User talk:Regina Buenaobra/Archive Product Information/May 2008

Archives by Topic
Random Chatter Wiki Topics Game Related Topics Community & Website Product Information Misplaced Topics, Etc.

Contacting Anet for University Gaming Club

Hi there Regina! I'm from the committee of the Society for Electronic Entertainment at Melbourne University (A gaming club which is starting to grow fairly rapidly, as you can imagine) and we have some very keen members who would love to look into Guild Wars. Unforuntately, existing players in the club, like myself, have run out of trial keys to give to new members. We already have had a few more players buy Guild Wars since handing out trial keys, so I was wondering if there was someone we could contact to receive a dozen or so more keys. None of the emails on the ArenaNet contact page seemed to be appropriate, so posting here was a last resort. Either leaving a response here, on my talkpage or by email works. Thank you. Bigrat2 Talk 06:29, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Wasn't there put a halt to trial accounts? Because of gold selling/advertising? BlazeRick 01:44, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

I think they still have them but they amended how they work, in that they arent allowed to trade anything for the entire time they are active. -- Salome 15:16, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Huh. I doubt that they put an end to trial accounts all together. Could I get a response, Regina? *hands you a red iris flower* Bigrat2 Talk 23:49, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

No need, I have understood wrong. BlazeRick 21:31, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Could I get a response some time? :( Hmm, does anyone else know of someone else to contact who might be more appropriate? Not sure asking Regina was probably the right idea. Bigrat2 Talk 09:04, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Sorry for the delay. Email me at the community@ address and we can discuss it. Thanks!--Regina Buenaobra 17:58, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

I should probably acknowledge reading this so you can archive it. :) Thanks Regina. I sent off an email on Friday I think, but yeah, you can archive this now. :) Bigrat2 Talk 00:59, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

GW Merchandise

In the Guild Wars merchandise store there is an iPod Nano skin. The skin is for the older Nano models however. Would there be a possibility to offer a skin for the new 3rd generation Nano models which are differently shaped? The possibility probably depends on the sales numbers and the costs related, but I'm offering this as a suggestion since I myself would be interested. -- (gem / talk) 00:34, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

There's always a possibility, however I believe we are not exploring that one at this time. I can certainly suggest it, though. --Regina Buenaobra 18:06, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Gamer's Guinness World Records

Just Yesterday I went To Austin and went to the Highland Mall seeing I was bored. When I was at the book store I saw a book. The Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition which took my interest. So I bought it and looked at it. And what really disappointed me is that its the 2008 Edition(most recent) and looking in the MMORPG section I didn't see Guild Wars EVEN mentioned at all in the section...HECK even in the book. I was wondering is there something that Guild Wars actually achieved to be included in the next years edition of the book? Most of the fans who play the game would LOVE to see Guild Wars break a world record in gaming. Even a in game event planned just for this would really give the players something fun to do as of a reason....the promote the game even further as of to help get Guild Wars into the World records. Seeing this I wanted to see your opinion about this Regina as of all the other Guild Wars Devs and other fans like me. --რiɫՒ¤§ 01:19, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

It was made in association with twin galaxies so it is probably very accurate.--Yankeefan984 04:27, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

From Guild Wars on this very wiki, "Guild Wars is a CORPG, or Competitive/Cooperative Online Role Playing Game". Vael Victus 13:55, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Is it the First COMMORPG game? Though I dont think it would matter seeing Guild Wars 2 isn't going to be like that. --რiɫՒ¤§ 18:33, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Account Bans for 100k Trades

Hello Regina, and welcome to the Guild Wars community. I hope this day is finding you well. I have a problem that I hope you can help me with. Several months ago, there was a problem that popped up where people would trade 100k between people with nothing else in their trade windows and it would trigger an auto-ban. I gather this was to prevent gold sellers/buyers. The problem seemed to have died down, people got back to trading large sums of money to each other without a problem, and I figured it was safe to do so again. Keep in mind, I have never been banned for this or any other practice in my time on Guild Wars. Fast forward to April 30th. Many donations were given by many members for both our guild giveaway and for Cinco de Mayo, which is being hosted by LaZy Nation for the Guild Wars community. I was transferring items back and forth between my account and my Guild Manager's main and second account to sort the items. Then I transferred 100k that had been donated, from my storage, to my account, then to his. There was nothing else in the trade window as far as I recall. Next thing I know, I go to log in to my account Thursday afternoon and my account is said to be terminated, permanently banned, for participating in the buying/selling of gold/items for real world money. I also found out that my Guild Manager's second account was put on a temporary ban, 72 hours, for the same thing.

So I'm curious. First, I committed no crime by trading items back and forth, and right now, some of the items that our guild donated for the Cinco de Mayo event are being held in limbo because of a ban for something I never did.

Second, my GM has all the items for our guild giveaway trapped on his second account, which the ban will apparently wear off. But he committed no breach against the rules either.

Third, why has this never been fixed? If we cannot trade 100k without being banned, why does it allow a 100k trade in the trade window? Why is there no warning so that players who are playing the game legitimately will not lose accounts they have worked long and hard on?

I think it is not too much to ask that the bans be lifted from both our accounts. I also don't think it's too much to ask that someone look into this whole guilty until proven innocent aspect of trading gold.

Thank you very much for your time. Azhure Sun Soar 06:44, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Not to derail the topic at all, but you may want to bring this up to Gaile as well. Kokuou 07:31, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

It's also important to tell support and maybe supply Gaile with the reference number. -- ab.er.rant 07:43, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for the suggestions Kokuou and ab.er.rant. I have submitted a support ticket, the only response I've gotten so far is asking for my account information. I submitted as much detail as I could remember from the transactions involved with above stated trading. I was not sure about submitting this to Gaile as well, I think perhaps it may be a good idea. Azhure Sun Soar 07:53, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Hi, Azhure. Sorry to hear about the trouble you've had recently. Thank you for making us aware of this. You did do the right thing by going through support. --Regina Buenaobra 18:21, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

My heart truely goes out to you mate, I can completely understand how you feel about this. At the end of the day, if these where 'truely' looked at by humans (as Anet claim) then this would never have happened. Recently, one of my officers received a ban for alledgly selling items for real-life money. Here's the funny thing though, a member had donated 6 green items to the guild, this officer created an character called 'Temp Guild Storage' to take the items, and yet this triggered someone to ban him. He was very patient about it and after 3 weeks, 4 different people and a number of emails he finally got his account reinstated. You would think that was it and he play as normal, however when they reinstated his account they said 'dont do it again!' so for this reason we have cannot get these items in case his and my account get banned. I think Anet really should do what they claim and have real humans look at these properly, also to stop presuming they know whats going on. At the end of the day, it's easy to catch these gold selling accounts, we all see them all the time, it's only Anet that seem to have trouble finding them. --User: 9:39, 2 May 2008 (BST)

It's easy to ask that ArenaNet hire enough employees to be online round the clock and working fast enough to respond daily to the hundreds of daily tickets without considering simple issues like the cost of hiring these people and providing a workspace for them. It's not realistic to expect them to not rely on any automated processes. At the end of the day, it helps to help ArenaNet catch these guys with screenshots and not just via /report. But without actual knowledge of the numbers on accounts created via credit card fraud or hacked accounts and how many got banned (and how many got wrongfully banned), I think it's unfair to just complain that ArenaNet was not effective. If you noticed that a flawless system exists on other games, it'd be helpful to let them know. -- ab.er.rant 09:15, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Which are the "criterias" to enter into such categories of bans ? That's so unfair to people and communities trying to organize donations/events for the GW community and also for regular and legit trades... Could Anet provide more informations about such decisions and what/who decides them ? Is it an ingame watcher or simply a comparison value ? Thanks in advance. Davor Belegnaur 19:03, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

I would just like to update this post by stating that the bans on both my GM's account and mine have been lifted, and I greatly appreciate how quickly this was taken care of. Azhure Sun Soar 19:13, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

I can't thank support and everyone else enough for your help and timely fixing of our account bans/ temp bans. Thank you for your time Regina, (Azhure Sun Soar's GM) --Ill Armageddon Ill 19:19, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

If its just an automated system which can cause weeks of interrupted play just because you're doing Guild related stuff its a bit of a Guild Wars turn off. I don't want to get banned for trying to help my Guild or by holding stuff for players (friends) just because Arenanet is so scared individuals are trying to make a buck out of their game. Geez, makes me a little wary when it comes to do something nice for friends or Guildies online now if such things happen, and we as a community are becoming more and more aware of support - and bannings for weird reasons - somewhat troublesome practices. 203.173.242.13 19:36, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

From all this crap with random bans, it looks like ANet's gone down the shitter. Can't even be bothered to look at trades and engage a brain before banning someone. ¬_¬ Have ANet ever heard of donating items to friends and guildies? Jeez, talk about damn paranoid that people are making pennies from ingame trades. 80.193.1.106 01:13, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

I do agree this was a terrible attempt at stopping gold trade. I always figured ANet could just drop like 20 dollars on gold-buying, then ban the guy that sold it to them, and all suspicious trades. Vael Victus 07:52, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

As a regular event organiser I find this quite unsettling. I work long and hard to farm gold during the year for the sole purpose of funding my personal addiction to 'giving things away' via events and boosting community spirits. This is how I choose to play the game, it is what entertains me most, and it is surely my business to do so. I have given away over 2 million in gold and items to players over the past 2 years from events I have organised and run, and I don't intend to stop. If Arenanet are imposing trade bans to stop myself, and other members of the committee for player/guild hosted community events, from doing what we like doing and giving things away...then there will be no reason for any of us to continue to play the game. For this reason, I think it is only fair to ask Arenanet to define exactly what constitutes a trade ban before the entire community suffers uncessarily. --Bunny - Angel talk 15:24, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

After posting the above comment, I realised there is an equally lengthy discussion on Gaile's talk page. I posted my comments there and she has offered to ponder the underlying question further and consult with the Support Team. I thought I should update my comments here to save Regina doubling up on the query that is already being addressed. --Bunny - Angel talk 21:54, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

100k + 1 glittering dust next time so u dont have to QQ --Cursed Angel 23:13, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Regina, a question of what Guild Wars actually is.

Up the page I have a discussion going about PvP / PvE infighting, and would love to hear your view on it, yet another side of that discussion - which can warrant its own discussion - is "What Guild Wars actually is?"

Currently there is a view that Guild Wars was originally made as a skill based competitive PvP game, and this belief leads to some of the infighting between PvE and PvP. Yet I am confused on the notion of PvP superior over PvE in sense of what came/comes first as a priority, or what means the most to Arenanet. I checked the official website and have found a FAQ section about Guild Wars and there is a question asking "Is Guild Wars an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game)?, where it is answered in the first paragraph that is it like MMOs but different, and reading that first paragraph alone is has several references to PvE gameplay - quests, towns and outposts, forming parties and going questing, reference to the instances and this advantage over other MMOs in regards to loot stealing and a reference to queuing in order to complete a quest (thus not needing to). (link: http://www.guildwars.com/support/faq/prophecies-faq.php# )

In the third paragraph is states Arenanet prefer to call it a CORPG (Competitive Online Role-Playing Game) and this is where I think alot of confusion is taking place because of the way in which Guild War is presented by labeling itself as a CORPG. It states "Guild Wars was designed from the ground up to create the best possible competitive role-playing experience". Now the trend I'm seeing is that PvP gamers (sorry to generalize) are taking the Competitive section of that reference to an extreme, some almost to the point of the belief that Guild Wars was designed with more PvP in mind that PvE, even though in that same FAQ is it asked "What kind of game Guild wars is" and it refers to itself as a global online roleplaying game: in the following sentence referring to both PvE and PvP. What I get that from "designed from the ground up" reference was is in terms of the PvP experience - making it as competitive as possible - and do not take it in sense of superior/more importance than the other aspect of the game, as I'm sure Arenanet designed the PvE section to be the most fun, enjoyable and challenging environment for gamers of PvE .

Reading the FAQ I am under the impression Guild Wars/(Arenanet intended to) equally encompasses the two areas, both PvE and PvP - the player given equal choice where to play and provide the most enjoyable experience regardless, yet it seems many of the community see one favored over the other - in sense of original design of the game and current Arenanet attention. I feel a solid response from Arenanet would help tidy up the mixtures of preceptions because it seems the FAQ has people a little confused - or that people are simply not looking for answers and just mirroring what they see and hear from the community.

Thank you for your time and I would love to hear your (and Arenanet's) view point :) 203.173.242.13 00:36, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Guild Wars was created to be as flexible as possible, to allow players to play the game the way they want to play. ArenaNet does not intend to place more importance on the PvP aspect or the PvE. We want the game to be enjoyed by as many people as possible, whether they enjoy PvP or PvE or both. The various parts of the community have made the distinction that one aspect of the game is better or worse than others, and by extension this leads to stereotyping about those parts of the community that favor one aspect of the game over another. Having a game that is meant to appeal to a lot of people -- both PvP and PvE -- is a delicate balancing act. When there are game changes made, some player types may feel as if others are more favored. It's not the case, as designers want to make changes that are better for the game as a whole, and all different types of players are considered when making changes. --Regina Buenaobra 01:40, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

That sounds about right. One of the major differences between GW and other mmo's with PvP aspects is that this game was designed to support decent PvP in addition to being balanced for PvE. If you look at other games like (dare I menton it) WoW, there is a PvP aspect, but it is really the same sort of thing as the PvE, only with other players (no that is not the definition of good pvp!), and it just doesn't work very well. The fact that GW is balanced for good PvP means it is, by definition, more PvP centric than other mmo's, but that does not mean that it is "designed" for PvP. Thanks for the response Regina! Ashes Of Doom 02:27, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

I would have thought that simple fact of where the cash prizes are awarded and why they do skill rebalances should show everyone where Anet truely see as their most important part. After all, Anet have never designed anything to give a cash prize for any PvE players and to date there has not been (as far as I know) a skill rebalance because of issues that have came up in PvE --User: 9:13, 6 May 2008 (BST)

You have good points there, but you're wrong when saying that no skill balances have been done due to PvE. Many skills have been nerfed because they have been too good in certain farming tricks earlier. These PvE skill balances have gotten rare though, as evidenced by the late updates, that only concern GvG, and the game breaking PvE problems aren't fixed. Personally I feel that PvE and PvP were equal once, but nowdays PvE has been left to what ever state it is in. -- (gem / talk) 10:11, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

My bad, I did forget about the old 'we will stop you farming' skill balancing. One thing though, GvG is part of the PvP side of things. Yes, I do agree too, the 2 where equal at one point in the games life but it is true that PvP now and for some time has 'seemed' to have taken precedence in the developers' eyes. Lets be honest, excluding the addons that we had to pay for (except sorrows furnace) what additions have we got in PvE? Even the fact that at some point we would have a guild storage for the leader and officers to use in association with storing guild gold and items, has completely dissapeared. I guess the PvErs won't get anything now until the release of GW2. --User: 11:30, 6 May 2008 (BST)

Skill balance is something absurd in PvE, you don't have to equal sides, you have a side of Players with PvE skills and limited attributes and equipment, and in the other side NPCs with monster skills, unlimited attributes and limited AI. No way you can't balance that, no matter what people say. In PvE you can only add more content and limit certain things that are too extreme, and that's exactly what they do (Farming nerfs, more campigns, new content once in a while, like weapons or the Prophecies End-game). PvP is different, we have two sides with equal limitations, so that's something that can be balanced more accurately, the less variables, so balancing is hard because the large number or skills, attributes and equipment. You cannot favor one of them, because they are different, and the things that can be done in each mode are different. MithTalk 13:14, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

PvE skill balance is not something absurd. Something absurd is one skill, available to all professions, ruling every single area of the game. And that's just the worst example. There's lots to do regarding PvE skill balance, if you want to keep the game interesting. Even if fighting against AI enemies instead of people skill balance is important to keep the game challenging enough, but still beatable. The scale might be wider and more allowing, but it still doesn't allow everything. -- (gem / talk) 20:39, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Sorry to disagree again Regina! You said “designers want to make changes that are better for the game as a whole” but that simply is not why the skill changes are done! They are done because of PvP abuse of unforeseen skill synergies! A set of Skills is found by a player that work together in a way Izzy and Co just never anticipated. Thus giving rise to the GvG and HA ruling builds we see rising up in every tournament! And to break up those “gimmick builds” Izzy destroys their synergy by change of duration, dmg output ect. But the important fact is: the changes (in most cases) had NOTHING to do with how those skills performed in the PvE environment!! So IMO its rather pompous to say that changes are done with the whole GW experience in mind, since by reading the Dev Updates alone its proven that they are done due to one reason ONLY...PvP!!! Regards ~Garbaron~ 7th May 2008

When a game is created to appeal to as many different player styles as possible, it's impossible to please every single person all the time. --Regina Buenaobra 19:54, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Yeah sure it is. But its unfair to base “game changes“ aka “Balance Updates” on ONE side of the player base only (the PvP side), which was the case up until recently. And am very curious how Izzy is going to make balance updates that will “not affect PvE at all”! Regards ~Garbaron~; 8May 2008

It's not unfair when one of the two sides is not permanent and limited. They changed the Forgotten monks after a while of having buffed the Word of Healing. Why? Because the change make them too effective. Unlike PvP that is meant to have deaths in both sides, PvE is designed to make 'perfects' without a single death in the player side. That is possible and there is people that do so. In PvP you are meant to die once in a while, in PvE you are meant to kill all the time. In PvP fights are between parties of the same size, 4vs4, 6vs6, 8vs8... in PvE you may have to face less or more depending on the area, patrols and aggro. You may even have to face NPC parties of several times your party size in some quests. You usually never lose even during those. Why? Because they are made easy enough to make possible that. You can complete a HoM without a single death. But in PvP it's almost impossible to avoid deaths, because no mater how good you are, there is always someone better. So no matter the changes made in PvP, the impact in PvE is minimal. Only a lazy bu that refuses to change his gimmick build and refresh his playstyle would bother about that. No matter the changes made due to PvP, PvE will stay as easy, specially since the addition of PvE skills. (And even more with Ursan and consumables, XD) MithTalk 10:57, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Moving on...

...to the actual point of my post above. (I shouldn't have mentioned Ursan; I'm sorry, all that did was make you have to archive.) Can we get a comment or something about the bug issue I raised above? -- Armond Warblade 18:21, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Your question was whether the QA department had undergone any major changes that affects their ability to fix bugs? When I came on board, I believe Mike Zadorojny had just been appointed the team lead for the live game and QA departments. Andrew Patrick had also moved from PvP Community Coordinator to the QA department. So they have new leadership and an additional staff member, to my knowledge. --Regina Buenaobra 18:30, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

(double edit conflict!) As some people said before the discussion got out of control, its not that easy. As a coder myself, I know that when you create a piece of code to do something, you can test it over and over again, and fix all the bugs you find. The problem is, Anet cant afford to test everything thousands of times to catch every little glitch. They have to put it out on the servers if we ever want to get an update in a reasonable time frame, and as it is "tested" millions of times by the players, glitches do pop up. Anet seems to be doing a reasonable job of fixing them though. Ashes Of Doom 18:36, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Regina. -- Armond Warblade 18:41, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

They do the best they can. :-) They have a massive list of thousands of bugs, big and small, to fix in the game. Some of them are probably not that noticable, and are low priority. But yeah, as you noted (and as you seem to be aware from your own experiences), we have finite resources. There are only so many people on staff, and there are only so many hours in a workweek to devote to this, aside from other things that QA does. For example, we get them to take a look at the webpages before we push them live to make sure nothing's broken. --Regina Buenaobra 18:43, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Regardless of the finite resources Anet has, I'm disappointed in the way Anet has been fixing the AI bugs. First of all, they focus heavily on fixing bugs that affect PvE, no matter how minor those bugs actually are. For example the latest AI update for minion master heroes. A MM hero is one of the most effective AI builds in the game, and yet they focus on updating those skills. When I report major bugs that have a significant (negative) impact on the gameplay in Hero Battles (like how heroes focus on attacking pets instead of other targets), those bugs are simply ignored simply because they don't matter in PvE. When somebody posts a bug with a PvE only skill like Vampirism, it's fixed a week later. Bug with Spell Breaker and Obsidian Flesh? Fixed within a week. The complete lack of support ruined Hero Battles completely over the past year. It's a shame Anet introduced Hero Battles only to abandon it completely even though there were enough people that took the trouble to report bugs and discuss ways to repair the format. --Draikin 21:34, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

PAX 2008

Heya Regina, I have been wondering what Anet will be doing throughout the PAX in august? If i remember correctly Anet stated that they will release more info on GW2, that would be awesome and i was wondering whether the development on GW2 is still going according to schedule? Gaile Gray also mentioned that they are working on a GW2 trailer, could it be that Anet is planning to show this during PAX 2008?

Kind regards, ~a noob~

ArenaNet will have a booth at PAX. As with last year, there will be a party at Game Works. Regarding GW2 and PAX, that is under discussion. --Regina Buenaobra 19:04, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

GW Merchandise

Hello Regina. I don't know where else to ask this, so I figured I'd ask you. :) I have been looking at the GW Merchandise page (from the main www.guildwars.com website) for quite some time. I have actually wanted the Elementalist T-Shirt for quite awhile now. However, it seems I cannot purchase it because half of the items in the store are for North America only, and half are for Europe only. I find this to be a bit silly. Why not make it so people can buy from both? Also, I haven't seen too many things added to them since it was made and I had to really look for the merchandise section to find it. Is it not being advertised very well? (I do need a job if there is an opening here or in product design/selection). lol Please let me know what is going on with all this. Thank you in advance. Foxysheri 16:31, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Last year in the French box of Eye of the North, there was an additional advertising about some NCsoft and Guild Wars related marchandising to be sold on the PlayNC EU site. The t-shirts, posters, iPod and razer mouse currently on sale in the shop were shown, but there was also a preleminary mockup for a box containing an hand-painted dervish female statuette (you know, the one who is in all the major Nightfall advertising arts). On the mockup it said "Haind-Painted Limited Edition - Dervish - Guild Wars Nightfall". What happened to that? Jaxom 04:49, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

Plus, before GW:EN release, Gaile told us the Eye of the North Collector's Edition had been disgarded in favor of another marketing project. What's up with that? Has that "project" already been released (eg: the paintings sold on the US shop), completly dropped out or is yet to come? Jaxom 04:53, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

i asked Gaile if the items in the shop would be available to America and she said something to the effect of "there are no plans for that" i would love to see most of that stuff in the ingame store and just available for more then just euro. i think theres a lot of stuff they could make and sell like figureiens of monsters. some sort of customizable t-shirts i can see it now have it say these are my skills and then have a skill bar with skills you choose. and a lot of other stuff. (sorry for the spelling errors its late here and im getting too tired to fix them lol) 75.172.43.176 07:52, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

The reason that there are differences in what is available in North America and Europe have to do with merchandising agreements with marketing partners in different territories. You haven't seen some merchandise appear, though it's been previewed elsewhere, either because we decided not to implement those plans after all or becuase the plans have been put on hold. --Regina Buenaobra 19:14, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Possible legal issue.

Hello,

As mentioned here., I wanted to build a minigame. The following screen best describes the goal:

Now I have been talking to several people and most of them believe this does not infringe copyrights if: - I do not publish any of the icons myself. This allows people to make their own skills as well (xml based parser ), you could easily change this into WoW Chess if you'd like. - I release it free ( probably some GNU license ) and will not earn money from it.

AFAIK, the entire battle system ( the 10 profession names, skill names, etc ) are not copyrighted.

I would like some legal advice from A.Net themselves. Does the name "Guild Wars Chess" break any "rules" of some sort? If possible, could I get permission to distribute the icons within the application itself? This will increase the usability of the program, which is one of my key goals. The platform is Java 6.0, I will distribute it using Jars, for cross-platform compability.

For more information visit my talk page and leave a note. --Yanman.be 18:33, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The proffesion icons you are using there specifically are not anet property, they were created by LordBiro. As for the combination of the name and the profession names that probably does constitute a violation of copyright, but I will leave it for the experts to say for sure. --Lemming 18:43, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

You are right, I forgot, I picked those because they are GPL. --Yanman.be 18:56, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The skill icons however are the property of ArenaNet so they might be a problem. --Kakarot 18:53, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

::::I am willing to circumvent this problem by not releasing the skill icons within the same package. Instead, users will have to make their own game package.--Yanman.be 18:56, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

The icons however are available for download at the Guild Wars website, and are intended to be used by fans just like fansite kit images. It can go both ways, really... — Poki#3 19:12, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Gaile Gray said, back then, that using their "assets" to make a different game, is not something they can allow. --Yanman.be 19:29, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

I am willing to beat you need permission from ArenaNet, NCSoft or whoever owns the material and holds its copyright. Me and two of my friends started to make a fan film using 3d Studio Max using Guild Wars professions, effects etc, yet once we got about a minute of full rendering done we actually questioned the copyright issues (hey we should have done this first but we were very excited about the project at the time), looking into copyright on the net we discourage and scrapped the whole process. I was bummed but we didn't want to be going around asking Anet or NcSoft or whatever to use their stuff, we just wanted to make a cool video. Oh, I planned this awesome sequence with the Ele using Ride the Lightning, but hey. 203.173.242.13 20:13, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[reset indent] Names of things are not copyrights, they are trademarks. Using pictures created by A.Net is copyright infringment without some license. A.Net does give a limited license on their legal page for the use of their trademarks and copyrights for specific purposes. BUT, I can damn near guarantee they will not come out and say "we allow it" because then they lose power. They are either going to say "we think it's bad" or nothing at all. --Ravious 20:19, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Just a note about the the image you uploaded contains parts of the Windows Aero interface - Microsoft content. As i'm sure your're aware, MS content cannot be licenced under the GFDL. At the moment, the image is a copyvio. Please feel free to reupload the image, cropping out the MS content.

I think, as long as you state clearly that all the skill icon images are property of Arenanet, and that you are not going to make a profit from the game - it should be OK. Inevitabily - it's a question for the ANET legal department. -- Indochine talk 19:35, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Regina, have you read this yet?--Yanman.be 18:22, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't think she really needs to reply.. Gaile already answered your question here -- Indochine talk 15:58, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

I would like to know the consequences when I do continue with this project. --Yanman.be 10:05, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Your question has already been answered by Gaile Gray in the link that Indochine provided. The consequences of continuing with this project, after you have been told it's not allowed, would likely be legal action. --Regina Buenaobra 18:21, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Ok thank you for your reply. --Yanman.be 18:30, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, but a more specific question: Let's say I create my own icons, so that wouldn't infringe anything. Let's say I load the skills from a skills.xml, so my users have to make their own skills ( I avoid using the current skill names ), and that my different classes are also configurable by the users ( again, I avoid using GW's assets, you could be make Lineage2 chess if you want ), and I change the name to something more generic like: RPGChess. Is there anything illegal about that? All I provide is a framework which gamers could use to play some chess in their favourite game's setting. This is the same issue as writing web code for a site that hosts GW information. Let's say I use the profession names ( Assassin, Dervish,...., Warrior ). Are these property of A.Net ? What about the template system? I doubt Base64 encoding or counting the bits is something you can "own". Can I provide a basic skills.xml containing the names of the skills, together with modified rules ( seconds become turns etc ), without providing obvious copyrighted content ( skill icons, which I believe this is all about ). Basically one question: Please tell me what I certainly cannot distribute together with the rest of my code --Yanman.be 19:02, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

If you want the advice of a stranger from the internet, stop all contact with Anet concering your project, now. They just aren't in the business of helping you with your game (as fun as it seems), they are in the business of protecting their intellectual property. Ask other independent developers who have worked on "fan games" for advice on how to not break copyright laws. 85.23.121.158 17:06, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

I will not continue with this project. I have chosen another game to base it on instead, whose licensing permits more freedom. --Yanman.be 13:47, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

It has nothing to do with "freedom." It's their intellectual property and they're allowed to protect it. Kokuou 13:57, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Not an expert, but couldn't you use material under 'Fair Use'? 118.92.71.23 03:25, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't think making a game qualifies for Fair Use. Fair use is normally used for scholarship or review, which this game isn't. -- Indochine talk 17:52, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Well actually it was a university project. --Yanman.be 08:35, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Name Changes

I've said it in a few other places, and I'll say it here. Please if it's not too big of a burden add name change ability to GW. My warrior's name is really stupid. I realised it after I got a few titles, did factions, 1/3rd or 2/3rds of NF and a part of EotN. I'm sure this isn't only a problem for me, maybe many other people want their names changed. Ninjas In The Sky 20:44, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

You realize this has been suggested many times right? And that they said it's too much of a hassle? -- Mini Me 21:03, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Big hassle, along with changing hairstyles. Though I personally do not believe changing hairstyles is that bad. =/ Vael Victus 23:48, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Edit: I've just realized, I know why hairstyles are so bad. I'll bet you they save the code as one big... uh, codey thing for your character. So when you choose your face, that's it, because GW just displays your whole body, not piece-by-piece. So they'd have to change the code for everyone. Now they could just simply have a piece of code in the database that said "head is this selection", but that'd be an extra query for something that isn't that bad to deal with. GW2 will probably use the latter system of course. Vael Victus 23:51, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Well I want to see what Regina will say. I know, ofc, it's a big hassle :P I just need the reason why not and if yes-when would we expect it? Ninjas In The Sky 13:26, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

U there, miss Brinstar (that was ur nickname right?) Ninjas In The Sky 18:14, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

She can't spend every second online checking wiki. It's part iof her job, but not the most important part. She will answer when and if she chooses to. The devs have said in the past that this is something that is all but impossible to do, and there is very little chance of it happening. I doubt there is any change to that policy. Wait a few days and come back to see if Regina has replied, don't expect an instant response. Ashes Of Doom 18:35, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Ok so that might be bad news. I'll have to stay with I Want Spec Weekend FOREVER until GW2 comes out. Ninjas In The Sky 19:05, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

I know that many many people would like the option to change their name, but at the moment the game does not support requests for character name changes. Right now there are no plans to build that fuctionality in, but it's not something that's not completely out of the question. What I can do at this point is add another voice to the group of folks who want to see this feature enabled in GW1, and also put in for serious consideration in GW2. --Regina Buenaobra 20:21, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Add me too. One of my characters was named Asura before the Asure were added. Imagine my embarrassment after hearing the name... I'd rather got them called 'chupacabras' or something like that... grnft... MithTalk 20:35, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Regina are you being crafty with double negatives? see "...it's not something that's not completely out of the question...". -- Salome 20:40, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

To clarify, it's theoretically possible to do it, but they do not have the required resources to implement this, and they are focusing their resources elsewhere. --Regina Buenaobra 20:09, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

it seams like something that should be possible with how there are bans that force you to change your name. there is also lots and lots of support on the guru i think they have about a 5-6 page thread about it. my thought about it is to add this and a hairstylists as a pack that can be bought in the ingame store for like $9.99, just so its another way for you guys to get money and its a way for a highly demanded thing gets added to the game.75.165.97.72 20:58, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Except that you lose all customized armour and weapons when they force you to change your name. -- Salome 21:56, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

I think that it would be a good idea if ArenaNet put limits on how many times you could change a character's name. Maybe if you were only allowed 2 or 3 name changes until a great amount of time has gone by and the permissions are reset.Blackie ewilson92 22:53, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

@salome they could just change customized weapons to dedicated we know they can do that.75.165.97.72 23:52, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Apart from the fact that it would mess with the economy completly if they did that as armour would then become sellable. People would be running about trying to flog obsidian armour in outposts due to it only being dedicated rather than customized. -- Salome 08:32, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Not even account customization could work in this case. Since characters of the same profession could use the armors of another. MithTalk 10:33, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Ok I'm happy since the news are neutral, not negative. I'd rly appreciate the name change if there is one. I just want to ask how could you change the names of pieces of SHEET that know what they are doing when they name their chars "A Nal Probe" but not change it for good-willed players? Oh well let's not get angry. I hope this gets considered more upon. For now, bb, I'm off to Guild Wars. Ninjas In The Sky 13:11, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm watching the page until miss Buenaobra or anyone from the ANet staff says a clear Yes or No. Ninjas In The Sky 15:28, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

This is about as clear an answer as you will get: it's theoretically possible to do it, but they currently do not have the required resources to implement this as they are focusing those resources elsewhere. --Regina Buenaobra 01:46, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh wait, is there any way an ANet staff member could change the names of only the ppl who want to do it? Not adding as an option to all of GW, but just doing it when they're asked? Ninjas In The Sky 13:52, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

OMG insane investment of time much? what part of no are you missing? -- Salome 01:22, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

So many names are taken already ._.; I say if you're going to make a PvE character... put thought into it! after all... it's one you wanna have for a long time =]!

Logitech G15 Keyboard

I have to say, I was surprised to see the Logitech G15 keyboard as a third prize for the 3rd Anniversary contest. The whole gimmick of the G15 is the LCD screen, and I find it odd that it would be offered as a prize when Guild Wars does not support it officially. I mean a 3rd party plug-in can be downloaded, but we all know the risks of that. Being an owner of a G15, I’d like to see support for the LCD panel in Guild Wars. I’ve long since given up hope of that, but with the current giveaway prizes I’m somewhat inclined to believe something may be up. That said, I was wondering if you could find out if support for the G15 LCD panel is being looked into. Thanks in advance. Dunyas 00:00, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Well, the G-Keys can be a huge help with the paricularly limited keybinding system we've got, and allow for in-game recording; could be really useful for someone who wants more keys near their hand but dosn't want to mess with something like AutoHotKey to give them some extra ctrl/alt combinations . . . . IMO, the LCD is for showing your media player info, which the Logitech software does fine. I can't think of anything for the game that I could put on a seperate screen that would be more useful than the information I have onscreen already. I just hope it's one of the older G-15's with the better screen, and more importantly, three times as many buttons ... :D --Star Weaver 19:37, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

That’s true about the G keys, but why the G15 then? Logitech released the G11 which is the original G15, minus the LCD. It’s the G15 v2 which has less G keys. The original G15 has 18 g keys with 3 possible macros to each. So does the G11. But the G15 v2 only has 6 G keys with 3 possible macros. That is the main reason I think that offering the G15 as a prize is odd. Guild Wars doesn’t officially work with the LCD, but you would expect it to if you get it from a Guild Wars official contest. Like you said, any info you put on the LCD can probably be just as easily put on the screen. I personally use the screen to keep track of normal system things. I have it showing my e-mails, CPU and memory usage, speaker volume, network usage, what winamp is currently playing. Hell, I even have it showing system temps and fan speeds. I do have a 3rd party applet that gives LCD support to Guild Wars. Honestly I barely use it. But sometimes it’s nice to have it. It basically shows the normal stuff, like HP, EP, Exp. to next level and so on. But 2 things it shows that are pretty nice are skill points earned by leveling (i.e. Virtual Level) and total gold for character. I’ve found the total gold very useful in trading as I know exactly how much I have in the bank without having to check it. The problem with a 3rd party applet is support. If something changes, the applet needs to be updated. --Dunyas 00:12, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

System Requirements

Hello there! First of all, a warm welcome to Regina (though it may be a tad late, hehe) as the new Community Manager.

No then, here's my question. I've been searching as well as I know how on various fan sites, and there's a question I can't seem to find being asked yet. Or if it is, perhaps I'm just looking in the wrong way. Anywho. With beta supposedly starting in the 'second half of 2008', I assume the game is coming close to having some sort of structure to it. Now, in order to play it, I was wondering if the team over at ANet have any ideas on what kind of system requirements will be needed? Just so those of us with less than perfect computers (hehe, like me!) have some time to plan for upgrades and such. Anyone know anything? Would you be ever so kind as to direct me to a site if you've found it? Or Regina, do you know anything about it?

Well than, that's about it for me. I apologize if my question seems like a bit of a nuisance.

With Warmth and Best Regards, Mazer Mezar

We have not determined specific system requirements as yet, but we are committed to making the game as accessible to as many players as we are able. --Regina Buenaobra 16:32, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Update

Can you please just tell us what the update was?--Yankeefan984 20:23, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Obviously not. — Skakid 20:32, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Apparently, since the update was not listed in details. It can be deduced that the fix was of a sensitive nature, and that it would or could possibly be harmful if leaked. Might not even be applicable to players, we don't NEED to know, we WANT to know. Drago 20:43, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

We can't give any details due to security issues. The exploit was fixed, and the offending accounts that were involved in this have been banned. --Regina Buenaobra

Well said Drago. — ク Eloc 貢 01:44, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Two possible reasons they won't say anything 1) nothing really major happened just a few hacks doing stuff they're not supposed to that in the end doesn't effect the game, or 2) By disclosing what happen Arenanet looks bad and loses creditable when it comes to keep your personal user information safe.

Either or don't expect an answer beyond what has already been said. 118.92.121.119 04:39, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Hacked Accounts

So I imagine people have noticed the last few days/weeks on guru an increasing number of people getting their accounts hacked. Especially in the last couple days, where they have been MANY account hacks, and no apparent reason why. Firstly, Support said they would do NOTHING about it, so I figured I would find out what the official stance on this issue is. It doesn't seem to be a few isolated incidents, it seems to be getting worse, with more and more threads being posted. What is happening, what is being done? --Fenix 02:40, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

It's ANet, don't expect a direct answer, or an answer at all. 100 dollars say someone from ANet says everyone who got hacked must have a keylogger/shared their password, no matter how many people are saying they've been hacked. Usually I'd say that too, but every day at least 3 more people say they've been hacked. I think it's a little more than individual account security.--Arkantos

Maybe someone piggybacked to the servers and get user information. <insert bad b grade movie idea here> lol Who knows whats going on at the moment, just when "security issues" are cited I almost feel like not playing. 118.92.121.119 04:27, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps these have something to do with the bug fix that ANet doesn't want to talk about (see above). -- Broodling 06:06, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Pretty sure that was something like duping, but related to the new Zaishen title. Either way, Anet need to deal with this hacking issue, it's getting out of hand.--Fenix 06:56, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

You can't just steal an account. The account thefts are all from shared passwords, guessed passwords or keyloggers. Perhaps the said exploit in the updates had somethint to do with it, although I highly doubt this. Again, you can't just hack accounts and there is no magical tool that displays someone's password. To retrieve someone's account information you'd most probaly have to get access to the login server and retrieve it from there. I can't imagine someone just walking up to the server room, pulling the harddisk out and read the data out. The moral of this story: Don't share your password, even not with your family. Take a password using both letters and numbers. Don't install unknown third party tools. SniperFox 09:41, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Multiple people a day are reporting stolen accounts. On guru there would usually be less than 1 a week, now there's at least 3 a day. What are the chances of that?--Arkantos

Yeah, Arky called that bullshit from ages away. What's the timeline here? Plenty of people open threads claiming their account was hacked (and those threads aren't common), then ANet mysteriously patches a security breach so severe they won't even give the most vague details. Coincidence? Highly unlikely. -Auron 09:58, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Please see my post on Guru regarding this "hacking." People just /fail at internet security and are naive when it comes to internet anonymity. That is all. LordSojar 19:16, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Usually I'd agree with you, but when multiple people a day are reporting their accounts being stolen, it's more than idiots with bad account security. It's clearly more than a coincidence.--Arkantos

Or, it could mean someone sent out a fresh wave of fishing emails/keylogger links. Causation is a tricky thing. (Aiiane - talk - contribs) 21:24, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

To the uninformed, it is perfectly possible though with a level of difficulty to access sensitive information via server networks such as those used be Arenanet's Guild Wars. A modest hacker will simply use keyloggers etc to get information, a more popular target will be Guild Websites and use private emails to obtain passwords this way. Any computer that is accessible via the net is vulnerable, its just the common PC and MAC are more ... well common than the servers and generally have little to no viable security, any security software that comes with a computer can not be considered a viable defence, and most 'free' software isn't that much better - and is generally heavily used by the public, as a cracked versions of software which generally have many security holes open to knowledgable hackers. Even the store brought rather expensive programs are vulnerable as there are many many copies out there in the hands of people trying to broken through such lines of defenses. 118.92.121.119 22:22, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

I just saw a phishing mail sent to wow users, claiming that they can get a spot in a closed beta by "confirming their account details" with a web form. Guess what happens when you fill it... Yeah. Maybe there's something similiar being sent to some GW users, thus causing a massive amount of "hacks". Or it could be a coincidence. Or there is some weird way to hack the servers or something. -- (gem / talk) 05:36, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

I think one thing to take note, is that several users who have excellent internet security have also been hacked. Clearly this isn't a "lol get anti virus and stop downloading keyloggers" hack. Gaile mentioned (iirc) that some guy was actually hacking accounts recently, with 2 PCs for some reason or another. If someone could fill me in on that that'd be cool, I'm not aware of her post. All things aside, it could be a flaw with the client, in which you can intercept packets of account information. I mean, look at Anet's track record with exploits... duping, adding a "Visit Guild Hall" button to Pre-Sear, the hidden Mallyx zone, the list goes on. I have no doubt that there is something more than simple mistakes in internet security going on here. I also imagine that the update could have something to do with an exploit that was fixed, or wasn't fixed properly hence the lack of information (while they work on fixing it properly, and monitor people who abuse it). --Fenix 13:56, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

The increase in threads doesn't necessarily mean that there's an increase in hacked accounts, it could just mean that there are more people posting. For example, the hacking incident of a couple weeks ago affected less than 20 accounts worldwide, but there were half a dozen posts about it in the forums, leading people to believe that it was more widespread.

If you suspect that your account has been hacked, please go through the support ticket system. They'll be able to gather data and cross reference it with other incidents to see if they are indeed linked. The last thing you should do is to take no action based on hearsay. --Regina Buenaobra 17:44, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

IP 118.92.121.119 is right. There are many ways to get your password. Honestly, if people think a lot of Guild Wars Guru users think their accounts are being hacked, it may be because of Guild Wars Guru. Like 119 said, attacking a server can be a bit more difficult than a home PC. But some servers are easier than others. The Guild Wars servers are probably under constant siege. A normal end user would be kept blind of that because they probably have a great staff protecting the server. Guru on the other hand is a fan site. It’s very possible that someone hacked Guru and got the list of the information for the forum users. This would be much easier than hacking the Guild Wars servers. That information would include the forum user’s email and a password. The fact that most people recycle their password makes it likely that those email and password combinations would work for Guild Wars as well. That is why you shouldn’t reuse the same password over and over. Honestly, if I was a gold seller looking for a large amount of accounts, this is what I would do. Key loggers and guessing really isn’t productive. Sure not every combination I would get would work, but I’d get a hell of a lot more than sending out a phishing scam. So if you don’t want your Guild Wars account to be stolen, use a secret, complex, and unique password for your Guild Wars account. Dunyas 19:45, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Guru, the Wiki and individual Guild websites would be plump targets to any hacker worth half their weight. Third party programs are less viable of an option these days, its generally via email. You've got to remember most systems around the world are Windows based either using XP or Vista and aren't known to be very secure. Complex passwords are one thing but not necessarily one of the best options, changing the password regularly is a good idea but may not be so easy to do via services such as Guild Wars. I constantly change my ISP login password, since most ISPs around the world also link the email password of the primary user to the ISP service password. There are so many ways of getting your information and most people don't understand this, just visiting a site can give away more than you think. Oh, and on that note, please click on this link You know you want to click it, but do you really want to risk it? ;) I jest, of course... or do I? hehehehehe :P 118.92.95.183 21:08, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Ever sinbce Tuesday I have been unable to connect with GW (same day as update). I dunno whats going on and based on what I've read this isn't a international problem (I was assuming the servers are down for the next big update with the pvp and pve skill balancing). I don't think it was a hack (well startin to wonder since it's been a week). Maybe an unintended bug? I have tried various methods but so far I still cannot connect to the playing server. Help!

hello im sure people have already said they would like to change teir passwords and they would have to change it at the website and for that buy the game in the (in-game store) they get the chance to change it in the game i think we should be able to change our passwords if we didnt buy the game (in the in-game store) and one way we should do it we log in with regular password and then go to the change password thing and enter old password then under it type the new password we pick then it kicks ur from ur account then u have to log in with the new password and its done simple and easy.--Gar the tank 19:32, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

Since you already revived this topic, I'll reply. Your suggestion makes no sense.

For one, if you didn't buy the game, you don't have an account, and therefore don't have a password to chance. If it's a trial account then you have nothing to lose. And if someone hacks your account, they already have your password. Adding an in-game option in the way you described it is basically giving "hackers" an option to change the password and just seize control of the account (The owner will find out, but after a longer period of time then "normally".) They way it's not, the "hacker" will also have to hack your PlayNC account (and you should have different passwords for them, and none of them should be used anywhere else). He might also have to hack your e-mail account, though I'm not sure if an e-mail is sent upon password change requests.

Bottom line: you have to thing things through from various angels before posting. — Poki#3 23:50, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

i bought the game outside of the in game store and there for we should have ways of changing through email or in game so u dont have to go in the plaync website and then sometime the hackers even get those accounts and then the can change the password anytime they want so u should have a way to change it in the game or through ur email.--Gar the tank 21:29, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

So then instead of finding out the password to 2-3 accounts, he would just have to find out your e-mail account password, and we would be able to do what he wants. Yes, make it even easier on them. ArenaNet is a subsidiary of NCsoft. In short: AN makes the game, and NC provides technical backup and support. That's why you have to go to a different website. You can still change your password at any time, and the in game store that you're talking about has nothing to do with changing passwords. — Poki#3 22:03, 29 May 2008 (UTC)