22 replies to this topic

[Fanatic]

Anyone else have that feeling of that something is missing.
Have had that feeling since the launch of the game anyone else got this feeling?
Don’t get me wrong i love the game and the world of Tyria.
hmm maybe i just have not found my preferred class yet to play the game with.

Edited by Fanatic, 05 December 2012 - 07:29 PM.

[Korlic]

I feel the game is missing farming. I cant really farm this game like I did GW1 (Farming not speed clearing).

[Zhaitan]

The game lacks "The Hook" that is needed in a game for players to keep coming back for more. 250 ectos or incredible grind to get shinnies are not really the hook. This game needs a lot of PvP mini games and a WvW system that is fun for players who can jump in anytime to contribute and feel useful.

But, I think a design driven around cash shop caan't really offer what many players are looking for. I thought a lot about why ANET keeps making stupid decisions off-late. I think I am about to conclude that everything GW2 designers think to implement must somehow be themed to utilize cash shop, directly or indirectly. I believe, that's what is hurting the game and make you feel "something is missing".

[Arewn]

I'd say it would be fairly common to get that feeling. The game takes quiet the departure from the norm for MMORPGs in a few areas, and it's only natural that the difference from what so many people have come to see as standard would cause a feeling of "something missing".

I think the biggest thing is that other MMORPGs actively make use of the infamous "skinner box technique" to cause their players to feel compulsed to play, and without that psychological hook it feels like something is missing.

Edited by Arewn, 05 December 2012 - 07:48 PM.

[Jobuu]

well, compare to WOW. the hook for me was a list over the years. dungeons, new gear, mounts, alterac valley pvp+pve in one, flying mounts in BC, reputation/heroic dungeons/other ways to get items besides tokens, new zones, LFG feature/queue up from anywhere, holiday/events not just once but a week, capes, tabards

Edited by Jobuu, 05 December 2012 - 07:58 PM.

[Gilles VI]

Arewn, on 05 December 2012 - 07:46 PM, said:

I think the biggest thing is that other MMORPGs actively make use of the infamous "skinner box technique" to cause their players to feel compulsed to play, and without that psychological hook it feels like something is missing.

As this person said.

And also the nostalgia that people have.
Nothing will beat the feeling you get while playing your first MMO, it will always have a special feeling.
The nostalgia is a huge factor..

And for alot of people it will be hard to adapt, especially in the MMO-genre where everything has been so stale for the last few years.

Edited by Gilles VI, 05 December 2012 - 08:06 PM.

[Arewn]

Gilles VI, on 05 December 2012 - 08:06 PM, said:

As this person said.

And also the nostalgia that people have.
Nothing will beat the feeling you get while playing your first MMO, it will always have a special feeling.
The nostalgia is a huge factor..

And for alot of people it will be hard to adapt, especially in the MMO-genre where everything has been so stale for the last few years.

Agreed completely with nostalgia. Between the contents of my earlier post, and what you said about nostalgia, it pretty much covers what Jobbu said was his hook for WoW.

[Jobuu]

The unknown is also another fun factor. Way back when, there were little to no message boards with tons of people complaining. Not just complaining mind you but also tips, item drops, loot tables, best this and that etc... I think this has a lot to do with it. We used to just login and play.

Edited by Jobuu, 05 December 2012 - 08:17 PM.

[Gilles VI]

Arewn, on 05 December 2012 - 08:13 PM, said:

Agreed completely with nostalgia. Between the contents of my earlier post, and what you said about nostalgia, it pretty much covers what Jobbu said was his hook for WoW.

For me personally, nothing will ever beat playng runescape with a couple of reallife friends.
Mining together, getting killed by that random chicken, doing those complicated quests together, it was so simple and yet so satisfying..

I must say I will have some nostalgia about GW2 in the first weeks too.
Yes it had its problems (guild chat, TP,..) but the player activity, the map chat, doing DE's with 20-40 people, people helping eachother with the hard vistas and jumping puzzles.
I think I will remember that for a long time.

[Dasryn]

Gilles VI, on 05 December 2012 - 08:06 PM, said:

Nothing will beat the feeling you get while playing your first MMO, it will always have a special feeling.
The nostalgia is a huge factor..

unless. . . .

a MMORPG can recreate that brand new feeling.

wow was my first mmo, but i have a special feeling towards aion and swtor.  its to the point that seeing swtor's unique map brings feelings of nostalgia.  aion its the Elyos starter zone where everything was high fantasy and anime mixed together.

nostalgia doesnt kick in until after youve stopped playing the game that would i nthe future give you nostalgia.  

you guys might not have "that feeling" because you are still playing GW2.

take a break, come back when you start missing the MANY MANY MANY things GW2 does better than anyone.

[MazingerZ]

Zhaitan, on 05 December 2012 - 07:43 PM, said:

But, I think a design driven around cash shop caan't really offer what many players are looking for. I thought a lot about why ANET keeps making stupid decisions off-late. I think I am about to conclude that everything GW2 designers think to implement must somehow be themed to utilize cash shop, directly or indirectly. I believe, that's what is hurting the game and make you feel "something is missing".

But there are people who'll continue to claim the cash shop isn't a factor.  But the tide is turning in that regard, I think.  The game has no hook beyond being 'new' and the shine is wearing off.  The simple fact that FOTM is more rewarding than other part of the game is a huge issue.  Stuff they said they'd 'look into' two weeks ago go unanswered.

They are slow with stabilizing the game.

They are pushing out content while a lot of other things remain just flat out broken.

Pushing to people into one part of the PvE game leaves the rest fairly deserted.

The cash shop is dictating development priorities.  The new content is going to go in with the short-term attraction of new players and the long-term intention of generating newer markets to grind.

[Gilles VI]

Rickter, on 05 December 2012 - 08:19 PM, said:

unless. . . .

a MMORPG can recreate that brand new feeling.

wow was my first mmo, but i have a special feeling towards aion and swtor.  its to the point that seeing swtor's unique map brings feelings of nostalgia.  aion its the Elyos starter zone where everything was high fantasy and anime mixed together.

nostalgia doesnt kick in until after youve stopped playing the game that would i nthe future give you nostalgia.  

you guys might not have "that feeling" because you are still playing GW2.

take a break, come back when you start missing the MANY MANY MANY things GW2 does better than anyone.

GW2 won't be able to let me play with mouse only, or let me hit a single boss with 40 other people for 20 minutes, or the music (god music is such an incredible factor for nostalgia!),...

[Dasryn]

Gilles VI, on 05 December 2012 - 08:21 PM, said:

GW2 won't be able to let me play with mouse only, or let me hit a single boss with 40 other people for 20 minutes, or the music (god music is such an incredible factor for nostalgia!),...

haha, yeah aion was nuts when it came to dungeons. . .  nevertheless, aion provided a unique feel for me and its something i wont forget any time soon.

[deitiesforce]

lack of PVP mode....TA, GVG, RA, HA, FA, JQ. In GW1 there's a PVP mode for ANYONE (hardcore, casual, in between). Even people that don't like pvp can treat some PVP modes in GW1 like PVP, such as FA and JQ. GW2 FAILED at this aspect. Wvw is good for casual and spvp can be competitive.....there's no in between. Also, lack of fun dungeon IMO (urgoz, the deep).

Edited by deitiesforce, 05 December 2012 - 08:36 PM.

[zeth006]

Zhaitan, on 05 December 2012 - 07:43 PM, said:

The game lacks "The Hook" that is needed in a game for players to keep coming back for more. 250 ectos or incredible grind to get shinnies are not really the hook. This game needs a lot of PvP mini games and a WvW system that is fun for players who can jump in anytime to contribute and feel useful.

But, I think a design driven around cash shop caan't really offer what many players are looking for. I thought a lot about why ANET keeps making stupid decisions off-late. I think I am about to conclude that everything GW2 designers think to implement must somehow be themed to utilize cash shop, directly or indirectly. I believe, that's what is hurting the game and make you feel "something is missing".

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the pitfall that befell Diablo 3. The only reasons Anet just barely avoided D3's fate is they actually offered a lot more for content for the money and a more social atmosphere.

[BabyChooChoo]

zeth006, on 05 December 2012 - 08:44 PM, said:

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the pitfall that befell Diablo 3. The only reasons Anet just barely avoided D3's fate is they actually offered a lot more for content for the money and a more social atmosphere.

I would argue GW2's cash shop plays a much larger role in the design of the game than D3's ever will. I would also argue they didn't really avoid anything...

Edited by BabyChooChoo, 05 December 2012 - 09:00 PM.

[ShezuTsukai]

The people. Playing with my 3 to 5 member guild makes all the difference. When I play alone it just isn't that much fun.

I think that's why Urgoz and the Deep were so much fun, you had to play with other people. Yea sometimes they sucked but it was the unknown human element that made it interesting.

I suggest getting yourself a good playing group to go through ALL of the content with.

[MazingerZ]

zeth006, on 05 December 2012 - 08:44 PM, said:

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the pitfall that befell Diablo 3. The only reasons Anet just barely avoided D3's fate is they actually offered a lot more for content for the money and a more social atmosphere.

The interesting part will be the lessons learned.  Either at a company or industry level.  There are plenty of successful games utilizing RMT as a source of revenue.  Would the lesson be that they reached for a ring too far?  Aiming for a higher level of profitability than just being profitable?

[zeth006]

MazingerZ, on 05 December 2012 - 08:56 PM, said:

The interesting part will be the lessons learned.  Either at a company or industry level.  There are plenty of successful games utilizing RMT as a source of revenue.  Would the lesson be that they reached for a ring too far?  Aiming for a higher level of profitability than just being profitable?

That's how I see it too. A sliding scale that shifts according to the management's decisions. Of course, there can be instances where Anet can increase profitability and leave the experience unchanged or even improved. I just hope Anet won't be blinded by tunnel vision.

Plenty of MMOs in Asia that rely on the RMT model. Plenty of lessons to be gained from them.

Edited by zeth006, 05 December 2012 - 09:05 PM.

[Jason Seven]

Why they didn't keep Reaper's Rumble, Lunatic Inquisition and the Hunger Games one in, is beyond me. Those were really fun.

[Heart Collector]

Fanatic, on 05 December 2012 - 07:29 PM, said:

Anyone else have that feeling of that something is missing.
Have had that feeling since the launch of the game anyone else got this feeling?
Don’t get me wrong i love the game and the world of Tyria.
hmm maybe i just have not found my preferred class yet to play the game with.

What's missing for me is
- lack of a theme park style quest line to give each zone more context and
- lack of some sandbox "tools" to spice up the world

Whilst the open world stuff is great in that it incorporates themepark and sandbox elements and has quite a bit of stuff to do, it doesn't incorporate enough of either to make each zone an outstandingly memorable experience. One could say that while the world is meaty and satisfying it lacks that extra spice that would make it a perfect meal

I still love the game, but I do find fault in some of its aspects!

[Biochem]

Heart Collector, on 11 December 2012 - 03:44 PM, said:

What's missing for me is
- lack of a theme park style quest line to give each zone more context and
- lack of some sandbox "tools" to spice up the world

Whilst the open world stuff is great in that it incorporates themepark and sandbox elements and has quite a bit of stuff to do, it doesn't incorporate enough of either to make each zone an outstandingly memorable experience. One could say that while the world is meaty and satisfying it lacks that extra spice that would make it a perfect meal

I still love the game, but I do find fault in some of its aspects!

Yea I agree with this feeling a bit. I think the biggest thing that is lacking in this game is the feeling that the zones are action packed. They made the world to big and didn't have enough to fill it. I would have been happier with a world half the size with the same amount of events. I mean think about it dragons the size of a city have risen from the ground, strong enough to tear holes in the earth half a continent long, all sorts of creatures are coming out the woodwork to wreak havok, centaurs are knocking on the door, there's evil asura and sylvari running about and you go out in the world and.... there's a farm.... its got grubs.... there's cows. You go to the mountains and theres some enemies in some caves but still safe enough to start a few camps. \

Even later on you get these great dragon events but they always show up in the same place and do the same thing. Why not have random locations maybe a couple so its not so predictable and it could even have slightly different mechanics or maybe more than one at a time to make it epic and you could fight one and have random things from the other fight land in the middle of the battlefield you're fighting in. It should actually feel like there's a war going on and that's whats missing.

Ambiance is another thing I think is missing. The world and the scenary are beautiful, no doubt, but why can't there be cool things like changes in the weather like an evil fog rolling in before something huge happened. I thought I remembered them talking about snow storms in the shiverpeaks at times and it would change but that apparantly never made it. Quite a shame because it's the little things like this that would have really made the game something to remember. Don't get me wrong it's a great game but as it stands there's very little to make me remember it more than a few months after I stop playing it.

[Heart Collector]

Biochem, on 11 December 2012 - 11:20 PM, said:

Yea I agree with this feeling a bit. I think the biggest thing that is lacking in this game is the feeling that the zones are action packed. They made the world to big and didn't have enough to fill it. I would have been happier with a world half the size with the same amount of events. I mean think about it dragons the size of a city have risen from the ground, strong enough to tear holes in the earth half a continent long, all sorts of creatures are coming out the woodwork to wreak havok, centaurs are knocking on the door, there's evil asura and sylvari running about and you go out in the world and.... there's a farm.... its got grubs.... there's cows. You go to the mountains and theres some enemies in some caves but still safe enough to start a few camps. \

Even later on you get these great dragon events but they always show up in the same place and do the same thing. Why not have random locations maybe a couple so its not so predictable and it could even have slightly different mechanics or maybe more than one at a time to make it epic and you could fight one and have random things from the other fight land in the middle of the battlefield you're fighting in. It should actually feel like there's a war going on and that's whats missing.

Ambiance is another thing I think is missing. The world and the scenary are beautiful, no doubt, but why can't there be cool things like changes in the weather like an evil fog rolling in before something huge happened. I thought I remembered them talking about snow storms in the shiverpeaks at times and it would change but that apparantly never made it. Quite a shame because it's the little things like this that would have really made the game something to remember. Don't get me wrong it's a great game but as it stands there's very little to make me remember it more than a few months after I stop playing it.

Regarding your first paragraph... I know what you mean, but IMO there does need to be a lull in the action! Quite often all I want is to explore or gather, and so much action would kind of burn me out personally

I am in full agreement with your ideas in the other two paragraphs though. Especially the dragon atttacking different places each time would be awesome - or in general if the enemy faction acted in a more RTS like way and made calculated moves in its attempt to annex the zone. And I would love more ambiance as you say. Maybe weather changes could tie in with the situation in the zone as well, e.g. if the "baddies" are gaining more control the weather gets worse.