It's not even close to being a good enough game to get in the top 10 let alone the top spot.
It's launch was as bad as a game launch can ever be, that alone means you are out of the top few spots people don't get that aggrivated and then come back. And if you're going to implement a system where the first person to discover a place gets his character name etched in a stone there, well then you'd better not have rollbacks every hour for the first week which resets all those items.
The only thing it attempted to do originally was the diplomacy card game, everything else was a cut and paste of other games. If you've noticed the trend in MMOs, when you cut and paste you don't ever end up beating what you copied.
Took forever to get anywhere and the population was low, which meant it always felt like a giant empty world.
Despite what some have said, the game was, and most likely still is, a very grindy game. Most people now a days don't like grind.
Overall the truth is that despite the few hardcore fans it has, the game is just mediocre and always was.
I play Asheron's Call to this day, but I don't question why it isn't the number 1 game out there. It's different, it's older, and it won't appeal to those who love a WoW style game. But I still have fun and it is still around so I don't make posts titled "Why is AC not the top MMO?"
I keep hearing lack of content, its very apparent those have never touched the game. Please shut the hell up unless you have a valid argument or complaint. This game is everything people have been wanting for a long time, seamless world lots of PvE tons of places to explore, flying mounts, player owned ships, player houses, guild houses, best crafting system out there, diplomacy system, and a shit ton of places to go. Sure some of you can gripe and not play the game because theres a board sticking out of the bottom of your boat that shouldnt. But seriously? Lack of content is the last thing that should be said and probably the biggest lie uttered thus far.
There is a lack of content end-game. Obviously you haven't touched the game.
Guild Houses = fluff
Flying Mounts = fluff and faster travel that makes the world look smaller
Boats/Ship = fluff
Player Houses = bigger banks
Crafting System = doesn't sell although it is good but make eyes bleed
Diplomacy System = make eyes bleed and team got depleted before made useful aside city buffs
Get the facts straight before you attempt to tell people to shut the hell up.
Content = fluff if half of what you people ask for is considered content as far as end game content, it works for the game as is, the majority of the players that I've played with can't seem to keep to a character long enough to hit end game content anyway they keep remaking them.
As far as facts I didn't state a single thing that was untrue. there is end game content there are things to do.
I posted in another thread so i will keep it brief here. The game was missing an insane amount of content at launch. The game was great until about level 35-40ish. Then you started to hit a road block. There were entire zones that were just empty but you could walk through them. Raids were non existent, there were "place holder" loot items on some mobs (to be replaced by the devs later with real loot, performance was horrible and not just on old systems. Guild houses were not at launch, nor were the flying mounts. Anyone who tried the flying mounts during beta probably has an idea why it took them so long to get that out the door, it was a horrible mess.
By the time they did open a raid zone, like the warehouse, a lot of people had already left and the population on the servers was a prob.
The game launched incomplete and lacking the higher level content. It was known this would be an issue long before beta ended but when the issues were not still not addressed a good year after launch, it causes a problem.
The game had and probably still has a lot of a potential, and an expansion would probably bring some life to it again. However, everything I have read says they have not even suggested that at all in 3 years.
"Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better." parrotpholk
I'll keep it simple: Expansion. Vanguard is one of my all time favorites, but i was unwilling to continue playing in a game with no chance for new content. Yes ancients was 'put in' but i'd argue that they just finally got around to fixing a bugged zone. Warehouse? Raided the hell out of it, but alas with just one raid zone (albeit huge) VG could not keep my attention.
I'm currently giving AoC another honest try. If funcom is willing to step up and back their game with an expansion after it got dragged through the mud then my curiosity is piqued. An honest effort on the owners part for the game will go a long way. If SoE stopped ignoring VG and announced an expansion, even one far in the future, I would bet alot of money that many veterns would give VG another look. Myself included .
I'm currently giving AoC another honest try. If funcom is willing to step up and back their game with an expansion after it got dragged through the mud then my curiosity is piqued. An honest effort on the owners part for the game will go a long way. If SoE stopped ignoring VG and announced an expansion, even one far in the future, I would bet alot of money that many veterns would give VG another look. Myself included .
Yep, Im gonna go back to AoC for this re-evaluation trial they've got going. I figure if SOE ever takes their heads out of their butts and gets on top of VG or makes something similar in the future (EQ3 with VG-esque qualities - EQ3 in general) they'll have my sub at least for a little while.
I don't think it's any of those reasons many state above (Bad launch, Sony changes, etc. etc.)
It's a good game, but it's just NOT *that* great.
Graphics: Mediocre
-World Artwork: Amazing
-Character Artwork: Just not that good.
-Character Models:Not very good.
-Animations: Horrid. Horrid. Horrid.
-Spell Graphics: Downright awful.
Vanguard has great graphics... except horrid animations and lack-luster spell effects. The thing is though... animations and spell effects are KEY to good graphics. It doesn't matter how many polygons you have, who designed your maps or painted the artwork. A game that has exploding particle effect magic that gushes everywhere like a disney fairy just exploded will make even a crappy graphical game simply beauty with a "magic" feel. Unfortunately, there is no such magical animations in the characters. The environment may be amazing, but no one wants to play a game where everything EXCEPT you is full of fantasy and grace.
You just don't feel like a fighter when you swing like a retard. You don't feel like a magic when you see tiny scraps fly at the target. You don't get immersed when an amazing environment starks in such contrast with dull, ugly, stick-up-their-butt animated models.
The music is great, but the sound effects aren't too keen. Amazing music. Not so amazing sound effects.
Gameplay: Mediocre
Classes: Great. Variety. Uniqueness in classes. Poor in *feeling* your class. Unique abilities and design, but in reality some classes are just lackluster in their *feel*.
And to finish....
1) The world is too big.
2) Population too small. (Bc world is too big...)
3) No PvP (will never be top MMO without PvP)
4) Boring Crafting. It takes TOO LONG. It's not that it sucks specifically, or is too "hard" not at all. It just takes TOO LONG. Too much of a grind, and too crappy of items produced.
5) Even when populated, was a ghosttown (world too big).
6) Levels matter too much. Too much focus on making it "hard" like Everquest1 by means of level, mob hp. No actual change in mob AI intelligence, feel of fighting, etc.
7) Performance is crappy, even after most fixes. The crappy animations and lackluster graphics do NOT justify the low framerate. WoW looks better than Vanguard, even if it's graphics aren't as good (the animations, sounds, and art style destroy this game)
8) All the races look exactly alike. They used the same models for a lot of races. All humans look the same, just with different skin tones.
9) UI icons look crappy. UI is crappy. The entire game's graphics/ui/animations are crappy except for a high polygon count and gorgeous world art.
10) Ugliest Floating Name Font you could EVER have. Talk about HIDEOUS. One of the BIGGEST turnsoff of the game.
11) Way too much of a grind. Slow leveling. Biggest turnoff of the game. Period.
Just look at the BARD class, it's a prime example of why this game is good, but NOT *great*
Do amazing sound effects happen when a bard casts the spells? NO.
Does music start playing when a bard turns on a spell? NO
Can you customize a Bard's sound/music effects? NO.
Are there animations for the bard's song? Not really. It picks ONE of the song's power's animation, and plays that every 10 seconds, and you don't even notice it happened. A tiny red heart going "VVVVVVmmmm" for 1 second does NOT equate to a bardic feel, musical enchantment, or ANYTHING really.
It's like this with everything: Performance, Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Classes, Races, Dungeons.
You should fear the reaper, but not enough to want to quit the game just because you died. In Wow is dying just a small moneysink that affects the gameplay very little. It is worth dying 20 times to get a nice drop there, in Lineage that would be a rather bad deal.
Why do you believe that in all of the history of videogaming now is the time for games to start punishing players and making them fear death?
Because I check both the Best-Selling Games and consider my own favorite all-time games, and none of them make death excessively painful. How could all of these hundreds/thousands of games be fun to players without the excessive death penalty the minority clamors for?
I mean it was "worth" dying 50+ times to beat Doom on Nightmare mode. Because what mattered was the fun gameplay and the act of accomplishing something difficult. It's not that different in MMORPGs except you get a reward at the end.
Really WOW's primary issue is not providing challenging solo and 5-man content. The progression for both is shallow and incredibly easy, when there should be optionally difficult content which provides superior rewards.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
I don't think it's any of those reasons many state above (Bad launch, Sony changes, etc. etc.)
It's a good game, but it's just NOT *that* great.
Graphics: Mediocre
-World Artwork: Amazing
-Character Artwork: Just not that good.
-Character Models:Not very good.
-Animations: Horrid. Horrid. Horrid.
-Spell Graphics: Downright awful. Vanguard has great graphics... except horrid animations and lack-luster spell effects. The thing is though... animations and spell effects are KEY to good graphics. It doesn't matter how many polygons you have, who designed your maps or painted the artwork. A game that has exploding particle effect magic that gushes everywhere like a disney fairy just exploded will make even a crappy graphical game simply beauty with a "magic" feel. Unfortunately, there is no such magical animations in the characters. The environment may be amazing, but no one wants to play a game where everything EXCEPT you is full of fantasy and grace. You just don't feel like a fighter when you swing like a retard. You don't feel like a magic when you see tiny scraps fly at the target. You don't get immersed when an amazing environment starks in such contrast with dull, ugly, stick-up-their-butt animated models. The music is great, but the sound effects aren't too keen. Amazing music. Not so amazing sound effects.
Gameplay: Mediocre Classes: Great. Variety. Uniqueness in classes. Poor in *feeling* your class. Unique abilities and design, but in reality some classes are just lackluster in their *feel*. And to finish....
1) The world is too big.
2) Population too small. (Bc world is too big...)
3) No PvP (will never be top MMO without PvP)
4) Boring Crafting. It takes TOO LONG. It's not that it sucks specifically, or is too "hard" not at all. It just takes TOO LONG. Too much of a grind, and too crappy of items produced.
5) Even when populated, was a ghosttown (world too big).
6) Levels matter too much. Too much focus on making it "hard" like Everquest1 by means of level, mob hp. No actual change in mob AI intelligence, feel of fighting, etc. 7) Performance is crappy, even after most fixes. The crappy animations and lackluster graphics do NOT justify the low framerate. WoW looks better than Vanguard, even if it's graphics aren't as good (the animations, sounds, and art style destroy this game) 8) All the races look exactly alike. They used the same models for a lot of races. All humans look the same, just with different skin tones. 9) UI icons look crappy. UI is crappy. The entire game's graphics/ui/animations are crappy except for a high polygon count and gorgeous world art. 10) Ugliest Floating Name Font you could EVER have. Talk about HIDEOUS. One of the BIGGEST turnsoff of the game. 11) Way too much of a grind. Slow leveling. Biggest turnoff of the game. Period.
Just look at the BARD class, it's a prime example of why this game is good, but NOT *great* Customizable songs- AMAZING!
Bard = Rogue + Songs - Stealth......okay cool thats unique! Do amazing sound effects happen when a bard casts the spells? NO.
Does music start playing when a bard turns on a spell? NO
Can you customize a Bard's sound/music effects? NO.
Are there animations for the bard's song? Not really. It picks ONE of the song's power's animation, and plays that every 10 seconds, and you don't even notice it happened. A tiny red heart going "VVVVVVmmmm" for 1 second does NOT equate to a bardic feel, musical enchantment, or ANYTHING really. It's like this with everything: Performance, Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Classes, Races, Dungeons. Why is VG not the top MMO? One word: Lackluster
It is the classic case of the mmo that blew its launch. Sure the game has been patched and might be okay now a couple of years later, but with a low player base it just offers a niche game. More to the point with SoE developing a new EQ title you'd have to think that their fantasy mmorpgs may be coming to an end or will be marketed at the retro gaming markets.
no offense but the gameplay is fucking ghetto, personally thats one of the most important things in a game. Its the exact same reason i stopped playing EQ2.
put the gameplay of EQ2 and vanguard against WoW and you'll realize how truly ghetto the gameplay is.
no offense but the gameplay is fucking ghetto, personally thats one of the most important things in a game. Its the exact same reason i stopped playing EQ2. put the gameplay of EQ2 and vanguard against WoW and you'll realize how truly ghetto the gameplay is.
What does that mean?
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
really? have you played vanguard? and played a game like WoW or even AoC or Aion? the gameplay in Vanguard/WAR/EQ2 are all slow//sluggish/ it just doesn't feel right.
They were "trying" to go for a swords are fucking heavy look, i think. In WoW a midget swings an axe like hes just finished smokin crystal meth. In VG when they swing though, it looks retarded rather than "heavy". Then again i havent played in months or so.. just guessing.
Comments
It didn't help that they added instant travel which destroyed the 'huge seamless feel' of the game world.
It's not even close to being a good enough game to get in the top 10 let alone the top spot.
It's launch was as bad as a game launch can ever be, that alone means you are out of the top few spots people don't get that aggrivated and then come back. And if you're going to implement a system where the first person to discover a place gets his character name etched in a stone there, well then you'd better not have rollbacks every hour for the first week which resets all those items.
The only thing it attempted to do originally was the diplomacy card game, everything else was a cut and paste of other games. If you've noticed the trend in MMOs, when you cut and paste you don't ever end up beating what you copied.
Took forever to get anywhere and the population was low, which meant it always felt like a giant empty world.
Despite what some have said, the game was, and most likely still is, a very grindy game. Most people now a days don't like grind.
Overall the truth is that despite the few hardcore fans it has, the game is just mediocre and always was.
I play Asheron's Call to this day, but I don't question why it isn't the number 1 game out there. It's different, it's older, and it won't appeal to those who love a WoW style game. But I still have fun and it is still around so I don't make posts titled "Why is AC not the top MMO?"
There is a lack of content end-game. Obviously you haven't touched the game.
Guild Houses = fluff
Flying Mounts = fluff and faster travel that makes the world look smaller
Boats/Ship = fluff
Player Houses = bigger banks
Crafting System = doesn't sell although it is good but make eyes bleed
Diplomacy System = make eyes bleed and team got depleted before made useful aside city buffs
Get the facts straight before you attempt to tell people to shut the hell up.
Content = fluff if half of what you people ask for is considered content as far as end game content, it works for the game as is, the majority of the players that I've played with can't seem to keep to a character long enough to hit end game content anyway they keep remaking them.
As far as facts I didn't state a single thing that was untrue. there is end game content there are things to do.
I posted in another thread so i will keep it brief here. The game was missing an insane amount of content at launch. The game was great until about level 35-40ish. Then you started to hit a road block. There were entire zones that were just empty but you could walk through them. Raids were non existent, there were "place holder" loot items on some mobs (to be replaced by the devs later with real loot, performance was horrible and not just on old systems. Guild houses were not at launch, nor were the flying mounts. Anyone who tried the flying mounts during beta probably has an idea why it took them so long to get that out the door, it was a horrible mess.
By the time they did open a raid zone, like the warehouse, a lot of people had already left and the population on the servers was a prob.
The game launched incomplete and lacking the higher level content. It was known this would be an issue long before beta ended but when the issues were not still not addressed a good year after launch, it causes a problem.
The game had and probably still has a lot of a potential, and an expansion would probably bring some life to it again. However, everything I have read says they have not even suggested that at all in 3 years.
"Because we all know the miracle patch fairy shows up the night before release and sprinkles magic dust on the server to make it allllll better." parrotpholk
I'll keep it simple: Expansion. Vanguard is one of my all time favorites, but i was unwilling to continue playing in a game with no chance for new content. Yes ancients was 'put in' but i'd argue that they just finally got around to fixing a bugged zone. Warehouse? Raided the hell out of it, but alas with just one raid zone (albeit huge) VG could not keep my attention.
I'm currently giving AoC another honest try. If funcom is willing to step up and back their game with an expansion after it got dragged through the mud then my curiosity is piqued. An honest effort on the owners part for the game will go a long way. If SoE stopped ignoring VG and announced an expansion, even one far in the future, I would bet alot of money that many veterns would give VG another look. Myself included
.
Yep, Im gonna go back to AoC for this re-evaluation trial they've got going. I figure if SOE ever takes their heads out of their butts and gets on top of VG or makes something similar in the future (EQ3 with VG-esque qualities - EQ3 in general) they'll have my sub at least for a little while.
I don't think it's any of those reasons many state above (Bad launch, Sony changes, etc. etc.)
It's a good game, but it's just NOT *that* great.
Graphics: Mediocre
-World Artwork: Amazing
-Character Artwork: Just not that good.
-Character Models:Not very good.
-Animations: Horrid. Horrid. Horrid.
-Spell Graphics: Downright awful.
Vanguard has great graphics... except horrid animations and lack-luster spell effects. The thing is though... animations and spell effects are KEY to good graphics. It doesn't matter how many polygons you have, who designed your maps or painted the artwork. A game that has exploding particle effect magic that gushes everywhere like a disney fairy just exploded will make even a crappy graphical game simply beauty with a "magic" feel. Unfortunately, there is no such magical animations in the characters. The environment may be amazing, but no one wants to play a game where everything EXCEPT you is full of fantasy and grace.
You just don't feel like a fighter when you swing like a retard. You don't feel like a magic when you see tiny scraps fly at the target. You don't get immersed when an amazing environment starks in such contrast with dull, ugly, stick-up-their-butt animated models.
The music is great, but the sound effects aren't too keen. Amazing music. Not so amazing sound effects.
Gameplay: Mediocre
Classes: Great. Variety. Uniqueness in classes. Poor in *feeling* your class. Unique abilities and design, but in reality some classes are just lackluster in their *feel*.
And to finish....
1) The world is too big.
2) Population too small. (Bc world is too big...)
3) No PvP (will never be top MMO without PvP)
4) Boring Crafting. It takes TOO LONG. It's not that it sucks specifically, or is too "hard" not at all. It just takes TOO LONG. Too much of a grind, and too crappy of items produced.
5) Even when populated, was a ghosttown (world too big).
6) Levels matter too much. Too much focus on making it "hard" like Everquest1 by means of level, mob hp. No actual change in mob AI intelligence, feel of fighting, etc.
7) Performance is crappy, even after most fixes. The crappy animations and lackluster graphics do NOT justify the low framerate. WoW looks better than Vanguard, even if it's graphics aren't as good (the animations, sounds, and art style destroy this game)
8) All the races look exactly alike. They used the same models for a lot of races. All humans look the same, just with different skin tones.
9) UI icons look crappy. UI is crappy. The entire game's graphics/ui/animations are crappy except for a high polygon count and gorgeous world art.
10) Ugliest Floating Name Font you could EVER have. Talk about HIDEOUS. One of the BIGGEST turnsoff of the game.
11) Way too much of a grind. Slow leveling. Biggest turnoff of the game. Period.
Just look at the BARD class, it's a prime example of why this game is good, but NOT *great*
Customizable songs- AMAZING!
Bard = Rogue + Songs - Stealth......okay cool thats unique!
Do amazing sound effects happen when a bard casts the spells? NO.
Does music start playing when a bard turns on a spell? NO
Can you customize a Bard's sound/music effects? NO.
Are there animations for the bard's song? Not really. It picks ONE of the song's power's animation, and plays that every 10 seconds, and you don't even notice it happened. A tiny red heart going "VVVVVVmmmm" for 1 second does NOT equate to a bardic feel, musical enchantment, or ANYTHING really.
It's like this with everything: Performance, Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Classes, Races, Dungeons.
Why is VG not the top MMO?
One word: Lackluster
Why do you believe that in all of the history of videogaming now is the time for games to start punishing players and making them fear death?
Because I check both the Best-Selling Games and consider my own favorite all-time games, and none of them make death excessively painful. How could all of these hundreds/thousands of games be fun to players without the excessive death penalty the minority clamors for?
I mean it was "worth" dying 50+ times to beat Doom on Nightmare mode. Because what mattered was the fun gameplay and the act of accomplishing something difficult. It's not that different in MMORPGs except you get a reward at the end.
Really WOW's primary issue is not providing challenging solo and 5-man content. The progression for both is shallow and incredibly easy, when there should be optionally difficult content which provides superior rewards.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
It is the classic case of the mmo that blew its launch. Sure the game has been patched and might be okay now a couple of years later, but with a low player base it just offers a niche game. More to the point with SoE developing a new EQ title you'd have to think that their fantasy mmorpgs may be coming to an end or will be marketed at the retro gaming markets.
no offense but the gameplay is fucking ghetto, personally thats one of the most important things in a game. Its the exact same reason i stopped playing EQ2.
put the gameplay of EQ2 and vanguard against WoW and you'll realize how truly ghetto the gameplay is.
What does that mean?
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
really?
have you played vanguard? and played a game like WoW or even AoC or Aion?
the gameplay in Vanguard/WAR/EQ2 are all slow//sluggish/ it just doesn't feel right.
They were "trying" to go for a swords are fucking heavy look, i think. In WoW a midget swings an axe like hes just finished smokin crystal meth. In VG when they swing though, it looks retarded rather than "heavy". Then again i havent played in months or so.. just guessing.