Guild Wars 2

NOTE: This thread is not talking about that because the GW 2 World Map is displayed to players as a 2D image, the GW 2 world is therefore flat/square/rectangular. (because several people in the comments here seem to be fixated on that). Look at the images.

EDIT: Here is my 3-minute revision (wasn’t going to get crazy with it) on how the ‘borders/surrounding walls’ within/outside areas can be improved on perhaps the next big Guild Wars 2 World Map released to players:

http://imgserv.com/images/2015/04/13/faT0F.jpg (because, of course, Anet won’t bother improving the current one)

//////////////////////////////////////////////

I am a little over 4 weeks now into playing Guild Wars 2, and the more I play, the more things like in the attached image become very obvious.

Why, Anet, is the Guild Wars 2 World Map so square/rectangular? What’s with all the squariness? I definitely do not recall the Guild Wars 1 World Map being so square/rectangular like in Guild Wars 2. (Correction by several people here in the thread: Guild Wars 1 was indeed very ‘square’/‘rectangular’, more so than Guild Wars 2).

Hopefully this thread gets somewhere because the World Map in Guild Wars 2 does not look very natural.

For lack of better comparison, it is like players are playing/moving around in a shoe- boxy MMO world.

Has anyone else throughout the course of their gameplay noticed this ‘square’/‘rectangular’ pattern in the World Map?

Actually GW1 maps also were mostly squares. Only difference is map borders weren’t exposed as they are in gw2 or mostly were covered under the “fog”.

I find gw2 map very weird and immerion breaking but after almost 3 years I kinda used to it.

The zones are square, but the land isn’t.

Yes, it has been discussed before.

For me, it makes no difference. It certainly isn’t noticeable until opening the world map. At least, we can use all the map in an zone, instead of how it was in GW1 with large areas of the map between zones inaccessible.

You can see the old maps on top of the new in this year old version and yes, they were mostly sharp edged and frequently square.

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

US states borders are almost all squares too, so what is the issue?

Belzebu.3912:

US states borders are almost all squares too, so what is the issue?

EU borders aren’t. So what?

tramwajarz.2369:

Belzebu.3912:

US states borders are almost all squares too, so what is the issue?

EU borders aren’t. So what?

Such patterns exist, not everywhere, but in some places they do, so I see no problem.

Olvendred.3027:

The zones are square, but the land isn’t.

Yea, what’s within the walls are not square (that’s good), yet that should be a pattern that makes the transition into the walling around the areas that are not square as you said.

For example, if you travel to the Stoneguard Gate Waypoint near Guardian’s Pass (southeast of Divinity’s Reach) and follow the walling down a bit, that corner that makes the square should be brought in more so as to look more natural, not a square.

It just looks like poor terraining to me in that there is only some consistency with how natural the land looks in Guild Wars 2.

Because map completion in GW1 was extremely confusing.

And cuz America.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/images/a/a2/Tyria_clean_map.jpg

I see a lot of square/rectangular maps here. GW1 is just as square as GW2 is.

Lazaar.9123:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/images/a/a2/Tyria_clean_map.jpg

I see a lot of square/rectangular maps here. GW1 is just as square as GW2 is.

The square parts are also a kinda X-Ray view of the zone. The sides outside of it don’t actually look like that.

Doggie.3184:

Lazaar.9123:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/images/a/a2/Tyria_clean_map.jpg

I see a lot of square/rectangular maps here. GW1 is just as square as GW2 is.

The square parts are also a kinda X-Ray view of the zone. The sides outside of it don’t actually look like that.

The same can be said about the GW2 maps.

Lazaar.9123:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/images/a/a2/Tyria_clean_map.jpg

I see a lot of square/rectangular maps here. GW1 is just as square as GW2 is.

Yea, I guess so, but in-game my Guild Wars 1 map does not at all show such defined lines of squariness like in the image your provided. That being said, though, Guild Wars 1’s World Map is worse than I thought.

You would think in Guild Wars 2 Anet would have improved this, but I guess not.

Belzebu.3912:

US states borders are almost all squares too, so what is the issue?

That is a moot point at best. Yea, man-made borders made of concrete, wood, etc. not mountainous walls/areas like in my attached image shows. It looks terrible since the squares are not just in a few areas, yet almost all areas.

Therefore, the rocky terrain walls as shown in my attached image indicate that they are not of man-made wood or concrete, yet are made more natural like how nature forms land without man’s intervention, and so the layout of such terrain should follow through with that natural look.

You guys can call me out as being nitpicky all you want, but I don’t think I am wrong in my constructive criticism I am trying to give to Anet’s terrain designer(s).

The World Map (to me) simply looks bulky. I think that should be addressed, especially if Anet is planning on making up a whole separate map players can travel to like players did in Guild Wars 1 from Lion’s Arch to Kamaden. (just my guess on that)

So, am I suggesting Anet’s terrain guys spend hours fixing the current eyesore ‘squares’ seen in the World Map we play on now? Not necessarily. (But I can dream, can’t I?)

Am I suggesting Anet’s terrain guys do a better job next time on a totally separate World Map (if ever a new one is released) for players to play on? Absolutely.

breaking news: every map/zone/world in every 3d video game ever created is defined by a rectangular volume.

every.single.one.

some hide it by using decor to cut the space into a smaller, less even shape, others do it with invisible walls.. but they are all “square”.

Eidolonemesis.5640:

Belzebu.3912:

US states borders are almost all squares too, so what is the issue?

That is a moot point at best. Yea, man-made borders made of concrete, wood, etc. not mountainous walls/areas like in my attached image shows. It looks terrible since the squares are not just in a few areas, yet almost all areas.

Therefore, the rocky terrain walls as shown in my attached image indicate that they are not of man-made wood or concrete, yet are made more natural, and so the layout of such terrain should follow through with that natural look.

“man-made” borders usually follow natural marks, like rivers and mountains, it is uncommon artificial borders.

GrandmaFunk.3052:

breaking news: every map/zone/world in every 3d video game ever created is defined by a rectangular volume.

every.single.one.

some hide it with decor, others with invisible walls.. but they are all “square”.

^This.

Aw, man, it’s because most of the cool and hip races are extinct or in decline or keep mostly to themselves and all that’s left to run things are the square old fuddy duddy races. Well, the sylvari aren’t old, okay, and they are more or less literally ‘flower children’… but they’re still pretty darned square, man! Rectangular. Trying to fit into the Establishment. ‘Cept for Scarlet, you know, and look what they did to her. It’s an observer-created universe, man, where what you see is what you get, and all the squares want to see are more squares! Because squares fit together so squarely. You can’t stack round objects, but squares stack up all nice and neat and, you know, square, like they were made for it. So, it’s a square world, man. Square squared.

GrandmaFunk.3052:

breaking news: every map/zone/world in every 3d video game ever created is defined by a rectangular volume.

every.single.one.

some hide it by using decor to cut the space into a smaller, less even shape, others do it with invisible walls.. but they are all “square”.

Hmmm .. not that i really have a problem with th squares .. but this looks different.

On the other hand RIFT also had a “seamless” world, and not closed zones like we
have in GW2.

Belzebu.3912:

US states borders are almost all squares too, so what is the issue?

Because borders are drawn by people with rulers and mountain ranges are naturally occurring geological formations?

Tyria’s map looks unnatural because the straight borders aren’t lines on a map, they’re perfectly rectangular enclosures of mountain ranges.

Eidolonemesis.5640:

I am a little over 4 weeks now into playing Guild Wars 2, and the more I play, the more things like in the attached image become very obvious.

Why, Anet, is the Guild Wars 2 World Map so square? What’s with all the squariness? I definitely do not recall the Guild Wars 1 World Map being so square like in Guild Wars 2.

Hopefully this thread gets somewhere because the World Map in Guild Wars 2 does not look very natural.

For lack of better comparison, it is like players are playing/moving around in a world of shoe boxes.

Has anyone else throughout the course of their gameplay noticed this ‘square’ pattern in the World Map?

Squares.

Mindboggling.

GrandmaFunk.3052:

breaking news: every map/zone/world in every 3d video game ever created is defined by a rectangular volume.

every.single.one.

some hide it by using decor to cut the space into a smaller, less even shape, others do it with invisible walls.. but they are all “square”.

You wouldn’t really know that unless the barriers (or cover-ups, as you say) were completely removed in the games you speak of so as to support the argument you make.

I could be wrong, but this Final Fantasy 7 World Map from the late 1990’s, even, seems to have done it more right than what Guild Wars 2 displays to players. Sure, there are a few ‘jagged’ areas, yet not quite as many as the parts surrounding areas in Guild Wars 2.

To me, the below image is an exceptional example of a consistent natural look far as the shorelines, mountainous areas, etc. go—a pattern Guild Wars 2 does not follow all too well in that aspect.

My point is the land from afar and up close up should be consistent and flow naturally much as possible (like in the image below) with the exception of only a few areas that are industrialized.

https://www.google.com/search?q=final+fantasy+7+world+map&tbm=isch&imgil=UH4gfXXVzTfJ4M%253A%253B5YLEionyo5YKbM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.finalfantasykingdom.net%25252Ffinalfantasyviiworldmap.php&source=iu&pf=m&fir=UH4gfXXVzTfJ4M%253A%252C5YLEionyo5YKbM%252C_&usg=__73tE29YXYHQZuZbfaNOeAkAgEmU%3D&biw=1920&bih=955&ved=0CCgQyjc&ei=QeorVf3mPMGBsQSHvYGABg#imgrc=UH4gfXXVzTfJ4M%253A%3B5YLEionyo5YKbM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.finalfantasykingdom.net%252F7%252Fmap1.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.finalfantasykingdom.net%252Ffinalfantasyviiworldmap.php%3B1190%3B904

Eidolonemesis.5640:

I could be wrong, but this Final Fantasy 7 World Map from the late 1990’s, even, seems to have done it more right than what Guild Wars 2 displays to players. Sure, there are a few ‘jagged’ areas, yet not quite as many as the parts surrounding areas in Guild Wars 2.

Well, you are wrong.
All the continents are in the same instance in the FF7 map, the real border is the big square around with the Round Island in the top right corner, so much so that if you fly the Highwind in the corner you appear in the opposite side in the map.
Inside each map in GW2 you will hardly find the corner of the maps, you only notice when you see the full map, but since each instance is a map itself then they are all squares.

Beldin.5498:

GrandmaFunk.3052:

breaking news: every map/zone/world in every 3d video game ever created is defined by a rectangular volume.

every.single.one.

some hide it by using decor to cut the space into a smaller, less even shape, others do it with invisible walls.. but they are all “square”.

Hmmm .. not that i really have a problem with th squares .. but this looks different.

On the other hand RIFT also had a “seamless” world, and not closed zones like we
have in GW2.

That image is still square.

Its simple. If GW2 max size is 1024×1024 and this is still small relatively speaking, you want to use most of the space, resulting in a squareish map. If max size was 8192×8192 then they could make circular maps twice as large as now if they wanted. This is just random figures, but the comparison is the same.

Yep, simple as that. Technical limitation. Games with seamless worlds are just as square as GW2, except its a square the size of all GW2 zones combined.

Beldin.5498:

GrandmaFunk.3052:

breaking news: every map/zone/world in every 3d video game ever created is defined by a rectangular volume.

every.single.one.

some hide it by using decor to cut the space into a smaller, less even shape, others do it with invisible walls.. but they are all “square”.

Hmmm .. not that i really have a problem with th squares .. but this looks different.

On the other hand RIFT also had a “seamless” world, and not closed zones like we
have in GW2.

No, this -^ because to say ‘EVERY SINGLE’ game is like how you say is wrong and way too broad a statement.

Eidolonemesis.5640:

Olvendred.3027:

The zones are square, but the land isn’t.

Yea, what’s within the walls are not square (that’s good), yet that should be a pattern that makes the transition into the walling around the areas that are not square as you said.

For example, if you travel to the Stoneguard Gate Waypoint near Guardian’s Pass (southeast of Divinity’s Reach) and follow the walling down a bit, that corner that makes the square should be brought in more so as to look more natural, not a square.

It just looks like poor terraining to me in that there is only some consistency with how natural the land looks in Guild Wars 2.

The zone walls you see on the map aren’t actually there. They’re just in-game visual aids, probably to help prevent the absolute horror that was GW1 cartography. If you look at the full world map, they’re not there. Just ignore them if they bother you.

Eidolonemesis.5640:

No, this -^ because to say ‘EVERY SINGLE’ game is like how you say is wrong and way too broad a statement.

The thing is that he is correct, EVERY SINGLE game has square maps.
What they do is not show it in the map and make hard obstacles so you can not reach it.
In every game if you manage to break through a wall, you will find usually an infinite void but you’ll see the end of that void, that is the true end of the map.

Dawdler.8521:

That image is still square.

Its simple. If GW2 max size is 1024×1024 and this is still small relatively speaking, you want to use most of the space, resulting in a squareish map. If max size was 8192×8192 then they could make circular maps twice as large as now if they wanted. This is just random figures, but the comparison is the same.

Yep, simple as that. Technical limitation. Games with seamless worlds are just as square as GW2, except its a square the size of all GW2 zones combined.

What the heck did I just read?

Of course the image itself is square! We are talking about what is within the image Beldin.5498 posted that is not square.

Anyway, the amount of space Anet’s dev team gave themselves within the World Map is plenty of big space to make the ‘squarish’ borderlines more curved instead of in almost perfect square sections like a waffle.

EDIT: Correct me if wrong, but Guild Wars 2’s World Map size is WAY bigger than 1024 × 1024 or even 1920 × 1080 because the attached image I posted was a screenshot taken from a zoomed point of view.

If I were to complain it would be the fact that almost every map is surrounded by mountains. Square (maybe rectangular?) maps are a norm.

rotten.9753:

If I were to complain it would be the fact that almost every map is surrounded by mountains. Square (maybe rectangular?) maps are a norm.

Yeah, same. I never really looked at it that way before, but me and MMO-mountains don’t get along, and now I find myself resenting these blocky, unnaturally designed borders. >_>

Beldin.5498:

GrandmaFunk.3052:

breaking news: every map/zone/world in every 3d video game ever created is defined by a rectangular volume.

every.single.one.

some hide it by using decor to cut the space into a smaller, less even shape, others do it with invisible walls.. but they are all “square”.

Hmmm .. not that i really have a problem with th squares .. but this looks different.

On the other hand RIFT also had a “seamless” world, and not closed zones like we
have in GW2.

In Rift the whole island from your picture was in one rectangular map. In GW2 there is no such “world map” but a lot of instanced smaller maps (one map per zone). Thats why the borders look more rectangular in GW2.

What a silly argument. The OP is right to point out that each of the individual zones is rectangular and this is unnatural and does not at all look like a real map. A real map shows political divisions that are based on both historical and natural data, usually terrain features like rivers and mountains. Look at a map of the U.S. state of Virginia, solid on one side and very jagged on the other. That’s what a real map look like. Every time I open up the GW2 map I notice this world made up of rectangular subdivisions.

Ordinarily, rectangular subdivisions wouldn’t be that big a deal, but when they represent completely different biomes it’s just weird. The change from desert to jungle to forests and rivers is abrupt enough as it is, but to have it be based on almost perfectly rectangular subdivisions is just … weird. I would have much preferred a more realistic map with more recognizable borders. That would have felt more like a world and less like a game.

It’s not a deal breaker, it doesn’t ruin the game. It’s just an observation about an imperfection that is noticeable and worth pointing out in what is, after all, a discussion forum.

the maps are organized on squares, yes. But I sincerly doubt you “experienced” that while actually playing. They could be arranged on a hexadecagon and you wouldn´t notice any difference while playing on the map. What exactly is the point of this OP?

Edit: Oh, you are the fairly new player… never mind then…

The point is that every time you open the map and look at it you are reminded that all of these biomes are unnaturally rectangular. It’s like looking at a big table instead of the feeling you get when you open up the world map in most other big MMOs. Doesn’t kill the game, doesn’t have a huge impact, but it’s true and it’s worth noting even if it doesn’t bother some people.

RegnorVex.4071:

The point is that every time you open the map and look at it you are reminded that all of these biomes are unnaturally rectangular. It’s like looking at a big table instead of the feeling you get when you open up the world map in most other big MMOs.

That is not a point at all, as you don´t “experience” maps, but environments.

Belzebu.3912:

Eidolonemesis.5640:

No, this -^ because to say ‘EVERY SINGLE’ game is like how you say is wrong and way too broad a statement.

The thing is that he is correct, EVERY SINGLE game has square maps.
What they do is not show it in the map and make hard obstacles so you can not reach it.
In every game if you manage to break through a wall, you will find usually an infinite void but you’ll see the end of that void, that is the true end of the map.

We are not talking about the very end of maps where those ‘voids’ are you speak of.

We are talking about even in the middle of the GW 2 World Map — and can be seen on the mini map next to some of these surrounding walls/mountainous terrains — how these perfectly square corners can be seen.

Look at my 3-minute revision image in my updated OP to see what I am talking about. That is more along the lines of how the mountains/borders should look, not waffle squares, sorry.

Dawdler.8521:

Beldin.5498:

GrandmaFunk.3052:

breaking news: every map/zone/world in every 3d video game ever created is defined by a rectangular volume.

every.single.one.

some hide it by using decor to cut the space into a smaller, less even shape, others do it with invisible walls.. but they are all “square”.

Hmmm .. not that i really have a problem with th squares .. but this looks different.

On the other hand RIFT also had a “seamless” world, and not closed zones like we
have in GW2.

That image is still square.

Really ? Images are of course always rectangles, and if you unfold a planet to make
a world map it always ends in an rectangular picture.

I think however what the OP means is that the border of the different zones
are also all rectangles .. so more like the Earth is a rectangle … but Italy is not really.

Of course

RegnorVex.4071:

What a silly argument. The OP is right to point out that each of the individual zones is rectangular and this is unnatural and does not at all look like a real map. A real map shows political divisions that are based on both historical and natural data, usually terrain features like rivers and mountains. Look at a map of the U.S. state of Virginia, solid on one side and very jagged on the other. That’s what a real map look like. Every time I open up the GW2 map I notice this world made up of rectangular subdivisions.

Ordinarily, rectangular subdivisions wouldn’t be that big a deal, but when they represent completely different biomes it’s just weird. The change from desert to jungle to forests and rivers is abrupt enough as it is, but to have it be based on almost perfectly rectangular subdivisions is just … weird. I would have much preferred a more realistic map with more recognizable borders. That would have felt more like a world and less like a game.

It’s not a deal breaker, it doesn’t ruin the game. It’s just an observation about an imperfection that is noticeable and worth pointing out in what is, after all, a discussion forum.

Finally, someone in these comments who actually gets it. Thank you.

You do not have to be a terrain design expert to understand these things, but I could be wrong. Maybe it does.

Eidolonemesis.5640:

You would think in Guild Wars 2 Anet would have improved this, but I guess not.

Improve? You make it sound like the game is flawed or something because of this…

I’d say pretty much ALL of you are also forgetting one key fact. You’re walking through what amounts to an abbreviated/condensed game world. That trip from LA to sparkfly to bash teq’s face in? That’s probably a good 100-200 miles, if not further, if we didnt have waypoints. The game world is condensed by necessity. If it wasnt, LA and the other cities would be absolutely massive. DR would probably be the size of manhattan, if not larger.

And those measurements are just from eyeballing the map. Imagine if the planet the game world was on was the same size as ours? You’d be looking at weeks to go from Ebonhawke to LA, probably months.

Since when was having square maps a problem? Sheesh GW1…no almost every single MMO ive seen has square maps…you cant see them because they limit you to an area but if you map break you will find it. Makes no difference to me during gameplay and it sure does help when i map. So whats the problem?

EDIT: Sure they could look less square, maybe they will when we go the newer zones, i doubt it. GW1 used square maps and i really dont see why theyd stop using them in GW2.

rotten.9753:

If I were to complain it would be the fact that almost every map is surrounded by mountains. Square (maybe rectangular?) maps are a norm.

That could be complained about, too, yet I am not complaining about that. I am just pointing out that all these areas surrounding by such mountainous/rocky terrains (you say is prevalent around almost ALL maps) can look less square.

Steeldragon.7308:

Eidolonemesis.5640:

You would think in Guild Wars 2 Anet would have improved this, but I guess not.

Improve? You make it sound like the game is flawed or something because of this…

There is always room for improvement to set the bar higher over the competition beyond just how a game runs far as skill mechanics go, etc.

Anyway, because what I point out in the images is prevalent in almost all areas, yea, I call that a terrain/design flub that is an eyesore (my opinion, okay?)

I understand to people like you these things are not a big deal, but me, I am a gamer that looks at more than just a few aspects of a game.

Much older big title games can get away with this stuff quite easily (GW 2 surprisingly is getting away with it, too, because people I guess don’t care about how fake looking the game is than already is). However, for newer big title games, this kind of ‘block’ look to a World Map shouldn’t stick out so much like a sore thumb.

Eidolonemesis.5640:

Steeldragon.7308:

Eidolonemesis.5640:

You would think in Guild Wars 2 Anet would have improved this, but I guess not.

Improve? You make it sound like the game is flawed or something because of this…

I call that a terrain/design flub that is an eyesore (my opinion, okay?)

Oh, Okay.

If GW2’s World Map Design would get an enhancement to look and work alot more natural, that would be awesome.

Anet should begin first by reducinng the amount of Mounts as borders that block off players. There exist also other thigns that can be used as natural borders, it must not be always only unclimbable Mountains.

It could be also swamps/bogs/mires/marshes that are simply so life unfriendly, that you can’t cross through them.

It could be a life unfriendly desert with temperatues, that make a crossing impossible, if you don’t have, what it needs to have to survive a crossign through it.
A natural border like this is also good, because natural borders allow it anet to turn them anytime into explorable territory, once our characters progress through masteries ect. pp to become abble to survive in these deadly areas to cross them somewhen later in the future, when Anet wants to open up those areas for new explorable game content of an upcoming expansion/living story patch ect.. where just mountains don’t allow this option to ANet.
Huge moutain formatinos would require frst somethign massive to happen, that somethign liek a mountain disappears out of a sudden to make these region parts explorable or the maps would have to be redesigned in itself to make those parts that were unexplorable before later explorable with some tricks like underground pathways perhaps…

Large rivers with an extreme strogn water flow coudl also work as natural borders where if you try to get into it because of tryign to swim to the other side, the water flow just overwelms you and makes you drown, if you don’t have something or somethign in the world first happens, that makes the massive water flow to decrease and become slower, os that you can cross normally the river.

The game would look alot more realistical, if it would have a good mixture beteween alot more natural borders and mountains. But placing just everywhere only moutains, that block everythign like squares off is just the reason, why the whole map design looks so extremely immersion breakign and unnatural, because a world liek Tyria would never look like this, that in every singly freakign region are moutain ranges that are all exactly the same surroundign all regions like rings that protect the areas from any outer influences, what is also the reasons, why all regions look like zones and not like really beign part of a larger world map.

It would be also nice, if it would be possible to merge some maps together.

Merging Maps together like Kessex Hills and Brysban Wilds, which are 2 maps that are beneath each other and have both the same level range would be a method, how ANet easily could remove some obsolete mountain borders by lettign the merged maps flow more naturally fitting into each other.

Merging the Racial towns with the Starter Maps would be also something could, makign the towns not instances, but more open world interactive places, that can be also integrated part of the maps dynamic events, so that each racial towns also has ots own list of speciaific interactive dynamic events that can randomly happen in them.
I see no reason, why the racial towns must be at all own instances, when they could work the sameto also better when being merged with the beginner maps and becomign that way also open world explorable parts of the game instead if instances.

The new rebuild lions arch in that case should get merged into the Blood Coast Map together with the Map of that personal story relevant nearby island that becomes permanently unexplorable after the PS story is over which is just sad, when this island should be also permanently explorable with its own dynamic events around it based on maybe risen/ or KARKA invasions that could occur randomly that could work similar liek those old Scarlet Invasions, where players would have to protect LA from getting overwhelmed by the risen and if players fail that event, then LA becomes temporarely a hostile map full of risen enemies, that players would have to fight back in LA as a town centric dynamic event to free LA from them, so that we can continue to build up LA again.

There are definetely way to reduce all those mountaisn on the maps to a logical minimum, but at this point, nearly 3 years after game release, such a change wouldnt also naturally be an easy task and its a task ,that gives Anet no profits, so what a reason should have Anet to do all this effort.

Doing it just only for the sake of making GW2 a better and more logical not immersion breakign game won’t be convincing ANet to do anythign at all, because they would waste their ressources and time, that could be used better on something, that helps anet to make money.

So these kinds of map design improves surely iwll never happen, as long NAet has no profits from it that brings at least all the costs of what it would cost to change the world map design back.

I, personally, would rather see and play in a game world that looks and feels more natural. Verisimilitude in a game world makes playing in that world much more fun for me. BUT. I think the big question here in GW2 is, and I don’t mean this in a sarcastic way: who cares?

As in, what particular portion of GW2’s playerbase cares about the shape of the zones (or has even noticed the shape) and whether they are artificially square or follow ‘natural’ contours/divisions? It seems logical to assume that if there were a great deal of players who were unhappy with the ubiquitous squareness of our beloved Tyria, there would be more ‘smoke’ here on the forums. So, who are those who oppose the squares? What do they do when they’re logged in? Are they the majority? Are they the game’s target audience?

Some possibilities:

Is it the players who just log in long enough to do the dailies?
Is it the players who just play spvp or wvw?
Is it the players speed running the dungeons?
Is it the players who play the market?
Is it the players who do the world boss circuit?
Is it the players running champ trains?
Is it the players working for legendary or ascended gear?

Who is it, among us all, that cares? And, based on the post-launch development of the game, is this group the group anet most wants to keep playing?

Corollary query: what IS GW2?

Dante.1763:

EDIT: Sure they could look less square, maybe they will when we go the newer zones, i doubt it. GW1 used square maps and i really dont see why theyd stop using them in GW2.

Really? You do not understand why Anet would do away with World Maps that have square, almost, perfectly cornered rocky terrains and mountains so as to look like a waffle?

The reason Anet would (hopefully) someday do away with World Maps that are divided into squares is because this is 2015. Not only that, there is NO reason why Anet’s vision — to make an MMO world as lively and active much as possible like the real world -- should not be persistent with how terrains are in the real world, too.

My thing is if Anet and other MMO developers are going to create a living, breathing world (as Guild Wars 2 is marketed in Advertisements), they may as well make it look like one, too, without the terrain being divided into blocks. The World Map should be smooth, one thing naturally making the transition into another with the exception of only a few areas that are industrialized.

Algreg.3629:

the maps are organized on squares, yes. But I sincerly doubt you “experienced” that while actually playing. They could be arranged on a hexadecagon and you wouldn´t notice any difference while playing on the map. What exactly is the point of this OP?

Edit: Oh, you are the fairly new player… never mind then…

My point is simple, yet you make it out to be Greek to you when it shouldn’t be.

I may be new to Guild Wars 2, yet I am not new to gaming in general, and I am a former 10-year Guild Wars 1 veteran that understands that what Guild Wars 1 ten years ago (and much older games) got away with in its design should not be prevalent in Guild Wars 2.

You guys being ‘okay’ with stuff like what my OP points out is why the game will never improve in more way beyond just skill mechanics, the storyline, etc.

Eidolonemesis.5640:

You don’t understand why Anet would do away with World Maps that have square, almost, perfectly cornered rocky terrains and mountains?

No i dont. Its easier and cheaper for them to create squares. It doesnt bother me while running around in the world and thats all i do. I dont PVP, i dont WVW, i explore the open world, on 12 different characters. Sure there are some places that could blatantly use some different terrain(The areas of the shiverpeaks for one, but this world is based off GW1 and they did have mountains there.) But to almost every single player of this game, they more than likely dont care how the shape of the zone looks, just how the zone looks when they are walking around in it.

Would i love to see some variety? Maybe, but we have more variety here than we have in GW1. Way way more. GW1 we had Brown(searing ascalon), White(the shiverpeaks), Green(Kryta and Maguuma), and well a volcano. All of those where squares too.

Also, if you where to move those yellow “Squares” out to the edge of most of those maps in your picture, you would find that while some would still be squares, others would have more rounded edges. You should probably use a map that someone has of a 100% explored map, including the dry top and the silverwastes and trace the areas, up towards the border where a player can actually walk(Not the general shape of the zone, but the actual explorable area of the zone.) Or do each and every single zone individually using maps found on google, and do the same(Trace the area where a player can actually walk, or swim)

EDIT: And dont forget the citys. Those too are maps.

As when you “Explore” an area it unfogs much more in this game than in GW1. In GW1, you couldnt see much past the furthest area your character could walk on the map border. In GW2 though, it opens huge areas of the map, past the border of the area of where you can actually see or get to.

Eidolonemesis.5640:

never improve in more way beyond just skill mechanics, the storyline, etc.

Thats all most of us want anyways. Better skill mechanics, better storyline, Less bugs, more features. The map shape matters very little to us compared to those things.

Algreg.3629:

RegnorVex.4071:

The point is that every time you open the map and look at it you are reminded that all of these biomes are unnaturally rectangular. It’s like looking at a big table instead of the feeling you get when you open up the world map in most other big MMOs.

That is not a point at all, as you don´t “experience” maps, but environments.

Everything the World Map currently shows to players is consistent with what the mini-map itself shows, as well as what is seen around a player’s character without the mini-map or World Map. Therefore, the environment players are experiencing IS the map.

P.S. The screenshot was taken at Stoneguard Gate Waypoint near Guardian’s Pass.