I on Hazzikostas - there will be NO 8.3.5

[Onikaroshi]

Lol @people thing thinking QA testers are part of the development team.... they're not. Many sources have pointed to many QA people being let go. I'm not going to go dig it up, find it yourselves.

[Unholyground]

Well it does show similarities, what with them having new people added to their team over the course of BfA.

Not that I'm suggesting that BfA is even close to WoD-level standards, since I remember history. BfA has just not been in any way close to Legion in terms of effort put into the content that's been pushed out.

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Where exactly have you read that they fired QA workers specifically? Not that I don't believe it since I'm sure they're part of the crowd, but they had QA staff for WoD and how much did that help exactly? Not at all. And BfA is, regardless of selective memory put to use, a bigger effort all around than WoD was.

WoD was rushed due to the team being split to teach the new hires way back then, it effected development significantly and while the core of WoD was decent it lacked lasting content and was cut super short. It almost seems like Activision wants WoW to fail.

[Queen of Hamsters]

WoD was rushed due to the team being split to teach the new hires way back then, it effected development significantly and while the core of WoD was decent it lacked lasting content and was cut super short. It almost seems like Activision wants WoW to fail.

Wanting WoW to fail doesn't compute with the fact that they're money driven...

Either way, they've had developers added to the team, not removed. No matter how people may try to spin the importance and numbers of the positions being let go. Especially considering we've had far worse in this game without there being mass layoffs of support staff, so...

The problematic design philosophies are a problem of the devs, not the support staff being let go.

[Unholyground]

Wanting WoW to fail doesn't compute with the fact that they're money driven...

Either way, they've had developers added to the team, not removed. No matter how people may try to spin the importance and numbers of the positions being let go. Especially considering we've had far worse in this game without there being mass layoffs of support staff, so...

The problematic design philosophies are a problem of the devs, not the support staff being let go.

I agree the design philosophy has been garbage.

[Polarthief]

I wish instead of "we currently don't have any 8.3.5 plans", he could just say "there WILL NOT BE an 8.3.5 patch", but this is at least some small good news to hear, even though I think 8.3 shouldn't have happened to begin with.

[Kallisto]

Yes but their QA team was for all Blizzard games they did not hire QA testers for WoW specifically just devs who cannot possibly find every bug themselves. The PTR is only good for so much.

Here's the thing. The QA team if they were on the PTR looking for bugs simply put likely would not have found them because they for the most part (from what I seen both in live and PTR) were not there. If something wasn't on the PTR that became a bug in live that's an issue no QA would find ever because it's down to how similar builds being not the same build can and will have differences. Something that might be stable in the PTR might cause something catastrophic in live no matter what the game is.

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Where exactly have you read that they fired QA workers specifically and to such a debilitating extent?

Youtubers that are fueled on rage bait or pretending to be professional and shitty sites like Kotaku that wouldn't know how to report a fact unless 50 other sites got there first.

[sam86]

To know if they are rushing Shadowlands or not, we need at least two dates: start of Alpha and release. We don't have neither, so I find pointless even discussing that right now.

If they release Alpha February-March, I will be optimistic, since SL launch is clearly Fall 2020 - most likely October or November.

And I never heard devs saying they are not working as hard as in Legion. Must have been away for week or something and miss drama #4325. BfA is worse expac than Legion, but I would'nt say it's lower effort - 90% problems are consquence of rushed launch. I don't think even Azerite would be a problem if they had time to redesign all specs for BfA.

the PR disaster source is here on mmo on news page, but of course that was over 2 years old, i don't even know how to dig it, but it was pre-alpha if that helps
as for delay i did say it is just my feel, based on honestly every single exp including wrath about content cut that sound amazing on paper and get cut only because of time constrain (not talking about content cut due to being crap after testing it a little, like wall climbing), i have no idea of shadowlands is having a squeezed cycle or not

[Inukashi]

Did anyone suggest it yet.. ? Didn't read all the posts.

But perhaps there will be 8.4?

I mean.. the x.x.5 patches are always additions to the x.x.0 patches and maybe he just ment 8.3.5 won't get an addition.

Not gonna say this is happening, but did he just say "no .5" or did he say "BfA is over"?

[Eggroll]

Quote from the article:

"The celebrated Game Director for World of Warcraft"

You have got to be kidding me...

[Revamp Man]

to some i agree, to some i disagree. but the really reeeeaaally most important point is:

you need to use commas and/or shorter sentences and at least dots ???!!!

i REALLY had a hard time to read this.

Sorry voice to text on the phone is still a failure

[Sensa1]

Hm. I though F&F Alpha are all internal and not for public consumption. Even regarding their actual date. So if such information were released, then it is probably unofficial and the person who leaked would be in trouble once identified.

Unless Blizzard does things different and announce their F&F Alpha details. Given the purpose of the F&F Alpha, internal testing, I do not see any real reason to release such information publicly.

No doubt contents will be cut. This happens all the time and not just for Blizzard. But core elements cannot be cut since their whole expansion plans is centered which will have significant knock on effects.

Personally, I do not care about their release date. It arrives when it arrives. It is not the only game available in the market.

back in the day F&F Alphas had been as closely guarded as you suggest but that isn't the case anymore and the last F&F Alpha, or possibly the one before that, didn't even have an NDA as Blizzard used it to generate enthusiasm / publicity. We have known, at the very least, when the F&F has been happening the last several expansions. With no whiff of one at this stage there is no way in hell Shadowlands gets released as early as some were suggesting in might be released and I stand by my statement that Blizzard will be hard pressed to meet their own deadline and the most likely scenario is significant content will have to be cut for them to do it which doesn't bode well for Shadowlands chances of being a good expansion.

I don't really care one way or the other as I'm not buying it. I was just responding to some of the irrational, delusional fanboyism in this thread.

[mikewatson]

Speaking of useless spam...

people like you are trash on forum.

[SirCowdog]

Lol @people thing thinking QA testers are part of the development team.... they're not. Many sources have pointed to many QA people being let go. I'm not going to go dig it up, find it yourselves.

From my understanding of the gaming industry, aren't most QA personnel contractors that are kind of treated like disposable workers? Would they even be listed as permanent staff associated with a particular project?

[Nak88]

The subs dip will be even larger than WoD's last patch, but this time the company will have millions of WoW Classic subs to save Blizzard.

[Onikaroshi]

From my understanding of the gaming industry, aren't most QA personnel contractors that are kind of treated like disposable workers? Would they even be listed as permanent staff associated with a particular project?

Blizzards qa are permanent staff, and I was wrong actually, only 11 were let go out of like more than 100

[Elyiandris]

The subs dip will be even larger than WoD's last patch, but this time the company will have millions of WoW Classic subs to save Blizzard.

Very much so. I stayed in WoD for the easy gold, but BfA offers no such opportunity. As soon as I have the bug mounts from Uldum and Wrathion I'll let my sub expire.

[Merin]

This is in the store:
*World of Warcraft®: Shadowlands expansion available on or before December 31, 2020

They are obligated to launch by then.

Legion and BfA had that exact same message, both which came out in August.

Pray tell, what will you do when Shadowlands comes out around August/Sept and your fearmongering and pointless negativity is exposed as exactly that?

There's no point hanging around a forum for a hobby just to be pessimistic and negative about it, especially when you're not even attempting to be objective.

They're not obligated to do anything. If they delay something they delay it. I mean, they won't delay it, they'd just ship a half assed product again but there is no possible recourse to a game delay.

[SirCowdog]

Blizzards qa are permanent staff, and I was wrong actually, only 11 were let go out of like more than 100

They were permanent staff. Sounds like not any more. Which is why I brought up the point about contract workers.

Is it possible Blizzard is now going with the industry standard instead of how they used to run things?

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They're not obligated to do anything. If they delay something they delay it. I mean, they won't delay it, they'd just ship a half assed product again but there is no possible recourse to a game delay.

The only reasonable times I can see them launching is right before the end of Q3, or right before the end of Q4 to bump their numbers. Blizzard doesn't make decisions based on what's good for the games anymore(WC3 Reforged is evidence of that, if nothing else). It's 100% on what makes their financial reports look better.

Given that, I think it's entirely possible they could release before SL is actually ready, even though it would harm the overall quality of the expansion. That's just the kind of company they are now.

[Onikaroshi]

They were permanent staff. Sounds like not any more. Which is why I brought up the point about contract workers.

Is it possible Blizzard is now going with the industry standard instead of how they used to run things?

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The only reasonable times I can see them launching is right before the end of Q3, or right before the end of Q4 to bump their numbers. Blizzard doesn't make decisions based on what's good for the games anymore(WC3 Reforged is evidence of that, if nothing else). It's 100% on what makes their financial reports look better.

Given that, I think it's entirely possible they could release before SL is actually ready, even though it would harm the overall quality of the expansion. That's just the kind of company they are now.

Nah, they're still permanent staff, or it would have showed them all being fired. You would have to fire and then rehire under contract but they didn't do that.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

They were permanent staff. Sounds like not any more. Which is why I brought up the point about contract workers.

Is it possible Blizzard is now going with the industry standard instead of how they used to run things?

what are you basing this on? according to the layout document they still have over 200 people and i haven't heard of any hour cuts or any thing like that as it would be circling like hot cakes.