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Next-gen game, but I won't pay
ApollosWill
Member UncommonPosts: 82
Yes, I will get to it, but as any other reviewer, I better give out my resume, to make My review believable and trustworthy. I have been subscribed too City of Heroes, Star Wars and…hmmm…and…one moment…Ok. Haven’t played that many MMORPGs I guess. But at least I have beta tested (pre-open) a lot of games, incl. DDO, LotR, Hero, Wish and can also incl. (to give myself just a small amount of creditability), being a DM, host and creator of a couple of hardcore Roleplaying Neverwinter Night servers (yes, all of those had the dreaded perma-dead system *grin*).
I have not paid a dime to play Vanguard. I was one of those lucky ones that received a buddy key from one of you nice MMORPG community members, so yes, I only gave Vanguard a ten day trial before making up my mind. Just mind all that, when you read and decide for yourself.
I write this, because I would love to see the ideas, features and the whole concept of Vanguard being the new trend for many MMORPGs to come.
When Vanguard was in development I gave it one look, and thought to myself, that this was just another EQ/WarCraft clone that I could be without (assumptions on all). I’m not much into the grinding and powerleveling, but more into Character development in form of faction and world recognition, but when Vanguard announced it launch and I saw the possibility of flying (a sucker for that, see CoH), I at least had to give it a try. And I did.
Creating the Hero
found the amount of Character creations above many of the games I have tried out. A ton of races (with some cool unique ones), classes and enough options to customize my avatar’s appearance. I did wish, that I also had the options to customize my character’s stats from start as in the single-player’s Fall Out and Neverwinter.
Tutorial
The tutorial really throws you right into the game’s mythology and is based upon the choice of race. Not only did I learn the basics of the game’s UI and controls, but I also learned enough to emerge into the world, with a sense of belonging. You do not need to read the fluff in a manual to learn the history about the world. Playing is enough.
Quest(s)
Many members of this forum have said, that the quests are like many of the other games out there. Go kill ten or a hundred rats. True, but each of those quests has been made with the effort of giving a better explanation than just a merchant getting tired of the noise in the basement. The background and idea behind each quest belong well within the mythology and story of the game, and many of them even give a good reason, why the next 500 heroes can do them as well.
Leveling
Finally a mmorpg where I have the time to get used to each and every level and ability that comes with in before I’m into the next one. The advancement is slow, but the gain from that are a feeling of achievement and victory for every time you reach one. Neither do I sit with a feeling of being hopeless behind or in the need of rushing to the next level, because a lot of players that choose character development over advancement would pick this kind of game, and take more proud in creating in-game relationships, stories and alliances.
Death system
A rough system and a step in the right direction if a game company want to cater to players such as I (see my Neverwinter Night experience). I prefer high penalties for death, not because I enjoy getting spanked, but because I like the taste of the victory when I don’t die, and the decision-making, whatever or not to enter a battle, and when to fight on or try to escape. Adds a challenge beyond trying to get the best loot.
Features
Housing, crafting, sailing, flying and riding is features that start to be a need in every MMORPG out there. Vanguard has them all. The crafting system is based on a nice and neat mini game. I didn’t try it too often, but I did find it a bit too easy, but again, I don’t have any suggestions for making it harder (read better).
A feature I find very unique for Vanguard is diplomacy. Based on a collect and trade card game, I wouldn’t have been able to imagine before seeing it. It’s fun and challenging, and would love to see this kind of system brought on to others. I do wish that this could be used in a PvP system (perhaps you can, but I never found out).
World
Yeah, Vanguard is huge and looking fantastic. I want that kind of limitless worlds, but not from launch. The community should first have been build up. I would rather see a smaller world from launch, where people can meet up and start building long lasting guilds and relationships, and then expand over time. With that said, I do also think that the expansion of a world should go a little faster than see in other recent games. This way, we could meet people in the start and later on start to explore the whole wide world. I’m hard to satisfy.
Combat
Nothing new and as any other game out there. Hard to be innovating on this, but am looking forward to see how Spellborn and Conan are going to implement this part of the game. Would like to see some hit location on characters, which have different effects, instead of watching a trivial hit point bar.
Features outside the game
Vanguard have a great website (even when the much needed forum is not there). The ability to check up on other players and yourself and see if you or who are the first one to discover an area or item is nice and I find it give much more bragging rights than just reaching the max level, which eventually are attainable for everyone.
Bug(s)
People are talking a great deal about that and I believe them. But the ones I have encountered are very minor and certainly do not destroy the in-game experience.
And now to the bad side of the game
Performance
Performance is the reason I will not pick up this game, even in the future. I’m sitting with a P4 3.4 Ghz, 2 GB DDR2 Ram and a Geforce 7600, 256 MB and cannot get a smooth game experience even on low settings (this is with all updates, AI booster and optimized Bios Settings). In the wilderness it is bearable until you enter combat in a group or against more than 3 opponents, at which time, it is better just to watch your quickslots instead of the action. In bigger cities, I can hardly move. Whatever or not they are planning on optimizing this part of the game, I don’t believe it is going to make it reasonable on today’s average PC system. Neither do I believe it is justified by over the top graphic and thereby just is out before its time. The graphics are good compared with today’s game, but not tomorrows.
Now people can say, that if I like this game for all its features except the performance, I could wait to the game is better optimized and I get a better PC, but I won’t. Very critical when it comes to games, and no longer believe in “If you know a little bit about game development, you should know no game is flawless at launch”. I want what I pay for when I pay for it. I believe it is time (using a cliché) for players to “start voting with their money”. Game developers need to start upping their game and give us quality from day zero.
But I have a bit of double standards for this game. I want other players to buy and play it. I want it to be a success. I do not want it to fail, so no other company dare to take the chance to make innovating worlds with a mythology and background that makes the players feel within it. I want other games to start being more challenging and adding more features that are RP friendly such as Vanguard. If this game fails, I hope it’s going to be seen for what it is, “a next generation and fantastic game with a very poor launch and execution”.
Note: Yes, English is not my first choice and pick of language. Blame my parents, not me.
Comments
Hi,
I did play around a bit with the settings in VG. It recommended the balance setting, but it was impossible to play on that setting. It was lagging so much, than when I clicked an NPC to initiate a conversation, I could go and brew another cup of coffee, call my mom, and kick the cat, before the dialog box would have popped up (Ok, exaggerating a bit, but it was slow). Went to best performance and I could start playing after reducing the drawing distance a bit (with the performance I described in my review).
After that I decided to break one of my principles and started to optimize my system to be able to play on a higher setting, even when I am a firm believer that any game I install, should be playable right away, if my system pass the recommendation requirements. Overclocking my PC, setting CPU and RAM voltage and turning off, almost anything, running in the background. After that, I could get in and see and play the game in all its color and beauty, mind you, still not with a very great FPS. This could have made the game for me, if it was not because it heated my CPU beyond legal degrees.
Maybe an extra or two fans can do it for me (have three + CPU fan in the case). When/if I get that, I will try the game again at the first opportunity of another free trial. Not going to take the chance with my dollars.
I also don't really find the graphics terribly attractive, even on high quality (for which I get about 5fps, but hey, I can still look). I am not sure I can put my finger on why, but it feels like a gane rather than a world - there is just no character. The countryside feels like an area to plonk mobs down in rather than an actual countryside where real beasties might live. I suppose that is needed for a grind game though.
And despite all the sliders at character creation, everyone looks the same - plastic. I got the impression that there was an attempt to make everyone into the perfect Californian. But hey, I want a big nose! I want to look distinctive.
So after playing for my free month, I am cancelling too. I would like to see this game succeed but I really don't see it. The performance issues really cut away anyone who doesn't have a top-of-the-line machine on their desk, so I don't see how they can ever get the numbers they want.
It will be worth keeping an eye on though and I will maybe check it out in six months or so.
I don't agree on that. One of the things about Avatar Creation I found grand, was that it was possible to make women with a bit of fat around the belly. Men with noses that have been knocked in more than a couple of times. All right, the smallest breast size on women was a bit above the norm, but you could at least make them baggy and hanging.
The one thing the character creation are lacking on, was a choice of different hair types. Need a bit more of those. Another thing I found hard was to pick the colors I wished for. Hard to use the slider.
Oh, and not to forget, the choice of starting clothes seems a little useless. You can choose from four different set and spent some time on picking the colors, but you will probably only need/use that setup of clothes one or two time within game, before you have replaced it with better. Could have used the time on making the 3 extra set of clothes to add 3 extra set of hair type. Just my opinion.