Post by Morreion on Jun 15, 2010 7:40:11 GMT -5
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes: Can We Save Vanguard?
Justin Vincent examines the likelihood of saving Vanguard from inevitable demise in this latest article. (MMORPG.com)
Very sad. Vanguard is actually a good game now, but low population (they're moving down to 1 server soon) tends to lock a game into a vicious cycle that doesn't improve.
From the comments:
That's a good idea, really.
Justin Vincent examines the likelihood of saving Vanguard from inevitable demise in this latest article. (MMORPG.com)
If you need a refresher on the disastrous launch and history of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, you need only look as far as your favorite forum. However, among the anguish and bitterness of Vanguard’s befouled history are the small (but growing, perhaps?) glimmers of hope for the game that many gamers "wish would have succeeded."
In my last article I discussed briefly how the technical state of Vanguard today is nowhere near the instability of launch. While it is sounder today from a coding and content standpoint, it is in a potentially perilous position when it comes to the future of the game. 2010 may very well be the make-or-break year for Vanguard, as we have seen the adoptive parent company, SOE, seem to have virtually abandoned the game as far as marketing, development, and support are concerned. Some have said that Vanguard is “circling the drain”, and though the sentiment doesn’t do justice to the positive aspects of the game, they aren’t completely wrong to think so.
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Vanguard suffers from two major problems, which unfortunately feed into each other: Low player population, and low developer support. The game has been mismanaged and it lacks a solid playerbase, which leads to restricted resources for support and development, resulting in even fewer people playing it, and so on. Vanguard seems doomed to an undetermined lifespan of cyclical decay. This cycle could go on for a few months or even a few years, but we can imagine that unless something changes, Vanguard will eventually just die.
While many of us resent SOE for sacrificing Vanguard to nourish its parasitic EQ-spawn, we can’t really blame them for dropping a game that was showing dwindling subscriptions. (We CAN, however, blame them for destroying a successful-at-the-time title like SWG, but that’s another article altogether). SOE is a business and must operate within the constraints of such. It is, therefore, unlikely that SOE will spontaneously push Vanguard up and out of its downward spiral. Likewise, it is unrealistic of us, the players, to expect them to do so.
In my last article I discussed briefly how the technical state of Vanguard today is nowhere near the instability of launch. While it is sounder today from a coding and content standpoint, it is in a potentially perilous position when it comes to the future of the game. 2010 may very well be the make-or-break year for Vanguard, as we have seen the adoptive parent company, SOE, seem to have virtually abandoned the game as far as marketing, development, and support are concerned. Some have said that Vanguard is “circling the drain”, and though the sentiment doesn’t do justice to the positive aspects of the game, they aren’t completely wrong to think so.
advertisement
Vanguard suffers from two major problems, which unfortunately feed into each other: Low player population, and low developer support. The game has been mismanaged and it lacks a solid playerbase, which leads to restricted resources for support and development, resulting in even fewer people playing it, and so on. Vanguard seems doomed to an undetermined lifespan of cyclical decay. This cycle could go on for a few months or even a few years, but we can imagine that unless something changes, Vanguard will eventually just die.
While many of us resent SOE for sacrificing Vanguard to nourish its parasitic EQ-spawn, we can’t really blame them for dropping a game that was showing dwindling subscriptions. (We CAN, however, blame them for destroying a successful-at-the-time title like SWG, but that’s another article altogether). SOE is a business and must operate within the constraints of such. It is, therefore, unlikely that SOE will spontaneously push Vanguard up and out of its downward spiral. Likewise, it is unrealistic of us, the players, to expect them to do so.
Very sad. Vanguard is actually a good game now, but low population (they're moving down to 1 server soon) tends to lock a game into a vicious cycle that doesn't improve.
From the comments:
I honestly think switching to F2P would be best for Vanguard at this point. Like with DDO, once people are playing, they'll see the best qualities of the game and that will translate into money if done correctly.
That's a good idea, really.
