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Vanguard: Saga of Heroes: Interview: Brad McQuaid and Paul Luna
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
Carolyn Koh is keeping busy down in Las Vegas for CES, today, she's talking to Brad McQuaid and Paul Luna from Sigil's Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
With their marketing collaboration with SoE, Brad McQuaid and Paul Luna of Sigil Games showed Vanguard: Saga of Heroes at CES 2007 at invited press appointments. After introductions, we chatted about our gaming history and when Paul asked if I were familiar with Brad, my answer was tongue in cheek as I replied that I was familiar with Aradune, a wood-elf ranger in EverQuest who wore green splint mail and implied that he hacked Soulfire - the Paladin epic weapon so he could wield it.
We waited to connect to the server and I asked Brad, "Who's idea was it to put Aradune is stinky! Graffiti in the Qeynos sewers?" Bill Trost was the answer - one of the original team of developers of EverQuest. We digressed into how quickly screenshots of Aradune corpses made their way around the internet. "So I forgot to put up enduring breath in Kedge Keep." Brad said laughingly, but enough of old EverQuest anecdotes and toward Vanguard:Saga of Heroes.
;)
Read the whole article here.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
They split up players in "casual" "core" and "hard core"
Now I wonder how the loot is split up,maybe "non" "crap-medium" and "uber" Imo problems of modern mmo games is not that you cant kill stuff and level , main problem is that unless you are in a big raid you never find any decent loot. There are some hard core players that dont like raiding and those never find decent loot either.
“We wanted to recreate the experience for the old school DAoC and EQ player. The player who wants to be challenged, but we also did away with the tedium.” Said Brad.
Paul continued, “Also the WoW players who wants more immersion and challenge. Those are the players that Vanguard will appeal to.”
I have yet to see any challenge or immersion which is what I have been looking for but it just isn't there. So far its been more like weak thin and boring.
I would like to see your character thrown into the storyline getting you interested and on the path so far I have only seen one of those type of starting area and even there its not clear whats going on.
How about experience the game first hand and then call it a raid game. Also, can you name me one MMORPG that doesn't have raids?
Have yet to see any challenge and immersion? What level have you gotten to? After level 10 the game starts to mean a lot more. Before then is just getting you used to the controls and world. Around level 10 the quests and tasks get harder and the level of immersion rises with them. Go and see!
Asheron's call = No raids
The first 10 levels should be getting the player hooked on the story, this is when most people are still reading the quest info screen after that people tend to read the info screen less and less especially if the first handful of quest that they did read lack any interesting lore or plot.
this is the perfect time to get me involved and hooked because after I fully understand the system and have not found anything interesting regarding the plot I will stop looking for it
"Freedom of play" is a great thing, and overall this should be a nice game.
One disappointment, however, is the "locked encounter" thing. I have no problem with locking experience (i.e., whomever attacks first, gets the experience for the kill). But locking encounters creates an artificial barrier. Sure, it may prevent players from "stepping on one another's toes", but isn't this part of the MMORPG experience?
I'd much rather have my gameplay occasionally interrupted by an asshat, that to play in a sandbox with artificial invisible barriers.
Trains were part of what made EQ1. Zone arguments over kill-stealing added to the atmosphere too.
If there are too many invisible barriers and artificial rules in a game, then play will feel more like a solo RPG than a MMORPG.
To give up on Vanguard before level 10 or 15 to me is just someone looking for instant grat. Wait a bit, get your first steed, or your first house....then come back here and tell us your oppinion.
p.s. I've been playing MMO's since 1999 with Ultima online and I've pretty much played every MMO on the list. And let me tell you, when I flew through those skies and saw where I used to be look like an ant city, I realized just then that this was the game. That was by FAR the best experince I had ever had in a MMO, and that's pretty hard to do since you always have the best experience in your first MMO. Vanguard toped Ultima Online as the best MMO experience and this is only beta.
Total time played: 9125 Days, 21 Hours, 29 Minutes, 27 Seconds
Time played this level: 39 Days, 1 Hour, 24 Minutes, 5 Seconds
I was really dead set against liking this game. Then I beta tested it and found it has hooked me. The only tedium that bothers me is the corpse-runs and the trains. Actually, I wouldn't mind trains if dieing wasn't such a pain. You hear this over and over by the die-hards, "don't like corpse runs? Lrn2play." Well I don't care how perfect your group is, you're still going to have wipes because some idiot came along and trained the entire non-instanced dungeon on you. In fact, we all know there are idiots that go out and do this on purpose just to be arsehats. I'm not whining, I don't want an easy game. I like that the banks won't magically port your stuff from one continent to the other. I love the travel. I like that there isn't much hand-holding. I love the diplomacy sphere, which is something else I was sure I was going to hate. But the Corpse-Runs...archaic. Yes there are alternatives to running naked, but in reality, they just don't work for me and I'm not going to let that argument overshadow the rest of the game, because I do like this game.
Right now, the game is buggy, badly buggy and a lot of quests are broken, but not any worse than other games that have launched, and they are patching constantly and I'm seeing huge improvements with the last minute patches. In fact, my FPS doubled with the last patch.
I went from having very bad expectations of this game to completely turning around and really enjoying this game. If you buy at launch, just be patient, because the game isn't finished yet. But even unfinished, if you want a game that you aren't going to race through, that you will slowly get into and take time to smell the roses, read the quests and get into the intrigue of the world that plays out in the diplomacy (not just a card game, there are plots revealed while playing those cards), then you'll like this game.
Did you read the starting out quests? I found them very well written in every way! One diplomacy quest took me 6 hours + to complete and had everything from domestic disputes to double agent intrigue lol it was awesome. Called "Crackdown" for the gnome diplomacy quest line. I suppose it depends where you start but they are all very well written should you take the time to read them.
How about experience the game first hand and then call it a raid game. Also, can you name me one MMORPG that doesn't have raids?
*Arguing* with other peoples part of the "insignificant minority" that don't want to raid as I see?
If everyone jumps off the bridge, will you? When EQ was released, no other game feature PvE servers. It doesn't prevent EQ to bring that back then. The fact that "nobody" does it shouldn't prevent a bright person from doing it. In medieval times, nobody was eating potatoes and peoples starve to death (it was pig's food), I am sure a few persons did eat potatoes and live because of that.
And to your precise question: City of Villains (not CoH).
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
How about experience the game first hand and then call it a raid game. Also, can you name me one MMORPG that doesn't have raids?
I believe what they were talking about when they said the first mmo with raiding is the raid system they have. No instances(wow's off the list, eve, etc.). Then the raids are not meant to be completed at all. They are meant to be huge(have you ever even seen one of these dungeons?) so that numerous amounts of players can be at the dungeon and you not have to worry. They also have stated that these dungeons will have resting areas.Now can you name me any mmo that has that TYPE of raid system that I just described? The only one I know with a system like that is...ohh...Vanguard.
I want to make it clear that I do want to like this game, I want to like it a lot but so far the quests seem boring
I don't like playing a gnome but I have tried wood elf, high elf and human a few times in different starting areas. I keep making new characters trying new regions hoping to find the right fit., so far I like the high elf the most but still the quests are boring.
One example is when they tell you the sages isle is over run with fairies and they need you to clear them out incase they need to make a quick exit.
Well you get over there and there only a few fairies scattered about here and there but nothing exciting or dangerous and the reward for clearing the path is like 10 copper which wouldn't be as bad if it were not for the fact that it took 2 hours to complete this because you had to battle every other noob for the kills and there are only about 6 of these mobs spawning every 5 mins.
No excitement + no reward = boring
How about experience the game first hand and then call it a raid game. Also, can you name me one MMORPG that doesn't have raids?
*Arguing* with other peoples part of the "insignificant minority" that don't want to raid as I see?
If everyone jumps off the bridge, will you? When EQ was released, no other game feature PvE servers. It doesn't prevent EQ to bring that back then. The fact that "nobody" does it shouldn't prevent a bright person from doing it. In medieval times, nobody was eating potatoes and peoples starve to death (it was pig's food), I am sure a few persons did eat potatoes and live because of that.
And to your precise question: City of Villains (not CoH).
I agree anarchyart. Try before judging. Seems to be a trend.
And CoV has monsters which requires more than one team to handle(i.e. raiding) and also has base raids(I should know, my VG would always start them without me, effectively locking me out of the base. Not to mention designing the base more for raids in lieu of more teleporters which I'd rather have). Please try not to be selective in your answers Anofalye. If you disagree that these are not the same as other raids in other MMOs, that is a different discussion.
Then why don't you try Diplomacy.I felt the same way as you did while playing up to level 11..Although WAAAAAAAY back in the summer then they were still adding content with every patch..The starting areas have gotten alot better and more populated since August heh..
But like someone else said,the first 10 levels are meant for the player to get familiar with the controls,newb quests,the world,and your character..I got to level 15 before I decided to do Diplomacy..I'm telling u,If you enjoy great lore and a good storyline,give it a shot..It is a welcome change after spending hours grinding..And it will definitely get u interested quick..You will be hooked,I was..
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
That sounds like a typical WoW statement.
There are plenty of games in development where raiding isn't the ONLY way to get UBER gear.
If you want more proof check out Lord of the Rings Online. People will be able to solo, craft, or raid to get the some comparable types of gear. Just because one game works that way doesn't mean every game does or will. Don't be so general.
I want to make it clear that I do want to like this game, I want to like it a lot but so far the quests seem boring
I don't like playing a gnome but I have tried wood elf, high elf and human a few times in different starting areas. I keep making new characters trying new regions hoping to find the right fit., so far I like the high elf the most but still the quests are boring.
One example is when they tell you the sages isle is over run with fairies and they need you to clear them out incase they need to make a quick exit.
Well you get over there and there only a few fairies scattered about here and there but nothing exciting or dangerous and the reward for clearing the path is like 10 copper which wouldn't be as bad if it were not for the fact that it took 2 hours to complete this because you had to battle every other noob for the kills and there are only about 6 of these mobs spawning every 5 mins.
No excitement + no reward = boring
Like I said before,gain some levels and just push yourself through the first 11 levels..I didn't like the game much when I first started..I play a Drk and let me tell you how painful it was to level up to 10.It finally started getting a little more fun at 12.. It's one thing i agree with you on.The starting levels could be a little more challenging,maybe put in a chain quest that lasts a cpl levels around level 5 that will get you hooked on the lore pertaining to your class and starting area..
They have these sort of quests,but in later levels..
And judging by that quest,you must have been level 5 or so..How many other MMO's out there can u honestly say were so great in the early levels?? NONE...WoW was boring and dull the first 10 levels,the same with EQ Live,EQ2,DAOC,SWG,L2,Horizons,etc..Actually most of these games were even more painful than Vanguard is when starting off and the game isnt even live yet!!
Personally,you just sound like a WoWcoholic who's become accustomed to how WoW is right now..You most likely think your a hardcore elite level 60 stud decked out in Full MC,BWL,and AQ gear.. But remember something,comparing WoW's endgame to Vanguard's starting game is like comparing a wolf to a puffy lil poodle..
The high end game of Vanguard will be much more exciting than WoW's..There will be more difficult raid encounters set up,exciting unique uber l33t loot,incredibly difficult bosses,and it will look 100000x better than those goofy loookin MC bosses..
So don't come here bashing a game you played it's beta for a cpl hours..Of course WoW's endgame is better than the first 10 levels of Vanguard.Why would u expect it not to be better? Hell,getting to level 60 was a pain for me.I only played WoW to reach the endgame content..Everything else WAS NO CHALLENGE AT ALL..I died only a small handfull of times from 1-60 while leveling up..Of course I got ganked by levle 60's when I was low level,but it was just to easy to level and do dungeon runs.. Any simple minded person could be considered a "great WoW gamer" But lets see you guys make that claim on a real MMO,one designed to appeal to ex EQ Vets and DAOC Vets moreso than with WOW amateurs..
This game has it all,everything I wanted that was not in EQ,and then some..There are a few things I don't like about it right now such as racial character models all look like humans with different heads,the spell animations could be better although I hear they are working on that still,racial abilities like infrovision should make its way into the game soon,and my biggest gripe with the game is dungeons up to level 24 should be more massive in scale including adding more mobs so it will comfortably allow more than 2 groups to hunt at the same time without waiting on mobs to pop..
Other than those things,the game reminds me alot like EQ more than any other MMO I've ever played,,which is a plus in my book since EQ is by far the greatest MMO ever created..
Rallithon Oakthornn
(Retired Heirophant of the 60th season)
I like how they made it geared towards old school DAOC and EQ players, that is the key.
But about the seamless world, i found that there are still many places that you can't get to because their either to steep or blocked by invisible walls...hopefully they'll fix that.
I guess I don' t know that much about Vanguard (I'm lazy, I'll admit) but I the remark of gearing it towards old school DAOC players caught me off guard. EQ and DAOC appealed to different types of gamers, and people who loved one style usually didn't care for the other.
Does Vanguard offer realm/faction based PvP in a controlled setting like DAOC does. If so, that's great news..and goes a long way to making me want to play the game. Is it geared towards epic quests that require 60 people to camp a site for 12 hours like EQ did sometimes? If so, count me out. (unless of course, it has both)
DAOC has raiding, but they are very optional.... you can have a ton of fun in the game and never go on a dragon raid...heck, you can buy most of the drops that come out of them... If raiding in Vanguard is also very optional, I'm going to like this game.
Flaws at launch I can live with..as long as I know they are being addressed. WoW had tons of them at launch (how soon people seem to forget this) and I know how quickly companies can work to get them corrected.
It was a good interview.. could have used more questions addressing some of the complaints we're hearing about the unfinished state of the game, but I'm sure the interviewer was told up front to steer away from them.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
How about experience the game first hand and then call it a raid game. Also, can you name me one MMORPG that doesn't have raids?
*Arguing* with other peoples part of the "insignificant minority" that don't want to raid as I see?
If everyone jumps off the bridge, will you? When EQ was released, no other game feature PvE servers. It doesn't prevent EQ to bring that back then. The fact that "nobody" does it shouldn't prevent a bright person from doing it. In medieval times, nobody was eating potatoes and peoples starve to death (it was pig's food), I am sure a few persons did eat potatoes and live because of that.
And to your precise question: City of Villains (not CoH).
Im not real sure what your point is, but your example is bad. People in Medieval Eurasia did not eat potatoes because they did not grow any. Potatoes are a new world food plant originating in the Andes Mountains. They were introduced into Europe soon after discovery by Europeans, and quickly became staple crops in Europe.
I guess I don' t know that much about Vanguard (I'm lazy, I'll admit) but I the remark of gearing it towards old school DAOC players caught me off guard. EQ and DAOC appealed to different types of gamers, and people who loved one style usually didn't care for the other.
Does Vanguard offer realm/faction based PvP in a controlled setting like DAOC does. If so, that's great news..and goes a long way to making me want to play the game. Is it geared towards epic quests that require 60 people to camp a site for 12 hours like EQ did sometimes? If so, count me out. (unless of course, it has both)
DAOC has raiding, but they are very optional.... you can have a ton of fun in the game and never go on a dragon raid...heck, you can buy most of the drops that come out of them... If raiding in Vanguard is also very optional, I'm going to like this game.
Flaws at launch I can live with..as long as I know they are being addressed. WoW had tons of them at launch (how soon people seem to forget this) and I know how quickly companies can work to get them corrected.
It was a good interview.. could have used more questions addressing some of the complaints we're hearing about the unfinished state of the game, but I'm sure the interviewer was told up front to steer away from them.
I'm kind of wondering about the RvR like DAOC too. I see ways in which it might be possible, but I have no idea how it's unlocked if it exists. Between the lines, I read yet another instance of Brad & Company's knowing glances and smug smiles.
By the way, I think I will soon need a term like "Evercrack" for Vanguard. I'm starting to have withdrawal symptoms whenever the servers are down.
I have not played every race myself but I don't see how anyone can say all the quests are well written. My favorite example is the orc starter quest. I was on a slave ship supposedly a captive and my quest was to go kill a slaver take his key then free a slave and escape. Nice quest except the slavers are non aggressive. So here are 5 slavers standing within arms reach of each other. You kill one, take the key, unlock the slave standing there walk past the other 4 slavers and down the gangplank. For gods sake a nice damn quest if the slavers had been aggro, them being non aggro ruined all immersion. The majority of the rest of the quest are kill 5 of these and ten of those and collect 5 bumblebee snouts sort of thing. I had one where I had to lead a camel down a hill, and another where I had to lead a horse down the road. I did not do any of the diplomacy or crafting quests because crafting is just not my game style. Both of which were designed to say, "look here is the next higher level mob and mission terminals ( quest NPC) " which I have to admit were useful if not terribly difficult or hard quests to do.
Now to the immersion, I have yet to see a NPC do anything but stand there like a mission terminal in SWG. Towns are pretty much empty. Remember Tazoon in Horizons? Vanguard towns are about the same. The ambiance sucks, I like to her the sound of the ocean when near the ocean, I want to hear the hustle and bustle of a city when in the city. I want to see NPCs wandering the streets and working the forges and looms, patrons ion the taverns drinking pixilated mead and eating pixilated mutton. I want to hear the fire in the fireplace and the sounds of horses being shod. Vanguard has all the ambiance of EQ1, enough said.
Now I just know a fanboy is just ready to jump in here and call me a troll but the point is everything I typed above is true and they cannot deny that. Sorry but this game needs a lot of work before they actually change people to play it. It is mid beta still, by December it may be ready for release.
I miss DAoC
Hey, It's great to know you did'nt bother to ask about the IMPORTANT SHIT!
I could go on and on. Hey, way to go out there!
I guess "What happens in Carlsbad, stays in Carlsbad". Or, in this case Vegas.
I hope you said that stuff in the quest assessments.
Other people liked the Orc starting quests, and thought they made sense for an Orc. I wondered about survivability for the totally inexperienced folks that the starting quests are obviously designed for, and now I know. How about this: In youre opinion, would the starting quests starting at night, with sleeping and/or drunk guards, who are aggro but highly inattentive, make the quests more immersive?
Understand, I'm not a vanboi or a vandev, I'm just interested in making MMOs better.