technical-alpha
Latest
Heroes of the Storm technical alpha returns
Heroes of the Storm has been offline for over a week of super extended maintenance -- and now it's back! There has been numerous upgrades to the backend, and everyone's purchases have been wiped. You'll find the money you spent back in your Battle.net account balance, and you'll be ready to re-purchase everything. For the next week, XP will be earned at double the rate, and everything will be played in matchmaking mode. MMR has been reset across the board, and all previous progress has been wiped. However, there are no other planned resets, so your progress now will stay put. Blizzard also notes that they're going to be inviting more people into the game, so you can expect the pool of players to grow nicely in the coming weeks.
Heroes of the Storm bringing in non-US players in next alpha
While there's been a lot already said about the upcoming Heroes of the Storm, the fact remains that the game is still in alpha. A technical alpha, to be specific, emphasizing the nuts and bolts of functionality. But the next phase of testing will be bringing in more people, including testers from outside the USA, giving an even broader perspective on what's working and what isn't. A recent development blog on the official site explains what's happened so far as well as what's coming next for the game. The short version is that the alpha is going well, but there's still more feedback needed to make the game truly the best it can be. As an early test version, it's still very much a game in development, with the emphasis being on what does or does not work from the technical side. Players who wish to opt in for a potential testing invite should do so via the Battle.net account management page.
Heroes of the Storm: First account wipe this Tuesday
The first account wipe for the alpha of Heroes of the Storm is coming this Tuesday, April 15. Players in the Alpha have received an email, which you can see after the break. It's working a little differently to the usual wipes, so let's lay out what you're losing and what you're keeping. All purchases made with real money will be unaffected. This does not mean future wipes will be the same. Your account will be reset to level 1 All experience points, all quest progress and leveling progress will be reset All in-game gold you've earned, and purchases you've made with that gold, will be reset. You will also receive some rewards for your hard work, to compensate you for what you're losing: Starting after the wipe on Tuesday, April 15, all players will gain access to every single hero until Thursday, April 17 at 3:00 p.m. PDT. You'll get in-game gold as a reward based on your leveling progress: Levels 1 – 19: 10,000 Gold Levels 20 – 39: 30,000 Gold Level 40: 30,000 Gold and an exclusive Heroes of the Storm lanyard Hit the break for the full email I received.
WoW's global conquest continues: Russian version imminent
Blizzard will begin testing a Russian version of World of Warcraft next week. The first phase will be called the technical alpha, and will focus on "the technical aspects of the game." Never would have guessed! After that, the localization beta will commence. Blizzard has invited all its Russian-speaking subscribers (of the European version of WoW, presumably) to participate. A Russian-language forum will launch next week as well. There's a fancy flash-powered Russian teaser page already.Even though the Massively staff includes folks of several nationalities, we unfortunately don't have any Russians on the team to analyze this. We're talking about the country of the great novels The Brothers Karamazov and The Master and the Margarita, the films of ultra-weighty director Andrei Tarkovsky, and the experimental, unforgiving, plague-themed video game drama Pathologic. Is Russia going to be receptive to the lightness that is World of Warcraft? Oh, hell, probably so![Via WoW Insider]
