MMORPG

Been away from blogging for a bit.  Sure I can give the excuses, real life drama, too much work, too much playing games, too little time, and so forth.

Bottom line, no excuse really.  Does not take long to blog, not sure why I have not.

On to other things…

Last few years I have become a MMORPG fanatic as for gaming, it is now my preferred choice of games to play.  For those of you that never heard of it, it stands for Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.  Some of the classics are World of Warcraft, and Everquest.

Lately I have been playing two, Vanguard Saga of Heroes and a new one that is out called Fallen Earth.  This game is kind of a breath of fresh air, developed by Icarus Studios it is a massive game, with a lot of detail rarely seen in MMO’s.  Vanguard Saga of Heroes also fits in this category, the difference is the feel of the community in the game.

Sure to most it is about the game, but the community makes a huge difference on the success or failure of a MMORPG.  The game has that Mom and Pop shop feel, with only one server it is well populated with players (anyone who has played Vanguard would appreciate and it is a major attraction).  It is like the Dev’s are there and listening to the players.  That is a breath of fresh air compared to some of the

most popular MMO’s out there.  I have played 6 different ones, and 2 others I tried briefly and have not ever seen this tight of a community.

Well recently, this has been my passion for MMORPG.  The game had a very bad start, and only a core group of people seem to be interested in it.    And I admit, I have left it for a time, did a little bouncing aroung to Tabula Rusa. Age of Conan, and then back to EQ2 which was my first MMO.

Each of these games had their good and bad points, but somehow they still did not measure up to Vangaurd.  My only complaint about Vangaurd is, the lack of population on the servers.  New players join, but it is hard at times to find groups.  A problem that I am starting to see in many MMO’s, it is almost like the market is getting saturated with games so the public that plays these games are getting spread way too thin.  But that is for another topic later.

What I wanted to point out, was my opinion of why Vanguard is so much better than any other MMO I have played, and that is world immersion.  You feel a part of the world, though at times you can feel alone in the world, the world seems very much alive.

The NPC’s may not be nearly as animated as they are in Age of Conan, and rarely do you hear a speach dialog like in EQ2, but the world is full of life.  The game is far more realisitic than most, in fact one of the draws to me was it had elements that used to exist in EQ2 before Sony decided they wanted a piece of the World of Warcraft market and made many changes that resulted in a much easier game.

Leveling is far slower in Vanguard, some of these games you could easily get to level 20 in one session, with Vanguard that would be a very long session.  Some consider this to be a downfall as the grind appears to be worse, but if you read the story line of the quests, it is quite interesting and keeps you interested.  Downfall is you must read, and many of the MMO players out there want it easy.

Crafting is much more in depth than any game I have seen, it can take some time to craft even just a few items, but the unique system of magical dusts that can be added can add some flavor to every item you make.  By the choice of the ingredients you use, you can have the item buff your strength, or your wisdom.  As you progress you get more choices, that will kept me interested.  Often times I would just make an item just to see what it can do, and if it did not match out well I would just sell it on the market. 

The game has Diplomacy, which frankly I have not played with much, but it does add the component where accomplished Diplomats can put up Buffs that affect a whole city, or a chunk (kind of like zones).  They do this by parleying with NPC’s, not just simply casting spells.

Zones, or the lack there of, is another thing I love.  No longer do you wonder around in some area that eventually is block by say some mountain that you cannot climb, just to force you along a path to the entry of the next zone.  Now this can be a disadvantage, because this does make the game a resource hog.  As it loads areas as it goes, called chunking, I know the concept was to make it invisible but it is not.  There is always a pause when you reach the end of a chunk, but you can exit or enter a chunk from virtually any point.  Not some predetermined spot where everyone starts like in the games that use Zones.

The world is huge, content is even larger.  You could play several characters, and make each one have a unique experience in the world.  Rarely repeating the same quests, though there are some quests that everyone repeats over and over with each of their characters for the rewards.

You can rent flying beasts to fly to various locations in the world, not some predetermined path either, but you actually control the beast.  You select the path and where you decided to land. 

I could go on forever, but let me finish with these last little bits, the world itself.  Most of the rivers have current, you can make boats to travel the oceans, trees and grass sway in the wind, the history/lore of the world is as huge as the world and detailed.  When you harvest resources like wood you actually chop trees down, or for leather, skin your kills.  When you harvest or craft you actually have different gear, you are not clad in the full plate armor while working at the forge. 

There are countless more of things that just make you feel as part of the world, and less like it is a game.

For me, the overall experience is why I play, and Vanguard has that hands down over everyone else that I have tried.