Vanguard - Saga of Upgrades

Surlley · Post by **Surlley** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:54 am

How is the actual gameplay though ?
Aside from the technical issues?

Freecare Spiritwise · Post by **Freecare Spiritwise** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 2:01 am

We like it so far. The game's a bit choppy but still very playable. The graphics are above average, the user interface is intuitive (cross between EQ1 and WoW), and the starting quests are very well laid out. It gets tempting to sit in groups and grind exp, but from 1-8 we noticed the quests give better exp. We've fiddled around with most of the classes and they all seem well balanced. Healers are a bit overpowered now, especially the disciple and shaman class. They did a good job on necros - they even get a good buff at level 1.

Still seems to be the old formula of tank / healer / dps, which we don't mind. So far so good.

Post by **Ddrak** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 8:39 pm

Gameplay is very EQ1-ish so far. They've done well giving healers and tanks an "offensive" and "defensive" stance from the beginning, allows then to solo better, and work better with multiple in a group.

Quests are very much the core of xping though - much better than grinding.

Dd

Akhbarali · Post by **Akhbarali** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:18 pm

This is the true successor product to EQ1 IMO.

Np with lag except in cities and at a few obvious "zone lines" (yes, I know they aren't zones....) I have only been playing a couple days but have yet to lag at all in a combat situation. As Ddrak said it seems very quest driven (at least to start) and of the 25 or so quests I have finished only one was bugged at all.

Akhbar

Erinos Wrysing · Post by **Erinos Wrysing** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:24 pm

Trollbait wrote:This is the hardware I will be using......

ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI x 16 ATX Intel Motherboard

EVGA 01G-P2-N592-AX GeForce 7950GX2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Dual GPU Video Card

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600JSRTL 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

How do I find out what FPS I am getting once I start playing?

I have a very close setup to the one above that I built. Love that P5N32! One of the best Intel based boards for my money. It came out in Oct. 05 but is currently in PCGamers' ultimate dream machine. I'm using a single core Cedar Mill 3.4Ghrz. I'll update when the quad core gets down to a reasonable price. The processor runs between 23 and 25C. The standard Intel cooler is indentical to one of Thermotake's. I can take the side cover off, touch the cooling fins and not feel any heat while running Oblivion.

Newer Intels have gone from 90nm to 60nm providing less power consumption and much cooler running. The board's heatpipe radiators nestle around the processor cooler making it a very efficient air cooled system.

I also have an evga 7950 except it's a GT KO. I have a 7900 GT OC SC - super clocked. It went bad like many of the 7900's and I had neglected to register it so I'm out of luck for the lifetime warranty replacement. The 7950 GT KO was $100 cheaper, runs much cooler and has twice the memory. Oblivion runs very smooth for me at high settings so VG wouldn't be a problem.

Fallakin Kuvari · Post by **Fallakin Kuvari** » Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:10 pm

You playing VG now Erinos?

Erinos Wrysing · Post by **Erinos Wrysing** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 3:14 am

No, I'm taking a break from MMOs, maybe permanent although I might try Guild Wars since there is no monthly charge and I could do it on and off without wasting money on unplayed time. VG looks interesting to get that old feeling back but I'm afraid it would require too much time for me. I quit WoW in December and the account expired Jan 13 and I'm relatively certain that I'll never go back. Too much boredom and too many morons. Oblivion is a lot of fun for a single player RPG. My first character's file became corrupted and animated doors and gates would not work. I had already done the main quest involving shutting down the Oblivion super gate and the war in the Imperial City.

I've read a lot about WoW addiction. Seems to be a big problem for the people that had no prior MMO experience. Seems like there are a lot of problems in that one organization you and I know of. What happened to your arch nemisis? Looks like he is gone. No loss! I think he started the guildportal board more out of spite that anything else. I mentioned this to "you know who" and all I got was denials and that everything is perfect. It's not pretty when 30 to 40 yearolds start acting like little kids. I wonder how much time some of these guys spend with their family at the dinner table. Dinner time is raid time and what could be more important than that?

Fallakin Kuvari · Post by **Fallakin Kuvari** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:47 am

Erinos Wrysing wrote:I've read a lot about WoW addiction. Seems to be a big problem for the people that had no prior MMO experience. Seems like there are a lot of problems in that one organization you and I know of. What happened to your arch nemisis? Looks like he is gone. No loss! I think he started the guildportal board more out of spite that anything else. I mentioned this to "you know who" and all I got was denials and that everything is perfect. It's not pretty when 30 to 40 yearolds start acting like little kids. I wonder how much time some of these guys spend with their family at the dinner table. Dinner time is raid time and what could be more important than that?

Yeah, I heard some of the story about why he left too. Saw something like that coming a mile away. Kinda sad, too, considering he "did so much for the guild" and "was so much more mature than me".

The truly sad part is that it seemed anytime someone tried to chime in on the boards about something they were doing, and that person didn't play with them, they'd get all riled up and pretty much run that person out of the thread. Seems to me a lot of them need to take a step back and realize its just a game, its just virtual property, etc, etc. Then maybe they'll go have dinner with their kids/wives and go back to that adult like persona they once had. I think your boy is the sanest of the bunch, because he's been through the MMO stuff before... and its probably why, as a friend at school that happens to play with them on Azgalor said, that he "vanishes for long periods at a time".

Since the expansion came out I've hardly raided (I'm keyed and mostly flagged, but I just don't care enough to go). I've moved on to other things to still try and have some enjoyment with the game. Its pretty much coming to a close with me too, just a good time sink when I have nothing else to do (and even then I look at my other options before I decide to play).

Erinos Wrysing · Post by **Erinos Wrysing** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 6:58 pm

Yeah, I heard some of the story about why he left too. Saw something like that coming a mile away. Kinda sad, too, considering he "did so much for the guild" and "was so much more mature than me"

I never heard as I'm on the blackout list for information but choochoo boy challenged lead authority by threatening a vote of confidence. Kinda hard to vote someone off the island that owns the island. What's more he was vicious in his attacks and should have been booted on the spot.

The truly sad part is that it seemed anytime someone tried to chime in on the boards about something they were doing, and that person didn't play with them, they'd get all riled up and pretty much run that person out of the thread. Seems to me a lot of them need to take a step back and realize its just a game, its just virtual property, etc, etc.

Look what they did to Wid for talking about his health problems. I think there were a lot of stunned people when you got booted but they didn't have the courage to speak up.

Then maybe they'll go have dinner with their kids/wives and go back to that adult like persona they once had. I think your boy is the sanest of the bunch, because he's been through the MMO stuff before... and its probably why, as a friend at school that happens to play with them on Azgalor said, that he "vanishes for long periods at a time".

He's got a lot to do. He's back in WoW again due to the expansion but He'll get bored and be gone in a few weeks. He has a full time programming job plus he has a lot of his own remote server maintenance and web development projects he does from home. He doesn't post much on the boards.

Since the expansion came out I've hardly raided (I'm keyed and mostly flagged, but I just don't care enough to go). I've moved on to other things to still try and have some enjoyment with the game. Its pretty much coming to a close with me too, just a good time sink when I have nothing else to do (and even then I look at my other options before I decide to play).

It's the boredom factor plus experience from the past reminding you of how big a time sink it is.

Fallakin Kuvari · Post by **Fallakin Kuvari** » Wed Feb 28, 2007 10:01 pm

I tried to get those that were stunned to try and speak up about it so they could voice their concern... I didn't really expect much to come out of it in regards to my situation, though.

Oh well, I keep in contact with the good ones. Thats about as much as you can do.

Erinos Wrysing · Post by **Erinos Wrysing** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 1:09 am

Yeah, there's not much you can do. There is something I should have mentioned a long time ago. The chat channel on that board is typical as there is no security for the user since it generates log files as you probably know. The administration has a script in place to pull up those files and read them in a logical and time based order. The purpose was to see who might be plotting against the administration. Keep it to yourself as I'm the only other person that knows except for all these bozos who have no idea of what we're talking about.

Cetra Strife · Post by **Cetra Strife** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 1:15 am

I'm sorry but you two look so gay right now.

Freecare Spiritwise · Post by **Freecare Spiritwise** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 2:59 am

So here's the vanguard rig I ordered from NewEgg, 2nd day air. Should be up and running Friday *woot* finally. It's at least a) cheap and b) easily upgradable.

AMD A64 X2 5200+ Windsor 90m dual core (2x1mb L2) Socket AM2 - Retail Box
EPOX socket AM2 NForce 405 main board with integrated GeForce 6100 video (hey it was only 65 bucks)
Wintec (2x1gb) DDR2 800 RAM
Western Digital 160GB Caviar 7200 RPM SATA2 3.0 gbps with 16mb cache
Aspire 520w dual 12v PSU
Cooler Master Centurian aluminum case

The whole rig comes in at $650 minus the video card, which I'm still deciding on. I might even get a decent frame rate on vanguard with the integrated video, but I'm not counting on it. 50 bucks for a good copper cooler if it runs hot with the stock one. I debated going with an Intel C2D 6400, but decided this would be a more stable rig, and the video card will influence the frame rates much more than the CPU.

I noticed that DirectX 10 cards are down to 300 bucks. It's got the HDCP output, so Windows Vista is your best friend.

I've got an MSDN subsription so I'm going to toss Vista 64 ultimate on there and see what happens.

Fallakin Kuvari · Post by **Fallakin Kuvari** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 5:48 am

Erinos Wrysing wrote:Yeah, there's not much you can do. There is something I should have mentioned a long time ago. The chat channel on that board is typical as there is no security for the user since it generates log files as you probably know. The administration has a script in place to pull up those files and read them in a logical and time based order. The purpose was to see who might be plotting against the administration. Keep it to yourself as I'm the only other person that knows except for all these bozos who have no idea of what we're talking about.

Not surprising, I took most of the chatting off board after that all happened.

But yea, lips sealed.

Bahd Zoolander · Post by **Bahd Zoolander** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:19 am

Freecare Spiritwise wrote:I debated going with an Intel C2D 6400, but decided this would be a more stable rig, and the video card will influence the frame rates much more than the CPU.

Why would a C2D be "less stable"? The Unreal 2 engine was typically very CPU bound, but with the additional eye candy in Vanguard it's probably about even now. I don't think you'll do very well with the onboard video, but it will work til you get a different video card.

I wonder how many game developers have an AMD box as their primary development system. I know plenty that have them at home, but in 13 years in the industry I know I've never had one for anything other than compatibility testing. I think the combination of Dell not selling them for so long, and the usefulness of vTune pretty much has everyone locked into them. *shrug*, just a random observation.

Post by **Ddrak** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 8:52 am

the usefulness of vTune pretty much has everyone locked into them

No kidding there. AMD needs to come up with an equivalent.

Dd

Bahd Zoolander · Post by **Bahd Zoolander** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:05 pm

Ddrak wrote:
the usefulness of vTune pretty much has everyone locked into them
No kidding there. AMD needs to come up with an equivalent.

They have CodeAnalyst which is pretty good. http://developer.amd.com/downloads.jsp

Freecare Spiritwise · Post by **Freecare Spiritwise** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 5:15 am

So far I'm really happy with this Athlon 5200 system. 15 minutes to build, 20 minutes to install windows xp, and 1 minute to overclock it 10%.

I bumped the front side bus up to 220 MHz (only BIOS setting I changed) and it clocks the CPU at 2.85 GHz and the cheap memory at DDR2 804 MHz. No fuss, no muss, and running the stock cooler it idles at a cool 25C.

The integrated video is perfect for everything except vanguard. Not even playable. I'm glad that I waited a few weeks deciding which video card to buy. The GeForce 7900 and ATI x1950 DDR3 class cards are both down to $150.

This time around I learned that overclocking is much safer and easier than it used to be. I didn't know that I could clock a system 10% by only changing one BIOS setting with about a 0% chance of harming the system and still use the stock cooler. Hell, there's no reason not to OC your aunt betty's machine by 5%.

Now I'm on an OC rampage throughout the house. Bumping up the clock on my Athlon 3500 to 2.6 GHz and scavenging an extra 512 M of memory gave me an extra 10 FPS in vanguard. Soloing the necro I get a steady 50-70 FPS which doesn't seem bad at all for an AGP / DDR1 system.

So it looks like I will be able prove that a budget $800 box can put you in the same league as a $3000 gaming box.

Now that box 1 is built, it's almost time to start planning the wife's vanguard machine. I'm building her a budget C2D box, and putting off buying the CPU until last, hoping the price on the E6600 will come down. Not even gonna try to run stock cooling with a C2D - probably go with one of those weird looking zalman coolers. If I can get an E6600 clocked to 3 GHz for under a grand then she's going to be a happy camper.

Note about NewEgg: Paying the extra $2.99 for rush processing is worth the money. They really move their ass. An extra $10 for 2nd day air, and the new box was up and running 48 hours after pressing the submit button /cheer for newegg.