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Update: 10/18/2012

ArenaNet has provided some new information on the update that's set to arrive on the 22nd! Are you ready for the return of the Mad King?


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500 years ago, a tyrannical Krytan king was slain by his own people, those who had suffered greatly during his reign of lunacy. It is said that this king’s body was chopped into pieces, and his spirit was banished to the Underworld, but that he can return to the mortal realm for just one day a year: on Halloween.

Of course, that’s just an old folktale. Isn’t it?

It’s been 250 years since the last alleged sighting of Mad King Thorn’s spirit, and today, Halloween is safely celebrated by children (and merchants) all across Tyria.

But! Strange energies are rising under the autumn moon. Is there perhaps some truth to the old stories? Do you dare to find out what’s really going on?

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All kinds of tricks and treats are coming to the Gem Store this Halloween. Costumes that grant spooky skills, tonics that transform you into ghouls and ghosts, creepy crawly minis to follow you around. And don’t forget to pick up your free devil horns before they disappear!

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The Black Lion Chest is getting a spooky upgrade for Halloween. Between October 23 and November 5 each Black Lion Chest you open has a chance to give you one of six exclusive Halloween-themed weapon skins!

Also, you'll be happy to know that ArenaNet has added a spooky new wallpaper to remind you of the upcoming festivities. Most of the activities' details haven' been given out yet, so you have to check back on the 22nd, 26th, 28th, and of course, the 31st, to find out more.

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On October 22nd, the Mad King comes...

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Shadow of the Mad King
Halloween has a long history in Tyria, and in times past was always marked by the spirit of Mad King Thorn cavorting among the people unleashing his own brand of insanity. However, it’s been over 250 years since he was last seen, and for most people he is merely a figure of folklore. Despite this, rumors persist among the populace that something wicked this way comes.

Shadow of the Mad King is the first major game release for Guild Wars 2 and will go live on October 22. This new game update will include a number of new features for all of our players to enjoy, new content to explore and see, and a week-long Halloween event.
Prepare yourself for:
  • New mini-games, new dynamic events, and more
  • An epic adventure in four acts starting October 22 and running until October 31
  • Evon Gnashblade has stocked all new items at the Black Lion Trading Company, including Halloween costumes and new transforms that will allow you to play Costume Brawl
  • Paid tournaments will be available for competitive, five-person teams
  • new events, jumping puzzles, bosses, mini-dungeons, and achievements

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**Special thanks to Omedon for breaking the news first. Back to Top

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With the Halloween update set to deploy soon, I'm sure all of you are absolutely giddy with anticipation. To help ease the pain, I've gathered some bits of info from the official forums that I thought you all would enjoy while you wait.

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Colin Johanson

Posted October 4th, 2012

There is more than just Halloween coming in October…What those things are? You’ll just have to wait and see, keep an eye on our website and blog for more information in the coming weeks.


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Colin Johanson

October 12th, 2012

The new events, bosses, and mini-dungeons are included in the Shadow of Mad King release, same thing goes for everything on that page!

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Colin Johanson

October 13th, 2012

All of the additions in this Shadow of the Mad King release except for the Halloween holiday stuff itself will permanently stay in the game, yes.

If you want to catch the Halloween stuff, you’re going to want to make sure you’re here for the holiday festival! It comes in acts, so check in on a regular basis over the course of the week after the release goes live!



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Regina Buenaobra

October 17th, 2012

I just wanted to clarify a couple of things regarding Costume Brawl and some concerns we’ve seen:
  • It may be called ‘Costume Brawl’, but it’s not like the Costume Brawl in the original Guild Wars.
  • While it does take advantage of Gem Store related items, players will still be able to participate in Costume Brawl even without spending gems.
As a teaser: think Boxing Gloves, but taken up a few more notches.
We will have more details about Costume Brawl soon, so stay tuned!


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October 17, 2012 - Today Curse Inc., a heavy weight in North America's professional gaming scene, is excited to announce the acquisition of the Guild Wars 2 division.  Former team “impossible Odds” will take up the mantle of “Curse Esports” here on in, representing Curse Inc. in any and all Guild Wars 2 related events.  Consistent performances against the top teams in North America, and a rare enthusiasm for practice will allow the newly formed Team Curse to dominate their competition in the upcoming tournaments.  Here is a short interview with Curse’s Guild Wars 2 team.

Hello, would you please introduce yourselves and describe your role in-game and on the team?
Hein:  Hey, I'm Jamie "Hein" and I main Ranger.  I play a damage based role in game, and on the team, I constantly strive for better communication to keep us on top.
Redek:  Hello, my name is Maximiliano "Redek" Oliveira, and I mainly play Guardian for Team Curse, but I really excel at carrying Hein.
Cry:  Sup guys, I’m Trevor "Cry" Hall, and I main Thief for the team.  In game, I play the primary roamer and slayer, which means I make sure kids stay on the ground.
Ex Force:  Hey everyone, my name is Justin “Ex Force.”  My role in game is pretty complicated to describe, but the easiest way to put it, is that I like to carry the team as best I can.  Sometimes I play a roamer and sometimes I hold points, I do whatever I can do to win the game.  On the team, I help make sure we get our content created and published.
Neuro:  Hello, my name is Patrick “Neuro” and I play Mesmer primarily.  I like to think of myself as a cerebral gamer.  In game, I keep timers on bosses and spawn times, as well as vocalizing positions of our opponents on the map.

How did you become interested in Guild Wars 2?
Redek:  I originally played GW1 and I loved it.  I did everything from Tombs to GvG.  Although GW2 is nothing like GW1, what really intrigues me is the pace of the game.
Cry:  I first came across Guild Wars 2 while playing other MMO's.  When I finally got into the beta, the combat just made me fall in love.  I also saw great potential for GW2 e-Sports, which made my interest explode even more, as becoming a player for a pro team was always something I wanted to do.

Out of all the games, what makes Guild Wars 2 different?  Why will it succeed as an e-Sport where so many others have failed?
Hein:  Guild Wars 2 will succeed because of ArenaNet and how much support they bring to their game.  Once tournaments and spectator mode start coming into play, it’s going to be fun to see how big the scene gets.
Ex Force:  The easiest reason is that it’s fun to play, and fun to watch.  It’s a fast paced game, with fast paced objectives.  Also, Guild Wars 2 has no monthly fee, so that makes it easier to be accepted by the public.

What separates your team from the rest of the Guild Wars 2 teams out there?
Hein:  Our team is easily the most dedicated and committed team out there right now.  All because of our practice schedule, this consists of Monday through Friday from 5:00 PM EST to 1:00 AM EST and ramps up even more close to tournament time.
Redek:  The fact that we practice for 40+ every week, and we have a good relationship with one another.  Sometimes we might get on each other’s nerves, but at the end of the day we’re all on the same page.

How did the relationship between your former team, impossible Odds, and Curse develop?
Ex Force:  Well, I guess I can take credit for that. I made a very in-depth guide about Necromancers and many people gave me positive responses.  My YouTube channel grew as I continued to market myself as a player.  I joined impossible Odds a little later on, and one day I contacted Curse Inc.  The Director of e-Sports ended up responding to me and I felt like it was destiny to be sponsored by Curse.  We had an interview with him and they found us worthy of a sponsorship.
Neuro:  Short answer… Networking.

What is your primary focus in the upcoming months?
Cry:  To do work, we need to work on team synergy, comps, and strats, well those and Redek's ego.
Redek:  What?
Neuro:  Haha, in all seriousness we need to keep growing as a team.  We’re going to focus on syncing our play styles and executing strategies more effectively.  When we’re playing OUR game, you’ll see dominating performances in the coming months.

Do you have any comments, or would you like to thank anyone?
Hein:  I’m excited for the future and I would like to thank Curse for taking us on, and allowing us to represent them in Guild Wars 2.
Ex Force:  I would like to thank those at Curse for giving us a chance to prove we are one of the best teams in GW2.  Also, thanks for ArenaNet for giving us the chance to become professional gamers.
Neuro:  I’d like to thank Curse for their sponsorship, and let everyone know you can find us on facebook at facebook.com/CurseGW2 – From there, you can find player facebooks & twitters. Back to Top

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ArenaNet is doing an AMA over on Reddit in its /r/gaming subreddit. You can check it out here. It's about the programming side of things, so make sure to keep that in mind when you post questions. I'll keep this post updated with questions that have been answered.

Here's who will be participating, their names, titles, and Reddit usernames:
  • Cameron Dunn - Technical Director - cameronjdunn
  • Chad Taylor - Engine Programming Team Lead - ArenaNetChad
  • Stephen Clarke-Willson - Server Programming Team Lead - StephenClarkeWillson
  • Braeden Shosa - Gameplay Programming Team Lead - ArenaNetBraeden
  • Josh Petrie - ArenaNet Programmer - jpetrie
  • Mike Lewis - Security Coordinator - ApochPiQ
  • James Wright - Senior Game Engine Programmer - ArenaNetJamesW
  • Habib Loew - Gameplay Programmer - ArenaNetHabib
  • Ryan Diederich - Gameplay Programmer - ArenaNetRyanD
  • Evan Lesh - Gameplay Programmer - ArenaNetEvanL
  • Eric Rane - Gameplay Programmer - ericrane
  • Kat Dugan - Gameplay Programmer - KatDugan
  • Caleb McCombs Gameplay Programmer - ArenaNetCaleb
  • Branimir Karadzic - Engine Programmer - bkaradzic
  • Felipe Romero - ArenaNet Programmer - ArenaNetFelipe
  • Patrick Laukaitis - ArenaNet Programmer - ArenaNetPatrickL
  • Patrick Mera - Engine Programmer - meranator
  • Mike Popoloski - Engine Programmer - ArenaNetMike
  • Francis Crick - Content Pipeline Programmer - fcrick
  • Stanlo Slasinski - ArenaNet Programmer - ArenaNetStanlo
  • Garett Bass - Content Pipeline Programmer - ArenaNetGarett
  • Jordan Massey - Gameplay Programmer - ArenaNetJordan
  • Steve Bikun - Server Programmer - ArenaNetSteveB

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  • What programming methodologies does your team use? ie. agile, scrum, etc.
  • What do you use for source control and how do you handle refactoring code for optimization? Or do you try for best optimization on the first pass?
  • What standards and practices do you use?
  • How does someone that is a new graduate get into the game programming job market when most jobs require being part of a published title already?
  • What is your engine written in?
  • How often to you dive down to the bit level of data manipulation?
  • Ever have to write Assembly code?
  • This depends on the phase of the project which we're in - during "normal" development (like now!) we use a customized scrum-based project. When we're finalling we tend to go back to a traditional team-based just-fix-the-bugs process.
  • We use perforce for source control. We have a few branches which we can work in to do refactoring (for optimization or any reason) so we can roll things out when they're ready.
  • Game development is actually pretty normal software development - we use technical design documents, coding standards, code reviews, etc, etc.
  • Write games in your spare time! They don't have to be massive, just small polished games. People who are passionate about game development can't help themselves - they write games no matter what. That's how I got into the industry - I wrote a Game Boy emulator.
  • It's mostly in C++
  • Very often :-)
  • Sometimes, although these days it's fairly rare [Source]

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Is the culling issue in WvW (making other players invisible for sake of server/client issues) going to get better? Do you like the state that it is currently in?
The issues with invisible players in WvW comes down to a couple of factors. One is to do with when the servers notify any given client about other characters in the game (I'll call this reporting/culling) and the other deals with the time it takes the client to present the character on the screen after it has received that notification (I'll call this asset load).

The asset load issue is all about how quickly the client can show you something it knows it should show you. We're looking in to ways that we can make that process faster, but it's always going to take non-zero time. However, that's not where the bulk of the invisible players come from. For that we have to look at the reporting/culling side of things.

In the situation where the local population density is relatively low, when another character comes in reporting range of your character the server sends a notification to your client with all of the data that it will need to track and render that character. That includes appearance data, race, gender, profession, weapon sets, etc. etc. It's an easy model to think about and works well, until the local population density goes up. When there are a lot of characters in reporting range we start to get into a situation where, under the current system, there's an overwhelming amount of data to send to the client (hello n-squared problem!) - after all, resources like client CPU/Memory/etc. and bandwidth are finite. In order to deal with this situation we elected to change the criteria for reporting characters slightly. Rather than just using a fixed range we instead also limit reporting to the closest N characters. By doing this we help to ensure that we're not overwhelming the available bandwidth and, since clients clearly can't draw or process characters they don't know about, we get some savings on client performance "for free". This works out pretty well in PvE and doesn't seem, at least as far as I can tell, to have a detrimental impact on gameplay.

Unfortunately in WvW, where large battles are quite common, we find that players are bumping into these limits quite often and the effect has a real, and unfortunate, impact on the gameplay experience. Do I like the state that it's currently in? No, honestly I don't. WvW has been my baby (though not mine alone!) for quite a while now and I really want to see EPIC battles play out in all of their glory. If there was a switch I could flip to just make this work then I would have flipped the hell out of it by now, believe me. However, when you're dealing with resource utilization issues like this there are rarely any easy answers. I'm currently, actively looking into what exactly our options are in this regard. The fix is likely to be large-ish in scope, with changes on both the client and server, but we have some ideas that look like they may work out. So, will it get better? I can't make any promises because we're still experimenting and building new tech, but as a person who works on this every day I certainly believe that it can and will do everything in my power to make that happen. [Source]

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What I want to ask is, if I want to do game programming, what languages should I learn? Right now at college we use ANSI C (we'll be using C++ in 2nd semester though). I'm familiar with every language from the C family (C, C++,C#...), but neither of which I have deep knowledge (well, maybe C#, but I don't like that language).

Ok, that's general programming, how about graphics? OpenGL or DirectX? I read a lot of discussion about this topic and found lot of opinions. "Don't learn openGL or DirectX, start with libraries like SDL or Allegro5","Don't start with libraries, go for DirectX, it'll be hard at first, but easy later on" "DX sucks, openGL rules!"
What's really important is learning the core concepts behind programming and graphics. The actual APIs change all the time, and you have to be adaptable. Lots of beginners get hung up on choosing the "perfect" starter language/API, when really they just need to get making things with whatever they happen to know.

That said, C# and XNA are a great way to get into game development; we use C# for our biggest content tool. [Source]

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So I guess the questions are: What advices can you give me on how to get started on the field? How did you guys started?
Start making games! There are now many online communities where you can be part of a team, like Kongregate, or you can just work on your own project on your own. The most valuable experience you can only get by just working on projects and solving the real problems those projects face. Also, there is a difference between wanting to do something you've never done, and knowing it's what you want to do after doing it for a while - prove to yourself and others that it's actually what you want to do by putting in the time. [Source]

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As a computer science student at a small university that doesn't offer many classes, what would you say the most important things I learn(in and out of classes) to get into game development?
Just take as much math and computer science as you can and apply it to actually making a game or modding an existing game. Nothing will prepare you more for making games than actually making games. [Source]

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  • Guild Wars 2 started development in 2007-08 I believe? Over the years I imagine new technologies that were discovered may have outperformed old technologies. What would you suggest that others start to learn today that you would have like to have known in ’07 –’08.
  • I don’t know how well the programming team delved into the design portion of the game but I imagined everyone had a “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” What was the best “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” that never made it into the release?
  • Finally I would like to thank you guys for working on such a wonderful game. It has truly blown my expectation out of the water.
(1) Technologies change all the time; in terms of advising somebody what to learn now ... to be successful as a programmer you'll want to be able to adapt to the the fact that technology does change so often. Experimenting with new technology is a great way to broaden your horizons as a programmer (especially if that means learning a functional language when all you've previously known are other paradigms, for example) as well as a good way to teach you how to learn new things.
Although, that said, concurrency and concurrent programming techniques have become even more important in recent years than they already were.
(2) Asuran paratroopers.
(3) Thanks! The feedback we've gotten from the players has been wonderful and inspiring. [Source]

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  • Do you think a Master's or PhD help or hurt an applicant's chances of being hired as a programmer?
  • What was the interview process like?
  • What's it like to work at ArenaNet?
  • It certainly doesn't hurt! Especially if you have a game-related thesis topic.
  • Mostly it's in-person interviews. We have a few technical tests which we ask people to do depending on where they are and on their background.
  • I've worked at a few games companies, and for me this is the best place I've ever worked. I honestly think that we have one of the best teams in the world (not just the programming team, everyone). [Source]

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  • How did you learn to code?
  • What programming language is your favorite and why?
  • How was it to work on Guild Wars 2?
  • Do you prefer working on a small game or a big game? Why?
  • Do you have any tips for a "youngling"?
1.I've been writing code my whole life. At first I was self-taught and wrote terrible self-taught code. Then I did a Computer Systems Engineering degree and learnt how to do it properly. But in general you get good at coding by writing code.
2.We mostly use C++ - so I guess that's officially my favorite language for writing a game like GW2. But from a pure language perspective, C# is probably my current favorite. I used to use Delphi (ObjectPascal) a lot, so that's probably why.
3.Working on it was fun. Shipping it was amazing.
4.When I started in the industry I worked on a bunch of smaller "boutique" titles, so I feel like I've done that, and now I love the challenge of big games.
5.Write games! Seriously, just write lots of code and put something together in your spare time. Or anything technically challenging - I wrote a Game Boy emulator, that's how I got into the industry. [Source]
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Directly from GuildWars2.com:

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You can purchase gems in-game from the Black Lion Trading Company, but starting this week you can also purchase Guild Wars 2 gems in real life at select retailers. These cards, which make a great gift, contain a serial code that can be redeemed in Guild Wars 2 for gems.

If gem cards aren’t in stock at your favorite retailer yet, be sure to ask if and when they’ll be arriving.

For redemption instructions and additional information about gems, visit the Guild Wars 2 Support page.

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**Special thanks to Tenicord for breaking the news first. Back to Top

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Not much this go around. This patch did not affect boss spawns or high-level node spawns.

Mac Beta Client
  • Fixed a bug that prevented copy and paste functions from working in the launcher’s text fields.
  • Fixed a bug that made some colored text in the Trading Post appear fragmented and difficult to read.
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It's time for another thrilling community round-up!

First, we have Doctor Overlord's webcomic, "Dynamic Events". He's been pushing out a steady stream of comic goodness over the past two years, and they're bound to please any fan of the game. Check out his latest strip below, then head over to his thread in the Library of Whispers to read his past work and leave some feedback!

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Next, a handy new website whose sole purpose is to satisfy all of your armor-hoarding needs has appeared. The idea behind gw2armor.com is simple. Choose your race and armor class, then browse the collection of screenshots to find the armor set you want to get. After that, click the image and you'll be shown how to obtain it and can even check out its stats using some nifty gw2db integration. It's unbelievably useful, and has earned its spot on my bookmark bar.

Finally, That Shaman has updated his Historical Guide to Tyria. This interactive map is overflowing with Guild Wars 1 nostalgia, perfect for all of you Grandmaster Cartographers out there. It's got the map of Guild Wars 2 in its entirety, but instead of being marked with locations from the current game you'll find landmarks from 250 years ago. Yes, that's right. With this map you'll finally be able to visit the ruins of the Temple of the Ages, Yak's Bend, and the Granite Citadel. And for all you perma-pre's out there, don't miss the pre-searing version of this map! Back to Top

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Since our first article on legendary weapons that had been crafted, there have been quite a few more that have popped up since then.

George21 has created Flameseeker Prophecies:


Derp4321 has created The Moot:



dissya has created Frostfang:


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Jackiepro has created The Predator:


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Also to note, Guru user vyce has put together a playlist of all of the legendary videos that are out that you'll want to check out! Back to Top

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A light Friday update, but still introduces some welcome fixes.

General
  • Fixed a recently introduced issue that could cause some players to getting stuck in loading screens primarily during PVP matches
  • Fixed a recently introduced issue that could cause some players to not see other characters models
  • Restored Asuran head sizes to the size selected during character creation
  • Fixed a bug with the Asuran character creation head size slider
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One show just isn't big enough for the crew over at ALTTABME to explain their tricks to making money. Episode 16 continues the topic by touching on playing the trading post, farming, diminishing returns, and more. The notes for both shows are listed below for your convenience.

Part 1 can be found here.

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