Curse

rick1027 · Dec 26, 2009, 03:38 PM // 15:38

it wouldnt bother me to have other people to be able to buy the hats even though i was at the majority(all but one halloween finale the last one) it wouldnt demean my memories and in no way should anet quit making new ones i look forward to the new ones every year.. id would buy a pack to get the hats i deleted before the hat maker came and wish i still had them

WinterSnowblind · Dec 26, 2009, 04:20 PM // 16:20

As someone who doesn't have the 2005 hats, I have to say this is something that really shouldn't be done. Without trying to sound elitest, getting the yearly hats is what makes these festivals special, simply being able to go back and buy them would kind of ruin what makes them special, in my opinion.

Although since we did have such a lack of storage back then, I do think they should re-issue the 2005/2006 hats to all those with accounts that are that old. Perhaps with the Tengu mask being the exception.

Daesu · Dec 26, 2009, 06:54 PM // 18:54

There are 2 hats for wintersday 2005, the Grenth horns or the Yule cap.

Personally, I prefer the Grenth horns to the Yule cap if I still like the hair on that character because the cap would cover up the hair completely.

There is also a Yule cap look alike for Wintersday 2006, called the Stylish Yule cap which looks somewhat similar to the 2005 Yule cap. But the Great Horns of Grenth (also in Wintersday 2006), looks quite different and not as nice as the original Grenth horns.

recon54 · Dec 26, 2009, 09:14 PM // 21:14

Personally i would rather they stop the microtransactions for little things such costumes and storage (which shoulda been free imo cuz i think storage is a feature not content). Instead use the microtransactions for things such as more content like new zones to explore with new drops/armor/quests/etc (more like the BMP). I remember Jeff Strain saying back when Observer Mode was added that players would never have to pay for features that should be in the game (like observer mode), but they should have to pay for new content such as new weapons and lands to explore and quests. Also, if they are going to have us buy things such as the Costumes, they could have at least added a fun little quest and offer the costume as a reward at the end to actually make it a little bit more worth the players money. So IF they were to make previous years hats available for sail, then at least make them worth it to the player by perhaps giving them a quest as well for each hat to go out and earn that hat.

Also in terms of Anets business model, the original model was to release a new campaign every 6 months. That model went out the window with the release of Factions, because Factions was 6 months late. Personally i think the model probably would have worked better if they would have just stuck to optional expansions instead of optional full games. That way they wouldnt have had to redo all the "beginner isles" with every release, which was one of the things that Strain said was taking up so much of their resources and time and a reason why they decided to start working on GW2.

Pistachio · Dec 26, 2009, 10:03 PM // 22:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barrage

Why can't it be like this:

No matter what year it is and what hat is being given, the only thing you must do is a (newly added) quest to get "The Missing Hats" which should take ~ 20 mins and then you can just talk to the festival hat maker and have access to all the hats.

Yes, please something like this. Let the older hats be accessible during the event with some work on the player's part.

Malice Black · Dec 26, 2009, 10:10 PM // 22:10

I still got my grenth horns. Deleted my pumpkin head though

WTB another pumpkin head.

Mustache Mayhem · Dec 26, 2009, 10:57 PM // 22:57

I dunno if giving it to everybody is the right way to go.. a guy coming into gw this year gets a veteran's hat (basically what it is nowdays) would be silly.. same with any other rares in the store- it doesn't sit well with peeps who have them..

maybe if it was offered to peeps who had their account activated in 2005 before the first winter event.. could go for that

what really surprises me about anet is they aren't really greedy.. like for example, in kalonline they sold in game consumables.. it was free to play like gw but what happens when you sell something simple like cons, people end up buying a bunch of them for real money and reselling them in game for gold.. so instead of the gold sellers, anet would become the legit gold seller

the side effect, prices inflate in game.. so more profit for anet as peeps buy more cons from the store to re-sell in game.. and in the case of kal-online.. alot of these guys would buy tons and couldn't even wait to sell them off at market price.. you'd always wait for one of these idiots to start spamming cons for 1/2 to even 1/4 what they go for to quickly sell so they could get enough money for the next set of armor/wep whatever..

the economy gets ruined, everything goes up.. you have lubies buying all the top rares tomorrow.. I know they can do that now with asian gold sellers (and I'm sure alot of them do), but anet doesn't see a dime of that.. I think they are pretty generous for what you get back in game play actually- funny to see peeps beeoytch about the costumes.. they haven't seen these other non-subscription free to play games I guess, that's nothing.. an example of other free games store would be- like buying 10 gifts of the traveler for $2.50 or zkeys in sets of 10, ect..

Zebideedee · Dec 26, 2009, 11:39 PM // 23:39

Quote:

i think paying for hats is a stupid idea. Why not just make gw p2p while you are at it?

No way, they would be totally optional. Just as long as it didn't end up the way that so many other F2P games go, where they claim to be free to play but if you buy stuff with cash you have an advantage over the non buyer. As it is at the moment if you don't want or like it you just don't buy it.

Regulus X · Dec 27, 2009, 12:12 AM // 00:12

All I want this Wintersday is for Anet's GW1 Devs to care...

..and selling shreds of pixels for $10 a piece is the furthest thing from it! Some GW1 players will pay anything because they're compulsive spenders, and prolly pretty wealthy too. Looking at the bigger picture though, microtransactions for the tinyest of things is pretty lazy and sad. Designs are all too easy to code, and to turn around & sell them for 1/3 of the retail price of each campaign is just sickening to non-retarded people.

II Lucky Charm II · Dec 27, 2009, 05:49 AM // 05:49

Video games should be based on real life. With money comes power. The rich gets whatever is best and the poor lives a lowlife. As simple as that.

Daesu · Dec 27, 2009, 07:55 AM // 07:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zebideedee

No way, they would be totally optional. Just as long as it didn't end up the way that so many other F2P games go, where they claim to be free to play but if you buy stuff with cash you have an advantage over the non buyer. As it is at the moment if you don't want or like it you just don't buy it.

While you dont like to pay for the stuff that you want, I dont buy into the philosophy that you are entitled to everything in life for FREE either.

If you can buy the old festival hats, whether through the online store or through a quest, then those hats would have all lost their special meaning of proving that you were there during those special occassions.

Reflect · Dec 27, 2009, 08:40 AM // 08:40

add mini kanaxai as micro-transaction?
add fame as micro-transaction too?
add some titles as micro-transaction?
Obsi armor too?

NO.

upier · Dec 27, 2009, 09:30 AM // 09:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daesu

If you can buy the old festival hats, whether through the online store or through a quest, then those hats would have all lost their special meaning of proving that you were there during those special occassions.

Let's not forget the current system has flaws.
I got the first pumpkin head on my first account. A few months later I bought a second account after running out of character slots and a bit later down the line I completely stopped using my first account. So, despite being there I do not have access to those hats due to them being tied to accounts.

Daesu · Dec 27, 2009, 09:55 AM // 09:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by upier

Let's not forget the current system has flaws.
I got the first pumpkin head on my first account. A few months later I bought a second account after running out of character slots and a bit later down the line I completely stopped using my first account. So, despite being there I do not have access to those hats due to them being tied to accounts.

Every system has a flaw since nothing is perfect in this world. But certainly releasing all the old hats into the general public should not be the right solution for that. Since if that is the case, then there is no reason for me to be present during those special occassions when I can easily obtain them at anytime, elsewhere. It cheapens the special significance of the occassions themselves.

upier · Dec 27, 2009, 10:13 AM // 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daesu

Every system has a flaw since nothing is perfect in this world. But certainly releasing all the old hats into the general public should not be the right solution for that. Since if that is the case, then there is no reason for me to be present during those special occassions when I can easily obtain them at anytime, elsewhere. It cheapens the special significance of the occassions themselves.

I think I've AFKed each of the hat giving occasions. When all you need to do is turn on the PC and stand in LA for a few hours I do not think that qualifies as special enough to justify excluding a bunch of players.
Plus let's not forget - offering this in the game store would allow A.Net to keep the servers running and it would prevent you having to pay a subscription.

RTSFirebat · Dec 27, 2009, 10:51 AM // 10:51

Oh dear I never expected my thread to start such a debate, it was meant to be about the hat, not micro transactions or whatever the heck their called.

I don't understand why some people have come to the conclusion that EVERYTHING should be available via a micro transaction?

LeoX · Dec 27, 2009, 01:46 PM // 13:46

Hehehe yes, it sure is one of the best Festival hats of all time

I think I started playing in September or something, and I didn't get to LA in October so I had no idea that there was Halloween in Guild Wars, so missed out the original Pumpkin Crown. Ah well, I got the Yule ^____^

Daesu · Dec 27, 2009, 05:45 PM // 17:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by upier

I think I've AFKed each of the hat giving occasions. When all you need to do is turn on the PC and stand in LA for a few hours I do not think that qualifies as special enough to justify excluding a bunch of players.

Even so, your character existed and was present during the event even if you are not.

Quote:

Plus let's not forget - offering this in the game store would allow A.Net to keep the servers running and it would prevent you having to pay a subscription.

Then why are you against them selling the costumes in their online store?

Kaleban · Dec 27, 2009, 06:21 PM // 18:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by II Lucky Charm II

Video games should be based on real life. With money comes power. The rich gets whatever is best and the poor lives a lowlife. As simple as that.

/facepalm, this guy... just... wow.

Ask yourselves something, just how often do you wear ANY hat? Before the advent of the costume/hat combo being able to be worn over armor?

Its probably close to zero. Except of course during festivals, when its a time to play and have fun, right?

So why would a time of joy and fun be at the same time a means and method for exclusion, e-peen glorification, and negativity?

These hats are, like any other cosmetic enhancement, just a means for differentiating oneself from other players.

I've missed many hats due to real world obligations, or just not being all that interested in the game as it slowly drifts away into obscurity. As much as I would like to get some or all of the hats I've missed to mix and match on my various characters, I would NEVER support the MACROtransaction model that ANet has foolishly decided to go with.

However, if there was an involved and lengthy quest that allowed any level 20 character to unlock the hats of previous years (i.e. not something as hard as DoA lol) then I would be all for it. In fact, it might make the game more attractive to "newbies" because it would be a means of INCLUSION.

See, the problem with GW in the last couple of years is that the devs have gone all bass ackwards on their original concept. Bi-yearly installments were shelved in favour of MACROtransactions, and poorly implemented skill balancing. Which is odd because once a game like Prophecies is released, and the base code in place, all you're really doing is art development and 3d modeling of characters. It SHOULDN'T be all that difficult with a dedicated team to pump out new and complete content every six months, but when it takes six weeks for ANet just to get a Krewe up and running to beta test skill balance, you know their directors are idiots.

Gameplay and skill have given way to grind, pure unchanging grind. This game is but a pale shadow of it original premise and promise, and ANet should be ashamed that they've let it degenerate this far.

But back OT, all hats should be made available to all, if Birthday gifts can be given to characters while logged out, I see no reason why hats cannot be added to accounts in the same way. ANet NEEDS to stop excluding players who can't sink thousands of hours into their game, and needs to reinvigorate the idea of this game as a Mecca for casual players who are sick of grindfests like WoW, EQ and EVE Online.

If not, then this game and GW2 will simply blend into the background noise of the MMO market, and will LOSE if it has to go up against established MMOs like WoW.

Martin Alvito · Dec 27, 2009, 06:39 PM // 18:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by RTSFirebat

I don't understand why some people have come to the conclusion that EVERYTHING should be available via a micro transaction?

Because they are gold buyers and want to buy things legally.

Most of us don't want to play a game where that is possible, hence the acrimony.