A small WTF



  • Seen this when I logged into WOW last night.

     

    5rd



  • The real WTF is that you play WOW.



  •  I played it before, got bored, and decieded to install the trial yesterday.  I will probably be bored with it within a week or two (or when I have to pay for it).



  • It took me a while to find the WTF. But I agree with garyniger.



  •  What's the big deal?  You have the rest of October fiverd and five hours on the sixth to waste your short span of time on this planet before they do a few hours of maintenance.  That's not a WTF.



  • @bstorer said:

    What's the big deal?  You have the rest of October fiverd and five hours on the sixth to waste your short span of time on this planet before they do a few hours of maintenance.  That's not a WTF.

    At least he's not wasting his time on TDWTF!



  •  Didn't you hear? Some of the developers at Blizzard are big Fritz Leiber fans and have renamed some of the ordinal numbers in his honour.

     

    The change went in last September Fafhrd, but you probably just didn't notice it until October.

     



  • I played WOW for a week before getting bored with it and uninstalling. At least it lasted longer than Second Life however, which lasted less than a hour.

    What I thought was also weird was that its an online game, and you can download a client to play in the online game, but after 10 days you need to go out and buy the boxed version to continue play. If the offline contents is several GB, then sure, it makes sense to have it on a DVD for those with slow net connections, but for others, they can pretty much download on demand, or download the DVD within the hour (assuming a 10MB connection - which seems kinda typical and average. Hell, I get loads of advertising for cheap 50MB fibre connections). 



  • @Mole said:

    What I thought was also weird was that its an online game, and you can download a client to play in the online game, but after 10 days you need to go out and buy the boxed version to continue play. If the offline contents is several GB, then sure, it makes sense to have it on a DVD for those with slow net connections, but for others, they can pretty much download on demand, or download the DVD within the hour (assuming a 10MB connection - which seems kinda typical and average. Hell, I get loads of advertising for cheap 50MB fibre connections). 

    You don't have to buy the boxed version. You can buy the game online and download it.

    (At least in Europe. Maybe you live in a country that doesn't allow people to buy stuff online or something)



  • @julmu said:

    (At least in Europe. Maybe you live in a country that doesn't allow people to buy stuff online or something)

    Is that another DMCA WTF?



  •  Ok, fine, but why do you even need to download the game? Your already playing it, the only thing that has expired is the 10 day limitation, which I'm assuming is done online (would be stupid to do it in the client), so all you want is that limitation increased by however much time you paid for (I'm going to assume monthly). Why does it require a activation key to prove you have the full version of the software before even allowing you to buy a subscription? I can imagine requiring you to purchase any optional addon packages, but not the base package. 



  • @derula said:

    @julmu said:
    (At least in Europe. Maybe you live in a country that doesn't allow people to buy stuff online or something)

    Is that another DMCA WTF?

    Yes, the country that invented Steam and iTunes doesn't allow digital content to be purchased online.  We just did it as an exercise to show how much more awesomer than Yurupp we are, but we still buy tangible products.  After all, you don't get to drive your gas-guzzling SUV to the Wal-Mart if you buy digital content and that's just un-American.



  • @bstorer said:

    October fiverd

     

     

    Thanks, I missed this until my second time going through the comments (I thought the intended WTF was the unneeded scroll bar).

     



  • @Mole said:

     Ok, fine, but why do you even need to download the game? Your already playing it, the only thing that has expired is the 10 day limitation, which I'm assuming is done online (would be stupid to do it in the client), so all you want is that limitation increased by however much time you paid for (I'm going to assume monthly). Why does it require a activation key to prove you have the full version of the software before even allowing you to buy a subscription? I can imagine requiring you to purchase any optional addon packages, but not the base package. 

    My guess is that they don't include some things in the trial version so that it can't as easily be hacked to extend the trial period. If it was the full package, it would probably be easier to figure out how to extend its time to play. At least, that's probably the thought process. I'm not saying it actually works that way.



  • @Mole said:

     Ok, fine, but why do you even need to download the game? Your already playing it, the only thing that has expired is the 10 day limitation, which I'm assuming is done online (would be stupid to do it in the client), so all you want is that limitation increased by however much time you paid for (I'm going to assume monthly). Why does it require a activation key to prove you have the full version of the software before even allowing you to buy a subscription? I can imagine requiring you to purchase any optional addon packages, but not the base package. 

     

    You actually don't have to download or install the "official" game anymore.  The system just downloads a 'patch' automatically.



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @derula said:
    @julmu said:
    (At least in Europe. Maybe you live in a country that doesn't allow people to buy stuff online or something)

    Is that another DMCA WTF?

    Yes, the country that invented Steam and iTunes doesn't allow digital content to be purchased online.  We just did it as an exercise to show how much more awesomer than Yurupp we are, but we still buy tangible products.  After all, you don't get to drive your gas-guzzling SUV to the Wal-Mart if you buy digital content and that's just un-American.

    Great, thanks for this insight! I'll go update my list of prejudices against the US.



  • @derula said:

    Great, thanks for this insight! I'll go update my list of prejudices against the US.
     

    Wow. Whooooosh indeed.



  • @Zylon said:

    @derula said:

    Great, thanks for this insight! I'll go update my list of prejudices against the US.
     

    Wow. Whooooosh indeed.

    No, I think you're one one suffering from Whooooosh Syndrome.  Read derula's post again and tell me you think it's 100% serious.


  • @Eternal Density said:

    No, I think you're one one suffering from Whooooosh Syndrome.  Read derula's post again and tell me you think it's 100% serious.
     

    Any non-zero quantity of serious in response to a post that was 100% in jest counts as an automatic fail. Sorry.



  • @dcardani said:

    My guess is that they don't include some things in the trial version so that it can't as easily be hacked to extend the trial period.  If it was the full package, it would probably be easier to figure out how to extend its time to play.  At least, that's probably the thought process.  I'm not saying it actually works that way.

    As of a couple of years ago, that guess would be very accurate - there was a great deal that was not included in the trial version.  For the really dedicated, it was possible to level a trial character to a point which would show that, within the trial period.  Also, for those with friends with established characters, it was possible to see this earlier.  I seem to recall Sillithus being one of these - IIRC, one could not summon a trial character there.  There were also a number of items that trial characters couldn't get.  There may have also been a prohibition on giving things to them or possibly it was only on certain things.  Also, installing with the trial disk took a lot less time and a lot less drive space.  (A friend had accidentally installed it, by not checking his disks very carefully.)

    I didn't spend that much time around the beginning areas, however, and trial characters tended to either not be very common or to not be that big on socializing - I don't recall having run into very many.


  • Garbage Person

     I'd just like to point out that you CAN download WoW and play beyond the trial period without a physical disk - you just have to get the installers from within someone else's (paid, active) account control panel. The download links are EXCEPTIONALLY well hidden for all but the current expansion, but they exist. I know this because I destroyed my best friend's WoW disks at her request, but she was able to relapse by finding those downloads in her account CP.



  • @Zylon said:

    @Eternal Density said:

    No, I think you're one one suffering from Whooooosh Syndrome.  Read derula's post again and tell me you think it's 100% serious.
     

    Any non-zero quantity of serious in response to a post that was 100% in jest counts as an automatic fail. Sorry.

    That's me fucked then, I almost always reply to amusing sarcasm with the same, regardless of whether it's in dissent or concurrence. Thanks for clarifying the rules of humour though.



  •  @Weng said:

    I know this because I destroyed my best friend's WoW disks at her request, but she was able to relapse by finding those downloads in her account CP.
    What, WoW Withdrawal symptons? 



  •  When I installed the trial it said the game would be downloaded as I played, so I could start playing right away without a big download, but it did show a link to download the full client.

     

    Also looking at my account control panel, I can purchase a activiation key right there, and not have to reinstall anything.



  • @Weng said:

     I'd just like to point out that you CAN download WoW and play beyond the trial period without a physical disk - you just have to get the installers from within someone else's (paid, active) account control panel. The download links are EXCEPTIONALLY well hidden for all but the current expansion, but they exist. I know this because I destroyed my best friend's WoW disks at her request, but she was able to relapse by finding those downloads in her account CP.

     

    Or you just download it from http://www.bigdownload.com/games/world-of-warcraft-wrath-of-the-lich-king/pc/wor ld-of-warcraft-full-install-client.  It is the full install for any version, you don't need any keys, you don't need any accounts.  Just download the full game and play either trial account or your pay account. 

    My wife wanted to start playing it again after a year of not playing.  When she quit I immediately threw out the old disks.  I found that site, downloaded it and it lets her play.  She started out with her 10 day welcome back trial, and then set up the pay account again and no changes at all were necessary. They (Bliz) don't give a crap about you having the CD's, they care about you getting a paid subscription.  Their money rests on the $14/month from the 8 million people  playing.



  • @Mole said:

    Why does it require a activation key to prove you have the full version of the software before even allowing you to buy a subscription? I can imagine requiring you to purchase any optional addon packages, but not the base package.
    I can only answer by saying "that's how it is." You purchase the box or download, then you pay for a subscription.  It seems like overpay, but multiple MMOs have gotten thousands (and millions) of subscribers with this model.  



  • @tgape said:

    I didn't spend that much time around the beginning areas, however, and trial characters tended to either not be very common or to not be that big on socializing - I don't recall having run into very many.

     After some initial missteps, trial characters were _unable_ to socialize in just about any way.  The wrong kind of people very quickly discovered that they could create a disposable trial character, log on, and spam advertisements, farm unique free items that were only available to new characters, overload chat channels, and do all the other fun stuff that makes MMO games fun.  The Powers That Be, in their wisdom, took away any ability for trial characters to talk with anyone else, participate in chats, give or receive items, or interact with other players in just about any other way.

     That way the trial showed you a world in which everyone else ignored you and nothing that you did could possibly count for anything.  I think that was a pretty good preview of what the full game would have been like.

     



  • @DCRoss said:

    That way the trial showed you a world in which everyone else ignored you and nothing that you did could possibly count for anything.

    When did the topic change to SimWelbog?



  • @morbiuswilters said:

    @DCRoss said:

    That way the trial showed you a world in which everyone else ignored you and nothing that you did could possibly count for anything.

    When did the topic change to SimWelbog?

    I hear SimWelbog is going to revolutionize gaming.  It has procedurally-generated ASCII images of animals and video game characters saying "COCK!"


  • /">
    /"< COCK!
    /">


  • @Welbog said:

    /">
    /"< COCK!
    /">
    I'm going to get this engraved on a plaque.


  • @bstorer said:

    I'm going to get this engraved on a plaque.
     

    Gravestone.


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