Now before I even write this (something I did not want to) this is completely speculation. I am just posting this because it is something recently I have seen from a supposed leaked document. I will post all information I have found and try to keep it as easy to understand as possible. Let's begin!
A while ago on May 24th a youtuber I follow posted a video. This video is related to a supposed leaked document with and the youtuber was sharing this because the info was relevant to his channel. He was doing a Sims update for his subscribers and I watched along. In the video (here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Hnqtj5juI&feature=channel_video_title ) at 00:40 seconds you can see the leaked document. Here it shows a bunch of different dates mostly Sims related but the one that of course caught my eye was Guild Wars 2. Now of course I knew for sure this was no verified source and something I couldn't attribute as being legit so I passed it off as a fake.
Now a month and a bit later and another video comes out from the same guy I mentioned above. This is confirming the release date of the Sims 3 Pets expansion pack. Now usually this is irrelevant but in the video I linked above the date it speculated for the Sims 3 pets expansion was October 25th, 2011. Now the thing that caught my attention was the fact that the release date for the Sims 3 expansion is October 27th 2011, two days from the leaked document. This to me gives the leaked document now seems a lot more legit.
Now this is where I come to with Guild Wars 2. On that leaked document (something that could be legit) there is the glorious Guild Wars 2! On the document it states that the Guild Wars 2 release date being September 1st. Now I understand completely that this is virtually impossible. I see no possible way for the beta test to happen and the game ship for September 1st, but this says something to me. That very well could be the date they had planned for, but are missing once again.
All of this is pure speculation I understand but just something that peaked my interest. The document seems a little suspicious so I am just stating what I believe. Other then that I hope at least that will be the beta date. I just hope Guild Wars 2 isn't pushed too far back like everyone else!
Ramble complete, good day!
Showing posts with label Guild Wars 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guild Wars 2. Show all posts
Monday, 11 July 2011
Friday, 1 July 2011
Guild Wars 2 Beta Thoughts
Recently I have been doing some deep thinking about the Guild Wars 2 open beta, a little about the closed too. The Guild Wars 2 beta is something ArenaNet isn't taking lightly. They understand that when we, the players, play the game for the first time it should be perfect. They want the game to be extremely polished and with as little bugs so our first experience is one to remember. This totally makes sense and I cannot complain one bit about.
My complaint with others not doing this is that too many times there have been game-breaking bugs in betas that aren't ironed out until after or during the beta. This really is disheartening to the game as I feel like that will be included in the finished product or it provides a bad portrayal of the game. I think ArenaNet understands that we are changing, the players expect more. This isn't some mediocre game being released, it is 2011 we have extremely advanced gaming technology and this is a triple A title. ArenaNet sees that we deserve the best they have to offer, and they are right.
Another thing I have discovered during my pondering and abstract mind tumbling that there is the Paris Games convention from Oct 21-25. And if they are playing demo's there how could open beta be released before this? This completely solidifies my sad and unwanted belief that Guild Wars 2 will not be a 2011 title. As many times as I have denied and wanted it to be untrue, it is true. There is no way humanly possible for ArenaNet's 270+ crew can rush this amazing game out for 2011. However the beta is confirmed for this year so I am assuming it will be sometime after October, unless something happens at PAX, because big news should be there. I don't know what more big news is left really? The Sylvari redesign, guilds, PvP, last profession, one more book and maybe beta. There really isn't a whole lot of information left for ArenaNet that is something we don't already know and is groundbreaking. We have now seen underwater combat, one of the bigger ones on their to-do list, so what is left?
Not a whole lot, and man does that make me happy.
Ramble complete, good day!
My complaint with others not doing this is that too many times there have been game-breaking bugs in betas that aren't ironed out until after or during the beta. This really is disheartening to the game as I feel like that will be included in the finished product or it provides a bad portrayal of the game. I think ArenaNet understands that we are changing, the players expect more. This isn't some mediocre game being released, it is 2011 we have extremely advanced gaming technology and this is a triple A title. ArenaNet sees that we deserve the best they have to offer, and they are right.
Another thing I have discovered during my pondering and abstract mind tumbling that there is the Paris Games convention from Oct 21-25. And if they are playing demo's there how could open beta be released before this? This completely solidifies my sad and unwanted belief that Guild Wars 2 will not be a 2011 title. As many times as I have denied and wanted it to be untrue, it is true. There is no way humanly possible for ArenaNet's 270+ crew can rush this amazing game out for 2011. However the beta is confirmed for this year so I am assuming it will be sometime after October, unless something happens at PAX, because big news should be there. I don't know what more big news is left really? The Sylvari redesign, guilds, PvP, last profession, one more book and maybe beta. There really isn't a whole lot of information left for ArenaNet that is something we don't already know and is groundbreaking. We have now seen underwater combat, one of the bigger ones on their to-do list, so what is left?
Not a whole lot, and man does that make me happy.
Ramble complete, good day!
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Guild Wars 2 Underwater Combat!
Here are my first impressions of the amazing Guild Wars 2 underwater combat system!
To start I applaud ArenaNet and specifically the devs that brought this amazing creation to us. Thanks!
Now let's start!
The drowning downed system is wonderful. They looked at being downed at a whole new angle (get it, z axis! :O) and implemented an extremely smart downed state. If you are downed underwater you will be but into a "drowning" state. Here you can either, kill somebody, get revived by an ally or reach the surface. This mechanism will work extremely well in my opinion. Firstly, the deeper you go the harder it will be to come out of this drowning state. So that means all the epic bosses will be really deep underwater, awesome! One of the developers during a video stated that at some parts of the water you swim down for approx. 45 seconds. That is bloody deep considering the movement speed is fairly quick underwater. Also they have stated that there will be actual underwater events that take place! How many though is undecided yet. But if we take that 1/3 of the world will be underwater and approx 1500 events, I would say probably less then 500. That is awesome, so much underwater immersion for a game is unheard of! Until now!
Ok now, the transfer from land to water is seamless, and I have seen it. There was one part in a video where a dev was getting mauled by a lot of higher level pirates. On the land he went down right next to the shore. In the down state he was knocked backwards into the water and from there he instantly entered the water downed state. The transfer from land to water is fast and easy. You can go from fighting enemies on shore to launching harpoons at them in an instant. ArenaNet has really thought about the annoyance of underwater seen in other games and has completely eliminated it. There is also no breathing! You don't have to find some potion or spend a bunch of money, you are fitted with a breathing apparatus as soon as you enter water. Also on a side note the breathing apparatus looks really nice, it really fits well with the character.
The weapon sets provided underwater seem to give a similar play style to your original character but of course with that extra axis. Which is always great. Each profession (the 7 so far) have two different weapons available underwater except the elementalist. Which technically has 4, for each attunement. The engineer seems to stick with explosives like torpedoes and also with nets. The Necromancer uses a spear but more at a short range, with his main attack throwing spears. The ranger of course has the longer range harpoon gun and spear although I haven't seen much game play. And also with the other professions I have seen limited underwater game play.
Now with that being said there is one not so much of a big deal complaint. Clipping. I completely understand that clipping is inevitable. With 5 different sized races and 8 professions the armor, weapons, environment provide quite a clipping disaster. Normally above ground the clipping is not that bad, mildly noticeable. The problem was underwater. I could see a lot of ground clipping with the players swimming around freely in the open 3D space. The problem only seemed to occur whilst swimming backwards because the character is at a weird angle. Some armor did clip noticeably with the underwater weapons. For me, clipping is not that big of a deal. I can easily ignore it, but for some serious RPer's it might become a huge issue. Not game breaking, just an issue.
TL:DR It is awesome.
After the huge bombardment of information this week it has been amazing. All the fans that were lucky enough to be pulled into the ArenaNet studio had a blast and it seems the staff too. I think that the Fanday was a huge success, and those that didn't attend were blessed with loads of new information.
Victory!
Ramble complete, good day!
To start I applaud ArenaNet and specifically the devs that brought this amazing creation to us. Thanks!
Now let's start!
The drowning downed system is wonderful. They looked at being downed at a whole new angle (get it, z axis! :O) and implemented an extremely smart downed state. If you are downed underwater you will be but into a "drowning" state. Here you can either, kill somebody, get revived by an ally or reach the surface. This mechanism will work extremely well in my opinion. Firstly, the deeper you go the harder it will be to come out of this drowning state. So that means all the epic bosses will be really deep underwater, awesome! One of the developers during a video stated that at some parts of the water you swim down for approx. 45 seconds. That is bloody deep considering the movement speed is fairly quick underwater. Also they have stated that there will be actual underwater events that take place! How many though is undecided yet. But if we take that 1/3 of the world will be underwater and approx 1500 events, I would say probably less then 500. That is awesome, so much underwater immersion for a game is unheard of! Until now!
Ok now, the transfer from land to water is seamless, and I have seen it. There was one part in a video where a dev was getting mauled by a lot of higher level pirates. On the land he went down right next to the shore. In the down state he was knocked backwards into the water and from there he instantly entered the water downed state. The transfer from land to water is fast and easy. You can go from fighting enemies on shore to launching harpoons at them in an instant. ArenaNet has really thought about the annoyance of underwater seen in other games and has completely eliminated it. There is also no breathing! You don't have to find some potion or spend a bunch of money, you are fitted with a breathing apparatus as soon as you enter water. Also on a side note the breathing apparatus looks really nice, it really fits well with the character.
The weapon sets provided underwater seem to give a similar play style to your original character but of course with that extra axis. Which is always great. Each profession (the 7 so far) have two different weapons available underwater except the elementalist. Which technically has 4, for each attunement. The engineer seems to stick with explosives like torpedoes and also with nets. The Necromancer uses a spear but more at a short range, with his main attack throwing spears. The ranger of course has the longer range harpoon gun and spear although I haven't seen much game play. And also with the other professions I have seen limited underwater game play.
Now with that being said there is one not so much of a big deal complaint. Clipping. I completely understand that clipping is inevitable. With 5 different sized races and 8 professions the armor, weapons, environment provide quite a clipping disaster. Normally above ground the clipping is not that bad, mildly noticeable. The problem was underwater. I could see a lot of ground clipping with the players swimming around freely in the open 3D space. The problem only seemed to occur whilst swimming backwards because the character is at a weird angle. Some armor did clip noticeably with the underwater weapons. For me, clipping is not that big of a deal. I can easily ignore it, but for some serious RPer's it might become a huge issue. Not game breaking, just an issue.
TL:DR It is awesome.
After the huge bombardment of information this week it has been amazing. All the fans that were lucky enough to be pulled into the ArenaNet studio had a blast and it seems the staff too. I think that the Fanday was a huge success, and those that didn't attend were blessed with loads of new information.
Victory!
Ramble complete, good day!
Monday, 20 June 2011
5 Days, and Finally News!
Well after hearing about it on the forums and lurking around twitter it appears there is some sort of "open house" going on at ArenaNet. It appears the contest winners are going to be getting access to the studio and other members in the community. The total number appears to be 15, which was tweeted by Martin Kerstein. This appears to be an exciting event for all involved.
To me it doesn't seem too big. They are not allowing them to film any game play but they are allowed to speak about it freely. This to me seems still to be something exciting, just nothing ground breaking. The ambassador contest winners seem to be showing up there also (mentioned by Rubi in her last flameseeker chronicle article).
There has been a lot of speculation as to new content that may be showed at this open house. I assume so, but you never know. Some speculation has been PvP as 15 people are being brought in so it could be something like that. Although I think the WvWvW would be better tested with either the closed or open beta tests. Just my opinion.
Well to those who are going congratulations! Have fun, can't wait to hear what kind of amazing things go down in that magical place.
Ramble complete, good day!
To me it doesn't seem too big. They are not allowing them to film any game play but they are allowed to speak about it freely. This to me seems still to be something exciting, just nothing ground breaking. The ambassador contest winners seem to be showing up there also (mentioned by Rubi in her last flameseeker chronicle article).
There has been a lot of speculation as to new content that may be showed at this open house. I assume so, but you never know. Some speculation has been PvP as 15 people are being brought in so it could be something like that. Although I think the WvWvW would be better tested with either the closed or open beta tests. Just my opinion.
Well to those who are going congratulations! Have fun, can't wait to hear what kind of amazing things go down in that magical place.
Ramble complete, good day!
Monday, 13 June 2011
Guild Wars 2 Business Model
Rubi has kicked up a huge cloud of dust with her latest Flameseeker Chronicles post. She talks deeply about ArenaNet's business model for Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. I am mostly glad that this can start, gives us more to ponder whilst the news is creeping along at a snail's pace.
Rubi's states that ArenaNet needs to make people want to play Guild Wars 2 because there business strategy allows for a lot of flexibility. If you aren't attached to the game through a subscription fee it is easy to put it down for a second and forget about it. Then that second turns into minutes, days, and you get the idea. This is the whole case and point around ArenaNet's business strategy. The content has to be engrossing, to keep us hooked without tying us down. I think this is something they can excel at, as long as they know this themselves.
Now for their microtransactions they need to find where they want to be. We have already established that cosmetics will be prevalent and no advantages in game can be paid for. This to me is perfect, too many F2P games are unbalanced due to some people tossing money in for bonuses. If you give people stuff they actually want to buy, even if it is only cosmetic, it will be profitable. Just like the game-play the microtransactions have to be engrossing and of course reasonably priced. The first Guild Wars was a great testing ground for the microtransactions to appear in Guild Wars 2 and I am eagerly awaiting to see what they do with it. Character slots seem like a must and we know about transmutation stones. The transmutation stones seem like a wonderful idea if put to use properly. They will need to define how they want the transmutation stones to work so we, the players, don't feel ripped off. I think ArenaNet needs to balance price and usability with their microtransactions.
If they can pull off this huge list of things, their business structure will work.
Ramble complete, good day!
Rubi's states that ArenaNet needs to make people want to play Guild Wars 2 because there business strategy allows for a lot of flexibility. If you aren't attached to the game through a subscription fee it is easy to put it down for a second and forget about it. Then that second turns into minutes, days, and you get the idea. This is the whole case and point around ArenaNet's business strategy. The content has to be engrossing, to keep us hooked without tying us down. I think this is something they can excel at, as long as they know this themselves.
Now for their microtransactions they need to find where they want to be. We have already established that cosmetics will be prevalent and no advantages in game can be paid for. This to me is perfect, too many F2P games are unbalanced due to some people tossing money in for bonuses. If you give people stuff they actually want to buy, even if it is only cosmetic, it will be profitable. Just like the game-play the microtransactions have to be engrossing and of course reasonably priced. The first Guild Wars was a great testing ground for the microtransactions to appear in Guild Wars 2 and I am eagerly awaiting to see what they do with it. Character slots seem like a must and we know about transmutation stones. The transmutation stones seem like a wonderful idea if put to use properly. They will need to define how they want the transmutation stones to work so we, the players, don't feel ripped off. I think ArenaNet needs to balance price and usability with their microtransactions.
If they can pull off this huge list of things, their business structure will work.
Ramble complete, good day!
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Guild Wars 2 WvWvW Leveling
We already know for sure that getting from level 1-80 in Guild Wars 2 is doable. I was just pondering the thought of it's comparison to PvE leveling. Will the time frame of about one hour and 30 minutes hold up? I mean if you are actively participating in events and combat in the WvWvW then will that be possible?
It is very interesting to me that I have this sparked interest in PvP. Normally I rarely PvP and the only time I think I have had a really heart beating, enjoyable experience would be Runescape. I have never felt so scared in my life and involved in PvP. Guild Wars PvP was something I dabbled in but nothing that held my flailing attention span for more then a couple rounds. ArenaNet has really just stepped back and looked at both aspects completely. They have created a pure PvP experience which is the 5v5 hot join-able PvP. Then they have taken WvWvW and transformed it into a PvE/PvP mix. You have aspects of the PvE going into it like leveling obtaining items and events. Then you have a whole world (or worlds) to explore for PvP. The fact that it isn't some tiny map with enemies around every corner sounds interesting. I can see sneaky tactics and strategies playing out really well. There is an aspect of this crazy unbalanced chaos thrown into the mix too.
ArenaNet is not only giving us a one of a kind PvE experience, but they have an astounding PvP to match it.
Ramble complete, good day!
It is very interesting to me that I have this sparked interest in PvP. Normally I rarely PvP and the only time I think I have had a really heart beating, enjoyable experience would be Runescape. I have never felt so scared in my life and involved in PvP. Guild Wars PvP was something I dabbled in but nothing that held my flailing attention span for more then a couple rounds. ArenaNet has really just stepped back and looked at both aspects completely. They have created a pure PvP experience which is the 5v5 hot join-able PvP. Then they have taken WvWvW and transformed it into a PvE/PvP mix. You have aspects of the PvE going into it like leveling obtaining items and events. Then you have a whole world (or worlds) to explore for PvP. The fact that it isn't some tiny map with enemies around every corner sounds interesting. I can see sneaky tactics and strategies playing out really well. There is an aspect of this crazy unbalanced chaos thrown into the mix too.
ArenaNet is not only giving us a one of a kind PvE experience, but they have an astounding PvP to match it.
Ramble complete, good day!
Information Stand Still
It feels like as we get closer to summer a lot of the information about some games I am following fervently are going to stop. Minecraft is slowly progressing towards the end of this year. Guild Wars 2 is slowly creeping towards the conventions this summer and the few sparse interviews I pick clean of all hints or details. I feel like everything is just frozen and people are just working hard. It feels like they are going to just work over the summer and information will be locked.
I am suffering from information withdrawal! And only Notch or ArenaNet can help me :P
Ramble compelte, good day!
I am suffering from information withdrawal! And only Notch or ArenaNet can help me :P
Ramble compelte, good day!
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Guild Wars 2 Forum Hate
I find the 52 pages and 1000+ replies to the "What do you dislike about Guild Wars 2" forum thread to be a little depressing. If we can point out so much wrong how close are we til release? I am not worried about the status of it, I know ArenaNet is capable enough to fix all of it for sure. I just wonder how much time, effort and resources they will have to put in. I mean I have been following Guild Wars 2 since 2006 and I will play the hell out of that game, I just worry if the balance between finishing the game and fixing everything is leaning too far one way. I completely understand the game should be finished but I mean we could help! With a beta we could give constructive feedback! Although they do want us to be blown away when we play it but, how does it make it that different from the demos? Even if they just released the content on those demo stations to the public for a while it would be good. But then we run into the problems of going to conventions for exlusive only demos. Humph.
So many decisions, and they aren't even mine!
Ramble complete, good day!
So many decisions, and they aren't even mine!
Ramble complete, good day!
Friday, 10 June 2011
Tap-Repeatedly Interview for Guild Wars 2 Professions
First of all, Lewis B you are an interview genius. The question you came up with and picked from the community delved so deep into all profession aspects of Guild Wars 2. From creation to innovation it covered it all. And if you haven't seen it already do click here -> http://tap-repeatedly.com/2011/06/10/exclusive-interview-arenanets-jon-peters-and-jonathan-sharp/
What I would like to do is go over some of my favorite points of the interview. As the interview is fairly long and complex I will briefly describe each.
Firstly, the thief's blinding power sounds superb. "You ground target it, it hits all the enemies in that area and blinds them all and it cloaks all the allies in that area at the same time." I can see multiple PvP uses for this and PvE too. It really slots into the "all classes can do it all" saying. Because this is strictly a support skill in my opinion that could get you and your allies out of a dangerous situation. ArenaNet really has thought of everything!
"I think the ranger pets are terrible right now..." Now for a developer to actually say that about his own game is mind-blowing. ArenaNet is actually seeing their problems and not hiding them from the public. They realize what is wrong with the Pet A.I. and are fixing it. They aren't going to ignore it and maybe slot in a quick patch after release. They are going to do their best to fix it, after all the pets and rangers have to work in unison.
At one point Jon P talks about having 12 professions in the game. They then went to 7, 10, 7 and finalized on 8. This shows they aren't a static group of people and will make changes if necessary. The best way to fix things are to change them or improve them. Even scrap them if it is completely necessary and I am amazed ArenaNet sees this because some companies would not. "Juggernaut" also sounds like it would have been an interesting warrior hybrid. Expansion pack perhaps?
Another thing once again I disliked ArenaNet has fixed. Death Shroud, where casting when not downed would teleport you back to where you casted it once the duration is done. They have not only made it so you stay where you are once the duration is over but it will not be a downed state. It will be a castable spell which is better in my opinion. I think that Necromancers would have been a little too overpowered after death compared to the other professions. Also they mentioned specifically the Elementalist got a nice skill revamp too. They mixed a few and tweaked etc. That should be interesting to play out.
I could go on for ages about all the rich content contained in the interview but might as well find out for yourself. The above is what I found most intriguing to me personally. Feel free to comment on anything you thought was cool about the interview!
Ramble complete, good day!
What I would like to do is go over some of my favorite points of the interview. As the interview is fairly long and complex I will briefly describe each.
Firstly, the thief's blinding power sounds superb. "You ground target it, it hits all the enemies in that area and blinds them all and it cloaks all the allies in that area at the same time." I can see multiple PvP uses for this and PvE too. It really slots into the "all classes can do it all" saying. Because this is strictly a support skill in my opinion that could get you and your allies out of a dangerous situation. ArenaNet really has thought of everything!
"I think the ranger pets are terrible right now..." Now for a developer to actually say that about his own game is mind-blowing. ArenaNet is actually seeing their problems and not hiding them from the public. They realize what is wrong with the Pet A.I. and are fixing it. They aren't going to ignore it and maybe slot in a quick patch after release. They are going to do their best to fix it, after all the pets and rangers have to work in unison.
At one point Jon P talks about having 12 professions in the game. They then went to 7, 10, 7 and finalized on 8. This shows they aren't a static group of people and will make changes if necessary. The best way to fix things are to change them or improve them. Even scrap them if it is completely necessary and I am amazed ArenaNet sees this because some companies would not. "Juggernaut" also sounds like it would have been an interesting warrior hybrid. Expansion pack perhaps?
Another thing once again I disliked ArenaNet has fixed. Death Shroud, where casting when not downed would teleport you back to where you casted it once the duration is done. They have not only made it so you stay where you are once the duration is over but it will not be a downed state. It will be a castable spell which is better in my opinion. I think that Necromancers would have been a little too overpowered after death compared to the other professions. Also they mentioned specifically the Elementalist got a nice skill revamp too. They mixed a few and tweaked etc. That should be interesting to play out.
I could go on for ages about all the rich content contained in the interview but might as well find out for yourself. The above is what I found most intriguing to me personally. Feel free to comment on anything you thought was cool about the interview!
Ramble complete, good day!
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Guild Wars 2 PAX Prime
The lull in news for Guild Wars 2 is to be expected. I imagine they are working their asses off to get finalized for the conventions this summer. My guess is that PAX Prime will be the biggest of them all. After all "our entire studio will descend upon PAX Prime...expect big surprises..."
I would go in heartbeat being only about 5 hours away but I guess all the tickets are sold out? Checking the website it appears so, I might try to find some online or something. It would be a once in a lifetime experience for sure. After all, ArenaNet is going to change the MMORPG gaming world forever.
The conventions this summer seem to be building up for something big, my guess the open beta! The open beta will be very dependent on the release date so it is very important. I will be fervently playing the beta and reporting bugs like a madman. I will contribute to progressing the bug fixes as fast as possible.
Now as for the next race week I am unsure when this will be. I am going to guess the Asura week will be first as the Sylvari redesign should be a big reveal during one of the conventions. Hopefully ArenaNet has tweaked the Sylvari more and found it's niche in the Guild Wars 2 world.
The suspense is killing me!
Oh and the blog before this I said I would blog each day. And then I miss June 7th... haha. Sorry! Don't hurt me!
Ramble complete, good day!
I would go in heartbeat being only about 5 hours away but I guess all the tickets are sold out? Checking the website it appears so, I might try to find some online or something. It would be a once in a lifetime experience for sure. After all, ArenaNet is going to change the MMORPG gaming world forever.
The conventions this summer seem to be building up for something big, my guess the open beta! The open beta will be very dependent on the release date so it is very important. I will be fervently playing the beta and reporting bugs like a madman. I will contribute to progressing the bug fixes as fast as possible.
Now as for the next race week I am unsure when this will be. I am going to guess the Asura week will be first as the Sylvari redesign should be a big reveal during one of the conventions. Hopefully ArenaNet has tweaked the Sylvari more and found it's niche in the Guild Wars 2 world.
The suspense is killing me!
Oh and the blog before this I said I would blog each day. And then I miss June 7th... haha. Sorry! Don't hurt me!
Ramble complete, good day!
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Guild Wars 2 Hype Fluctuation
In a perfect world hype would be steadily maintained, you would get information on a regular basis. But that, of course, is not the case. We have moments of high activity like with Guild Wars 2 during summer when the multiple conventions are met. I am extremely excited for this year with the huge plans they have in store for the convention.
I think finally ArenaNet is seeing their magnificent creation near completion. With a mere single profession, one book and missing content our release is right before our eyes. The hype in my opinion is going to build up over the summer and explode by late summer. I absolutely cannot wait for the summer convention surprises as the hype train will be fitted thrusters and take flight.
After that, the sky is the limit. And I hope they go past it.
Ramble complete, good day!
I think finally ArenaNet is seeing their magnificent creation near completion. With a mere single profession, one book and missing content our release is right before our eyes. The hype in my opinion is going to build up over the summer and explode by late summer. I absolutely cannot wait for the summer convention surprises as the hype train will be fitted thrusters and take flight.
After that, the sky is the limit. And I hope they go past it.
Ramble complete, good day!
Monday, 30 May 2011
Who you want to be.
In the world of gaming who are you? What do you want to be? A strong brutish bulk of a man crushing skulls and ripping throats? A soft-skinned maiden frolicking through the meadows? Why is it so hard for MMORPG's to give us the choice? Just because I am wearing heavy armor should I be the one taking all the damage? Sure it makes sense but our skills shouldn't define what we are, we should.
ArenaNet sees this, they pluck this little thought out of the huge scheme of things and plop it right into Guild Wars 2. They say, "Here, be what you want." They don't hand you a pre-written character biography as same as the next guys. They aren't telling you how to play your character. You get to make the decisions, choose your destiny. Why should I have to attack those orcs? Maybe they are just having a rough day. What If I want to just run by and maybe drop by later? Why can't other games clue in to this idea of choice. One of the most marvelous ideas ever created, or thought of.
Choice is what defines us, we are independent creatures at heart. We make our own decisions in the real world so why not in a fantasy reality? Guild Wars 2 isn't pre-cooking your meal and packaging it up for you pre-made to toss in the microwave. They give you the ingredients and the know how then saying "Go for it, do what you want." Sure maybe you mix a few wrong spices and it turns out terribly. Next time around you correct what you have done wrong learning from last time.
If we approach a centaur encampment and all rush the center dying then we should rethink. Instead of having a static set of skills and charging into battle thinking "I have to mash the buttons faster," Why not just be given the choice to mix things up. Maybe since the centaurs are closer together a flamethrower kit could be handy to quickly hit a bunch of them together. Then maybe in the next part of the encampment they are stationary archers spread out. Maybe the ranger can switch to a longbow because he can stand still instead of having to dodging melee. These are our choices. These are given to us.
ArenaNet has taken a deep breath and thought hard. What do the players want? What is missing in all these games? They have found it, and it is beautiful. The power of choice feels good, so good.
Ramble complete, good day!
ArenaNet sees this, they pluck this little thought out of the huge scheme of things and plop it right into Guild Wars 2. They say, "Here, be what you want." They don't hand you a pre-written character biography as same as the next guys. They aren't telling you how to play your character. You get to make the decisions, choose your destiny. Why should I have to attack those orcs? Maybe they are just having a rough day. What If I want to just run by and maybe drop by later? Why can't other games clue in to this idea of choice. One of the most marvelous ideas ever created, or thought of.
Choice is what defines us, we are independent creatures at heart. We make our own decisions in the real world so why not in a fantasy reality? Guild Wars 2 isn't pre-cooking your meal and packaging it up for you pre-made to toss in the microwave. They give you the ingredients and the know how then saying "Go for it, do what you want." Sure maybe you mix a few wrong spices and it turns out terribly. Next time around you correct what you have done wrong learning from last time.
If we approach a centaur encampment and all rush the center dying then we should rethink. Instead of having a static set of skills and charging into battle thinking "I have to mash the buttons faster," Why not just be given the choice to mix things up. Maybe since the centaurs are closer together a flamethrower kit could be handy to quickly hit a bunch of them together. Then maybe in the next part of the encampment they are stationary archers spread out. Maybe the ranger can switch to a longbow because he can stand still instead of having to dodging melee. These are our choices. These are given to us.
ArenaNet has taken a deep breath and thought hard. What do the players want? What is missing in all these games? They have found it, and it is beautiful. The power of choice feels good, so good.
Ramble complete, good day!
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Surprises All Dried Up
It seems to me the surprise is gone. Of course I am not the one for surprises, I would always pester my parents before christmas because I couldn't bare waiting. I would want to know immediately what I was getting. It was quite funny because as I became a teenager mostly I wanted to know because it was fear of getting something I wouldn't like, this is sort of my feelings toward Guild Wars 2. At the moment mostly everyone has stabbed at the Mesmer becoming the returning profession. I really don't know like everyone else. But, that being said, I don't think it will be the Mesmer. I mean everything points to it but something tells me ArenaNet has something up their sleeve. I do not know. If it is the Mesmer I am wrong and life continues.
The point where we hit a speed bump is the excitement. The build up towards a profession release. If ArenaNet were to just release all the professions at once there would be no excitement. They are Hype-Masters keeping us all glued in our seats. We speculate and guess at each profession. Now as the final profession is coming closer and release too I think I will miss that excitement. All the hype of ripping apart every new interview or article. Shredding it for all of its credible information is so thrilling. I think ArenaNet has nailed down how to keep their fans hooked until release. There will be no lack of excitement this summer as ArenaNet has already stated for huge plans at the upcoming conventions. To go PAX in Seattle would be a dream come true for me. Hopefully around that time in summer I might have saved up enough to head out there. Of course if I had my N I would be planning on driving there already! But of course, I had to be born in December. Meh, life goes on...
Ramble complete, good day!
The point where we hit a speed bump is the excitement. The build up towards a profession release. If ArenaNet were to just release all the professions at once there would be no excitement. They are Hype-Masters keeping us all glued in our seats. We speculate and guess at each profession. Now as the final profession is coming closer and release too I think I will miss that excitement. All the hype of ripping apart every new interview or article. Shredding it for all of its credible information is so thrilling. I think ArenaNet has nailed down how to keep their fans hooked until release. There will be no lack of excitement this summer as ArenaNet has already stated for huge plans at the upcoming conventions. To go PAX in Seattle would be a dream come true for me. Hopefully around that time in summer I might have saved up enough to head out there. Of course if I had my N I would be planning on driving there already! But of course, I had to be born in December. Meh, life goes on...
Ramble complete, good day!
Thursday, 26 May 2011
250 Years
If you take our civilization 2011 and minus 250 you get 1761. Go back to 1761 and we had what? Forts and small civilizations. We had horses and no technology whatsoever. In 250 fifty years we have advance so much it is ridiculous. And yet for a fantasy world we see a simple turret or landmine out of place. A small LED light possibly. The world of Tyria is a evolving place. Some have stuck with medieval methods while others have chosen to evolve. Like the Charr, and in real world modern day citizens. For example the Natives did not change but the English and others inhabiting America, USA etc. did. 250 years is a bloody long time to advance. If ArenaNet made Guild Wars 2 actually advance the way we did Tyria would have planes, trains and automobiles. They would be at a similar position as us. I am just glad they decided to keep medieval roots in the game but throw in a much needed splash of technology. The Engineers to me seem like the pioneers of Tyria, the Albert Einsteins. They are the ones driving change.
Who knows, maybe in Guild Wars 3 we will be flying around on hoverboards shooting nukes out of our fingers.
Ramble complete, good day!
Who knows, maybe in Guild Wars 3 we will be flying around on hoverboards shooting nukes out of our fingers.
Ramble complete, good day!
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Guild Wars 2 Engineer
I knew it, and I called it. Yeah everyone says that but I did, I came up with the name engineer back when the ranger had no guns and I figured a gun class would be. Why add guns to a game with no class specified for it? The engineer is a grenade lobbing technical master of explosions. If I wasn't already hooked to the thief this would be my profession on release. Everything about it is just so explosive. I feel like every second I could just be blowing the shit out of everything left, right and center.
I wonder how the Roleplayers will take this. They might think this kind of advanced explosive warfare shouldn't be at the time where Guild Wars 2 takes place but I think it fits in. Even if the Charr have only developed most of it I think it would still be present. I am just glad they didn't add lock on missile launcher turrets, that would be a little crazy. I think this is a welcome addition to Guild Wars 2.
My one worry is just a general over inflation of this class. Like we saw with the races, the Charr. I think the problem is it just such an intense action packed profession. I can sense no lack of Charr Engineers on release. But still all in all I have to congratulate ArenaNet. They have broken the mold and created a mix of amazing professions that will work together like peanut butter and jam. Now we just have one more to slot into place. Speculation on this points to Mesmer but I am unsure. It seems like the most logical choice but you never know. ArenaNet seems to have multiple tricks up their sleeves. Keeps us hungry I guess.
Ramble complete, good day!
I wonder how the Roleplayers will take this. They might think this kind of advanced explosive warfare shouldn't be at the time where Guild Wars 2 takes place but I think it fits in. Even if the Charr have only developed most of it I think it would still be present. I am just glad they didn't add lock on missile launcher turrets, that would be a little crazy. I think this is a welcome addition to Guild Wars 2.
My one worry is just a general over inflation of this class. Like we saw with the races, the Charr. I think the problem is it just such an intense action packed profession. I can sense no lack of Charr Engineers on release. But still all in all I have to congratulate ArenaNet. They have broken the mold and created a mix of amazing professions that will work together like peanut butter and jam. Now we just have one more to slot into place. Speculation on this points to Mesmer but I am unsure. It seems like the most logical choice but you never know. ArenaNet seems to have multiple tricks up their sleeves. Keeps us hungry I guess.
Ramble complete, good day!
Monday, 9 May 2011
WvWvW idea
Posted this on the Guild Wars 2 forums, reposting here as this was my post and might as well.
It seems ArenaNet has still been thinking about a way to restrict world switching to prevent players jumping to the winning world. They also want to make it so switching worlds would be convenient to meet up with friends.
I see a balance that needs to be found and I have an idea.
Switching to a world whilst a WvWvW week or whatever is underplace should provide restrictions on the players involvement in PvP and not directly on switching servers.
For example, if I am on the world "coconut" and my friend who had recently started playing accidentally created a character on the world "banana," we would run into a problem. If the WvWvW was undergoing and the world "banana" was winning it could be hard to get into that world. What if instead of preventing that person from switching to the world "banana" but instead they just are restricted from joining the WvWvW and play for the world "banana." This would allow the player to play with their friend in PvE but not allow players to jump to winning teams.
Then if the first player wanted to PvP they would have to switch to the world "coconut" to partake. This would allow players to PvE with their friends at all times whilst eliminating any manipulation in PvP.
Now finally (bear with me :P) the WvWvW week would end on tuesday lets say. But the first player on "coconut" couldn't play that day but he wanted to switch his WvWvW world to "banana" there should be an option to do that. For example "when the next WvWvW ends I want to participate on the world [drop down menu select 'banana']" This way it eliminates the players having to actually be on a world they wanted to be on for WvWvW.
TL;DR Switching worlds during WvWvW allows PvE to continue but PvP is restricted for the world switched to. An option to select which world you would like to partake in WvWvW when the week for WvWvW ends.
Anyways kind of like a blog I posted on forums for more feedback.
Ramble complete, good day!
It seems ArenaNet has still been thinking about a way to restrict world switching to prevent players jumping to the winning world. They also want to make it so switching worlds would be convenient to meet up with friends.
I see a balance that needs to be found and I have an idea.
Switching to a world whilst a WvWvW week or whatever is underplace should provide restrictions on the players involvement in PvP and not directly on switching servers.
For example, if I am on the world "coconut" and my friend who had recently started playing accidentally created a character on the world "banana," we would run into a problem. If the WvWvW was undergoing and the world "banana" was winning it could be hard to get into that world. What if instead of preventing that person from switching to the world "banana" but instead they just are restricted from joining the WvWvW and play for the world "banana." This would allow the player to play with their friend in PvE but not allow players to jump to winning teams.
Then if the first player wanted to PvP they would have to switch to the world "coconut" to partake. This would allow players to PvE with their friends at all times whilst eliminating any manipulation in PvP.
Now finally (bear with me :P) the WvWvW week would end on tuesday lets say. But the first player on "coconut" couldn't play that day but he wanted to switch his WvWvW world to "banana" there should be an option to do that. For example "when the next WvWvW ends I want to participate on the world [drop down menu select 'banana']" This way it eliminates the players having to actually be on a world they wanted to be on for WvWvW.
TL;DR Switching worlds during WvWvW allows PvE to continue but PvP is restricted for the world switched to. An option to select which world you would like to partake in WvWvW when the week for WvWvW ends.
Anyways kind of like a blog I posted on forums for more feedback.
Ramble complete, good day!
Friday, 22 April 2011
None or Six
Laughter never is amiss in the world of gaming. That one sentence "None or Six" shows hopefully, humor will not be forgotten in Guild Wars 2. As we have already seen references to popular youtube (The lightning bolt audio clip) and other humorous antics.
The response has been sort of mixed I feel about throwing in references in a "older" game world. I personally would love any references to laugh at with my friends. This adds life and color to the gaming world that seems missed in other games. Some games I have heard slight humor for example "Global Agenda." Some commander in the Sonaron Desert marching with his henchmen goons beside him. He said something along the lines of "March faster, do you got sand in your butts?" This was sort of humorous but I guess immature at the same time. Still though the attempt at humor at that was the main point.
Humor can be welcomed in any game. Well any I play, anyways.
Ramble complete, good day!
The response has been sort of mixed I feel about throwing in references in a "older" game world. I personally would love any references to laugh at with my friends. This adds life and color to the gaming world that seems missed in other games. Some games I have heard slight humor for example "Global Agenda." Some commander in the Sonaron Desert marching with his henchmen goons beside him. He said something along the lines of "March faster, do you got sand in your butts?" This was sort of humorous but I guess immature at the same time. Still though the attempt at humor at that was the main point.
Humor can be welcomed in any game. Well any I play, anyways.
Ramble complete, good day!
Monday, 28 March 2011
Crafting Celebrations
The crafting system unveiled a while back for Guild Wars 2 has taken a lot of controversy. I am one of the people who really hopes they don't change it because I personally believe it is magnificent. A discovery system seems perfect for Guild Wars 2 considering the exploration freedom and mind blowing customization. To me it is a warmly welcomed fit.
The wiki issue also comes up a lot. Why couldn't people just find every recipe on the wiki? Well I think if those people want to look on the wiki they can. It isn't hurting anyone and it worked fine for Minecraft.
I can just imagine the exhilarating moment when my friends and I are crafting together and someone discovers a new recipe. We could trade the recipe around and make a nice tidy profit in doing this. Then the following search for the resources and happy times while we make profit selling in the marketplace. This is one of the most enjoying moments I can see myself doing during crafting.
At the start of release the new recipes to be found will be astronomical in my opinion. Everyone will be scrambling for all release things like recipes, guild names, character names, max level and other things. Another problem that could encounter would finding all the recipes for a trade. This seems like a vast feat and not to mention that if you do there is still 8 crafting disciplines. I think by the time you master all 8 there will have been some sort of micro update to start you off again.
The discovery system, some people I think don't realize, could go on for months after release. The chances of finding every single recipe seems slim to none. There will probably be a lot of recipes that go untouched for months after release. I can see the smile already appearing on my face as the wiki turns up no results for my search of a new recipe I found.
Ahhh the joy that is to come :D Anyways...
Ramble complete, good day!
The wiki issue also comes up a lot. Why couldn't people just find every recipe on the wiki? Well I think if those people want to look on the wiki they can. It isn't hurting anyone and it worked fine for Minecraft.
I can just imagine the exhilarating moment when my friends and I are crafting together and someone discovers a new recipe. We could trade the recipe around and make a nice tidy profit in doing this. Then the following search for the resources and happy times while we make profit selling in the marketplace. This is one of the most enjoying moments I can see myself doing during crafting.
At the start of release the new recipes to be found will be astronomical in my opinion. Everyone will be scrambling for all release things like recipes, guild names, character names, max level and other things. Another problem that could encounter would finding all the recipes for a trade. This seems like a vast feat and not to mention that if you do there is still 8 crafting disciplines. I think by the time you master all 8 there will have been some sort of micro update to start you off again.
The discovery system, some people I think don't realize, could go on for months after release. The chances of finding every single recipe seems slim to none. There will probably be a lot of recipes that go untouched for months after release. I can see the smile already appearing on my face as the wiki turns up no results for my search of a new recipe I found.
Ahhh the joy that is to come :D Anyways...
Ramble complete, good day!
Friday, 25 March 2011
Demo Focus
It seems from most of the PAX 2011 videos I have managed to find all revolve around combat. People playing Guild Wars 2 only seem interested in fighting. Sure combat is what holds an MMORPG together but it isn't the only thing. I just wish there was more videos of people actually exploring. Instead of people just doing the same events over and over again with the same weapons, more should have tried to explore. Granted there was a few very nice videos. The Vigil Keep was explored nicely and I saw some great video of Hoelbrak. It just seems every video all people want to do is run around fighting meaningless battles. The majority of clips I have seen are unsatisfying most of the time. It seems like most people have no idea what game they are playing. I understand they have never played the game before but basic knowledge of MMORPG's can carry over nicely. A lot of people weren't even switching weapons when they started and this made me a bit helpless to be completely honest. I would just love to be there and tell the person the information I know :D
If I got the chance to head to PAX east I would be thrilled first of all. But mostly I think my play experience would differ greatly from those that I have seen. One I would select my weapons and sets of the bat instead of just running in not knowing what I have equipped. Two I would quickly dye my armor so I don't look like every other adventurer wandering around. Three I would focus my attention on picking utility skills that match my current weapon. Four I would at least try and remember what each skill did so I could be at least prepared. Then I would adventure and explore!
I find too many times people just mash skills where they have no knowledge of what it even does. Also I am not sure if people know that right clicking on a skill makes it auto activate whenever it can. I am not sure if that is still in the demos but from an earlier convention I heard this. Supposedly right clicking on the skill activates it whenever it is available. This would prevent the common button mashing I could see apparent during PAX. This would be useful for having the first skill constantly going and using the others when needed. I really hope this is kept in the game as I do not want to have to mash 1 for each basic attack I want to perform.
Anyways, it seems the main focus of demos is revolving around combat. The few scarce videos of people actually exploring and trying new things is a blessing, hopefully more is to come. It seems that more videos are popping up from PAX and I just have to keep scouring I guess until someones focus is different.
Ramble complete, good day!
If I got the chance to head to PAX east I would be thrilled first of all. But mostly I think my play experience would differ greatly from those that I have seen. One I would select my weapons and sets of the bat instead of just running in not knowing what I have equipped. Two I would quickly dye my armor so I don't look like every other adventurer wandering around. Three I would focus my attention on picking utility skills that match my current weapon. Four I would at least try and remember what each skill did so I could be at least prepared. Then I would adventure and explore!
I find too many times people just mash skills where they have no knowledge of what it even does. Also I am not sure if people know that right clicking on a skill makes it auto activate whenever it can. I am not sure if that is still in the demos but from an earlier convention I heard this. Supposedly right clicking on the skill activates it whenever it is available. This would prevent the common button mashing I could see apparent during PAX. This would be useful for having the first skill constantly going and using the others when needed. I really hope this is kept in the game as I do not want to have to mash 1 for each basic attack I want to perform.
Anyways, it seems the main focus of demos is revolving around combat. The few scarce videos of people actually exploring and trying new things is a blessing, hopefully more is to come. It seems that more videos are popping up from PAX and I just have to keep scouring I guess until someones focus is different.
Ramble complete, good day!
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