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Do the end of Beta events point to a hidden, untalked about feature?
Roybe
Member UncommonPosts: 420
I was watching GamebreakerTV this week (Guildcast) and the members of that show voiced an idea that I've believed in since the first Beta weekend. Basically, that the ending 'one off' events are going to be a feature to the game.
This coincides with the idea that was put forth very early on in the games design, which was that a dragon flies over, burns down a bridge. This signals a start to a large DE. Rather than having this on a timer, it could be a world wide event. The way each server then handles the event would lead to differing outcomes, different world states, etc. that might not necessarily culminate the same way.
Case in point. The end of the second beta weekend with the 'zombification' of the population. IF this was a world wide event, each server might have had differing outcomes (this would also depend on the resetting of the population when they log). But it's an interesting proposition, as it is possible for a servers world to remain in a particular setting's state for a long time.
The time it took Anet to design, produce, and implement "The Hunger Royale" is reported at roughly 12 hours. To me, if this time is actually even half true (let's say it took 24 hours to produce that event) that is still an amazing feat.
So relative ease of creation and settings that could leave each server in differing states based on a world changing in game scenario (a dragon flies over and changes the world in some way, a major forest fire occurs after a brutal attack by centours, etc.) make for an interesting idea.
Comments
I can see them doing something kinda similar to these events, but certainly nothing like the 2nd BWE where the PvP would be mandatory. Anet has been really strict in their seperation of PvE and PvP aspects of the game. If they did them like in the 3rd BWE where the players had to volutarily join in to participate then sure it could happen. Nothing PvPwise that takes over the entire map/world.
Things that make you go ... Hmmmmm.
Interesting thoughts, and could happen. I know they have said things will stay how they are like if people do not stop something from attacking a village or area then it could get taken over and stay that way.
Lot of potential there regardless!
Even if something like that was done once in a while to spice things up now and then I would be all for it.
- I have played Everquest, DAOC, Shadowbane, WoW, Aion, Rift, SW Galaxies, Planetside and Guild Wars (all expacs)
I have asked a lot of folks I know that are strictly PvE players, and all of them, to a person, enjoyed that particular event. Because it was still a grief free experience, it happened within the lore of the world, and they knew it was a short lived event.
However, I can agree that this type of event would have a short life span with a definite end. However, the insertion of something similar within the game world, that remaind a PvE event could last an idefinite amount of time, changing each server, giving each a different flavor, while maintaining the overarching stories being told.
I am absolutely convinced that ANet created these closing events to test technology that allows for the implementation of large scale area wide (or perhaps even multiple-area) dynamic events.
If you think about it, they are able to add and change content on the fly without taking the servers down for maintenance, and they are able to design content extremely quickly.
I think the best way to maintain a large player base is to regularly introduce events that impact the world in some way, whether or not it is holiday events, something that pays homage to Tyria's history, or content related to the rise of the dragons.
Time will tell.
"Loading screens" are not "instances".
Your personal efforts to troll any game will not, in fact, impact the success or failure of said game.
I haven't beta tested many games but am curious to what other games have done something like this before? I do find it interesting to ponder but wouldn't want to speculate.
Yes these events in many many different forms will be a part of the game, they will be situational, for a restricted time only
This tool is incredibly flexible and can be used in many many ways, it will be great fun
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)
These events may have given them a chance to test out zone wide events with tons of people participating and such massive events may occur in higher levels of the game zone. I do think, though, that they will also have events similar to the ones we saw as part of particular holiday events.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
The final event was a combination of nearly all the mechanics in gw2
Play for fun. Play to win. Play for perfection. Play with friends. Play in another world. Why do you play?
Actually this question may answer itself....
It is clear from the BWE's that ANet have at the very least put in the tools to actively manipulate the game world in a variety of ways.
I strongly suspect having taken the time to create the toolset - they will be planning to use it. The claim of 12 hours to set up one event for a Beta also points to this conclusion.
I am quietly hopeful this is indeed correct, and one-off events will be thrown in periodically.
Yes I am quite sure they will be. I think they will wind up much like the special events in City of Heroes(Rikti invasions etc).
People vastly under estimate the influence City of Heroes has had on this game.
They did that in GW1 also. It is just to have fun. I remember Gwen in GW1 beta weekend starting everything on fire as she hopped and skipeed around.
So I think people are reading too much into this.
They are preparing for the special holiday events, just like they had in GW1. But these will be much bigger in GW2 I think.
I think they will use the technology for special events but those events will have no lasting impact on individual server worlds. There's no way they want the nightmare of trying to update worlds in various stages. All that said they could definitely do global events that impact all server worlds.
I was glad to see that they moved Hunger Royale off to it's own area which you could freely leave if you wished. Both BWE 2 and 3 events were fun for a bit but I'm not sure I'd want to participate in them on an ongoing basis. But that's just me - I love the fact that there is all kinds of content in the game and the more they can add in a quality way is just awesome.
To me it's pretty obvious that they have put in the ground work for large scale live events on demand. I do not, with any doubt, think they will not be using them. They want us to stick around afterall and this is exactly the sort of thing that creates a die hard and loyal player base. Expect good things.
However, if they did leave the servers in different states depending on the outcome of those events I think it would cause a lot of problems. Lets say only one server 'loses'.. far too many people will just guest over to that server to check out the changes, possibly overburdening it. What if the lose or win state is favored over the other? Some servers might end up barren because no one wants to be on them while those changes are in effect, whilst the others have an increased load on them.
Same events? Probably no considering only 2nd BWE end event was made with any sort of preparation. The last one was made over night by 2 guys mostly.
Now as for what we may see in full version? That's all up to Live Team. They said they will change DEs every now and then, and there probably will be some seasonal events like in GW1 (we know the halloween event will be back since they did say Mad King Thorn will make appearance), can't see why we wouldn't have some more random happenings as well.
From what I understand they reworked the engine to be flexible enough to allow for all kinds of crazy stuff and a full Live Team will have more time and manpower to create something of quality.
Of course they are going to do these events. If they don't, they are idiotic. This is the kind of stuff that keeps the game interesting and people surprised/playing and paying. I haven't seen stuff like this since EQ times honestly. When devs actually gave a crap.
I hope to see tons of these events in game, with GM run mobs and all sorts of stuff. It could be amazingly fun and different. And that is what it is all about.
Also, I am all for the "PvP" like events that they have had. It is only for an hour or so, if you don't like it, then leave. There are plenty of other places to explore and PvE in. With all the DE content they already have, there seems like little point to having PvE focused events. They will be way more interesting and way more fun with player/dev/GM controled opponents.
You obviously could not grab the end event during BWE3, it was just perfect.
Getting food forced everyone to spread out, and there where a lot 1vs 1 fights going on. The robot part tough was way less fun.
These events will be there for special perposes and special times, and they will all be temporarilly in nature.
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)
I agree. They're showing off what's possible, which is pretty awesome -- just the scale of what's possible.
Rift did these type of world events as well, earlier in it's life, but usually combined with a seasonal event which would culminate in a finale of taking down a larger world boss, etc. or fighting off a special invasion. But the "total conversions" that they've done in the GW2 betas have been a bit more interesting, replacing our hotbars with new commands, etc. (except that I thought the Hunger one sucked... still a nice tech demo).
"One off" events and permanent conclusions to events are both unlikely.
One off events piss off the people that missed it. Because of work or family or whatever not everyone playing will be able to be on to do a major One off event.
ArenaNet cant tell a large portion of their playerbase "uh, too bad, next time dont have a job or a family".
Permanent conclusion can have other problems. What if a dragon comes in and does burn down a bridge. And because your server failed the event the bridge is now permanently gone.
However, an update or expansion is released and the area where the bridge was is featured in the update/expansion in a major event but for this major event the bridge is fine. What then?
I do think they are unlikely, except for Holiday events. However, if ArenaNet wanted to make a change to an entire zone, one of these events would probably be the best method for doing it.
Can't agree at all with the first point of work/family. I work for a living and have time with my family outside of the game. I would feel bad that I would have missed something, but would I be butthurt to the point of aggravation? Nope, I have responsibilities in RL. I'm sure most people would feel the same way.
As far as the permanent conclusion...I can see your point, but in this game..this type of issue can be fixed by the game checking for a failure state in the area, adding NPC's to start repairs of the bridge, requiring guarding/escorting DE's, repair of the bridge and the new content can kick off. The interesting part is if the server community doesn't feel that bridge is important, the state remains the same until someone does start to help.
Its great that you personally would not have hard feelings about missing an event but my experience in other MMOs tells me that nearly everyone that did miss it would be very upset.
For Rift's first update they did a world event that had multiple stages. The second stage had a giant boss wandering around that when killed would start the final stage, which means this boss was a "One off" event.
On most servers this boss was killed not long after it spawned in the afternoon so people that worked missed out on it. That evening the in game chat and message boards EXPLODED with complaints. Trion tried appeasing people by giving everyone free stuff.
they also had titles and achievements tied to those events in Rift. which is why the majority of people got upset. i can see gw2 doing "one off" events without unique gear or titles tied to them thus keeping the qq to a minimum.
I'm guessing you never played GW1?
Anet has always been HUGE fans of random community events. They've been doing stuff like this since the launch of GW1. They still have events in GW1 today.
While I don't know if Anet has officially commented on events, it's a fairly safe bet that they are going to have them in GW2. As if the event system they tested during the BWEs isn't enough evidence, you also have them being huge proponents of this in the first game.
Events like this are actually a feature MMOs used to have way back in the day. I don't know when MMOs stopped doing this stuff (or at least started half-assing it), but I'm glad to see it making a comeback in a big way. I definitely enjoyed the events during the first game.
Doubtful.
In GW1 they did these events too, and part of the prize for participating was special novelty items. I can't remember what (if any) titles were involved, but they had some pretty cool outfits & mini-pets associated with the events. I'd fully expect that to continue w/ GW2.
That said, they also re-introduced some of these items into the cashshop for people that wanted them but were far too late to the party. Furthermore, for things like the holiday events, you often had multiple chances to participate, as the would offer a chance to get the old rewards when they did the same holiday the following year.