Curse

inscribed · Oct 17, 2006, 03:34 AM // 03:34

The game has been around for a year and half now, and yet basic problems with the game still exist, unaddressed, even though we have been complaining about them since release. Here is a short list off the top of my head:

-Z axis is still a joke. Flying henchmen and floating pets still exist. There is no lower limit on hit boxes, so anyone can attack someone directly above them despite the terrain. Set a trap under a bridge and anyone walking above the bridge will trigger it. ArenaNet remains strangely silent.

-Pathing is ridiculous. Hitting 'action' on an object isn't enough, as any sharp corners, terrain obstacles, or other characters will block your movement. Henchmen and pets regularly get stuck behind other henchmen or enemies and are unable to attack your called target. Enemy NPC's stay hidden behind corners despite being unable to attack (although this makes it a bit easier to farm). Again, ArenaNet remains silent.

-Pet AI is, again, horrible. Henchmen AI will at least be improved by the addition of henchmen controls, yet, if Nightfall is any indication, pets remain useless. At least with henchmen, you can call a target and have the henchmen attack it, or Shift+Ctrl click something to order your henchmen ahead of you. This doesn't work with pets. In addition, pets regularly switch targets, randomly choose to remain in combat long after you run, or lose their target at the slightest hint of movement on the player's part. As it stands, beastmastery remains being viewed as something tacked on as an afterthought, with no real work put into it to make it viable. (I won't even get into the lack of Beastmastery/ Wilderness Survival weapons, or the fact that using two consecutive pet attacks causes only the last one to initiate, thats something for another thread).

-Spell graphics, particularly for the elementalist class, do not properly show the true radius of the spell. This, compared to the above items, seems to be the easiest thing to fix, but it remains unchanged since Prophecies release.

Look, I like this game a lot. I really, REALLY want to see it succeed and do well. But I cannot log on without running into fundamental problems that make the game look half assed, and cause large amounts of frustration. These are things I've listed off the top of my head, I'm sure I and many others on these forums could add to the list easily, and all of them have been around since released, and have been complained about since release.

Just looking at some recent additions the the game, the inclusion of character sorting was a great idea, but once we actually get it, we get two almost useless methods of sorting, with no way to save the sort upon exiting the game. This is just half-assed. I want to see this game do well, but that means not doing something 75% of the way when it should be done 100% of the way. I don't work at ArenaNet. I don't know what the cause of this is. Maybe the programmers are lazy, maybe they have their priorities changed around. Maybe they think doing things half assed is a great way to make a game. I'm sorry if I come across as harsh, but its pretty frustrating to play a game you want desperately to love, and be continually smacked in the face with glaring problems that have been around for 1.5 years.

I would love to hear a response from someone at ArenaNet. Are these just impossible problems to overcome? Too much red tape to go through to get these things fixed? Are these things just not seen as important? In my humble opinion, basic gameplay problems are the first things a new player notices, and if nothing else, would be the one area you want to be flawless.

Coridan · Oct 17, 2006, 03:45 AM // 03:45

I think i would have to agree here...I love the game...play it daily but it does bug the shit out of me when pets/henchman/other players block me from attacking or moving. Same goes for in town items. I agree that the basics should be fixed and it should be a higher priority then it appears to be. As well as storage issues coming up soon with a minimum of 8 characters if u have bought all 3 chapters...and thats not even counting those people who have bought extra slots. As far as issues with beastmaster and pets attacks i can't really say since I only played it once and thought of it as a joke...so yeah i think it needs some tweaking as well.

SIGNED

noocoo · Oct 17, 2006, 04:03 AM // 04:03

I strongly agree the term of spell graphics.

/SIGNED

arcanemacabre · Oct 17, 2006, 04:12 AM // 04:12

I agree with everything you've laid out. Very good points, indeed.

Omega X · Oct 17, 2006, 04:17 AM // 04:17

This topic has been sung to death....and should be in Sardalac.

Hodor · Oct 17, 2006, 04:26 AM // 04:26

The z-axis is a design flaw (probably a conscious compromise?) that would take a complete game rebuild to remove. As I understand it, there really is no z-axis at all, just one way entities to block you falling off bridges, etc. I hate it, but I think it will not go away soon.

The pathing on the other hand is shocking. PvP can be very frustrating as a result, sometimes, especially for a melee characters. I can't count the times a chain or spike has failed due to stubbing my toe on a rock, or tripping over a bush xD

/signed

Carbuncle · Oct 17, 2006, 04:35 AM // 04:35

everything you said is spot on.

/signed

Doomlord_Slayermann · Oct 17, 2006, 04:44 AM // 04:44

All good points, though it should of course be in the Suggestions forum.

/signed

Carl Butanananowski · Oct 17, 2006, 04:44 AM // 04:44

The only two that have really plagued me are the Z axis and the spell graphics (NO MORE 2D ETHER SEALS PL0X).

/signed

Dragannia · Oct 17, 2006, 04:45 AM // 04:45

The Guild Wars engine has no perception of height. It's not something they can fix with a patch or an expansion; we'd have to wait for GW2 for it to be fixed.

gr3g · Oct 17, 2006, 04:58 AM // 04:58

If you're hoping for an ArenaNet developer to respond, you're out of luck. The best you can hope for is platitudes from Gaile Gray or Alex Weekes. Would that satisfy you? I am sure the dev team is already aware of the deficiencies you mention. They will not explain the difficulties of fixing them in public for the simple reason that readers of this forum will misunderstand every word (how many have CS degrees and understand advanced graphics programming?). And they probably legally cannot talk about the game internals. So us normal players who have no real insight into the implementation details will go around in circles arguing with each other. In other words, I think this thread serves no purpose and should be closed.

Doomlord_Slayermann · Oct 17, 2006, 05:05 AM // 05:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by gr3g

If you're hoping for an ArenaNet developer to respond, you're out of luck. The best you can hope for is platitudes from Gaile Gray or Alex Weekes. Would that satisfy you? I am sure the dev team is already aware of the deficiencies you mention. They will not explain the difficulties of fixing them in public for the simple reason that readers of this forum will misunderstand every word (how many have CS degrees and understand advanced graphics programming?). And they probably legally cannot talk about the game internals. So us normal players who have no real insight into the implementation details will go around in circles arguing with each other. In other words, I think this thread serves no purpose and should be closed.

I think you honestly do not know what you're talking about either. While this should be in Sardelac, it does comprise an excellent list of issues that the dev teams should be addressing. That does not mean that they realistically can address it, simply that they should.

Tark Alkerk · Oct 17, 2006, 05:06 AM // 05:06

the one that really gets my goat is pathfinding, that really gets on my nerves.

Former Ruling · Oct 17, 2006, 05:08 AM // 05:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragannia

The Guild Wars engine has no perception of height. It's not something they can fix with a patch or an expansion; we'd have to wait for GW2 for it to be fixed.

Which is why the Z Axis update is wanted by alot of the ANet team (They freely will admit it) but it gets pushed back and will likely never happen even though it is a supported idea.

Anet's plan of pumping out chapters at an extremely fast paced rate means they have to give up on fixing some of the smaller things.

-------------

Funny story.

Theres this one Hill on 1 mission that I call "Glitch Hill". This ONE SPOT in the game is so glitched and buggy its funny.

Its in the "Iron Mines" mission, A Hill before you get to the "Danger Zone" where two Stone Summit bosses spawn and catapults hit areas. The hill has 2 Groups of Summit+Golems going down one side, and some Mantle on the other (they commonly fight). Its on the way of the "infusion run", so you might know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, This hill is Glitched. The Enemies "Rubberband Teleport" all over the hill (It's NOT lag on your part - you move fine), They'll all of a sudden loss aggro of you while in the middle of a fight and run off down the hill, etc.

After you leave the hill, its normal again.

inscribed · Oct 17, 2006, 05:18 AM // 05:18

I didn't post this in Sardelac because I didn't really make any suggestments. Just a small rant on my part, and was interested to see if others shared the sentiment.

Katari · Oct 17, 2006, 05:23 AM // 05:23

The henchies are frequently bodyblocked by a single foe. Sometimes a straight wall is involved, but not always. That's the only one that really annoys me.

gr3g · Oct 17, 2006, 05:23 AM // 05:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doomlord_Slayermann

I think you honestly do not know what you're talking about either. While this should be in Sardelac, it does comprise an excellent list of issues that the dev teams should be addressing. That does not mean that they realistically can address it, simply that they should.

Perhaps they should. That's hardly something us players can force by means of forum discussion, though. Players have been complainging about the lack of true 3d collision detection in this game since forever. I am sure the alpha testers discovered these problems as well. There is no way in hell the devs are unaware of them. And yet the problems remain unfixed for 18 months.

So, again, the best possible outcome of this thread will be a token appearance by one of the community representatives.

Doomlord_Slayermann · Oct 17, 2006, 05:29 AM // 05:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by gr3g

Perhaps they should. That's hardly something us players can force by means of forum discussion, though. Players have been complainging about the lack of true 3d collision detection in this game since forever. I am sure the alpha testers discovered these problems as well. There is no way in hell the devs are unaware of them. And yet the problems remain unfixed for 18 months.

So, again, the best possible outcome of this thread will be a token appearance by one of the community representatives.

Or a stimulating conversation on why they haven't and why they should be. Of course, that doesn't exactly include your pessimism.

inscribed · Oct 17, 2006, 05:38 AM // 05:38

One more thing, regarding gr3g.

I'd be happy with an appearance from Gaile Gray or Alex Weekes.

Also, while no actual action may result from this thread, sometimes its cathartic to vent around others who feel the same way.

gr3g · Oct 17, 2006, 05:40 AM // 05:40

Stimulating conversation is impossible when both us players and community reps such as Gaile Gray have essentially zero insight into the implementation. We can conjecture and counterconjecture until the cows come home, but surely these discussion paths are well trodden enough that we can predict a trainwreck with relative certainty?