Eye in the Sky

Here's a suggestion: What do you guys think about observation mode for people who don't own Guild Wars? Surley there is no better way for outsiders to get a feel for what the game is like...seems to me like a win-win situation. I don't think it would cost ArenaNet much to allow this, and would undoubtedly get way more people to buy the game.

Please post your thoughts.

OK. Here's the idea: Observation mode for people who don't own Guild Wars. Everyone will be able to see the heated competition that is the Guild Wars environment.

Upsides- A GREAT way to advertise. Would allow newcomers to see what Guild Wars is all about. Also free to implement, as far as I can see.

Downsides- None that I can see right now.

Please post your thoughts. Is it a good idea? Or am I overlooking something obvious?

gw is near-dead compared when it was first released... and gw2 will be out sooon so i dont think it will happen now for gw1

Hmm, well, first of all, I believe you are posting in wrong part of forum.

Secondly, thats what the trial keys are for, someone who wants to try the game can get one for free if they know where to look, they get to actually play the game and see if they would like it.

You mean like the 'Battlecast' from CnC3? Well it worked by downloading the client and then you can't play but you can watch battles. I'm afraid I don't agree with you on this one, The game is like... 40$? Thats 20 pounds for us in England, There are also trial keys if you want to try the game.

Then do you believe that this will/should be incorporated into Guild Wars 2?

i don't really think it would make a difference, since people tend to just watch vidoes of the game or try the trials

I think the problem would be observing people who don't wish to be observed (those who still think that they'll keep their secret farming routine secret by not telling anyone) and bots, too. The chance of seeing the most boring stuff happening around GW probably makes your idea seem like a bad idea to Anet, but I don't know for sure..

Will? No, Should? Yes

I think he's talking about an observation mode, like the current one, with GvG and HB and special events and stuff, not like "Type in Player Name here ______ _______. Now, Press OK to observe them"

As long as observers have no chat functions, I'd be up to think that this wouldn't hurt.

If I were someone trying to get into a game, I'd much rather play it hands-on with a demo or trial, rather than just watching.

I think honestly you can get the same effect from watching youtube videos. This is a neat idea, but I'm not sure that this would be more effective than just offering a 10 hour/2 week trial off of the website.

Another point to bring up is that in order to make it so that people could do this, that would mean they'd still have to download and entire 3.5+gig .dat file to be able to view everything they might see while watching others.

He's not saying "get rid of demos and trials!!!" He is just thinking of another way for people to get a little grasp on the game before they go out and spend $50+ on it. Maybe this could be used when your demos/trials expire? They're not infinite, you know.

You completely missed my point. But nice try.

Silly idea. Why would people have an interest in watching a game they don't own? They wouldn't understand what the heck is going on.

People already have youtube and review sites to get plenty of information about the game play. This would just be a waste of A.net's coding time.

You may be surprised, friend. At the time that I posted the first comment, I didn't own the game. Trying to find a free observation mode to watch real players in progress is actually how I found this site to begin with.

Of course, I was not suggesting replacing any of the current methods that Guild Wars has for advertising. And I do value the privacy of other players: I should have specified that I was only considering arena matches and such. My apologies.

Originally, I began searching for some Guild Wars gameplay on YouTube. After sorting through piles of low-res videos of people dancing, I came here. Those who post on YouTube are usually doing it to show something unusual or funny. I simply wanted to watch normal, everyday gameplay.

This sounds like something Ian Boyd would want.


Are you Ian Boyd?

There is something call "Guest Account" lol.

Those only last for like, 10 hours though.

for Guild Wars 2 i think its an very good idea...instead of thousands over thousands of free tria-keys, like done for GW1 (which would be abused by Gold Sellers only again later in GW2)

Players which want to have an observation on, how a game works and looks, don't have to be possible to play it also and to use the Chat... when you want just receive an impression on a game, then its really enough, when such an observation mode gives those people with a trial access just only a predefined creature to control, that can't speak, which can't also use the chat therethrough.
A creature, with that the payer is just able to receive a good impression about the game, how it works and how it looks.


I would find it very cool, if Anet would transform observing people into a flying funny creature, which will be only observers able to control, for the time of their observing trial access.

With this creature you could explore then the world of GW2 (cause you are a monsters, nothing would attack you, while you explore GW2) By this, the observer will receive an impression about the game how it looks.

Due to the fact, that GW2 will become a persistant world most fully, observers will also be able in explorable areas to see other players, how they fight against creatures, thusby the observer will be able to receive an impression on how the game will work.

By pressign the button for the observer mode, the observer would also have the same options, liek we have right now, beign able to watch PvP-Battles.
Thats really all, what the observer should be able to do with his trial access, but LET THEM NOT BE ABLE TO USE ANY CHAT FUNCTIONS because then it would result as said only in a repeat of the same failure, that anet did in GW1, allowing massive amounts of Gold Sellers an total easily unending source of trial accesses to create countless Gold Selling Bots, which should spam their shit somewhere in towns to advertise their illegal internet sites.

A possible funny creature for this Job I could think of ^^:

http://www.fortunecity.es/ilustrado/.../rayequipo.jpg

Somethign cute, like this little white "Bunny" there, give it then some little wings, so that i can fly to move faster, when wanted. and ready would be the little cute funny avatar for Observers, which want to have a look into GW2
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notsigned / impossible for GW1

totally signed for GW2 (just will get rid of Gold Seller Abuses of Trial Accesses by makiing it impossible to use as observer with tiral access the Chat).

This Observer-Bunny Avatar could be a free to download 1 time possible usage Trial Account. You can download the client and the Observer-Bunny from the official GW2 site then, with client you create your trial account, the Observer-Bunny is then a code, that gets implemented onto the trial account to "activate" your trial account.
Once the Trial Account is then activated, the payer can observe the game with the Bunny for say either 5 Days or XXX hours ...
After the time is over, the trial access can't be used anymore naturally then and can't be reactivated by reusing the used code.

When downloadign the Observer-Bunny Code, the website will store up the IP-adress information, to ensure, that people can get only once per IP Adress a Observer-Bunny code.

I personally would find it really funny, when I as possible player of GW2 would be able, to receive ingame impressions of the game, by running and looking around ingame as a special little cute funny creature, that only observers will be able to use for their trial time. players could then maybe interact with the Observer-Bunnies, by taking them with them, when the observing one accepts it, then the player will take the Observer-Bunny on his/her shoulder or on his/her head and will carry the observer around then, as long the observer wants it XD.

Also observing people could find so maybe direct some nice people and find some friends, with that they may play later direct together, when the observer decides then after his trial to buy the game...

Thanks for the miniature novel, Phoenix Tears.

This observation mode could clearly have a lot of work done to it (read above post). But I was thinking of something as "pain free" as possible for ArenaNet that wouldn't cost them much money or time.

However, if they want to put a little more effort into it, I would not be complaining.

Why would I want to spend a ton of time downloading a chunk of a game to observe, when I can just play a trial, or watch the youtube vids instantly. Between the two of those, if you can't get a feel for the game, you are, truly, a moron.

/notsigned

I like how it's implemented in FFXI. I forget if it's every day or week it changes, but an ivisible camera is set up in a location (ussually in front of auction houses) and people can see what that camera can see from the main website.

Doesn't really show as much about the game as a trial though, but it is a quick easy way to guage how busy the game is.

I've got to say that I really do not appreciate being called a moron.

But I suppose that the major stumbling block here is the huge download time for just WATCHING and not PLAYING the game. Perhaps, then, Anet should consider setting up a "spectator" camera in random arena matches. Users could then stream the fights to thier computer without downloading anything.

Anyone signed for this?