remember when people said if PoTa was half-arsed itd mean the death of the game?

From what Im reading on the forum PoTa has been very mishandled and is a huge faction grind.

I also hear that post 50 XP will take forever (and cannot really be soloed or small grouped very well)

So now when I said months ago that VG was swirling down the crapper people screamed and said;

"PoTa was gunna be awesome and if it wasnt that then I could say the game was dying"

Well guess what...

The Game is Dying!

Only saying it cause I was told to.

Good luck

Also for those who like it keep enjoying it.  Its great that you are having fun. 

OMG its dying, i have to quit /sarcasm off

Here's what I've noticed from looking through these forums over time.

Every single individual game section, without exception, on these forums has a post the same as yours on them. That includes WoW, you know that game with 11m subs. To my mind if all these games which have these post were actually dead, We wouldn't be here and there would be no mmo's at all.

Soooo... using a very minimal amount of logic it would stand to reason that a vast majority of these posts are,... well complete bollox. Who knows, yours may be the exception but in all honesty the odds are way against you and its more than likely the game is dead to just you.

We'll have to just wait an see I guess, maybe I'll get to do the whole, 'I told you so' thing, it looks fun. How long do I have to wait?

Originally posted by darkbladed

remember when people said if PoTa was half-arsed itd mean the death of the game?

From what Im reading on the forum PoTa has been very mishandled and is a huge faction grind.

I also hear that post 50 XP will take forever (and cannot really be soloed or small grouped very well)

So now when I said months ago that VG was swirling down the crapper people screamed and said;

"PoTa was gunna be awesome and if it wasnt that then I could say the game was dying"

Well guess what...

 

The Game is Dying!

 

Only saying it cause I was told to.

Good luck

Also for those who like it keep enjoying it.  Its great that you are having fun. 

Posts like this never get old do they?  See ya again in a few months and a few years I'm sure.

The odds do not apply

Its like saying 70% of people in general like eating pie so 70% of people like eating mud pie.

It just doesnt equate.

You take a game like WoW with 11mil subs and a game like Vanguard with 120kish subs (if that) and as much as someone hates WoW you cant really say its failing.  Vanguard though is losing people left and right.  About the only thing they did halfway good in the last year or so was APW.  But as it was 10-12 months between APW and PoTa people started leaving, lots of people.  Now with PoTa and post 55 being way too hard and way too time consuming or the average player more and more people are leaving (check the official boards- they get locked and moved/deleted but youll see em up for a few hours).

Also with SOE and the GM/Dev teams general inconsistancy when dealing with issues and bugs they drive away people who are even staying to trudge through the bleh "content".

For all these reasons and numerous I have not named I say this game has taken yet another hit and is doing worse than it was 3 months ago (which wasnt good to begin with).

---

Originally posted by darkbladed
The odds do not apply
Its like saying 70% of people in general like eating pie so 70% of people like eating mud pie.
It just doesnt equate.
 
You take a game like WoW with 11mil subs and a game like Vanguard with 120kish subs (if that) and as much as someone hates WoW you cant really say its failing.  Vanguard though is losing people left and right.  About the only thing they did halfway good in the last year or so was APW.  But as it was 10-12 months between APW and PoTa people started leaving, lots of people.  Now with PoTa and post 55 being way too hard and way too time consuming or the average player more and more people are leaving (check the official boards- they get locked and moved/deleted but youll see em up for a few hours).
 
Also with SOE and the GM/Dev teams general inconsistancy when dealing with issues and bugs they drive away people who are even staying to trudge through the bleh "content".
 
For all these reasons and numerous I have not named I say this game has taken yet another hit and is doing worse than it was 3 months ago (which wasnt good to begin with).

---

Well just going by what I'm seeing in chat and players running around, the game doesn't feel dead or dying. There's no doubt the subs aren't through the roof, but I don't think it's the end of VG yet.

Then again, SOE could pull a fast one and axe it tomorrow. Who knows? Or cares really besides the VG vultures? I'll be enjoying the game for as long as it's around.

Originally posted by Nizur

 

Well just going by what I'm seeing in chat and players running around, the game doesn't feel dead or dying. There's no doubt the subs aren't through the roof, but I don't think it's the end of VG yet.

Then again, SOE could pull a fast one and axe it tomorrow. Who knows? Or cares really besides the VG vultures? I'll be enjoying the game for as long as it's around.

SOE isn't gonna axe the game, it's a value add to the station pass lineup.  But there's no doubt the game lost a lot of players since thep ota patch came out.  The only reason you feel the game is still about the same is because they are having a free to play month right now.  Which I might add, was good timing to make the loss of subs not noticeable.

Unfortunately with free to play, people come for a few weeks then leave before they have to pay any money.  People just love free stuff :D

Originally posted by darkbladed

The odds do not apply

Its like saying 70% of people in general like eating pie so 70% of people like eating mud pie.

It just doesnt equate.

 

You take a game like WoW with 11mil subs and a game like Vanguard with 120kish subs (if that) and as much as someone hates WoW you cant really say its failing.  Vanguard though is losing people left and right.  About the only thing they did halfway good in the last year or so was APW.  But as it was 10-12 months between APW and PoTa people started leaving, lots of people.  Now with PoTa and post 55 being way too hard and way too time consuming or the average player more and more people are leaving (check the official boards- they get locked and moved/deleted but youll see em up for a few hours).

 

Also with SOE and the GM/Dev teams general inconsistancy when dealing with issues and bugs they drive away people who are even staying to trudge through the bleh "content".

 

For all these reasons and numerous I have not named I say this game has taken yet another hit and is doing worse than it was 3 months ago (which wasnt good to begin with).

If the red portion is true, I think that has more to do with the fact that they added RMT via Live Gamer to ALL the VG servers without asking the existing player base if they wanted it or not.  VG is one of the few games that I really enjoyed my time there and would've gone back to.  However, it'd be a cold day in Hell (so-to-speak) before I set foot back in that game.  All thanks to them adding Live Gamer to all the VG servers.  And, from what I've been reading on the VG forums and other sites, I'm apparently one of MANY who feel the same way.  Just goes to show ya... SOE is their own worst enemy.

People have been saying this game is dying for a long time, is almost like beating a dead horse. The only thing I did not care for is the lack of character customization, I like EQ2 more when it comes to this.

If VG has anything over 5k subs I'll never post bad about this game again.

Originally posted by Vato26

If the red portion is true, I think that has more to do with the fact that they added RMT via Live Gamer to ALL the VG servers without asking the existing player base if they wanted it or not.  VG is one of the few games that I really enjoyed my time there and would've gone back to.  However, it'd be a cold day in Hell (so-to-speak) before I set foot back in that game.  All thanks to them adding Live Gamer to all the VG servers.  And, from what I've been reading on the VG forums and other sites, I'm apparently one of MANY who feel the same way.  Just goes to show ya... SOE is their own worst enemy.

Exactly,

Me and my gf were actually having fun playing Vanguard again earlier this year, till The Smed felt the need to smack Live Gamer on ALL Vanguard servers without asking!

We canceled the same day and never looked back. And so did many others that time.

And yes, what another player posted earlier. SOE reactivated Vanguard subs again for a month. Just noticed it last weekend myself. But in no way that I ever set foot in this game again.

Cheers

As someone who actually plays VG rather than did at some time or never has, population wise is a little up from the release of PoTA.

Whether that is people playing more or growth is another question.

But it is certainly not large numbers leaving, rather obsurd thing to say.

Originally posted by Guillermo197

Originally posted by Vato26

If the red portion is true, I think that has more to do with the fact that they added RMT via Live Gamer to ALL the VG servers without asking the existing player base if they wanted it or not.  VG is one of the few games that I really enjoyed my time there and would've gone back to.  However, it'd be a cold day in Hell (so-to-speak) before I set foot back in that game.  All thanks to them adding Live Gamer to all the VG servers.  And, from what I've been reading on the VG forums and other sites, I'm apparently one of MANY who feel the same way.  Just goes to show ya... SOE is their own worst enemy.

 

Exactly,

Me and my gf were actually having fun playing Vanguard again earlier this year, till The Smed felt the need to smack Live Gamer on ALL Vanguard servers without asking!

We canceled the same day and never looked back. And so did many others that time.

And yes, what another player posted earlier. SOE reactivated Vanguard subs again for a month. Just noticed it last weekend myself. But in no way that I ever set foot in this game again.

Cheers

While I respect your opinion about LiveGamer, I dont think it has had much affect on the game at all.  From what I have heard live gamer has serious problems:

http://forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m?topic_id=47882

I dont think people are using it and your average player does not even know about Live Gamer.  The only people I have heard quitting is the people that refuse to play a game where this mechanism is in place regardless of wether it affects the game.  Thats fine and again I respect your principals. 

As to the compaints about PotA.  I think overall people are complaining about the level increase and the 51-55 leveling, not about the implementation of of PotA.  The grind in these levels is pretty severe. I dont thik this is a surprise to anyone.  They let it be know that the leveling in this range was going to be old-school EQ I painful leveling. 

I am a /who count all fiend and I can safely say the population has seen a small uptick since PotA, but nothing big.  There are three major influences on the server population right now:

1)  PotA did bring a good chunk of people back to the game.  Very apparent in my guild, my friends list and on the boards.

2)  Confounding variable:  Free Vet month brought people back, but how many stay is unknown.  The count command will be more reliable after the free month expires.

3)  Summer is here and this has a major downward impact on how frequently people play.  Vacations, golf, beaches, trips, college is out,... all this stuff makes people scarce during the warm months.  This lull happened last summer too and it picked up significantly again in the fall.  I'd say play-times drop 50%-75% for most of our guild during summers (across all MMOs, not just Vanguard).

Competing factors here, but in the end the server is still 900-1000 during peak times.  Maybe a small uptick from pre-PotA.

With regard to LiveGamer, I agree... most people are not even aware of it's existance and as far as I know, it doesn't even work.  Complete failure, they should just pull the plug on LiveGamer.

Originally posted by Nizur

 

---

Originally posted by darkbladed
The odds do not apply
Its like saying 70% of people in general like eating pie so 70% of people like eating mud pie.
It just doesnt equate.
 
You take a game like WoW with 11mil subs and a game like Vanguard with 120kish subs (if that) and as much as someone hates WoW you cant really say its failing.  Vanguard though is losing people left and right.  About the only thing they did halfway good in the last year or so was APW.  But as it was 10-12 months between APW and PoTa people started leaving, lots of people.  Now with PoTa and post 55 being way too hard and way too time consuming or the average player more and more people are leaving (check the official boards- they get locked and moved/deleted but youll see em up for a few hours).
 
Also with SOE and the GM/Dev teams general inconsistancy when dealing with issues and bugs they drive away people who are even staying to trudge through the bleh "content".
 
For all these reasons and numerous I have not named I say this game has taken yet another hit and is doing worse than it was 3 months ago (which wasnt good to begin with).

---

 

Well just going by what I'm seeing in chat and players running around, the game doesn't feel dead or dying. There's no doubt the subs aren't through the roof, but I don't think it's the end of VG yet.

Then again, SOE could pull a fast one and axe it tomorrow. Who knows? Or cares really besides the VG vultures? I'll be enjoying the game for as long as it's around.

sony have power to do whatever they want its just do they want is different question in this but i just got the game cause there was nothing else to play at this precise moment , made a halfling in halgar server, there isnt much people around but you could see people are talking anyway in chat. even tho , i have been enjoying so far and i think the diplomacy card game is brilliant and also the fact that you have different gear for harvesting and crafting etc. so , no need to boast about something is dying cause there is still people who might enjoy this game like i do now, even tho i was abit late on launch but only because i was playing some other game!

cheers,

Originally posted by Xeonsoldier

If VG has anything over 5k subs I'll never post bad about this game again.

A conservative measure of subs is 5x the peak number of users, for most games it is higher then 5x and approaches 10x.  Since VG servers are running at say around 1000 players peak and we will discount sartok completely I'd say online peaks for all server would easily be 2500 players.  5x2500 is 12,500.  I'd suggest to you that this is a good minimum number.

For a much closer accurate I would say both Xeth/Seradon both have 1500 - 1750 and Halgar has roughly 1000. Sartok is near 200. That would give you around 4700. Saying our servers have near 2500 is a bit too optimistic. Again lets see how it looks once the free month is gone. 2 high end guilds have dropped already. So its goign to show a bit.

Originally posted by ethion

Originally posted by Xeonsoldier

If VG has anything over 5k subs I'll never post bad about this game again.

 

A conservative measure of subs is 5x the peak number of users, for most games it is higher then 5x and approaches 10x.  Since VG servers are running at say around 1000 players peak and we will discount sartok completely I'd say online peaks for all server would easily be 2500 players.  5x2500 is 12,500.  I'd suggest to you that this is a good minimum number.

That sounds true for a healthy game with a diverse population though.  As a game boils down to its most dedicated fans, it is most likely a higher percentage of the subscribers on every night than the typical estimate of 20%. 

That is not even counting how many of the people are on the free trial since /who numbers that have been posted put nearly 1/3 of seradons population in that level range and there is a severe drop off after that. 

Originally posted by Daffid011

Originally posted by ethion

Originally posted by Xeonsoldier

If VG has anything over 5k subs I'll never post bad about this game again.

 

A conservative measure of subs is 5x the peak number of users, for most games it is higher then 5x and approaches 10x.  Since VG servers are running at say around 1000 players peak and we will discount sartok completely I'd say online peaks for all server would easily be 2500 players.  5x2500 is 12,500.  I'd suggest to you that this is a good minimum number.

 

That sounds true for a healthy game with a diverse population though.  As a game boils down to its most dedicated fans, it is most likely a higher percentage of the subscribers on every night than the typical estimate of 20%. 

That is not even counting how many of the people are on the free trial since /who numbers that have been posted put nearly 1/3 of seradons population in that level range and there is a severe drop off after that. 

Well, they are not close to (what?) 100% as Xeon above post hints.

As I don't want to get in a percentage speculation I wrote 100% and if for no other reason it's wrong as one can't expect all people play at one single time on the 24h that makes a day.

Originally posted by Xeonsoldier

For a much closer accurate I would say both Xeth/Seradon both have 1500 - 1750 and Halgar has roughly 1000. Sartok is near 200. That would give you around 4700. Saying our servers have near 2500 is a bit too optimistic. Again lets see how it looks once the free month is gone. 2 high end guilds have dropped already. So its goign to show a bit.

That would mean that 100% of the subscribers are online, at the same time, everyday. If you have counted those numbers from online players.

Otherwise it's slightly more realistic to multiply the numbers.

 So uh... Only good posts?