Hi!  This thread is for those who participated in the GW1 alpha weekend events.  I would like to hear how you felt the experiences were different and how they were the same.

I suppose that this weekend I have officially become an ArenaNet fanboy, because if they announced a new game today I would have >99% certainty that it would be excellent.  Just like GW1, when I played GW2 I knew that I would be playing the game upon release.

However, the rushing excitement I felt for GW1 alpha weekend is just not there for GW2.  Despite the obvious improvements between GW2 and WoW (to name some: inventory searching, awesome combat, dynamic events) I still have the distinct feeling that I have played GW2 before.  I've played a lot of MMORPGs, even before GW1...  But I know where the feeling of playing GW2 before comes from.  It comes from WoW.  GW2's art, UI, items (like 75% of them are soulbound...), NPCs (the way they say hello, etc), Map, and so on all feel replicated from WoW.  GW2's heart quests are an improvement over WoW quests but feel very similar at the core.  While playing WvW I had the distinct feeling I was playing WoW's battlegrounds.  The main contrast against WoW is the bold combat GW2 offers. I love the concentration and skill it takes to do well in GW2 combat.  I found myself dying if I go on autopilot like I often do with MMORPGs (including GW1), just pressing 123, 123.  Aboslutely not something you can do in GW2 unless you are fighting stuff at or below your level.

In other words, GW2 feels more like WoW 2 instead of GW2.  I was hoping for an open world successor to GW 1, but instead I got a WoW with better combat and dynamic events (which are a cool way of bringing random players together, but mostly a gimmick as far as 'world changing' goes).

Maybe I am too hard on GW2 because my expectations have been raised since all those years ago when I played GW1.  I remember simple things in GW1, like chatting with people and getting naked and doing a congo line.  I tried to chat with players several times in GW2, and I had very little response.  I don't know why.  Also I felt like I -understood- GW1 alpha weekend.  GW2 there is just -so much-.  I think they should have made it more restricted to give us a taste of the excitement without overhwhelming us with skills and buttons.  I miss the simplicitiy of GW1.  Furthermore, GW1 was gorgeous.  The artistic look and the blooming was beautiful.  GW2 looks much like WoW and I felt disappointed (although I love the cut scenes in the beginning).

I suppose in the end, there just werent as many good games out with GW1 came out so it was easier for it to amaze us.  Also, GW2 just is not going for the simplicity feel that GW1 was, so it will not have the same elegeance.

GW2 Weekend:  More content, more skills, more complicated

GW1 Weekend: More artistic, friendlier community, easier to grasp due to simplicity

Originally posted by wormywyrm
No takers?  Are most people here new to ArenaNet development cycle?

Previous Betas are still under NDA.