Forever Beta: thoughts on evolution

the theory of evolution is as follows: That which works lives, that which doesn't dies. It's how life works. We stand upright because those who were unable were also unable to carry things and use tools, therefore they were resigned to the history before history.

It seems to me that Guildwars is in a perpetual beta... an amazing one given that there are millions of beta testers. Everytime something gets changed, people complain and whine and get ignored (because nobody wants to listen to a whiner). Often a few people make valid points about their problems with the newest update and I'd gamble my account on the fact that Anet reads and/or hears about these grievances. One valid point that I read, and the one that inspired this thread, stated that this would never stop and that Anet would simply keep changing everything to please people who are unhappy...

That's what Entertainment Design is all about. Anet doesn't have to do any more demographic research, they've got their beta in the homes of millions of players across all demographics and all nationalities. They can see first hand what works and doesn't as every single tiny thing in the game is prodded, poked and pushed to its limits by the player population. And each time a baby is born with no eyes, its left out to the wolves... a baby that is born too strong, perhaps ahead of its time, may become king for a while but then will be assassinated because it doesn't conform to the current environment... maybe in time these ubermensch will come back, when the soil is ripe for them... but for now let evolution take its course. Let Anet change what they change, let them tweak endlessly and pray to the Glorious Frog that they continue receiving fundage adequately enough that the process of evolution and change never stagnates.

For a meager sum, we have bought 2 games, worth hundreds of hours (hundreds each for some people). And even if we don't buy the expansion, if the process of evolution and change continues, in 2 years we'll be playing an entirely different game. Although we won't notice it change because the process of evolution is slow, but as we evolve those that refuse to evolve with us... the neanderthals... the tyrannosaurus... the dodo... will simply drop off the timeline and be (mostly) forgotten.

Keep the updates coming Anet... Nerf everything! Change Everything! We are playtesting live so that you can make an incredible gaming experience that could last years and years! We will evolve if you keep applying the evolutionary pressures! We will continue applying evolutionary pressures to the game if you keep it evolving! All truly sentient creatures know the rule: evolve or die... some choose death outright, unable to face the stress... fine... I choose evolution.

I believe it's quite evident that ArenaNet is listening to the whiners...and quite happy to wash their proverbial balls whenever the chance arises.

and this isn't really evolution....evolution doesn't involve nerfing. The most powerful survives because its the most powerful and there is no development team nerfing the hell out of it. BTW, The tyrannosaurus didn't become extinct because it failed to evolve...you probably shoulda learned that in grade school.

That said...good riddance to protective bond, I've been waiting for ecto prices to skyrocket

> and this isn't really evolution....evolution doesn't involve nerfing. The most powerful survives because its the most powerful and there is no development team nerfing the hell out of it. BTW, The tyrannosaurus didn't become extinct because it failed to evolve...you probably shoulda learned that in grade school.

Actually, evolution states that creatures best adapted to survive in that environment will do so. Something may be awesomely designed, however in the wrong environment it won't survive as well as creatures adapted to that environment. What we're seeing here is closer to Punctuated Equilibria, the evolutionary theory put forth by Gould which shows that in static environments there will be little to no evolutionary change, however should there be dramatic environmental changes there will be dramatic evolutionary changes for life to keep up/ adapt to new environments and niches. Which is, btw, why T-Rex failed to continue but other life did.

ANet changed the environment.

Evolve quickly or die out.

DrSlug... great post.

how did grass survive? how did the snail survive? how did orchids and butterflies come about? strength and power aren't the only ways to survive... the fact that things that can't fit the environment die is what makes evolution... evolution is 50% surviving and it's also 50% dieing.

Loads (loads) of other creatures survived the 3 major extinctions that left the weak and underpowered mammal at the top of the food chain... we are very mushy and vulnerable... but we are very adaptable. The dinosaurs were not. They didn't die from a comet, if this were the case than everything certainly would have died. It died from the chain of sudden reactions that the comet (or whatever global event triggered the third major extinction) caused to which it simply couldn't adapt.

I think, at the end of the day, we're both sitting on the same side of the fence here... but it's relaxing to debate about this as a breif break from the standard yet pointless fights about whether or not god is nerfing too much.

I just didn't feel the need to post it all out...but that's precisely right. It's nice to see some people are still being educated. It was a nice post by DrSlug. Did I enjoy protective bond? ofcourse I did. Am I upset that it was nerfed to "better balance pve", an aspect of the game that doesn't require balance thanks to the instanced worlds? yes I am...especially because it was brought on by a group of people that felt whining about something they either didn't want to or couldn't do, which isn't a practice I feel arenanet should be adopting if they want their game to survive. Am I gonna bitch and moan and whine about it? absolutely not...i'll just figure something else out. Maybe I'll work on my necro for a while. I mean, I did make a little over 200plat off the build...all good things come to an end. And thus we start anew...I've been meaning to come up with a ranger build that can solo the UW anyway

Change *IS* evolution, and I welcome it with open arms. Hell, mix it up more often. Juggle the skills around once EVERY MONTH. Keep us on our toes. A stagnant metagame is a boring metagame.

I don't really have anything more to say... I just wanted to quote this because I thought it was really funny and I enjoyed reading it...

I'd prefer perpetual change to planning on a set of skills, working to master them and then getting them nerfed because I was too smart for the devs.

Evolution is adapting in a changing environment, but it is quite stressful on the creatures. Living beings are stuck here, while paying customers are not.

actually in this case it is reverse evolution. that which wins dies!!!!


totally opposite to the laws of nature.

Call it divine intervention if you want. Change is a good thing.

nicely stated Doc Slug.

/tips hat

I don't think there are millions of testers

My personality - i don't like change. I prefer a routine....to know what i'm doing tomorrow.

Will i die off too?

Nah, stop talking dribble, i'm a ranger with full points in wilderness survival!! I'll be here long after the second to last player dies. They will be so impressed by my stats on my account, i can safely guess they will burn me a client side version of guild wars in my honour.
Tyrannosaurus? Yeah, i knew him...what a wimp.

And in other news today The "get out of jail free" card was removed from Monopoly because Is was consdared Exploiting. - Millions of people Quit the game in rage.

"the theory of evolution is as follows: That which works lives, that which doesn't dies."
For the sole sake of being annoying, that is not true. That would be survival of the fittest, in which the strongest survives. Evolution and the idea of Survival of the Fittest are actually two different stances, though there are many who beleive they partly go hand in hand.

On another hat - Thanks for that warban, you put a smile on my face