WoW Developer Chat on GameSpy : World of Warcraft General Discussions

#1
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Dragonfly_Jack-gs* I am curious about what sort of weather you guys are going to add to the game. Like the weather from Horizons, aka Blizzards or Storms with lightning and thunder? Info so when are you going to add them?
<Blizzard_Shane> We currently have some areas in the world that utilize various environmental effects. For example in the blasted lands you'll see various lightning storms.
<Blizzard_Shane> We are also looking to add more weather in the future.
<Blizzard_Shane> We don't have any timeline as of yet.

#2
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *myndreach98-gs* What is your most proud accomplishment in WoW?
<Blizzard_Shane> I would have to say the most proud accomplishment would be working with such a talented group of developers. The past 5 years have been like a huge family.
<Blizzard_Shane> I'm proud to be part of such a terrific team and bring such a great game to all of you.
<Blizzard_Shane> oh and hitting level 60

#3
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *DJ_Tre-gs* What affacts would the enviroment have on gameplay like spell casting etc etc (coming from an OB druid) .
<Blizzard_Shane> Most of the enviromental effects in the game are to prevent players from going to certain areas... easily. The world is very open and so with assistance of various spells (like water walking, water breathing) players can make their way to secret locations.
<Blizzard_Shane> We are always looking to add additional effect in the game to chanllege players.

#4
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *KillerHummingBird-gs* Many people love the idea of both the PvP servers and RP servers, yet for these people there is no choice for both. Rather we have to choose one or the other. Are there any plans to add a PvP/RP server in the future?
<Blizzard_Shane> yes we've seen a group of you on our forums We are looking into it and if the popularity is there we're more than willing to open RP PvP servers. We weren't sure how popular RP servers were going to be till release.

#5
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Fatehunter-gs* HOw many different types of weapon shapes are there in the game? Like curvy swords, straight blades etc...
<Blizzard_Rob> Somewhere between 200-300 different types of weapon "looks"

#6
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *terranmarine18-gs* As a designer, what was your biggest obstacle you encounterd in the making of this game?
<Blizzard_Rob> The biggest obstacle is just the sheer size of the game. Trying to keep all the different design elements juggled. From PvE to PvP to classes, to quest, etc.

#7
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *TrafTrue-gs* I think the fact that WoW looks more like a Fantasy Game as opposed to realistic is a huge plus - it adds to the overall fun and fantasy - and the flight paths with the flying creatures is an awesome touch - do you plan to add more flight paths to make travel a bit easier?
<Blizzard_Rob> We have actually been adding quite a few new flight paths already. Many of the higher level zones in particular now have more accessible flight.

#8
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Dargone-gs* Are there any secret areas that not even the CBT know about?
<Blizzard_Rob> While the closed beta testers have seen most of the game, there are a couple areas in the high level zones that have not been fully explored yet. We will also be very quickly releasing a couple new areas soon.

#9
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Prankess-gs* Are the servers physically located in different timezones, or are they just divided like that to enhance gameplay?
<Blizzard_Rob> We do have different servers on the West and East coast. However, the Central and Mountain servers are not physically located there. Due to the 24 hour clock though, we wanted everyone to play in their appropriate time zone

#10
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Lord_Rakknarr_PhM-gs* to Rob Pardo - will warriors get pummel back? 2handed warriors are now hindered against casters due to this ability being removed.
<Blizzard_Rob> We currently have no plans to re-add the ability, but we will be keeping an eye on balance over the next couple months now that so many more people will be playing the game.

#11
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *KillerHummingBird-gs* It has been said that WoW will be an evolving world. I would like to know how much the players themselves will affect the story line of this world, and how you will manage the differences in this story that could be caused by multiple servers.
<Blizzard_Rob> We have lots of events planned. Many of these will happen chronologically, while a few will be player driven. One such event that I have mentioned in previous chats is the opening of the Dark Portal. Players will need to accomplish this themselves and each Realm will have to open it.

#12
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *swogdog33-gs* The WoW cinematic is excellent, any possibility for a feature film?
<Blizzard_Rob> In the foreseeable future our film department will only be making movies for our games.

#13
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Bleakmage-gs* Will there be more character customization options in release, like say, Undead Skeltons you can play as for instance?
<Blizzard_Rob> There are no new options from the beta, but our artists have been working hard on adding a great deal of new equipment. We feel like equipment is the key area where players can really make themselves look different, so we are mainly concentrating on this.

#14
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Keiyla-gs* I liked my human priest(ess) starting garb! As I leveld, I took better clothing from quest givers. Will I be able to select good looking clothes in higher levels, or will stats always dictate my fashion?
<Blizzard_Rob> This is always a tricky issue. We have tried to have some of the player's equipment be "look" only like shirts and tabards. With the other slots, we are trying to make sure to add more and cooler looking high level outfits.

#15
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Paul2200-gs* What are the actual rewards for PvP raiding? Is anything accomplished besides killing? How about "territory control" or some type of capture the flag? And buffs/debuffs for winners/losers?
<Blizzard_Rob> We have a lot of plans for PvP rewards and the battlegrounds. These should all start rolling out with the next patch. In the battlegrounds there will be some forms of territory control where Alliance and Horde can control the graveyards. There are also a great deal of individual rewards including very high level equipment on par with the "raid game"

#16
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *BrokenStar628-gs* Can you describe what negative effects on your character "dishonorable" PvP kills will be?
<Blizzard_Rob> There will be a few different dishonorable ranks. If you keep getting dishonor, you will eventually become perma flagged PvP and will lose exp on death

#17
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *terranmarine18-gs* Everyone would like to know, what was up with the burning legion appearing in every city on the last day of beta testing?
<Blizzard_Rob> We just wanted to do something fun for the end of beta. So we figured what would be more fun then demons raining from the sky? It also harkened to the history of the last game too

#18
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Christopholies-gs* will blizzard be sponsoring any pvp tournaments or ingame events?
<Blizzard_Rob> There are a lot of techinical differences between WOW and Diablo that make hacking much more difficult. Secondly, since this is a subscription game, we have a very large support staff that will be quickly resolving any issues that arise. We will take exploits and hacks VERY seriously.

#19
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *MidnightRacer55-gs* Will crafting of bows and arrows be introduced sometime in the game?
<Blizzard_Rob> We have discussed several new professions for the future. One such skill idea is Woodworking which would be used for arrows amoung other items. However, this will probably not be added in the near future.

#20
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Catharsys-gs* Are there going to be any artistic updates to the game on spell's placeholders? I've noticed how many spells and abilities have the same icon from others.
<Blizzard_Rob> Now that we are beyond beta, we will be able to lock down the spell icons faster. Our artists generally are not happy with us designers when they make spell icon art only to have the designers delete the spell

#21
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *HolyLiaison-gs* How hard is it as a team manager to get the team all on the same page day in and day out? And from your experience, what have you learned to do, and not to do while running the team? Any practical jokes going on?
<Blizzard_Rob> The biggest key is just communication. The design group works very closely together and we have weekly meetings as a group and many smaller meetings. Without constant communication though, the game could get out of sync pretty quickly.
<Blizzard_Rob> While we dont have practical jokes, we do sometimes make fun of each other to stay loose. Everyone gets along really well.

#22
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *terranmarine18-gs* Will players have the option of opening a store to sell items they have picked up or crafted?
<Blizzard_Rob> Once we design and eventually implement player housing we hope to add some sort of player vendor/store option. Its too early to talk about specifics though.

#23
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *Kylraen-gs* Did you anticipate that such a massive number of people would be interested in the beta? And how does that make you feel, knowing so many are interested in the game?
<Blizzard_Rob> We hoped that this many people would be excited in the game, but you never really know how people will react. It is very exciting and overwhelming to tell the truth. As I type this I am watching all the fans here at Fry's and the line is still wrapped around the building multiple times!

#24
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *exectioner-gs* What made blizzard want to make WOW?
<Blizzard_Rob> At Blizzard we are very fortunate to be able to make the games we want to make and five years ago a great deal of us at Blizzard were HUGE MMO fans. We would play at home and the office constantly. We talked about making one a few times and the Warcraft universe just seemed perfect for a great MMO. We were pretty worried initially about a pay for play game...

#25
<[Admin]WolfBlade> *KillerHummingBird-gs* The auction houses in WoW are absolutly great, however with only 1 per side it can be tough to make full use of them. Are there any plans to add in more so that players won't have to travel trans-continental to get to one?
<Blizzard_Rob> We do plan to "link" auction houses in the future. Once we do this, we will be able to add them to every major city which will be nice for travel and as a way to spread out the city populations.