Problem with the Two-Week Release Schedule

Problem with the Two-Week Release Schedule

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Posted by: Drakkon.4782

Drakkon.4782

I’ve given if a couple cycles and I can now firmly say that I have a problem with the two-week cycle. It’s too fast. No one is out in the world anymore, running the Group Events, securing the Temples, etc. Obviously, I’m NOT discussing the sPvP and WvW segments. This is strictly about PvE, so please confine any comments to that arena.

This problem seems to be a problem mainly for alts, new players, and people who are completing the map to 100%. I was in Orr last week, and there were 4-6 of us in the zone, total. There couldn’t have been more than 20 people in all three of the zones on Orr. And nothing in Orr is really soloable, because the normal mobs re-pop so fast, the mob density is quite high, and most of the Veterans pat through areas where their two adds aren’t the only ones you’ll have to take on. So soloing isn’t an option, and for those of us in small guilds, who just like to solo, or are taking ANet up on the promise that the game was completely soloable, that’s a problem.

Yes, one could join a larger guild, but that doesn’t fix the problem, it just changes the situation so that the parameters are different. It’s not the same thing.

Now, how is this tied to the sped up release schedule? Well, everyone heads to the new zones to do the content as fast as possible, and they stay there. This is problematic, because people would prefer to get the new achievements, particularly now that they have little bonuses tied to them. This is unfair. The extra week would help people by putting a buffer in that would prompt players who had completed the content in the Living World story to go back into the world, and others who could hold off until later would be able to be int eh world until they found more time to devote to the new stuff.

But two weeks isn’t enough time to get bored with the new content, and it isn’t long enough for some of us to digest it all. That’s a problem. All of it is related.

Just my thoughts.

“People don’t hate Scarlet the way Game of Thrones
fans hate Joffrey. They hate her the way Star Wars
fans hate Jar Jar Binks.”-not a direct quote, but still true.

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Posted by: Earendhil.1532

Earendhil.1532

Agreed, though not for the same reason. I am a WvW player by default but like to do the events and living story.

For me its about the time I get. Due to family/rl bits I cant always play for 3 nights a week. Normally its 2 for about 5 hours. 4 of these are WvW’ing with my guild. So I get 2 hours a week to do the Living Story parts.

The unfortunate thing is that I often have to resort to guides just to complete everything in time. Whilst I dont mind using guides I would prefer to have enough time to get everything done and “enjoyed organically” as it is designed.

3-4 weeks would be perfect for me. However some people play the game 24-7 and complete it all in 2 days. Avoiding the sad fact they are able to do this (I would love to!) how do they entertain both camps?!

Jazzy Roarhide – 80 Warrior/Earendhil – 80 Ranger
Proud member of Digital Fury (DFC)
WvW Guild of Far Shiver Peaks

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Posted by: Pewintodo.4138

Pewintodo.4138

Some of it is extremely grinding for solo players. Take the current cut-throat politics for example. Group players get one 10 minute cof run and 1 fractal to earn points towards the mini’s. Solo players need to complete 20 events and get lucky with the direct assist mini-game and then spend several hours in survival/arena. A few days into the episode there’s a patch which makes the direct assist quest even harder to acheive. It would be nice if the field was a little more level.

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Posted by: Plum Butter.4058

Plum Butter.4058

The reason it is such a problem comes to the fact that the content is temporary. Even if they extend the time frame, some people will want it faster because they can complete it in a smaller number of days due to play time.

So to fix this problem many people have suggested that the content remain permanent, through various needs. (Like having flash-back NPC’s etc. if the story dictates something wouldn’t make sense to stay in the world.)
But then the people who want this badge of exclusivity get upset because eventually something they put time into for being there then could be gotten by a casual player. I know this seems like a selfish personality but there is some merit for working towards something that make your character unique from all the rest in a *MM*O game.

My thought on this is that there should be some reward – restricted to being title based (maybe a small icon near the name plates we all have to see now, ala Mabinogi) – for people who finish the meta during the time the event actually takes place. But all the achievements and content should be available for others down the line.

Why is it that new players picking up the game can’t experience actual story and content that had occurred before?

http://wiki.mabinogiworld.com/images/3/30/Mabinogi_2012_04_13_004.png
(The circle icon was given out to people who completed the new story content during the time that the event was “active”. However, that story content was still there for me to do a year after being released with all the regular rewards and experience.)

(edited by Plum Butter.4058)

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Posted by: Serenity.6149

Serenity.6149

Concur completely.

And I hate the argument that the rest of the game is boring; if there isn’t proper incentive to play the core game, then that’s a problem that needs addressing. If a friend asks us why they should consider GW2, it’d be nice if we could tell them about the amazing dungeon/fractal system that requires teamwork and never gets boring (I can only comment about PvE since I don’t PVP or WvW). It’d be nice if we could tell them about the thriving and abundant open world system. It’d be nice if we could tell them about the amazing combat mechanics (I love the dodge system, but let’s face it, most fights in this game are tank and spank of the worst kind).

I can tell them about the frequent temporary content additions, which isn’t bad per se, but when the goal of that temporary content is mainly 1) lore, 2) achievements/titles, and 3) skins, those are things that appeal to players already vested in the game. To someone who either hasn’t played or left due to the flawed PvE, none of that sells.

It’s nice that ANet has four teams working on Living Story now, but I don’t think anyone would have complained if it was two teams rotating on a four-week release schedule. The other manpower or salary could be directed toward polishing the core PvE. Unlike those who believe in an infinite resource system that ANet has at their disposal, it’s clear that they could use more help in fixing bugs and polishing the overall game. I realize bugs/bad tooltips/skill malfunctions take time to be ironed out, but when even the easiest things to address take 11 months (and counting), it’s no longer an issue of bugfixing but either lack of manpower or poor attention to detail.

(If there are issues with PvP and WvW, I didn’t mean to place PvE above them in importance, but as I said before, my main experience is with PvE. Surely, if there are issues with core PvP and WvW, they should receive similar attention.)

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Posted by: Charak.9761

Charak.9761

Orr is deserted, which sucks cause the mel event has good drops but it needs more people for the drops to upscale.

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Posted by: Dondarrion.2748

Dondarrion.2748

2 weeks isn’t too fast for churning out new content, they just need to make the changes persistent/permanent so that you don’t have to play the content in those 2 weeks or otherwise miss out forever.

Lord Sazed / Hasla the Huntress / Seaguard Hala
Seamarshal Belit / Initiate Xun Tsu / Mistwarden Roshone
Seafarer’s Rest | Northerner @ Dragon Season

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Posted by: Raine.1394

Raine.1394

A two week release cycle is a problem in itself. As the OP mentions, there is no real need for it. We shouldn’t be able too consume a release in two weeks. And, regardless of the team organization, it’s still a two week release cycle. It’s extremely aggressive in terms of software development life cycle. Given that it adds no value and poses quality risks, I’m left wondering why.

The why is simply how Anet has chosen to define their value proposition. Look, you are getting a kittenton of mini-games, jumping puzzles, and temporary fluff all for free. Isn’t this great? Well, no, for those of us desiring quality, deeper story, less kid-toys, this value proposition does not work.

Rather than two week, I would move to a three month release schedule. Bug fixes and balance could happen as desired. New content would be permanent and evolve a permanent living world. And, if there is an election everyone would get to vote, not just the platformers.

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Posted by: Raine.1394

Raine.1394

Orr is deserted, which sucks cause the mel event has good drops but it needs more people for the drops to upscale.

The mel event has been bugged on my server for the last four days. Buggy software is actually a feature of an aggressive release schedule. Simply no time to test.

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Posted by: Skipper De Longmont.8734

Skipper De Longmont.8734

Also, its ok not to have another event lined up for the day after the current event ends. The world can just be calm and the basic game. Releasing every 2 weeks will burn the players out.

Also, every event doesn’t need their own mini-games and tokens. Some can just be pure story… we love the world and its richness.

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Posted by: Lyskaria.2145

Lyskaria.2145

Concur completely.

And I hate the argument that the rest of the game is boring; if there isn’t proper incentive to play the core game, then that’s a problem that needs addressing. If a friend asks us why they should consider GW2, it’d be nice if we could tell them about the amazing dungeon/fractal system that requires teamwork and never gets boring (I can only comment about PvE since I don’t PVP or WvW). It’d be nice if we could tell them about the thriving and abundant open world system. It’d be nice if we could tell them about the amazing combat mechanics (I love the dodge system, but let’s face it, most fights in this game are tank and spank of the worst kind).

I can tell them about the frequent temporary content additions, which isn’t bad per se, but when the goal of that temporary content is mainly 1) lore, 2) achievements/titles, and 3) skins, those are things that appeal to players already vested in the game. To someone who either hasn’t played or left due to the flawed PvE, none of that sells.

It’s nice that ANet has four teams working on Living Story now, but I don’t think anyone would have complained if it was two teams rotating on a four-week release schedule. The other manpower or salary could be directed toward polishing the core PvE. Unlike those who believe in an infinite resource system that ANet has at their disposal, it’s clear that they could use more help in fixing bugs and polishing the overall game. I realize bugs/bad tooltips/skill malfunctions take time to be ironed out, but when even the easiest things to address take 11 months (and counting), it’s no longer an issue of bugfixing but either lack of manpower or poor attention to detail.

(If there are issues with PvP and WvW, I didn’t mean to place PvE above them in importance, but as I said before, my main experience is with PvE. Surely, if there are issues with core PvP and WvW, they should receive similar attention.)

Agree with this completely. I would prefer if they put more resources into the core game and into bug fixing. Right now it feels like the game is going for fluff overload and not enough attention to the rest of the game. I’m getting quite tired of the LS; I love doing the new stuff, but every 2 weeks is so freaking fast! I’d prefer a new release once a month just to slow down the frenzied pace a bit.

Not even going to bother with the fact that it’s drawing people away from other areas and the new player issue. Others have already explained that a lot better.

Will Ranger forever.

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Posted by: Monoman.2068

Monoman.2068

This is exactly how I feel. I barely feel like I get a breather to do wvw and by the time I finish this bunch of content, the next bunch is going down my throat. My friends have completely given up on the new content because it’s happening far too fast for them and they just do wvw now while I frantically try to collect achievements and take in the sights before it’s gone for good. I wish Anet tied new content and areas to maybe a 1 or 2 month schedule (with more oomph!) while constant bug fixes and balancing was every two weeks.

It’s nice that Anet is commited to delivering a stable stream of content (it really is) but we are all only human.

Laviere – Hybrid Wellomancer
Makonne – Hybrid Regen Ranger

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Posted by: MithranArkanere.8957

MithranArkanere.8957

It can get hectic.

The problem is not as much the new content as it will be gone forever.

Many people would just keep doing what they like at their own pace if it wasn’t for the content going “poof” in just a few days.

But with the pressure of doing things “now or never”, they focus on the missable stuff, since they can do the other stuff later.

SUGGEST-A-TRON says:
PAY—ONCE—UNLOCKS—ARE—ALWAYS—BETTER.
No exceptions!

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Posted by: Lethalvriend.1723

Lethalvriend.1723

I agree with just about everyone here, I didn’t play the game much for nearly 7 months and got back to playing somewhat regularly now. However, the completionist in me felt so pressured to complete the new stuff that is gone in 1-2 days from now that I am already starting to feel burned out of the game in only 2 weeks of playing. I did manage to squeeze some regularly playing into it but only because I have lots of time right now during summer. When I get back to my regular schedule next month I doubt I’ll be able to keep up. I said ‘kitten’ it by the time dragon bash lead to the pirates and missed all the pirate content because I just didn’t enjoy racing for the content. I caved in for the bazaar and politics but I’m not sure if I will play through all the jubilee content that’s coming.

So, my main issue is the time pressure. Making the content last longer, release slightly less often (3-4 weeks? maybe even 2 months) and please.. add actual lore to the stuff that ties into what we have been going through the entire game. All the LS just feels like something unconnected that’s added to the game. What does this all have to do with the massive theme of centaur attacks, elder dragons, dredge and dwarves and so on. I want to go past the broken bridge at brisban wildlands, go past the blocked passage at the southeast of Mount Maelstrom.. This game world has so much potential and they don’t utilize any of the lore and locations that are already in place.

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Posted by: Axiom.6137

Axiom.6137

A form of content best reserved for holidays and festivals is now being thrust at us at two week intervals. The pace destroys the sense of novelty, establishes that inane, temporary content is all ANet cares to produce and provides a recipe of content delivery absolutely guaranteed to produce player burn out.

The writing on the wall came early in the year when a senior developer did a flip flop from “we intend to double or triple Dynamic Events in the world to provide the sense of a living world”, to “Dynamic Events are too hard, so we are going to do ‘Living Story’ instead”.

Novelty content is not a replacement for sustainable content that evolves the game world. Not only is the substitution diminishing the game, but it has ruined the positive role that the occasional novelty content may have on an MMO game world.

The Live Teams inherited a four star restaurant and converted it into a fast food joint because flipping burgers was easier than producing a fine dining experience. It would be comical if it were not so tragically sad.

(edited by Axiom.6137)