Guild Wars 2

There have been several cases of NPC’s switching their appearance, even Historian Tranton has been affected within the last Living Story quest. We still don’t know why it happens.

Every time you’ll get into another instance of Ember Bay, the NPC’s will be replaced, while their dialogues are still the same:Ember triplets – Ember 2 – Ember 3

Edit: even Hal is transforming. He’s part of the achievements in Ember Bay, he’s certainly not a generic NPC (has a name) and nonetheless he’s being replaced by other models.

Another player mentioned that the problem existed for years: Black Phil Thackeray

That’s just unprofessional. Not only does it ruin the immersion, it shows that they are not even able to assign a certain look to a certain NPC. What’s Anet excuse this time?

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Total_Makeover_Kit

It’s not just for players.

mtpelion.4562:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Total_Makeover_Kit

It’s not just for players.

They have to farm AB multiloot a lot to have enough gold, so they can buy one of them every day.

Honestly I’m fed up with making compromises. These are the basics of a game and they can’t even handle that.

These examples are very easy to dismiss as intentional; Phil is very dubious to claim he’s Thackeray’s cousin, to the point even your character says “You might hurt yourself from stretching so much” or something along these lines. So it’s very likely he’s indeed just a guy hoarding makeover’s to play out his facades(perfect gender change and complete physical transformations are canon on Tyria). The circus even more so, I mean in a world full of magic how the heck would you entertain people if not with actual magic? They are probably mesmers or have their own makeover’s, and changing appearance randomly just to mess with you would be no surprise…given they are crazy enough to be living on the freaking Fire Islands already.

The historian also, only changes appearance after you (SPOILERS) return to him from the Consortium Tradesman, which is also when you get the chance to lie to him and go back to LA to get the krait oil. This is very important, you as a character gets the chance to notice the very purposeful transformation on his appearance and either keep trusting it or dismiss him as a spy of sorts. So we need to see that on more NPCs before claiming it’s a bug or ruins immersion,such as merchants or among other races (do charr models change on the Citadel? Are there even different Kodans?)

maxwelgm.4315:

These examples are very easy to dismiss as intentional; Phil is very dubious to claim he’s Thackeray’s cousin, to the point even your character says “You might hurt yourself from stretching so much” or something along these lines. So it’s very likely he’s indeed just a guy hoarding makeover’s to play out his facades(perfect gender change and complete physical transformations are canon on Tyria).

I’m sorry but I’m not even sure if you’re being serious or just kidding – and at this point I’m too afraid to ask. Maybe I just don’t understand Anets intentional approaches. But maybe these are just bugs.

maxwelgm.4315:

The circus even more so, I mean in a world full of magic how the heck would you entertain people if not with actual magic? They are probably mesmers or have their own makeover’s, and changing appearance randomly just to mess with you would be no surprise…given they are crazy enough to be living on the freaking Fire Islands already.

That doesn’t only happen to the circus people. The asuran researchers also change their appearance while keeping their dialogues and position. What’s your explanation on that?

maxwelgm.4315:

The historian also, only changes appearance after you (SPOILERS) return to him from the Consortium Tradesman, which is also when you get the chance to lie to him and go back to LA to get the krait oil. This is very important, you as a character gets the chance to notice the very purposeful transformation on his appearance and either keep trusting it or dismiss him as a spy of sorts.

No, turned out it wasn’t related to the time when you talk to him. It just happens randomly. To some people he looked different from the beginning.

maxwelgm.4315:

So we need to see that on more NPCs before claiming it’s a bug or ruins immersion

It’s a well known problem. There are plenty of examples. Also, bringing up speculation about some NPC’s changing appearance doesn’t change anything related to the immersion. You could find a story to any bug in GW2 but that doesn’t mean that it’s intended.

Skittish.4539:

You’re right.

Sometimes I just want to travel to a volcanic island in the middle of the ocean to have a nice conversation with my old pal, npc #347. Then I get there and his hair color is brown instead of blond, AND he changed his clothes. It breaks my heart as well as my immersion :’(

I feel your sarcasm.

Personally I don’t pay attention to NPC appearances and I could care less if ANET decides to change it for whatever reason. Does not ruin my immersion.

I didn’t even notice and don’t even know what NPCs you talk about… I just don’t give a kitten.

So people are not allowed to change their appearance. Got it.

I don’t even want to know what Op thinks of Sya.

NPCs that don’t have a fixed appearance have their appearance randomly generated when the map is initialized. They probably don’t consider them important, or are just lazy, so they leave the appearance blank when adding NPCs, which causes them to be random. It seems odd that they wouldn’t just randomly generate a fixed appearance when they first add the NPC however. In cases where an appearance seems to be fixed but is sometimes random, I’d guess it’s a problem with multiple copies of an NPC existing in the backend, such as different story instances or stages, where not all have been setup properly.

Tekey.7946:

That’s just unprofessional. Not only does it ruin the immersion, it shows that they are not even able to assign a certain look to a certain NPC. What’s Anet excuse this time?

I find that people who tend to cry out about their “immersion” being broken tend not to understand what immersion actually is.

http://www.psychologyofgames.com/2010/07/the-psychology-of-immersion-in-video-games/

I’m highly skeptical that you’re in an immersive state accepting ‘believable behaivor in the game world’ just before you come up to a NPC milling about that pops up a dialogue box when you click on him/her. Especially if you recently saw a loading screen, fiddled with your inventory or hero panel, or interacted with other UI elements… you know, that entire myraid of things that remind you that you’re playing a game instead of feeling like you’re a part of that world.

edit; Tl;dr: I doubt your immersion is/was broken. Instead your complaint seems to be that you don’t like changes in npcs without being hit over the head with reasons why they changed.

~EW

I can deal with random generic human NPCs changing appearance. What I find harder to brush off is when NPCs change gender. There are several cases throughout the game of Charr males sounding like females and vice-versa.

demitel.1340:

Skittish.4539:

You’re right.

Sometimes I just want to travel to a volcanic island in the middle of the ocean to have a nice conversation with my old pal, npc #347. Then I get there and his hair color is brown instead of blond, AND he changed his clothes. It breaks my heart as well as my immersion :’(

I feel your sarcasm.

Personally I don’t pay attention to NPC appearances and I could care less if ANET decides to change it for whatever reason. Does not ruin my immersion.

I don’t know what’s wrong with a volcanic island in the middle of an ocean.
However, it’s okay if you don’t care, but there are also people who do care about it. And they don’t change it intentionally, there’s no reason for it, it’s just completely random. Is there any reason why Anet shouldn’t do anything about it?

Endless Soul.5178:

So people are not allowed to change their appearance. Got it.

I don’t even want to know what Op thinks of Sya.

Why should they? For what reason did Phil Thackeray choose to be black and then change back and forth? They’re part of the story, the lore of Tyria, it’s about authenticity and immersion.
And I don’t even know why I have to argue about NPC’s having the urge to change their face, skin color and age every day. That’s ridiculous. Seriously.

Healix.5819:

It seems odd that they wouldn’t just randomly generate a fixed appearance when they first add the NPC however.

That’s the point, they chose to give certain NPC’s a special dialogue so they were already working on them. Why shouldn’t they also assign a certain appearance to them?

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

I find that people who tend to cry out about their “immersion” being broken tend not to understand what immersion actually is.

And I find that you’re just arguing about semantics rather than facing the problem. I could have also said I find it illogical and it ruins my gaming experience instead of using the term immersion. Now what’s your explanation on NPC’s changing their looks every day?

See, words don’t change a thing about Anet’s failure.

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Especially if you recently saw a loading screen

And that’s another point of having an immersive game. Open world games do much better than GW2, having no loading screens, no separated maps, just like a real world. That surely does kill immersion in GW2, too.

I didn’t realize people looked the same all the time. Wouldn’t that even be even more immersion breaking in a game where changing your appearance magically is a thing?

Think of it from a developer’s point of view.

• You have some devs populating the map with generic NPC’s – “Drop one here, and here, and maybe here…”
• Some devs who add dialogue – “You can say this or maybe that, while you have some chatter…”
• And some devs who make the generic NPC into a story mechanic – “The players will interact with this NPC repeatedly…”

You then have artists who are creating many generic NPC models; a list which can be constantly added to without having to manually adjust individual NPC’s in the world in order to add variety.

Could some current NPC’s be assigned standardized appearances? Sure. But the developers don’t always know where the NPC will end up on the development spectrum when they’re first given their set of appearances, and time/energy may not warrant going back and giving them all assigned looks.

Edit: Wait, you’re seriously complaining about this Phil Thackeray? Did you read his dialogue?!

ArchonWing.9480:

I didn’t realize people looked the same all the time. Wouldn’t that even be even more immersion breaking in a game where changing your appearance magically is a thing?

Sure, they can change their hair and wear different clothes. But they can’t suddenly change their age, skin color or face.
The problem is that NPC’s were switched completely. They’re not the same person. The guy who was a magician on the first day is a researcher next day and vice versa. It’s not about changing visual aspects, it’s about replacing NPC’s completely.

Also, makeover kits are gameplay features for players. AFAIK they don’t exist in Tyria, talking about the lore.

Greener.6204:

Think of it from a developer’s point of view.

• You have some devs populating the map with generic NPC’s – “Drop one here, and here, and maybe here…”
• Some devs who add dialogue – “You can say this or maybe that, while you have some chatter…”
• And some devs who make the generic NPC into a story mechanic – “The players will interact with this NPC repeatedly…”

You then have artists who are creating many generic NPC models; a list which can be constantly added to without having to manually adjust individual NPC’s in the world in order to add variety.

Could some current NPC’s be assigned standardized appearances? Sure. But the developers don’t always know where the NPC will end up on the development spectrum when they’re first given their set of appearances, and time/energy may not warrant going back and giving them all assigned looks.

That’s not even how it works? You’re setting up an empty box for the NPC and place it in Ember Bay. Then you assign a dialogue and a certain appearance (choose from models) to it and it will stay like that. Why are they constantly replaced by other models?

Tekey.7946:

And I find that you’re just arguing about semantics rather than facing the problem. I could have also said I find it illogical and it ruins my gaming experience instead of using the term immersion. Now what’s your explanation on NPC’s changing their looks every day?

See, words don’t change a thing about Anet’s failure.

It’s not semantics. You’re using a psychological concept to legitimize your assertion (you even put it into your thread title), and your use of the term is inapplicable. On top of that, it’s a rage post with hyperbole (like, “changing their looks every day”). The failure here isn’t with ANet.

Tekey.7946:

And that’s another point of having an immersive game. Open world games do much better than GW2, having no loading screens, no separated maps, just like a real world. That surely does kill immersion in GW2, too.

If you want to play a game that lends itself to extended or frequent periods of immersion, you don’t play MMOs. And, if changes to the game world upset you, then you certainly don’t play MMOs.

~EW

Meanwhile we change our own appearance practically daily, and the NPCs don’t even comments on our new outfits. Shameful.

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

On top of that, it’s a rage post with hyperbole (like, “changing their looks every day”). The failure here isn’t with ANet.

Do you know that this hyperbole is more than true? I just checked it again, here’s a picture of the NPC’s today: Ember Bay number 1

I logged out and got back in. That’s how they looked like 1 minute after that: Ember Bay number 2

Do you believe it now? Could you please explain it? Why does this happen?

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Tekey.7946:

And that’s another point of having an immersive game. Open world games do much better than GW2, having no loading screens, no separated maps, just like a real world. That surely does kill immersion in GW2, too.

If you want to play a game that lends itself to extended or frequent periods of immersion, you don’t play MMOs. And, if changes to the game world upset you, then you certainly don’t play MMOs.

~EW

You’re justifying NPC’s being replaced within a minute in GW2 with ‘changes to the game world’? Is there a reason for those changes? Do you really think this is intended?

Skittish.4539:

You’re right.

Sometimes I just want to travel to a volcanic island in the middle of the ocean to have a nice conversation with my old pal, npc #347. Then I get there and his hair color is brown instead of blond, AND he changed his clothes. It breaks my heart as well as my immersion :’(

I can’t i’m done i’m so done.

Maybe the castaways change because they have 8 hour shifts doing their jobs as well as 15 minute breaks every hour, and a lunch break, and when they’e gone someone else takes over. Wouldn’t it be more immersion breaking to see one person standing at one spot 24/7 instead of different people?

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Maybe the castaways change because they have 8 hour shifts doing their jobs as well as 15 minute breaks every hour, and a lunch break, and when they’e gone someone else takes over. Wouldn’t it be more immersion breaking to see one person standing at one spot 24/7 instead of different people?

There’s this one guy, sitting around and talking about his fiancée (the statue: Delsa). Is that a job? I don’t think that they need shifts to replace a guy sitting near a statue. Also, that would mean that the statue is literally engaged to the whole circus. And every single circus guy uses the exact same words while talking to you.

The same happens with the asuran researchers. They change their appearance, but their voice and their dialogue remains the same. It’s still the same person, so that’s not really an explanation.

They were also replaced within 1 minute, as Healix said:

NPCs that don’t have a fixed appearance have their appearance randomly generated when the map is initialized.

As soon as you get into another instance of the map, they’ll look different.

The truth is, every npc works for Anet. So every little thing Anet tells them to do is a job. The dialogue is a job. The statue loving is a job.

The npc in the other instance is a different npc, obviously.

So, in a game with makeover kits(that also allow sex changes); the ability to name change; shapeshifting, magic; mesmers (illusions, clones); etc…you claim this “problem” is ruining your gameplay.

Maybe, the circus folks are messing with you/everyone.
Maybe, the generically named NPC is standing watch.
Maybe, just maybe, another NPC relieves the previous generically named NPC and is now standing the watch.

There is nothing immersion breaking about any of this. This would actually improve immersion because it fits more neatly into humans perceived notion of the world around them and puts a semblence of reality in to the game.

Immersion breaking would be if the NPC addressed you by your real world name and told you to log off because you “think” there is something wrong with something that was programmed in to the game.

Is it possible that there are bugs in the game…oh yeah, too many to count.
Is this one item you seem obsessed with a bug, not in my opinion and nothing you have offered so far indicates it is bugged.

Edit: I left out fractals and alternate dimensions.
Different life choices made them look different. Log out/back in…they look different because you have logged in to an alternate reality.

I’ll wait patiently for the thread where map closings ruin immersion and force you to log off because “real” maps wouldn’t just turn off.

There is a huge post on the lore forums about Sya (formerly Symon) and whether or not she was using mesmer magics to appear female or had went through a complete switch, and it was confirmed makeover kits are canon. I know it’s a silly excuse, I know it’s just probably lazy programming assets (you drag anything from the NPC table and match to any dialogue, no need for particular assignments, yay a single loop is now the whole NPC loading scheme!) but it’s not immersion breaking as the OP claims, because it makes sense within the lore.

Ubi.4136:

So, in a game with makeover kits(that also allow sex changes); the ability to name change; shapeshifting, magic; mesmers (illusions, clones); etc…you claim this “problem” is ruining your gameplay.

Makeover kits are cash shop items, obtainable by players. It’s obvious that this is just a feature to customize your character. These are not mentioned in the lore of Guild Wars.

Ubi.4136:

Maybe, the circus folks are messing with you/everyone.
Maybe, the generically named NPC is standing watch.
Maybe, just maybe, another NPC relieves the previous generically named NPC and is now standing the watch.

If you read through the thread, you would know by now that this doesn’t only happen to the circus on Ember Bay. It’s a general problem.

Ubi.4136:

There is nothing immersion breaking about any of this. This would actually improve immersion because it fits more neatly into humans perceived notion of the world around them and puts a semblence of reality in to the game.

They changed within a single minute. How real is that? How often did you talk to someone who suddenly transformed into another person, continuing the conversation afterwards as if nothing happened?

Ubi.4136:

Is it possible that there are bugs in the game…oh yeah, too many to count.
Is this one item you seem obsessed with a bug, not in my opinion and nothing you have offered so far indicates it is bugged.

Why is every single problem in GW2 being downplayed so hard? Just give me a reason why they shouldn’t assign a certain NPC to a certain dialogue.

Ubi.4136:

Edit: I left out fractals and alternate dimensions.
Different life choices made them look different. Log out/back in…they look different because you have logged in to an alternate reality.

Wait, what? Every time I log in my character’s in an alternative reality? How do you get to this conclusion?

Ubi.4136:

I’ll wait patiently for the thread where map closings ruin immersion and force you to log off because “real” maps wouldn’t just turn off.

And in this case, in Ember Bay you’re standing next to a circus guy, change the map (because your map is closing) and all of the people suddenly look different. Much wow. such immersion.

Have you ever seen an npc change appearance right in front of you? Have you ever noticed an npc’s appearance altered at all while you were in that map, without changing maps or logging off? I have a sneaky suspicion that the only time an npc looks different is because it’s a different instance. Therefore a different plane of existence. Therefore not even a little immersion breaking.

maxwelgm.4315:

There is a huge post on the lore forums about Sya (formerly Symon) and whether or not she was using mesmer magics to appear female or had went through a complete switch, and it was confirmed makeover kits are canon.

Are they serious? I don’t even know what to say.

maxwelgm.4315:

but it’s not immersion breaking as the OP claims, because it makes sense within the lore.

How does that make sense? Within one minute I’ve seen 6 different circus people telling me the same things about their magic tricks and fiancée. If you talk to the asuran researchers, you’ll even hear their voice – staying the same although they look like another person.

Ever noticed how when a map starts closing and you have to switch, all the events that you just did aren’t done anymore? Pretty sure alternate reality is the only way that makes sense.

Skittish.4539:

Have you ever seen an npc change appearance right in front of you? Have you ever noticed an npc’s appearance altered at all while you were in that map, without changing maps or logging off? I have a sneaky suspicion that the only time an npc looks different is because it’s a different instance. Therefore a different plane of existence. Therefore not even a little immersion breaking.

Since when are different map instances different planes of existence? You’re mixing up gameplay with lore. Map instances do not exist in the GW lore. They’re just there because of technical limitations of our game.

And why is it so hard to acknowledge a problem with GW2? There are so many people defending Anets intention of a thing I would call lazy work or a bug. Give me a reason why they shouldn’t do anything about it.

Tekey.7946:

Skittish.4539:

Have you ever seen an npc change appearance right in front of you? Have you ever noticed an npc’s appearance altered at all while you were in that map, without changing maps or logging off? I have a sneaky suspicion that the only time an npc looks different is because it’s a different instance. Therefore a different plane of existence. Therefore not even a little immersion breaking.

Since when are different map instances different planes of existence? You’re mixing up gameplay with lore. Map instances do not exist in the GW lore. They’re just there because of technical limitations of our game.

And why is it so hard to acknowledge a problem with GW2? There are so many people defending Anets intention of a thing I would call lazy work or a bug. Give me a reason why they shouldn’t do anything about it.

Why are map instances a technical limitation of the game and the progress of events in different map instances a technical limitation of the game and the inability to interact with other real life players across different map instances a technical limitation of the game, but how an npc looks across different map instances can’t just be written off as a technical limitation of the game?

Here’s how it’s coded.

Spot X on Map Y has a code for “Generic NPC”

So “Generic Male NPC” is plopped down.

“Generic Male NPC” references some code that tells it what race, gender, hair color, hair style, etc.

Gender – Set to male
Race – Random choose between #‘s 1-5, with each # corresponding to a race.
Hair Color- Random choose a number that corresponds with a hair color ANet wants NPC’s to have
Hair Style – Random…

That’s how the game can make things random.

maxwelgm.4315:

The historian also, only changes appearance after you (SPOILERS) return to him from the Consortium Tradesman, which is also when you get the chance to lie to him and go back to LA to get the krait oil. This is very important, you as a character gets the chance to notice the very purposeful transformation on his appearance and either keep trusting it or dismiss him as a spy of sorts.

This is what I suspect, but I also don’t trust the Krait Oil salesman either.

So I’m just going to stick with seeing spooky ley line anomalies until I can get more information from the story or an official source.

If the NPC changing is simply an overlooked detail and it wasn’t supposed to happen, my choice is clear.

If these really are two different people, it’d be the height of gullibility/stupidity to let these Tranton doppelgangers mess with you.

So I’m just here with my completed shadowstone and all these ley line spooks wondering who I can trust and if this condition is going to get worse for me.

The spookiest part is someone asked a similar thing on Reddit and a dev did respond, but later deleted their post.

So yeah, I’m too suspicious to make a choice at this point.

My final state may be worse than my current one, and as long as it’s just seeing a spoopy ley person now and again I’m not too bothered.

But I mean if it get’s worse, like, I start randomly bleeding from my eyes and begin to go insane like the people exposed to the bloodstone explosion… I dunno.

Guess I’ll be forced to take a chance.

I made a post about it here: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/lwd/Spoilers-A-Commander-s-Conundrum

Tekey.7946:

Just a flesh wound.3589:

Maybe the castaways change because they have 8 hour shifts doing their jobs as well as 15 minute breaks every hour, and a lunch break, and when they’e gone someone else takes over. Wouldn’t it be more immersion breaking to see one person standing at one spot 24/7 instead of different people?

There’s this one guy, sitting around and talking about his fiancée (the statue: Delsa). Is that a job? I don’t think that they need shifts to replace a guy sitting near a statue. Also, that would mean that the statue is literally engaged to the whole circus. And every single circus guy uses the exact same words while talking to you.

The same happens with the asuran researchers. They change their appearance, but their voice and their dialogue remains the same. It’s still the same person, so that’s not really an explanation.

They were also replaced within 1 minute, as Healix said:

NPCs that don’t have a fixed appearance have their appearance randomly generated when the map is initialized.

As soon as you get into another instance of the map, they’ll look different.

There’s this one guy, sitting around and talking about his fiancée (the statue: Delsa). Is that a job?

You complain about that but you don’t think that someone at one spot 24/7 forever and ever isn’t immersion breaking?

And every single circus guy uses the exact same words while talking to you.

Have you ever worked for a job and they hand you a set of lines to memorize to say to the customer? Happens all the time. People who have the same job and get asked the same questions over and over have set answers, often given to them by their employees.

Skittish.4539:

Tekey.7946:

Since when are different map instances different planes of existence? You’re mixing up gameplay with lore. Map instances do not exist in the GW lore. They’re just there because of technical limitations of our game.

And why is it so hard to acknowledge a problem with GW2? There are so many people defending Anets intention of a thing I would call lazy work or a bug. Give me a reason why they shouldn’t do anything about it.

Why are map instances a technical limitation of the game and the progress of events in different map instances a technical limitation of the game and the inability to interact with other real life players across different map instances a technical limitation of the game, but how an npc looks across different map instances can’t just be written off as a technical limitation of the game?

? The guide in Lion’s Arch looks the same, no matter in which instance you are. Why doesn’t she look different every time? There are several NPC’s keeping their appearance, no matter what you do. It’s just another case of Anet’s inconsistency. I heard that even Hungry Hal, a NPC with a certain name is changing his appearance. That’s just ridiculous.

Tekey.7946:

And why is it so hard to acknowledge a problem with GW2?

It’s not about acknowledging a problem… it’s about your reaction to it being disproportionate to the problem.

Tekey.7946:

There are so many people defending Anets intention of a thing I would call lazy work or a bug. Give me a reason why they shouldn’t do anything about it.

1) It’s their game, and not yours. While any one of our suggestions about improving GW2 might be worth considering from a standpoint of pleasing their audience, ultimately any problems or perceived problems are theirs to act on as they see fit and aren’t subject to a player’s perception of importance.

2) You don’t know why it’s happening, you just assume it’s a bug or laziness on ANet’s part without any proof of your own…. where as others have given you reasonable doubt about it being a bug (or at least a way to understand it from a narrative standpoint)…

…sorry, that was 2.

Like all problems in life, the solution comes down to 1 of 2 choices. Either 1) Quit taking it so seriously, or 2) kill it with fire. edit: Occasionally there’s a third solution: cheesecake.

~EW

Npc #347 has fainted from exhaustion
Cheesecake, I choose you!

Skittish.4539:

Npc #347 has fainted from exhaustion
Cheesecake, I choose you!

You are now my favorite person for the day.

~EW

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Tekey.7946:

And why is it so hard to acknowledge a problem with GW2?

It’s not about acknowledging a problem… it’s about your reaction to it being disproportionate to the problem.

That’s because I’m really fed up of reading hundreds of pages of people trying to defend and justify an obvious mistake. ‘Everything was intended to be like that. But they’re humans, they make mistakes. And Anet won’t change a thing if everything’s downplayed as if it was nothing.

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Tekey.7946:

There are so many people defending Anets intention of a thing I would call lazy work or a bug. Give me a reason why they shouldn’t do anything about it.

1) It’s their game, and not yours. While any one of our suggestions about improving GW2 might be worth considering from a standpoint of pleasing their audience, ultimately any problems or perceived problems are their’s to act on as they see fit and aren’t subject to a player’s perception of importance.

2) You don’t know why it’s happening, you just assume it’s a bug or laziness on ANet’s part without any proof of your own…. where as others have given you reasonable doubt about it being a bug (or at least a way to understand it from a narrative standpoint)…

The proof is Anet’s inconsistency. There are several NPC’s keeping their look.

There.is.no.explanation. They were either too lazy or didn’t have enough time. Accept it.

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

Like all problems in life, the solution comes down to 1 of 2 choices. Either 1) Quit taking it so seriously, or 2) kill it with fire.

Why should I change my perception? They are being paid to do their job. But the game is falling apart. The last patch (Nov 1st) didn’t change a thing related to the environment, yet there appeared several bugs preventing people from completing their personal story, letting their games crash. You can’t complete the heart in Brisban Wildlands because you’re being ported under the map. You can walk straight through the door of the Queen’s Throne Room. Things like that happen every time a patch is released. I’ve never seen a game that was more of a mess than GW2.

Then you aren’t looking hard enough. I’ve honestly never seen a game that was less of a mess.

Tekey.7946:

Why should I change my perception?

1) Your perception is based off of unrealistic expectations and a lack of information.
2) Your perception is likely to lead to blood pressure medications.
3) Your perception is abrasive and does not incite constructive criticism and discussion.
4) Your perception is not the only plausible one, and you asking that question admits to that possibility. It’s always good to attempt to see the world from other perspectives.
5) Your perception disallows cheesecake.

~EW

What I want to know is why NPC’s don’t react to your character disappearing and then reappearing in the exact same spot, with anywhere from minutes to days in between those events.

Do you have some sort of mursaat ability to step sideways through reality which no one has questioned up to this point? You would think after being the Pact commander and all that someone would have brought it up.

There really is no problem (or spoon).

Develepor A coded NPC #325 to be human, female, set hair, etc. – always looks like that.

Develepor B (who is really into the whole Living World idea) coded NPC #1876 to have varying stats when the map is loaded. They may be better at their job than Develepor A or have a different idea how the world should look/change.

Dev A may just like a certain character look and wanted it to be permanent.

You are trying to turn this into a “sky is falling” and “everything is broken and ruins my immersion” thing.

Everyone has some form of OCD (some mild, some not so much). This seems to be something that affects you deeply, but is not bothering the rest of us. There is nothing wrong with an NPC changing when you change maps or log in or out.

That said: if you can upload a video to youtube that shows the NPC actively changing “while you are looking at it/interacting with it” without ever leaving the map…I would concede that it is likely a bug/oversight.

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

1) Your perception is based off of unrealistic expectations and a lack of information.

Really? Giving an NPC an unique look because he has a special dialogue is called unrealistic expectation nowadays?

And you’re the one with a lack of information. You claimed that I would be exaggerating with saying they changed their appearance every day. You’ve been wrong, you had no information on that and yet you blamed me. Shame on you.

EphemeralWallaby.7643:

2) Your perception is likely to lead to blood pressure medications.
3) Your perception is abrasive and does not incite constructive criticism and discussion.
4) Your perception is not the only plausible one, and you asking that question admits to that possibility. It’s always good to attempt to see the world from other perspectives.
5) Your perception disallows cheesecake.

~EW

All I can see is that you’re constantly avoiding the actual topic and still can’t accept it being Anet’s fault. I’ve been criticizing it, giving Anet the chance to fix it. And the first thing you did was arguing about a single word I’ve used – distracting from the topic. How is that constructive? Just look in the mirror now and then.

Just as it is right now, we’re losing the actual topic again. What’s your final statement to the problem? Should they change it? Or should they leave it as it is right now? Why?

Tekey.7946:

All I can see is that you’re constantly avoiding the actual topic and still can’t accept it being Anet’s fault. I’ve been criticizing it, giving Anet the chance to fix it.

Herein lies the problem.

Fault = yes, they intentionally programmed it that way.

You’re criticizing it = something you’re entitled to do.

Giving them a chance to fix it = assumes something done intentionally is broken.

The fact you don’t like the NPC changing when you change maps or login or out, is NOT proof it is broken. It is your opinion.

Edit: in my opinion raids were a horrible idea and they should not add anymore to the game. That is NOT proof that they were a bad idea or not working as intended. I just don’t think they should have added them.

Ubi.4136:

There really is no problem (or spoon).

Develepor A coded NPC #325 to be human, female, set hair, etc. – always looks like that.

Develepor B (who is really into the whole Living World idea) coded NPC #1876 to have varying stats when the map is loaded. They may be better at their job than Develepor A or have a different idea how the world should look/change.

Dev A may just like a certain character look and wanted it to be permanent.

I’m sorry but I don’t understand how this explains the situation?

Ubi.4136:

You are trying to turn this into a “sky is falling” and “everything is broken and ruins my immersion” thing.

Everyone has some form of OCD (some mild, some not so much). This seems to be something that affects you deeply, but is not bothering the rest of us. There is nothing wrong with an NPC changing when you change maps or log in or out.

That’s ridiculous. Let me tell you the story of how I noticed it in Ember Bay:
I’ve been exploring Ember Bay, seeing the circus for the first time and talking to a crazy old guy sitting next to a statue, claiming it would be his fiancée. I told a friend of mine about it – but he said it’s just a normal young man. I went back and he was right – the whole story changed.

There’s a reason why characters in movies, books or games have a special appearance. It’s part of the story and can change the whole meaning of it. That’s why they have to be careful with randomly generated NPC’s – at least when they have a special dialogue or meaning.

Ubi.4136:

Fault = yes, they intentionally programmed it that way.
You’re criticizing it = something you’re entitled to do.
Giving them a chance to fix it = assumes something done intentionally is broken.

The fact you don’t like the NPC changing when you change maps or login or out, is NOT proof it is broken. It is your opinion.

This is not about personal opinions, they’re being inconsistent with their content. Some characters change their look constantly, some don’t. As long as it doesn’t have a special meaning to it, it’s proven to be broken.

I personally have problems with your immersion complaint as its so selective. This breaks immersion but that doesn’t.

An NPC standing in one spot for years, without moving -doesn’t break immersion.
A character suddenly disappearing from a spot that’s not a waypoint and reappearing miles away- doesn’t break immersion.
A character disappearing from a spot then reappearing at the same spot days, weeks, months later – doesn’t break immersion.
A character suddenly changing from male <—> female/hairstyle/armor/name while you stand there talking to him/her. No problem reported with immersion.
Characters turning into other species or objects such as furniture or other people in front of you then switching back- doesn’t break immersion
An NPC changing how they look when switching maps-breaks immersion

It’s a very specific immersion breaking that ignores all other immersion breaking going all around you. Since its been shown to be a design of some NPCs, even though it bugs you I’m counting this as not worth ANet’s time to change.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

I personally have problems with your immersion complaint as its so selective. This breaks immersion but that doesn’t.

An NPC standing in one spot without moving for years-doesn’t break immersion.
A character suddenly disappearing from a spot that’s not a waypoint and reappearing miles away- doesn’t break immersion.
A character disappearing from a spot then reappearing at the same spot days, weeks, months later – doesn’t break immersion.
A character suddenly changing from male <—> female/hairstyle/armor/name while you stand there talking to him/her. No problem reported with immersion.
Characters turning into other species or objects such as furniture or other people in front of you then switching back- doesn’t break immersion
An NPC changing how they look when switching maps-breaks immersion

It’s a very specific immersion breaking that ignores all other immersion breaking going all around you. Since its been shown to be a design of some NPCs, even though it bugs you I’m counting this as not worth ANet’s time to change.

I never said it’s the only problem with immersion in GW2. We never talked about waypoints, yet you’re claiming I don’t consider it to be immersion brekaing? How would you know?

The reason why it’s so important right now is that it shows the current direction of Anet. The problem with switching NPC’s didn’t occur as often in core Tyria maps. In Ember Bay however, it’s 100% sure that they’ll change as soon as you leave the instance. That’s a step backwards – they were already able to do it right but now their work is getting sloppy. We have the chance to stop it right now so the new maps won’t be affected by it anymore.

And no, it’s not shown to be part of the design of the NPC’s? The only example where it’s been explained was Sya.

I never said it’s the only problem with immersion in GW2. We never talked about waypoints, yet you’re claiming I don’t consider it to be immersion brekaing? How would you know?

Do you walk to a waypoint before using it like the NPCs do? If not then you don’t consider it immersion breaking and your problem with the NPCs changing looks is still selective.

The reason why others aren’t agreeing with you is because they don’t have this immersion problem and so don’t see a need for a fix. I suggest you role play that people have jobs and take turns at places. Or that Hungry Hal has a fake beard he sometimes wears. That will help your immersion so it doesn’t bother you.