After the lateness of the tools being unannounced for almost a month, some other minor blog-related wording problems, here's the next stroke of genius:
after initially declaring that you will not pay for the beta, and that it is just a freebie given to you for subscribing, the ad-department seems to think different.
dnd front page:
beta test the character builder
subscribe now for only 4.95
help shape the game
ddi front page:
peek behind the screen [...]
gain access to the character builder closed beta [...]
level up your characters and campaigns-
subscribe now
cb-page
Subscribe Now to Download the Character Builder Beta.
so, in fact, what marketing tells us - is that you are supposed to do exactly that, pay to betatest. when they announced that the beta will be closed to subs at first, i already wondered whether they'd try to advertise with the beta to get more subs, but this is even more hilarious than i'd have expected.
so, wotc: what will be the next? pay-per-beta for gt? virtual minis again?
the real question is : "is it working?" , are the getting to be more subscribers? over the next we'll see an interest in this product, ro we wont. that determines a lot for the rest of the DDI line.
Despite you trying to claim that people are paying to beta-test, it isn't true. People are paying to get access to Dungeon, Dragon and the compendium. Whether they subscribed before the Character Builder was available for testing or after it became available, they are paying the exact same price. This is, to me, a fairly clear indication that the Character Builder is free.
And if people don't want to pay, they can wait until the closed beta is over, and the open beta begins.
i also dislike the way they try to squeeze every nickel out of the game and hurt their own interest in doing so, but this has nothing to do with the actual ads now.
everyone here, from randy to solice down to the vcls and ngs, says "you don't pay for the beta"
all current ads say: "pay to get the beta" this is corporate brainwashing or fanboy-ness on your parts, if you don't see it the other way.
i, for myself, won't even get the public beta, as it clearly does not work on my configuration. even if i changed the OS, it probably would not work. which is a shame, as the rules of 4e are much simpler than the 3.5 ones, and all free character builders from the old system worked and have as nice output sheets as the current character builder. (they even do proper pdfs)
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oh, and don't get me started on "worked up about something" - because clearly, WOTC does not hire people with lots of professional expertise, but people with gaming backgrounds, or why else would they search for software developers in magic-forums? ....
as for the ads, I don't see anything wrong with marketing the benefits of being an "insider", that's what the idea has been all along, play test articles, know things before the rest, an "insider". I can't say beta testing was an original concept because the fact is WoTC messed up horribly at launch. However beta testing apps as they come out very much fits the themes of everything an "insider" is supposed to be.
They haven't upped the fees, they've added it on top of their existing line of products.
this beta is a paid beta.
like the bonus tools are part of your ddi subscription, you pay for them. they might word it differently, but it definitely is not free or unpaid for.
example:
1) buy a car @dealer A, get a/c for free.
2) buy a car @dealer A before end of december, get a/c and extra airbags, winter tires and some other gimmick additional.
even if they tell you that those are freebies, you have paid for it, you want warranty, it is one package - one contract. it's not like the vendor would give you the tires and airbags without buying, so it clearly is part of the contract. same applies here.
yeah, they are advertising being an insider, and that's not what makes me mad. what makes me mad is that while they are using cb beta as a selling point, most of the staff and freelancers insist that it is for free. which it definitely is not. it's part of your subscription, you pay for it. telling the public that it costs you nothing is a plain lie. you already paid for it, and many people subscribed for just the cb-beta part as well.
most of the staff and freelancers insist that it is for free. which it definitely is not. it's part of your subscription, you pay for it. telling the public that it costs you nothing is a plain lie. you already paid for it, and many people subscribed for just the cb-beta part as well.
where are people insisting it's free? It's only free for people who signed up for the closed beta at D&D Exp. I Can't find anywhere official saying it's free, the point a lot are making is that it's "at no extra cost", which is similar to "free" but not teh same.
where are people insisting it's free? It's only free for people who signed up for the closed beta at D&D Exp. I Can't find anywhere official saying it's free, the point a lot are making is that it's "at no extra cost", which is similar to "free" but not teh same.
Everyone who wishes to test the Character Builder will be given an opportunity to do so at no cost, for free.
You could choose to never spend a dime for D&DI and still have a chance to participate in the beta test.
People who have subscribed to our D&DI product get early access, that is the only difference.
also... [/thread]
Honestly, I am not sure what you are so worked up about. Did you expect WotC to *not* use access to the beta to try to draw in more subscribers? If you did, that is surprisingly naive of you.
I do recall in other threads WOTC members and VCL saying that WOTC is not charging for the beta, or that its special that you get the beta early if you subscribe, but WOTC is clearly promoting it that way now. They said that when you subscribe you are subscribing for the articles and bonus tools. The beta is extra. But now WOTC is promoting the beta with the subscruption clear as day on the main DnD page.
I understand why they would do it. But to me its still misleading.
