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ArenaNet celebrates concept artists, sheds light on WvW queues [Updated]
One of ArenaNet's main selling points for Guild Wars 2 is the game's art direction. In recognition of that, the studio has begun a series of weekly interviews, which kicked off with a chat with Concept Artist Team Lead Jamie Ro. After getting her start in Auckland, New Zealand, Ro worked on developing a new style of art once she got to the States. She's pleased to be on a team with "some of the most talented people in the industry" whose "support and friendly competition" keep her motivated, and she believes that the diversity of artists and art styles represented in the concept art department is a real strength of the team. Head on over to the official interview to see all of what she has to say. In other Guild Wars 2 news, Mike Ferguson has been busy updating players about World vs World queue numbers. About 30% of Guild Wars 2 players queued up for WvW on the day that his data was taken, and about 3% of the players who were queued up didn't get in during that time. Ferguson says that the team is "looking at a number of short term and long term solutions" to help get more people playing and fewer people queuing. There are a lot of charts to be seen, so take a gander at the NA and EU server posts to see what's up. [Update: The team also plans to limit world transfers to one per 24 hours in an attempt to limit WvW exploits.]
ArenaNet presents WvW improvements and server list for final Guild Wars 2 beta [Updated]
With the final Guild Wars 2 beta just days away, ArenaNet has been putting out scads of information regarding what players can expect over their weekend in-game. We've already told you about the Asura and Sylvari being playable, new areas being opened up, and the new PvP map. Today ArenaNet added to the heap of updates with some information about world vs. world. The last BWE helped the team find some issues and bugs in the WvW matchmaking system, leading to some rather unbalanced matches. As a result, the server standings from that weekend won't be published, but systems designer Mike Ferguson says that those bugs have been patched up and more factors have been added to the formula to improve its accuracy. In answer to some concerns about launch, Ferguson announced that the 24-hour match length that players are familiar with from the betas will be used until servers are consistently being matched properly. At that time, matches will move to the two-week format that WvW is meant to take. In the same post, Ferguson listed the servers available for the final beta, which is noticeably shorter than the previous list. The world population limit has been "greatly increased," due both to the additional areas that will be open for player exploration and to some adjustment in how the team is handling its tech. Players should note that this is the initial list and the team is prepared to launch new worlds should the need arise. Refer to the original blog post for the full world list. [Update] ArenaNet has posted a few extra details on the official forums, world transfers will be free from the start of the beta until 9:00 p.m. EDT on July 21st. Gem cost for transfers after that time will be 1800 gems to transfer to a high-population world, 1000 gems to transfer to a medium-population world, and 500 gems for a low-population world.
Guild Wars 2 gears up for beta weekend with a producer video and WvW article
Guild Wars 2 players, are you ready for this weekend's beta event? That's the question that Marketing Coordinator David Campbell and Lead Producer Chris Whiteside want to help you with, and the duo's put together a three-and-a-half minute video to chat about the creation and hopeful execution of the game's second public beta test. What can we expect from this beta event? "A much more evolved experience which breaks down into roughly two areas," Whiteside said. "One area is the feedback that we've gotten from the community... the second part is the content evolution that includes a new zone and the Mystic Forge." Over on the ArenaNet blog, Systems Designer Mike Ferguson penned a post detailing all of the tweaks, fixes, and changes that the team has made to the world-vs.-world PvP for this weekend. He even posted a chart showing off the wins and losses for each server from the past beta event. The beta weekend event starts tomorrow, June 8th, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Hit the jump to watch the full producer's video to get ready for it!
Guild Wars 2 devs answer anything, including launch date speculation
ArenaNet President Mike O'Brien and his motley crew of pirates, flibbertigibbets, and developers just stormed the seas of Reddit and fought valiantly through a dynamic event of Q&As concerning Guild Wars 2. No topic was off-limits, although the team didn't necessarily address all of the hundreds of queries put forth. Some of the questions answered included confirmation that there will be a way for guilds to raise their membership cap, word on bug fixes, a detailed explanation of the new trait system, and excitement for the upcoming beta weekend event. For those hoping to hear word on playable Asura or Sylvari, however, the rote response throughout the Q&A was, "Watch this space." What bug will the team actually miss? "Sit jumping," Mike Ferguson replied. "I don't know why, but it seems like everybody loves it (except the guy that introduced it). I'll actually be sad to see it go." O'Brien did directly address the rampant curiosity surrounding the game's launch date: "The fundamental issue here is that we just don't have a release date right now. We're using beta testing in the traditional sense. When beta testing shows that the game is where we want it to be, we'll lock in a release date. We're not that far off. We're obviously going to release in 2012, and any statements to the contrary are absurd."
Guild Wars 2 info keeps on comin'
If you're a Guild Wars 2 fan, you're used to the jarring transitions between droughts and floods of information. This week, happily, it's flood time. It's been a busy week for ArenaNet, but the team gives no signs of slowing down. After a successful press beta weekend and opening up a signup form for upcoming beta tests, ArenaNet has kept up the flow of information -- and excitement -- by gracing GuildCast with the presence of a few of its devs, clarifying some points on world vs. world in a new blog post, and setting up a Reddit Ask Me Anything session for 11:00 a.m. EST on Friday the 24th. The blog post clarifies some of the more prominent questions the community has been voicing about WvW over the last few days, while the Reddit AMA is a good chance to get in those nit-picky questions that you're still dying to get clarified (no, "can I have a beta key" should not be one of 'em). The most important information out of all of this? Mike Ferguson put a stop to a debate that might otherwise have been endless: WvW is "wuv-wuh." You're welcome.
Massively Exclusive: Eric Flannum on GW2's Engineer
Unless you've been spelunking near the center of the earth for the past few days, you're likely aware that ArenaNet recently unveiled Guild Wars 2's seventh class. Chances are high that you're also aware of said class's affinity for turrets, guns, and various contraptions meant to rain death down upon any unfortunate enemies that cross its path. Today, Massively presents a new interview with Guild Wars 2 lead designer Eric Flannum. Naturally, the guest of honor at this Tyrian banquet of exclusivity is the Engineer, and Flannum (along with several other ANet dignitaries) provides us with a few tasty mechanical appetizers before getting down to the lore-centric main course. Bon appetit after the cut.
