Vanguard SoH

[milamber]

So, I got into the third round of beta testing for SoH. I thought it looked pretty cool and decided to give it a try (I have no interest in going back to WoW - even to play the Burning Crusade). Computer Gaming has been pretty boring lately and until HJ comes out I needed something to play with.

So, I started the game and the first thing that happened is I ran straight backward over a cliff and nothing I could do stopped me from running. Did I mention that this is basically the RTM? I finally figured out that you can't have a joystick plugged in an play at the same time - how dumb is that?

Then, I finally get it running on a system with dual GeForce 7950GT's running in SLI mode when I find out that people can walk on air and I can't see the walls! The clipping of the graphics is ridiculous and makes the game unplayable - I couldn't even figure out how to move anywhere.

So, after that I decided that it's best to just wait for HJ. SoH was a total disappointment - and no one even responded to my issues. Being that HJ will have DM's in much closer contact with the players makes me want HJ all the more. I may die unless I get HJ soon! Everything else pales in comparison.

 

[PrestoAdam]

I totally agree Milamber.

My complaint about Vanguard, and I have been in since beta 1, is that the game is purely functional. There is no humor, whimsy, or unessential in the world. In other words, the game is totally sterile. In a town, there are no NPCs who do not need to be there. No bums, fortune tellers, peasant folk, etc. Only those essential to interacting with PCs are present.

What made WoW so approachable was not the graphics or the interface, but the inclusion of things to do while one was NOT adventuring. The tram, for instance, that connects Iron Forge with Stormwind, is basically a free scenic roller coaster to a newbie. Or when one walked around Stormwind, there were NPC children running around, who, if your character was higher level, would say things like 'look Susie, it's the great Presto'. To me, this added so much flavor to the world.

Even in Vanguard beta 1, I made the sterility complaint, and I was told by the devotees to Sigil's cause that I should reserve judgement until the game was almost released. Well, playing it today is the EXACT same experience as during beta 1. Rinse and repeat, anyone?

 

[Leo_CinVin]

I thinkt he term MMMORPG is being misused these days because it attracts a lot of people. The enviornments are not RP environments any more, and it's sad. The sterility factor that you speak of is common in other games. Sure EQII has some NPCs that are not "functionable" but are tehre for show.. but how many PCs give a damn about their existance? They just want to hit level 70 and do nothing but level and gain more loot. Where's the real fun in this, today's MMO gamer approaches the game the way an employee approaches their job. Where's the fun factor. Where's the RPing. It seems to be a dieing breed in every "RPing" game now..

 

[Zink]

I agree. I've just started to call them MMOG's.(Heh, Mog)

 

[Trillian_CinVin]

My ex started coining these "Massive Multiplayer Online Grind" - as even the "game" bit of it is dubious sometimes; some games seem practically either a job or a way of life, and I like leaving my house from time to time!

 

[Daax]

Sorry, but what does SoH stand for?

 

[Homeslice513]

Saga of Heroes

 

[Daax]

okie dokie

 

[blur]

I thinkt he term MMMORPG is being misused these days because it attracts a lot of people. The enviornments are not RP environments any more, and it's sad. The sterility factor that you speak of is common in other games. Sure EQII has some NPCs that are not "functionable" but are tehre for show.. but how many PCs give a damn about their existance? They just want to hit level 70 and do nothing but level and gain more loot. Where's the real fun in this, today's MMO gamer approaches the game the way an employee approaches their job. Where's the fun factor. Where's the RPing. It seems to be a dieing breed in every "RPing" game now..

QFE/QFT.