Just the facts please:)

baxter5 · January 2007

This game has been particularly hard to get facts about I have found. The site with the great FAQ section being replaced by SOE's flash animated advertisement being coupled with this senseless debate on whether it "Roxors or Suxors." I am trying to make a decision on whether to buy it, and would like some fact like questions answered by someone who has the game and has played it Since Release after BETA.

Top 10 Questions for me:)

1) How is the combat? Really, it is more exciting , drier, or basically the same as WoW style combat? How does it work with the "reactive" combat they advertise?

2) Ive heard that it was released very buggy, and also that they make vast improvements in a short period of time. How chopped up is it today, now, at this point?

3) Ive heard that although the environments can be very breathtaking, they lack life - ie no voice over NPC, no critters running around or birds flying - please describe a bit of detail what is meant. Are the cities really desolate? Are the forests really just barriers or do they "feel" like forests?

4) Ive heard that in-game map is horrible, and interface is very basic. Please describe the details so I can judge the accessibllity for me as a semi-casual gamer with hardcore experience. (Im old and dont have as much time as I used to).

5) Is the game friendly to 3rd party UI cusomizations?

6) "New unique crafting system, not the same old....ect...." What exactly happens while crafting?

7) Ive heard that yes the world is very big and "epic", but once you get a ways from the starting points its really lacking content, ie the world is huge but empty (which is a very common problem when they try to make the "biggest" geographical game.) Explain some details about this.

8) Ive searched, at least somewhat, but I can not find any description on how team PvP servers actually work. Please explain.

9) Ive heard that a lot of the quests are really done well, and better than the standard kll x of y and go talk to z. Can anyone give an example of a "better" quest that is in game? Are there mobs every 3 yards like WoW, or is it a little more spread out and realistic?

10) Is there weather? Night and Day cycles? What other features like that make the game interesting from an emmersive standpoint?

Thanks in advance, I think flying mounts and the ability to own your own ships is REALLY cool as well as the large variety of classes, races and mounts. At the same time, Im a semi-casual player timewise and dont want to spend a month to get to level 5.

11) Almost forgot, I hear alot of complaining about system specs. Ive got: AMD FX 54 (high end single core), 2g ram, ATI x850xt 512mb, and a screaming mobo. I should be able run at somewhat high eye candy..........right?

Kazzer · January 2007

Originally posted by baxter5

This game has been particularly hard to get facts about I have found. The site with the great FAQ section being replaced by SOE's flash animated advertisement being coupled with this senseless debate on whether it "Roxors or Suxors." I am trying to make a decision on whether to buy it, and would like some fact like questions answered by someone who has the game and has played it Since Release after BETA.
Top 10 Questions for me:)
1) How is the combat? Really, it is more exciting , drier, or basically the same as WoW style combat? How does it work with the "reactive" combat they advertise? The combat system is hell of fun, dunno wbout PvP, as i dont play PVP in vanguard, but in PVE, its harder, some spells can only get activated by other spells, there will be more thinking and tactic, You need to get used to it at first, but when u are, u'll love it, i bet its fun in pvp aswell
2) Ive heard that it was released very buggy, and also that they make vast improvements in a short period of time. How chopped up is it today, now, at this point? Its still buggy, but i think all release moorpg's are like that. I was in beta, thet have change alot. They patched in a few days b4 earlie access, and alot change to the better... in a month, it will look alot diffrent.. Sigil are good patchers
3) Ive heard that although the environments can be very breathtaking, they lack life - ie no voice over NPC, no critters running around or birds flying - please describe a bit of detail what is meant. Are the cities really desolate? Are the forests really just barriers or do they "feel" like forests? The nature in the game, are breathtaking, they are awesome, i havent seen a game like this, so beatyfull in the nature, i feel im in a real forest or real camps we see, this game rocks in PVE, all tho, the cities could be more joyfull, moste of the npc's are just standing and scracth there ass, but thats a thing i hope they change, the voice over are true, they dont talk, they might say "hail", or "you earned my respect" when you leave, but i got used to it, so not a problem anymore, might be beter like this, eq2 did my head in with the voice over.. kept hear the same line over and over
4) Ive heard that in-game map is horrible, and interface is very basic. Please describe the details so I can judge the accessibllity for me as a semi-casual gamer with hardcore experience. (Im old and dont have as much time as I used to). the ingame map, is not good no, sometimes you run in the nature, even tho there is a road on the map, i rarely look at on the map, only if i need to see where my group are
5) Is the game friendly to 3rd party UI cusomizations? Edit sorry i know what you mean now - Yes it is, extreamly, you can change everything
6) "New unique crafting system, not the same old....ect...." What exactly happens while crafting? Crafting is very complex, might feel like a job now, as i dont like, there is lots of bugs in crafting atm, so i wait with crafting, so i dont know much about that.. sorry
7) Ive heard that yes the world is very big and "epic", but once you get a ways from the starting points its really lacking content, ie the world is huge but empty (which is a very common problem when they try to make the "biggest" geographical game.) Explain some details about this. So far with me, im not bored in the nature, i see lots of camps and npc's/animals, i feel the nature are alive... the nature/exploere is the biggest plus in this game i think
8) Ive searched, at least somewhat, but I can not find any description on how team PvP servers actually work. Please explain. Havent tried either
9) Ive heard that a lot of the quests are really done well, and better than the standard kll x of y and go talk to z. Can anyone give an example of a "better" quest that is in game? Are there mobs every 3 yards like WoW, or is it a little more spread out and realistic? what i feel is better are, they are harder, but so far i feel they are the same.. kill x number of animals and get back to the quest giver and give him 10 gnoll paws, but they might get alot better, in the higher lvls... wow had to many mobs, in vanguard i think they done it well, not to many, not to few
10) Is there weather? Night and Day cycles? What other features like that make the game interesting from an emmersive standpoint? Yes there are night and day, and WOW! the night is so..... cough! beutyfull and romantic hehe, o love stars.. its brilliant with the real time clouds and some places it rains, but on the otehr island the weather are fine... real time weather are great

Thanks in advance, I think flying mounts and the ability to own your own ships is REALLY cool as well as the large variety of classes, races and mounts. At the same time, Im a semi-casual player timewise and dont want to spend a month to get to level 5.
11) Almost forgot, I hear alot of complaining about system specs. Ive got: AMD FX 54 (high end single core), 2g ram, ATI x850xt 512mb, and a screaming mobo. I should be able run at somewhat high eye candy..........right?

Maverick123w · January 2007

Originally posted by baxter5

This game has been particularly hard to get facts about I have found. The site with the great FAQ section being replaced by SOE's flash animated advertisement being coupled with this senseless debate on whether it "Roxors or Suxors." I am trying to make a decision on whether to buy it, and would like some fact like questions answered by someone who has the game and has played it Since Release after BETA.
Top 10 Questions for me:)
1) How is the combat? Really, it is more exciting , drier, or basically the same as WoW style combat? How does it work with the "reactive" combat they advertise?
Well on my experiences so far (level 10 ranger) The combat is pretty fun once you get more skills. There are chain attacks you can do and special moves that you can use if something happens. Like say you parry you have about 5 seconds to use the special attack or it goes away, and if you accidently use another skill it nulls it. Overall I like it.
2) Ive heard that it was released very buggy, and also that they make vast improvements in a short period of time. How chopped up is it today, now, at this point?
The only bug I have noticed in release so far is when you pass through a server line and it puts you into 1st person and turns off your torch. All of the quest bugs I ran into in beta have been fixed.
3) Ive heard that although the environments can be very breathtaking, they lack life - ie no voice over NPC, no critters running around or birds flying - please describe a bit of detail what is meant. Are the cities really desolate? Are the forests really just barriers or do they "feel" like forests?
There is a random deer or cow here and there if you are close to a town. Birds would be a really cool thing to add actually. The forests feel like forests to me... the environments are absolutely amazing, but yes besides mobs a little bare.
4) Ive heard that in-game map is horrible, and interface is very basic. Please describe the details so I can judge the accessibllity for me as a semi-casual gamer with hardcore experience. (Im old and dont have as much time as I used to).
The in game map is just fine for me... everything isn't spoon fed to you, thats what people probably have a problem with. The interface is pretty much ripped straight from WoW. Some people hate this some people like it. I hated WoW, but I thought it's interface was simple, to the point, and easy to operate... just like it should be.
5) Is the game friendly to 3rd party UI cusomizations?
No clue
6) "New unique crafting system, not the same old....ect...." What exactly happens while crafting?
I have only done the very basic training quests for blacksmithing. So far it's very in depth. You have to heat the forge with fuel, add more fuel, the forge can overheat and give the items impurities, these can be bad or beneficial. It's nifty. The harvesting is fun, if you chop down a tree it literally falls down with a huge crash that shakes the screen.
7) Ive heard that yes the world is very big and "epic", but once you get a ways from the starting points its really lacking content, ie the world is huge but empty (which is a very common problem when they try to make the "biggest" geographical game.) Explain some details about this.
I've only been around tursh and the high elf starting areas, doesn't seem any less bare than the otehr mmo's ive played.. DAOC,WoW, Anarchy, etc.
8) Ive searched, at least somewhat, but I can not find any description on how team PvP servers actually work. Please explain.
I'm on the US team pvp server and I have no clue how it works lol. More info would be uber.
9) Ive heard that a lot of the quests are really done well, and better than the standard kll x of y and go talk to z. Can anyone give an example of a "better" quest that is in game? Are there mobs every 3 yards like WoW, or is it a little more spread out and realistic?
Hmm, they seem to be slightly above par so far. The mobs are more spread out, but when you get to a spawn area they can get dense. Sometimes too dense imo.
10) Is there weather? Night and Day cycles? What other features like that make the game interesting from an emmersive standpoint?
Night and day, yes. Seems to be night alot longer than day. The volumetric clouds look just like clouds and the atmospheric lighting is good. Sunrieses, sunsets are amazing. No weather which I wish they would add. The storms in anarchy online were badass.
Thanks in advance, I think flying mounts and the ability to own your own ships is REALLY cool as well as the large variety of classes, races and mounts. At the same time, Im a semi-casual player timewise and dont want to spend a month to get to level 5.
I'm a casual player as well (full time student, full time employee) and I've only played about 8 hours since the pre-order phase started. I'm level 10 atm and thats only because I've made several 4KM treks to meet my buddy in the high elf startiing town. Mounts at level 10 are great, reminds me of UO. The good stuff isn't held from you.
11) Almost forgot, I hear alot of complaining about system specs. Ive got: AMD FX 54 (high end single core), 2g ram, ATI x850xt 512mb, and a screaming mobo. I should be able run at somewhat high eye candy..........right?
I run a 3.2Ghz P4, 2 gigs of ram, a Nvidia 7900GTX, and a harddrive dedicated to just my games. I run the game on high quality (shadows off) and get about 20fps in town and 40 in the open, sometimes up to 60 if its real sparse. Your graphics card is a generation behind mine so we'll see I suppose. A x1900xtx would suit you well and it's not too expensive anymore.
I hope this helps. I'm really loving this game a lot so far. It's the first time since UO in 99' that the first levels haven't just bored me. (UO didn't have levels so that took care of that hehe) There are things that need to be fixed though. The buggy character selection screen, the buggy server lines, and the lack of info for the game. I'm hoping the game will be amazing in 3 months or so... as of yet I haven't even contemplated playing anythng else on my pc.

KnivesOnly · January 2007

Originally posted by baxter5

This game has been particularly hard to get facts about I have found. The site with the great FAQ section being replaced by SOE's flash animated advertisement being coupled with this senseless debate on whether it "Roxors or Suxors." I am trying to make a decision on whether to buy it, and would like some fact like questions answered by someone who has the game and has played it Since Release after BETA.
Top 10 Questions for me:)
1) How is the combat? Really, it is more exciting , drier, or basically the same as WoW style combat? How does it work with the "reactive" combat they advertise?
2) Ive heard that it was released very buggy, and also that they make vast improvements in a short period of time. How chopped up is it today, now, at this point?
3) Ive heard that although the environments can be very breathtaking, they lack life - ie no voice over NPC, no critters running around or birds flying - please describe a bit of detail what is meant. Are the cities really desolate? Are the forests really just barriers or do they "feel" like forests?
4) Ive heard that in-game map is horrible, and interface is very basic. Please describe the details so I can judge the accessibllity for me as a semi-casual gamer with hardcore experience. (Im old and dont have as much time as I used to).
5) Is the game friendly to 3rd party UI cusomizations?
6) "New unique crafting system, not the same old....ect...." What exactly happens while crafting?
7) Ive heard that yes the world is very big and "epic", but once you get a ways from the starting points its really lacking content, ie the world is huge but empty (which is a very common problem when they try to make the "biggest" geographical game.) Explain some details about this.
8) Ive searched, at least somewhat, but I can not find any description on how team PvP servers actually work. Please explain.
9) Ive heard that a lot of the quests are really done well, and better than the standard kll x of y and go talk to z. Can anyone give an example of a "better" quest that is in game? Are there mobs every 3 yards like WoW, or is it a little more spread out and realistic?
10) Is there weather? Night and Day cycles? What other features like that make the game interesting from an emmersive standpoint?

Thanks in advance, I think flying mounts and the ability to own your own ships is REALLY cool as well as the large variety of classes, races and mounts. At the same time, Im a semi-casual player timewise and dont want to spend a month to get to level 5.
11) Almost forgot, I hear alot of complaining about system specs. Ive got: AMD FX 54 (high end single core), 2g ram, ATI x850xt 512mb, and a screaming mobo. I should be able run at somewhat high eye candy..........right?

1. Combat is very buggy and looks horrible :P Plus PVP is very bad and all the classes are inbalanced, it follows the game style as WOW and all that in click a button and you've done that skill.

2. Tbh if you don't have 2gb ram then it'll be very choppy, it shows as using only 600mb ramish but infact my task manager was saying 1.5 gb ram was being used sumwhere so memory on the game? The eprformance is ok on my PC but it needs to be improved alot

3. Some NPC's talk but only when spoken too, the voice acting isn't great tbh. I don't ever see birds but i can hear them : The world does have a dead lifeless feel to it though, nothing has facial expressions too like in other games.

4. The UI is my fave thing about the game but the map is horrible.

5. I'm guessing so, i have seen some mods.

6. I don't craft but it's as indepth even more than anything out there atm.

7. I found that after level 15ish that i run outta quests and had to go looking, the world does lack content throughout but then it's a big game. I had no problems getting to 25 though.

8. Team PVP is just different races put together in 2 teams and they fight against eachother :P FFA PVP is free for all.

9. I've only had the standard kill or deliver quests + go get this item fromt hat camp quests. Nothing new at all.

10. I havn't seen weather in the game but the night and day cycle is pretty.

11. No you'll be able to run it on balance i should think with that gpu. I have a x1950xtx and its choppy on high.

FikusOfAhazi · January 2007

There are some player made videos on YouTube im sure if you wanna check out combat.

sharpshooter · January 2007

6. I don't craft but it's as indepth even more than anything out there atm.

I'm sorry but you are very, very wrong. Check out the vanguard website for all the crafting professions. Very deep.

stylee99 · January 2007

Just to add a couple things: Though I don't have any add-on 3rd party UI mods, I've seen quite a few screens of people that have them, so I'm guessing it's pretty friendly. Check out www.vgsohinterface.com for more info on that. As far as weather - there is rain and snow - though haven't seen lightning. There is "moving" weather systems, similar to real life, where a storm or weather pattern will move through an area...In the future (not sure if it's implemented now) they will have spells reacting better or worse depending on weather. I.e. if it's raining, a lightning type spell will deal more damage than if it wasn't raining.

KnivesOnly · January 2007

Originally posted by sharpshooter

6. I don't craft but it's as indepth even more than anything out there atm.

I'm sorry but you are very, very wrong. Check out the vanguard website for all the crafting professions. Very deep.

It's not the number the counts : if it had more all that it would do is limit players to what they could create even more. The fact is the system is very good and what you can craft + the trade and game economy is also very cool.

I havn't had a house yet but i heard you can use it as a vendor like SWG which is very good too.

baxter5 · January 2007

Thanks, all really good info.

The reason I asked about the custom UI mods, well, It really doesnt matter how good an interface it is that comes with the game it can ALWAYS be improved by the private sector, and the reason is because every player has individual preferences or ideals and the game aims to please the masses. WoW is a great example, because it was friendly to customized mods, 1000s of mods became available. I personally use 4 out of those thousands, but I couldnt imagine playing without them and going back to the Blizzard interface - as good as it is would be horrible.

Vangard sounds like its got some great potential, and it would be good to see more posts like this one for those of us on the "outside" instead of having to wade through all the "mud".

As I see it, Age of Conan got pushed back until October and this might be the only thing worthy until that happens. I hope that they can take care of some of the things that are obviously a result of a hasty release. Gotta love the boats and ships thing:)

KnivesOnly · January 2007

I say don't pick it up yet or dont be suprised to be disappointed if you do.

You never know tho you might love it.

kinglog123 · January 2007

Originally posted by baxter5

1) How is the combat? Really, it is more exciting , drier, or basically the same as WoW style combat? How does it work with the "reactive" combat they advertise?
Combat is actually engaging, and what i love is that it takes some thinking expecially with the chain attacks, counter attacks/counter spells and epic hits. I love the combat and im happy with what they have right now.

2) Ive heard that it was released very buggy, and also that they make vast improvements in a short period of time. How chopped up is it today, now, at this point?
The game is still quite buggy but very playable. Im sure sigil is on the case as they have been very good at fixing problems fast with patches so far... One major problem is the crafting is quite bugged at the moment (from what ive heard) Ive had to much fun to mess with it though so I dunno

3) Ive heard that although the environments can be very breathtaking, they lack life - ie no voice over NPC, no critters running around or birds flying - please describe a bit of detail what is meant. Are the cities really desolate? Are the forests really just barriers or do they "feel" like forests?
The NPCs have a sort of a voice over if you wanna call it that. They might say somthing small. The world itself is very breathtaking expecially if you turn the Terrain clipping all the way max BEAUTIFUL! Anyway the enviroments do lack critters but they might have a deer or cow or whatever running around ever so often. Cities - some are bustling and others are empty... i believe once more people get to higher levels and can reach these higher cities they will become more active.
4) Ive heard that in-game map is horrible, and interface is very basic. Please describe the details so I can judge the accessibllity for me as a semi-casual gamer with hardcore experience. (Im old and dont have as much time as I used to).
The Map is pretty bad but im used to it... it doesn't hold your hand and spoonfeed you things which is nice but its chunky and bland. The interface on the other hand is pretty basic indeed. Its much like the WoW UI but i like it.

5) Is the game friendly to 3rd party UI cusomizations?
Yes the UI is very very customizable

6) "New unique crafting system, not the same old....ect...." What exactly happens while crafting?
mostly what everyone else said above ... its buggy but once fixed and so far its amazing

7) Ive heard that yes the world is very big and "epic", but once you get a ways from the starting points its really lacking content, ie the world is huge but empty (which is a very common problem when they try to make the "biggest" geographical game.) Explain some details about this.
Nope all i can say its vast so dont expect to get into high lvl areas and see places crammed together like wow but it isn't bad.

8) Ive searched, at least somewhat, but I can not find any description on how team PvP servers actually work. Please explain.
2 teams - Good vs. Evil - (found it out the hard way went walking into a city because i thought it looked awsome from far away ended up getting killed by the guards im a dark elf so im aligned to the evil side and walked into a good aligned city)

9) Ive heard that a lot of the quests are really done well, and better than the standard kll x of y and go talk to z. Can anyone give an example of a "better" quest that is in game? Are there mobs every 3 yards like WoW, or is it a little more spread out and realistic?

some are new and fun others are same ol same ol mmo standard quests
10) Is there weather? Night and Day cycles? What other features like that make the game interesting from an emmersive standpoint?
no dynamic weather but static so if you go into the wood elf forest it is usually raining im sure it rained the whole time i was there but It does have day and night cycles which i must admit are beautiful just to watch

Thanks in advance, I think flying mounts and the ability to own your own ships is REALLY cool as well as the large variety of classes, races and mounts. At the same time, Im a semi-casual player timewise and dont want to spend a month to get to level 5.
11) Almost forgot, I hear alot of complaining about system specs. Ive got: AMD FX 54 (high end single core), 2g ram, ATI x850xt 512mb, and a screaming mobo. I should be able run at somewhat high eye candy..........right?

Ethanael · February 2007

BASED ON PLAYING A LEVEL 14 CLERIC (Experienced Level 28 while in Beta)

Originally posted by baxter5

This game has been particularly hard to get facts about I have found. The site with the great FAQ section being replaced by SOE's flash animated advertisement being coupled with this senseless debate on whether it "Roxors or Suxors." I am trying to make a decision on whether to buy it, and would like some fact like questions answered by someone who has the game and has played it Since Release after BETA.
Top 10 Questions for me:)
1) How is the combat? Really, it is more exciting , drier, or basically the same as WoW style combat? How does it work with the "reactive" combat they advertise?
Combat can be really fun. I say can because it really depends on how much you care to get into the system. I mean that by are you the type of person who looks at each spell, understands what it does, organizes your toolbars to effectively use that spell, etc.?

Whe I'm soloing, Here is one variation of my combat style as a cleric, soloing a level higher mob then myself. (bit more challenging).

1. Cast Divine Chains (Root)

2. Cast Gift of Ardor I (Increases damage and accuracy by 10%)

3. Cast Anathema III (DD for 135-146)

4. Cast Hand of Censure II (Increases melee damage by 16 and deals 62 - 70DMG over 12 seconds.)

5. Cast Replenishing Strike I (Deals 50% weapon damage and restores 90 energy to you)

[IF NOTHING ELSE IS AROUND] 6. Cast Aegis of Blades I (Area Effect Damage)

Depending on how much the creature is hurting me, I may cast an instant heal or one of my other heals. After that, I pretty much proceed to just cast my Direct Damage spell. If the target has a lot of health left, I adjust and cast my Damage over time spells.

The reactive part of this system comes in when a chain shows up on your screen. It's not often, but when it does, you can actively choose to react to that specific chain.

As you can see, it's not just pressing the same buttons over, and over and over, until the creature is dead. If I did that as a cleric, I would likely be the one laying on the ground, dead.

That said... You could go out to find easier challenges and just mash the direct damage spell. It all really depends on your style and if you crave a bigger challenge. But, the creature is going to die very slow and could start laying some heavy damage on you.

I played about 16 levels of World of Warcraft. I didn't need to do nearly anything like i'm doing in Vanguard at these beginning levels. Vanguard is definitely a challenge if played in that respect. (I.e. looking for the challenge, using all of your skills, etc.)
2) Ive heard that it was released very buggy, and also that they make vast improvements in a short period of time. How chopped up is it today, now, at this point?
The game really does have bugs. It's not perfect, yet.

But, that said, if your patient and you don't let the minor things get to you, it will not effect your gameplay. I, personally, don't even care about the bugs. I notice it, shrug it off, and continue. But, that's just me. Some people really hate that.
I can easily imagine things will look absolutely wonderfull within 6 months. I'm pretty sure they are working very hard to fix everything in regard to stability, seamless world interaction, the few quests that are still luring people in the wrong area, and whatever else I haven't given notice too.

3) Ive heard that although the environments can be very breathtaking, they lack life - ie no voice over NPC, no critters running around or birds flying - please describe a bit of detail what is meant. Are the cities really desolate? Are the forests really just barriers or do they "feel" like forests?
Well, i've been playing on Qalia, so I can't really vouch for the Forests... Except, I did play an elf and I've got to say that the starting city of the Wood Elves are just amazing. You start out in a vastly dense forest that has all sorts of hovering essences around a grand tree that is vibrant with magic. You can physically see the magic streaming around the branches. You can physically see the leaves falling from the magical tree. I really thought this area was pretty neat.
Some animations are a bit wonky. But, eh, like I said, I personally don't sit there and wish the entire game was solid as solid could be. I am a independent programmer and a game designer and I have physically been through the headaches of making games absolutely perfect. I know that is what the community expects, but for a game of this magnitude it's hard as hell to have something like this roll out perfect.
There are hardly any voice over NPC's. You've got to imagine that this is Sigil's first title game and they likely didn't have the resources to implement such a detailed system in a huge world like this. Who knows, it could come later.

Well, there isn't really any birds that I've seen... But, there are many drakes. Makes me wish I had a mount to go up and kill those suckers.
The world on balanced and greater really looks absolutely amazing. You've got a volumetric clouds, which give it much more of a real life effect. You have some great ambient conditions depending on where you are (e.g. Dark Elf, starting out under a red sky). The cities are GREAT.... Just the other day, I went over to discover Aghram on my server (Woefeather) and thought that they did an incredible job at putting this place together. I really thought I was at a very large palace with merchant streets galore, ship builders that have halfway completed ships built, random people roaming around. The place was pretty cool. I even found the Sutan and all EIGHT of his wives.... That was a bit comedic.

4) Ive heard that in-game map is horrible, and interface is very basic. Please describe the details so I can judge the accessibllity for me as a semi-casual gamer with hardcore experience. (Im old and dont have as much time as I used to).
I love the in-game map. It's pretty darn detailed when it comes to quest information (if you decide you need it for that). Granted, there are some things that could be better. I'm thinking about World of Warcrafts mapping system would be a great. Just, even more detailed would make it nicer. But, overal, it functions well for the game.
So, to give you an example. You have the map. You get a quest. That quest will over the ability to actually show you the location, on the map, to where you need to go. That simple.

The interface has taken on from World of Warcrafts winning experiences and rolled out with their remixed version of it. Players who have played World of Warcraft, will be easily introduced to this system. You can view some screenshots to get a feel for how it looks.

5) Is the game friendly to 3rd party UI cusomizations?
Yes. I've got people in my Guild who have made UI customization and it's worked pretty well. Nothing different then the EverQuest 2 system really.

6) "New unique crafting system, not the same old....ect...." What exactly happens while crafting?
It's not your basic crafting system. You have a point system and you've got to spend those points to the best of your skill ability to produce the greatest quality item that you can produce. The higher quality, the higher amount of experience you'll get from that crafting period and the better the reward.

So... You have a recipe. A typically crafting session would go from beginning the crafting session, to attempting to work on your quality of your product, and then working up the progress. Simple enough, right? Wrong... You're unlikely to get the highest quality of an item if you're not paying attention to your statistics in regard to your tools and clothing. Better gear, will help you a lot to get those high quality items.

7) Ive heard that yes the world is very big and "epic", but once you get a ways from the starting points its really lacking content, ie the world is huge but empty (which is a very common problem when they try to make the "biggest" geographical game.) Explain some details about this.
The world is very large. That said, it can be even MORE cumbersome depending on where you start out at...
Those people who started on Thestra... Yeah, you're running around a LOT because your dodging mountains and running through a ton of forest type space. I haven't played on thestra a lot, so you'll need to get this from someone else.
I haven't played on Kojan.
Qalia is great and I recommend this as your starting area if you like Sand, temples, huge port cities, and if you want a lot of things to do. I played a level 28 Cleric in Beta and I had a TON of things to do. After you work on your newbie quest line, you leave the city to another tower to complete those quests, and then you can move to another tower to complete those quests and then you can move on to the city to explore crafting and diplomacy. After that you can go back over to Hathor Zhi to work on some more quests in a fortress that will give you a large sum of experience and coin. After that you can explore the crystilline cave to find some great loot and experience a really interactive dungeon (e.g. there is a ranger that fires at you from the distance, you're dieing slowly, you don't know where he is.... what do you do?). After that, you can swim over to Skawlra Rock to work on some more quests to get some armor to sell or use (great cleric gear). After that you can start the Infinieum Armor Quests, which are absolutely amazing.
As you can see, there are tons of things to do in this game and while you may need to cross a vast desert that may take you a couple of minutes, what is the reality that they fill every square mile of the game? Qalia is well designed.

8) Ive searched, at least somewhat, but I can not find any description on how team PvP servers actually work. Please explain.
I don't have any experience in PVP.
9) Ive heard that a lot of the quests are really done well, and better than the standard kll x of y and go talk to z. Can anyone give an example of a "better" quest that is in game? Are there mobs every 3 yards like WoW, or is it a little more spread out and realistic?
I don't want to spoil this quest, but let me just say that they designed an entire "zone/chunk" to the Infinieum Armor quest line. If you drool for awsome weaponsa nd armor, this quest line will be incredibly fun and rewarding. I'll keep it at that because I really don't want to spoil this quest for anybody who hasn't experienced it.
There are quests to go out to kill x of y and talk to z. Sure. There are also quests for delivering packages to people. There are quests that involve specifically locate a NPC to return his head for profit. There are quests that ask you to help someone, somehow. There is a lot of variation.

10) Is there weather? Night and Day cycles? What other features like that make the game interesting from an emmersive standpoint?
Night and day cycles are in. Weather isn't totally in the game yet. It does rain in some places, but the really cool weather system has yet to come in. I believe they were talking about Druids controlling the weather patterns and that you could chase the weather. Yeah, that's not in yet.
I would say that the ambience of the way the world transitions from one state to the other is done really cool. Right now I'm standing on a tower, looking out to what would normally be a perfect bright day. The sun has gone down and past the ridge the sky glows a sort of purple mist that covers the horizon. Very cool imo. Tree's also flow with the wind.

Thanks in advance, I think flying mounts and the ability to own your own ships is REALLY cool as well as the large variety of classes, races and mounts. At the same time, Im a semi-casual player timewise and dont want to spend a month to get to level 5.
I'm a pretty semi-casual player. I've got college and my future career to worry about so I don't have a incredible amount of time to play the game. From what I have played, I've loved it. I can't wait to own a flying mount and I can't wait until I can craft my own ships and houses. That'll be very cool.
I really enjoy your interest with the in-depth questions regarding this game and If you messege me, I'll have something waiting for you if you answer just one question from me.

11) Almost forgot, I hear alot of complaining about system specs. Ive got: AMD FX 54 (high end single core), 2g ram, ATI x850xt 512mb, and a screaming mobo. I should be able run at somewhat high eye candy..........right?
Uh, Yes.
I play on Balanced (Pretty Detailed), and I can even play on greater detail if I'm just exploring. This is my system. 2.0GHz AMD, 2GB RAM, Nvidia 7800GT.

vylo · February 2007

1. Melee combat still seems a bit rough, it doesn't have some reactionary aspects to it (counterspells save me a lot)

2. The game is effectively in beta 6. They are fixing things quickly, but its stilla bit shaky in areas.

3. The wildlife feels pretty alive, but the towns feel dead. The town NPCs are mostly like statues and something that really should be worked on soon.

4. The interface is roughly as advanced as WoWs, but has a few kinks or pet peeves that could be worked out.

5. Far as I know yes, there aren't a whole lot out yet for obvious reasons.

6. Don't look at me, I'm here for the adventuring :P

7. Maybe in parts of Qalia, since it is a desert continent (go figure right). I don't see much in the way of empty space on Kojan. Oh, and the world is huge. Also they plan on adding more content, of course, I'm guessing bugs are taking high priority now.

8. Sorry, PvE here.

9. Things can be a bit more spread out, and some of the quests are vague, so as to be challenging. There are some classical "go kill x" quests", but there are some other styles, such as the "test of faith", which is a riddle based challenge. I thought it would be easy, but ended up getting hung up on it until I could figure it out.

10. Yes, there is weather. Day and night, which appears to be affected by season as well. Rain, snow, lightning and thunder.

11. You can run decently, but a new video card would help run it on higher modes. The video card is the single most important thing to running vanguard well.

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