We’re experimenting with a new nameserver host for all Westeros.org sites. We’ve switched to Cloudflare, which uses its nameservers to cache static content (images, scripts) on its servers distributed across several continents, and to serve that content from the server nearest to the user. This should, in theory, improve site performance and marginally improve server load, as the server will spend less time pushing images and scripts and have more time to churn through the database which powers Westeros-proper, the wiki, and the forum.
For most of you, this change should happen in the background and will require no action from you. However, in some cases your ISP’s domain name server may change in an incorrect fashion, or your own computer may be holding on to outdated information. This may lead to your not being able to reach some Westeros sites but not others.
In this case, we recommend flushing DNS on your computer (if on a Windows PC: Start -> Run -> cmd -> ipconfig /flushdns; for Mac OS X users, please see this.) That should correct the problem in many cases. If your own ISP’s name resolver is at fault, usually they will update their records in anything from 2 to 4 hours. Please be patient and try again after that time (making sure to use ipconfig /flushdns again).
If problems persist, please e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll try to help you resolve them.
Valyrian Steel has placed the very first “Damascus steel” replica of Ice—part of an extremely limited edition of this version of the officially-licensed, George R.R. Martin-approved—on Ebay. And, well, you can see where things stand: from an opening bid of $700, it’s hit $1625 in just over 20 minutes.
How much higher will it go before the auction ends in a week? We’re very interested in finding out!
The Subterranean Press limited edition of A Dance with Dragons is about to open its pre-orders widely after having an exclusivity period for customers who had purchased the previous book, A Feast for Crows. And just in time for that, if you’re on the fence… award-winning artist Marc Fishman has posted a great deal of art from the book, featuring both some of the color pieces he’s created as well as a number of black-and-white work which will head each chapter.
Go and check it out—but two notes: some of the art is marginally NSFW, and given that it depicts events and scenes in A Dance with Dragons, there are definite spoilers. But if you’re concerned about spoilers, here are two of our favorite images which aren’t really spoilery at all: Varamyr Sixskins and Daenerys Targaryen.
According to the announcement at the Inn at the Crossroads, their recipe book—titled A Feast of Ice and Fire—will be published by Random House in Fall 2012, with a tentative September date. Congratulations to the chefs! For more on the project, see our earlier report on the initial announcement of the project, and interviewed Sariann and Chelsea for Suvudu.
The ever-sharp eyed Rabbit has spotted a previously-unrevealed member of the cast: Tony Way is listed as Dontos—as in Ser Dontos Hollard—on his agency’s page. Perhaps she was put on the trail by this tweet from the actor, indicating he had spent the day in armor. As we’ve learned from sources with the production, Joffrey’s nameday festivities were being filmed around now, and Dontos plays a significant role in that scene. The character was actually first introduced in A Game of Thrones, but only mentioned in passing. He plays a significantly more substantial role in A Clash of Kings.
George R.R. Martin has alerted us to the fact that Amazon.com has secured an exclusive box set of the first four novels in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. All four novels are in hardcover and feature matching cover designs, sold together with a slipcase that features the Iron Throne from HBO’s Game of Thrones, This set is sold only through Amazon.com.
For Spanish-speaking fans, the Miami-based website Café Fuerte has posted an interview with one half of the Westeros.org duo, Elio (aka me), concerning George R. R. Martin, the fans, and more. Enjoy!
Filming for Game of Thrones in Dubrovnik has continued this week, and Mark Thomas of the Dubrovnik Times continues to deliver with his photo-filled reports on the production. This time, photos include a colloquy between executive producer Dan Weiss, Emmy-winner Peter Dinklage (yes, we’re officially appending Emmy-winner to every mention of Emmy-winner Peter Dinklage from now on… or at least until it gets old!), Jack Gleeson (Prince Joffrey), and Ian Beattie (Ser Meryn Trant).
The report notes that as many as 200 people are working on the production on a daily basis—including extras, stuntmen, and more—and that “more than a million Kuna” (That seems to be about USD $181000) is being paid to Croatian companies directly involved in the filming.
As to Northern Ireland? We’ve had several days of extras reporting they were taking part in a huge battle sequence, and this last couple of days it seems Liam Cunningham (playing Davos Seaworth) has been hinting at some interesting night shoots. The Neil Marshall-directed, George R.R. Martin-scripted “Blackwater” seems to be going forward smoothly, and so far the weather has been playing relatively nice after the gale winds that tore down a catering tent and caused early shut down of filming scenes involving Renly Baratheon’s camp.
Although no professional reviews of the A Game of Thrones: Genesis game have been published yet, gamers have been hot at it, trying the game’s various modes—single player campaign, house vs. house, multiplayer—and opinions seem to vary. But now one fan has helped make it a bit easier to decide before you buy, as he’s put together a few videos following his own play through of the game, starting from the tutorial, extending to a part of the campaign, and on to the house vs. house. Dukely1’s playlist featuring the videos (at least one more is forthcoming, apparently) can be found embedded below.
So, Amazon has announced a host of new products—$79 Kindle, $99 Kindle Touch, $149 Kindle Touch 3G—but the absolute highlight of the press conference was to unveil the Kindle Fire, a $199(!) media tablet. Lots and lots of press coverage… but two funny things, for fans of GRRM, and for fans of some loosely related work as well.
The official release of A Game of Thrones: Genesis is September 29th—tomorrow—but that’s September 29th, midnight Paris time.
According to publisher Focus Home Interactive, this means that those who have pre-ordered the digital download of the game should be able to receive their activation codes some time in the U.S. evening. There’s already reports that those who’ve pre-ordered on Steam have been able to download and install the strategy game (PC only), and just need the activation for the game.
Also, for those who prefer their games in boxed, physical media, it looks like Amazon.co.uk will be shipping it on the 30th (but apparently to UK customers only). We expect other retailers may already have them to ship, so it’s worth looking around your gamesellers of choice.
The launch of the first issue of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones was apparently a roaring success: the first printing has sold out, and we have reports that fans making their way to comic shops found that all the issues were gone. Well, good news: it’s gone back for a second printing according to Rich Johnston of Bleeding Cool. According to his post, the book should hit shelves on October 19th, a week prior to the release of the A Game of Thrones #2.
HBO released a very, very short promo for season 2 as part of a special upcoming projects feature before the season premiere of Boardwalk Empire. Here it is:
We’ve been busy with a good deal of behind-the-scenes stuff, but we’ve been collecting a few links from around the web this last week—ever since Peter Dinklage’s Emmy win—and we’re going to hit you with some of the best of the material from the week. Some interesting things here, from glimpses of sets and filming in both Northern Ireland and Croatia, to some hints about the filming in Iceland later in the year, and more. Keep reading!
With a week to go for the release of A Game of Thrones: Genesis, Cyanide and Focus Home have released an official trailer via the game site, and we have it here for your delectation. It gives a few brief glimpses of the game engine, including some examples of a dragon—which I suspect is supposed to be Balerion, the Black Dread—in action:
The game is available for pre-order via Games Planet, and will start hitting the digital site on September 29th. You can read a bit more about the game in our earlier post.