Downtime and Vanguard

Today is a maintenance schedule for Age of Conan, so I will not get to spend too much time in the game. But, I already have plans once I can get back in.

First off, here is that nice little axe I got on one of my dungeon runs this past weekend. Also, my outfit has been updated a little, with a new belt and an upgrade to my skirt. Very nice.

Now, about my current plans.

I found out that my culture armor for my class is available at level 78.

Basically each class has their own "special" set of armor with attributes specific to their class, and only wearable by them.

But pricing has made the set hard to come by...especially in Conan where money does not grow on trees like it does in other MMO's (WoW...cough). At 45 gold for the complete kit, and myself sitting at 21 gold, I need help.

With just a little over two bars of XP to go, the wife has taken it upon herself to help me in this latest endeavor.

I have started to work on gathering resources and letting the wife do her #1 skill...Auctions.

She is an Ebay of the MMO's queen. Selling at good prices to undercut others, and buying low to resell higher.

As well, since I have not looked at the Trader in AoC very often, I have not seen what a mess it really is.

People have put items in at ridiculously low prices, undermining those who have followed criteria (like Silk usually will sell for a silver a piece, and here is one person putting in 3 pieces at 30 copper..TOTAL..ARGH).

Not sure why they do this...but, all of the market is really skewed.

Luckily the wife has made progress in fixing quite a few resources, and the cash has flowed, making 2 gold over the last day. In AoC...that is a lot.

Now, since there was downtime, and I got criticized for my opinion that "Vanguard is junk" post a few days back, I went ahead and loaded it up for the free return days.

I am not sure how many times I have tried to play this game, but it is LOTRO deja vu all over again.

Stupid things, like funky animations. Sound did not work, it just was...dead...silent. Hitchy performance ...on a machine that can play AoC in DX10 pretty smoothly? That is sad.

The huge world looks lovely..but very empty as well. Waypoints are hard to find, as directions are not well done. And with a world so huge, you definitely need some help. I got none. I even tried to ask the community. They proceeded to make jokes, and were quite stupid about the fact I was lost.

The models leave a lot to be desired, with chunky bodies, crappy hair styles, and clothing that does not lay right. Ugly is the one word that comes to mind.

I do not get it.

And for me, this is it. I see no redeeming value in Vanguard, and it has become the latest delete on my system. I also stand by my comment about the quality of Vanguard. Junk.

Vanguard joins my LOTRO list of games that people like, yet I cannot fathom why.

Ok...I better sign off before I piss someone else off. LATER~

Weekend Wrap Ramble

Just a little update.

I met my goal of hitting level 77 this weekend. The groups were going like mad, and I completed several huge quests. I also tapped a couple of new weapons for use from some really good drops. I have a new axe, which I got that looks great, and I will hopefully be able to post that image later.

I also tried to play in DX9 this weekend, as sometimes if I get a large set of mobs attacking, I experience some nasty lag spikes. But, I just had to go back. I can really tell the difference (DX9 looks like mud compared to DX10), so I will play with my settings a bit to keep it around. Most of the time I get a good 60+FPS, so, just need to find the magic tweak for massive mobs!

I posted my feelings on the Vanguard freebie (for 30 days?) that started this weekend (btw, I was an older player, and had subbed for the 30 days I got with my box...played 15 of those before the boredom and issues set in)...and some commenter's seemed to be a little touchy over my post.
The game is sadly more niche than Warhammer or AoC, and I just do not see any staying power for that game. It really is quite boring ( I have tried multiple classes, and just cannot get past level 20), and it just does not offer anything new to the MMO genre (even when it came out)...oh, and BTW, for those who go on about the Zoneless huge world...Zoneless Huge World equals very EMPTY world also...so believe me...it is not an advantage.
Lets just call this my "Eurogamer" opinion (as some people believe you must play hundreds of hours before you can decide a game is junk...uh yea...NOT!)

SOE could save a wad of cash shutting this baby down.

Anyways, I also started playing Deadspace again this weekend. My second run through. Hard Mode, and trying for a few achievements (using only the Plasma Cutter, killing a certain number of beasties in hand to hand, etc.). This game really is a major piece of work, and for any Horror Survival genre fan, you must buy this. RE5 is weak compared to this game. RE5 was good, just Deadspace is way better.
I want to at least get these achievements, and then see what the new DLC's are...some look cool.

Well...quiet weekend otherwise. We are strapping down and keeping the spending to a minimum for our vacation in two weeks to Great Wolf Lodge (a new one opened just 2 1/2 some hours from us, an indoor waterpark, this place is a self contained fun zone...awesome).

So, gaming is really the way to go for weekend fun.

Cheers

Vanguard offers free time

And tells no one about it.

I just read that Shamutanti at letsnothaveabreakdown has been playing his "free" time. I decide to login to my account mgmt. and see "Oh my...free time".

Well, have a party and invite no one I guess.

How did HE know though?

Guess it is for the best as this game has constantly been junk when I have played. Probably should just forget about it and play on in my game.

Yep...for the best.

(Lets call this "Vanguards last Hurrah"...who does not see THIS as foreshadowing?)

Age of Conan - Has found its niche

Well, I have been keeping an eye on this for a while, and it seems to finally evened out.


Xfire shows a steady play rate, and Age of Conan has finally found its location on their charts..
Sundays spike quite nicely and the weekdays seem pretty steady..

Guess the niche has been found, and time will only tell if the patches and the purported return free campaign coming next year will bring it back up.

But...return campaigns are not always good for some games...

Vanguard

Cheers...and have a fun gaming weekend.

Vanguard - Stargrace says it depends on us...

Stargrace at MMOQuests had a post about how some players feel about trialing new games..

Specifically one player asks
“I’ve got an account for Vanguard but never tried it beyond a few minutes when it first launched. Never really had the time to devot to yet another MMO but… is it worth it? Should I try it? I’m already heavily into EQII, started to dabble with both LOTRO and am trying to get set up with DDO after discovering I have an open account for some reason. Am I going to find something in VG that will grab me?”


She had this to say...
"I tried to think of a simple answer for this and failed - there really is no simple answer. I can’t answer whether or not someone else will find something they enjoy and that will grab them in a game, any game. I can point out the aspects that I personally enjoy (and there are a huge amount) and I admit from the start to everyone that I am very biased towards Vanguard in particular. I never seem to have the number of problems that others have with these games, it runs just about flawlessly for me and when it doesn’t run a quick /flush all command takes care of the minor glitches I may have. I love how complex the game is, the three spheres, diplomacy, crafting, the ability to actually own a house. I love the brotherhood idea - and Prezzer if you’re going to give VG a try then by all means let me know and I’ll do my best to play too so you’ll at least have someone to talk to. I play on the Seradon server"

And it made me wonder why I have an issue with Vanguard.

I started a comment on her site, and it turned into a novel, so I have brought it here...
___________________________________________________

I devoted time to Vanguard, and it never did it's magic on me, like it did for you (Stargrace).
Maybe it is due to the issues?

Or is it something else?

I like certain features in a game (music, visuals, how the world connects)

And VG did these things for me....at first.

Several classes (hello...Blood Mage...how cool is that) just really grabbed me.
The music ...especially in the Elven district so worked for me..
The thought of doing diplomacy...excellent. I love discussion pieces in games (Bioware is excellent in handling conversation trees)
The mobs and the world were gorgeous..

But, shoddy performance on a high end system just seemed wrong to me.
Crashes seemed messed up to me. (**I will note several game engines just seem to not like newer hardware...EQ2, LOTRO and Vanguard to name a few..so this could be me being "Cutting Edge" getting in the way of enjoying these titles...)
The model revamp from before made the characters look funny (they are slightly better now...but not great)

And the TIME...OMG...

This is probably the true issue and maybe where we differ.

YOU have time to dedicate to your games. And I want more action in less time...which could be my problem.

We both joined Xfire at about the same time (I actually was almost a month before you I think...during the Xfire and games discussions on various sites. I remember when we all started getting the software..Ardwulf, you and I..).

Now look at our hours.

My highest time on a game so far is Guild Wars at 300 hours...

You have EQ2 at 500 hours, and an overall game time of 700 hours.

I have 460+ hrs.

I think Vanguard and even EQ2 require commitments that I am not able to do. I cannot craft for hours, do many HQ's, stay caught up in large grouping endeavors. Raids and Guild functions are not something I can do on a regular basis.

I have an hour or two at a time, and must move on.

Each time I played Vanguard I was running across vast landscapes for minutes at a time. I would die, and be stuck either running back to my corpse or reviving and having to gain back my losses.
I got a horse, yet it still felt like things took forever. Fights were long, and leveling was not very fast.

This might be why EQ2 grabbed me for so long, as leveling did go much faster at first. But, after 8 months, I still did not have a max level character and did not have the time to dedicate to get the money to buy the goods I needed.

And I let it go.

Guild Wars I can hit max in less than a month. Age of Conan had me halfway to max in just one month. EQ2 was close with me hitting 40 in about 2 months.

For Vanguard, in a month I had maybe reached level 20? And that was putting in massive time on the weekends.

Overall, I think for Vanguard, it has nothing to do with it being a bad game actually, but instead being a game I cannot play with.

The world requires more of me than I can offer.

I think if people wish for a game that keeps them enthralled, and they have the time and patience to play it, then they should try it. Vanguard and EQ2 offer these in spades. So much to do, so much content.

I wish I could play like I did back when I started.

WoW, Lineage 2 all required time, and I had that in spades. Guild Wars first campaign even requires dedication (as it takes longer to level once you reach level 15..)

Nowadays, I have maybe an hour or two at most for a session, and I need some variety and some fast paced action.

I also think this is why WAR has not grabbed me.

When I hear people putting 5 hours (or 12 hours like one hardcore blogger I know) into trying to get renown, I have an adverse reaction. And the game does not look good to me either...but that is a whole other issue.

Maybe when I retire, I can then make games my lifeblood...lol.

I really think when people decide on an MMO, they need to take time into account nowadays.

Do YOU as a player have that time to dedicate to a large guild, a large group of online friends?

It does depend on us, and our lives overall in our MMO decisions.
___________________________________________________

Thanks for a great post Stargrace...

Cheers to you!

Quite the weekend coming

And it is all thanks to the "Please come back to us" trials that several of the games are attempting.
I wonder how many will actually try these?

With LOTRO and Vanguard pushing the "Hey looks at us, we made updates, and you may like us now" free time, it is a chance to go back and see what changes have been made...

First off, I already did some Vanguard last night.


My first login was met with disaster, as all 3 of my characters were gone.

Deleted. History.

WTF???

It has not even been 6 months, and they just haphazardly delete your characters? Makes no sense to me.
I left AoC for 4 months, and all of my characters were still there. LOTRO also had kept my characters from the 6 month hiatus I took, and they were on my login screen when I came back for the year anniversary previously.

So, already my impressions were soured.

I then proceed to make a new character using the revamped models.
What a difference. A few issues still exists like limited hair styles for each race. But, dang you could make a pretty Elf now.
I then proceeded to try out the new trial Isle.
I arrive, and as I start to move I am met with massive stuttering.
8500 CPU with 6mb cache, ATI 4870 video which runs AoC at a smooth 60FPS, and 4 gigs of 1066 DDR2 with 64 bit Vista. (For those who do not understand that garbage...just let me say ..."VROOM")

But, hey, maybe I need to make some adjustments. Okey doke.

I change a few settings in graphics, and hit apply...the screen starts flashing between my desktop and the game. All of the UI components disappear. I finally after wrestling with this for a few, get it to shut down (The secret?...I held my tongue in my left cheek, and stuck my right thumb up my nose as I proceeded to chant in Latin. I personally think the sacrifice of the virgin rat helped.)
I proceeded to start it back up (Did I mention I am a masochist?)
And got back in.
I ran around a little to see if textures would load up. I was hitting about 40+FPS, so getting better.
I then realize I have no control to spin my camera to look at myself (usually 99% of MMO's allow you to hold the right mouse, and rotate the camera to look at your character), so I went into control options to see if an item was unchecked.
I did not find anything and hit cancel.
The demonic strobe effect started again.

ARGH!

This equals too much frustration. I was done.

I am sure there are some ways to fix this, but why should I have to hassle with such issues.
And the character deletion really just ruins the whole "Come back and try" deal.
SOE has said "over 1000 bugs fixed..."

Cool. Now only 99,000 more to go!

As to LOTRO, it is loaded and I have sent an email to my old friend to let him know I am coming back, and that I am ready to max out my character (this way I give the game an honest trial...I have a level 40 or somewhere around that, so he is ready to hit 50).
Hopefully we can team up and knock out some quests and see if the game gives me an honest feeling on if I would be willing to give Turbine the benefit of the doubt.
I am still peeved over some things I have seen, but at the same point, many believe I have not been fair to the game.

So, Vanguard got it's shot and I am officially done there.

Lets see if LOTRO can at least offer something better.

Also, as a final note on this wall of text...the wife and I hit level 20 in Tortage strictly doing all of the regular quests. It was a total blast.
We could have left at level 17, but we decided to follow some of the other quest lines which were quite fun (and were not the Destiny quests).
And we eliminated EVERY quest in our log.
I am duly impressed that the quests for one do not ever turn Gray (so they become non-xp quests) and that they last until you hit max.
Basically, the Tortage experience gives you two ways to play the island, and fun can be had in either format (Destiny or Non-Destiny).

We did find one problem.
One zone (The Ruins) has a hidden entrance that when we try to access the door says we need the quest to open it.
Now, we are mystified. I really wonder what is behind that door, and I plan to look into that.
So, our problem? A QUEST WE DID NOT DO!!!!
(lol)
Ok...completionist attitude there, but I GOTTA do it,....ya know?

Anyways, there it is...all this text I am sure you skimmed over.

If you paid attention, you will see that I also am adding a read more option. As I tend to write quite a bit in a day, I figured this will make it easier to skim my posts and just read more of the ones you like...
Hope you enjoy it...
Glad you stopped by...comments always appreciated...
(I feel so happy, that I may be turning off moderation soon...woohoo)