Beta key? Yes we can.
Thanks to the last minute adhoc Team Pirate group photo (standing on the water in Booty Bay with our parrots out [all underwater]) we all got Beta keys. So this is your warning I’ll do my best to flag beta material, shove it behind “read more” links and the like but I’m going to be talking about the beta, posting spoilers and generally moaning about the number of bugs.
So initial thoughts with zero spoilers.
- We’ve a long way to go
- Bug reporting is bugged in game
- Camera flight path on the Gnome cinematic is “interesting”
- Worgen Cinematic has no voiceover
- L80 talent purchasing is broken
- No skills are implemented yet
- Two majorly bugged quests in one of the L80 starting zones
- Water…. it’s… wonderful
So on that final note I give you a screenshot behind the cut, no spoiler related material included (unless you count a shot of water and the sun).
Talent purchasing problem is actually due to professions: if you have two professions trained, you can’t learn any new spells. Drop a profession, relog, and you’ll be able to train other stuff.
I am almost half the way through the yellow download bar (left it on all night…) sooo, it may be some time before I experience this in its full bugginess.
OTOH, I know from watching Peter, that it is not a good idea to fly over where you think the Deeprun Tram is… or to log in midair.
I’ll give that a go next time on the beta.
Water is wonderful in areas with a lot of light. In low-light areas, or with a dark background under the water, it very easily ends up looking like a featureless, untextured plane – considerably worse than the old water. I’m really divided on it.
Agreed, though I’m also trying to compare with what real water looks like under those conditions and what I’m expecting from ‘game water’ to give realism while being able to actually see it’s water. Given how “finished” the water is feeling compared with many other aspects of the game I’m wondering how much it’s likely to change during the beta.