tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post200599139211167269..comments2024-03-28T10:18:05.213+00:00Comments on Inventory Full: Backwards Into The Future With Pantheon: Rise Of The Fallen !Bhagpusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-24608783343234928212014-01-25T11:34:44.428+00:002014-01-25T11:34:44.428+00:00I just see him as a figurehead. I've never bee...I just see him as a figurehead. I've never been sure what he actually does. Games that have gotten made with him around have been the best I've played, though, so I'm happy to take him on trust as some kind of touchstone.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-3170122966941361832014-01-25T10:35:35.187+00:002014-01-25T10:35:35.187+00:00Brad had a lot less to do with anything enjoyable ...Brad had a lot less to do with anything enjoyable that came out of Vanguard than you think. He didn't even show up to work for the last year of the game's development, for one thing.Paihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14108169893140762249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-54919539961770289752014-01-22T01:04:01.116+00:002014-01-22T01:04:01.116+00:00I do remember diplomacy as a very clever system =)...I do remember diplomacy as a very clever system =) Thanks for the comment reply here (and on my blog) and looking forward to exploring more of VG through your future posts!iseyhttp://www.ihaspc.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-61635346571791168312014-01-21T19:13:30.283+00:002014-01-21T19:13:30.283+00:00I have posted about Vanguard a fair bit on and off...I have posted about Vanguard a fair bit on and off and it's in my rather long list of MMOs I still theoretically play. I stopped mostly because I'd played two characters to 50 and by then development had just about stopped. I did try going further when they added another 5 levels but progress was attritionally slow solo since new content by then was was largely and understandably aimed mainly at the regular hardcore loyalists who were all raiders, never my scene. <br /><br />I got into Beta3, which was all but unplayable on the PC I had then. I found out from the forums what I needed to run the game as it was then and bought new PCs for both myself and Mrs Bhagpuss, specified specifically to run Vanguard. With those machines we were both able to run VG at a perfectly playable standard from Beta4 onwards. Consequently we were always able to play "normally" and could appreciate the game as a game and the world as a world when many others were just struggling to get it to run at all.<br /><br />Yes, it was buggy as hell, but our main EQ2 server for 5 years was Test. Playing in the midst of untested, extremely buggy content and systems was normal for us. That said, I would contend that VG wasn't all that much buggier than many other MMOs I've played anyway. GW2 could give it a run for its money when it comes to real show-stopping bugs like an auction house that doesn't work for weeks or guilds that don't recognize their own guild leaders...<br /><br />Those are reasons why, unlike many others, I was able to enjoy Vanguard. The reason why I *did* enjoy it can be summed up very simply: Vanguard is the follow-up to Everquest that EQ2 should have been. I love EQ2, it's the MMO that vies with Vanguard for 2nd place in my all-time favorites list, but other than the setting and lore it barely resembles EQ at all. Vanguard, on the other hand, feels and plays like EQ in almost every respect. <br /><br />On to that solid, familiar, welcome structure VG then added some superb new activities: really excellent housing, the wonderful diplomacy system and possibly best of all boats you could really sail! I think I had more fun just sailing my sloop than anything else. When I log in these days it's mostly to sail around for the sheer fun of it.<br /><br />Oh, and don't forget the great crafting system. And the magical art direction and aesthetic... I could go on and on and on but if I do yes, you're right, it'd better be in a post, Far too much to say in a comment!Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-39742060482497138082014-01-21T16:32:03.424+00:002014-01-21T16:32:03.424+00:00Cautiously pessimistic is the view I am taking on ...Cautiously pessimistic is the view I am taking on this one =) I have a hard time respecting someone who is riding successes of 15 years ago with a pretty big flop in between. Lighting tends not to strike twice =)<br /><br />Why did you stop playing Vanguard? I did beta it but I couldn't play it live after that experience and how it launched. Very glad it was one of your favorite though - I haven't heard that from anyone - what made it great for you? (really curious.. maybe a future post? (or past post that I missed?)<br /><br />Iseyhttp://www.ihaspc.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-76196975774994633942014-01-15T11:53:13.858+00:002014-01-15T11:53:13.858+00:00Yet Vanguard is either my second or third favorite...Yet Vanguard is either my second or third favorite MMO of all time, and the other MMO he helped create, Everquest, is my first so for me at least he must have been doing *something* right.<br /><br />I played Vanguard from beta3 through launch and on for the best part of two years, with a break in the middle, and it was one of the best runs I've ever had in an MMO. The game ran pretty well for me from Beta4 onwards, certainly playable. Subjectively at least it feels as though I have seen as many bugs in GW2 as I saw in Vanguard. Even as I write we are having ongoing problems with GW2 and have been for a couple of weeks. <br /><br />If Brad gets something out of the doors that's anywhere close to how much fun Vanguard was at launch I'll be more than happy, even if it's in the same unfinished, unpolished state. It's not whether he delivers a polished product that worries me, it's whether he's able to deliver any product at all.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-37847150467943255372014-01-15T11:43:41.603+00:002014-01-15T11:43:41.603+00:00Yes, it's bad enough having what could be cons...Yes, it's bad enough having what could be considered basic classes, races and game functions listed as Stretch Goals but worse not to bother to mention what classes, races and activities are actually included in the base target. There's a lot of vision and not much substance in that proposal.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-64670624578814457602014-01-15T09:41:04.283+00:002014-01-15T09:41:04.283+00:00I've got the popcorn ready for the eventual de...I've got the popcorn ready for the eventual debacle this will be if it manages to get funded. I'm jaded and know too much about the crap going on during Vanguard's development to take this guy seriously anymore.Paihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14108169893140762249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-77781475697127997522014-01-15T00:48:24.146+00:002014-01-15T00:48:24.146+00:00My biggest issue is that the Stretch Goals present...My biggest issue is that the Stretch Goals present a lot of stuff that we might expect without the Pledge telling us precisely what we will get.<br /><br />I mean, I love bards, rangers, and druids, but what are my options without those? I enjoyed making a gnome, but maybe I don't need that too?<br /><br />As big as he likes to think, I do not think McQuaid is very forward-thinking. So many of these goals seem like piecemeal re-appropriations of Everquest, rather than things that would make the project seem wholly complete without necessarily having to have every stretch goal. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00289459451344261371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-50048761201023435812014-01-15T00:29:50.864+00:002014-01-15T00:29:50.864+00:00This is true. I would go into it fully expecting t...This is true. I would go into it fully expecting that community and instead choosing to seek out a friendly guild I'd be comfortable in, thus eliminating it as being much of an issue. In theory. :)<br /><br />Aww, thanks. Mine needs a few additions, but it doesn't quite live up to yours which I feel I should bow to the greatness off. Jaediahttp://menagerie.jaedia.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-49584885650995221372014-01-14T20:14:59.948+00:002014-01-14T20:14:59.948+00:00Just read your post and I agree that there's a...Just read your post and I agree that there's a potential issue with the community that might be attracted. It's something I think a lot of Kickstarter-funded MMOs might experience. On the plus side, with everyone involved from pre-alpha onwards at least no-one can say they didn't know what to expect.<br /><br />(Also added your menagerie to my unfeasibly long blogroll).Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-91249032405993784312014-01-14T20:05:47.245+00:002014-01-14T20:05:47.245+00:00All of this makes me wonder how much having a more...All of this makes me wonder how much having a more world wise senior manager made EverQuest possible. Smed doesn't get a lot of credit for EQ, but I wonder how much his work really kept things on track.Wilhelm Arcturushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033496821708933394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-28416623346548763392014-01-14T19:09:22.007+00:002014-01-14T19:09:22.007+00:00Great post. My post about community was long enoug...Great post. My post about community was long enough so I didn't go into the bullet points or pledge goals (which genuinely made my jaw drop with how high they are for what they are..), but I second what you've said about those parts. We'll just have to see. I will be waiting for 2017 because right now I don't know what to think aside from, "This could be really great, or really really bad."Jaediahttp://menagerie.jaedia.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-60727948446506171032014-01-14T19:01:36.171+00:002014-01-14T19:01:36.171+00:00Supposedly when Vanguard launched they'd compl...Supposedly when Vanguard launched they'd completed full art assets for five continents, not just the three we got. Even with 40% missing, Telon is still vast compared to many MMOs. Brad certainly doesn't think small. Whether he thinks practically is entirely another matter. I'd be a lot more optimistic about this one if it was someone else's project and Brad was Creative Director.Bhagpusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499162165023939880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1510920011443550663.post-60522115509692304952014-01-14T18:28:22.998+00:002014-01-14T18:28:22.998+00:00Yeah, I caught that little bit of Rift in the mix ...Yeah, I caught that little bit of Rift in the mix as well, and it made me go "hrmm..." It could be just an attempt to create another back story to suit his vision I suppose. But otherwise nostalgia for early EverQuest is his trump card. I just wish the whole vision felt a little more baked and that he was really up front on being able to focus on a small initial game that will expand over time. Trying to get everything in on day one hamstrung Vanguard at launch.Wilhelm Arcturushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033496821708933394noreply@blogger.com