Curse

Starsky-sama · Apr 25, 2006, 12:09 PM // 12:09

It's really. you want to buy it or you dont.

**I for one have already ordered it. cant wait.

No one really relies soley on forums/websites, or guides, or even discovering things ingame for themselves.

everyone has their reasons in using what resources they are comfortable with using to find info.

I for one enjoy checking for info in all forms.

/g'day.

Vusak · Apr 25, 2006, 12:17 PM // 12:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by fallot

...The benefit of the Prima Guide is that it offers information early...

information early?

if the information is incorrect, then it is useless - no matter that you receive it before others. EARLY wrong information != right information.

as to my assumption of its dubious nature.

that stems from the only sole example i have regarding a prima guide for this game.

simply put, on what basis should i estimate its worth?

from the promotional material on the publishers website?
from the promotional material on the guild wars website?
from the promotional material on any website???

if im a user looking for some kind of indication for the usefulness of the prima guide - i have 3 big choices:
A-be the publisher or someone else 'in the know'
B-read the promotional material
C-look at another example of the same product

A means i dont have to buy it
B means im only gonna hear the good things
C means it must be crap coz of what everyone has said about its previous incarnation

indeed the fact that the developers 'may' have made some kind of contribution (details are sketchy), does give it a certain sense of worth beyond some clueless cross selling gimmick.

however im still inclined to think that any REALLY useful info from the guide will be gleaned by good players and posted, or be directly copied from the guide and posted.

in any case, a new user wont be able to determine which information is particularly useful or not, it will be all new and hence all potentially useful, but at the same time, all potentially redundant when compared to other free sources.

and only after consulting with online commentary will they necessarily be able to deduce which information is worth paying attention to. which then begs the question - why not use those online info sources for the info itself in the first place?

or maybe after the recent UAX arguement, im just bored and need something to debate?

Kern Wolf · Apr 25, 2006, 12:24 PM // 12:24

From what I've read and heard, ANET has written the Prima Guide for Factions; they did NOT write the guide for Prophecies. So maybe the information will be a little more relevant this time around.
I didn't have a real problem with the 1st guide, but after I found out about the web sites, I really just useed the guide for the maps....

Tetris L · Apr 25, 2006, 12:42 PM // 12:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Lozza

The wiki makes necros sound like they are just degen providers, but most of us know that that isn't the case.

The whole point about a wiki is that anybody can edit and correct it. If "most of us" consider something written in the wiki as wrong, then why don't we go and correct it?

Thargor · Apr 25, 2006, 12:48 PM // 12:48

I think we are being a little harsh on the first guide here people. It has lots of good uses, I will list some for you lest you all forget.
1. Perfect Coaster (much nicer to look at than any plain old coaster)
2. Nice big map that is too large to hang anywhere
3. Great for smacking that annoying fly that is buzzing around
4. Equally great for smacking the dog that wont quit barking in your ear
5. comes in very handy when you have run out of other things to get that fire going

I bought the first and Ill buy the new one too, It does have its uses for me but Im not sharing that info here lest you all figure out my secrets

Lady Lozza · Apr 25, 2006, 01:15 PM // 13:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tetris L

The whole point about a wiki is that anybody can edit and correct it. If "most of us" consider something written in the wiki as wrong, then why don't we go and correct it?

Which is half the problem. I was an active member of a wiki community 2 years ago. I put a lot of hard work into writing and coding to make sure the information was NOT ONLY accurate, but also unbiased and relatively unopinionated. 3 weeks after I finished the majority of the changes I wanted to make, someone else came along and changed it again because they thought that the "unbiased, unemotive" approach was not the right one to take. I'm not the only one to have had such an experience with the wiki either.
Why bother changing things if they are merely going to be changed back? I'm more than happy to provide armour pictures, etc but I've stopped trying to "change" things because I'm sick of them being changed back when someone simply doesn't agree with the light you've chosen to present the subject in.

As incorrect and out-of-date as the prima might be, it does present all the professions in a positive light. It states outright what the strengths and weaknesses of each class are, while constantly reminding you that there is no right way to do things. The wiki and online forums are full of people and information trying to force you to take a very cookie cutter approach.
"Squeeshies can't tank" is one of the largest falicies around but so very few people bother to correct it.

For a new player, the prima is precisely what is needed. The fact that it is out-of-date and incorrect isn't an issue because what they are after is a little bit of information without insults or the word "noob" being thrown around.

As an experienced player, I will be looking at the prima and only buying it if there is something there that particularly interests me.

Tetris L · Apr 25, 2006, 01:48 PM // 13:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Lozza

I was an active member of a wiki community 2 years ago. I put a lot of hard work into writing and coding to make sure the information was NOT ONLY accurate, but also unbiased and relatively unopinionated. 3 weeks after I finished the majority of the changes I wanted to make, someone else came along and changed it again because they thought that the "unbiased, unemotive" approach was not the right one to take. I'm not the only one to have had such an experience with the wiki either. Why bother changing things if they are merely going to be changed back?

As a regular contributor on GuildWiki I can assure you that the GuildWiki team strives hard to keep the wiki as unbiased and objective as it possibly can be. If an edit is disputed, a democratic decision will be made after a discussion of the details. Really, if you feel that the articles about Necromancer or Mesmer don't do these professions justice, then by all means, go ahead and re-write them! Unless your edit is found biased by the majority of contributors it won't be reverted. Off course, minor edits are always possible. If you can't cope with that, don't write in a wiki.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady Lozza

"Squeeshies can't tank" is one of the largest falicies around but so very few people bother to correct it.

Did you have a look at Tank on GuildWiki (and on the talk page) by any chance? You'd be surprised.

Anyway, this isn't the place to advertise for GuildWiki, so I'll shut up now.

--~~~~

Dove_Song · Apr 25, 2006, 05:23 PM // 17:23

You can always thumb through it at your local game shop before you buy it to see if it's something you will like.

Since this lil' disscussion started I've been going through my guide looking for "mis-information". I can find alot of things that have been changed, but can't seem to find any outright lies. But hey I've never seen a guide that didn't have a few errors.

If you spend as much time lost as I do, or getting all the Kryta issions confused: (they all look the same after 50050509509684576 times) It's pretty helpful to me.

As for the missing maps UW FoW SF.....I just printed out some, and stuck them in the book.

And....no, I am not fortunate enough to work for Prima. Too bad, it'd be fun to play video games all day.

I never liked guildwiki because it seems that it's more about who has more time to edit , and less about who has the best information. But each to there own I guess.

Kern Wolf · Apr 25, 2006, 06:28 PM // 18:28

I wonder how many people are going to try and buy the guide, because I just picked one up at BB; the store had a grand total of 8 guides shipped to them...

Starsky-sama · Apr 25, 2006, 06:35 PM // 18:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kern Wolf

I wonder how many people are going to try and buy the guide, because I just picked one up at BB; the store had a grand total of 8 guides shipped to them...

/nice.

if you wont mind. giviing us opinions about it. maybe even small interesting details.

/waiting for mine.

Dougal Kronik · Apr 25, 2006, 07:19 PM // 19:19

I'll be buying it as soon as I find one!

I enjoyed the maps, some of the comments and the listings for the skills - not the descriptions because they changed with all the updates.

Also - when I'm not at home or able to listen to the Guild Wars soundtrack, I can read the guide. It's my little piece of Guild Wars that I can take with me on the road.

Therefore - it is not crap. It has assisted me in my complete exploration and charting of Tyria.

wwwgeek7 · Apr 25, 2006, 07:44 PM // 19:44

I picked up a copy of the Factions guide from CompUSA on my lunch break today. It contains several pages of lore and background information, and a pull-out map of Cantha. There are mission and quest walkthoughs, which I refuse to look at until I need them. There are skill lists for all eight professions, which contain only the skills available in Factions. There are build suggestions which are attributed to Isaiah Cartwright. There are charts for all kinds of things. There are a few things in the guide that I haven't seen mentioned before, but nothing earth-shattering. There's a comment in the guide that it's intended to go along with the manuscript that comes with the game, so I guess some of the juicier details will be in that manuscript. The funniest thing I read was that guild capes would cost 100 gold. That was also a mistake in the Prophesies guide and I can't believe they made the same mistake with this guide. If I remember correctly, capes were 100 gold for about a week when Prophesies came out, but were soon changed to the current 2000 gold. Maybe the price of capes is going down...

Starsky-sama · Apr 25, 2006, 08:11 PM // 20:11

/thx for the info wwwgeek7. that is amusing about the capes. unless they do intend to do that for the players with factions only. start cheap for them for a week or so.

Vahn Roi · Apr 25, 2006, 08:20 PM // 20:20

I'm cheap, and I already spend at least an hour in quick visits on GuildWiki a day anyway...so yeah.

mm00re · Apr 25, 2006, 09:05 PM // 21:05

just got the guide today, not horrible at all, at the very least the map looks very nice and shows me all 48 outposts/cities

along with a pet that no-one found in the fpe event

Starsky-sama · Apr 25, 2006, 09:14 PM // 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by mm00re

along with a pet that no-one found in the fpe event

Oy...xD.-thx for that bit.