Originally posted by bmdevine

Originally posted by boojiboy

I beyond the incredible graphics of Vanguard is the fact that the world is seamless. 

Have they gotten rid of chunking?  If not, then it's hard to argue that it's really seamless - just that they've made a halfhearted effort to hide the seams and keep them from turning into loading screens.  This isn't to say that I don't like the game, because there are aspects of it that I do.  I just wish they had programmed it better so that it wouldn't be released as such a buggy resource hog.  I haven't played it in a while, but since you refer to "chunks" in your post, it sounds like you may still be living with them.  I hope I'm wrong.

Chunking is barely noticeable, you have to be watching for it to know it happens many times.  Seamless means there are no artificial boundries that funnel you into new zones or areas.  I don't have to click on a door to load a new zone, I don't have to ring a bell to get to a new area, I don't have to follow a tunnel to get through a mountain pass.

It is seamless.  You can see everything in the next chunk, mobs will chase you through these areas.  It's a novel approach to world design and I like it alot more than other MMOs.

Originally posted by Elikal

Sigh, of all the failed games only VG I really miss. The vast open world, the interesting classes... I really like that, but when nobody plays it, what good is it for.

Population? There are tons of people playing now! I been re-subbed about 2 months now and have been seeing new players log in every day. Everyone I talk to are amazed at the game now. Was on Seradon several times last few weeks at like 3AM in the morning and still people were running around like ants. When I played WOW there wasn't that many people on at that hour of the morning. SOE needs to pull thier heads out of thier asses and realize this game's potential. If after experiencing the unique gameplay now that Vanguard has If it ever closes I will be done with MMO's for good! This is my last addiction. So far I am loving it above any MMO I have played. And I have played em all pretty much!

Originally posted by Manestream

Originally posted by Wrender

Sad, clueless outdated thread.... :(

 

LOL and your the one who rebrought this up from 2yrs ago. must have taken you a while to troll this one out.

Anyways, i bought it, i left it, i read that there was a comeback trial for a month to see what they SoE had done to teh game (think this was 8-10mths after release), it failed. Of course i didnt play for a month, i just played for about 7hrs in total, over 2 or 3 sittings (it was at xmas) and the snow they had in game was enough to send anyone's eyes boggled. Even if you went inside a buildign you had the snow and there was no way to turn it off.

There has been 2 or 3 more free months (i believe) but again, no e-mails were sent out (well me nor any of the other 5 people got one) all from europe (UK, denmark and sweden). Only found out 1st time because someone posted about it here 1 week in. Rest were unknown, or too late to bother with. LOL and thats ment to bring old players back, what they expect, telepathy and log into accounts every 5 mins to check LOL

Game probably died anyways, dont here that much about it, probably no community left in there anyways (much like age of conan), that game has improved but is very lacking in community. Feels more like a solo player game, and instance's you can forget them, i just finished a full month and out of everyone i met at my level, they all quit or went to play their higher level char (if they had 1). Only reason i am not going back.

Trying Lotro right now on its 14 day free trial. 1 friend bought it to check and me and 1 other are checking it out on teh 14 day trial (with possibly, i am hoping 1 other friend later on), to come join us. Can buy the game+expansion for 14.99, so ye if the game is good enough i will get that. Wont be a main game, just a filler for filling in breaks between games, or taking those rest periods from others etc etc etc.

But the point is both AoC and VG failed, AoC has and is being worked on and is not as bad as people made out, but still requires some improvement and a community, wereas VG has no community and is/was bad, also has the SoE tag to it so that gives warnings left right and center anyways. Lotro seems to be the pick of the 3.

Vanguard ! Failed??? Not if I have anything to do with it! Try it and see for yourself. I have become SOE's new PR man and they don't even know it! If Vanguard is a failure it will be SOE's fault as the playerbase now are loving it. I have yet to see anyone complain in game. Everyone is in awe at how the game plays today. Some people with lowed end computers are having a few problems getting it to run in all it's splendor but the game does take a bit of "tweaking" to get it to run sometimes but those who take the time to experiment are very pleased. I run it pretty sweet on an old AMD 3800+ single core w/ geforce 9500 card and 4 gigs ram so the requirements can't be that hard. 25-30 FPS is fine by me!

1440x900 resolution on a 22" widescreen? Hell yeah!!!

I have seen and I have recognized and I will never promote another game as I have this one in all my 10+ years of MMO experience!

SOE should put me on thier payroll.

The only downfall of this game today is the fact that SOE is running the show.

Originally posted by Druz

Originally posted by neonwire

Originally posted by gnomexxx

Originally posted by Elikal

Sigh, of all the failed games only VG I really miss. The vast open world, the interesting classes... I really like that, but when nobody plays it, what good is it for.

I don't think people want that anymore.  Now they want quick to figure out classes, fast thoughtless quests, and a world that just has a lot of bright colors.

At times I can't blame them.  I mean, when I get home from work I only have 2 hours to play or so.  But then, there are times like on the weekends and holidays that I want to sit down and really try to achieve something.

I guess once people got a taste of streamlined gameplay it just sort of stuck.  The thing I've noticed though is that I have no personal connection to my characters in games like WoW.  They're just this character I have that runs around so I can collect pelts and do a few quick quests.  But in games like Vanguard I get the feeling that I know the character.  Like he's more real.

I got that same feeling in games like EQ and DAoC.  Oh well.

 

You feel attached to those weird looking lifeless dolls that pass for avatars in VG? A plastic manikin with an animals head stuck on the top? The avatars in VG are really ugly and stupid and have driven a lot of people away from the game. I didnt get the same feeling from EQ and DAoC. Those games were much better than VG.

No the reason people are playing other games isnt because they are faster or easier to play. Its because they are better made and far more entertaining. They offer pretty much the same thing as VG except they do it better. Yes VG has a vast open world......but its boring so hardly anyone cares. Filling that vast world with huge numbers of quests doesnt really mean anything as quality is more important than quantity. If it was more of a sandbox game where players could effect the game world and also each other then the "open world" thing would be interesting but instead its actually just another pve questing game where you have to run around lots more looking for something to do.......and what exactly ARE you gonna do in the game? Quests? Craft a few things? Grind experience points and go up levels? Yep pretty much exactly what you would do in any other mmo......except other mmos are more lively and entertaining to play. VG may have a big open world but it doest do anything with it and most people dont want to waste their time in such a bleak and lifeless place.

http://www.rob-llewellyn.co.uk/eqphoto/pages/t_ruddie_jpg.htm

VS

http://www.firingsquad.com/media/galleries/vanguard_sept27/03.jpg

You must have very poor vision if you call the more realistic looking one plastic - Just admit that when you look into the mirror you think you see a cartoon character because that is the only explanation for your apparent observation. In your eyes as long as there is no lighting or shading on a character it's more "real" to you. Hilarious!

 

Man that dude hasn't even played Vanguard since release and is just basing his opinion on what he has read on old forums. Soon as I fig out how to post a screenshot of my toon on here I'll show him some "lighting" My Warrior looks fantastic on my old amd singlecore computer and I challenge him to beat it on any other MMO.

Originally posted by boojiboy

Originally posted by Trueth

I noticed that in all your screenshots, you're the only character. Is the population really that bad??

 

Hard to believe you still haven't been banned for trolling.

Hard to believe you still haven't been banned for viral marketing

Play VG (I mean, tried to pplay) VG on halgar since 2007. Was always ALONE. Alone in a huge and empty world. last time I played VG it was last month, saw 3 players on VE, ONE on Kojan. 

There's no project for this game, no addon no relaunch nothing. the team is small, they can't work. 

VG is one of the best mmos in your in our dreams but in fact this brillant beta has no future and it  is unplayable

shame on sigil shame on soe

Originally posted by ougarit

Originally posted by boojiboy

Originally posted by Trueth

I noticed that in all your screenshots, you're the only character. Is the population really that bad??

 

Hard to believe you still haven't been banned for trolling.

 

Hard to believe you still haven't been banned for viral marketing

 

Play VG (I mean, tried to pplay) VG on halgar since 2007. Was always ALONE. Alone in a huge and empty world. last time I played VG it was last month, saw 3 players on VE, ONE on Kojan. 

There's no project for this game, no addon no relaunch nothing. the team is small, they can't work. 

 

VG is one of the best mmos in your in our dreams but in fact this brillant beta has no future and it  is unplayable

shame on sigil shame on soe

So you think it's fine for random trolls to hijack threads with complete BS, but if someone that actually PLAYS the game posts anything positive they are labeled a viral marketer.  Brilliant perspective there.

I've never played on Halgar and never spoke to it other than during Euro primetime the server says Medium Pop.  I do know first hand how well Seradon is doing with its increasing population.  Easily verified by anyone who actually PLAYS the game with the /who all count command.  1000 players online primetime vs. 400ish 8-10 months ago.  That increase in players is absolutely noticeable.  We used to have an APW shard to ourselves everytime we raided there, now we almost always share it with 1 to 3 other guilds.

Small team?  Sure, relatively speaking.  But they continue to push out fixes and content.  The most significant of which will be Pantheon of the Ancients, which will include the level cap increase.  That is a major 'project' no matter how you look at it.

Why do you constantly call me names Boojiboy? We don't agree, but your hate posts must stop. It's uncalled for and you're starting to become a stalker. So knock it off.

As everyone knows - VG has a declining population. It's common to enter chunk upon chunk and have it be empty. On top of that - Vanguard has now lost its Producer, Thom Terrazas, he is taking over for Everquest. But guess what - there is no replacement producer for vanguard. In fact, Thom didn't even post to tell the subscribers of his game he was leaving. He just left!!! He bailed on you and your giantly successful game!! What the heck, holy smokes!

Some people lie and say that the population has doubled. But the fact is that it is a dead zone; and, a game without a producer is a pretty big sign, don't ya think?

eqdev.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/hello-fellow-inhabitants-of-norrath/

forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m

---

Originally posted by Trueth
Why do you constantly call me names Boojiboy? We don't agree, but your hate posts must stop. It's uncalled for and you're starting to become a stalker. So knock it off.
As everyone knows - VG has a declining population. It's common to enter chunk upon chunk and have it be empty. On top of that - Vanguard has now lost its Producer, Thom Terrazas, he is taking over for Everquest. But guess what - there is no replacement producer for vanguard. In fact, Thom didn't even post to tell the subscribers of his game he was leaving. He just left!!! He bailed on you and your giantly successful game!! What the heck, holy smokes!
Some people lie and say that the population has doubled. But the fact is that it is a dead zone; and, a game without a producer is a pretty big sign, don't ya think?
 
eqdev.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/hello-fellow-inhabitants-of-norrath/
 
forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m

---

Whilst I agree the newbie areas (1-10) are dead, much like EQ1/WoW whatever, IoD has more than 40 players (except for off peaks).

As population goes, there is a guy on the forums logging the levels on servers. Halgar is down slightly than previous months but nothing to worry about.

Its all speculative without proper figures anyway, even then difficult to quantify in basic terms for an argument.

I suggest for anyone worried about population levels, play the game yourself and see if there is enough people to enjoy the game with. Its free to start with, costs you nothing to try.

Originally posted by Trueth

Why do you constantly call me names Boojiboy? We don't agree, but your hate posts must stop. It's uncalled for and you're starting to become a stalker. So knock it off.

As everyone knows - VG has a declining population. It's common to enter chunk upon chunk and have it be empty. On top of that - Vanguard has now lost its Producer, Thom Terrazas, he is taking over for Everquest. But guess what - there is no replacement producer for vanguard. In fact, Thom didn't even post to tell the subscribers of his game he was leaving. He just left!!! He bailed on you and your giantly successful game!! What the heck, holy smokes!

Some people lie and say that the population has doubled. But the fact is that it is a dead zone; and, a game without a producer is a pretty big sign, don't ya think?

 

eqdev.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/hello-fellow-inhabitants-of-norrath/

 

forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m

Who's stalking whom?  There is almost no post that you don't troll.  Somebody has to set you right.

Simply put, if you actually played VG, maybe someone would take your posts seriously.  As for Thom?  He did nothing for VG or the other games he 'produced'.  Nothing.  So reading the link above is a positive for anyone considering joining VG or returning. 

Originally posted by boojiboy 

I do know first hand how well Seradon is doing with its increasing population.  Easily verified by anyone who actually PLAYS the game with the /who all count command.  1000 players online primetime vs. 400ish 8-10 months ago.  That increase in players is absolutely noticeable.  We used to have an APW shard to ourselves everytime we raided there, now we almost always share it with 1 to 3 other guilds.

I think anyone can verify that there are 1000 players currently playing, but it seems you are the only one claiming the game only had 400 players 8-10 months ago.  Not to mention your numbers keep changing those numbers from post to post so it is hard to find your claims credible. 

In fact here is a quote from YOU 8 months ago saying "Seradon is crowded. I've heard Xeth server folks saying the same."

www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/2340417

So which is it?  Today you say seradon was empty 8 months ago and vanguard is increasing in population, but 8 months ago you were saying the server was crowded and I doubt you thought 400 people was crowded? 

I think I just verified that you are wrong with your own words. 

Well, now that you mention it, I have been using the 8-10 month timeframe now as a reference for too long.  It's hard to believe I've been playing Vanguard for over 2 years.

The 400 count was sometime after the server merge.  I found the post that led me to do my first /who all count. Someone posted that a /who all count showed 200 people on Xeth... which would be depressing if true.  Seradon seemed busier that 200 people, so that Friday night, I did my all /who all count and got just over 400 people on Seradon.  I remember it vididly, because it was kind of distressing.

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/146060/page/1

My first 1000 count was March 2009 I believe.  And here is a January post where the count was closing in on 900.

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/219554/page/1

So yes, my timeframe was out of whack.  But the point I've been making has been steadily increasing populations, which is indisputable.  Instead of the 400 to 1000 improvement happening over 8-10 months it has actually been closer to 18 months, but the point holds.  I think the release of Pantheon of the Ancients will continue this trend.

So I read your first link to your "400 /who all count" thread and it looks like you just sampled a few zones, not the entire game and not the entire population of the server.  3 months later you yourself are talking about multiple servers having higher populations than what you claim seradon has now.

For example this one from January of 2008:  www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/1778929#1778929

Here are some of the interesting snippets:

Dwarfman said

If your looking for the highest pop server that would be "Seradon"

Bigswede said

A couple of weeks ago (before the free time for old accounts) I did a player count when I got home from work and logged on to Halgar, the lowest populated PVE-server. It had 1208 players online at 6.30 pm (a weekday, don't remember which one - I only play Monday-Thursday so it was one of them). I'll do a new count today and post the numbers later.

Orphes said

It sounds about the same number I have had. 1200-1500 people sometime beetween 8-10 pm.

Bigswede said

Lowest number I've seen on Halgar was just short of 400 sometime before the server merge. After the merge until first part of GU3 it was about 800

Thillian said

The population is all right. It has around 1000 people online on Halgar server.

Boojiboy said

Seradon is the highest pop. But actually too high... some folks are doing Xeth instead.

Elfbliss said

Seradon server has a high population if your worried about the player population. Xeth is a close second.

So here in January of 2008 you and others are talking about Seradon being the highest populated server, while others are talking about other servers having somewhere around 1,000-1,500 people online at one time and the LOWEST populated server having over 1,000 players. 

I just don't see how you come to your conclusions considering your own past words do not agree with you now. It actually sounds like VG is on a decline according to this. 

I have posted complete server pop numbers for seradon a couple times in the past.  I'll see if I can find them and I'll do another measurement sometime in the next week on the same day and same time.

Originally posted by Daffid011

So I read your first link to your "400 /who all count" thread and it looks like you just sampled a few zones, not the entire game and not the entire population of the server.  3 months later you yourself are talking about multiple servers having higher populations than what you claim seradon has now.

 

 

For example this one from January of 2008:  www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/post/1778929#1778929

Here are some of the interesting snippets:

 

Dwarfman said

If your looking for the highest pop server that would be "Seradon"

 

Bigswede said

A couple of weeks ago (before the free time for old accounts) I did a player count when I got home from work and logged on to Halgar, the lowest populated PVE-server. It had 1208 players online at 6.30 pm (a weekday, don't remember which one - I only play Monday-Thursday so it was one of them). I'll do a new count today and post the numbers later.

 

Orphes said

It sounds about the same number I have had. 1200-1500 people sometime beetween 8-10 pm.

 

Bigswede said

Lowest number I've seen on Halgar was just short of 400 sometime before the server merge. After the merge until first part of GU3 it was about 800

 

Thillian said

The population is all right. It has around 1000 people online on Halgar server.

 

Boojiboy said

Seradon is the highest pop. But actually too high... some folks are doing Xeth instead.

 

Elfbliss said

Seradon server has a high population if your worried about the player population. Xeth is a close second.

 

 

So here in January of 2008 you and others are talking about Seradon being the highest populated server, while others are talking about other servers having somewhere around 1,000-1,500 people online at one time and the LOWEST populated server having over 1,000 players. 

I just don't see how you come to your conclusions considering your own past words do not agree with you now. It actually sounds like VG is on a decline according to this. 

 

 

I found those threads too when going back to review the discussions.  Some of those are pre-merge and shortly after launch prior to the game bottoming out in late 2007.  Since then the two major reasons for population boosts were APW and then the Isle of Dawn.  The ONLY server I've done counts on is Seradon, the one I play on and the increase over time is very apparently.  Halgar being 1000 anytime after the merge?  Can't speak to that at all.

The fact remains, any new player considering Vanguard is going to find Seradon a bit too crowded at higher levels (APW is overloaded in all 6 shards much of the time now) may want to consider Xeth instead.

Originally posted by boojiboy

 

I found those threads too when going back to review the discussions.  Some of those are pre-merge and shortly after launch prior to the game bottoming out in late 2007.  Since then the two major reasons for population boosts were APW and then the Isle of Dawn.  The ONLY server I've done counts on is Seradon, the one I play on and the increase over time is very apparently.  Halgar being 1000 anytime after the merge?  Can't speak to that at all.

The fact remains, any new player considering Vanguard is going to find Seradon a bit too crowded at higher levels (APW is overloaded in all 6 shards much of the time now) may want to consider Xeth instead.

You said there are about 300 max level players on at prime time and somehow that is to crowded?  I thought you said the game was huge and had to much content for players.  I know that sounds harsh and that is not how I intend it to sound, but it makes no sense at all.  

The thread I linked took place after the mergers and after APW released.  The populations being discussed in those threads is talking about all of the pve servers being above 1,000 players.  You are claiming that somewhere in time seradon was down to 400 players and is currently experiencing massive growth.  For what you claim to be the situation there would have to have been a massive exodus of players somewhere between APW and the Isle trial?   Somewhere in the area of 1200-1500ish to 400ish?   Does that sound right?

I started on Seradon, got to level 7. Game seems enjoyable besides the noobie quest grind that I am getting to do by myself =] I would rather partner with someone fun, rather than play alone.

If anyone is interested hit me up, ingame name is Kalewin. Seems like the population was just fine, and the community was helpful. Questing is the only downfall in this game unless I can find some cool people to play with.

1. Whoa... way to bring up a old thread. You must've been real bored dude :P

2. This kind of agruement, envolving this game has been a broken record for awhile now.

3. ZOMG the game is dying  THE SKYZ IS FALLINGZ OH NOEZ ... HAVE FUN PLAYING WITH THE ONRY TWO PEOPLE LEFT LULZ!!!!!!!!

4. NO YOU TROLL THE GAME IS ALIVE AND FULL OF PEOPLE YOU NOOB ROFL

5. Whatever it is, fact's remain. The game is alive and ticking and ZOMG... theres still plenty of people playing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMGZ!!

Originally posted by Daffid011

Originally posted by boojiboy

 

I found those threads too when going back to review the discussions.  Some of those are pre-merge and shortly after launch prior to the game bottoming out in late 2007.  Since then the two major reasons for population boosts were APW and then the Isle of Dawn.  The ONLY server I've done counts on is Seradon, the one I play on and the increase over time is very apparently.  Halgar being 1000 anytime after the merge?  Can't speak to that at all.

The fact remains, any new player considering Vanguard is going to find Seradon a bit too crowded at higher levels (APW is overloaded in all 6 shards much of the time now) may want to consider Xeth instead.

 

You said there are about 300 max level players on at prime time and somehow that is to crowded?  I thought you said the game was huge and had to much content for players.  I know that sounds harsh and that is not how I intend it to sound, but it makes no sense at all.  

 

The thread I linked took place after the mergers and after APW released.  The populations being discussed in those threads is talking about all of the pve servers being above 1,000 players.  You are claiming that somewhere in time seradon was down to 400 players and is currently experiencing massive growth.  For what you claim to be the situation there would have to have been a massive exodus of players somewhere between APW and the Isle trial?   Somewhere in the area of 1200-1500ish to 400ish?   Does that sound right?

Until Pantheon of the Ancients comes out, things are still crowded for raiders.  Isle of Gazumut had 72 in it this week which actually relieves some of the pressure from APW.  Tuesday night we had 60 in our raiding shard, and the last guild that came in said 40 was the lowest count in any of the 6 shards so they came to ours. 

60 people in an apw shard begins to impact performance.  So that is a crowding problem.  Apparently the new Isle of Gazumut is better designed so 72 players doesn't lag it, but there are still posts about the crowding issue.

So yes, until Pantheon comes out, the high level areas are going to be crowded.  Probably afterwards to as everyone is gearing up for the trials.

And before you take something else out of context.  The level make-up of that level count flucuates a lot depending on raid schedules, afternoon vs. evening times etc.  Meaning, on a heavy raid night, which Tuesday sames to be, you still might fine 1000 players online but it shifts to a much higher percentage of level 50s as they log in to raid.