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Guild Wars 2 console and pc on same servers?
Epicent
Member UncommonPosts: 648
in Guild Wars 2
Does anyone know if you will be able to cross server the console version and pc version. I ask because my stepson wants in on xbox and it would be neat to play together. I know ff 11 did it. Any info would be appreciated.
Comments
They didn't even announce if the console version is coming - they only have ''a small team looking into it''.
In other words, wait and see.
There most likely will not be a console version of GW2 unless it is a completely different game like EverQuest Online Adventures. The game is far too late in development, and many features (such as WvW) are practically impossible on a console. Then there's the problem of patching. Remember how smoothly ANet was able to deliver update in GW1? This would be impossible on a console. I don't know what their specific policy is, but Microsoft is known to prohibit free content updates, forcing developers to charge for almost everything.
Most importantly, however, a console version was never confirmed.
I highly suspect that the small team "looking into" or even "working on" a console version is doing a feasibility study. The source of the confusion comes from a conference call with investors. A Korean NCSoft representative told them that it wouldn't be realistic to launch the console version at the same time as the PC version. The wording was very specific.
Notice that a console version isn't actually promised at all. It's stated when it won't launch but not that it ever will. There's a reason why she didn't say, "We will launch the console version after the PC version."
So why the small team if it already seems so impractical? If investors tell NCSoft there's money in consoles, NCSoft tells their developers to look into consoles. So ArenaNet's "looking into it." They'll need actual numbers that show investors it's impractical if they're going to be believed. Until then, the official word is that they're still "working on it."
If they were serious about a console version, it would have been announced by now.
Hopefully your stepson has a decent PC.
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
In what way would it be impossible on a console to patch and update the game? Xbox360 has a 250GB HDD now and the PS3 can take any size laptop HDD you want to put into it. Microsoft may be reluctant to offer free content but I would imagine it could go ahead on PS3. On PS3 we already have cross platform play between PC and console gamers.
DC Universe is still alive on PS3 too, sadly console gamers didnt buy into the sub thing and DC sucked, but GW2 doesnt have a sub so it would entice more console gamers to buy and play the game.
WvW would be possible too, MAG on PS3 had 128v128 on massive maps.
I didn't say it would be impossible to patch. I said it would be impossible to patch as smoothly as was done in GW1. There are several hoops to jump through every time you want to update a game on PS3 or 360. On PC there's... nothing. You just go ahead and update.
DCUO was designed specifically for consoles and has the advantage of being developed by one of Sony's own studios. It has a few less hoops to jump through to get something updated. It's also operated by (ew) SOE. I would expect ArenaNet to update their game a little more diligently than SOE is known to.
Finally, I am absolutely certain that WvW will allow significantly more than 256 players on a single map, and the way MAG divides up the players means that although all the players are technically on the same map, you will only ever encounter about 16 to 32 of them. Worth pointing out is that the console version of Battlefield 3 (a very similar game), supports less players than the PC version. There is reason for this.
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
As viable as you can make it sound, it's still not possible (not with current technology). Also comparing GW2 to MAG is fruitless. MMO's and FPS's are just two completely different beasts. Yes MAG was able to achieve 128x128 player scales...but these were on a different server structure. Most servers for an FPS create a block that acts as the container for players in a single game. In Halo you would find a match(a block) with other players in it and play only within that block. In MAG it was similar. you found a Massive block with 255 other people in it (256 including yourself) and played only in that block. For an MMO to function on that scale on a console you lose the freedom of staying inside of your block, because you still have to communicate with the other players in the world. Also MAG games are held on large (but small compared to an mmo world) Maps, while MMO's take place in persistent worlds. So shroom mage was right by saying it'd have to be a completely different game like Guild Wars Adventures or something wierd like that. A good example is the Eve Online console project being developed by ccp. A console adaptation of EVE that ties direcly into the EVE world. Servers arent shared directly but most content and information is...
Also delivering updates would be next to impossible. Sure hard drives can hold it, thats no secret. But its the delivery system that is the problem. For an MMO to function on a console and a PC they must be perfectly in sync at all times. If the pc users get an update, they download it within the next few minutes and in the case of guild wars most info was downloaded in the background. While the console users would have to wait quite some time to get the update. Leaving them out of the loop for a bit. Also the developer loses the privelege of delivering an update by their own means. They have to work within the bounds of that console. For example with the Xbox 360 they would HAVE to use the update system that is utilized by the 360. They would have no choice...since there is realy no other way to get an update to the game...unless you want to put out update disks every month...or have users go and try to download it from a website and transfer it to their xbox...which just sounds stupid.
MMO's are the ark of the gaming world. Let it take us in new directions.
with the way console games work i can only see the console version having 4 weapon skills and 4 choosable skills..
They will be very different games on very different servers.
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
There are plenty of cross platform MMO's out atm, none of which put each platform on the same server. Neither would I personally agree to it. Consoles can play together, but PC needs to be seperate. I feel this way because keyboard and mouse is a much more precise and effective input device. By simply using them you would have a movement advantage over controller users.
FFXI was out for a year before they made a PS2 version. It still worked fine. Then years later they ported it to X-box 360. It worked great. FFXI had mass events with hundreds and hundreds of people in it. (Besieged)
I'm sure GW2 could easily be ported, but the quality of the game would suffer for sure. WvW would definately lag like hell.
I'll stick to PC.
(>^_^)> MMO Veteran <(^_^<)
Currently Playing: Tera Online
I'm curious as to why people think this.
I'd figure if the engine was properly optimized it would handle just fine due to a unified hardware platform?
But then I see BF3 which has less players on console version for MP than PC version.
And if it took Anet a year to bring GW2 to consoles, they'd probably be bringing it to the next gen Xbox so it'd likely have the horsepower to compete.
Because trends of the past generation point towards this.
If they ported it to the X-box 720 or w/e they are calling it maybe it would do decently. Its supposed to have some balls.
(>^_^)> MMO Veteran <(^_^<)
Currently Playing: Tera Online
Obviously it's all rumor at this point, but supposedly the 720 or w/e they are calling it has 3 times the physical horse power of the 360, but due to the underlying architexture has much better performance than even 3x the 360.
If they port it they could be on the same servers. I have my doubts that they will port it though.
My theme song.
I heard it was supposed to be 6X's more powerful than the 360, but we all know that is obviously a load of crap. lol
(>^_^)> MMO Veteran <(^_^<)
Currently Playing: Tera Online
That doesn't seem too unreasonable actually.
The fact that 360 can even come close to keeping up with modern games on its aged hardware, and the improvements seen in graphics over the years since its release all point to the scalability of the architexture despite the hardware limitations.