And, you can have it ALL to yourself.

And if you think V:SoH was/is bad, you should have been there for the Anarchy Online launch.

Population in VG is ok, I meet people all the time and it is easy to get a group if you want to. Of course the world is huge so even more players would be great, but you won't feel alone in VG.

I was there for the AO launch :) but nowadays AO is a really good game that has aged well!

I'm sorry, but I found that article a bit...well..."meh"

I think it might be an idea to say what you found was good about the game. The actual 'about the game now' bit was about 10-15% of the article. I'm not sure what the brief was, or even if there was one, but I don't think the article really tells anyone in a similar position as you were, exactly what's good about VG.

Just for the record, the character models are due to come out after SOE's Fan Fayre - so mid-late August.

I'm sorry if I come off over-critical, that's not my intent. It's just that VG gets precious little frontpage coverage on top MMO sites like this one and when it does I'd hope that the article really explores just how far Sony (love-em-or-hate-em) have brought the shambles Brad left them.

Thanks for the respones ;) In the end this is the story about how I came back to Vanguard.  I'm not really trying to sell it to anyone, just my impressions.  However I will keep some of the comments in mind in the pieces I write in the tuture.  BTW there is a very active and good community attached to the game; so it doesn't feel like i am playing by myself.

The contents of this post do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com and its management.

I ain't coming back to Vanguard. I did that mistake like everyone, I bought the game, installed it, looked at it... it was ugly, gtlichy, sucky, and i uninstalled. And now I'm waiting for a certain 18th september.

I just wanted to echo the writer of this article.  While I didn't even play Vanguard on release or beta due to the bad word around the net, I did start up an account about a month and a half ago after severe case of WoW burnout.  I've not regretted it a bit.  Vanguard is a very pretty world (imho, prettier even than LoTRO). 

The gameplay is unique and while the author's complaint regarding character models is valid, that will likely be fixed with the next game update later this month.

I think you are doing yourself a disservice not giving it another shot. it is a great game these days.  

Well...that game coming out on the 18th of September is a completely different kind of game.

Vanguard is a PvE game...always was and always will be.  The PvP world is getting no love there and most of the Community is OK with that...as long as the PvE game keeps improving.

If your looking for the best PvE game out there...Vanguard is it.

Originally posted by oTinyo

I'm sorry, but I found that article a bit...well..."meh"

I think it might be an idea to say what you found was good about the game. The actual 'about the game now' bit was about 10-15% of the article. I'm not sure what the brief was, or even if there was one, but I don't think the article really tells anyone in a similar position as you were, exactly what's good about VG.

Just for the record, the character models are due to come out after SOE's Fan Fayre - so mid-late August.

I'm sorry if I come off over-critical, that's not my intent. It's just that VG gets precious little frontpage coverage on top MMO sites like this one and when it does I'd hope that the article really explores just how far Sony (love-em-or-hate-em) have brought the shambles Brad left them.

I agree. I'm sorry but that article had very little in it that was worth reading. OK so you spent a long section of your life dreaming about a game that was essentially crap. Now its not as crap but still not brilliant. Well.....ummm.....thanks for that.

ps. I also reinstalled the game several months ago and uninstalled it yet again a few days after that. It still seemed like a very weak and unfinished game to me and of course the character models were still as ugly as ever. I might have a look again though once the new models are implemented and if they still look stupid then its goodbye to Vanguard for good.

I also came back due to SOE's kindness(?) of free play time, and I am glad I did. Even though I've had no problems finding groups, I would suggest finding a good guild with which to adventure.  As far as the beauty of Vanguard,  pictures speak louder.

Originally posted by oTinyo

I'm sorry, but I found that article a bit...well..."meh"

Really this article was completly useless. He starts off saying he was playing on an ubber comp. Well great, one of the biggest complaints has been about performance...so that's use full =P.

He mentions a few things he doesn't like about the game. Then, that what he likes about the game out weighs the bad...such as? It sounded a lot like he had a dead line to meet and didn't even play the game and wrote a vague article based upon what he has read from the forums.

It was a very well written article, I just believe it should have went over more about the game (although I'm sure your future pieces will do so).

Besides that, very well written!

-Mike

I actually enjoyed the read, because his story is almost identical to mine.

I'd have to agree about the articles content.  While I agree with every word you wrote you didnt really go into much depth.  You made no mention of the new riftway system an entire subject in itself, nor even did you mention the flying mounts that you can rent for as little as 25 copper! (and thats just two off the top of my head) But its like you just gave up at the end and left us with a cryptic line designed to what, maybe pull others in to see what the fuss was all about? a bit of an anti-climax.

Ive been back on VG for nearly two months now, and looking forward to seing the new models and the free trial island.  This is actually more like weeks away now than months or years.

I would enjoy reading a follow up article after GU6 ;)

Originally posted by OBK1

Population in VG is ok, I meet people all the time and it is easy to get a group if you want to. Of course the world is huge so even more players would be great, but you won't feel alone in VG.

I was there for the AO launch :) but nowadays AO is a really good game that has aged well!

QFT..

A bad launch does not always equal complete failure.. Not every one is so quick to hang the watchman.. Funcom was forgiven for AO as it became a very good game, Vangaurd will more than likely follow the same path to success.. Even if the Mmorpg.com majority would hate to see this happen.

"Anarchy Online has gone on to win over 20 international awards including "Best Multiplayer Game of Show" by ECTS in 2001, and "Best Massively Multiplayer Game" by PC Gamer in 2002.^["

I as well tried Vanguard once more about 1 month ago and I am enjoying much more now then ever before.  Now if I wasn't paying for a Station pass at SOE which covers my other MMOs, I don't think I would have even considered paying extra to try out a game that I was so disappointed in so long ago.  Nonetheless even though I have no Guild and very few friends playing it, I do log in when I need that quiet MMO time doing some random quest stuff and so on, and it is the absolutely stunning "you see it you can go to it" aspect of Vanguard that I love the most.  It is so vast, so large so big that I never feel closed in as I did in Age of Conan.  Here I want to go there and I can go to it.  I can see far and beyond long distances and know that hey are reachable and touchable.  No invisible walls to stop me form running here and there which was the worst aspect of AoC and some other MMOs.

I am not willing to give Vanguard my complete attention just yet but I am also not willing to give up on it once more yet, especially when the new character modules that will soon be coming out.  Heck this game has tons of potential, hopefully one day (if it ins't already too late) will reach what it always hoped for......A great PVE MMO!

Thanks for giving the game another shot and writing an honest article!  It's great to see some more Vanguard love on MMORPG!

Soo.. whats new?

I quit a few months after release, because all my other friends quit, and I don't like solo.

I have a few character, but I *may* create another one, if there are people around. Or something new to test.

Why I sould return to VG, theres something for me, there?

Teiman, if you are unsure just hang on a bit and the trial island should be out (late august/early september). Then you could try it for free and with an influx of new players.

LONG POST WARNING!
 

First up my system specs:

Abit AB9 Mobo
Intel C2D E6600 @ 2.8 GHz
4 Gb DDR2 800 MHz RAM
Nvidia 8800 GTX 768 Mb
320 Gb SATA 2 7200 RPM HD
19" LG Flatron L1917S LCD Flatpanel (1280 x 1024 @ 75 MHz)
MS Windows XP Pro 32 SP2

Most of this post is a copy/paste from one I made a couple of weeks ago on the AoC forums, but it is relevant to this discussion so here it is.  Before the copy/paste, a little bit of my Vanguard background.
 
I got into the Vanguard Beta late on in its development and despite misgivings about the general state of the game, I purchased it at release and subbed for three months. The game was basically unplayable for me. I should have known to expect this but I was hoping for 'The Miracle Patch', needless to say that didnt happen. I would CTD or even hit the BSOD up to 7 times an hour, which made grouping with my guildies impossible.

Bugs and graphical glitches were running rampant, falling through the world was a personal favourite as well as the aforementioned CTD's which always seemed to happen while in combat, which meant logging back in to being dead with no gravestone so you had to take a sizeable XP hit. To sum up, the stability/performance on this game at launch was shocking. I returned to the game in September 2007 to check on its progress and although some minor advancements had been made it was still dreadful.

On to the rip from my other post.

"I am still subscribed to AoC atm, but if I hadnt bought and registered a 60 day timecard along with the game at launch, I would probably be giving it a couple of months to settle down a bit.
 
I was considering resubscribing to Vanguard to play alongside AoC for the 'wide-open' feel and because it was getting rave reviews from returnees on this site.  I even posted in the Vanguard section asking some questions about the state of the game now and I was encouraged with the responses I recieved, the game seemed to have turned the corner.

So I was delighted yesterday when I recieved notification of the Free Veteran Trial for Vanguard SOH.

I reinstalled the game from the original discs and went through a lengthy 3 hours of patching.  I fired the game up and decided to start over on Halgar as there is a guild of peeps from this very site playing there.  I rolled-up a Thestran Human Ranger and was a little disappointed by the lack of customisation available now, but I thought, oh what the hell and entered the world of Telon for my 3rd and last time.

The first thing I noticed the graphics didnt seem as good as they were before (yes, I did all the relevant tweaks and adjustments for my system), now maybe this is because I have been spoiled by AoC, but really the world just looked wishy-washy and lifeless. 

Animations are still absolutely woeful in this game too, jumping is a personal favourite of mine, just what the hell is THAT!?  As for combat animations, dont even get me started. 

I soldiered on though thinking about the wide open world and all the options available to me ingame.  After about 1 hour, I thought to myself - I'm not really enjoying this - so I logged out and decided to try out one of my old characters on Seradon. 

I entered the game as my level 38 Dark Elf Necromancer and wandered out into the world to play around a bit.  Again, but after less than an hour this time I got to feeling all meh about what I was doing and logged off. 

On to performance.  Yes, performance has improved since my last visit to Telon.  Has it improved as much as some people on this site are trying to make out? - Hell no!  Hitching is still an issue, I still needed to do 'The Vanguard Spin' (tm) when entering the game or a new area. 

My abomination was still bugged for crossing chunks, my wolf form on my Shaman would drop too and several graphical issues were still to be found, flickering, whiteout and suchlike. One thing I will say, is that I didnt crash at all during the little time that I spent in the game this time around, so props to SOE for that fix.

Needless to say Vanguard has again been removed from my HD, after all this time the game is still not up to scratch.  If people can complain about the unfinished state of AoC, then they are going to have a hard time in Vanguard if they decide to try it out.  If AoC is paying to Beta Test, then after 18 months of being a live game so is Vanguard."

Originally posted by Rhems

I ain't coming back to Vanguard. I did that mistake like everyone, I bought the game, installed it, looked at it... it was ugly, gtlichy, sucky, and i uninstalled. And now I'm waiting for a certain 18th september.

O'RLY?

Some from Ancient Port Warehouse (the raid zone)

From test server - Isle of Dawn (the trial island soon to be launched)

Some various screenshots from around telon

My best friend and I were leaders of the very first guild ever allowed into Vanguard's beta.  We brought 50 people with us, and only 2 actually kept playing for more than a few days.  Most of us (including my friend and I) loathed the game with a passion.

Three months later, it launched.  My friend and I gave it another chance, and never got past level 6.  Vanguard was simply horrible, as far as we were concerned.

A couple months ago, we got the email inviting us to come back.  Since AoC was really annoying us by this point for its lack of polish past level 40 we decided to accept Sony's offer.  Honestly, we were not expecting much.  But it was check out Vanguard, keep paying to beta AoC, or go back to WoW.  Vanguard won.

What we found was a huge surprise.  Performance is still not incredible, but the game is certainly very playable.  The key is to give your computer about a minute after loading into the game or changing continents so that it can load everything for your chunk.  (This is especially important if you're at a capital city.)  After that load is done, the game performs quite nicely even with high settings.

Classes are really interesting.  With 15 to choose from, there's something for everyone.  Some are classic archetypes such as tanks, nuking mages, etc.  Many others are hybrids that blend elements and have very unique abilities.  I've tried several classes at this point, and the only one I can't seem to enjoy is the bard.  But I know that's personal taste, since many people love their bards.  Most classes ARE a little slow to come into their own, usually maturing in the early teens.  So I generally recommend waiting until 15 to decide that a class isn't for you.  That's not very long, though, since the early levels do come fast.

There is an almost obscene amount of adventuring content.  I honestly believe that it's possible to level a half dozen characters to 20 without ever repeating a single quest.  There's also a great mix of solo, small group and large group content.  No matter what your mood is at the moment, or how many of your friends are on, you can go adventuring.

Hand in hand with adventuring is harvesting.  Something truly unique about Vanguard's system is that you're able to harvest together with friends.  Let's say you're the only one in your party with reaping and you come across some cotton.  You start the harvest, then your friends join in.  They simply need to have the necessary tool in their harvesting toolbelt.  (The tool is cheap, and doesn't take up any regular inventory space.)  The more people harvesting the node, the more it produces and the better your chances of getting a rare drop.  It's very refreshing not to have five people twiddling their thumbs while the sixth is mining that node you all just came across.

Crafting is both deep and meaningful. (Unlike what AoC tried to foist on us.)  Honestly, it's possibly too deep for some people.  But for those who do get into it, the process is a challenge of trying to get the highest possible quality in your item before you overwork the materials and end up with nothing.  It's a nicely balanced risk vs. reward system.  You can customize what you make, such as creating a belt that boosts vitality or strength; the choice is yours.  What you end up making is worthwhile, too.  It easily rivals or exceeds anything of equivalent level that you get from quests and drops.

The there's diplomacy.  This is an entirely different style of play that involves strategy.  A lot of the game's lore comes out through diplomacy, and you can make a ton of money out of the deal.  The game is strangely addictive, and your actions can spill over to other players by creating buffs that affect everyone in the region.  For example, diplomats can improve the crafting abilities of everyone in the area.

In short, there's always something to do in Vanguard.  Whether you're alone or with friends, you can easily find some fun and challenge.

There are many, many quality of life elements that have made it into the game.  Here are a few examples:

• Brotherhoods.  If you have a few friends that you play with regularly, you can form a brotherhood.  Everyone in the brotherhood shares adventuring experience equally, regardless of whether they're online at the moment or not.  This allows you to level with your friends, even if you can't always be on at the same time.
• Riftways.  Caravans are now obsolete thanks to the riftway system.  These are objects scattered throughout the world that let you travel to any other riftway location.  Hubs are always free to travel to, while the others are priced appropriately to the level of the area they serve.  In short, they're always affordable, provided you're of sufficient level to adventure in the area you're going to.
• Flying Mounts.  Most decent sized towns have vendors that rent these mounts.  The mount will stay in your inventory for up to 10 minutes, and you can actually ride it for a total of 5 minutes.  When the time expires, the mount disappears.  (If you're airborne, you get a 10 minute parachute buff to get you safely to the ground.)  This is actually a great feature, similar to having flight paths in WoW but with the freedom to travel anywhere you want within the alotted time.
• Personal Mounts.  You can buy your first horse at level 10.  It's a 30% speed boost, which is certainly nice, and that can be boosted even higher with the right spells or gear.  Your mount can carry saddlebags, which means extra inventory space that's always with you.  At level 20 and every 10 after that you get access to better and faster mounts.  Then there are also the racial mounts (such as the dark elven spiders), the epic mounts, and the permantly-owned flying mounts.
• Rope.  Ever been with a friend who gets stuck in the geometry somehow?  Sooner or later, it happens in just about every game.  In Vanguard, type /rope to throw your friend a rope and pull him out.
• Zero XP.  Sometimes you want to play, but don't want to outlevel your friends.  Sometimes you want to try to get the last piece of a gear set before you outlevel its value.  Other times you might really be digging a storyline that you'd like to finish without outleveling and trivializing it.  Whatever your reasons, there's a Zero XP Gain "buff" that you can put on yourself.  Sure, you might almost never use it, but it sure is nice to have options.

There really is a ton more than this.  The bottom line is that Vanguard provides a wide open sandbox-type world that (thanks to the huge number and variety of quests) never leaves you flailing around wondering what to do next.  It comes the closest of any game I've ever seen to blending a sandbox together with the alternative.  My good friend and I were very pleasantly surprised upon our return, and we have both subscribed.  We've brought other friends in who have chosen to subscribe as well.  And it's really interesting to watch the continent's chat channel and see all the AoC refugees who are equally (and happily) surprised now that Vanguard has had a year and a half to come into its own.

Is the game for everyone?  Certainly not!  The PvP crowd will be quite disappointed because the game wasn't built around that.  But for the PvE lover, this means that classes were created to be fun to play, rather than balanced into oblivion.  If you're looking for a game with real depth, Vanguard is worth checking out.

I was also in the beta just like you were, and i joined 4-5 months ago again to see how it were, i started on fresh and it was more breathly just liked you said, i really, really like the crafting system, its great. I joined a guild and was going to get to the top. But as any other mmorpg you get boored and you have friends that wants you to come back to WoW and other things that do actually work better, but that doesnt have the potential that vanguard got.

If you are a member of a big guild somewhere and all think its fine to start vanguard out, do it, would be much more fun, atleast in my case, i feel i needed some friends in there to get more out of it.

I will probably buy a subscription at a later date, same as for AoC, going to play it more in the start of 09.

BTW if anyone got a really nice guild and would like to start a new char with me so i can get back in, that would be great, pm me!

I think it is great to hear that VG really has gotten a lot better. I am probably not going to start again right now, but maybe next time I get a "1 month for free if you return"-offer.

Nice graphics too!

(Btw. This is great thread, very constructive and relevant for mmo-players)

VG was a PoS at release, no doubt about it and Sigil deserved to close. Sadly firms doent seem to learn and repeat the same faults over and over. No idea why. Anyway...

Vanguards human and especially elf face design is, compared to the usual art, kinda skinny and bony. As currently most of the options to alter the face are removed for a performance overhaul, there is not much you can do about it.
Ill illustrate it on 2 elven face screenshots (this is my ingame graphic, nothing changed to make it look prettier for forums or so ;)):

But actually its not too bad. Lets have a look here:

You see her face? Not so bad IMHO.
I actually made that screenshot because of the armor and the background scenario.
Speaking of armor & face here is another one I found on my HD:

The whole combat animations in VG are pretty toned down. Especially the melee ones arent impressive. Could use some eye candy, I agree.
Speaking of combat... you can use all combat skills during movement. Normally casters are forced to stand still during a cast in most of the games, not so in VG. It feels really really good.

Someone wrote about hitching "Hitching is still an issue, I still needed to do 'The Vanguard Spin' (tm) when entering the game or a new area."
Well, if you use a rift you reach a new area and all textures are loaded into memory. As this uses your harddrive, which is compared to RAM like a snail, you get lags for some seconds. The better your HD, the less lag. Same thing happens if you cross a chunkborder, but its a lot faster, as most is already loaded into memory.
If I explain this with AoC in mind it would be: You experience such "hitching" in AoC not so much because there is simply not much to load into memory as the zones are so tiny.
Let me illustrate this:

You see the oasis in the background? Thats around half a chunk away. You need to ride for several minutes until you reach it. And remember... everything you see in VG, you can reach.
Now imagine this not being a pretty empty desert, instead being a major city and the game is loading everything at once (as you just used the rift). There is no way around that you will get hitching for some seconds. If this is the cost I have to pay for a seamless world, I gladly pay it.

I just tested it out... If I cross chunkborders I dont loose wolfform. That was one of the bugs at release, but was fixed several months ago.
Jumping animation... well, hard to make such an animation which pleases everyone. IMHO the AoC one is as bad, just in some other way. *shrug*

And here are some nice screenshots I found:

Oh and trees! If you watch those 2 following screenies right behind, you see the trees are moving. Without insane fps drops.

Oh god, what a silly news topic. You take more than half your post explaining how you came back and 1 line why:

"Because the game is 100% better than before".

OK, NO, it's not. Some bugs have been fixed that made people crash, THAT'S IT, that has changed. The same person from NE that had the warped hands in beta is still in game, the same quests that were broke are still there, the same sluggish 3D engine is still there.

The only difference now is that's there's no one left to play with.

Why lie, seriously.

Sadly, this is probably the best PVE game out right now (other than risking your luck with a F2P based in Asia and hoping your account doesn't get hacked, etc.)

I came back for the free trial and was happy with a few things, but I still run into graphic bugs, found myself underneath the guild hall when I logged in for the 4th time since coming back and some other glitches. I still have to run on Medium in order to have any sense of seemlessness while moving towards objects or towns.  (E6600 with 2GB RAM and 7900NVidia, not the best, but decent)

Everytime i log in I have to rebind my equipment (except 2 pieces that seem to have permanently bound okay). Clicking open a bag will randomly and not consisently prompt me if I want to Bind the bag.. My character is always above the ground and even more so when using stairs. (Maybe the character model fix will make that better?).

Really it isn't fit and finished yet, but better than it was at launch....

I decided to buy 1 month to give me something to do until the Runes of Magic Beta starts. (I can not handle another minute of WoW high-fantasy, cartoon mode MMO). I will check out WAR for the PvP aspect, but really want a PvE game as well to play when I don't feel like being in competirion mode.

Rohan is cool, but F2P and who knows if it'll be there or your account will get pwned next week?

.my 50 cents

$oE , destroying MMO since 1999.

Told me enough.

Originally posted by Frotus

Everytime i log in I have to rebind my equipment (except 2 pieces that seem to have permanently bound okay). Clicking open a bag will randomly and not consisently prompt me if I want to Bind the bag.. My character is always above the ground and even more so when using stairs. (Maybe the character model fix will make that better?).

Isnt bindings supposed to be user created on client side, then you prob have write protected the file, maybe uncheck the box.

Originally posted by Waterlily

Oh god, what a silly news topic. You take more than half your post explaining how you came back and 1 line why:

"Because the game is 100% better than before".

OK, NO, it's not. Some bugs have been fixed that made people crash, THAT'S IT, that has changed. The same person from NE that had the warped hands in beta is still in game, the same quests that were broke are still there, the same sluggish 3D engine is still there.

The only difference now is that's there's no one left to play with.

Why lie, seriously.

Not sure who is lying here.

Im waiting for Aion, in the meantime ive gone back to wow after a case of wow burn out, but during my wow illness i must have tried and bought every mmorpg out there, including the AoC rubbish i played from beta - had to get that in, i also tried Vanguard which was one of the better titles i played at this time.

I do intend to give it another go, once the characters get sorted with some more options, well after ive tried warhammer as well, but judging by some comments from beta ive seen that could be following in Vanguards shoes.

Vanguard is an awsome game,  not sure how some people cannot like this game, its extremely massive and the world, atmosphere,environment is breath taking, there is no other MMO out there that deliivers that......enough said, go and install it...

as a hater of quests and lover of grouping i found Vanguard to be great at delivering on my fun needs.  i remember spending 4 hours under the world (some ancient asian ruins with clay warriors) with a group of people going backwards and forwards and killing anything in our path.  we came across several other groups along the way and exchanged friendly greetings with them.  as a cleric i loved to rez other people for the hell of it.  found a party that had wiped and rezed them all,  they thanked me and one gave me some cash.

i think Vanguard was great its just the bugs and glitches really hurt the game.  my only gripe was (currently) i am on a piece of crap machine (made in 2004) and i could never get above 22fps.  ever tried playing an open world and buggy game with 22fps?  its bloody hard.  i tested Vanguard on my friends PC (a beast of a computer) and managed a steady 60fps, bugs were alot less noticable.  so maybe when i hook up my new net and maybe when my beast of a computer gets access to the net, maybe i will go back to VG

It's good to hear the game is coming together finally. I was in the beta, and played after launch, but like others I found the game to be unfinished at that point. If they offer a free trial, or temp reactivation like they did recently I may try the game after they add the new models. I doubt that I would stick with it. There are so many games on the horizon that I am intersted in right now, but it would be nice to log in and see what they've done.

Great article, I actually left Vanguard.

but because I was addicted and had to focus on my studies =X

such a graet game, had a blast and....i was casual.... I got to level 21 seriously lol

will return in a month or so...after i'm done with finals woooooh!

I found the game world pretty small to be honest.  And far too much empty spaces.  If you look at the screenshots even in this thread its pretty, not terribly varied... but wheres the MOBs?

Performance this past winter was ok, but capital cities where terrible especially the 'old english' one sorry forget the name.  I still think EQ2 is current the game VG tries to be.  Its instanced but otherwise similar.

Originally posted by japo

Well...that game coming out on the 18th of September is a completely different kind of game.

 

Vanguard is a PvE game...always was and always will be.  The PvP world is getting no love there and most of the Community is OK with that...as long as the PvE game keeps improving.

 

If your looking for the best PvE game out there...Vanguard is it.

Dude, and I was about to forget Vanguard was PvE only.

lol

LONG LIFE TO PVP!!!

I have gone back to vanguard a few times now.. I really love the game, the world, the characters, etc.. My only problem with the game and the reason I dont play it is the lack of players to group with. You pretty much have to group unless you want to kill 10,000 solo creatures to get half way through  a level... I play late at night and unfortunately there is little to no late night community for Vanguard.

unfortunatly i missed the free time because it was so badly advertised .i did buy it at the start and totally regretted it .the only way i would return is if they changed the payment model to micropayment from monthly subscription .

i did return briefly about 4-5 months ago on the buddy key i had .although a lot of things had improved i found the game to be pretty empty . it might be that the bulk of vanguards player base has high level characters and i just did nt get to see them .

i personally would nt pay to play this when theres games like warcraft , lord of the ring and even age of conan on the market  . i proberbly would play it now and then on mircopayment model along side whatever my main mmo was that month . at the moment its lord of the rings which is a fine game in my opinion .

i cant see vanguard ever getting rid of its stigma as a bad mmo enought to attact many new players as it stands .

I plan to buy this game the day before they shut it down for good so I can be there to watch it die. Never have so many lies been foisted upon the gaming public by so miserable a development team, and no matter how many "oh it's better now" articles/ads come out, I'm not biting.

i cant see vanguard ever getting rid of its stigma as a bad mmo enought to attact many new players as it stands .

It probably never will. It can be a pretty good niche game IMHO.

One of the interresting things about the fall of Sigil is, that their product basically never got (or very few) advertisment. Sigil was already broke as they released and Sony never bothered to put money into advertisment later on. So the roughly 240k copies Sigil sold was pretty impressive for that time and the situation.

What you can get with enough budget in adverts shows AoC nicely.

Originally posted by Amathe

I plan to buy this game the day before they shut it down for good so I can be there to watch it die. Never have so many lies been foisted upon the gaming public by so miserable a development team, and no matter how many "oh it's better now" articles/ads come out, I'm not biting.

Its ok. If you have fun doing so, do it.

I would like to know what Brad McQuaid is currently doing after this fiasco.

Your whole article is wage and empty words , you never give enough reasons why you like or dislike game...

bad/ There were only two thing you ever talk about , Character models you dislike, a bit about creation

and

good/ Open world you can go anywhere you like

hmmm hardly enough informations  for anyone to get a large picture....

anyway my problem with V anguard is texturing ....

its texture that is completly ruining the game

texture on wals , floors etc is always generic and tiled so badly that it hurts me to watch it ,,, even when i was a student on second year of animation i could do beter

I can sum up Vanguard for EVERYONE reading this thread:

IF YOU LIKE:

Massive worlds, PvE combat, 3 types of game advancement, mostly unique and varying classes from each other, tons of quests, multiple areas to hunt for every level from 1-50, 3 distinct continents with different geology, ruins, vegitation, as well as owning mounts, boats and non-instanced houses and engaging in strategic, low-twitch gameplay

-- YOU WILL LIKE VANGUARD.

IF YOU LIKE:

Zoning, WoW, PvP, instancing, twitch-based gameplay, cartoon graphics, pixelized boobs, speed levelling, hundreds of hours of faction grinding and repeat dungeon runs nightly,

OR

If you feel SOE owes you personally for what they did to SWG and therefore you are bound and determined to spend the rest of your days angry that a company ruined your game,

-- YOU WILL NOT LIKE VANGUARD.

It's that easy. Anyone saying Vanguard (today) is crap has either never tried it (since GU5) or is still angry at SOE for what they did to SWG and are just griefing on the game to 'get even' with Sony.

Anyone still on the fence - give it about 3 weeks and you'll get the long-awaited trial island and new character models.

When update 6 comes... so will I.

I DID play at christmas for the free month and I DID play again this last month. From launch until now this game has transformed (and yes... that was Sony's doing). The character models are the final step (with the new starting island zone). There are FAR too many things that have been tweaked in this game to mention here. Crash to desktop... gone, crazy hitching... gone, falling through the universe... gone, uncountable bugs... gone and unfortunately, 90% of the population... gone. Please give it another try.

I do hope that Sony relaunches this game and recommits to expanding and improving Vanguard. Broadening the Diplomacy... for one (so much potential here).

never,

theres a long list of mmo's to play and while VG isnt last on the list it is second from the bottom.

once bitten ......

My experience almost the same with you.  I play VG when it launch and very disappointed with bugs everywhere.   I came back last month (with free invite) and found it's a lot better.   But I still disagree with many thing.  I use 7950GT with lowest VG setting  but still found some freezed when running.  Some  quest still bugged and can't finish (even quest on low level).   Some quest is just non-sense to do. Some quest very buggy (like kill bird on the rock quest, you just can't kill them).  My gnome sorcerer can't swim pass the river (may be because he's too short? :P)

VG is very good game and better when they tone down the hard level compared to launch.   But the bug destroy half of my fun so I didn't subscibe when free play time end (just wonder why they dont remove those buggy quest - that's very easy).   I may be subscibe on next big patch if they can solve most the bug.

Originally posted by Amathe

I plan to buy this game the day before they shut it down for good so I can be there to watch it die. Never have so many lies been foisted upon the gaming public by so miserable a development team, and no matter how many "oh it's better now" articles/ads come out, I'm not biting.

lol

I hardly ever post here. As a matter of fact this is probably my first post. But i have to ask, how much did SOE pay you to write that?

One game to rule them all, one hype to find them, one hype to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.

Woot, 19 months after release if you have a solid computer the game is finally playable. I really don't even understand why you bothered making this post. Aside from playable performance you don't mention a single way the game has improved since launch.

This must be the 100th time this game has been "fixed" and is now miraculously awesome guys please come back.

/sigh

Originally posted by Bronks

I can sum up Vanguard for EVERYONE reading this thread:

 

IF YOU LIKE:

Massive worlds, PvE combat, 3 types of game advancement, mostly unique and varying classes from each other, tons of quests, multiple areas to hunt for every level from 1-50, 3 distinct continents with different geology, ruins, vegitation, as well as owning mounts, boats and non-instanced houses and engaging in strategic, low-twitch gameplay

-- YOU WILL LIKE VANGUARD.

 

IF YOU LIKE:

Zoning, WoW, PvP, instancing, twitch-based gameplay, cartoon graphics, pixelized boobs, speed levelling, hundreds of hours of faction grinding and repeat dungeon runs nightly,

OR

If you feel SOE owes you personally for what they did to SWG and therefore you are bound and determined to spend the rest of your days angry that a company ruined your game,

-- YOU WILL NOT LIKE VANGUARD.

 wait if like wow, and i like pvp and i like fast lvling that must mean that there are no way in hell i would like this game you say? well thats kinda unfair dont you think, thats like saying if you like appels you cant like pears...that just stupid.

It's that easy. Anyone saying Vanguard (today) is crap has either never tried it (since GU5) or is still angry at SOE for what they did to SWG and are just griefing on the game to 'get even' with Sony.

 

Anyone still on the fence - give it about 3 weeks and you'll get the long-awaited trial island and new character models.

 

 

 

Originally posted by Frotus

Sadly, this is probably the best PVE game out right now (other than risking your luck with a F2P based in Asia and hoping your account doesn't get hacked, etc.)

I came back for the free trial and was happy with a few things, but I still run into graphic bugs, found myself underneath the guild hall when I logged in for the 4th time since coming back and some other glitches. I still have to run on Medium in order to have any sense of seemlessness while moving towards objects or towns.  (E6600 with 2GB RAM and 7900NVidia, not the best, but decent)

Everytime i log in I have to rebind my equipment (except 2 pieces that seem to have permanently bound okay). Clicking open a bag will randomly and not consisently prompt me if I want to Bind the bag.. My character is always above the ground and even more so when using stairs. (Maybe the character model fix will make that better?).

Really it isn't fit and finished yet, but better than it was at launch....

I decided to buy 1 month to give me something to do until the Runes of Magic Beta starts. (I can not handle another minute of WoW high-fantasy, cartoon mode MMO). I will check out WAR for the PvP aspect, but really want a PvE game as well to play when I don't feel like being in competirion mode.

Rohan is cool, but F2P and who knows if it'll be there or your account will get pwned next week?

.my 50 cents

 

 

I personally think EverQuest2 is the best PVE game out there right now.

Vanguard looks cool and is coming a long way, but still has so much to fix and finish (so many empty areas still, not to mention some really cool "could have been" dungeons that are still unfinished and empty :(

Isle of Dawn will make it easier for new players, but it will be really hard to get new players in the game. There are so many AAA MMORPG titles on the launch agenda, that people rather try out a New MMO, then an MMO that failed at launch and is now supposedly better and playable.

That's the sad reality and hence only 4 servers left in Vanguard, from wich only 1 is decently populated, 2 others seriously lacking in population and the 4th PVP one completely empty.

Cheers

I bought it and played for a few months at launch after the bad reviews. I just wanted to see how bad it was and was pleasantly surprised. I even bought a new PC to play it so some good came of this :)

As mentioned before, if you like the massive open world type MMO then this is for you. I'd like to see a follow-up article about what is great about it now.

I'm currently enjoying AoC, will try WAR and I think the only other MMOs I'd seriously play are WoW and VG.

Ryzom will be back soon which also has some beautiful scenery and fun gathering and crafting systems. VG reminds me of it in some ways although each has its pros and cons. I'd try the free trials of both, what have you got to lose?

On the one hand I see the benefits of VG compared to other MMOs now too. After leaving VG in a similar ire, it seems it is one of the few open worlds where you are not confined into some zone cages and stuff, or limited to few and boring races and classes. But those had always been the bonus of VG, nothing new here.

On the other hand, what drove me away never had been so much the bugs, but the sterile feeling of the game, the lack of the "many nice details" that made it feel too less of a living, breathing, immersive world. Basically its one big quest hub, end of the story, and nothing in VG has changed in that aspect at all. On top they took customization away, which was just the final blow for me to go. I want to see the new models in first and the new starter isle before I even consider giving this game another try, and even then... while I can appreciate some of VG's accomplishments, open world, many races, good classes, it has WAY to many shortcomings which for me never had anything to do with polish or bugs.

Most quests are still extremely generic and "soulless", as are most civilized places by design. The entire game just lacked "soul". And in some aspects it is just too less casual friendly for me. I dont have the time to invest as I has as student, and dying at the bottom of some damn, hard dungeon is just as evil as it used to be. Given the long time they had the changes are nice but way too few and small.

Sure, VG won't be for everybody, it does have a pretty steep learning curve and often new players feel lost and unable to figure out their characters or different spheres.  However, the Dawn of Isle could really help that type of situation.

Right now, the game is in great shape and has an active and vibrant player-base and community.  I've played since launch and I've never seen as many people running around as I do now.  Many folks stayed after the last free month promotion.  Game Update 6 (the mega-update) is really something to behold and I can't wait until it arrives.

I can play the game with a laptop.  1.8ghz duo core, 2 gigs ram, 512 meg Vid card.  I can play it on balanced without issue.  Performance isnt the issue for me and I dont think its a huge issue to anyone anymore.  VG still feels dry.  With my lvl 50 character, I find it difficult to find new quests.  The contant still doesnt make Telon feel alive.  It's too robotic.  It doesnt flow.   Also, it is tough to get a group and you are waiting with the LFG tag on for awhile unless you spam advertise you want a group.  (Similar to EQ2) I tried to get back into the game a month ago and paid for 30 days.  I gave it a good shot but I just didnt get hooked.  I've now switched genres and I am trying EVE.  I'll be subbing after my 14 days are up and seeing where the game takes me.

I just needed to add this to a previous post I made on this Thread:

There is one thing this game does not have that draws me to play it more and more:  There are NO "WOW KIDDIES" that play this game and anything that keeps them away from ruining the Gaming Community of one game will surely make we want to stay a while longer and explore and play the game..........if it is way to hard for WoW Kiddies? then it is my kind of game!  Now AoC is becoming the home of those WoW Kiddies, so move on I must?................So I will check back when they release the next Big Patch and I truly hope it will become the game it was meant to be?

Originally posted by neonwire

Originally posted by oTinyo

I'm sorry, but I found that article a bit...well..."meh"

I think it might be an idea to say what you found was good about the game. The actual 'about the game now' bit was about 10-15% of the article. I'm not sure what the brief was, or even if there was one, but I don't think the article really tells anyone in a similar position as you were, exactly what's good about VG.

Just for the record, the character models are due to come out after SOE's Fan Fayre - so mid-late August.

I'm sorry if I come off over-critical, that's not my intent. It's just that VG gets precious little frontpage coverage on top MMO sites like this one and when it does I'd hope that the article really explores just how far Sony (love-em-or-hate-em) have brought the shambles Brad left them.

 

I agree. I'm sorry but that article had very little in it that was worth reading. OK so you spent a long section of your life dreaming about a game that was essentially crap. Now its not as crap but still not brilliant. Well.....ummm.....thanks for that.

ps. I also reinstalled the game several months ago and uninstalled it yet again a few days after that. It still seemed like a very weak and unfinished game to me and of course the character models were still as ugly as ever. I might have a look again though once the new models are implemented and if they still look stupid then its goodbye to Vanguard for good.

Ah well,  i have read more thrilling articles.

Okay maybe EQ2 is better...

I just got stuck under a lake last night and ended up under the world and still running out of air... Drowning is fun... Luckily you can cast spells still from down there and gate before you die... still annoying though for a 19 month old game. :(

Runes of Magic beta starts soon :) (and WAR for PvP)

Originally posted by Rhems

...And now I'm waiting for a certain 18th september.

you will be looking for another new game, lets say, a week after the 18th september

There is no detail in this report which makes it pretty worthless. 

Personally I tried going back but the server was dead and it was very boring trying to find a group or going solo!

"I personally think EverQuest2 is the best PVE game out there right now.

Vanguard looks cool and is coming a long way, but still has so much to fix and finish (so many empty areas still, not to mention some really cool "could have been" dungeons that are still unfinished and empty :(

Isle of Dawn will make it easier for new players, but it will be really hard to get new players in the game. There are so many AAA MMORPG titles on the launch agenda, that people rather try out a New MMO, then an MMO that failed at launch and is now supposedly better and playable.

That's the sad reality and hence only 4 servers left in Vanguard, from wich only 1 is decently populated, 2 others seriously lacking in population and the 4th PVP one completely empty.

Cheers"

I play both atm. There are things I like about EQ2 and things I like about VG. Overall, at the moment I feel like VG is winning though for me. The reasons are based on the classes and the combat. I really by far and away prefer the combat system of VG.

What I like about VG's combat system: the speed of combat feels right i.e. not too fast and not to slow. I like the fast regeneration rates and the smaller power/end/life pools. You have to play far more strategically. I like having 3 pools rather than 2. I like the buffing system. I love being able to kite. I like how melee is so much different from casters and I like how ranged combat is really ranged. I also think the addition of defence vs offence options, chain effects, and counterspells are brilliant! They add new dimensions to play. In contrast, I find the combat of EQ2 lacklustre and not as interactive. I like the HO system, but I am surprised when I group about how few people seem to know how to use it. EQ2 doesn't really have 'kiting'. Mobs run to you at supersonic speed if you hit them with even 1 ranged spell or arrow. I also think the idea of the spell/skill level system of having to buy upgrades really sucks because it is heavily slanted in favour of older players who can afford ridiculous prices on the broker.

Classes are better in VG too in my opinion. The class structure is really good and I hope that SoE developes on it. I find it really cool that each class is so unique and has strengths and weaknesses that are very apparent. I like how hybrids in VG are good in their own right rather than being watered down. Each class is incredibly complex even without talents, deeds, etc.. My only gripe with the class development of one's character is that it isn't extremely customisable other than through attribute point allotment. I do wish that something like deeds or achievements were in place. I like that aspect of EQ2, though of course AAs didn't come about until a recent expansion, so perhaps something similar will be put in place in VG in the future. I find that a lot of the EQ2 classes are very similar to each other. There is still an issue of balance between some of the EQ2 classes and always has been. It seems to me that every VG class is viable whether solo or group: each has its own place. Because some of the EQ2 classes are so similar to one another, I think even raids won't miss certain classes because their skills and role might be shared with another similar class.

I know it might sound weird, but I prefer how VG handles character death to how EQ2 handles it. I think there should be some penalty to keep people from not caring if their character dies or not. It's only a recent MMO phenomenon that developers seem to think that death penalties are something that players don't want. Maybe some players don't want them, but some do: I'm one of those that does, for many reasons that I won't get into here. I will just say quickly that it is partly to do with challenge and I think that challenge is one of the main reasons why some games stay fresher and more interesting than others.

VG needs more fluff and more fleshing out. I love the guild system in EQ2: it's one of the best I've ever come across. The guild level system is great because it compels everyone in the guild to help out with guild development, and everyone can help out no matter what their playstyle is. Things like writs, faction items, collections, lore books, item examination that provides quests, linguistics, etc. really flesh out EQ2. Those are all aspects that are missing from VG as well as what some of the people above me mentioned.

VG has amazing potential and I think that it could survive for a very long time and become a truly respected game if SoE just developes it properly. I certainly think it has a lot of life in it. I think that is the main point of what this article was about. Try VG again to see what positive changes SoE puts in.

I bought Vanguard before Christmas sometime and tried it out but I was put off by the animations of the mobs and the combat. I didn't give the game much of a chance really though, I might pop back in soon and give it another go.

There were only 2 intolerable things about Vanguard that made me stop playing it:

1) The perfomance was hell - not just bad, hell.  I could not play the game even though I had a top-end machine without several seconds of freezing and delay.  According to the article, the graphics are still glitchy.  So this problem remains, though probably not as severe.

2) The models looked like poser knockoffs.  Good models with good textures are part of what make a game good.  The artists at blizzard, as the comparison was already made, do this very well (at least before the expansion).  I guess this just didn't get changed either - it is, like so many other things, scheduled.

I suppose the article was enlightening in that it told me about these two key points.  Vanguard will gather more dust, even though I really want it to be better than it is.

I tried VG a few months back and it was alright.  Much much improved from the launch.  I heard they are doing a combat revamp which sounds good for the game hopefully.  The thing I didn't like was the lack of population.  The bad thing is that there are just too many games to play.  War seems cool.  I'd like to finish leveling my priest in WoW for LK.  Just too many games to play. 

I liked the article.  It was honest and it touched on points, good and bad, that I share.

I played closed beta early, when Brad was still in charge of those thousand artists he brought in from EQ.

I stuck it out since the game was gorgeous and much to my liking, in spite of the bugs and falling through the earth often (after all it was beta).

The problem for me was through all this, the game didn't get better.  And it got worse on the corporate side, especially when Microsoft Games was dropped and then Sony Online Entertainment got in.   That's when I quit the Vanguard Beta and never looked back.

I've a real problem with anything Sony since SWG - NGE when I swore off anything Sony. (looking back on it my hatred should be focused on Lucas Arts but then again SOE let it happen).

So of course, when Sony was in and Microsoft out,  at that point I dropped the Vanguard closed beta immediately.

While I won't ever play Vanguard or anything Sony ever again, it seems to me, anyway, that Vanguard is actually a decent game now -- the new character creation options add to that a lot and all those artists Brad McQuaid had on staff certainly made Vanguard a gorgeous game that is still right up there even by today's standards.  Crafting still is a bit funky, but oh well.

If you're not into PvP and love the PvE aspects of MMOs, and -- most importantly -- you don't have an issue with SOE  -- I'd recommend you give Vanguard a try.

I just want to thank the author for writing this article, which is already 2 weeks old...  Not that the article was particularly brilliant or offered any breaking news, but it reminded me about the Game.  The Game that compelled me to build a new system before I even played a second of it.  The Game that sucked me in to a world similar to that of Asheron's Call (my first and favorite MMO) but with breathtaking visuals.  The Game that I left -- I did not leave because of bugs or because my friends left it (both of which are true,) but because it was so amazing and all-encompassing, that I HAD to walk away.

Anyway, this article got me to renew my subscription.  My level 37 necro is now nearing 40 after a LONG weekend, and I am back.

I will share just a couple of observations from someone who has spent about a year away...

1. Slightly buggier than when I first played!  My system is the same, but now I have Vista Ultimate.  My own fault, I guess...

2. Awesome changes/enchancements to item abilities -- my gear got a lot cooler ;)

3. Rest XP bonus -- I don't know if I have a year's worth, but I am leveling MUCH faster

4. Solo content!!  My biggest struggle was finding solo content, but that seems to have been fixed.  I can't stop finding stuff to do!!

Again, thank you for re-introducing me to an old friend.