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Yesterday, I posted my first impressions of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. For the most part the comments were positive.

Any title that ships is going to have pundits who take it apart piece by piece, dissecting the game into its elemental parts. Invariably, this scrutiny breaks down because as anyone who has played MMOG knows, the total game experience is more than the sum of its parts. Reviewers fall back on comparisons and scoring systems, but in the end no reviewer can truly capture what matters, the personal perceptions and expectations of the potential player.

The perception at large pre-launch and pre-Beta 5 was that Vanguard was going to be a game that was different from the rest in extraordinary ways. At later levels, and even to some extent for the new player this appears to be the case. What is perceived as true, and what is true are often not the same thing. Vanguard currently has a perception and expectation problem. It is a problem caused, I believe, by the need to put the game in the hands of the public before the developers were completely comfortable doing so. The change in publishers from Microsoft to SoE and the unexpectedly early launch date suggest a funding issue. Whether this is fact or not, it is the perception on the virtual street and it should probably be addressed if the good folks at Sigil want to see an expanding number of subscribers.

Vanguard has a lot of potential. Anyone who has played it can see that. The game is enormous, not only geographically, but in scope. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the public perception of the game. If you have played it, was it what you expected? If you haven't played it, what do you "think" it is?

In other MMOG news, Mark Wallace has an excellent article up about meta-guilds and how they share their game experiences. It also touches on the interesting aspect of how meta-guilds take their "culture" from one game to another.

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Exclusive TenTonHammer.com Content!
02.06.2007

• Dungeons and Dragons Online: How To Be Ignored In The Forums
  "And above all things, remember the golden rule of forum writing. If all else fails, and someone gives you a hard argument, say that they are not willing to discuss points, and compare them to a World War 2 dictator."
• EverQuest 2: SoE Community Summit
  "The SOE Community Summit has come and gone, and it provided a unique experience, for those of us fortunate enough to go, that we'll never forget it. Who was in attendance, and what was discussed? You'll have to read inside to find out."
• Lord of the Rings Online: Final 10 Beta Slots Awarded
  "LotroSource@TenTonHammer is thrilled to have given away over 100 closed beta passes to our members. Once again showing that we ARE the LOTRO community site!"
• Lord of the Rings Online: Beta Tester Tips
  "LotroSource staff writer Agon shares beta testing tips with new beta testers!"
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Changing Your Bind Point
  "New to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes? Here's another of our Tuesday's Tips to the rescue. This week we'll show you how to set your character's bind point to a new location. After all, less time spent running from point A to point B means more time spent playing."
• World of Warcraft: Transportation Guide Update
  "Our transportation guide has been updated! It now includes the new methods of transportation available in the Burning Crusade."
• World of Warcraft: Guide To The Underbog
  "Instances getting to be tuff? Not sure how to defeat that next boss? Have no fear, TenTonHammer is back with yet another Burning Crusade instance guide, this time on how to defeat the Underbog in Zangarmarsh."

Hot Content

• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Changing Your Bind Point
• Lord of the Rings Online: Beta Tester Tips
• EverQuest 2: SoE Community Summit
• Vanguard U.I. Database
• Vanguard: Launch Event Commemorates Keith Parkinson
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Combat System With Fencing Flair
• StarGate Worlds: Developer Diary - Archetypes Defined
• Scions of Fate: 2,000 Beta Keys To Give Away
• EA Mythic / Warhammer Press Event Writeup
• Warhammer Online: Interview With Jeff Hickman
• Vanguard: Advanced Newbie Guide
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Ten Ton Dev Tracker

Real World News - You Can't Make This Up

• Astronaut Charged With Kidnap Attempt [Thanks Matt]
  New term coined - Astronut
• French Kids To Get Open Source Software [Thanks Matt]
  France enters the computer age, promptly surrenders.
• Tom Cruise Missile Jokester Arrested [Thanks Matt]
  Scientology takes it jokes seriously.
• German Police Cannot Put Spyware On Computers [Matt]
  They'll leave that to the porn sites.
• Skateboarding Robot [Thanks Troon]
  All hail our rail-riding robotic overlords!

Vin Diesel Fact: Vin Diesel hunts deer by strapping headlights to his hat and running down the highway.

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com
- John "Boomjack" Hoskin

You can read previously enjoyed editions of Loading... in the blog archive.