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Stargate Worlds beta invites coming in "early September/October"
In addition to a previously reported train station appearance, and in defiance of all common sense in the midst of a global gas crisis and panic about carbon emissions, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment/FireSky promoted Stargate Worlds at the Games Convention in Leipzig by meeting the press in a constantly-moving caravan of pimped-out, gas-guzzling Hummers.In one of those Hummers, Ten Ton Hammer's John Hoskin recorded a video interview with Stargate Worlds studio head Dan Elggren. Hoskin asked Elggren about CME/FireSky's beta plans. Elggren said that the friends and family beta test has been going on for a while (it was when we visited the studio back in July, even) but that invites for "gameplay testing" will be going out to the public in "early September/October." Not quite the summer date we were promised, but we're still impressed at how quickly it's coming up.Hopefully that will cheer up Stargate fans who are depressed over the recent news of Stargate Atlantis' imminent cancellation. Yet another spin-off -- called Stargate Universe -- will premiere in 2009, though.
Wrath Beta keys sent out to BlizzCon and WWI code holders
Numerous reports are coming in that the Wrath Beta keys are making their way to players now. Attendees of last year's BlizzCon in Anaheim, California, and the Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France, received a card with a code for a "future Blizzard title" as part of their goody bags. Wryxian confirmed over at the official forums that the said title was Wrath of the Lich King and urged everyone to register their codes immediately. Players who do so will be prompted to enter the codes from the cards as well as their e-mail address, as Beta access information is sent through e-mail. Reader Phi mentions that it doesn't matter when the codes were claimed. She registered her code right after BlizzCon last year while her boyfriend registered only yesterday after Blizzard's announcement, and both received their keys today. If you're one of the lucky few who attended either Blizzard event or managed to snag a beta code through other channels like eBay, registering the code should see you receiving invites in the mail. WoW Insider's Elizabeth Harper, who attended both, received two invites to the Beta eight minutes apart from each other. The official e-mail from prompts players to follow the step-by-step instructions over at Blizzard's official Beta page. Thanks to everyone who tipped this in!
Beta invites going out
Though this may not have been the case earlier this morning, CM Nethaera has just confirmed that invites to the Wrath beta are indeed going out via email. So if you're opted in to the beta, check your email! I know I will be checking it many, many times today. If you don't get in, never fear; as the NDA has been lifted, we will keep everyone fully informed of all the latest news right here on the Insider. If you do get in, you'll be asked to create a temporary account using your email and a new password. So be very, very wary of any email that asks you for your current username and password, since this is almost certainly a scam. Also, verify that any links you click are located at worldofwarcraft.com (and not, say, wow-blizzard.net). The scams are only going to come faster now that the beta is really going on, so be careful. Edit: I should have remembered to mention this. Beta invite is completely random from the pool of people who have opted in.
'Blind invites' still a heated subject in CoX
There are three subjects guaranteed to cause multiple-page arguments on the CoX forums. (Four, if you count the old chestnut about how 'the Fifth Column were taken out of the game because of the European release', which doesn't seem to crop up any more since Issue 12, for some reason.) In short, these are: Why does everyone hate PLers, and what is so bad about power leveling anyway Defenders aren't Healers, and if you say they are, you are a noob (and should go back to WoW) Why do people send blind invites, I hate it (or alternatively, 'why do people get so worked up about blind invites, it's no big deal.')
Ready Check: Thou hath no raid spot
Ready Check is a weekly column focusing on successful raiding for the serious raider. Hardcore or casual, Kara or BT, everyone can get in on the action and down them some bosses. Sometimes I forget that WoW is set in a Medieval time period, so here's a little of that flavor... So it's about 5 minutes until raid invites shoot out to the masses. You're sitting there, stacks of flasks and food in-bag, durability at 100%, waiting by the meeting stone until you have raid buddies to summon. You worked all day yesterday to gather the enchanting mats for your new weapon and are itching to try it out on something more than dailies. You're amped. You're stoked. You're ready to roll. The clock ticks to raid invite time. You wait for the invite window to pop up. The guildie next to you starts firing up a summoning portal. People start populating the area around you. Still nothing. Over your class channel, the call goes out to see if anyone needs anything from the first 3 bosses. Well, crap. You don't. Things aren't looking good, and your status is confirmed when the radi leader puts out the notice to whisper so-and-so to get on the standby list. What did you do wrong? How can you ensure a raid spot in the future? You may not like the answers.
Ninja inviting is a no-no
I can't really say I'm surprised to the response to the question Calipsa asked. But what I am surprised by is why she asked it: she wanted to know if sending group or even guild invites without whispering first was rude, and players responded overwhelmingly that it was. Why did she think it wasn't? There's almost nothing more confusing than receiving a random group or guild invite, and considering that even spammers are using group invites to spam, it's just not something you want to do.Now maybe she meant just whether a whisper was necessary or not. If a player is marked LFG, or they're a guildie you know is available for a group, or they've just shouted out "LFG for group quests" in a chat channel, then I'd say they're fair game for a ninja invite. You don't need to actually whisper them and confirm everything you do (well, it's still nice to do, but in those cases, I'd say you don't need to).But yes, invites out of the blue are a no-no. Rude, maybe, annoying, yes, and usually a waste of time for both parties.
TUAW has 1000 Skitch invites to give away!
[Update 2: The invite window is now closed! Thanks for participating everyone, invites should be sent out soon![Update: The plasq folks have informed us that the response to this invite offer has been absolutely amazing; well over 1000 requests. The good news? They have agreed to send invites out to every genuine request they have received so far. Cut off point is 12pm PST today. Your invite should be on its way later today or early tomorrow!]We've been talking up Skitch - a fantastic and powerful screenshot snapping and sharing app from plasq - for quite some time here on TUAW (if you want to take a peek, watch this video tour of Skitch in action). The only problem is: since its introduction at Macworld '07, it's either been in a private beta or, more recently, a tight invite-only public beta, making it hard to get your hands on a copy. Fortunately, all that finally changes today for 1000 of you - because we have a big ol' batch of invites to give away! Amidst all the time they're spending on polishing Skitch, their MySkitch picture sharing service (for the record: Skitch works with Flickr and even .Mac as well), and a new m.myskitch.com site they launched just in time for the iPhone, the kind crew at plasq were awesome enough to give us 1000 invites to give to you, our dear TUAW readers! As icing on the cake, they made the process about as easy as it can get by putting together an automated invite system: simply email [sorry, invites are now closed] from the address you want tied to your Skitch account, and you're done! Wait a little while for your sweet, sweet Skitch beta invite to arrive, and soon you can be Skitchin' and sharin' with the rest of us.Please help us make this a great experience for everyone. Companies run beta invites like this not only to help generate buzz for the product, but to ensure that they can sustain their services and provide a solid software experience for everyone. Don't send multiple emails from different addresses or re-send your request. We've never done a beta invite this way before, but the plasq crew know what they're doing and you'll receive your invite soon enough. With that said - go get Skitchin'!
E3 invites, what's the logic?
As we wrap up our GDC coverage this weekend, it's time to talk about the min-E3. The E3 Media and Business Summit, better known as the E3 five lucky children will attend, is now a few months away. This week some journalists received their invites -- many did not. Australian blogger Jason Hill originally had a piece about how the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia didn't receive tickets. After writing the story Hill received his golden ticket. The ESA told Hill, "It is entirely up to participating companies to decide whom to invite to the event. Thus, if anyone calls ESA to ask for 'tickets' to the event, that's what they will be told."From the anecdotal information we've received so far, it's a total toss-up as to which outlets are bestowed invites and the number of invitations they are receiving. More information is sure to flow about this issue starting next week.
Halo 3 Beta invites sent by Friday [update 1]
Tipster Jonah sent a bombshell to Fanboy Towers: Bungie has announced when the first wave of Halo 3 Beta invites will be sent to lucky fans. According to the official site, participants can expect to receive the key in the mail between today, January 22nd and Friday, January 26th. The beauty of this time frame is that it takes place a week before the 3 hour killtacular option comes into play, and those interested will know ahead of time if they need to re-enlist at 3:01 AM EST on February 1st on the 5th. The site also confirms that those who registered in "Phase 1" and are not emailed by Friday are able to give it another shot for "Phase 2", which will have invites sent out by the end of February.If you're lucky number 13,334 or above, you still have Crackdown as a final attempt to get into the coveted beta test. So, if any of you fellow fanboys get an email this week, let us know. If not, then give your gamertags so we can make a party out of the morning of Feb 1st.[Thanks, Jonah Falcon] Update: Apparently, according to halo3.com, the actual registering for "Phase 2" opens on February 5th. This gives you all three days to amass three hours of actual play time, should lobby time etc. not count towards your tally. It also allows gamers to get proper sleep, rather than playing through the night in an effort to be within the first 13,333 registrants that same morning.
MacHeist registration open to TUAW readers for 24 hours
We started out with 25 MacHeist invites for you TUAW readers, but we were quickly blown away by the sheer landslide of interest (over 800 requests and still counting) in this latest Mac software event from the minds behind My Dream App. Since things simply became too difficult for us to manage, Phillip Ryu and crew cut us some slack and opened their registration doors for TUAW readers - but only for 24 hours. Coincidentally, the first MacHeist mission ends in 24 hours (11:59 PM EST Monday, November 13th), so you'd better start clicking. Just follow this link to a super-secret MacHeist registration page for your TUAW-reading eyes only (ok fine: I blogged it, so it might not be secret anymore, but it still sure is super). We're sorry we couldn't hook everyone up who originally requested an invite, but we hope this open registration makes us even.Now, go forth and complete your missions. That safe isn't going to loot itself!
Update on the TUAW MacHeist invites
By now, the overwhelming numbers of you who signed up for a MacHeist invite have noticed you haven't received them yet. To be entirely honest, we weren't expecting over 800 replies, as our original bounty from the good folk behind MacHeist (and MyDreamApp) was 25 invites, which was promptly raised to 250 and then even 400. Due to the landslide of interest from you in joining the fun, it's taking us more time to figure out how to harvest everything we need to get an invite out to you all. Rest assured, we're working on a solution now, and we'll post it ASAP. Stay tuned.
MacHeist has begun, TUAW has 250 invites to give away
MacHeist, the next software marketing brainchild of Phill Ryu (you might know him from such events as My Dream App), has begun. As you'll remember, it's an invite-only event (though you can try signing up to snag your own), and I have just received the first mission. Due to its top secret nature, my life - or at least my membership - would be in danger if I disclosed any details, but I can tell you that it looks to be an interesting ride so far, filled with unique adventure and great deals on software.What I can offer you instead of details, however, is an invite to join in on the fun. TUAW has managed to snag 50 250 invites so far, and we'll give them to the first commenters on this post who clearly state that they want one. All we need is a name and a legitimate email address, but DO NOT post your address in the comment itself; simply use your intended address in the comment's email field, and we'll get you the invite accordingly (this way you still snag an invite, while the email spam bots don't buddy up with your inbox). Only one invite per commenter, please, and we should be able to send all your invites out by tomorrow morning. Let the MacHeist begin![Update: Comments are pouring in, and while I haven't had time to go through them all just yet, I noticed others who have invites to give away had a good idea that I wanted to highlight: if you'd like to give away your own invites, or if you're interested in someone else's invites, please state that clearly in your comments. In other words: to those posting their own invite giveaways - please give readers some alternate form of contact for you, so we don't end up double bouncing invites to the same person. Also, to readers - if you're going after someone else's invites (after all, we only have 50 for now), please contact them outside of our comment thread so we can keep everything nice and clean. Thanks everyone!][Update 2: We now have a total of 250 invites to give away! Keep those invite requests coming, and please be patient for them as it's going to take us a little longer to get everything sent out to everyone. We originally said all invites will be sent out by tomorrow morning, but give us until tomorrow afternoon or so to handle the extra leg work.]
Even more supposed invites to the Feb. 22nd event
Though I must admit that this one, and the one after the jump, look much more legitimate than the Airport version. However, let me be clear that we don't even know if there will be an event on February 22nd (I've emailed Apple about it, but they haven't gotten back to me).The slogan on this supposed invite seems to hint at an iPod shuffle related announcement, but then there is the 'Golden Ticket' invite that you can see after the jump... I don't know what to make of that one.Thanks to rosswf and Dave for sending these along.As always, judge for yourself about the veracity of these.Update: An eagle eyed reader noticed that February is misspelled on this invite, and that isn't Apple's style (though it is inline with my style, hence why I didn't notice it). Either it is a fake (and some people have way too much free time) or someone at Apple is getting fired.
