With no official panels or events planned for Vanguard fans at this year's Fan Faire, you might wonder whether Sony Online Entertainment has any plans for the future of the game. But take heart, because Vanguard is definitely alive and on the minds of the SOE development team. Salim "Silius" Grant from SOE sat down to talk to Massively about future plans for Vanguard. Read on for an update on the world of Telon.
While Grant wasn't able to go into detail, he did say that there have been high-level meetings regarding future updates for Vanguard. They are definitely planning to do two updates within the fiscal year for Vanguard, although there is no exact timetable on when those updates will launch. He said that he will more than likely be overseeing whatever will be implemented, and they will also bring in other developers who had previously worked on the game.
As to what will be in the updates, he said details are still being worked on, but it will probably include adventure content such as quests and dungeons, and they'll look to make use of some of the emptier real estate currently in game.
Next, we asked whether Vanguard might go free-to-play. Grant responded that it would be a major undertaking to add it into the game, since it would require a revenue stream, most likely in the form of a Station Cash Marketplace. So while they've talked about it, it's not on the table at this time.
When asked about whether the focus would be on revamping current content or adding new content, he said that what they're looking at is what will be the best bang for the buck for Vanguard fans, and what will meet the needs of the players. He also added that they want to put in content that will last for a while, and not be burned through quickly by the playerbase.
Reader Comments (47)
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:05PM Utnac said
Brilliant some new content at last!!!! Sure the game isn't about to come back to life but it's nice to see it getting something, I hope they finish off that AA they were working on, and just fix some bugs.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:10PM Dril said
Good news but, alas, no f2p revival means no real progress for the game.
It seems SOE would rather focus on squeezing cash out of their current "big" games rather than try and open up a rebranded (and potentially very lucrative) source.
Hopefully we'll see some real progress for VG. it is a lovely game.
It seems SOE would rather focus on squeezing cash out of their current "big" games rather than try and open up a rebranded (and potentially very lucrative) source.
Hopefully we'll see some real progress for VG. it is a lovely game.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:14PM Utnac said
@Dril
I don't see how F2P would work in this game, I also don't see the point in it, the game is far too niche to be attractive to the majority of prospective F2P MMOers, who already have plenty of AAA choice in games like LOTRO, AOC, DDO e.t.c.
I think if SOE just made a commitment like this over a longer term, then that would revive the game, all I see is a lot of people who are very happy with the game, but cannot justify to themselves paying a sub for a dead game.
Going F2P wouldn't alter this, people wont justify buying stuff in an ingame store if there's nothing ever going to be added to it again. What would be the point?
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I don't see how F2P would work in this game, I also don't see the point in it, the game is far too niche to be attractive to the majority of prospective F2P MMOers, who already have plenty of AAA choice in games like LOTRO, AOC, DDO e.t.c.
I think if SOE just made a commitment like this over a longer term, then that would revive the game, all I see is a lot of people who are very happy with the game, but cannot justify to themselves paying a sub for a dead game.
Going F2P wouldn't alter this, people wont justify buying stuff in an ingame store if there's nothing ever going to be added to it again. What would be the point?
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:51PM aurickle said
@Utnac
I agree. We also have to remember that they've dramatically reduced the cost of the Station all-access pass. That means that if you already play one SoE game, Vanguard is now dirt cheap. This could bring a number of EQ and EQ2 players in, if for no other reason than a break in their routine.
The biggest thing keeping me from playing Vanguard has been the lack of commitment by SoE. It seems that is now changing. Two updates this year, while not huge, is still more than we've seen in the last two years. I'm glad to see it coming.
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I agree. We also have to remember that they've dramatically reduced the cost of the Station all-access pass. That means that if you already play one SoE game, Vanguard is now dirt cheap. This could bring a number of EQ and EQ2 players in, if for no other reason than a break in their routine.
The biggest thing keeping me from playing Vanguard has been the lack of commitment by SoE. It seems that is now changing. Two updates this year, while not huge, is still more than we've seen in the last two years. I'm glad to see it coming.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:52PM Dril said
@Utnac
Disagreed with all of your points.
It's no more niche than EQ2, really. It's not THAT sandboxy, it's more like a massive themepark; and I do think there's a gap in the market for that (especially since EQ2 is starting to show its age and bleed subs.)
I disagree. People aren't going to come back unless they're sure there'll be a lot of others doing so. A massive relaunch would bring back huge numbers and would snowball.
And, if people came back and started paying, then there would be money for development and this the cycle would continue and the game would grow.
Reply
Disagreed with all of your points.
It's no more niche than EQ2, really. It's not THAT sandboxy, it's more like a massive themepark; and I do think there's a gap in the market for that (especially since EQ2 is starting to show its age and bleed subs.)
I disagree. People aren't going to come back unless they're sure there'll be a lot of others doing so. A massive relaunch would bring back huge numbers and would snowball.
And, if people came back and started paying, then there would be money for development and this the cycle would continue and the game would grow.
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 1:32PM pcgneurotic said
@Dril
I think it's also possible that whlie they haven't ruled it out, they just don't have the time to think about it now. As the guy says, it would apparently be a major job to FTP it, and at the moment they're busy-busy with PS 2, EQ Next, the newest DCUO content and all the other myriad things that constitute the mountain of gaming SOE give us each month.
The light at the end of the tunnel is, that whereas we thought they were digging a grave for it, it now seems that they're taking it off life support and putting it back onto solid foods, which may indeed bode an eventual release back into the community in the future. The Frrrreeeeeeeeeeeee community! !Woo hoo!
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I think it's also possible that whlie they haven't ruled it out, they just don't have the time to think about it now. As the guy says, it would apparently be a major job to FTP it, and at the moment they're busy-busy with PS 2, EQ Next, the newest DCUO content and all the other myriad things that constitute the mountain of gaming SOE give us each month.
The light at the end of the tunnel is, that whereas we thought they were digging a grave for it, it now seems that they're taking it off life support and putting it back onto solid foods, which may indeed bode an eventual release back into the community in the future. The Frrrreeeeeeeeeeeee community! !Woo hoo!
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:11PM bobfish said
At the very least they should make the first 20 or so levels free forever like WAR & WoW have done.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:14PM Khalus said
Converting Vanguard to a F2P model along the lines of EQII Extended would be the best thing SOE could do at this point. It would draw in a ton of new players to the world of Telon and increase revenue so these planned updates could become even better!
Its such an amazing MMO and still has much promise, but only if SOE would stop ignoring it and return old devs & hire more so it could properly receive the love and attention it deserves!
And for the record though, I don't much like the options offered through EQII Extended, {LOTRO/DDO are much better} its cheaper and better to just pay the monthly fee. Still though, I'd be all for returning to Vanguard if there was a Freemium client!
Its such an amazing MMO and still has much promise, but only if SOE would stop ignoring it and return old devs & hire more so it could properly receive the love and attention it deserves!
And for the record though, I don't much like the options offered through EQII Extended, {LOTRO/DDO are much better} its cheaper and better to just pay the monthly fee. Still though, I'd be all for returning to Vanguard if there was a Freemium client!
Posted: Jul 11th 2011 2:22AM (Unverified) said
@bobfish
At least I can earn points in game to get the quests without paying a dime (though it is a grind) in Lotro/DDO whereas EQ2X limits more in the end....
So much content to lotro that is accessible for free compared to EQ2 and their new content is improving lower level things all the time. Its why lotro beats the snot with their model out of EQ2X... and you get to play on all servers.
Reply
At least I can earn points in game to get the quests without paying a dime (though it is a grind) in Lotro/DDO whereas EQ2X limits more in the end....
So much content to lotro that is accessible for free compared to EQ2 and their new content is improving lower level things all the time. Its why lotro beats the snot with their model out of EQ2X... and you get to play on all servers.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:39PM Carolina said
I wonder if SOE's "All Access Pass" will see and increase in the number of players in Vanguard. This is the time for the fans to spread the word about the game to attract more people and attention, since for some, it won't cost any extra to give it a try.
While it probably really is complicated to make the whole game go F2P, what would be interesting is the core game to be free, and then after trial time all you'd have to do is pay the sub or the "all access pass.".
While it probably really is complicated to make the whole game go F2P, what would be interesting is the core game to be free, and then after trial time all you'd have to do is pay the sub or the "all access pass.".
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:47PM Seffrid said
The recent substantial price reduction in the Station Access means that you can effectively play VG for free if you're playing another SOE game covered by the pass.
For me the sticking point with VG whenever I go back to it is the lack of direction in the late 20's. I'm sure the solo content is there but it's a difficult task to find it in an awesomely large world and with few players around to offer any advice or companionship.
For me the sticking point with VG whenever I go back to it is the lack of direction in the late 20's. I'm sure the solo content is there but it's a difficult task to find it in an awesomely large world and with few players around to offer any advice or companionship.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:47PM (Unverified) said
ctrl + F, Free to play or F2P.....answer: no
close tab.
close tab.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 5:55PM ultimateq said
SO glad to hear this! I was really hoping for more Free to Play news. I'd be willing to let the go Free to Play and deal with the market if it means keeping my game healthy and having new people join.
This may be even better though. Updates without the need to go free to play.
This may be even better though. Updates without the need to go free to play.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 6:14PM Miffy said
They need to redo the horrible character models that put most people off playing the game. Then make the game F2P and setup a MT store for people to buy things that will generate greater revenue.
I used to be against these stores, but it is clear this is the way to keep a dying game alive these days.
I used to be against these stores, but it is clear this is the way to keep a dying game alive these days.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 6:20PM Ghostspeaker said
@Miffy
People were put off by a lot more than shitty character models. If people cared that much about crappy character models then WoW would be as successful as Vanguard.
Reply
People were put off by a lot more than shitty character models. If people cared that much about crappy character models then WoW would be as successful as Vanguard.
Posted: Jul 10th 2011 6:17PM Ghostspeaker said
It's too bad freemium still isn't on the table.
While I'm happy to see the game getting a little dev love, it's gonna take a lot more to get me to go back. The game has a lot going for it, but unless SoE shows some kind of long-term commitment to the game there's no point in paying a sub for it. I'm only willing to pay a sub on a game I see long-term potential in. Right now Vanguard doesn't have that, so why should I re-sub?
If they were to make it freemium that'd go a long way towards bringing me back and even paying a sub because it would show that they actually give a damn about the long-term viability of the game. There are other things they could do as well, but promising two more updates just doesn't cut it.
While I'm happy to see the game getting a little dev love, it's gonna take a lot more to get me to go back. The game has a lot going for it, but unless SoE shows some kind of long-term commitment to the game there's no point in paying a sub for it. I'm only willing to pay a sub on a game I see long-term potential in. Right now Vanguard doesn't have that, so why should I re-sub?
If they were to make it freemium that'd go a long way towards bringing me back and even paying a sub because it would show that they actually give a damn about the long-term viability of the game. There are other things they could do as well, but promising two more updates just doesn't cut it.











