Guild Wars 2

I’m very disappointed: I just went back to GW to verify. Amonoon in GW is a desert oasis in a desolated environment with just a few statues and tents. In GW2 Amnoon looks more like Vabbi (totally different place) and there is even a supposedly old underwater Amnoon which has nothing to do with the actual GW outpost!! There were absolutely no pyramids or anything like that!!

Agreed flesh wound. Also, like Lion’s Arch, Olkitten oon is underwater. There is a POI that marks it. The rise of Orr affectekitten oon which was on the coast.

250 years have passed. How can you expect it to be the same ? I mean Nolami academy in GW1 is far different from Nolami academy in GW2.

underwater amnoon has nothing to do with gw1 amnoon. LA was done much better.

In Lion’s Arch you can still find traces of the gw city. Amnoon looks like a totally different place, with loads of ancient looking piramyds which didn’t exist 250 years ago!! Sloppy

OK, the point wasn’t that it looked the same, but to acknowledge that past Amnoon was underwater and probably washed away.

allart.3746:

In Lion’s Arch you can still find traces of the gw city. Amnoon looks like a totally different place, with loads of ancient looking piramyds which didn’t exist 250 years ago!! Sloppy

allart.3746:

In Lion’s Arch you can still find traces of the gw city. Amnoon looks like a totally different place, with loads of ancient looking piramyds which didn’t exist 250 years ago!! Sloppy

What makes them ancient looking?

The fact that some of them are now underwater and some others are crumbling?

allart.3746:

The fact that some of them are now underwater and some others are crumbling?

I call it shoddy workmanship and the use of inferior materials!

Marshall Sed.8643:

allart.3746:

The fact that some of them are now underwater and some others are crumbling?

I call it shoddy workmanship and the use of inferior materials!

So, probably imported from Cantha?

On topic: I agree that, so far, the feel of the original Crystal Desert is not really there. Of course, this is not only an issue of design, but also of the GW2 core. There just aren’t any really desolate and empty places left in the world. Unfortunately this and some other design choices removed the ‘adventure’ feeling the original game had, especially in the Crystal Desert.

Yes that’s my point. Also the fauna is different: where are all the devourers gone?

allart.3746:

Yes that’s my point. Also the fauna is different: where are all the devourers gone?

OMG not the D word!

The reason for this was mentioned in the Movements of the World, way back when Eye of the North came out:

“The monster’s name was Palawa Joko. Within sixty years of Kormir’s rise to godhood, Palawa Joko mustered his former power and marched a new army of mummies, zombies, and other undead out of the Crystal Desert into war with Vabbi. To ensure his dominance, Palawa dammed and diverted the river Elon, causing drought and famine amid the northern provinces of Elona and creating a green and growing area within the Crystal Desert. In this area, Palawa Joko established the seat of his new kingdom.”

I agree with the OP. I mean I was looking at pictures of Manhattan from 250 years ago and they look nothing like what we have now. I mean come on anet. What the heck.

I think this might be an American problem. For people from other continents, 250 years is not that a long time, certainly not enough to completely change a place to the point it’s not recognizable anymore. Take a look at London’s maps from the 1700s.. ok it’s different, but there is no doubt it’s London: London bridge, Covent Garden, St’ Paul’s, the Tower of London are all there. https://laurenceworms.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/rocque-lettered.jpg

allart.3746:

I think this might be an American problem. From people from other continents, 250 years is not that a long time, certainly not enough to completely change a place to the point it’s not recognizable anymore. Take a look at London’s maps from the 1700s.. ok it’s different, but there is no doubt it’s London: London bridge, Covent Garden, St’ Paul’s, the Tower of London are all there. https://laurenceworms.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/rocque-lettered.jpg

You make a good point there. However, you are forgetting there was a dramatic change in the climate of Amnoon. After Orr rose, the water rose with it, submerging Olkitten oon. This is like what would happen to present day Venice if water were to rise. Even though Venice has been around for centuries, once it is destroyed the decedents wouldn’t create a replica of Venice.

Also, I don’t know if you found it, but there is some NPC dialogue around the quarry referencing how the pyramids were built sometime in the last 250 years.

allart.3746:

I think this might be an American problem. For people from other continents, 250 years is not that a long time, certainly not enough to completely change a place to the point it’s not recognizable anymore. Take a look at London’s maps from the 1700s.. ok it’s different, but there is no doubt it’s London: London bridge, Covent Garden, St’ Paul’s, the Tower of London are all there. https://laurenceworms.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/rocque-lettered.jpg

In all fairness, London never had 6 Elder Dragons raise from centuries long sleep that caused drastic environmental changes along with an ancient undead evil guy that has diverted an entire river to run through a new area which would cause people to relocate. After all, if you are in a desert and plan to make a living there you might want to make sure you have an easy access to water.

the crystal desert doesn’t just change that drastic in 250 years, mountains and rivers don’t just get there because of a bit of water shift.
Anet doe that with every single thing in GW2, they remove entire mountains because it doesn’t fit in their map design, drastically changing a map beyond reason.

just think, the first thing that already annoyed me is the shift of northern kryta, all of a sudden it’s allot flatter and the ascalon settlement is on a hill. (it’s suppose to be equal to the rest of the area)

Inc.4753:

On topic: I agree that, so far, the feel of the original Crystal Desert is not really there. Of course, this is not only an issue of design, but also of the GW2 core. There just aren’t any really desolate and empty places left in the world. Unfortunately this and some other design choices removed the ‘adventure’ feeling the original game had, especially in the Crystal Desert.

Maybe wait until the expansion is actually out? I agree that the original feel of the Crystal Desert isn’t there but I’m pretty sure we’re going to get that feel once we’ve seen other parts of the map

It seriously baffles me how people always start judging a whole game or expansion after they’ve played a tiny tiny fraction of a demo …
250 years have passed; Elder Dragons rose; Palawa Joko diverted the Elon river; and mankind left it’s mark upon the environment. So of course things look different.

There was a great deal of ancient architecture buried under the sands of Amnoon long before Guild Wars 1; centuries in fact.

After the river was diverted, most Vabbians migrated from uninhabitable Vabbi to the now-lush northern area of the Crystal Desert, Amnoon. They took their irrigation, quarrying, and construction techniques, as well as their design philosophy, with them… but not their Istani granite. They were forced to use the available local mineral, sandstone, which is far less durable. On top of that, there are harsh winds and sandstorms in this area, far more than anywhere in Elona. Any construction would look “weathered” after a few months of constant abuse, let alone hundreds of years. The fact that anything is still standing at all is a testament to their engineering prowess.

allart.3746:

I think this might be an American problem. For people from other continents, 250 years is not that a long time, certainly not enough to completely change a place to the point it’s not recognizable anymore. Take a look at London’s maps from the 1700s.. ok it’s different, but there is no doubt it’s London: London bridge, Covent Garden, St’ Paul’s, the Tower of London are all there. https://laurenceworms.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/rocque-lettered.jpg

Environmental factors aside, London has been a city for how long? I’d assume a long time. From how people described GW1 area, it was pretty much just a “settlement”. Settlements don’t stay settlements for long. They are either abandoned or flourish and built upon.

Why is this thread a thing? Gw1 Amnoon as barely even a trading camp with only a handful of ripped tents and pier., now its an actual city of refugees. Do yo want it to still just be a bunch of ripped up tents? Also, no one cared about Amnoon back in the day, there wasn’t anything there to bother with, Augury was where people congregated in the desert.
I get that there is something missing in GW2, some bit of atmosphere or flavor that GW1 had, but some of this stuff people bring up just doesn’t make sense.

Oh look, another ‘why isn’t GW2 GW1 with better graphics’ thread.

Fancy that.

sorudo.9054:

the crystal desert doesn’t just change that drastic in 250 years, mountains and rivers don’t just get there because of a bit of water shift.
Anet doe that with every single thing in GW2, they remove entire mountains because it doesn’t fit in their map design, drastically changing a map beyond reason.

just think, the first thing that already annoyed me is the shift of northern kryta, all of a sudden it’s allot flatter and the ascalon settlement is on a hill. (it’s suppose to be equal to the rest of the area)

Except it has changed drastically before, when it switched from the Crystal Sea to the Crystal Desert, in such a short time that boats were stranded in the middle of the now dry land.

A switch from a sea to a desert in such a short time is definitely a drastic change.

Here’s a Dev quote from before Guild Wars 2 even launched:

For an existing Guild Wars player the story of Guild Wars 2 uses familiar locales, races, and themes, but shaped in an entirely new manner. 250 years have passed in Tyria; not everything is as a returning player would expect it.

-Ree Soesbee

http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/08/20/gc-2009-guild-wars-2-first-details-and-qa?page=2

In GW1 there are ruins in the Crystal Desert. Probably some were built by The Forgotten. Erosion could have uncovered these. In addition, those toppling pyramids are in the former noble quarter of Amnoon City which has been affected by the Balth/Joko thing.

If you’ve travelled extensively in the desert ( I have ) you know that dunes can shift entirely, sometimes daily. There are also “soft cots” where a tracked vehicle can sink as into water.. fine as talcum powder.

Having part of the new Amnoon City sinking is entirely believable.

Ithilwen.1529:

If you’ve travelled extensively in the desert ( I have ) you know that dunes can shift entirely, sometimes daily. There are also “soft cots” where a tracked vehicle can sink as into water.. fine as talcum powder.

Having part of the new Amnoon City sinking is entirely believable.

Yup. There is no possible way a desert could change that much over 200 years.

http://i.imgur.com/cv1iU.jpg

sorudo.9054:

the crystal desert doesn’t just change that drastic in 250 years, mountains and rivers don’t just get there because of a bit of water shift.
Anet doe that with every single thing in GW2, they remove entire mountains because it doesn’t fit in their map design, drastically changing a map beyond reason.

just think, the first thing that already annoyed me is the shift of northern kryta, all of a sudden it’s allot flatter and the ascalon settlement is on a hill. (it’s suppose to be equal to the rest of the area)

Again, it’s not just a change by moving a river. 6 elder dragons rose from their slumber. If just one of these dragons can raise an entire city from the ocean floor I’m pretty sure another dragon can raise a few mountains.

allart.3746:

I’m very disappointed: I just went back to GW to verify. Amonoon in GW is a desert oasis in a desolated environment with just a few statues and tents. In GW2 Amnoon looks more like Vabbi (totally different place) and there is even a supposedly old underwater Amnoon which has nothing to do with the actual GW outpost!! There were absolutely no pyramids or anything like that!!

It’s almost as if 250 years of development have happened. Look at Shanghai in the 90’s and today. COMPLETELY different, way more built up, and that was only 20 or so years. Underwater Amnoon is pretty cool.

Sure, it have only passed 250 years between both game, then it is naturally clear, that the Amnoon now has to look like an exact copy of the old game version /facepalm

Not to mention, that both games use also completely different graphic engines…

Seriously, what did you expect OP? Is this a Troll thread?

Deserts can change massively over time ,the Sand does’t stay always at the same time.. over 250 year can the wind blow and move lots of sand away so that the desert send can practicalyl eat up land, where has been buildings ect. 250 years ago, can be 250 years later nothing but sand, cause of sand storms…

It would have been completely unfitting, if nothing at all would have changed in the region of Eloan within the last 250 years, as if time itself would have had stood still there. But Elona isn’t Prince of Persia, where the sands of time are able to do something like that …

Orpheal.8263:

Not to mention, that both games use also completely different graphic engines…

Actually they use the same engine, GW2’s just got a (fairly heavily) modified version of it.

allart.3746:

Yes that’s my point. Also the fauna is different: where are all the devourers gone?

Found a vet on one of the pyramids. What is missing are Jade Scarabs …

On the other hand the entire region has been altered by Palawa Joko and the Kralkatorrik’s actions. They are the type of things IRL that would trigger species migration and provide evolutionary pressure.

Khisanth.2948:

allart.3746:

Yes that’s my point. Also the fauna is different: where are all the devourers gone?

Found a vet on one of the pyramids. What is missing are Jade Scarabs …

On the other hand the entire region has been altered by Palawa Joko and the Kralkatorrik’s actions. They are the type of things IRL that would trigger species migration and provide evolutionary pressure.

There are actually a bunch of scarabs on the way up to the vista on the northeast side of the demo area. I don’t know if they’re anywhere else though.

Edit: unless regular scarabs don’t count and they have to be jade ones.
They’re also really common around the southern border

For perspective, Atlanta, Georgia was founded in 1847. 170 years ago, it was open foothills and swamps with an oddly out-of-place mountain. A lot of rapid changes happen to a place when people decide to build a city on it.
Add another 80ish years and it’s no surprise almost nothing is left of the old map(s)

just look up Berlin 1917 and Berlin 2017. Or Hamburg 1925 and Hamburg 1975.

change happens. a lot.

Haven’t been to Droknar’s Forge lately have you?

VAHNeunzehnsechundsiebzig.3618:

just look up Berlin 1917 and Berlin 2017. Or Hamburg 1925 and Hamburg 1975.

change happens. a lot.

you compare an industrial area with a desert, the changes are drastically different in pace.
berlin has changed because it’s in the middle of the revolution, a desert will stay that way for a few 1000 years and barely change at all.

sorudo.9054:

VAHNeunzehnsechundsiebzig.3618:

just look up Berlin 1917 and Berlin 2017. Or Hamburg 1925 and Hamburg 1975.

change happens. a lot.

you compare an industrial area with a desert, the changes are drastically different in pace.
berlin has changed because it’s in the middle of the revolution, a desert will stay that way for a few 1000 years and barely change at all.

I point you to Dubai for a modern or example.

Or the massive excavation that happened in Egypt to uncover massive monuments that had been buried for a very long time, if you want an older example. Or hell, any excavation of anything thats been buried no matter where in the world.

Things get built, destroyed and rebuilt over and over constantly, and often in the same spot. Hell, look at the ruins of Troy.

Skittish.4539:

Khisanth.2948:

allart.3746:

Yes that’s my point. Also the fauna is different: where are all the devourers gone?

Found a vet on one of the pyramids. What is missing are Jade Scarabs …

On the other hand the entire region has been altered by Palawa Joko and the Kralkatorrik’s actions. They are the type of things IRL that would trigger species migration and provide evolutionary pressure.

There are actually a bunch of scarabs on the way up to the vista on the northeast side of the demo area. I don’t know if they’re anywhere else though.

Edit: unless regular scarabs don’t count and they have to be jade ones.
They’re also really common around the southern border

I saw scarabs too and yes it needs to be Jade Scarabs to count. Also needs to be hidden until you get close to them.

That’s how I felt when I revisited my hometown where I grew up.

Dante.1763:

sorudo.9054:

VAHNeunzehnsechundsiebzig.3618:

just look up Berlin 1917 and Berlin 2017. Or Hamburg 1925 and Hamburg 1975.

change happens. a lot.

you compare an industrial area with a desert, the changes are drastically different in pace.
berlin has changed because it’s in the middle of the revolution, a desert will stay that way for a few 1000 years and barely change at all.

I point you to Dubai for a modern or example.

Or the massive excavation that happened in Egypt to uncover massive monuments that had been buried for a very long time, if you want an older example. Or hell, any excavation of anything thats been buried no matter where in the world.

Things get built, destroyed and rebuilt over and over constantly, and often in the same spot. Hell, look at the ruins of Troy.

I’ve never seen any GW terrain. Sorry it bothers you, but what I saw in the Demo was beautiful.