Kevin's Watch

I know Waddley is also playing this wondeful game, but is anyone else here playing? I have a dark elf Dread Knight character by the name of Khorrul Zuulsh on the Florendyl (roleplay server).

What's great about this game is that the graphics are amazing (the draw distance can be massive), the world is titanic, and the gameplay is great. I don't have to put up with nonsense, as everyone is mature, and it's quite popular.

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Looks like it's just you and me, buddy. That's ok, we don't need them! This can be our own personal thread that no one else is allowed in to... uness they are playing the game... or have questions about the game... or just wanna say hi.

Anyway, I'm really digging it. After starting on Friday I hit my goal of 12 this weekend. 15 is my goal for the end of the week, and after that I'll have to see how things are progressing... I have peoples to catch up to!

Today I have to study macros and such... it's like homework, but way more fun!

I'll see you on the other server, soon.

Are either of you still playing this? I'm actually tempted with dipping into an MMO before Shadowrun comes out and at the moment it looks like a straight choice between Vanguard and LotRO. I have several friends who play LotR but I like the idea of Vanguard being more of a 'sandbox' game. The reviews I've read have all said that it's very buggy though, and I don't like the sound of 19 different classes as that's simply way too many both in terms of balance and differentiation. So how's it looking from a couple of months in?

Nav- is there any chance you can turn Loremaster's image into a link? It breaks the tables in the forum and makes posts hard to read, and that makes me a sad panda.

I am still playing, but here's how it is, the "nitty gritty" if you will:

The game is good. In fact, I believe it has the potential to be one of the best I've ever played.

Now, I am NOT one to bitch about bugs in a new game. They happen, and I am used to that. It's cool. It's fine. It's the way MMO's work. They're never finished at launch.

With that in mind- had Vanguard had 6 months of extra work before it launched, it STILL would have been one of the buggiest launches I've ever played through. And I've played through a lot. This game has found some of the most exciting and new ways to crash on me. I've used the /stuck command more times in the last couple weeks then I'd previously used in my entire life. I have screenshots of color glitches that would make you wonder if I wasn't playing with ultra violet glasses on, or if I wasn't playing some weird Scanner Darkly game.

The game is three major things. The first two will eventually be fixed. The third is inherent to the game and I hope it will never change. The game is A- Buggy as hell. B- Too resource intensive for what it is. And C- Hard. It's not WoW. It's much more like EQ1. You CAN solo, they did that right, but you're not going to grind to 50 in two weeks, or three, or even a month. You wouldn't want to anyway, because there isn't high end content right now.

Unfortunately, because of those three things, the game is also severely underpopulated. It could be better on other (non PvP) servers, but for me finding groups can be like pulling teeth. Hell, getting my teeth pulled in the past has been more pleasant- at least the dentist gives me drugs to deal with the pain.

"But Aunty Waddley! Why are you still playing the game if you say so many bad things about it??"

I actually like the game. I like the quest system. I like the combat system. I like equipment, I like the skills, I like the graphics (when I turn them up for a screenshot, and just before my game crashes). I like boats, I like the promise of boat combat. I like challenge of the level grind, I love the boys in my guild. I like the atmosphere of particular zones. I like taking boats to get from one place to another. I like the pretty red barding on my horse. I like how groups interact. I like the random PvP of my Teams server.

I'd like it all to actually be playable someday, too.

So there you go, Nav If you want to give it a try, I have a 10 day trial I can give ya. Just lemme know.

Very interesting. I wonder why they rushed it out so much? I'd say that your average MMO player (or your average WoW player, at least) is going to be looking for a fairly well-rounded experience from the outset. If there aren't enough people to keep the economy ticking over, and form groups, I don't imagine all that many will stick around because of the game's potential.

It certainly sounds like a very ambitious title though. I think one of the key reasons for WoW's popularity is that it's really quite a dumbed down version of a fantasy MMO: it's relatively easy to reach level cap and the crafting system is very simplistic. LotRO is of a similar depth, but is aimed squarely at casual players and has a less stylised look. I do like the idea of being able to be a pure crafter (although I suspect the reality might not be that exciting) so I'll certainly bear Vanguard in mind. For now I don't want to over-extend myself with my gaming, so I'll see how things settle when I've been on Xbox live for a while.

I played Vanguard for a week. My opinion: utter rubbish. Unimaginative, repetitive . . . . . waste of time and money.

Pfft, all MMO's are wastes of time. But I'm still having fun. I'm pretty sure the key in any game is who you play with. And I've got the best!

Hi Loremaster!!