Author Archive - AJ Wolf

Another Stress Test!

Posted 10/08/12 by

There will be another Stress Test tomorrow, Friday August 10, 2012 as detailed on the Guild Wars 2 Facebook page.

Thank you for all your help in today’s Stress Test!

We will be conducting a Stress Test on Friday, August 10 from 4:00 PM PACIFIC Time to 8:00 PM PACIFIC Time.

REMEMBER: We will be actively working on the game during the event, so you might experience connectivity problems or discover features that are not working as designed. Any issues you experience are a result of the rigorous conditions of the stress test, and are in no way representative of the state of the game at launch. By participating in this stress test, you’re helping us make Guild Wars 2 a better game. Thanks for your cooperation—we’ll see you in-game!

Additional notes:

* Stress Tests are open to those who have PRE-PURCHASED the game.

* Characters will not be wiped for tomorrow’s Stress Test.

-Rubi Bayer

Read more & comment >>

Ree Soesbee and Jeff Grubb talk Storytelling in GW2

Posted 06/08/12 by

This morning, Ree Soesbee and Jeff Grubb took to the Guild Wars 2 TwitchTV Livestream to talk about storytelling in Guild Wars 2. Check out the video for all the details.

Read more & comment >>

Stress Test

Posted 01/08/12 by

Concept Art

ArenaNet have announced that there will be a stress test from Noon – 4pm PST on Thursday August 2nd. See their post on Facebook for all the details.

We will be conducting a stress test on Thursday, August 2 from 12:00 Noon PACIFIC Time to 4:00 PM PACIFIC Time.

Unlike previous stress tests, we will be actively working on the game during the event, so you might experience connectivity problems or discover features that are not working as designed. Any issues you experience are a result of the rigorous conditions of the stress test, and are in no way representative of the state of the game at launch. By participating in this stress test, you’re helping us make Guild Wars 2 a better game. Thanks for your cooperation—we’ll see you in-game!

-Rubi

Read more & comment >>

Guild Wars 2 Launches a New Website

Posted 01/08/12 by

Concept

Today the home page of Guild Wars 2 underwent major changes to the style and format, and has been merged with the Guild Wars 2 Official Forums. The style now follows the format initially established for the beta forums. Key features include updates to all the Race and Profession pages. Be sure to check it out at https://www.guildwars2.com/en/

Read more & comment >>

Emotional Connections in Guild Wars 2

Posted 31/07/12 by

Concept Art

In a new blog post today, Ree Soesbee and Jeff Grubb talk about what it takes to make a game emotionally compelling.

Jeff: The question of emotional connection in a game is a tough one to answer, I think. How do we keep people from saying, like in Alice in Wonderland, “You’re nothing but a pack of cards” and dismissing the game entirely? How do we engage the players and make them care?

Ree: I think one of the first things any game has to do is to encourage the player to connect with their avatar in the game. In order to get the player to invest in the game world and think of the NPCs as compelling characters, the player has to think their own character is interesting and worth spending time with.

You can read the whole article at the official ArenaNet Blog.

Read more & comment >>

Asura Opening Cinematic Released!

Posted 19/07/12 by

Asura Concept Art

As a special pre-BWE3 treat, AreaneNet released the 4th opening Cinematic today via their official YouTube channel, showing off the Asura!

More information can also be found on ArenaNet’s official blog, where Ree Soesbee talks all about the pint-size geniuses.

No word on whether fans can hope for a sneak peak at the Sylvari before tomorrow’s final BWE event, but Ree assures us they will be revealed soon!

Read more & comment >>

Server Changes in BWE3!

Posted 18/07/12 by

Anet

In a new ArenaNet blog post, Mike Ferguson talks about servers and WvW.

In previous BWEs, WvW has had some difficulty with various different bugs in the system. Rest assured these have been fixed for this latest BWE.

In addition to the bug fixes, we’ve also updated our WvW matchmaking formula to use additional factors, like score differential to make even more accurate adjustments in future ranking calculations. Our tests indicate that the system is working much better now, and we’re really looking forward to seeing it in action during the event.

He also revealed that initially at launch, WvW matches will restart every 24 hours to allow for populations to settle and the matchmaking system to accurate set matches.

The final way they are planning to make sure WvW matches are fun and fair is by reducing the number of servers. Mike explains:

As our esteemed Lead Server Programmer Dr. Stephen Clarke-Willson put it recently, “Quite frankly, we made too many worlds for BWE2 just because we could and not because we should, and thus we had a lot of low population worlds. This time around we’re focusing our new CPU horsepower into fewer, more populated worlds.”

With new technology in place, and more zones for players to spread out among, ArenaNet is confident that all servers will be able to hold even more players, allowing for more dynamic populations and more fun game play for everyone.

Don’t worry, we’ll be closely monitoring our world populations this weekend and can quickly launch new worlds as needed should problems arise with our new population limits. Our server tech is now able to raise or lower population caps with some very simple changes that don’t require us to take the game down. This lets us adjust world populations based on how the servers react and you won’t even have to leave the game!

For a full list of the available servers, and for more information about WvW, be sure to check out the blog post.

anet

Read more & comment >>

What’s New in BWE3?

Posted 16/07/12 by

Anet

Today ArenaNet posted a new blog detailing all the changes players can expect in the final beta weekend event (BWE). Make sure to read the whole article for all the details, but here are the main highlights:

-Sylvari and Asura races, cities, personal stories and starting zones will be playable
-A new level 17-20 map will be available called Brisban Wildlands
-The first Mini-game will be playable – Keg Brawl in Hoelbrak!
-A brand new feature called Vista’s will be active. Climb to new heights and see the sights!
-Brand new nostalgic PvP map – Legacy of the Foefire, be on the look out for Guild Lords!
-Solo-player objectives being added to WvW

All previous Beta progression and characters will be wiped for this final beta, so take advantage and try out some new races and professions. Also, the Gem store is open for business. Players who purchase gems in BWE will get them at launch (just make sure you take note of how many you bought, in case of any hiccups).

Can’t participate this weekend? ArenaNet will be streaming live from their TwitchTV channel all weekend long. The devs will be showing you combat strategies in PvP and giving helpful tips. Twitch even has an App, so you can take the action with you!

Be sure to read the blog for all the details, and let us know, what are you most excited about in BWE3?

Read more & comment >>

Twitch Chat with Colin and Eric

Posted 12/07/12 by

Anet

Today, Eric Flannum and Colin Johanson held a Twitch Chat to talk about Guild Wars 2 endgame. You can watch the full video here.

In the interview they discuss all the ways Guild Wars 2 will keep players engaged after level 80. They announced there will be 8 dungeons with 25 different paths that will be available all of the time for players to enter and test their skill.

They also released new information about the Mystic Forge. Players will be able to earn skill points for all earned “levels” over 80 much like in the original Guild Wars. These extra skill points can then be turned in to the Sunspear Refugee next to the Mystic Forge for unique items, that can be used in specific combination within the Mystic Forge to create items.

Legendary Items were also previewed. These items will have the same stats as exotic items, but will have distinct looks. Examples include the Ironman, which will make characters look like molten metal, and leave behind molten metal puddles for footprints; and a Rainbow Bow that will shoot Rainbows.

They confirmed that there will be Holiday events including Wintersday and Halloween. For the first time the Mad King will have a voice. These events will take on new flavor as the other races will influence these very human centric celebrations.

They also discussed the complexity of the Event system, both in its creation and testing. Events will have 3 different flavors: One-offs, Chains, and Webs. Webs will be the most prevalent type of Event in the Orr region, and there will be double the amount of events in Orr compared to any other region. Examples of Orr events include cleansing the Shrines to the Human gods and holding them for extended periods of time.

Be sure to check out the full video for even more information.

Read more & comment >>

Sylvari and Asura Will Be Playable Next BWE

Posted 09/07/12 by

ANet

The wait is over!

In yet another sign that the launch of Guild Wars 2 will soon be upon us, ArenaNet has revealed that the Asura and Sylvari will be playable during the next Beta Weekend Event (BWE). These two races are arguably the most unique races to the Guild Wars 2 universe, and have, as of yet, been unplayable. But, starting July 20th at Noon PDT, all fans of Guild Wars 2 who have Pre-purchased the game will have access to both races and starting zones.

Anet Grove

For asura players, this means beginning your tale in Metrica Province, a vivid, exotic jungle area full of high-tech laboratories, quirky golems, and competing krewes of mad scientists. Nearby, the massive monoliths of the asuran capital Rata Sum hum with technomagical power. These diminutive geniuses may seem cute at first glance, but never underestimate an asura…

Sylvari players begin their story in the Grove, a luminous living city nestled in the shade of the Pale Tree, the “mother” of every member of this young race of plant humanoids. The sylvari are an enigmatic race of chivalrous explorers who are driven by an insatiable curiosity and guided by a collective Dream.

As of this morning, there is no word yet if progress made during previous BWEs will be wiped. Stay Tuned for more updates.

Be sure to check out ArenaNet’s Blog for more information and to read the entire announcement.

Are you excited to play the Asura and Sylvari? Be sure to leave a comment or check out our forums to discuss which race is your favorite!

Anet Rata

Read more & comment >>

Guild Wars 2 Reveals Potential New T-Shirt Designs

Posted 06/07/12 by

The Guild Wars 2 team turned to Facebook today to show off the new designs they are considering for a line of t-shirts they will offer up to fans of the game.

Photobucket

All 10 of the designs can be found here. Not only can you take a sneak peak at these shirts, but you can vote for your favorites at this poll!

Lifestyle Tee

No word yet from ArenaNet when these t-shirts will be available for purchase. Be sure to vote for your three favorite designs!

EDIT: The poll is now closed. Hopefully results will be posted soon!

Read more & comment >>

RPGamer Interviews Chris Whiteside and Eric Flannum

Posted 22/06/12 by

ArenaNet

In a new interview by RPGamer’s Becky Cunningham, ArenaNet’s Chris Whiteside and Eric Flannum talked about the feedback ArenaNet has been getting from the beta weekend events, and changes fans can expect to see in the future beta event(s) and at launch. The interview covers a large range of topics from combat, mini-games, to dyes.

Be sure to read the entire article for all the details. However, the biggest takeaway seems to be upcoming changes to both Melee combat and Telegraphing as detailed by Chris Whiteside.

Much of the feedback we are looking into now surrounds balancing, accessibility, tutorials, and a number of “nice to have” requests from the community.

Aside from the areas listed above, we are doing some work on melee vs. ranged balancing (across the game) as well as finishing off a handful of core systems and features, based on the feedback we received from the previous event. We also have a few new things to show off!

When asked about the difficulty of the Ascalonian Catacombs:

We felt that the difficulty shouldn’t be lowered, however, as we don’t believe this to be the issue.

Instead, we isolated two key areas that we will be working on to ensure that all players have more of an equal footing based on the diversity of their previous game experiences. First, we are going to do some work on melee combat to give players more time to react to enemy attacks and behaviors. Second, we will be putting in systems that telegraph changes in the game states and behaviors of enemies and bosses dependent on how the group is interacting with them. A good example of this is the lack of perceivable telegraphs when the Spider Queen spawns her spiders.

They also comment that the feedback between the two beta events has shift from what they call “macro” changes, to “micro” changes. They also thank fans for their continued feedback and support.

Read more & comment >>
« Older Entries