Originally posted by Normike

From a developer:

 

"The footage from the opening of the game has shown a surprising amount of in-game voice acting. Is the majority of the game fully voiced?

 

Eric Flannum: The game isn’t fully voiced. We’ve tried to use it in situations that seemed most advantageous to us. For example, if a cut-scene is playing that only you’re seeing at the time we fully voice that to provide more immersion. Every time a character says something out loud in the persistent world that multiple people can hear it’s always fully voiced; if there are two NPCs having a conversation or a character yelling instructions or asking for help, for example."

 

 

It would be cool if it was fully voiced. Hearing the NPC say two lines of dialogue and then seeing a text box pop up with 5 sentences of dialogue is confusing and really breaks story immersion for me.

 

But most people who are really interested in this game probably don't care about full voice acting anyway.

Pretty much the only things that are not voiced are the small miniconverations that pop up when you click on an NPC.

Everything in the personal story is voiced over. All of the random NPC to NPC conversations are voiced over. When NPCs try to get your attention to go participate in events, those are all voiced over.

As from my experience, the thing that is not voiced is when you walk up to random NPCs. They all greetings. They all say something. They just don't say the long conversations that pop up.

Originally posted by Normike

I don't think any major upcoming MMO is just like WoW. But the way some GW2 fans attack other upcoming MMOs calling them WoW clones when GW2 has features similar to WoW itself is strange.

 

WoW does have questing that promotes exploration. The quest hubs are setup to keep the player moving out exploring and running into more quests. GW2 doesn't offer a fully voiced single player experience, that's kind of my point. Sometimes there's text and a little voice over, sometimes there just a little voice over, sometimes I don't see anything in the video except a quest objective pop into the side panel with no voice over or text. But the game doesn't feel like a fully voiced story centered game. GW2 looks like it's main focus is the combat and PvP.

  

I'm not saying GW2 is just like WoW, I'm saying that all upcoming MMOs have something in common with WoW, and EQ, and AC... The Secret World, SWTOR, and GW2 all look like they will be fun but they are only adding some featuers that make them different from each other and earlier games. The rest stays the same.

 

Theres some odd, if not downright ironic things in your post.

For one, I haven't really seen many GW2 fans outright attacking other games (I know it happens, but I see a lot more flaming coming from the TOR forums). Both fans are very defensive as a whole, but I see much more constructed and fact-supported posts in the GW2 threads. Part of this is due to the imbalance of info released between the two games, but a large part of it is that if you say anything that can be taken as negative about star wars, fans get into a frenzy worse than WoW. This has been displayed across multiple threads, some saying nothing really negative about the game at all.

This thread is also another example of some of the blatant bashing I've seen from TOR fans.

That said...both GW2 AND SWTOR are kinda split into 2 parts when it comes to PvE.

1) They both have personal storylines that carry throughout the game. These are fully voice acted in BOTH games, and BOTH games have choices that need to be made that effect the outcome. Granted, TOR does this in Bioware's own style, and GW2 does this in Anet's own style. One has companions playing a significant part in this (TOR), the other does not (GW2).

2) They both have more open exploration PvE content. TOR pops up tips and quests via the holocom, GW2 pops up tips and hints about dynamic events going on in the world. These are primarily NOT voice acted in either game.

Now, this last part is in response to the text in green.

- This is about as generalized a statement, and as strawman an argument as you can make. What you are effectively stating is that all games in a certain genre have something in common. Duh, they are all games! Of course they have some things in common, they are also all MMOs, and all Fantasy.

'They are just adding features that make them different from other games.' Do you really not see how hypocritical that sounds? If adding new features to make a game different from those before it, doesn't make the game seem different to you, then what does?

There's a difference between a WoW clone and a game that has similarities to WoW. Regardless, GW2 isn't even outright similar to WoW. In order to find something that works in a similar way, you'd have to actually look for it.

Where's this bloke hail from? Got a running bet he part-times as a local radio DJ from up north somewhere.

Originally posted by Normike

Originally posted by Master10K

*snip*

And yet, the funny thing is that those who are well informed and have been following GW2, will struggle to look at the features and say "It's just like WoW". WoW doesn't have dynamic questing that promotes exploration, WoW doesn't offer a fully voiced single player experience, WoW doesn't have scalable open-world content, WoW's PvP doesnn't put all players on a level playing field... I could just go on an on, yet you'll likely just reply with some weak strawman arguement, like saying that because NPCs provide players with the OPTION to talk to them it's just the same questing system as WoW.

 

Oh well... I never really replied to try and change your mind, since you are dead set on your idea that GW2 is just like WoW. I just find it quite amusing that you say the story of SW:TOR is enough to make it a completely different experience from WoW. Whereas GW2 is doing almost the same thing with it's personal story (and lots more) but in your eyes it's still a WoW clone.

I don't think any major upcoming MMO is just like WoW. But the way some GW2 fans attack other upcoming MMOs calling them WoW clones when GW2 has features similar to WoW itself is strange.

 

WoW does have questing that promotes exploration. The quest hubs are setup to keep the player moving out exploring and running into more quests. GW2 doesn't offer a fully voiced single player experience, that's kind of my point. Sometimes there's text and a little voice over, sometimes there just a little voice over, sometimes I don't see anything in the video except a quest objective pop into the side panel with no voice over or text. But the game doesn't feel like a fully voiced story centered game. GW2 looks like it's main focus is the combat and PvP.

 

I'm not saying GW2 is just like WoW, I'm saying that all upcoming MMOs have something in common with WoW, and EQ, and AC... The Secret World, SWTOR, and GW2 all look like they will be fun but they are only adding some featuers that make them different from each other and earlier games. The rest stays the same.

I must have unlocked some kind of precognitive ability, because I just predicted exactly what you would do. I said that Guild Wars 2 offers a fully voiced "singleplayer" experience. That singleplayer experience is what all of us refers to as the "personal story". Here's an example of someone focusing purely on the personal story in the game and even though there is some placeholder voice-over (because the game is still in an Alpha State), anyone with half a brain can tell that all the cutscenes, objectives & NPC conversations are fully voice-overed. The only text you might find (not sure if there's any in this vid) is purely optional flavor text, that only the lore hounds & RP'ers might be interested in.

Yet there you go bringing up the exact arguement I said you would bring up. By that same logic I could strawman away and say that SW:TOR isn't fully voiced because my character doesn't explain to me what my abilities do, when I check the tooltips. But that would be stupid. Just like the arguement you brought up, that having a text conversation with a random NPC, in the open world, proves that the game's personal story isn't fully voice-overed.

Well I'm not going to go into the rest of the crap you've been spewing, because I feel I've made my main point.

Originally posted by Normike

Originally posted by Master10K

Originally posted by Normike

Originally posted by Creslin321

*snip*

Well two things...

First, I think it's all relative.  If you compare combat in GW2 to combat in Street Fighter, then yeah...it's pretty similar to WoW.  But if you compare combat in GW2 to combat in Rift and Aion, then I think it may seem significantly different from WoW.

Second, I can't be sure until I play the game, but from what I've heard...combat in GW2 is supposed to involve a lot more "active" movement and dynamic switching of abilities than other WoW and its clones.  Basically in WoW, if you were a healer in a group, you healed.  That's what you did.  You either healed or ran around frantically if you were getting wiped.

In GW2, everyone will be capable of healing, tanking, and DPSing in any given fight; but not all at the same time.  If the guy tanking is getting hammered and you're an elementalist, you can switch to earth attunement and tank for a bit while he recovers.  If you were trying to heal and support but your group just can't do enough damage, you could switch weapons and go DPS.

The fact that you can and are encouraged to actively switch roles in combat, makes the combat different from WoW.

But is that enough to differentiate it from WoW to the average person? I play games because of the total experience, not just because the combat is fun. Cuz really the games that focus on just combat bore me to tears. I know the developers have said story is a feature in GW2 but from what we've seen it's not very immersive. There's a location in the main city that changes based on your quest choices, and every now and then you get a cutscene with NPCs standing in one spot, with a a static 2d background.

 

There's a lot of quest text in some spots. And then at the other extreme you have quests where there is no quest text at all and very little voice over, you just go right into a quest and with an objective bar on the side of your screen. Some players like that in their gameplay but it's definitely more WoW-like than The Secret World in terms of questing and storytelling.

 

If anything it feels like GW2's strength is combat and PvP, which still has elements very similar to WoW.

 

The animations, graphics, and scale of the architecture is AMAZING. I'll probably buy the game, but will probably be playing most The Secret World and SWTOR for a story and immersion experience that's more different from WoW.

And yet, the funny thing is that those who are well informed and have been following GW2, will struggle to look at the features and say "It's just like WoW". WoW doesn't have dynamic questing that promotes exploration, WoW doesn't offer a fully voiced single player experience, WoW doesn't have scalable open-world content, WoW's PvP doesnn't put all players on a level playing field... I could just go on an on, yet you'll likely just reply with some weak strawman arguement, like saying that because NPCs provide players with the OPTION to talk to them it's just the same questing system as WoW.

 

Oh well... I never really replied to try and change your mind, since you are dead set on your idea that GW2 is just like WoW. I just find it quite amusing that you say the story of SW:TOR is enough to make it a completely different experience from WoW. Whereas GW2 is doing almost the same thing with it's personal story (and lots more) but in your eyes it's still a WoW clone.

I don't think any major upcoming MMO is just like WoW. But the way some GW2 fans attack other upcoming MMOs calling them WoW clones when GW2 has features similar to WoW itself is strange.

 

WoW does have questing that promotes exploration. The quest hubs are setup to keep the player moving out exploring and running into more quests. GW2 doesn't offer a fully voiced single player experience, that's kind of my point. Sometimes there's text and a little voice over, sometimes there just a little voice over, sometimes I don't see anything in the video except a quest objective pop into the side panel with no voice over or text. But the game doesn't feel like a fully voiced story centered game. GW2 looks like it's main focus is the combat and PvP.

 

I'm not saying GW2 is just like WoW, I'm saying that all upcoming MMOs have something in common with WoW, and EQ, and AC... The Secret World, SWTOR, and GW2 all look like they will be fun but they are only adding some featuers that make them different from each other and earlier games. The rest stays the same.

this is the most logical post i have ever read on these forums. {mod edit}

Originally posted by miagisan

*snip*

this is the most logical post i have ever read on these forums. Its amazing how quick GW2 fans are to bash other games, but its ok in theirs.

I don't mind if someone bashing GW2 and gives logical reasons why they don't like the game (e.g. "It's a fantasy MMO and I'm getting tired of the Fantasy genre"). That way I can simply ignore the individual, as someone who just won't like the game, unless they have a beta or trial version to try out. But when people start spreading untruths on the forums, a lot of us GW2 follows/fans feel compelled to reply to these untruths, whilst providing evidence to aid our own arguements (like I just did).

Also I never bashed SW:TOR. I've personally already accepted that apart from the voice-over storyline, SW:TOR will play just like WoW and I'll enjoy playing it like that, as I did with Rift. The majority of SW:TOR themselves just need to accept that.

I dont like much the Sylvari as a race but the game remains looking awesome.

There's just one thing I still dont understand, what part of that hotkey combat was not hotkey combat? You target something, you use a hotkey to manipulate that target somehow, and you repeat. Would it not been hotkey combat if he used the dodge roll more? Or something else?

I totally understand this game will feel fresh and different when you are actually playing it, there's those small things you cannot pinpoint in a video, or even explain like TB said, but looking at any of the videos, I see people playing hotkey combat game, so why does people scream all over forums it's not hotkey combat? Did I miss something? It's just my opinion but I think hotkey combat is fine, I dont feel it is a bad way of handling RPG, I would be fine with many other models too, but there's nothing wrong with the hotkey stuff imo. It can even feel fresh if you've tweaked it a bit to feel different.

Then again, to me a game is not just the mechanic, but what you have built around it. I dont play shooters much, they are just not my thing, but I absolutely love WH40K Space Marine. It's not the mechanics of that game I love, it's a lot more, it just feels awesome to me while playing pretty much like any other third person shooter I couldnt care less about.

Thanks alot TB, great job as always.

Originally posted by Athillian

Thanks alot TB, great job as always.

This.

Great video TB, look forward to part 2. Off to Eurogamer tomorrow so will finally get a chance to demo this myself *excited*

Originally posted by Kuinn

I dont like much the Sylvari as a race but the game remains looking awesome.

 

There's just one thing I still dont understand, what part of that hotkey combat was not hotkey combat? You target something, you use a hotkey to manipulate that target somehow, and you repeat. Would it not been hotkey combat if he used the dodge roll more? Or something else?

 ...

It's the fact that the game does not have any of the limitations that all the other hot-key based MMOs have. Like being able to attack, without even selecting and enemy, or being able to manually dodge attacks. It's when you add all the little things together is what makes the combat feel so different, to those who've actually played it. Everyone who has played it and given their impressions say the same thing... that it feels different and that wouldn't be true, if it conformed to the same rules of typical hot-key based combat.

All you have to do is either experience it yourself, or watch footage of people who fully known what the game is capable of.

Originally posted by EvilGeek

Great video TB, look forward to part 2. Off to Eurogamer tomorrow so will finally get a chance to demo this myself *excited*

Well, we're expecting a full report from you.... and nothing less...

Originally posted by Master10K

Originally posted by Kuinn

I dont like much the Sylvari as a race but the game remains looking awesome.

 

There's just one thing I still dont understand, what part of that hotkey combat was not hotkey combat? You target something, you use a hotkey to manipulate that target somehow, and you repeat. Would it not been hotkey combat if he used the dodge roll more? Or something else?

 ...

It's the fact that the game does not have any of the limitations that all the other hot-key based MMOs have. Like being able to attack, without even selecting and enemy, or being able to manually dodge attacks. It's when you add all the little things together is what makes the combat feel so different, to those who've actually played it. Everyone who has played it and given their impressions say the same thing... that it feels different and that wouldn't be true, if it conformed to the same rules of typical hot-key based combat.

All you have to do is either experience it yourself, or watch footage of people who fully known what the game is capable of.

Yeah, I'm expecting it to feel very fresh when I eventually get to play it. Will be my next fantasy themed mmorpg (or maybe even a game) I'll play, hopefully Anet takes their time and creates a truly wonderful and working piece of art, so many titles coming from fall to spring to gnaw on that it does not matter if it would take a bit longer to come out, and finally spark up a bit the whole fantasy-mmo world.

The only other game I could say plays similar to GW2 is DCUO and kiting in DCUO is not like kiting in other games to me, it just feels way more involved.

Originally posted by star
Also, if they had recorded the PvP from day 3, I could've shown you guys some pro-Thief-ing ;)

Yea that pissed me off that during Gamescom they only showed the 6 matches from the first day. Second and third day matches (I hear) were awesome and Anet lost some of them.

Originally posted by Master10K

Originally posted by Kuinn

I dont like much the Sylvari as a race but the game remains looking awesome.

 

There's just one thing I still dont understand, what part of that hotkey combat was not hotkey combat? You target something, you use a hotkey to manipulate that target somehow, and you repeat. Would it not been hotkey combat if he used the dodge roll more? Or something else?

 ...

It's the fact that the game does not have any of the limitations that all the other hot-key based MMOs have. Like being able to attack, without even selecting and enemy, or being able to manually dodge attacks. It's when you add all the little things together is what makes the combat feel so different, to those who've actually played it. Everyone who has played it and given their impressions say the same thing... that it feels different and that wouldn't be true, if it conformed to the same rules of typical hot-key based combat.

All you have to do is either experience it yourself, or watch footage of people who fully known what the game is capable of.

Dude, where's the link to the other half of that video?  Is TB STILL not done with it or do I need to just do a YouTube search for it.  Yes....I'm lazy.

Originally posted by just1opinion

Originally posted by Master10K

Originally posted by Kuinn

I dont like much the Sylvari as a race but the game remains looking awesome.

 

There's just one thing I still dont understand, what part of that hotkey combat was not hotkey combat? You target something, you use a hotkey to manipulate that target somehow, and you repeat. Would it not been hotkey combat if he used the dodge roll more? Or something else?

 ...

It's the fact that the game does not have any of the limitations that all the other hot-key based MMOs have. Like being able to attack, without even selecting and enemy, or being able to manually dodge attacks. It's when you add all the little things together is what makes the combat feel so different, to those who've actually played it. Everyone who has played it and given their impressions say the same thing... that it feels different and that wouldn't be true, if it conformed to the same rules of typical hot-key based combat.

All you have to do is either experience it yourself, or watch footage of people who fully known what the game is capable of.

 

Dude, where's the link to the other half of that video?  Is TB STILL not done with it or do I need to just do a YouTube search for it.  Yes....I'm lazy.

 No second video has been uploaded yet.  The last news he put up on  his channel a couple hours ago, is to expect more uploads on monday.

Originally posted by Cacaphony

Originally posted by just1opinion

Originally posted by Master10K

Originally posted by Kuinn

I dont like much the Sylvari as a race but the game remains looking awesome.

 

There's just one thing I still dont understand, what part of that hotkey combat was not hotkey combat? You target something, you use a hotkey to manipulate that target somehow, and you repeat. Would it not been hotkey combat if he used the dodge roll more? Or something else?

 ...

It's the fact that the game does not have any of the limitations that all the other hot-key based MMOs have. Like being able to attack, without even selecting and enemy, or being able to manually dodge attacks. It's when you add all the little things together is what makes the combat feel so different, to those who've actually played it. Everyone who has played it and given their impressions say the same thing... that it feels different and that wouldn't be true, if it conformed to the same rules of typical hot-key based combat.

All you have to do is either experience it yourself, or watch footage of people who fully known what the game is capable of.

 

Dude, where's the link to the other half of that video?  Is TB STILL not done with it or do I need to just do a YouTube search for it.  Yes....I'm lazy.

 No second video has been uploaded yet.  The last news he put up on  his channel a couple hours ago, is to expect more uploads on monday.

Thank you :)