Oh yeah mama!

Sleepless nights and zombie-walking days here I come!

This comment was edited on Apr 26, 13:27.

These are just two I could find ATM.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=14931

"What happens is that it knows where you are, and when you play, you'll probably be connected to one of the European servers - if you're playing with your buddies, or by yourself, in general it knows your home datacentre. But if you want to play with me, and I'm on one of the US datacentres, the datacentres will communicate with each other and try to figure out the best place to host our game. They may decide that the total experience across both of us is going to be better if it hosts the game in Europe, and so it'll hand off my character - it migrates my character record temporarily to the European datacentre, you and I play our game, and then when we're done, it migrates my character back."

http://www.gamingsteve.com/podcasts/Gaming-Steve-2006-03-20.mp3 (at around 27:15 he talks about account migration)

Lubey: That may be so for Guild Wars Prophecies, but not for Factions.

Also, once you buy a character slot, it remains yours for all chapters you connect to that account.

Here's another bit of information that Creston and some of you may not know and also the main reason why GW games ship with only 4 slots by default.

Classic MMORPGs have a client/server infrastructure that is separated. If you created a character on server A, you can't play that character on server B. Of course some companies offer account transfers for money, but that's another story (yes, account transfers are very costly).

The ArenaNet network works differently and it's really a work of art when you look at it.

Every time you switch to a different district or play with players from different territories, or play PvP, GvG in global arenas (Korea, Japan, Taiwan, EU, USA, Hong Kong,...) the game:

# Decides on which server around the world the game will be hosted. This is determined from the current player structure (from where the majority of players are) and response times to that individual server.

# Once the server has been selected, players accounts (and of course the whole info that goes with it, including characters info) is transferred to that server automatically and behind the scenes.

# When the game is finished and the players return to their original locations, the account info is transferred back or to any other database server the players connects to.

Now, these account transfers don’t just increase in size with every character slot an account has, but they also use up more bandwidth and additional server resources that have to complete transactions every time a server switches servers. HD space is just one component in this.

In the IT industry, larger databases = more expenses. They get bigger, slower to search thru, harder to maintain and even harder to upgrade and that all costs money. Basic database operations need more time to execute and hence require more computer resources.

As you can see, every character slot in the ArenaNet network structure is very costly and this is one of the main reasons why by default GW games only offer a limited number of 4 character slots.

Now, I’m not saying ArenaNet doesn’t make profit with 9€ for every slot, but this profit is minimal when you consider other short and long-term costs this brings with it. And it’s certainly not over-prices.

"They go into the database, Find your account name, hit the little field that says "4" (or "6"), and change it into "5" (or "7")."

Didn't know you worked for ANet.

"They don't have to create new content. They don't have to build an installer. They don't have to put up a page for downloads. That's all they have to do."

So, what's the problem with that? They had to first build the infrastructure to support multiple slots and every new slot means players will spent more time in the game thus taking up more bandwidth, server resources etc. It’s not just HD space (WTF is up with that comparison anyway?).

Hardcore players are the biggest "drain" for ANet in terms of support and server resources. These players are more likely to buy additional slots hence they cover this part of their money drain.

It's a company after all and they have to make money in order to get out new chapters.

I think ArenaNet has proven that they are worthy of buying their games. Not only do they update the game for free, they will also release chapters on a 6 month basis with a completely new story as a stand-alone game, and all these chapters are optional and can be connected. Their relationship with the fans is IMHO one of the best and their level of dedication unseen in today’s gaming industry.

"And you don't think that ten bucks is overpriced?"

Why would I think that? 4 slots = cheaper as if players bought another game and for exactly this type of players this service was introduced.

And for everyone else paying €9 for an additional character slot for their PvE or PvP char is big deal, because they can play thru the game with more character combinations, save these chars that they put so much time into and not delete them every time they need to make another character. For PvP players that means quick switching and maintaining a larger number of characters/tactics for quicker build change.

Paying 2-3€ for a house armor that vanishes after the horse dies or paying 12+€ for a monthly fee even if I don't play the game – that’s rip-off.

Here with only 9€ you get a life time character slot that for many players will be priceless. And let’s not forget completely optional.

You're saying it's rip-off and on the other side you don't have a clue what an adition slot costs ArenaNet. No, it's not just changing a value in the database and some more HD space.

This comment was edited on Apr 22, 03:38.

Boy are you stupid. Sorry, but you just are.

You get A LOT of value for 1 character slots and this can't be measurent in HD? I mean WTF?

First previews are kinda good, but also write about how the action sequences are not that good and that there is more or less very easy gameplay with not that much to do.

But The Longest Journey was always about the story and I'm looking forward to it.

".but now it's oblivion time"

And their crappy mini transactions hourse armor?

Not in a million years.

"GW=Regular Full Game Price=4 slots, GW:Factions=Regular Full Game Price=2 slots, Extra GW Slots for either/or =10 bucks."

Guild Wars Prophecies = 4 slots
Guild Wars Factions = 4 slots
Guild Wars Prophecies + Guild Wars Factions = 6 slots

Of course by combining both games you get the freedom for all you characters to visit both continets, unlock skills/items/upgrades for your whole account etc.

For many players 6 slots will be more than enought. But for those who really want the extra slot, I think this is a great deal.

Many players already have two or more accounts because they needed more slots. Now they can get them cheaper.

For everyone else there will be no changes. It's not like those who have more slots will be "better" in any way.

This comment was edited on Apr 21, 03:26.

I also find it kinda funny how people can pay $15 mandatory monthly fee and not say anything about it, but as soon as a company provides optional service, they all go OMFG ripoff.

Grow up.

What's with all the negative feedback guys?

For this kind of service the players have asked ArenaNet since the game came out. Many of them bouth a second or even a third account, just so they can have more slots available.

Now they can buy 4 slots cheaper as if they had to buy the whole game.

It's not like you have to buy these, it's just an additional service.

This comment was edited on Apr 21, 01:42.

Also the official GW site has posted this news so it's not just for EU, but for all GW players.

www.guildwars.com

This comment was edited on Apr 20, 18:02.

"I would definitely play Guild Wars on the 360, provided there would still be no monthly fee."

That was part of the problem why Jeff was so negative about the whole console marketing thing. Since this seems to be changing a bit, they might be a posibility of an GW Xbox title.

Yeah, every chapter will have 1 year of development. Factions started in late May so it's almost 1 year.

It can be done, but they will have to work really hard.

Every chapter is a stand-alone game. That means a whole new story, continent, 50+ PvE missions, new PvP/PvE mechanics, new professions, monsters, armors, items etc...

This is from the official FAQ @ http://eu.guildwars.com/support/article/factions_faq/

What kind of new content will I find in Guild Wars Factions?

* A total of 300 new skills, including 90 new elite skills, for the two new Factions professions and the six core professions from Guild Wars

* More than 50 new locales, including story missions, combat arenas, and questing areas

* More than 100 new creatures

* New guild halls

* New faces, hair styles, and armor sets for both Factions and the core professions

* New pets

* Hundreds of new weapons and items

And that's not even mentioning new Faction Alliance Battles and new PvE/PvP game mechanics (Cooperative, Challenge, Elite missions).

So yeah - it's definitly worth €40.

This comment was edited on Apr 19, 01:52.

Pretty good for the first game from a fresh company if u ask me.

Great GW interview! Keep em coming!

Guild Wars Chapter III @ E3. Nice!

It seems ArenaNet really wants to release two chapters per year.

This GW Factions movie is old (the cinematic intro).

When will it be available for download?