User talk:Gaile Gray/Archive Product Information/Jan - Sep 1 2009

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Windows 7

Have no idea where to ask this, so I'll just ask you :p My father is going to install the Windows 7 beta this afternoon, my question is: Does GW support this? My father thinks it does, since it has mostly the same drivers as Vista, but I'd like to get Anet's thoughts on this. --Elemonk Nibo 08:04, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

One of my guild mates has done this and claims the system runs better than under Vista and Guild Wars runs just fine. He did mention the loss of his skills templates though. I suppose that is to be expected if file paths change from one OS to another, but you should be able to get around that by just copying out all the text files and putting them back where the game wants to save them in Windows 7. -- WarBlade 08:46, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

You'll be happy to learn that Vista is actually a beta version of Windows 7 (inside information from Microsoft). So GW will most likely run better on Windows 7 than it will on Vista. 145.94.74.23 09:48, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

Ha. Ha. That said, I too have heard people say Windows 7 is giving them better performance; I think one guy even said faster than XP, though that might be pushing it. Oh, and the driver support has been pretty decent for a beta. Things could still break for you of course, but hey. Worth a try. -- Sirius (talk) 10:37, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

People are already trying it out --BramStoker (talk, contribs) 11:13, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

Great, thanks for all the fast responses. My father says 7 is better/faster than vista too, so that's nice. --Elemonk Nibo 13:24, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

Totally faster, I'm running it. -- WoB (contribs) 18:11, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

Guild Wars may work fine on W7, but it's not an officially supported OS. So if you have problems, you won't get any support from Anet. -- Indochine talk 19:49, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

Based on what you wrote, Elemonk, I understand this as if your father wants to use Windows 7 on a productive machine; you should note that you shouldn't do this, as Windows 7 is called "beta" with a reason. There will be most likely a lot of problems (especially security issues), and you cannot expect any fixes from Microsoft so far. You and your father should be aware of the risks of using a beta software (especially when it is the operating system) before installing it.

To answer your initial question: Yes, Guild Wars runs fine on Windows 7 and apart from that, Windows 7 is made to run everything that Windows Vista runs. poke | talk 20:53, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

I can understand why people might want to kep running betas. From what I have heard, the lack of content makes them a lot faster most of the time. However, security might be an issue, as are bugs. 145.94.74.23 09:22, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Yes, Windows 7 does run everything as vista does and is compatible with 98' OS things but the security can be issue. Currently though, you as a hacker or virus maker would have to go to great lengths to modify some codes to make the beta crash but it is possible, that you can't deny. There are only a few things that support Windows 7 and that, might I add, is supposed to be Build 7000+. -- WoB (contribs) 20:24, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

I too am running windows 7, with some bleeding edge technology and I must say it's a lot more stable than vista is. For the moment I got both OS installed, work on vista and game on win7. If you do try out win7, check out these few secrets ;-) clicky. Still GW won't support 2 gtx280's in SLI on my PC (not in vista nor in win7), but then again, that's overkill ;-) Anyway the beta of win7 is a lot more user friendly and stable than vista, can't wait for a full release ;-) -- (Tribina / talk) 21:40, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Collectors Editions

A while ago (perhaps a year or so) someone, I think Gaile, stated in an in-game appearance that the GW CE's that were available for the various chapters would not be made available in the in-game store however, aNet was either considering or planning on different CE's to be available in the GW store... actually, I just found reference (http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Gaile/Frog_Talk, Gaile Gray and The Frog Talks Saturday February 9, 2008 heading). Could you tell us where this stands? Thanks! 24.188.207.20 03:02, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Let me explain. The conversation went something like this: "Will you release the (existing) CEs in the In-game Store?" "No, that is not planned and we have consistently said we would not re-release CEs." "Might you add new ones someday?" "Anything is possible, but I don't know of any plans for that."

So when someone wrote "New CE's may be offered," it was the same as saying "we may see changes to a certain skill," or "we may someday have a hairdresser in the game." And that all means that it's possible, but it's not confirmed and certainly not promised. I have no current information on this, nor would I be the one to release such info. -- Gaile 03:41, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you, Gaile, that clarifies this for me. If it makes any difference, I would encourage aNet to pursue this. I, for one, would definitely purchase them. Such offerings may prove to be a relatively easy revenue stream for aNet. 24.188.207.20 18:03, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

Only for Windows?

Hey Gaile, I've been searching around but would like to ask someone who actually makes regular contact with the folks at good ol' Anet...will GW2 be accessible for OS X? The only reason I'm really using windows that much is for GW. Thanks ^^ Hylas 20:05, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

No idea if GW works under it, but you may want to investigate Darwine. OS X and linux have many similarities (OS X itself being unix or at least unix like at its core depending on how you look at it). Darwine is a version of wine for OS X. You may, and I stress may be able to get GW 1 running under it (I've gotten some 3d things to work, so who knows). It is entirely conceivable that by the time GW 2 comes out, Darwine will have advanced enough to run GW 2 properly through it. So even if it probably won't be natively supported, you might be able to get it running under OS X. I stopped watching Darwine some months ago, and I know that GW runs fine under wine, it may not work under Darwine.

A note: Wine and Darwine are not emulators of windows. The exact difference is difficult to explain, but they are more along the lines of augments for libraries programs need to run, so you should not notice a real drop off in performance if you can get things running.

I have hardly answered your question, but I think you might find this useful. Kelvin Greyheart 08:45, 21 February 2009 (UTC)

I would say that you did answer my question, and I found that very useful. Thanks for the fast and in-depth response! Ye, I've been debating between Windows 7 (when it comes out) or an OS X Macbook (but preferably not a mix of the two, partitioning is somewhat annoying) so, I'll do a bit more research but assuming GW2 *could* run on OS X I think I'm leaning towards an MB. Worst comes to worst I could just partition it with a Windows OS for GW/Gw2/Other Windows-only games and OS X for work stuff. Thanks Kelvin! Cheers, Hylas Swiftdaggers 13:20, 21 February 2009 (MST)

Good answer, Kelvin. I will say, Hylas, that the only confirmed supported OS that I know is Windows. You know, XP, Vista, etc. I'm thinkin' since OS X isn't Windows, and since we haven't released on Mac in the past, I personally would not at all count on it being part of the infrastructure for GW2. But that's an unofficial answer, and I don't think we'd have an official answer or a position on that for some time to come, so don't hold me to it. :) -- Gaile 20:27, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Authenticator?

Hello Gaile, In the past I have mentioned the possibility of implementing a authenticator device in the login procedure to realize a challenge / respons authentication way and having more security. You answered it will be investigated to add such a feature. I was wondering if there is some news on the horizon about this... Hope of hearing of you. Didis 21:57, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Hello Didis. There is no news to impart on this, but I know it's ok to say that this is something that the team has discussed, because I forwarded the suggestion to them a long while ago. :) I am sure the dev team will continue to consider how such a feature may work with Guild Wars and/or Guild Wars 2. -- Gaile 22:01, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for the update, apreciated :) Didis 23:13, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

GW2 Marketing

Hi Gaile - I don't know if this will fall under the GW2 NDA, it's a business question as opposed to a GW2 content/mechanics question: I've never seen any ads for GW1 - online, television or print - and was wondering if aNet is planning on marketing GW2 (when the time comes) through these mediums. If so, will aNet open online advertising operations positions or would it engage in a relationship with an agency? Again, I'm not sure if this is something you'd be allowed to answer or even if this has been addressed by aNet as of yet but I figured I'd ask. Any feedback would be welcome. Pkohler01 02:53, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

I saw a good number of online and printed (mainly in PC Gamer) adds for the various Guild Wars expansions. — Jon Lupen 02:56, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

I think that since they're building up intrest with the deafening silence of info, they're gonna do a big push, with ads everywhere.--Calvar Demonscorcher 04:21, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

We have a good amount of advertising for Guild Wars, including online websites like GameSpot and IGN, and magazines such as PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, etc. We had the back cover on PCG for several months, and full-page ads inside those publications, and others, for some months in advance of the releases.

I do not know what is planned for marketing for Guild Wars 2, and frankly, although I could talk to the Marketing and Sales Teams about it, I bet they want to keep that quiet for now. Rest assured, we'll have a major publicity push prior to release. :) -- Gaile 06:41, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

Thank you for the info, Gaile. I don't know about all of you but, I'm excited about it! Pkohler01 02:23, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

This may be an odd question, but would it be allowed for players to create a commercial for GW1 and then place it on youtube or something like that? 145.94.74.23 14:29, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

GW Free Trial

Hey, how long does the GW Free Trial last and what does it contain? (www.guildwars.com/freetrial) I'm assuming it is a Prophecies 14 day 10 hour trial, would this be correct? The page doesn't state this info anywhere, so I'm wondering. (be nice if it was updated with the info, too. :P) Thanks! DarkNecrid 15:42, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

My friend used it, and if what he told me was correct, your assumptions are right. (Prophecies 14/10) — Poki#3 16:52, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

Good question, and a worthwhile suggestion, too. I've passed it along to our marketing and web teams. Thanks! -- Gaile 00:50, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

The Marketing Director thinks that it's difficult to explain the 14 days/10 hours thing, so he prefers to leave it as it is. Thanks for input, though. I did ask if we might want to point out it's Prophecies, but that's totally up to him. -- Gaile 01:07, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

So it's Prophecies-only? That destroys my plan :( poke | talk 01:16, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

TBH even if you can't put it on that page, it should be somewhere. ATM there's no way for anyone to know the restrictions on it, which makes it kind of difficult for people who want to give the trial to friends. I wouldn't have even known what the restrictions on it were if it wasn't for poke! I get it may be difficult to explain to a random person who may stumble upon it but for an existing fan spreading it not so much imo. I only assumed it was Prophecies cause it had Prophecies screenshots on the page. Anyways, it wasn't announced on the website or any of the fan communities, it just kinda appeared out of nowhere, was why I was wondering. :P Thanks either way! DarkNecrid 05:10, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

Guild Wars on Steam

When I started up Steam I saw GuildWars was now available on it. Can I add GuildWars to my account as a Steam game without repurchasing it? Or should I ask on the Steam forums? — Ebañy Salmonderiel 15:48, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

You can add any program to Steam's list (as a shortcut). I don't think GW uses Steam's patching system since it's own is better so there's no reason to add it that way. Didn't try to enter any of my GW keys on Steam though. I'm happy with my install location ^^; — Poki#3 18:25, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

If you buy the game from steam, they add it to your steam community page and steam will track how much you play. This info get fed to the steam stats page. If you add it as a shortcut, it does not. Currently you can not add Guild Wars as a steam game if you already have the retail version. You'll have to purchase from steam to get it in your steam listing. I doubt this will change. --Dunyas 18:45, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Xfire also does that... but IMO better ^^ — Poki#3 19:19, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

oh, and Regina is gathering questions to pass along to people in charge of the Steam move. Might want to give her yours (if not move this whole topic there altogether) — Poki#3 19:27, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Great idea -- please feel free to add your questions to Regina's list. (I'd rather not move the topic -- it's just easier to repost on the questions list.) Thanks. -- Gaile 20:35, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

OK, thanks. — Ebañy Salmonderiel 20:45, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Account Rename Ability Still Coming?

Hey, Gaile! I'm just curious whether the ability to rename our accounts is still coming? The recent 4th Anniversary update added a lot of account and character modification, except the ability to rename our accounts after linking with NCSoft. I remember asking two years and one year ago about this and the latest news then was that this was being worked on. As Support Liaison, I was wondering if you might have an update. Oh, and by the way, I remember your implementing my advice to post weekly wallpapers all those months ago. Do you think there are still potential wallpaper goodies sitting around? 72.130.183.68 10:05, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Rename our accounts? What? You can already change your login email. You always could. — Poki#3 10:34, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

You cannot change your log in email once it's been linked to NCsoft. I would love to have the ability to change my log in, unless there would be a charge for it then I would have to pass. LOL--BabyJ 15:30, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

I bring up this problem about, oh, once a month. I actually have a "countdown" when I mention it. You know, like "It's now been XX months since we first requested the ability for a player to change his/her user name, once the account is bound to NCsoft." I think there are people who have to stiffle a groan, thinking, "Oh, there's Gaile off again on user name changing!" :)

I asked about it lately (two weeks ago) and was told that there have been many things that had to take higher priority than the programming that would allow this option. I know that enabling this option will required work by people at both NCsoft and ArenaNet. But with the NCsoft site update and with various games' having released their big updates, I am hoping that we can move this request to the front burner. You can be sure I will continue to make the request. :) -- Gaile 18:11, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the update, Gaile. :) I'm not going to get the free storage panel because of this problem, which sucks, but I could much more easily live without the free storage panel than with my username permanently being an email address that I created since my main email address is permanently linked to my other account.-- Shew 18:56, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Gaile, thanks for bringing this up. I never knew you did it with such frequency. By the way, why isn't there some NPC named after you in this four year anniversary update for the first few years of service you've provided for this community as its community manager? Quite a bit of what I enjoyed about the game was your interaction with the community. I suppose in a way you never left the position. Thanks again for keeping this issue alive! 72.130.183.68 08:24, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

I think she might already have one. -- Gordon Ecker (talk) 09:44, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Good catch, Gordon. The esteemed captain was written to be a female, but during localization, someone made an error, and she ended up being he. I hope that the captain's progeny in Guild Wars 2 might include someone of the proper gender. I mean, "proper" in this sense, of course. ;) -- Gaile 20:00, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

That's terrible, Gaile. To make matters worse, it seems he's bugged according to the wiki page ... 72.130.183.68 02:00, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

So that's the sad story of Captain Greywind. -- Gordon Ecker (talk) 04:28, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Good heavens! Someday I'm going to learn your secrets for Wiki searches. I have no idea how long it took you to find that old, off-hand comment, but I am impressed! :) -- Gaile 04:32, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

GW2 PreOrder

Yeah, I know, aNet staff can't comment. But Amazon.com is selling GW2 pre-orders offered by the seller "NCSoft" with a release date of December 31 2010. So far only the regular edition pre-order is available. Without expecting response, I'd simply like to state that seeing a Collectors Edition pre-order offered would be really nice. Pkohler01 02:42, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Really nice, indeed... Rose Of Kali 03:43, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Here's the link -- WoB (contribs) 04:05, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Been A Thread on Guru for a while, Regina Said untill its on the Main page dont expect it ot be trueWild 04:17, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

No, duh... Who in their sane mind would release a new game a week AFTER Christmas? :P Rose Of Kali 05:34, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Hmmm....28th of April 2010?? --Silverleaf Don't assume, Know! 11:30, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

(Reset indent) Silly retailers. They've done that with every game, coming up with a bunch of different "release dates." Consider that their objective is to sell you the game. One way to do that is to get your pre-order at their store and the sooner they can develop a bogus "release date" the sooner people will start putting money down on a reservation.

Don't you worry, you'll get plenty of notice about the release. Through the official sources. :) -- Gaile 18:37, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

Will Anet also be releasing info when the time comes, of when we can start Preordering the Guildwars books that are being written? User:Tog

[Wonders if this is related to beta-keys... or something] 000.00.00.00 23:17, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

I am not sure, Tog. You may wish to ask the community team about that. :) -- Gaile 23:23, 7 May 2009 (UTC)