E3 Event Coverage

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

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Game Info

Windows
Developer: 
Sony Online Entertainment
Genre: 
Fantasy
Release Date: 
January 30, 2007
Monthly Fee: 
Free-to-Play
Official Website
Official Forums
T

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) developed by Sigil Games Online, and co-published by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). SOE purchased the rights to the game in late 2006 and a portion of the original Sigil team went to work on the game at the SOE San Diego studios.

Among the novelties that the seamless world of Telon boasts are numerous mounts (including flying mounts), a crafting system through which players contribute to the building of a house or a ship on player-owned land, dozens of adventuring, artisan, and diplomat classes, and a unique TCG-style diplomacy mini-game.

SOE announced in March 2012 that Vanguard would be going free-to-play. On August 7th, 2012, SOE soft launched Vanguard's free-to-play model.

  • Vanguard Announces Beta 1

    Vanbois for teh win!
    Sigil has announced that its opening up applications for beta 1 for everyone registered in its community forums before 10.13.2005. Vin Diesel never needs an application, by the way, he just walks right in to any beta he wants and immediately finds all the exploits.

    " We will begin sending out emails today to everyone that has registered on our forum through today with an invitation to apply for Beta 1. Follow the instructions in the email and you are on your way!



    Once you have submitted your application, your name will be added to our list of potential Beta participants. Qualified applicants will be selected for the program and added gradually, as we need more and more players throughout the course of Beta.



    Please remember that this is an invitation to apply for Beta. If you qualify and are selected at any stage, you will be notified.



    So check your email and submit your application! I am sure I will see many of you in Beta soon! We have been looking forward to this for a long time! "

    Click here to see the Vanguard beta announcement forum thread (registration required- but if you need to register, you're too late for this go-round!).
    Other links you might enjoy:

    Fri, Oct 14, 2005
    Ethec
  • New Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Screenshots

    Holy crap, Vanguard news!
    A sweeping coastal landscape pic and some nice-looking treants are part of Vanguard's latest screenshot offering. With the complete lack of other Vanguard news and the official forums doing their broken record impression on old themes, we'll take whatever was can get!

    "[Ed. note - Snippets can be a bummer when devs don't describe their cool screens. Using my investigative prowess, I was able to determine that the village pictured is Leth'Nurae, the coastline belongs to Ahgram, and the treants are, yes, actually called treants. Prowess in this case meant looking at the pics filenames, but there you go."

    View the new Vanguard: Saga of Heroes screens at the official site.
    Other links you might enjoy:

     

    Images, Media
    Thu, Oct 06, 2005
    Ethec
  • Interview at TenTonHammer.com

    Crusading, so you don't have to.
    TenTonHammer.com locked Darrin McPherson of Sigil in a room and wouldn't let him go until he told us about Paladins in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Bridgette Fonda pouted and exclaimed:

    " Paladins, our defenders of light and all that is good. We've had a taste of what is to come with this noble class. However, we wanted more information. TinyRebel, our Paladin class specialist submitted these questions and concerns about the Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Paladin. We were fortunate enough to have Darrin McPherson, answer these questions for us. It looks like the Paladin is going to remain the trusty steadfast class that we've come to know and love over the years. "

    You can read the entire Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Interview at TenTonHammer.com.
    Related Links

    Features, Interviews
    Fri, Sep 16, 2005
    Boomjack
  • Vanguard: SoH Preview at Vanguard Crafters

    You are a PAX on the nation.
    Vanguard Crafters posted their preview impressions of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, based on their visit to the Penny Arcade Expo. After trashing the Canadian Prime Minister while visiting Canada, Bono still had time to say this:

    " Sigil had a small booth, certainly compared to some other companies, but this fits well with where they are in development.  Three screens were set up for developers and testers demonstrate game play and the beautiful graphics.  I heartily agree with all who have seen the game that the screen shots do it no justice.  The screenshots don't reproduce the detail, clarity and life that Vanguard: Saga of Heroes has, and this is only Beta 0!  I spent most of my time drooling on the developers' shoulders. "

    You can read the entire Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Preview at Vanguard Crafters.
    Related Links

    Features, Previews
    Thu, Sep 15, 2005
    Boomjack
  • Vanguard Interview at Vanguard Spheres

    Tell Us About The Toons.
    Vanguard Spheres has posted a Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Interview focusing on the character appearance. While getting more plastic surgery to change his appearance Michael Jackson screamed out:

    " Well, let me tell you about some of my favorites. As a huge fantasy fan I’ve always loved the classic Tolkien mythos of Elves and Dwarves and all that goes with Middle Earth. I’ve always wanted to bring his words to the canvas, just like every other artist with a passion for fantasy art. So, we’ll have those races, as most games of our genre do, but I do hope ours capture that spirit he gave them in a way that has not been done before in a game. We have modeled some amazing faces and body types. Currently, we’re working on more outfitting for them and adding animations. Body language is so important when it comes to communicating attitude, and that has to be done by hand, by an artist that can feel it. Mo-cap is a great jumping off point, for there are surely details there that are so subtle that no one could reproduce them in a timely fashion without aid. "

    Related Links:

     

    Features, Interviews
    Tue, Sep 13, 2005
    Boomjack
  • Arena.net Lights "Sorrow's Furnace"

    Guild Wars Expansion Goes Live

    The Game Update Notes are up and the previews will start turning into reviews as Guild Wars gets its first major expansion. Like the Warrior/Mesmer once said to the Monk/Elementalist:

    Sorrow's Furnace consists of two new, large and challenging explorable regions located deep in the Shiverpeak Mountains between Spearhead Peak and Snake Dance. These areas contain the following:

    * Seventeen new quests, most of them fully repeatable and offering high XP rewards

    * Four new cinematics

    * A variety of new monsters, including new Stone Summit Dwarves that are the strongest in the Shiverpeak Mountains, and entirely new types of creatures that are being introduced to the game for the first time

    * Boss monsters named after the contest winning entries

    Boss monsters in the new Sorrow's Furnace regions drop newly-introduced green "unique" weapons that are named after the boss.

    Read the rest of the Guild Wars: Sorrow's Furnace expansion update notes at the Arena.net site, and check out the TTH Guild Wars site for more detailed Guild Wars information.

    News
    Thu, Sep 08, 2005
    Ethec
  • Vanguard Fan Chat Announced

    Vanguard Devs Plays "Ping? Pong!"

    Sigil announced a Friday IRC chat session to introduce its newest GMs and field a number of gameplay-related questions. Wha? Where? When?

    Date: Friday the 9th of September
    Time: The chat is set for approximately one hour and will commence at 4pm PST (7pm EST) precisely.
    Place: IRC Server gate.ShadowWorld.Net in room #Vanguardgate

    Be there precisely on time! Or just read the transcripts afterward if you're not the inquisitive sort.

    Click here for more Vanguard chat announcement goodness, and afterward check out the TTH Vanguard fansite we've created just for you! And other people, too.

    News
    Thu, Sep 08, 2005
    Ethec
  • TTH Vanguard Site: Druid Editorial

    These Druids don't just stand around in a stone circle.

    Our Vanguard site's newest writer and class specialist- longtime gamer Karen a.k.a. "Shayalyn"- showcases the Vanguard: Saga of Heroes take on the Fantasy MMOG staple: the Druid. How does Vanguard's version of these nature boys and girls stack up against the EverQuest mold?

    I started pondering and reading more about the druid class as Sigil Games Online has envisioned it. When it comes to healing, to my knowledge, no Vanguard developer has openly stated that druids will completely lose the ability to heal. While we know their primary role is damage-dealing, perhaps they will also retain the regenerative abilities, roots, snares and some of the other things we’ve come to associate with the classic EverQuest-style druid. (Keep in mind this is all just speculation on my part as nothing has been announced yet.) Time will tell, and it’s certain that Sigil has some surprises in store for their vision of the new and improved druid.

    First impressions of the Vanguard: Saga of Heroes druid, live on TTH Vanguard!

    News
    Fri, Sep 02, 2005
    Ethec
  • Vanguard: SOH Beta Reports

    Fanguard? Nice to know that MMOs come with safety features these days.
    Vanguard's official site is featuring a number of "Fanguard" reports by beta testers; the ones with nice things to say, of course. My comment that they need a Jean Claude van Damme subclass goes unnoticed. Here's an unrehearsed, unscripted excerpt from one of the reports:

    " The night sky over Telon is a fantastic sight to behold. Vanguard does night better than any MMO I've seen, with a rich cloak of shadow descending on the land that leaves no doubt as to the time of day. The level of darkness depends on the phase of the moon - a full moon casts a fair amount of light, while a new moon does not.

    During the demo, the moon was not visible, so according to Jeff Butler we were seeing northern Thestra at its darkest. With the gamma set normally, visibility was not terribly limited, but a veil of darkness adorned every element of the landscape.

    And what a landscape it is! The screenshots do not do justice to how alive the world feels - grass rippling in the wind, rolling hills dappled with trees, and in the distance towering peaks of what I believe were the Widow's Veil Mountains (I neglected to ask). The models look beautiful in motion even with the placeholder animation, and the mobs look spectacular. I am not usually one to gush, but Vanguard's graphics in action are truly something to behold. "

    You can read all ten Vanguard, Saga of Heroes "Fanguard" beta reports at the official site.

    Features, Previews
    Tue, Aug 16, 2005
    Ethec
  • New Vanguard Music Files

    Play some music & pretend you're playing Vanguard!
    Two examples of Todd Masten's talents on the upcoming MMORPG are now live on the Vanguard site.

    " MP3s:

    --Nusibe Necropolis

    --The Highlands "

    Have a listen here!

    News
    Thu, Aug 04, 2005
    Ethec
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