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Guild Wars 2: 'and i thought i would go to bed after i got to level 30'


The Derrit
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most mmo's have promised this but almost none of them deliver on it, and for good reason. let's think about this for a second.

let's say you have a user base of 2 million people, not that unusual. at the starting hub, there's probably 500,000 people if this is the first weekend the game is live. if this is the case, only one or two groups can do a quest at a time, because their result will change what can and can't be done for the groups behind them.

what does this mean? the game must have thousands and thousands of quests lined up, along with variations. unless it changes something that is truly unimportant (like whether the trees have leaves on them or not) it's pretty much impossible to implement.

In the sense that your thinking - yes, it's almost entirely not possible, but I definitely think there is a grey area that's between 'meaningless quests' and an 'everchanging worldscape'. The article that really inspired me is @ http://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/dynamic-events/dynamic-events-overview/

But i'll quote the most important part for some fun discussion.

Also, i've seen a few dev interviews over on youtube, one of the better ones was @ GDC 2011.

<-- skipping to about 3 minutes in. The stuff he's talking about is exactly the direction i'd like to see this genre go, They may ultimately not be able to pull it off - and the system could literally flop - but I'll take this anyday over chain-quests in a static, unchanging environment.

In traditional MMOs, when a quest is completed it has no real effect on the game world. You receive your reward and then move on, looking for the next quest to do. The world appears no better or worse for your actions. In GW2, the outcome of every event will directly affect the game world around you. If an enemy dredge army is marching out of their main base, players will be asked to mobilize with their allies and help destroy the army. If the dredge army is defeated, other events will cascade out from there. Players will be able battle their way inside the dredge base, face off against their commander, rescue captured friendly troops being held in the dredge prisons, and even hold the captured base while fighting waves of dredge, who arrive from deep underground to try and take back their home.

Dynamic Events

If, on the other hand, players fail to destroy the army, it will establish a fort in friendly player territory. From there, the dredge will send shipments of troops and supplies to the fort from the main base while building up walls, turrets, and siege engines to help defend it. Enemy dredge forces will then begin to move out from their newly established fort to attack friendly player locations in the area, sending snipers out into the hills, sending assault team forces to capture friendly player villages, and trying to smash down friendly fortifications with massive dredge walkers. All of these events continue to cascade out into further chains of events where cause and effect is directly related to the player's actions.

For example, if the players do not mobilize to stop the dredge snipers, they'll begin to shoot down all the villagers and merchants in nearby friendly villages. If they fail to stop the dredge assault teams from capturing a village, players will need to lead a force to help liberate the town and free the villagers. All of this content is derived from a single initial event - the dredge army marching through the map.

I can see the logic behind this idea, and I think it could work. Granted the world is still a giant chain of 'events' and ultimately, the world can just 'reset' and it will never be..this truly dynamic evolving thing - but the idea that certain villages or towns can become overrun and need to be rescued by a group of players is a huge step forward from 'complete quests 1-15, then move on to the next area' type of mentality that SO many mmos share these days.

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I know it's just EBGames, but still:

http://www.ebgames.ca/pc/games/guild-wars-2/253856

My head knows this release date is false, but my heart can't help but hope it's true!

lol That'd mean it's out now. XD

They're doing press beta events this month, then opening that beta up to more people in March and April. We're probably looking at a May/June release. But it's definitely releasing this year. It's gonna be a very non-productive year for me indeed.

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yeah the guildwars 2 facebook group has done a really good job of posting reactions from everyone and everyone has been really excited about it. i still enjoy playing the original from time to time so if it's any expansion on that then I will be very happy

edit:

does anyone want to play some guild wars 1 with me? i'm kind of itching to get some more elite skills and round out my character

Edited by The Derrit
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