Pantheon Trinket Drop Hotfix, MDI Time Trials, Voice Acted Quests Shut Down, DLC #624

[Deleted]

What is important, though, is that Blizzard could and should improve VO of the older quests.
P.S.
I love how almost all of you are ignoring the addon's creators post here and just continue to throw poop at Blizzard.

Who cares =P

[Animalhouse]

I like the fact MMOchampion shoved so much information into this post that nobody will really talk about the fact Blizzard is shutting down a thriving project once again, and offering zero alternatives, once again.

What a terrible company. Actually shutting down work by great fans of the game, yikes. way to persuade even more players you're the bad guys Blizzard.

This addon was going to spread out your weak ass walls of text for a more immersive questing experience, such as walking into a cave and getting exposition and quest information from the environment and creatures rather than a single questgiver; it wasn't malicious at all. your walls of text are literally available to download anywhere.

Shame on you Blizzard.

I completely agree with you here. Voice acted quests in my opinion is the #1 thing WoW is lacking. It is for me the true sign the game is a relic.
It is just pathetic how Blizzard seems to go out of their way to kill fun. They should have just kept silent until they got their shit together and had them voice acted and THEN thanked and apologized. The only thing I can figure is someone who they dropped the hammer on came forward and said "WTF this is not fair, it is a double standard".

[Velerios]

What is important, though, is that Blizzard could and should improve VO of the older quests.
P.S.
I love how almost all of you are ignoring the addon's creators post here and just continue to throw poop at Blizzard.

That's simply because it shows that blizzard is nowadays the worst gaming company, hiding behind sweet words. Sadly after Activision was fused with them, they slowly shown their awful self.

It's no longer about the addon by itself, it is that blizzard is no longer the "good" gaming company, it's now all about the money. That does not need to be bad. But you don't need to be awful about this.

If EA for example did something like this for example, the shitstorm would be legendary. But it's blizzard.

But the addon-author also was a tiny bit stupid by contacting them. In the end if it was there, as long as it isn't misused, maybe they wouldn't have shut it down. But never contact them about it. There was often a silent agreement, as long as it did not get misused, it might not get shut down.

Still: it would not be necessary. Blizzard can still protect their IP without shutting this project down. That they won't do it shows simply their lazyness.

[Deleted]

That's simply because it shows that blizzard is nowadays the worst gaming company, hiding behind sweet words. Sadly after Activision was fused with them, they slowly shown their awful self.

It's no longer about the addon by itself, it is that blizzard is no longer the "good" gaming company, it's now all about the money. That does not need to be bad. But you don't need to be awful about this.

If EA for example did something like this for example, the shitstorm would be legendary. But it's blizzard.

But the addon-author also was a tiny bit stupid by contacting them. In the end if it was there, as long as it isn't misused, maybe they wouldn't have shut it down. But never contact them about it. There was often a silent agreement, as long as it did not get misused, it might not get shut down.

Still: it would not be necessary. Blizzard can still protect their IP without shutting this project down. That they won't do it shows simply their lazyness.

I did not contact anyone man, they found out about it and contacted me

[Vespene]

So what about the mod where my character screams "MORTAL KOMBAAAAAT" every time I engage in world PVP?

[Stormykitten]

Think of it this way. Legally, there's no such thing as a friendly exempt, if they let this slide it's basically like saying "anybody's free to use our assets however they like". I'm sure Blizz devs would have no problem with this addon, but they have to do it.

They literally gain nothing immediate by shutting it down, so it really is that simple.

[Doomchicken]

That's simply because it shows that blizzard is nowadays the worst gaming company, hiding behind sweet words. Sadly after Activision was fused with them, they slowly shown their awful self.

It's no longer about the addon by itself, it is that blizzard is no longer the "good" gaming company, it's now all about the money. That does not need to be bad. But you don't need to be awful about this.

If EA for example did something like this for example, the shitstorm would be legendary. But it's blizzard.

But the addon-author also was a tiny bit stupid by contacting them. In the end if it was there, as long as it isn't misused, maybe they wouldn't have shut it down. But never contact them about it. There was often a silent agreement, as long as it did not get misused, it might not get shut down.

Still: it would not be necessary. Blizzard can still protect their IP without shutting this project down. That they won't do it shows simply their lazyness.

There is no amount of QQ's I can type that sums up the absolute drivel of this post right here. Big bad blizzard is protecting their IP WAAAAAAAAAH. Pathetic.

[ThatsOurEric]

If those VERY VERY amateur voices shown in the video are what was to come from the addon, I seriously don't know why
some of you are bitching about it not going through. Not a shred of talent there at all.

[Velerios]

There is no amount of QQ's I can type that sums up the absolute drivel of this post right here. Big bad blizzard is protecting their IP WAAAAAAAAAH. Pathetic.

What is more pathethic: complaining about something or a white knight who complains that someone complains. But let's stop here: quarelling with fanbois will not change anything. It's done, and at least blizzard shows more and more of it's true ugly self. Hopefully will the playerbase see it soon enough that blizz is no longer the "good guys".

[Qnubi]

They are performing the literature as opposed to creating different warning sounds for abilities. There is a clear differentiation. If you changed the voice of Argus and performed his lines as a difference voice or tone -- I can assure you it falls in the same category. Adding a sound queue to an ability's actuation is vastly different.

As far as I am aware, they are not CHANGING anything. I watched a couple videos of the addon and it is just speaking out loud what is being written, NO CHANGES. They are literally speaking out loud what you can read in-game. This is neither re-performing nor changing any impression of the actual text. Again, it is reading out loud what is there 1:1, it is bullshit to go after those people.

[tuesday the paladin]

Too little too late on the pantheon change. They need double or triple the drop rates on them. Getting one every 20 weeks is terrible. I got my main spec week 3 or 4, then a week or two after I get that to 1k I get the tank trinket instead of the heal trinket (the OS that I actually use). With BFA coming in september there aren't enough upgrades to get both the useless tank one and the healer trinket to 1k so still have a stack of blessings and the useless trinket rotting away in my bags.

[Katsutomai]

- - - Updated - - -

If those VERY VERY amateur voices shown in the video are what was to come from the addon, I seriously don't know why
some of you are bitching about it not going through. Not a shred of talent there at all.

Because you, of course, could've done 1000x better. Right? RIGHT!? Now take your OPINION and kindly shove it.

[Wolfie of Medivh]

I think we all know voice-acted quests aren't being done for two reasons:

1) It would require money, which Bobby Kotick likes keeping to himself;

2) It would be excessively strenuous on the five in-house voice-actors Blizz uses for everything because of Point #1.

1) Not really. It's because voice acting slows the game down a ton. Just try playing Star Wars TOR - you sit there waiting for it. I'm here to play a game, not sit around listening to sub-par acting.

2) there's been a marked increase in voice acting in the last 3 expacs.

Listen, it's simple - if you act in a play, which is what this is essentially is, you need the okay from the writer/creators to do so. If I want to put on Hamilton, I need to pay Lin-Manuel Miranda. And if Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn't think my all Scandinavian polka version of Hamilton would be good for his show's reputation, he has every right to tell me no, and if I do it anyway, I open myself to legal action. If he did not, then maybe the next person who comes along and does something less to his liking, say the White Nationalist version of Hamilton, and Mr. Miranda would have a lot less solid legal standing because he let the all-Scandinavian polka version go.

Period. That's all. It's not that they hate fun, it's not that they're being cheap, it's not because they hate the community, they have intellectual property they want to protect.

Now, if Blizz ever decides to go back and voice act quests - which I hope they don't because I hate most games that do this, but if they do - I'd hope they get the input from these attempted projects. But that's not up to us, that's Blizz' call, it's their game.

[ThatsOurEric]

Because you, of course, could've done 1000x better. Right? RIGHT!?

You're being hysterically defensive, butthurt, immature, and about 100 other things that describe someone
pathetic over a cancelled fan-mod.

Were you one of those talentless voice actors? Sorry that this mod wasn't your breakthrough, I guess its back
to waiting tables at IHop for you eh?

Now take your OPINION and kindly shove it.

Nah, its already burrowed so far into your immature mind that its already driven you mad. Sorry, not sorry.

[llandrywyn]

What is more pathethic: complaining about something or a white knight who complains that someone complains. But let's stop here: quarelling with fanbois will not change anything. It's done, and at least blizzard shows more and more of it's true ugly self. Hopefully will the playerbase see it soon enough that blizz is no longer the "good guys".

It has nothing to do with malice. It has everything to do with Copyright law. IANAL, but actually hold a few patents so I have some professional familiarity with this realm of the law. It goes like this:

1) Company or individual produces content.
2) Company or individual has delivers the content into the world with a copyright statement on it.
3) Another company or individual uses material that is copyrighted.

At this point, nothing legally happens. No overarching world government scours the internet for Copyright violations. It's up to Copyright owners to find violations of their Copyright. But when a violation comes to their attention they have two choices:

1) Issue a Cease & Desist. This can be an official statement from a lawyer, or a personal communication that is either witnessed by an appropriate legal entity, or posted in public forum.
2) Do nothing.

If they choose Option 1 - they have exerted their legal rights, and can continue to claim Copyright over the material. If they choose Option 2, nothing happens immediately ... right up until they need to go to court to protect their Copyrighted material. And then the opposing lawyer has evidence to be submitted that they have previously chosen not to exercise their rights regarding the material. At which point they lose the Copyright, and now anyone can use the material.

So while it sucks that the addon creator has lost all of his/her work, Blizzard legally had no choice. You can't run a business where your product is only protected by Copyrights and then not protect them.

[Castrum]

1) Not really. It's because voice acting slows the game down a ton. Just try playing Star Wars TOR - you sit there waiting for it. I'm here to play a game, not sit around listening to sub-par acting.

2) there's been a marked increase in voice acting in the last 3 expacs.

Listen, it's simple - if you act in a play, which is what this is essentially is, you need the okay from the writer/creators to do so. If I want to put on Hamilton, I need to pay Lin-Manuel Miranda. And if Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn't think my all Scandinavian polka version of Hamilton would be good for his show's reputation, he has every right to tell me no, and if I do it anyway, I open myself to legal action. If he did not, then maybe the next person who comes along and does something less to his liking, say the White Nationalist version of Hamilton, and Mr. Miranda would have a lot less solid legal standing because he let the all-Scandinavian polka version go.

Period. That's all. It's not that they hate fun, it's not that they're being cheap, it's not because they hate the community, they have intellectual property they want to protect.

Now, if Blizz ever decides to go back and voice act quests - which I hope they don't because I hate most games that do this, but if they do - I'd hope they get the input from these attempted projects. But that's not up to us, that's Blizz' call, it's their game.

Ah, I see the Blizzard Defense League has assembled.

SWTOR made an MMO with a legitimate story that made it feel more RPG than online grindfest. Voice-acting is the standard nowadays and it just shows how dated WoW's content is. No one is forcing you to listen/read if powerleveling your 15th alt is all you care about.

Nothing in my statement bitched about the legal matter. I'm simply speaking from a logical economic standpoint. Voice-acting costs money. Voicing thousands of quests would cost a pile of money. There's little tangible benefit from going ahead with a full voice-acted overhaul. Plebs don't really care, and as you noted, grinders don't either. So it will never get done.

[bufferunderrun]

It has nothing to do with malice. It has everything to do with Copyright law. IANAL, but actually hold a few patents so I have some professional familiarity with this realm of the law. It goes like this:

1) Company or individual produces content.
2) Company or individual has delivers the content into the world with a copyright statement on it.
3) Another company or individual uses material that is copyrighted.

At this point, nothing legally happens. No overarching world government scours the internet for Copyright violations. It's up to Copyright owners to find violations of their Copyright. But when a violation comes to their attention they have two choices:

1) Issue a Cease & Desist. This can be an official statement from a lawyer, or a personal communication that is either witnessed by an appropriate legal entity, or posted in public forum.
2) Do nothing.

If they choose Option 1 - they have exerted their legal rights, and can continue to claim Copyright over the material. If they choose Option 2, nothing happens immediately ... right up until they need to go to court to protect their Copyrighted material. And then the opposing lawyer has evidence to be submitted that they have previously chosen not to exercise their rights regarding the material. At which point they lose the Copyright, and now anyone can use the material.

So while it sucks that the addon creator has lost all of his/her work, Blizzard legally had no choice. You can't run a business where your product is only protected by Copyrights and then not protect them.

blizzard could have asked the author to create a small nonprofit association (similar to a fanclub) wrote an agreement in which they allow them to create voice acting for quests but keep the right to review, release or block the created contents for themselves.

[llandrywyn]

blizzard could have asked the author to create a small nonprofit association (similar to a fanclub) wrote an agreement in which they allow them to create voice acting for quests but keep the right to review, release or block the created contents for themselves.

Unfortunately, no. If you violate copyright -before- seeking permission, it could still be used as precedent in court. You need an agreement in place before you redistribute copyrighted material.

[Crookids]

As far as I am aware, they are not CHANGING anything. I watched a couple videos of the addon and it is just speaking out loud what is being written, NO CHANGES. They are literally speaking out loud what you can read in-game. This is neither re-performing nor changing any impression of the actual text. Again, it is reading out loud what is there 1:1, it is bullshit to go after those people.

Have you ever heard the expression "it's not what you say, it's how you say it". Just because they are reading something aloud does not mean they are not changing the intended feel. Besides, like others have mentioned, it likely has to deal with agreements they have with their voice actors or the like. It's just like Audible, even though they are simply reading the book aloud, that doesn't mean that they're allowed to ignore the copyright ramifications with the authors of the books.

[Qnubi]

Have you ever heard the expression "it's not what you say, it's how you say it". Just because they are reading something allowed does not mean they are not changing the intended feel. Besides, like others have mentioned, it likely has to deal with agreements they have with their voice actors or the like. It's just like Audible, even though they are simply reading the book aloud, that doesn't mean that they're allowed to ignore the copyright ramifications with the authors of the books.

That would imply not a single human being can read out loud a text because no human (other than the author) can possibly read it the way the writer intended it. It's a crap make-shift reason to back this up. People need to wake up and see things the way they are and not the way they get fed with. This is 100% bullshit and has NO reasonable logic behind it. If you follow through there would be billions of copyright infringements everywhere if you are not allowed to read out text.