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Guild Wars 2: Silence is Deafening
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
MMORPG.com Industry Relations Manager Garrett Fuller takes a look at Guild Wars 2 and the recent ArenaNet announcement that it will be released "when it is ready". While that statement might cause some to weep, wail and gnash their teeth, Garrett is content knowing that the team is focused on releasing a game that is complete, especially one that has the potential to set the MMO development bar for the next decade.
As we move closer to the holidays the game information machine that is mass marketing starts to grind to a halt. While some games are quietly going into beta, others are simply being quiet with what they share to fans and media. Last week Eric Flannum, Lead Designer on Guild Wars 2, released a blog about why the game is sharing some information, but for the most is keeping quiet through the holidays. In Eric’s address to fans he paints a clear picture on what developers are up against when releasing a title with this much anticipation.
Read more Guild Wars 2: Silence is Deafening.
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I know it's selfish to wish these people would work through the holidays, completely forego their family, friends and lives in order to bring to life a video game purely to satisfy my boredom.
...I'm selfish ;<
"Forums aren't for intelligent discussion; they're for blow-hards with unwavering opinions."
It's really lifeless to comment this post.
https://i.imgur.com/Dc8dU3M.png
Not much really to say on the other stuff stated, but GW2 has been in the oven for a bit over four years now, just so you have the facts straight.
The one on the far right shadow, that is, is going to be some sort of class with a shield; like, a warrior type? but most likely with some serious overhaulage and difference.
Then theres the one above him, which, im not sure exactly what that will be since its a woman and if you pay attention to the shading in the shadows, you can see that she has a robe on, so some other type of caster? i still pray for a mesmer;
Then the far right i dunno what the hell that is, besides a giant blob.
Oh and is there another shadow above the necromancer and next to the giant shadow? ..
:P
PS - All mammals have nipples.
Get over it already.
I can only imagine what release day will be like because it is gonna be on like donkey kong day 1 baby!
Yeah, I think we get the 'rogue' profession before christmas, I just hope he is very different than the assassin.
Good read, Garrett, thank you.
These are just my guesses. The shadow on the far left is some type of Char Gunslinger or two-hand melee class. The shadow on the far right is a Paladin. To the left of the Paladin is either a Bard-type class or another Gunslinger-type. I can't decide if the shadow to the right of the Char Gunslinger is another class or not - possibly the Asura summoner class?
They didn't start production on a large scale until development on GW:EN was finished, so thats a little more than 3 years. They had a small team doing pre-production on GW2 while most of the team made GW:EN, but actual production has been going on for a little more than 3 years.
http://www.guildwars2guru.com/forum/when-its-ready-t10873.html?p=452956#post452956
I am thinking (RE: hoping) that the next class will be the Mesmer, or something derived from it. Perhaps, a pistoleer/swordsman/mesmer as some sort of saboteur class. This way the Mesmer could be in the adventurer grouping rather than the scholar. I do believe that we are due for another adventurer or soldier class though!
I really do want my illusionist/enchanter class though...
The bold and underlined confirms my original statement.
As for why we announced production of the game so early, we had to announce the development of Guild wars 2 at that time because we were stopping production on our chapter model which had grown too cumbersome (introducing that many new skills and professions was killing our ability to effectively balance and maintain the game). We didn’t want to suddenly stop making chapters and start making an expansion with no explanation to our fans. While working on Eye of the North we began actively developing the initial design, engine, and tools for Guild Wars 2 with a smaller team while the bulk of our larger team worked on the expansion. When we finished Eye of the North we were ready for those people to roll onto Guild Wars 2 and begin work in earnest.
Yes, if you count pre-production it's 4 years, but the time they have been actually hands-on making the game is 3 years.
Of course that should count. As long as they are developing the game, no matter how small the team, then that is a part of the development cycle. Probably by the time Eye of the North was finish, they had finished revamping the game engine and been working on some concepts & concept art.
The ranger is a so-called "rogue/light fighter" profession. Both the ranger and the warrior have abilities and weapons that make them able to fight at range or in melee combat.
One of the mystery classes is another heavy "fighter/tank" type (using standard MMO archetypes as a basis). I won't say how I know that. I would like to point out that there was no real tanking (stereotypical mmo tanking) in GW1 though. So its probable that there is no tanking in GW2, don't you think?
As far as mesmer speculation goes. When GW2 was first announced it was eluded to that the mesmer was very likely to be a playable profession. In fact, other than the aformentioned unknown profession, its the only one that I am certain of.
is 4 years an issue now? with all the games released lately 4 years is way to short imo. the average time it takes to develope an mmo is 5 ish years i thought so dunno still quite a bit to go for gw2, alot can happen in a year
I just really hope theres a martial artist type class that fights with their hands and feet. I like doing melee but can't stand warrior type classes and I hate dagger user classes even more. I can forgive GW1 because I settled for be a healer monk after thinking the monk class was indeed a melee fighter. To this day I don't know why they didn't just make it a cleric or some other healer name. When I think of money, I think shoalin. Heck, all the monks in GW1 do look like kung fu monks.
If I were a betting man I would say the Mesmer will be in, they have confirmed no healer class but have stated a 'status removel' type class which I would hazard a Cleric/Paladin type, definitely a Rogue type (however I doubt whether it will be an Assassin) but the last I am a little stuck on.
However in the one of the early articles it was said that the classes would be subdivided into three types; light armour, medium armour and heavy armour or Scholar, Adventurer and Fighter. So by my reckoning thats 3 casters, 3 others and 2 fighter types.
We have 2 Lights (Elementalist and Necromancer), 1 Medium (Ranger) and 1 Fighter (Warrior) so far which leaves 1 Scholar, 2 Adventurers and 1 Fighter still to come. Draw your own conclusions
Going by my theory a Mesmer (1 Scholar), Rogue plus 1 (2 Adventurers) and Paladin (1 Fighter), what do you think?
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The angel of death has been abroad throughout the land; you may almost hear the beating of his wings.
House of Commons, 23 Feb. 1855
you know that no matter what they say this game will be released unfinished right?....i mean it's a no brainer. every single title in the last 4 yeas has been released prematurely. this will be no exception, but at least there wont be a monthly fee......
Well, there's another studio that likes to brag that they can put out a MMO in just two years. (I don't think that went very well for them)
For anyone speculating about the female shadow;
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/index.php?title=User:Pling/Sandbox&oldid=51501
You see that? It's a sword! It's probably a mesmer. The only caster class where swords actually fit (Rapiers)!
They can take all the time they need. I will buy it whenever it comes out. I just wish it would be sooner.
Veritas Vos Liberabit- The truth will set you free.
There's no such thing as an MMO that is finished at launch. Post launch development always continues; whether it's for patches or expansions, development always continues. I am and everyone else is just hoping that GW2 won't release, like all those other broken MMOs, with a lack of content.
The shadows look like different poses and armor for the classes they've already presented, to me.
^This.
Also for good measure Jeff Strain's interesting speech:
The defining characteristic of top MMO development teams is their awareness that they are delivering a service, rather than creating a product, and that release day is the beginning of a long-term relationship with their customers, rather than the end of the project. Traditionally, release day is the time to go home, repair your relationship with your spouse or significant other, and sleep for a few days, but the weeks and months following the release of an MMO are the most critical point of your development cycle. It's the time to make it clear to your customers that you will stand by your game, and that their trust in you as the developer will be rewarded. Regardless of your business model, you are asking players to invest hundreds or thousands of hours playing your game, and you need to demonstrate that you are committed to protecting the economy, quickly fixing bugs and exploits, and adding live content. If the entire development team is recovering at the beach in those first critical weeks, you will be unable to demonstrate your willingness and ability to support your game, and your players will be hesitant to invest their time and money with you.
The message is clear: avoid the Big Crunch. I'm not saying that we should expect to work 8-hour days in the weeks leading up to release, but we certainly can't work 16-hour days for six months before release and then expect to sustain that pace over the several-year lifespan of a successful MMO. If you are planning for success, you have to build a sustainable work culture, and you need to establish that culture before release. The work load will not decrease after launch – if anything, it will increase, so build a sustainable work culture and stand by it. It's not just a morale issue – it will have a critical impact on the success or failure of your business.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
Of course there is. It is a big difference with patching in stuff that should have been fixed or added at launch with adding post released updates.
I have faith since the first GW released in great shape but nothing is perfect (with possibly exception of Shirley Manson, the girl who sings in Garbage...).
If you reverse the colors on the Charr on the left you can make out what actually appears to be a bird-type of creature on the Charrs shoulder. The Charrs right arm is reaching up across and close to the body, with the hand reaching to the creature. You can make out the back of the bracer/gauntlet, which matches the one on the left arm. (It's also way too awkward of a position to be holding a long-barreled gun/cannon/charrzooka weapon). The Charrs head is even turned to be looking at the creature as well (look at the horns of the Charr).
At least... that's how I see it without the wishful thinking of a massive gun clouding my view...
Oderint, dum metuant.