[5.4 Spoilers]Stormwind Harbor

Hello, Alliance.

Howdy, Horde.

Understandably, there's a lot of rampant speculation about a version of Stormwind Harbor that has been found in the 5.4 PTR files with virtually no context behind what's going on in that environment, or where, how, and why it could be in the game. That should be relative to the time you spend drawing conclusions about what you know so far of this alternate Stormwind Harbor environment.

Food for thought! Happy Friday. :)

Hello, Alliance.

Howdy, Horde.

Understandably, there's a lot of rampant speculation about a version of Stormwind Harbor that has been found in the 5.4 PTR files with virtually no context behind what's going on in that environment, or where, how, and why it could be in the game. That should be relative to the time you spend drawing conclusions about what you know so far of this alternate Stormwind Harbor environment.

Food for thought! Happy Friday. :)

That sure was a lot of words that didn't mean anything. If you actually think that a contentless blue post is going to decrease the rampant speculation instead of increasing it, you're completely wrong.

My goal wasn't to stop people from speculating. I'm just saying that drawing a conclusion from what you know about this alternate version of Stormwind Harbor -- hidden somewhere in the 5.4 PTR files -- and using that to fuel the narrative that we don't care about the Alliance isn't very productive.

For example:

08/02/2013 01:49 PMPosted by Bomdanil

He's more trying to let us know whatever happens to the Harbor might be a dream sequence or just temporary(lasting only during the instance of whatever type).

Zarhym is the blue that gets sent into Lore threads to try to paint people seeking meaningful lore for the Alliance half of the game as tin cap enthusiasts. After all the times he told us "wait and see, Cataclysm's going to be awesome for Alliance" he's sort of lost any credibility in that regard.

This bummed me out, man. I guess I can't even argue that it's a gross mischaracterization of my interactions over the years on the Horde v. Alliance debates, but it certainly doesn't speak to my motivations for getting involved in these discussions.

I dunno. To have my career summarized like that in response to my post in this thread is... yea. I'm humbled? :p

08/02/2013 03:57 PMPosted by Chaz

It isn't real. It'll never be 50/50 awesome Horde moments, awesome Alliance moments. Pull the sticks out of your butts and learn to enjoy the game.

If a company is charging the same amount to both sides who play the game, their experience with the game better be even, thats bad business.

True! Good business would be charging double the subscription rate for anyone who has characters of both factions on their accounts.

Wait, I drew the wrong conclusion from that...

No one's treating Zarhym like crap. He himself said that he can't argue that the bulk of his interactions on this subject have been largely instructing the Alliance to stop protesting.

Which is very discouraging when you're an Alliance player.

well, to be fair, and i used his construction this way myself, i don't think he actually meant that he agreed that's what's taken place. i think he was simply insulting the poster of the quote by suggesting that arguing that it was a mischaracterization was pointless. "i guess i can't argue" in this case meaning, "i guess it's pointless for me to argue".

i mean, that's how internet arguments go. at some point, even the tamest people resort to saying something like "you are so so wrong i don't know where to start and won't even try." which is not an actual argument and doesn't make what is purportedly "wrong" actually wrong.

No, that's not at all what I meant, though what I said was more nuanced than Enekie's summary. My point was that it's totally fair, with hindsight, to criticize some of my statements in these Alliance v. Horde favoritism debates over the years.

And while I play both factions in my free time, I've never shied away from publicly identifying my personal preference for playing Alliance. I'd even take it one step further to say all you tall races just get in the way, 'cause Gnomes all the way (deal with it).

But I don't write the story. You all know that. What I've said many times in the past is that I've spent countless hours discussing community concerns over story (particularly for the Alliance) with the developers. We take the concerns seriously.

All I've ever meant to promise you is that I'll continue to ensure the reasonable arguments you make on the subject will be heard and considered by those above my paygrade. Things I post get misconstrued, misinterpreted, or downright rewritten all the time. But if I've ever committed to do more than hear out your assertions -- if I've become the master of some "wait and see" placating tactic -- then I can see how my role on the forums could be characterized the way it has by some in this thread.

08/02/2013 07:43 PMPosted by Suriyel

So let's give Z and everyone else a benefit of the doubt and see where it goes.

Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt from Cata.

lol. Suriyel, your posts in this thread have now officially moved me from nail-biting, to tears, to laughter. It's time to start my weekend, and I think I'll kick it off playing my Goblin.

Yep! Gnomes. Goblins. Love 'em. End of story. Your brain just got a dose of Zarhym.

Regardless of what brought you to read this post, whether you're here levying criticisms, sharing praises, or just checking out the view... have a good weekend, one and all. <3

Okay, last time I swear...

If our concerns are taken seriously, how come things never get any better for us?

Because (and this is a serious yet rhetorical question), what is better and who decides that?

"Never gets better."

"Still not enough."

These phrases don't have a lot of value in discussions on subjective, complex matters like fantasy story development.

Better question, then: If our concerns are taken seriously, how come things always go the opposite way of what we ask for?

The 100% honest answer to that is, "They don't," unless you clearly defined "we" as it pertains to what's being asked for. If we're literally doing the opposite of everything YOU have ever asked for, that's unfortunate.