GGG, Kripp, Beta, Botters, Oh, my!

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Hunt8722 wrote:

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Wraithstar wrote:

i was one of the first thousand to get into closed beta. ive spent lots of money (not as much as some, but lots in my eyes) ive spent thousands (5k+) of hours into the game. been playing since december of 2011 (OB didn`t start until jan 2013). And i have yet to get a key. i don`t know why it bothers me that I didn`t get a key but it really does. especially when i see a bunch of random streamers getting in that ive never seen before. /endrant

/hug

Hope they acknowledge some of the guys that made Act 4 possible

Thanks man, I needed that xD

@OP Thanks for ripping my attention away from the shitty countdown timer for 5 minutes and making me consider wtf I'm doing with my life. Was a great read.

Wow, such a great post.

edit: better.

Great post. Definitely worth the read. However, towards the bottom you mention the one month and new events to bridge the two month gap and I believe chris has already stated he has some "planned" hinting at cutthroat and the rogue exile event. Maybe we'll see those soon™

I honestly think they should have just made another 3 month league alongside the closed beta. It may have been half-assed with their attention turned towards the beta but it's better than afking in the cesspool perm leagues until our eyes bleed.

I agree with a lot of these points. I feel the whole beta release has been pseudo-transparent. It seems you have to read between the lines for some of the intent on these decisions.

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Why run a Closed Beta? Why not let everyone in?

We need the ability to get fresh impressions, clean feedback and data from sets of users who haven't yet played The Awakening. By staggering entry into the Closed Beta, we can ensure that there are always new users who we can get good data from. That way we have fewer users when we need early general impressions and more users when we need detailed balance feedback.

Controlling the population of the Closed Beta allows us to test various systems in a precise way. In addition, the Beta content is likely to be incomplete and buggy. We'd rather have most people join it later when it's closer to release.

I interpret this as they want to control access throughout the beta, so they can get iterative feedback from players exposed to changes throughout the beta and also "brand new impression" feedback from new users injected at various stages. It seems to be a bit contradictory that GGG encourages streaming of the beta and viewing streams of the beta, because viewers being injected to the beta aren't true new impressions.

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Fri3dchick3m wrote:

The next Faux-pas was one that caused probably the most pain for all parties. The countdown timer showing blatantly the naming standards chosen by the email/account botters. We all know that throughout the Beta, these low-life’s will create 1000 accounts a day and sell keys for up to $10,000 a pop. This would be a day’s take for any RMT setup and they would gladly pay the entrance fee.

Like what putting a counter on the front page with names of accounts would do, and the possible opportunities for harassment to a legitimate player. Or form an announcement addressing some of the major issues surrounding the release and the gaps in timing.

I am rather confused about a few things here:

What on earth are "blatant naming standards"?

Is anyone surprised that someone would make accounts to win the lottery?

"possible opportunities for harassment"-Has this actually happened?

"major issues surrounding the release and the gaps in timing"-What major issues have there been?

I have been hitting up the forums a lot since the announcement/beta timer dealy and I don't see anything you are talking about here. I'm so confused.

I like you, OP. Write moar.

Great post OP. Well thought out and didn't seem too salty. :D

I think you addressed a lot of the feelings the vast majority of us are going through. Especially those that have been around for several years. Hopefully GGG takes a look at this.

Nicely put wise guy over the internet .

I am sure many people figured most of it but to present it in a civilised format which even a derp can understand is a great feat.

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TikoXi wrote:

While you nailed the vast majority of the post - I have to state that GGG MUST have something already planned to 'bridge the gap'

They would be committing Company seppoku if they didn't. and the community has already inferred that we have 2 things going before act 4. The one month leagues were one, and the other is...Cutthroat? Maybe?

Regardless - a good lecture. Maybe some people might understand how GGG is still baby's first company, blundering around without a full PR team to craft their community stuff and they're just doing it on their own...

Actually, in the Kripp stream, Chris admitted they had no current plans and was spit-balling a couple ideas on the feed.

At first thought - I was right inline with your thinking. If everything was planned out 6 months ahead (standard release M.O.), then yeah, there should have been a scheduled event to cover the gap.

But over the past couple days and the lack of details on what "events" are being planned, it would support my theory even more that the entire team was looking down the barrel of a deadline and that everything but Act IV was off the whiteboard.

I've been in that position before and when the captain says "Hard Right" everything else gets dropped.

Very good point about GGG having to learn from no example. I think they have done a great job with the game direction, and I think Chris has his business hat on full time now.