Hmm I'm kinda converted....

[Jei]

Well, I got totally hooked with Vanguard now >.>

It started off slow...
my first impression about VG when I log in was "I didn't like it at all"
But it got better and better after my first few days. To the point I don't even want to log into FFXI anymore.

It's hella buggy. Crashed and force me back to login screen here and there. And a few more annoying bugs.
But the fun the game offers outweight those bugs for me. The world feel VERY huge, the adventuring is fun, and meeting new people while exploring has been a blast.
I may retire FFXI for good this time.

Hmm don't want to sound like I'm trying to convert you guys D: So I'll stop there.

If anyone plays on Thagonar, my ingame name is Dancingbear. A Babarian Warrior.

I'll see you guys around :D

[Murphie]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

I almost picked up a copy at the store the other day, but I wasn't sure I wanted to spend quite that much money on a game I wasn't sure I would like. I know it's too soon for a free demo (unfortunately), so I'll just give it some more time to see what things are like in half a year or so.

Dang MMOs. I can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em it seems. :/

[Aeolus]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

you back on ffxi murph?

And I'll no doubt see you return Jei, like everyone does mwhahahaha

[Murphie]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

No. But I read the forums every day and consider coming back. I'm not sure what I want from MMOs anymore. But console games don't keep my interest.

[hongman]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

hehe, iv just been reading up on it online....looks to much like WoW to me (graphic-wise)...

But sure, if there was a free demo Id prolly try it out.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

Three things that killed it for me:

(1) No version of an Enchanter Class - WTFWTFWTFWTFWTF
(2) Ugly characters.
(3) Too Tolkieny - Lord of the Rings is cool, but please, get over it.

I'm usually not one who's a stickler about graphics, but they weren't even trying with character design on this one, its just hideous. At least try to get your character models to have a stong resemblance to the ones you put on the boxart.

Why is it FFXI and WoW are the only MMOs with a sense of art direction?

[Murphie]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

Dang that Tolkien.

I have to agree re: Character models though. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Plus, my PC, while nice, wouldn't be able to run Vanguard well enough to even see my ugly character well. So it would just be uglier.

[Raydeus]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

It started off slow...
my first impression about VG when I log in was "I didn't like it at all"
But it got better and better after my first few days. To the point I don't even want to log into FFXI anymore.

I went through the same when I found this incredibly awesome MMOG some time ago, fortunately I got over my Puzzle Pirates addiction and returned to XI.



...What?

[Jei]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

Fact - no American games had ever make their characters look as good as Japanese games before.
I don't think that should even be in equation when you are considering games made by American company.
My Taru > My VG Barbarian. Plain and simple.

But while FF characters may look good, I hate the art direction the game is going. I hate flashy patterns on ToA armors for instance... Why all the craze about middle east? Geeze... Tribute to Bin Ladin?

But everything about art is subjective. I love western style oil painting. I also quite like Japanese style anime/manga. I hate Nomura Tetsuya.
And there will be people who say other wise.

Back on topic. The world in Vanguard is WAY more immersive than FFXI.

In FFXI, seeking party is like shopping from the search menu. You sit back in town, search and pick people, sneak your way to camp for exp and grind grind grind.
When you go through dungeon, you only want to get to your destination. So sneak/invis all the way in while following directions on maps.... When I think back to it, sneaking through the entire dungeon is a pretty dumb approach for an RPG game -_-; you don't do that in classic FFs.... you kill your way in.

In Vanguard, I got back the sense of adventuring. Something that has been long lost in FFXI.
New dungeons come out? We have oils and powders! Hell yea.
Forming group is not a rock science like FFXI. You're for the most part exploring the world on your own.
And along the way, there will be others sharing your same goal which you can group up.
You get to meet a lot of new people.
Starting off with only 1 friend (on a different time zone) and now I have a full 2 pages of friendlist filled D:
You're adventuring and exploring and meet people as you explore. This is such a classical RPG set up.
Something FFXI has been missing......

We can say that every newer games now borrow WoW's idea or quests that that explore you through the world as you level.
But the thing is that Vanguard makes a really fine job at mixing solo quests and group quests together in 1 area.
As you are trying to do the solo quests the game offers, it's very unlikely you'll be the only one doing those quests.
And people will want to group with who they meet so they can tackle the group quests together.

Dungeons are the funnest tanking experience I've ever had. They feel like "actual" dungeon tbh.
For example there's a ruin, with a secret passage to underground treasure vault.
The vault have cracks on the floor or wall that leads to a cave full of insects.
The cave of insects lead to an underground waterfall/lake with huge dragons.
And those are all seamless. And there's no sneaking through, you make your way in by killing the monsters.
Group encounter is even more fun to tank. Mobs coming in 2-4, trying to keep them all on tank makes tanking experience a blast for me so far.

It is a very buggy game at the current stage yes. But being part of a new world is something you can never have. Seriously. After a couple months, the game may settle down, they may pinned out maby issues, but the world is just not the same.

[Celeal]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

geez, Jei, your description of VG make we want to try the game (>.<#)

The game seems seems interesting and attractive

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

I think you're just digging the new car smell.

I've heard that story over and over and over. It actually began back when I played EQ. FFXI was about to come out and people were all like, "it makes EQ look stale and boring and it doesn't have X, Y and Z problem." Oh and their justification for their statements was "I'm in the beta."

I wasn't swayed by them at all, I just moved to FFXI later because I was a fan of Final Fantasy in general. And those betaheads that told me how great FFXI was? Pissing and moaning about every little detail about the game now.

So then WoW was on the rise and those betaheads moved own and began their trolling rounds on EQ, FFXI and whatever other MMO forums they could find. They told us how much better WoW was than FFXI and how FFXI did X, Y and Z wrong and how WoW made MMORPGs feel new and adventrous again.

Then Battlegrounds was patched in and endless bitching ensued. "Hunters are overpowered" and blah blah blah.

When EQ2 came around, EQ fanboys really didn't go around trying to convert people. They tend to keep to themselves. Smart move since it keeps all the Warcraft III/Counterstrike brats out of Norrath

So now there's Vanguard, same thing as EQ crowd. This ones a non-franchise, which is prohibitive to kids, but still retains the "new car smell" fallacy. In time, you'll find things to complain about and it will get old. Its an unbreakable law so enjoy it while it still feels new

As for the whole sneak/invis things, as stated before, WoW and FFXI draw in kiddie fans and kiddie fans are typically chickenshit. That Stego mob I want to kill in my way? They just want to dance around it and hope it doesnt see them. I'd prefer to kill everything on my path, but nooooooo those mobs are "too hard" and do scary attacks.

[Jei]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

Every car gets old.
And FFXI is an old old car that will remain in my heart. driving it more will only ruin the good memory I have.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

Every car gets old.
And FFXI is an old old car that will remain in my heart. driving it more will only ruin the good memory I have.

See you in two weeks, that Ridill will start beckoning to you again

I guess FFXI just hasn't worn me down because I loathe doing king camps and avoid doing them as much as possible. So many other things I can do, many of which offer actual returns.

[Vyuru]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

In Vanguard, I got back the sense of adventuring. Something that has been long lost in FFXI.
New dungeons come out? We have oils and powders! Hell yea.
Forming group is not a rock science like FFXI. You're for the most part exploring the world on your own.
And along the way, there will be others sharing your same goal which you can group up.
You get to meet a lot of new people.
Starting off with only 1 friend (on a different time zone) and now I have a full 2 pages of friendlist filled D:
You're adventuring and exploring and meet people as you explore. This is such a classical RPG set up.
Something FFXI has been missing......

You know, in my first few years of playing FFXI, there was a sense of exploring and the vastness of the world, but that feeling has been missing. I'm wondering if it's mostly the case I've been almost everywhere that doesn't require an endgame LS to go to.

I like the new armor models from ToAU, it's about time we got some new ones and they filled in some missing gaps for some job's armor choices really nicely.

Fact - no American games had ever make their characters look as good as Japanese games before.

While I'm not sure, but what about Surreal? It's the game company that made the Draken games I believe, and I think it is a NA company. Draken, The Ancient's Gates (also know as D Tag) has long been one of my favorite PS2 games of all time, honestly I'd be willing to quit FFXI for an online multiplayer version of Draken TAG.

Either way, I'll have to check out this Vanguard. I want to feel immersed in my gaming world of choice, but graphics are important to me as well. I'm picky about armor styles too, I don't mind the armor showing a bit of leg or something on my female character (yes it's gonna be a gal) but I don't want to be showing a whole ton of skin either.

Example would be, Taki's white armor in SC2 = good, Taki's red armor in SC2 = bad

Or blasphemy of all, Fran's armor in FFXII is showing wayy too much IMO.

[Grizzlebeard]

Re: Hmm I'm kinda converted....

I'm really trying to stay away from Vanguard not because I think it's a bad game but quite the opposite. The core dev team at Sigil designed my favourite Everquest expansion and I know in years to come the game will grow into something awesome. I just don't know if I want to blow another 7 years of my life playing MMoGS full on with all the enjoyment, drama, frustration, and elation that entails. I don't think anything ever surpasses the enjoyment of your first MMoG and for me that was EQ. Both FFXI and WoW were pretty good games in their own right but they were never going to surplant my memories of EQ in any way. Vanguard, being made by the same team has the feel of a more sideways EQ expansion rather than a new game. I beta-tested it for over a year through all the wonderful rocky periods and I know to play it at any decent level I pretty much need to build a new machine from the ground up. As sad as it sounds the choice about whether I will or will not play Vanguard will probably be the hardest choice I will have to make in 2007.