Curse

Iscana · Mar 07, 2007, 11:25 PM // 23:25

Well I know that once the time will come that Anet turns off the power of those servers. But until that time, just enjoy the game but don't spend your whole sparetime onto it since it's just a game and a ORPG which will be turned off sometime and when you spend all your time into it, it will defently make you really really sad.

Imagine WoW servers being turned off, well hunderds or even thousands of users will be left into the dark, but since there's a monthly fee, blizzard can keep the servers online just because people pay for it. But I know that until 2020 the servers will be online 4 sure, since they wrote a contract for it and it has been announched.

Guildwars has no monthly fee and the costs of all those servers and bandwidth is being paid by money we have paid for the expansions. Once there won't be any more expansions comming out, they will turn down the servers if it's costing more then they actually get money from the old GW game and expansions. Unless they host parts of GW2 (if it will ever be released) on the same servers, or when GW2 comes out they make GW1 for the hardcore GW1 players playable trough a monthly fee to keep the servers online. Personally sharing the servers with the GW2 would be a good option, althought I don't know if it really slows down the servers a lot.

Also the reason why Diablo is still online is what I think because of the Battlenet system which is also part of the WoW system and being founded WoW as well.

Anyways, until that time the servers of GW1 will be going offline, just enjoy the game and have fun. Make some screenshots and stuff and keep the good memories. I have also a few games which are not playable anymore trough the internet but once in a while I do some LAN with friends and enjoy the good old times, too bad this isn't possible with MMORPG's which I personally think is one of the bad sides of MMORPG's.

MMSDome · Mar 08, 2007, 01:46 AM // 01:46

Life will go on man and maybe the people you are playing with will become real life friends. I mean you can always play other games too not just Guild Wars, and talk to them online and stuff. meet them in the real world. I understand where you are getting at, and though it may seem tough now you will move on.

Zonzai · Mar 08, 2007, 02:18 AM // 02:18

You consider this a dilema? Not to offend, because I can understand being addicted. But maybe, if this is such a major ordeal, you should consider the possibility that you are taking this all a bit too seriously.

You all but admitted that you have an addiction. If it is a true addiction then it is taking away something from your life. Figure out if that's actually the case.

If it is you will have to decide wether what you are missing by playing this game is more or less important to you than the game itself is.

If you aren't actually addicted, well then it probably wouldn't be a big enough deal to you to make this post.

Yawgmoth · Mar 08, 2007, 02:20 AM // 02:20

There's nothing to fear about. As hardcore player as I am (4800h+ in 22months) I fear not.
GW's network code and server architecture is designed to be extremelly cheap, for example 1 online player generates only a maximum of 2kB/s bandwidth usage. In 5+ years time servers will become much much more powerful and cheaper to maintain, so there will be absolutely no reason to shut them down. A perfect example is Diablo2 which is still alive and even I know a couple players that *started* playing it this year and are excited about it.

When at some point in the future the primary Anet's focus will move onto their next game, GW will have enough content and features to be kept alive with minimum dev attention. With automated tournaments going on every day, multiple endgame dungeons for pve players to raid, with all skills balanced, all the devs will probably do is run some simple events by changing a few variables or bigger ones (repeats from previous years).

**cosyfiep** · Mar 08, 2007, 04:25 AM // 04:25

geez, I'm a 'oldie' as well.....but I dont seem to worry so much about the future of a computer game......life will go on. Yeah I'm addicted to this as well with 3100 hours in 18 months of play, I have used the game as a crutch---I live thru some of my characters.... heck they have it better sometimes! (they dont have to listen to others if they dont want to, and we can just turn off the chat channels.....).
I worry more about next month than something that will eventually happen, possible years from now.....so worry more about tomorrow than next year. Stay in the present you will be happier.

Redfeather1975 · Mar 08, 2007, 04:28 AM // 04:28

How many of you have never played an online sequel in which you can't import old characters?
This isn't something that's never been experienced by players before. It's been happening for years!
I suppose it sucks the first time, but you get used to it.

N E D M · Mar 08, 2007, 06:10 AM // 06:10

To the OP:
You need to play more, i have as many hours as you in only 13 months.

strcpy · Mar 08, 2007, 06:18 AM // 06:18

I never look forward to a day my characters have to retire. Most of mine have been in the Pen and Paper or single player local games so no need to do so - many live on in archive grade CD's (amongst other data). But I have lost them from online games in the past.

On the other hand, it would also be sad if 5 or so years from now GW is still all I want to to play. One would *at least* hope for a GW2 (of course, they may allow a limited migration of characters - others have done this) or its "intellectual" sequel (either a game that has the same theory as or have GW adapted enough through the chapters).

DutchGun · Mar 08, 2007, 09:21 AM // 09:21

How to make your characters live on forever? Simple - just role-play them into new worlds. Create ancestors in GW 2 which share the name (or maybe just the last name), and give them a few similar features, and voila! Immortality for your characters. Anet may even give us some options to import our favorite names or some family traits when the big day eventually comes (I'm assuming it will someday, even if the rumors are wrong). In truth, that's the only sort of immortality anyone will really achieve in this life anyhow, so it seems fitting that our toons have to deal with it as well.

In a more pragmatic sense, an earlier poster was spot-on... GW is, according to the devs, designed to be very lightweight in terms of network traffic and server-side disk use. After the majority of players have moved on to GW2, it will cost Anet next to nothing to keep the old GW servers running (and it would cost them a lot in bad press/reactions to shut them down I think). Honestly, I think the GW servers will likely stay running until the Win32 platform isn't supported anymore, which means it will probably be around for at least another decade, maybe even longer.

As far as a diminishing playerbase - yes, it will happen. But I'd bet there's going to be a small group of players that continue playing for quite a long time - maybe nostalgia, or an older computer, or they simply like the original game. Honestly, I really wouldn't lose any sleep over this. Have a bit of faith in Anet - they've been good to us so far, and I think they'll be good to GW in the future.

Tetris L · Mar 08, 2007, 09:30 AM // 09:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by N E D M

You need to play more, i have as many hours as you in only 13 months.

Redfeather1975 · Mar 08, 2007, 09:46 AM // 09:46

Someday there may be a Guild Wars 2 with such insane action and graphics, you may think 'damn! this game rocks compared to Guild Wars 1'.
Imagine your super rendered, highly detailed Necromancer ripping the soul from a fallen body to create a kickass wraith and unleashing it on the baddies.
Kickass!

freekedoutfish · Mar 08, 2007, 10:12 AM // 10:12

You did say some of us would have this view, but get a life

I mean that in the nicest sense.

When/if the servers go down and we loose our characters (although I doubt it, if you consider how long other, much older online games have been running), it will be kind of sad.

But not in a sad or emotional way. More a pissed off kind of way, at how much time and effort I put into the character(s). Characters can be re-done easily enough and its a good excuse to have a change and do something different.

But we all know fine well that when we join an MMO game, our characters belong to the company and they store their information elsewhere. They have full control over the data, so we know our characters are fragile.

Personally, looking at your post and seeing how (eerily) addicted you seem, i would suggest a break from GWs and chill out and do something else. If its going to hit you that hard if you lost a character, then I think your getting a bit too attached.

Guildmaster Cain · Mar 08, 2007, 11:24 AM // 11:24

U'll just forget about GW1 the day u get addicted to the next game.

brave bern · Mar 08, 2007, 02:13 PM // 14:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by freekedoutfish

You did say some of us would have this view, but get a life

I mean that in the nicest sense.

When/if the servers go down and we loose our characters (although I doubt it, if you consider how long other, much older online games have been running), it will be kind of sad.

But not in a sad or emotional way. More a pissed off kind of way, at how much time and effort I put into the character(s). Characters can be re-done easily enough and its a good excuse to have a change and do something different.

But we all know fine well that when we join an MMO game, our characters belong to the company and they store their information elsewhere. They have full control over the data, so we know our characters are fragile.

Personally, looking at your post and seeing how (eerily) addicted you seem, i would suggest a break from GWs and chill out and do something else. If its going to hit you that hard if you lost a character, then I think your getting a bit too attached.

Hi, this goes for all thank you for the interest and debate....I notice there is a trend towards this type of post RE:addiction.
First up I know more than most about addiction - I am a quallified counseller who used to work with inmates on issues of addiction - so I do recognise my own shortcomings - HOWEVER - I am 37 - I have kind of seen it - done it - worn the T-shirt so to speak (seen Arsenal wallop the Geordie boys plently of times!) My kids are balanced, work is good and my partner wonderful - but I guess I enjoy this "other life" - this dive into fantasy - I recently quit a band I was in for years and GW filled that void - so addicted or not - I feel more than up to coping with it because it doesnt really impact so much into RL. - In fact the positives far out weigh the negatives a guildy from Holland recently came over to stay with us - would never have met her or many others without GW

Its the remorse - the irrational I find a puzzle though - maybe it is control as mentioned by a previous post - the fact that THEY hold the key - THEY could switch it all off - I dont know still fishing.

But video game addiction is a serious issue - on another thread elsewhere a guy said "this is all I have to live for" - that is scary!

Kuldebar Valiturus · Mar 08, 2007, 07:12 PM // 19:12

I can think of nothing that when taken to the extreme can be considered a good thing. And that includes, moderation.

Once something/anything is allowed to usurp the place of everything else in one's life, it's no longer a life so much as it is a cancer.

Having said that, most people probably don't know what addiction really means, we modern humans tend to use words with little regard to their meaning.

Grasping Darkness · Mar 08, 2007, 07:24 PM // 19:24

I've been playing 22 months and 7k+ hours and in that time have gained a ghostly white complexion, lost two teeth and quit my job. I conteplate every day why I can't stop playing while I reminisce two years ago when I was making 45k a year managing a bar and had a girlfriend. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, ANET SHUT OFF THE SERVERS!!!!!

Dj Tano · Mar 08, 2007, 07:54 PM // 19:54

i suppose that when that day will come, ill be already off gw, and if not, then its goin to be a little sad to be forced to stop playing...

Age · Mar 08, 2007, 11:55 PM // 23:55

They could always make an offline single player version of the game with built in editors for npcs and economy.I would say in time you will get over it it is not like it is a real person who you lost or died. It is like a canceled TV series that you really liked anyway you will get over it and move on.the only big loses are those you met in the community and ingame i to would miss them but would some how manage to stay in touch with them some how.

GranDeWun · Mar 09, 2007, 02:09 PM // 14:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Overhill

This is kindergarten. In twenty years (probably way less), with the exponential increase of technology (think headsets, and possibly neural implants -- not joking), you won't be able to tell real life and virtual reality apart. That's when the real fun --and the nightmare, begins.

In the future, your character will fear YOUR demise...

Yichi · Mar 09, 2007, 02:58 PM // 14:58

Somewhere, TAPS is playing..... somewhere.......