Journeys with Jaye

What Vanguard can Learn from Everquest II (revisited)

With the change in management last week, there have been thread after thread of things that the Vanguard community (and even some non-Vanguard players) want to see put into game. Hats! Hairstyles! Flying mounts! Weapon Racks!

Above: Tar Janashir at dusk.

I also want all those thing eventually (although I’m indifferent to weapon racks), but right now, Vanguard needs to be treated by a triage unit of crack developers who can revive the game. Back before Vanguard was released, I wrote an entry giving three ways Vanguard can learn from Everquest 2. Although it’s been a bumpy road getting here, I am very hopeful now that Vanguard, in fact, will learn from Everquest 2.

Out of all the issues in Vanguard that need immediate attention, the two biggest are performance and raid content. Performance is most important out of the two. Right now, it’s not even a situation where people with tin can systems are suffering. EVERYONE is suffering – from hitches, to memory leaks, to falling through the world and dying, to random and repeated crashes to desktop, to huge pauses in the game when a mob is targetted, to GMs needing to show up at a multi group raid to turn everyone into skeletons so that the players don’t lag each other out. These are common problems happening on solid gaming systems, and it’s been 5 months now with little improvement. It goes without saying that this is a massive obstacle to Vanguard being a successful game. Everyone knows it, I’m sure the developers do, but if we don’t see improvement soon, we’re going to need a lot more GMs that can cast skellie form.

Besides those two, there are three broad areas that need to be treated in order to get Vanguard back on its feet and ensure a solid relaunch if one is planned. First, there needs to be a solid plan to address the needs of Vanguard’s demographics, not only now, but in the future with the hoped for influx of new players. Second, “The Hook” needs to be tweaked and polished up. Lastly, there need to be more tools and features that make it easier for players to “build a community.”

Above: A Look Inside River Palace.

Demographics

Instancing – Based on the fact that Vanguard has had a rough start, it’s safe to say that the server populations are going to be top heavy with high level players over the next several months. There isn’t a steady influx of fresh players to the game, and those who have stuck around have either reached level 50 by now or are closing in on it. Add to that the fact that there is no raid content live yet, and the conditions are ripe for a huge bottleneck. While it may be extremely unpopular with the current playerbase, I believe that Vanguard needs instanced raid content.

Before I get stomped on, I need to add that I have always preferred non-instanced content. The nostalgic in me always felt that the instancing in WoW and EQ2 couldn’t compare with the thrill of completing open-competition content in Everquest. More importantly, competition over content, for better or worse, was a big community builder, because there’s no better way to get guilds to know each other than a race over spawns. One reason I chose to play Vanguard was because the content would not be instanced. But right now, personal philosphy on style of raid content needs to take a back seat to the realities of Vanguard’s lack of live raid content and ever increasing high end population.

There are tons of reasons both for and against instancing, but the fact is that you can’t debate the concept without taking into consideration the reality of Vanguard’s health. More and more guilds are patiently waiting for raid content to go live, and if it’s released as non-instanced, one-guild-at-a-time content, it’s going to be extremely difficult for guilds to tough it out months longer because of a bottleneck.

The only scenario where non-instancing could work is if there was enough content to keep every raiding guild busy. That would take an enormous amount of time and resources to implement though, and given the fact that there is an overwhelming amount of other problems that need fixing, it doesn’t seem realistic. As a believer of non-instancing, I could get on board with instanced content in Vanguard if it’s creative and challenging, and I think even the staunchest opponents of instancing would come around as well.

Above: The Immortal Sanctum in Pantheon of the Ancients.

Mentoring – The other big issue involving Vanguards demographics is the fact that, if there is a successful relaunch, there will be a “generation gap” between the old guard, who played from launch, and the new blood that arrives to give the game a second look. That gap needs to be anticipated and bridged as smoothly as possible. The best way to do that is through a mentoring system. I’ve seen many threads suggesting that recently, and as I wrote back in October, it’s one of the best features of Everquest 2. It allows a higher level player to drop down to the level of the person being mentored. All abilities and spells are scaled down as well, and while the mentor takes a bit of an experience hit, the person being mentored gets an experience bonus for each person that is mentoring him.

A mentoring system facilitates instant contact between higher and lower level players. This is great for Vanguard veterans who want to group with friends who are either casual players or new to the game. It also helps guilds who are looking to recruit new members, with events like mentoring nights that help break the ice between higher level and lower level players. In Everquest 2, which also had a type of trivial loot code, it even allowed players who had outleveled a quest to go back and complete it, since the “trivial” quest drops would no longer be trivial.

The fellowship system is well intentioned, but it’s been pain in the butt buggy for so long that it now has lost its purpose. Mentoring is much more flexible, offers many more benefits, and is just what Vanguard would need if it were to have a relaunch. After getting to use it in Everquest 2, I just can’t understand why it’s not in every game – it’s just a no brainer.

Above: Mysterious stones in the Liath Desert.

The Hook

For all its faults, Vanguard has a lot to offer, but it needs to do a better job of hooking in new players during the first night or two of play. In short, content needs to be made more accessible to players, and it needs to be easier for new players to accomplish things in game during their first few weeks of playing.

Hot Zones – One problem is that low level players are scattered all over Telon, so it’s hard to find others to group with. That’s magnified right now with the low server populations, and it’s driving away new players. The riftway network has helped a lot, but adding in Everquest’s notion of “hot zones” (hot chunks?) would help even more. In short, certain chunks would have temporary experience increases, which could be periodically updated to rotate in new “hot chunks.” (They would need another name though, hot chunks just sounds gross to me) This helps direct player population to certain areas, which helps make grouping easier, and it makes the world feel a bit more busier.

Nix Low Level Progressive Quests – I love the questlines in Vanguard, and while it makes sense to have long, progressive quests in the mid and high levels, with heroic and legendary rewards, it has been a big hinderance to low level players who are trying to group.

Trengal Keep is the worst example of this. It’s a fantastic dungeon, and it’s usually a popular place to find other people in their 20s. But for someone lfg’ing to find a potential hunting group, not only do they have to be of a compatible class and level, they also need to be on the right step of the TK questline! Some nights, you’d have a better chance of seeing the planets align than get a group in TK.

Progressive quests like the TK line need to be changed so that you can do them in any order. Perhaps have a requirement that you need to do 1 – 5 in order to get the last one, but only because the reward is so good for the level. The quest sharing feature is already in game, and coupled with flexible quest lines, people would have a much easier time grouping.

Smooth out the 20 – 25 content – Content is pretty abundant at low levels and through the teens, but it drops off in the early 20s. There are a few quest hubs, like Donovan’s Roost and Coastal Graveyard, but they need something large, like River Valley (high 20s) and Cragwind (early 30s). Both of those have dozens of solo and small group quests, which means players are likely to hang around a few levels. This helps maintain the game’s hook, smooths out the early 20s leveling process, and builds community because players start to see the same faces night after night.

Above: Fighting Aanaku Vor’dan in the Tar Janashir Tomb.

Community

You can’t “build” community, but there are ways to make it easier for people to interact and feel more immersed in the world of Telon. These are not immediate priority features, but they would be great to have down the road.

Enhanced UI – Everquest 2 had some UI features that are so great, I’d put them in the “no brainer” category like mentoring. They had a “completed quest” section of the quest journal, which was great when keeping track of long progressive quests or if you loved following lore. The quest journal also was increased, which Vanguard desperately needs. Lastly, Everquest 2 added in a “guild recruiting” window, which allowed guild leaders to post recruiting information into a searchable database, for players seeking to join a guild. This would be great to have in Vanguard, since the dozens of guild threads on the dozens of fansites are outdated, bloated, and hard to sort through. Given the fact that there might not be server forums, this would be especially important to have in game.

Lore Forum – I know, I know, why have a nerdy lore forum when we aren’t getting class forums?! But there is lore out there and having an official forum to share and discuss it would really help the game. The Everquest 2 lore forum is very popular, and there is definitely a well-established community there. It has done so well that lore-specific quests were put in game, and players were given hints about them in the forum. The world of Telon is full of amazing vistas, exotic settlements and fascinating structures, and their background story begs to be told. Add to that the dearth of lore from diplomacy, and you’d have a very healthy and active lore forum.

There are many things that Vanguard can learn from Everquest 2, and hopefully a few of these suggestions make their way into the game. But if there is one lesson that Everquest 2 can teach Vanguard, it’s that you can have a rough launch and rebound to become a successful, and healthy, online roleplaying game.

Posted by jayernh under Archive,Gaming Commentary | Comments (6)

Developers Are Not Our Friends

It’s a good thing that I got a bunch of sake from Fandango recently, because after all the recent Vanguard news, I think I need it! By the way, the sake from Tanvu also gives the “cool sit” graphic, which is also appropriate these days, since the Vanguard playerbase seems to be witnessing a modern day Greek tragedy.

I’ve found myself shaking my head at the irony of it all. I used to be more of a hardcore player, and witnessed server and guild drama that could outdo Dallas, 90210 and the OC all together. (Trying to connect with all generations here, work with me!) I finally reached a zen state of tranquility, running a mellow, drama-free guild (still recruiting btw!), and getting to know some great guilds, thanks to the efforts of Zorus, from Sacred Haven, who put a lot of work into opening up communications among the guilds of Thunderaxe.

How hilariously sad and ironic that the source of the drama now is from Sigil itself. Monday was the weirdest day of gaming I have ever experienced.

The events of this past week are a reminder of the unique intimacy between game developers and their playerbase. It’s unusual to see consumers have such an emotional and personal connection, not only with the game, but also with those who created it. It’s not uncommon in today’s gaming world to see posts that not only demand a change, but actually call out by name the developer they expect to carry it out. And when something isn’t meeting with approval, the criticism is sometimes stunningly insulting and personal. The respectful distance between consumer and provider has all but evaporated in the online gaming industry. It’s like following home the Burger King drive through employee to demand an explanation for your screwed up order, and then hearing a long litany of sob stories and intense regret over your ruined dining experience.

To be fair, there have been many heartfelt posts made by players to those who lost their jobs this past week at Sigil. At this point, though, the posts and interviews from Sigil staff are too personal, too emotional, and reveal more than we should know. I am concerned that the game wasn’t straightened out, but more concerned that, from the sounds of it, there are people who need to get their lives straightened out, and not just the people who are out of a job.

Dvelopers are not our friends. There’s something to be said about professional distance between game developers and players. In the case of Vanguard, it was obvious that there was a strong desire to gain the endorsement of the Fires of Heaven community. But by bending over backwards to respond to the FoH community, Sigil lost not only their respect, but also the respect of the affiliate sites, who jumped through all the required hoops only to be largely ignored. It’s no different than a teacher-student relationship. It’s important for a teacher to listen to his students, but in the end, the teacher has to keep clear the line of authority – teachers who try to be “friends,” can’t command respect later on when push comes to shove. In Vanguard’s case, where “viral marketing” was apparently the only marketing plan they had, the word-of-mouth lack of respect towards Sigil and towards the game was devastating.

I like Vanguard a lot, but it desperately needs to be fixed. The Vanguard community can, and should, play a strong role in providing input on how it can improve. I’m very optimistic about the future health of the game, because while Vanguard has had a wealth of creative talent, it seems to have suffered badly by poor management and lack of leadership. SoE has both, and they already took a big step with the introduction of the official Vanguard forums as well as Brenlo, an experienced community manager.

It’s time for some results.

Posted by jayernh under Archive,Gaming Commentary | Comments (2)

Thirty Something Dim Sum

While I still love writing about my gaming adventures, I haven’t updated as much as I normally do, and that’s because I’ve been playing too darn much to spend time updating my entries. I’m going to try to catch up a little, but that means some screenshot spam. Here are some snippets from my recent travels:

I’ve been doing a little solo questing, and found a couple of nice spots that helped get me through the early 30s. This is Frostshard Lake, which is up near the Northern Border and Falgarholm in Thestra. From what I gather, this was the former home of the Lesser Giants, and there are still a clan of them that have endured through the ages. They follow Vothdar, Valus, and Allurad, so there is a strong sense of ancestral worship and justice among these lesser giants. If you are working on the shadowhound quest, you’ll spend some time up here in order to kill these enemies of Ghalnn. Also roaming around the lake is the giant Torkald who Mourns, and I’d love to learn more about why he’s so sad!

Behind me in the picture above is one of the two giant Fire Pillars of Frostshard Lake. They are eternally burning, and there is a quest involving gathering embers from the pillars, which gives a decent reward. There are a lot of neat quests up here, and it’s also a great place to work on lumberjacking, since there are plenty of knotted and dry trees along the switchbacks leading up to the Northern Border.

Here I am, doing more harvesting in Zossyr Hakrel, in Qalia, which is another great spot for the low to mid 30s. This is the home for two rival clans of Jharru, which look a lot like those lumbering aliens that show up at the beginning of “The Fifth Element.” Ironically, the Jharru are also from another world, and were summoned to Qalia ages ago to help with some sort of conflict. The Shrine of the Elders is a quest hub, and I worked on a couple of tasks, one to clean the valley of various creatures, and another to bless the shrines along the way, which opened up some more quests when completed. There is a cave nearby that also involves some of the quests from the shrine, which I might check out if I have a chance.

I love the neat atmosphere of the Liath Desert too. When I saw it in a griffon flyover during beta, I loved how the desert glowed with the flashes of electricity that sparked from the mysterious metal structures at the tops of the stone outcroppings. From the ground, they look equally impressive.

And yes, it took several tries to time it right and capture this electric bolt!

I’ve also been spending some time over in Cragwind Ridge, a stone forest that contains dozens of quests, perfect for small groups at 32 or soloing at level 34 and up. I had a ton of fun doing the many quests offered from the Petra-like outpost carved into an outcropping in the southeast part of the area. I spent an afternoon with a guildmate, Rancorr, and the two of us finished with a nice chunk of experience and some nice coin to boot. I recommend taking a handful of quests at a time, and lumping together the ones that have you killing similar mobs (vultures, snakes, ant lions, etc) since mob types tend to hang around together in the same area.

Be careful when you hunt here, though, because it’s also home to a giant named Lord Bamf Kya, who roams around at night. I had the pleasure of seeing him the first time I entered the quest hub. He had somehow made his way into the huge cave, and was hovering over a clump of quest NPCs.

Cragwind also offers the quest “Death From Above,” which is a lengthy quest that offers some nice legendary rewards. I got the quest starter, a journal, from one of the roaming mobs when I first entered the area, and while I haven’t gotten that far, I hope to work on it more here and there. (I have a huge in game to-do list, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter)

Here’s a group of guildies crossing the Bridge at Kaza Doo…..er, Thelaseen. This dungeon, also known as the Lair of the Drake Riders, is the foreboding home of the renegade High Elves known as the Order of the True Blood. They are a sinister sect of High Elves that are breeding Drakes, and are at war with the High Elves of Leth Nurae. The High Elves of the Celestine Ward are busy trying to drive them out, along with the bloodhowlers and other threats that lurk in the Marsh of Peril and Ruins of Vol Tuniel nearby.

Here’s a shot from the inside of the Ruins of Vol Tuniel. How a tree could possibly grow inside this dark dungeon is beyond me, but it’s cool as heck! The centerpiece of content for this area is the Celestine Ward questline, which is a long, faction based series of quests, with armor and weapon rewards that get better as you gain faction. I haven’t focused on factioning at all, because it requires a lot of time, and that’s something a bit scarce in my household, but a couple of guildies, Wrack and Wruin, have been working on it, and they’re reaching some of the better rewards. The area is saturated with lore and content – so much so that one player, Leara, created an entire site to it. It’s fantastic, and well worth a visit even if you aren’t working on the quests.

And here’s one more shot from our recent guild defeat of Kronus Infineum, which was the last fight for the Infineum quest line. Several of our members had worked on the quest, and it was a lot of fun, except for those sparkly anti-gravity elevators! We were all around level 30 when we killed Kronus, but most of the quest is perfect for getting through the mid to late 20s. There are some required levels as you go, though, and you have to be at least level 28 to get the final quest. Here we are displaying our perfect tactical form. Our MT, Faunis, is the one on the left in his jammies, and as you can see, we’re all doing a great job of keeping the mob aggro focused solely on him. Meanwhile, Orkoh, our cleric, looks like he’s in the process of blowing a knee trying to be Mr DPS. Hit him with the gavel Orkoh!

That’s a little overview of some places I’ve been exploring. I also just finished up the Pantheon of the Ancients trials, which has become my new favorite dungeon. I’ll write more about in my next entry.

Posted by jayernh under Archive,Vanguard Level 30-35 | Comments (5)