A trip in the time machine: GW in 2003!

I got GW the week after release, and while there's been some updates of the graphics, the big change has been game mechanics - GW today is a completely different game than the release-GW was.
Just some quick examples: there were no heroes and the henches were considerably dumber than they are today, mobs did not avoid AoE damage, you had to capture skills by triggering the cap sig while the boss was using the skill you wanted (so you often got the wrong skill, or the boss died before you'd captured the skill), there were no traders, only the core skills existed, there were no insignia or inscriptions, there were no minipets, you had only about 50% chance of salvaging runes...

More of the oldies found a bit everywhere on the vast net:

ATI ad for GW

the old Anet website (reading this, you get the impression of being in the prehistoric times of GW )
you can also read some fan mail from 2000!

The annoucement that Gaile Gray joined Anet back in April 2002
(the same page leads to an interesting article on preventing cheats)

The pre-order GW package!

Old design for warriors and eles?

Old inventory and also the next version of it.

That's the original log-in screen for GW, that's what it looked like on release. I don't remember if those are release-version armors, but they might be - there's been several minor changes to armor.

Nope, WoW just has really terrible graphics

At first glance, they appear so.

But as you play the game the graphics strangely grow on you.

No, it's never as detailed as GW, but it also feels more alive somehow.

Meh, beauty is in the eye of the beholder I suppose...

(I will say this: beginning armor in WoW is the worst crap I've ever seen. You're a noob, and are meant to feel that way! )

That necro PvP bar was l33t.

I miss the old days when it was a good game

IGN has a great collection of screenshots. Ranging from 2003/4-2006/7

http://media.pc.ign.com/media/552/552148/imgs_1.html

Wow. I'd forgotten how much some things used to suck. ^_^

Less than 100% salvage chance FTL!

Suck?

The game was better when Anet wasn't there holding everyones hand. Now everything is handed to you on a silver plater, with a big smile.

Borrrrring

Good old times... not like now when they more or less just give you stuff and godmode right on the menu.

Woaw! The earliest pictures are very "impressive" (in the negative sense of not being impressive compared to what we've got) too:
http://uk.media.pc.ign.com/media/552...g_1703519.html
http://uk.media.pc.ign.com/media/552...g_1703518.html
You can see the graphic changes through the months.

I guess the GW elders are right, and now the game is much less of a challenge (Anet simply adapted to its population?). So it's time to bring back your good memories!

Been playing since May, 2005 (32 months). Yup ... a lot has changed since then. Some things are better and some things aren't.

Remember when there wasn't a limit to how many minions you could have? LOL! Some fun times back then.

Wow...I haven't been playing as long as some.

I picked the game up in June/July 2005 I think..

Yes, that was the original log-in screen for Prophecies, however it wasn't exactly the same as shown in this picture. I believe it was different colors (darker?) and some other tweaks, the same goes with the armor.

I remember that, botm wasnt nerfed nor was veratas... mm's use to own any and everything.

You heard me.

Suck.

I fail to see how things like random failure on simple tasks (salvaging) make the game more challenging.

Has anyone ever, ever, EVER actually enjoyed the experience of trying to salvage or upgrade some valuable item in an MMORPG, only to have it be destroyed thanks to the whim of random chance? Ever?

If there's one thing that can bring a smile to my face every time I start up GW, it's the fact that Anet is designing it instead of some of the people on these forums.

I have a job, thanks. I like my games to be fun, and yes, instantly gratifying.

Malice's comment is dirrected more towards the economy.

Gold items were actually rare prior to chests and buried treasures. Money had value, etc. Now anybody can get enough money for vanity items by just beating the game the first time through.

Yes and no.

Yes, it was a lot better back in the day for the economy, and for those of us who played it.

Getting a gold was a "wow" moment, now it's "another gold for the merch". Back in the day no golds were merched, everything could be sold. A max gold with no dmg mod would fetch a few k.

The people were better. Pugging was actually worthwhile. Getting a group wasn't harder then the mission/quest.

Granted, the whole salvaging thing wasn't too great, but that made getting that sup vigor even more special.

2005>present day

My friends list would agree.

I'm not on your friends list, but I agree.

First of all I want so say how honored I am, because you put my Gw video onto your history list (the alpha one). I was wondering how did I get more than half a thousand views in one day, and now I see the reason. =)

Feel free to comment and discuss about everything about guild wars in my video, and I will reply my own opinion if necessary.


I also looked those old photos you put here. Amazing and Arenanets old website..haha =)

Thank you this thread is awesome, and I was wondering that why didn't anybody do a thread about the history of the GW, But here it is!

Sorry for my English grammar..