The banners have been taken down, the booths disassembled, the people have left and the exhibition hall is rather empty. Some participants at this year's E3 are still trying to recover, and some folks are filled with excitement for the games ahead. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, despite difficult circumstances, was a prime mover and shaker in the excitement department. Here are some of the tidbits and miscellaneous items that floated back to Silky Venom.
Music – Apart from the in-game music that is already building up to be an incredible score, player areas, such as housing structures, may have their own music. There are 36 hours of music recorded already. Todd Masten, Vanguard's boy wonder composer, will continue composing music after release. And we'll get fresh new music with patches and expansions. The goal, lofty indeed, is to have music on a par with games such as Final Fantasy. Sigil feels that all MMORPGs are traditionally given bad marks for music...Vanguard aims to change that with melodies and tunes that will stand out, stay in your mind, and give lasting memories (not impossible – who can forget the thrill of the opening music of EverQuest the first time? No matter how many times I logged in, I always got goosebumps from the music.)
Episodic Content – Microsoft did it with Asheron's Call 1 and is bringing its support expertise to the artists/designers, programmers and storytellers of Vanguard for the addition of episodic content of high caliber. We will see the world evolve through episodic content frequently, in addition to the major expansions.
Grouping – All races will be able to group, according to the default ruleset, where all character races are forced together by opposition to a common enemy. The races will not be KOS to each other, and there will be no mechanics to prevent communication, grouping, exchange of items, etc.
PvP and Dueling – PvE will be the standard ruleset. However, PvP server(s) will be available at release, and the number of PvP servers and the type of PvP will be governed by popular demand. Dueling will be available on every server.
Lore and History – Diplomacy will add a whole new dimension, not only to the game, but to the importance of lore and history. Characters involved in the diplomatic sphere will be given tasks/quests to negotiate with other races. Lore of a particular race will be fleshed out and revealed through diplomacy within the game and will add to the knowledge base that the diplomat has to solve interracial problems based on his/her understanding of the lore and history of the opposing race. A good example of this might be the inbred suspicion high elves have for the feral outcast Vulmane. Although they are not KOS to each other, diplomacy between the two races will be significantly more difficult than between two more compatible races.
Finances/Ownership – Remember the good old days of lending something to a pal and then they forget to bring it back? Or that item in the news not so long ago where one player assaulted another player IRL for selling a sword that had been loaned to him? Thing of the past with Vanguard. You will be able to put aside gear for apprentices, sidekicks, friends, guildees. They can use it but not sell or trade the item, and it remains yours to take back at any time.
More than anything else, your income range will affect what you can build. Housing, for instance, will not be an entitlement. Same as in RL, it will require work and money for its building and maintenance.
User Interface – Tom King and his cohorts are having a field day with the completely XML-based interface...it will be totally user customizable and will provide great information for the player without seriously interfering with your visual of the action. The one thing to be aware of here is that you won't be able to receive more information than the interface gives by default. In other words, you won't be able to "cheat" the game through mods to the interface.
Windows – Player windows and group windows will have real-time rendered character faces displayed. In other words, your actual face that you created in your character creation will be shown in the appropriate windows. No more guessing if XRBSUT is male of female…you'll see his or her portrait in your display windows.
Spheres and Stats – All three spheres will have a separate skill pool and attributes. Therefore, there will be no restriction on combination of spheres, that is, no path will be automatically dictated by your character class—wizards don't HAVE to be imbuers just cuz they nuke. And no more the meatshield warrior. Despite the fact that strength, stamina and dexterity will be most important to the melee character, intelligence and wisdom will also be necessary and important to his/her growth and development.
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Vanguard at E3: Tidbits and Miscellaneous
