Guest Post: Raiding on the road
by Rebecca Quinn 
Jul 31st 2010 at 4:00PM
I have been playing World of Warcraft on the road for the last three years now, and what an adventure it has been. I started out on an old HP Pavilion zv6000 weighing in at about 8 pounds, with a 800 x 600 resolution and 800 MB of RAM. Not only was the beast of a laptop fun to haul through security lines at the airport, but it was heavy and slow. 25-man raids were next to impossible (I'm talking to you, Heigan), with frame rates under 5 FPS most of the time. I was eventually convinced to buy a new machine, and I decided to go with a MacBook Pro. I'm currently running version 4, which is the 17" widescreen with the Intel Core 2 Duo with 2.6
The biggest changes I have made between playing on my desktop (Dell XPS 720 series) at home and my MacBook on the road have been in regard to addons and special effect details in the video settings. I have optimized every addon I use to keep the lowest memory usage possible (for example, Skada instead of Recount), making use of all 4 GB I have on that machine and ensuring my machine is doing the best it can. I use Addon Control Panel to turn off every non-essential addon come raid time, including Auctioneer, Jamba (for when I am dual-boxing), SexyMap, etc. I love Addon Control Panel, as it lets me save addon sets in different states depending on what I am doing. I have a raiding 10-man version, a raiding 25-man version, and questing-, leveling- and auction-based sets that I can flip between at the click of my mouse.
When raiding, I ensure everything on my laptop is disabled except for three things: smcFanControl for Macs, which helps keep my computer cool by allowing better control over fan speeds; Ventrilo, so that I can be in communication with my guild; and WoW. Everything else I can quit out of (including web browsers) has been turned off. I use a small half-headset microphone (a Dynex DX-840) for Vent that fits neatly into my suitcase and works just perfectly for raiding.
The unknown variable
Aside from optimizing my machine to perform as well as possible, there is one variable that always pops up as the unknown factor that determines whether I will be able to raid on the road or not. Time zone differences? I can work around that. Delayed flight? Out of my realm of control. Paid vs. free internet? Don't get me started on that. (Priority Club hotel chains almost always have it free, whereas at Hilton and Starwood, you normally have to pay for internet.) No, the biggest variable of them all is the dreaded internet availability. As an officer of a 25-man raiding guild, my guild members know I do my best to be available for raids; however, sometimes things are beyond my control.
Have you ever raided in a hotel janitor's closet? Best internet connection ever for my "international business meeting" (aka Karazhan) at 9 p.m., since the internet in my hotel room wouldn't work and that was the only guaranteed internet connection the hotel receptionist offered me. Ever had 5 ms latency? That was pretty awesome, when my business trip took me to a location right outside my server's data center in Boston. Unfortunately, I've also spiked over 6,000 ms latency in the middle of a fight, due to shared internet connections in the hotel and other people's eating up the bandwidth of the shared connection. I've played on wireless connections when wired is not available. I've played on a cellular Air Card for minor questing (raiding 25-man heroic ICC is pretty much out of the question on that), and there have been days I've chosen to skip raids due to business dinners and meetings beyond my control or due to just being too jet-lagged to want to play. I've missed out on progression kills when I was on the road at the time my guild downed the boss ... but I was available the next week when we downed them again.
Tips for raiding on the road
In all my travels, there are a few things I've picked up that have successfully allowed me to raid at as competitive a level as my schedule permits.
- Choose your addons carefully. Less is more when it comes to optimizing your machine's specs. Quartz or other addons that add in latency meters also help keep your DPS reasonably close to where it should be on less volatile networks.
- If you plan on raiding at 8 p.m., try to leave a three-hour window between when your plane lands and when you estimate you will get to the hotel, in order to have a buffer for dinner and delays.
- Check your hotel's connection information ahead of time. Wired internet is always preferred, and smaller hotels will have fewer people competing for bandwidth.
- Keep your guild informed. Are you planning to attend an 8 p.m. EST raid, but you're working in Pacific time? Let your guild or officers know that you will do your best, but a 5 p.m. PST raid start may be difficult and you may be late.
- Real life is still greater than World of Warcraft, no matter how much we all enjoy our virtual lives. If you're on vacation, do your best to enjoy it and spend time away from the computer. Business trips may offer a little extra leeway, but if you have a chance to socialize with your customers or coworkers, take the opportunity. Mobs respawn, but real life only happens once.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
J. Jul 31st 2010 4:33PM
''Real life is still greater than World of Warcraft''
it is? i need to get out of moms basement more often.
Noyou Jul 31st 2010 4:42PM
Snarky.
Rockabee Jul 31st 2010 4:44PM
re-reading this article, don't you think that this video game has an unhealthy influence over how you live your life?
Biskit333 Jul 31st 2010 5:04PM
I didn't see anything unhealthy in the article. The intention was to highlight alternitive methods of connecting to the game for people who travel constantly for work and would still like to stay active in their guild's raiding schedual. It was never implied that wow should take priority over work or family, in fact the opposite was said. The point was that if you have some downtime on a trip, connecting to wow is an option
sccorp.sc Jul 31st 2010 5:26PM
People do a variety of things to relax, have fun, and kill time. Playing video games can be one of them--yet playing video games for hours on end isn't nearly as self destructive as that shaky pedastle you hold yourself up on.
Hope you're wearing a parachute, because THAT fall will hurt like a bitch.
d(^_^)(d)
P.S. - Great article Rebecca. I'm an intern for the firm I work at which means I'm constantly flying from conference to conference to conference... I turn down my settings for raiding, but I never thought about using mods that take up less memory, i.e. Skada over Recount, that's a good idea!
Ithas Jul 31st 2010 5:51PM
I think he's referring to the sitting in a janitor's closet playing a video game. Or maybe the scheduling your flight three hours early so you can make a raid time. Or spending the thousands of dollars on a new laptop just so you can play a game while on the road.
I'm all for playing WoW, but not sitting next to some disgusting old mop in a dimly lit room that I can barely cram myself into.
Matt Jul 31st 2010 4:56PM
Is there a similar fan program for a PC running Windows 7? I play on a laptop as well, and it overheats after some time playing, causing an instant shutoff which occasionally prevents me from using my wireless connection when I restart. It's inconvenient to say the least, and something like this sounds like just the way to fix the problem. Also, AddOn Control Panel sounds awesome, and I'm definitely going to look into it.
Thanks in advance for any help.
sccorp.sc Jul 31st 2010 5:35PM
I was having the same problem with my laptop buddy, it's a REAL easy/cost effective fix to buy a Cooling Fan from any local electronic store for 30 bucks. It'll keep your laptop from overheating, forcing you to blow hundreds of dollars on a new laptop. Try not to spend less than 30 dollars though, any fan you get for less than about 30 dollars probably isn't worthwhile...
Servetus Jul 31st 2010 8:05PM
@Matt, I bought a Zalman NC-2000 notebook cooler (the 1000 is for 15", the 2000 is for 17"). It's metal with a heat dispersing surface on it and three cooling fans that wick away heat. It's powered by the USB port and gives you a pass through. I ran some GPU temp tests using NVIDIA's stress testing utility (my laptop has a mobile NVIDIA 8600 chip). On the desk vs. on the cooler, the cooler dropped the GPU temp by 10 degrees Celsius. That's pretty significant. I paid something like $70 for mine, I've seen much cheaper ones but I really like this metal unit. It even helps disperse heat when I'm NOT gaming with the fans off. I kick them on whenever I start WOW. This has really helped my HP notebook running Win 7 to run smoother with fewer thermal issues (I had the GPU replaced TWICE under warranty because it flamed out on me - that's when I decided to try the cooler). Hope this is useful to you in some way. Cheers!
Xsinthis Jul 31st 2010 10:02PM
I'm not sure if this will serve you but if you have Asus you can use their epu engine(s) so manage fans and performance http://event.asus.com/epu/
Also on most mobo's you can manually adjust fan settings
nbcaffeine Aug 1st 2010 12:25AM
speedfan might be right up your alley, it has options for fan control
clevins Jul 31st 2010 5:00PM
Rockabee
/rolleyes...
What she's talking about is raiding when she's on the road. You read into that that she raids every single night when she's on the road. Have you ever traveled a lot on business? It's less than glamorous. A lot of times you'll finish a workday, have dinner and... be more or less sitting around the hotel room. If you have more work the next day you can't just go out partying and a lot of places simply aren't that interesting to walk around at night especially if it's winter or something and the weather bites. So, if you're kicking back in the room after dinner why NOT raid?
R. Jul 31st 2010 5:59PM
^^ This.
If you can get a good connecction, raiding from a hotel room can be a great thing. dont have to worry about spousal aggro. or the phone ringing or the random knock on the door. You can play without headphones and hear what the game sounds like with the speakers you brought for your presentation the next day...
But sometimes at 9-10pm when most people are online in a hotel, the shared bandwidth gets slow. its give and take.
Servetus Jul 31st 2010 8:08PM
clevins, you are absolutely correct. I've been a road warrior at times, and it sucks to be faced with roaming the streets of some unfamiliar city looking to do something that will probably cost you money, or watching whatever TV they happen to provide in the hotel. At those times, logging in to WOW would've been grand, if the laptop I carried for business would've supported it. Anyone who has ever traveled for extended periods of time, on business, ALONE, knows exactly how that feels.
I applaud this author for trying to have a life while on the road.
Tamarin Jul 31st 2010 9:32PM
Travelling for work can be very lonely. After your clients go home to their family, you ring yours and chat then have a few lonely hours to wait till bed time. Going out, partying with strangers, they all lose their appeal very quickly, but logging into WoW and hearing the voices of your guild can provide a very welcoming home away from home.
Goodaim Jul 31st 2010 5:25PM
One of the coolest quotes: "Mobs respawn, but real life only happens once." - thanx for that :)
Zeknif Sokolniki Jul 31st 2010 5:27PM
What I pick up from this is that the best job to have to support raiding and group PvP is a Hotel Janitor.
Unknown Jul 31st 2010 5:29PM
a few additional tips:
Bite the bullet and get a real keyboard, mouse, and USB headset.
Bring your own ethernet cable- some hotels promote wireless, but still have a wired connection in most rooms, and you'll get much more consistent bandwidth.
Scope out the business center, especially if it's open 24 hours.
Toranja Jul 31st 2010 5:52PM
"with 2.6 Mzh processors"
I think you mean GHz... Otherwise, sorry.
ObiChad Jul 31st 2010 6:02PM
I don't travel for work as much as I used to, but for a while there, I was traveling two weeks out of the month for about two years. Playing WoW on the road was the only thing that kept me sane. Being all by your lonesome is much less boring when you can log on and play with your friends. Sure the lag sucks, and man are some hotel Internet connections better than others, but it sure beats watching reruns of Law and Order from the bed.
I've never played from the janitor's closet, but I have most certainly scheduled my flights around raid times. :)