03-18-2004, 06:26 PM
Regarding #1:
Fan base shouldn't be a problem. I expect WoW to be Diablo II mixed with War 3 on a very large scale. This appears to be a fansite for role-playing games, Blizzard ones in particular, so trying WoW on for size seems to be mandatory at least. Since there is no source code to read, the very intricate details that were available to us from the likes of Jarulf are not available, but as others have already mentioned, there are others way to acquire this data. The amount of certainty we can obtain from our testing still leaves things up for discussion, and isn't that what a forum is all about? You really don't need to read code to figure out the mechanics of something.
One could argue that the lack of code reading would render the Lurker Lounge on-par with other fan-sites. I disagree with that because of the quality of testers and posters here. Someone can make an unsubstantiated claim on the Blizzard forum, and it can be believed to be correct. Here, you're more likely to encounter a claim that has some merit to it, and if it's provable, it will be proven.
If there's interest, then we should go ahead and cover the game, despite the lack of code reading. The quality individuals here will make the content, and I have faith in their ability (uh, mine too?).
Regarding #2:
Can't help you there. If I get into the beta, I'll be providing lots of information, but my real-life job actually does take up a lot of my time.
Fan base shouldn't be a problem. I expect WoW to be Diablo II mixed with War 3 on a very large scale. This appears to be a fansite for role-playing games, Blizzard ones in particular, so trying WoW on for size seems to be mandatory at least. Since there is no source code to read, the very intricate details that were available to us from the likes of Jarulf are not available, but as others have already mentioned, there are others way to acquire this data. The amount of certainty we can obtain from our testing still leaves things up for discussion, and isn't that what a forum is all about? You really don't need to read code to figure out the mechanics of something.
One could argue that the lack of code reading would render the Lurker Lounge on-par with other fan-sites. I disagree with that because of the quality of testers and posters here. Someone can make an unsubstantiated claim on the Blizzard forum, and it can be believed to be correct. Here, you're more likely to encounter a claim that has some merit to it, and if it's provable, it will be proven.
If there's interest, then we should go ahead and cover the game, despite the lack of code reading. The quality individuals here will make the content, and I have faith in their ability (uh, mine too?).
Regarding #2:
Can't help you there. If I get into the beta, I'll be providing lots of information, but my real-life job actually does take up a lot of my time.
"Yay! We did it!"
"Who are you?"
"Um, uh... just ... a guy." *flee*
"Who are you?"
"Um, uh... just ... a guy." *flee*