Post by Fire Fox on Jun 12, 2010 1:35:09 GMT -5
Guild Wars 2 is a fantasy MMORPG currently in development by ArenaNet, as a sequel to their episodic Guild Wars game series. It was announced in 2007 alongside the final Guild Wars expansion Eye of the North.
Gameplay
Guild Wars 2 uses an improved version of the proprietary Guild Wars game engine. Improvements to the engine include true 3D environments, enhanced graphics and animations and the use of the Havok physics system. The developers say the engine now does justice to the concept art for the game and concept art will be integrated into the way the story is told to the player.
Guild Wars 2 game play has been modified from Guild Wars to include a variety of different features.
Guild Wars 2 will allow a player to create a character from five races and eight professions (the game's term for character classes). Professions are divided into three categories: scholars, who use light armor, adventurers, who use medium armor, and soldiers, who use heavy armor. As of April 2010[update], two professions, the elementalist and warrior, have been announced. The maximum character level has been increased also, however the developers emphasize they wish "to avoid forcing players into the grind-based gameplay that too often accompanies a high level cap."Two mechanics have been described which are intended to prevent this and allow players to play the game how they want; a sidekicking system, similar to that used in City of Heroes, will be introduced allowing high-level characters to transfer their powers to lower-level characters (or lower their level comparable to their sidekick as to enjoy lower-level content) and entry to e-sport type PvP will grant access to all skills, items and provide a fixed level. In a departure from the high number skills present in Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2 will focus on quality of skills over quantity and will also reduce the overall number of game modes to reduce balancing complexity.
In PvE content Guild Wars 2 will use a persistent game-world but still utilize instanced content as a story telling device. Instead of quests in this game-world, the persistent area will have a set of scenarios, or events, which dynamically occur depending on player actions in the area. These in-game events are designed to allow character of all levels to continuously interact with the game-world. Underwater areas are being added for players to explore and make up approximately half of the area available for players to explore. Earlier in development, a companion system was considered, but it was decided they didn't need it due to diversity of the professions and how they can work together. Items, such as weapons and armor, are intended to have a larger effect on PvE game play. A more elaborate crafting system and other non-combat interactions are also being added to the game.
PvP combat will also change from the original series. The popular guild vs. guild matches from the original series will continue to be available, but Guild Wars 2 will introduce large scale world vs. world matches in the in-game setting called the Mists. Players will be able to join this worldwide PvP battle in a variety of roles, with rewards commensurate with their success.
Players with characters in Guild Wars will be able to reserve their character names from the original series to use in Guild Wars 2; however, the characters themselves will not be transferable. Some in-game achievements will be translated into Guild Wars 2 using the Hall of Monuments in the Eye of the North expansion.
Plot
The game takes place in the Guild Wars fantasy world of Tyria, 250 years after the players defeat the Great Destroyer in the Eye of the North expansion. Five elder dragons, sleeping beneath the continent, have awoken causing widespread destruction to Tyria and corrupting its inhabitants. The once dominant humans of Tyria are in decline, supplanted from most of their land by disasters and war, while the dwarves are all but extinct. Old and new races alike have begun to rise in the resulting power vacuum. Old cities have been destroyed and rebuilt, kingdoms seized and reformed by new rulers. The continents of Cantha and Elona, introduced in the expansions, have been cut off by politics and the dragons. The advancement of time is reflected in the changes in culture, including armor and clothing as well as in the advancement of in-game technology.
The player is tasked with uniting the different player races which is required to be able to effectively combat the elder dragons. The game primarily focuses on the combat against only one of these dragons, Zhaitan. Many of these races will clash, as well as unite to accomplish what new challenges Guild Wars 2 has to offer.
Development
Work on Guild Wars 2 began in 2007. It was announced March 27, 2007which was very early in its development cycle, to coincide with the announcement of the final Guild Wars expansion. ArenaNet wanted to explain to fans of the original Guild Wars games their plan to stop development of episodic content and begin work on a new game. ArenaNet were constrained by the decisions and complexity they had made with the first game and so, to do what they wanted with the game, they needed to start over.
The development team abandoned the early open alpha and beta testing which they had used for the Guild Wars game. ArenaNet considered that player expectations for open beta tests of MMORPG had changed, the beta was no longer used to test the game but to trial a nearly finished game prior to purchase. Beta tests announced for 2008 were cancelled to ensure Guild Wars 2 had maximum impact and appeal to these players.
In August 2009, two years after the game was first announced, ArenaNet decided the game had reached a state where they were happy to show it to the public. A trailer which mixed animated concept art and in-game footage was released at Gamescom, followed by interviews expanding on the lore of the game world and information about the player races.
As of 2009[update], the game is in alpha production. More information on game play is expected. In November 2009, NCsoft CEO Jaeho Lee stated the game would most likely not release until 2011, but a closed BETA would be made available in 2010.The 4th Quarter 2009 shareholders notes further supported this when NCSoft CEO stated that "the current development target was the end of 2010 but, Guild Wars 2 likely won't be released until 2011."
First public demo of the game is scheduled for August 19-22, 2010 at gamescom convention in Cologne, Germany. September 3-5 demo stations will be set up at PAX Prime in Seattle. ~Wiki
It looks simply amazing. I just hope this time around the PvP doesn't get stale.
