Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Vanguard could be great if....
Pandacan
Member Posts: 13
I'm new here, but i was just wondering how many people feel that if Vanguard: SoH had a larger player base it could be much more succesful. I played at launch even through the bugs but my RL friends left for WoW, i left shortly after. I recently picked it up again, and the immersion (for me) is unparalleled by any game ive played (altho i havent played EQ 1), for me it is sad to see such a great world and ideas go to waste from a bad launch.
Comments
i also played at launch but left. i agree wit you though. i wish they didn't have such a bad launch... so much wasted potential.
Long Ago - Dark Age of Camelot, Guild Wars
Now - Aion
Looking Forward To - SW: TOR, GW2, FF14
Will Never Touch Again - WoW
Smashed Hopes - Vanguard
It’s a fine game that deserves a bigger player base. But the lack of funding which keeps it somewhat bugged and laggie is a real problem. The original conception was top notch and it has been made easier to travel and so on, which I think was a good move. I do question that any quests added in the last year or more are joke ones which really don’t fit the world. One of the games greatest strengths is the lore and the world set up. Running into Rudolph(?) the Reindeer, potentially all year round is absurd.
There are many MMO’s out there getting by with only a small player base, Vanguard defiantly deserves more than that.
VG is one of my favorites but it not only needs a larger player base but it needs a lot more support.
It needs more compelling reasons to stick with it and keep playing aside from grinding for the sake of grinding.
If players had more of a stake or impact on that enormous world aside from adding a numeric level, filling a number bar and trinkets to their inventory, the pop issue would correct itself.
VG would benefit greatly from dynamic choice built into it's quest. An alignment system, loot not competing with crafting and waterborne adventures for all those purty ships they have that have no use aside to fish from.
Well this is a question that answers itself no?If it had more subscribers then it would be more successful.
Most gamers and i mean MOST,do not look at the immersion or the quality a game puts out,they latch onto very immature things like gaining levels,gaining that highest Tier gear,to show off,get free mounts,basically all the kiddie things that excite the simplest of minds.Many would play WOW just because others are and for no other reason,i was there at EB games on release of WOW and heard it with my own ears.
The bottom line is that EVERYONE has different standards for EVERYTHING in life.Some except low standards others do not.Some will defend their low standards by using vague statements like "FUN" or "Numbers don't lie".
For myself the bad launch did not hamper the effort that went into VG,only a blind man or a gamer without knowledge could not see it.VG is arguably the best effort for a MMORPG to this date,only a few can touch it.FFXI is the one game that has the most unique ideas and does the least copying from other games,so it has a place at the top.There is no secret as to why VG is amongst the best games out there,it was made by former SOE employees.
Look at the top games...WOW made by EQ players ,copied EQ[SOE 's game]
FF series saved by SOE published for the PS2,we would have never had a FFXI if not for SOE.
Vanguard former SOE employees.
EQ2 was the best and first to introduce 3D graphics[SOE]
Everything points to SOE,they were, maybe still are, the ones that make gaming happen.
Who may be the next big thing?just possible FFXIV being that Square Enix has finally being noticed on this side of the planet.On FFXI release not many knew of it at all ,VERY little marketing.Other than this game ,i see NOTHING coming close to VG's standards and i mean NOTHING.After that it may be Schilling effort,but i have slight doubts based on the secrecy and a major player leaving that game and i kind of think they may be strapped for money,something that hampered Sigil.How much is the 3 money bags going to sink into that game?not so sure too much,MMORPG's are a big risk.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I agree, OP, there really aren't many, if any, games that can touch VG's (dare I say it?) unrivaled PvE experience, coupled with all the other strappings such as the game world and design, graphics, gameplay mechanics, etc. VG is its own unique experience.
Does it need a larger population? Yes...just about any game would benefit from that, I think.
But for all it's "low population issues" you can still find people and the major hubs are almost always bustling. At least when I go there they are.
Population will improve if people actually PLAY the game and stick around. If people just say "pop's too low, I'm leaving" (kind of counter-productive, no?) then the population will never improve. If, however, people NETWORK in VG, they will not have to face the "low pop issues". And, of course, if VG gains a higher population, then that means the team will have greater resources. And if there are more resources, that means a bigger dev team, and a bigger dev team means faster fixes/updates and more game content.
The key to VG's success is in the hands of players. If players are intrigued by or interested in VG, I strongly recommend they try it out. It's free, after all, and, although VG isn't for everyone, if you do like it then all you pay for is the game sub, not the game. Granted, Lord knows it still has bugs (mostly minor things)...but it is still very, very playable and is still one of the most beautiful games and game experiences you'll find, even today.
I have to agree with you, I've been promoting the game to my friends but they either sore from their experience at launch, or have to give every extra minute of their lives to WoW (which i also like but to me VG is more of a world and less of a "game"). I got two of my friends to try the trial and they loved it, but with Aion, CO and even TOR coming out they're sticking to WoW till those come out.
If VG would have had a lead developer things could have turned out differently.
Its to laggy. Most of the time other players will not move fluent when encountered. It looks good with 3D Vision on the other hand.
i play eq2 (soe) and i believe the problem is on the server side ,if you send high graphic data to their server ,you get lag spike of 2. to 5 k ,oh if you dont moove it stays at around 400ms but if you move and you set graphic a bit high we get lag spike
soe should probably use solid state hard drive like the x25e from so intel fast ,but then probably wont happen it would cost something ,probably same problem with vg ,its probnot the game but the server it self cant keep up .
History will record that it always had potential. Problem is, its perpetually in a state of potential.
Money, marketing, competency and vision are the only thing SOE denies the developers of; sorely those are the only thing needed to make it the best game on the market.
SOE strategy is benign neglect = maintanence.
If I didn't have to start at that horrible Island and if the did new character models that wern't ugly oh and if the trees didn't swing about so much.
"High graphics data " isn't transmitted from the server to client like that. It is all rendered on the client.
The population thing has been kicked around many times before. IF, there was more population at the lower to mid-levels great, plenty of room and content at those levels... no problem. But IF, there is more population at the higher levels, then it will just be too crowded. Pantheon simply can not support a single additional person on a primetime night. APW shards can have up to 3 to 4 guilds bumping around.... Shimmering Shallows is stripped bare of mobs. It's hard to find overland raid mobs because some other guild killed them. Etc.
To make the game a bigger success. They need another developer or two to help accelerate new content development and fix the last few annoying bugs and performance issues.
The lag they have been working on fixing lately is server side lag caused by the addition of new abilities, buffs, weapon effects, armor bonues plus some of the old abilities like inner light. That, in combination that all raid content is 24 people, is too much for servers to process. That is lag.
The hitching issue is client side. You can completely avoid it if you run lower settings, particularly dropping textures down. However, the game is gorgeous and it's ashame to have to do that. It seems that Windows 7 is working wonders for people (for technical reasons I don't even understand) in terms of virtually eliminating hitching.
Vanguard could be great if....
It had players and hadn't launched with a system that supports/rewards reverse griefing in pvp?
could be great if it actually worked, it doesnt even boot in vista without a degree in computer engineering.
People with a degree in computer engineering would avoid Vista like a plague lol.
Anyways, more players in VG would mean more lag, and more people complaining about the lack of content releases. With Silius being allocated to work on another SOE project until the end of the year, things definitely aren't getting better in terms of dev resources. And dev resources, imo, is what this game needs more than anything.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
The development team is picking up another developer (to be named later I guess). Also Silius will still be keeping his hand in the managment side of things. ... sorry Trueth ;-)
It's a "programmer", not a game designer. And Silius already stated he's halting all development of new zones & content as he listed on the official forums. So there will be an additional 3 month delay, added on top of however long it'll take them to get the content out once they start working on it again.
Either way they/players spin it, it's not a good thing. For a game that has serious content issues, swapping its lead game designer / producer out for a programmer, while halting new content development is not a good thing. It's really too bad players accept such deals because SOE management should be hearing complaints and anger rather than people cheering them on.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
they fixed the lag and hitching, turning your settings down to low makes the game look like crap and might as well play Baldurs gate 2 which is a much better rpg.
They got a new programmer, not sure if it's a graphics guy though,
They only had to give up the lead designer/producer of the game and halt all development on new content, but yes, vanguard is getting a new programmer.
They only had to give up the lead designer/producer of the game and halt all development on new content, but yes, vanguard is getting a new programmer.
Well see how it plays out, but if Silius is lending a hand on another game for a few months, and returns, AND they keep the new programmer.... it's a good deal. It might be Widen (sp?). There is new content on test now that he seems to be responsible for. The Shadow Hillsbury for higher levels.
Not sure if anyone pointed this out but if it had a larger player base it would already be more succesful........
But in my opinion "Vanguard could be great if...." they went back in time and actually made the game correctly in the first place.
They only had to give up the lead designer/producer of the game and halt all development on new content, but yes, vanguard is getting a new programmer.
Found it.. see below. AAs and Pantheon Raid get delayed until Silius comes back from the other project. The stuff being developed by the other developers continues to move forward....
The mirror is about to awaken. Beyond lies a den of darkness. Will you risk your very soul by crossing through the mirror?
What to Expect:
Shadow Hilsbury is a small dungeon consisting of one mini boss, three very difficult 6 man boss fights, one twelve man raid and no trash.It is intended to be completed by level 55 players. The first boss of the dungeon should be tuned in such that 51+ players can begin their descent into Shadow Hilsbury.
When you first enter Shadow Hilsbury you will be subjected to the crushing power of Lord Talfyn and will be severly weakened only through obtaining essences from the residents of Shadow Hilsbury can you help to alleviate this weakness.
In addition the very rules of nature have changed. Tanks, DPS, and Healers will have contend will addition debuffs that change every 15 seconds. Depending on what debuff you currently have you might want to change your playstyle for those 15 seconds or cause great harm to your group.
The Residents of Shadow Hilsbury:
All Residents of Shadow Hilsbury have been granted immortality by Lord Talfyn. Should adventurers strike them down they will quickly be reborn from the darkness. Only by curbing the crushing power of Lord Talfyns darkness enough to challenge him in his own domain can adventurers hope to put an end to Lord Talfyn's evil.
Lord Talfyns Hound:
This will be the first resident adventurers will encounter. Not nearly as formidable as the other residents the trusty servant of Lord Talfyn will attempt to defend his master with his life.
Gregoras The Watcher:
Lord Talfyn's crowning achievement in his pursuit of eternal life. Unlike most Gargoyles Gregoras is not animated stone, the stone of which he was originally fashioned has been granted life. Gregoras's body is formed of magically imbued stone that make him near impervious to all damage. No mortal could hope to best him in combat without first weakening his body. He is surrounded by earlier failed experiments made of the same stone but remained unstable.
Prince Julian:
Just as power hungry as his father and eager to take power Prince Julian challenged his father's authority. Lord Talfyn bested him in combat and separated him into four aspects Mind, Body, Soul, and Blood. Those that wish to challenge the Prince must first reassemble him. Depending on how you choose to assemble the Prince will determine what powers he has and how strong they are. Be careful some of these powers are quite strong.
Lady Serra:
The undying love of Lord Talfyn is hungry. Lady Serra and her loyal servants have not eaten in ages. They are eager to one again feed. Those who wish to challenge her best hope that their blood is not appealing to the Lady and her Servants.
Lord Talfyn:
The Master of Hilsbury awaits in the basement of his shadow realm. His motives and reason for opening the mirror once again are unclear. What is known is that there is no hope of defeating him while an adventurer is still crippled by merely being in the realms of shadow that Lord Talfyn is master.
Shadow Hilsbury will hopefully be on Test Server next week, or maybe the week after depending on how co operative the residents are in working correctly. At which time I hope to do some balance testing with a couple different groups of players. Anyone interested in forming a group to help with balance testing please let me know and we can see about setting up a time.
...it had a bigger, more dedicated development team. Unfortunately it was a dismal failure so I don't think it'll ever get enough resources to become great.