Free Month of Vanguard - Page 2

Loampounder · 06-28-2008, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acrobat

Well I'm back. I really love this game, and it's all coming back to me what I enjoyed and what I've been missing. The music is great, and the atmosphere is great in the game. The world seems so huge and it is so open...

p.s. I really hope SOE understand why a LOT of people aren't going back. I hope they know I only went back because it's "Free". I don't care about much else. ...

Yup, I logged in and got that exact feeling. Hear the music... see the characters... see the landscape... as soon as I start moving, I think "now what". Sad, but I think the awe is still for the potential.

Yes, your p.s. hit it right on the mark. Since I quit, the real change has been the city mounts. They expect another form of grind to entice me back? I will probably travel a little to appreciate the looks and sounds of Telon, but not renew.

Whats with the dots over the beasts names? How stupid.

kcxiv · 06-28-2008, 08:31 PM

Dots over the had been in there for a while. You can turn that off though. ITs in the settings. Hitching will be there for a good while, but they cut alot of it out. Only time i hitch is when i hit an area where alot of stuff has to load at once, but once its cache'd no more hitching.

Also for Kurron, there are people grouping, you have to make an effort to form a group though. I had a friend who didnt know anything about the game and was an old EQ/EQ2 bud of mines. He was always in a group from 20 on up. He did the Solo thing when he didnt have much time to play, but he never had problems finding people to play. He just hit 50 the other day as well. Like i said, he didnt have any problem findin groups or lack of people to play.

There is also alot of people coming back, i know its due to the free month thing, you can see alot of region chat with people pleased at how the game runs now. Its still not where it should be, but imo its close now.

Anyways, for whoever is thnking of trying it agian, give it a chance. If you dont like it, you dont waste any money, nothing to lose but time. Then again, alot of us play mmo's becuase we have the time to waste. lol

tdewey10 · 06-28-2008, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by etwynn

Edit: and i wish people wouldnt use these forums. You'll get more responses if you just use the official forum. You can use their newbie forum even if you dont have an active account.

Well there are good uses for both official and for unofficial forums ;-)

As to Kurron -- you should be able to find groups at 29. In CIS, VT and probably even in River Valley. You should not have to solo to 50.

As for LOTRO maybe one of the best games I've ever played 1-20 (through the Bree Book) and love the graphics but I couldn't get past the UI/combat interface or post 20 content (how many wolf quests can one game have?). To each his own of course :-)

GL

Treesong · 06-29-2008, 12:04 AM

It is odd, I also got the invitation to "come back", however I never bought the game. I did play in early beta though. I downloaded the game through the SOE launchpad and sure enough I could log in with my Main SOE account.

It was still as I expected, though the game ran a lot better now for sure. Still many small graphical glitches that were annoying like the fact that at a distance, you can see through closed doors and in fact the whole building, looking at the landscape behind it. When you come closer, the closed door suddenly clips in. Lots of clipping issues anyway.

The game has a very old fashioned feel to it, almost amateurish at times. I think the avatars look horrid(they are like those dress dolls) and I am playing with absolute max settings with my 8800 GTX in SLI mode(No problems with this though, also running Vista so that was a pleasant surprise!). I did like the feel of the world itself even though it falls short of the landscapes I see in AoC or LoTRo. But the world does feel more real then both those other games and this has to do with the fact that VG is finally a MMO again where you can actually explore the indoors again of buildings and such. Doors are real doors, builldings can be entered and so forth. The instancing they do in AoC and LOTRO really kills a lot of the World and the immersion for me. So a big plus for VG.

VG does have something to offer for old school players, however I do miss features like using keywords to chat to NPC's and being able to browse merchants for the wares that other players sold them. I also miss faction as it was used in EQ, though the Diplo minigame has its own attractions.

The fact that this game is on a minimal budget with no real chance of new features or expansions makes it not worth the effort of getting into, imo, not when you are still actively playing and enjoying another MMO. In my case, this is EQ where I am still doing new things and exploring new lands every day (after playing on and off for more then 9 years).

VG does look like a MMO worth playing though. It is a pity that it has no real chance of picking up after the downfall it went through. But I can see how people are sticking with it.

It does have that *real* MMO feeling, like I only had with EQ, DAoC and AC.

etwynn · 06-29-2008, 12:50 AM

Before asserting that the game has "no chance of picking up" wait till the end of the free month and see how many people stick around. At the moment there are a lot of new players who seem moderately to highly interested in the game. Also, play on Seradon. Right now population numbers are through the roof.

I also miss the [dialogue] type quests from EQ.

etwynn · 06-29-2008, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdewey10

Well there are good uses for both official and for unofficial forums ;-)

Well admittedly these forums aren't as dead as they were for a while, but it kinda sucks how Sigil's stupid idea of "no official forums" fractured the community into dozens of different websites leaving information and posters scattered across the web, thus forcing newbies to fend for themselves when scavenging for information and responses. Centralization has it merits.

acrobat · 06-29-2008, 01:18 AM

I'm so excited about this game now.. I've just finished playing, which was, excluding all my breaks, in total about 10 hours today.

The game is great now. Besides all the commonly talked about stuff like better performance and stability, there are lots of other improvements. Also, some of my hang ups about there being nothing to look forward to I am starting to rethink too. First off was my experience though today. I tried to get into my old character again, and although I could play him, I couldn't find the rifts and stuff, that etwynn kindly told me about. Instead of just searching for it all, someone suggested that I make a new character because the quests are different now and will lead me there.

So I made a new character, and I am impressed. They have a REAL progression now. It was loosely in a kind of order previously, but they would end abruptly in some places and not really lead on in others etc.. Now, they are all numbered, so I follow them in numerical order, and they lead me from location to location. So I have done dozens of quests and they have lead me all over the place and I've seen lots of great stuff, and it feels like a real solid progression now - like I had in WoW. And soon it will lead me to these rift guys etc..

Also, I am not concerned about the player situation for a few reasons. Firstly, I enjoy soloing, and I realised/remembered, that I can actually solo group content too. Most of the quests are soloable anyway, but the ones that involve killing 3 dot mobs, I can actually do too. I have to kite them around, but they are easily doable, it just takes a little longer. And there was a dungeon quest that was for a group, but the mobs were only 2 dot, so I could do that too - I just had to be careful not to train myself. So I couldn't be happier really, I enjoy soloing mostly anyway, so it's great for me.

But I also realised that my character ended up on the most populated server. I thought I was on Shildreth but that doesn't exist anymore, and instead I'm on the one mentioned earlier. It has a "Medium" population, which evidently goes up to high on the weekends. I am seeing players all over the place. It actually resembles how it was in beta and on release. Maybe slightly less, but still perfectly playable. There are groups being formed constantly, by all different levels. 'Looking for more level 20 for Xxxxxx'. 'Looking for more level 30 for TK'. 'Looking for more level 40+ for Xxxxxx'. So it's maybe not as easy at every level, but I know that at least a good percentage of my time, I can spend grouped, and that's enough for me.

Also, I had a bit of a revelation tonight. I never had an issue with the content from about 1-30 originally. There is a LOT. But when I used to play on release, from about 35+ I started getting a bit concerned, and from 40+ people said there was a lack of content. That was pretty much resolved now. But I was concerned that I would be getting into a game with no future. They added a raid zone, but it's one zone.. how good can that be? Well I found out that APW is extremely popular and the level 50's (of which there are many), are happy in the game. APW is also due a revamp very soon. Also, there is a fanfaire due in August, and SOE have announced that all the character models are getting replaced with improved versions, and that will go live shortly after the FanFaire... Besides what has already happened, there are other improvements in the pipeline too. They may be a bit slow, but they DO come eventually, and they are really improving the game slowly but surely.

The revelation, is that I played in a raid dungeon in Beta, and I had a hard time remembering it. Tonight, people were talking about how the content in the game is good now, but only having 1 raid dungeon isn't ideal. I then wondered what happened to that raid zone I played in during Beta, so I mentioned it in chat, and some people knew of it. They said that it actually exists in the game, but they took the mobs out of it, and blocked the entrance off. There is evidently at least one other area like that too. This place was as good or better than anything I played in EQ, so it got me excited. They have APW, but it's possible they could populate and then open up some of these existing places too. They have the structure there already, so all they need to do is populate it with mobs and loot.

There is also this Isle of Dawn due too. It sounds really good, and I think that will really help the newbie experience to make it much more bustling and easier to find groups, and thankfully, the existing areas will still exist in the game too. There is also talk of a proper relaunch in the future. After the improved character models and Isle get added, they will relaunch and get new reviews from review sites etc.. No doubt they will have a few tricks up their sleeve besides just the Isle and the character models.

I am doubtful any huge boosts will happen to this game overnight, but I do think there is at least some chance that this game could have a change of fortune some day. The graphics look amazing when they are cranked, and the performance remains great (for me at least). The game is solid, and I prefer the gameplay to any other MMORPG out there. I love the classes, and I love the combat system, and there are loads of quests and loads of locations to fight and explore. They have improvements due all the time too. The only concern is the amount of content and features for high level play, and I know I'll get at least of month or two out of it. I think it more people come back (and there does seem to be a lot of people taking advantage of the free month), the content SOE are producing for the game could increase. This is just a random free month and my server at least seems bustling with excitement and new people. I think after the new character models and the new isle and some other tweaks, the free month they offer after that could be a big deal. Especially if it all coincides with a full relaunch. Got my fingers crossed for them.

p.s. I didn't realise there were player controlled ships in the game. That's at least one thing this game has over the competition. Also, I see SO many people who have tried and quit AOC already, and this free month has drawn in a lot of those people. It sounds evil, but the bigger AOC fails, the more Vanguard benefits, and I personally don't see AOC doing especially well. WoW may have the lich king due, but there are SO many people who are just tired of that game and want something new. I think Vanguard really could end up being what it intended to be... But it needs some luck, some good timing and management from SOE, and this content needs to come on strong. The models and isle is great, but there has gotta be more.. I really hope there will be and I hope it's soon..

It's got good graphics and gameplay and it's stable. It has flying mounts anywhere in the entire world (I don't know any other game that offers that). And it has player owned and controlled ships. It's combat system is head and shoulders better than WoW's. It just needs something to tip of over the edge and I think it could really draw a good number of people back, and that could be enough to change the future of the game.

kcxiv · 06-29-2008, 01:39 AM

VG has tons of raid dungeons not ready to go. City of Brass, Nexus, Stirhad, Pankor Zhi, Bridge of Destiny, and i am sure there are more, but maybe someone else knows the names.

acrobat · 06-29-2008, 01:58 AM

That's awesome.... I always thought that was the kink in Vanguard's armor. But if they have all those raid dungeons in the pipeline... then obviously it's not that bad! If they could add that raid content, then there aren't really any skeletons left in the Vanguard closet, as far as I can tell anyway..

1-50 is great, so if they get a good bunch of raid content in there, it's probably safe to then start calling it one of the best MMORPG's on the market. The only things it would then need to 'beat' or at least compete strongly with the likes of WoW and AOC, is stuff like Sieges/Arena/Battlegrounds. And that could come in time.

Just needs more players... tell your friends

The more that come back the better chance we have of SOE putting that bit extra money and effort into it, and that bit extra could turn it around. I hope anyway.

Choctaw · 06-29-2008, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Treesong

It is odd, I also got the invitation to "come back", however I never bought the game. I did play in early beta though. I downloaded the game through the SOE launchpad and sure enough I could log in with my Main SOE account.

Well I was gonna give it a shot (it's free afterall) but I'm afraid I am S O L on this one. I received the e-mail too.

When I played it before it was on a completely different computer. I tossed actual game discs and never loaded it onto my new ones.

I don't have a normal station pass since I didn't play anything other than Vanguard...and that only for the first few months.

Interesting that they still have my e-mail to send me the info about the game, but unless I pay the $29.99 for a station pass I can't get this *free* month of Vanguard.

Have fun guys and I hope you all enjoy your stay a bit more this time around.

peppy13 · 06-29-2008, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagicNumbers

Come back to Vanguard: Sage of Heroes between June 26, 2008 at 12:01AM PDT and July 31, 2008 at 11:59PM PDT for FREE* to experience first-hand all the changes, updates and additions that have been introduced to the world of Vanguard. Telon Rides On, the latest game update, offers each of the races in Vanguard exciting New Mounts to acquire and befriend in their journey across the lands of Telon. In order to acquire one of these new mounts you must be level 30 or higher and gain Citizen Favor by promoting a race's starting city. Gain enough of a faction's trust and the right amount of Platinum coins and the new mounts can be yours!

Convert your account to an active, valid paying Vanguard or Station Access subscription account before July 31, 2008 at 11:59 PM PDT and receive a special in-game Pack Camel mount of your very own! This mount is colored especially for those players returning to Vanguard during this promotional period!**
Your account has been reactivated, simply log-in and join us in Telon for FREE for a limited time and saddle up one of the new Racial Mounts!
Telon Rides On offers much more than just the new mounts:
Blood Mages now have a recipe to craft bags to hold Symbiotes, Organs, and Vials of Blood, this will free up substantial inventory space - More Info

Psionicists will get two new abilities, Synchronize and Paralysis field. These allow you to reverse Time Trick effects and partially paralyze all opponents close to you for a short time - More Info

Many of the classes have received fantastic new visuals for their spells and abilities with new particle effects - More Info

We hope everyone experiences improved performance and smoother gameplay with the addition of the new "Anti-Hitching" code - More Info
Check out all the latest news, updates and changes

Each Game Update brings a plethora of changes, enhancements, optimizations and new adventures to the Vanguard game, stay up-to-date on all the updates by visiting the Vanguard Players site!

Vanguard Players Update Page
Come back to Vanguard today, we'll see you in Telon!
- The Vanguard Saga of Heroes Team

http://vanguard.station.sony.com/install/

I wouldn't play VG if someone paid me to. Oh, by the way where are the new models? Where are the pictures of these new models that were supposed to be trickled out months ago? You know, the ones Silius got all hot and bothered about? I haven't seen them, have you? They continue to decieve, cheat, and lie and people like this do not earn my support.

Dragon-RD · 06-29-2008, 10:42 AM

Woha performance really has got better. One thing i've noticed switching from AoC (waiting for the content patch, so this free month could not have come at a better time) is the community on VG is so much better.

Peppy, havnt seen any new models as of yet for races but ive seen a few new ones for items.

Loampounder · 06-29-2008, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acrobat

That's awesome.... I always thought that was the kink in Vanguard's armor. But if they have all those raid dungeons in the pipeline... then obviously it's not that bad! If they could add that raid content, then there aren't really any skeletons left in the Vanguard closet, as far as I can tell anyway..

1-50 is great, so if they get a good bunch of raid content in there, it's probably safe to then start calling it one of the best MMORPG's on the market. The only things it would then need to 'beat' or at least compete strongly with the likes of WoW and AOC, is stuff like Sieges/Arena/Battlegrounds. And that could come in time.

Just needs more players... tell your friends

The more that come back the better chance we have of SOE putting that bit extra money and effort into it, and that bit extra could turn it around. I hope anyway.

It's good to hear you are enjoying the game. When dod you quit last? Most of the stuff you are excited about has been there for over a year.

APW is almost a year old. They could have put in new raids; as you point out the dungeons have been there since launch. Don't hold your breath waiting for raids. Most of the quests are old - they have not put new stuff in but they have prettied up and simplified the quest log. The Hunter quests series has fleshed out the progresion, but the biggest change is that people learned how to follow the progression - it's been there for the most part since launch. The newbie experience is once of the best parts of the game (except grouping possibilities) so I don't know what the Nwebie Isle will do if and when it comes into the game. Boats have been in since launch; sadly there is little purpose for them.

Quote:

I am doubtful any huge boosts will happen to this game overnight, but I do think there is at least some chance that this game could have a change of fortune some day.

Yup, it comes back to VG is the potential game. It's been that way for a year and a half.

kcxiv · 06-29-2008, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peppy13

I wouldn't play VG if someone paid me to. Oh, by the way where are the new models? Where are the pictures of these new models that were supposed to be trickled out months ago? You know, the ones Silius got all hot and bothered about? I haven't seen them, have you? They continue to decieve, cheat, and lie and people like this do not earn my support.

They already said that they will be at the fan faire and they are still a few weeks away from the female models being done. They are not lying decieving and cheating. Get over all that hatred you built up. ITs just a video game. They didnt bang your mother, they didnt piss in your food. Geeze.

kcxiv · 06-29-2008, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loampounder

It's good to hear you are enjoying the game. When dod you quit last? Most of the stuff you are excited about has been there for over a year.

APW is almost a year old. They could have put in new raids; as you point out the dungeons have been there since launch. Don't hold your breath waiting for raids. Most of the quests are old - they have not put new stuff in but they have prettied up and simplified the quest log. The Hunter quests series has fleshed out the progresion, but the biggest change is that people learned how to follow the progression - it's been there for the most part since launch. The newbie experience is once of the best parts of the game (except grouping possibilities) so I don't know what the Nwebie Isle will do if and when it comes into the game. Boats have been in since launch; sadly there is little purpose for them.

Yup, it comes back to VG is the potential game. It's been that way for a year and a half.

They have put in new quests, the faction mounts thing along with the flying mount are there. Its a quest. The actual griffon flying mount quest is out there and its pretty damned challening. ITs not that much of a grind, but the stuff to do is tough. OT mobs are very very challenging.

As for the raids, they have been in for a while, they have added a few overland raid mobs, but still in APW only a handful of guilds have even beat the dragon. The raids are not all that easy, it does take thinking to beat them. While some of the raids were easy in APW, they were intended to be, but some are very difficult. Its not just ooh, lets go bang this pinata for loots.

As for new raids itself, they did say that they were going to bang out more after the trial island is done. They have already started working on them actually and planned it out. They re redoing Patheon of the Ancients that will introduce the new raid zone. Which is pretty much all done. Also, i hear all the raids will be 24man from here on out.

If anyone wants questions answered from people who actually plays the game, you can go ahead and ask, and i will try to answer to the best of my knowledge.

tdewey10 · 06-29-2008, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcxiv

Also, i hear all the raids will be 24man from here on out.

Good thing. Always sucks if you're late to the raid and are stuck in group 4.

etwynn · 06-29-2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peppy13

I wouldn't play VG if someone paid me to. Oh, by the way where are the new models? Where are the pictures of these new models that were supposed to be trickled out months ago? You know, the ones Silius got all hot and bothered about? I haven't seen them, have you? They continue to decieve, cheat, and lie and people like this do not earn my support.

They never gave any type of ETA on those models until recently. Redoing every character model is a massive undertaking. With that said, they should be out in August/september.

acrobat · 06-29-2008, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loampounder

.

Yeah. Been over a year since I played. As much as I love the game, I have to agree with you that it's still lacking. I appreciate all they have done to keep it going until now, and it has improved a lot, but it's all just basic stuff that should have been all done within 6 months or so. There is always stuff coming soon, but it needs stuff there now. And one raid dungeon isn't going to cut it. It's fine if I was to approach the game like a small independent MMO and just accept the fact that I'll have a fun month or two, and then be done. But I just wish they would step up and sort the game out.

I would understand not wanting to do anything if it needed a million dollars spending on it, or more. But it's surely not that far off now. If they could just populate those raid places and ideally populate the seas too, I think it would be like a big high class MMORPG that could compete with any other game.

I'm not sure if SOE realise how good it is, compared to the likes of AOC. I hear people talking about the possible upgrades to EQ2, well I think Vanguard is a far better game to build upon than EQ2. I think if they saw the potential, I would think they would have added more by now. They have done good stuff, but it's all basic stability and basic structure stuff. It now needs new stuff and I have to wonder if they are fully committed to adding that if it's taken this long to get here, and only one raid dungeon.

I just hope they can step it up, and then maybe if they show some commitment, more players will show some commitment to the game too. Currently I'm thinking I'll enjoy my free month, but then I'll be gone. I would bet most people would do the same too. They aren't going to actually make any money from us unless they step up and deliver something proper.

Dragon-RD · 06-29-2008, 03:02 PM

Im not sure the idea of the free month is to make money or pick up subs. I think it's to show the people who left shortly after it launched what the direction of the game is. Which is why I think there is going to be another free month when the Isle of Dawn launchs. Im not moaning about it. I guess if I didnt want Vanguard to be great I wouldnt check this forum so often.

It's a shame to see all servers with "Low" by the name however.

acrobat · 06-29-2008, 04:28 PM

The free months probably achieve all those things. I just think though, that to get more than just a few window shoppers, it needs some meat. I want meat. Meat meat meat!

Just the model update and a few raid zones would be enough to shut me up for a while. But I really want more. If it got more, it could stand shoulder to shoulder with WoW and AOC imo. Without it though, it's just a tiny niche game that not many people have even heard of. :/