Request for a total overhaul of New-Kaineng.

[Gehenna.3625]

The city ain't bustling with people but there are high rises. I guess they're victims of a housing crisis where too many appartments were built during a building bubble and now they realised that nobody wants to live there.

No surprise though with all that riff raff running around there all day. I really think they missed the mark with the meta as it is.

This is in stark contrast to the theme of New Kaineng City where there is a lot of wealth thanks to Jade Tech. It's also very unimaginative that the first 3 meta's are all about fighting criminals. Pirates, thieves and gangs. It's all very mundane, especially the Kaineng meta.

Also the city is very hard to navigate through and after many years of technological advancement this seems odd. I noticed the following:

• Too many high rises and too many height differences
• Not enough waypoints
• Not enough zip lines
• A convoluted teleport system

Now Anet sort of put a band aid on it with the raptor taxi, but it's not really a good solution. It worked really well in Seitung Province but not nearly as well in Kaineng City.

I would've preferred a mastery line for navigating through the city. That would represent foreigners learning to navigate through the city. And the arborstone revitalization turning it into a trader's hub with all the usual amenities should've happened in Kaineng Docks imo. The Kaineng City Docks in fact should've been an instance where you can go West to go to Seitung and East to go into the city.

Now, I realize that Anet redoing the city entirely would be a bit much to expect, however I would like to make the following suggestions:

•  Put some general amenities in the Kaineng Docks area like banks, merchants and the TP. 
• Streamline the teleport system and make teleport locations visible on the map
• Get rid of the raptor taxi*
• More zip lines to navigate height differences
• A waypoint in the NE of the map (to make the meta more accessible on the north side)

What I mean with streamlining the teleport system is fewer but strategic teleport locations, so they all fit on one page and within the city they shouldn't use charges. Include the locations of the raptor stations. 

*This means the raptor stations can go (though you could leave them in in for people who enjoy taking the taxis). 

More zip lines in key places to navigate more height differences There are some places in the SW outer ring but also the center where navigating through height differences is unnessecarily annoying.

All in all I would like to see New Kaineng City as a pleasure to move through instead of a frustration. Even HoT maps have better navigation.

[cyberzombie.7348]

It's not even the design or metas that gets me. It's the lack of life and interactive depth for what supposed to be a big city.

Especially with how places like Divinity's Reach is built. 

Edited February 7, 2023 by cyberzombie.7348

[Eekasqueak.7850]

Amnoon is a better example than divinity's reach imo. If the docks area were more like it that'd be nice. 

[Galmac.4680]

My points here are:

New Keineng has a nice harbor - but the way inside the city is a real pain in the bottom. No real city would have a pathway through dark pipes, but a great wide street to the city.

The jade waypoints should be more "visible" and marked on the map. Nobody knows where they are and how to get from A to B.

The population... well I understand that a hundred NPCs more would kill any performance. Perhaps they can create some kind of NPC that looks animated but don't need much performance. Other games (look at GTA) do have busy sidewalks.

[AliamRationem.5172]

On 2/6/2023 at 3:40 AM, rylien.3824 said:

As its name suggests, I would like ArenaNet to decide to redo everything on this map, because nothing is right, the questionable design, the fact that there is too much recycling, or inverted and nested sets in the others (I still came across pieces of Tarir... it has nothing to do there), and the fact that this map is empty, we would say a ghost town, it's just not possible, in a pinch the Port/Jade Monument, the Lutgardis square (seen from below only), the "wooded / echovald" area and the ruins are fine, but the rest is a disaster.
This map frustrates me more than anything else, every corner has a questionable design, I literally don't meet anyone, nothing happens on this map, and the metas are boring.

I prefer to wait 1 or 2 more months and that you make a REAL Neo-Kaineng, rather than this horror. 

I suspect it will never work, like every time we complain about a map, but I say it anyway. Because it's a shame.
 

It's sad that this map was released the way it was.  I really like the aesthetic, but it's simply not up to standard.  The event structure is also terrible, with little more than a handful of uninspired events that just repeat all over the city.  This was really a missed opportunity.  I wish they'd return to the days of HoT, where they so clearly put thought and effort into map design.

[rylien.3824]

This will never happen, I clearly have the feeling since LW4 that they literally have the urge to abandon the game and put it in maintenance mode like Guild Wars 1st, if there is an LW6 (and only if there is, because I don't see E4 there at all), will only be there to finish the Canthian intrigues and keep the players a little longer until their projects materialize.
 

[Randulf.7614]

I certainly don’t understand the maintenance mode feeling. You don’t invest in gfx overhauls, restoring lost content (ls1) and work on a fourth expansion if you are put it into no update mode. That’s just a contradiction.

It is a different team and vision and likely other pressures we don’t get to see. Rushing IBS and clearing out Primordus and Jormag in that way was apparently controversial within the team and in my mind a poor decision. I’d have preferred more IBS and longer development time on EoD. But, a lot of changes in the years post PoF clearly had an impact.

I hope they revisit EoD and I hope they look at what worked in earlier expansions and take the best of those to make something big and spectacular. But, we are not showing any signs of maintenance mode. I’ve seen many mmos go into that and we aren’t anywhere near there.

[Dr Meta.3158]

I was hoping for them to expand more on the horror theme with jormag. The story was getting fun until the whole drakkar bit happened.

[AliamRationem.5172]

1 hour ago, rylien.3824 said:

This will never happen, I clearly have the feeling since LW4 that they literally have the urge to abandon the game and put it in maintenance mode like Guild Wars 1st, if there is an LW6 (and only if there is, because I don't see E4 there at all), will only be there to finish the Canthian intrigues and keep the players a little longer until their projects materialize.
 

While I'm not pleased with the lack of new content since EoD, nothing they've done since then signals maintenance mode.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Why would they do a steam release, upgrade to DX11, announce a 4th expansion, and redo LS1 just to abandon the game moving forward?  That just makes zero sense.

[Gehenna.3625]

54 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

I certainly don’t understand the maintenance mode feeling. You don’t invest in gfx overhauls, restoring lost content (ls1) and work on a fourth expansion if you are put it into no update mode. That’s just a contradiction.

maintenance mode is just slang for "I don't get what I want when I want it". 

[Randulf.7614]

1 minute ago, Gehenna.3625 said:

maintenance mode is just slang for "I don't get what I want when I want it". 

Gotcha. I’ll keep that in my pocket if I don’t see sab world 3 then

[Dr Meta.3158]

A grand theft auto like new Kaineg would be nice but I don't know if they have the resources for that.

[Bast.7253]

On 2/8/2023 at 4:06 PM, Gehenna.3625 said:

maintenance mode is just slang for "I don't get what I want when I want it". 

To be fair they still update Guild Wars. If you look at games like wow, that run for 20 years or whatever it’s up to now, even if they didn’t make an expansion would still likely make it easier to maintain moving forward because people will be playing it until the servers shut down. 
 

Im not confident there will be an expansion after the next though. Here’s to hoping their overhaul is also a necessity for whatever feature they’re cooking up. Hard to go from gliding and mounts that are a vast improvement over other mount systems to…

 

Fishing ping pong sim and Nickelodeon slime bots. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Bast.7253

[Gibson.4036]

On 2/6/2023 at 2:20 PM, fenriswolfman.5486 said:

Xpac was rushed because they desperately needed something to sell after the layoffs, restructuring, and all the cancelled projects. They got their win, now hopefully the next expansion will be as fleshed out as the previous ones.

But will players be so eager to plunk down their money this time?

This is the problem with our pre-order, early adopter world we live in now. People buy in early on a lackluster expansion based on past experience. Then the next expansion's sales become a referendum on the lackluster one.

If that happens, does corporate understand? Or, even though the new one is an improvement, do they decide to mothball the whole thing because it didn't sell well due to the previous expansion?

Edited February 10, 2023 by Gibson.4036

[DarcShriek.5829]

New Kaineng isn't bad, it's just empty.

[Gibson.4036]

33 minutes ago, DarcShriek.5829 said:

New Kaineng isn't bad, it's just empty.

But in an MMO, doesn't empty pretty much equal bad?

[Cuks.8241]

Ziplines could be such a cool feature in general, not just Kaineng, if the designer placing them would have a little bit of sense. Right now they seem like trolling. For example in Arborstone. You could have a zip line that connects bank area with crafting area directly. Or port in spot with crafting area, DIRECTLY. But no, lets put a zip line in port in area but lets connect it to an empty balcony away from the crafting area and thus make it intentionally annoying and pretty much useless. 

The only time I use zip lines now is to charge batteries, which is also just another meaningless, annoying task that adds nothing to the game.

[Randulf.7614]

1 hour ago, Cuks.8241 said:

Ziplines could be such a cool feature in general, not just Kaineng, if the designer placing them would have a little bit of sense. Right now they seem like trolling. For example in Arborstone. You could have a zip line that connects bank area with crafting area directly. Or port in spot with crafting area, DIRECTLY. But no, lets put a zip line in port in area but lets connect it to an empty balcony away from the crafting area and thus make it intentionally annoying and pretty much useless. 

The only time I use zip lines now is to charge batteries, which is also just another meaningless, annoying task that adds nothing to the game.

Yeah, the zip lines in Arborstone make it more chaotic. Some odd design choices there.

[DarcShriek.5829]

On 2/10/2023 at 1:49 PM, Gibson.4036 said:

But in an MMO, doesn't empty pretty much equal bad?

Not really.

[rylien.3824]

On 2/8/2023 at 9:59 PM, AliamRationem.5172 said:

While I'm not pleased with the lack of new content since EoD, nothing they've done since then signals maintenance mode.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  Why would they do a steam release, upgrade to DX11, announce a 4th expansion, and redo LS1 just to abandon the game moving forward?  That just makes zero sense.

Yeah the reason for these improvements for me is just to keep as many people as possible going until maybe LW6 (or not if there isn't), but anyway to fuel their new projects, in the hope of sequel and content that will never actually happen. As said: not seen, not taken, here they have no proof that they are telling the truth about extension 4, they can get you out of the hit on the cancel. Frankly I no longer have any confidence in them and given the state of the game we are clearly falling into it.
So I hope for them that they will do something good, because otherwise it's the end for them if there is not LW6, And if there is one, and it is of poor quality, without content and only recycling.

Personally, I don't see why I would stay on a game if there is nothing left, since they have already massacred the dragon arc, all without respecting their community for which they seem to have no respect. So this is their last chance with the LW6 (or a saga if they prefer) and I saw plenty of reddit comments where it said the same thing. The little time people have for freedom is spent on quality. So I'm crossing my fingers for a communicating announcement that tells us very clearly and honestly what's going on, and what they plan to do for the future of the game.

I remember at a time when in addition we voted and participated in the development of the game, they asked our opinion, I would like to find that, so they ask us the model we prefer with the positive and the negative to choose model. Is it still not complicated ? 🤨

(Example: Model 1: have offered you this, an LW6 of such numbers of episodes, such frequencies, such contents, Model 2: have offered you a Saga, with such approximate numbers of episodes, such frequencies, such contents, Model 3 : we offer you no LW6 or Saga, but a redesign of all the old and new contained little by little (mechanism, maps, etc... according to your opinions little by little), Model 4: etc...)

Edited February 11, 2023 by rylien.3824