Why aren't Anet adding playable races?

Why aren't Anet adding playable races?

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Posted by: TopBadge.3569

TopBadge.3569

Q:

I wanna play as a Kodan dang it!

Why aren't Anet adding playable races?

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Posted by: Game of Bones.8975

Game of Bones.8975

In order to bring in a new race, programmers have to go through and enter voices for each and every contact that character makes in the entire world.

It’s easier to bring in a new profession and keep the races the same.

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Posted by: starlinvf.1358

starlinvf.1358

Because back porting Personal Story would be nigh impossible, time line continuity would be shot (its borderline broken with Revenant as is), and trying to use new zones wouldn’t work unless they automatically started at level 80…. which won’t happen for a myriad of reasons. From new player experience to gearing concerns.

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Posted by: TopBadge.3569

TopBadge.3569

In order to bring in a new race, programmers have to go through and enter voices for each and every contact that character makes in the entire world.
.

not really, NPC babble is already non race specific.

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Posted by: Will Lucky.8703

Will Lucky.8703

In order to bring in a new race, programmers have to go through and enter voices for each and every contact that character makes in the entire world.
.

not really, NPC babble is already non race specific.

He means for the Story.

They’d have to record the entire personal story/HoT/LW Seasons with 2 new voices all over again.

Not to mention the resource they’d have to put into designing a new personal story as well as new levelling up zones for these characters.

Server: Far Shiverpeaks

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Posted by: TopBadge.3569

TopBadge.3569

Because back porting Personal Story would be nigh impossible, time line continuity would be shot (its borderline broken with Revenant as is), and trying to use new zones wouldn’t work unless they automatically started at level 80…. which won’t happen for a myriad of reasons. From new player experience to gearing concerns.

Just do what WoW does, you unlock the race after hitting max level new races don’t need the all the personally story.

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Posted by: FairyNuff.3452

FairyNuff.3452

In order to bring in a new race, programmers have to go through and enter voices for each and every contact that character makes in the entire world.
.

not really, NPC babble is already non race specific.

He means for the Story.

They’d have to record the entire personal story/HoT/LW Seasons with 2 new voices all over again.

Not to mention the resource they’d have to put into designing a new personal story as well as new levelling up zones for these characters.

Not just 2x, remember the other languages.

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Posted by: Randulf.7614

Randulf.7614

In order to bring in a new race, programmers have to go through and enter voices for each and every contact that character makes in the entire world.
.

not really, NPC babble is already non race specific.

Not the NPC’s themselves, but the dialogue from the character. That is costly and also requires a lot of scheduling for Anet dev, the multiple VA (male/female and possibly per langauge?) and the studio availability. Is that really a good business decision for what is essentially, a different character skin?

Then of course, where does the line get drawn? Once one is added, there will still be calls for more and the problems pile up further.

Maybe one day they will add a new race, it isn’t totally inconceivable, but resources aren’t infinite and many things they prob want to add have to be cut due to resource/time restrictions.

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Posted by: TopBadge.3569

TopBadge.3569

I would personally forgo the story to play as a bear man just say’in.

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Posted by: DeanBB.4268

DeanBB.4268

Besides… a Giant Bear riding a Giant Bunny would just be silly. Oh, wait…

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Posted by: Einlanzer.1627

Einlanzer.1627

Because back porting Personal Story would be nigh impossible, time line continuity would be shot (its borderline broken with Revenant as is), and trying to use new zones wouldn’t work unless they automatically started at level 80…. which won’t happen for a myriad of reasons. From new player experience to gearing concerns.

Except there’s no reason they have to do this. A far better way to introduce new races would be with a new personal story tied to them, and it doesn’t have to have the same scope and complexity as the original did, either. And if they didn’t want to even do that, I’m sure most players would accept new races that had no personal story.

Otherwise, it’s just a matter of hooking them up with the right characters for the LW story.

(edited by Einlanzer.1627)

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Posted by: Fractured.3928

Fractured.3928

From what I remember, almost non of the NPC dialogue is race specific outside of the beginner story.

So really, besides creating the same race specific intro that each race has to a new race, which would be expected, there wouldn’t be anything different to a new race.

They would however, have to pay new voice actors. Which well, they already do, adding all the new NPCs, bosses, and storyline stuff. What is 1 more? Especially if you want to grow your game, which makes your game more viable for different people.

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Posted by: starlinvf.1358

starlinvf.1358

Because back porting Personal Story would be nigh impossible, time line continuity would be shot (its borderline broken with Revenant as is), and trying to use new zones wouldn’t work unless they automatically started at level 80…. which won’t happen for a myriad of reasons. From new player experience to gearing concerns.

Except there’s no reason they have to do this. A far better way to introduce new races would be with a new personal story tied to them, and it doesn’t have to have the same scope and complexity as the original did, either. And if they didn’t want to even do that, I’m sure most players would accept new races that had no personal story.

Otherwise, it’s just a matter of hooking them up with the right characters for the LW story.

Given the casual audience this game attracts, you can’t ignore the possibility of a new player wanting to pick that specific race for its style (since GW2 is one of the few games that separate it from class) at the on set; which would create problems with learning curve, and lock out all the old story content in the process if your forced them into a PoF only starting point.

This game has enough problem with acclimation of new players conditioned to WoW standardized tropes; so you want to, at every opportunity, NOT throw them into the deep end of the build craft, with no familiarity with basic game mechanics, and expect them to coexist in (and design for) a level to house both of them with equal consideration for player performance.

The Lvl80 boost into Silverwaste is still the harshest introduction to a game “that isn’t EVE”- pitting completely inept/inexperienced players against the cheesiest mobs outside of Raids, and expecting them to get handle on class feel in the process. Thats NOT what the lvl80 boost is for… but that’s exactly what New players are doing, because they feel the need to get caught up to the expansion as quick as possible. Using leveling and/or the person story as a guide rail for new players, gives them enough time to unlearn their old habits from previous games, so they can relearn things in GW2’s style when its time dive into build craft and group content.

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Posted by: Aduah.4567

Aduah.4567

Its not about just voice acting. They’d need to design a whole new home city, would have to make all the current armours fit the new race, etc, etc. Its not as simple as lets just plop in a new race

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Posted by: Illconceived Was Na.9781

Illconceived Was Na.9781

From what I remember, almost non of the NPC dialogue is race specific outside of the beginner story.

So really, besides creating the same race specific intro that each race has to a new race, which would be expected, there wouldn’t be anything different to a new race.

They would however, have to pay new voice actors. Which well, they already do, adding all the new NPCs, bosses, and storyline stuff. What is 1 more? Especially if you want to grow your game, which makes your game more viable for different people.

  • Voice actors, 10 per story, in addition to the ambient dialogue; that’s much, much more expensive.
  • Test animation of all weapons, skills against male|female of new races
  • Get all existing outfits to work with new race
  • Get all existing armor skins to work with new race.
  • Also spend more time on armor skins (and a bit on weapons) for the new race.
  • Personal story for the new race.
  • Home city for new race.
  • And more that we don’t even know about that affects things behind the scenes.

All of the resources required to the above already have steep competition from other good ideas and ‘demands’ of the community, so choosing a new race reduces what else ANet can deliver in terms of features.

Now, ANet could certainly choose to ignore some of the above, but then we’re talking about a low-quality version of a 6th race, which would make it less entertaining.

Then there’s the benefit. There’s no question that people will flock to any new race day one. But later, people will quibble about combat, about skins, about clipping, about voice acting, about customization. Some people will never play more than one toon of the new race; some won’t play any.

So the costs are enormous, the resources compete with other ideas, and the benefits are short-term & limited to a narrower fraction of the player base.

Obviously, new races are popular enough that ANet has and will continue to consider it. But it’s not going to happen in this expac and almost certainly not in the next.

John Smith: “you should kill monsters, because killing monsters is awesome.”

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Posted by: IndigoSundown.5419

IndigoSundown.5419

If one asks why a business isn’t choosing to do something, the answer is always going to be money. In this case, a cost/benefit analysis has likely determined that doing so will cost them more than doing so will gain them.

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Posted by: Squee.7829

Squee.7829

Too much work for not enough demand. I would like new races too, but am not the least bit upset we’re not getting them, given the work they require and the mental backflips required to fit them into the story.

Leader and sole member of the “Bring Penguins to Tyria” movement.

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Posted by: Azerguard.4589

Azerguard.4589

I wanna play a Largos T.T