It's the Van-bois that are turning me off of this game more than anything. That and I WILL NOT BUY AN UNFINISHED GAME ever again. And please don't use the cop out that MMO's are never finished. That's B.S. I prefer them to GROW than be incomplete from the start!!
I think this is more of a glass half-full half empty kinda thing.
You can call it unfinished or you can call it small. . .either way it is what it is. If you do not want to buy the game then why are you here bud? The first step to overcoming your addiction, is to come to terms with it. Embrace the Brotherhood of the Vanguard my son and be set free.
Some points I'd like to bring up on your so called " NEUTRAL" post...
First you start out by saying..."OK, I am nobody's fanboy and never will be" . 13 out of your total 27 posts on the site are in praise of VGSOH! So don't be blowing smoke up our asses with that comment.
Technically 13 out of 27 posts is about as neutral as you can get and whining about uprading your computer gets old real quick. Every new MMO and high quality game in '07 will require a computer which at this moment would be considered high end or pricey. Spending $250-$300 on a video card is hardly 'class warfare' where the rich are the only ones entitled to this stuff.
The OP's point about needing to try it out the last few days is especially noteworthy. The difference in performance right now from the first days of beta is like night and day. My performance seems to have doubled in the last week. I'm running the game on high quality at around 30 FPS in the cities and higher in the field.
The game is stunning either up close or far away. I'm not sure what you are looking at Jackdog. Graphics in this game are top notch. The animations seem to be better as well as the server side performance has improved. They patched in the revamp for the Disciple two days ago with all the animations and its very cool. Full round house kicks, martial arts swings and punches. They are very fun to play with good animations.
I find the gameplay nothing short of addictive. The game will be less than completely polished at release but it will still be very fun and with nothing but upside and its got my full attention. If you aren't in beta yet, you should grab a file planet key and try it out.
It's the Van-bois that are turning me off of this game more than anything. That and I WILL NOT BUY AN UNFINISHED GAME ever again. And please don't use the cop out that MMO's are never finished. That's B.S. I prefer them to GROW than be incomplete from the start!!
There are no MMO's that are finished. I also like MMOs to grow instead of being patched out, but its all about your perspective of whats called patching and whats growing. The fact that 95% of time i can play without interruption due to bugs in VSoH is normal for me, the only bugs that annoy me a lot right now are: mob corpses disappear from time to time so I cannot loot it and the bug where if im trying to complete a quest by talking to the final NPCs and it takes several clicks to go through the final dialog while someone else is trying to do the same, then my dialog box disappears and I have to open it again. Those are the major bugs ive encountered in the past few days. Neither one realy influenced my gameplay or made me mad, just slightly annoyed for 3 seconds.
This doesnt realy bother me, even if VSoH would go live right now its still a solid playable game. Of course you might be more demanding and picky about it so you might want to wait a bit after release for them to sort out all these little bugs out. But its not unfinished, it has TONS of content, outstanding graphics, and they are trying something new with diplomacy and crafting. I think this game will have modest success for sure, and there is a good chance for it to have a smashing success.
EDIT: here are some screenies with textures. I find textures in VSoH to be detailed enough to be good, but spread out thin enough to not clutter the model and reduce performance (screenies are clicky for larger imagine)
Well, I preordered the game and grabbed a beta key to play around a bit and find out how to run the game a little better...
Here is my first 5 minutes or so into the game, though I had to turn off the nice clouds, that was a pretty rough one to leave on even though it looks so nice.
I will be happy when the animations are a bit smoother, though the graphics remind me a lot of EQ2-style graphics.
Some points I'd like to bring up on your so called " NEUTRAL" post...
First you start out by saying..."OK, I am nobody's fanboy and never will be" . 13 out of your total 27 posts on the site are in praise of VGSOH! So don't be blowing smoke up our asses with that comment.
Then there is this one..."It's next Gen, guys; deal with or go somewhere else". Saying this is "next Gen" is like saying K-Fed is the next gen in rap music. PLEASE.
Or This... "UPDATE YOUR DirectX or SHUT UP". How about... FUCK YOU! Don't give me an ultimatum numbnuts. Typically most games will install the latest version of Directx for you anyway. Including Vanguard. So once again ...PLEASE!
How about this one..."It's designed to have top tier graphic for the next couple of years; WE are going to struggle a bit a first". I emphasize we because it usually refers to a collective group agreeing on the same topic or principles. As well a to be used instead of I, especially by a writer wishing to reduce or avoid a subjective tone.
Then this from your system specs... "nVidia 7950GT KO (I did buy this to update for this game)". So you went out a purchased a $250-$300 item specifically for Vanguard? And you're not biased? Come on dude!
All I can say is... Don't Bullshit a Bullshitter!
It's the Van-bois that are turning me off of this game more than anything.
That and I WILL NOT BUY AN UNFINISHED GAME ever again.
And please don't use the cop out that MMO's are never finished. That's B.S. I prefer them to GROW than be incomplete from the start!!
This review is far from Neutral. Notice how the OP praises elements and then tries to downplay all the negative points and outright bypasses many of the most glaring problems. The graphics were so great when this review was written I wish I could have seen them. (Lots of NPCs and MOBS missing large segments of their bodies.) Also, look at how the OP tries to pass poor performance off on the naysayers and demeans them. The OP bought a new video card just for this game and isn't a Vanboi?
I don't think I have ever seen so much elitism and self-praise from the fanatical following of an MMO as I have for Vanguard.
Some people just cant accept other peoples openions. If it doesn't mesh they critique and pick apart and just have to be right. Ohh well cant change people i guess.
---------------------- Played (In order of favorite first to least): DAOC, EQ2, EVE, WOW, Vanguard, AC2, City of __, Guild Wars, LOTRO, EQ, Sword of New World, FFXI, Lineage 2, Second Life, DDO, Anarchy Online, RF Online, Archlord, Uru, Ragnarok Online, Shadowbane, Planetside, Auto Assault, Ryzom, Matrix Online, Horizons, Entropia, Sims, Runescape, Lineage 1, AC1, Dungeon Runners
Some points I'd like to bring up on your so called " NEUTRAL" post...
First you start out by saying..."OK, I am nobody's fanboy and never will be" . 13 out of your total 27 posts on the site are in praise of VGSOH! So don't be blowing smoke up our asses with that comment.
Then there is this one..."It's next Gen, guys; deal with or go somewhere else". Saying this is "next Gen" is like saying K-Fed is the next gen in rap music. PLEASE.
Or This... "UPDATE YOUR DirectX or SHUT UP". How about... FUCK YOU! Don't give me an ultimatum numbnuts. Typically most games will install the latest version of Directx for you anyway. Including Vanguard. So once again ...PLEASE!
How about this one..."It's designed to have top tier graphic for the next couple of years; WE are going to struggle a bit a first". I emphasize we because it usually refers to a collective group agreeing on the same topic or principles. As well as to be used instead of I, especially by a writer wishing to reduce or avoid a subjective tone.
Then this from your system specs... "nVidia 7950GT KO (I did buy this to update for this game)". So you went out a purchased a $250-$300 item specifically for Vanguard? And you're not biased? Come on dude!
All I can say is...If you like the game fine, great, go on with your bad self, but saying this is a NEUTRAL post..Don't Bullshit a Bullshitter!
Comments
I think this is more of a glass half-full half empty kinda thing.
You can call it unfinished or you can call it small. . .either way it is what it is. If you do not want to buy the game then why are you here bud? The first step to overcoming your addiction, is to come to terms with it. Embrace the Brotherhood of the Vanguard my son and be set free.
http://mentaltruancy.guildportal.com - Friendly Vanguard:Saga of Heroes Qalia based Guild.
The OP's point about needing to try it out the last few days is especially noteworthy. The difference in performance right now from the first days of beta is like night and day. My performance seems to have doubled in the last week. I'm running the game on high quality at around 30 FPS in the cities and higher in the field.
The game is stunning either up close or far away. I'm not sure what you are looking at Jackdog. Graphics in this game are top notch. The animations seem to be better as well as the server side performance has improved. They patched in the revamp for the Disciple two days ago with all the animations and its very cool. Full round house kicks, martial arts swings and punches. They are very fun to play with good animations.
I find the gameplay nothing short of addictive. The game will be less than completely polished at release but it will still be very fun and with nothing but upside and its got my full attention. If you aren't in beta yet, you should grab a file planet key and try it out.
This doesnt realy bother me, even if VSoH would go live right now its still a solid playable game. Of course you might be more demanding and picky about it so you might want to wait a bit after release for them to sort out all these little bugs out. But its not unfinished, it has TONS of content, outstanding graphics, and they are trying something new with diplomacy and crafting. I think this game will have modest success for sure, and there is a good chance for it to have a smashing success.
EDIT: here are some screenies with textures. I find textures in VSoH to be detailed enough to be good, but spread out thin enough to not clutter the model and reduce performance (screenies are clicky for larger imagine)
I am the type of player where I like to do everything and anything from time to time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor - pre-WW2 genocide.
Well, I preordered the game and grabbed a beta key to play around a bit and find out how to run the game a little better...
Here is my first 5 minutes or so into the game, though I had to turn off the nice clouds, that was a pretty rough one to leave on even though it looks so nice.
I will be happy when the animations are a bit smoother, though the graphics remind me a lot of EQ2-style graphics.
Heres to the non-FFA PVP server come Jan30th.
It's the Van-bois that are turning me off of this game more than anything.
That and I WILL NOT BUY AN UNFINISHED GAME ever again.
And please don't use the cop out that MMO's are never finished. That's B.S. I prefer them to GROW than be incomplete from the start!!
This review is far from Neutral. Notice how the OP praises elements and then tries to downplay all the negative points and outright bypasses many of the most glaring problems. The graphics were so great when this review was written I wish I could have seen them. (Lots of NPCs and MOBS missing large segments of their bodies.) Also, look at how the OP tries to pass poor performance off on the naysayers and demeans them. The OP bought a new video card just for this game and isn't a Vanboi?
I don't think I have ever seen so much elitism
and self-praise 
from the fanatical following of an MMO as I have for Vanguard.
I never quite understood why people always say that if someone expresses an opinion that is opposite their own hatred.
----------------------
Played (In order of favorite first to least): DAOC, EQ2, EVE, WOW, Vanguard, AC2, City of __, Guild Wars, LOTRO, EQ, Sword of New World, FFXI, Lineage 2, Second Life, DDO, Anarchy Online, RF Online, Archlord, Uru, Ragnarok Online, Shadowbane, Planetside, Auto Assault, Ryzom, Matrix Online, Horizons, Entropia, Sims, Runescape, Lineage 1, AC1, Dungeon Runners