Linking Guild Wars 1 and 2

[Thriff.2418]

I would like to see two time zones and link GW1 with GW2. As you move from GW2 to GW1 your character would be transferred, but you’d start off at lvl one with no equipment. The games would stay separate, but you’d be able to swap between the two time zones and play all the content in both games, with it remembering what lvl you were, in each, as it swapped you over. The only added content for GW2 would be the story of future traveller returning to the past and the creation of an approximation of your GW2 character in GW1. Likewise something similar could be created so you could take a character from GW1 into GW2. All other aspects of the game ie Game mechanics, graphics would stay the same in both games. This would be an easy way to expand content massively! What do others think the benefits and drawbacks of this idea would be? Ie would is spread the player base too thin or would it draw in a larger uptake etc.

[Danikat.8537]

A lot of people already have characters with the same name and (as near as possible) same appearance in both GW1 and GW2. (Or something similar - my GW2 main looks a bit different to how she did in GW1 because she's supposed to be descended from all my characters.) Unless I've missed something this sounds like it's just a way to automate that process by re-creating your GW2 character for you in GW1.

 

Although what would happen if your GW2 character isn't human? Would they need to add extra dialogue to explain why a charr is helping the humans in Ascalon? What about the sylvari who didn't even exist in GW1?

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

How would either game handle chars of a profession that’s not in that game?

[GreyWolf.8670]

> @"Danikat.8537" said:

> A lot of people already have characters with the same name and (as near as possible) same appearance in both GW1 and GW2. (Or something similar - my GW2 main looks a bit different to how she did in GW1 because she's supposed to be descended from all my characters.) Unless I've missed something this sounds like it's just a way to automate that process by re-creating your GW2 character for you in GW1.

>

> Although what would happen if your GW2 character isn't human? Would they need to add extra dialogue to explain why a charr is helping the humans in Ascalon? What about the sylvari who didn't even exist in GW1?

 

I kinda did that, too. My GW2 female human mesmer is supposed to be the great-granddaughter of my GW1 mesmer trying to overcome the ineptitude of her ancestor. :P

[Thriff.2418]

Simply the character would have to be approximated to a different race or profession and the user given the option. The character name and look could be approximated. Might be hard if the user chooses a race that looks completely different I know!

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

If we don’t keep the race, name or profession then what’s the point. Just log into the game you want to play and play.

[Thriff.2418]

Also it’s both ways, so GW1 character could be approximated into GW2, using time portals, as an example. Nothing is set in stone. Anyone’s welcome to add comments on better ways to link the two games together ie mechanisms that may work.

[Thriff.2418]

Creative ways to make the storyline work would be needed. How about your char from GW2 transmographies while time travelling into a different race, as like you say Silvari didn’t exist, or they’re wearing a human skin disguise to make them fit in, Or the Silvari character could look the same and a storyline to accommodate the arrival of a new visiting race in GW1 be devised

[Thriff.2418]

.............

[OrbitalButt.5708]

This sounds absolutely abhorrent

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

How do we explain the PC surviving 250 years?

(And who has their stuff?)

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

While your suggestion is interesting I don’t see how it’s possible. The professions aren’t the same. The races aren’t the same. The armors aren’t the same. The skills aren’t the same. The traits etc aren’t the same. The hairstyles and faces aren’t the same. There will be name conflicts. You’re suggesting that both games be completely reconfigured at enormous cost and dev time so that players who have both games _and_ who play both games can port chars back and forth. There is already a simple solution for your suggestion. Log off one game. Log into the other. No need for the big rework of both games.

[Thriff.2418]

You don’t take anything other than your char between games. The only creation aspect would be the game approximating your look when transferring from one game to the other for the first time! Skills and everything else are done with your character from lvl 1 when transferring from GW2 to GW1 for the first time. The game mechanics and everything else you mentioned are not an issue. Each game remembers where your at as you transfer between games

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Since we can already do this (approximating a character's look) manually, I don't think the Devs would spend any resources on automating it, nor do I think they should (sorry).

 

Good luck.

[Thriff.2418]

Linking gw1 to gw2 makes sense as you get additional story and better timeline continuity and a heck of a lot more content that may well bring in a bigger audience. Like GW2, GW1 base game could be given free. It’s minimising expense in development that this option provides in fact!!

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

If you mean the launcher would give a choice as to which game to enter, I suppose that could be possible. Do keep in mind, though, that Guild Wars is in maintenance-only mode, and could just as easily turn players away since no bugs would be attended to, nor is much done with bots, etc.

[Just a flesh wound.3589]

> @"Thriff.2418" said:

> You don’t take anything other than your char between games. The only creation aspect would be the game approximating your look when transferring from one game to the other for the first time! Skills and everything else are done with your character from lvl 1 when transferring from GW2 to GW1 for the first time. The game mechanics and everything else you mentioned are not an issue. Each game remembers where your at as you transfer between games

 

You’re not going to be able to seamlessly step from one game to the other. They are two separate games. Players are going to need to log in and log out of the games in order to swap. So how is this an improvement over players simply making a char in both games and logging into the game they want to play.

 

[Thriff.2418]

The question is does linking the games in some meaningful way and making the base games both free help in attracting new players? Of course guild wars 1 would have to be maintained and issues fixed in this scenario.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

Just like recreating Living Story Season One, maintaining and updating Guild Wars Prophesies, Factions, Nightfall and Eye of the North would take massive resources. I think the Devs have stated they would rather create _new_ content for the playerbase; what is suggested would likely entail creating a whole new game, in essence.

[Thriff.2418]

Do you think something that brings the history and law of Guild Wars to life would be better ie storyline journey taking you to visit and take part in past events, either alone or as a group ie group story?

[joneirikb.7506]

Have to agree with Danikat and the others, I don't see any point in doing this, as it is the same thing you can already do, but just recreating your own character in both games.

 

Otherwise it would be limited to only: Humans, classes: Warrior, Ranger, Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer. That and the character in GW2 would be automatically aged by +250 years, so would be dead or looking like a mummy.

[Brother.1504]

Love the enthusiasm but porting characters from the first game to the second just isn’t practical. That said. Developing the eye of the north space in a future expansion of gw2 is totally doable imo.

[Dreamy Lu.3865]

Putting aside the technical challenge of linking the two games (for what I know, it is technically not possible), there is also a conflict on the timing level: GW2 is happening long after GW1 and many of the NPCs are the descendants of the GW1 NPCs supposed to be dead. So it would be a time travel. Furthermore, for those - like me - who have retaken the names from their GW1 toons, that would also be a problem.

I would have loved to be able to do so, but have accepted that it is not possible. I simply keep regularly returning to GW1 to enjoy there what has not been taken into GW2 and that I miss a lot (heroes, henchies, build templates, menagerie, assassin with the chained skills, ritualist, Cantha, and so on, and so on...).

[Danikat.8537]

It's highly unlikely they'd give away GW1 for free, even bundled with GW2 when people are still buying it (if only for the HoM rewards). It's even more unlikely that they're going to add a bunch of extra story to GW1 when the game has been in maintenance only mode since GW2 was released and has only a skeleton crew keeping it running.

 

And other than this extra story about a portal sending your character back in time I still don't understand the difference between this suggestion and the current system where players can make a character with the same name and profession in both games if they want to. What do we gain from this other than a short story to explain it's the same character?

[Maikimaik.1974]

Good luck trying to connect two different engines.