Interview with Jeff Strain and Cynn of Ascalon

This is an interview someone had with Jeff Strain and Cynn of Ascalon - 2 GW developers. I had posted this at my guild site, and I thought I'd add it here. I guess it is old but very informative, some of you might have seen it already. Some of the questions have obvious answers so just look for the good ones.

Q: I got the pre-order, what does it really get me?
A: It gets you into every Beta Weekend Event, first weekend of every month until ship, starting next weekend.
Q: Are you responsible for all this?
A: No, no – there is a huge team of 80 very talented people responsible for this – I am but one part.
Q: Is this game going to have more depth to it?
A: This is still Alpha – its all content from here
Q: What more can we expect to see on release of this game?
A: More missions, more quests, more monsters, more features (e.g. observer mode, guild ladder)
Q: Like more types of weapons and armor appearances too?
A: Actually lots more – like I said, it’s all content from here.
Q: Why can’t I create a guild?
A: You can create a guild – see the guild vendor in town.
Q: Can people who didn’t pre-order still get in on the beta weekends?
A: No, they can’t play – people who preorder get the goodies
Q: Will the characters, loot, and missions I have done stay during the Beta Weekends as l as long as I have the pre-order and will the logins stay the same?
A: We have not decided yet – we will post the info on our site soon
Q: Any mass emails going around too? It might be easier that way.
A: No email – we have a –very- strict policy about unsolicited email – never from us, for any reason
Q: I thought when we signed up for our account and we gave you our email that was for emailing us info.
A: Ick – no.
Q: Could you put an anti spam filter to prevent people from super spamming our chat window?
A: That’s coming soon – believe me
Q: For the spells like “rotting flesh” that have a description, but no real school (like death magic, etc) what determines their effectiveness?
A: Right now rotting flesh is “fixed” effectiveness, but will eventually have a school.
Q: Any plan to remove the “invisible walls” on the areas? That has been a great concern for new people.
A: We have received a lot of feedback about pathing and “walls” – on the to-do list for sure.
Q: Will there be more types of weapons in the final, like maces, spears, lances, etc?
A: Tons More
Q: I can’t buy skills, is that because I have too many?
A: Yes, you are given “Skill points” which are used every time that you buy a skill. You can get more skill points by completing quests, leveling, and doing bonus missions. But there is a cap so choose them carefully.
Q: So then it isn’t possible to get all the skills?
A: Theoretically you can, once you run our of skill points you will have to use class specific rings to learn the rest of the skills, however we encourage specialization, not “Jacks of all trades”
Q: What was your part in the game? (Programming, designer, etc?
A: I have been programming for three years, now I am a producer and the “interview guy”.
Q: Will there be a printed map included with the retail box?
A: Of course there will be a map, plus much more in the box.
Q: Are there any plans on including unarmed combat (for monks please?) or dual wielding?
A: Unarmed combat - Probably not in the release but a strong possibility for the first expansion. Remember, each expansion will have content on scale with first release.
Q: Will I get to keep my Character?
A: We are still deciding on what to do about retaining characters and Guilds – will announce soon.
Q: What about guilds? Will they still be registered?
A: Cant say for sure – we will make an announcement about it soon.
Q: Jeff could you elaborate on “Chapters”?
A: Chapters are the expansions, every chapter has new professions, skills, missions, quests, towns, explorable areas, monsters, etc.
Q: Are chapters downloadable or expansions have to be bought?
A: Either – We will stream it to you automatically so you can purchase directly, or you can go to the store and buy it.
Q: Will the drop rate issues for cloth bolt and hide salvaging be brought into balance with that of the other classes?
A: Drop rates, loot, crafting etc. will all get major rebalancing after WPE
Q: What will the chapters cost?
A: No pricing Details yet.
(After Multiple Flamings about “clogging up the chat window with questions”)
A: Yes, about those chat filters – Coming very soon.
Q: Will guilds be able to house things? Like equipment that you can’t carry because of space limitations?
A: Guild storage is coming soon.
Q: Any plans to implement some sort of a “dueling arena”? For 1v1 PvP challenges?
A: Its Under construction – Much requested.
Q: Will Character naming be reviewed? I saw a guy named SodaCan McPepsi earlier.
A: SodaCan McPepsi will not be filtered – we don’t want to be police – if its offensive, yes, but if it is just out of character, no.
Q: Any chance of dungeon delving adventures?
A: Full indoor environments will be a major part of an upcoming chapter – first release will be outdoors.
Q: Will there be more control over pets because my pet just runs in and gets itself killed.
A: Yes you will have more control over pets, and henchmen too.
Q: Will there be any statistic views, i.e. player death totals, etc?
A: Yes, for sure, many stats coming soon.
Q: I’ve noticed that in PvP, and PvE, my charmed pet would die and I would suffer Death Penalty for that. Any Plans for this?
A: Yes, we will probably just get rid of that.
Q: Will you be doing something about all this sell-spamming everywhere? Maybe a district for selling only and then extreme flood protection on all non-trade channels.
A: Yes, we will do something about it – our goal is that each public area is very task specific.
Q: Any plans on adding other classes maybe in additional chapters?
A: You bet – every chapter will have new professions
Q: I’ve noticed that there are multiple pets available to be charmed at the moment (Moa Bird and Lynx) but no ability to uncharm.
A: This was a bug in WPE and is being fixed. There might be a trader, like the dye trader or the item crafter, who could take your pet from you
Q: The downloadable chapters, what format will they be in? If I had to redo my system I’d hate to lose it.
A: It doesn’t matter what’s on your system, just how your account is flagged, once you own it, you own it, so you would be able to reinstall it if you need to.
Q: SO you would be able to play your account with your chapters on anyone’s computer that has it?
A: Yes!
Q: Will Ranger pet buffs be made less of a burden in later patches? Right now they take up the whole skill bar.
A: No answer for you, but the design team does actively review forums, so please post it there.
Q: How many accounts can someone make with 1 CD key?
A: Once account, four Characters.
Q: What about beta testers from around the world, can we pre order?
A: We have just solved Europe via magazine distribution, but Australia and new Zealand are still in the works. We WILL find a way to get it to you, but I have nothing definitive right now.
Q: Will all my characters be forced to belong to the same guild? Because my brothers also use my PC.
A: Number of players per PC does not matter – each player needs an accound, and guild membership is account based.
Q: What will be done about necro pets? They seem kinda useless right now with their constant health degeneration.
Player: No they aren’t. Ever seen 20 necro pets swarm Justicar Hablion? It’s a massacre. Sure necro pets suck by themselves but when you get 10 they are amazing, plus blood of the master heals ALL of them up to 60hp so that’s 600hp you are healing if you just have 10 pets.
A: That is not a universal opinion so I don’t have an answer for you right now.
Q: What will be the max level in full retail?
A: Max level is 20, by very specific design.
Q: Will there be a character wipe or can we keep our characters though to release?
A: There will most likely be a character wipe but you will probably be able to preserve your characters (Name and Appearance) You will start at level 1 in retail, and probably as soon as the first beta weekend event.
Q: Has the dev team utilized the clients bandwidth to transfer the world data in addition to the game server’s trans?
A: No, this is nothing like Bittorrent – we have plenty of Horsepower (now)
Q: I read that with the streaming technology the server would never have to go down, yet it went down the first night.
A: We needed to bring on some extra capacity the first night – the usage was…extreme.
Q: Was it a joke to put a scary looking shark in the water that can’t attack you?
A: No, its just ambient life
Q: Will there be day/night cycles in retail?
A: Day/night stormy/sunny can all cycle in a mission, but there will be no fixed day/night cycle. A night mission will be a night mission regardless of the real time.
Q: As of now, the ‘stealth’ element in the game is small, if existent at all…any plans?
A: I think there are plans to enhance stealth element.
Q: Will there be 1v1 duels? The could be handy to settle grudges or what not.
A: We are talking about an option that would et you practice against other guild members in your guild hall.
Q: When is this slated for retain?
A: Early next year, we have quite a bit of balancing tasks ahead of us.
Q: Will all the assets of the final game be in CDs, or will they have to be streamed (56K question)
A: CDs will have most of the early content, but advanced content may stream
Q: Are there plans to balance warriors heal? They shouldn’t be able to heal so often like they can right now.
A: There is going to be major rebalancing based on WPE feedback – trust me
Q: Will there be character voices?
A: The problem with voices is that they have to stream and they are large – we want to change the content constantly to reflect things that happen in the world – guild victories etc – and having npc dialog change to reflect that aswell. Using voice acting burns it forever statically, since the files would be too large to download every time they change. I know a lot of people want voice so we are looking for a middle ground.
Q: Perhaps voices like Help! or Charge! Might be added? (Like Shortcut keys)
A: Stuff like that is more likely than full dialog
Q: Will there be more than 8 people from the same guild in GvG?
A: No, only 8 people on a team at a time but you will be able to have more than one team.
Q: You said that you will be changing the content regularly, can you give me an example of what would constantly change?
A: The hunting grounds will have events that will change on a regular basis. Our intent is to create a living breathing world where new things happen all the time.
Server: And Now for a public service announcement
Q: Here it comes…
Server: The preview event is now over
Server: But wait, you say, isn’t it only 11 pm in Seattle?
Server: Well lucky you; daylight savings time started today, so the World Preview Event runs for another hour…
Q: Are there any employment opportunities for ArenaNet?
A: Not at this time – we are fully staffed – check our company site (www.arena.net) for tips on how to break into the biz.
Q: Are those of us that are beta testers at least going to keep our characters?
A: Probably but expect a wipe at some point since the beta weekend events start at level 1
Q: What ever happened to the Charr aspect of the game? Did they get canned?
A: No, the Charr will be back (in force) next weekend (Nov. 6th)
Q: Do Charr taste like chicken?
A: Yes, they do.
Q: Do you prefer chicken or beef?
A: Bundaegi *(Bundaegi is the silkworm pupa. they steam or fry it here in korea and sell it on street corners. the stuff smells nasty has been known to cause drunk westerners to spontaneously vomit. Thx Augmento)
Q: I explored every inch on the map with a guildmate and ran across some lvl 30 nps, they were too easy. Anything being done about that?
A: We’re still working on large parts of tha balance, don’t worry, next time you see a level 30. he’ll have you for lunch
Q: If you were a tree what kind would you be?
A: A money tree of course
Q: What is the guild Cap if there is one?
A: The Guild cap is 50 members as of now.
Q: Any chance of raising the Cap?
A: We are still working on the final numbers for the guilds. We don’t want huge guilds – we want everyone to know each other – having said that the number is always tunable. We will evaluate the WPE feedback, so make sure to post your thoughts on it.
Q: That is true but considering not everyone in the guild will be online at the same time, it can make it hard sometimes to play GvG.
A: We will take those sorts of things into consideration when tuning the GvG
Q: Can you shoot lasers from your eyes?
A: My kids think so, yes.
(After some guy asked if there were any other guys out there that would like to...well…you know…)
A: /squelch…no, um, /ignore…no, hmmm, /filter.../don’t listen…
Q: I noticed that you can only mix three dyes. Is that going to continue being a max for custom colors?
A: No! Certainly not – I don’t know why it prevented you from mixing further
Q: Will there be secret areas?
A: There will be secret areas in almost every map, stuff that will take you some time to find and discover. There will also be maps that unlock based on how well your “world” is doing in the international tournament.
Q: Will there be an arena where teams are arranged but on the same map every time?
A: That was the intent behind GvG and the guild hall.
Q: Will the map have names of regions after you explore them? Like the village in North Kryta?
A: Yes, it will
Q: Is there some way of determining what district we land in when traveling?
A: No, but we will try to place friends and guild mates in the same district automatically.
Q: Will the GvG offer 4v4 such as arena?
A: 4v4 guild combat is something we haven’t talked much about. Could happen
Q: Will we ever have to worry about weekly server maintenance or will there be “server transfers”?
A: No, our plan is for zero downtime – the server infrastructure is built for hot swapping of system components. For instance, our server can run multiple copies of the game simultaneously.
Q: I found an item, enchanted stone, and tried to salvage it but it wouldn’t…are those not implemented yet?
A: Some item drops aren’t salvageable; they are just raw material like that stone. Salvage armor you can use to get the raw materials out of using a salvaging kit then craft new items using those materials.
Q: Are the weekend events going to start a day earlier like with the WPE?
A: The question is, would I tell you if I knew? But in all seriousness, probably not.
Q: Have you started any work on the next expansion?
A: Nope, still a lot of work to do on this puppy.
Q: Do you have anything you personally are really excited about adding in the furure?
A: yeah, observer mode.
Q: Can you make everyone naked?
A: No, as much as I have tried throughout my life…
Server: Thanks for playing, we really appreciate your participation and hope you hade a great time.
A: Well, we had a good event, but it’s not perfect…yet. But we will throw every once of our energy, passion, and talent into. This weekend was honestly the most fun I have had on guild wars.
/kick all
WPE over

For those curious; Cynn of Ascalon is Jess Lebow, all around nice guy and the fellow in charge of writing Guild Wars' lore and story.

The first half was new to me, the second half I've read before. All in all good info even though it's so old.

When they promise something like that, I expect them to keep it, which they clearly haven't. This really annoys me. Some might consider this to be a bit picky, of course, but I think that when they've stated something, they should stick to that.

Ah well, I'm sure there's enough threads on this subject allready, I'll just leave it. That answer just got me a bit annoyed, that's all.

-Arc

That statement was made back in October, correct? At the time, that was the intent. Since then things have come up that have caused changes in the schedule. The first, was a direct request from the players - change the Jan weekend because it clashes with New Years. No one complained when that happened.

The second was also in response to player feedback ... a lot of players stated that they were disappointed with the Jan weekend because it was all the same areas as the Dec weekend (even though it had the new quests). ANet decided to postpone the Feb weekend so they could introduce a new region (that addresses player concerns with other areas of the game as well). Again, it's a direct response to player feedback.

I don't think it's fair to run around saying "they broke their promises" when one of their major aims is to respond to player feedback. They're showing you that they are willing to incorporate player feedback into the game development ... they are showing you that they are willing to change rather than sticking to some preset plan just because 'that's the plan.'

I would agree with you if it wasn't for one fact - I paid for my preorder. They sold me a product, and access to the first weekend of every month. I don't ever remember being asked if I would like to delay either of the two delayed weekends, and thus I feel like they've broken a promise. If it was just a regular beta I wouldn't feel this way.
I don't really mind if it's delayed or not, it doesn't really bug me either way, but it's beside the point - the point is that I did my part of the deal, and they changed their part after that without noticing me. I just checked now - they changed their site to say that the preorder grant acess to one weekend every month, not specifying the first one - but at the time I bought my preorder, then that was the info given me. I might be picky, but when I'm promised something I like that the promises are kept, eh.

-Arc

You're saying they should keep to that original arrangment even though the large majority of people, who also paid for their preorders, support the changed timetable.

Just to keep you happy?

You dont really know who is the majority. If you are implying that majority of people on some particular forum might be in favor of the time change that doesnt make those people to be a majority in general.

Anyway, my point is that you shouldnt use quantities that are not accurate to back up your statement.

Fair enough. But the abstract point stands; if it was the case that the majority preferd/supported the change then it makes sense for it it happen. Saying it shouldn't change simply because of one person is rather selfish. The 'promise' to the customers should be kept so far as the customers want that, if you give the customers another option which they prefer then it makes sense to change. (yes this is a highly simplified discussion)

No, it's not selfish. I paid for my product, the other people doesn't matter in this case. It's my deal with them, and I expect them to fulfill their part, regardless of what the majority of the customers for the deal wants.

Take this (relatively simple) example. You're doing some work on your house, and you want one of your walls painted red. You contact some company who only paints redd walls to get them to paint your walls. Both you and the company agrees, they are to come and paint your walls red. Then, in the meantime, most of the company's other customers says they would rather have the company painting blue walls. The company agrees with this, and changes its way of doing things without contacting you. Then the company comes to your house and paints your wall blue, even though the deal was to paint it red.

My point is that the other customers are irrelevant in the case - like I said, it's my deal with them. I'll repeat what I said before - it doesn't bother me that I'll have to wait more for the BWE or anything, i'm not complaining about that - it's about a deal that I made with arenanet, and them not doing what they said they would do. When they say something, I expect them to stick to that, that's all.

-Arc

Oh really...

I would like to know if there is connection between the game and its expansions. Like can you play with a character from the retail version in the areas and missions of the expansions? Or can a character from the expansions (different classes even) go back and play in the areas and missions in the retail version. Or do you have to make a new seperate character for the expansion? And if so, will that count against your total of 4?

Yea. None of those questions can be answered now, I know. But some things to keep in mind.

If anyone feels like this is a good example and needs to be agued against, let me know. Otherwise...

okay...


First of all, that's a bad analogy because the red/blue wall analogy suggests that the content is changing to something that you don't want and that A.Net promised that it would do exactly what YOU want. No one cares what you want, if what you want is a different product that A.Net is not making. Your analogy would have worked better if you said that the wall painting company said that they would paint it in a week, and they came in 3 weeks but then they did a much better job and you were happier in the end. Well no one should care if it's a little bit later because if the company feels like it, they will be late. you can't hold them to anything.

Anyway, you shouldn't whine about such a thing anyway. How many other games let you go through *actual* beta phases while the game is still being created and then, for once, listen to your feedback and change the game accordingly?

Well, at the time I bought my preorder, it stated that it would give me access to the first weekend of every month. They've changed that page later, so now it is correct, yes. If that information was there when I ordered my product, then everything would've been fine - but it wasn't there.

And Weezer_Blue, you're not getting my point. They made a deal with me, and they didn't do what they said they would - that's a good reason for a complaint, even if what they chose to do instead was for the better.

I'm not whining. I'm just taking up an issue that could've been improved, and I don't see the harm in that. In your example about the walls, I would've been annoyed at the company seing that they did something other than what they were supposed to do, without giving me a say in the matter. Say, for instance, that I needed that wall red for a specific date - say I was going to host a wedding in my house, or something. The company then would've interfered with my plans without notifying me, and that's what I'm saying could've been done better.

-Arc

I'd like to point out, that, in fact, you paid nothing for the preorder package. That $5 or what not goes towards the price of the game when you buy it in it's entirety.
You got the package for free. A gift for pledging to the buy the game (preordering).
So stop whining, and let's get this thread back on topic: Elith's interview log.

~Firax

In fact, you didn't. You paid for the final game (or you paid a portion of the final game's cost). You didn't pay for pre-release play time, anythign you get besides the release version of the game is gravy regardless of what you are told you are getting by anyone (even ArenaNet).

Arc, you need to get over it, seriously. You only have to pay once for the game without monthly subscription costs and you complain about such minor things that really are, in fact, quite selfish.

Nope, what I bought was a "preorder pack". That pack included several things: A rebate when purchasing the game, the access to the BWE's, character name reservations, and some other things. All of that was included in the product description, and it's what I bought. Nowhere does it say that I need to purchase the full game after buying the preorder - I don't even have to use the rebate for the game. I paid for what was described, even if the income didn't go to Arenanet directly. The point is that they advertised a product for their own gain, and when I then buy the product, I make a deal with them through the retailer, and then I expect to get what I paid for.

I think that Arenanet could've at least given an apology for delaying the BWE's. Not because I feel I need to whine about the delay, but because they did something else than what was described in the deal.

Just because they're making a good game and doing overall good decisions, doesn't mean that I shouldn't be allowed to criticize them when i think they're doing something wrong, or could've done something better, IMO. I'll say it again - I'm not complaining, I'm just stating my opinion on the issue. oO

-Arc

talk about whining about nothing. A.Net didn't make any deal with you other than to let you play a beta weekend per month. They gave you a key. They gave you everything else in the box. For what? NOTHING. If you buy the game (which you are going to obviously), then you didn't pay anything. You are just whining that it's 2 weeks later. Cry me a river while playing a sad song on a violin and other such sayings. A.Net doesn't owe you anything. It's not a contract.

Well I recall them saying one weekend per month - not the first weekend.

If you can't furnish proof then I think you are just making it up to reinforce your point.

I mean, this argument really ended with the post where its quoted that they promise to give you one weekend per month and you replied that they changed it.

Besides, I've gotten my $5 worth in a HUGE way so far. Considering the fun I've had, I don't think I've ever had a better bargain in my life... and though I did pay that $5 it does roll into the final box as a discount off the price at that time.

How can you not be satisfied with that?

It's really not about principle at all though is it?
It's more about your parents not keeping their word enough and you failing to forgive them for not being perfect, by picking at a company who has done not only a great job but has kept their promise - just not in your eyes, in the light you choose to see it in.

actually the initial planning was to schedule it for the first weekend of the month but work schedules and the additional content of pre seared askalon pushed it back 2 weeks

everybody still got their BWE and i personally enjoyed the new scenery much more than i pouted over the delay

Forgive me for just copying and pasting my argument from another forum. But this is the -exact- same thing that cropped up almost two months ago after the Feb BWE..

My argument also made reference to a post that was previously made by Dreamsmith.

The original poster had the same view as Arcala, and had said as his last line "Unreasonable and ungrateful to expect what I pay for."

This is my response to that line, written early Feb:

There are differing views on what a preorder is.. but I think it's nonetheless important to always keep in mind the original intent of preorders. In the normal sense of the word, a preorder is not a purchase of a product, but rather a "spot in line" to buy the product when it's released. Thus, even if you pay for a preorder, it's like a downpayment -- a gesture on your part to acknowledge that you will buy the actual product when it's released, and at the same time, also a promise by the company to save you a copy at release -- a promise solidified by the act of taking of your money.

Now, lets go back to your original point of having "paid" for a service. Well.. ANet isn't exactly generating revenue from this service. When they add benefits to preordering -- they're exactly that: benefits, not rights. Your only traditional right is a copy of the game upon release. You didn't exactly pay anything, as the cost of the preorder will be deducted from the cost of the real game after release. And if you don't buy the final game, then as is expected, the fee is forfeited.

Now, because ANet set these benefits, they do have an obligation to fulfill what they advertised on the preorders. However, like many others, I would have to regretfully say, "Don't be so greedy." This isn't aimed at you, [original poster name taken out], as much as it's directed at the general population. To clarify: I don't see ANet's exact words on the preorder box as a promise in a binding, legal contract, but rather a clarification of the benefits previously mentioned. Now, we've had an November, December, and January BWE. And when they say "at the first week of each month," I take it not so much as a promise, but rather an elaboration and an added detail to head off the inevitable questions of "when will they be???"

And those three BWEs are a good amount of benefit alone, considering that when you order something such as a book, you don't even expect a benefit of 10 pages every first week of each month until release. However, isn't it entirely plausible that in getting ever closer and closer to the release date, things are bound to change and fluctuate as situations demand -- changes aimed at the primary goal and promise of ANet: to release a working, polished game.

Of course, in addition, there are also the benefits of the items, as well as name reservations.

Sure, ANet promised benefits -- but I strongly believe that people cross the line when they start demanding more playtime as "rights" for preordering. The traditional right of preordering, again, is a copy of the game upon release, nothing more. A game in development is prone to unexpected delays, sudden changes in schedule due to unforseen bugs, additional content added, etc. But ANet has done wonderfully, and remained above all my expectations in terms of promises. So before anyone screams about rights, think about the huge benefits you've already gained for just preordering. And if you preordered too late for most of the beta weekend events.. I'm sorry, but that's not ANet's fault.

What you paid for is a right to buy the game upon release, with extra added benefits. Somehow, the preorder of this game has been twisted around so that the primary product is not the promise of a copy of the final game, but rather play time -- which is not what a preorder is intended to do. In other words, like Dreamsmith said: unreasonable expectations. The exact definition of those benefits, to me, is flexible, as they've already delivered many -many- more additional benefits than ANY preorder has. Sadly.. at the risk of offending some people.. at this point in time, I sometimes suspect that ANet might have spoiled us too much.. and true to human nature, all we begin to do is to glut ourselves, forgetting our gratefulness while we demand and scream for more.

Look, I'm with Arcala on this from a contractual perspective, but understand the practical perspective...When purchasing a product, you enter into a contract between seller and buyer. BloodRayne pre-order was a disappointement because PC version came a year later than console, though they were all slated for simultaneous release (ended up never playing the game), Vampire Masquerade: Bloodlines pre-order was a disapointment because the price was raised $10 from when I put my deposit down and the company (EB) refused to give me the lower price (not to mention they (not EB) dropped the idea of multi-player after I put my money down).

Whenever you pre-order and a game comes out months after a posted release date, the company is in breach of this contract...Now, I've been pissed-purple over this in the past, but have come to learn this: you can rail against the wind, or you can go fly a kite (I prefer the kite).

Practically speaking, software development is one of, if not THE, most conceptually fluid industries in existance...no matter your plans, hopes, dreams or contracts...you cannot rely on this industry to remain rigid in scheduling...I don't think it "selfish" to want the company to honor its contract (which, by the way, was altered after signature ie: script of it changed AFTER money paid)...At the same time I realize this was done without malice or the intent to cheat anyone...yeah, we were deprived of the expected schedule...the painting analogy would work better if folks decided Saturdays were better than Sundays to paint and the painters came six days late...

All in all, you have a right to be ticked, and without guilt...as for the majority rule mole-archy...pull your head out of the sand...It doesn't matter what everyone else seemed to want, majority or not...a change was made to the contracted schedule without the consult of the purchasing party and therefore a contract was in breach unless disclaimer was noted at time of sale...Given the nature of the industry, it should be expected.

It has become a "given" in my personal experience that these things happen more often than not...From the anet perspective, they were just trying to give you the best experience possible and probably realized late in the day, that the original "first weekend" wasn't practical given their need to get new content to the customer...I'm not saying you should jump for joy, after all...you had plans for that weekend that had to be shuffled around... but you will, in the long run, benifit from the development, no matter the schedule changes...

For those who think Arcala is being selfish...I disagree...I've been there and no matter how people justify what happened, it will remain a negative memory and can't be made right. When the game is released, it will slip away into the past, but it's still fresh now and a little empathy here on the part of the rest of us can help the transition from past to future...Saying someone has no right to be upset over something they feel they have every right to be upset about is like picking at someone else's scab...it makes the scar deeper (not that anyone can be emotionally scarred from the lateness of a BWE...that's just stupid...I have had no plans about clock towers or weapons permits...NONE OF YOU CAN PROVE ANYTHING...*pets dead bunny*...BloodRayne2 must be stopped....)

to add one small thing i have noticed in comments elsewhere

people will complain about a bug and when asked if they hit /bug and reported it the answer was

i was too busy playing to do that

the whole purpose is to find and report bugs so it is better for all of us while having fun

and they are to busy to /bug

greedy and thoughtless sums up some of them

Aria, I would've agreed with you, but what I brought wasn't a preorder with benefits, it was a "Preorder pack", with stuff including in that pack. It's about how they advertised it and sold that preorder pack. It's very different from preorders you can place on other games. If I looked at it like you do, believeing the BWE's etc are "benefits", then yes, it would've been greedy, and we might've been spoiled. However, that's not how I understood it when I brought my preorder pack, and Arenanet did nothing to make that clearer. It was, as I said before, advertised as a pack with serveral things: A rebate when purchasing the game, the access to the BWE's, character name reservations, and some other things. If it wasn't for this, I wouldn'nt have had a problem with it.

John Thomas, I do agree with you. I also understand the practical perspective of this, and I didn't really expect anything else What I'm annoyed about however is Arenanet's handling of the issue. They didn't say anything about it, no "sorry, but we had to do it this way", no nothing. That's what I'm upset about - they don't even seem to care that they broke customers trust like they did. I'm just fearing they'll distance themselves from the community too much, like many other game developers do.

-Arc

Beta - non-finished product testing/playing

Retail - finished product

Pre-order - chance to be involve in beta stage of game and have information to offer them by way of play experience (bugs/balancing et al..whatever)

if you really expect a non-released, still in design system to stay FULLY adherent to an individual, in a STRICTLY literal sense. You just don't want to bother....

The whole idea behind it is a work in progress.

Leave the "dead horse" alone. In the end,when you really understand it you will enjoy it a whole lot more.

As far as the interview? I've seen varying pieces of it all over the place. Rather refreshing to finally see it one spot for a change.

I'm not sure what forums you were in, but I can point you to not one, not two, but several threads where Gaile was posting actively right after Feb BWE pushback was announced. And by actively, I mean sometimes several posts in one page of a certain very crowded thread. There was no mass silence from ANet as they drew behind the iron gates of their company. They neither adopted Blizzard's antagonistic mentality of them vs. us ("them" being the players and "us" being developers), NOR did they distance themselves.

Gaile's obvious presence during those few days should be proof enough that ANet's interaction with its audience neither wavered nor broke because of that one bump in the road.

And before any of you even dare scream "fanboy!" .. lets see some proof? Well, here you go:

Gaile's posts in a thread called "February BWE date changed?"

Posted on Jan 25, 2005
Jan 25, 2005
Jan. 26, 2005
Jan. 26, 2005
Jan. 26, 2005
Jan. 26, 2005
Jan. 26, 2005
Jan. 27, 2005
...

Again, all these quotes are from ONE thread. As you can tell from the dates I've included, contrary to what some of you might think, Gaile, and thus ANet was just as active as ever during that massive reaction. You also have to remember that at the same time, Gaile was also actively responding to other threads as well.

It really aggravates me when someone says, "they don't even seem to care that they broke customers trust like they did." Ignoring the fact that I strongly disagree with the breaking of "customer trust" assertion, the fact that all of this obvious effort is glossed over by "they don't even seem to care" just simply infuriates me. Do the research. Yes, I love ANet, and I'll be the first to say that I'm loyal to a fault, but I also retain every bit of independent thinking and judgment -- this includes critical assessments. This isn't "fanboism" talking. This is fact. Go to every major forum (Guru, GWO, TGH, etc), look at Gaile's profile and look at her post history.

If you didn't hear any sort of response from ANet, the question isn't whether or not ANet withdrew. It's more, "have you been actually looking?"

And now that I've worn myself out dragging out old quotes from months ago (poor Gaile must feel like I'm stalking her), I'm going to go sit out in the sun, thank you.

First of all, I didn't see those "i'm sorry" posts, no. Second, I don't see anywhere that it's required for you to read forums in order to be informed of whatever Arenanet is up to. Afaik they didn't post it on their official site, which is the only place I "should" have looked.

I'm not posting these things because I hate arenanet or anything, I just think a bit more would be in place from their side. For me, they've broken the trust, at least when it comes to dates and the like. Just some responses on some forums doesn't really make it any better, sorry.

Anyway, this is just my opinion, but it seems like I'm not allowed to state it without being told that what a greedy selfish bastard I am (not reffering to you Aria). Geeze.

-Arc

i thought this was a dead issue by now

you are not paying one red cent for all the fun of the betas

you are getting it for free

it doesnt add to the cost of the game

Gaile must have more energy and patience than ?

you said the GW site was the only place you *should* have looked at?

DID YOU LOOK?

get a lawyer and sue them for breech of contract but give it a rest

can someone LOCK this thread before flames erupt?

Wow, flashback to two months ago!

I really don't know what you'd expect or how you would anticipate we'd move forward, if forward movement is something you agree we need to maintain. We promised access to a monthly Beta Weekend Event. The date was changed, that's correct. Why? For the good of the game. Now, would it be better to think "We have a 'contractual obligation' with our customers to provide this, on said date, in said degree, ipso facto, ergo, and carpe diem?"

Should we be directed by those who are not developing the game, who do not develop games, who do not have an internal view of the process, and who cannot conceive of the various milestones and short-term objectives with which we operate? Should the risk of irritating a few short-sighted fans drive the development to the degree of us saying "Well, we better shuffle out the event on that date we said, even if it's not as polished an event, even if it excludes important features we very much want to show and have tested, even if preparing for the event delays release?

We're building a game, not a beta. We're building a game that people will play for a long, long time. Setting back the date of a three-day event is insignificant compared to the end objective. We regret the delay and we apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. But any true fan knows that that the end objective is pure: To build the best game possible, using milestones and event objectives the meet that noble goal. Anyone who argues is looking through the wrong end of the periscope at what this glorous venture is all about.

I'm sorry if I sound short-tempered. But (1) this post was started many weeks ago, (2) it was cross-posted on multiple fan forums (major no-no), and (3) it was addressed fully by me, then. The whole "distancing from community" is bunkum. Asked, answered, and now you're just beating a dead Charr.

i will accept the game when you think it is ready for us and if it is unavoidably delayed i will thank you for catching whatever it was and giving us something not broken

either way i thank you

simple

Simple, and a very welcome sign of support. I cannot imagine that Guild Wars will be delayed in any way, shape or form. The wheels are fully in motion, and we're meeting our milestones really nicely. It's wonderful, though, to have people with the kind and wise objectives of "the best game possible" and not ironclad "date-mania" in mind.

Again, there's no delay on the horizon for the final Beta Weekend Event or for the release of Guild Wars.

I agree with you, Gaile, apart from this:
I just don't think that part was stated clear enough at the time.

I have full understanding for that it's a game and not a beta being developed, and I have no problem seeing the practical points, as I said earlier. Just stating my opinion about what I saw as well, maybe a small lack of information/statements about the issue at that time.

I didn't bring this thread and issue up again, I'm just discussing other people's recent comments. I have no intention of constantly picking on an old issue.

-Arc

jeeeeez.....


I have never been happier with the way a company has carried itself through a game production process. It didnt bother me one tiny bit that the Beta Event dates changed, I knew that they are all working very hard and listening to OUR feedback on the game.

Have you EVER seen a company listen to the opinions and wants of the players who are buying the game? I sure have not. Anet has been above and beyond their call of duty in all aspects. The devs have done a fantastic job IMO that there is no reason at all to whine about such small details like BWE dates. Having the devs roam fansite/guild forums in search of suggestions and whatnot says a ton about how devoted they are to their objective.

my 2 cents.

i would personally like to thank Loviatar for resurrecting this thread after it has been dormant for over 5 weeks.
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...5327#post15327

touche

i missed the date and you are correct

as Gaile said better to quit beating a dead char

Bah, thank you Bgnome for pointing out the date. I actually thought someone reposted this interview. Again. Teaches me for not looking at dates..

Loviatar, please try not to resurrect touchy threads like these again for no good reason.. especially since all that people end up doing is butting heads, and wind up still retaining whatever ironclad beliefs entrenched in their heads. This goes for me, as well as others.

My apologies for my tone in my previous post. I would've been much nicer had I realized that this was just a resurrected thread, and not some new, bizzare resurgence of a touchy topic that should've better been left dead.

Personally, I think it was very effective use of the little know skill "Thread Rez". Obviously, not a technique for the novice at an extreme embaressment cost and that shame timer? Whoo, that really gets you. To say nothing of the 5% chance of modding.

Let's do try to keep it civil. And if not civil, let's try to keep this thread buried where it belongs...