I think alot of the reason people don't appreciate how they play out is due to character level. Most people that have played the game, I imagine, havn't gotten out of the newbie area. Not only are the DE's easier there, but the population in them is alot more dense. I never failed a DE in the first zone. However I think people will really start seeing their impact once the population disperses further and they start failing DE's and seeing the consequences.
This is so true. 2nd BWE I played on a low populated server and there were a handful of DEs I couldn't beat because there were not enough of us.
In the 3rd, this last BWE I played on Jade Quarry which was packed and was running with a solid 30+ group of people and DEs weren't even a challenge.
The DEs also scale to the amount of players as for difficulty, but the scaling seems to fall off after a certain amount of people.
Originally posted by Arskaaa "when players learned tacticks in dungeon/raids, its bread".
you guys forget, (or maybe you never played Rift), but Rift had quite a few different events per zone. the rifts in Rift are more akin to the hearts in gw2. Rift also had zone wide events where hundreds of players would group up to complete them. Some of the best times i had in Rift were during these events. Most of the time the other faction would also be there turing into a pve and pvp experience.
I think alot of the reason people don't appreciate how they play out is due to character level. Most people that have played the game, I imagine, havn't gotten out of the newbie area. Not only are the DE's easier there, but the population in them is alot more dense. I never failed a DE in the first zone. However I think people will really start seeing their impact once the population disperses further and they start failing DE's and seeing the consequences.
This is so true. 2nd BWE I played on a low populated server and there were a handful of DEs I couldn't beat because there were not enough of us.
In the 3rd, this last BWE I played on Jade Quarry which was packed and was running with a solid 30+ group of people and DEs weren't even a challenge.
The DEs also scale to the amount of players as for difficulty, but the scaling seems to fall off after a certain amount of people.
I agree that the scaling needs to be done correctly. A side note to your situation regarding BW3 was that the content seemed to be scaled down across the board so aside from a pack of 30 people, the game was overall easier so this may be why it felt like the DE's weren't a challenge. As far as not being able to solo DE's, I have been able to solo 3 DE's when I got lucky enough to be the only one present. I wasn't alone for the chains that happened afterwards on 2 of the 3, but I solod'd portions on my own.
I find this aspect of the game one of it's best features. The problem I had with it, happened to me a few times, was when I needed to log for whatever reason. I found myself compelled to stay just to finish an event chain when I didn't really want to... or did i want to? Yes, I definately wanted to. Ok, I found myself compelled to finish event chains when I shouldn't be doing that. Real life is gunna take a hit with this one, prepare yourselves.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
The dynamic events were nice but they didnt get me completely enthralled in the maps. I will admit it is good to see companies pushing forward. Public quests, dynamic events and hopefully more in the future.
Originally posted by Xobdnas Originally posted by Xiaoki Originally posted by FlawSGI I think better is in the eye of the beholder on this one. Rift shows you where the invasions are happening, but that's because they are always happening in the same spots. GW2 doesn't do this, but that's by design because it feeds into the feeling of exploration and adventure. Keep in mind that when you see any symbol (orange circcle, skull, shield, etc..) you have to be within an undisclosed distance. Imagine if they advertised every DE for the zone that was going on as it was happening. The map would look like chaos. I agree that viewed form that perspective, Rift does show you where things are happening, but I dont agree it is better.
Yeah yeah yeah "fostering a sense of exploration and adventure" is great and all but how exactly does that help me play the video game?
The Dynamic Events are the main focal point of the game but finding them can be a chore sometimes. When I first got into the Sylvari zone I wandered around for 10 minutes trying to find a DE, I gave up and started doing Heart quests.
Thats kinda like going into McDonald's and they have no burgers on the menu just their awful Apple pies. Ah, buts that all part of the "exploration and adventure" of ordering a burger at McDonald's.
Im not saying they have to put all active DEs on the map but a bit more than just an orange circle or some other symbol on the mini map would go a long way in presenting the main focal point of the entire game to the players. I wouldnt be surprised a lot of players ended up thinking the Heart quests were the main focal point of GW2 and that the DEs are just some extra fluff because of how the game presents the Hearts to the players.
Some people just have to realize GW2 isn't for them and move along. If you don't like having to explore, if you prefer rails, then this is not for you.
Oh look, a "if dont like it then you can just get out" post. How cute.
I will commend you on your Strawman Argument though.
Dynamic Events aren't just "good on paper". I managed a total of 125 hours of play time between the beta events and I loved the game more and more the longer I played and the deeper into the world I got. There is still tons of content that was open to us in the events I never got to experience a lot more that we didn't have access to. Dynamic Events don't just look good on paper, they are wonderful in reality and the experience holds up over extended play time.
Some events do go on with out players. Some are triggered by the actions of players. Some are triggered by the outcome of other events. Most players will want to participate in events, but they are optional. You can stumble upon events and hop in mid-stride and still get rewarded for it. Even if players fail an event, they will get a reward, but a smaller one than for a victory.
The DEs are very varied. Some are cute, some are fun, some are mundane, some are epic, some are frequent, some only happen when particular triggers and events all come together in a particular way. It all comes together to create the illusion of a living, breathing world and it all adds to the sense of immersion in the game world.
Predictibility is the enemy of that illusion, so the rate at which an event repeats and what causes it to repeat varies from event to event. Obviously, since players come and go from an area over a 24 hour period, content needs to repeat, but most of this is not predictible or connected to a set timer. If you spend enough time in an area, you may see some events repeat two or three times, others that happen once and even more events that you missed entirely, but stumble upon the following day when passing through. Remember, as well, that most events are connected to chains or webs of events and never just repeat on any kind of timer, but only occur when success/failure of other events on a chain push the sequence of events back to the triggering of that individual event.
I love the variety. I love the organic flow of events and the consequences of success or failure attached to many of them. It's a fun, engaging for of PvE content and quest hub based games become painful dull to play after getting sucked into the GW2 experience.
A lot of times when we discuss DEs, we get lost in examples and details, but these events have benefits beyond the mechanics of the individual events. I love that you can stumble upon content and play it for credit, with out ever having to talk to an NPC, before, during or after. I love that GW2 rewards and encourages cooperative play. Every player that damages a mob gets full XP and Loot from that mob, so there is no mob tagging or kill stealing and it's always beneficial for all involved to help others finish off an enemy. I also love that support skills never require an ally target and never require players to be in a party to share the benefits. Specific to Dynamic Events, there are three tiers of participation, but you are never competing for a set quoto of Gold/Silver/Bronze rewards. The reward levels are based on participation thresholds and most players who don't arive very late in the event that have actively participated in the event will get a Gold level reward.
It's not just that the content is more interesting, accessible, organic and fun that traditional quests, but the way it fosters cooperative play just has an amazing effect on the sense of community in game. All of it aids with immersion and the variety of content and it's organic, dynamic nature prevents the sort of game play fatigue you find in games where game play is much more linear and much more repetative.
In the first general public closed beta, the one before prepurchase, the amount of dynamic events was intense. They were happening everywhere.. all the time. Players couldn't keep up with them, they were happening right next to each other and when you finished one another one started right on top of it or right next to it. By request of us testers, they toned it down.
I do agree that it has been toned down a bit too much though. But, they proved they have the ability to change it whenever they want so I think they will get it right eventually.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
DE at launch will be somewhat boring due to the simple fact is that nub zones will be packed and the adjusted ones so we will rarely see the full blossom of DE beacuse everyone do them in lightspeed and never fails, will prolly take a few weeks before we will see over run zones, mobs taking over outposts and launches attacks on nearby ones.
We will see plenty of whine threads on these boards due to that, mark my words
I did a number of them and when there are enough players and the various objectives set by the devs are met, the events progress upwards in difficulty and epicness. Wonderful. I give Anet a A+ for this.
DEs are not all group hugs, epic giant bunny killing and fast leveling eruptions with rainbows some people here are making them out to be.
Sometimes DEs dont happend at all, or they start and peter out with a wimper. Not all DEs are huge and some rarely start while others may start regardless of what players are doing.
The developers have said that some DEs have graduated trigger points or branches to the next levels if certain objectives are met. I have seen plenty of DEs where the first object is not met, and the event fizzles out.
The fewer players in a zone, the less DEs firing, and less likley hood they will progress to epicness, thus they become less of a leveling/XP source at that time.
Sure in the limited time betas where 90% of the population is crammed into the starter areas, it is going to be a never ending display of scripted branching fun.
I have seen DE's higher with just a few players present that start and then peter out after just a few mobs because there are not enough players present to trigger the next stage.
If DE's are going to be 'all that' once we are past beta and the first week of going public, when players are more spaced out in the zones, Anet is going to have to add something on the zone map so players can come to firing DE's.
As it is, if you do not have line of sight to a DE in your zone, you are out of luck. If you are leveling in a zone with few players who are spread out over the zone, don't expect to get into many epic DEs.
Until Anet improves the discoverability of happening DEs within zones, I give them a C+ for barely improved MMO scripted events.
I did a number of them and when there are enough players and the various objectives set by the devs are met, the events progress upwards in difficulty and epicness. Wonderful. I give Anet a A+ for this.
DEs are not all group hugs, epic giant bunny killing and fast leveling eruptions with rainbows some people here are making them out to be.
Sometimes DEs dont happend at all, or they start and peter out with a wimper. Not all DEs are huge and some rarely start while others may start regardless of what players are doing.
The developers have said that some DEs have graduated trigger points or branches to the next levels if certain objectives are met. I have seen plenty of DEs where the first object is not met, and the event fizzles out.
The fewer players in a zone, the less DEs firing, and less likley hood they will progress to epicness, thus they become less of a leveling/XP source at that time.
Sure in the limited time betas where 90% of the population is crammed into the starter areas, it is going to be a never ending display of scripted branching fun.
I have seen DE's higher with just a few players present that start and then peter out after just a few mobs because there are not enough players present to trigger the next stage.
If DE's are going to be 'all that' once we are past beta and the first week of going public, when players are more spaced out in the zones, Anet is going to have to add something on the zone map so players can come to firing DE's.
As it is, if you do not have line of sight to a DE in your zone, you are out of luck. If you are leveling in a zone with few players who are spread out over the zone, don't expect to get into many epic DEs.
Until Anet improves the discoverability of happening DEs within zones, I give them a C+ for barely improved MMO scripted events.
So they've already stated many times that they can change things on the fly. Their Live Team will start at launch with changes and updates around the game world. They can add new events, change the timings and such of current ones, all kinds of things like that.
I'm pretty sure they have already thought about the starter zones being packed after release with an eventual fall off of the initial surge of players in any given zone. With the abilities they have, I don't think it will be much of a worry.
The fewer players in a zone, the less DEs firing, and less likley hood they will progress to epicness, thus they become less of a leveling/XP source at that time.
That... that was actually the EXACT opposite of what I experienced.
In BWE2, I transferred to a very low population server (Because my friends started there), so I was one of the only level 25+ people around the first night.
When I ran into Gendaraan Fields, things were SUPER epic. It was amazing. The centaurs had literally taken over almost the entire map. Even the central human city in that area was overrun. Pirates had taken over the city to the south, basically everywhere I go, the worst possible outcome of DEs had come true, as failure after failure state happened without the players there to push it back int he other direction.
I felt like I was wondering a post-apocalyptic Tyrian landscape, desperately trying to find a single handed battle against the forces of evil.
It was pretty damn epic, trying to liberate cities single handedly. I got so excited when I ran into another person and we ran around together a bit, clearing up some of the areas where I was having too much problem.
DEs still go even without players, and they're of course going to go straight to the failure states, until it reaches the end of that branch and just... well, it just stays there. If no players come along, the cities are pretty much screwed.
Difference is, most of us have already seen this in practice. And they work, they really, really do.
Not to knock your opinion at all, but I felt the same way about WAR's PQs for the first couple of weeks. Felt the same about Rift's DE. But after a while, I didn't like them so much.
Point is, all these new features sound great and I believe everyone has enjoyed them. But, as we've all seen before, the "new" feature each MMO might or might not bring to the table that dazzles us at first....well, does it really make that much of a difference after you've been playing it for some time? Or is it just something glossy and cool for the first week and then sort of becomes nothing special after a while?
Dynamic Events aren't just "good on paper". I managed a total of 125 hours of play time between the beta events and I loved the game more and more the longer I played and the deeper into the world I got.
I hope you're right. It would be cool for some new stuff around here.
Hell, I loved the combat in TERA the first three+ weeks I played (how many hours is that...130 or so hours. Really drew me into the combat unlike any game had done before (with the exception of maybe DCUO). Although I still appreciate the combat, in the end, it wasn't enough to hold the MMO up by itself.
I might be playing a little of devil's advocate here, but I am just trying to avoid the "hype" train that's so easy to hop onto.
Difference is, most of us have already seen this in practice. And they work, they really, really do.
Not to knock your opinion at all, but I felt the same way about WAR's PQs for the first couple of weeks. Felt the same about Rift's DE. But after a while, I didn't like them so much.
Point is, all these new features sound great and I believe everyone has enjoyed them. But, as we've all seen before, the "new" feature each MMO might or might not bring to the table that dazzles us at first....well, does it really make that much of a difference after you've been playing it for some time? Or is it just something glossy and cool for the first week and then sort of becomes nothing special after a while?
I dunno. While I enjoyed both games, I never thought that either of those mechanics were completely what they were trying to be.
Honestly, I think once you get more hands on experience you'll see the difference. Whether you realize it or not, comparing PQs and Rifts to the DE system, is basically comparing tacked on features of 2 games, to the core gameplay of another. WAR & Rift added those features to them, but they were never designed around them. If they were to suddenly not have those mechanics (and WAR may as well already be at that point now), the games would still function very much the same. You might miss the mechanics, but they would otherwise have no effect on the gameplay at all.
GW2 is built around DEs. They are everywhere. You literally get engulfed by them. They carry you all over the game world. The difference is very much like comparing a drink of water to doing white water rapids. I know you don't quite see this yet, but many of us do. It's not an opinion as much as an observation.
Whether or not they get old after a while is anybody's guess, and will vary from person to person, but the system works, and the people who have been playing can attest to this. It's about as much of an opinion as saying my car will start if I go turn on the engine.
I think a lot of the 8+ hour a day "hardcore" MMO gamers who bash through content at a lightning pace are going to get burned out and then declare "GW2 sucks!" after a few weeks, like they do with EVERY game they bash through in a few weeks.
GW2 is a game that is designed from the ground up with the idea that you should slow down, enjoy the game, and play it with other people.
No sub fee = no "preasure" to play play play to "get your money's worth"
Level scaling = level up and downscaling levels helps make your level "just a number" and encourages you to go back and see things you missed and explore etc.
DE mechanics = designed to encourage exploring and forcing a slower pacing than most MMOs. Quests in other MMOs are designed for you to pick up a bunch at once, grind them out, turn them in, pick up another bunch - the pace is as FAST as you can possibly go.
DE's are designed to not be rapid fire constant "burn through them as fast as possible" they are quite the opposite. Hearts are there to "tide you over" until the next DE. The entire system is designed to make you slow down and pay attention.
The "modern" MMO is all about stimulous and the "now now now" mentality. Everything has to be faster, easier, more accessible, and on-demand for YOU the individual.
GW2 is taking a step back to kind of the "old way" of doing things - the content is there when it's there, and hey here are a bunch of other things to do as well... and it's all cooperative/public not tailored specifically to YOU the individual.
I dunno, just some random Sunday early afternoon thoughts lol
Dynamic Events aren't just "good on paper". I managed a total of 125 hours of play time between the beta events and I loved the game more and more the longer I played and the deeper into the world I got.
I hope you're right. It would be cool for some new stuff around here.
Hell, I loved the combat in TERA the first three+ weeks I played (how many hours is that...130 or so hours. Really drew me into the combat unlike any game had done before (with the exception of maybe DCUO). Although I still appreciate the combat, in the end, it wasn't enough to hold the MMO up by itself.
I might be playing a little of devil's advocate here, but I am just trying to avoid the "hype" train that's so easy to hop onto.
The good thing is that GW2 is not a one trick pony. While the DEs might be one of the main focuses of the game, they are not the only thing to do. You still have the hearts for some more "traditional" questing. You still have some decent crafting, WvWvW, sPvP, and my personal favorite, exploring.
Another good thing is that Anet have stated that they will be constantly updating things across all zones, even starter areas. They will be removing and adding DE's all of the time in order to keep things fresh. So, if you get bored with the DEs in an area, move on and later when you come back there will be different ones to do. If you get bored with the concept of DEs in general, refer to my paragraph above. Although, if you get bored with the concept of DEs, I would suggest that maybe you are no longer into MMOs or even RPGs as the questing/events system is the basis for those types of games. IMHO, DEs are the best way to do the questing, etc. and short of the outcome of DEs having a permanent effect (as in, the DE's not resetting), I don't see how you could get the questing mechanic more organic in a video game.
I admire your avoidance of the hype train for anything. I try to avoid those too. However, having played GW2 during all the betas, I've been able to determine for myself that it is not hype, as in artificial excitement based on fiction and conjecture. It is natural excitement for a game that is already proving itself. By realizing that Anet has made good on all of their promises regarding the game so far, it isn't much to extrapolate that the higher levels of the game will be just as fun and engaging as the earlier levels.
@Creslin - as usual, great write up. One of my favorite things about GW2 is that if feels like the world is happening and I choose if and how much of it I want to take part in. It doesn't get any better than that in MMOs at this point!
You want me to pay to play a game I already paid for???
Comments
This is so true. 2nd BWE I played on a low populated server and there were a handful of DEs I couldn't beat because there were not enough of us.
In the 3rd, this last BWE I played on Jade Quarry which was packed and was running with a solid 30+ group of people and DEs weren't even a challenge.
The DEs also scale to the amount of players as for difficulty, but the scaling seems to fall off after a certain amount of people.
Originally posted by Arskaaa
"when players learned tacticks in dungeon/raids, its bread".
LOL my bad, I got the idea from your post, but forgot your name, I will rectify this at once
.
Are you team Azeroth, team Tyria, or team Jacob?
you guys forget, (or maybe you never played Rift), but Rift had quite a few different events per zone. the rifts in Rift are more akin to the hearts in gw2. Rift also had zone wide events where hundreds of players would group up to complete them. Some of the best times i had in Rift were during these events. Most of the time the other faction would also be there turing into a pve and pvp experience.
I agree that the scaling needs to be done correctly. A side note to your situation regarding BW3 was that the content seemed to be scaled down across the board so aside from a pack of 30 people, the game was overall easier so this may be why it felt like the DE's weren't a challenge. As far as not being able to solo DE's, I have been able to solo 3 DE's when I got lucky enough to be the only one present. I wasn't alone for the chains that happened afterwards on 2 of the 3, but I solod'd portions on my own.
RIP Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan and Paul Gray.
I find this aspect of the game one of it's best features. The problem I had with it, happened to me a few times, was when I needed to log for whatever reason. I found myself compelled to stay just to finish an event chain when I didn't really want to... or did i want to? Yes, I definately wanted to. Ok, I found myself compelled to finish event chains when I shouldn't be doing that. Real life is gunna take a hit with this one, prepare yourselves.
The Dynamic Events are the main focal point of the game but finding them can be a chore sometimes. When I first got into the Sylvari zone I wandered around for 10 minutes trying to find a DE, I gave up and started doing Heart quests.
Thats kinda like going into McDonald's and they have no burgers on the menu just their awful Apple pies. Ah, buts that all part of the "exploration and adventure" of ordering a burger at McDonald's.
Im not saying they have to put all active DEs on the map but a bit more than just an orange circle or some other symbol on the mini map would go a long way in presenting the main focal point of the entire game to the players. I wouldnt be surprised a lot of players ended up thinking the Heart quests were the main focal point of GW2 and that the DEs are just some extra fluff because of how the game presents the Hearts to the players.
Some people just have to realize GW2 isn't for them and move along. If you don't like having to explore, if you prefer rails, then this is not for you.
Oh look, a "if dont like it then you can just get out" post. How cute.
I will commend you on your Strawman Argument though.
Dynamic Events aren't just "good on paper". I managed a total of 125 hours of play time between the beta events and I loved the game more and more the longer I played and the deeper into the world I got. There is still tons of content that was open to us in the events I never got to experience a lot more that we didn't have access to. Dynamic Events don't just look good on paper, they are wonderful in reality and the experience holds up over extended play time.
Some events do go on with out players. Some are triggered by the actions of players. Some are triggered by the outcome of other events. Most players will want to participate in events, but they are optional. You can stumble upon events and hop in mid-stride and still get rewarded for it. Even if players fail an event, they will get a reward, but a smaller one than for a victory.
The DEs are very varied. Some are cute, some are fun, some are mundane, some are epic, some are frequent, some only happen when particular triggers and events all come together in a particular way. It all comes together to create the illusion of a living, breathing world and it all adds to the sense of immersion in the game world.
Predictibility is the enemy of that illusion, so the rate at which an event repeats and what causes it to repeat varies from event to event. Obviously, since players come and go from an area over a 24 hour period, content needs to repeat, but most of this is not predictible or connected to a set timer. If you spend enough time in an area, you may see some events repeat two or three times, others that happen once and even more events that you missed entirely, but stumble upon the following day when passing through. Remember, as well, that most events are connected to chains or webs of events and never just repeat on any kind of timer, but only occur when success/failure of other events on a chain push the sequence of events back to the triggering of that individual event.
I love the variety. I love the organic flow of events and the consequences of success or failure attached to many of them. It's a fun, engaging for of PvE content and quest hub based games become painful dull to play after getting sucked into the GW2 experience.
A lot of times when we discuss DEs, we get lost in examples and details, but these events have benefits beyond the mechanics of the individual events. I love that you can stumble upon content and play it for credit, with out ever having to talk to an NPC, before, during or after. I love that GW2 rewards and encourages cooperative play. Every player that damages a mob gets full XP and Loot from that mob, so there is no mob tagging or kill stealing and it's always beneficial for all involved to help others finish off an enemy. I also love that support skills never require an ally target and never require players to be in a party to share the benefits. Specific to Dynamic Events, there are three tiers of participation, but you are never competing for a set quoto of Gold/Silver/Bronze rewards. The reward levels are based on participation thresholds and most players who don't arive very late in the event that have actively participated in the event will get a Gold level reward.
It's not just that the content is more interesting, accessible, organic and fun that traditional quests, but the way it fosters cooperative play just has an amazing effect on the sense of community in game. All of it aids with immersion and the variety of content and it's organic, dynamic nature prevents the sort of game play fatigue you find in games where game play is much more linear and much more repetative.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
In the first general public closed beta, the one before prepurchase, the amount of dynamic events was intense. They were happening everywhere.. all the time. Players couldn't keep up with them, they were happening right next to each other and when you finished one another one started right on top of it or right next to it. By request of us testers, they toned it down.
I do agree that it has been toned down a bit too much though. But, they proved they have the ability to change it whenever they want so I think they will get it right eventually.
DE at launch will be somewhat boring due to the simple fact is that nub zones will be packed and the adjusted ones so we will rarely see the full blossom of DE beacuse everyone do them in lightspeed and never fails, will prolly take a few weeks before we will see over run zones, mobs taking over outposts and launches attacks on nearby ones.
We will see plenty of whine threads on these boards due to that, mark my words
If it's not broken, you are not innovating.
I did a number of them and when there are enough players and the various objectives set by the devs are met, the events progress upwards in difficulty and epicness. Wonderful. I give Anet a A+ for this.
DEs are not all group hugs, epic giant bunny killing and fast leveling eruptions with rainbows some people here are making them out to be.
Sometimes DEs dont happend at all, or they start and peter out with a wimper. Not all DEs are huge and some rarely start while others may start regardless of what players are doing.
The developers have said that some DEs have graduated trigger points or branches to the next levels if certain objectives are met. I have seen plenty of DEs where the first object is not met, and the event fizzles out.
The fewer players in a zone, the less DEs firing, and less likley hood they will progress to epicness, thus they become less of a leveling/XP source at that time.
Sure in the limited time betas where 90% of the population is crammed into the starter areas, it is going to be a never ending display of scripted branching fun.
I have seen DE's higher with just a few players present that start and then peter out after just a few mobs because there are not enough players present to trigger the next stage.
If DE's are going to be 'all that' once we are past beta and the first week of going public, when players are more spaced out in the zones, Anet is going to have to add something on the zone map so players can come to firing DE's.
As it is, if you do not have line of sight to a DE in your zone, you are out of luck. If you are leveling in a zone with few players who are spread out over the zone, don't expect to get into many epic DEs.
Until Anet improves the discoverability of happening DEs within zones, I give them a C+ for barely improved MMO scripted events.
So they've already stated many times that they can change things on the fly. Their Live Team will start at launch with changes and updates around the game world. They can add new events, change the timings and such of current ones, all kinds of things like that.
I'm pretty sure they have already thought about the starter zones being packed after release with an eventual fall off of the initial surge of players in any given zone. With the abilities they have, I don't think it will be much of a worry.
That... that was actually the EXACT opposite of what I experienced.
In BWE2, I transferred to a very low population server (Because my friends started there), so I was one of the only level 25+ people around the first night.
When I ran into Gendaraan Fields, things were SUPER epic. It was amazing. The centaurs had literally taken over almost the entire map. Even the central human city in that area was overrun. Pirates had taken over the city to the south, basically everywhere I go, the worst possible outcome of DEs had come true, as failure after failure state happened without the players there to push it back int he other direction.
I felt like I was wondering a post-apocalyptic Tyrian landscape, desperately trying to find a single handed battle against the forces of evil.
It was pretty damn epic, trying to liberate cities single handedly.
I got so excited when I ran into another person and we ran around together a bit, clearing up some of the areas where I was having too much problem.
DEs still go even without players, and they're of course going to go straight to the failure states, until it reaches the end of that branch and just... well, it just stays there. If no players come along, the cities are pretty much screwed.
Not to knock your opinion at all, but I felt the same way about WAR's PQs for the first couple of weeks. Felt the same about Rift's DE. But after a while, I didn't like them so much.
Point is, all these new features sound great and I believe everyone has enjoyed them. But, as we've all seen before, the "new" feature each MMO might or might not bring to the table that dazzles us at first....well, does it really make that much of a difference after you've been playing it for some time? Or is it just something glossy and cool for the first week and then sort of becomes nothing special after a while?
I hope you're right. It would be cool for some new stuff around here.
Hell, I loved the combat in TERA the first three+ weeks I played (how many hours is that...130 or so hours. Really drew me into the combat unlike any game had done before (with the exception of maybe DCUO). Although I still appreciate the combat, in the end, it wasn't enough to hold the MMO up by itself.
I might be playing a little of devil's advocate here, but I am just trying to avoid the "hype" train that's so easy to hop onto.
I dunno. While I enjoyed both games, I never thought that either of those mechanics were completely what they were trying to be.
Honestly, I think once you get more hands on experience you'll see the difference. Whether you realize it or not, comparing PQs and Rifts to the DE system, is basically comparing tacked on features of 2 games, to the core gameplay of another. WAR & Rift added those features to them, but they were never designed around them. If they were to suddenly not have those mechanics (and WAR may as well already be at that point now), the games would still function very much the same. You might miss the mechanics, but they would otherwise have no effect on the gameplay at all.
GW2 is built around DEs. They are everywhere. You literally get engulfed by them. They carry you all over the game world. The difference is very much like comparing a drink of water to doing white water rapids. I know you don't quite see this yet, but many of us do. It's not an opinion as much as an observation.
Whether or not they get old after a while is anybody's guess, and will vary from person to person, but the system works, and the people who have been playing can attest to this. It's about as much of an opinion as saying my car will start if I go turn on the engine.
I think a lot of the 8+ hour a day "hardcore" MMO gamers who bash through content at a lightning pace are going to get burned out and then declare "GW2 sucks!" after a few weeks, like they do with EVERY game they bash through in a few weeks.
GW2 is a game that is designed from the ground up with the idea that you should slow down, enjoy the game, and play it with other people.
No sub fee = no "preasure" to play play play to "get your money's worth"
Level scaling = level up and downscaling levels helps make your level "just a number" and encourages you to go back and see things you missed and explore etc.
DE mechanics = designed to encourage exploring and forcing a slower pacing than most MMOs. Quests in other MMOs are designed for you to pick up a bunch at once, grind them out, turn them in, pick up another bunch - the pace is as FAST as you can possibly go.
DE's are designed to not be rapid fire constant "burn through them as fast as possible" they are quite the opposite. Hearts are there to "tide you over" until the next DE. The entire system is designed to make you slow down and pay attention.
The "modern" MMO is all about stimulous and the "now now now" mentality. Everything has to be faster, easier, more accessible, and on-demand for YOU the individual.
GW2 is taking a step back to kind of the "old way" of doing things - the content is there when it's there, and hey here are a bunch of other things to do as well... and it's all cooperative/public not tailored specifically to YOU the individual.
I dunno, just some random Sunday early afternoon thoughts lol
The good thing is that GW2 is not a one trick pony. While the DEs might be one of the main focuses of the game, they are not the only thing to do. You still have the hearts for some more "traditional" questing. You still have some decent crafting, WvWvW, sPvP, and my personal favorite, exploring.
Another good thing is that Anet have stated that they will be constantly updating things across all zones, even starter areas. They will be removing and adding DE's all of the time in order to keep things fresh. So, if you get bored with the DEs in an area, move on and later when you come back there will be different ones to do. If you get bored with the concept of DEs in general, refer to my paragraph above. Although, if you get bored with the concept of DEs, I would suggest that maybe you are no longer into MMOs or even RPGs as the questing/events system is the basis for those types of games. IMHO, DEs are the best way to do the questing, etc. and short of the outcome of DEs having a permanent effect (as in, the DE's not resetting), I don't see how you could get the questing mechanic more organic in a video game.
I admire your avoidance of the hype train for anything. I try to avoid those too. However, having played GW2 during all the betas, I've been able to determine for myself that it is not hype, as in artificial excitement based on fiction and conjecture. It is natural excitement for a game that is already proving itself. By realizing that Anet has made good on all of their promises regarding the game so far, it isn't much to extrapolate that the higher levels of the game will be just as fun and engaging as the earlier levels.
@Creslin - as usual, great write up. One of my favorite things about GW2 is that if feels like the world is happening and I choose if and how much of it I want to take part in. It doesn't get any better than that in MMOs at this point!
You want me to pay to play a game I already paid for???
Be afraid.....The dragons are HERE!