Are You Hardcore?

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September 15th, 2008 - By Dalmarus

Game Update #6 went live on the Vanguard: Saga of Heroes servers this past Wednesday and the angels sang. Alright, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but in any case, this update was a welcome sight for a number of reasons. There were a number of hotly anticipated items of interest, not the least of which was the return of the character customization options we'd had to live without for so long. Of course, we couldn't talk about Game Update #6 without also talking about the Isle of Dawn. There has also been a lot of talk lately on "being hardcore". I'll finish off this week's chronicles with my thoughts on the subject, so be ready!

While it's only been a matter of months, to me at least, it has felt like almost a year since we've had the capability to customize our precious avatars. While it was never a deal breaker for me in terms of whether I would play my characters or not, it did make me spend a lot more time in lich form on my Necromancer, or keep the helmet on my Dread Knight more often than I normally would. It wasn't that I thought the characters looked bad, but they became generic and the lifeless look in my Dark Elf's eyes was a sad reminder of what we had lost. As I imagine most players in the community would attest to, having the customization options back in the game has been one of the best things to come along in a long time. My Dark Elf is finally back to its evil self and I'm thrilled.

Medusa couldn't have done it any better.

The other thing that's thrilled me the most about Game Update #6 is, of course, the Isle of Dawn. I literally couldn't count how many people have asked me over the last year or so, "Does Vanguard have a free trial?" It's killed me to have to repeatedly tell them, "No." Well, hitch up your britches and get ready, because the time has finally come! The stand alone trial for the Isle of Dawn should be coming soon, possibly this week or next. During FanFaire 2008, the estimated download size for the Isle was going to be 2.5 gigabytes. While it hasn't been 100% confirmed yet, word is spreading that the download size for the Isle is actually only 1 gigabyte! Needless to say, in either case, I'll be putting my DVD burner to work making multiple copies of the trial to spread to friends and family. If you have people in your life interested in the game, be sure to do the same!

Speaking of hardcore... (Ok, we really weren't, but that’s the best seguing you're going to get today so...)

Last week, Beau (a.k.a. Rikoorakoo on the official forums) had some interesting thoughts brought up on what it means to be hardcore in the Voyages of Vanguard podcast #54. This got me thinking about the topic pretty heavily this past week, so of course, I've got to share my thoughts on the subject. It's interesting to me how much of a hot topic this can be at times. That, in and of itself, is odd to me. Does it really matter that much to you whether you're classified as hardcore? 

What really determines if you're hardcore or not? For the sake of argument, we're going to limit this discussion to gaming, and gaming only. If not, I'd already disqualify 90% of the civilian population right off the bat, so this will at least give you a fighting chance, haha. Back on track!

Are you hardcore because you can sit and have a 12, 15, or even 24-hour gaming marathon? Are you hardcore because you've beaten virtually every game that's ever come into your possession? Are you hardcore because you can rattle off more facts and statistics about the game than H.A.L. could ever dream of? I think not. In my opinion, none of these things make someone hardcore.

Someone really needs to invent a fire extinguisher.

I think it's passion that makes a player hardcore. That passion can take many forms, one of which is often found in the paragraph above. In the terms of this definition though, I consider myself a hardcore gamer even though I don't match a single item above and here are the reasons why:

• I've been playing video games for over 30 years. Anyone that's played video games for more years than some of you have been alive? That's hardcore.


• I spend more hours than many of you would ever believe working on the content for this site. I do it because I love this game and being involved with the community. That's hardcore.


• I've probably beaten less than 10-20% of all the games I've ever owned. Despite this, I'm always gaming, writing about gaming, or thinking about gaming nearly every hour of every day. That's hardcore.

So what is it that makes you hardcore? Leave a comment here!

Have you missed any of Dalmarus' Vanguard Chronicles? Check out The Archives to get caught up!

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Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Ten Ton Hammer network or staff.

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