So, if you haven´t already heard, Sigil´s own Glip the Gnome (Nick Parkinson) came to chat with us last night during Reverenced Ire´s weekly Vanguard Ventrilo Chat! After disbelieving it was him for a minute, we were really treated to a great visit!! We covered a lot of ground in our hour and a half with Glip, and I´ve highlighted much of it below.
Beta anyone?
Glip told us that Sigil isn´t being as "super selective" with Beta 3 invites the way they were with Beta 2. Having a top of the line computer isn´t as important as it has been in the past, they´re looking for all shapes and sizes of machines to test the game now.
One of our guests asked a question about whether or not OVF post content could get you excluded from Beta 3. Glip said no, but with a qualifier. While constructive criticism and opinion won´t get you disallowed, the golden rule "Don´t Be A Dink" still applies. If you´ve been banned or suspended from the Official Vanguard Forums, you probably won´t be seeing a Beta 3 invite in your inbox.
We had a discussion about the three pools Sigil is selecting from to get candidates for this phase of Beta: forum members, Guild applications, and the infamous CGM keys. Just like many of the other avenues fans will find to get a Beta key, the CGM key is part of Sigil´s marketing plan for Vanguard. Since the impact of screenshots is not as important and we´re not at a point where we´ll see too many game videos in the near future, what better way to get quality testers than through a major gaming publication? Most folks reading CGM are going to know what a Beta test is, and since the game is in a more polished state, it was only natural to offer some keys to an audience that will appreciate how far along the game really is.
The invites the Affiliate Sites are giving away is a way to show them how much Sigil appreciates their hard work and dedication to the community. Since the OVF will be shut down after release, Sigil really wants to help the Affiliates increase their traffic and get more OVF members exposed to the content the Affiliate sites offer. Allowing them to give away Beta keys is a great way to do that, and if you haven´t seen for yourself how really awesome the Affiliates are, you´re missing out. These folks really do work their tails off to provide a virtual place for the Vanguard community to congregate, and they´re doing an excellent job! |
