Not playing, but i still have an active account and i patched and loged in a week ago. The game seems to come along. The weather is nice and they still fix things, which is a good thing i think.
with WaR and AoC about to be released...i think its doomed.
I cant tell you why but man are you in for a big surprize , take a good look at some of the combat footage for both of these borefests ,there not going to hurt vanguard or any game one bit
vanguard started out with such promise but ended up being one of the most maligned games in mmorpg history if not gaming history period . what can be done after a year and an ever decreasing subs ,
Have you forgotten about DnL? sorry to burst your trolling bubble, but thats got to be the biggest bust in MMO history.
It might be argued that The Sims Online was a bigger failure considering the budget and company backing it, but I think Vanguard sold more copies the both the Sims and DnL which would make it a bigger failure in that regard.
As for Funcom and Mythic releasing quality products? Both companies track records of release leave much to be desired and really don't inspire confidence based on that alone. Both rebounded quit nicely though and look to have learned their lessons.
If vanguard wants to well...... not die then it needs to evolve. The first thing I would do would be to restructure player housing by putting in a larger variety of buildings then I change the plot system as to allow players to create cities. Next I would implement better pvp, so as to incourage more fighing. Finally I would restructure economy by taking out all droppables and making it a 100 player stimulated economy. Finally i would relaunch it with new features and new servers as to incourage new players to join.
Blizzard uses WOW to harvest hours played into bottles so that the dev team can remain immortal
VG no longer appeals to the market they originally targetted, and those on the fringe of that market are growing increasingly less interested in it's future. If the VG community is growing, as some have stated, then I would guess it's more casual players subscribing and their changes have been inviting to an easy-mode crowd. That is really the only problem the game has as far as demographic goes. The other problems with VG are purely technical and while some have been fixed, others remain and will for some time to come.
VG will be around for quite a while. It won't be scrapped because of any new releases. The problem is, who are they marketing the game to? The game has no identity. It's not "wheel 2.0" and it's not "anti-wheel" either. It's not old hat or new hat. It's not sandbox, but it's also not linear. Vg really is everything and nothing at the same time. This is probably why it's gets a lot of "love vs. hate" comments.
Vanguards minimum required specs are a complete lie.... Vanguard will not run in 512mb or at least not without stripping the machine down to bare metal and even then I don't believe it would be playable without swaping. Disk space requirements are a bit over 20gb. My vg folder is currently 31gb.
Now that includes some ui mods and log files and stuff that has accumulated since the game launched. video card memory of 128 I find it hard to believe that VG would be playable with that small vid mem. I'd say that AoC's specs would be quite good for VG and that today VG doesn't need 2gb at all except maybe with everything maxed out. I run with everything maxed and use about 900mb for VG.
I am far from having a decent gaming rig, but after trying on a 128, It pushed me to finally get a new card... my CPU is only 2 Ghz, but with that, 1 Gig of memory, and a 512mb video card, I run EVERYTHING as high as it can, and it plays near flawless, with the slight amount of lag in towns. Here's my specs.
------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 2/11/2008, 08:53:49
Machine name: WRAITHBOT
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Compaq Presario 061
System Model: PC139A-ABA SR1115CL NA430
BIOS: Phoenix - Award BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2800+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.1GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Page File: 517MB used, 1946MB available
Windows Dir: C:WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro AGP
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor AGP (0x9587)
WAR and AoC won't even put a ding in Vanguard's numbers. Completely different games, completely different market segments. Those two are aimed squarely at the WoW gamer, and even those folks will be out looking for something new in 2-3 months. Whatever else might be said about Vanguard- the people who like it REALLY like it, and are in it for the long haul if they're come this far.
VG's numbers aren't big enough to put a dent in... Fact is if VG doesn't get more subs it's going to be cancelled. period. 25K is not worth keeping a MMO up, essp for a company like Sony. It'll be canned by end of the year.
We live for the moment and are in the generation of "i want it all and i want it now"!
There are very few problems left with VG at the moment, considering the improvements that have already been implemented in the game it won't be long until it is up there with the rest of the great MMOs, far, very far from being a turkey!
The performance, specifically the hatching( i think it is called) and a bit of further xter optimisaton so that grouping does not slow FPS, once these are addressed and a free trial is released then we shall see if this is a turkey or not.
Most MMOs are released in a state where a lot more wokr needs to be done on them, OK VG was released with a vast amount of work needed, but that is history now, move on already.
An MMO is not going to be around for just a year, they are are around for a long long time, how long has EQ2 being going, or EQ even, are people still playing them, yes ofc.
What will VG be like in 2 years from now? at least it is more future proof than WoW, Just log in to VG and then immediately in to WoW, and you will see the vast difference in graphical textures. Having said that Wow can always upgrade its graphics to give it a new lease of life, much like the Trinity expansion in Eve.
Eve has been going for nealry 5 years now and they are only at tech lvl2, i hear they have in their DB up to tech 10. so at least expect another 5 years of EVE at the very minimum.
So VG may well have been a turkey on release but it is definitely not one now and will not be one in a few years time!!
Further more who is to say that AOC and WAR won't be fatter turkey's?
WAR and AoC won't even put a ding in Vanguard's numbers. Completely different games, completely different market segments. Those two are aimed squarely at the WoW gamer, and even those folks will be out looking for something new in 2-3 months. Whatever else might be said about Vanguard- the people who like it REALLY like it, and are in it for the long haul if they're come this far.
VG's numbers aren't big enough to put a dent in... Fact is if VG doesn't get more subs it's going to be cancelled. period. 25K is not worth keeping a MMO up, essp for a company like Sony. It'll be canned by end of the year.
Hm. That so?
I guess EQ, SWG, Planetside,and The Matrix Online are all shut down, then. Vanguard seemingly has more players than any of those. In fact (speculation, but probably accurate) it has more than AC, Eve, DDO, Horizons, Ryzom, Shadowbane, WWII Online, or Roma Victor. Those are all around still. Your wishes aren't facts- please try to keep the two straight.
Rather than scrapping Vanguard entirely, maybe Sony could somehow incorporate it into EQII. More races, quests, and places to explore are always welcome. ; )
with WaR and AoC about to be released...i think its doomed.
Can you tell me what conditon these games will be released in?
You speculate and assume that these games will be better than VG.
This isn't about your post, but I love how you say your semi retired from WOW. That has to be the best description I have ever seen for almost every player that leaves WOW. Also, people believe they will be better because SOE isn't involved and they seem to be delaying the games to make them better. Also, VG beta had alot more people calling Shenanigans on it.
Hehe, well i don't sub to WoW on a regular basis anymore, i am just bored with it as i guess so many others are.
I have no qualms in going back now or when they release the new xpansion so i cant really say i have retired, so i beleive semi-retired fits my current state.
I wish that the AOC and WAR will be very good when they are released, as did i hope Gods and Heroes would be, but that didnt even make release and got canned. So i wait till i see the game released and what condition it is in before getting excited, else i just get let down.
Yah the people who say WAR and AOC will effect Vanguard dont know anything about what type of gamers them 2 games are targeting. They are going after the WOW players and PVP players nto PVE player type games. Also your comment ever decreasing subs isnt right at all. The servers are busy and people are playing. The Vanguard numbers are more realistic then EQ subs. I got 1 vanguard account active, but 15 EQ accounts active. I know several hundred people with over 5 accounts each in EQ. How many people do you really think play EQ ? Or WOW for that matter. WOW is at 10 mil subs but how many of them have 5 accounts.
Heh, can you imagine how accounts Gold Farmers alone have in WoW? I mean, yeah it "counts" but really, does it? There are HUGE amounts of gold sellers in WoW and they crank up the accounts like no other.
Anywho, I have to say that Vanguard is probably here to stay albeit, maybe with a lower than expected sub base. Warhammer looks to be a direct assault at WoW's casuals and Age Of Conan looks to be a pvper's heaven. However am I the only one who watched that Age of Conan video and said, "That looks alot like Vanguard.."?
I played VG at release (beta as well), heck I bough the collector's edition and took a week off of work to get started. As we all know it struggled along with it's problems, promises and excuses some people hung in and some people bailed as to be expected. You can't say that the launches of AoC, WoW, Aion etc etc won't hurt VG as it certainly won't help it. If VG is limping along in the current market how is it going to fare with the new titles due to release soon with all the hype surrounding them?
Vg is a beautiful game in a big wonderful world I'll give it that, but who wants to play in a ghost town that shows no sign getting any more populated? People want to play in a game that's thriving with activity any time they log on plain and simple. I'm sure there are people out there say "well I have no problem getting groups, I don't know what you're talking about, blah blah blah" Those people can tell themselves whatever they like to keep themselves happy.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, VG is a project just trying to be salvaged and it'll have to come up with something pretty innovative as a selling point to make it appealing to the masses. Otherwise it's nothing more than a man on death row waitng for his number to come up.
One could argue that Vanguards new focus is also targeting the WoW audience. Also, it isn't like people who are playing Vanguard are so married to it that they would never consider any other game. There just isn't that much good out right now which is the only thing that makes the game attractive. If Vanguard continues the snails crawl pace of releasing content then it will be very vulnerable to the new games and even old games releasing new expansions.
Why does everyone feel that games need to churn out my content and at the same time want no "grind". I find it silly at best that people want a game to fly by to the end then complain about having nothing to do. I think a game needs a long leveling curve and alot to do at each level of a game. The whole game should be the focus not the end and maybe you will not be begging for content if they started making games that take a little longer than a few months to finish.
Everquest took some time to level and it was a blast. It was before the time of linear quest line garbage and easy quick leveling. Groups actually gave the most experience and was encouraged, community was built. People usually didn't have one of every class, your class felt special because your friends didn't all have one. Some quest here and there would be okay but it shouldn't be the focus of the game. You shouldn't be made to level on them, they should be just optional things to do to get gear or some item while you adventure with your party. I would be playing Vangaurd right now if Sony didn't already ruin it. If I wanted to play WoW I would be there right now not on a crappy attempt to copy it.
I never understand when people say in the say post that Vanguard's world is huge and at the same time complain it is empty. It looks like tons of people are playing guild wars when you are in a town because there are only hubs where you aren't instanced. It is just an illusion. Us that play VG don't try to make ourselves feel better and lie that we can find parties easily, we just can. I find parties in VG better than I did when I played WoW, and the funny thing is I was a tank in WoW and a solo class in Vanguard.
When you PvE, you want to be exploring with your party in more of an empty scene. I don't want to see 5 groups of people doing exactly what my group is doing, trying to get the same tasks done. Go out hunting with a few of your friends and see how many people are roaming around in the woods with you trying to kill the same deer you are. If there are people, I'm sure you'd leave.
Comments
Years ahead of its time, because it was released to early and has core flaws because of it.
Ill give you it was released WAY to early to compete with the WOW release, but the game is a vast improvement to what it was when it was released.
Very funny thread...
Not playing, but i still have an active account and i patched and loged in a week ago. The game seems to come along. The weather is nice and they still fix things, which is a good thing i think.
Vanguard was a game with great promise, i am not sure if this promise is unreachable now.
Pull the game out.
Recode it , add content
and
RE-RELEASE (this time in functional state)
I actually believe this game will survive at least one more year and maybe more as long as developers are still interested in it's upkeep.
Additionally, it wouldn't surprise if they release a new expansion sometime this year.
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
John Lennon
"Lets be hoenst people are only playing Vanguard cause theres nothing else out atm."
I play it because I enjoy the game.
That Guild Wars 2 login screen knocked up my wife. Must be the second coming!
I cant tell you why but man are you in for a big surprize , take a good look at some of the combat footage for both of these borefests ,there not going to hurt vanguard or any game one bit
I trust Mythic to deliver a non-bug-riddled product.
I trust Funcom to also release a non-bug-riddled product.
Vanguard was released by nobodies, with one somebody hyping it.
Have you forgotten about DnL? sorry to burst your trolling bubble, but thats got to be the biggest bust in MMO history.
It might be argued that The Sims Online was a bigger failure considering the budget and company backing it, but I think Vanguard sold more copies the both the Sims and DnL which would make it a bigger failure in that regard.
As for Funcom and Mythic releasing quality products? Both companies track records of release leave much to be desired and really don't inspire confidence based on that alone. Both rebounded quit nicely though and look to have learned their lessons.
If vanguard wants to well...... not die then it needs to evolve. The first thing I would do would be to restructure player housing by putting in a larger variety of buildings then I change the plot system as to allow players to create cities. Next I would implement better pvp, so as to incourage more fighing. Finally I would restructure economy by taking out all droppables and making it a 100 player stimulated economy. Finally i would relaunch it with new features and new servers as to incourage new players to join.
Blizzard uses WOW to harvest hours played into bottles so that the dev team can remain immortal
I Play Vanguard, because its a great game, and a lot is really happening to update the game.
I don't see any games coming in a long time that match Vanguard.
So I stay
VG no longer appeals to the market they originally targetted, and those on the fringe of that market are growing increasingly less interested in it's future. If the VG community is growing, as some have stated, then I would guess it's more casual players subscribing and their changes have been inviting to an easy-mode crowd. That is really the only problem the game has as far as demographic goes. The other problems with VG are purely technical and while some have been fixed, others remain and will for some time to come.
VG will be around for quite a while. It won't be scrapped because of any new releases. The problem is, who are they marketing the game to? The game has no identity. It's not "wheel 2.0" and it's not "anti-wheel" either. It's not old hat or new hat. It's not sandbox, but it's also not linear. Vg really is everything and nothing at the same time. This is probably why it's gets a lot of "love vs. hate" comments.
------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 2/11/2008, 08:53:49
Machine name: WRAITHBOT
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Compaq Presario 061
System Model: PC139A-ABA SR1115CL NA430
BIOS: Phoenix - Award BIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2800+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.1GHz
Memory: 1024MB RAM
Page File: 517MB used, 1946MB available
Windows Dir: C:WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro AGP
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI Radeon Graphics Processor AGP (0x9587)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: EnumPCIVEN_1002&DEV_9587&SUBSYS_00281545&REV_00
Display Memory: 512.0 MB
Current Mode: 1024 x 768 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: Dell E173FP
Monitor Max Res: 1280,1024
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6764 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Nothing too special, but it works well... and for $100 USD to get a 512mb, I'm happy.
VG's numbers aren't big enough to put a dent in... Fact is if VG doesn't get more subs it's going to be cancelled. period. 25K is not worth keeping a MMO up, essp for a company like Sony. It'll be canned by end of the year.
How short sighted are we?
We live for the moment and are in the generation of "i want it all and i want it now"!
There are very few problems left with VG at the moment, considering the improvements that have already been implemented in the game it won't be long until it is up there with the rest of the great MMOs, far, very far from being a turkey!
The performance, specifically the hatching( i think it is called) and a bit of further xter optimisaton so that grouping does not slow FPS, once these are addressed and a free trial is released then we shall see if this is a turkey or not.
Most MMOs are released in a state where a lot more wokr needs to be done on them, OK VG was released with a vast amount of work needed, but that is history now, move on already.
An MMO is not going to be around for just a year, they are are around for a long long time, how long has EQ2 being going, or EQ even, are people still playing them, yes ofc.
What will VG be like in 2 years from now? at least it is more future proof than WoW, Just log in to VG and then immediately in to WoW, and you will see the vast difference in graphical textures. Having said that Wow can always upgrade its graphics to give it a new lease of life, much like the Trinity expansion in Eve.
Eve has been going for nealry 5 years now and they are only at tech lvl2, i hear they have in their DB up to tech 10. so at least expect another 5 years of EVE at the very minimum.
So VG may well have been a turkey on release but it is definitely not one now and will not be one in a few years time!!
Further more who is to say that AOC and WAR won't be fatter turkey's?
Hm. That so?VG's numbers aren't big enough to put a dent in... Fact is if VG doesn't get more subs it's going to be cancelled. period. 25K is not worth keeping a MMO up, essp for a company like Sony. It'll be canned by end of the year.
I guess EQ, SWG, Planetside,and The Matrix Online are all shut down, then. Vanguard seemingly has more players than any of those. In fact (speculation, but probably accurate) it has more than AC, Eve, DDO, Horizons, Ryzom, Shadowbane, WWII Online, or Roma Victor. Those are all around still. Your wishes aren't facts- please try to keep the two straight.
Bite me, Turbine.
Rather than scrapping Vanguard entirely, maybe Sony could somehow incorporate it into EQII. More races, quests, and places to explore are always welcome. ; )
Can you tell me what conditon these games will be released in?
You speculate and assume that these games will be better than VG.
This isn't about your post, but I love how you say your semi retired from WOW. That has to be the best description I have ever seen for almost every player that leaves WOW. Also, people believe they will be better because SOE isn't involved and they seem to be delaying the games to make them better. Also, VG beta had alot more people calling Shenanigans on it.
Hehe, well i don't sub to WoW on a regular basis anymore, i am just bored with it as i guess so many others are.
I have no qualms in going back now or when they release the new xpansion so i cant really say i have retired, so i beleive semi-retired fits my current state.
I wish that the AOC and WAR will be very good when they are released, as did i hope Gods and Heroes would be, but that didnt even make release and got canned
. So i wait till i see the game released and what condition it is in before getting excited, else i just get let down.
Heh, can you imagine how accounts Gold Farmers alone have in WoW? I mean, yeah it "counts" but really, does it? There are HUGE amounts of gold sellers in WoW and they crank up the accounts like no other.
Anywho, I have to say that Vanguard is probably here to stay albeit, maybe with a lower than expected sub base. Warhammer looks to be a direct assault at WoW's casuals and Age Of Conan looks to be a pvper's heaven. However am I the only one who watched that Age of Conan video and said, "That looks alot like Vanguard.."?
I played VG at release (beta as well), heck I bough the collector's edition and took a week off of work to get started. As we all know it struggled along with it's problems, promises and excuses some people hung in and some people bailed as to be expected. You can't say that the launches of AoC, WoW, Aion etc etc won't hurt VG as it certainly won't help it. If VG is limping along in the current market how is it going to fare with the new titles due to release soon with all the hype surrounding them?
Vg is a beautiful game in a big wonderful world I'll give it that, but who wants to play in a ghost town that shows no sign getting any more populated? People want to play in a game that's thriving with activity any time they log on plain and simple. I'm sure there are people out there say "well I have no problem getting groups, I don't know what you're talking about, blah blah blah" Those people can tell themselves whatever they like to keep themselves happy.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, VG is a project just trying to be salvaged and it'll have to come up with something pretty innovative as a selling point to make it appealing to the masses. Otherwise it's nothing more than a man on death row waitng for his number to come up.
But ...... it's not remotely a ghost town. There are plenty of people everywhere I go - at every level. And it's clearly increasing daily.
Anyone notice the OP has been completely absent from this thread? Just an observation.
Everquest took some time to level and it was a blast. It was before the time of linear quest line garbage and easy quick leveling. Groups actually gave the most experience and was encouraged, community was built. People usually didn't have one of every class, your class felt special because your friends didn't all have one. Some quest here and there would be okay but it shouldn't be the focus of the game. You shouldn't be made to level on them, they should be just optional things to do to get gear or some item while you adventure with your party. I would be playing Vangaurd right now if Sony didn't already ruin it. If I wanted to play WoW I would be there right now not on a crappy attempt to copy it.
I never understand when people say in the say post that Vanguard's world is huge and at the same time complain it is empty. It looks like tons of people are playing guild wars when you are in a town because there are only hubs where you aren't instanced. It is just an illusion. Us that play VG don't try to make ourselves feel better and lie that we can find parties easily, we just can. I find parties in VG better than I did when I played WoW, and the funny thing is I was a tank in WoW and a solo class in Vanguard.
When you PvE, you want to be exploring with your party in more of an empty scene. I don't want to see 5 groups of people doing exactly what my group is doing, trying to get the same tasks done. Go out hunting with a few of your friends and see how many people are roaming around in the woods with you trying to kill the same deer you are. If there are people, I'm sure you'd leave.