Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

I was pretty shocked to hear that Vangaurd was hitting shelves at the end of this month.  I wouldn't have expected a release until March or possibly April.  It would appear as if they are pushing the release date forward to entice WoW burn-outs to try a new flavor.  I am going to be trying that flavor, for better or for worse, when Jan. 30th comes.  Why?  I'll give you a few reasons.

1).  I have no love for SOE, however, one thing is for sure:  They have money.  Even if Vanguard has a meager subscription by  the end of the first quarter, Sony will not back off funding.  They see this as an effort to take away that $15/mo. that Blizzard is currently getting from your bank account.  What does money translate into?  It means plenty of patching, updates, new content, etc. in the first year.

2).  I genuinely think that the folks over at Sigil are trying HARD to produce the next big hit.  They are not angels, but,  unlike the shadyness of Dark & Light's dev team, Vanguard's dev team is up front, honest (as they can be), and have not asked for a dime from anyone prior to release.  This may not be the best example of dev-excellence, but, it's certianly better than what I have been used to the past few years.

3).  This provides YOU a chance to get in on the bottom floor (which is honestly the best part of any release).  The game will no doubt be incomplete at launch (most games aren't anyway) but while others are bored with WoW or another MMO, you will be building a character in the  ... next big thing?  Maybe.  Who knows.  But I think that's a risk I'm willing to take. 

The truth is that I think V:SoH, like any MMO release, is a gamble.  You spins the wheel and you takes yer chances.  If it doesn't meet your expectations, you can always go back to WoW or whatever game you came from.  They aren't going anywhere.  It's for that very reason that I have held off buying WoW:BC in favor of V:SoH.  If Vanguard sucks, there will always be a copy of Burning Crusade @ the local Bestbuy.

Originally posted by Phife

2).  I genuinely think that the folks over at Sigil are trying HARD to produce the next big hit.  They are not angels, but,  unlike the shadyness of Dark & Light's dev team, Vanguard's dev team is up front, honest (as they can be), and have not asked for a dime from anyone prior to release.  This may not be the best example of dev-excellence, but, it's certianly better than what I have been used to the past few years.

That seems to be part of the problem with it.

They started out trying to make EQ 1.5.

Halfway through for some reason they started to try to copy WoW.

Now it feels like it dosn't know what it wants to be.

Interesting logic but i'll wait for "the chronicles of spellborn" - it doesn't seem that the devs are rushing it out the door before its time

of course - they still have "time" to do that

Originally posted by Phife

I was pretty shocked to hear that Vangaurd was hitting shelves at the end of this month.  I wouldn't have expected a release until March or possibly April.  It would appear as if they are pushing the release date forward to entice WoW burn-outs to try a new flavor.  I am going to be trying that flavor, for better or for worse, when Jan. 30th comes.  Why?  I'll give you a few reasons.

 

1).  I have no love for SOE, however, one thing is for sure:  They have money.  Even if Vanguard has a meager subscription by  the end of the first quarter, Sony will not back off funding.  They see this as an effort to take away that $15/mo. that Blizzard is currently getting from your bank account.  What does money translate into?  It means plenty of patching, updates, new content, etc. in the first year.

That is for sure, i don't see SOE cutting money on VG.  It's also gonna be their main title (even if they don't develop it) in about a year i'm pretty sure.

2).  I genuinely think that the folks over at Sigil are trying HARD to produce the next big hit.  They are not angels, but,  unlike the shadyness of Dark & Light's dev team, Vanguard's dev team is up front, honest (as they can be), and have not asked for a dime from anyone prior to release.  This may not be the best example of dev-excellence, but, it's certianly better than what I have been used to the past few years.

Agree

3).  This provides YOU a chance to get in on the bottom floor (which is honestly the best part of any release).  The game will no doubt be incomplete at launch (most games aren't anyway) but while others are bored with WoW or another MMO, you will be building a character in the  ... next big thing?  Maybe.  Who knows.  But I think that's a risk I'm willing to take. 

 Pre-order comming... :D

The truth is that I think V:SoH, like any MMO release, is a gamble.  You spins the wheel and you takes yer chances.  If it doesn't meet your expectations, you can always go back to WoW or whatever game you came from.  They aren't going anywhere.  It's for that very reason that I have held off buying WoW:BC in favor of V:SoH.  If Vanguard sucks, there will always be a copy of Burning Crusade @ the local Bestbuy.

I like what i have tried.  It can only improve IMO.

Well I hope you enjoy your experience in SoH.

Personaly I am tired of Develpoment teams sending unfinished products out the door.

No where else in the business world is this acceptable, except here in the MMo world.

"Here's yer burger Sir."

"Umm.....You forget the meat."

"Well..It wasn't ready yet, we thought you might like to eat the bun first and perhaps nibble on the lettuce."

I am hopeful that someday the majority of MMo gamers will get feed up with this practice. If we quit buying unfinished games they will quit sending them out before they are complete.

I would prefer to pay for a  finished product that grows in time instead of an hurried game that hits the market incomplete.

Ok, I see your point but consider this. 

Like it or hate it, FFXI is a good example.  There are not many people at these forums who would disagree that Final Fantasy XI is a well planned, well funded, & completely playable title (trust me it still has flaws).  But, when it first came out in Japan it was lacking nearly 60-70% of the content it now contains.  Hell, maybe more... I don't know the exact amount in GB.

In 2002, Square wasn't afraid to release an unfinished title in Japan, they had a brand name to ride on and that served them well at launch.  On the other hand, the release in United States/Canada was not until nearly a full year and 1/2 later when it was released on PC & U.S. Playstation 2 as a "finished" game.  Why?  Developers in Japan knew that American audiences are a fast food crowd... "Is the game fun NOW?  No? Goodbye..."    Now, that's a bit extreme, I agree, but you see my point.  American crowds want the sure thing, and rightly so!  Why is W.O.W. so successful?  Because it works.

Same with Vangaurd.  It will likely be uncomplete.  However, if the core exists and entry level content is solid that's enough for me to shell out for the box and 1 month of service.  If it's not good, I'll leave and prolly flame it on forums. 

I'm just saying I'm going to give it a chance.

Everyone wants things now - no-one is prepared to wait anymore.

So companies know they can rush unfinished games out the door - the rabid fans will line up to buy it.

Me - I would rather wait 6 months for the patches / updates etc to go in and buy a finished product.

I am not rushing out the door to buy Vista just because Microsoft say its the next big thing - I figure Win XP is good for at least 18 months to 2 years.