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Microsoft Announces Vanguard MMORPG 43

Posted by simoniker from the the-next-ever-generation dept.
Thanks to GameSpot for its news story covering the announcement of Microsoft's new massively multiplayer PC game, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, in development by "renowned designer and cocreator of EverQuest Brad McQuaid" and his company Sigil. The official Vanguard site is now publicly viewable, stating Vanguard's aim to "become the premier third generation massively multiplayer RPG", and an interview with Brad McQuaid over at GameSpot goes into more detail, noting the game's style is "generally what someone would label as high fantasy", although not discussing whether Vanguard's development is one of the reasons for Microsoft's cancelling of their internally-developed MMO Mythica.
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Microsoft Announces Vanguard MMORPG More

Microsoft Announces Vanguard MMORPG

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  • Wow (Score:1, Funny)

    by the_other_one ( 178565 ) *
    I am eagerly waiting for the Linux version!

  • Wow Just what we need! (Score:5, Funny)

    by ru-486 ( 73117 ) on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @11:13PM (#8585911)
    Man, the market was just begging for another fantasy mmorpg! *sarcasm*

  • Hidden code? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by nacturation ( 646836 ) <nacturation&gmail,com> on Tuesday March 16, 2004 @11:17PM (#8585931) Journal
    Check out the teaser pages [vanguardsoh.com]. There's a sequence of numbers presented throughout the 15 or so pages. Any meaning to them?
  • Bah, another gigantic MMORPG to force addicts into upgrading all their PC components. Personally, I'm addicted to Ragnarok Online. Pretty graphics that will run easily on a medium grade computer. Plus the characters are more cutesy :D
  • I'm just waiting for the coming of the supposed "second generation" of MMORPG's. Arguably, it hasn't arrived, even though there are some promising ones on the horizon.

    • What is the definition of the generations?

    • Re:Third Generation? (Score:2, Informative)

      by Cosmik ( 730707 )
      The Second Generation is already here, but with MMORPGs coming out every year, rather than a few at a time followed by a longer period of waiting, the lines between the generations will probably blur now. Star Wars: Galaxies, Horizons, Final Fantasy XI, Dark Age of Camelot, Asheron's Call 2, Anarchy Online are all Second Generation. There are only 3 main players in the First Generation: Ultima Online, EverQuest, and Asheron's Call. How this MMORPG will be different from all of these past MMORPGs to warra
      • After reading a bit of the front page and FAQ this sounds like a combination of EQ and UO. I've never played EQ but was a UO player from 98-01.

      • Re:Third Generation? (Score:3, Insightful)

        by llefler ( 184847 )
        Actually, all of those are second or third generation MMORPGs. Depending on what you consider your first generation. I personally look at MUDs as first generation, and those games defining the second generation. It takes more than a new GUI and a number after the name to make it a new generation. For example, I don't think anyone is going to say AC2 is an improvement on AC. We aren't going see a new generation for a while. We'll need to break away from the cookie cutter fantasy and licensed games first.

        Fo
        • True, if you throw MUDs into the equation, then my brief little outline on generations takes a new turn.

          I specifically left out MUDs, preferring to to talk about MMORPGs, as I'm sure that is what Sigil Games is talking about.

          While I agree that AC1 is a superior game over AC2, I consider AC2 a second generation game because it really can't be lumped in with AC1 as first generation. Along with game mechanics and graphics influencing what a generation is, so must time.

  • So.... (Score:2, Funny)

    by bluemeep ( 669505 )
    What'll the newbie fodder be? Giant rats, giant bats or giant beetles?

  • I'm surprised and impressed... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by EarwigTC ( 579471 ) on Wednesday March 17, 2004 @12:00AM (#8586146)
    I'm surprised and impressed to see all kinds of interaction between Brad McQuaid, the Microsoft Lead Business Manager Jon Grande, and the community on the message boards. They are answering questions in a very straightforward manner.

    I'm not highly involved in any other MMOs but I believe this is an unprecedented level of interaction between the higher-ups, coders, and people who will eventually play the game. The complaint I always hear about these games is that the company isn't listening or isn't responding. Very nice to see something different.

    • Re:I'm surprised and impressed... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Cosmik ( 730707 ) on Wednesday March 17, 2004 @12:13AM (#8586212) Homepage
      Well, best to hold onto your horses for a little while yet. Quite alot of MMORPGs these days (and for the past 3 years or so) have a really great level of communication with the community in the developmental stages of the game. It's utopian stage of the MMORPG, where the each member of the community respects one another and the designers can do no wrong.

      The real test of communication will come within the 3 months before release when the designers and coders are all working 18 hour days, and how the communication is maintained post-release when people are complaining about server crashes, login problems, and game imbalances, when all the designers and coders want to do is run away and sleep.

      But I'm looking at the current mold of MMORPGs. I really do hope these guys can break that mold.

  • MMO Combat (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MMaestro ( 585010 ) on Wednesday March 17, 2004 @12:53AM (#8586382)
    Combat is a key component of the game, so there will certainly be hack-and-slash gameplay. But that doesn't mean combat needs to be mindless--it can be very exciting, involved, and visceral.

    "Can be" meaning "it's fun for the first 5 times you unlock and use a new attack."

    When oh when will we see some NEW ideas for MMO-type combat? Planetside did a fairly good job at trying something new, but the types/size of battles just don't fit correctly.

    • Because FPS style combat is even more boring, not to mention laggy, and possibly even more horribly skewed twoards those who have no life but gaming than the normal version, where most PvP games at least let groups of lower levels have a shot at beating higher ones.

  • Lol..is it just me.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Voltiare ( 750594 ) on Wednesday March 17, 2004 @01:36AM (#8586576)
    They claim to want to cater to the hardcore gamers... the first line of their faq reads "what is a faq?" ...
  • Is MS going to charge for the game and to play the game? Most MMORPG look interesting to me and I would like to try some, but I don't like the idea of paying for the game in the store then paying more to play. If the game is a pay-to-play one, then I should be able to download it online for free.

    • Re:Look interesting, but... (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I hear this argument a lot, but I don't have much sympathy with it. While I can't say for sure, my guess would be that they need to charge for the games in the store to cover the game's development costs (which are generally huge with a mainstream MMOG) and to insure against the risk of a lot of players ditching the game when the free trial expires. The monthly fees then cover their ongoing costs, such as servers and the staff to support them and develop the game. The only other model would be to dramatical
    • Several of the older MMOs let you dl games first. And Lineage 2 is going to go into open beta in a few weeks.
  • ...since they're so addicive and time consuming is obviously outsourcing to India.

  • What a blowhard site... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Big Sean O ( 317186 ) on Wednesday March 17, 2004 @07:38AM (#8587609)
    My favorite quote from the site (referring to their concept art) is:

    "Every masterpiece begins with a thought, idea, or concept."


    I mean really, folks, it's just a game. It's not the Mona Lisa. Nobody's played it yet, you _may_ not want to oversell it.
  • Horizontal scrolling? Just like Microsofts products their game websites are even bloated. I thought horizontal scrolling went out in the early 90's.

  • When I saw the name Vanguard, it sounded really famaliar. When I googled for it, I realized that it was my all-time favorite arcade scroller [klov.com]. No wonder I was excited at first.

  • This game will have:
    a) mandatory rat and zombie killing

    b) no new ideas
    c) cross-media tie-ins to cellphones ("for a small fee")
    d) PK kiddy griefers
    e) "a robust and dynamic" leveling treadmill
    f) only two character classes: males, and males playing as females
    g) all of the above
    • You forgot the utterly non-immersive combat. You know, where your character stands immobile in front of a monster, and swings his sword every 5 or 6 seconds, while the monster stands there and takes it, except for swinging ITS sword every 5 or 6 seconds. Remember that great Ali-Frazier fight where they just stood there in front of each other for minute upon minute, arms down, and occasionally one would raise his arms and throw a punch? Now THAT was fun!

      Compare to Asheron's Call (the first one, not the

  • Isn't it amazing how many Slashdotters can see the future and/or are on the development team? Good thing we have them to tell us that it'll suck, otherwise we might waste some time following its development.
  • http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_i d=10293

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