First... Wow.. I've never seen any one community rep/liaison in the official forums for a MMO ever respond in as much detail as you have here.. So that's quite impressive :-).
If it's representative of a more hands-on approach you'd have to your own player community, then kudos. That right there would put Vanguard head and shoulders above so many of the games out there.
Also.. and I'm sure you know this - but I think you give too much credit to the posters of some of the comments you replied to - many times people will over-dramatize their point to get a reaction (I've even done it :-).. but be that as it may...
Here are some comments/concerns I have...
I've played a bit in Beta 3 and... well, I've been underwhelmed; specifically by the "quest" content. The first 7 or 8 levels, I did nothing but quests and all but like 1 or 2 were "kill # of x" or "gather # of y" quests. To me, those are "tasks", not "quests". Quests have a larget objective, some kind of story or lore.. or.. well.. point to them beyond "Jacobi Murherren doesn't like the rats he's seen all around the village lately and would like you to help thin the population a bit. Kill 15 rats and then return to him with their tails to prove you did so." I mean.. really, I could sit down and come up with those all day. They're not creative, they're not original, they're not challenging. They certainly don't provoke any kind of thought process beyond "find rats and kill them".
There was one in there that I thought was at least entertaining.. without going into detail since I don't want to break any NDAs or whatever.. it involved angry tiny scorpions. That at least had a point to it - something with some kind of back-story - and got a good chuckle out of me.
The very next quests I got, though.. right back to the "go kill # of x". I basically lost interest and will probably not even consider looking at it again, if at all, 'til around launch - maybe during open beta if there is one. If the quests at the earlier levels haven't been amped up with some more interesting and meaningful content, I probably won't bother playing it. Not like that's going to put Vanguard under - and it's not a threat. I'm not delusional or ego-centric enough to believe I'm anything more than another schmuck spending probably way-too-many-hours at my computer, achieving imaginary goals for imaginary rewards... However, I do enjoy that time to be spent on things that keep me engaged, immersed and challenged. Kill and Collect quests do none of that, for me anyway.
Soo... for what it's worth... I'm hoping those "tasks" are place-holders or that they'll at least, be optional with other more interesting and challenging quests available to do instead. And I mean.. from level 1 - not from level 30 or 50 or whatever. That's another thing that drives me nuts. In WoW and in other MMOs I've played.. the early levels are always boring and repetitive. The mentality is almost always "well, when you get to level 30, that's when the good stuff starts". Why make players wait 30 levels for the "good stuff"? I just don't get that at all but it seems to plague every MMORPG I've ever played. Maybe there's a good reason for it - but I can't fathom one.
-shrug-
I love the look of Vanguard, from what I've seen personally and from movies/screenshots. It sounds like you've got quite an epic world awaiting us... but if that world is going to experienced 20 rats at a time... I think I'll have to pass.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
i realy wanna play this game i think it will be like old swg without the bugs only in an eq-esque setting but im so afraid soe will say "hey brad we got a few suggestions..." and then the game goes to hell in a month time
In San Diego, Vanguard hosted the press. Jon Wood reports back on what the two MMO titans Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler of Sigil had to say about SOE, diplomacy, travel and more.
As many people will tell you, in order for a game to be successful in a crowded MMORPG fantasy market, it has to have some kind of hook, something new and exciting, to get players interested and to keep their interest. Vanguard seems to take this into account with their new Diplomacy system, which joins Adventuring and Crafting as areas for advancement. Diplomacy is meant to give the cities more meaning. "No matter how great an adventurer you are," it was explained to us, "you can't just force your way in to see the king, you need to look the part, you need to have the diplomacy abilities." This means that diplomacy will provide avenues for gameplay that adventuring can not provide. The full article is here.
Originally posted by Hersaint "Market will bear"Casual gamers keep walking...nothing to see here.I wonder if 4 hours a week, will "earn" you a flying mount, with your hard earned cash going into $OE's pockets?Sorry I'm not buying the same old hype. Hope Im wrong though.
Content is content. If you don't have time to experience a challenge then go play a game that presents no challenge. If you are so buisy with other things in your life be thankful you have other meaningful things that fill the hours of your day.
Comments
Ahhh EQ style PvP... tacked on the end...
ZZZZZZZZZZZ
Whack-a-mole FTL
Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood. -Nietzsche
First... Wow.. I've never seen any one community rep/liaison in the official forums for a MMO ever respond in as much detail as you have here.. So that's quite impressive :-).
If it's representative of a more hands-on approach you'd have to your own player community, then kudos. That right there would put Vanguard head and shoulders above so many of the games out there.
Also.. and I'm sure you know this - but I think you give too much credit to the posters of some of the comments you replied to - many times people will over-dramatize their point to get a reaction (I've even done it :-).. but be that as it may...
Here are some comments/concerns I have...
I've played a bit in Beta 3 and... well, I've been underwhelmed; specifically by the "quest" content. The first 7 or 8 levels, I did nothing but quests and all but like 1 or 2 were "kill # of x" or "gather # of y" quests. To me, those are "tasks", not "quests". Quests have a larget objective, some kind of story or lore.. or.. well.. point to them beyond "Jacobi Murherren doesn't like the rats he's seen all around the village lately and would like you to help thin the population a bit. Kill 15 rats and then return to him with their tails to prove you did so." I mean.. really, I could sit down and come up with those all day. They're not creative, they're not original, they're not challenging. They certainly don't provoke any kind of thought process beyond "find rats and kill them".
There was one in there that I thought was at least entertaining.. without going into detail since I don't want to break any NDAs or whatever.. it involved angry tiny scorpions. That at least had a point to it - something with some kind of back-story - and got a good chuckle out of me.
The very next quests I got, though.. right back to the "go kill # of x". I basically lost interest and will probably not even consider looking at it again, if at all, 'til around launch - maybe during open beta if there is one. If the quests at the earlier levels haven't been amped up with some more interesting and meaningful content, I probably won't bother playing it. Not like that's going to put Vanguard under - and it's not a threat. I'm not delusional or ego-centric enough to believe I'm anything more than another schmuck spending probably way-too-many-hours at my computer, achieving imaginary goals for imaginary rewards... However, I do enjoy that time to be spent on things that keep me engaged, immersed and challenged. Kill and Collect quests do none of that, for me anyway.
Soo... for what it's worth... I'm hoping those "tasks" are place-holders or that they'll at least, be optional with other more interesting and challenging quests available to do instead. And I mean.. from level 1 - not from level 30 or 50 or whatever. That's another thing that drives me nuts. In WoW and in other MMOs I've played.. the early levels are always boring and repetitive. The mentality is almost always "well, when you get to level 30, that's when the good stuff starts". Why make players wait 30 levels for the "good stuff"? I just don't get that at all but it seems to plague every MMORPG I've ever played. Maybe there's a good reason for it - but I can't fathom one.
-shrug-
I love the look of Vanguard, from what I've seen personally and from movies/screenshots. It sounds like you've got quite an epic world awaiting us... but if that world is going to experienced 20 rats at a time... I think I'll have to pass.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
only in an eq-esque setting
but im so afraid soe will say "hey brad we got a few suggestions..."
and then the game goes to hell in a month time
-darkbladed