Do not ship unfinished products

I want to support this game as I play the franchise since it's premiere in my country so many years ago. But..Next time You end up with not enough time or some major developement problems, postpone the release even more. I would rather see two episodes launched almost at the same time, then have another one like this.

HAVE SOME FAITH IN YOUR COMMUNITY!

To the point. Kourna maybe looks nice but has some serious issues. Meta suffers the most here as Gandara not only lacks content but is simply unfinished. It doesn't help that people manage to "breake" inside to see how bad it is. During my newest playthrough I went to the balcony in the last story part, to see fortress outside. Imagine my disappointment whe I saw it's base floating in air. Oh and I have no clue why were we helping those Heket as they have no presence outside their "controlled" area.

Starting with PoF, Anet has generally been pretty low effort, with resources pushed over to the cash shop. Mounts were awesome, but the maps and things to do in the maps are pretty lackluster compared to prior releases However, with mounts I feel as though their meetings are just about what new skin to push out to the shop while content isn't even getting a half-baked effort.

@FlyingK.9720 said:Starting with PoF, Anet has generally been pretty low effort, with resources pushed over to the cash shop. Mounts were awesome, but the maps and things to do in the maps are pretty lackluster compared to prior releases However, with mounts I feel as though their meetings are just about what new skin to push out to the shop while content isn't even getting a half-baked effort.

Excuse you? PoF was loaded with content. A ton of achievements and map to explore, many events to complete and things to discover. Can't say there is a single thing in base PoF that felt rushed or unfinished, with just as much if not more detail and content in the maps themselves than anything previously.

Don't even bring gemstore into this equation because it has nothing to do with the normal game quality? Different teams, you know?

You're confusing replayability with amount of content. PoF has not a single worthwhile meta event, that much is true. Maw comes very close though. The problem is that it is only good the first time. After that there is nothing holding you in the maps. That is far from low effort though.

@Blocki.4931 said:

@FlyingK.9720 said:Starting with PoF, Anet has generally been pretty low effort, with resources pushed over to the cash shop. Mounts were awesome, but the maps and things to do in the maps are pretty lackluster compared to prior releases However, with mounts I feel as though their meetings are just about what new skin to push out to the shop while content isn't even getting a half-baked effort.

Excuse yourself out, HoT was superior content wise.

Today, I saw someone post in map chat that they would gladly pay 10 bucks for each episode if that would help deliver finished content (re: explorable Gandara as well as its meta). I agree.

Istan, Sandswept Isles and Kourna are just fillers. A repeat of the maps of Bloodstone Fen, Bitterfrost Frontier, Lake Doric, Draconic Mons and Siren's Landing.

Seeing as how we don't even know who the new baddie is yet for the expansion, there's probably going to be another map on the way. They are learning from Dry Top and Silverwastes which is nice. Nothing like failing Silverwastes meta over and over again simply because there isn't enough people to garner interest in it and low rewards. I'd prefer a short meta I can still complete further down the line than a meta that's abandoned because of length, not enough people or other issues.

@FlyingK.9720 said:

@Blocki.4931 said:

@FlyingK.9720 said:Starting with PoF, Anet has generally been pretty low effort, with resources pushed over to the cash shop. Mounts were awesome, but the maps and things to do in the maps are pretty lackluster compared to prior releases However, with mounts I feel as though their meetings are just about what new skin to push out to the shop while content isn't even getting a half-baked effort.

Yes, but he's still right ... PoF is not the content-jamed expansion HoT was, but it's not rushed or unfinished, which is the discussion here. As he said, you are confusing content volume with the quality of the release.

@Obtena.7952 said:

@FlyingK.9720 said:

@Blocki.4931 said:

@FlyingK.9720 said:Starting with PoF, Anet has generally been pretty low effort, with resources pushed over to the cash shop. Mounts were awesome, but the maps and things to do in the maps are pretty lackluster compared to prior releases However, with mounts I feel as though their meetings are just about what new skin to push out to the shop while content isn't even getting a half-baked effort.

But I would argue that it's comparatively low effort. Achievements are collect / repeat event, quests are fetch / escort, bounties are just a big mob with some random effects. The content took a back seat to the mounts in the recent expansion and the LS4 maps have been equally disappointing to me compared to their LS3 counterparts.

@Blocki.4931 said:

@FlyingK.9720 said:Starting with PoF, Anet has generally been pretty low effort, with resources pushed over to the cash shop. Mounts were awesome, but the maps and things to do in the maps are pretty lackluster compared to prior releases However, with mounts I feel as though their meetings are just about what new skin to push out to the shop while content isn't even getting a half-baked effort.

You have a budget and then you distribute it into different areas inside the company, as simple as that.So, no matter if they're different teams. The budget cames from the same source. This making that factor pretty relevant to the equation.

Yes, OK, but that's not what the thread is about ... OP is complaining about unfinished product ... PoF, while you might be right with the low effort ... was finished.

@Blocki.4931 said:

@FlyingK.9720 said:Starting with PoF, Anet has generally been pretty low effort, with resources pushed over to the cash shop. Mounts were awesome, but the maps and things to do in the maps are pretty lackluster compared to prior releases However, with mounts I feel as though their meetings are just about what new skin to push out to the shop while content isn't even getting a half-baked effort.

This!!!!

How can something be call unfinished when we don’t know what the episode was intended to be? For all that we know, this was exactly it.

This episode feels no different than those of LS3 or even the PoF maps. I’ve actually spent more time with this episode than with previous ones including most of LS3.

Then maybe the community should stop making threads of "OMG it's been 8 weeks since the last story. Are you guys sleeping?" And then continue to complain because there is a "content drought". Just let Anet do their job.

@Ayrilana.1396 said:How can something be call unfinished when we don’t know what the episode was intended to be? For all that we know, this was exactly it.

This episode feels no different than those of LS3 or even the PoF maps.

If you've broken out of the map of Kourna you can see how unfinished Gandara is. When you compare that to other maps with larger areas that are unused and break out of the map, it's like they're fully finished and could easily be playable space. As someone who does this regularly, you can kind of tell just how rushed at least Gandara was. Untextured blotches of space and buildings that don't have collision or even finished architecture and no plan layout. They do this often with things like Divinity's Reach where you know players aren't going to go and you want the silhouette of a city from a certain angle, but this is even less so than many of the other places I've seen.

It is finished from what they planned, but from what I gather with the many issues they ran into as they stated in the ama along with the fact that the content didn't seem up to standards to release earlier thus causing the delay, it seems more like they didn't really have an intended vision for this map. At least not a consistent one. I think it went through many iterations and due to that process a lot of it feels unfinished, such as Gandara and its meta.

I don't think it's good to be hostile towards them for this episode, but I do think it's good for as many people as possible who don't like certain aspects of it to address their opinion to persuade them to possibly take a different route the next time.

Sandswept wasn't my favorite map either, but it was certainly a better release in my opinion than this one. The art team is pretty much always going to do a fantastic job and I feel like they have some of the best in the business, but a pretty hollow shell is still a hollow shell.

With that being said, the next episode is released by the team that did Daybreak, and although I wasn't a fan of Lake Doric (I think that's the same team), they always seem to do a very cohesive well-thought out job. Daybreak was spectacular to me. I think the biggest issue for the complaints this time around is just that they had so many issues during development and it's really bled through into what they released. Hopefully a minor setback and I didn't understand what they said in the ama about the changes they made to the development process and the fact that now teams will be communicating with leads better? (Kind of assumed they were doing this along but if they weren't it's amazing we've gotten what we've got!)

I think it's just a minor hiccup and an inevitability, but I do encourage people to express their opinions and I know the devs put a lot of work into what they create, even if at times it seems the gem store is the only thing that really receives attention.

To the other people saying they would pay for living story: As much as I spend on this game, I would be willing to spend a few extra if it meant larger teams doing releases meaning more consistent and hopefully a faster paced content release. BUT: with that kind of model you're going to have three times the hostility towards these releases because instead of living story being packaged into expansion purchase people will be actively purchasing episodes. So, I can see where you're coming from, but unless it came with a substantial increase in developers and resources allotted, I'm not sure this would be the best model.

I can't speak for everyone, only myself, but I try to always be understanding. Perhaps opinionated and ask for a lot, or overly vocal about things that I personally want or don't like, but reasonable and hopefully thoughtful. But we do have plenty of people that are just extremely toxic towards developers. It is their job and I do have certain expectations because of it, but I don't think anyone needs to bash them for it. The reddit obviously is a lot more lenient with these kinds of comments, but the reddit also seems to be where the devs frequent more often.

@Ayrilana.1396 said:How can something be call unfinished when we don’t know what the episode was intended to be? For all that we know, this was exactly it.

This episode feels no different than those of LS3 or even the PoF maps. I’ve actually spent more time with this episode than with previous ones including most of LS3.

I dont think the episode was intented to ship with content not rewarding you upon completion. Or be unplayable for a day or 2.

@"artemis.6781" said:Then maybe the community should stop making threads of "OMG it's been 8 weeks since the last story. Are you guys sleeping?" And then continue to complain because there is a "content drought". Just let Anet do their job.

I think ppl complained that it took them 4 months and that it wasnt playable.

@miraude.2107 said:Istan, Sandswept Isles and Kourna are just fillers. A repeat of the maps of Bloodstone Fen, Bitterfrost Frontier, Lake Doric, Draconic Mons and Siren's Landing.

Seeing as how we don't even know who the new baddie is yet for the expansion, there's probably going to be another map on the way. They are learning from Dry Top and Silverwastes which is nice. Nothing like failing Silverwastes meta over and over again simply because there isn't enough people to garner interest in it and low rewards. I'd prefer a short meta I can still complete further down the line than a meta that's abandoned because of length, not enough people or other issues.

Silverwastes provided replayability for years even when hot was out.

@zealex.9410 said:

@"artemis.6781" said:Then maybe the community should stop making threads of "OMG it's been 8 weeks since the last story. Are you guys sleeping?" And then continue to complain because there is a "content drought". Just let Anet do their job.

I'm taking about as soon as that 2-3 month time from the last episode, ppl start making threads wanting to know where the LS is. And then make weekly threads wanting to know. Let them do their job even if it takes 6 months.

@artemis.6781 said:

@zealex.9410 said:

@artemis.6781 said:Then maybe the community should stop making threads of "OMG it's been 8 weeks since the last story. Are you guys sleeping?" And then continue to complain because there is a "content drought". Just let Anet do their job.

Why as soon as 6 months? Why not 12 years? In 2056 maybe we will find out what's going on with Aurene. :expressionless:

@artemis.6781 said:

@zealex.9410 said:

@artemis.6781 said:Then maybe the community should stop making threads of "OMG it's been 8 weeks since the last story. Are you guys sleeping?" And then continue to complain because there is a "content drought". Just let Anet do their job.

If they want ppl to stop asking they should do what you suggest. There wont be anyone complaining after the 5th month i assure you.

@"cptaylor.2670" said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:How can something be call unfinished when we don’t know what the episode was intended to be? For all that we know, this was exactly it.

This episode feels no different than those of LS3 or even the PoF maps.

Maybe it’s not finished because they never intended for you to go there in the first place? Why should they build out spaces that they don’t plan to use?

It is finished from what they planned, but from what I gather with the many issues they ran into as they stated in the ama along with the fact that the content didn't seem up to standards to release earlier thus causing the delay, it seems more like they didn't really have an intended vision for this map. At least not a consistent one. I think it went through many iterations and due to that process a lot of it feels unfinished, such as Gandara and its meta.

I must have missed that part about it not being up to standards so I’ll have to check it out. My gathering on the delay was that it had to do with reasons that impacted all further episodes too. It wasn’t just centered on this episode. But only Anet knows.

I don't think it's good to be hostile towards them for this episode, but I do think it's good for as many people as possible who don't like certain aspects of it to address their opinion to persuade them to possibly take a different route the next time.

I just dislike the use of “rushed” or “unfinished” as that implies there was a different version that was intended and that we all knew about it. Don’t get me wrong, the meta was underwhelming and the rewards similar but then it’s no different than those of PoF maps and I don’t think players were calling them rushed or unfinished.

Sandswept wasn't my favorite map either, but it was certainly a better release in my opinion than this one. The art team is pretty much always going to do a fantastic job and I feel like they have some of the best in the business, but a pretty hollow shell is still a hollow shell.

The area it was in definitely left for much better artwork. I remember that this area in GW1 really wasn’t all that much to look at.

With that being said, the next episode is released by the team that did Daybreak, and although I wasn't a fan of Lake Doric (I think that's the same team), they always seem to do a very cohesive well-thought out job. Daybreak was spectacular to me. I think the biggest issue for the complaints this time around is just that they had so many issues during development and it's really bled through into what they released. Hopefully a minor setback and I didn't understand what they said in the ama about the changes they made to the development process and the fact that now teams will be communicating with leads better? (Kind of assumed they were doing this along but if they weren't it's amazing we've gotten what we've got!)

Did they confirm that this was the same team? Last season they had three teams but you’re saying that they now have two. I very well could have missed that change.

I can't speak for everyone, only myself, but I try to always be understanding. Perhaps opinionated and ask for a lot, or overly vocal about things that I personally want or don't like, but reasonable and hopefully thoughtful. But we do have plenty of people that are just extremely toxic towards developers. It is their job and I do have certain expectations because of it, but I don't think anyone needs to bash them for it. The reddit obviously is a lot more lenient with these kinds of comments, but the reddit also seems to be where the devs frequent more often.

I tend to be overly opinionated on some topics as well although I have pulled back somewhat on expressing them compared to previous years.

@Ashantara.8731 said:Today, I saw someone post in map chat that they would gladly pay 10 bucks for each episode if that would help deliver finished content (re: explorable Gandara as well as its meta). I agree.

Bless that man.

@artemis.6781 said:

@zealex.9410 said:

@artemis.6781 said:Then maybe the community should stop making threads of "OMG it's been 8 weeks since the last story. Are you guys sleeping?" And then continue to complain because there is a "content drought". Just let Anet do their job.

More like the daily impatient whine, instead of weekly. ;)

@Ayrilana.1396 said:

@"cptaylor.2670" said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:How can something be call unfinished when we don’t know what the episode was intended to be? For all that we know, this was exactly it.

This episode feels no different than those of LS3 or even the PoF maps.

It is finished from what they planned, but from what I gather with the many issues they ran into as they stated in the ama along with the fact that the content didn't seem up to standards to release earlier thus causing the delay, it seems more like they didn't really have an intended vision for this map. At least not a consistent one. I think it went through many iterations and due to that process a lot of it feels unfinished, such as Gandara and its meta.

I don't think it's good to be hostile towards them for this episode, but I do think it's good for as many people as possible who don't like certain aspects of it to address their opinion to persuade them to possibly take a different route the next time.

Sandswept wasn't my favorite map either, but it was certainly a better release in my opinion than this one. The art team is pretty much always going to do a fantastic job and I feel like they have some of the best in the business, but a pretty hollow shell is still a hollow shell.

With that being said, the next episode is released by the team that did Daybreak, and although I wasn't a fan of Lake Doric (I think that's the same team), they always seem to do a very cohesive well-thought out job. Daybreak was spectacular to me. I think the biggest issue for the complaints this time around is just that they had so many issues during development and it's really bled through into what they released. Hopefully a minor setback and I didn't understand what they said in the ama about the changes they made to the development process and the fact that now teams will be communicating with leads better? (Kind of assumed they were doing this along but if they weren't it's amazing we've gotten what we've got!)

I can't speak for everyone, only myself, but I try to always be understanding. Perhaps opinionated and ask for a lot, or overly vocal about things that I personally want or don't like, but reasonable and hopefully thoughtful. But we do have plenty of people that are just extremely toxic towards developers. It is their job and I do have certain expectations because of it, but I don't think anyone needs to bash them for it. The reddit obviously is a lot more lenient with these kinds of comments, but the reddit also seems to be where the devs frequent more often.

Day break was ep1 of se4 and lake doric ep4 of se3. They still have 3 teams for all we know.

@zealex.9410 said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:

@"cptaylor.2670" said:

@Ayrilana.1396 said:How can something be call unfinished when we don’t know what the episode was intended to be? For all that we know, this was exactly it.

This episode feels no different than those of LS3 or even the PoF maps.

It is finished from what they planned, but from what I gather with the many issues they ran into as they stated in the ama along with the fact that the content didn't seem up to standards to release earlier thus causing the delay, it seems more like they didn't really have an intended vision for this map. At least not a consistent one. I think it went through many iterations and due to that process a lot of it feels unfinished, such as Gandara and its meta.

I don't think it's good to be hostile towards them for this episode, but I do think it's good for as many people as possible who don't like certain aspects of it to address their opinion to persuade them to possibly take a different route the next time.

Sandswept wasn't my favorite map either, but it was certainly a better release in my opinion than this one. The art team is pretty much always going to do a fantastic job and I feel like they have some of the best in the business, but a pretty hollow shell is still a hollow shell.

With that being said, the next episode is released by the team that did Daybreak, and although I wasn't a fan of Lake Doric (I think that's the same team), they always seem to do a very cohesive well-thought out job. Daybreak was spectacular to me. I think the biggest issue for the complaints this time around is just that they had so many issues during development and it's really bled through into what they released. Hopefully a minor setback and I didn't understand what they said in the ama about the changes they made to the development process and the fact that now teams will be communicating with leads better? (Kind of assumed they were doing this along but if they weren't it's amazing we've gotten what we've got!)

I can't speak for everyone, only myself, but I try to always be understanding. Perhaps opinionated and ask for a lot, or overly vocal about things that I personally want or don't like, but reasonable and hopefully thoughtful. But we do have plenty of people that are just extremely toxic towards developers. It is their job and I do have certain expectations because of it, but I don't think anyone needs to bash them for it. The reddit obviously is a lot more lenient with these kinds of comments, but the reddit also seems to be where the devs frequent more often.

A team typically has six months to develop an episode. Having them develop the first one and then go right into developing the third means that there was always going to be a three month gap between episodes and that the third team which hasn’t released an episode would have had an extraordinary amount of time to develop theirs compared to the other teams.