Showing Posts For Akiro.4695:
Thanks for answering, FogLeg. That’s exactly correct. The biggest motivator for showing only the “host” world in enemy nameplates was to help identify enemies quicker. With only two other world names showing up in a given week, it’s easier to quickly figure out which color team they belong to. Since world linking supports any number of “guest” worlds linked to a single host, it would potentially get pretty confusing to see a big zerg of nameplates with any number of world names, and figure out the composition of one team versus another.
As for not seeing an allied player’s guest (actual) world name anywhere, we wanted to be sure world linking wouldn’t create any avoidable friction between players. One of the major goals we have with GW2 is always making sure encounters with other players are positive experiences (my paraphrasing). So anything we could do to let guests blend in and only stand out if they felt like calling themselves out as such is likely to be a good thing toward that goal.
Plus, there actually just aren’t that many places in the UI where we show allied players’ world names, so this was an easy goal to keep for this side of things.Helping maintain guest world pride is a little tougher. We could show each player their world’s name in more areas of the UI, regardless of if they’re on a guest world or not, but this may cause communication issues, with some maps and areas of maps being named after worlds.
I’m open to hearing any feedback people have on little ways we could improve the feeling of world linking, while maintaining unambiguous communication for players and avoiding any negative “tribalism.”
As a player from Sanctum of Rall, I can attest that even with so few of us in WvW, we still take great pride in our server. We have a rich history and the reason for the server’s name is not forgotten. I’ve seen some close friends today truly hurt by the loss of that identity; our efforts and our very existence reduced to a small plus sign next to what feels like a “real” server.
I want to sign up for a pie eating competition with my human friend. As a charr, I can eat ten times the pies she can. I don’t want my name to be the team name, though. Our team would be signified by a SINGLE name that is not my name nor her name. The fact that we are both identified by this name and this name alone reflects the fact that everything we do is a joint effort, it’s a name we both take pride in and both give meaning to, despite the fact that I am doing 10 times the work she is. Maybe it’s only one pie at a time, bless her, but she’s still helping.
I believe I understand the technical reasons for it being difficult to represent both the host world and the guest world. But if you ask me, that’s overthinking it. The linked teams are completely new entities, they are not one single world. The issue is not that players from both servers cannot have their own server names shown; it’s that the name of one server with its own culture and own identity is now being forced on another server, also with its own culture and identity that is different.
ArenaNet, you seem to care greatly about making sure servers stay together as a family, to be with the friends and those they care about. This is a great thing. So I beg you, please consider the fact that identity really matters here. But the fix does not have to be a complex one. Ask around, and see how many people would prefer to be called “Red Silver Scout [SOS]” instead of bearing the name of a server they do not belong to, and may not even like (even if they are willing to work with them). Also consider that some guilds have their server name in their guild name.
A single name can unify us if it is one we can share, and both take equal pride in. It does not have to be MY name, but if you call me something I am not, I will never be at peace.
Honor to Old Roar Rall, and thank you for reading,
Azerys
(edited by Akiro.4695)