A Couple Things You Probably Didn't Know About GW...

This is for all you Beta Scum out there. Yeah, have you guys been to the North American Guild Wars Official Site lately? What's there? Nothing. Well, I shouldn't say that... we DO get Fan Site Fridays and such, but we yearn for MORE. It's the North American way! Seriously though...

Turns out that we've been getting the Cold Shoulder on few things about Guild Wars.

NCSoft is good to their people... they show them things that we can only guess at. Unless of course you're in the Alpha Test and you get to see these things everyday. But if you're like me... and I'm sure you are, you have to settle for what we're "allowed" to see. I'm going to take some time here to fill you in on some things that what we've been missing... and others have been seeing.

They already get their 30k tourney, over in Korea. If you open your GW Client, you'll see that the UI has also changed... away from it's previous Western look to a more Korean friendly and colourful look. In addition to all of this, they get a much more in-depth peak at the full GW World.

First, we have the GW Map. We only get to see a tiny portion of this during the BWE. This is what Guild Wars Korea gets to see when they go to their Official Site.

Full Map?

Is this the Full Map? Who knows. This only shows the Missions. If we were to zoom in, there would be explorable areas all around them, I'm sure. The fact remains that it's a hell of a lot more than we get to see... however the Koreans can view it like it was nothing. If you were to ask an Alpha if they could confirm this, they'd prolly be in breach of the NDA, but it's publically available information...


How about those Guild Halls? I have reason to believe that there may be at least one more. If it's not a Guild Hall, then who knows what it is. Either way, it shows that there are areas explorable near the lava-looking islands of the map.

First

Second


To top it all off, the Korean Guild Wars Official Site has IN-DEPTH tutorials on how the entire game works. In North America, I guess they leave all the work to the dutiful Fan-Sites... so they get to deal with all these players who ask the same questions over and over. Seriously, take a look for youself. If you can read Korean, please fill us in on some of the info, if there's any that's worth sharing. Make sure you look around the site well, click everything, view every picture... you won't see it anywhere else, until release... or until we get a real Official Site with information that's worth reading. Instead, we get a nice FAQ with absolutly no visuals.

Even their profession section has all of the available skills, as far as I can tell, listed, with pictures and, I'm guessing, a description.

Here's there player guide as well.

Korean Official Guild Wars Site

Page of the Map here.

Lava Guild Hall (or whatever) here . It's at the bottom of the page.

Personally, I'm just dissapointed with the lack of info that we have access to. I'm not trying to "expose" anyone or blame anyone at all... I'd just like to see more of this available to the English Speaking world... or for that matter, anyone... Germans, Italians, etc. We're all fans.

Thats cool and all but the one thing I disagree on is the world map you showed (Full Map), I saw that before if I'm not mistaken, when I loaded in the march beta.

Look at the bottom left (Edit: RIGHT!)... those missions near the Tombs were definately NOT in the Beta.

ArenaNet can either spend time programming the game, or making a fancy website. I'd prefer that they worked on the game. The Koreans aren't busy designing the game so they have all the time in the world to make a fancy website. Don't forget that almost all of Korea has broadband Internet while most of North America and Europe are still using dialup.

As far as that being the full map...you'll have to wait a month and find out.

Guys, please don't point out Shrapnel's problems with left and right,
thank you for your cooperation.

There's not really a great deal I can say on the matter without getting myself to the point where I have to wonder what is, and isn't an acceptable response to provide.

I think I can say that the English speaking parts of the world are not intentionally getting the shaft. The amount of information that is being shown and provided (either directly, or indirectly, through methods like the FFs) is the amount that ArenaNet wants released. NCSoft decided to handle things differently for their audience, perhaps against the wishes of AN themselves .. and this is what comes of it.

It's pointless to deny the possibilities of this and that when these images are presented in an 'official' capacity, and have already been picked up by several fansites. It's not something I would have posted here, but I don't fault others for doing it ... sites want to do what they can to draw in and appease their audience, and being able to present something like that is certainly a draw. I'm not going to say anything on the completion of that map except to state the obvious, it has been around for a few months. There's one month till release, and then hopefully, none of this will matter anymore.

Hmm interesting write up Shrapnel. I don't know what's what in regards to exactly what we get over the Koreans. But perhaps the things the Koreans are playing are not completely up to scratch for us english chaps. If you like the Koreans are beta testing the beta. But I don't know if that holds much truth since there are so many and they have serious tournaments going. So perhaps with more people they require more content. Not sure why we don't get it then though.

What does interest me is a) that cool guild hall with lava and b) that extra map region down bottom right.
I don't think ArenaNet would give it to the Koreans alone forever would they?

Not a big problem, at least they need American fan sites. Say, they don't even care AT ALL about a Russian fan site. At_Farel claims that community representative of ArenaNet don't respond to emails at all. I'm not 100% sure about that, but he said about that to me numerous times and was angry about that. So, most likely that it's true.

More than that, ArenaNet has a link to a clan forum as a recommended Russian forums on a links page. I mean, come on. Who the hell officially recommends a clan forum on an official game site to use as a country forums? Did you ever saw disrespect like that in any other game?

If it has been released to the Koreans, can not an English version of the same released content be made available? The same information translated to English for example. The same screen shots. etc...

anyone know where i can get a laungauge thingy to translate it all so i can read the site ?

I don't think that was Spooky's point GreenTongue - the idea is that NCSoft is marketing it as they wish in Korea, and ArenaNet in America. NCSoft is blowing the doors open, whereas ArenaNet is keeping it a bit more wrapped up.

Personally I like the ArenaNet approach - the game is in beta. Once it comes out full the thrill of exploration is always unmatched

Is it possible that the korean GW is or will be differant than the u.s. and europe GW?

Not likely, if so it would be only very minor tweaks and such. No one will be getting some special area or mission.

----------------------------------

I love the new client, much smoother then before. The other was rough. But with this I think we might see a change in like the skill bar and such. Maybe it will be smoother like the client.

Nice website they have there. Good flash, and the color theme changes based on where you are in the site.

Maybe once GW gets released, they'll do something similar for the English site.

:EDIT:
Yes I saw the new client to..I like the Guildwars across the top and that the options is now a button with it's own window.

I very much doubt that they will. Why? Like Cain (and Gaile) has said in the past, most of Korea has access to broadband. If not in their homes, they have it on every street corner in the form of internet cafes.

If you make a flash-heavy website such as the Korean GW website, you'll find that a lot of dial-up users get very very unhappy. And, in both the US and Europe, again, there are massive amounts of dialup users.

I very much believe that one of the main reasons that the Korean website is so flashy is that they don't have to worry about users with slow internet connections. At all. So.. if anyone wants to complain about how plain the English GW website is in comparison to the Korean site, go blame it on the relatively slower spread of broadband in the US/Europe/the rest of the world, instead.

As for Shrapnel_Magnet, on the contrary, I don't feel like "beta scum." I remain feeling quite privileged to see this game before release. What's that saying? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth? We can argue about fairness, rights, and obligations all you want.. but the bottom line for me is that ANet has been more fair, open, and welcoming in their dealings with their fans than any other gaming company I've seen.

Besides, as others have said, there remains only one month before the release of the game. Yelling to see more at this point seems to rise more from a lack of patience, than from any firm, concrete situation of gross inequality that remains entirely grounded in reality.. We'll see it all on April 28th (and most of us, on April 27th). And the Koreans will see just as much as we do, then -- no more, no less. If anything, I'm grateful that I haven't seen what the Koreans have seen.

Again, like others have said.. I will be getting a surprise, and that feeling of actually stepping into a familiar, loved world that promises many many new surprises. At that point, when the day of release dawns, every surprise that has faded away by being revealed in the BWE will be one less joy that I can discover -- all breathlessly at once.

Do you want more crumbs, or a bigger final portion of the cake? Intact? I choose the cake, thank you very much.

lol, yeah... the other LEFT...

But yeah, I totally agree, I prefer A.Net's approach as well. I'm also aware that the Korean Site is all NCSoft's doing... I just feel "jealous" I guess you could say.

Also, if it's been picked up by fansites before, which I'm sure it has (as you've said), I wonder why it hasn't been spread too far? Maybe it has and I'm totally out of the loop, I dunno. The fact remains that I'd rather these shots not exist at all. If the Korean Site only had readily available information (to everyone) and none of this other stuff, I'd be fine.

I'd still be a little put off by the wealth of info provided. I'm sure once the game is out, this kind of stuff would be on the North American site... I'm talking about the tutorials and such. Perhaps there'll be a Manual...

I'd like to see the Korean Site translated, but whatever... it's like a month away from release and it's really not important.

EDIT: I wasn't trying to make a "nasty reference" with beta scum... lol, I just thought it sounded funny.

google the word translate for whichever one you want

babble isnt bad

With google or bablefish you can translate the whole page...the only trouble is, that most of the text are pictures or flash and can't be translated.

Maybe it's just because I really do love the GW fansites.. but I actually prefer fan made guides to official ones. Why? I always get the impression that the official ones give you a line of description, and that's it.. I would rather have it be in depth, with all the information there.. as well as the extras that comprehensive player guides seem to stuff in, most of the time.

To me, leaving the main GW site minimalistic gives more room for the other fansites. One of the main reasons that I plowed through fansites in the beginning of my GW experience was because I was looking for particular skills. Sure, there might be discrepancies across the fansites on this damage range, or that recharge time.. but that's to be expected with a game that's under constant balancing before release. The skill listings, equipment guides, etc, all place a lot of emphasis on the fansites, and on the GW community. In my mind, it fosters a great deal of independence, and of course, is much easier to manage.

And, I also have that undoubtedly over-simplistic opinion that less time spent on developing the website means more time spent on developing the game.

So.. to me.. there are definitely different ways of doing things.. but that doesn't mean that one method is better than the other. We have a great, vibrant fansite community here.. (I see people I know from forums every single time I step into LA) and that's partly because of the importance that ANet gives to fansites in letting them have the spotlight on skills, items, beginners' guides, etc. I really don't know much about the Korean website, as I don't speak/write/read Korean, but with such a bright and overpowering official website.. I doubt that the fansites are as important to the players by far.

do I personally speak Korean? umm not even close...

but the interfacings and handlings of the site are very similar.

As for content; there are a few things(details) not found stateside for sure, but if you notice, they don't have ALL skills listed or divulged. A few different ones I haven't seen before but not all in either case.
The map is almost identical to MOONS, with the exceptions of some interesting little details in the bottom corner. No biggie. I would imagine those details will become available in the next beta for us by the diligence of MOON & Company (hehe kinda sounds like a corporate underground).

It looks more like a different approach and schedule to the same level of information than it does a free reign into the delvings of it. Not to mention, the guides give the impression of player bias and experience.

(mind you this is from just paying attention to the imaging and interfacing...so I could be a little off..but I don't think so. It looks to me like they have the same restrictions just that they may be a little further along than us because of the nature of their positioning to NCSoft...not because they are getting a free pass)

As for me? No. I am not worried in the least. Game isn't that far from release and the shared community resource we have available on this site alone far outstrips any competitive site notion or unfair advantage they might possibly have.

It would be nice if the ArenaNet website had more solid information. That having been said, I'd be very, very disappointed to see the ArenaNet website transformed into something like the gaudy, flash-heavy site the Koreans are forced to suffer through. It looks like someone let a couple of 14 year olds loose on the site. "Let's put some awesome flash here!" "What purpose does it serve there? How does it make the website easier to use?" "Whadayamean? It looks cool!" Riiiight...

The ArenaNet site may be sparse on information, but it sure as hell looks a lot more professional. Plus, it's a heck of a lot easier to navigate. Having a bit of flash and art is wonderful, but it shouldn't take up most of the screen, leaving the actual content to suffer in a small box like an afterthought.

What I'd rather see is something similar to the Arreat Summit for Guild Wars. Give me that over that gaudy flash site anyday...

That's usually a good sign that your website was designed by 14 year-olds. Professional web designers understand the importance of text for translators, search engines, text-to-speech or font enlargement for visually impaired readers, etc. The ultimate torture test is to have at the site with Lynx (the text-only web browser). If your site is pretty, but is still every bit as usable under Lynx as from IE, just less pretty, you know you've got a real, professional web designer working on it.

How on earth is that relevant to anything ? Cause they have better connection speeds they get more between betas and get more information from the same company? We all paid the same for the pre-order so we should all get the same service. And as a someone who lives in Ottawa talking to another, I'm quite disappointed you're not on broadband, what with all the telecom companies doing competition, I only know one person who's still on dial-up

doubtless, we're getting screwed over. but as long as the game comes out when it's supposed to, and hopefully with a world wide simultanious release instead of the (usual for all games) asia gets it first plan, then it's no big deal. it's the game that makes it good. not the site. as for that guild hall... sweeet necta (ATHF). I hope they have a hell of a lot more guild halls to choose from. those 6 they have now (well... 7 i guess... now) are great and all, but having tons of choices would kick ass.

I think Cain was referring more to the fact that the Korean site is filled with so much flash material.

The "service" guaranteed by the preorder is exactly what we're getting. Buying a preorder doesn't entitle you the right to dictate what ANet puts on their website, or what NCSoft puts on the Korean website. I think you're overstepping your boundaries in what your given "rights" are by simply preordering -- an act that doesn't give ANet any solid profit, by the way, except as a bit of a hype/advertisement for the final product, which *does* give ANet their profit.

As for broadband.. I'm sorry The fact that you personally know only one person who is still on dial-up doesn't mean that the whole country and the entire North American region reflects your situation. You might live in a technologically advanced area. In the US, there are still many regions where dial-up is still hard to get. It's wonderful to hear that you don't have difficulty, but your area is a very specific example -- far from all-encompassing in any sense.

The big reason for the difference is simply the approach to community relations differing in Korea.

Arena.net has made the (excellent) decision to let the fan community handle the dispersal of in-depth information about the game. That's why this game has some of the best fansite support of any out there - sites like this one are supported so that they can give the community the same sorts of information listed on the Korean site, ultimately providing the community with an even more in depth resource than what you'd find on the official site.

The Korean site takes the opposite approach - they don't have a fansite program, instead putting everything in place on the site itself.

Due to the NDA crackdown, there's a discrepency in the kinds of information available on the two sites. There's likely a good amount listed there that would be considered a NDA breach in this part of the world. Chalk that up to one hand not knowing what the other is doing.

Just realize that this is a temporary thing, caused not by us 'getting the shaft' but a lack of communication and coordination. In retail, you can bet that fansites like this one will smoke the official Korean site. Instead of walkthroughs on the official site, we have Gaile and Alex going over the community boards answering questions. Which would you prefer?

Peace,
-CxE

I'm with Ensign on this, as well. Besides, it's always been my experience that Corperate sites are the worst place to get useful information from, it's always so heavily laced with "Buy Our Product!" that you never get any hard data, the bad and the good.

Fan sites are better. Plus, as has been said before, if they're not spending money and effort on the web site, then they're spending money and effort on the game. Yay Game! ^_^

Dave III

.... it depends... is Gaile wearing a rabbit suit?

I highly doubt the UI was switched to a more "Western" look. I like the way it is now, and in no way reminds me of some Western way forced upon me.

Conspiracy Theorists=Bad

I believe that the World at War will allow different countries access to all kinds of extra stuff, so in a way, there will be things you could get which would be not typically available.

On that note, as far as the top guilds go (lets say top 20), how many are North American?

Whoah... calm down Socky.

Imagine the mass majority of DSL/Dialup users attempting to load a flash website every time they wanted to learn something about Guild Wars. We don't need all that crazyness over on the Korean website.

And as for all the constant update... look at your calendar. There's a month left until the game comes out, and everything is equal. If you're fighting for justice now, you're really just waging a pointless war. So what if they get a bit more info than us? I can't physically explore that part of the map yet, so what's the point in whining about it's existance?

ive been looking for those new renders of necromancer and elementalist and all the others but i cant seem to find it
i saw some small versions of them wt that site
did AN only release those to certain places?
can someone give me a link for where to find all the new pics? pls




EDIT
y can noone ever answer this question?!?!?
ive asked it at least 3 times and no one replies EVER

I meant that it is shifting AWAY from the western style... I can't say much, however, as I haven't seen all the changes.

Also, I do agree with Ensign as well, I prefer the way that we have it.

There is some stuff that just can't be left up to fansites though. I don't see any renders around here. Or contest information. And of course all information from any existing fansite could be wrong. It's best to hear it from the Horse's mouth in a lot of cases.

but what about that one pic or the necro lady with her hand up close and it looks like she's flicking you off lol
and that korean site has a full body shot of her whilst wwe only get her upper body in a wallpaper
seems truly unfair to me

I honestly think, if anything, the Koreans are getting the shaft. I don't want to know where everything is before the game even gets off to a real start. That ruins the fun of exploring and finding new stuff. And, like a lot of people, if the information were available I'd be tempted to check it out in more detail because I like this game so much. The maps I've seen, currently have a large amount of area I still haven't been to, and I personally prefer that they remain a mystery.

I don't mind this situation all that much. The Korean's will do their thing, and we'll do ours. And about that new world map.. Arenanet already said that the world extends beyond the borders we can see now - didn't you expect them to fill the map before release? I haven't seen released games where half of the map was uninhabbited. I don't see why three small dots can make a difference.

-Arc

EDIT: Ah, there was a thread about the new GUI.. /me copypastes

Take a moment to think about giving more information to the Koreans vs Us or at least English Speakers.


Ok, times up.


Korea is the biggest Gaming economy on the planet. The eat, sleep and breathe video games. Anet knows this with all of their Blizzard and Bnet ties (never noticed the whole anet:bnet thing till now). In addtion, Koreans have more choices for MMORPGS than one could every hope to imagine. Hell, many people are playing beta versions in the u.s. of games they've had full versions of for years. Ragnarok comes to mind.

It's only natural that you might focus a large majority of your resources on Korean buyers, err gamers.

well one thing i still dont understand is how they get some things like character renders
all we got is the necromancer/ele/monk/ranger/warrior/mesmer in one of two walpapers
they got like full renders of their bodies along with different stances and such like the ele and the monks stance are totally different
i like photoshop and REALLY want these renders to be on the GW.com site
you would think they would have it on their site!
but i have been misfortuned to not know how to get my hands on one of these beuties
also whats to stop lots of people from buying a preorder from one of those stores online from america?

It's spelt "why", not "y", and it should be "I've", not "ive".
They probably get offended by your lack of spelling and punctuation.
Or maybe they just don't know the answer.

I'm glad NCSoft is blitzing the Korean market hard. Good for them. I hope they sell a million copies the first month in Korea alone. Even if one of their main buzz generators over there is that they're holding events and showing content that only Korean gamers have access to, I say ROCK ON.

As far as that map goes, I only count around 18 missions. In any case, only 4 more than we've seen in BWEs so far. Still 7 or so to speculate as to their whereabouts. I'm thinking:

- southern Shiverpeaks (2 or 3)
- the large peninsula west of the desert (another 2 or 3 maybe)
- south of Riverside (room for a couple there)
- and of course, the volcano (I wanna call that Rodgort's Eyrie or something)

The comment from the DN interview about this map not being the 'whole' map has me curious, but not optimistic that there will be more map at release. Mostly because I can imagine the 25 missions fitting easily in the map we see, and because that comment could have been referring to expansions. But hey, the famous 30% number might be more accurate than I imagined. If the world map suddenly grows on the 27th, I'll have a pretty stupid grin.