What is too easy? Debate continues to rage among the Vanguard community
as beta progresses and we get closer to launch. The debate of what makes
a game too easy is a constant subject of debate on the OVF.
What will make the game too easy and destroy the challenge are constant
worries.

One such discussion centers on the possibility of maps being placed in game. Maps
may or may not make their way into Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. If they do
I am sure they will not be too revealing judging by some of the developer
post. Maps will become available shortly after release on various sites.
Community websites will make maps available regardless of in-game support
or not. Having one in game just makes it a little less trouble to get to.
Personally I am not against limited maps, but I do like the exploration
of MMO worlds. In a seamless world, maps are less likely to be revealing
of your destinations as they are in zone-based MMOs. An in-game map in my
opinion will not destroy the challenge of the game. It will not be as difficult
to find your way to the same place twice as some of us old school EQ'ers
found out, but I don't view it as a challenge killer either.

Speed of leveling is another large topic that is debated heavily. If
you level too fast you blow through content, and don't really learn your
class as you should. On the other hand, some feel leveling too slowly
puts you back on the grind. To be honest, I feel that no MMO has ever
avoided the grind. It will be here regardless of what steps are taken.
The best thing developers can do is try and make it as fun as possible.
My view on leveling is it should take longer. The more work you put into
an avatar the more you will appreciate it. This helps with community building
as well. No one wants to work on building an avatar for months and then
trash its reputation on that server. This has helped keep the community
in check in the past. While not a perfect system, it is an effective one.
Leveling slower has also in the past provided more time for people to
learn their class and skills before gaining new ones. It is always good
to learn what you can and cannot do.

One of my favorite debated subjects is the in-game death penalty. Some
feel there should be no real penalty like the one in World of Warcraft.
Others feel that the proposed experience debt with corpse run is not harsh
enough. My view on this is I love a good death penalty. Any game worth
its weight to me will have a death penalty that stings, but doesn't cripple.
Experience debt and corpse run are right along the lines of what I would
call near perfect. Perfect in my view would be exp loss with level loss
and corpse run. The EQ death penalty was always my favorite. Not too harsh
and not too easy. I am glad to hear that there will be corpse runs in
Vanguard. I can recall a lot of fun corpse runs from my EQ days and they
did add another challenge to the game that I found very fun and exciting.
There is a lot to be said for corpse runs and what they provided to the
gaming experience. When you died, you learned something. You learned what
you did wrong and where you should be more careful next time. When retrieving
your corpse the fun and challenging part was getting to it unscathed.
Corpse runs could be very exciting at times and very frustrating at others,
but they added a whole other layer to the game. One of tension and excitement
added to the challenge of being sneaky and crafty enough to get back to
your corpse without being sent right back to your bind spot again.

Some
do not share my view though and consider such things tedious. This goes
to show one thing. The MMO market is growing and the player base is growing
and becoming more and more diverse. Many games are currently in production,
each targeting their own chosen player base. Not all of these games will
make every player happy. What one player finds enjoyable may repel another.
Some like the games slow and challenging, others prefer fast and quick
rewards. There are several types of players, and each with their own individual
taste in games. We have a basic grasp of what Vanguard will be like when
it releases sometime in 2006. The question you have to ask yourself now
is: "Is Vanguard: Saga of Heroes for me?"