Curse

Bryant Again · Apr 24, 2009, 04:27 AM // 04:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by SerenitySilverstar

Yes, but you're STILL paying for it with your monthly fee.

In addition to a shit-ton of other things, yes.

Regardless, this is another thing ANet should've given a big heads up about.

Kula · Apr 24, 2009, 04:28 AM // 04:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winterclaw

Stuff that is already in the game should be free at the very least. Now if they came out with 50 new hairstyles and asked $5 for you to buy the pack, that would be different.

Yeah, it would've been nice to have even more hairstyles & faces to choose from at that price but it would also probably have taken too much time and resources for Anet to add them in time for this update. I'm not holding a grudge because of this but it's still kind of a bummer.

I'm pretty sure we are stuck with the stylist options we have now for the rest of the game's existence. Because if they do end up adding more hairstyles/faces down the road (oh hell no) there will be plenty of pissed-off customers.

Edit:

Oh well, one way or another we wanted more character customization and we got it. It's better than not having any stylist at all, ...I guess.

The extra $10 per pop (more like $11 for me after CA tax!) will probably help pay for the work they put into this update and then some.

Re-edit:

Ok, I had my credit card out and entered my info, but didn't make the purchase at the last second. I'm only interested in changing one of my characters (change of face) and the price tag for doing just that doesn't seem justifiable to me. Bah

Gwmaster · Apr 24, 2009, 04:32 AM // 04:32

yeah i was quite disappointed they didn't add any new faces/hair styles for assassins/ritualists/derv/paragons. So far the only thing i like about this update is the traveler guy.

Qing Guang · Apr 24, 2009, 04:38 AM // 04:38

Hrm, have totally mixed feelings about this. Piece by piece:

Good:
- Nicholas! Sounds pretty awesome; I'm glad he's not just in Pre since I despise Pre. Will help me trash a bunch of useless junk I've been hauling around, and help my Necro finally achieve Sweet Tooth without paying through the nose, if what I've heard is true. Also, I was already moving to make an Official Professor Yakkington Fanclub on Wiki before the update

- Account-wide HoM: yay!
- Zaishen Menagerie: Ooh, fun. Now I'll have a place to put my casters' pets, which are never used. And it'll help my monk achieve her goal of getting a different pet for each hero! Plus, more Canthan-looking areas: always good.
- Free extra Xunlai slot offer: That'll help a lot.
- Bug fixes: What can I say? A fixed bug is better than an unfixed one. Except in Oblivion with the cool "shoot-it-with-an-arrow-and-be-rich" bug, but that's wholly different.

Good/Bad:
- Zaishen Quests/Coins: On the one hand, fun stuff to do. On the other hand, more grind to do. But overall, probably positive. The boss bounty thing looks like fun, and I can combine it with my ele's skill capping process.
- Equipment Packs. Yay for a place to stash my armor sets, boo for making it so grindy to get one. Might get one for my armor wh0re ele. IF they fix the Coins-can't-go-in-storage mess.
- Stylist. Gogo ANet for finally listening to us! I was so thrilled when I saw that they surprised us with it ("oh yay, I can finally trash Elly's awful hair, and Jenna can keep going with her return to her roots and finally stop relaxing her hair")... until I saw that it was a store item. WHAT? Here we've been arguing that oh, it'd be a great gold sink, etc... and they make it $10 for 5 basic ones. TEN BLOOMING BUCKS. No way Jose. I'm glad that they added it, and I know some people are willing to get it, but I still think it's silly. I was totally expecting to pay 5k per change or something, which I so would have done, but no. I'd rather spend $10 buying a slot for that ranger I've been planning than to get the 2 credits I'd need to fix my eles' hair.

Just Plain Bad:
- Storage update. I've already said it's silly to pay that much for a storage slot, and I stand by that. Once again, I'd rather just get a new character.
- Overall trend towards microtransactions. This is the big thing that's worrying me. I know times are tough, and really since ANet's not releasing a new campaign every 6 months like they were originally planning, they've got to get money somehow. That's the price to pay for letting us have the game without a subscription fee. I didn't mind the BMP (actually thought it was a good idea, though I wasn't willing to buy it), and I figured the Fire Imp upgrade was okay. But now there are more and more - storage, character customization, etc. Is Guild Wars going to turn into one of those freebie Asian games like Perfect World and MapleStory? I hope not. I've heard complaints that in some of those you need to buy things with RM to even do anything at the end of the game. I saw for myself, briefly, how completely unenjoyable MS was if you weren't willing to pay for a stupid ingame item. Guild Wars is a high-quality game, and I really enjoy it. I just hope this isn't the "way of the future"... and if this is how it's gonna be for GW2, well... by the time it comes out I'll be out of the house and away from the "no subscription-based games" rule, and The Old Republic is already looking pretty good...

Overall, though, despite a few things that I think ought to be changed, this was a pretty good update. I thought I'd be mostly negative on it but I think my outrage over the stylist was hiding the good parts at first... and even on that, I have to congratulate ANet for finally listening to us. Here's to hoping they listen to those of us who don't want to waste real money on ingame hair.

shoyon456 · Apr 24, 2009, 04:51 AM // 04:51

I haven't even logged on yet, but just reading about this update gives me the impression that it was well done and very thought out. I was hoping as much, after being told/reminded again and again about the amount of time and effort being spent on it. I will not say for certain until about a few months in whether or not the rotating zaishen menagerie quests or w/e were implemented in a way that staves off stale gaming, but the rewards seem more than tempting.

However, even if I find the update to be a 10/10 well into the summer... I still want that skill update BADLY.

daraaksii · Apr 24, 2009, 05:10 AM // 05:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by SerenitySilverstar

Yes, but you're STILL paying for it with your monthly fee.

You're also paying for the weekly updates and maintenances and the other sh*tload of content.

But that's another story.

$10 for a lighter hair, YOU GOT ME A-NET!

upier · Apr 24, 2009, 05:58 AM // 05:58

Up to this point - if I wanted to modify my character (which happened a LOT!) I was forced to delete and remake him.
Nothing has changed.
If I'll want a different haircut - I'll delete the guy.

Where is the AFK-fest?

Everything else - I don't really care for.

But thanks anyway.

MirkoTeran · Apr 24, 2009, 06:01 AM // 06:01

Its an OK update.

I don't know if its funny or sad that people expect everything given to them for free.

Dragonire · Apr 24, 2009, 06:08 AM // 06:08

To be quite honest, the in-game store really isn't built for micro-transactions. Most systems that operate like that (i.e. many F2P games) have you charge a minimum amount first which is then converted to some random currency (such as MS Points). You can then use this exclusive currency to buy items/games/whatever from that distribution system.

One of the reasons why you won't see stuff selling for like $2 in the online store is because of this: processing credit cards and other forms of payment cost the merchant money. The flat fees charged by Mastercard/Visa/et al. disproportionally hurt those transactions that transfer small amounts of cash. This is probably why many stores reject credit/debit cards for sales under $5 or so.

Perhaps ANet could have gone the micro-transaction route. It certainly seems like it could be done -- note the similarities between exchanging cash for virtual currency and buying makeover credits. They instead opted for another route, for example, giving more makeover credits for a set price (in this case, $10). Perhaps it's me, but I believe the former would generate more sales, due to it giving people more options (instead of 5 makeovers, maybe 3 of one thing and 2 of another -- theoretically of course). I'll admit that the gender change and name change seem a little off base in comparison to the makeover package.

Of course, none of this *really* affects me. I've been designing characters from the get-go thinking that such an option is unlikely -- so I'm fine with everything as is. :P Besides, if I felt like it, I'd just get another character slot to play with; it seems like this option was really made for people attached to older characters or something. The only cool option is mixing faces/hairstyles from different campaigns, although I'm not too sure how that'd work out. We'll see.

Edit: On other parts of the update... :P

The Menagerie is a pretty cool addition. Perhaps many (most?) people will find it useless, but at least it's a sign that more stuff like this could come in the future (hopefully?). I'm a pretty big fan of pets despite their general uselessness, although I've used them for vanquishing (micro to bunch stuff around a corner) and dungeon runs (my phoenix tanked Ilsundur's firebombs during the time when he had crazy high HP, heh). I'll be wishing for some changes to the beastmastery line (lol). :P

As for the Zaishen quests, it seems like a good way to get people playing together again (well, as much as possible in this environment). I don't care much for the rewards; I much prefer the prospect of having something random to do with my friends.

I've been expecting the account-wide HoM for awhile now, so nothing to say on that. Interesting, I guess, but still pretty useless until we know what they actually do in GW2.

Finally, Nicholas is made of pure awesome. The end.

sph0nz · Apr 24, 2009, 06:08 AM // 06:08

Pretty good update. Although the idea that rehashing will be okay as long as it comes with a new reward isn't too appealing. I'd like the new equipment packs, but grinding zaishen coins seems so dreadful. I think I might just strive for one heavy equipment pack since my warrior has plenty of weapons/armor.

It's really too bad the stylist wasn't implemented sooner (before I deleted my characters), but it's a nice addition I suppose. However, I never thought it would be something ANet would charge for.

Kronos Ledaloth · Apr 24, 2009, 06:09 AM // 06:09

Finally! I can change my ele's hair

Cacheelma · Apr 24, 2009, 06:15 AM // 06:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by SerenitySilverstar

Or "The gaming industry has changed a whole lot in the last 4 years. While our original intention of Free To Play was idealistic, it's not feasible in the current gaming climate."

Stop being conspiracy theory entitled game morons and THINK for once in your life QQers. Life evolves, the world evolves, so too do games and their business models.

And where is such confession from them?

Were you playingthe game back when they made this whole ground-breaking, earth-shattering revolutionary new business model for online game kind of A BIG DEAL and they made sure all the development teams SIGN on a paper saying the game will always be free with no microtransaction, EVER?

If they decided to change their mind now (bait & switch as usual Anet practice), I'd like to see an explanation.

Where is it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SerenitySilverstar

Yes, but you're STILL paying for it with your monthly fee.

And you get TONS MORE stuff in WoW as free updates. TONS more.

Abedeus · Apr 24, 2009, 06:20 AM // 06:20

Hehe. Ironic, isn't it? We have to pay more $ for character's haircut than I would have to pay in real life.

Zinger314 · Apr 24, 2009, 06:28 AM // 06:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cacheelma

If they decided to change their mind now (bait & switch as usual Anet practice), I'd like to see an explanation.

Where is it?

I remember Gaile saying something about that effect when the BMP was announced. I forget what she said though. (I think it was along the lines of "We can do whatever we want." Plus the fact that it's Gaile)

Chocobo1 · Apr 24, 2009, 06:31 AM // 06:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by MirkoTeran

Its an OK update.

I don't know if its funny or sad that people expect everything given to them for free.

People don't want it free (Although that would be cool), people want stuff for a reasonable price.

Lord Sojar · Apr 24, 2009, 06:39 AM // 06:39

You all complain about real money to do these changes.... The thing is, it requires overhead on their servers, and took a lot of man hours to create the changes on the server architecture to even make these changes possible.

Quit bitching and fork up the dough, or shut up and keep your pixel pansy characters the way they are. WoW doesn't give any of these services for free (as a matter of fact, they are more expensive, and you pay per month for WoW on top of it) So... if anything, ANET did you all a favor.

Now, for all you debbie downers out there... go take a cool shower and drink a nice, hot cup of tea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arkantos

The difference is, it costs $10 to change your hair style in GW, and a few silver in WoW. Blizzard got it right, ANet, not so much.

And shame on you Arky... you should know, the hair stylist in WoW can only change hair, not actual facial features (and forget about gender, lol)

In order to do said things, you must purchase character recustomization. Oh... wait... how much is that again? Let me quote it from my WoW account management page...

Each Character Re-Customization costs $15.00 USD (not including applicable taxes). This covers a single customization for a single character.

Oh.. about THAT. FOR SHAME MR ADMIN! FORRRR SHAMMMEEEE

Metalmaster · Apr 24, 2009, 06:51 AM // 06:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Star Gazer

I guess their original business model of having GW free has failed tremendously. You guys cry a river about needing funding for GW2 and all that jazz, but this is utter fail. You can keep your "makeover kits" and "storage". This update undermines the whole existence of Guild Wars and what it was started with.

Well said. Nothing else to add really...

Chocobo1 · Apr 24, 2009, 06:51 AM // 06:51

When people bring WoW into it and say it's not free because you pay monthly you really have to keep in mind that they get so much much more care with there game. It's not like they pay there monthly fee just to change a hairstyle.

Rhiana Reborn · Apr 24, 2009, 06:56 AM // 06:56

Very nice surprise to wake up to. ^^

Lol @ the person whining about needing Balth faction to buy Deep scrolls. Thay're 200 ea and all you have to do is have more Lux faction than Kurz (easily achievable by killing 2-3 enemies, as you say you're not a pvper.)

Haven't really explored these in-game yet, but OMG At the stuff that's dropping from the Traveler's gifts. Lots of re-skins, true, but O.O Really looking forward to completing this, even it'll take me a looong time.

distilledwill · Apr 24, 2009, 06:59 AM // 06:59

Alright, I take it back. You guys did a great job, totally didnt see the stylist coming... :P