I mean that in 2 ways: do you think this forum is going to be updated with avatars and such stuff, and is the community going to become more… constructive?
I apologise if this isn’t the right place to post this.
Maybe and no. If you look around at official game forums, this is pretty much the bog standard. No idea if they have anything planned to upgrade the forum itself (but it could use an update).
I hope so. This forum desperately needs basic functions like an ignore feature and more than 100 PMs at a time.
Ignore feature would go a long way, proper subscription to threads – going all way out I would love an armory – looking at my characters and such.
As for the community, the GW2 community has a lot of room to improve honestly, I hope with time they will become more accepting of others.
Meh, it’s not the worst out there by a long stretch, we have to keep in mind that it’s our own responsibility. Give people the benefit of the doubt and keep in mind that the written word doesn’t always translate everything you might want to say.
(Don’t mean you personally Aeonblade, just wanted to build upon what you had said.)
“Whose Kitten is this?” – “It’s a Charr baby.”
“Whose Charr is this?”- “Ted’s.”
“Who’s Ted?”- “Ted’s dead, baby. Ted’s dead.”
A functioning ignore list would go a long way to making this a better place. That way arrogant and divisive members could be ignored, rather than dominating a good number of threads and making them about individuals as opposed to constructive feedback.
“A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.” -Jewish Proverb
All mmo forums are a hive of scum and villainy, I’ve played like 10 of them, always the same. The Fallen Earth one was probably the best, which if I remember correctly was one of the smaller games I played.
Just like any situation, the more people involved the lower the collective iq :p
The forums will get better when the game gets better
The forums will NOT get better if/when the game gets better. No MMO forum ever does. That’s because one man’s better is another man’s worse.
Guildwarsguru was decent for years. I think the biggest complaints the forum would regularly get after a certain point where why arent there enough ways for us to spend our rl money on the game.
The game is fairly good, and a lot better than others out there. Yet still the forums are filled with the same grudge-match mentality as any other game. People are anonymous and feel free to spew. Sad.
All mmo forums are a hive of scum and villainy, I’ve played like 10 of them, always the same. The Fallen Earth one was probably the best, which if I remember correctly was one of the smaller games I played.
Just like any situation, the more people involved the lower the collective iq :p
I dunno about that. Any sub based game that requires you to have a sub to access the forums is usually better. (WoW obviously bucks against that, the games forums are bad.)
For instance, before Rift went F2P, those were easily the best and most constructive MMO forums I ever had the pleasure of using. So much optimism and so little flaming and whining. Even now the forums there have way less whining than most other games, but the F2P move has increased the whining exponentially of course.
A lot of people must of been waiting to try it because last night I had a 15 minute queue to get on haha. The forums of course will get worse now, because we have the freeloader hipster MMO crowd to deal with now. The good thing is the way their cash shop is set up makes me feel so much better about the way the game is headed. Very well thought out.
Back on topic: I think some MMO forums really do have constructive communities, and there is no reason GW2 cannot be one of them if we make an effort to do so.
Anarai Aeonblade [GASM] – Guardian – DB
RIP my fair Engi and Ranger, you will be missed.
All mmo forums are a hive of scum and villainy, I’ve played like 10 of them, always the same. The Fallen Earth one was probably the best, which if I remember correctly was one of the smaller games I played.
Just like any situation, the more people involved the lower the collective iq :p
I dunno about that. Any sub based game that requires you to have a sub to access the forums is usually better. (WoW obviously bucks against that, the games forums are bad.)
For instance, before Rift went F2P, those were easily the best and most constructive MMO forums I ever had the pleasure of using. So much optimism and so little flaming and whining. Even now the forums there have way less whining than most other games, but the F2P move has increased the whining exponentially of course.
A lot of people must of been waiting to try it because last night I had a 15 minute queue to get on haha. The forums of course will get worse now, because we have the freeloader hipster MMO crowd to deal with now. The good thing is the way their cash shop is set up makes me feel so much better about the way the game is headed. Very well thought out.
Back on topic: I think some MMO forums really do have constructive communities, and there is no reason GW2 cannot be one of them if we make an effort to do so.
It’s good because it’s low pop, not because you need a sub – people with money aren’t inherently less annoying than people without, and they don’t behave better if their account is at risk (because they have the money to replace it). Either way GW2 community is nice because the game doesn’t foster drama. (also anet will ban you very quickly if reported for being an arse)
I don’t log into GW2 and have people stealing my godkitten ore for example. If I want pvp I can get it, If I don’t I can avoid it. No loot stealing, no long waits for tanks etc. GW2 is a more relaxing game than many so I think it is reflected in the community.
But yeah my first statement was quite hyperbolic XD
—-
Also gwguru is not an official forum, forums are only frequented by a small fraction of the total players of any mmo, and unofficial forums are even smaller.
The first one… we don’t know. I do remember the forums used to have a darkened image next to your profile where some people speculated an avatar might be placed (picked from your own characters, maybe?).
And about the community, for all the negativity you see on forums sometimes, this one is still a LOT better than most other MMO forums I’ve been active on. Heck, you should have seen the Age of Conan one… and by reading the WoW ones (at least few years ago) you’d get the impression that everyone left in disgust and nobody is playing anymore…
It’s a pile of Elonian protection magic, mixed with a little monk training,
wrapped up in some crazy ritualist hoo-ha from Cantha.
A real grab bag of ‘you can’t hurt me. They’re called Guardians.
The forums will get better when the game gets better
The forums will NOT get better if/when the game gets better. No MMO forum ever does. That’s because one man’s better is another man’s worse.
Guildwarsguru was decent for years. I think the biggest complaints the forum would regularly get after a certain point where why arent there enough ways for us to spend our rl money on the game.
whiteknightgw2fanboyvayne -0
me -1
ohboy.jpg
Guild Wars Guru wasn’t an “official” forum. It was a fan run forum with some of the strictest moderation I’d ever encountered. Lots of people walked from guru because of the moderation style.
One thing they could do to make this forum better is to put in a new search function. The best way to search these forums at the moment is to use google and type “guild wars 2 forum whatever you are looking for here” This is why I never tell someone to use the search function here. In my opinion right now it just takes up space in the upper right corner. Hello Anet, 1995 called and they want their search function back. :P
On your 1st point, its possible, Anet seem to always be looking to ‘improve’, try new stuff…
On the 2nd point, the forum won’t get more constructive, forums are a place where all the people with a problem/negative outlook go by and large. Also, the longer any game is out, players take current content for granted or get bored of it or get burned out with the entire game, so adopt a more negative attitude…just the way it is.
GW2 forums overall, aren’t too negative considering the games been out nearly a year…I know loads of other forums that are, ‘dripping in hatred’. Also the amount of hatred seems to relate to how big the games developer is, small/indie companies tend to have little to no negativity, well Blizzard gets huge heaps of hate. Anets medium to small, hence the not too negatve forums…
For instance, before Rift went F2P, those were easily the best and most constructive MMO forums I ever had the pleasure of using. So much optimism and so little flaming and whining. Even now the forums there have way less whining than most other games, but the F2P move has increased the whining exponentially of course.
Hmm, Rift forums must have improved dramatically after the drop-off when the intial 6 month subs dropped off. Before that I recollect massive flame wars over things like raid v. casual, dungeon efficiency v. play-what-you-want, critic v. fan and various entitlement issues. There was even a poster whose writing style and preferences remind me a lot of Vayne, except he was anti-Rift. Many threads there devolved into people arguing with him for pages on end.
To be honest, the GW2 forums have been pretty civil until recently. However, as the game progresses and ANet does not address some posters’ dissatisfaction, those posters seem to be getting more negative and more strident. Of course, the reaction to these posters can also get a touch over-the-top also.
Removing general discussion would prob help. Then all the unconstructive stuff wouldnt be concentrated in one area and make the community look worse than it actually is.
Some great discussion in the helping players, community and lore subforums for eg.
For instance, before Rift went F2P, those were easily the best and most constructive MMO forums I ever had the pleasure of using. So much optimism and so little flaming and whining. Even now the forums there have way less whining than most other games, but the F2P move has increased the whining exponentially of course.
Hmm, Rift forums must have improved dramatically after the drop-off when the intial 6 month subs dropped off. Before that I recollect massive flame wars over things like raid v. casual, dungeon efficiency v. play-what-you-want, critic v. fan and various entitlement issues. There was even a poster whose writing style and preferences remind me a lot of Vayne, except he was anti-Rift. Many threads there devolved into people arguing with him for pages on end.
To be honest, the GW2 forums have been pretty civil until recently. However, as the game progresses and ANet does not address some posters’ dissatisfaction, those posters seem to be getting more negative and more strident. Of course, the reaction to these posters can also get a touch over-the-top also.
They did. I played Beta but didn’t purchase the game until about the 6 month mark after release, by the time I had started playing Rift most of the content was fixed/balanced, they were rolling out monthly content patches (with lots of content and it was permanent most of the time) and the forums only had people who enjoyed the game really posting there.
From what I have gleaned from others, Rift just had a bad launch, like many many MMO’s before it. The game is really one the best out there these days.
Subs do make a difference. No one wants to pay $15 a month to whine on the forums. No one that I know anyway :P
EDIT: Oh and the Devs actually respond on the Rift forums with more than a copy pasted response or just something snarky to meaningful thread. They would listen to the ideas that the community upvoted and liked, and tried their best to make this happen in game. It is truly a change from other MMO’s where Devs hardly ever respond, and Trion really spoiled me on this.
Anarai Aeonblade [GASM] – Guardian – DB
RIP my fair Engi and Ranger, you will be missed.
City of Heroes had one of the best forums I ever went to. The devs and moderators communicated often with the fanbase, which is apparently really rare among official forums. Due to the community (it was about a superhero MMO, after all), everyone was more mature about conversation, and even if views clashed, at least argued without throwing backhanded insults everywhere.
I do wish we had avatars though to put under our names.
For instance, before Rift went F2P, those were easily the best and most constructive MMO forums I ever had the pleasure of using. So much optimism and so little flaming and whining. Even now the forums there have way less whining than most other games, but the F2P move has increased the whining exponentially of course.
Hmm, Rift forums must have improved dramatically after the drop-off when the intial 6 month subs dropped off. Before that I recollect massive flame wars over things like raid v. casual, dungeon efficiency v. play-what-you-want, critic v. fan and various entitlement issues. There was even a poster whose writing style and preferences remind me a lot of Vayne, except he was anti-Rift. Many threads there devolved into people arguing with him for pages on end.
To be honest, the GW2 forums have been pretty civil until recently. However, as the game progresses and ANet does not address some posters’ dissatisfaction, those posters seem to be getting more negative and more strident. Of course, the reaction to these posters can also get a touch over-the-top also.
Ironically, I was the guy on the Rift forum complaining the way that I do here, and that other guy who defended Rift, he actually liked me and put my name up for whatever that fan/helper title was in game that you can get. I was pretty surprised (though I didn’t get it of course).
I was very negative about Rift, so this is my payback.
Generally, people visit the forums to complain, to troll or to find update information from a developer.
Anything else is a rarity – especially in “general discussion” sections.
Not that the complaints aren’t a good thing – as long as they are level headed, thought out and supported through key points they can foster crucial conversations.
The problems occur when you have the same 6-10 people posting sarcastic quips and useless diatribes against the game (or other players or developers) over and over. These kind of posts and responses clutter up EVERY game forum in existence and only serve to make meaningful discussions few and far between.
There should be one post about RNG, one post about fight mechanics, one post about farming, etc, etc. We as players need to condition ourselves to limit our feedback to the initial posts and strop trying to make sure we are “heard” in every single one of them.
The malcontents that wail on these forums aren’t going anywhere. They’re too miserable to find joy in Guild Wars 2, but they’re also too miserable to find joy in other games. So they spend their time here complaining, often distorting reality just so they have something to complain about.
Anet hasn’t shown a vested interest in the forums. Most updates are posted on other websites first, most news stories are linked here by players instead of mods or devs (even though they have a news forum…go figure), and there is generally more dev participation on other sites. So I don’t figure we will see QoL improvements to the forums unless things change.
Forums will get better as the game ages and the player base ages and certain elements leave for other games. Players that are actually interested in contributing to the forums constructively will increase over time and drown out both the blindly negative and blindly optimistic. Mostly it’s up to the posters, if people want the forums to improve they need to do stuff about it.
Anet hasn’t shown a vested interest in the forums. Most updates are posted on other websites first, most news stories are linked here by players instead of mods or devs (even though they have a news forum…go figure), and there is generally more dev participation on other sites. So I don’t figure we will see QoL improvements to the forums unless things change.
Forums will get better as the game ages and the player base ages and certain elements leave for other games. Players that are actually interested in contributing to the forums constructively will increase over time and drown out both the blindly negative and blindly optimistic. Mostly it’s up to the posters, if people want the forums to improve they need to do stuff about it.
Well said!
Anarai Aeonblade [GASM] – Guardian – DB
RIP my fair Engi and Ranger, you will be missed.
Anet hasn’t shown a vested interest in the forums.
At this point in time, I don’t see why Anet should take a vested interest in the forums. Most, as pointed out above, just complain. Most of those complaints are not constructed and are hateful or rude. If I was Anet I wouldn’t take an interest in that either.
As you pointed out, as time goes on, I too believe that the forums will get better.
Anet hasn’t shown a vested interest in the forums.
At this point in time, I don’t see why Anet should take a vested interest in the forums. Most, as pointed out above, just complain. Most of those complaints are not constructed and are hateful or rude. If I was Anet I wouldn’t take an interest in that either.
Add to that the fact that everything they say gets misconstrued, sometime purposefully, and thrown back at them in the form of accusations of lying and I don’t blame the developers for keeping a low profile around here.
Anet hasn’t shown a vested interest in the forums.
At this point in time, I don’t see why Anet should take a vested interest in the forums. Most, as pointed out above, just complain. Most of those complaints are not constructed and are hateful or rude. If I was Anet I wouldn’t take an interest in that either.
Add to that the fact that everything they say gets misconstrued, sometime purposefully, and thrown back at them in the form of accusations of lying and I don’t blame the developers for keeping a low profile around here.
kitten ed if they do, kitten ed if they don’t.
They will never win, so why bother. Even the best of intentions usually get turn around and thrown in their face. It is a never ending battle and at some point you are better of keeping quiet.
Personally, I feel the best way to run an MMORPG is to keep expectations low, of course make a good game, but keep expectations too low and you will significantly reduce the whining (whining is not the same as complaining).
As u know im pro. ~Tomonobu Itagaki
This is an mmo forum, if someone isn’t whining chances are the game is dead.
