Have they changed diplomacy? Was the most interested feature of Vanguard. But I played the game at my friends house shortly after release. Was a very simple card game. Used basically one strategy to win about 20 games in a row without really getting close to losing. Lost interest after that. Diplomacy has nothing to do with actual diplomacy just winning a card game.
I think they should scrapped diplomacy early. Can't believe it made it into the live game or even an external beta. If Vanguard was so bad in that one feature I had no intentions of giving the rest of the game a shot. Esp when it seemed like warmed over EQ.
I went back but found that one of the major bugs I'd always hated was still there. I cannot see the weather with my GeForce 8800 GTX video card. This has been a problem that they are "looking into" since release. It might seem like a little hassle to some people, but weather is one of the things I like most about different MMO's. And it's really frustrating to hear thunder and rain and not be able to see it.
This I agree it is a real issue but only under Vista and 8xxx nvidia cards
The weather in VG is very impressive, volumetric clouds and storms you can see coming from miles and miles away.
As far as I know, it will be fixed in the next Gupdate, but it is without a doubt an annoying issue.
...
When they fix it, I'll consider resubbing. I'm just tired of being told they're looking in to it and then never seeing any attention paid to it at all. It is a big thing to some people. And I have a feeling there are quite a few people using Vista with 8800 cards, considering they are for the DirectX10 setup.
I tried to go back to vanguard before AoC released. I put a boatload of stuff on all 3 AH markets, priced them all undercutting competition to sell and I think I sold one thing. STRIKE ONE
I've always been a fan of hunting and camping rare monsters for their drops and selling them at a profit. I'm not talking about camping lowbie areas or stealing rare mobs from lower level players. I'm talking about mobs I can have a good challenge soloing that drops high demand items. I used to do this in VG once upon a time and it's the sole thing that kept me in a broken game for the 3-4 months I stayed with it. I return to the new and improved VG and low and behold rare drops are now BoP. While I can understand their reasoning and I also understand you can't make everyone happy with decisions like that it's a big negative for me. STRIKE TWO
Finally, on a computer like mine that runs everything atleast on low settings (3.2gig cpu, 2gig RAM, 8800 gt card) The framerate is still godawful. Khal used to be a slide show to me. Now it's like one of those flashing bright disco lights in a dark room. STRIKE THREE, YOU'RE OUT
Sorry to be a downer but me and my AoC guild mostly made up of VG vets all feel the same way. Take it for what it's worth. Not a flame, just my experience in VG.
Well there seems to be a lot of buzz lately for this game that looked to be headed for the MMO graveyard. Figured I would throw my 2 cents in since people who are trying to decide on wether no not to try it can benefit from as many different opinions as possible. I recently gave it another shot. First off, when I read these threads I always seem to hear someone crying "wow clone". Huh? Ok the interface, skills, minmaps, etc.. are very much like WOW's. Wow has set the standard for polish and ease of use and most MMO's today are using an interface similar to wow's not only as a testament to its ease of use but also I suspect so that if people in WoW's 10+ million player base try another MMO, they will have an easier time getting through the learning curve and have a better chance at becoming a WoW refugee. OK, with that out of the way, why is this not a WoW clone? The greatness of this game lies in the fact that this is truly another world. You can actually build your own home and have it take up a space of land in the game world and not some instance. There is practically no instancing. This to me is the sign of a true MMO. These are alternate worlds and communites, that is what sets the MMO apart. When you start playing in instances, immersion is lost and you might as well be playing a console game with its game lobbies. Take the WoW BG's, you end up playing against people who do not even live in your world (server) and who you will never see as part of your community, so why are you fighting them? Graphically the game is beautiful. I played for 4 months after it was released and suffered a crash to desktop about once an hour and all kinds of graphical glitches. Since coming back I have not crashed once and everything seems a lot smoother. When you stand atop a mountain and gaze out to a lake below it is almost lifelike, no other MMO has given me that sense of awe about an environment before. I am a PvP'er and left Vanguard due to the imbalance of classes. There were some PVE timers and roots that just left you a sitting duck as a melee fighter. Always thought an easy fix would be to just adjust the timers on roots when cast on PC's vs NPC's. From what I hear there is still a lot of imbalance in this area, but there is still a lot of potential for fun in a FFA PVP if they ever manage to balance it out. Right now, though its primarily a PVE game. The crafting can be a tedious and painful grind but it actually makes you feel like you are making something and because it is so difficult and the items you make so valuable, you can actually feel like an artisan and make a lot of money on your crafting skills. Diplomacy, was a waste of time then, and I hear its no better now. Also VG is very much a group based game. Groups that work together exploiting weaknesses and amplifying each other's skills through abilities will be very effective. You will also find a maturer community. When you ask a question in General you can often expect an answer instead of being ridiculed. Well, just wanted to provide some more feedback for those thinking about trying VG. I have played every major MMO out there and I feel right now this is the best MMO on the market and worth a look if you are looking for a living world to be a part of where you can make your mark. If you prefer the fast paced action of WoW and its arenas and matchmaking then VG is probably not for you. I truly thought VG would be given up on and dead withing a year. Kudos to the team on Vanguard who appear to have never given up on it and who may now see their efforts pay off as more and more people may find that this is the MMO for them and spread the good word to those who are searching for their MMO.
Thank you for the sincere review. It's been a while since I played an mmorpg that immersed me in it's world. Hopefully I'll try this game on of these days.
The graphics are good in this game, after that it's all downhill. The combat, the crafting is nonsense if you have played UO or Pre-CU SWG, and grouping? There aren't enough people on a server to form a group.
There is a GOOD reason this game failed. It has improved a bit, most systems can run it now, but it is still a game that fails in delivering a consistently good MMO experience.
On launchday this game deserved a 1.0 out of 10 rating.
Today it deserves a 3 out of 10 rating.
It's still just a UI ripofff of WoW, the combat is dreadful, and it just isn't very fun. People quit this game for a reason. Don't be fooled into subbing. If you can play a Free Trial, then do so.
However, like I already said, why do SOE games get these online marketing pushes by supposed "players" so much moreso than other games? It's viral marketing, nothing more. Read their posts. they read like Press Releases or commercials. It's pretty evident.
This review is... Questionable at best. The graphics are good in this game, after that it's all downhill. The combat, the crafting is nonsense if you have played UO or Pre-CU SWG, and grouping? There aren't enough people on a server to form a group. There is a GOOD reason this game failed. It has improved a bit, most systems can run it now, but it is still a game that fails in delivering a consistently good MMO experience. On launchday this game deserved a 1.0 out of 10 rating. Today it deserves a 3 out of 10 rating. It's still just a UI ripofff of WoW, the combat is dreadful, and it just isn't very fun. People quit this game for a reason. Don't be fooled into subbing. If you can play a Free Trial, then do so. However, like I already said, why do SOE games get these online marketing pushes by supposed "players" so much moreso than other games? It's viral marketing, nothing more. Read their posts. they read like Press Releases or commercials. It's pretty evident.
Today VG deserves a 9 out of 10 rating imo.
The crafting, the graphics, the diplomacy, the amount of quests, the freedom of play, the exploration, the sheer size of "things" to do makes it the mmorpg with most depth & immersion on the market .
there is a couple of bugs left still, but SOE is getting rid of them fast now, and adding content at the same time.
It's reading anti SOE comments like this that nearly got me avoiding EQ1, EQ2 and now Vanguard, all of them great games.
You can enjoy a game like AOC after a few minutes of gameplay, then get totally bored after a week. I did .
With VG it's the opposite.
**************************** Playing : Uncharted Waters Online ****************************
When Compusa was going out of business on Columbus circle, there was a beaten-up box of Vanguard lying on one of the white shelves. I kept looking at it but didn't get it. It was being sold at a huge discount. Darn it
This review is... Questionable at best. The graphics are good in this game, after that it's all downhill. The combat, the crafting is nonsense if you have played UO or Pre-CU SWG, and grouping? There aren't enough people on a server to form a group. There is a GOOD reason this game failed. It has improved a bit, most systems can run it now, but it is still a game that fails in delivering a consistently good MMO experience. On launchday this game deserved a 1.0 out of 10 rating. Today it deserves a 3 out of 10 rating. It's still just a UI ripofff of WoW, the combat is dreadful, and it just isn't very fun. People quit this game for a reason. Don't be fooled into subbing. If you can play a Free Trial, then do so. However, like I already said, why do SOE games get these online marketing pushes by supposed "players" so much moreso than other games? It's viral marketing, nothing more. Read their posts. they read like Press Releases or commercials. It's pretty evident.
Today VG deserves a 9 out of 10 rating imo.
The crafting, the graphics, the diplomacy, the amount of quests, the freedom of play, the exploration, the sheer size of "things" to do makes it the mmorpg with most depth & immersion on the market .
there is a couple of bugs left still, but SOE is getting rid of them fast now, and adding content at the same time.
It's reading anti SOE comments like this that nearly got me avoiding EQ1, EQ2 and now Vanguard, all of them great games.
You can enjoy a game like AOC after a few minutes of gameplay, then get totally bored after a week. I did .
With VG it's the opposite.
I liked Vanguard a lot when it came out and I think it has the most potential of the MMOs out, but I can't bring myself to play another SOE game. I dislike the way the company changes directions with their games and no doubt they will try to make Vanguard more like WoW as they did with all their other games. They also support buying items in game which I don't like. Overall they are a company that used others imagination to create their games and they started to go to work at changing and destroying their ideals in the name of bringing in more money. Even if Vanguard and EQ2 are OK I can't bring myself to play one of their games again.
This review is... Questionable at best. The graphics are good in this game, after that it's all downhill. The combat, the crafting is nonsense if you have played UO or Pre-CU SWG, and grouping? There aren't enough people on a server to form a group. There is a GOOD reason this game failed. It has improved a bit, most systems can run it now, but it is still a game that fails in delivering a consistently good MMO experience. On launchday this game deserved a 1.0 out of 10 rating. Today it deserves a 3 out of 10 rating. It's still just a UI ripofff of WoW, the combat is dreadful, and it just isn't very fun. People quit this game for a reason. Don't be fooled into subbing. If you can play a Free Trial, then do so. However, like I already said, why do SOE games get these online marketing pushes by supposed "players" so much moreso than other games? It's viral marketing, nothing more. Read their posts. they read like Press Releases or commercials. It's pretty evident.
Today VG deserves a 9 out of 10 rating imo.
The crafting, the graphics, the diplomacy, the amount of quests, the freedom of play, the exploration, the sheer size of "things" to do makes it the mmorpg with most depth & immersion on the market .
there is a couple of bugs left still, but SOE is getting rid of them fast now, and adding content at the same time.
It's reading anti SOE comments like this that nearly got me avoiding EQ1, EQ2 and now Vanguard, all of them great games.
You can enjoy a game like AOC after a few minutes of gameplay, then get totally bored after a week. I did .
With VG it's the opposite.
EQ 1 is OK. EQ 2 is BAD. Vanguard could have been GOOD. This isn't anti-SOE posting, it's the truth. Vanguard is nowhere near what most reasonable people would consider a 9 out of 10.
It's still just a UI ripofff of WoW, the combat is dreadful, and it just isn't very fun. People quit this game for a reason. Don't be fooled into subbing. If you can play a Free Trial, then do so. However, like I already said, why do SOE games get these online marketing pushes by supposed "players" so much moreso than other games? It's viral marketing, nothing more. Read their posts. they read like Press Releases or commercials. It's pretty evident.
People quit the game first time round because it was unplayable for a lot of people. I know I quit for that reason.
Now it's playable, and since it's become playable, it's becoming obvious that the gameplay is really rather good - if you like that type of MMO.
As to the WoW UI thing - that's about as stupid a comment as saying "ooh Crysis has WASD, Crytek are ripping off Valve!" Of course it makes bloody sense to standardise interfaces, it means your game has a chance of being picked up and played easier by people who are used to the most popular and superbly functional interface of WoW. (Interestingly, Valve actually learnt from a now defunct but utterly brilliant developer called Looking Glass with WASD, except with Looking Glass it was SZXC, used right from Ultima Underworld, developed through System Shock and Terra Nova, and picked up by Valve and moved up a key.)
As to this nonsense about viral marketing - ridiculous. All that's happened is that a bunch of people who hated AoC have tried Vanguard, and found they enjoy it, and it's very exciting for VG players, so they're talking the game up. Nothing sinister about it at all. I've been talking up VG myself, because I think it deserves a second look. Sure it's still a bit glitchy and a bit flakey, but the history of the past year of its development is a credit to the devs - and a credit to SOE. 6 months ago I couldn't even play it. Now I can play it and actually enjoy it.
Maybe this is what some people can't stand the thought of: that SOE deserve credit for something. They have taken a doctrinaire stance against the company, and will automatically hate anything that's even vaguely associated with the company. That's perhaps understandable in view of the debacle that was SWG NGE, but otoh - fricken' get over it.
This review is... Questionable at best. The graphics are good in this game, after that it's all downhill. The combat, the crafting is nonsense if you have played UO or Pre-CU SWG, and grouping? There aren't enough people on a server to form a group. There is a GOOD reason this game failed. It has improved a bit, most systems can run it now, but it is still a game that fails in delivering a consistently good MMO experience. On launchday this game deserved a 1.0 out of 10 rating. Today it deserves a 3 out of 10 rating. It's still just a UI ripofff of WoW, the combat is dreadful, and it just isn't very fun. People quit this game for a reason. Don't be fooled into subbing. If you can play a Free Trial, then do so. However, like I already said, why do SOE games get these online marketing pushes by supposed "players" so much moreso than other games? It's viral marketing, nothing more. Read their posts. they read like Press Releases or commercials. It's pretty evident.
Lol, well I don't know how I can prove to you that I am a REAL player and not a marketer. I mean I sit here and read your comments 10 minutes before I am to head off to work here in Las Vegas at a casino job and have never been involved in the game industry and just gotta laugh and think maybe your a tad paranoid.
The only thing I would like to add to my initial comments are that I should have also mentioned that endgame is in need of more raid content. Other than that, VG is something people should try and decide for themselves. No way does VG deserve a 3/10.
Also someone made a comment about not being able to sell items in AH. VG is the only game I have played recently where I have searched out and done business with certain crafters because of their ability to make great armor. A high level crafter is not easy to find as it is in other modern MMO's. So I imagine you were tyring to sell drops that are of lesser quality than crafted items or you weren't a very high level crafter.
I tried Vanguard recently. I was pleased at first. But after a week the following issues got to me:
A tedious crafting system A tedious Diplomacy mini-game Flickering textures all over the place. Windmills missing, doors missing, flickering clothing, flickering hay stacks/rocks, etc The ONLY MMO where your framerate is much WORSE in a dungeon than outside Bugged mining nodes all over the place A large world, but mostly empty Worst looking water ever. Does not fit with the rest of the graphics which are nice. Dreary un-colorful graphics, much like EQ2. It's as if someone placed a grey filter over everything. Falling through the world multiple times, mostly when swimming Brutal animations
Over a year and these issues are still present. Vanguard sucks.
Vanguard sux .. for you
Been playing more than a month & got none of these issues. None.
**************************** Playing : Uncharted Waters Online ****************************
I tried Vanguard recently. I was pleased at first. But after a week the following issues got to me:
A tedious crafting system A tedious Diplomacy mini-game Flickering textures all over the place. Windmills missing, doors missing, flickering clothing, flickering hay stacks/rocks, etc The ONLY MMO where your framerate is much WORSE in a dungeon than outside Bugged mining nodes all over the place A large world, but mostly empty Worst looking water ever. Does not fit with the rest of the graphics which are nice. Dreary un-colorful graphics, much like EQ2. It's as if someone placed a grey filter over everything. Falling through the world multiple times, mostly when swimming Brutal animations
Over a year and these issues are still present. Vanguard sucks.
Lol, well Vanguard just seems to be something that people have very opposite experiences with for some reason.
The crafting system is tedious, but in its tedium it truly rewards those who enjoy it. Good crafters are in demand and can make some incredible stuff.
Tedious Diplomacy? Agreed. Needs to be totally reworked or taken out of the game.
Flickering textures and graphics? Was a big problem for me at launch, but not a problem now.
MMO framerate worse in a dungeon? Honestly hadn't noticed, will check for it though.
Bugged Mining nodes all over the place? I didn't even notice bugged harvesting nodes at release, but I wasn't a miner so I can't dispute that outright.
Large mostly empty world? VG does feel lonely compared to high pop MMO's, but part of its appeal to some people is ts vastness and big world feel.
Worst water ever? lol, ok now I am starting to wonder if we are even talking about the same game. The water in Vanguard is incredible. Standing atop a mountain in the Deebs and looking out at the ocean it is almost photorealistic. The way that the rolls in and out at the shoreline is a pretty nice touch as well. Its amazing how people have totally opposite reactions to this game.
Dreary uncolorful graphics? Didn't you just compliment Vanguards graphics right before making this comment? Now you've lost me. Well anyways, Vanguard does seem a bit drab compared to WoW and LOTRO, but I guess its a matter of preference because I find the toned down colors make me feel more like I am in an actual world than in a comic book.
Falling through the world multiples time, mostly when swimming? Huh, I have never fallen through while swimming. I constantly fell through after release, but since trying it again I found myself cringing when hopping down a hillside expecting to fall through, and then being pleasantly surprised to find that it is not happening to me anymore. I haven't fallen through once since coming back.
Burtal animations? Vanguards animations could use some work but they are far from brutal.
I hope they start a free trial offer soon, so people can decide for themselves, because it appears to be a game that people love or hate, and the only way to decide is to give it a shot.
Worst water ever? lol, ok now I am starting to wonder if we are even talking about the same game. The water in Vanguard is incredible. Standing atop a mountain in the Deebs and looking out at the ocean it is almost photorealistic. The way that the rolls in and out at the shoreline is a pretty nice touch as well. Its amazing how people have totally opposite reactions to this game.
Water does not always mean the ocean my friend. Check the lakes...brutal
I tried Vanguard recently. I was pleased at first. But after a week the following issues got to me:
A tedious crafting system A tedious Diplomacy mini-game Flickering textures all over the place. Windmills missing, doors missing, flickering clothing, flickering hay stacks/rocks, etc The ONLY MMO where your framerate is much WORSE in a dungeon than outside Bugged mining nodes all over the place A large world, but mostly empty Worst looking water ever. Does not fit with the rest of the graphics which are nice. Dreary un-colorful graphics, much like EQ2. It's as if someone placed a grey filter over everything. Falling through the world multiple times, mostly when swimming Brutal animations
Over a year and these issues are still present. Vanguard sucks.
Vanguard sux .. for you
Been playing more than a month & got none of these issues. None.
You work for Sony. Even fanbois admit to most of these issues but look past them for other things. If NONE of these things EVER happen to you, you work for them. Sorry.
You work for Sony. Even fanbois admit to most of these issues but look past them for other things. If NONE of these things EVER happen to you, you work for them. Sorry.
I tried Vanguard recently. I was pleased at first. But after a week the following issues got to me:
A tedious crafting system A tedious Diplomacy mini-game Flickering textures all over the place. Windmills missing, doors missing, flickering clothing, flickering hay stacks/rocks, etc The ONLY MMO where your framerate is much WORSE in a dungeon than outside Bugged mining nodes all over the place A large world, but mostly empty Worst looking water ever. Does not fit with the rest of the graphics which are nice. Dreary un-colorful graphics, much like EQ2. It's as if someone placed a grey filter over everything. Falling through the world multiple times, mostly when swimming Brutal animations
Over a year and these issues are still present. Vanguard sucks.
Lol, well Vanguard just seems to be something that people have very opposite experiences with for some reason.
The crafting system is tedious, but in its tedium it truly rewards those who enjoy it. Good crafters are in demand and can make some incredible stuff.
Tedious Diplomacy? Agreed. Needs to be totally reworked or taken out of the game.
Flickering textures and graphics? Was a big problem for me at launch, but not a problem now.
MMO framerate worse in a dungeon? Honestly hadn't noticed, will check for it though.
Bugged Mining nodes all over the place? I didn't even notice bugged harvesting nodes at release, but I wasn't a miner so I can't dispute that outright.
Large mostly empty world? VG does feel lonely compared to high pop MMO's, but part of its appeal to some people is ts vastness and big world feel.
Worst water ever? lol, ok now I am starting to wonder if we are even talking about the same game. The water in Vanguard is incredible. Standing atop a mountain in the Deebs and looking out at the ocean it is almost photorealistic. The way that the rolls in and out at the shoreline is a pretty nice touch as well. Its amazing how people have totally opposite reactions to this game.
Dreary uncolorful graphics? Didn't you just compliment Vanguards graphics right before making this comment? Now you've lost me. Well anyways, Vanguard does seem a bit drab compared to WoW and LOTRO, but I guess its a matter of preference because I find the toned down colors make me feel more like I am in an actual world than in a comic book.
Falling through the world multiples time, mostly when swimming? Huh, I have never fallen through while swimming. I constantly fell through after release, but since trying it again I found myself cringing when hopping down a hillside expecting to fall through, and then being pleasantly surprised to find that it is not happening to me anymore. I haven't fallen through once since coming back.
Burtal animations? Vanguards animations could use some work but they are far from brutal.
I hope they start a free trial offer soon, so people can decide for themselves, because it appears to be a game that people love or hate, and the only way to decide is to give it a shot.
I meant mostly color palette. It is very dull like EQ2. The bump mapping and other things are great yes. You can have lots of colors and still feel real. See Oblivion, FarCry, Crysis, Gothic 3 and Age of Conan for examples. Not dull, yet very colorful and real.
If you swim underwater in lakes in the starting area and try to come up if you hit the bottom of the rocks while underwater sometimes you go through the world. This happened three times in different areas in one hour with me.
My starting diplomatic outfit flickers like crazy. No, its not my system.
The mining thing happened when I started to mine and the pickaxe was missing. This is when I knew it was a bugged node. He would just be stuck in a mining loop until I pressed escape. This happened 8 times in 30 minutes across half of the mining nodes in the starter area.
Have they changed diplomacy? Was the most interested feature of Vanguard. But I played the game at my friends house shortly after release. Was a very simple card game. Used basically one strategy to win about 20 games in a row without really getting close to losing. Lost interest after that. Diplomacy has nothing to do with actual diplomacy just winning a card game. I think they should scrapped diplomacy early. Can't believe it made it into the live game or even an external beta. If Vanguard was so bad in that one feature I had no intentions of giving the rest of the game a shot. Esp when it seemed like warmed over EQ.
They have enhanced diplomacy a little and added some more quests and general polish but you can still at the higher lvls come up with some pretty solid strategies to make winning easy. That said they are always working on things and improving them. Word is the diplomacy system is getting some love with GU6 as well. We will have to wait and see how much love. I'm getting a bit concerned that GU6 is starting to sound like a miracle update :P
I tried Vanguard recently. I was pleased at first. But after a week the following issues got to me:
A tedious crafting system This is a matter of opinion. If you want crafting to be a side game where you just click a single button to combine and you are done then yeah it's tedious. If you want a crafting game where making stuff takes time and some effort and even risk of failure, with stats, equipment, tasks to make money, and quests, well then VG crafting is your ticket. A tedious Diplomacy mini-game Personally I think it is a fun diversion. Like the crafting system it is a fully fleshed out game. Unfortunately it is one of the weaker games as the higher lvls could definitely use more content. That said it is still kinda fun to do when you are wanting to do something different. Flickering textures all over the place. Windmills missing, doors missing, flickering clothing, flickering hay stacks/rocks, etc This must be system dependent. I don't see flickering issues. Or maybe I do in clothing sometimes but it isn't flickering it is where sometimes clothing is to close to the character body and lower layer clothing clips through upper clothing. Not a big deal and many games have similar issues. Other then that I've never seen flicking objects. Doors missing however is an issue I do see and it irritates me. It is minor though.... The ONLY MMO where your framerate is much WORSE in a dungeon than outside My framerate is pretty great no matter where I am and I don't see any difference in dungeons. I do see some hitching when I'm hitting a new environment but it is nowhere near as bad as it was at release and it generally only happens once in any area. Bugged mining nodes all over the place I'm only upto tier 2 mining but I've not seen this happen although it did happen rarely back a year ago when I was playing. I think it was in certain areas. I remember the training nodes in lomshir were bugged frequently but again that was a year ago. A large world, but mostly empty It is a large world and there are areas that are pretty empty. But there are other areas with lots to do. So I wouldn't say it is mostly empty, but it isn't uniformly densely packed with content. But I kinda like that it feel less contrived and less like an amusement park. That said doing a pass on the land and content by the devs would provide plenty of opportunity for improvements. Worst looking water ever. Does not fit with the rest of the graphics which are nice. I'm not sure. I guess I've never really noticed. The water generally looks ok to me so maybe it is your settings or maybe I'm just not very discerning. It could use some enhancements in reflections, and rippling effects on the banks and when you are swiming but again this isn't a big deal for me. Dreary un-colorful graphics, much like EQ2. It's as if someone placed a grey filter over everything. I kinda agree that VG could use some better use of color and some enhancement on their textures. Some of this might be personal artistic differences but I would like to see some improvements here. But again this isn't that big a deal to me. And it also isn't consistent some areas of VG are brighter and quite lush, like Kojan, or the river jungle area in qalia. But areas like lomshir in the desert are pretty dull but that might be because it's the desert and it is dry and dull looking. Again not a big deal to me. Falling through the world multiple times, mostly when swimming I've never really had any issues with this. Even when the game was releases I fell through a couple times but it wasn't like it was a major issue that happened a lot. Just before I quit they fixed it so when you fell through it popped you back up and droped you on the land. Don't know if that still works as in the past couple of weeks that I've been playing I haven't had it happen. Brutal animations Another area I'm not sure I care much about. Sure some of the animations are not that good and I'd certainly be happy to see them improved, even if just two, jumping, and your cloak. But a lot of the animations seem very good as well. My rogue and bard combat animations both look great and I have no issue with them. Also I had a monk and a disciple and though their animations were good. One thing I might suggest you look at is the animation frame rate setting. By default the game sets it to 50% so you are only getting half the animation frames you could.
Over a year and these issues are still present. Vanguard sucks.
I feel that you spend a lot of time focused on minor issues and you completely ignore all the MAJOR issues that vanguard has fixed in the past year.
Crippling hitching issues constantly every time went anywhere. Going into a dungeon or leaving one or going into a building would cause 5-10 second of hitching where fps dropped to 1 or lower. Now it is maybe a second or two and only happens once in an area then no more.
Poor framerates even when not hitching. I'd run on balanced and when I'd go tough tursh my frame rate was maybe 15 on a 8800gtx... Now I get like 30-40 with everything maxed.
Quest content, they have added a number of quests like the URT quests and they have added a lot more missive boards.
Riftstones have made it very possible to get groups together for any dungeon anywhere in the game in a short time. Previously we would have to wait an hour or more for people to get to us for doing a group.
Chunking bugs are gone and chunk times are 1-5 seconds. When I last played chunking took 20-30 seconds and you would loose buffs, drop from groups, loose the chat server, sometimes get stuck in a wierd half dead state, I even once fell to my death.
Crashing was something that always happened for even the best people every couple hours. Now I never crash. Even after playing 6-8 hours nonstop no crashes no problems at all.
Memory leaks, omg these were the worst. 2GB of ram would last you like 30 minutes and if you forgot to flush you would crash. Now the game is amazing and I rarely ever see it use more then 1.5g of ram.
guild interface was extremely basic with only guild member list and that was about it. Now you have various messages that can be posted, info sections, more details on guild members, and a looking for guild interface.
Brotherhoods were a rumor when I played last now they are fully in and functional.
Looking for group and looking for more interfaces are in the game now and look very very good.
The UI has been cleaned up and works without killing your system. Used to be you would open your map and your poor fps would go to nothing that was if the map didn't crash your computer.
Bugs I can't even begin to describe the bugs in the game.... Group bugs were rampent, I couldn't add people, people would drop and not be addable, loot was open to everyone, at the end they added the loot system which was severely buged and if you used it you would loose the loot completely.
I could go on and I'm sure there is a lot of stuff I'm missing. Oh and I didn't even mention they added a raid interface and a fantastic huge raid dungeon.
So it is fair to say Vanguard sucks but relative to what it was over a year ago their is no comparison. If the game were released today in it's current state I'm 100% certain it would have done quite well.
If you swim underwater in lakes in the starting area and try to come up if you hit the bottom of the rocks while underwater sometimes you go through the world. This happened three times in different areas in one hour with me.
This sounds like a bug. Did you bug it and if not tell me where it is and I'll check it out and bug it.
I think all, players and haters/bashers, agree that this game is not the big next thing. It barely survived launch and the devs just try to put it on its feet again with their limited resources. I guess they would be happy if the game would recover to 100k players. There is no need to bash it
The good news is, that the game is very playable if you can cope with the gameplay.
To anyone considering trying this game, don't let the negative reviews stop you. Seriously.
This game has a LOT to offer. It is my favorite MMO out right now, and I have pretty much played them all. 15 minutes of playing will not suffice to judge it. Give it a couple of days and see what you think.
To anyone considering trying this game, don't let the negative reviews stop you. Seriously. This game has a LOT to offer. It is my favorite MMO out right now, and I have pretty much played them all. 15 minutes of playing will not suffice to judge it. Give it a couple of days and see what you think.
100% agree with you. I had a couple of false starts, but I have a lvl 7 toon now and I can see the potential in this game.
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~Ernest Gaines
Comments
Have they changed diplomacy? Was the most interested feature of Vanguard. But I played the game at my friends house shortly after release. Was a very simple card game. Used basically one strategy to win about 20 games in a row without really getting close to losing. Lost interest after that. Diplomacy has nothing to do with actual diplomacy just winning a card game.
I think they should scrapped diplomacy early. Can't believe it made it into the live game or even an external beta. If Vanguard was so bad in that one feature I had no intentions of giving the rest of the game a shot. Esp when it seemed like warmed over EQ.
This I agree it is a real issue but only under Vista and 8xxx nvidia cards
The weather in VG is very impressive, volumetric clouds and storms you can see coming from miles and miles away.
As far as I know, it will be fixed in the next Gupdate, but it is without a doubt an annoying issue.
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When they fix it, I'll consider resubbing. I'm just tired of being told they're looking in to it and then never seeing any attention paid to it at all. It is a big thing to some people. And I have a feeling there are quite a few people using Vista with 8800 cards, considering they are for the DirectX10 setup.
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All Rights Reversed
I tried to go back to vanguard before AoC released. I put a boatload of stuff on all 3 AH markets, priced them all undercutting competition to sell and I think I sold one thing. STRIKE ONE
I've always been a fan of hunting and camping rare monsters for their drops and selling them at a profit. I'm not talking about camping lowbie areas or stealing rare mobs from lower level players. I'm talking about mobs I can have a good challenge soloing that drops high demand items. I used to do this in VG once upon a time and it's the sole thing that kept me in a broken game for the 3-4 months I stayed with it. I return to the new and improved VG and low and behold rare drops are now BoP. While I can understand their reasoning and I also understand you can't make everyone happy with decisions like that it's a big negative for me. STRIKE TWO
Finally, on a computer like mine that runs everything atleast on low settings (3.2gig cpu, 2gig RAM, 8800 gt card) The framerate is still godawful. Khal used to be a slide show to me. Now it's like one of those flashing bright disco lights in a dark room. STRIKE THREE, YOU'RE OUT
Sorry to be a downer but me and my AoC guild mostly made up of VG vets all feel the same way. Take it for what it's worth. Not a flame, just my experience in VG.
Thank you for the sincere review. It's been a while since I played an mmorpg that immersed me in it's world. Hopefully I'll try this game on of these days.
-Vladalf
This review is... Questionable at best.
The graphics are good in this game, after that it's all downhill. The combat, the crafting is nonsense if you have played UO or Pre-CU SWG, and grouping? There aren't enough people on a server to form a group.
There is a GOOD reason this game failed. It has improved a bit, most systems can run it now, but it is still a game that fails in delivering a consistently good MMO experience.
On launchday this game deserved a 1.0 out of 10 rating.
Today it deserves a 3 out of 10 rating.
It's still just a UI ripofff of WoW, the combat is dreadful, and it just isn't very fun. People quit this game for a reason. Don't be fooled into subbing. If you can play a Free Trial, then do so.
However, like I already said, why do SOE games get these online marketing pushes by supposed "players" so much moreso than other games? It's viral marketing, nothing more. Read their posts. they read like Press Releases or commercials. It's pretty evident.
Today VG deserves a 9 out of 10 rating imo.
The crafting, the graphics, the diplomacy, the amount of quests, the freedom of play, the exploration, the sheer size of "things" to do makes it the mmorpg with most depth & immersion on the market .
there is a couple of bugs left still, but SOE is getting rid of them fast now, and adding content at the same time.
It's reading anti SOE comments like this that nearly got me avoiding EQ1, EQ2 and now Vanguard, all of them great games.
You can enjoy a game like AOC after a few minutes of gameplay, then get totally bored after a week. I did .
With VG it's the opposite.
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Playing : Uncharted Waters Online
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When Compusa was going out of business on Columbus circle, there was a beaten-up box of Vanguard lying on one of the white shelves. I kept looking at it but didn't get it. It was being sold at a huge discount. Darn it
Today VG deserves a 9 out of 10 rating imo.
The crafting, the graphics, the diplomacy, the amount of quests, the freedom of play, the exploration, the sheer size of "things" to do makes it the mmorpg with most depth & immersion on the market .
there is a couple of bugs left still, but SOE is getting rid of them fast now, and adding content at the same time.
It's reading anti SOE comments like this that nearly got me avoiding EQ1, EQ2 and now Vanguard, all of them great games.
You can enjoy a game like AOC after a few minutes of gameplay, then get totally bored after a week. I did .
With VG it's the opposite.
I liked Vanguard a lot when it came out and I think it has the most potential of the MMOs out, but I can't bring myself to play another SOE game. I dislike the way the company changes directions with their games and no doubt they will try to make Vanguard more like WoW as they did with all their other games. They also support buying items in game which I don't like. Overall they are a company that used others imagination to create their games and they started to go to work at changing and destroying their ideals in the name of bringing in more money. Even if Vanguard and EQ2 are OK I can't bring myself to play one of their games again.
Today VG deserves a 9 out of 10 rating imo.
The crafting, the graphics, the diplomacy, the amount of quests, the freedom of play, the exploration, the sheer size of "things" to do makes it the mmorpg with most depth & immersion on the market .
there is a couple of bugs left still, but SOE is getting rid of them fast now, and adding content at the same time.
It's reading anti SOE comments like this that nearly got me avoiding EQ1, EQ2 and now Vanguard, all of them great games.
You can enjoy a game like AOC after a few minutes of gameplay, then get totally bored after a week. I did .
With VG it's the opposite.
EQ 1 is OK. EQ 2 is BAD. Vanguard could have been GOOD. This isn't anti-SOE posting, it's the truth. Vanguard is nowhere near what most reasonable people would consider a 9 out of 10.
People quit the game first time round because it was unplayable for a lot of people. I know I quit for that reason.
Now it's playable, and since it's become playable, it's becoming obvious that the gameplay is really rather good - if you like that type of MMO.
As to the WoW UI thing - that's about as stupid a comment as saying "ooh Crysis has WASD, Crytek are ripping off Valve!" Of course it makes bloody sense to standardise interfaces, it means your game has a chance of being picked up and played easier by people who are used to the most popular and superbly functional interface of WoW. (Interestingly, Valve actually learnt from a now defunct but utterly brilliant developer called Looking Glass with WASD, except with Looking Glass it was SZXC, used right from Ultima Underworld, developed through System Shock and Terra Nova, and picked up by Valve and moved up a key.)
As to this nonsense about viral marketing - ridiculous. All that's happened is that a bunch of people who hated AoC have tried Vanguard, and found they enjoy it, and it's very exciting for VG players, so they're talking the game up. Nothing sinister about it at all. I've been talking up VG myself, because I think it deserves a second look. Sure it's still a bit glitchy and a bit flakey, but the history of the past year of its development is a credit to the devs - and a credit to SOE. 6 months ago I couldn't even play it. Now I can play it and actually enjoy it.
Maybe this is what some people can't stand the thought of: that SOE deserve credit for something. They have taken a doctrinaire stance against the company, and will automatically hate anything that's even vaguely associated with the company. That's perhaps understandable in view of the debacle that was SWG NGE, but otoh - fricken' get over it.
Lol, well I don't know how I can prove to you that I am a REAL player and not a marketer. I mean I sit here and read your comments 10 minutes before I am to head off to work here in Las Vegas at a casino job and have never been involved in the game industry and just gotta laugh and think maybe your a tad paranoid.
The only thing I would like to add to my initial comments are that I should have also mentioned that endgame is in need of more raid content. Other than that, VG is something people should try and decide for themselves. No way does VG deserve a 3/10.
Also someone made a comment about not being able to sell items in AH. VG is the only game I have played recently where I have searched out and done business with certain crafters because of their ability to make great armor. A high level crafter is not easy to find as it is in other modern MMO's. So I imagine you were tyring to sell drops that are of lesser quality than crafted items or you weren't a very high level crafter.
I tried Vanguard recently. I was pleased at first.
But after a week the following issues got to me:
Over a year and these issues are still present.
Vanguard sucks.
Vanguard sux .. for you
Been playing more than a month & got none of these issues. None.
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Playing : Uncharted Waters Online
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Lol, well Vanguard just seems to be something that people have very opposite experiences with for some reason.
The crafting system is tedious, but in its tedium it truly rewards those who enjoy it. Good crafters are in demand and can make some incredible stuff.
Tedious Diplomacy? Agreed. Needs to be totally reworked or taken out of the game.
Flickering textures and graphics? Was a big problem for me at launch, but not a problem now.
MMO framerate worse in a dungeon? Honestly hadn't noticed, will check for it though.
Bugged Mining nodes all over the place? I didn't even notice bugged harvesting nodes at release, but I wasn't a miner so I can't dispute that outright.
Large mostly empty world? VG does feel lonely compared to high pop MMO's, but part of its appeal to some people is ts vastness and big world feel.
Worst water ever? lol, ok now I am starting to wonder if we are even talking about the same game. The water in Vanguard is incredible. Standing atop a mountain in the Deebs and looking out at the ocean it is almost photorealistic. The way that the rolls in and out at the shoreline is a pretty nice touch as well. Its amazing how people have totally opposite reactions to this game.
Dreary uncolorful graphics? Didn't you just compliment Vanguards graphics right before making this comment? Now you've lost me. Well anyways, Vanguard does seem a bit drab compared to WoW and LOTRO, but I guess its a matter of preference because I find the toned down colors make me feel more like I am in an actual world than in a comic book.
Falling through the world multiples time, mostly when swimming? Huh, I have never fallen through while swimming. I constantly fell through after release, but since trying it again I found myself cringing when hopping down a hillside expecting to fall through, and then being pleasantly surprised to find that it is not happening to me anymore. I haven't fallen through once since coming back.
Burtal animations? Vanguards animations could use some work but they are far from brutal.
I hope they start a free trial offer soon, so people can decide for themselves, because it appears to be a game that people love or hate, and the only way to decide is to give it a shot.
This game is the best mmo out there today imo. Play and find out for yourself.
Water does not always mean the ocean my friend. Check the lakes...brutal
Vanguard sux .. for you
Been playing more than a month & got none of these issues. None.
You work for Sony. Even fanbois admit to most of these issues but look past them for other things. If NONE of these things EVER happen to you, you work for them. Sorry.
Oh good grief, it's getting old.
Lol, well Vanguard just seems to be something that people have very opposite experiences with for some reason.
The crafting system is tedious, but in its tedium it truly rewards those who enjoy it. Good crafters are in demand and can make some incredible stuff.
Tedious Diplomacy? Agreed. Needs to be totally reworked or taken out of the game.
Flickering textures and graphics? Was a big problem for me at launch, but not a problem now.
MMO framerate worse in a dungeon? Honestly hadn't noticed, will check for it though.
Bugged Mining nodes all over the place? I didn't even notice bugged harvesting nodes at release, but I wasn't a miner so I can't dispute that outright.
Large mostly empty world? VG does feel lonely compared to high pop MMO's, but part of its appeal to some people is ts vastness and big world feel.
Worst water ever? lol, ok now I am starting to wonder if we are even talking about the same game. The water in Vanguard is incredible. Standing atop a mountain in the Deebs and looking out at the ocean it is almost photorealistic. The way that the rolls in and out at the shoreline is a pretty nice touch as well. Its amazing how people have totally opposite reactions to this game.
Dreary uncolorful graphics? Didn't you just compliment Vanguards graphics right before making this comment? Now you've lost me. Well anyways, Vanguard does seem a bit drab compared to WoW and LOTRO, but I guess its a matter of preference because I find the toned down colors make me feel more like I am in an actual world than in a comic book.
Falling through the world multiples time, mostly when swimming? Huh, I have never fallen through while swimming. I constantly fell through after release, but since trying it again I found myself cringing when hopping down a hillside expecting to fall through, and then being pleasantly surprised to find that it is not happening to me anymore. I haven't fallen through once since coming back.
Burtal animations? Vanguards animations could use some work but they are far from brutal.
I hope they start a free trial offer soon, so people can decide for themselves, because it appears to be a game that people love or hate, and the only way to decide is to give it a shot.
I meant mostly color palette. It is very dull like EQ2. The bump mapping and other things are great yes. You can have lots of colors and still feel real. See Oblivion, FarCry, Crysis, Gothic 3 and Age of Conan for examples. Not dull, yet very colorful and real.
If you swim underwater in lakes in the starting area and try to come up if you hit the bottom of the rocks while underwater sometimes you go through the world. This happened three times in different areas in one hour with me.
My starting diplomatic outfit flickers like crazy. No, its not my system.
The mining thing happened when I started to mine and the pickaxe was missing. This is when I knew it was a bugged node. He would just be stuck in a mining loop until I pressed escape. This happened 8 times in 30 minutes across half of the mining nodes in the starter area.
They have enhanced diplomacy a little and added some more quests and general polish but you can still at the higher lvls come up with some pretty solid strategies to make winning easy. That said they are always working on things and improving them. Word is the diplomacy system is getting some love with GU6 as well. We will have to wait and see how much love. I'm getting a bit concerned that GU6 is starting to sound like a miracle update :P
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Ethion
I feel that you spend a lot of time focused on minor issues and you completely ignore all the MAJOR issues that vanguard has fixed in the past year.
I could go on and I'm sure there is a lot of stuff I'm missing. Oh and I didn't even mention they added a raid interface and a fantastic huge raid dungeon.
So it is fair to say Vanguard sucks but relative to what it was over a year ago their is no comparison. If the game were released today in it's current state I'm 100% certain it would have done quite well.
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Ethion
This sounds like a bug. Did you bug it and if not tell me where it is and I'll check it out and bug it.
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Ethion
LOL, what happened to this thread ?
I think all, players and haters/bashers, agree that this game is not the big next thing. It barely survived launch and the devs just try to put it on its feet again with their limited resources. I guess they would be happy if the game would recover to 100k players. There is no need to bash it
The good news is, that the game is very playable if you can cope with the gameplay.
To anyone considering trying this game, don't let the negative reviews stop you. Seriously.
This game has a LOT to offer. It is my favorite MMO out right now, and I have pretty much played them all. 15 minutes of playing will not suffice to judge it. Give it a couple of days and see what you think.
100% agree with you. I had a couple of false starts, but I have a lvl 7 toon now and I can see the potential in this game.
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~Ernest Gaines