Dev's You better answer!

[Abriael]

If they could apply, they had an account that allowed them to do so.
Everyone has the same chance as everyone else.

Only that not everyone should have the same chances as everyone else, per the rules that Square Enix themselves set.

Inactive accounts could not apply at all for most of the application time. They were allowed access (probably accidentally) only towards the end. It's a proven fact.

[KaplanHomahru]

Just wanna point out...we're all making excuses because...we're just players and we don't really know. Everyone in this thread is the same way...(even though some people may act like they know exactly what/why SE is doing something, or why one idea is better than another for SE...you don't! You are NOT a part of that organization, you don't have the infoz). Sooo maybe everyone should calm down, let SE invite people, and give pertinent game feedback if/when you get to that stage. Or just take a vaca until official release, idk but some of these posts seem pretty ridiculous and hate-filled for absolutely no reason other than...for lack of a better word ...butthurt about not getting an invite.

[Velhart]

I could say the same thing to you but this is a debate not grabbing straws ^.^

Edit: also any other post you make will be responded with "Alrighty then" since your referring me as a white knight, then talking to you would be pointless :P

I cannot think of a reason to promote alpha footage at all except having it be a poor attempt to please those who are not able to get into the alpha. I know 2.0 will be great, but these alpha videos are doing it no justice in any way. Anyone who is new or thinking about getting in will definitely not be influenced by this video. Only reason we are halfway impressed is because where we come from and anything better is spectacular to us.

It is content, new concepts, things that make it stand out from other MMO's that will be pretty good marketing. Showing off the Armory System, FATE, how boss fights work, and so on. Which the material I assume cannot be properly displayed until beta comes around. This is stuff you use to promote your game. I cannot think SE is in the state of mind of promoting this, because they only really display it on their forums and don't advertise it on their YouTube channel. Its only a safe assumption that the video is for "us", the active players.

Because truth be told, not everyone will get in alpha (Like myself most likely) and due to NDA, finding material on it is very hard, and SE is trying to be nice and give you an idea how stuff is being done in alpha and then the folks not in alpha or video game journal sites knit pick at it. Believe it or not, developers are listening over here also and they want us to give feedback on the sidelines.

Its a shame people don't get alpha and I know how you feel, I would love to give my feedback based on personal experience instead of just viewing the videos, but I have to play with the cards I have been dealt with and make the best of what I can till SE hopefully gives me beta access.

One more thing, the developers have absolutely no obligation to answer your frustration when they have several occasions have said that not everyone will get in and not just legacy members are taken into account for alpha testing. Not many people get picked for alpha for anything. A major WoW veteran I am, I have applied for alpha in all of their expansions and not once have I ever been picked. Sure I got the beta, but consider yourself very fortunate and lucky to ever see that e-mail. Also be fortunate they said they will take Legacy members into account first for beta, the testing that truly matters, the testing that balances out the game and makes it a fun experience for us.

Like I said, it disappoints me that I don't get picked, but that is how the MMO industry works and just have to deal with it.

[Aldora]

Gentlemen...

Gotta love Pascal!

I'll raise you with the almighty stare~!

[Twiddle]

Application requirements:
- Must currently have an active FINAL FANTASY XIV account

So inactive accounts obviously do not fulfill the requirements for alpha.
Still they're getting invites.

And i dont got invites when Alpha close in a week.............
My friends got his account innactive since December 2011 but he got invites on the 1rst N/A waves.......what the *****

What percentage of life is fair?!

[Starlord]

There's a wide and large difference between debating and trying one's hardest to make excuses for something that simply doesn't have a logical explanation in its context.

Resorting to the alleged "cost of making professional videos" really falls into the realm of the ridiculous. I'm sorry if I have to put it down like this.

Feel free to say "alrighty then" as much as you like, but you're seriously trying way too hard to defend something that's a blunder under every point of view.

Yep, alrighty then Mr. Know it all, acting like Elexia!

[Velhart]

Yep, alrighty then Mr. Know it all, acting like Elexia!

Sounds like you lost the debate there, buddy. Petty insults are a common symptom to this. Abriael is right in almost all angles.

I tend to not completely question SE's marketing crew, because I like to assume people who are professionals at this and get paid for it are much smarter than myself. Like I said in my above post, I find it hard to believe that these alpha videos are meant for the grand public. Sure it is open to us, but SE is notorious for throwing a lot of flair whenever they want to promote something, and the only place I see promotion for this video is on the forums. Which gives me a pretty safe assumption that the videos are more catered towards us than anything.

Bahh, why am I repeating what I just typed a few minutes ago?

[Aldora]

The good marketing practice, when you blunder, is to admit it and make amends instead of sweeping it under the rug. It tends to avoid hard feelings, and there are a lot of those around due to this mistake.



ALL of that can be conveyed with gameplay videos, which is in fact what they're doing promotion-wise.

Videos allow to show all the "good" things in the alpha to the general public, and in the meanwhile to hide the incompleteness, the lack of content, the glitches, how small the world is and so forth.

Isn't that the whole point of releasing a vid containing footage from an Alpha build? To show fans/media the good side of the game, what to "expect" when the game is officially released? If you would see a vid from an Alpha build, full of bugs, glitches, lack of content, etc... Would you be interested, as a customer, in the end product?

An Alpha build usually contains the "bare" minimum so that testers can test the core mechanics and the general feel/atmosphere of the game. These builds usually have only a small part of the actual game implemented, because they are still developing, bugfixing, testing a lot of the mechanics, area's, content, etc internally. A lot of the things we've seen in vids can be changed dramatically.

A good example would be the new Character Creator they've introduced during the Beta phase from 1.0, or the introduction of the Stamina bar and the way XP was gathered.

A Beta version is basically a version of the game where all mechanics, area's and content have been added, but still needs to be tested thoroughly and thus are susceptible to change before the game is released officially.

An Alpha vid, screenshot, etc is a good reference point of what kind of (basic/core) things you can expect. An Beta vid, screenshot, etc is more of a reference to what game should be when it's released. And the vids, screenshots, etc from the official release build are used to show everyone what the game has become.

[Elexia]

Sounds like you lost the debate there, buddy. Petty insults are a common symptom to this. Abriael is right in almost all angles.

Don't mind him, he tends to do that when that happens.

[Orophin]

So yeah...devs haven't answered yet. What now?