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Vanguard wins 2 more best game awards from E3 plus a new Pscionicist preview and video
Zippy
Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,412
Games radar gives vanguard its best of E3 award:
Hooked Games gives Vanguard its best award of E3
Stratics gave Vanguard its award for best of show. It is the first E3 award I have seen come out yet.
http://www.stratics.com/content/portals/e3/content/goldencogs/2006/golden_cogs_2006.php
Psionicist preview
http://vs.warcry.com/scripts/news/view_news.phtml?site=64&id=54397
Warcry Psionicist Video
http://www.mytenchi.org/video/psion1.wmvLink to all E3 previews, videos, and recent pre-E3 previews.
Comments
Zippy, I wasn't able to get the Warcry links to work.
Btw, a note, place one "space" before a posted link and it will become a "clicky."
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As far as why certain certain sites reviewed Vanguard poorly or ignored it altogether, clearly this depends on the relative "bias" of the particular site.
Some reviewers, similar to some mmorpg.com members, tacitly hate anything to do with SOE. They won't say so openly, but their amazing absence of commentary speaks volumes about a perceived prejudice against all things SOE.
Other reviewers want "new stuff" -- and Vanguard is not about "new stuff" but about taking "old stuff" and (hopefully) and raising it to new levels of functionality. You can't really reinvent the wheel -- but you can make some really great new radial tires.
Will Vanguard be good? Here is my take.
~The game will be huge in size. It will require a critical mass of players to make this game come alive.
~Much of this game will be about the developers creating the gameworld and the players actually making the game.
~Some of the gameworld complexity is not yet well recognized. Firespells being affected by snow conditions? Boats tacking with the wind? Arrowshots being affected by rainy weather? THIS bespeaks huge complexity which is not yet appreciated.
~All content is not in the game yet. I think many players still do not get the immensity of this gameworld. Sigil has also announced that they have SEVEN YEARS worth of additional content documented that will be added -- and please realize this is without the tons of player-comments that will help to shape the world post-launch.
~If the game is too raid-heavy, then player-comments and desires will let Sigil know what balance of casual (solo), small group and raid content they would like to see. All games change upon release. They evolve and the developers already know this. Sigil is most likely ready to make some adjustments based on player desires.
My crystal ball is cloudy when looking at the future of this game, but I will be ready to give it a fair trial when it is ready for release.
~ Ancient Membership ~
Not to sound like a pecimist, but I wish those awards from reviewers like Pc Magazine, Ign, Gamespot or New York Times
. Some publicity that would give this game a better name. Not 3rd party judges. imo
That probably why they never reached mmorpg.com
Currently Playing: AO and FE.
Sorry about the links I corrected them. I copied and pasted them from my post on the Officail forums and for some reason it came out bad. The Psionicist video has not played for me yet either. One person who replied to my post said it worked for them and someone else said they were going to host it on their site. If i get a better link or a mirror site I will edit the post.
I agree with a lot of your comments about Vanguard. I have concerns for a number of reasons.
1. They might be trying to do to much.
17 classes, 19 races, 40,000 craftable items and so much more. All these things take time. They don't have the budget or staff size of WoW. My concern is they may have a lot of content but it may be bland. EQ2 made content for the sake of making content byt never actually refinded the content they made. It was all bland, bugged and unpolished. IMO less is often better. I am juts not sure they can make a game this big and have it be good. But Iam quite impressed with their approach to beta. They seem to have been focusing on the core gameplay functions of crafting and combat for quite sometime now. Particularily group combat. I like this approach and if they get the combat polished, fun and tactical the game will be fun.
2. Do they have time to make the game fun and polished.
From evreything I have read whther its beta newsletters, beta leaks, dev comments or whatever it appears this game is a long way from being fun or polished. They have so much to do and to do it all its scary. Rather than make just anotehr cookie cutter game they are trying to do so many innovative things from crafting, diplomacy, combat, city building and much more that it seems to be almost impossible to do it all in reasonable period of time. I understand somethings will get pushed untilll after release like city buiilding, ship battles and most likley much of the diplomacy sphere but even without that there is so much to do. The odds of getting all these systems to work and be fun and then be able to shine and polish the rest of the game seems improbable.
3. Almost every game fails. makiing a MMO is an almost impossible task and the odds of a game being very good are low.
But while I have my doubts there are a number of reasons why I have high expectations.
1. The communication by Sigil. I have played just about every major mmorpg at release and most in beta and Sigil's communication is by far the best I have ever seen. Most games promise you everything under the sun and they deliver almost nothing. Sigil has done the oppopiste here. They wait until they test features and are sure they will work and can release with them before telling us about them. When features do not work they say so. The profesionalism and honest way they have apporached thier communocation with the fanbase is revolutionary and they should be applauded. All game companies should take note.
2. Just like communication I like their approach to beta and game development. They take a methodical approach. They plan everything down to the littlest detail and slowly implemnt those ideas. Like you said above jeff Butler indicated in one of the inetrviews that they have the game planned out for the next seven years including towns, continents, storyline, expansions and so on. When they don't work they admit it and change it. Many devs will never admit they have made a mistake and will constantly try to shove a square peg where it shouldn't go.
3. Crafing and city building. Even if the game is bad I will enjoy if the crafting is ok. I loved Horizons ewven though the game was mostly terrible because the crafting and building was so well done.
4. More and more Vanguard appears to be moving back towards its roots as a niche game. I hate SOE but I like the merger. It gives them more time to beta the game and leaves less chance that they will be pressured by MS to water the game for the masses. Vangurd does not and should not have to be a game for everyone.
5. The one overriding theme and information I got from E3 absent the BS and the hype is that this game is huge bordering on an epic world. One of my biggest fears pre-E3 was that there would not be much content in this game. Post E3 I am pretty confident there is lots of content. 50 dungeons alone on Thestra, an absolutely huge world, 40,000 craftable items and so much more. The question is can they polish and make this content fun. From all apearances they have a great start. I just hope they take their time in ebta to do this game right. A summer 2007 release would make me very happy.
Most likely the game will fall far short of expectations as will every game. But there are so many things in the game design I like and because of the profesional and honest way that Sigil has handled commincation and development I feel it is very likley I will enjoy this game. This is something I can't say for any other game in development.
Thanks, Zippy, good post.
To some degree, Vanguard reminds me of what Turbine tried to do with Asheron's Call. They made a huge, seamless world with monthly storyline updates, and it was a dangerous, deadly world (with a nasty death penalty) that was difficult to traverse. It was one of the few games I have ever been "lost" in -- and I am an gameworld explorer at heart and to get me lost is not an easy thing. It was complex, but in trying to do "too much" they did succeed in most areas. (Unfortunately they did not replicate this in AC2 -- but enough about that).
While they do seem to be trying to do too much, in the long run, if they are successful, it's the attempt to do this that would seem to make the gameworld compelling and interesting.
I feel they need six months of Beta 3 to just get the game to be fun and entertaining at release. And to do that they will need lots of good beta testers ... and, by the way, Sigil, hello, here I am, ready, willing and able.
As you pointed out, the communication we see coming from Sigil is very impressive. I have followed and played many MMORPGs now, and I rarely if ever have seen this kind communication response from any team of developers. This gives me heart. I really get the feeling they hear and respond to their fans and critics and that, when the game releases, they will keep their subscribers informed on the status and future of the game -- including the "whys" and "why nots."
One of the things I am greatly hoping for is that Vanguard attracts an excellent player community that will attempt to create a living gameworld peopled with lots of unique (or quirky) personalities. I'd like my character to "live" in the gameworld -- not just level up in it.
~ Ancient Membership ~
How about IGN, Gamespot and Computer Gaming Magazine? Heard of them? Or they SOE tools too? http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/77987
You never heard of Warcry or Hooked gamers??? You should take a look at them. I could see the other ones but the Warcry network????
Ya seemed like a lot of the major sites(wouldnt really consider mmorpg.com one) completely left vanguard out of their awards...not mention at all. Not sure why there is so much hate for vanguard but I know without doubt vanguard seemed much more polished and provided a much deeper look at their game at E3 than several of the games that were nominated for best MMO.
Well, look at the sites that are giving out these awards. They are small fan sites that really don't have to worry about objectivity and trying to keep a reputation. Vanguard has a lot of hype, and many of these fan sites are run by super hardcore people that would of course be super interested in Vanguard.
Real MMO sites like TenTonHammer and MMORPG.com and game sites like Gamespot & IGN have to worry about maintaining their credibility after games come out, and I can tell you that I had several negative conversations about Vanguard at E3.
It is the game that we are all hoping will somehow come together and not suck. There is no way that anyone, even if they like McQuaid a bunch, and love Vanguard's hardcore concept could give the game that was demoed at E3 if they are trying to be objective and have actually looked at other games. Age of Conan, Gods & Heroes, and Tabula Rasa all had demos that were tons better than Vanguards, and if you are grading purely on concept, then Warhammer would also beat out Vanguard.
Don't get mad at MMORPG or TenTonHammer or Gamespot, etc. for not giving Vanguard awards. I was there. . . you should be getting mad at these sites that gave it awards for not behaving professionally.
Stratics is a small fan site?
Lol, the reason Vanguard didn't get a mention here at mmorpg.com is because the majority of this community are lifetime members of the 'I hate SOE Forever' fanclub.
You can see this because even when they are done pulling every last little fault and bringing it into the light, they have to start making junk up or stating rediculous things just to keep the trend going. Hate to break it to you but NO company is perfect, and they are ALL in it for profit.
Still having a hard time figuring out why the people that obviously hate SOE that much and have no intentions of even getting within a 20ft radius of Vanguard still come into the Vanguard forums to troll...
Yeah I know i'll get flamed, let me guess i'm a SOE 'fanboi'. Think up something new people...
Definitions of Fanboi on the Web:
Fanboy or Fanboi is a term used to describe someone who is utterly devoted to a single subject or hobby, often to the point where it is considered an obsession. The term originated in comic book circles, to describe someone who was socially insecure and used comics as a shield from interaction, hence the disparaging connotations. Fanboys are often experts on minor details regarding their hobbies, and they take these details extremely seriously. ...
...because techinically you guys are more of a fanboi than any of us with your 'I hate SOE' mentality.
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Tested: SWG, Sims, EVE, CoH, RO, Darkages, Neocron, AO, Lineage 2, ATITD 2, AC 2, WoW, MxO, LotRO, Armada Online, VsoH
Playing: WoW
Waiting for: StO