More Exclusives for FoH

[Aradune Mithara]

Look for a few more on www.silkyvenom.com soon.

These are taken at 1920x1200 in Medium Mode focusing more on gameplay than the perfect shot, though they show some new areas of both Qalia and Kojan that are petty cool. Plus, is that a little Pvp? And a flying mount?

Rip 'em apart, look at every detail... sure there are flaws, but I think the game, being in early beta 3, is coming across nicely. These shots show a lot of color too, IMHO. And they're really gameplay, really playing the beta, and not 'set up shots' (nothing that's there's wrong with that -- but I strongly feel you guys need some shots of the beta as it's seen from someone in it, and no NDA for me) We're getting 600-700 players at peak and averaging 400-500 at all times, and growing the game, as I've said, about 500 players every weekday. So far the game is holding up nicely, we're just starting to see some critical mass -- some signs of a player driven economy, a nice spread out of people all over Thestra and the parts of Qalia that are open. The servers are handling the load nicely, we're making tweaks, almost a patch every day (SOE is great at making it easy for us to patch, whether it's a large patch including art assets, or just updating the database, say, tweaking a noobie yard's population). So far so good. I'll keep this up as long as you guys are interested -- I know there are the hypercritical crowd here, but a. that's fine, because a LOT of eyes are getting a look at the game who might not otherwise, and b. the game needs to be able to stand up against criticism -- we may not always agree with it, but often we do, and it makes us strive to address those issues and keep improving. Honestly, we'd like nothing better than some of our harsher critics here to end up Vanguard players.



Deep in the Azebaj Behives. Athres, the ranger, is probably getting pissed that I, the warrior (Arakorr) haven't taunted the wasp away from him yet (he was pulling the mobs with his bow).



In the prayer room in Tanvu on Kojan. What role will religion play? More on that later(TM).



This is on Qalia? I thought it was all desert? Perhaps if you look hard enough and explore a bit....



Aradune, again not in his final garb, but at least looking a bit green and getting ready to use those fiery scimitars (Aradune is Qalian, btw... something not well known)...



Aradune vs. Perne?



More 'dueling' -- good thing it wasn't to the death (probably a good thing for me)



That just looks like a dwarf flying freely on a griffon -- but it must be an illusion



I liked this shot because of the angle and you can see how our close up and far away terrain textures really maintain their quality.



A dwarf and a dark elf in the background enjoying our match -- were it to the death, would they have intervened? Probably not on my side



One last shot of Perne and me -- I'm pulling off a move that looks cool, but I don't think the hardened light fighter is impressed.

-------

Love 'em or hate 'em, but discuss away

Your pal, shameless plugging away Aradune

[Brigandier]

First! Looking good =P

By the looks of the UI, the wow interface seems like a very prominent archetype.

[Zehn - Vhex]

Any chance we could get a sneak peek at high level and/or unique content? Don't get me wrong, I love getting to look at what is effectively grinding on yard trash for xp, but a raid type environment would be really nice.

Something other then a cave with a gimic or castle basement ruin with the same texture as every other castle basement ruin. 8(

Or better yet, just wax nostalgic about EQ. You'll probably get a 100 extra subscriptions if you just give inside infoz on the old days. Like, who invented the VP key quest, where does he live and does he have family that would miss him if he were to suddenly, say, dissapear?

<3

[RandomChanter]

You enjoy all that foraging for those Nature Walker's Scimitars?

Sorry

Not looking bad at all from here!

[slitz]

I really love the capes, but you could have chosen another color (or another cape with a different color) 8).
I like the concept of the x-bow showing on the back, but it looks very odd at that shot and hopefully it's small stuff like that, that also will receive the attention it needs.
I wouldn't mind screenshots with places that feel more alive however, like the Mansion etc.
Overall, very nice screenshots

Oh and the belts are awesome

[Aradune Mithara]

Originally Posted by Zehn - Vhex

Any chance we could get a sneak peek at high level and/or unique content? Don't get me wrong, I love getting to look at what is effectively grinding on yard trash for xp, but a raid type environment would be really nice.

Something other then a cave with a gimic or castle basement ruin with the same texture as every other castle basement ruin. 8(

Or better yet, just wax nostalgic about EQ. You'll probably get a 100 extra subscriptions if you just give inside infoz on the old days. Like, who invented the VP key quest, where does he live and does he have family that would miss him if he were to suddenly, say, dissapear?

<3

We have released a variety of screenshots showing quite a few places, including castles/basements (Hillsburry Manor was just shown @ Warcry), but I'll see what I can do with the next round, showing off every more variety -- variety, scope, scale, depth, freedom, and challenge without tedium is what Vanguard is all about.

[Jait]

Definitely not brown. Much more variety in color than I've seen in past shots.

The pic of the two PC's at the shrine is interesting. Makes me wonder how big of a role religion will play at release.

[Ionsniper]

Excellent SS's especially like the one with the 2 lakes. I hope to see more diverse armor's in the game like we did in WoW up until 60. Weapons look good too.

[Aradune Mithara]

Originally Posted by RandomChanter

You enjoy all that foraging for those Nature Walker's Scimitars?

Sorry

Not looking bad at all from here!

thanks

Aradune in EQ 1 always wielded the two-handed Fiery Avenger, which was because that was the first item we got particles attached to, but it never made any sense, because Aradune is a Ranger. So this is Aradune, and while his outfit isn't complete by any means, at least he's dual wielding some fiery scimitars and has some green on him and looking Ranger-ish -- he's getting there

[Cadrid]

It looks pretty good. A shame my ole Radeon 9700 will have to be put to rest (I don't think I could stand playing at lowest settings), but it's coming along nicely.

Except for those flaming swords. The mini fires look horrendous. Please slap whomever is responsible for that abomination upside the head. Seriously, EQ1 had better particle effects than that one.

Also, the hive really looks empty. Some non-targetable bees flying around up near the ceiling (so it doesn't look so bare) would help make it feel more like a thriving hive.

All-in-all, though, it looks very nice. Outdoors look purty, the characters are looking splendid (read: detailed without a plastic look), and some of those textures (namely the wooden pillars in the temple) look very slick.

[Tsabrae]

Originally Posted by Zehn - Vhex

Or better yet, just wax nostalgic about EQ. You'll probably get a 100 extra subscriptions if you just give inside infoz on the old days.

I hope to one day read a dev tell-all.

[Brash]

Looks great!

[Cuppycake]

Muuuuuch better screenshots. The only one I don't care for is the one of the river/stream thing. Looks too EQ2ish for me. The rest are nice.

[Frax]

Two things i notice in all the vanguard screenshots recently:

1) a lot of textures on static items like buildings, tables, those oriently box thingies seem to me to be not colorful enough or something. Everything tends to blend into the background of the floors/walls in the buildings/caves. This has to be more than a lighting issue I think?

2) single model basis for character models is not a very appealing option. I'd still ask you to get rid of those even if I play this game for the next 10 years.

[Lost Ranger]

Originally Posted by Jait

Definitely not brown. Much more variety in color than I've seen in past shots.

The pic of the two PC's at the shrine is interesting. Makes me wonder how big of a role religion will play at release.

Jait asks a good question was wondering if we could get any information on that? Is religion going to play a big role in character development at all? The more ways to make your character unique the better imo.

The SS look great though I really like some of that scenery. Id like too see some more dueling style shots but with a little less melee and a little more magic related stuff. One thing I hate about some games is the spell particles.. I hate having to turn them off but at the same time when my mage is casting a fireball I hate not being able too see because the particles are so over dramatic.

Oh... and Arakorr is one poor son of a bitch :P