Bring Out Your Dead

I’m finally freeing us from the constraints of the MSN blog. We can have full-size screenshots and pages for information and articles! I’ve taken the liberty to go back through the old posts and update the small screenshots using the original files, making a couple of small related changes to the text to make it all make sense (well, as much as it’s going to anyway).

As an extra bonus, I’ve installed some forum software (look under “BOYD Links” in the column on the right), so we finally have a way to communicate and plan things that doesn’t involve being lucky enough to have everyone log on to the game at the same time. In addition to making forum postings, the forum software allows private messages as well, so no more waiting for ArenaNet to put the messaging feature back in the game. Of course, that probably means it will be back with the update on Wednesday. You’ll need to create a User name in order to post on the forums (and to get private messages).

If you need to email me directly, I’ve set up the address alara@boyd.dreamhosters.com. If any other guild members would like a similar address that forwards to an existing email address, let me know – they’re easy to set up.

I’m planning on upgrading the look of the site (it’s set almost entirely to the defaults currently), but since I had all the old content transferred over and things seem to be working (let me know if they’re not!), I wanted to go ahead and start using the new site now. If there are any artistically gifted members in the guild, I’d love to hear from them about doing a treatment for the site. Unlike the MSN blog, this blog can be customized to an almost unlimited extent.

In game-related news, the Frog has been doing a lot of talking lately in the International Districts of Lion’s Arch, and we had quite a conversation with Gaile Gray at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle. Cape removal is sounding like a done deal (yay!), the messaging system is definitely coming back at some point, and I think I made some very solid points about the lack of inventory space and character slots (and how buying another account doesn’t take care of the problem because of having to unlock the other account all over again). The idea of private/custom chat channels got a very poor reception because of bandwidth concerns and their desire to not reinvent the wheel in regards to instant messaging software in general.

I’ll very likely have more to say about what I’ve heard recently after I see what makes it into the game with the Sorrow’s Furnace update in a day and a half.

Isaiah Cartwright is the person responsable for the Guild Wars skill system, and IGN has an interview with him about the scope of the changes they’re making and a look forward to what’s in store for future chapters.

After a couple of months of mostly bug fixes and a great deal of we-can’t-tell-you secrecy, many bits of information have started to make their way to us through various channels.

The Frog has been speaking in various Lion’s Arch districts over the past few days. There’s a nice set of screen shots posted here of what has been said.

ArenaNet has announced the PvP Xtreme weekend this coming weekend on the Guild Wars home page, with promises of a number of skill balance changes and increased faction awards.

IGN has a story that covers the weekend event, and a promise of a number of other revelations over the coming days.

In a recent forum posting, Gaile had this to say:

Also, this just in: We are working on new features that will encourage and support cooperation between guilds. You can expect to see an announcement about these upcoming changes in the near future.

I’m really looking forward to the next couple of weeks. 🙂

Just when you thought I wasn’t going to post any more… 🙂

I’ve got a number of accumulated things to cover, so this is likely going to be one of my longer posts. In spite of the length, please take the time to read the entire thing.

Besides playing the game, I’ve also been seeing how the choices ArenaNet made when the game shipped have impacted the game, and watching the direction they’ve been going so far. I’ve been really impressed with their level of commitment to the game, and regardless of where they end up, I plan on being here for the long term, and my plans for the guild reflect that – and I hope that most of our current and future members share that sentiment. ArenaNet has a really solid foundation to build on, and I think that we have a great core membership in the guild to build on as well.

Going forward, I’d like to see the guild get big enough to field both PvE and PvP groups on a fairly regular basis without it being any sort of hardship time wise for our members, and I’d like to accomplish that growth at a rate that allows the existing membership to get to know the new members as they’re added.

That raises the question of where the new members will be coming from, and I see the answer in 3 parts (in rough order of preference):

1. Friends and family of existing members – the guild already has a number of people that have known each other in real life for quite some time and I think it really helps the cohesiveness of the group to have that trend continue;
2. Active players who we get to know who have a guild that has pretty much died – I’ve heard a number of people both in and out of the game (in forums) say that they’re the only one in their guild that ever logs on anymore; and
3. People who are attracted to the guild based on our in-game presence as a team – the best advertising we can do is to hang out as a group in the staging areas of the game and talk to people who show an interest.

So what are some of the traits that make a good guild member? My list looks something like this:

1. Thoughtfulness – being willing to think about what you’re doing and how it affects those around you,
2. Patience – being calm and understanding in the face of adversity, and
3. Communication – being willing to talk with and listen to the group.

With those traits in mind, I’d like to establish a few points for the day-to-day well-being of the guild:

1. Abide by the EULA (end user license agreement) of the game – this takes care of such things as griefing other players, racism, and sexism. I would hope that this would never be an issue, but I’d like to be very clear up front that I wouldn’t tolerate these sorts of activity any more than ArenaNet and wouldn’t hesitate to kick people from the guild based on an unwillingness to abide by ArenaNet’s rules,
2. Remember that you’re representing the guild as well as yourself in your interactions with others in the game – if you’re tempted to do something that you suspect you might personally regret later, keep in mind that anyone involved is also going to see that you’re a BOYD member and associate your actions with the guild as a whole,
3. We have members from around the world, a trend that I’d very much like to see continue – so please refrain from inflammatory statements about a particular country or nationality,
4. Related to (3), not everyone’s first language is English (although I wish I was as fluent in another language as they are), so please keep your communication to the group in English words and avoid leet speak (u no who u r). This also ties into (2) and the game as a whole – people will judge both you and the guild based on how you communicate in the game, and
5. Use the in-game communication channels appropriately – if whispering will work, don’t fill the guild channel with text, if you’re in a team, use the team channel instead of the guild channel. This is not to say don’t use the guild channel – it can be extremely useful in setting up meetings and establishing a sense of community in the guild, but if half the guild members have it turned off as a result of excessive use that doesn’t involve the guild as a whole it becomes much less effective.

I think that’s enough for one post. 🙂

If there’s anything that I’ve missed, or something that you’d like to suggest in relation to what I’ve said above, please feel free to either leave a comment on this post or track me down in the game.

The final ranking of halls in the guild vote was:

1. Hunter’s Isle
2. Wizard’s Isle
3. Frozen Isle

So we’re now the proud owners of Hunter’s Isle. Enjoy the moonlight views and lush jungle landscapes while wearing your brand new capes. 🙂

We now have a Celestial Sigil courtesy of Violet (Thank You!).

We’re going to be having a vote to determine which hall (out of 8) that we’ll call our own.

You can preview all the halls by talking to the Canthan Ferry Captain on the boat in Lion’s Arch. I’m also including some pictures and a brief description of each hall here for anyone who wants to vote and who doesn’t plan on having a character in Lion’s Arch in the next few days. You can find some more pictures of most of the halls at Guild Wars Guru (they’re missing 2: Nomad’s and Burning).

Your vote is going to be a ranking of all the halls as follows:

On one line, list all the halls in order from most preferred to least preferred, separated by a greater than ‘>’ sign. If you can’t decide between two or more halls at a particular level, separate them with an equals ‘=’ sign.

Here’s an example (using the order of the halls in the Captain’s list – this is not my vote and not a suggested vote!):

warrior>hunter>wizard=frozen>nomad=druid>dead>burning

This would indicate that the person voting prefers the Warrior’s Isle over the Hunter’s Isle, then either the Wizard’s Isle or the Frozen Isle, then either the Nomad’s Isle or the Druid’s Isle, then the Isle of the Dead, and the Burning Isle last.

After I have all the votes (you can send them in-game to me, or if I’m not available, one of the Officers), I’ll be running them through a calculation that produces the winning hall on the basis of what makes the group as a whole the happiest (I’ll be using the Condorcet voting system for anyone who is interested).

The Halls:
(The pictures below are in the same order as the list, 2 pictures for each hall)

Burning Isle – Lava environment, small central raised platform surrounded by small semicircle and outer wall.

Isle of the Dead – Catacombs environment, narrow hallway that leads to enclosed central chamber.

Druid’s Isle – Jungle environment, but uses mostly the bare areas, bowl shaped with narrow entrances

Frozen Isle – Shiverpeaks (mountain) environment, wide open and flat, surrounded by “icy ground” that slows movement by 70%

Hunter’s Isle – Kryta (tropical) environment, lots of stairs and bridges, and a long entryway overlooked by walls

Nomad’s Isle – Desert environment, open area enclosed by cliff and surrounded by quicksand that slows movement by 15% and drains energy when attacking or using skills

Warrior’s Isle – The Hall from the Beta Weekend Events.

Wizard’s Isle – Pre-searing environment, compact center with a partial circle area with good visibiltiy around it.

If you have any questions, find me in game or leave a message in the comments here.

Most of the feedback I’ve gotten so far agreed with my sentiment that it was nice to be able to see the back of our characters, and that having a cape wasn’t a big priority. I might be tempted to just abandon the cape idea altogether except for one thing – they’ve made the cape a requirement for getting a Guild Hall. I really want to get a hall, both for having a place to meet and relax, and for eventually being able to participate in the GvG part of the game. The other requirement for obtaining a hall is a Celestial Sigil, which only appear in the game (one at a time) for the team that wins each round of the Hall of Heroes. The demand for Sigils is large, and the supply is small (and not helped by certain teams hoarding the Sigils that they win). The current going rate for a Sigil seems to be in the 25,000g to 30,000g range. I expect that the price will float back down towards reality over the course of the next 2-3 months, so my current thought is to wait until the Sigils are readily available and then get both the cape and the hall at the same time.

Let me know your thoughts, either in the comments here or in game.

Penny Arcade has been following Guild Wars off and on for many months now, and they’ve finally got the game. I got quite a laugh out of the first post they made about the game, so I thought I’d share it here:

I had intended to discuss Guild Wars in more detail today, but it’s starting to become clear to me that I don’t know shit about it.

It’s not for lack of playing it, either. I think I heard it had a twenty level cap on characters, and assumed that a few sittings later I would be some kind of Guild Wars genius. This has not been borne out. What’s more, I have the sneaking suspicion that the entire area I’m in – the verdant forests that surround Ascalon City – is the equivalent of a training area. But I’m in full-on obsessive-compulsive mode now, and I can’t resist quests or the attendant rewards for their successful completion. Levels in Guild Wars are, as they are in all games which use the terminology, a general indication of character power – but Guild Wars play comes down more to what skills you have and how/when you use them, and thus far I’ve earned skills from quests as opposed to raw leveling. That’s different. So, I guess I’ve learned some things. Just the same, I haven’t gone into weapon or armor upgrades, customization, their take on crafting, basically most of the non-combat aspects of the game, simply because I am too busy puncturing lizard men.

IGN has posted a review, with Guild Wars getting a 9.8 overall.

Also, note that I’ve added a new Official Links list on the right that contains the reborn Ladder and a handy page of changes that ArenaNet has made to the game.

Yes, I’m a little slow getting this posted. Yes, I’ve been busy playing the game. 🙂

One of the first things you probably noticed was that, while the Guild remained intact, the Guild Capes and Guild Hall have gone missing. The capes currently cost 2000g and the hall requires a Sigil won from the Tombs, which I understand are currently between 2000g and 3000g if you want to buy one. Personally, I’m enjoying being able to see the back of my character for a little while while accumulating gold. It’ll probably take me a week or two to get the cape on top of things like armor and equipment. If you’d like to contribute to the cape fund, just send me a message in-game or leave a comment here.

The biggest change to the game on release is the movement of skills from the skill trainer to the quest givers, which I think is another great idea on the part of ArenaNet. It gives you both an extra incentive to explore all the content (if you needed that), and a way to unlock the majority of your skills without expending a bunch of skill points and gold. One note – in pre-searing Ascalon, most professions have three trainers – two that are talked about and one that is hidden away somewhere.

I’m planning on using three of the character slots to cover all six professions to unlock skills, while leaving one slot open for a PvP character that can be rebuilt as desired.

See you in the game!

For anyone who hasn’t seen this video, it’s well worth the 66M download. It captures as aspect of Guild Wars that I haven’t seen in any other video, and it does it very very well.