Open Q&A at blizzcon

[Vephriel]

What more could they have told us though? Starcraft II had just been released prior...Diablo III had already been announced a long time ago, yet it's still too faraway to reveal much more. Cataclysm is pretty much out of the bag in every sense, there's not many secrets left with it coming out in a couple months. Then the secretive new MMO that's been rumored is nowhere near any sort of reveal, so all in all they did the best they could with what they had to offer. There didn't have to be a Blizzcon at all, but I still think it's fun regardless. There just isn't as much hype this year due to lack of content and bad timing with previously released/announced things that left no real surprises.

[Lisaara]

What more could they have told us though? Starcraft II had just been released prior...Diablo III had already been announced a long time ago, yet it's still too faraway to reveal much more. Cataclysm is pretty much out of the bag in every sense, there's not many secrets left with it coming out in a couple months. Then the secretive new MMO that's been rumored is nowhere near any sort of reveal, so all in all they did the best they could with what they had to offer. There didn't have to be a Blizzcon at all, but I still think it's fun regardless. There just isn't as much hype this year due to lack of content and bad timing with previously released/announced things that left no real surprises.

That plus I think the economy had a big play in this too as far as costumes being not-as-amazing as previous years and such.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Some people stupidly think; Big dog is mean dog. Or I fret this could be a person who likes to make their dogs mean- I've seen it here. It isn't pretty. And the dogs? They'll scare the bajeebus out of you and you will be greatful they are chained to a post on a 3 foot lead.

Yeah but you don't want them going too far on the inverse either. We don't want people taming yorkies or Chihuahua's or something and sicking them on death wing with big read pet making them about the size of a house cat either.

Personally I'd have liked a Doberman or German Shepard or Rottweiler for a 'Dog" model. I don't like the Mastiff model at all. They just look like they're bored and would rather go curl up by the fire. (( The ones in game. not irl))

Big dog doesn't = mean dog.

Small dog doesn't = hunter pet. lol Sure Jack russels are pretty fiesty but you're not sicking them on Arthas or king Wrynn when you raid Stormwind. (( that being said I'd so tame a Jack Russel before I tame one of those mastiffs...))

[Pepsi Jedi]

This was a pretty lame Blizzcon. Was there anything we didn't really know already?.. a new class for Diablo, I think that's about it.

There was a bit I didn't know. it wasnt that bad. Saying it was lame is a bit of an over-exaggeration. They can't spoil too much, otherwise no one would buy the game. A little mystery is what is the lure on a hook.

I paid my $40... I thought it was pretty lame too, to be honest. I watched last year and was really excited and thought it was worth the money. This year... it kinda seemed like I paid for their rehash of last year's stuff. I mean we even got the trailer for free a week before hand. That wasn't even 'reveled' at blizzcon.

Nothing really "NEW" was offered at all. Well the Worgen cut scene, but still that's like 40 seconds of in game cut scene.

They did have things they could have shown us. Heck they could have shown the new Druid Boom kin for Worgen and trolls. Their new flight forms too.

They could have done alot more than they 'did'. They COULD have given us a teaser on the next gen MMO. If it's done enough so they're playing it "In house" like they said. They have enough to tell us what it's about. They could have given more of a firm release for Diablo or the next part of SC II other than "Probably not before next blizzcon" Which means Next blizzcon might have an announcement of when those games MIGHT come out.

and.... the band this year... I'm not sure how much of it was "You're not topping Ozzy easily" and how much of it was "The band they got this year kinda sucked" but I was really let down. The coolest part of the band this year, was that for some unknown Reason the lead of Foo Fighters sat in on drums. lol I was actually bored during the closing ceremonies. L80ETC is a better band than that one, and THEY didn't even play.

So... $40.... a bit of an overkill this year. Even with my wife getting Deathy, I think it was worth about $20. I get that they do it "for the fans' but.. if I'd paid full ticket price and WENT. I'd be mad. The goody bag those that went there and got even sucked.

I bought last years and got my moneys' worth. This year.. very much not. I'm going to think long and hard before I buy next years. Or just read the information on Wowinsider and MMO. There has to be that "hook" that makes you want to watch and know the stuff FIRST... this year. I literly could have waited 2 hours and gotten everything on MMO and Wowinsider and not feel like I'd 'missed' anything.



As a side note.. yes. The "Hunters" that got up and asked questions had me groaning and telling them to sit down on my screen, they were making us look bad. Even the Developers wanted to call that one kid a "huntard".

[gaghiel]

I guess my hang up is that it is supposed to be a convention and at the same time a showcase for their games. In my experiences with conventions, they don't go for the flashy over the top stage show approach and more aim at the smaller panel discussions that can get topics covered.

From a marketing standpoint this is their showroom floor and the fact that the best they've had to offer is stuff that I could find on the net for the past couple months is a lil depressing. If they were really thinking, they would save a few big reveals for the event and the buzz from that would carry them this last month til release and have people talking. So far all they've achieved is grumbles and facepalms.

Im with Pepsi on this one.

[Lisaara]

This was a pretty lame Blizzcon. Was there anything we didn't really know already?.. a new class for Diablo, I think that's about it.

There was a bit I didn't know. it wasnt that bad. Saying it was lame is a bit of an over-exaggeration. They can't spoil too much, otherwise no one would buy the game. A little mystery is what is the lure on a hook.

I paid my $40... I thought it was pretty lame too, to be honest. I watched last year and was really excited and thought it was worth the money. This year... it kinda seemed like I paid for their rehash of last year's stuff. I mean we even got the trailer for free a week before hand. That wasn't even 'reveled' at blizzcon.

Nothing really "NEW" was offered at all. Well the Worgen cut scene, but still that's like 40 seconds of in game cut scene.

They did have things they could have shown us. Heck they could have shown the new Druid Boom kin for Worgen and trolls. Their new flight forms too.

They could have done alot more than they 'did'. They COULD have given us a teaser on the next gen MMO. If it's done enough so they're playing it "In house" like they said. They have enough to tell us what it's about. They could have given more of a firm release for Diablo or the next part of SC II other than "Probably not before next blizzcon" Which means Next blizzcon might have an announcement of when those games MIGHT come out.

and.... the band this year... I'm not sure how much of it was "You're not topping Ozzy easily" and how much of it was "The band they got this year kinda sucked" but I was really let down. The coolest part of the band this year, was that for some unknown Reason the lead of Foo Fighters sat in on drums. lol I was actually bored during the closing ceremonies. L80ETC is a better band than that one, and THEY didn't even play.

So... $40.... a bit of an overkill this year. Even with my wife getting Deathy, I think it was worth about $20. I get that they do it "for the fans' but.. if I'd paid full ticket price and WENT. I'd be mad. The goody bag those that went there and got even sucked.

I bought last years and got my moneys' worth. This year.. very much not. I'm going to think long and hard before I buy next years. Or just read the information on Wowinsider and MMO. There has to be that "hook" that makes you want to watch and know the stuff FIRST... this year. I literly could have waited 2 hours and gotten everything on MMO and Wowinsider and not feel like I'd 'missed' anything.



As a side note.. yes. The "Hunters" that got up and asked questions had me groaning and telling them to sit down on my screen, they were making us look bad. Even the Developers wanted to call that one kid a "huntard".

They arent done with the druid forms as far as I'm aware. I think they just have the generic druid forms for now. So thats really something they cant show you if they dont have it. Just like female worgen. It's not done. A LOT isnt finished yet. Personally, I like the mystery they did leave. It makes me more anxious to get Cata.

Also that raid featuring Paragon was AMAZING.

For me, it was worthwhile. The rest just feels like nitpicking over nothing, just to me anyway.

[Pent]

I personally buy the feed just to watch a few things while trying to avoid a few more.

I enjoy watching Jay Mohr being sad funny trying to be funny funny.
I enjoy the costume contest.
I enjoy the dance contest.
I enjoy the Warcraft lore Q&A, and just the general Warcraft Q&A.
I enjoy the concert for what it is.... (I don't care for Tenacious D). BTW... the drummer is Dave Grohl (spell-check on aisle 9)... he isn't JUST the lead for Foo Fighters (although that was funny)... he was also the drummer in Nirvana. (I still like more Nirvana songs than Foo Fighters songs, even though Nirvana only made like 4 albums... Don't get me wrong... I like Foo Fighters too.)
Oh... I also like the items that I'll be getting for my WoW and SC2 accounts.

I 'try' to keep clear of spoilers for the most part. I am in the beta. I have not seen the Goblin or Worgen cinematics/openings, and I won't til the game is released, so a lot of Blizzcon floor stuff I don't watch.

To get down to it... I probably only watch about 20% of the show for what I pay.

I didn't mind Blizzcon this year... it was good enough for $40 considering what I saw, heard, and what I'll be getting in 6-ish weeks.

[Ariamodasu]

I'm still watching and enjoying it myself. The StarCraft 2 Cinematics panel with the missing Mutas and the Splatling was hilarious.

Druids, we're constantly buggered with and I have little doubt something will be left last minute like after months of claiming they daren't touch Tree of Life, they changed it (And even said they added a Glyph for those complaining they want their old look back) so no surprise there. It's an inbetween game period, I enjoyed for what was there and seeing a fun company not afraid to do daft things.

Yeah wasn't as much in the Q&A as I'd like but what can you do? People ask what they like and the devs can be as vague as they like. The Jania fanship validation response cracked me up as it's so (unfortantely) true...

[Slickrock]

Well, too be fair, if you play the other games as well, then there is more value to attending.

But my comment was mainly about there not being any announcements to speak of. And I've long given up getting any amount of real information from the Q&As, too many tools asking the questions. People shouldn't be arguing with the devs there, they should be asking about other stuff, like professions.

On a side note, sites like MMO-Champion have hurt Blizzcon as well. You can get information near instantly now. (I remember back 15 years ago when MacWorld was a HUGE deal. You could only get in the first day if you were corporate, and you went to meet developers and the VPs from vendors. But the internet killed it, and now Apple doesn't even attend, and 50% of the vendors are just selling iPod skins).

[Pepsi Jedi]

They arent done with the druid forms as far as I'm aware. I think they just have the generic druid forms for now. So thats really something they cant show you if they dont have it.

See... I just don't buy it. They've been working on this for years. They had playable stuff up over a year ago. They've had over a year, they've got 5 color combos of cat and bear forms on the druids. The stuff they're putting out on Beta now (( with the beta that's been running for months)) They're rationing out testing it a bit by bit.

They "are" holding somethings back for launch. But that's it. They've had the game done for months. They're crunching numbers now with the beta. The Boomkin is going to be a boomkin with tusk for the trolls and probably spike bracelets and stuff for the worgen, maybe wolf ears. Flight form is going to be some kinda bat.

They're not sitting around the development lab tearing their hair out trying to figure out what to do with those things. They were very likely done before the cat and bear forms.

Just like female worgen. It's not done. A LOT isnt finished yet. Personally, I like the mystery they did leave. It makes me more anxious to get Cata.

Again. I just don't buy it. They're purposefully rationing things out to see how they're received. If you listened to the panels, when the developers answered questions alot of it was 'Have you played Cat yet?" They're DONE. It's just rounding some numbers and getting the complex math of the mechanics behind the scene to add up right. They've been done for a long time.

Yes we see different versions of the Male worgen. The first one got "Awww cute puppy" so they switched it with version 2.003.002982.0939932.02 that they had or something, a more feral looking Bad ass one. The switch was very quick. Far too quick for them to have modded it on the fly. They've got over 5,000 people working for them. They've probably got dozens and dozens of models for the female worgen. They tried one. and again got the "It looks like a pretty critter" and then went with version 303.4923.9943A for the more feral look. If that doesn't work they'll switch to another one till they find and agree on one. But they're not sitting there pulling their hair out stressing the thing.

It Launches in about a month and a half to 12,000,000 people. The disks are already being printed and boxed, they'll be shipped in a few weeks. The game is done. It's just quick fixes and stuff till then.

Also that raid featuring Paragon was AMAZING.

The one where they fought three waves of bosses infront of Org? I wasn't really all that impressed. Don't get me wrong, my guild couldn't do it but.. they only wiped once or twice, and yeah. *shrugs* I smiled and watched it. Got a kick out of the cometary but it's not like it was super amazing. They split the groups. Off tanks held the other 3 and they nuked down their primary target. Rinse, repeat.

For me, it was worthwhile. The rest just feels like nitpicking over nothing, just to me anyway.

It's not though. It's that the entire thing was disappointing from a paid venue standpoint. It was like we paid them to see the same stuff as the previous year.

The entire thing didn't "Suck" it wasn't "Crap" or anything. it was just disappointing considering we paid to watch it.

[cowmuflage]

I think people just got their hopes up way too high and expected way too much.

[Kalliope]

Not every Blizzcon can be fantastically amazing across the board. That's just life, you know? Some years are bound to be duds. As Veph said, Blizz is basically between announcements; the next wave of goodies isn't ready yet. I'd rather have already gotten the previously-announced stuff rather than have seen them wait for Blizzcon for the big reveals.

[zedxrgal]

I personally don't feel it was worth the $40 price. Yeah the in game mini pet is going to be cool but since I only play WoW the rest kind of didn't matter. Nothing was told that wasn't already know.
The coolest thing to me was the development /cinematic /creation team (part of them) where it gave a lot of technical information.
The closing ceremonies were a total yawn for me. I've heard of Tenacious D but never listened to a single song before last night. I shut it off. Was like a very crude form of Weird Al Yankovick. Not to mention Jack Black and the other guy (can't remember his name) looked so wasted and baked that I was surprised they could even perform. Yeah that's worth watching.
I costume contest was "ok" but nothing like previous years and there appeared to be a lot less contestants.

I wanted to die when the huntards came to ask their questions like others on here. /facepalm all the way. I didn't see a single question about the removal of volley which surprised me and the focus usage, loss of dps etc etc etc. Maybe I missed them but I paid close attention for two hours only to be heavily disappointed.

At this point next year will not be on my bill because I am suspecting it won't be worth it. But who knows. Still a year away.
I'm happy for others who enjoyed it though and felt they got their monies worth.

And a picture for you all. My new desktop.

[Cozzene]

Deathwing appears to be part rhino. His nose screams "rhino" to me. Can I tame?

Edit; The first hunter question asked made me force my hunter into a dark closet. Was so ashamed of that representation of our class =(

[Lisaara]

I think people just got their hopes up way too high and expected way too much.

I agree. I got my money's worth. I'll gladly pay again.

[Vephriel]

I think people just got their hopes up way too high and expected way too much.

I agree. I got my money's worth. I'll gladly pay again.

Hehe, in agreement here. I had a lot of fun watching this year, definitely worth the money for me. ^^

[Tilo]

Their vague answers to folks questions & sounding rather uninterested in replying to those questions, is what made the blizzcon not very 'fun'; true some of the answers were humorous but they could've handled how they answered them better, regardless if they'd gotten that question 20x that day.

[Ariamodasu]

I think people just got their hopes up way too high and expected way too much.

I agree. I got my money's worth. I'll gladly pay again.

Hehe, in agreement here. I had a lot of fun watching this year, definitely worth the money for me. ^^

Same here, I want a StarCraft 2 Overdrive shirt damnit.

[Lisaara]

Also people should realize....they only can say so much cause the boss says so. Say too much, they could get into trouble.

[Kalliope]

Their vague answers to folks questions & sounding rather uninterested in replying to those questions, is what made the blizzcon not very 'fun'; true some of the answers were humorous but they could've handled how they answered them better, regardless if they'd gotten that question 20x that day.

Some of the questions, like a few of the hunter ones, were just plain BAD questions. It's not so much the repetition of the question as it is the questions simply being stupid. Unfortunately, the people actually GOING to Blizzcon aren't necessarily Azeroth's best and brightest. :/