Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
The game is better, the community is still somewhat questionable...
AgtSmith
Member Posts: 1,498
I have been playing VG since i got bored with the 'new VG' AoC (free month from SoE and all) a couple weeks ago. I have to say, SoE has fixed up the game pretty nice. From big things like the rifts to little things like racial coins and URT missions not to mention cleaning up the stability of the game. It is still a bit of a clunker in terms of performing on par with its graphical level (not near as bad as it was though). All in all the game is quit worthy of a sub now, fun, and with the coming model/animation upgrades I think possibly quite good.
One thing though that is still a big issue, perhaps even a bigger issue than before, is the community in game. So far I have seen allot of the same asshat community stuff that ultimately was the last straw for me back around launch. Of course, back then it was the dumbass fanboys flaming away on anyone who mentioned the crashing or flaws that are now so obvious. Now it is a little of that plus a bit of an elitist attitude some of the 'vets' heap on new or returning people. I suppose that is a bit natural in a game of any age, and part of why I never go back to games like this - but in VG with the very low pops (even with the bump from the free welcome back time from SoE) it makes getting groups and such a real pain. People regularly jump down the throats of people asking very normal questions, or simply offer little to no help. People still flame away at others for expressing opinions on the game and such. And it seems that. all in all, there is a very elitist and closed community in VG.
Based on the couple weeks I have played I would sub to the game - if for no other reason than AoC is crap, LotRO is vanilla and boring, and there is not much out there that isn't old or something I already gave up on long ago. VG is a good game now although it still has some issues - the one redeeming aspect is that it is a deep game in a genre run amuck with shallow games. But the real obstacle I have to the sub now is the community - it is just a gruff and somewhat unwelcoming bunch. Yes, you can join a guild and such but aside from not being a joiner why should you have to join a guild just to get courteous or friendly treatment in a game, let alone find groups and all that. I am not trying to flame the VG players here, or anywhere, just saying that for a game that I would think would be desperate to get some new blood they sure are less than welcoming from what I have seen.
P.S. For the record - I am saying good job to SoE. I think more could have been done in the year+ since launch but what they have done is fix the worst issues and get a good jump on the rest. The list of things that make SoE suck is still long, but the list of things they deserve positive credit for just got a new entry.
--------------------------------
Achiever 60.00%, Socializer 53.00%, Killer 47.00%, Explorer 40.00%
Intel Core i7 Quad, Intel X58 SLi, 6G Corsair XMS DDR3, Intel X-25 SSD, 3 WD Velociraptor SATA SuperTrak SAS EX8650 Array, OCZ 1250W PS, GTX 295, xFi, 32" 1080p LCD
Comments
Did they fix the issue of taking away 90% of the character customization just so you can wear a fricking helmet?
It wasnt too bad community wise until after they gave the free month away. There are quite a few good peeps out there that try to help as much as they can, but there are definately those that just want to come in the game to be asshats.
This happens in any game unfortunately, there are times I see veterans argue in chat because someone acted like an ass towards someone who asked a question so there are good ones out there, just have to weed out the garden so the flowers can bloom.
Out of every 100 men, 10 should not be there,
80 are nothing but targets, 9 are the real fighters.
Ah, but one, ONE of them is a warrior,
and he will bring the others home.
-Heraclitus 500BC
Not yet. They are adding the customization back minus a couple options in GU6 which is gonna be out in August or something. They are going to be showing GU6 new character models and customization features at soe faire or something that is supposed to be happening before long.
---
Ethion
heyy,
I haven't tried grouping yet,
but whenever I ask a question in /1 , no matter what server I've been on, I've got at least 5 replies.
It's really weird, I trialed lotro the other week for a few days, on about 5 different characters, 3 different servers, numerous chat channels I asked how to show my FPS and ping,
the best I got after that was 'press ctrl + f for FPS and somwhere in options for ping'
and it wasn't a numbers issue either. I did the whole search thing to see who was in my area. Plenty of level 1-10s, and a fair few fully leveled as well.
The first thing I did when I logged VG was ask for the ping in /1 (the default channel for main chat) and instantly I got an answer. Today I was mining, but a node was broken, I asked in chat what I could do and about 4-6 people messaged me saying 'do /e' or 'do /end' . Instantly fixed my problems, and even those who didn't 100% know what was wrong said things like 'it might be due to your level, is it working with other nodes?' etc.
To me, it's not really the numbers that are an issue, it is the attitude, and so far, help-wise, Vanguard wins my vote
Of course as I haven't grouped with anyone I haven't really tried talking properly to anyone, but no matter how small my problem, it seems to be answered within seconds.
Magic? I think so
Hopefully I won't meet any elitists or unwelcoming folk.
(regarding pop levels, I think they are fairly low in starting areas because there are so many areas to choose from, but I saw about 5 people or so in mine, which is ok I guess!)
I'm not trying to be a fanboy etc here, but I honestly haven't seen anything bad community-wise, only performance / graphics.
hope you enjoy
----------------
Hello!
Which server are you on AgtSmith? I couldn't see in your post.
It's a real shame that that's your experience. My own server, Halgar, has an excellent , friendly, guild-based community. The free month has inevitably brought in some of your average MMO dicks, hopefully you can find a good guild and not have to deal with them.
Let me clarify a bit - I am not saying all people are jerks - just that it seems a bit inaccessible overall with a few real asshats mixed in. A bit elitist is the term I think applies. Pops are still lowish making it harder to find groups on what you are on (always an issue with the chain questing anyways). I am enjoying the game but as I get up in levels, the guy I started with the free time is now to 20, doing stuff myself or just with whomever I run across in the area is becoming harder.
I am on Sardona (sp?) - have the Ranger I left off with back from launch at mid level (deleted an 20ish alt that got name screwed on merge) and then the guy I made starting with this free time who is a 20 Bloodmage. As someone else said - I see the people jumping down people's throat on stuff and sometimes people coming to their defense even telling the flamer 'hey, we need subs so be nice'. I didn't mean to say all the community is bad just more that it is a bit standoffish at times and somewhat elitist. It does seem to be an issue in VG coming back and being 'behind the 8 ball' so to speak. I suppose I find it most annoying because I would think people who stuck with the game would get how much they need new subs to keep the improvements coming.
--------------------------------
Achiever 60.00%, Socializer 53.00%, Killer 47.00%, Explorer 40.00%
Intel Core i7 Quad, Intel X58 SLi, 6G Corsair XMS DDR3, Intel X-25 SSD, 3 WD Velociraptor SATA SuperTrak SAS EX8650 Array, OCZ 1250W PS, GTX 295, xFi, 32" 1080p LCD
I'm sorry your experience with the community was a bad one. I don't pay attention very much to the chat channels other than giving help to someone who needs it. Personally, I think this game has a great community. There's always @sshat, but that's to be expected, I don't let people like that bother me, I guess I know how to diffuse those kind of situations.
I've been playing Vg for over a year now and would have to say it's a mostly friendly and helpful bunch on there. Now while I don't claim to know everyone in OOC I certainly must say lots of them are familiar to me and I have noticed that most of the bs I hear in chat comes from folks I don't know at all.
Maybe next time you hear some, do a /who all <name> and see if it is a lvl 50 talking or a lvl 20. Might just not be a vet after all, who knows?
At the moment my 46 DK is doing stuff for the mount quest and I cannot tell you how many free quest items I have been given by other folks who do a /shout to ask who needs then a /giverplayer loot item to give it away. Lot of hassle to go thru just to give stuff away but commonplace in Vg. Alway impressed me.
Vanguards community has improved by leaps and bounds since launch, but it still lags a bit behind LotROs. I think a big part of the problem is that a lot of people got beat down by all the BS on forums, in game chat, etc. And have become a bit jaded and have adopted the infamous "Go back to WoW" mentality.
I suppose I can agree with that. A few bad apples can make the whole seem tainted - perhaps it is the stand offishness/elitism couple with a few asshats I am seeing more than anything.
I can see that being the case I bit, I suppose I was just surprised they would not be more pleased to see people giving it another look. All in all if any community has to be more 'open' to comments you would think it would be VG. I mean VG is the poster child for epic fail games, even if it is not now that same epic fail of a game. I will give it a second look taking into account some of what people have said here and see how it goes the next week or so.
--------------------------------
Achiever 60.00%, Socializer 53.00%, Killer 47.00%, Explorer 40.00%
Intel Core i7 Quad, Intel X58 SLi, 6G Corsair XMS DDR3, Intel X-25 SSD, 3 WD Velociraptor SATA SuperTrak SAS EX8650 Array, OCZ 1250W PS, GTX 295, xFi, 32" 1080p LCD
Not yet. They are adding the customization back minus a couple options in GU6 which is gonna be out in August or something. They are going to be showing GU6 new character models and customization features at soe faire or something that is supposed to be happening before long.
Good to know... Thanks bro!
Oddly enough, this was one of my biggest complaints of the game (well besides some of the perfomance and graphical enomolies and borked quest issues). Perhaps I'll give it another go when GU6 comes out.
They didn't take away 90 percent, Jesus.
Basically they took out most of the useless crap like "Oh look! I can make my nose have a bump on it!" or "My eyes can be kind of close, and look here, I just made em REALLY close!"
I got so sick of hearing this stuff on the forums! lol
Players saying they would quit because they couldn't adjust the bridge of their nose.
I think those players were just looking for something to get mad about. I mean, that's cool, everyone needs a hobby. People forget that there are still 15 classes, and 15 races. Also, so many classes have so many unique and cool abilities.
I won;t even go into all the good stuff about the game, because after all, without a choice between a nose with a bump and a nose without one, the game is crap. Also, forget the fact that they are re-doing all the models and will be putting most of the options back.
Beau
Listen to the Spouse Aggro podcast at spouseaggro.com. Twitter: spouseaggro
I have to agree with the guy above, the removed customization is a minor thing even though it is getting put back soon. When I started back with this free time I decided to make a new character rather than pick up one of my old ones just to get acclimated again and as much as I heard from a couple people about this change to customization after I made my toon I couldn't tell what had changed. I actually though maybe it was left on for founders or something (which it wasn't). Anyways, as others have said it is getting put back in very soon along with new models/animations.
Now that being said - the 'attitude' of the guy above is a bit of what I am talking about. I can understand if he wants to say 'hey, this is no big deal in terms of a change or loss as I agree with him' but he comes off a bit, not trying to single him out unfairly, attacking someone for their opinion on the matter. In game this happens and people often shout down folks just saying something in a matter of fact way and not even flaming something.
--------------------------------
Achiever 60.00%, Socializer 53.00%, Killer 47.00%, Explorer 40.00%
Intel Core i7 Quad, Intel X58 SLi, 6G Corsair XMS DDR3, Intel X-25 SSD, 3 WD Velociraptor SATA SuperTrak SAS EX8650 Array, OCZ 1250W PS, GTX 295, xFi, 32" 1080p LCD
No, you are correct, I did come off kind of harsh. And for that I apologize. Something about these forums..lol
But if you want to know, I have heard so many of these arguments that this is what fuels me being harsh. I do the www.voyagesofvanguard.com podcast, and especially since I have been interviewing all the devs (including the head honcho, Silius) about the game, I have recieved more PM's complaining about smaller and smaller things.
Trust me, I get sometimes between 15-20 pm's in one day! lol
Maybe it was a knee jerk, but trust me, my lil post on these forums says nothing about how I feel about community. I try to do more for the community than anyone I know.
I have been on the official forums for a long time now, so we all over there have learned that you have to have a THICK skin. Same goes for here! lol
Anyway, give the show a listen. We are putting the new one out right now. Check out the Silius interviews...they give a lot of insight into making the game.
Beau
Listen to the Spouse Aggro podcast at spouseaggro.com. Twitter: spouseaggro
I wasn't trying to single you out, and I think it is easy to understand that being a VG player can easily mean you take and hear allot of crap much of which may not be true. I suppose I can understand people being a bit defensive so maybe that accounts for what I saw as elitism or just general crabbiness.
I got back on and managed to get a group for one of the dungeons. Was having fun until the two tanks decided they should just run off wherever and that somehow everyone else would follow them and know where they were going. Of course me (bloodmage healer) and the other caster get waxed by the trailing aggro but oh well. Such is pick up groups and not a VG problem in particular - just frustrating having worked for two days to even get in a group to do the quest. I didn't even feel like arguing with the guys, I just recalled and summoned my stuff (first time) and logged off - so much for 17k XP and a day that on balance amounted to getting no playing in.
I am enjoying the game, appreciating the changes and improvements SOE has made, and interested to see what the new models/animations are like as well as where the game goes in the future. But so far, my grouping experience has just been bad and between the chain questing everywhere (making it hard on PUGs with so many people being on diff parts and all) I suppose maybe those annoyances colored my view of some of what I described. I got more time, will give it a fair airing for sure - at this point the game is improved enough and good enough that I am looking to sub. I just want to find some social element aside from having to join a guild (I am not much for joining other's guilds) as I know it is needed from this point on to do much of anything worthwhile.
--------------------------------
Achiever 60.00%, Socializer 53.00%, Killer 47.00%, Explorer 40.00%
Intel Core i7 Quad, Intel X58 SLi, 6G Corsair XMS DDR3, Intel X-25 SSD, 3 WD Velociraptor SATA SuperTrak SAS EX8650 Array, OCZ 1250W PS, GTX 295, xFi, 32" 1080p LCD
Glad your liking your game but to clarify your post bthe URT quests were in the game long before SOE took over.
I can list for you the new content SOE has added in the last 14 months since they took over.
1. Lvl 12-15 questline ion Ksvari Gulch
2. APW + outside raid mobs. Very well done for a first raid dungeon. It is to bad Cylus and Avarem left. the only dev left who worked on APW is Tiralsee.
3. Griffon questline Very well done although they have made it much easier now.
4. Racial Mounts
5. New Mest quests.
That is it. All the content they have added in 14 months. Unfortunately this is what happens when a company does not fund a game, pay its devs higehr than starting salarties, or replace the devs that leave for better paying jobs.
I am not dissing Vanguard as it is the best game on the market but rather lamentinga s to what it could have been if it SOE funded and supported the game.
Agreed. One of the main reasons I ended my 7 week stint in AoC was due to the horrible community there. My 14 months in VG (not playing it currently, but still have a soft spot for it) got me used to having a great community.
In regards to the OP - in all honesty, what i generally saw in my many hours spent in VG was that ppl would be flamed in /1 if they came in with a real attitude or asked questions in a demanding tone, but ppl who were pleasant and humble would get looked after really well.
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
.jpg)
LOL... gotta love it!
Out of every 100 men, 10 should not be there,
80 are nothing but targets, 9 are the real fighters.
Ah, but one, ONE of them is a warrior,
and he will bring the others home.
-Heraclitus 500BC
When I started to play VG few months ago, some people helped me, until i said this game was buggy.. So they rejected me: I had to take a 2nd account, new char. Couldn't even talk on channel, etc.. A shame.
Came back to VG after GU5, "those" people stopped VG, they are now VG haters.
(all of them playing AOC, i'm sure they're going to be AOC haters in few months then War haters etc)
That's the reality of fanboys: they're not players, they are addicts.For these people, MMO are drugs. (i'm not talking about all cty : VG 's community is really great and cool but about some people, ex-VANBOYS now VG haters) So forget them. They are not interesting.
Smith,
If you are looking for a guild to help out and answer questions look at Safe Haven. I joined this guild on the free month and was level 20ish. I'm now 27 and have done so many great quest because they told me where to go. A good guild can make or break this game in my eyes.
As for general chat I try to answer questions that I can, but at times I do see the bad comments. The few can ruin it for the masses. Try not to let the few ruin the game for you. Look me up in game if you need anything. Scorchzhin - Serdon - 27 Druid.
I just started playing on Seradon (free month) and I have nothing but praise for the community. I had to re-learn a lot of things, so I asked in chat - and got answered. Of course from time to time u hear sparks of @sshats, but thats normal. In fact, it happens so rarely that I almost never notice it.
VG has come around by a big leap, it still has problems, but it has gotten bette. Not sure if its worth a paying sub though. Cant make up my mind yet.
I am the type of player where I like to do everything and anything from time to time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor - pre-WW2 genocide.
The community has been amazing the last few months. One of the best. I feel like you are the type of person who experiences one or a small group of people and then stereotypes the whole community to fit their personality.
Not yet. They are adding the customization back minus a couple options in GU6 which is gonna be out in August or something. They are going to be showing GU6 new character models and customization features at soe faire or something that is supposed to be happening before long.
Character customisation? What you mean the choice of 3 or 4 faces that all look the same, or 3 or 4 hair styles that all look terrible, or slightly changing the length of your arms, or slightly changing your height. Character customisation may as well be non-existent in Vanguard anyway. At least by removing most of it it saves you from having to waste time with all those sliders just to get a character that looks like everyone else from the same race. Hopefully though when the new models are implemented in August you will actually be able to create a more unique character that doesnt look like a gay plastic doll.