I remember hearing all the hype about vanguard being the hardcore old school MMO, so I gave the free trial a go. within the first 5 minutes of doing nothing I'm rewarded with what looks like a full set of epic endgame armor/weapons
that just screams desperation to me
I think that's exaggerating quite a bit. And I'll leave it at that.
As far a Brad McQuaid and this topic goes, I don't think anyone is saying he is is a savior or messiah or that he will single handedely save this game and then the mmo genre.
This was his project he is familiar with it. He was most likely brought in because he knows a lot about it, where it was going to go and what things should be in it.
As long as he's not managing anything he is being used as a knowldege base and an extra set of hands. I can't speak for "his code" but I imagine, given the unfinished state that the game was released, there wasn't a lot of QA and not a lot of time to fix things.
As far as his character, there are a lot of people who have issues and there are a lot of creative people, even successful creative people (sometimes in spite of themselves) who have issues.
just looking over history with successful artists, musicians/composers, writers, actors, etc I can name many who had larger issues than Brad McQuaid.
Regardless of where he falls in the spectrum of "good".
In any case, the extra attention this game is getting coupled with bringing in people familiar with the project can only be good. Compared with just fixing bugs and not much else over the last few years.
For the people who like this game and want to see it continue, this is a good thing.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
I hope he IS. SOE stated that they wanted to EQ3 to be more like EQ1... he's the guy that could pull it off!
I hope he does work on EQ3 to but quite rightly stated far far FAR away from planetside2, in fact there should be extra security employed just to make sure Brad cant wander into "BRAD RESTRICTED" areas.
Accounting might also be a good idea to place in restricted area along with any areas with a sick bay containing meds stronger than childrens paracetamol.
But give Brad EQ3 some woodelves and a ranger class he can get all wet over, and he will be one happy little bunny.
ONe thing i never liked in any game is easy handouts.I don't like the way i was playing EQ2 and getting the best drops pretty much 1/2 tries,that is NOT a rare system and just makes that gear ho hum because everyone esle that can use it has it.
I remember hearing all the hype about vanguard being the hardcore old school MMO, so I gave the free trial a go. within the first 5 minutes of doing nothing I'm rewarded with what looks like a full set of epic endgame armor/weapons
that just screams desperation to me
both EQ2 and Vanguard did not launch w ezmode quest gear -- that happened post launch
EQ2 at launch was much more "grindy" than it is now
2 years post launch, Vanguard added a new starter area with quest gear that was better than other starting areas
I'm expecting EQ3 to be casual but theres been no news for how challenging EQ3 will be
I remember hearing all the hype about vanguard being the hardcore old school MMO, so I gave the free trial a go. within the first 5 minutes of doing nothing I'm rewarded with what looks like a full set of epic endgame armor/weapons
that just screams desperation to me
I think that's exaggerating quite a bit. And I'll leave it at that.
As far a Brad McQuaid and this topic goes, I don't think anyone is saying he is is a savior or messiah or that he will single handedely save this game and then the mmo genre.
This was his project he is familiar with it. He was most likely brought in because he knows a lot about it, where it was going to go and what things should be in it.
As long as he's not managing anything he is being used as a knowldege base and an extra set of hands. I can't speak for "his code" but I imagine, given the unfinished state that the game was released, there wasn't a lot of QA and not a lot of time to fix things.
As far as his character, there are a lot of people who have issues and there are a lot of creative people, even successful creative people (sometimes in spite of themselves) who have issues.
just looking over history with successful artists, musicians/composers, writers, actors, etc I can name many who had larger issues than Brad McQuaid.
Regardless of where he falls in the spectrum of "good".
In any case, the extra attention this game is getting coupled with bringing in people familiar with the project can only be good. Compared with just fixing bugs and not much else over the last few years.
For the people who like this game and want to see it continue, this is a good thing.
Again, You are the voice of reason, and you are good at it. Probably one of the few Adult mentalities here.
As for Vanguard, bah Free 2 Play I might give it a try depending on class restrictions on the free to play. I try to play very specific classes, so if I can not play one of the three classes in that game I prefer with out paying money then I will move on and not give it another try.
If one of those classes are open to play I will probablly give it a go, with or without Brad. As for Brad he has been an ass but so am I, just not to the level he was.
I doubt that Vanguard will be is second chance. He will not have the budget, or the resources to do anything amazing with Vanguard.
Weak interview. Nothing about it made me want to go back.
At this point, a lot of time has passed since launch and going back would feel like taking a step backwards. So what does the game offer going forward?
Bringing back Brad is a good thing as far as I am concerned.
I really liked what he wanted Vanguard to be, I am a fan of the virtual world, of the journey. Yes VG was a buggy mess, yes it was incomplete and yes Brad wasa terrible business man. Look at the size of Vanguards world, of the amount of content, compare that to other mmo,s released past and present. Brad tried to make something truly epic and yes he failed miserably.
Soe bringing Brad back, sais to me that Soe wants VG keep more with the original vision then to dummy it down more. To me the only way VG can grow is to be different, to serve a niche and to me that niche is a game like Brad had originaly envisioned it.
I might give it a try depending on class restrictions on the free to play. I try to play very specific classes, so if I can not play one of the three classes in that game I prefer with out paying money then I will move on and not give it another try.
Sure, be blinded by the FTP stuff... not one person mentioned what an utterly despicable person Brad is. He lost interest when Sony bought verant, just completely stopped coming to work for huge periods of time. No one mentioned his huge salary while cutting his staff to support his lifestyle. Remember Sigil games? Yeah, what a fiasco that was. He thumbed his nose at Sony, Took most of the decent staff with him, leaving behind a lot of people that struggled to keep up, promised his new staff lots of things, none of which came true. Then remember that day when Sigil just abruptly locked it doors, shutting out all employees, who could not even obtain their personal effects. Over 150 people literally dumped on due to Brad.
Yeah. great guy. Whatever, how soon we tend to forget past history....
To bad the fact the F2P model is completely bad will basically make it not matter. I mean literally, EQ2 is terrible to free players but vanguard just topped it by leaps and bounds.
Yes, you need to make money but you CANT make it completely unrealistic for a player to play unless they pay for it. You need to allow them at least the ability to play content without being restricted in EVERYTHING. Sure you can limit content but limiting stuff you can do that effects everything in a large way is a terrible concept.
This post will probably bring on another long list of "I hate SOE's FTP model" rants, but I for one can't wait to get back into this game! It should be a lot of fun!
no, it wont.
Because those posts are actually somewhat reasonable. Hating the model is one thing, its not designed for max level play for free, and thats all some people want.
Instead, it will being on a rash of completely ignorant posts stating such nonsense as 'SoE never learns, this will fail' (while ingoring the fact it worked well for EQ2) or 'f2p players cant do anything with this model' when they can experience all the content the game offers with the exception of max level content just fine.
LOL! Thanks for making the distinction! I play EQ2, and I think a lot of people don't understand that you can avoid subbing, only buy triple station cash, and for very little money you can have a full lev character with epic gear (at least in EQ2 you can). You do have to put out some money though, and that's where most of the screaming and yelling comes from. They want the whole game for free.
Question i have is, how much money ? seriously if its worth it and around what i would pay for a few months subs (6-10 months) i would consider trying a complete FTP character. But as far as i can tell its really more expensive than subbing, and there are alot of games coming out or are out that have my time occupied.
I play EQ2, and I think a lot of people don't understand that you can avoid subbing, only buy triple station cash, and for very little money you can have a full lev character with epic gear (at least in EQ2 you can). You do have to put out some money though, and that's where most of the screaming and yelling comes from. They want the whole game for free.
Question i have is, how much money ? seriously if its worth it and around what i would pay for a few months subs (6-10 months) i would consider trying a complete FTP character. But as far as i can tell its really more expensive than subbing, and there are alot of games coming out or are out that have my time occupied.
ive leveled from scratch in EQ2 as a silver member to level 85 - and didnt pay anything while leveling
silver membership is a one time fee of 10.00 or free if you were ever an EQ2 subscriber
as silver,
you are limited to 4 bags, but you can cheaply buy bags that are 40 slots each (160 slots)
gearing up at 90 will cost some unlockers (1.50 pay for 5 gear unlocks, and theres 24 gear slots to unlock)
7.50 will pay for all slots
will want to buy DOV expansion if level 90 (20.00 from SOE)
most players wait for double cash specials
- happens like 6 times a year, effectively *halving* all costs
Sure, be blinded by the FTP stuff... not one person mentioned what an utterly despicable person Brad is. He lost interest when Sony bought verant, just completely stopped coming to work for huge periods of time. No one mentioned his huge salary while cutting his staff to support his lifestyle. Remember Sigil games? Yeah, what a fiasco that was. He thumbed his nose at Sony, Took most of the decent staff with him, leaving behind a lot of people that struggled to keep up, promised his new staff lots of things, none of which came true. Then remember that day when Sigil just abruptly locked it doors, shutting out all employees, who could not even obtain their personal effects. Over 150 people literally dumped on due to Brad.
Yeah. great guy. Whatever, how soon we tend to forget past history....
Actually quite a number of people have mentioned issues with brad...
Sure, be blinded by the FTP stuff... not one person mentioned what an utterly despicable person Brad is. He lost interest when Sony bought verant, just completely stopped coming to work for huge periods of time. No one mentioned his huge salary while cutting his staff to support his lifestyle. Remember Sigil games? Yeah, what a fiasco that was. He thumbed his nose at Sony, Took most of the decent staff with him, leaving behind a lot of people that struggled to keep up, promised his new staff lots of things, none of which came true. Then remember that day when Sigil just abruptly locked it doors, shutting out all employees, who could not even obtain their personal effects. Over 150 people literally dumped on due to Brad.
Yeah. great guy. Whatever, how soon we tend to forget past history....
Try reading the replies. I personally ripped Brad apart. I have no respect for him. I am also sure he does not care that I have no respect for him.
Sure, be blinded by the FTP stuff... not one person mentioned what an utterly despicable person Brad is. He lost interest when Sony bought verant, just completely stopped coming to work for huge periods of time. No one mentioned his huge salary while cutting his staff to support his lifestyle. Remember Sigil games? Yeah, what a fiasco that was. He thumbed his nose at Sony, Took most of the decent staff with him, leaving behind a lot of people that struggled to keep up, promised his new staff lots of things, none of which came true. Then remember that day when Sigil just abruptly locked it doors, shutting out all employees, who could not even obtain their personal effects. Over 150 people literally dumped on due to Brad.
Yeah. great guy. Whatever, how soon we tend to forget past history....
lol did you even read the topic? it's basically a brad bashing party now, with a few loyal fans defending him every now and then
also since obviously none of us were there during the games development, nobody can say what happened 100%, but I have a feeling brad wasn't being malicious. I think he's just a dolt who wasn't prepared at all for the real thing and he panicked
Well I read the article / interview and the MMORPG.com quote at the start of this thread interested me with regard to game design
As MMOs grow older there are often areas in the game where the loot and rewards aren't as good as in other areas. This unfortunately encourages players to choose a specific region or quest line for their level and ignore much of the rest of the game. One of the things we're working on to get ready for the free-to-play (FTP) launch is a re-itemization of the majority of regions in the game. This means we're going through areas and making sure that quest rewards and boss loot drops give you great items. As a player you'll be able to explore and level up in different areas of your choice without having to worry that you're missing out on great loot that drops elsewhere.
Okay... so I would like to clarify a couple of points here?
"...This means we're going through areas and making sure that quest rewards and boss loot drops give you great items..."
I could read this two ways;
One reading is that the drops in one area will be comparable to drops in another?
The other reading is that drops in one area will be the same to drops in another?
IMHO it actually does make a difference.
I think Yahtzee Croshaw summed it up when he reviewed Tabula Rasa: "...taking the grind out of MMOs might seem like a good idea..."
Well, taking the travel out of MMOs might also seem like a good idea... but it isn't.
Part of what makes MMO worlds feel like worlds is the travel and the need to travel. So I hope he means "comparable" and not "the same". Because the former makes sense - the latter is a game killer.
Im not a fan of brad or his so called "vision" but his addition to the team is the strongest signal ive seen that $oe may actually make a real attempt to do something with vg other than maintain lifesupport.
How do you know? We never saw his "vision" realized. We saw what was left of his vision after SOE got done re-imagining it. Who knows what was left on the "cutting room floor"?
I think the only reason we have to be disappointed with Brad is the way he handled the frustration, by becoming uninvolved.
Im not a fan of brad or his so called "vision" but his addition to the team is the strongest signal ive seen that $oe may actually make a real attempt to do something with vg other than maintain lifesupport.
How do you know? We never saw his "vision" realized. We saw what was left of his vision after SOE got done re-imagining it. Who knows what was left on the "cutting room floor"?
I think the only reason we have to be disappointed with Brad is the way he handled the frustration, by becoming uninvolved.
I saw more than enough of his vision in eq,eq2, and vg beta to know im not a fan thank you very much.
As a long time MMO player I always liked Brad and his "vision" for MMOs. Unfortunately he lost control of VG long before it was finished and was unable to deliver the product he wanted to. He became frustrated when it was clear it was not going to be "his" game and gave up. We all know the stories of his poor personal choices and the terrible way some business situations were handled. Those are things he will have to live up to and make amends for. As such I personally would not put him in an executive position. However, as an MMO dev in a purely creative position he has a great deal to offer.
Comments
I think that's exaggerating quite a bit. And I'll leave it at that.
As far a Brad McQuaid and this topic goes, I don't think anyone is saying he is is a savior or messiah or that he will single handedely save this game and then the mmo genre.
This was his project he is familiar with it. He was most likely brought in because he knows a lot about it, where it was going to go and what things should be in it.
As long as he's not managing anything he is being used as a knowldege base and an extra set of hands. I can't speak for "his code" but I imagine, given the unfinished state that the game was released, there wasn't a lot of QA and not a lot of time to fix things.
As far as his character, there are a lot of people who have issues and there are a lot of creative people, even successful creative people (sometimes in spite of themselves) who have issues.
just looking over history with successful artists, musicians/composers, writers, actors, etc I can name many who had larger issues than Brad McQuaid.
Regardless of where he falls in the spectrum of "good".
In any case, the extra attention this game is getting coupled with bringing in people familiar with the project can only be good. Compared with just fixing bugs and not much else over the last few years.
For the people who like this game and want to see it continue, this is a good thing.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
both EQ2 and Vanguard did not launch w ezmode quest gear -- that happened post launch
EQ2 at launch was much more "grindy" than it is now
2 years post launch, Vanguard added a new starter area with quest gear that was better than other starting areas
I'm expecting EQ3 to be casual but theres been no news for how challenging EQ3 will be
EQ2 fan sites
Again, You are the voice of reason, and you are good at it. Probably one of the few Adult mentalities here.
As for Vanguard, bah Free 2 Play I might give it a try depending on class restrictions on the free to play. I try to play very specific classes, so if I can not play one of the three classes in that game I prefer with out paying money then I will move on and not give it another try.
If one of those classes are open to play I will probablly give it a go, with or without Brad. As for Brad he has been an ass but so am I, just not to the level he was.
I doubt that Vanguard will be is second chance. He will not have the budget, or the resources to do anything amazing with Vanguard.
Not so nice guy!
Weak interview. Nothing about it made me want to go back.
At this point, a lot of time has passed since launch and going back would feel like taking a step backwards. So what does the game offer going forward?
I think I'll just keep playing Fallout New Vegas.
So they're going to revamp the drops and quest rewards but f2p players cant use better than common gear???
Bringing back Brad is a good thing as far as I am concerned.
I really liked what he wanted Vanguard to be, I am a fan of the virtual world, of the journey. Yes VG was a buggy mess, yes it was incomplete and yes Brad wasa terrible business man. Look at the size of Vanguards world, of the amount of content, compare that to other mmo,s released past and present. Brad tried to make something truly epic and yes he failed miserably.
Soe bringing Brad back, sais to me that Soe wants VG keep more with the original vision then to dummy it down more. To me the only way VG can grow is to be different, to serve a niche and to me that niche is a game like Brad had originaly envisioned it.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
existing gear is being relabeled as common
on Test Server -- yello gear has been relabeled to Common gear on the Starting Island
EQ2 fan sites
free classes have already been announced
http://vgplayers.station.sony.com/images/community/membershipinfo/vg_membership_page.jpg
Warrior, Rogue, Monk, Cleric, Disciple, Sorcerer, Necromancer
EQ2 fan sites
Why did my reply disapear? O_o
Can't wait for this, I liked Vanguard but poor performance put me off.
Good, F2P... Brad.....and does this mean it will be easier to solo?
Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!
Sure, be blinded by the FTP stuff... not one person mentioned what an utterly despicable person Brad is. He lost interest when Sony bought verant, just completely stopped coming to work for huge periods of time. No one mentioned his huge salary while cutting his staff to support his lifestyle. Remember Sigil games? Yeah, what a fiasco that was. He thumbed his nose at Sony, Took most of the decent staff with him, leaving behind a lot of people that struggled to keep up, promised his new staff lots of things, none of which came true. Then remember that day when Sigil just abruptly locked it doors, shutting out all employees, who could not even obtain their personal effects. Over 150 people literally dumped on due to Brad.
Yeah. great guy. Whatever, how soon we tend to forget past history....
Interesitng interview I suppose.
To bad the fact the F2P model is completely bad will basically make it not matter. I mean literally, EQ2 is terrible to free players but vanguard just topped it by leaps and bounds.
Yes, you need to make money but you CANT make it completely unrealistic for a player to play unless they pay for it. You need to allow them at least the ability to play content without being restricted in EVERYTHING. Sure you can limit content but limiting stuff you can do that effects everything in a large way is a terrible concept.
Question i have is, how much money ? seriously if its worth it and around what i would pay for a few months subs (6-10 months) i would consider trying a complete FTP character. But as far as i can tell its really more expensive than subbing, and there are alot of games coming out or are out that have my time occupied.
Lolipops !
ive leveled from scratch in EQ2 as a silver member to level 85 - and didnt pay anything while leveling
silver membership is a one time fee of 10.00 or free if you were ever an EQ2 subscriber
as silver,
you are limited to 4 bags, but you can cheaply buy bags that are 40 slots each (160 slots)
gearing up at 90 will cost some unlockers (1.50 pay for 5 gear unlocks, and theres 24 gear slots to unlock)
7.50 will pay for all slots
will want to buy DOV expansion if level 90 (20.00 from SOE)
most players wait for double cash specials
- happens like 6 times a year, effectively *halving* all costs
EQ2 fan sites
So he conquered his pill addiction, did he?
Actually quite a number of people have mentioned issues with brad...
Try reading the replies. I personally ripped Brad apart. I have no respect for him. I am also sure he does not care that I have no respect for him.
Not so nice guy!
lol did you even read the topic? it's basically a brad bashing party now, with a few loyal fans defending him every now and then
also since obviously none of us were there during the games development, nobody can say what happened 100%, but I have a feeling brad wasn't being malicious. I think he's just a dolt who wasn't prepared at all for the real thing and he panicked
Well I read the article / interview and the MMORPG.com quote at the start of this thread interested me with regard to game design
As MMOs grow older there are often areas in the game where the loot and rewards aren't as good as in other areas. This unfortunately encourages players to choose a specific region or quest line for their level and ignore much of the rest of the game. One of the things we're working on to get ready for the free-to-play (FTP) launch is a re-itemization of the majority of regions in the game. This means we're going through areas and making sure that quest rewards and boss loot drops give you great items. As a player you'll be able to explore and level up in different areas of your choice without having to worry that you're missing out on great loot that drops elsewhere.
Okay... so I would like to clarify a couple of points here?
"...This means we're going through areas and making sure that quest rewards and boss loot drops give you great items..."
I could read this two ways;
One reading is that the drops in one area will be comparable to drops in another?
The other reading is that drops in one area will be the same to drops in another?
IMHO it actually does make a difference.
I think Yahtzee Croshaw summed it up when he reviewed Tabula Rasa: "...taking the grind out of MMOs might seem like a good idea..."
Well, taking the travel out of MMOs might also seem like a good idea... but it isn't.
Part of what makes MMO worlds feel like worlds is the travel and the need to travel. So I hope he means "comparable" and not "the same". Because the former makes sense - the latter is a game killer.
Nothing says irony like spelling ideot wrong.
How do you know? We never saw his "vision" realized. We saw what was left of his vision after SOE got done re-imagining it. Who knows what was left on the "cutting room floor"?
I think the only reason we have to be disappointed with Brad is the way he handled the frustration, by becoming uninvolved.
I saw more than enough of his vision in eq,eq2, and vg beta to know im not a fan thank you very much.
As a long time MMO player I always liked Brad and his "vision" for MMOs. Unfortunately he lost control of VG long before it was finished and was unable to deliver the product he wanted to. He became frustrated when it was clear it was not going to be "his" game and gave up. We all know the stories of his poor personal choices and the terrible way some business situations were handled. Those are things he will have to live up to and make amends for. As such I personally would not put him in an executive position. However, as an MMO dev in a purely creative position he has a great deal to offer.