Using treadmills to Race across Azeroth
The Wii Fit board was the first object to be linked to character run speed in WoW. Now, the folks at Mana Energy Potions have raised the ante -- they connected a pair of treadmills to their computers, and set about gauging just how possible it is to run like your character.
They took a couple steps to simulate the run speed. They measured the land-speed of your average WoW character. Then, they set up a pair of treadmills to tap forward on their accounts -- everytime they moved a certain treadmill distance, their keyboard would pulse "W" to move forward. They dressed up in some silly costumes to make sure their event was as realistic as possible, or maybe just to make the pictures funnier. And then... they ran from Shadowglen to Darnassus.
The results? The experience darn near killed 'em, apparantly. They tried a few other things -- drawing a sword while running, eating, and drinking. None of it went particularly well. And while they finished the run, the pair aren't looking forward to doing it again. The author describes it as "sheer brutality."
Final result: your character in WoW is in much better shape than you are. I am shocked and amazed. Still, if I had the carpentry skills to build their rig, I think I might take my Warrior out for a jog to help get in shape.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
8-26-2008 @ 11:39AM
Ashvoyager said...
Really would make you appreciate your mounts though.
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 4:37PM
n8 said...
A friend linked this to me.
PERTINENT!
http://theweightlifter.blogspot.com/
8-26-2008 @ 11:42AM
sharkeater said...
ouch. toons move at 12mph human is moving at 6mph.
I demand perfomance enhancing substances tests on druids and rogues!
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 11:48AM
Verodio said...
It really makes Azeroth seem quite small if you do things like that. The fact that you can run from the desert of Thousand Needles to The frozen tundra of Winterspring in around 30 minutes translates to a total distance of around 35 miles using the 12 mph calculation posted above. If anything characters should be moving slower to make the world larger.
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 12:03PM
Tumnus said...
Actually I think that would be 6 miles, not 35. If you run at 12 mph for 30 minutes, you go half of 12 miles, which is 6.
8-26-2008 @ 12:03PM
dotorion said...
In short, whether it's the Wii fit or a treadmill for WoW,
it's healthier to go outside and ru naround the block :p
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 12:08PM
Alyar said...
Personally, I think they ought to mass market this thing. I would be happy to get the exercise WHILE playing WoW.
Yep... THAT addicted. :P
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 12:34PM
Thanos said...
this wouldn't get you exercise while playing WoW... you'd never run for more than 5 minutes at a time, & that would be even less once u got a mount & flight paths. go outside.
these guys can barely run 6 mph for 5 minutes? that's only about half of a mile. what a couple of pansies. average human WALKING speed is 4 mph. that means any one of us should easily be able to walk the distance they ran in only 7.5 minutes. ever been late for a final & had to run across campus? good job, you've proven yourself to be more physically fit than these two losers.
and about the characters being more athletic than normal humans... ahh, duh. they're supposed to be heroes, not fat slobs. they are ready, willing, & able to fight giant fucking monsters all day, every day, and you're impressed by their cross-country running skills? what a joke.
8-26-2008 @ 12:31PM
Exust said...
I would like to exercise while playing WoW...
Today running route:
Start&End: Goldshire
Route: Elwynn, three corners, duskwood, darkshire, raven hill, westfall, elwynn...
:D i would like that and similar things, you run trough forest and breath fresh air [don't run in plaguelands for god sake]...:)
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 12:47PM
William said...
They could even make daily quests for insane people who want to run on the treadmill... like marathons and whatnot, with gold payouts! Just think how much better shape Wow-players would be in... (or would there just be fewer players?)
8-26-2008 @ 1:10PM
Exust said...
Making Characters in WoW be able to run in diferent speeds would be nice too, but aviable just for ones who have treadmill, so WoW players would be fit and in form once again :D
That would change my life from roots, i wouldn't have to run to gym after a sesion, i would just run around azeroth :D... If i bring computer outside nobody would ever say again that i am WoWer :D
8-26-2008 @ 12:39PM
Rihlsul said...
What's funny about that 12 mph number: Try to visualize the 2.5-3 feet tall gnomes running that fast.
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 12:46PM
Fergus said...
I'm surprised they could run at all after drinking one of those mana drinks... they are disgusting!
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 1:20PM
Hugh "Nomad" Hancock said...
Actually, this more implies that our heroes are about as fit as a top marathon runner.
The world record for a marathon is 2 hours 4 minutes and 26 seconds, which averages out at around 13.5 miles an hour.
If our characters run at 12 miles an hour, that implies they would finish the marathon in about 2 hours 10 minutes.
(I think. It's been a long day. Is my math right?)
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 2:47PM
Eddy said...
I keep saying how much I'd love to play WoW while I jog on the treadmill. I'd get so much more exercise and it would be better than just reading a book.
That would be pretty amusing.
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 3:53PM
Ledfloyd said...
Should have the Postmaster Set from Strat
http://www.wowhead.com/?itemset=81
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 4:20PM
Nick S said...
What kind of horrifying treadmills are they using? They looked like they were literally forcing the belt around!
I demand a second experiment with treadmills that don't suck.
Reply
9-01-2008 @ 2:19AM
Maevet said...
I also noticed the sound of the belts sounding like they were forcing the belt to move rather than running on it.
Maybe its the tension of the bike tyre against the belt?
8-26-2008 @ 6:29PM
Zep said...
If the treadmills were powered, it would defeat the purpose...
Reply
8-26-2008 @ 10:37PM
ZUR13L said...
Thanos,
A) Average human walking speed is closer to 2 mph.
B) Decaf is in the orange pot.
Have a day.
Reply