Things that anet did right: GW client.

You dont see how briliant it is untill you try other MMOs.

No 5+GB downloads just to try trial.
No "patch day" madness.
Fast updates.

Its weird that noone copied this concept - it is brilliant. To start game you just have to get core content downloaded, which is smallish. Everything else can be streamed in. Patches are quick and seem small: you are back to running game in few minutes. It's all transparent to user which does not have to do anything extra than jsut wait extra minute once update is released. And people can always force full download if they want to or leave game at login screen to finish streaming overnight.

(Yes, i am kinda mad that game X requires me to download 5 gigs of stuff. Who wouldnt be after being pampered by GW.)

Yeah the GW client really does rock.

Also downloading stuff while your in the log-in screen rocks as well, meaning you can have your screen saver AND download.

Only real problem with the client is that it will only work for instanced games, meaning we won't be seeing something like it quite as well done in GW2.

I agree.
When I get my new computer I'll possibly agree more.

And why is that?

some of the areas will still be instanced...i would bet they will divide up the non-instanced areas in such a way so that the client basically performs the same way it does in GW.

Compared to other games this is a real relief and a great concept

WoW's trial client does this now.

While the technical aspect is one of the best in entire online games industry, it's not a clear winner by far. Reason for this are users:

One with this approach is severe handicap to low-bandwidth users, who need to wait before entering zones, or need to wait for content.

Second problem is background downloading, which many users find unsettling and annoying. It is also easier for user to sit through download once (even if it takes 1 day), rather than 100 times for 2 minutes. Even with GW, -image has become the standard way of updating.

So yes, the technology aspect of GW client is superb and so far unparalleled by any MMO. But the reasons it hasn't cought up in other games are well founded, and make alternate distribution model more suitable - no matter how unusual that seems.

Sometimes the best solution simply isn't.

PS: I'd take GW way of distributing content any day, but I'm very well aware that for majority of users it's an annoyance. This example was proven in different parts of online software that relied on streaming. The general conclusion is: download it once, and be done with it.

External Hard Drive ftw? Here in Europe (where most counties still have Bandwith Limits -Usually 20-60 GB UL/DL a month), it's out of the question to redownload the intire game, unless you feel like cutting down on every other download for the rest of the month

And yeah, GW client is pretty roxxor... (However, there is more than enough other MMO's with a good system, only one comming at moment atm tough is Runescape, where U barely have to dl anything)

If you have instanced game, your client only needs map for current instance. If you change to anothe isntance client has opportunity to download needed content because of loading screen even on slow connections.

In noinstanced world, terrain is seamless, much larger and there are no loading screens. Meaming that client would need to download whole map, which greatly reduces advantages of streaming content (imagine that instead 2-3 minute download of one area first time you enter jungle you would have download everything jungle related which could take 15-30 minutes.).

There are ways around that, but they have some issues, especially on slower connections.

..I dont like the background image the client uses

in all seriousness though, you are right. I havent seen any game online or not with a better updating system. guildwars has solid technology behind it, and thats a good thing.

I just set mine to -image anyway so I have it all ready to load. It is a nice way, but still needs to download in game and seems more easier just install 5GB from the disc your game came with.

The client could still update only the nearby area's, preferable when not in combat though.

Here in Europe? Here in Europe I have unlimited up/download, always had.
It's in the choice of provider and account type.

The client concept is great, except for the fact that it frags itself without triggering an occasional self defrag. Not a big deal as its not at all challenging to fix manually every once and a while. Just noting that the client isnt perfect.

The only reason the GW client is so successful is due to the low amount of stuff that has to be streamed. Its not like GW has next-gen graphics, so of course all the textures/models/effects will load quickly.

Heard of -image commandline?

and for the defragging, use contig. http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10037429

He mentioned it in your fullquote...


I agree to Antheus, -image is the standard way of updating.

I guess people remember the special arenas added for various festivals, people who did not use -image very often loaded halfway into the match or after it was done, or did not load at all.

The improvement to this would be to force the download of the arena data in their staging areas before people are allowed to enter.


Antheus is right, especially SLOW connection users prefer the full download option, even if this sounds like a contradiction. If you do not do it, GW is downloading so much that it is not fun even on a fast DSL line, as it often does not reach max speed. Entering Kaineng with someone who did not play GW for half a year results in quite some waiting time for you.


I could imagine the following improvements for GW2:

1.) Forced download of pvp arena data to prevent slowloaders

2.) Download Options Control Center:
Asks you if you want to do a full download, only certain major areas and so on.
Does not require people to know or use the -image command and has some more options.

3.) GW.DAT defrag/repair. As part of the Download O.C.C..
Right now the file sometimes goes rampant and blows up to enormous size. You can manually fix this, but it should not be necessary. It could also check GW.DAT size and inform you or autorun a defrag if this happens.
The ideal solution would of course be to improve the .dat so that this does not happen anymore at all.

4.) GW-Backup
Burns a copy of GW or only selected parts (with/without Screenshots, Builds, etc.) on a DVD. Compressed or not, just as you like.
This is what I did roughly twice a year so far, a full backup of my GW.DAT and the whole GW-directory.

The onñy thing I don't like about the gw.dat is that it tends to become fragmented.

Yeah...I recently reinstalled GW after a break and it took like 45 minutes to download Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall. I don't have EotN because I'm poor

As much as Age of Conan copied GW on many features, one feature they missed were quick load screens. AoC requires several minutes to load areas already on your hard drive, god forbid you have to update the area, then there's a 15 min wait when first logging in . . .. AoC has load screens out the wazzu; you're watching load screens more than you're playing the game. Though Funcom will likely try and fix this stone-age feature. In GW (with "-image") it takes only a few seconds to get through load screens. Granted you'll have to run the -image cmd once overnight.

Arena Net will likely require (not optional) "-image" at the start of the game. Persistent areas in GWII, once the client is up to date, will only require a 30sec update at log-in every week or so. Similar to me running the -image cmd when an update is available--takes only about 30 secs for the update.

Should be really easy for Arena Net to get us up and playing new content in no time, even in Persistent Areas.

I think you should differentiate between the "client" and the network layer. The network code in GW is phenomenal because that is Anet's core competence.

The rest of the client, on the other hand, is nothing special. The UI is very rigid and uncustomizable (except using texture replacement hacks). The world is too simplistic, having just two degrees of freedom and often very broken pathfinding and collision detection. Graphics are shoddy and full of bugs and hacks -- why is it that after three years the major bug of creatures disappearing in the middle of bridges continues to be unfixed? Mob AI is next to nonexistent -- they never learn from their mistakes and never display intelligent behavior. All in all, the GW1 client is really showing its age.

They could still have the areas separated out like the instances in GW, but have them be persistent anyway. It would be like towns in GW currently are, but probably larger like any of the explorable areas, with mobs and whatever else they include. They wouldn't necessarily have a single large over-world which would require basically one big download.

I agree with the fast updates and all, but when you have to reinstall after you have all 4 games on one account and have to load the places over again. Man that takes a good while.

I was gonna try WoW a couple days ago and then saw how long it'd take to dl

Ditto..............