Curse

edwinna elbert · Apr 27, 2008, 11:31 PM // 23:31

Although all the bug fixes and minor additions keep on coming, many people on the forums keep voicing their demands for new (almost exclusively PvE) content. Of course, Regina and Gaile have both stated many times that the developers' time is finite and is now heavily focused on the production of Guild Wars 2, with only a few QA and event-planning staff still working on GW1.

The last piece of content for GW was the BMP, and if I'm guessing I'd say it wasn't all that successful. The BMP seemed like a test, although the distribution was a heated topic when you had to spend money in the online store to get it. I feel that after crunching the numbers, ArenaNet didn't feel that the cost to produce the BMP was well covered by the profits from selling it. In reality, I don't feel that four explorable areas is really worth £6/$10, but I bought it anyway.

On to the main thinking though:

'New Content' can be broken down into several categories:

1. Explorable Areas
2. Dungeons (UW, Sorrow's, Tombs, Ugroz, Frostmaw's, etc.) & Missions
3. Arenas/Hero Battle maps
4. Guild Halls
5. AB maps/HA maps

We've seen the addition of many dungeon-like areas, in a way they're very similar to missions; I'll include the BMP maps in there as you have a specific objective to reach.

Adding a new Dungeon will be the biggest type of task; by their nature they must be large with many obstacles to overcome, the more recent dungeons with timed elements or simple puzzles. All of this requires playtesting. Assuming that a new dungeon were to be made using only existing content (monsters, scenery, textures, etc) and not wanting to do much brand new, I'd say that a team of three could create the experience in three months. This does not count playtesting and debugging though.

Likelyhood: Tiny

Adding a new explorable areas is a strange one; it would be done just to fill up the map. There are far fewer issues in explorable areas compared to dungeons; they're very straightforward with only pathing and spawn to worry about after the aesthetics are done. Of course, people would expect NPCs and quests, with could complicate the matter greatly. That said, again, assuming re-used graphics, an explorable area should be doable in a month or so.

Likelyhood: Miniscule

Arena and HB maps are a different story. Probably the simplest new content to add as there are no monsters. Pathing for heroes/pets needs to be there and some playtesting to make sure characters don't get stuck anywhere has to happen, but aside from that it's easy enough. Arenas can be designed with very simple routes around them; almost all are symetrical and very small. I'd say that a single person should be able to create a polished arena map in a metter of weeks.

Likelyhood: Not that bad

Guildhalls stopped coming after nightfall: no EotN guildhalls exist. The big issues with guild halls are balance related. Guilds will scream if there's a hall giving obvious advantages, and Guild halls have to be creatively designed to avoid there being too many similar. A guild hall could take only weeks to create, but maybe months to properly test in comparisson to all the others. This same thing applies to AB and HA maps: easy enough to create but difficult to balance.

Likelyhood: Very Small

So, that's my thoughts. Unless ArenaNet want to employ a new development team for GW1 who can produce and test content quickly and ensure that it sells, nothing much is going to happen to PvE. PvP could potentially see a few small additions, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Konig Des Todes · Apr 27, 2008, 11:57 PM // 23:57

What I don't get is the point of this thread. You open saying that people want things but others say it won't happen *Gaile and Regina amoung many guru people*. But then you put in 5 wanted new content. Are you just trying to summarize what is wanted or are you saying what you want? Because if you are summarizing then you forgot some things, such as new weapons, Armor, titles, NPCs, storage, etc.

Also, some things other then bug fixes and minor additions were added. I would have to say that adding 2 weapon packs and a Prophecies End-game area are not 'minor additions.' So I ask, are you making suggestions or summarizing?

If summarizing, poor job, if making suggestions, well you already said the possible chance of it happening and they are not bad, but I can tell you now that the AB maps won't happen as, unlike the other PvP maps, they are set into the location of the Kurzick/Luxon line.

Zsig · Apr 28, 2008, 05:14 AM // 05:14

From my point of view, an analysis as the title suggests, is an analysis, and as such it doesn't need to suggest anything, and the OP clearly states that.

Although, the OP forgot to include into "new content" new skins. They're (among other things) the cheapest thing to add to the game, and probably one kind of content that appeals to everyone PvP and PvE alike. So it's a Win/Win addition.

And guess what? Lately new skins is all we've been getting, and I'm not complaining.