Nuke the slum area? - Guild Wars Guru archive powered by Guild Wars Legacy

lyra_song

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Oct 2005

R/Mo

05 May 2006 at 17:16 - 41

Quote:

Originally Posted by MistressYichi

aww,,, whys everyone gotta hate on the asian ghetto...

>.> Pfft...ghetto aint got nothing on a slum.

im only generalizing for the typical "ghetto" or government run housing project.

People who live in the ghetto didnt BUILD them.
People in the ghetto can get running water/running toilets.
People in the ghetto can get government support.

moriz

??ber t??k-n??sh'??n

Join Date: Jan 2006

Canada

R/

05 May 2006 at 17:30 - 42

the city is pretty nice. there's just one thing i don't like about it:

make it so that you do not aggro monsters on different levels. nothing more annoying to have my henchies trying to engage a crowd of thugs BELOW us, and having Talon Silverwing run a marathon around the map just to attack them.

zerohaste

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: May 2005

05 May 2006 at 17:38 - 43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amadei

Sentiment seconded. I absolutely LOVE the city. I love that I can be very far away from Kaineng Center and still be in the same city. I like the maze-like structure and even the gloom; it perfectly captures the feeling of a slum.

I love the design of the whole slum area as well. Being able to go from the bottom level up to the rooftops and then look down was an awesome feeling... it really made the place seem much bigger than it was.

quickmonty

Ancient Windbreaker

Join Date: May 2005

05 May 2006 at 17:42 - 44

Quote:

Originally Posted by aron searle

quickmonty meet my dictionary, turn to page 56 there you will find the meaning of "sarcasm".

You know the definition but didn't recognize it when you read it

beanerman_99

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2005

In the clouds

[Sage]

E/

05 May 2006 at 17:58 - 45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_M

To be perfectly honest I prefer post-searing Ascalon to the slums. And I NEVER thought I would type that sentence......ever.

LOL Its like you read my mind!
I personally don't mind the slums as much as I mind the god-awful quests of going back and forth and then back and wait! I got to go forth again??? wtf!

Seriously, the questing in this area blows. Every time you read anything about RPG's in magazines and such THE biggest complaint is the so-called "fetch" quests where you go to A to get the quests, B to complete the goal, and then back to A to get rewards. Only now in Factions city you go to point A then B and then maybe C and then to A and back to B. But the "twist" is that you have to zone to a new area each time you go to A,B or C and fight the same mobs over and over and over again. Not very oringinal. Thats why I prefer the missions over the side quests. Let me feel like I am really doing something rather than just running around killing stuff.

4runner

Banned

Join Date: Oct 2005

Cali!!!

cdxx/the420th.com

Mo/N

05 May 2006 at 17:58 - 46

the slums remind me of panama, when we were down there looking for Noriega, tin shacks interpersed amoung buildings quite cool!!!

NO complaints!

Young Hero

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2005

Mi

N/Mo

05 May 2006 at 18:02 - 47

/signed!
Nuke it now PLEASE

plasmasword

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Sep 2005

05 May 2006 at 18:06 - 48

I hate the city, it felt like every wall had the same repeating texture. While doing quests, I felt like pac man in a huge mage with huge walls. Theres nothing pretty to look at and it takes so long to get past it.

aron searle

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Aug 2005

Mo/

05 May 2006 at 18:07 - 49

I propose a compromise, lets nuke half of it

Fitz Rinley

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2005

The Rusty Rose

W/Mo

05 May 2006 at 18:12 - 50

Quote:

Originally Posted by -Loki-

The city is an awesome place in the game. Sure, I got sick of it and wanted to escape, but it was still a great part of the map. And I'll be going back when I've finished to complete some areas I skipped past, like the Undercity.

Wonder how many players look at this experience and think about what it is like for those in the Real World.

Fitz

iShiver

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Dec 2005

N/Mo

05 May 2006 at 18:29 - 51

I hated the film 'Gangs of New York' these slums are on that same level.

Why cant we round a few residents up and organise a protest to the government?

quickmonty

Ancient Windbreaker

Join Date: May 2005

05 May 2006 at 18:36 - 52

How about a new quest. Instead of handing out mirrors to the peasants we hand out paint and brushes and paint the ghetto!

Diablo???

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2005

Seattle

SPQR

N/R

05 May 2006 at 18:46 - 53

I FREAKING LOVE the slums! That was one of the most impressive things I found in Factions! Don't take it away please!!

Daemon Dremora

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Jul 2005

Millington, TN

Seele Erntemaschine {Nein}

05 May 2006 at 18:57 - 54

i too love the slums... i had alot of fun down there. i like the way it feels like a maze...because i love mazes. i too have ran around and taken a few screenies because the way anet captured the over all feel of the slums. it really does feel like you are in a really run down part of town... Anet you guys did awesome plz plz plz do not nuke the slums.

lyra_song

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Oct 2005

R/Mo

05 May 2006 at 19:04 - 55

Maybe if it snowed, the slums would look prettier?

UndeadRoadkill

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Feb 2006

05 May 2006 at 19:05 - 56

My only real annoyance in the area was 'babysitting' NPCs (especially when they're dead before you even get to them). I didn't mind the rest.

nitrile

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Dec 2005

05 May 2006 at 19:09 - 57

I didn't so much love the slums or the sewers as that there is real a city at all. Lion's Arch? Please. In the games I've played, urbanised areas are never more than hinted at, but here we have a fairly good one. Even oblivion's imperial city is barely the size of a (real) cathedral's grounds and the "cities" of Tyria are tiny hovels by any measure. Kaineng is a metropolis by these standards and it's fantastically refreshing to actually have that place as a backdrop for events. I don't so much love mazes; of the maguuma jungle variety - terrain doesn't work that way, does it? But I do like the city very much and it makes perfect sense.

I must admit though, some of the quests just took a bit too much running about, I do get tired of killing the same mobs 8 times because I had to zone but they're not essential to the plot. In fact it's quick skill points should I decide I need them on prophecies characters but otherwise ignorable if we choose. It's too much work to get a _group_ of people do these as everyone is at different stages - this is the problem that really needs addressing as I see it. If consensus is that Kaineng is 'too large' then that's fine by me. But if Ch3 regresses to hovels I'll be tremendously disappointed.

MSecorsky

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

So Cal

The Sinister Vanguard

Me/

05 May 2006 at 19:13 - 58

As much as I hate it (from the sense of not wanting to live there, or even go on an extended vacation), I love how it fits into the story. It's a necessary and intriguing place, imo. I've done probably 40+ quests there so far and still haven't found them all. And no... not every quest is a point A to B to C back to A either.

So, from a game perspective, I love it. Won't be looking to buy property there however.

Omni Spirit

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2006

05 May 2006 at 19:18 - 59

/signed

Pls nuke the slums, its boring, annoying and depressing.

Hunter Sharparrow

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2006

Jeepers Kreepers

R/Mo

05 May 2006 at 19:20 - 60

From what I've played and read it seems the problem isn't the slums itself but rather the maze like navigation. It's too easy to take the wrong turn even when following the map. The solution here isn't getting rid of the slums but rather introduce more paths and alleyways. It could be a bit more like NY and have square blocks with more paths perpendicular to each other. I'm not suggesting changing it to be completely like that just to be a little like that. It will also make the game less linear which in turn will make it not so repetitive and boring. Also adding a few quarks to liven things up would help make it less boring.

MSecorsky

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

So Cal

The Sinister Vanguard

Me/

05 May 2006 at 19:21 - 61

Hey all... let's dump any of you off in a major city like that and not see you get lost. ;-)

ophidian409

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Oct 2005

W/R

05 May 2006 at 19:25 - 62

i gave up the gugu mask in the 1st day event simply becasue I don't like walking so much

UndeadRoadkill

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Feb 2006

05 May 2006 at 19:26 - 63

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSecorsky

Hey all... let's dump any of you off in a major city like that and not see you get lost. ;-)

All you have to do is follow the street addresses!

MSecorsky

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jun 2005

So Cal

The Sinister Vanguard

Me/

05 May 2006 at 19:32 - 64

Quote:

Originally Posted by UndeadRoadkill

All you have to do is follow the street addresses!

Well what the hell... they give you GPS and people still get lost? (Hell, I have...)

However, after a short while I got the feel for the city and have no problems now. I look forwards to the sunlight, but will earn my way there.

Thom

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2005

05 May 2006 at 19:37 - 65

I love to hate the slums. The artwork and layout are amazing and while it isn't pretty that's the point. As far as overused textures go: That's videogame art and really that's the slum. I feel that it was a bold idea and well executed, which is why it is so annoying. I've played urban warfare FPS maps which were less convincing.

Dragou Du Porzan

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Feb 2005

Mo/

05 May 2006 at 19:41 - 66

/signed

The slum areas are painfully ugly, and consiering they're the first stop for Tyrian characters it's a double whammy. All the shanties are bland as can be with flat, repetitive textures that make those areas as ugly as sin. It's just not an environment that I enjoyed exploring at all. Give me the lush hills of Kyrta, the snow-covered Shiverpeaks, the dense and colorful jungle, even the broken landscape of post-Searing Ascalon... anything but these hideous slums!

I'll also agree that the quests were in this area were uninspired by previous GW standards. With the mission objective indicator on the minimap, I didn't experience any real navagation troubles. My only "navagation trouble" was that the area was so soul-crushingly ugly, I didn't want to navigate it at all! Just speaking for myself, it sucks away a lot of the fun of playing.

Draygo Korvan

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Aug 2005

Mo/Me

05 May 2006 at 19:53 - 67

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thom

I love to hate the slums. The artwork and layout are amazing and while it isn't pretty that's the point. As far as overused textures go: That's videogame art and really that's the slum. I feel that it was a bold idea and well executed, which is why it is so annoying. I've played urban warfare FPS maps which were less convincing.

Bingo, did you guys see the concept art of the slum? Looks pretty close to what the city actually looks like in-game.

I think you are ment to hate it a little and want to get out. It makes that valley soo much more appealing.

As far as the running around quests, i dont remember running around that much. I would only get the ones that were on the way to wherever I was really going. So it was not an even minor inconvienece especially with its 3k exp 150 gold and an imperial thing.

quickmonty

Ancient Windbreaker

Join Date: May 2005

05 May 2006 at 20:18 - 68

There are plenty of dead ends in Tyria. Did you know which way to got the first time you did the missions, or did you follow someone who knew the way? Having henched a lot of Tyria I got lost plenty of times my first time through.

The quest may be boring but they are just there for you to gain experience and skill points (if you need them). You don't have to do all the side quests.

Ugly and repetitive. Pretty much the nature of any super metropolis. More so in the game because of the nature of the city. It is supposed to be run down and ugly looking. But, I too rejoiced when I finally got to see green grass again.

Hunter Sharparrow

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Mar 2006

Jeepers Kreepers

R/Mo

05 May 2006 at 20:24 - 69

Henched and/or did it with friends that just got the game themselves. No problem finding my way through any mission or quest and my first time getting lost while playing GW ever was when I brought my ranger over and started doing the slums.

Ensign

Just Plain Fluffy

Join Date: Dec 2004

Berkeley, CA

Idiot Savants

05 May 2006 at 20:26 - 70

I liked the urban environment. Nice to see that in game for a change. Had two problems with the city though.

For starters you had the quests. Even the main quests ended up looping you through the same areas repeatedly. I didn't mind the locked doors and all that, but it really feels like you're fighting too hard to make any progress at all. This is just a psychological thing. In Prophecies, and in the later parts of Factions, progress along the main storyline is paired with a fairly large amount of map exploration. But in the early parts of factions progress in the storyline has only a minor amount of exploration taking place. So while the amount of 'stuff' to do might not have decreased, it feels like you're accomplishing less.

The second thing that bugged me is mob design. Zones in the city tend to have large abandoned sections, followed by areas that are bluntly a sea of the exact same mob. In the forest or jade sea the monsters get mixed up a bit, but here it's 100 packs of Am Fah in a row. The winding map design just makes this worse becase then you have to wind through all of these packs of Am Fah just to try and get anywhere, while making very little progress because it's so windy.

Hence I will contend that there is nothing wrong with the environment itself, the problem is simply that the areas using that environment tend to suck from a gameplay perspective.

Peace,
-CxE

cosyfiep

are we there yet?

Join Date: Dec 2005

in a land far far away

guild? I am supposed to have a guild?

Rt/

05 May 2006 at 20:41 - 71

I have mixed feelings about the slums.
I like the fact it is different, not the repeatative textures however.
I wouldnt mind the mindless quests if there was more content than just run from point A to B and return to A all the while beating off mobs....
What gets me the most is the numerous peasants that slow my computer down to unplayable levels. When I bump into a mob I can get off maybe one skill before I dead or my whole party is due to the lag.......tooooooo much content and no real reason for it. The only problems I had before this was the last ring of fire mission which was a bit sluggish, but this is almost completely unplayble on my computer (and no, I wont go buy a new computer just for this dumb slum area)....it will be incredibly hard to get all my tyrian and canthan characters thru this without wanting to pull my hair out or break my computer.
A task I am NOT looking forward to when my CE gets here.

(ps if you ever visit japan dont plan on those street addresses helping you out.....they are meaningless and non-numerical, and about the only people who know where things are are the postal people and the occupants)

Andy_M

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2005

Worthing, UK

(Don't fear) The Beaver

05 May 2006 at 20:49 - 72

Quote:

Originally Posted by lyra_song

Maybe if it snowed, the slums would look prettier?

Why not ? If it worked in the fleapit that is what's left of Ascalon City then it'll work anywhere..

GunnerMan1

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2006

Under World

Eye Of The Serpant

R/

05 May 2006 at 20:49 - 73

The slum is prolly my fav part. Its really makes you feel like...umm can't explain it. Anyway I like the maze. I think its fun to go and get lost because sometims thats where the best lookin stuff is.

Ghull Ka

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2005

Seattle, WA

Grenths Helpdesk

N/

05 May 2006 at 21:06 - 74

The slums and the city are cool and everything, but it bothered me that:

1. This most holy of places, the temple, is in the slum's sewage district.
2. The entrance to the city from the outside is the city's most ugly and disgusting area. You'd think that the grand gates of Kaenig City would be a little more well kept

Eet GnomeSmasher

Banned

Join Date: Apr 2005

In my head

05 May 2006 at 22:16 - 75

Back and forth repetitive quests aside, I think the slums were really well done. It felt more alive with NPCs walking around than going through a forest with nothing around but monsters.

It just seems like some of you are too used to shiny and pretty environments. But to each their own.

Besides if you nuke the slums, there will just be another to pop in it's place. Even dirtier and grittier than before!

nitrile

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Dec 2005

05 May 2006 at 22:54 - 76

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghull Ka

The slums and the city are cool and everything, but it bothered me that:

1. This most holy of places, the temple, is in the slum's sewage district.
2. The entrance to the city from the outside is the city's most ugly and disgusting area. You'd think that the grand gates of Kaenig City would be a little more well kept

I agree with you on both of those, but as mitigating considerations I can imagine the temple has a couple more entrances we don't use and aren't aware of that have more auspicious addresses (even if we can't see them). It could just be a "back door" as it were, that's merely convenient. As for the gates, I might suppose you mean into Pongmei valley. For this, I read somewhere in the lore (I think maybe on the map screen) that the city itself really just covered the area around Kaineng Center in the extreme northwest, until the jade wind drove everyone up and forced urbanisation - slums. In that sense, the gates would just have happened, not been planned because that's simply where the city stopped filling with refugees. The grand visitor's area to the seafaring mercantile nation of Cantha is from the docks to Kaineng Center, not the mainland - and that all sounds logical to me. I don't know if any of this is "right" but it's how I make sense of it, and if you look for it there's lots of little details like this all though GW. (But most people I've noticed racing through won't have noticed any of this.)

--
Just to add, I think the slums are exactly the right length. I love the city as it's been done but the GW environments, most especially the new ones are extraordinary. Coming out of a city into them would feel just the same in real life.

shmek

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Nov 2005

06 May 2006 at 12:24 - 77

Quote:

Originally Posted by aron searle

Ok ive gotten really close to the end level now.

I have to say from my personal experiance the game would be 5x better if the slum area was simply deleted from the map, even if it meant no replacement area and a shorter game.

I found it ugly as sin after half an hour, repatative (run to A then to B then to C then to A), and i didnt like the maze like quality.

Once i got out of that area, i really enjoyed the game a heck of alot more, and it wasnt just because it actually looked nice, but because i wasnt getting lost so much, or spending as much time pointlessly walking.

Why do i bring this up, well they are working on chapter 3. And i have to be honest i cant even bring myself to bring over my second toon and slog through that area again, i wont be buying chapter 3 if i hear it does another of these really dull areas again.

Am i pointlessly whingeing?

Or do you agree?

Drove me to take my recommended breaks with 24hour extensions it did. Just a monotonous bore that wore me down. Hope others enjoy it. It's not going anywhere though. I would prefer a new expansion, so looking forward to that already, and it'll be here soon enough.

Numa Pompilius

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: May 2005

At an Insit.. Intis... a house.

Live Forever Or Die Trying [GLHF]

W/Me

06 May 2006 at 14:00 - 78

I don't mind ugly, but I hated the endless back-and-forth fedex quests. Not all quests were fedex, you say? Like - which?

Anyway, everytime I go out into the slums of Cantha I get this feeling I'm in Sigil (those who love this area, but would like better quests and more soulful npc's in it, take a look at Planescape: Torment. Dated, but to me it's quite obvious Canthas slums were quite heavily inspired by The Hive in Sigil) and that's cool in itself.

Nevin

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Jul 2005

06 May 2006 at 14:04 - 79

If they left the city looking regal and urban, like the Market Place. IT would've been a lot better. Leave the slums to the undercity please.

Xenrath

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Oct 2005

W/Me

06 May 2006 at 14:10 - 80

My first impression when I took my tyrian warrior over was "wow! what a dump..."

I guess that's what they were aiming for though, so in that case mission accomplished. Haven't played too much so can't say for the latter areas. Shing Jea Monastry island is (to me) a more appealing place to run around though... guess I just like the outdoors more than some dump.

I'd much prefer more pre-searing type areas, lush open grassland and such - hopefully there might be some later.