Vanguard is NOT the WoW or FFXI Killer

[Epical]

I think we have a fanboy on our hands.

[Vinen]

Pretty sure that would break the NDA. There's a whole hell of a lotta screenshots floating around though. Found one of the area I've been wandering around lately:

http://www.vanguard-esp.com/users/Gr...nguard-esp.jpg

This one doesn't do it justice since you can't see the bump mapping, and it looks like they have atmospheric distortion off (might have been an old SS before they added it.)

This one is a little better:

http://www.vanguard-esp.com/users/Gr...guard-esp2.jpg

Graphically they use shaders like they're going out of style, as well as HDR lighting, bloom effects, tone mapping, etc. Once they optimize it, it's really going to be sweet as hell.

Pretty sure the NDA was lifted ^______________________^

Now everyone can know how much the game sucks.

[Fhqwghads]

As promised, some screenies...

Character selection:
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5...lectam5.th.jpg

Clouds:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9...oudsin7.th.jpg

Menus:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4306/menusjj2.th.jpg

Horse:
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/9...rseyvs6.th.jpg

Library:
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/2...rarykr9.th.jpg

Notorious Monster. Note the dead guy by it... mobs will attack you even if you're on a mount, so I wasn't going to get any closer than this. They use a "dot" system. The number of dots indicate what type of mob it is (easy, mediocre, challenging, hard, very hard, and have a coffin nearby.) The color of dots indicates how many people the mob was geared to be attacked by (white 1, gray 1, blue couple people, red a full party, purple raid.) At least, that's my understanding. Note this mob is a 4 dot purple mob (upper right-hand corner shows the targeted mob.)
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/1...sterji9.th.jpg

Village:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4...lagemf3.th.jpg

Water:
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/5111/waterni1.th.jpg

Night:
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/7830/nightmx3.th.jpg

Docks:
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/1772/dockszs2.th.jpg

[SilverBreeze]

I'm in the beta and I just can't get into it, not to mention that the Character Creation is bugged (although very detailed) to where you can make a character, and it looks completely different once you get in game. It' has potential, but we'll see.

[Deuce]

The graphics rendering looks pretty good, but it seems to lack good artistic design. Also, imo the lighting effects suck. Possibly a good MMO, but FFXI/WoW killer I think not.


Edit: Plus looking at the images it appears the graphic designers spent more time w/ cool water effects and sweet character models then they did with the actual landscape, to me it just doesn't flow.

[Vobent]

The graphics rendering looks pretty good, but it seems to lack good artistic design. Also, imo the lighting effects suck. Possibly a good MMO, but FFXI/WoW killer I think not.


Edit: Plus looking at the images it appears the graphic designers spent more time w/ cool water effects and sweet character models then they did with the actual landscape, to me it just doesn't flow.

BETAkthx

[Michaera]

The graphics rendering looks pretty good, but it seems to lack good artistic design. Also, imo the lighting effects suck. Possibly a good MMO, but FFXI/WoW killer I think not.


Edit: Plus looking at the images it appears the graphic designers spent more time w/ cool water effects and sweet character models then they did with the actual landscape, to me it just doesn't flow.

Maybe that's what it is about FFXI that makes it feel so different to me compared to WoW and EQ. We certainly don't have the best graphics, but everything just seems to -flow- better.. Smoother looking, in a way. Oblivion/EQ/WoW's graphics engines just always seemed so similar to me, and FFXI was a world apart. This one looks to be among the former.

Trying to get ahold of the download to try it out though, but I don't subscribe to fileplanet. x.x So slow torrents it is. I'd really like to see what the other races are like, as that's one of the big selling points for me for some reason.

Edit: didn't see Vobent's post, and that is true, do have to keep that in mind.. How much would change at this stage in the development though as far as the look/feel of the game goes?

[Vobent]

The graphics rendering looks pretty good, but it seems to lack good artistic design. Also, imo the lighting effects suck. Possibly a good MMO, but FFXI/WoW killer I think not.


Edit: Plus looking at the images it appears the graphic designers spent more time w/ cool water effects and sweet character models then they did with the actual landscape, to me it just doesn't flow.

Maybe that's what it is about FFXI that makes it feel so different to me compared to WoW and EQ. We certainly don't have the best graphics, but everything just seems to -flow- better.. Smoother looking, in a way. Oblivion/EQ/WoW's graphics engines just always seemed so similar to me, and FFXI was a world apart. This one looks to be among the former.

Trying to get ahold of the download to try it out though, but I don't subscribe to fileplanet. x.x So slow torrents it is. I'd really like to see what the other races are like, as that's one of the big selling points for me for some reason.

Hm.. Would torrent really work? I thought you need to be approved by sigil, or somthing.

[Tidy]

http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p38/jtplaya182/

Friend's photobucket with beta screens

[Deuce]

I understand it's just a beta, but usually graphically by the time a beta is realeased a lot of the major graphical changes have been made, except for minor ones that are quick fixes.

However graphics aren't everything in a game. As long as the gameplay is good it shouldn't matter. Personally though I don't feel like downloading 6gigs of software for a beta.

[Elesirdur]

I got into the Beta just after Christmas and put a few hours into it. It requires a monster machine to run even at "Balanced" settings but the graphics rendering is just amazing; even better than Oblivion. However, just like EQII, Vanguard is going to suffer from hyper-realism boredom. Sure, everything looks so good it almost could be real but then the glaring lack of realism, like animation LOD distances, just reminds you of how fake the world is. The world just seems bland to me, there's no character to the design and I don't think that is something that will change throughout the entire life of the game. FFXI and WoW have a very alive feeling to the game world brought about by art direction, character/armor/weapon modeling, and just that general feeling of 'fantasy' in the game world.

I was looking forward to Vanguard a lot, but after this beta experience I won't bother getting into the game unless I go in with some friends to play together.

[Endo]

I personally am excited for it. SOE does have a habit of rushing their games out, but usually do a good job of fixing on the fly and compensating players. EQ2 when it first came out had tons of issues, memory leaks, NPC's not actually in the zone for starter quests, manipulative market from the jump (crafting books on noob island if anyone played then), but as of now they have put out 3 expansions, I think 5 little expansions (they cost like 4.99 and you get 2 dungeons ect) and they have fixed most of the bugs. They also credited all the people who were playing then with 1 month no charge and a free weapon/armor that is not obtainable in game (I thought it was good cs at least).

It for sure looks like EQ graphics design and if you have a powerful enough machine it will look amazing. Is it a typical EQ MMO line: kill 100 Y mob's get z loot, raid x mob INSTANCED lock out of 18hrs-5days, and probably a shit ton of quests?

I like the EQ game designs better then SE did. They always give you or your guild an option of doing different things not streamlining everyone to that inevitable 4 hr dragon aery camp at 75.

[Michaera]

Hm.. Would torrent really work? I thought you need to be approved by sigil, or somthing.

I'm just being naieve and hoping it'll work. z.z It did for PSU, but that game was fairly smart. I'd likely pay $9 for this, torrent it, and try it for a month to see if I liked it like I did with PSU. It gets players over the hurdle of having to cough up $50 for something they might not even like.

But I dunno. You can download it from Fileplanet if you subscribe, so I'm hoping Fileplanet's association ends there, and if I have the file I can set up and start going. I do kinda doubt it though.

[Kuai]

FUCK YOU VERANT

[Gilanth]

It looks so bland and lifeless.

[Mysterio]

not impressed.

Age of Conan has wayyy better graphics.

Although the water does look pretty nice from the stills, but if it lags the gameplay its suddenly insta-trash.

[aers]

A lot of the scenery just looks really bland.. I'd have to try it to decide for sure though :/

[Charla]

FUCK YOU VERANT

Does Verant still exist? Or did they just rename themselves sigil, or most of their people moved to Sigil or something?

[Sasarai]

I know a guy who played the Beta, says the good graphics are all it really has going for it. Who plays a game for graphics anyway? If they actually mattered in some way, noone would play WoW.

[deivi]

I got a beta code gonna probably roll a BRD or DRK