Guild Wars 2

Mark Katzbach.9084:

Zaklex.6308:

The most organized forums I’ve ever seen that had has many Titled topics as this one, did the organization a little differently without eliminating any of the many sub-topics by using the follow format, as an example:

Main Title: Support
Sub Forums: Technical Support
Sub Sub Forum: PC Issues
MAC Issues
Sub Forum: Bugs
Sub Sub Forum: Game Bugs
Forum Bugs
Website Bugs
BLTC Bugs

etc., etc., the above is only an example, and though it doesn’t decrease the number of sub forums, what it does do is centralize the sub forums in major categories without jumbling everything into one giant forum that is really impossible to keep track of without a working search feature. Your devs are still going to find it almost impossible to follow threads if everything game related is dumped into a general forum such as Guild Wars 2 Discussion. If however you break up the sub forums into smaller subforums under much larger categories, then they don’t have to wade through 44 different forums to find the one they want, but can specifically go into the sub-sub forum of their choice or need…of course, this is just my opinion, but then again I like information to be clearly segregated.

This forum software does not support what you term as sub sub forums. We are able to create categories and nest subforums within those.

Is it not in-house software? Can you not develop the software further? If not, maybe consider new software? I mean if you want to do a good job with this, do it right. Get the search function working, develop the forum layout a bit more and make things logical. Or, and this has bewildered me since the game launched, why can’t you REMOVE the search box? Why has it been sitting there for 2 years misleading new players?

Rising Dusk.2408:

In addition to my previous post, it’s horrible that the dungeon forum is being removed in favor of merging it with “Guild Wars 2 Discussion”! That is akin to merging the WvW discussion into the PvP forums because “It’s still PvP”. Dungeon tactics, dungeon speed clear opportunities for improvements, challenges, and the whole dungeon community at large is very, very distinct from the open world PvE group.

Please reconsider and keep the dungeon forum distinct!

Virtually all of us in the dungeon subforum echo this statement.

Please do reconsider.

Lindbur.2537:

Rising Dusk.2408:

In addition to my previous post, it’s horrible that the dungeon forum is being removed in favor of merging it with “Guild Wars 2 Discussion”! That is akin to merging the WvW discussion into the PvP forums because “It’s still PvP”. Dungeon tactics, dungeon speed clear opportunities for improvements, challenges, and the whole dungeon community at large is very, very distinct from the open world PvE group.

Please reconsider and keep the dungeon forum distinct!

Virtually all of us in the dungeon subforum echo this statement.

Please do reconsider.

I’m not even a dungeon person… But I remember my wvw matchup threads. so I support y’all.

Gaile Gray.6029:

A “what’s new” is something I’d like to see, but it’s not possible with this software.

Then why not switch to some other software?

Is the new CDI forum and rules part of these changes?

Gaile Gray.6029:

Maybe you guys missed the memo? We are considering new software. It’s not on the shortest list for a decision, much less are we able to make a quick change, but it is something we’re examining.

I am not a forum specialist, nor do I claim to understand their ways, but it seems to me one should switch to better software before wasting time implementing changes which, due to the failings of the software currently in use, will not fully achieve the desired results.

Excellent I hope we can resume the Raid CDI and later move onto the GvG CDI.

Lindbur.2537:

Rising Dusk.2408:

In addition to my previous post, it’s horrible that the dungeon forum is being removed in favor of merging it with “Guild Wars 2 Discussion”! That is akin to merging the WvW discussion into the PvP forums because “It’s still PvP”. Dungeon tactics, dungeon speed clear opportunities for improvements, challenges, and the whole dungeon community at large is very, very distinct from the open world PvE group.

Please reconsider and keep the dungeon forum distinct!

Virtually all of us in the dungeon subforum echo this statement.

Please do reconsider.

+1 for this. Pretty please gaile!

If the dungeon forums must be removed, can we at least get some feedback regarding the info Regina was taking to the Devs from the dungeon community?

Shinki.8045:

If the dungeon forums must be removed, can we at least get some feedback regarding the info Regina was taking to the Devs from the dungeon community?

Forums are too confusing for devs.

Maybe you’ve determined that the focus of the forums is communication with the devs. Personally, I’ve always seen it primarily as a way to connect with the community and secondarily a means to voice concerns/express praise to the devs.

For example, not every thread about fractals is feedback. Sometimes it’s a question to other players, “how do I deal with this boss?” Sometimes its a soloer sharing a no-ui mossman solo. Sometimes it’s a discussion about most efficient team composition. Thus the subforums were useful in interacting with like-minded and knowlegable players. Especially for those of us without a dungeon guild, it was a great way to stay connected with the community.

In Short: If the reason behind the restructuring is to make the forums simply streamlined feedback for devs, then I personally find that unfortunate but we’ll make do and go elsewhere. If the intent was to clean up subforums that are hardly used (like the race subforums, for example), then I think merging the dungeon sub into GD is a serious mistake.

Well…maybe putting the WvW forum up higher might make it a bit more visible to Anet personnel. As it is right now, players are screaming (typing?) into the wind.

Gaile Gray.6029:

Lynne.8416:

I wouldn’t have any issue with the “reorgansation” if the Search feature actually worked. Are you going to fix the Search feature? It’s one of the reasons why there are multiple threads created about the same exact topic over and over again.
If I only want to search about Dungeons, I’m certainly not going to want to look through page after page of data.

Lynne, I would give just about anything to get that Search feature working. Unfortunately, it’s not possible for us to do. Believe me, I dislike that we’re missing “search” as much as you do!

I am going to make a bold suggestion here, and it just occurred to me this second: Maybe each of us making a thread needs to consider the topic and include that topic in the subject line. Say, “Dungeons: Input on Fractals” or “BLTC: Nnew Gem Store Items” or something of that sort.

Since we don’t have tagging, and the search engine isn’t functioning, that seems a likely way to direct eyes to the forum threads of not.

What do y’all think of that idea?

The problem is that thread titles also restricted something that is very short. It’s tough enough trying to have a descriptive title without having tags eat into the limit.

I’m surprised the BLTC and Audio forums are vanishing (and Dungeons as well). Those seem prime examples of specialized but robust discussion. It made sense when the Suggestions forum was archived and we were directed to post suggestions directly in the appropriate area, so the right devs would most easily find them.

Isn’t this asking to turn the forums into a spammed mish-mash like the old Suggestions forums was? Are the new volunteers you’re seeking meant to help undo the morass you’re about to get of wildly mixed topics in an area?

This “streamlining” seems like you’re just asking for an unholy amount of clutter in the subforums that remain.

I predict that 99% of formerly good BLT, dungeon etc. discussions and Q/A threads will be buried under a ravine of “lol mounts!” and “when expansion?” before getting answers. The front page of “general discussion” moves too fast already.

But lots of duplicate unanswered threads is not what we want/need. We need consolidated threads with answers.

I don’t think putting everything in the same category will help with that. It will look tidy from the outside, but be a complete mess inside. Unfortunately, the inside is what matters.
(See also: the way that achievements are now all mashed into “general”.)

Khisanth.2948:

The problem is that thread titles also restricted something that is very short. It’s tough enough trying to have a descriptive title without having tags eat into the limit.

Very much this!

I honestly don’t really appreciate destroying the dungeon forum community. Feel free to move it to bottom of the page but please leave it.

I promise to buy 800, no, 1600 gems if you do this.

I really hope that initial layout was a proposition, and not a cast-in-stone final answer. BLTC and Dungeons really should be left separate (and I’m sure some other feel similarly about some other subforums). As people mention, General Discussion moves way too fast to get real answers on more specialized topics.

Why get rid of them and add specialists to reduce the amount of data coming in? Shouldn’t the specialists be able to help keep an eye on the more specialized subfora and subfawna?

I don’t understand why they are changing it at all now after reading some posts, it would make sense if a dev is working on dungeons, they go to the dungeon section, if they are a WvW dev they go to the WvW section etc etc, now they will have to read threw 40 pages of crap to get to maybe 1 important topic, OR maybe they wont, because now they can say the new forum specialists missed it,

You need to go to whatever dev/team member asked for this change and tell them the feedback from the community the forums are for, do not want certain sub forums merged together, this update to the forum which is not needed, is going to drive more and more people away from it, if that’s your intended goal, you’d prob be better just saying that to be honest.

This update will not improve communications with Anet and the community, it will just widen them further, espically when less people are even bothering to log into the forums.

Gaile Gray.6029:

…

So I get removing Dungeons, and Crafting forums since those features have been officially abandoned by the devs, but why remove the BLTC forum? That is one of the most active forums with one of the most active devs.

First, the Dungeons and Crafting Sub-forums haven’t been abandoned, but it is true that they haven’t seen a lot of dev activity lately. Our hope is that when we’re asking the developers to look at fewer forums — to not have to scroll down 11 times to get to the bottom group, to not have to play a guessing game of “Where would players look for this info?” — there will be increased developer participation.
…

I see that as going to have the opposite effect. Its going to have threads become buried even faster than they are now, which will then mean devs still won’t see them.

Please reconsider and keep the dungeon forum distinct!

Gaile Gray.6029:

First, the Dungeons and Crafting Sub-forums haven’t been abandoned, but it is true that they haven’t seen a lot of dev activity lately. Our hope is that when we’re asking the developers to look at fewer forums — to not have to scroll down 11 times to get to the bottom group, to not have to play a guessing game of “Where would players look for this info?” — there will be increased developer participation.

Given the fact you (ANet) disbanded the whole dungeon team, it shouldn’t be a surprise. Not to mention your policy to not talk about anything it’s hard to get involved at anything.

Gaile Gray.6029:

The upside: More visibility into threads, especially in busy forums like GW2 Discussion.
The downside: Will it impact load times? I find myself twiddling my fingers waiting for the forums to load at the present time (another argument for new software, perhaps) and I’d hate to wait even longer for loading.

You (ANet) shouldn’t punish your playerbase when you (Gaile) had to work on a potato with a bad internet connection. Long loading times in a forum holy kittens … I didn’t knew such things exist.

ps: A bullkitten for no apparent reason.

-1

With so much lumped into general discussion posts are going to fall off the page fast. What’s easier for a dev? To go to a sub-forum dedicated to that topic or scroll through 10 pages of topics on just about everything to try and find a specific topic? What’s easier for a forum member interested in a topic to do? Go to a sub-forum on that topic or scroll through 10 pages of random topics trying to find the one they are interested in?

I personally think that `Players Helping Players` should be listed under support. Helping players `is` a form of support and I don’t think that people would be confused that it’s not ‘official’ support based on the forum title. Doing that would also place the forum nice and high.

I think that the CDI forum is going to end up the place to post suggestions. Suggestions are after all a form of collaborative development. Just player initiated rather than Anet initiated. Not allowing players to post suggestions in the forum would mean it’s not particularly collaborative, so why not just pre-empt it and call the forum `CDI & Suggestions`.

I also think that with all the threads moved into a single fast moving discussion forum, that forum is going to continue to become increasingly toxic. To help mitigate this, would it be possible to at least split into two forums `GW2 Discussion` and `GW2 Feedback`.

[edit] Actually, if you allowed suggestions in CDI, and split discussion, into discussion and feedback, you could probably merge Living World into general

GrimmR.3541:

Lindbur.2537:

Rising Dusk.2408:

In addition to my previous post, it’s horrible that the dungeon forum is being removed in favor of merging it with “Guild Wars 2 Discussion”! That is akin to merging the WvW discussion into the PvP forums because “It’s still PvP”. Dungeon tactics, dungeon speed clear opportunities for improvements, challenges, and the whole dungeon community at large is very, very distinct from the open world PvE group.

Please reconsider and keep the dungeon forum distinct!

Virtually all of us in the dungeon subforum echo this statement.

Please do reconsider.

+1 for this. Pretty please gaile!

The physical appearance of the please makes no difference….

Gaile Gray.6029:

First, the Dungeons and Crafting Sub-forums haven’t been abandoned, but it is true that they haven’t seen a lot of dev activity lately. Our hope is that when we’re asking the developers to look at fewer forums — to not have to scroll down 11 times to get to the bottom group, to not have to play a guessing game of “Where would players look for this info?” — there will be increased developer participation.

It would be fantastic if those were the consequences, but I myself have a hard time imagining that the type of person who won’t scroll down on the front page WILL go to page 2, 3, 4 of the “general discussion” subforum and reply to buried posts.

Gaile Gray.6029:

Kaz.5430:

I personally think that `Players Helping Players` should be listed under support. Helping players `is` a form of support and I don’t think that people would be confused that it’s not ‘official’ support based on the forum title. Doing that would also place the forum nice and high.

Interesting, Kaz, I was actually thinking the same.

Does anyone else have thoughts about the best place to house “Player Helping Players?”

• Community Corner, since it involves community members
• Game Discussion
• Support

Since this sub-forum was on the approved list I was provided (this project had its inception before I became Forum Communications Team Lead), I believe that the question of where we place the sub-forum is not a major issue. On the other hand, some of the other questions or comments in this thread involve forums that were not on the list, and therefore I’d need to get review and approval for changes.

Thanks for your feedback on the subject of Players Helping Players.

May I ask what qualities earned a sub-forum a place on the “approved” list?

Slow loading? These forums are the fastest game forums I’ve found. Well, maybe the TESO ones load quickly, but it’s hard to navigate them because there’s so much space around each thread that not much shows on a page.

The GW2 forums load in a split second on my tablet, let alone on my lovely gaming PC.

Please, why don’t you just remove forums alltogether? It would save everyone’s time; devs wouldn’t have hard time trying to guess out where dungeon, bltp or wvw related posts might lurk, mods wouldn’t be needed at all and customer support could focus solely on supporting new players, who are key customers.

Meanwhile, both new and experienced players alike could happily be playing flawless and faultless game. Metrics will provide everything devs need to continue developing the game. After all, metrics are the best way to determinate why something is being done in game.

Company -> customer communication could be done solely with Point of Interest -shows, Website frontpage newsfeed section and launcher headliners. Two-way communication is so 2014, and the bold move of removing forums could be seen as major innovation in a MMO game.

Please.

Gaile Gray.6029:

Dalanor.5387:

You (ANet) shouldn’t punish your playerbase when you (Gaile) had to work on a potato with a bad internet connection. Long loading times in a forum holy kittens … I didn’t knew such things exist.

Am I the only one, then? I experience long load times at work (strong ‘Net service as you can imagine), at home (fast cable), on the road — everywhere. Maybe I’m impatient, but posting and loading to read take me quite a little bit of time.

What is long to you? Never more than a second for me. Even on the 99 page dungeon forum that was recently locked is only took about 1 second if that.

My biggest concern is that the general discussions forum will be flooded too fast.
If I have to click through several pages in order to find a topic on which I commented yesterday. I am not sure, if I will always do that, so it might be counterproductive to ongoing discussion.

Maybe you can add an option to display only topics that I have commented on?
That way, I would be able to see the last 30 topics in which I am active on 1 page.

Gaile Gray.6029:

Am I the only one, then? I experience long load times at work (strong ‘Net service as you can imagine), at home (fast cable), on the road — everywhere. Maybe I’m impatient, but posting and loading to read take me quite a little bit of time.

The forum almost always loads instantly for me over wifi.

Gaile Gray.6029:

Maybe you guys missed the memo? We are considering new software. It’s not on the shortest list for a decision, much less are we able to make a quick change, but it is something we’re examining.

Nice. I have a few requests…for the new forum software.
1. Rating System – rate helpful posts, their creators obtaining some sort of ranks depending how much they helped. This system has been used successfully on ,,answers" type websites.
2. Sketchfab support – it would be really cool if forum members/Anet staff could show off/embeed interactive 3D models dirrectly on forums. They could also be annotated in a cool fashion, providing more information.
3. Working search system

Gaile Gray.6029:

Dalanor.5387:

You (ANet) shouldn’t punish your playerbase when you (Gaile) had to work on a potato with a bad internet connection. Long loading times in a forum holy kittens … I didn’t knew such things exist.

Am I the only one, then? I experience long load times at work (strong ‘Net service as you can imagine), at home (fast cable), on the road — everywhere. Maybe I’m impatient, but posting and loading to read take me quite a little bit of time.

Maybe you are impatient, but if anything on these forums takes even 5 seconds for me to load, I wonder what’s hogging bandwith. Could also be something with the ANet staff accounts and the special tools I believe you have making the pages take longer to load.

Gaile, with this subforum reorganization… Looks like GW2 has 3 game modes: Living Story, WvW and PvP.

What about dungeons?

You mean “what about regular PvE?”.

Living Story is the only supported mode of PVE.

Did the rest of it get suddenly deleted from the game?

Anyway my point is that the general discussion section is a very general subforum. It has all sorts of topics. Much of which have nothing to do with PvE. So wouldnt it make more sense to add another subforum called PvE?

I sort of get why the dungeon sub forum is going. But with that gone I have no idea where i would post PvE stuff. General wouldnt feel right and it would be lost to page 2 far too quickly. Thats leaving out my personal feeling towards destroying the dungeon subforum community. As im sure those concerns wont make any difference so I would rather just salvage the parts which provide constructive discussion. And that means give us a sub forum for PvE and dont just shove it in with general.

Gaile Gray.6029:

Dalanor.5387:

You (ANet) shouldn’t punish your playerbase when you (Gaile) had to work on a potato with a bad internet connection. Long loading times in a forum holy kittens … I didn’t knew such things exist.

Am I the only one, then? I experience long load times at work (strong ‘Net service as you can imagine), at home (fast cable), on the road — everywhere. Maybe I’m impatient, but posting and loading to read take me quite a little bit of time.

I only have this issue with threads that have an abundance of posts, like the ‘Dev Tracker’, or the former ‘Tickets for Review’. What does take an inordinate amount of time to load is an edited post.

LS = open world PVE