As with GW1, GW2 uses an incredibly beautiful gaming engine that is also wonderfully optimized – after all, my computer runs this game smoothly at high FPS even with all or most of the graphics settings on high 
, as opposed to games like (for example) The Secret World whose FPS number is quite a bit lower on my computer at mid-level graphics settings (TSW is still a pretty cool game, though 
). 
Which made me both wish and wonder: could (and perhaps should) ArenaNet use GW2’s engine to create similar games of other genres such as sci-fi, western, super hero, modern, etc.? Would the game engine allow the games of different genres to incorporate new elements (i.e. walking aboard spaceships, riding horses, flying Superman-style, etc.), and would the games be better with popular licenses like Star Wars, Star Trek, et al or with brand new universes altogether?
^This. It so does. Some days when I’m running around Queensdale and Divinity’s Reach, I have these moments where I’m looking at the skies and wondering how long either is going to last, and how crazy I’d go to experience the before and after of a Searing-like event again.
Indeed, not to mention wondering when and where another Queensdale-like area and Divinity’s Reach-like area would ever emerge (after all, even after 250 years, Ascalon had apparently never returned to what it was like before the Searing).
what do you like about queensdale?
I’m not sure. I thought it was because of the environment. The grass just seems a little greener, the sky a bit bluer. The perpetual overcast in Kessex Hills just saps the joy out of the zone for me. But I enjoy Lost Shore despite its drab color palette.
Then I thought it might be the pockets of serenity; the pond by Claypool, the Hunter’s Lodge in Queensforest, and Edna’s Orchid are great examples. But other zones have equally relaxing locales.
As mentioned by Marcus Greythorne, it could be the number and variety of events. From bandits raiding farms to trolls rampaging the countryside, there’s never a shortage of fun events in which to play. But, again, Queensdale hardly has the monopoly on Dynamic Events.
Ultimately, I think it’s the community. The traffic in Queensdale is never lacking. And I’m guessing that, more than anything, is the reason I enjoy it so much more than the others. That’s probably why I enjoy Lost Shore, too.
A large part of the reason, at least for those who’ve also played Guild Wars: Prophecies, may also be that Queensdale is the closest thing in GW2 to GW1’s pre-Searing Ascalon in terms of looks, feel and serenity, all of which was lost forever after the Searing.
I had problems with immersion in Guild Wars 1 too….like no cities at all. What was LA in Guild Wars 1? After all the build up I finally get there and there are some guys standing around and some guys selling stuff in front of tents. No houses, no buildings, no structures you can enter. It was very anti-climatic for me to reach LA. The first thing that looked like a city didn’t come in Till Factions, with KC and that was the last city in the game. I have friends with back yards as big as LA was.
I’m glad to see/read that I’m not the only one who felt that way about Lion’s Arch in Guild Wars 1.
That was one of the few things that WoW had over GW1 (except for Kaineng City in Factions) – in WoW, the cities actually looked and felt like cities.
(edited by Torvic.8256)
Will William Shatner and Brian Blessed star in the movie?
Whatever makes your meat loaf man
How many ways are there to make a meat loaf man (or a meat loaf woman, for that matter)?
Ah, I see. The effect would be positive, because:
Survivors of this auditory onslaught would be forced underground for fear of a second occurrence; all races (assuming any Sylvari remain) would have to adapt to a subterranean lifestyle. This, of course, is the precursor to how we will eventually confront and defeat the Elder dragon Primordius.
Effect: positive. Thank you, screaming plants.It would be quite ironic, though, if the underground moss then joined in on the screaming.
I believe the fact that it is a bed of moss means they are in perpetual slumber. The only sound would not be screaming, but snoring.
Could some massive world-wide event suddenly reverse that so that the beds of moss change their snoring to screaming while all the other plants of the world change their screaming to snoring?
Not only are both my GW1 and GW2 mains male human rangers, but the latter is a direct descendant of the former (both even have the same last name).
Are we seriously expected to apologize for using proper grammar and typing in complete, coherent English sentences?!?
The earlier mention here of how our society as a whole is increasingly resembling the movie (and actually becoming an) Idiocracy was spot on!
Many THX =)
1138.
Ah, I see. The effect would be positive, because:
Survivors of this auditory onslaught would be forced underground for fear of a second occurrence; all races (assuming any Sylvari remain) would have to adapt to a subterranean lifestyle. This, of course, is the precursor to how we will eventually confront and defeat the Elder dragon Primordius.
Effect: positive. Thank you, screaming plants.
It would be quite ironic, though, if the underground moss then joined in on the screaming.
Thinking about where the original incarnation of Lion’s Arch is in GW2 is indeed pretty depressing.
Is this ArenaNet’s homage to the mid-1980’s 8-bit classic “Bubble Bobble”?
Am I seriously the only 22 year old who has played and enjoyed 8 bit classics?
Seriously?
I shed a tear for my generation.
If you were born in the 80s 1989 then yes.
I graduated high school in 1989. I’m old.
Nonetheless, I’ve played MANY games over the years and I still say that GW2 is one of the best that I’ve ever played.
It’s now about 3pm PDT here on Sunday, March 31st and I’m already getting the 8-bit music.
I’d assume it’s PST aka. Server time.
Or more accurately for this time of year, PDT.
It’s not Easter for everybody, though :P . I celebrate Easter at the beginning of May!
Hooray! I’m not the only one here after all. 
My earlier post in this thread wasn’t in vain.
Even if there won’t be a Gregorian Easter event tomorrow, hopefully there’ll at least be an event for Julian Easter, which this year is on May 5th (it’s admittedly unusually late this year, as Julian Easter is usually a week after after Gregorian Easter and is even on the same day once every few years).
I’ve always chosen a male human ranger as my main in every fantasy game (MMORPG and otherwise) I’ve ever played, including both GW1 and GW2, so my decision was already made going into this game and I haven’t regretted it once.
Oh, and my GW2 main is a direct descendant of my GW1 main, hence them sharing the same last name.
Jeremy Soule’s music has always been great and he truly outdid himself in Guild Wars 2!
Is GW2 THE best game EVER? Hmm… I’ve played many games over the years, so I’d have to sit down and truly think on that for a while.
Is GW2 ONE of the best games EVER? Absolutely, positively without question it is!
I’ve always chosen a male human ranger as my main in every fantasy game (MMORPG and otherwise) I’ve ever played, including both GW1 and GW2, so my decision was already made going into this game and I haven’t regretted it once.
And all with Jeremy Soule’s stirring music!
I don’t think that this game is made for a very narrow audience at all. I think this game is made for an audience most people don’t realize is as large as it is. Let me give you a couple of examples.
Games like Skyrim or Dragon Age or The Witcher are all popular games. They’re games about people who like RPGs. MMORPGs have had the letters in the name for a long time, but the love of exploring and the world detail have largely been ignored by companies. Very few companies really wanted to make a living world. That’s why everything in WoW ends up in dungeons and raids, and people standing around cities.
But when you actually poll the WoW playerbase, you end up with a whole lot more people who solo than anyone expected and a whole lot less raiders. More to the point, Scott Hartsman, the lead developer of Rift, said (and I’m paraphrasing here, it was a long time ago), no MMO developer in his right mind could possibly ignore those who play MMOs solo because it’s such a large percentage of the playerbase. Even the Guild Wars 2 FAQ has a question about being able to solo.
The thing is, since the people who play games for immersion often do solo, no one knows what they think. They don’t have to come to forums to exchange builds, or group with people, or find out about dungeon runs, or the best min/max builds. They just play the game.
There’s a whole lot of us out here. No one knows how many. Why? Because when you’re a raider there’s a very specific activity you do, and you KNOW you’re a raider. When you’re a PvPer there’s a very specific activity you’re into. But when you’re an immersion player, just enjoying the open world exploring and having fun, there’s no real name for that. So many people I’ve talked to share my play style, but there’s no word for it, because you’re not really doing any specific activity.
I believe that Guild Wars 2 is popular for players like me, because other MMOs don’t even take us into account most of the time.
+1. Absolutely well said, Vayne!
I wanted to sincerely thank the developers of this amazing game for their hard work and authentic commitment…
Yeah really. Any complaints I DO have are trumped by what an great game it is overall.
The only other games I can say I probably played as long as GW1 and now also 2, would be the entire GTA series collectively, and the Unreal Tournament series, but those dont’ have /age commands. LOL
As well as the first three Rainbow Six games and their expansions.
They’re also neither like the Texas Rangers, New York Rangers nor Glasgow Rangers in this GW2.
Can Quaggans also wear Quaggan backpacks?
Absolutely, on all counts!
Upcoming Baby Quaggan Backpack.
This is a really fun MMO and it’s worth the money
For me, this game has absolutely more than paid for itself many times over!
Hell yea!
Amen!
For all the faults I have pointed out with this game, my musical score is top notch. Cant praise Anet enough on this subject
:)
If Cantha and Elona eventually become playable in this game, or even if the Dwarves somehow return and settle in, it’ll be interesting to see how distinct the graphics, music, atmosphere, etc. will be in those cities as well.
Awesome job, Farzo!
That video makes me simultaneously excited and sad, in both cases the way they were likely intended , much like finding Gwen’s grave in the Stronghold of Ebonhawke.
If Quaggans won’t be the next playable race, can Quaggans at least be the next playable class with the option for the current playable races to talk and act like Quaggans?
Even each race’s outposts seem to attempt to keep as much of the architecture and atmosphere of its mother capital city as possible, albeit with varying degrees of success (considering the more limited resources and support available away from the capital cities).
It’s awesome that there are other playable races as well as humans.
Also, the introduction of day/night cycles further adds to the immersion.
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STILL HAVING A BLAST
Me too!
This is a really fun MMO and it’s worth the money
For me, this game has absolutely more than paid for itself many times over!