You aren't alone. as I remember schmitt really enjoyed the beta. I enjoyed the beta up until Pegasus and Orion.
Woah woah woah! Can't have people saying my real name here! I enjoyed the beta with the exception of those god awful forge maps. So poorly designed. :/ As far as the difficulties in communication goes, I think it stems from the previous Microsoft CEO and certain top brass that are caught up in old school management and marketing styles. They believe in 1-way communication, which is a thing of the past. Modern management and marketing calls for 2-way communication and placing higher value on customer relations.
It was kind of nice to see a team besides Denial and EG make it to finals yesterday. It'll be interesting to see if Winterfox can follow up their win with another finals appearance, and to see if EG can reestablish their dominance in this final Online Cup. I was really impressed with eXcellence. They've quietly established themselves as a clear top 8 team, and they seem to be closing the gap with some of the teams directly ahead of them. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them end up in the top 6 by the end of the season.