WOW Expansion: Late 2006?

[nobbie]

Shawn Carnes:

An expansion is planned, not in 2005, possibly in late 2006 barring unforeseen chaos. Work is already going on for the expansion, and it's going good. What to look for?

Blizzard is good at polishing what we do well. The WoW expansion will be like other game expansions in that there will be new characters, items, spells, etc. but it will have the Blizzard twist.

Source: http://www.gamergod.com/article_display....cle_id=287

So, "Late 2006" would be "Late 2008" in Blizzard terms, right? ;)

[Hedon]

So, "Late 2006" would be "Late 2008" in Blizzard terms, right? ;)
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And late 2008 means early 2009 for the European Versions ;)

[Brista]

It kind of depends how ambitious they're being and also on the nature of the expansion too

They must be aware that most of their projects tend to overrun and may well have scaled down what they want to do to allow for overrun

Also if it's an Expansion that's nice, but you don't really need it it might need less quality testing than an Expansion like most mmo expansions that you must buy or be utterly redundant compared to the demigods with the new expansion uber items

[kandrathe]

Source: http://www.gamergod.com/article_display....cle_id=287

So, "Late 2006" would be "Late 2008" in Blizzard terms, right? ;)
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Hmmm. I would love for them to revist WCIII for inspiration. Maybe Siege equipment for BG's, or a BG instance with the ability to use flying units. Maybe more race options, add Goblins, Pandaren, Naga, Dryads, Hydraxian (elementals) perhaps.

Or, I know! A useable and meaninful crafting system!

[oldmandennis]

Maybe Siege equipment for BG's,
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Already announced, but with no details. Also a good bet for the expansion: heros and an outdoor area, with the frontrunner being Northrend.

[LochnarITB]

Every time I hear an expansion or a content patch announced, I wonder if it will open the tunnel to the airport above Ironforge and where those planes will take us. I certainly hope we don't have to wait at least another year to see it.

[Malakar]

Any word on whether this will be covered by the monthly fee or not?

[SwissMercenary]

Any word on whether this will be covered by the monthly fee or not?
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I'd imagine that if it were, it'd be called a "Content patch".

Don't drop the ball, and keep up the herding.

[Artega]

Every time I hear an expansion or a content patch announced, I wonder if it will open the tunnel to the airport above Ironforge and where those planes will take us.  I certainly hope we don't have to wait at least another year to see it.
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You can get up there, apparently. Some Alliance friends of mine have done it and have screenshots to prove it. They aren't sharing their secrets, though <_<

[savaughn]

You can get up there, apparently.&nbsp; Some Alliance friends of mine have done it and have screenshots to prove it.&nbsp; They aren't sharing their secrets, though&nbsp; <_<
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Actually, getting to the airport is pretty simple. Just turn left as you leave IF and follow the wall around, trying to stay as high up on the mountains as you can before heading out towards the airport.

What Lochnar was referring to was when you get up there, there's a tunnel (exactly the same graphics as used for things like the path from the Wetlands to Loch Modan) that goes down into the ground and breaks in that area. You have to go to the airport to find it. You can't fall through the earth, but in some parts of it, you can see through it. Nothing down there, but it's intriquing.

[Malakar]

Well, it's my hope they're just using that term to give it some snazz.

I won't be sticking around for the Everquest sales model gouging.

Paying for the box up front may have been justified by the years of dev previous to release, but expansions on top of monthly fees makes me regret ever lining their greedy pockets.

[Darian]

What Lochnar was referring to was when you get up there, there's a tunnel (exactly the same graphics as used for things like the path from the Wetlands to Loch Modan) that goes down into the ground and breaks in that area.&nbsp; You have to go to the airport to find it.&nbsp; You can't fall through the earth, but in some parts of it, you can see through it.&nbsp; Nothing down there, but it's intriquing.
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If you go up there, and then wander down toward Menethil (being extremely careful not to die to falling damage while dropping down off the mountains), you'll end up at that little farm you fly over on the way from Menethil to IF. From there, you can walk around a MASSIVE area of non-content, including the plains overlooking Whelgar's Excavation Site, Angerfang Encampment, and stretching all the way east to Dun Algaz, all of which I was able to look down on and screenshot several months ago. Near the farm, there's a tunnel which heads directly toward Ironforge -- and at the end of it, the path just vanishes into thin air, and you CAN leap into nothingness...

[Arnulf]

You can get up there, apparently.&nbsp; Some Alliance friends of mine have done it and have screenshots to prove it.&nbsp; They aren't sharing their secrets, though&nbsp; <_<
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At the risk ot getting my account suspended here is a video of me sightseeing the airstrip place: Link!

-Arnulf

[Tal]

Just posted on WoW.com by Ordinn:

World of Warcraft Expansion Playable at BlizzCon! - Ordinn on 10/5/05
The World of Warcraft development team has confirmed that BlizzCon attendees will be able to go hands-on with a playable sneak peek of the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion. For those who won't be able to attend BlizzCon, please note that gaming magazines hitting newsstands in different regions of the world around the time of the event will feature in-depth previews on the new content we have in store. Click here to learn more about BlizzCon.

We have recently placed some exhibit-only BlizzCon tickets on sale, for those of you who are interested in attending BlizzCon and trying out the World of Warcraft expansion set. See the recent announcement for more information about this limited supply of exhibit-only tickets.

[RTM]

I've wondered about the expansion release timing in light of the news in Tal's post and their patch naming scheme. Usually 2.0 indicates a new edition or significant functionality upgrade- since the expansion is playable already, perhaps it'll be released after the 1.9 patch? If so that would put it somewhere around Christmas, which is a good time to release software. It would also be a HUGE suprise since everyone expects Blizzard to take a long time to release stuff like expansions.

[TheLuminaire]

I've wondered about the expansion release timing in light of the news in Tal's post and their patch naming scheme. Usually 2.0 indicates a new edition or significant functionality upgrade- since the expansion is playable already, perhaps it'll be released after the 1.9 patch? If so that would put it somewhere around Christmas, which is a good time to release software. It would also be a HUGE suprise since everyone expects Blizzard to take a long time to release stuff like expansions.
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Considering their usual patch scheduling(6-8 weeks between patches), it's unlikely they'd hit 2.0 by Christmas, even though 1.8 is already on the test realms.

I'd bet sometime in the spring, probably before E3, or maybe right after.

[oldmandennis]

Version 2.0 does not necessairly follow 1.9. It will, in all likelyhood be patch 1.10.

You can't keep a secret of this magnitude for long. For it to be availible for the holiday season, it needs to be on shelves on Thanksgiving. They need to contact retailers and reserve shelf space well before that, and start letting the press see it and review it.

And what are the chances they beat their announced schedule by about a year?

Previewing it at Blizzcon, on the other hand, is easy. All you have to do is make a blood elf skin and /dance emote, then slap togeather a snowy nerubian temple.

OTOH, I have been wrong alot lately.