Guild Wars Is up and Running.

[LochnarITB]

A lot of good points there, ceolstan, but I thought I would mention a couple things.

I'd like some options on camera angles so I can get more help with where to position myself. It's hard to see if you're blocking a teammate. Likewise, it's hard to see if you're unable to reach the target. Unlike D2, you can't attack "through" your teammates. The game simply won't let you engage if you're unable to reach the target.

I think one thing that hindered a lot of players was something we really couldn't expect from an alpha - a user's manual. Some things I ended up finding out by experimenting and others from other players. With a couple tips, I didn't have any problems with controls. For movement, I used the mouse to click where I wanted to go. The only times I couldn't move was when I was surrounded. Even then, if I clicked around the mass of monsters, my character usualy found an opening to slip through. The keys I used were the number keys for my main battle skills on 1-4 and the control key. When you held down the control key, any monsters in the viewing area, hidden or seen, had their name displayed above them. A click on their name targeted them. It didn't matter if there were hills or trees or other players in the way. If my character could get into position to target them, she did. Arrows would fly, seemingly, through other monsters and players to hit the target. She made some real hail mary shots doing this - launching arrows down into valleys and over rocks and trees. I also controlled the camera with the mouse. Holding down the right button allowed total control over angle. I could rotate all the way around and from flat to the ground all the way up to looking straight down. My mouse wheel also allowed me to zoom in and out on my character - great for seeing how the new dye looks on the armor.

Towns: I found navigating these to be frustrating. Where are the trainers? Where are the different merchants? A lot of in-town chat asked just these questions over and over again. I did find the trainers after running around a bit and looking for the yellow NPC dots, but I think I'd like more map support.

I can't say I had any problems finding anyone in town. I tended to just follow a wall around an area and note any interior areas that I had to follow up on. There is one feature I would like to see though, both in town/staging areas and in missions - a middle level of map. I would like to have been able to open an area map that bridged the gap between the little radar map and the world map you got when you clicked the open map button. It would be a map of the entire area and I would expect it would include "fog of war". I always use such a map to be sure I explore an area entirely. Especially in this kind of 3D world, it can be so easy to get lost running up and down hills and valleys and such a map would really help me get my bearings and decide what to do next.

I was very pleased that in co-op play, item drops are assigned to players. This is a great way to discourage the kinds of hacks that plague bnet public games, in which the hacks autopickup good items. I did think of one problem, though. It looks as if everyone in your party can autoloot. That is, if you're dead, someone else can pick up your item.

I never noticed that people could grab your drops if you die. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I had gone down, been rezed and then picked up items that were still assigned to me. There is a timer on the assignment too. If items aren't picked up after that time, they are up for grabs. I would like to see the assignment system be a little more sophisticated. It is fine to divy the gold evenly. For items, I would like to see them assigned to characters that can use them. There is nothing worse than seeing that ranger gem of charm lynx, that you covet, get assigned to some warrior oaf who doesn't have the courtesy to ask if anyone can use it and just takes it to the traders for a gold or two. If the items have any semblance of randomness, the value each player gets would eventually even out, even if one mission seems weighted toward a certain player.

Overall impressions: I thought the demo was truly fascinating, but I also realize it's a demo of an alpha product. I think the company wanted to highlight combat options, skills acquisitions, teamplay, and some trading/items options. I think that only a very few areas were opened up, and that the company trimmed a lot of the surrounding content so that players would get a glimpse of specific features of the game rather than an overall look at the scope of the game. That overall look will, I suspect, come with beta testing later on this year.

I did think the open demo was a terrific marketing ploy and a very good way to get a lot of data in very short order. One hopes that the information gleaned from the demo will help accelerate the development process.

Anyway, I had a good time for the limited amount of time I could play. I'll be following this game closely.

Exactly my feelings. Thanks for a good write up of your impressions. I am really looking forward to this game. With what I have seen already, I think it would be hard for them to drop the ball and, unless they do, I do think this would be a strong candidate for the Lurker Lounge's attention.