Originally posted by DukeDu

I was interested in buying this game on steam but this one topic made me change my mind. 

240 players? Gimme a break.

What he said, with bells on.

Originally posted by andreika111

go free to play for fuck sake

 I agree. I would definetly try this game if it went F2P. It would attract more ppl to it.

***Raving Rabbid is waiting all to patiently to see Kate beckensale reprise her role as Vampire Selene in Underworld 4!***

245 players on sounds low considering how many I saw on line in my own guild alone but then it is one of the bigger more active guilds so, I suppose it is possible. There certainly is a lot of activity over on the start island so it doesn't seem that bad. But two things to keep in mind are, 1) The game is build to be group oriented and 2) Those who have stuck with the game realize that. The result is that the whole community is very community oriented. It is as if the entire server is a type of extended guild. People work together and they group easily. You can solo level up, it is not so group oriented that you will be stuck without a group but grouping is definitly better than not. That is a good balance to strike.

As far as the game going free to play, I think it would be hard to pull of in some ways but it is very likely to happen sooner or later. If EQ2 is any indication, then, yeah, SOE would turn it's own grandmother into cashshop/subscription optional free to play mmo if it could. And their renewed interest in Vang, that is, the recent updates, definitly makes me thing they have somekind of plan for it.

Personally I would like to see them simply make the subscription optional with subscribed accounts getting a continuous exp bonus. This is a model that worked surprisingly well for Lineage 2 in Russia. This would also involve the least amount of "messing" with the game to make it F2P friendly. A limited cash shop might also work but it can be harder to pull of in a more sandbox game like this than in a themepark like EQ2. The important thing would be for SOE to realize that simply getting more people into the game and building up the community would be the best content they could deliver to the existing, paying players. The other people are part of the experience. So from that perspective, your free players are not leaching off the game, they are becoming a part of it. And as L2Russia found out, most of the long term, on going accounts switch to being paying accounts. Double exp in a game that is legendary for its leveling grind is worth paying for, for those planning to stay a while. Same with Vanguard. It is not exactly a fast game to level in. A 50% or 100% exp bonus in a game where some 15 classes and 19 races are involved, as well as separately leveled crafting and diplomacy, yeah, I think people will go for that. At least the people who have been paying so far to play it would certainly be willing to continue if it meant getting a leveling bonus, so I don't see the move loosing them any money.

I kinda wanna give the game another go, what with the updates happening again and all... but my computer is fucky right now. :(

I have returned to VGSOH and having fun again in Telon!  Glad to see the activity increasing for this title!

Originally posted by allinan

I have returned to VGSOH and having fun again in Telon!  Glad to see the activity increasing for this title!

lol

245 players in a game world the size of Telon is abysmal.  Even 800 players would be staggeringly low.  Vanguard is a great game, but it's all but dead at this point.  It's worth a shot for those that can stomach the population issues and the fact that it's harder to progress through the game as a result, but for people who are just coming off of WoW, you may wish to look at games like Rift, EQ2 or LotRO which are both fairly populated.

The title of the thread is misleading ..250 is the minimum number and that too in odd times ...

this long weekend (all 3 days) consistently 350-450 players were online on Telon..

This is more than sufficient number if you want to play groups...

Those who don't want to play VG will give 1000 excuses for not playing it....we are happy not having those people anyway....

My guild Twilghlyte song alone had 40-55 players online most of the time during the weekend...

Those who do not want to play VG , its your choice and ur loss..not VG

Originally posted by sri_rishabh

The title of the thread is misleading ..250 is the minimum number and that too in odd times ...

this long weekend (all 3 days) consistently 350-450 players were online on Telon..

This is more than sufficient number if you want to play groups...

Those who don't want to play VG will give 1000 excuses for not playing it....we are happy not having those people anyway....

My guild Twilghlyte song alone had 40-55 players online most of the time during the weekend...

Those who do not want to play VG , its your choice and ur loss..not VG

Of course you're going to say that.  You currently play Vanguard, and you most likely have a max level toon (who doesn't notice the population problems as much) or you have a toon that has yet to hit 30 in which you wouldn't understand why people complain about the population. Even if that's not the case, given your dismissive tone, it's really hard to take you seriously in the face of the plethora of individuals who post reports that seem to contradict the rosy picture you have painted.

Telon is far larger than Azeroth, and WoW has thousands of players online at any given time.  Anything south of 1,000 players online for Vanguard is quite low considering the entire game was meant to revolve around the fact that you'd have all these different pockets of players who only ever visited specific regions of the game, hence setting up somewhat of a regional economy which crafters could travel through to sell their wares.  You might even argue that even Vanguard's initial population of around 250,000 was to small a number to sustain the world the way it was meant to be sustained.  Of course, you might blame there being too many servers at launch or simply unrealistic game design.  Either way, it's still difficult to enjoy Vanguard the way it was meant to be enjoyed.  Of course, this doesn't mean that you can't enjoy Vanguard, but some people (myself included) have trouble playing a game where they see so much wasted potential.

Read the first five pages. Good stuff.

I started VG before launch; loved it initially; even with the massive bugs. Game has the best UI features of any MMO by far.

Vanguard has no staying power because it lacks two critical elements (1) exploration and (2) socialization.

The mindless quests that gave massive xp = everyone running around like zombies doing these simpleton quests...rather than taking the initiative to explore and converse with one another. One never has to wonder "what should I do today" because there is an endless backlog of simpleton quests. In fact, the quests are the ONLY practical way to level so everyone must do them. I went along with this charade for a month or two and then quit, never to return. Without exploration and socialization an MMO is doomed.

Other things pushing me away from the game:
1. no bazaar - just one npc per city through which all goods were bought/sold.
2. non D&D style classes (blood mage, etc....weird to me)
3. vast world = empty world.
4. translocators at the massive, desolate docks.

Originally posted by Arclan

Read the first five pages. Good stuff.

I started VG before launch; loved it initially; even with the massive bugs. The game has failed because it lacks two critical elements (1) exploration and (2) socialization.

The mindless quests that gave massive xp = everyone running around like zombies doing these simpleton quests...rather than taking the initiative to explore and converse with one another.

Other problems with the game (IMO):
1. no bazaar - just one npc per city through which all goods were bought/sold.
2. non D&D style classes (blood mage, etc....weird to me)
3. vast world = empty world.
4. translocators at the massive, desolate docks.

some of the things you list are actually pluses for me. For the record I rarely do the quests in the game.

I agree that a 'selling area' would be nice but other than games that don't use auction houses, most games have "one npc to sell things to you". Sometimes a few but not too many.

I love the non d&d classes as they show imagination. the disciple is great.

vast world = "a world". My biggest pet peeve with these games is that the developres try to fill every inch or account for every bit of space and it leaves the experience feeling like "a theme park".

I love that I can get lost in this game. I love that I can ride through an area and not be attacked by mobs every few feet.

I love that the entire game isn't filled with players "everywhere". I recall fighting some lizard beings in their ocean side village and looking out over the ocean at the sunset and trully feel like I was "lost in the world". Yet, I can go to a town and see people, interact, etc.

I'm unsure about your last sentence. i think you are bemoaning the teleporters? I can easily understand how some players would hate them but for me it's the difference between logging in to play and realizing it will take a long time to get somewhwere and I just don't have the time so I don't log in.

But again, in the end, you don't have to do the quests. At all. Oh sure you won't get the rewards but "meh" I find more pleasure running for my life while trying to explore an area too hard for me.

Originally posted by Sovrath

But again, in the end, you don't have to do the quests. At all. Oh sure you won't get the rewards but "meh" I find more pleasure running for my life while trying to explore an area too hard for me.

Too bad the "average" mmo player would go crazy at this situation. They would then proceed to rage and complain the game is too hard, and tell everyone not to play it. =/

why dose sony not just make it open free to play for 1 mouth or 2. to get people back it sold well at release so theres alot of people got the game on a shelf.