The hardest time of year - Page 3

On June 27 2015 19:06 LDdota wrote:
At a bare minimum, can we please get a formal news post announcing talent invites? Why should talent be left playing the guessing game for days or even weeks? While I'm sure there is no malicious intent, the system is downright cruel the way it works now.

Over the past week, the invites have quietly gone out. Last year, talent were allowed to announce their invites as soon as they got them, but this year Valve asked pretty much everyone to keep them quiet until they got the official go-ahead. When I heard about the change, I assumed it was because Valve wanted to avoid the drama and stress everybody went through last year and just do a single official announcement revealing all the event talent at once.

On June 28 2015 07:58 JustinTimz3x wrote:
Very well written, but let's look at it from a non-caster P.O.V.
I am just a lowly 5k scumbag but I do have some pro friends who did not qualify for Ti5 and will be still attending.
What? How is this possible? They did not assume they would be given invites and purchased tickets like a true fan of the game. I was very upset to hear KOTLguy and Soe would not be attending, I will even go out on a creepy limb and say Soe was one of the people I was most excited to meet.But look at it from Valve's perspective. This event is not about you(casters). The event is about Dota 2 and the fans and players who have gotten it to where it is. Casters are a big role, and once again certain ones have my condolences, but let's be real here... why do you think they need so many damn casters? I have been to 3 Ti's and 14 tournaments total and they always have 5+ casters who are just there doing nothing.

I would like to point out, being casters does not give you some sort of entitlement by Valve.You guys are not 'the rockstars' that some of the players are and do not deserve to be treated as so. I do wish everyone the best of times there, but use the experience as a life lesson. Those of us with careers we attended college for and worked years and years at got passed over so often for doing real work and if you throw tantrums you tend to lose your job. Cheers mate.

On June 28 2015 04:23 WolfintheSheep wrote:
While I agree with a lot that you've said, I think this needs to be pointed out.


Which needs to be connected fully to your other statement.



"Talent invites" are fundamentally different from team invites, in that they're not "invites" at all, they're contact offers to work a specific event. Which means you can't announce who you've hired to do a job until they've actually agreed to do them.

On June 28 2015 13:47 Elurie wrote:

While that is true, why couldn't Valve announce the invites (err job offer) earlier?

Based on the dota2 blog:

Jan 7: Dates and venue for TI5 released
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Mar 20: Ticket information released
Mar 26: Ticket FAQ published
Mar 27: Tickets available for purchase
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Apr 30: Compendium out!
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May 15: Team Invites announced
May 28: Qualifiers Begins
(Teams known by June 1 whether they will be making a trip to Seattle)
~
June 21+: Personality Invites announced (?)
**note: I don't actually know when Valve sent out these invites, I'm just going by LD's "over the past week..."

Basically, fans could start making travel plans early January, but of course would not finalize their plans until event tickets are bought late March. Casters/Analysts sit and wait, as they prefer not to pay out of their own pocket since travel cost will be provided by Valve if they are invited.

The longer you wait, the more expensive it will cost to attend. The most expensive would be hotel (or if they aren't fussy - motel, hostel, airbnb, shared room will do). I guess they could buy flexible plane tickets to re-use later; cancel/resell the accommodations, or raffle them off to some last-minute fans. Or like LD mentioned, perhaps Valve can offer the uninvited talents VIP event tickets, and/or cheap airfare and such.

I've said before that Valve couldn't possibly hire every passionate John Doe who wants to work in esports. After all, it is a business, not charity. On the flip side, Valve could show some kind gesture by not making these guys wait until late June to find out whether this August will be the summer they win big or go fishing.