#0 - Dec. 3, 2006, 8:07 p.m.
Why do players receive GM warnings for going in undeveloped zones such as Hyjal, the Caverns of Time, Old Ironforge, the IF airport, etc.? (Yeah I know it's in the ToS; why is it in the ToS?)
The only possible reasons I could think of were kinda vague, and some assumed other stuff:
- The devs at Blizzard want undeveloped content to seem new and mysterious for when it is finished and released. (One really good way to ensure that is by blanking out the entire area. Also, it's almost impossible to stop people from taking screenshots, video, etc., and many people have already done so. Keeping a ban restriction on unfinished content does slightly help to prevent it from becoming mainstream knowledge.)
- The world servers have extra load when players stray from the more common areas. (I don't know anything about Blizzard's server setup so I don't know if this is true.)
- Players that explore unreleased content have the potential to find undiscovered flaws that can be exploited for an unfair advantage. (Doubtful.)
- Players that explore unreleased content are more likely to search for glitches elsewhere in the game that can be exploited for an unfair advantage, and should be banned.
- The GMs at Blizzard want to preserve the game's environment, and undeveloped content (complete with flaws) reminds players that WoW is just a game.(Maybe on furry servers this might have some weight, but ... it just doesn't seem like a practical restriction for any other type.)
Last night I was summoned to Hyjal by a few random guys and MC'd off of a huge cliff. Why is that a bannable offense? I don't understand. It was a joke. I fell for it. It was funny. I realize that no one is likely to be banned as a result of this type of stuff, but ... why bother at all? It doesn't seem important enough to justify paying people to enforce this, from my end anyway.