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The magic of Sigil

I was reading over the boards about what's 3rd generation (who knows) and what it means to make a good mmorpg.

While WoW is obviously the most popular with subscription numbers today, it makes me wonder why.
The game is a bore.

I just wanted to make a bulletin and see if anyone else has felt the "sigl magic"

I'm by no means a typical fanboy, if sigil makes a mistake i get flat out irritated,
I even quit Eq to try WoW.

But with every sigil game it has a certain feeling,
EQ had it, EQ2 had it, Vanguard now has it.

Does anyone else know what im talking about?
It's just polish, and addictiveness,
with the feeling there's so much freedom and things to explore and do.

I don't think any other company will ever get a handle on this,
hopefully they will
SWG was close, but even they didn't have the surreal feel I get playing vanguard today.

I hope I don't sound like an idiot
Does anyone know what I mean though?
Have any of you had this feeling with other games? I'd just like to know.

Just another handsome boy graduate...

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Comments

  • LukainLukain Member UncommonPosts: 591
    Originally posted by JigsawJesus


    I was reading over the boards about what's 3rd generation (who knows) and what it means to make a good mmorpg.
    While WoW is obviously the most popular with subscription numbers today, it makes me wonder why.

    The game is a bore.
    I just wanted to make a bulletin and see if anyone else has felt the "sigl magic"
    I'm by no means a typical fanboy, if sigil makes a mistake i get flat out irritated,

    I even quit Eq to try WoW.
    But with every sigil game it has a certain feeling,

    EQ had it, EQ2 had it, Vanguard now has it.
    Does anyone else know what im talking about?

    It's just polish, and addictiveness,

    with the feeling there's so much freedom and things to explore and do.
    I don't think any other company will ever get a handle on this,

    hopefully they will

    SWG was close, but even they didn't have the surreal feel I get playing vanguard today.
    I hope I don't sound like an idiot

    Does anyone know what I mean though?

    Have any of you had this feeling with other games? I'd just like to know.



    LOL the second you said WOW was a Bore & you were not a Fanboy I knew you were a Fanboy  :)   Not even an original try  3/10

     

     

  • DeathstinyDeathstiny Member Posts: 386
    Originally posted by JigsawJesus


    But with every sigil game it has a certain feeling,


    Every Sigil game? I'm confused .... how many games have they made?
  • gschenk3gschenk3 Member Posts: 93
    EQII was not Verant or Sigil. They left long before that. EQII is SOE to the core.
  • DeadJesterDeadJester Member Posts: 499
     Boy are you going to get flamed for this post , and the fealing you are talking about is called the sand box bro  and maybe some day there will be a sand box game that is really polished with great content and a free player based economy and a 1 of a kind crafting system. along with a player freindly interface and a one of a kind lvling/skill based avatar that is 100% your owen creation  and untill that day happens i will also be playing Vsoh
  • severiusseverius Member UncommonPosts: 1,516
    Originally posted by JigsawJesus


    I was reading over the boards about what's 3rd generation (who knows) and what it means to make a good mmorpg.
    While WoW is obviously the most popular with subscription numbers today, it makes me wonder why.

    The game is a bore.
    I just wanted to make a bulletin and see if anyone else has felt the "sigl magic"
    I'm by no means a typical fanboy, if sigil makes a mistake i get flat out irritated,

    I even quit Eq to try WoW.
    But with every sigil game it has a certain feeling,

    EQ had it, EQ2 had it, Vanguard now has it.
    Does anyone else know what im talking about?

    It's just polish, and addictiveness,

    with the feeling there's so much freedom and things to explore and do.
    I don't think any other company will ever get a handle on this,

    hopefully they will

    SWG was close, but even they didn't have the surreal feel I get playing vanguard today.
    I hope I don't sound like an idiot

    Does anyone know what I mean though?

    Have any of you had this feeling with other games? I'd just like to know.
    First correction, EQ2 isnt a Sigil Game.  Brad McQuaid had left SOE before EQ2 started development.  EQ, well its a matter of preference.... I detested EQ and was mroe than happy with UO and DAOC, followed by SWG.



    Now polish?  Are you sure you are playing Vanguard?  Or do you just have excessively low expectations.  To think Vanguard is anywhere close to a state of polish would completely negate your statement that you are not a fanboy.



    Now, as far as feeling addicted to a game... sure SWG had me hooked til they destroyed the game.  UO as well had me hooked.  EQ2 entertained me for a couple months, as did Lineage2, Guild Wars, World of Warcraft.  Vanguard... well it was the easiest game to walk away from I have ever experienced.  But that is just my own preference.
  • DeathstinyDeathstiny Member Posts: 386
    okay..it's nice everybody is pointing out that EQ2 was not a Sigal game but neither was EQ1. Sure some key members of Verant Interactive are now at Sigil but that's it. Sigil is a brand new company and Vanguard is their first game. So as far as the "Sigil feeling" is concerned - Vanguard is it. Please don't try to lump it in with original EQ. That was a great game - still the game I have the fondest memories of. Naming it in one sentence with VG is an insult.
  • BullhypeBullhype Member Posts: 10
    I quit WoW for VG, cause I was just so burned out on WoW.  VG has its problems, any MMO does.  The only thing that rubs me the wrong way is the people that act like WoW can do no wrong and it was born with a silver spoon up its a**.



    I remember WoW's launch.  I remember the down time and the "here is a free day, here is a free day, oh we screwed up, here is a free day."  I remember everyone split 50/50 over EQ2 and WoW, and how EQ2 came out a week before just to get a head start.  I remember everyone I know (who still plays) bashing on the graphics, "It looks too cartoony"  now look at it; anyone say anything bad about WoW and there must be something wrong with them.
  • BeanchillaBeanchilla Member Posts: 260

    The company doesn't matter to me

    The feeling is the same for me,
    EQ2, EQ, Vanguard, UO all great games
    differient developers but they had that same feeling

    please don't flame!

    Just another handsome boy graduate...

  • BeanchillaBeanchilla Member Posts: 260


    Originally posted by Lukain
    Originally posted by JigsawJesus I was reading over the boards about what's 3rd generation (who knows) and what it means to make a good mmorpg.
    While WoW is obviously the most popular with subscription numbers today, it makes me wonder why.
    The game is a bore.
    I just wanted to make a bulletin and see if anyone else has felt the "sigl magic"
    I'm by no means a typical fanboy, if sigil makes a mistake i get flat out irritated,
    I even quit Eq to try WoW.
    But with every sigil game it has a certain feeling,
    EQ had it, EQ2 had it, Vanguard now has it.
    Does anyone else know what im talking about?
    It's just polish, and addictiveness,
    with the feeling there's so much freedom and things to explore and do.
    I don't think any other company will ever get a handle on this,
    hopefully they will
    SWG was close, but even they didn't have the surreal feel I get playing vanguard today.
    I hope I don't sound like an idiot
    Does anyone know what I mean though?
    Have any of you had this feeling with other games? I'd just like to know.

    LOL the second you said WOW was a Bore & you were not a Fanboy I knew you were a Fanboy  :)   Not even an original try  3/10
     
     


    Thanks for rating my post,
    it really inspires me to do better,
    and maybe go on to be president someday!

    You're approval means so much to me

    Just another handsome boy graduate...

  • severiusseverius Member UncommonPosts: 1,516
    Originally posted by Deathstiny

    okay..it's nice everybody is pointing out that EQ2 was not a Sigal game but neither was EQ1. Sure some key members of Verant Interactive are now at Sigil but that's it. Sigil is a brand new company and Vanguard is their first game. So as far as the "Sigil feeling" is concerned - Vanguard is it. Please don't try to lump it in with original EQ. That was a great game - still the game I have the fondest memories of. Naming it in one sentence with VG is an insult.
    No insult intended.  When Smedley was given the directive to create an mmorpg using funding from Sony Pictures he hired Brad McQuaid to lead the project.  Then they formed 989 Studios which released EQ, then 989 Studios became Verant, then became part and parcel of SOE.  Pretty much everyone in the industry that I have read attributes Everquest to Brad McQuaid's vision for an mmo.  When Brad McQuaid left Verant (just around the time of SWG's ramp up in production) he took a few of the core team he had from EQ and formed Sigil, I think it was right after the first expansion was released.  He wasn't working on SWG that was Rich Vogel and Raph Koster from previous UO fame.
  • OhaanOhaan Member UncommonPosts: 568
    Originally posted by JigsawJesus

    But with every sigil game it has a certain feeling,

    EQ had it, EQ2 had it, Vanguard now has it.
    Does anyone else know what im talking about?


    Nausea, heartburn, upset stomach, diarrhea?


  • DeadJesterDeadJester Member Posts: 499
    Originally posted by Ohaan

    Originally posted by JigsawJesus

    But with every sigil game it has a certain feeling,

    EQ had it, EQ2 had it, Vanguard now has it.
    Does anyone else know what im talking about?


    Nausea, heartburn, upset stomach, diarrhea?





     was just wondering what game or games is it that u play
  • The user and all related content has been deleted.

    "Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
    image

  • PretaPreta Member Posts: 103

    Oh yeah, Vanguard definately has a similar feel to what I remember about EQ.  Unfortunately, it's a feeling that makes me regret buying it.  I thought EQ was shoddy because it was a pioneer on unfamiliar ground, but now I realize, it's just the way Sigil make's thier games.  That was not the familiar aspect of EQ that I was hoping for in Vanguard at all.

  • AstropuyoAstropuyo Member RarePosts: 2,178
    Originally posted by JigsawJesus


    I was reading over the boards about what's 3rd generation (who knows) and what it means to make a good mmorpg.
    While WoW is obviously the most popular with subscription numbers today, it makes me wonder why.

    The game is a bore.
    I just wanted to make a bulletin and see if anyone else has felt the "sigl magic"
    I'm by no means a typical fanboy, if sigil makes a mistake i get flat out irritated,

    I even quit Eq to try WoW.
    But with every sigil game it has a certain feeling,

    EQ had it, EQ2 had it, Vanguard now has it.
    Does anyone else know what im talking about?

    It's just polish, and addictiveness,

    with the feeling there's so much freedom and things to explore and do.
    I don't think any other company will ever get a handle on this,

    hopefully they will

    SWG was close, but even they didn't have the surreal feel I get playing vanguard today.
    I hope I don't sound like an idiot

    Does anyone know what I mean though?

    Have any of you had this feeling with other games? I'd just like to know.



    While wow may be a bore to you, I personally find it fun.

    I've done the uber complicated mmo thing plenty of times and I'm not looking to live my life through "Raylan Ayfai" (SWG )

    I'm looking to live my life as Corey a retardedly goofy human being.

    Wow allows me to have fun in a mmo while not making me convert to it like it's an organized religion.

    I guess I've gone casual.

  • The user and all related content has been deleted.

    "Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
    image

  • MarkajMarkaj Member Posts: 165
    With EQ and EQ2, you were probably right. However, the magic went bad with Vanguard if you know what I mean. The prince has become a toad.

    CONTRIBUTE INTO THE GAMING INDUSTRY! STOP PAYING FOR BORING COPYCATS, UNFINISHED BUGFESTS AND CRANKY JUNKWARE. BE A RESPONSIBLE GAMER!

  • anarchyartanarchyart Member Posts: 5,378
    Originally posted by Preta


    Oh yeah, Vanguard definately has a similar feel to what I remember about EQ.  Unfortunately, it's a feeling that makes me regret buying it.  I thought EQ was shoddy because it was a pioneer on unfamiliar ground, but now I realize, it's just the way Sigil make's thier games.  That was not the familiar aspect of EQ that I was hoping for in Vanguard at all.

    Either you haven't played Vanguard in about 6 months, or you haven't played Vanguard at all. Vanguard does indeed have the same sandboxy/immersive/itemfest feeling that I got from UO and EQ. I am every bit having as much fun in Vanguard as I had in those two games. I never thought that would happen again, ever.

    Vanguards only problem now is performance, which I have fixed for myself by tweaking the vanguardclient.ini file. Even then, I'm one of the lucky ones who has a system that Vanguard seems to have no problem with. ATI Radeon X800 pro, AMD 1.93ghz and 2 gigs of ram. The game plays smoothly for me on highest quality(tweaked), and it looks more advanced than any other MMO available IMHO. Totally understand if you think games like LotRO and Guild Wars look better. It's all personal preference, but as far as advanced, those 2 games aren't pushing as many polygons combined as a scene in Vanguard

    I played LotRO for half an hour last night. It looks amazing and is very polished but I felt like I was on training wheels compared to Vanguard. It's an absolutely brilliant looking and playing game, but it's not for me. Turbine will have a big hit on their hands and I'm happy for them, they deserve it.

    I just like playing Vanguard. Now it's bed time. If you need help tweaking the .ini file (the only way to get a great framerate) pm me.

    image
  • anarchyartanarchyart Member Posts: 5,378
    Originally posted by solareus

    Have any of you had this feeling with other games? I'd just like to know.



    Lineage 2 [then]

    Lord of the Rings online [now]





    The only magically magic that sigil has is to get complete zombie fans to jump into a batch of hot tar while screaming "this is the best ever" That is the true sigil magic.Blind Loyalty is priceless.

    Should be fairly obvious to you by now that some people have had different experiences than you have with regards to Vanguard. Accept that not everyone has the same computer, computer knowledge, likes and dislikes. Doesn't make anyone blind, it makes us individuals.

    image
  • rungardrungard Member Posts: 1,035

    i gotta draw the line on players who call their mmo a sandbox when it features a linear 1-50 levelling system and little else.

    sure you can go anywhere in vanguard, but you wont find anything. That would go against the very non sandbox idea of risk vs reward which is game design on training wheels.

    you wont be finding any sword of death locked up inside a tree, you wont be getting lucky to find a treasure chest with something awesome out in the middle of nowhere..

    however.. you can find an epic item anywhere in wow at random, if your lucky, even from treasure chests.

    in lotr all your character differentiation traits are NOT linked to the levelling system.

    all these games are linear levelling treadmills, they are not sandboxes.

    some are better treadmills than others.

     

     

  • BalisidarBalisidar Member Posts: 164
    Originally posted by Bullhype

    I quit WoW for VG, cause I was just so burned out on WoW.  VG has its problems, any MMO does.  The only thing that rubs me the wrong way is the people that act like WoW can do no wrong and it was born with a silver spoon up its a**.



    I remember WoW's launch.  I remember the down time and the "here is a free day, here is a free day, oh we screwed up, here is a free day."  I remember everyone split 50/50 over EQ2 and WoW, and how EQ2 came out a week before just to get a head start.  I remember everyone I know (who still plays) bashing on the graphics, "It looks too cartoony"  now look at it; anyone say anything bad about WoW and there must be something wrong with them.



    I remember WoW's launch day also as being not that bad.  Some of the servers were down but I went to others and started characters there.  I also remember them crediting you with a lot of days for problems that were'nt game breaking.

    Now, how many days is Sigil/SOE crediting you for this bugged lag fest that's called Vanguard?......

    .....

    .....

    ..

    Take your time.....

     

    That's right.  None.

    And to the OP. Your calling Vanguard polished?  Your pretty easy to please then.  Not that it's a bad thing but I expected more from a developer of Brad's caliber.

    And Nope.  I don't play the game.  I don't need to.  I have all the knowledge that I need without blowing $50 for the game and another couple hundred for an upgrade. 

    Never be afraid of choices. More choices are always good things.

  • NeanderthalNeanderthal Member RarePosts: 1,861
    Originally posted by rungard


    i gotta draw the line on players who call their mmo a sandbox when it features a linear 1-50 levelling system and little else.
    sure you can go anywhere in vanguard, but you wont find anything. That would go against the very non sandbox idea of risk vs reward which is game design on training wheels.
    you wont be finding any sword of death locked up inside a tree, you wont be getting lucky to find a treasure chest with something awesome out in the middle of nowhere..
    however.. you can find an epic item anywhere in wow at random, if your lucky, even from treasure chests.
    in lotr all your character differentiation traits are NOT linked to the levelling system.
    all these games are linear levelling treadmills, they are not sandboxes.
    some are better treadmills than others.
     
     



    Yeah, I have to chime in and agree with this because lately I've been seeing a lot of confusion about what 'sandbox' means.  Either confusion or people deliberately mis-using the term.

    No game in which you have to follow a predetermined progression path through successively higher level areas can be called a sandbox game.  Those are linear and very un-sandbox games.  Even if the progression path has some forks that let you choose between a few different areas at each stage of progression it's still a linear game and a non-consistant game world broken up into discrete level appropriate areas.  Not sandbox at all...not even remotely sandbox by my thinking.

  • ste2000ste2000 Member EpicPosts: 6,194
    Originally posted by gschenk3

    EQII was not Verant or Sigil. They left long before that. EQII is SOE to the core.
    Brad MCquaid (Sigil) created EQ, also HE was the creative director of SoE from 2000, he supervised SWG and EQ2.

    EQ2 was first designed by him, rumors said he left cause SoE interferred too much with his Vision, Eq2 was supposed to be like Vanguard, if you pay attention EQ2 at launch had lots of similarities with Vanguard (in particolar the crafting), then SoE nerfed both adventuring and crafting.

    Also the original SWG has a lot of MCquaid style, although he wasn't "actively" involved with the project, every game design in SOE had to have his approval before going into production.

    An lastly Vanguard.



    Whether people like it or not, whether they like MCquaid games or not, it is undeniable that HE makes great games for the RPGers, although the masses might not understand fully its work.

    If you are a true RPG maniac like myself you ll find that MCquaid games have something other MMO don't have, like a soul...........that's what the OP was talking about, and I agree fully with it.

  • anarchyartanarchyart Member Posts: 5,378
    Originally posted by Neanderthal

    Originally posted by rungard


    i gotta draw the line on players who call their mmo a sandbox when it features a linear 1-50 levelling system and little else.
    sure you can go anywhere in vanguard, but you wont find anything. That would go against the very non sandbox idea of risk vs reward which is game design on training wheels.
    you wont be finding any sword of death locked up inside a tree, you wont be getting lucky to find a treasure chest with something awesome out in the middle of nowhere..
    however.. you can find an epic item anywhere in wow at random, if your lucky, even from treasure chests.
    in lotr all your character differentiation traits are NOT linked to the levelling system.
    all these games are linear levelling treadmills, they are not sandboxes.
    some are better treadmills than others.
     
     



    Yeah, I have to chime in and agree with this because lately I've been seeing a lot of confusion about what 'sandbox' means.  Either confusion or people deliberately mis-using the term.

    No game in which you have to follow a predetermined progression path through successively higher level areas can be called a sandbox game.  Those are linear and very un-sandbox games.  Even if the progression path has some forks that let you choose between a few different areas at each stage of progression it's still a linear game and a non-consistant game world broken up into discrete level appropriate areas.  Not sandbox at all...not even remotely sandbox by my thinking.

    That's your opinion Neanderthal, one which you are certainly entitled to. Thing is, there is no pre-determined progression path in Vanguard as such. You are free to go down any path, enter any area or dwelling you wish. There are no zones. There are high level mobs mixed in with low level ones, quest chains end and you are left to find the next quests on your own. You can go any direction you want, it is the most un-linear level based game I have ever come across.

    I don't think you played Vanguard past level 6 or so. If you had, you would realize there is no quest line auto-tracking your quests and holding your hand telling you what town to go to next. At lower levels, sure they do, but once you get past the n00b levels you are very much on your own. Certainly quests tell you to go to certain places, but you are by no means limited to any pre-determined path. You can abandon a town, take a boat and do the quests in another city or settlement. Or just go explore and find points of interest and quests galore.

    Vanguard feels very much like a sandbox. Extremely so in comparison to LotRO, COX and WoW. Less so in comparison to pre-CU SWG, but that feeling is inescapable for those who have played past their hometown n00by quests.

    image
  • VolkmarVolkmar Member UncommonPosts: 2,501

    First off. I would have never ever thought to see "vanguard" and "polish" in the same sentence for another 6 months.

    Come on you not a fanboy? brad himself admitted the game is unfinished... so?

    As for being a sandbox, EQ is NOT a sandbox. There are areas, each area has a certain level for it... and vanguard is about the same. Having a few high level mobs in mixed with low level ones do not make a sandbox of a game. (see the griffin in eastern commonlands, EQ)

    UO is a sandbox game (was?), EVE is a sandbox game. SWG WAS a sandbox game.

    and where is the "Brad feeling" in SWG actually? SWG feel like UO2 much much much more than EQ1.5. Cause it was the brainchild of Raph Koster, aka Design Dragon, one of the lead designer of UO together with lord British.

    Really. I cannot even start to think how you could compare EQ and SWG... i mean as simple as first has levels and second doesn't should make the distinction pretty obvious, yes?

    "If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"



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