Guild Wars 2

Dear ANet, would you please consider a set of Off Button Options to let us immerse ourselves in the game world alleviating some of the constant reminders of the interface between us and the virtual environment.

1. TURN BLACK ART SCREEN FRAME OFF. It’s like someone took a Sharpie and doodled around the edges of my monitor. Visually, it reads like some funky Hipstamatic picture frame limiting my experience. I don’t want you guys to get rid of it (I’m sure many like it), but please let folks turn it off if they so desire.

2. TURN NPC GREEN HIGHLIGHTING OFF. Really? Seriously? Every time I walk past an NPC, do they really need to highlight? Annoying to the Nth degree.

3. TURN EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS GRAPHICS OFF. Does an announcement really need to flash directly in the middle of the screen every time I wander into an event area? AAAARGH! Bugs the bejeezus out of me. Not that the Dynamic Events bug me, they don’t… it’s kinda brilliant.

4. TURN EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS AUDIO OFF. Same goes for the audio announcement. Drives me batty. I really just want to wander the world in peace and pick my fights. A little announcement in the mission log on the side of the screen would be nice as an alternative.

5. TURN NEW MISSION AUDIO OFF. Again, same goes for wandering into a new Heart zone. The repeating DING! I can do without.

6. USE OLD SCHOOL HEALTH BAR. Would you please let me toggle an old-school health bar or something less intrusive than the HAL9000 Red Eye of Death plopped right in the center of the picture plane? Your graphic artists should know that peripheral vision is more sensitive than centered vision. Sometimes it’s all I see. I’m getting old and something like that is like dangling keys in front of a baby. A big baby (me).

7. UN-DOCK CHAT WINDOW + UN-DOCK MINI-MAP. These should be no-brainer additions. That there’s only an option to flip them from bottom to top and vice-versa and both options being locked to the edge of the screen is frustrating. Visually, if you move the windows in a bit and can see the environment moving at the edges of the screen, it helps the mind move into the world instead of framing it. Trust me on this. I have a two degrees in Art and taught college painting and drawing. I know what I’m talking about (and as an artst myself, may I say “Wow, thanks for the stunning world!”). ;-)

8. LET ME DIE OPTION. Is there a way to just let me die instead of going into Fight to Survive? Please, I beg of you. Or at least add a “Resurrect Now” 5th skill. Or maybe have a DON’T ZOOM FIGHT TO SURVIVE leaving the camera in place.

9. TURN MAIN MAP ZOOM OFF. Why the zooming whoosh into the main map? It’s a pretty animation, but why not give us the option of simply letting it pop up as a resizable window?

That’s it for now. I love what you’ve got here, it’s a great start. I’ll say this again, I’m not asking for changes, I’m asking for ways to tailor the gaming experience in a more personal way.

Cheers!

While I would like to agree with you, I can’t help but want to tune you out after you throw out this “ADHD” nonsense.

It’s like saying people are “schizophrenic” for having a lot of alts. The disease has nothing to do with what you’re trying to describe. :/

Ceallach.8740:

While I would like to agree with you, I can’t help but want to tune you out after you throw out this “ADHD” nonsense.

It’s like saying people are “schizophrenic” for having a lot of alts. The disease has nothing to do with what you’re trying to describe. :/

Yeah, OK. I’ll throw that out. Sorry, out of coffee this morning. ;-)

I agree with most of it otherwise. :P

Turning notifications off is something that won’t impact anyone else, after all.

The health circle feels pretty gigantic, although I’m not sure how to “fix” it. Maybe flatten it out on top of the action bars and have it move side to side, keeping the dodge as smaller bars on top. It would be an optional change and wouldn’t give any advantage, either – just picking what you like.

They seem to want to control the player experience to a high degree, and I don’t think there’s a problem with that – however, for ideas where it’s not changing the game, adding or removing things, or giving an advantage – I think it should be considered. Moving your map isn’t going to make you miss out on more of the world, it’ll just be the same map in a different place, for instance.

Ceallach.8740:

I agree with most of it otherwise. :P

Turning notifications off is something that won’t impact anyone else, after all.

The health circle feels pretty gigantic, although I’m not sure how to “fix” it. Maybe flatten it out on top of the action bars and have it move side to side, keeping the dodge as smaller bars on top. It would be an optional change and wouldn’t give any advantage, either – just picking what you like.

They seem to want to control the player experience to a high degree, and I don’t think there’s a problem with that – however, for ideas where it’s not changing the game, adding or removing things, or giving an advantage – I think it should be considered. Moving your map isn’t going to make you miss out on more of the world, it’ll just be the same map in a different place, for instance.

For me, the visual experience is one of the most important parts of playing a game like this. Total escapism. So, little things like maps away from the edges would help me get completely into it. Plus, being able to customize the experience to an individual’s default is where the modern MMO should be going (at least I think so). I’m all too sure that many of my suggestions are in the works. Leave them all in the game, but let me have a way to turn them off and move the elements around.

Thanks for the conversation Ceallach, I appreciate it.

TheOuroborus.6387:

Dear ANet, would you please consider a set of Off Button Options to let us immerse ourselves in the game world alleviating some of the constant reminders of the interface between us and the virtual environment.

1. TURN BLACK ART SCREEN FRAME OFF. It’s like someone took a Sharpie and doodled around the edges of my monitor. Visually, it reads like some funky Hipstamatic picture frame limiting my experience. I don’t want you guys to get rid of it (I’m sure many like it), but please let folks turn it off if they so desire.

2. TURN NPC GREEN HIGHLIGHTING OFF. Really? Seriously? Every time I walk past an NPC, do they really need to highlight? Annoying to the Nth degree.

3. TURN EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS GRAPHICS OFF. Does an announcement really need to flash directly in the middle of the screen every time I wander into an event area? AAAARGH! Bugs the bejeezus out of me. Not that the Dynamic Events bug me, they don’t… it’s kinda brilliant.

4. TURN EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS AUDIO OFF. Same goes for the audio announcement. Drives me batty. I really just want to wander the world in peace and pick my fights. A little announcement in the mission log on the side of the screen would be nice as an alternative.

5. TURN NEW MISSION AUDIO OFF. Again, same goes for wandering into a new Heart zone. The repeating DING! I can do without.

6. USE OLD SCHOOL HEALTH BAR. Would you please let me toggle an old-school health bar or something less intrusive than the HAL9000 Red Eye of Death plopped right in the center of the picture plane? Your graphic artists should know that peripheral vision is more sensitive than centered vision. Sometimes it’s all I see. I’m getting old and something like that is like dangling keys in front of a baby. A big baby (me).

7. UN-DOCK CHAT WINDOW + UN-DOCK MINI-MAP. These should be no-brainer additions. That there’s only an option to flip them from bottom to top and vice-versa and both options being locked to the edge of the screen is frustrating. Visually, if you move the windows in a bit and can see the environment moving at the edges of the screen, it helps the mind move into the world instead of framing it. Trust me on this. I have a two degrees in Art and taught college painting and drawing. I know what I’m talking about (and as an artst myself, may I say “Wow, thanks for the stunning world!”). ;-)

8. LET ME DIE OPTION. Is there a way to just let me die instead of going into Fight to Survive? Please, I beg of you. Or at least add a “Resurrect Now” 5th skill. Or maybe have a DON’T ZOOM FIGHT TO SURVIVE leaving the camera in place.

9. TURN MAIN MAP ZOOM OFF. Why the zooming whoosh into the main map? It’s a pretty animation, but why not give us the option of simply letting it pop up as a resizable window?

That’s it for now. I love what you’ve got here, it’s a great start. I’ll say this again, I’m not asking for changes, I’m asking for ways to tailor the gaming experience in a more personal way.

Cheers!

10. TURN OFF WATER DROPLETS. This one should be easy enough. Besides, droplets on a camera lens aren’t quite within the time period of GW2. As before, it makes a player very aware that he/she is sitting at a monitor and not within the realm of the game world. Am I an observer or a player?

11. TURN OFF HEALTH WARNING RED FRAME. Or maybe have three settings for this. Mild Warning – Medium Warning – Red Alert. That sudden visual jolt of red flashing and thumping frame every time my avatar gets the mildest of hits… well, I should be able to turn that off.

Thank you ANet for listening (I hope).