ticket. The forum got the fastest reply from someone inside vBulletin. Someone named Trevor told me to:

• drop all vB database tables
• restore your 3.8.4 backup
• check that ‘tagcontent’ doesnt already exist in the restored database (if it does, drop it)
• re-run install/upgrade.php

This got on past step 3. The next roadblock was an button that lead me in an infinite loop. Which was because not all my attachment folders were chmoded 777. After that I got another SQL error:

Database error in vBulletin 3.8.4:

Invalid SQL:
INSERT INTO vb3_attachment
(contenttypeid, contentid, filename, state, reportthreadid, userid, caption, dateline)
VALUES
(8, 3, ‘8.jpg’, ‘visible’, 0, 325, ‘32545ee6763ba347′, 1199857445);

MySQL Error : Unknown column ‘contenttypeid’ in ‘field list’
Error Number : 1054

Which at this point I hit a brick wall. To get past this last error here is what was posted:

It looks like you skipped a previous step that altered the attachment table.

But the bigger issue is that you have not uploaded all the vB 4 file. Look in the upper right-hand corner. It lists 3.8.4 instead of 4.0.0.

First restroe the backup of the 3.8.4 database that you made prior to this upgrade attempt. Then upload all the 4.0.0 files again. Make sure you upload these in ASCII format, overwrite the ones on the server, and that version 4.0.0 shows in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

After you have the correct versions showing, run ‘upgrade.php’ again.

Best regards,
Steve Machol
Customer Support Manager, vBulletin

Now as I told him in my reply to the support ticket I have done everything as he instructed. I point this out to the guy. A few times. And get this:

I’m sorry but it’s not possible to get that error if you followed my instructions. Please follow them to the letter. Make sure this is a clean 3.8.3 database you start with.

Best regards,
Steve Machol
Customer Support Manager, vBulletin

I call him out on the typo and he once again tells me that it’s not the software it’s me:

Sorry, I meant 3.8.4 not 3.8.3. Simple typo.

Here are my instructions again.

First restore the backup of the 3.8.4 database that you made prior to this upgrade attempt. Then upload all the 4.0.0 files again. Make sure you upload these in ASCII format, overwrite the ones on the server, and that version 4.0.0 shows in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

After you have the correct versions showing, run ‘upgrade.php’ again.

Note: You cannot get that same error if you follow those instructions and that 3.8.4 database was clean, i.e., there was no previous attempt to upgrade it.

Best regards,
Steve Machol
Customer Support Manager, vBulletin

I’m to the point now were I’m banging my head against that brick wall. In between this guy telling me I’m doing it wrong I inquire about how one gets a refund. Here is the reply I get on the refund subject:

Since you have already downloaded the software I can offer a refund minus a $25 administrative fee. Let me know if you want us to proceed with this refund.

Best regards,
Steve Machol
Customer Support Manager, vBulletin

And that’s were I’m at. Kinda stuck on if I should just give up and get my 160 (minus the 25 bucks) back or wait for these guys to come up with a solution to the problem. I will update later with what I decide to do.

Edit
So I took the refund. After reading vBTruth.com I think I’ve made the right choice. It’s not like my forums are active anyway.

Here is a contact email I got and it reminds me that I need to address this kind of thing in the faq.

Hey Turk, got a question for you, it’d go better on the forum but registration is close :(

I’m working at a startup hotel, can you give any suggestions for some good front desk software systems? We’ve got a lot of work to do to get this started but the software will be the best investment for the future, so cost is relevant but not completely limiting. Thanks!

I’ve used three systems total. Encore, WinPM, and now Opera. I don’t have a clue what the stuff costs. I’m just an auditor when I’m not on the internet. I really don’t have a clue what this stuff costs. I’m sure a google search would reveal the answers you are looking for better than I can.

About the forum. With registrations open all of the scum of the net sign up to post spam. So I closed it down. The forum does mention how to get a forum account. It requires more work than the usual simple forum registration I suppose. But until the scum of the net die it is just the way it is.Reprinted below is a slightly altered text one can find on the night audit page.

1. Fill out the Contact Us form found here.
2. Enter your name and real email address.
3. Make sure to select the Registration Invite option for the subject.
4. Answer the random question to prove your not a spammer.
5. Leave a desired username (can be different than the name you put in the your name text box) and password in the message text box.
6. Hit send.
7. Wait for me to email with your forum details.

I did recently buy the vBulletin 4.0 upgrade. When I get around to installing it I will turn back on registrations (temporally) to see how it handles net spam scum.

It’s turkey day. Which is my favorite holiday. I’m at my brother’s house were technical difficulties have paused the cooking of the turkey. After a little fire clean up everything will be back on track.

Torchlight is the direct descendant of the first Diablo game. It follows the first Diablo in every aspect. One town to get quest. A deep deep dungeon to kill monster for items and gold. Just about everything in that first Diablo game you can find here in Torchlight. The game has a number of old Blizzard devs on board that helped make the first Diablo game so the similarities maybe obvious. The music was done by the same guy who did the music for the first Diablo. So it is no surprise that on more than one occasion it reminded me of the music from the First Diablo.

Torchlight has a very cartoony feel that one suspects was influenced by World of Warcraft.

The game does bring a few things from the Fate games (which themselves are inspired by Diablo). The pet for instance is pretty much something retained from Fate. This pet though is handy since you can send your trusty dog (or cat) off to the surface to sell when you fill up your inventory. A few other things worth mentioning is that once you beat the main quest you get the option to retire your character and pass down an item to a new character. When you do this an infinite dungeon opens up as well. So reply value is up there.

The game has three classes. Follows the usual templates with minor variations. You got a big bad warrior, a magic user, and a ranged type of rogue. All of them can specialize in melee and they all get 4 spell slots. And of course a three tiered skill tree to specialize in different buffs and powers.

Torchlight is single player only. Only on the pc. The game sells for twenty bucks. They eventually will put out the games editor so you can make you own levels, monsters, and items (just for a start). This currently is only available online from the games website or third parties like Steam. The devs mention a free to play mmo is on the table next.