[xXx87]

http://www.arena.net...of-guild-wars-2

Enjoy :)

Mod edit: If you're having trouble with the link, try this coral cache mirror: http://www.arena.net...of-guild-wars-2

[Tr0n]

Page down again. Great. ;(

[Howl]

Hmmm a blog post today, i'm fearing that we will not have anything at all tomorrow :(

//Edit: Very cool article anyway!

Edited by Howl, 27 April 2011 - 08:28 PM.

[Neverender]

OoooOooooo... thanks for the link :cool:

[Moody Flame]

Ha, was just going to post this
It's a good read

Quote

Moss appeared on roof shingles and confetti appeared to dance above street carnivals.

Seems really detailed, wonder if we can actually witness street carnivals happening like dynamic events

[Zungx]

Ahah, I love that before/after picture. Leave it to Anet to make the mildly acceptable into brilliant.

[God Pain]

love the after and before picture
xD

and 738 versions for one map? WOw!!

[NeonArlecchino]

The picture at the end has the lowest amount of facial hair I have seen in a large group picture of ArenaNet staff o.o

Edited by NeonArlecchino, 27 April 2011 - 08:29 PM.

[Imperfect Block]

Quote

A series of broken stone columns turns out to be a jumping puzzle to reach a hidden cave mouth overgrown with vines. The caved-in floor of a ruined fort drops you down several stories into a flooded subbasement haunted by the cursed ghosts of pirates. A hatch in the basement of a farmhouse conceals a tunnel to the cavern hideout of a bandit gang.

That, just made me smile more than anything today. Awesome.

And they've done a bunch of revisions since we played at PAX even? Just for that zone? So excited, everytime I think I've heard it all from these guys something else comes out. Very unexpected, so much love for Anet, thank you guys.

[Vorsakan]

Why am I not playing this game yet? :qq:

Great stuff, as always. :D

Quote

Player exploration of Guild Wars 2 will be encouraged and rewarded, just as it was in the original Guild Wars. It’s up to the environment team to fill our game with memorable locations worthy of that exploration. A series of broken stone columns turns out to be a jumping puzzle to reach a hidden cave mouth overgrown with vines. The caved-in floor of a ruined fort drops you down several stories into a flooded subbasement haunted by the cursed ghosts of pirates. A hatch in the basement of a farmhouse conceals a tunnel to the cavern hideout of a bandit gang.

Must not touch wiki after release - I want to discover everything myself!

[Joyful Jester]

Quote

I can think of no greater challenge our environment artists have than trying to live up to the vision of the studio’s amazing concept art team. Imagine being expected to actually build the incredible things that our art director Daniel Dociu comes up with, while he stands right behind you watching. Daniel doesn’t want to hear about your technical limitations, he wants to know why stray sprigs of grass aren’t breaking up the harsh line where a building’s façade meets the ground, or why rust hasn’t stained the masonry underneath that downspout. You know you’re in for it when Daniel starts furiously sketching on a stray napkin from your desk to illustrate his point!

"*Whip cracks* More! More! AHAHAHA!!!"

[Mister_Smiley]

that was a great read and makes me want to play the game right now...Some great information about how they do stuff...and.....redo....stuff...

Edited by Mister_Smiley, 27 April 2011 - 08:40 PM.

[unraveled]

Wow, awesome article. When I first set foot outside Ascalon on my shiny new ranger almost 4 years ago I actually paused for several minutes and just viewed the landscape. It was, and still is, absolutely beautiful. I've even paused during missions to enjoy a landscape.

Given this and the leap in technology for GW2 I am fully expecting to cry or at the very least get quite misty many, many times while playing GW2 and discovering yet another breathtaking vista.

The landscape puzzles sound fantastic. I'm really going to have to get over my conservative, non-experimental nature and start jumping around and trying to open anything that looks like it might open to see what I can find!

[upier]

Quote

What is an environment artist?
Awesome.

That you are.
That you are.

[Warfart]

One of the best blogs yet!

[rodasta]

Vorsakan said:

Must not touch wiki after release - I want to discover everything myself!

Yeah, can't we team up?:P I also want to discover these cave's and underground area's that are hidden. (Without wiki)

[Vahkris]

Vorsakan said:

Must not touch wiki after release - I want to discover everything myself!

Same here. It's been relatively torture, but I've successfully avoided reading up or watching any spoilers about Portal 2 just so the experience is awesome when I do. I pretty much want the same for this game also. It's to the point where part of me doesn't even want to consider getting into the beta...

Part of my nostalgia about my first MMO (EQ1) was that it felt like a world and I just explored every nook and cranny of each zone because there were several memorable landmarks to navigate by (it had no in-game map). The fact they're designing maps along that same line makes me all nostalgic again.

Edited by Vahkris, 27 April 2011 - 08:52 PM.

[Ruuch]

Why god WHYYY won't the page load? ó.ò

[Wothan]

I must admit that when I quickly looked at this I thought it was art, but looking closely I noticed it was in-game image
Awesome

[Goblin]

nice article! I wanna play this game!!

[Chalky]

Since several people have complained that the link isn't loading correctly for them, I've added this coral cache link to the OP - try that if you can't get it to work.

I believe Anet are aware of the issues some people are having with their site and are almost certainly working to resolve them.

[Heksar]

Less teasing,
more releasing!

[Bio Ice]

rodasta said:

Yeah, can't we team up?:P I also want to discover these cave's and underground area's that are hidden. (Without wiki)

I'd like to do the same! Team up with me too! lol

[Generic Member]

@ ArenaNet guys - the link inside this blog post (http://www.arena.net...esigning-events) is missing a blog/ in the middle.

@ Everyone else: I'd be more concerned about the clue on this page than the blog post: http://www.arena.net...hor/peter-fries

[Clobimon]

Now, I really liked this blog post. Thanks, Peter - and the rest of you drunken, voyeuristic stalkers. "We watched you, arriving for the very first time ever in Tyria, Cantha, and Elona, and we toasted your arrival with champagne." :p

Love the pics. Queensdale looks amazing as does wherever that is in the header pic.

Quote

Player exploration of Guild Wars 2 will be encouraged and rewarded, just as it was in the original Guild Wars. It’s up to the environment team to fill our game with memorable locations worthy of that exploration. A series of broken stone columns turns out to be a jumping puzzle to reach a hidden cave mouth overgrown with vines. The caved-in floor of a ruined fort drops you down several stories into a flooded subbasement haunted by the cursed ghosts of pirates. A hatch in the basement of a farmhouse conceals a tunnel to the cavern hideout of a bandit gang.

That all sounds really sweet!

[ttomaster]

Very interesting read! :D

[Datenshi92]

I have a question for Anet:

Even after the release of GW2, is it possible that some game maps will get a major revamped when the devs see it fit?
I know that patches might alter some stuff(minor or not), but I mean changes in a bigger scale, like completing changing a map, adding a new zone, or such?

Edited by Datenshi92, 27 April 2011 - 09:16 PM.

[Vorpal]

Great read and funny picture! :D

[Venbloodblade]

Quote

A series of broken stone columns turns out to be a jumping puzzle to reach a hidden cave mouth overgrown with vines. The caved-in floor of a ruined fort drops you down several stories into a flooded subbasement haunted by the cursed ghosts of pirates. A hatch in the basement of a farmhouse conceals a tunnel to the cavern hideout of a bandit gang

I will be using the jump key EVERYWHERE

[Howl]

Very interesting as said but text and some screenshots are not enough anymore to fuel my hype, cool to read but once it's over i just switch to do any other thing and that's it. Too bad release it's so far away..