Support NeoGAF

[Lunar15]

One thing I don't think people realize is that they're simultaneously asking for conflicting things. Everyone wants emergent, one time events, like a dragon attack or a huge invasion. But at the same time, they complain that temporary content is easily missed.

I think the very first Southsun Event was a good example of this. By forcing everyone to be at one place at one time to have a really big event created a ton of headaches for a lot of people, and people who missed it complained for days.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but you have to be realistic with your expectations. I think that's one problem with MMO hype: people start coming up with these ridiculous ideas that, while technically feasible, would be structurally unappealing gameplay wise. Each MMO is touted as being closer to the real world than ever before, but part of the problem with that is that it's not fun.

Not to drag EQN in here, but I've seen so many articles just extrapolating on how the system works. One writer basically laid out theoretical situation with goblin invasion of a player's personal home that ended in a huge goblin king event that was specific only to that player. Nothing like that was ever mentioned at any part of the EQN presentation, and honestly it sets expectations outside of what SOE can realistically obtain. The same exact problems happened to GW2 when Anet introduced the manifesto. People want to think that suddenly anything and everything is possible, but frankly, we're not there yet, nor will that necessarily be fun.

 

[Mr_Antimatter]

What i'd like is more 2 week events to introduce permanent additions to the game in some way. New lands, new encounters, a new world boss, etc. Maybe some new armor/weapon sets that stick around, new dungeons, etc.

 

[Sophia]

For the record, the zombie outbreak may well be both the second fondest memory and the most fun I've had out of the 5+ years I played WoW. I got myself infected as early as I could (in the first stages you had to go out of your way for it), when most people didn't know a thing about it, and recruited armies of NPCs by turning them into zombies, then assault lone players while mumbling "braaaains". Later on it was utter madness. Possibly WoW's biggest stroke of genius.

Most of my friends' reactions ranged from mild amusement to disgust at, indeed, not being able to keep doing the same thing they were doing for the past few years. I could never understand that. I would be lying if I said I didn't learn a sad, disappointing lesson those days.

The Zombie event wasn't well integrated into the game, which was a big factor. The event itself was pretty awesome, but it just disrupted the flow of the leveling game for those weren't at the level cap. It'd be like if we had done our champion hunt and gotten no Masterwork items and no experience for all that trouble.

I must give ANet some credit in this regards; Almost everything works with the flow of the game. There hasn't really been a living story event where players who are still leveling were outright penalized for doing it.

 

[Lunar15]

What i'd like is more 2 week events to introduce permanent additions to the game in some way. New lands, new encounters, a new world boss, etc. Maybe some new armor/weapon sets that stick around, new dungeons, etc.

This, I think is entirely feasible, and something that I think is gonna happen.

That being said, since launch, they have already rolled out an entirely new, permanent zone before (southsun), a permanent dungeon (fractals), permanent rewards (countless skins through the champion system), and permanent events (40+ new events in the world that many haven't even seen).

So, I mean. everything you asked for has already happened. But we haven't seen it lately (aside from the new champ skins) so I understand that people would want it.

And that's what the developer's lament was: They've given everyone pretty much what they wanted, but it always becomes ignored over time. I think the new champ system and event reward system was them moving towards fixing it.

 

[Retro]

What i'd like is more 2 week events to introduce permanent additions to the game in some way. New lands, new encounters, a new world boss, etc. Maybe some new armor/weapon sets that stick around, new dungeons, etc.

The Game Director, Colin Johanson, recently commented on how 2013 has mostly been focused on building platforms for content to 'lean on' so that there can be things going on in the game that aren't necessarily new, but can be expanded on (for example, they can add a few new Fractals every now and then without a lot of overhead). August is supposed to be the last month in which this 'platform-oriented' content will go away, so I assume September will be introducing more permanent content.

The Zombie event wasn't well integrated into the game, which was a big factor. The event itself was pretty awesome, but it just disrupted the flow of the leveling game for those weren't at the level cap. It'd be like if we had done our champion hunt and gotten no Masterwork items and no experience for all that trouble.

The Zombie event, integrated or not, wasn't really the problem. It was only active for a week, after all. It was the ugly reaction of the (most likely vocal minority of) players at having something disrupt their well-worn experience. Despite the fact that a lot of people (myself included) had a blast going off the beaten path and doing something fun and zany for a while in a game that was, let's be honest, in a holding pattern until Northrend opened. It was like having somebody tell you to stop having fun, they have work to do... in a video game.

 

[Jest Chillin]

I'm not saying it can't be done, but you have to be realistic with your expectations. I think that's one problem with MMO hype: people start coming up with these ridiculous ideas that, while technically feasible, would be structurally unappealing gameplay wise. Each MMO is touted as being closer to the real world than ever before, but part of the problem with that is that it's not fun.

Eff that man I want my Nerve Gear, yesterday. You hear me Anet!?

 

[Hawkian]

What i'd like is more 2 week events to introduce permanent additions to the game in some way. New lands, new encounters, a new world boss, etc. Maybe some new armor/weapon sets that stick around, new dungeons, etc.

These we've gotten, a la

• Not So Secret JP (damn, I still haven't done it!)
• Southsun event revamp, camp Meta chain, Karka Queen world boss
• Magitech/Phoenix/Braham's/Aetherblade armor sets
• Champion weapon set

Definitely think they're moving in the right direction, and I've heard rumors September is rather heavy on permanent additions.

I'm so totally ready for a new permanent zone, though. I miss the Labyrinthine Hills so much already.

edit: Lunar- of course you're wholly correct about the other permanent additions you've mentioned, but these are the ones I could think of since the introduction of the 2 week releases

 

[Reknoc]

Eff that man I want my Nerve Gear, yesterday. You hear me Anet!?

you want the game to kill you?

 

[Retro]

Definitely think they're moving in the right direction, and I've heard rumors September is rather heavy on permanent additions.

You know nothing, Hawkian Snow.

And I say that because I know nothing either... and if there was going to be anybody in the know to know such things, I'd be one of them, you know?

 

[Jest Chillin]

you want the game to kill you?

That was a software thing, not a hardware thing. ;p

 

[Hawkian]

The Game Director, Colin Johanson, recently commented on how 2013 has mostly been focused on building platforms for content to 'lean on' so that there can be things going on in the game that aren't necessarily new, but can be expanded on (for example, they can add a few new Fractals every now and then without a lot of overhead). August is supposed to be the last month in which this 'platform-oriented' content will go away, so I assume September will be introducing more permanent content.

Spot on. I mean, this is something you and I noted even before ArenaNet was commenting on it.

New entire gameplay/content platforms added in 2013:

• Guild Missions (5 initial mission types)
• Super Adventure Box
• Living Story itself (As much structual work as still remains on this front, compare the pre-LS Southsun invasion- no heralds, no story instances, not even anything to put under historical achievements)
• Minigames/activity rotation (6 introduced, 3 of which are on permanent rotation plus Keg Brawl, while Belcher's Bluff is fully permanent with PvP)

"Festivals" (all containing LS and minigame/activity aspects as well):

• Dragon Bash
• Bazaar of the Four Winds
• Queen's Jubilee

Reward delivery platforms:

• Daily world event Bonus Chests
• Achievement Reward/Unlock system
• Dungeon completion rewards
• Champion unique loot bags

Rather a lot, and I think while we can expect them to add more to these things over time, there's no real need to add more of them at this point. Which of course leads us to- "what else will they be adding?" The 20th approaches...

 

[Proven]

So I just looked up the Modus Sceleris quests on the wiki just in case, and realized that I've actually fought the Mesmer twice. I've seen her pop up more than once in Lornar's Pass but it was a pretty simple fight. Then two months back I ran into her in Fireheart Rise where she gave me a run for my money.

But from her alone I only got the feeling that they were a group of scammers, not anything interesting. I might go looking for the other now.

She honestly reminded me of this skill point fight.

 

[Retro]

Spot on. I mean, this is something you and I noted even before ArenaNet was commenting on it.

Yep, I remember talking about this when Fractals first came out; they've basically front-loaded a lot of content that can be expanded upon later with much less cost. The mechanics and reward system for the Fractals are done; all they need to do is create a few new fractals every so often and it gives the players something new to do. And that was before we realized the temporary bits of the Living Story could be revisited in Fractal form.

Likewise, the dungeon revamps are another thing they can do since a lot of the dungeons are already done. I believe we also discussed the potential for them to add additional paths to a dungeon. I can't believe we haven't seen an MMO where they take the existing assets of a dungeon and add new routes through it.

When you think of the sprawling complexes like Maraudon or Blackrock Depths (ESPECIALLY BRD) it makes you wonder why dungeons became linear hallways instead of linear paths through a larger play space. It seems so obvious, and once the revamps are done I'm sure that's exactly what we'll see in GW2.

And not even new paths; throw in more random events like the Troll in AC. Suddenly running a dungeon has all sorts of opportunities in it... all for little overhead.

 

[Hawkian]

Shark crashing through glass tunnel in CoE or unsub.

 

[Lunar15]

on august 20th: divinity's reach explodes, 3 new dragons and abbadon pop out, dungeons are removed for raids, everything becomes f2p, you can now build your own swimsuit with a sewing minigame.

QS = QQ, Suckers.

 

[Retro]

Shark crashing through glass tunnel in CoE or unsub.

You can literally do this for every dungeon. AC has the troll, but could also have random ghost ambushes, traps that you have to work your way through... anything.

CM could have hidden passages all over that open in different configurations each time. The whole "Party at a mansion" thing reminds me of Clue, with it's hidden passages. Maybe you pull the hidden switch and instead of the hidden door opening, a secret staircase is revealed.

TA already has so many varied paths, I feel like any more might be confusing... you'd have people typing the Konami Code in to look for a group. But the potential is there for weird shit to happen randomly just the same.

And on and on. Sharks, ambushes (SE and COF1 need pockets of Molten Alliance), whatever. Hell, they could have you bump into a second group of NPC adventurers who you have to help, or even fight. Who says you're alone in these places?

And not only that, but you can have entirely new routes open up based on these random events. Not just a new hallway with a boss at the end, but maybe you're going through AC and the troll bursts out of the wall. The NPC you're with stops and says "Huh, this looks like it might lead to our objective... shall we try it?" and everyone votes. Now you have stuff like "COF1A" or "Sorrow's Embrace 3-C" going on, where there are paths within paths, sort of like TA.

 

[Hawkian]

Speaking of which, who's running COF1 + Oppressive Ooze Royalty with me tonight!

 

[Retro]

Oppressive Ooze Royalty

Bullshit. Oozes are mindless amorphous creatures that cannot be trusted with the reins of power. Any manner of democratic rule would go right to their heads (or whatever oozes have). A strong ooze monarchy is required to maintain order and civility lest the ooze society revert to anarchy. Do you want oozes to go back to the dark ages, just hopping around and flinging goo everywhere like a bunch of uncivilized ooze-monkeys? They practically do that now!

 

[Hawkian]

Weird thing is, it's pretty clear from the context down there that the Ooze King and Queen rule over not just a citizenry of hapless ooze subjects, but jellies too. Where is their place in amorphous blob society?

 

[Retro]

Weird thing is, it's pretty clear from the context down there that the Ooze King and Queen rule over not just a citizenry of hapless ooze subjects, but jellies too. Where is their place in amorphous blob society?

Oozes are the lower tiers of nobility; your barons, earls and lords, who hold the land in the name of the Ooze Monarchy. Jellies are the serfs who work the land for their ooze liege lords. Gelatinous Cubes represent the ecclesiastical, servants of the Church of Bill Cosby. The Ooze Pope is in fact, Gelato (the Ooze Vatican is still in Italy, obviously), descended from Saint Pudding himself.

 

[Hawkian]

I'm not a moron okay, I know where the ooze vatican is.

 

[Retro]

From Twitter:
This Friday through Sunday (PDT), the Black Lion Trading Company is selling Mystic Forge Stone for 15% off the current price!

I think most of us got enough from the backlog of Achievement Chests that we'll never need another Forge Stone again... but still, if you do need some...

I'm not a moron okay, I know where the ooze vatican is.

This reminds me of the time Hythloday and I had a serious discussion on how a Feline Church would be organized. For example, if there was a Cat Pope, would they still refer to it as "dogma?"

 

[Shanlei91]

Watch how he soars.... ;_;

Kanik! What happened to you last night? Did you get your 50s from SE Story?

PSA, SE Story has a gabrillion Inquest champions, pretty sweet.

Did get the reward! Also sent you 4gold to split between you and the other 3 members of the group, as a sorry for me being a let down. Think of it as a gambit!

 

[Lunar15]

hey guys what's going on in h-

 

[SirKhalid]

Guild Wars 2 Teases Anniversary Plans
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/08/09/guild-wars-2-teases-anniversary-plans

They don't say much but I saw the data mining on reddit that says we will get 200 gems.

 

[Proven]

Guild Wars 2 Teases Anniversary Plans
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/08/09/guild-wars-2-teases-anniversary-plans

I saw that earlier, but other than confirming character birthday gifts of some kind, there isn't really any new info.

 

[Hawkian]

Did get the reward! Also sent you 4gold to split between you and the other 3 members of the group, as a sorry for me being a let down. Think of it as a gambit!

Dude, no way I'm keeping that. It actually was kind of a fun handicap.

We wiped on the Fire golem, but other than that it was pretty smooth. For some reason it didn't dawn on me until this time (having done each 10+ times easily) that the 3 golems you fight one at a time in SE Story are the ones you fight all at the same time in SE1.

Guild Wars 2 Teases Anniversary Plans
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/08/09/guild-wars-2-teases-anniversary-plans

They don't say much but I saw the data mining on reddit that says we will get 200 gems.

To clarify, nuh-uh. The data mining on Reddit is the anniversary reward for all players- if you log in on that day (Aug 28th), you'll get 200 gems. The birthday reward is a gift you get on each character one year after that character was created. This will be a little confusing because lots of people (many of us for sure) will be getting both on the same day. But they are definitely separate.

 

[Shanlei91]

Dude, no way I'm keeping that. It actually was kind of a fun handicap.

The ooze king demands you keep it. (or at least offer the other members their gold before returning)

 

[Hawkian]

The ooze king demands you keep it. (or at least offer the other members their gold before returning)

I can do the last part. They could be struggling paupers for all I know.

 

[Arcteryx]

YES!!

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Genesis

Lucky mofo! I put a buy order in on it; got a character planned out for it

 

[hythloday]

I'm not a moron okay, I know where the ooze vatican is.

Quote of the day folks.

 

[Jira]

Colin commented about something on reddit:

You won't be seeing a new region this year. This is however an example of living world content as discussed in the blog post in July that has a wider affect on the world, and more permanent impact as well.

In reference to the 20th update.

 

[Quadrophenic]

i'm on Blackgate in a WvW guild (because I love WvW, obviously) and they don't run dungeons, which kinda adds to my disinterest

Which guild are you in? I am on Blackgate too, and the guild I am in does a good amount of WvW'ing (though mostly we'll be roamers and not entire zergs).

 

[Hawkian]

what could it beeee it could be aaaaannything

 

[Proven]

Heard about this on SA the other day, but now there's a video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbvjWD0W4SU

The guy on SA said there were about 70 Necros. 70 x 5 =...

 

[Pumpkin King]

The guy on SA said there were about 70 Necros. 70 x 5 =...

5 FPS.

 

[Sophia]

5 FPS.

That looks like what that video is running at. >_>;

 

[Jira]

Site dedicated to sPvP.

http://mistpedia.net/index.php/Main_Page

 

[Ploid 3.0]

Just found out about the cultural armor. So so expensive, but I suppose I better get to farming.

 

[Zod the Bear]

I'm pretty happy with my AC/CM/Human T2 mix right now.

The only thing that will get me to save up to do more cultural armor would be going full T3 after getting The Flameseeker Prophecies legendary.

I do not expect this to happen (though it is the only legendary I'd consider.)

 

[Ashodin]

Get hype. That update is probably gonna be nuts. Can't wait for tuesday doe!

 

[Complistic]

i have a feeling i know what it is

 

[irfaanator]

cobalt is 33 gold, should I buy or wait some more

 

[Jira]

cobalt is 33 gold, should I buy or wait some more

Wait, there's only going to be more supply coming in and eventually it'll level off. Give it a few weeks to see where it settles at.

 

[Jira]

Queen’s Jubilee

Queen’s Gauntlet: Adjusted the rewards given for defeating Subject 7, the veteran ooze.
Queen’s Gauntlet: Fixed issue where Subject 7’s Oozes would not despawn after a fight in certain circumstances.

WvW

Fixed a bug that sometimes prevented loot from dropping off players in WvW.

General

Fixed the “Daily Karma Spender” achievement.
Fixed a crash bug.

Performance

Fixed a bug that would cause some maps to take longer to load than was necessary.


HUZZAH

 

[Ashodin]

Not gonna lie, cobalt is straight up a guardian sword. Mesmers maybe.

 

[Complistic]

cobalt is 33 gold, should I buy or wait some more

wait another week.

 

[Arcteryx]

Apparently Frostgorge champ spawns got nerfed hard. Get on that Orr farm train while it's still there. With a LARGE group(50+) you can get champs similar to Pavillion pre-patch, basically 4-8 per event(they scale up) plus the 4 easy ones scattered around the map.

 

[Katoki]

Only some maps were having longer loads? I had issues everywhere.

Cobalt doesn't look like a very manly great sword either but I supposed it'd come too close to the AC great sword if it were larger. Still waiting for more supply on the rapier before grabbing one for the thief I never play.

 

[Ashodin]

Apparently Frostgorge champ spawns got nerfed hard. Get on that Orr farm train while it's still there. With a LARGE group(50+) you can get champs similar to Pavillion pre-patch, basically 4-8 per event(they scale up) plus the 4 easy ones scattered around the map.

They have longer spawns now?