Talk:Area of Effect

In all half-decent role-playing games, AoE spells are cast on a location in the environment. In Guildwars, (yes I consider it a stupid thing) that is not the case, you have to actually target someone by the enemy and then you can cast the spell. I believe that is worth mentioning and worth mentioning clearly. --Karlos 21:35, 16 Aug 2005 (EST)


 * What online RPGs can one target a location in? Only one I can think of are the Infinity Engine games, and, really, those are hardly online.  &mdash;Tanaric 21:56, 16 Aug 2005 (EST)


 * How did "online" slip into the conversation? :) And all Infinity engine games as well as NWN have AoE spells target an area, not a person; and these games defined what RPG is. This is not only "cool," it is the logical and correct implementation. I think the design in Guild Wars is one of "technical convenience." Programmers do it all the time. It was easier to implement the AoE skills that way then develop an entire new targeting system that relied on clicking on the environment. --Karlos 15:13, 17 Aug 2005 (EST)


 * Online slipped in because it defines this genre. You can't argue Guild Wars vs. AD&D either.  While I understand how the Infinity engine games work, and I agree with their implementation, no online RPG uses that sort of implementation to my knowledge, and thus confusion isn't likely to abound.  Either way, I did explicitly state what you wished in the article, though I removed the paragraph that points it out.  And, I disagree about technical convenience; I'd say more ease-of-use.  It'd be a pain in the ass to use AoE spells with the camera angles provided in Guild Wars.  You'd have to allow a top-down mechanic to allow precise placement, and that's something ArenaNet didn't want us to have, as far as I can tell. &mdash;Tanaric 15:30, 17 Aug 2005 (EST)


 * Well, there is Ultima Online for instance, which is the mother of all modern MMORPG, so to say. There you have spells like Earthquake, Meteor Shower and Chain Lightning, that can be targeted anywhere on the ground as well as on mobs and characters. --Eightyfour-onesevenfive 20:18, 17 Aug 2005 (EST)


 * Man, I feel dirty for forgeting UO... I loved that game, before Trammel came about. Regardless, of the 3d, sorta-like-Guild Wars MMORPGs out there, none of them use location-based spells.  Moreso, the point is moot.  UO used reagents to cast spells, and so do some spells in EQ/EQ2; must we specifically mention that Guild Wars spells require no material components?  I think that as long as our article is clear and to the point, game-specific crossing-over notes in individual articles aren't necessary.  However, perhaps crossing over guides, as their own articles, would have merit.  &mdash;Tanaric 21:10, 17 Aug 2005 (EST)


 * Look, somewhere out there, we NEED to mention that in Guild Wars ALL spells (and skillS) have to be targeting someone (either player or another person). You might think this is intuitive and clear and a piece of cake. But it is not... My frist run in the game (and I am not crossing over from any other MMORPG) I had a lot of the "clickity" sound followed by "Invalid Target" on my screen. Now, maybe I am just dumb and should catch up on my MMORPG, or maybe it is a pertinent point to have there. That ALL spells in the game need to target someone, no matter if the spell says that it causes the sun to shine and has nothing to do with any one person. Earth Shaker is a prime example, the description says "all adjacent foes." You'd think it is centered around yourself. But it is not! You have to actually be attacking someone, in which case, the description should read "target foe and all adjacent foes" but the description doesn't say that. Same thing with Crude Swing. This is not as intuitive as you make it sound. --Karlos 21:33, 17 Aug 2005 (EST)


 * What about Heal Area? You don't have to be targeting something to cast this spell. ;) But I tend to areee with you, Karlos. --Eightyfour-onesevenfive 22:28, 17 Aug 2005 (EST)