Sapience, cards can be held too closely to the vest.

[bohbashum]

Well then everyone gets to wait at least two extra weeks. Since they're being WRITTEN in alphabetical order and that's about when the Warden Diary is due to be sent to me.

Still want to go with that plan?

fine you can keep your silly organized order

[Moochi]

[gif excised]

fine you can keep your silly organized order

OMG! Animated image! Doom! Drama! You trying to cause another outage?!?

[bohbashum]

OMG! Animated image! Doom! Drama! You trying to cause another outage?!?

no...

just thats the exactly how I acted when I read that...

[Hundolf]

I'm a little confused as to why the closed beta is starting before pre-purchase. For me a chance at beta-access due to pre-purchase was an incentive to buy it. Also, who and what am I looking at in this image?

[nubcat]

no...

just thats the exactly how I acted when I read that...

If the Turbine servers go down tomorrow i'm coming after you, Bubu ;p

I have a pitchfork and a flaming torch and I know how to use them.

[Frieja]

Also, who and what am I looking at in this image?

A dead man, as I don't think the odds are in his favor.

Regarding alphabetical class dev diaries... Just remember that Minstrel starts with "A"

[robbie1435]

I'm a little confused as to why the closed beta is starting before pre-purchase. For me a chance at beta-access due to pre-purchase was an incentive to buy it. Also, who and what am I looking at in this image?

I think it's a good think; they are getting testers before the decide when to release, unlike RoR. A mistake they will probably never make again.

[zzbusch2]

Remember when I said there was a plan for releasing information about Helm's Deep over time? Notice we've been releasing more and more Helm's Deep information over time?

It's almost like we have a plan.

It's called "Marketing". Look it up people.

[Orodbril]

I'm a little confused as to why the closed beta is starting before pre-purchase. For me a chance at beta-access due to pre-purchase was an incentive to buy it. Also, who and what am I looking at in this image?

Do you mean Eomer in the centre of this picture or what?

[LoraE]

[*]I'll probably have a lot of Beta invites to give out very soon (so, be nice to me!!)

I know you don't need cookies, since you guys were given a case of cookie dough... but I'll come make them and clean up afterwards!

[Sapience]

I'm a little confused as to why the closed beta is starting before pre-purchase. For me a chance at beta-access due to pre-purchase was an incentive to buy it. Also, who and what am I looking at in this image?

If you look at all of our previous artwork you will see we have an archetype for each race. So this isn't supposed to 'be' anyone specific.

[Rock'n'Rolla]

I don't know. Would you do it all like a boss?
Info is coming. In fact you probably don't need to hold out too much longer. Certainly before the end of the month.

Things I can tell you..

• I have 6 of the 9 class dev diaries in hand for editing and translation and you will probably start seeing them roll out in the next few days.
• You may have noticed several people violating their NDA by announcing hey got a beta invite. That should tell you something.
• My September dry erase calendar looks like a box of rainbow colored markers had a gang fight and everyone lost (colors EVERYWHERE).
• Massively got an early look, and they weren't the only ones.
• Today is the last piece of our Helm's Deep artwork reveal.
• I'll probably have a lot of Beta invites to give out very soon (so, be nice to me!!)

So did Crazy Horse.

Please release dev diaries tomorrow.
Please send me a beta invite.

beg mode
/off

[Palentian]

I'm a little confused as to why the closed beta is starting before pre-purchase. For me a chance at beta-access due to pre-purchase was an incentive to buy it. Also, who and what am I looking at in this image?

Think you're kind of missing the point of beta. It's NOT part of the marketing (though its been treated as that recently by players). Beta (Especially closed) is a chance to find and identify bugs and other issues BEFORE its released. Too many treat it as "Free Preview Weekend". Also, the guy in the pic is me. Its nice of them to give me a scar, otherwise I'm just too sexy for my troll.

[Hundolf]

If you look at all of our previous artwork you will see we have an archetype for each race. So this isn't supposed to 'be' anyone specific.

Someone should tell random guy that he should be fighting in the keep.

[ericpae1]

I don't know. Would you do it all like a boss?

I would love to see the Sapience version of that. Could that be your next vid, please?

Oh, and the hunter rename, perfect. Is that official now?

[nubcat]

If you look at all of our previous artwork you will see we have an archetype for each race. So this isn't supposed to 'be' anyone specific.

I think we should name him.

[Yulin-Gladden]

I think we should name him.

Soon to be Pin cushion. Or Swiss Cheese.

[bohbashum]

I think we should name him.

bubushum

either bubushum or bubusturbinecousin.

[Bel-Astarte]

That's Boragorn...

[thefamilyosc]

That is Chuck, though he's about to qualify for name change. Soon to be known as Ground Chuck the Gooey.

[robbie1435]

If you look at all of our previous artwork you will see we have an archetype for each race. So this isn't supposed to 'be' anyone specific.

Sapience, I'm going to mail you and Turbine a giant bacon-wrapped, chocolate cake with cookie dough on the inside and a money cannon loaded with $10.00 bills. I'll also send you a life-size replica of your hunter, a hand-smithed sword of Elendil, Gimli the dwarf, a box of hobbits, 400 lvl 95 Star-lit crystals, a bacon wrapped bacon pie, 400 pounds of Bacon cake cookie dough, and a bucket of bacon so big that it looks like a Fat hobbit's belly.

Will you send me a beta invite if I send you all that?

[Aidus]

Beta should never be used as a tool to drive pre-sales. Bad bad bad mojo from that goofiness.

However, using early access to drive early orders and pre-sales most excellent plan. And more early for the more perkiest package one would purchase would be my model.

And I name random dude getting ready to be crunched....


Fred Orcsnak

[Ecthaelion]

I'm a little confused as to why the closed beta is starting before pre-purchase. For me a chance at beta-access due to pre-purchase was an incentive to buy it. Also, who and what am I looking at in this image?

Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Last of the Numenorian Kings' bloodline and heir to the throne of Gondor and Arnor. Too much?

[Iozeph]

I'm a little confused as to why the closed beta is starting before pre-purchase. For me a chance at beta-access due to pre-purchase was an incentive to buy it. Also, who and what am I looking at in this image?

Failomer the Meek. Failomer the Wantonly Horseless. Failomer the Well and Truly Buggered and Far From Home, Leader of One-Man Charges, Master of Never Wearing His Helmet in Battle, Itinerant Striker of Beefcake Poses When Hopelessly Outmatched, Inveterate Drawer of Short Lots, Second, Second Runner-Up for the Annual Hornburg, 'This Is Sparta!' Shout-off, and Runner-Up for Incompetent Honourary Ranger of the Year. Now if only he'd kept behind the rubble and beside the weeee campfire he'd left atop the battlements. If only he'd shuffled his posing for this picture off to some lesser-known -though no less heroic- level ten adventurer? Perhaps then he shouldn't have come Runner-Up.

[robbie1435]

Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Last of the Numenorian Kings' bloodline and heir to the throne of Gondor and Arnor. Too much?

To bad it's not Aragorn.