[Reminder] Are you ready to cry again? (2° Wave of Alpha invites tomorrow, 3 dec.)

[SkyeWindbinder]

I'm sure you don't mind if I condense and synthetize the bloated multiple qotes for the sake of brevity and legibility.

By all means, go ahead.

1: You're comparing apples to oranges. In Game items or discounts are a completely different cup of tea from being able to influence the early development of a game. Giving one doesn't help in any way if the receiver wants the other. Paying less for a game and having items in a game doesn't help in any way if a customer doesn't enjoy the game, and being able to influence the game's direction and development is the only way we have to directly increase the chance that we'll enjoy said game.

1. Once again, says you. You are speaking your judgment on SE's alpha tester selecting process based on your desires to test the game and your opinion about how it should be done. It means more to you than paying a smaller price for a subscription. When it all boils down to it, you are merely passing judgment based on what Abriael wants. Not on what the game needs, not on whether the game will be okay with the alpha testers it has now, it's all about what you want and what you feel you should get. You're only focused on Abriael wants, Abriael wants, Abriael wants. Well I'm sorry, but things just don't always work out that way. No, not even in video games. As for whether or not you'll enjoy the game, you'll just have to wait and see if you will, like all the other millions of people who weren't selected for alpha testing.

The fact that they have other people in the alpha giving *their* feedback and pulling the game in the direction *they* want doesn't help in any way.

Correction, it doesn't help you feel better in any way. You don't know whether or not the people testing are doing a splendid job reccomending all the things you might. If you did know any specifics that happened during alpha testing, then someones breaching that NDA, you know, that agreement you like to preach often about why people shouldn't be breaching it. (You even threatened to tattle on someone for it. lol)

2: The later you get into the testing of a game, the less you'll have a chance to influence its development and direction. This is a steel-clad and undeniable rule of testing, as the more development progress, the more design becomes rigid. Therefore getting into a beta (that's IF you get in it early or ever) is no replacement for getting into the alpha (and getting into beta late is no replacement of getting into early beta) for the sake of giving feedback that may have a sizable chance of getting considered.

2. And yet, if you do get into beta, you'll be able to give feedback. So maybe the complaining is a bit premature, eh? And even if you don't get into beta, tough. You'll be no different from the millions of other people who don't get into beta. However, of two things you can be certain:

a. Someone will get into beta, whether it's you or not.

b. Those people (at least some of them) will provide feedback on the game.

So running around like, well, one of these, squawking "If we don't get in now, we might never get in to test the game!" is not going to do you any good. Just. Freakin. Relax.

3: "it's their game, they do what they want" doesn't fly. As paying customers we have full right to criticize the way they handle their game. That's the very definition of customer-provided criticism and feedback. According to your flawed logic, alpha and beta are completely useless because "it's their game", so our feedback has no value.

Actually, it does fly Abriael. It flies quite well, like a gassed up super-jet on a bright sunny day. Yes, you do have the right to criticize. But really, that's about where your power stops. One thing I have noticed about your posts is that you seem to think that if you are not there personally to give your opinion on how the game is going during alpha that it is going to collapse under it's own weight of fail and FFXIV will be no more. Well I'm sorry, Abriael. As much as you would like to believe you are the "chosen one", the one fortold throughout the ages to give the greatest most legendary alpha feedback ever, um, you're not. Not really. And yes, that was an exaggeration. But not that far from your attitude, to be honest. For all you know, the people giving advice on the game are doing a PHENOMENAL job doing so. Maybe ten times better than you, I, or anyone not selected could. Who knows? We do know that they're there, experiencing the game, and SE is getting their feedback. Jus because you're not there overseeing the experience yourself doesn't necessarily mean things are going wrong. So, stop that. lol

As usual, second guessing my motives is just a petty personal attack and adds no solid ground under your assumptions.

Not really a personal attack. But if you think "second guessing someone's motives" truly is a personal attack, you might want to rescend that comment you made about people showing off their goobbues just to "grief their peers".