Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Would you consider Vanguard a Sandbox?
rollnstns
Member Posts: 53
A good sandbox game is what I need.
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
rollnstns
Member Posts: 53
Comments
It is really linear, just with many branches. If you choose to do something as a primary goal of your own you can, but you are severly limited in achieving anything in the actual game this way.
To be a sandbox you can make a goal and achieve something as far as progressing the game no matter what you choose.
VG is one big stream with a bunch of short tributaries.
Yes and no...
Being an old Pre-CU SWG'er, I'd say besides the locked classes, Levels & lack of Social Professions, it's as close to that Pre-CU feeling as any game I've played. It's not a real sanbox, but there are sandox aspects...
I'll start my own SWG... with Black Jack... and Hookers!!!
In fact, forget the SWG!!!!
I would pretty much agree with most of the previous respondants. If you can find an agreeable small group of people, you should easily be able to complement each others skills in all the spheres. It will be a cooperative sandbox, but a sandbox nonetheless. The limitations are that not all aspects of the world are manipulable. It is less "sandboxy" than the original SWG, but I suspect moreso than the typical combat-oriented MMO.
I think it is in the nature of a sandbox player not to care much about goals provided by game "content" such as quests and missions, but instead to find out what legal objectives the game allows one to pursue that were perhaps not featured or explicitly intended. Vanguard provides some goals distinct from leveling for its own sake, but I don't think it rules out the pursuit of a variety of player-defined goals. A lot depends on implementation elements that I have not experienced yet, and that can easily be changed as the game progresses (eg, quality and frequency of equipment loot).
I consider the term "sanbox" a little vague, but to me, the main implication is that it's a game where one can play through content, without any combat-based levelling up at all. Such as being a miner, a trader, a crafter, and progress as such, without needing to participate in the combat grind at all. Ala old SWG, UO, or EVE.
For those who say Vanguard has sandbox elements, I'm curious, like what?
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
The biggest thing I see in Vanguard is that you can be a combat class, accomplished crafter, AND a diplomat all on the same character and sacrificing nothing from any of them.
I have a love for pre-CU SWG and it will always have a place with me, and I do see elements of that in VG. The only difference is you dont need 3 different account to have different class types on the same server. Since VG is only allowing 1 char per server ( i heard this somewhere, not sure if its true or not) it will be nice to be able to spend a day crafting if I desire and then the next day, with the same character, go slaughter innocent chickens. Or something to that effect anyway.
I would agree that it is not a "sandbox" game for the most part. Pre-CU SWG is pretty much the definition of sandbox to me. No quest lines to run, unless you wanted to. You could just walk outside Moenia and kill Cappers till you gain enough pistol experience to advance to your next skill box.
The biggest thing I have been missing is Player housing and Player cities. This I am hoping to gain with VG to the extent it was in SWG.
At any rate, theres my 2 cents. I like VG. It has been a fun game to run, albiet buggy, but still better then the monstrosity that is WoW.
and I am looking forward to release...hoping they keep patching and the devs keep doing the amazing job they have been with fixing some of those bugs.
Thalos Vipav
Star Wars Galaxies: R.I.P.
You can look at this in two ways...
-No way it could ever be a sandbox because we really dont have the freedom to do what we want, when we want and how we want. yes, we can go kill these scorpions over and over and keep them at bay....in that one little patch of grass, but what effect does it have on the world...none. You cant kill an NPC if you dont like them or just want to rob them, or destroying structures, environments, anything. There is no change, there is nothing you can do to make a permanent change in the world of Telon.
-It is one huge sandbox because you have the freedom to do what you want. If you decide you want to go around as a monk and only fight with your fists, then go for it. If you want to spend your gaming life harvesting bricks to make houses, more power to ya!(might be hard to mine the ore, but you could buy it and never leave town). You can do whatever it is your little heart desires. Only do quests, be a dress wearing (male or female they are still dresses!) diplomat, be the best [insert class] on the server, run a vendor, build houses or ships, make weapons, do whatever you want.
Depending on what you consider a sandbox will answer your question. There is tons to do in most MMOs, it is what it is. If you enjoy powerlvling, you will enjoy the game up to 50, if you want to craft, there is plenty of options there. IMHO, I have yet to get a fully open sandbox in ANY game, ever. GTA was darn close, but not quite there. When a game lets you interact with ANY object/person/place in the game, that will be a true sandbox.
Vanguard, Who Hates Who - Your Quick Guide to KOS Status
Feel free to repost this elsewhere.
Most (but not all) small outposts are not KOS to races, but start with pretty low faction values.
A note on becoming non KOS - Its not overly hard, so do not despair if you are KOS in a particular location. It will require some work, but nothing that cannot be overcome.
Major Areas:
Martok
Kills on Sight: Half Elf
Kills on Sight: Kojani Human
Kills on Sight: Raki
Kills on Sight: Wood Elf
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Mordebi Human
Kills on Sight: Qaliathari Human
Kills on Sight: Dwarf
Kills on Sight: Halfling
Kills on Sight: High Elf
Kills on Sight: Thestran Human
Tanvu
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Caial Brael
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Hathor Zhi
Kills on Sight: Half Elf
Kills on Sight: Kojani Human
Kills on Sight: Raki
Kills on Sight: Wood Elf
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Mordebi Human
Kills on Sight: Qaliathari
Kills on Sight: Dwarf
Kills on Sight: Halfling
Kills on Sight: High Elf
Kills on Sight: Thestran Human
Mekalia
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Kurashasa
Kills on Sight: Dwarf
Kills on Sight: Lesser Giant
Qur'xa
Kills on Sight: Raki
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Mordebi Human
Kills on Sight: Qaliathari Human
Kills on Sight: Vulmane
Khal (Except for Foreign Quarter)
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Kurashasa
Lomshir
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Bordinar's Cleft
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Varanthari
Kills on Sight: Lesser Giant
Kills on Sight: Varanjar
Kills on Sight: Vulmane
Rindol Field
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Leth Nurae
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Vulmane
Halgarad
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: Dwarf
Tursh
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Dahknarg
Kills on Sight: Half Elf
Kills on Sight: Wood Elf
Kills on Sight: Gnome
Kills on Sight: High Elf
Ahgram
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Kills on Sight: Kurashasa
New Targonor
Tursh
Kills on Sight: Goblin
Kills on Sight: Orc
Kills on Sight: Dark Elf
Agree 100%. That is a huge part of the immersion factor for me. WoW and alot of the other games are so "nomadic". You might have a house or apartment in other games, but actually having a building and or land that is yours is something I miss.
I just miss the community feel of the old SWG, I hope Vanguard captures a portion of that.
What's a sandbox? Well if you look at a literal real life sandbox, it's just a box of sand. However, supply a little bit of imagination and it can be anything. You can make a castle, and use some army men to attack the castle, or make a truck and watch as meteorites (a handy rock) smash it to bits as the world is about to end.
Compare that to a toy, like a toy firetruck. It's a firetruck, will always be a firetruck. You can make up all sorts of adventures...about a firetruck.
That's the difference. Like everything else, it's not usually a matter of black and white, but some shade of gray. Do you want a pure sandbox? Well that would be Second Life. There's not game at all, just use the scripting features to make whatever you want. Personally that seems rather boring to me, and probably why the biggest activity in Second Life (as far as I know) is cybering, or pretending to be some kind of furry animal:
Second Life
Do you want a gamey game that is not any sort of sandbox? That would be the original EQ. You get certain classes to play, you beat mobs till you need to level up, then you go to the appropriate new area to beat up new mobs. Rinse, repeat, till max level.
Obviously both types of games have their followers. People play Second Life, and people play EQ. However, a lot of people are looking for something in between. A game of sorts, that allows you to make some stuff up, like in a sandbox.
IMO Shadowbane is a good example of a game with many sandbox elements. There is a game with rules. What sorts of abilities you can have, what races you can play, what classes you can be, how combat works, building cities, etc. However the sandbox element is that players can build cities and form guilds, and attack other cities and destroy them, or ally with them. It's a sandbox because all this is determined by the players, not the game. It's not like DAoC where you just pick what realm you wanna join and you have 3 choices that are hard coded into the game. You make a guild and take over territory. Your guild can prosper, or fall apart. The players make it up as they go along. SB was a terrible game because it was poorly executed, but it was an example of a sandbox. EVE is another good example of a sandbox game because the players can form coorporations and take over territory. Although these two examples are about PvP and taking over territory, anything that let's players control the world and change it would be more like a sandbox.
Does Vanguard fall into the category of a sandbox game like EVE and Shadowbane? I dont' think so. It's a gamey game. You pick a class, you level up, them move on to the next area.
There is one aspect of Vanguard that is a "sandbox" element, and that's Diplomacy. Supposedly when diplomacy is fully implemented you can use it to change the game world. So, if you're really interested in the sandbox aspect of Vanguard, then Diplomacy is the way to go, unless of course you don't like playing card games.
MMORPG Maker
The classes are fixed there's no UO or old SWG mix n match skills to create your character class - but on the otherhand the classes all do seems to play very nicely and have a distinct feel to them and serve their group roles in diferent but effective fashions.
I do like the ability to go craft when I get bored of quests, group-up for a dungeon run when I get bored of crafting, & advance some diplomacy when I want a change again.
First impression: Look at a screenshot or create a character, get dropped in the game, it's just another EQ clone
Second impression: Explored a bit, tried crafting, tried diplomacy, bought a horse, maybe found out about housing - woah, this game is much more a sandbox than I thought.
That's the trouble with Vanguard, it's something good wearing EQ clone clothing.
ROFLMAO...
As someone who HATED both EQ & WoW, I must give "Mad Props" for that one... hehe...
I'll start my own SWG... with Black Jack... and Hookers!!!
In fact, forget the SWG!!!!
How do you mean that? Are there crafting classes, or do you mean classes are tied to certain crafting options, like in DAOC? (Healers could be spellcrafters, Shadowblades could be alchemists, etc) If the latter, I assume it's also like DAOC (and many others), where someone can't really just play a crafter, because they wouldn't have the resources for it, and frankly, crafting doesn't keep anyone entertained like it does in games like EVE or SWG?
One way I'm thinking about, to judge how much of a sandbox a game is, is to look at how people play the game. Not what you theoretically can do, which tends to omit finer but important distinctions, but what people actually do. Are many of them hanging out in towns a lot, screwing around in all sorts of ways? Or are they all pretty focused, just levelling up?
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
Just a few of Vanguards features:
*No zones/instances. Just 1 freaking HUGE open world in Vanguard!
*Player placed houses. The houses are not zoned. The only difference is you can only build on pre-determined plots in order to protect the environment (brilliant, SWG should have done this). The home decoration options are about 100 times that of SWG. You can even build a house on any one of hundreds of remote islands.
*In Vanguard there are literally over 60,000 items in the world already and every single item can be dropped in your house like in SWG.
*Vanguard features the "you can go anywhere" mentality. If you see it you can go there.
*Harvesting resources so reminds me of SWG. Hell, when you chop down a tree for wood the tree actually falls to the ground where you can then harvest it.
*SWG had space travel - Vanguard has sea travel! Huge open oceans to travel upon with your player-made boats of all sizes.
*You can tame wild beasts and mount them. In Vanguard you can fly dozens of mounts anywhere!
*The most amazing character-creation options ever. Period.
*You can custom design clothes, armor, weapons and even 'brand' it with your own logo.
*You can create and name your own songs (Bard).
* Item decay! And the most impressive crafting system ever devised.
*The CHALLENGE you sorely miss... is back!
And on and on! The information is out there.... launch date: 01-30-2007
I miss the good ol' days when nerds were actually intelligent.
This is not factional territory control. It's just factions. Can, for example, Tursh village conquer the city of Khal? No. That's what busdriver meant when he said "factional territory control".
Well in SWG you could sit on a chair. Also in UO. Guild meetings were so much more fun, sitting around a long table (UO) on the roof of our guild tower, or sitting on chairs in the guild hall (SWG) with the guild leaders higher and on beautifully carved chairs. In VG all you can do is stand. That hurts the roleplaying aspect and the fun. I hope they add chairs and sitting possibilities to VG.
Yes
I miss DAoC