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One more chance? Not for everyone.
Dissolution
Member Posts: 210
Vanguard
I played Beta, and hated it.
Stopped back in several times over the years and thought it was a waste of potential.
Went back about a month ago, and the wife and I are simply immersed in the game.
The bugs that made it unplayable are now at a point where it is playable. The soundtrack and depth of world, classes, crafting and diplomacy are impressively complex.
Consequences for death.
The game is not for everyone but for older gamers who miss the old school template, if you missed it I recommend trying it and if you played it and hated it before Iwould recommend giving it another shot. It is going F2P this summer, getting a little more attention from a new dev team and in my opinion is a diamond in the rough. It will never be a blockbuster but with more player attention this could certainly be a good home for many who disregarded due to the bad press, past history and poor release. Also, with additional attention this could easily be an MMO cult classic.
The world is immersive and huge. It has the elements of the old original EQ hardcore aspect with a themepark twist that allows enough fast travel, level balancing options (brotherhood) for offline players that a busy working man/woman can respect without destroying the integrity of the game while offering more modern graphics than the older EQ style games.
Just sayin, if it was broke when you tried it last, give it one more chance. I am surprised at what a comfortable world this is for us and it is scratching an itch that I have had for years. Older gen MMO gamers should consider one more chance or a first try if you passed on it due to the word on the street.
Comments
The only problem is that the european server has a total of like 6 players on.
Yes its getting the free to play treatment from SJ point of view, and that means it will have some insane limits on the free to play side. The problem was that SOE let this game languish for years. Now they are trying to fix some of it. One last attempt to milk players before they sunset this game.
Right now soe has all their eggs in the planetside basket, vanguard is far from important to them. Yes they moved one dev back to the game. However given SOE track record with this game I don't expect much.
1. The EU server is more or less the test server, better to play on Telon (US Server). It is not part of the ProSeiben (sp?) partnership so it doesnt matter.
2. Yes, I thought I sort of clarified this in the first post but will double tap. The game itself will not be the next big thing. However, the world is so large and vast that you could play well over a year with multiple characters and have never seen it in its entirety. I do not expect Sony to give this the attention of Planetside 2 meant for the new genre of players. My post was directed at individuals less concerned with the latest and greatest and interested in a home where the old school community, gameplay, teamwork and harder ruleset was concerned.
3. They have already released that new content is forthcoming. That is really neither here nor there. With a larger playerbase, even a full concentrated server that pushes the limits on whether or not there should be a second will most likely see attention as a net for the players looking for something that is not of the mainstream mmo template. Meaning, this game obviously targets the non flash bang new hotness MMO template that the market is churning out. It would target the old school community driven, harder ruleset player.That is a substantial market even if not the biggest one.
4. This thread really has no cause for Vanguard hate. This is just a thread meant to enlighten some of the older guys looking for a game that is of the older EQ type model with death penalties, time consuming and in depth crafting, diplomacy side skills. It is meant to let them know that there is an alternative to the regurgitated WoW that is getting churned out by the multi-million dollar products we are seeing. Even though it started out bad (I was one of the biggest Vanguard haters) it has vastly improved to the point where you can easily get lost into the game as you did when you first played EQ for the first time.
5. Just to reiterate. The game will not be for everyone. If you think death penaties suck, want to max your character and crafting on a weekend and solo all content. Not for you. If you like the old school template and also like some of the new themepark quest driven/fast travel aspects there is something for you here. It is a in-between sort of game. Somewhere between the Original EQ and WoW ruleset.
6. F2P in my opinion should never be looked at as anything more than an extended view of reasons to subscribe. If you cannot afford to pay for your hobby or expect nothing more than a free option for content that cost someone money, dont complain and accept it for what it is. Or pay, and expect it to be worth your money.
I played Vanguard a few months after release and it was utterly broken. My character fell through the ground a number of times and got stuck. The mobs used to run through walls and aggro other groups. It crashed quite frequently. It made a really bad first impression. I threw it in the garbage in digust.
There are many games out there I haven't tried and more being released every month. I see no reason to go back. If I'm going to go back to an old game I've played before then I'm going back to one I really liked.
Sorry Vanguard, you had your chance and blew it.
There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.
-- Herman Melville
I played the beta and had the same experience.
Came back a couple times and the experience was roughly the same.
Tried it about a month ago and have had a competely different experience. One of the most immersive games I have played since the original EQ and release wow. I understand the sentiment. Not sure why I ended up trying it again, but very glad I did. Entirely different. Now I wish I would have went back earler.
Lots of games out there for sure, I have tried alot of them. This one has me looking forward to logging in and making it difficult to log off. The wife is feeling the same.
Havent had that in years.
I am sure some will still have a bad taste in their mouth from the craptastic release and plethora of issues they have had over the years. The thread is for the people who are looking for something they arent finding these days. This is a good option for them. The point of the post is to mention that the game is not like that anymore. Because of this, it is a very enjoyable experience for the older EQ model player looking for that experience again in a more modern environment.
It will not be for everyone. And I am actually happy about that. There is a portion of the community I would just assume see not come to the game as much as there is a portion of the community I would love to see give it another try or a first try.
Considering the direction the MMO market has gone in recent years against the wishes of many dissapointed players who enjoyed a more in depth game, i'm not surprised that you had a change of heart regarding Vanguard.
Not only has the power of the average computer increased dramatically since vanguard was released, but the bad taste that many of the newer games has left our mouths after trying them (and especially the lack of a feeling of community) makes Vanguard a far more appealing way to satiate our MMO thirst (even with its bugs)
Play on Telon. Hardly any drop in ping at all that I noticed.
O. T Would love to play again, can't get it running very well on my windows 7, tried every help thread out there that I can find. Kills the imersion for me and makes me a sad panda. But wish it well in f2p. Hope it does well. This game deservers it.
Play on Telon. Hardly any drop in ping at all that I noticed.
O. T Would love to play again, can't get it running very well on my windows 7, tried every help thread out there that I can find. Kills the imersion for me and makes me a sad panda. But wish it well in f2p. Hope it does well. This game deservers it.
Try this site: http://www.thetelonproject.com/performance-tips Its running well for me on win7. Dont mean to be condescending but are you good on all of your drivers, and directx downloads? I reformat ALOT because I am obsessive compulsive with my box which is strictly for games and kept clean as a whistle. But as long as all of the drivers are up to date, directx up to date, windows updates up to date and kept clean it should work well with even an average modern PC. Is it a relatively up to date rig?From what I read, about 80% of players didn't make it past level 2 or 3 when Vanguard first released.
What this means, given the fast leveling to 3, is that they literally played about 1-3 hours and never logged in ever again. Meaning it was all because of performance issues, crashes, and the inability to play.
So literally 80% of players who bought vanguard couldn't play the game, and left within a few hours to never log in again.
I think that a large amount of players, even if it's only a small % of that 80%, would love to try the game they never had the chance to play.
The biggest hurdle is the 16Gb client. That is freaking huge.
Release was terrible, like another user already said, I got to about level 3 and called it quits.
My playthrough last year was thankfully bug-free from what I can recall. The only issue I can think of is the tiny raindrops thing on a Vista OS, but I was able to get somewhat of a fix on my end.
But yea, anyone who claims to miss the oldschool/EQ style of MMO's has no reason to not give Vanguard a shot once it goes free. I really enjoyed it, it just needs a larger playerbase to make grouping more available.
I would be playing Vangaurd if they got their launch right but I am not known for going back to older games I have left previously.
I picked up the game more than two years after launch. It was still a mess. I can understand being broken on launch day, but if it still isn't fixed two years later, it probably never will be.
It is an understood fact that release and launch of Vaguard was dismal. That was admitted and even somewhat explained on Brad McQuaids blog a while back. There was alot io issues throughout its history, again this is a fact.
Primary message being sent here is that although these facts remain true, the Vanguard experience will be a different one when played in its current state. Since the majority of opinions formed and stated are based on the prior facts, it is important to note that you will not be returning to an unplayable game.
I would never advocate players returning to try this game if it was in the same state it was when I played Beta, or when I stopped in over the years. With that said, Vanguard is now an enjoyable, mesmerizing experience with an amazing soundtrack, ridiculously arge world and offers a deep crafting, diplomacy and adventuring experience. Explorers will be enthralled.
It still has its issues, however, they are miniscule now and hardly gamebreaking. Since my return they have had what appears to be a weekly update working out additional bugs and fixes as well.
If you had a bad experience and cannot justify playing prior to F2P I can understand that. Although I think you will be happy with what you find here now even if you did. In the end, as it is going F2P, I highly reccomend that you take a look once it does. For the older genre of MMOs, in the tradition of EQ/DAOC this has becoe a gem.
Being it that it has taken so long to become an experience that can be considered playable, and computers that are more powerful by a base stadard to make this game playable performance wise it is almost like the release of a new MMO based on the older template of MMORPGs.
Vanguard is currently getting another bugfix run by the devs, in preparation for it going F2P.
I dont know about the state of VG right now much, havent logged in since about 10 days because of reallife issues.
Considering that it was neglected for so long I see this as a good sign. In the end, if they continue to fix the little bugs and glitches not only will this be playable but it will really be the ideal PVE game for me. I am loving it now, but with polish I dont see myself leaving for another PVE game.
I will most likely just continue my PVP hunt.