Introduction to Cue the Credits
Introduction
If you're reading this, you're here to see what will separate Cue the Credits from every other guild. As the leadership, we're focusing on providing you with everything you need to succeed. Over the years as leaders in the Warcraft community we have all learned that our best experiences come from periods where the entire guild is informed, educated, and entertained. That is to say, they are informed about themselves as a player, educated about the raid we were working on, and entertained enough with the content to the point they strive to become better. Now that we're heading into Cataclysm we all obviously are going it with the same expectations; that this is supposed to be an entertaining and challenging expansion. To that end, we've decided to introduce two potentially game-changing systems to the way we will lead the guild in the future.
Player Rating System
Our first and foremost response is one directly focused on feedback. Sit back and ask yourself how many people you know right now either feel like they're way too good for their actual skill level, or conversely, how many people feel like they aren't playing up to their potential when they actually are. Our answer to the problem is something we call our Player Rating System. It's a revolutionary way of numerically rating each individual player based on how well they perform or act in an variety of categories, including execution, class and game knowledge, attitude, and attendance. These numbers will be updated bi-weekly to provide fresh, reliable feedback in a way that doesn't penalize a player on a day-to-day basis. From a leadership perspective this allows us to give a large amount of feedback in a very concise and prompt way; providing the players their own tools to improve their game in a way that's accessible, consistent, and transparent.
We realize that if there is going to be an issue with this system, it's going to be with the people who are controlling the numbers; the officers. Our guild master, Prestigal, who developed this system has handpicked officers that he feels best fit the requirements to be judging members in this new and unique way. Even with that, from the get-go every rating that any officer submits into the website will be averaged against the other officer's figures in order to eliminate the impact of bias as much as possible. This provides our first "check" to make sure that everyone is being judged fairly and accurately. Our second "check" initially comes from the members themselves. If a majority of a specific subset (ranged, melee, healers) feel either an officer isn't capable from his perspective in a given instance, or lacks the knowledge to judge them then those inputs will be discounted entirely. It's our way of giving the system a check-and-balance feel so that no one group gets railroaded out of misinformation. This system lives and dies by the reception it has from our members and we are taking every precaution to make it as receptive as possible.
Real Boss Videos
The second response is one that focuses on pure, undulated encounter knowledge. We know that a large amount of knowledge of a specific encounter mechanic is crucial for success early on in progression. In response to that belief, the guild master has developed a video player like none other.
Its first virtue of the player lies in the fact that a user can switch between different perspectives on-the-fly, in timing with the video as it plays. This allows a player to learn his or her specific role in the fight from their own perspective, something that is lacking in today's instructional boss videos. We do this so a player doesn't have to see an encounter from a perspective they'll never use, and have to glean some small knowledge from a video where a healer is staring at the boss's ass the entire time. It's a method of targeting learning experiences; something that we believe will be useful for all classes and roles in and outside of guild.
The second virtue is the fact that it provides real-time, written strategy in timing with the encounter. How many times have you felt like you just didn't understand what someone was saying in a boss video? With RBV, you won't have to worry about it. With strategy pop ups, the video will tell you when each mechanic is coming, and what you need to know about it. This way, each individual can take his time, and even switch between each perspective to fully understand each mechanic and the implications of it from every angle, if they're so inclined. It's our way to give you the greatest edge in progression.
It is with this feature that we aim to become a source of knowledge for all of Stormreaver, and eventually the entire Warcraft gaming community as we move deeper into the Cataclysm.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you came here to see what set's this guild apart from the crowd; to see something you can be proud to be part of. Please take my word when I say that I am already proud to say I'm part of this movement and I hope you can feel the pure potential of these two projects as we move forward as a guild. I also have faith, after reading this, you've gained some small insight into what drives the leadership core and how potent the force behind us is. We're here to make the guild great for as long as it is in our hands. Finally, let me say that, on behalf of the officers, and everyone from CTC, we hope you enjoyed the look at us, and we look forward to seeing you in Cataclysm!