Thrall vs. Aradune?

Welcome to a ersatz, Boomjack-less Tuesday Loading...

Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle taking John Hoskin's place this morning. I'm seated firmly in the plush "Loading..." chair this morning, sippling a cold adult beverage (the last of the coffee), and trying not to strain while thinking of a cool Loading... topic. You people can always sense desperation.

Speaking of desperation, we've got heaps and heaps of Scions of Fate beta keys to give away. Go get 'em. The only stipulation we make : you have to talk about your experience in the Ten Ton Hammer forums. Me and all of my Korean martial arts comic book sidekicks will hunt you down if you don't.

Awkward segue to the two big January news items in MMO gaming: we're a week away from World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade's worldwide launch, and the open beta and looming release date (odds on January 30th, anyone?) of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.

World of Warcraft vs. Vanguard - since they're not exactly competing properties, I shouldn't paint it in such epic terms, at any rate nothing like the supposed "Game of the Century" Tostitos Fiesta Bowl last night. (OSU has a dirtier franchise history and more NCAA violations than China has fighter planes, but I can't exactly feel happy about Florida's blowout win, since they already have sunshine, warmth, and scarcely-clad girls going wild and all.) Back on topic...

Let's set the stage, just for fun. In Brad McQuaid's estimate, these are the two most expensive MMORPGs ever made. The Guinness people haven't been called in and we have no hard figures, but the old "3 years and 30 million USD" rule-of-thumb we toss around when half-drunk and telling each other about the MMO we're going to make someday wouldn't seem to apply.

The 3 years, at least, is out. Our intrepid Vanguard CM Karen tells me that Vanguard's been in development for five years. We can figure the Burning Crusade expansion has been in development for roundabout two years, and World of Warcraft was announced in September 2001 (3 years and change before WoW launched). Who knows how long before that the folks in Irvine were kicking it around, but both MMOs came into the limelight at about the same time.

Five years, and what crazy paths these games have taken. WoW has more subscribers than Second Life has grey goo, and Vanguard just now has its feet planted in the starting blocks. But the playing field wasn't level from the start. Blizzard already had a surefire franchise and huge capital to put behind an MMO and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that before Microsoft signed on, Vanguard had little more than one man and a big dream. It's a tribute to Brad McQuaid and all the folks at Sigil that they got the financing they've needed in the past few years to launch a competitive product in light of WoW's frightening success.

But there I go, using the word "competitive" again when, in many ways, WoW and Vanguard aren't even in the same space. We have the category "MMORPG" and we treat it like a demolition derby free-for-all when in reality it's a medium, a means to play the game, much like a console. You wouldn't compare Madden '07 to Gears of War or BrainAge to Castlevania: PoR. So why compare Auto Assault to EverQuest II just because they're both MMOs? Elves and orcs make not an MMO.

While WoW and Vanguard are both fantasy MMOs, they're looking for different gamers. I'm not even sure Vanguard, if successful, would carve up the WoW playerbase significantly. WoW is all about achievement (nothing wrong with that), and Vanguard, from what I can tell, is more about socializing, exploring, and progressing (again - nothing wrong with that). It's nothing you can hang a nice genre label on, you can't put it in a shoebox, but at the risk of putting too fine a point on it: the distinction has been there all along.

I don't have any special affection for Vanguard, but I'm hoping the media parade will take off the WoW goggles when it takes a look at Vanguard. It will annoy me to no end if, when the Vanguard reviews start popping up, it's "WoW this", "WoW that" instead of any kind of focused critique on what Vanguard offers and, of course, what it promised but doesn't deliver.

But if there's one thing WoW taught the industry, it's this: if you have a sound, fun MMO concept, the lucrative masses will follow. Those of you who are in the open beta, does Vanguard match your expectations? Is it fun? Write to me or join the discussion in the Ten Ton Hammer forums!

Exclusive TenTonHammer.com Content!

01.09.2007

World of Warcraft Burning Crusade : First Look at "The Steamvault"
Byron "Messiah" Mudry delivers you his first look at some of the highest level instances in The Burning Crusade, starting with "The Steamvault" level 70 dungeon in the instance hub "Coilfang Resevoir". World of Warcraft: Hero Class Design Contest Voting
The judge's results have come in and ten finalists have emerged in our "Design a Hero!" contest!  We have ten finalists and only 8 Ideazon prize sets to give away, so help choose who you think deserves the prizes the most! Simply head to our forums and submit your vote for who you think has the best entries. Votes will be tallied up in the end and the prizes awarded accordingly. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Vanguard Hotkeys for Dummies
Hotkey macros truly separate the skilled players from the terminally doomed. If you haven't quite figured out how to whip up some lifesaving macros in Vanguard, we've got a guide for you, direct from our friend (and top-notch Psionicist), Xeldar. EverQuest 2: The Acadechism Instance: The Loot that Keeps On Giving
Acadechism (or the Abracadabramacarena as a friend calls it) is hands down one of the best early T7 instances you'll find in EQ2. Full of Orcs, named bosses, and most importantly loot, you'll find no better place to go. Ten Ton Hammer has the low down on this zone, it's creatures, and what treasures await you! Dungeons & Dragons Online: Poll - Enhancements: Blessing or Curse?
This week Ralsu takes a look at Enhancements in DDO. He offers speculation about why they exist and asks you to express your opinion of them. World of Warcraft: Poll - The Burning Crusade!
This week the topic of the week is looks at one of the biggest events in the World of Warcraft so far… the impending release of the Burning Crusade expansion next week. The question is, with all the hype, the beta, the coverage... are you still excited about the release of the Burning Crusade?

As always, thank you for visiting TenTonHammer.com.

- Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle