Friday, June 6, 2014

10 Reason I Will Not Get an Alpha or Beta Invite

Blizzard is sending alpha invites out and mostly the people that will be receiving them are people that are "known" for being streamers, bloggers, or otherwise ones that would give them press.  The entire intent of the alpha testing and the invites that are going out now is not only to test but to create some buzz.

So as someone that has been blogging for a number of years, has a fair (even if not large) amount of readers, and has been linked by others on their guild web sites, on reddit, wow insider and even the official forums you would figure I would be someone that could neatly fit on the hype train for them.  Even more so when I usually make an average of 5 posts a week unless I am on a break, and sometimes more if I feel there is something to write about so that would assure them that the hype they are looking for would be out there, in large amounts, and often.

But someone like me will never get an invite because for as much as blizzard wants press, they do not want me and people like me to be part of the people giving them it.

 10) They Don't Know Who I Am

It is kind of hard to invite someone when you don't know who they are to invite them.  So even if blizzard wanted to invite me, which they wouldn't, they would have no way to activate my account for warlords access as they would not know which account to activate.

9) I Sometimes Use "Bad" Words

While it is true that in the grand scheme of things my blog is not exactly what you would call bad in terms of curing.  I actually make an effort to keep it clean.  If I ever really spoke my mind about how I really feel about some of my LFR experiences most people that read from work would never be able to access my site because I am sure it would set off some word filter blockers. I might use a word here or there but in no way is reading my blog like listening to a couple of sailors on shore leave.  It is pretty clean in comparison.

8) I Have a History of Reporting Bugs They Call Features

This might sound silly but I report a lot of bugs in the game and you would think that would be something they would like from a tester.  However it seems a lot of the bugs I report turn out to be intended features.  Sorry, but if something does not work it is a bug.  Just because you intend to leave it that way doesn't mean it is a feature.  It just means it is a bug you do not care to take the time to fix.

7) I Report A Lot

Not just bugs, but I report a lot of things.  I report people for pulling ordos and wiping the group on purpose and other jerk type moves like that.  Act like an asshat and you can be sure there is a report in the game because of it.  I report that bot flying around the valley of the four winds and I keep following him around and tell everyone in my guild to report him and even switch characters to report him from other characters as well.  It is not just any little bug I report, I report everything that is wrong with the game in hopes they might actually fix it.  Bugs, people, errors, and my favorite error that they still never fixed, the dead zone while flying over ZG where it will dismount you, and the dead zone in the vale that does the same.  I've died from each multiple times.  I can even repeat the errors.  But they never get fixed.

6) I Report The Same Things Too Much

If I experience a bug on a quest while leveling my lock today and then experience it again tomorrow on my paladin while leveling him and then later that day on my priest while they are going through the area, I report it.  Hey, I reported it, is has not been fixed, I report it again.  Honestly if it takes them more than a day to fix a minor error they either need to hire more people or get better people than the ones they already have. (yes, I know how coding works and it is not as easy as that most of the time, but there are quests still bugged after years, there is zero reason they should not have been fixed yet)

And not just bugs, but like I mentioned the bots.  Not only will I follow him around and report him from multiple characters and get everyone in my guild to come and report him, I will continue to do so every day I see him.  I will even go look for him so I could start the reporting again.

5) I Put In Too Many Tickets

Like the tickets that me and everyone in my guild has reported this bot three days in a row and it is still flying around, why is no one there doing their job.  I will file it again and again and again and again until I see something done about it or someone contacts me and tells me what they are doing about it.  I've even gotten a warning for reporting a bot.  Yes, a freaking warning for reporting a bot.  As if blizzard is protecting the bot.

4) And I Am Confrontational About Them

As the previously mentioned bot thing.  If, on rare occasion, I get a person to respond to me and they give me the whole "we need to run a full investigation before we ban an account" line I do not give them a break.  It is an 85 flying in pandaira.  All their gear is broken.  They only land on the ore in the valley of the four winds where they are little to no chance of there being fights.  Open yours eyes, use your brain, and do your job.  What is there that need to be investigated?  No, seriously, what is there that needs to be investigated.  Case is closed, it is a bot.  End of story.   Now do something about it.

See, I am very confrontational about it but it is extremely easy to be that confrontational when you are 100% right and there is zero chance in hell you are wrong.  They are flying, at 85, they are a bot.  I still do not get the we need to investigate thing, open your eyes, see that level 85 paladin with broken gear flying?  There, you are done investigating.  I know it sounds like ranting, but I have actually said all these things to a GM.  I will always wonder how the hell these people got the job, they are all morons.  My favorite was the GM that said an 85 flying in pandaira is not proof of bottling.  Yes, and all that rain falling from the sky is not proof it is raining.

3) I Am Not Active In Other Social Media

I do not stream, I am not asking questions on twitter all the time, I do not have a podcast, I never post on the main forums.  All in all, even if they wanted to send invites out to bloggers to get some hype out there and even if they knew of me and my blog, I am not exactly as attractive of in invitation as someone who will stream and who will tweet about every tiny little thing they run across in the alpha.

2) I Am Opinionated

In and of itself that is not a bad thing but when many times my opinions are counter to what the masses might believe they figure that puts me at a disadvantage.  I like the idea of valor gear, I don't think letting people have easier means to gear up is a bad thing, I like focusing on making the content harder and making the gearing easier.   Blizzard does not like this idea because it goes against their desires.  The elitists do not like this idea because they do not believe that getting gear should be easier, they want to stay special snowflakes.  And the lesser player do not like this because it would mean the content would be harder because the gear would be easier to get and they do not want content harder, they want to faceroll everything.  My opinions are mine and I am usually completely alone in having them.  Blizzard really does not like the idea that anyone has an opinion different from them and they really dislike the idea of opinions that almost no one likes.  So my opinions hurt my chances.  What if I don't like something and am not blowing sunshine up their ass while in the alpha, they would not want that.

1) I Do Not Kiss Ass

Just take a look at everyone that is already in the alpha, they fit into one of three categories . They are already "famous" in game and have a huge following or they are press and/or addon makers or they kiss a ton of ass by always being on blizzards side or being so active in other mediums like twitter, that they can not be ignored.

All those types of people are the type of people they want riding their hype train.  People who will scream excitedly about every little thing they see.  People who will keep saying how awesome everything is.  People that will point out the best parts and completely ignore everything else.  People that will apologize for every misstep along the way.

I can not or will not ever be that person because I care about the game and want the best for it.  If something is not functioning smoothly I will not be one of those people that says "the feature is really great even if the interface is a little hard to deal with but it is worth it."  I will say, the interface is hard to deal with and no matter how good it is it will never be right until they can made the interaction with it better.  All because I care about the game and think the game should be best.  I am not going to forgive a bad interface because the end result is nice, the interface should be nice too.

But if I were to kiss a little ass and say everything blizzard does is golden and everything they are doing is the greatest thing that has ever been done in the gaming world and totally ignore every misstep they make along the way, I too would be in the alpha right now.

And that is exactly why I will not get an alpha or beta invite.

12 comments:

  1. I had a "Friends and Family Alpha" for Burning Crusade invite from Ghostcrawler himself. I unrepentedly violated both the spirit and the words of the NDA, blogging about everything I saw and found. I did not consider myself an alpha-tester; I was a reporter who had been blessed by Blizzard management because, d@mn, I'm BRK. :)

    If you DO get an alpha/beta invite, you'll be obligated to follow the NDA and not write about anything. That would be quite distressing for those of us who look forward to your screeds about the current and future State of WoW.

    Frankly, the fact that you have NOT been subjected to an alpha invite's NDA is proof that Blizzard isn't concerned that you've preached so vociferously on how pathetic the development of the next expansion is. If they were smarter, they'd NDA your mouth shut with an alpha invite so the rest of us would quit hearing about pathetic the next expansion is probably going to be, and how the deployment is basically a year late.

    Your friend,
    Daniel
    aka
    BRK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Always good to see you around BRK. Hope all has been well.

      The alpha that is out now they said people would be allowed to share images and vidoe and talk about, so that would not be much of a problem. Can't break that rule of not showing if there is no rule to break.

      I would be temped, and would probably at least "hint" a few times if I were in an NDA one, I admit that. But over all I am good at keeping a secret even if I did "hint" that this open testing would start, well, when it did because I already knew about it. ;)

      I really hope the next expansion comes soon. I need new things to be grumpy about.

      Be well.

      Delete
    2. I think you may have a strong case with your arguments you listed. I'd say #1 is probably your strongest case.

      Also, what a rare sighting to see BRK. Thought he quit playing and blogging. Maybe so, but he was the first blog I started to follow back when I played my hunter in BC. I bow before you BRK...

      Delete
    3. I think #10 is a strong case too.

      Being they are not doing invites with code numbers any longer they can't exactly send me an invite if they do not know what my game mail is.

      We all bow before BRK, he made being a hunter feel cool. I always feel honored when he comes by to say hello.

      Delete
  2. How do bots get flying at 85 while the rest of us have to wait until 90?
    Can I apply for a bot position for the alts I haven't levelled yet?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are using a program that allows them to do it illegally. It looks as if they are running in mind air.

      Apparently to a GM that is not proof that someone is breaking the terms of service but me reporting them every day gets me a warning. Not 1 warning, not 2 warnings, but three warnings because I kept reporting him every day.

      Delete
    2. That's insane! How can they not act on that?

      Maybe fraps it and stick it on Youtube? Put a link to the video on the official forums.

      See who they ban first, you or the botter.

      Delete
    3. I would bet me because I was told in no uncertain words that if I reported that player again I would get banned.

      Basically they said to stop reporting them. My report is already on file and it is under investigation and if I continue to report them I will be banned.

      Delete
  3. I enjoy your blog, your outgoing opinion on the realities of gaming and your passion for it as well. Where alot of us who share like minded opinions tend to be quiet you do not hesitate to be vocal on. That takes courage. Continue on sir. I will keep reading. Screw them. "They need people like you, they need people like you so they can point the finger and said here's the bad guy. Well, say goodnight to the bad guy" Morphed quote from one of my fav films just for you. Keep fighting the good fight. We got your back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am glad some people enjoy reading what I have on my mind about the game. Thanks for reading.

      Delete
  4. I actually think these items are wrong. :-)

    Take it from a dev, there's no such thing as reporting too many bugs - the more, the better. Duplicates are fine and unavoidable, because there are many people, not to mention that the number of duplicates is a useful metric in and of its own. The language doesn't matter, what matters is clarity, precision and attention to details ("it doesn't work" is useless, but if you explain clearly what's going on, why do you think it's wrong and how a dev can reproduce the issue, you will be valued a lot).

    So, on your list, items 5, 6, 7, 8 are good things, and other items are pretty much irrelevant. Item 3 - "I am not active in social media" - will be viewed as a positive by a dev, and might be viewed as a negative only by a marketing type (and even then it's likely just neutral).

    That said, I, personally, wouldn't participate in neither alpha nor beta testing. I happily do it for software which we use / depend on / I just admire, but, honestly, doing useful testing is far from free time-wise, and WoW just isn't that important to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I get where you are coming from and it makes perfect sense. You would want someone that might actually help by reporting things.

      I think the #10 one where I started is the main things. They are not sending out access codes for it any longer, so they would not be able to send me a code to this address and then I would use it. The just click the activate switch on your account and it shows up on your loader. So even if they wanted to invite me, they would not.

      And like I said, on the strength of my in game attitude toward them and actually being told I would be banned if I reported a bot again, I don't think they want me.

      Delete