The potential is certainly there, we will see how it will be implemented. Many questions to be answered: what is "huge", because those people still play on a seperate instanced server, what is the consequence on the realm servers as people playing in that place aren't playing on their "world", what is the time to preload those data between servers, will there be waiting queus to even out balance, how long will it take to gain victory, is there a logical support and role for the people left behind.
I think the technique in itself is better than single realm MMO's, but the challenge will lay in the implementation, balance and execution which will be no easy feat to accomplish.
But please stop calling it "open world" with all that teleporting. I don't mind the technique, it just needs to be defined in a correct way.
I think we know answers to at least some of your questions.
The mist battles do affect the "regular" PvE servers. Examples so far are things like increased drop rate. We don't know how much or how long.
The battles last a week. I believe who ever has the most points at the end of the week wins.
I understand it is not "real" open world PvP. But think of it this way.
We know the minimum number so far is that it can hold "hundreds" of players. When you take into account the mist battlefields; casltes, mines, farms, and what not, the mist world will closely represent the PvE world. NPC's will still be there to mine and refill ammunitions. This we know.
If you look at how WoW splits their servers. Say server1 is PvE and server2 is PvP. If I can hot jump from server1 to server2, does this mean server2 is no longer PvP? Of course not. Server2 will still be PvP, regardless of whether I can join in or not.
And that's why some say it may still be open world PvP in GW2.
If GW2 mist battles were the size of a single zone, then it would just be a battleground. If however, mist battles took place across multiple vast zones with NPC's and Dynamic Events... then it would be closer to open world PvP.
The title of this thread is a huge disappointment. I saw it and thought 'ooo they finally put GW2 in closed beta!", but noooo.
I'm not over-hyped or under-hyped about this game. I had GW1 with all of its expacs and thought it was an ok game. I'll just wait and see what people say when beta does come rolling around.
The "features list" is probably the worse way to judge an MMO. I have no idea why the hype for this game is as high as it is. It's probably going to be good, or at least, good enough. Color me skeptical if this "dynamic story", "visceral combat" and "class combos" really is going to end up being all that. Sounds like all we are looking at is Dragon Age II with a community hub and the ability to fight with our creations in arenas... sorry "designated PvP areas". MMOs are trending way too much towards being single player games.
The "features list" is probably the worse way to judge an MMO. I have no idea why the hype for this game is as high as it is. It's probably going to be good, or at least, good enough. Color me skeptical if this "dynamic story", "visceral combat" and "class combos" really is going to end up being all that. Sounds like all we are looking at is Dragon Age II with a community hub and the ability to fight with our creations in arenas... sorry "designated PvP areas". MMOs are trending way too much towards being single player games.
What other way can you initially judge an MMO? The first thing you look at for any game is it's feature list, then you take a look at how it plays through and if it does have all those features and such after which you are either excited or put off. Then you get a chance to play the game, see what it's about and decide finally whether the game is worth it or not.
I agree with you on some aspects but the 1 post count isn't helping you much with strong opinions, hehe. Neither is making a big fuss about unimportant aspects like draw distance; something which might be adjustable and very different in the launched game.
As a GW2 cynic, I have to say that the world looks stunning. Really stunning.
I feel your disappointment with the teleporting, though.
I can understand it in a game like GW1, where there are tightly packed instances full of mobs between you and your destination, but in an open world game it is a very artificial alternative to much more immersive 'in game transport', whether it's player controlled or not. Intercontinental teleporting is ok with me, but not to every little hub/town/hut in the open world imo.
Teleporting is an actual issue yes. I wont say if it is good or not until I tried it. If I get into the beta and it seems annoying will I of course comment about it and demand fewer points, maybe a lot fewer. But I rather try it out myself before saying if it is good or bad.
I don't really understand the issue with teleporting. If you don't want to teleport, don't. If you want to get to your destination quicker, by all means, teleport if you want. If you feel that running long distances every time you play to get from one point to another then do that.
I, for one, am a huge fan of GW1 and am excited and impatient for GW2 to release! IMHO, GW1 is the best game out there for many reasons the price, the story and certainly not least, the graphics. Hopefully Arenanet pulls it off and makes GW2 the best ever!
You want me to pay to play a game I already paid for???
I don't really understand the issue with teleporting. If you don't want to teleport, don't. If you want to get to your destination quicker, by all means, teleport if you want. If you feel that running long distances every time you play to get from one point to another then do that.
I, for one, am a huge fan of GW1 and am excited and impatient for GW2 to release! IMHO, GW1 is the best game out there for many reasons the price, the story and certainly not least, the graphics. Hopefully Arenanet pulls it off and makes GW2 the best ever!
I am somewhat scared that this will make the game feel empty. You never see someone going somewhere or meet people on the way to somewhere.
Teleporting do work fine in GW1 but it seems like thay have added a lot points you can teleport to now. I am not against teleporting in itself, but the large number of points do worry me somewhat.
As I said, I will not say that it is bad until I tried it but it is somewhat worrying to me.
If everyone just go to the point they need to it will make the game seems more empty.
I don't really understand the issue with teleporting. If you don't want to teleport, don't. If you want to get to your destination quicker, by all means, teleport if you want. If you feel that running long distances every time you play to get from one point to another then do that.
I, for one, am a huge fan of GW1 and am excited and impatient for GW2 to release! IMHO, GW1 is the best game out there for many reasons the price, the story and certainly not least, the graphics. Hopefully Arenanet pulls it off and makes GW2 the best ever!
I am somewhat scared that this will make the game feel empty. You never see someone going somewhere or meet people on the way to somewhere.
Teleporting do work fine in GW1 but it seems like thay have added a lot points you can teleport to now. I am not against teleporting in itself, but the large number of points do worry me somewhat.
As I said, I will not say that it is bad until I tried it but it is somewhat worrying to me.
If everyone just go to the point they need to it will make the game seems more empty.
Make the world feel empty? Nah. The only thing that can make a world feel empty is a low population not fast travel.
Make the world feel empty? Nah. The only thing that can make a world feel empty is a low population not fast travel.
I do know that when AoCs added fast travel to many zones did it feel emptier. Of course it was only rather low pop then but I can tell you it surely didn't help, before you could run into people traveling somewhere, and I myself often stopped and help noobs or just chatted a bit with someone I knew and happened to run into.
And as I said, I am not against porting as such but I am worrid that you constantly can travel exactly where you want, in GW1 you at least have to travel a bit to get to a quest.
The risk is that players only will be at certain events or in the city.
And no, I don't know for a fact that this will happen, it is just the thing I worry about.
Fast travel will make world inbetween empty and take away the immersion but im affraid these days game community dont care about that anymore. If a game give them immersive feeling and they actually need spent time to travelling or take time to build up something like there character,they dont care, no it must all be instant and fast no time no patience and no feel at all for mmo's anymore its sad truth:(
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009..... In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.
EVERY and I mean every landscape seems to be rather dull and uninspired. The game seems to suffer from a rather LOW draw distance, especially with terrain. So many videos you see blue fog fade in from a not so far distance, I mean *blue* fog really?!?!?
Never really noticed that fog, I agree it kind of looks odd. On the other hand, I disagree about it looking dull. I do not need these extreme settings to constantly amaze me really. What ive seen so far never once made it feel dull to me.
I really can't forgive a newer game that has this low of a terrain draw distance.
That is a funny thing to say. SWTOR terrain is made to look as IF it has a huge open world but seems in gameplay videos much more limited than GW2. In this case, it is way easier to make a static background that looks as if the world has a very big draw distance while this is not really the case. So far I am very sceptical when it comes to the open world of ToR, ill just wait and see.
The combat seems to be your fairly typical fantasy MMO combat except with a couple of adjustments to make it seem different like dodge and the possibility of something simple like an arrow being affected by someone elses fire.... nothing "revolutionary" about it.
Really? Ok I guess we just totally disagree then. I looks to me as to most fluid and most active combat I have seen so far. I must admit I've never played AoC. But the fact that you can combine class attacks, you can actually dodges etc makes a very dynamic and interesting combat system, regardless some of it has been done before.
One other thing that bugs the heck out of me from this game is the fact that you can teleport EVERYWHERE to every small village all across the map that you've visited.... There needs to be a sense of travel to give the feeling that we're actually in a large world.
I totally agree with you here. It is a design choise that I am not a fan off. But it isnt a huge issue for me.
The VO work is presented horribly. When VO happens, the game cuts to a screen with a picture and the person you're talking to and just STAYS on that screen the whole time and you get to just watch the NPC's lips move..... BORING.
Couldn't care less about voice overs. Imho they are the least important part of mmoRPGS. A spoondfed, determined story is just for unimaginary people imho.
The "dynamic events" are already something that's been done before, only improved, nothing revolutionary about it. In fact, the devs will have a HARD time trying to make the game not feel like a grind fest since you just go out and start fighting stuff.
Hmm I disagree here. I did have my doubts at first, but after watching the 1.5 hour dev talk I understood how it would work and I think it will be very fun and interesting to play trhough the dynamic events.
I'll give the game one accolade though, I love the fact that you can go out and fight a large boss and start attacking it with any other random people without being in a group and get loot/xp.
Seems to me you should go look for another game then. while I do have some critical notes on GW2, it is the only upcomming mmo im looking forward to. It seem to me as a project that borrows some ideas from past games and execute those in perfect fashion while on the side shakes things up and makes a fresh and new mmo experience.
Fast travel will make world inbetween empty and take away the immersion but im affraid these days game community dont care about that anymore. If a game give them immersive feeling and they actually need spent time to travelling or take time to build up something like there character,they dont care, no it must all be instant and fast no time no patience and no feel at all for mmo's anymore its sad truth:(
Well, it is as I said a possibility.
But let's not be hasty and complain until we seen how it eventually turn out at llaunch.
It seems somewhat worrying but that is still just in theory. I still also hope that ANET will make a lot less teleporting points, that you can teleport between citeis and outposts isn't as bad. there wont be any mounts, at least not from launch so running only would take a lot of time from people who don't have that time.
And as someone said: yes, I don't have to use it but that still means when I go somewhere there will be a lot of more empty space.
I had a good laugh at you compering draw distance between a scenery with objects: trees, rocks, buildings, mob spawns and a barren desert. BTW I have seen KOTOR vidoes and most places feel claustrophobic.
Apart of that, he doesn't say anything valid. Is someone trying to steer discussion of his troll account here ? No way.
Teleporting do work fine in GW1 but it seems like thay have added a lot points you can teleport to now. I am not against teleporting in itself, but the large number of points do worry me somewhat.
It was a demo with a 40min timer.. do you really want players, that attended pax east, to waste time with the same events everyone else does? I think Anets intention was to show as much different events to players as possible. If there would be only one or two teleportation points, the gameplay videos would be all the same.
Teleporting do work fine in GW1 but it seems like thay have added a lot points you can teleport to now. I am not against teleporting in itself, but the large number of points do worry me somewhat.
It was a demo with a 40min timer.. do you really want players, that attended pax east, to waste time with the same events everyone else does? I think Anets intention was to show as much different events to players as possible. If there would be only one or two teleportation points, the gameplay videos would be all the same.
Even if I think he should try Darkfall. I am sure he is going to enjoy wasting half of his gaming time on travel between a point of interest and his home base. GW2 is all about cooperation, convenience and even player field. It is a prophet for these of us who are getting tired of grinding gear and skills/levels in order to enjoy the fun elements of MMOs.
I disagree with almost everything. The world is very pretty looking and draw distances don't bother me whatsoever. It still looks like a very reasonable draw distance compared to most games I played. The combat is awesome because it combines traditional rpg combat with action elements and removes the trinity in group play.
Now one thing you have to understand is that this game is first of all designed for the fans of Guild Wars 1. Game features everything GW1 did and more. Teleporting in GW is nothing new and a lot of GW fans would be annoyed if it weren't there in the sequel. You explore the world once, but after that forced exploring only gets more and more on your nerves the more times you have to do it.
Only thing I might agree on is the VO. I'm not yet sure to think it's bad, but it sure is different. I'll reserve judgment for that when I actually get to play it. Dynamic events look amazingly well done watching that PAX video, but I'm worried it's taking a bit too long to kill monsters. I prefer more faster paced combat so I hope they speed up kills.
OMG you are complaining about draw distance??? You know most of the other MMOs just put huge mountains in the way to solve that. Would you rather feel encased or free to roam off in the distance?
Having said that the draw distance is fine. If the draw distance was any further you probably wouldnt be able to play the game because of the geometry your pitiful computer can only take. GW 1 had the best graphics until Aion was released so that means GW2 graphics will be better than AIon's and Aion took a bit of machine to run at high levels, especially at fort raids.
"Far as the eye can see" doesnt cut it with you ? Seriously I didnt notice the blue end of the world in the videos until you pointed it out.
I am just going to throw out that that when you are looking at things from far away, they, and the air, tend to look blue because of the way light works. I don't know if the OP has never been to a place with clean air and the ability to see far away, perhaps from the top of a mountain, but I found the fog system in GW2 to be comparatively much more believable and realistic than most games.
In short, blue fog makes way more sense than white fog.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
At least we wont have to listen to you compare GW2 to WoW when it launches. Its actually quite simple, if you dont like the looks or the game play DONT BUY THE GAME. but pls, Spare us the negativity. Most if not all the posters in this forum DO like what they see and are waiting for the game to release.
Did you go to PAXEast.. or GDC?? DID you even get to try a demo ?? Did you go to ANYPLACE where they were showing people the game, and allowing them HANDS ON play time ?? To judge ANYTHING based on Vidio's that someone posted on youtube is just ludicris. You can't control the settings from anything and have to rely on what they have the game set on.. Did i ever occur to you that someone MIGHT have had everything set to bare minimum??
At least we wont have to listen to you compare GW2 to WoW when it launches. Its actually quite simple, if you dont like the looks or the game play DONT BUY THE GAME. but pls, Spare us the negativity. Most if not all the posters in this forum DO like what they see and are waiting for the game to release.
Did you go to PAXEast.. or GDC?? DID you even get to try a demo ?? Did you go to ANYPLACE where they were showing people the game, and allowing them HANDS ON play time ?? To judge ANYTHING based on Vidio's that someone posted on youtube is just ludicris. You can't control the settings from anything and have to rely on what they have the game set on.. Did i ever occur to you that someone MIGHT have had everything set to bare minimum??
On that thought, what were the system specs of the computers they were running the game on? Well an easier question would be what model Alienware were they using? Honestly when you play a game that is an RPG or MMORPG you tend to look at whats in close proximity to see what you are fighting or interacting with. {mod edit}
Make the world feel empty? Nah. The only thing that can make a world feel empty is a low population not fast travel.
I do know that when AoCs added fast travel to many zones did it feel emptier. Of course it was only rather low pop then but I can tell you it surely didn't help, before you could run into people traveling somewhere, and I myself often stopped and help noobs or just chatted a bit with someone I knew and happened to run into.
And as I said, I am not against porting as such but I am worrid that you constantly can travel exactly where you want, in GW1 you at least have to travel a bit to get to a quest.
The risk is that players only will be at certain events or in the city.
And no, I don't know for a fact that this will happen, it is just the thing I worry about.
I see what you're saying. I would hope that people wouldn't just teleport everywhere because I'm sure it will be a lot more fun to run around exploring. I for one will be running around the map for the most part, as I like to explore. Hope to see you all there!
You want me to pay to play a game I already paid for???
The fast travel doesn't bother me in the slightest. Say you are in the Maguuma Jungle and then your guild mates/friends say, "Hey, come over to Ascalon and do a dungeon!".
I wouldn't want to be forced to reply, "Sorry, I'm over in the Maguuma Jungle can't make it," or "Do you mind waiting 30 min while I walk over there and hope that I'm not killed on the way." I don't think that is cool, do you?
But say you don't like teleporting. I have a very simple solution for you. Don't! Is there anything that is stopping you from walking from A to B? I don't think so. It is up to you how you play the game not how everybody else plays it. Just because people use Sabway in GW1 because it makes things easy, doesn't mean you have to. You could perfectly well pick up henchies and play through it that way.
Then onto the 'blue fog' problem. IRL do you have eagle like eyesight that can see perfect detail from a mile a way. I certainly don't. Only on the best of days, do you get a chance to see clearly. Often there are really faint clouds in the way that you can barely see that slightly obscures what you are looking at. Also I'd rather have blue fog and it to run on my computer than 'perfect' graphics and my terrible laptop to chug away with lag every step I take. Yes, asthetics make a diffence to a game but I think how the game feels is more important than what it looks like.
However, I think that the only ones that can give us a fair review are those that have actually played it. If they say, that blue fog was really annoying or the map travel system is really flawed. Then they are the most reliable source. Yet, more than a couple will have to say that before we make a judgement.
Comments
I think we know answers to at least some of your questions.
The mist battles do affect the "regular" PvE servers. Examples so far are things like increased drop rate. We don't know how much or how long.
The battles last a week. I believe who ever has the most points at the end of the week wins.
I understand it is not "real" open world PvP. But think of it this way.
We know the minimum number so far is that it can hold "hundreds" of players. When you take into account the mist battlefields; casltes, mines, farms, and what not, the mist world will closely represent the PvE world. NPC's will still be there to mine and refill ammunitions. This we know.
If you look at how WoW splits their servers. Say server1 is PvE and server2 is PvP. If I can hot jump from server1 to server2, does this mean server2 is no longer PvP? Of course not. Server2 will still be PvP, regardless of whether I can join in or not.
And that's why some say it may still be open world PvP in GW2.
If GW2 mist battles were the size of a single zone, then it would just be a battleground. If however, mist battles took place across multiple vast zones with NPC's and Dynamic Events... then it would be closer to open world PvP.
A huge disappointment because of draw distance, voice overs, and fast traveling?
lol man, who you even looks at the first two as a deal breaker?
The title of this thread is a huge disappointment. I saw it and thought 'ooo they finally put GW2 in closed beta!", but noooo.
I'm not over-hyped or under-hyped about this game. I had GW1 with all of its expacs and thought it was an ok game. I'll just wait and see what people say when beta does come rolling around.
Playing MUDs and MMOs since 1994.
The "features list" is probably the worse way to judge an MMO. I have no idea why the hype for this game is as high as it is. It's probably going to be good, or at least, good enough. Color me skeptical if this "dynamic story", "visceral combat" and "class combos" really is going to end up being all that. Sounds like all we are looking at is Dragon Age II with a community hub and the ability to fight with our creations in arenas... sorry "designated PvP areas". MMOs are trending way too much towards being single player games.
What other way can you initially judge an MMO? The first thing you look at for any game is it's feature list, then you take a look at how it plays through and if it does have all those features and such after which you are either excited or put off. Then you get a chance to play the game, see what it's about and decide finally whether the game is worth it or not.
So yes, the features list is quite important.
This is not a game.
Oh, is it starting already???
Generally the haters wait till launch to bash a game but I see they are becoming more and more precocious... children this days, they grow so fast
Im actually happy there's at least one bashing thread...it was strange that GW2 hadnt had any for a ,long time here:)
I think I actually spent way more time reading and theorycrafting about MMOs than playing them
I don't really understand the issue with teleporting. If you don't want to teleport, don't. If you want to get to your destination quicker, by all means, teleport if you want. If you feel that running long distances every time you play to get from one point to another then do that.
I, for one, am a huge fan of GW1 and am excited and impatient for GW2 to release! IMHO, GW1 is the best game out there for many reasons the price, the story and certainly not least, the graphics. Hopefully Arenanet pulls it off and makes GW2 the best ever!
You want me to pay to play a game I already paid for???
Be afraid.....The dragons are HERE!
I am somewhat scared that this will make the game feel empty. You never see someone going somewhere or meet people on the way to somewhere.
Teleporting do work fine in GW1 but it seems like thay have added a lot points you can teleport to now. I am not against teleporting in itself, but the large number of points do worry me somewhat.
As I said, I will not say that it is bad until I tried it but it is somewhat worrying to me.
If everyone just go to the point they need to it will make the game seems more empty.
Make the world feel empty? Nah. The only thing that can make a world feel empty is a low population not fast travel.
This is not a game.
I do know that when AoCs added fast travel to many zones did it feel emptier. Of course it was only rather low pop then but I can tell you it surely didn't help, before you could run into people traveling somewhere, and I myself often stopped and help noobs or just chatted a bit with someone I knew and happened to run into.
And as I said, I am not against porting as such but I am worrid that you constantly can travel exactly where you want, in GW1 you at least have to travel a bit to get to a quest.
The risk is that players only will be at certain events or in the city.
And no, I don't know for a fact that this will happen, it is just the thing I worry about.
Fast travel will make world inbetween empty and take away the immersion but im affraid these days game community dont care about that anymore. If a game give them immersive feeling and they actually need spent time to travelling or take time to build up something like there character,they dont care, no it must all be instant and fast no time no patience and no feel at all for mmo's anymore its sad truth:(
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009.....
In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.
Some people complain when they are forced to do something...
Some people still complain when they're given the power to choose their methods?
Well, it is as I said a possibility.
But let's not be hasty and complain until we seen how it eventually turn out at llaunch.
It seems somewhat worrying but that is still just in theory. I still also hope that ANET will make a lot less teleporting points, that you can teleport between citeis and outposts isn't as bad. there wont be any mounts, at least not from launch so running only would take a lot of time from people who don't have that time.
And as someone said: yes, I don't have to use it but that still means when I go somewhere there will be a lot of more empty space.
I had a good laugh at you compering draw distance between a scenery with objects: trees, rocks, buildings, mob spawns and a barren desert. BTW I have seen KOTOR vidoes and most places feel claustrophobic.
Apart of that, he doesn't say anything valid. Is someone trying to steer discussion of his troll account here ? No way.
It was a demo with a 40min timer.. do you really want players, that attended pax east, to waste time with the same events everyone else does? I think Anets intention was to show as much different events to players as possible. If there would be only one or two teleportation points, the gameplay videos would be all the same.
Eat me!
Even if I think he should try Darkfall. I am sure he is going to enjoy wasting half of his gaming time on travel between a point of interest and his home base. GW2 is all about cooperation, convenience and even player field. It is a prophet for these of us who are getting tired of grinding gear and skills/levels in order to enjoy the fun elements of MMOs.
I disagree with almost everything. The world is very pretty looking and draw distances don't bother me whatsoever. It still looks like a very reasonable draw distance compared to most games I played. The combat is awesome because it combines traditional rpg combat with action elements and removes the trinity in group play.
Now one thing you have to understand is that this game is first of all designed for the fans of Guild Wars 1. Game features everything GW1 did and more. Teleporting in GW is nothing new and a lot of GW fans would be annoyed if it weren't there in the sequel. You explore the world once, but after that forced exploring only gets more and more on your nerves the more times you have to do it.
Only thing I might agree on is the VO. I'm not yet sure to think it's bad, but it sure is different. I'll reserve judgment for that when I actually get to play it. Dynamic events look amazingly well done watching that PAX video, but I'm worried it's taking a bit too long to kill monsters. I prefer more faster paced combat so I hope they speed up kills.
OMG you are complaining about draw distance??? You know most of the other MMOs just put huge mountains in the way to solve that. Would you rather feel encased or free to roam off in the distance?
Having said that the draw distance is fine. If the draw distance was any further you probably wouldnt be able to play the game because of the geometry your pitiful computer can only take. GW 1 had the best graphics until Aion was released so that means GW2 graphics will be better than AIon's and Aion took a bit of machine to run at high levels, especially at fort raids.
"Far as the eye can see" doesnt cut it with you ? Seriously I didnt notice the blue end of the world in the videos until you pointed it out.
-I am here to perform logic
I am just going to throw out that that when you are looking at things from far away, they, and the air, tend to look blue because of the way light works. I don't know if the OP has never been to a place with clean air and the ability to see far away, perhaps from the top of a mountain, but I found the fog system in GW2 to be comparatively much more believable and realistic than most games.
In short, blue fog makes way more sense than white fog.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
WTF? No subscription fee?
To the OP.. Kthksbye.
At least we wont have to listen to you compare GW2 to WoW when it launches. Its actually quite simple, if you dont like the looks or the game play DONT BUY THE GAME. but pls, Spare us the negativity. Most if not all the posters in this forum DO like what they see and are waiting for the game to release.
Did you go to PAXEast.. or GDC?? DID you even get to try a demo ?? Did you go to ANYPLACE where they were showing people the game, and allowing them HANDS ON play time ?? To judge ANYTHING based on Vidio's that someone posted on youtube is just ludicris. You can't control the settings from anything and have to rely on what they have the game set on.. Did i ever occur to you that someone MIGHT have had everything set to bare minimum??
On that thought, what were the system specs of the computers they were running the game on? Well an easier question would be what model Alienware were they using? Honestly when you play a game that is an RPG or MMORPG you tend to look at whats in close proximity to see what you are fighting or interacting with. {mod edit}
-I am here to perform logic
I see what you're saying. I would hope that people wouldn't just teleport everywhere because I'm sure it will be a lot more fun to run around exploring. I for one will be running around the map for the most part, as I like to explore. Hope to see you all there!
You want me to pay to play a game I already paid for???
Be afraid.....The dragons are HERE!
The fast travel doesn't bother me in the slightest. Say you are in the Maguuma Jungle and then your guild mates/friends say, "Hey, come over to Ascalon and do a dungeon!".
I wouldn't want to be forced to reply, "Sorry, I'm over in the Maguuma Jungle can't make it," or "Do you mind waiting 30 min while I walk over there and hope that I'm not killed on the way." I don't think that is cool, do you?
But say you don't like teleporting. I have a very simple solution for you. Don't! Is there anything that is stopping you from walking from A to B? I don't think so. It is up to you how you play the game not how everybody else plays it. Just because people use Sabway in GW1 because it makes things easy, doesn't mean you have to. You could perfectly well pick up henchies and play through it that way.
Then onto the 'blue fog' problem. IRL do you have eagle like eyesight that can see perfect detail from a mile a way. I certainly don't. Only on the best of days, do you get a chance to see clearly. Often there are really faint clouds in the way that you can barely see that slightly obscures what you are looking at. Also I'd rather have blue fog and it to run on my computer than 'perfect' graphics and my terrible laptop to chug away with lag every step I take. Yes, asthetics make a diffence to a game but I think how the game feels is more important than what it looks like.
However, I think that the only ones that can give us a fair review are those that have actually played it. If they say, that blue fog was really annoying or the map travel system is really flawed. Then they are the most reliable source. Yet, more than a couple will have to say that before we make a judgement.