Curse

Medic · Jan 18, 2009, 08:58 PM // 20:58

In four short months it will have been two years since Anet anounced in the May 2007 PC Gamer that Guild Wars as we knew it was about to head off in a totally new direction. There would be no more chapters, no new campaigns, instead Guild Wars would be reborn.

In the 20 months since this anouncement concrete information on GW2 as been scant at best. Many of us have been waiting patiently, most not so patiently for any tidbit, any scrap of information, without avail.

As one of many many very loyal (and I say very loyal as I have purchased every campaign and almost every upgrade on two accounts, sad I know) Anet customers this has become increasingly frustrating.

My reason for writing this post is to make a simple sugestion. We need a GW2 developers blog. Even if it is only updated on a monthly basis. Just give us an estimated timeline, tell us what you have completed, what your working on, what your anticipating from the game, tell us something!

Please sign below if you would like to see a dev blog, and I would appreciate any feedback/support from the Guru community about this suggestion.

Medic

CronkTheImpaler · Jan 18, 2009, 09:09 PM // 21:09

im all for anything that doesnt compromise the project itself. if the dev's could toss a bone from time to time on non-critical game information that would be great. i too have been here since inception however i dont want to get info that isnt 100% set in stone. All this will do is piss off the GW public at large.

couple other points.

1. please dont use the word transparency, it smacks of govt. and we all know govt is anything BUT transparent.

2. Im not even sure that GW2 is going to come to fruition, i think Anet may have shot their ummmmm rounds a bit too soon. the economy and slowing software field is not a good harbinger of things to come. if this is the case id be happy with some new content before this cow goes tits up!

Cronk

Issac · Jan 18, 2009, 09:09 PM // 21:09

Signed

It's ludicrous that we have to wait so long and still not receive any information about it.

cthulhu reborn · Jan 18, 2009, 09:09 PM // 21:09

Not gonna happen.

They have a place for developer updates and they haven't touched the GW2 subject for ages.

My guess is they wanna do a few more things right with GW2 than what happened with GW1. That means they want to be far enough ahead to be sure of themselves before they say anything.

All in all it is kinda frustrating not to know anything really, but it is what it is.

Medic · Jan 18, 2009, 09:20 PM // 21:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by CronkTheImpaler

1. please dont use the word transparency, it smacks of govt. and we all know govt is anything BUT transparent.

2. Im not even sure that GW2 is going to come to fruition, i think Anet may have shot their ummmmm rounds a bit too soon. the economy and slowing software field is not a good harbinger of things to come. if this is the case id be happy with some new content before this cow goes tits up!

Cronk

Interesting point about the economy, but something to think about is this. GW2 will not have any monthly fee, so for a fairly small investment you will get thousands of hours of entertainment. If money is tight I think this would make GW2 seem like a more attractive purchase then a pay-to-play MMO.

Also transparency is an awesome word that smacks of awesomeness.

soulblade enforcer · Jan 18, 2009, 09:26 PM // 21:26

Hey, I concur with the blog idea. Though a few things I see that's happening:

- financial issue
- ncsoft is part owner
- game design ambition vs. time vs. money

- I've been in the media development field before, this field is truly intense. From their recent updates and announcements, seems they have or had to make some major judgment calls to offer new content while keeping customer loyalty.

Their call for a brand new game with new engines and designs (GW2) was a very good one during the height of GW1, if completed for sure it can rival Blizzard. Though putting it in play is another story, usually a major project can fail if milestones don't get toned down.

During development of GW2 or somewhere in between, I think they've met some major speed bumps (customer loyalty vs. speed of dev.), and they had to tone down the ambitious content they were aiming to make.

It can takes years to develop a good game engine from scratch, I was a bit surprised they didn't just use an existing one.

~Soul

CronkTheImpaler · Jan 18, 2009, 09:27 PM // 21:27

i guess when i spoke of the economy it was more from Anets perspective. They have a business model they need to follow to make money. sometimes corps. realize while the project is still in the can that its not gonna cut it. I have no clue if Anet is on track financially with GW2. Maybe they got this all figured into the current economic shitstorm i have no idea.

You can however do a google search on Anets financial situation and find out just how un-cool things are in the software industry. Times like these business's circle the wagons until the dust settles, then they proceed with projects that suck up massive capital.

Having said all that i know nothing. I just find it rather odd that they are sittin really heavy on this project when it is THE project everyone seems to be waiting on.

Cronk

-Sonata- · Jan 18, 2009, 09:32 PM // 21:32

No, and the big reason is for something you made mention of:

Quote:

...most not so patiently for any tidbit...

We all know full well that Anet is not willing, nor will it change its approach, in releasing information until they feel the time is right. Even if a Dev Blog were to go online tomorrow and the unwillingness to provide details continues, the blog would provide nothing except further speculation and rumor because the details will not be presented. The 'most not so patient' then continue to fuel a fire they started themsevles.

I've said it many times before, and of course I speak only for myself when I say this. The last thing I want from Anet is them jumping into the hype-way marketing game. I don't want to see a dev blog, a screen shot, a movie clip, or anything labelled as "Detailed info" until that piece of information is fully accurate.

I'm sorry. I mean no disrespect andI do have some sympathy for all of this. But in the end I've grown tired of game developers, especially MMO developers, who show us "Goodies" months and years in advance just to say, "Look at us! Look what we're going to do!" so they can appease the impatient. Then, when it comes time for release, have the final product be a pile of junk because their previous information changed so much through development as to what was feasible and what wasn't. To try and explain why the final product looks worse than that superior high rendered screenshot, that was designed only for marketing 10 months previously, and the outcry to follow from it.

I want desperately to have Anet silent on everything until their information is as close to perfect. I don't care when that is. If it's tomorrow, great. If it's in September, great. I just want those details accurate and not a FunCom ploy to keep me warm-n-fuzzy. That way I can trust that info, whether it's a screenshot, video, or features list, will be exactly what I'll see in my final product.

cthulhu reborn · Jan 18, 2009, 09:50 PM // 21:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by soulblade enforcer

Hey, I concur with the blog idea. Though a few things I see that's happening:

- financial issue
- ncsoft is part owner
- game design ambition vs. time vs. money

- I've been in the media development field before, this field is truly intense. From their recent updates and announcements, seems they have or had to make some major judgment calls to offer new content while keeping customer loyalty.

Their call for a brand new game with new engines and designs (GW2) was a very good one during the height of GW1, if completed for sure it can rival Blizzard. Though putting it in play is another story, usually a major project can fail if milestones don't get toned down.

During development of GW2 or somewhere in between, I think they've met some major speed bumps (customer loyalty vs. speed of dev.), and they had to tone down the ambitious content they were aiming to make.

It can takes years to develop a good game engine from scratch, I was a bit surprised they didn't just use an existing one.

~Soul

I think I agree with what you're saying here. As far as the new engine is concerned, I have the feeling Anet want to set a new standard rather than repeat something. My hope is they are doing just that and if that takes longer than anticipated, I suppose in the end the wait will be worth it.

fowlero · Jan 18, 2009, 09:59 PM // 21:59

They've just told us they're planning on implementing extra storage (after constantly saying it would never happen, haha) in about 4 months.

So i wouldn't expect any news of GW2 until that's implemented.

And then i still wouldn't expect any news of GW2.

Gun Pierson · Jan 18, 2009, 10:02 PM // 22:02

I think many of you underestimate the competition in the gaming industry. The industry became bigger than the music industry. And we have a world crisis at our hands atm. I'm sure it has it's effects on the entertainment sector too.

Can you imagine if some of the code leaked into capable hands? And it doesn't have to be code, some new cool features could really hurt Anet if they leaked or fall in the wrong hands.

See it like you invent a product and you forgot to pattent it. You will be out of business soon as other companies would steal your idea. It's why GW1 isn't open source.

They're protecting their product imo.

All that at risk because we want to see a screenshot or get some info and then what? We still have to wait anyway.

All that crap about vaporware, don't be silly, over hundred people that are paid monthly for nothing? I'm sure NCsoft knows it's not vaporware.

Abedeus · Jan 18, 2009, 10:08 PM // 22:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theus

This. Guild Wars II doesn't even have concept art. There's no proof besides the word of the employees who work for the company. You know what would be a shitstorm? If Guild Wars II production hasn't even started yet. My god. The angst would be glorious. Think about that for a second, an additional 2-3, hell maybe even 4 years. Hah.

Oh man, I would LOVE to see faces of the fanbois when someone from A.Net would say:

"Okay, EotN was just an excuse to get more money from ya, GW2 doesn't exist and we are joining the Aion developer team, ta-ta!"

I would change from pesimist to optimist in like a fraction of a second.

Gun Pierson · Jan 18, 2009, 10:11 PM // 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theus

Lol. This is what desperate Guild Wars Fanboys actually believe.

You're making a fool out of yourself, I'm not a desperate fanboy (you should check my history of critical posts about Anet here), I'm realistic and so should you.

AnClar · Jan 18, 2009, 10:16 PM // 22:16

What concerns me, as some others here have speculated, is whether or not GW2 will ever see the light of day. The MMO market is a vicious arena (just look at Bill Roper and the Flagship Studios debacle around Hellgate:London, not to mention the demise of Tabula Rasa), games come and go, studios come and go, and frankly, I've been very pleasantly surprised about what a great game GW has turned out to be, and how popular it still is.

Given the recent announcement by ANet of additional content for GW this year, especially in light of what they've been saying over the past year that, while continuing to maintain GW and to have ongoing community events and skill rebalancing, they are concentrating on GW2, this seems to be either a big contradiction, or else a major shift in direction for ANet. Either one, to my mind, along with an astonishing lack of comment from ANet regarding GW2 does not bode well for GW2 at all, IMHO.

fowlero · Jan 18, 2009, 10:24 PM // 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gun Pierson

You're making a fool out of yourself, I'm not a desperate fanboy (you should check my history of critical posts about Anet here), I'm realistic and so should you.

Realistically though the fanboys who are so craving this information would settle for a lot less than mentionings of new features, or game code..? Hell if they told us/showed us an auction house i'm sure many of them would scream instantly.

Even a couple in game shots (of charr or something, whatever) or something at least concept art, SOMETHING they may have come up with in coming up to two years.

The games industry is indeed very competitive, which gives more reason as why they need to feed remaining players some titbits.

Gun Pierson · Jan 18, 2009, 10:30 PM // 22:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theus

Realistic?

Haha..realistic.

Tell me how many games you know that after announced a year+ with absolutely no new known information have actually came to fruition.

That number is pathetically low.

How many companies bring a product like Anet? None, gw is unique. Man I'm sure lots would like to have the code for that engine with streaming technology and what not.

But sure it's vaporware whatever. That reverse psycholigy will not make them post info anyway. Keep trying though and you'll get a cookie from me if it worked.

If it turns out to be vaporware, I will be the first to apologise if you confront me with it in the future, but I'm positive it won't come to that.

Celios · Jan 18, 2009, 10:33 PM // 22:33

You're wasting your time.

The devs don't have much (if any) say in what information gets released, or when. That's the PR people's call and they could care less what you want to know and when you want to know it. I would be surprised if they didn't already have a marketing plan/timeline drawn up. Forum posts are the last thing that will ever change that.

Fril Estelin · Jan 18, 2009, 10:33 PM // 22:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gun Pierson

You're making a fool out of yourself, I'm not a desperate fanboy (you should check my history of critical posts about Anet here), I'm realistic and so should you.

Don't jump on their troll-wagon. Let the silence be your answer to this non-sense, time will tell who was right.

The topic's thread has been debated ad nauseam. Even if you got 10,000 signatures it wouldn't change a thing. We now have to grow more patient, or move on.

Rife · Jan 18, 2009, 10:36 PM // 22:36

I want to illustrate the opposite of what the GW developers seem to be doing. The development of Spore was very open. There were countless videos of Will Wright showing the game off and celebrities playing it and so on. The game I saw previews of looked amazing. Then when it came time to play the game several features were omitted and it was a shell of what had been promised. It was very disappointing. The point is it's a double edged sword.

Theus · Jan 18, 2009, 10:41 PM // 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fril Estelin

Don't jump on their troll-wagon. Let the silence be your answer to this non-sense, time will tell who was right.

The topic's thread has been debated ad nauseam. Even if you got 10,000 signatures it wouldn't change a thing. We now have to grow more patient, or move on.

Silence? Why?Because you cannot answer my question, that's why. Hell, what most people fail to realize is that Anet is a 2nd party developer for NCSoft. And what they say goes, whether that's completely halting all development on Guild Wars II to help future projects such as Aion.

By the time your game comes out there will be several greener pastures.