Dev Chat 11 May 2007

This is the chat log for the developer chat on the 11th May 2007.

In Attendance

• Mike O'Brien -- Co-founder of ArenaNet
• Jeff Strain -- Co-founder of ArenaNet
• James Phinney -- Guild Wars Lead Designer
• Eric Flannum -- Guild Wars Designer
• Ben Miller -- Guild Wars Designer
• Michael Gills -- Marketing Manager
• Gaile Gray -- Community Relations Manager
• Isaiah Cartwright -- Skill Balancer
• Angelic -- Gamespy Admin

Chat Log

Angelic

Hello everyone, and welcome to GameSpy Arcade's featured event for the day.

It's good to see such a great turnout!

GameSpy Arcade is pleased to Welcome the NC Soft crew to the GameSpy Arcade LiveWire lobby for an exclusive chat event about upcoming developments in the Guid Wars franchise.

GuildWarsDevTeam

Hi, everyone, from ArenaNet.

Angelic

Thanks for coming guys.

GuildWarsDevTeam

We're happy you could chat with us.

Angelic

First of all, let me introduce who we have chatting with us today.

GuildWarsDevTeam

We have a room full of devs for you to visit with.

Angelic

Great to hear!

Without further ado please welcome:

Mike O'Brien -- Co-founder of ArenaNet

Jeff Strain -- Co-founder of ArenaNet

James Phinney -- Guild Wars Lead Designer

Eric Flannum -- Guild Wars Designer

Ben Miller -- Guild Wars Designer

Michael Gills -- Marketing Manager

GuildWarsDevTeam

*wave*

Angelic

and finally Gaile Gray -- Community Relations Manager

Who admits to having typo syndrome ;)

So she will fit in well with the rest of us.

Once again, welcome, it's great to have you all here today and we already have a bunch of questions lined up waiting to answers!

The room is currently being moderated - Your chat will not appear - to ask a question to our guests pls type /msg Angelic and state your question - Please do not page our guests as they will not be able to answer you

We appreciate your patience as we sort though the huge amount of questions we are recieving. Keep them coming!

GuildWarsDevTeam

Here's a good one: How will Eye of the North be a revolution to the guildwars franchise?

Eye of the North is our first expansion so it’s all about bringing new content to existing characters. It will provide content for high-end characters, PvE only skills, and will form a bridge to Guild Wars 2.

Eye of the North will introduce players to several of the playable races in Guild Wars 2, and will let you transfer Guild Wars achievements to GW2 through the Hall of Monuments.

Angelic

Questions can be directed through me, the chat's moderator. Just type /msg Angelic and your question to submit - Please do not page our guests as they will be unable to answer you.

*WhoKnowsHow-gs* If you look at the fan forums, it's clear that a strong majority of players would prefer soul reaping be returned to it's original state, but with 0 energy for summoned creatures that you don't control. It's been suggested hundred of times. What's wrong with this alternative?

GuildWarsDevTeam

James answers, "That is one of serveral strong alternatives that we are looking at.

Angelic

*TheNumber13-gs* Q1: Will there be more skills in GW:EN like the "Light of Deldrimor" which have non-combat, exploration purposes? Might GW2 also have those kinds of tools?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Ben replies, "Yes, we are, and having a large number of PvE-only skills has given us the freedom to create skills and abilities interesting things in and out of combat.

Eric expands, "In GW2, we are planning to have a lot of different activities for players that are not combat-related."

Angelic

*krondisc-gs* Will the difficulty of EOTN be comparable to playing Hard Mode in other campaigns?

GuildWarsDevTeam

No, unless you're playing in Hard Mode. :) Ben adds, "There will be a range of content for players of different skill levels."

Angelic

*houseofnarmada[gwo]-gs* question for GW Devs, I'd like to know with regards to game lore, will the Mursaat have a role in GW:EN? the lack of info about them has been disturbing...

GuildWarsDevTeam

What, you missed Fluffy and Friends a few weekends ago? ;)

Oh, that was Gaile.

Angelic

*OlanDurai[FgDy]-gs* With new armor that might be found in GW:EN.... will they be incribeable? And will armors from previous champaigns (Proph and Fact) become inscribeable as well?

GuildWarsDevTeam

James says, "Yes, for the GW:EN armor, and we are currently working on implementing the inscription system for armor from Prophecies and Factions.

Angelic

Your tpying isn't all that bad Gaile ;)

*LiberDawn-gs* How long will Eye of the North's storyline be compared to that of other campaigns?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Ben responds, "It is going to be a lot more open-ended and ployer driven. People can expect fully-voiced cinematics and a compelling character-driven narrative.

Angelic

*IIVIIRRIIVII2-gs* Can we expect rare materials such as: Onxy Gemstones, Diamonds, Bricks of Mud and Clay bricks to finally make an appearance in the game?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Gaile says, "Don't tell me I've been toting that stuff for years for no reason!"

James adds, "We can't answer that at this time because it will cause a financial crisis at the material trader." :)

Eric whispers, "Buy mud bricks now!!!"

*Ben smacks Eric*

Angelic

*OlanDurai[FgDy]-gs* If we go and transfer stuff in HoM... will we still be able to use it in GW... and will we be able to earn more for HoM after our GW2 characters inherite it?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Mike says, "Yes, and yes. Building a monument to an accomplishment does not take that accomplishment away from you. And even after you link a character in GW2 to your Hall of Monuments...

... you can continue to build monuments in Guild Wars and they will benefit you in GW2.

Angelic

*sals5-gs* Do you need Prophicies to access the material in Eye of the North

Questions can be directed through me, the chat's moderator. Just type /msg Angelic and your question to submit - Please do not page our guests as they will be unable to answer you.

GuildWarsDevTeam

You can access GW:EN if you own any of the previous campaigns.

Angelic

*Rosar_Dabay-gs* After Eye of the North, we know that all campaigns and expansions are canceled. But will there be any more content through the free updates, or will content production totally cease? Thanks! :D

GuildWarsDevTeam

James says, "We know that keeping player playing Guild Wars and keeping them excited about Guild Wars is the best way to assure that they will want to play GW2.

Angelic

*LiberDawn-gs* The primary concern among players for Guild Wars 2 is that it's going to be a WoW clone with frills. How won't it be?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Mike says, "Our goal with GW2 is to build the ultimate game for GW players. We are taking the best elements of GW and highlighting and expanding them for GW2, such as the storytelling nature of the game, balanced competitive PvP, use of instancing, making the player the hero...

...the philosophy of hassle-free gaming, and no monthly fee!"

Angelic

*DiGiT4L$T4R-gs* Will all Professions Have upgrades and new armor in GWEN or just core?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Ben says, "Will the expansion for all existing characters have new skills and new armor sets for every existing Guild Wars character?

ABSOLUTELY!

Angelic

*bluerabbitty-gs* TELL US SOMETHING NEW :) anything. (about GW:EN)

GuildWarsDevTeam

Eric says, "Two words: Asura Chess."

Angelic

Great questions so far everyone - keep them coming!

*RZisdaGamer-gs* If I have explored 100% of tyria in prophecies, do I have to explore new places in eye of the north to regain my title?

GuildWarsDevTeam

No, you don't.

Angelic

*RZisdaGamer-gs* Is GW2 going to have outposts and private maps like in the first guildwars or is everyone going to run around the map together? If so, how will you make the enemy respawns?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Guild Wars 2 is going to have both persistent (common) areas and instanced (private) areas.

The persistent areas are going to use zone-wide events, as we've mentioned in several magazine articles.

(Enemies respawn on their own, and they also come in as a part of the zone-wide events.

Angelic

*JadoSoul-gs* what's it take to be a member of the Arena Net Design team?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Ben: Does it take a passion for making great games? ABSOLUTELY!

Isaiah: I started in retail and made my way to the industry through sheer brute force of playing the games and being actively involved in the community.

Mike Gills: My parents said playing games all the time would amount to nothing. Who's laughing now, Mom?"

(Happy Mother's Day, Mrs. Gills. :) )

Angelic

*LaZyM1cL0-gs* Any new Titles we can salivate for?

GuildWarsDevTeam

James says, "The most exciting new titles for GW:EN are related to groups, like the Asura, Norn, and others. You will earn these titles in engaging in quests and other activiites, for example, you can impress the mighty Norn by hunting bosses.

Each of these titles will be associated with a number of PvE-only skills.

Angelic

Questions can be directed through me, the chat's moderator. Just type /msg Angelic and your question to submit - Please do not page our guests as they will be unable to answer you.

GuildWarsDevTeam

A virtual plethora of goodies. :)

Angelic

*krondisc-gs* What kind of snacks do you guys have there?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Like I said... Oh, wait. :)

Angelic

hee hee

*treehugginghobbit-gs* It has been said previous chapter's armors will be inscriptable in GWEN; will this be true with weapons as well?

GuildWarsDevTeam

We're definitely looking into it, but it would not affect existing items. (This from James)

None of the new skills are profession specific.

Angelic

*eronth-gs* Are all the PvE-only skills going to be useable for any profession, or are they profession based?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Sorry. I'll wait for the question. :)

As previously mentioned, none of the new skills are profession specific.

Angelic

We have this connection..

:)

*AznHao-gs* can Armour from GW be inherited by GW2 characters?

GuildWarsDevTeam

We will recognize players for having difficult to acquire armor in Guild Wars. However, because of a lot of advancements we are making to character customization and how characters work in GW2...

...we cannot let people directly transfer armor from GW to GW2.

Angelic

Well, this hour has certainly flown by today. We're had terrific questions from everyone today!

If anyone had a final, special question they wanted to ask..

send it to me by typging /msg Angelic your message here and we'll see what comes in..

GuildWarsDevTeam

What a few of you had a final quesiton? :D

Angelic

I saw my screen scroll past doing about 200 miles per hour..

*BrokenBond-gs* Do the developers have a strict agenda for Gw2? How open are they to player input? What's the best way to get our ideas to you?

GuildWarsDevTeam

We have a lot of definitive goals that we are trying to achieve with Guild Wars 2. That being said, we are always very open to player input.

Everyone in the room reads the major fan forums every day. So post on your favorite forum, and you'll know that you've reached the dev team!

Angelic

Any last advice or tips that you'd like to share with the fans? or are we all finished?

GuildWarsDevTeam

Remember Mom: Give her a copy of Guild Wars for Mother's Day. :D

Angelic

Forget Mom - ME!! get me one1

;)

A HUGE thanks to the Guild Wars crew for dropping by. It was great to have you!

GuildWarsDevTeam

We all thank you so much for coming to the chat. This was a lot of fun and we'll see you on the forums!

Angelic

Another BIG thanks goes out to everyone who came by to participate. Great questions, folks.

GuildWarsDevTeam

*wave*

Notes

During the chat, someone with the nick [Admin]Angelic was IMing offensive messages to people. This was not the Gamespy admin, and the Gamespy people are aware of what happened.