Guild Wars 2

What the heck is going on?! Mounts have been discussed and debated about since before the first beta with little to no feedback from your guy’s opinion on the subject, then come Halloween you give us a broomstick; call it what you want, it is by definition a mount. Then a few months later you release flame and frost with this image to represent your patch. Many people anticipated mounts, but the only thing we got was that you stated you would not be releasing mounts for Flame and Frost and another broomstick. Now your relasing yet ANOTHER concept art of a person riding on a dolyack with a spear in his hand as a representation of the next part of the patch?! Arenanet please tell me why are you doing this? You said that there will be no mounts for these patches, yet here they are in concept form, and as I recall from an interview during the early development of this game “we are really basing what you see in the concept art, to what you’ll see in-game”. Are you just teasing the many people who would love to see mounts in game with the false hope that they will actually get to ride mounts? Or have you completely lost control over what gets drawn and posted?

Either way, its not funny and you should either redraw or remove those concept pieces no matter how good they are and either add mounts to the game or abolish the idea forever, cause your just making people mad by doing this.
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/c/c4/Flame_and_Frost_Prelude_banner.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/11904_10151349293844209_12615323_n.jpg

I didn’t really read the whole post but I wanted to answer your thread title question.

The answer is: No Clue

Xaaz.8472:

I didn’t really read the whole post but I wanted to answer your thread title question.

The answer is: No Clue

Lol does anyone?

but…but… i wanna ride a dolyak. They are super cute.

Rouven.7409:

I would pay 300 gems for an in-game tinfoil hat, townclothing. Please consider a lab coat to go along with it.

Only if it has some Illuminati reference and numbers on it. If we’re going to have tinfoil hats and labcoats, they need to go all out on it. None of this half-kitten stuff as of late.

+1 for the Tinfoil hat comment :-D

Just give us what we want. Some people want mounts and others dont want the speedboost. So do the same as u did with the broom. Something cosmetic u ride just for looks that has no impact on speed. Everyones happy.

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

As our artists have also said in interviews that one of the purposes of concept art is that it is a way to convey mood to a viewer and to serve as inspiration for designers. Concept art is not necessarily a blueprint to follow by rote. There is stuff in the game that looks like the concept art, but just because something is depicted in the concept art doesn’t necessarily follow that it will make it into the game.

Please take your tinfoil hats off and be reasonable.

Regina Buenaobra, I am being perfectly reasonable. I just don’t understand your choice of advertisement. So basically your saying that your artists find the idea of a man riding on something before an epic background to be cool. It is cool, but given the circumstances of the situation regarding the addition of mounts to be added to this game, it’s just starting unnecessary fires. There are websites upon websites of people ranting for and against mounts(if you didnt notice) and almost every week, there is someone who suggests mounts on the forums.By having mounts in concept art form, you having players and people think that this is a representation of what is be to be game. If I show your pictures to a stranger(whether they play guild wars or not) they will say, “Oh cool, so we can ride horses and stuff”. Even if it looks cool, your displaying false advertisement to the public, which I find confusing and not very nice.

Shuguard.7125:

but…but… i wanna ride a dolyak. They are super cute.

No way Chocobos ftw! OOPS I meant Moas of course, really I did. :P

Riding a Dolyak sounds slow and painful.

Katai.6240:

Riding a Dolyak sounds slow and painful.

I believe the adjective you are looking for is “smelly”.

I could totally see Asura mounted on Moas… and having zero control over the direction it takes them…

Its just concept art dont put to much into what you see.

If mounts were or are coming i am sure they would tell us.

I for one dont really care but i dont want them in the cities.

Paulytnz.7619:

Shuguard.7125:

but…but… i wanna ride a dolyak. They are super cute.

No way Chocobos ftw! OOPS I meant Moas of course, really I did. :P

So true, i want the keeper of the wind moa or a rainbow one!

It’s just concept art. It has no actual meaning about what the game is going to be. It’s just a pretty picture that looks cool.

I second the tinfoil hat motion.

And here we have a demonstration for why people want mounts in the game. It goes beyond “mounts aren’t necessary because WP” and “blah blah game reason” (for which there are plenty of good counter arguments).

Simply put, mounts are intrinsic to most of human history, and part and parcel with heroic fantasy fiction. Not having them feels weird. It’d be like this game having no swords of any kind, or no cities (people often complained about Rift feeling weird because the cities were more like large forts).

Any fantasy artist is going to imagine mounts because of this, and many players are going to want them. Imagine the concept artists being restricted to not rendering any sort of fire in all of their art. It would be difficult because it is so much a part of thousands of years of human experience. They would have to make a conscious effort to do so.

Any decent fantasy writer will tell you that if you are going to create a world without something as basic as mounts, you’re going to have a very clear reason for doing so, or your audience is going to be left feeling like it was simply left out.

Charging false advertising, however, is a bit of a stretch. Those images don’t make me thing “player character”, so the leap to “they’re going to add mounts” is a long one.

This is not false advertising at all, you see the exact same thing in hundereds of movies, not to mention the real world. The mounts are obviously used to carry the refugees belongings. They are only used as mounts when some of the refugees get tired of walking, so they can keep traveling without having to stop. Or for leaders of the pack, so they can ride ahead to make sure they are heading it the right direction. It’s not like they are going on a picnic here, they are actually running away from something that has destroyed their home, so they have to keep moving until they are safe. That is what the artists are trying to illustrate. It has nothing to do with having mounts.

Facepalm…

OP, if you show someone that picture and they think it’s a in game shot you have some special friends. It is just a picture showing off the massive exodus of refugees from a disaster, nothing more nothing less. Like Regina said it is to convey a mood for this update.

Let me guess ask you something. Do get mad at CGI trailers? Were you disappointed when SWTOR showed epic lightsaber duels, and in game was nothing like it? How about WoW when they had Ozzy and Mr T in their ads? Did you make a post demanding a Night Elf Mohawk?

Gibson.4036:

And here we have a demonstration for why people want mounts in the game. It goes beyond “mounts aren’t necessary because WP” and “blah blah game reason” (for which there are plenty of good counter arguments).

Simply put, mounts are intrinsic to most of human history, and part and parcel with heroic fantasy fiction. Not having them feels weird. It’d be like this game having no swords of any kind, or no cities (people often complained about Rift feeling weird because the cities were more like large forts).

Any fantasy artist is going to imagine mounts because of this, and many players are going to want them. Imagine the concept artists being restricted to not rendering any sort of fire in all of their art. It would be difficult because it is so much a part of thousands of years of human experience. They would have to make a conscious effort to do so.

Any decent fantasy writer will tell you that if you are going to create a world without something as basic as mounts, you’re going to have a very clear reason for doing so, or your audience is going to be left feeling like it was simply left out.

Charging false advertising, however, is a bit of a stretch. Those images don’t make me thing “player character”, so the leap to “they’re going to add mounts” is a long one.

Plus 1 to you sir!

Zookeeper.2513:

Rouven.7409:

I would pay 300 gems for an in-game tinfoil hat, townclothing. Please consider a lab coat to go along with it.

Only if it has some Illuminati reference and numbers on it. If we’re going to have tinfoil hats and labcoats, they need to go all out on it. None of this half-kitten stuff as of late.

I shall be reasonable and agree to your input. Please accept my feedback that I would very much like the number 42 – just not decided if small on the front or large on the back …

Perhaps a tad more on topic – in my opinion it’s a very strong piece of art that nicely conveys a mood – I have no problems with the portrayed mounts. I would love to see a new wallpaper every month!

I don’t really think mounts are necessary for this game at this time, if they added regions that are infinitely open and very large terrains then maybe…I’m not opposed to it, I just think the game in it’s current state doesn’t really need them. Part of enjoying the game is running around exploring, taking a look at the scenery etc..Concept Art is always about promoting a specific atmosphere, or feel to something rather than being taken at face value, and expecting it to mean something related to the content very specifically.

Hey Steven, make a post about how there are ships in the game but we’re not allowed to sail them, preferably on land!
Or any of the other veichles in the game, I mean this is such an outrage!

“we are really basing what you see in the concept art, to what you’ll see in-game”

You’ve never seen a Dolyak?! You have some exploring to do!

It’s amazing that as often as I’ve scoured these forums since launch (almost everyday), this is what elicits my first post…so grats to that op!

Now I’m going to bash you Not really, but c’mon, the ONE thing that just about everyone out there can agree on, whether it’s player, critic, or non gaming bystander, is that the art in this game is kitten amazing. Be it in-game, loading screens, concept, whatever. To take everything you see as literal representation of what’s in-game or as a potential teaser is pretty much completely missing the spirit of ‘art’ in general.

Remember the box covers and concept art for pc games back in the day, I’m talking before 8-bit consoles (though those can be included as well)? The packaging and concept art sure looked unbelievable, the game…not so much, nor was what was on the cover/concept art ever actually depicted in game. This is not a new practice by any means. So instead of poo poo’ing these amazing artists that are bringing what is an (imo) amazing fantastical world to life, celebrate it and them, and count yourself lucky!

Rant over,
G’day

Gibson.4036:

And here we have a demonstration for why people want mounts in the game. It goes beyond “mounts aren’t necessary because WP” and “blah blah game reason” (for which there are plenty of good counter arguments).

Simply put, mounts are intrinsic to most of human history, and part and parcel with heroic fantasy fiction. Not having them feels weird. It’d be like this game having no swords of any kind, or no cities (people often complained about Rift feeling weird because the cities were more like large forts).

Any fantasy artist is going to imagine mounts because of this, and many players are going to want them. Imagine the concept artists being restricted to not rendering any sort of fire in all of their art. It would be difficult because it is so much a part of thousands of years of human experience. They would have to make a conscious effort to do so.

Any decent fantasy writer will tell you that if you are going to create a world without something as basic as mounts, you’re going to have a very clear reason for doing so, or your audience is going to be left feeling like it was simply left out.

Charging false advertising, however, is a bit of a stretch. Those images don’t make me thing “player character”, so the leap to “they’re going to add mounts” is a long one.

Any writer will tell you there’s a huge difference between writing a book and for a game. Anything you write for a game has to be created, anything you write for a book simply has to be imagined. Therefor, you have to ask a lot more questions when writing for a game. For instance “is this something that will make a noteworthy difference, or is it a waste of manpower and time, when taking into account the kind of game we want to create”.

I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not…

Heh, all that picture says to me is Dolyak Rider… Oh wait, Dolyak Rider? Does that means Stone Summit are making a return in this patch? Dwarves!!!

This is rediculous. Arenanet clearly stated that there would be no mounts in the game, because the game is not designed for it. No. Mounts. End of discussion. If you are still pining after mounts, and reading into everything as “MOUNTS!”, you need to stop yourself right now. Again, Arenanet has told you: No. Not for this game.

Steven.9803:

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

As our artists have also said in interviews that one of the purposes of concept art is that it is a way to convey mood to a viewer and to serve as inspiration for designers. Concept art is not necessarily a blueprint to follow by rote. There is stuff in the game that looks like the concept art, but just because something is depicted in the concept art doesn’t necessarily follow that it will make it into the game.

Please take your tinfoil hats off and be reasonable.

Regina Buenaobra, I am being perfectly reasonable. I just don’t understand your choice of advertisement. So basically your saying that your artists find the idea of a man riding on something before an epic background to be cool. It is cool, but given the circumstances of the situation regarding the addition of mounts to be added to this game, it’s just starting unnecessary fires. There are websites upon websites of people ranting for and against mounts(if you didnt notice) and almost every week, there is someone who suggests mounts on the forums.By having mounts in concept art form, you having players and people think that this is a representation of what is be to be game. If I show your pictures to a stranger(whether they play guild wars or not) they will say, “Oh cool, so we can ride horses and stuff”. Even if it looks cool, your displaying false advertisement to the public, which I find confusing and not very nice.

It wouldn’t start un- necessary fires if people didn’t read to much into what’s in a concept art.

For starters, why on earth do you think they would give you mounts in a free content update (in the traditional sense, the people are asking for)?

Something like that will strictly and without fail be in a paid for expansion. Just this little bit of common sense would go a long ways. Anet is not teasing you with those images.

I love riding around on my broomstick.

Would like to see other mounts, which are Tyria themed and just cosmetic.

Can’t see the harm in it?!?

My mesmer already has a flying mount, his name is Tequatl the Sunless. He smells funny and has a bit of a bad temper, but that’s mostly because every time he shows up people poke him with things.

Here she is picking his teeth for him.

Kasama.8941:

Any writer will tell you there’s a huge difference between writing a book and for a game. Anything you write for a game has to be created, anything you write for a book simply has to be imagined. Therefor, you have to ask a lot more questions when writing for a game. For instance “is this something that will make a noteworthy difference, or is it a waste of manpower and time, when taking into account the kind of game we want to create”.

Oh, sure. There can be design decisions made, and things eliminated, but that doesn’t change the fact that people will continue to feel weird about the fact that they are missing.

Look at player housing. Seems like something that would take an awful lot of development time and effort for something that would probably harm the game in that it would take people out of the shared world even more and put them in private instances.

But people still want it, because it feels a little weird not having somewhere your character calls, “home”.

I just thought this “the artists put them in because it felt right” was a good illustration for people who repeatedly, reliably put up threads asking, “Why do you want mounts anyway?”

Wasn’t trying to say that the game has to have mounts.

Fletch.3572:

I wish you guys would do more stuff in line with the concept art instead of the cute sies trend that has been going on for months.

I see some of them loading screens, and the art, and think why on earth has this stuff not been added to the game, or remained somewhat faithful to the art =D

I’m a designer, and have done a little bit of concept work for video games.

It’s very easy as an artist to create exciting, dramatic images in two dimensions. Making three dimensional spaces that provide clear information to the viewer for navigation and interaction is an entirely different thing.

Not to mention having to think about technical details like system resources.

I’m amazed by some of the stuff that has remained true to the feel of the concept art.

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

As our artists have also said in interviews that one of the purposes of concept art is that it is a way to convey mood to a viewer and to serve as inspiration for designers. Concept art is not necessarily a blueprint to follow by rote. There is stuff in the game that looks like the concept art, but just because something is depicted in the concept art doesn’t necessarily follow that it will make it into the game.

Please take your tinfoil hats off and be reasonable.

I looked at the pictures. They certainly do convey a mood. Especially that second one. A mood of riding a dolyak! They do not, however, convey a mood of wearing a tin foil hat. Although, come to think of it, why don’t we have tin foil hats in game? We have tin, after all. And hats.

I am also conveyed moodily back to the glory days of another game, where the devs said we would never be able to change the colors of our character’s powers, ever, and then, lo! There came a day whereupon we could do just that. And the peasants rejoiced. Perhaps that game set a bad precedent for dev-ine expectations.

For that was a feat worthy not of a tin hat… but of a gold star!

Am I the only one that has played games without player mounts but had mounted NPCs and enemies?

I don’t see why mounts are needed. The brooms are not the same as “mounts” per se. Instead of standing you are sitting. You don’t go any faster and they do look a little silly.

I would prefer to see Dev time spent on content and things to do, not things to sit on.

How is take your tinfoil hat off an insult, if they are infact being paranoid.

Small asura came into the room and loudly said -Riding on the charr would be great!-

Abbehemoth.2471:

Hey Steven, make a post about how there are ships in the game but we’re not allowed to sail them, preferably on land!
Or any of the other veichles in the game, I mean this is such an outrage!

“we are really basing what you see in the concept art, to what you’ll see in-game”

You’ve never seen a Dolyak?! You have some exploring to do!

I want one of those big charr tanks. The big ones, not the tiny batmobile wannabes.

On topic: there exist gargoyle concept art so where are all the in game gargoyles(and maybe Final Rest)?

It’s foreshadowing a new event that will be coming to Black Citadel and Hoelbrak…DOLYAK RIDES!

In order for the refugees to start rebuilding their lives, they will be charging 10 copper to ride around on a Dolyak in a circular pen. Completely non-interactive as Dolyaks navigate themselves, but its great for the kids and 100% of proceeds go to a charitable cause.

Prepurchase your Dolyak ride tokens and make your family reservations today.

Here something i’d like to know….

Is the arguement about Mounts over the speed bonus it gives you? or just the fact you wanna ride something thats cool looking?

Because if you take a look, Anet has already made a step into the “Mount” design.

The flying broom stick in the Gem Store could be counted on as a mount. You get no speed bonus and it basically makes you go Town Clothes too, but its a mount you can alternatively travel on for some vanity type effect.

Personally i dont care about any speed bonus, but if the developers want to continue on this trend of nicely made and designed town clothes type mounts. I would be 100% satisfied with this, not that i thought the game was lacking to much without them, but its a perfect supplement

Grizledorf.5290:

emikochan.8504:

How is take your tinfoil hat off an insult, if they are infact being paranoid.

How is me describing someone as a “noob” an insult when that player is speaking arrogantly and playing like a beginner?

It’s the same. This aNet employee just insulted a customer, which is against the forum rules.

Yeah totally. It’s not like the guy was building it up to be a super huge secret world spaning conspiracy scam scheme from Anet to lure people to buy their games with their insidiously evil mindcontrol artwork!

Steven.9803:

Either way, its not funny and you should either redraw or remove those concept pieces no matter how good they are and either add mounts to the game or abolish the idea forever, cause your just making people mad by doing this.
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/c/c4/Flame_and_Frost_Prelude_banner.jpg
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/11904_10151349293844209_12615323_n.jpg

Why should it be redrawn? Is it forbidden to draw random characters having mounts when its related to a game that doesn’t have mounts? Does it really bother you that much?

Its just art…. Or do you honestly think that just because players in Guild Wars 2 don’t have mounts, absolutely no one in Tyria (lore-wise) has them? There is bound to be other people in Tyria with mounts.

Another aspect to consider, in regard to mounts: no mounts = no jousting! What’s a medieval realm without jousting? I suppose knights could run at each other with long sticks… while wearing tinfoil hats, maybe… but… well, heck, I guess it would be better than nothing.

Mounts actually fit the lore to an extent, but that doesn’t mean I think they should be added. The dwarves had mounts in GW1, for example. The healers rode dolyaks, and there was a beast master that would stomp for area knock down. Also, the stone summit leader rode a drake. This gives precedence for the art work, but I still think they should leave the mounts out of the game (or if they add them, make them cosmetic only… no speed boost.)

My main issue with this concept art is that the beast of burden in question appears to be a horse. Yet, I’ve failed to see a horse in all of tyria. (I have my world completion, so I’d have seen them if they were there.)

This leads me to only one conclusion. That is not a horse….

It’s a centaur.

The centaur are finally going to be enslaved and used in place of horses. Their struggles will make up the bulk of the flame and frost content. It’s a sad day in Tyria…

Grizledorf.5290:

ReginaBuenaobra.6953:

Please take your tinfoil hats off and be reasonable.

Wow.. so it’s ok for people who work at Anet to insult people on these forums. If I said that to someone here on these forums, i’d be banned from the forum for three days and the thread would be closed.

Hyperbole. I suppose this thread is full of it (in more than one way), but if you really want to see what people can get away with, check the WvW forums.

I can’t believe people are actually using thematic concept art as a vehicle to push their mount agendas. Desperation, perhaps?

SteepledHat.1345:

My main issue with this concept art is that the beast of burden in question appears to be a horse. Yet, I’ve failed to see a horse in all of tyria. (I have my world completion, so I’d have seen them if they were there.)

This leads me to only one conclusion. That is not a horse….

It’s a centaur.

The centaur are finally going to be enslaved and used in place of horses. Their struggles will make up the bulk of the flame and frost content. It’s a sad day in Tyria…

Dang it. I read all of the previous posts silently thinking the very same thing “Silly people, there are no horses in Tyria.” And then I got to the end and you made me feel less smart :P

On a serious note, I feel like this “mount” debate is just plan ridiculous. After completing exploration of all of the currently explorable Tyria, there are no suitable mounts for humanoid creatures. To everyone saying “Give us Dolyak mounts!” I have this simply request.

Bow your legs.
No.
Wider.
WIDER.
I SAID WIDER.
Yeah. Still not fitting a Dolyak down there. Feel free to ride sideways like a noblewoman though. Cuz that’ll certainly fall inline with the logic of “You have to have mounts to create the feeling of epicness!”

/takesadeepbreath /goesbacktowork

TigerDragon.4037:

Mounts actually fit the lore to an extent, but that doesn’t mean I think they should be added. The dwarves had mounts in GW1, for example. The healers rode dolyaks, and there was a beast master that would stomp for area knock down. Also, the stone summit leader rode a drake. This gives precedence for the art work, but I still think they should leave the mounts out of the game (or if they add them, make them cosmetic only… no speed boost.)

Well that explains everything. All the dwarves are dead or stoned so they’ve taken their secret of mounts with them! The “good” dwarves never used any mounts so Ogden isn’t going to be able to help with this.

i also think it is stupid.