I'm just tired.

[Shinto]

I can't seem to find any information about "recipe tokens", but I think that the availability of recipes to those who actually work for them is a minor problem when compared to certain other issues that existed when I left. After all, what's the use of a recipe if no one wants the end product? Gamers can even overlook inherently unfair systems if the reward for overcoming the odds is great enough.

That aside, I see from several of the most recent build notes that crafting still doesn't even get as much attention as diplomacy. I also see that Vanguard is becoming even less of a hardcore game than it was at the beginning. I can't help wondering what went wrong. I realize that I'm not experienced enough as a software engineer to completely understand the intricacies of such a huge application, but it is disappointing to see an idea as good as the Vision die. /sigh Maybe one day I'll find enough hardcore gamers that we can make our own. Unlikely, but it's a nice thought.

Sorry for the vent; I know this isn't really the right place for it. Feel free to move this thread into the Tangent if the mods think it is more appropriate.

[Aredhel]

I'm still trying to get over the campy picture of the snowman they've put into Telon with this new winter festival. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, check my latest news piece for the link.

Reindeer wandering are fine! "Randolph, the flying reindeer", however....

Remember when the community discussed holidays and how to handle them? This wasn't what we all talked about, exactly. We had talked about something more neutral that everyone could get into that would be Telon-specific and maybe not exactly coinciding with the U.S. holidays. Of course, many cultures have winter celebrations of whatever sort, and that was the direction Telon would take. And, ok...it has. Just wish I could remember what the name was that we use to have. Don't think it was this, but coulda been.

[Sigurd]

I returned back at the end of Oct (I left like the start of March). I've been loving my time since returning. I regret not getting to 'grow' along with the community and experience things when they were 'fresh' to all - but if the game lives, I'll have the expansions for that.

However, that said Shinto - I only left due to RL time pressures, my wife and I had a son in March So, I am not a good example. I am not a fanbois or whatever, this is NOT the game I wanted and expected from the years-long development and my time in Beta 2/2.5/3+ but it is still a fun game and I LOVE the way it looks when playing in the highest graphic settings. Looks good otherwise too of course when not, but just pointing it out (in beta I'd put up the graphics to see what was ahead the day I'd upgrade heeh - it is even better by time I did)

I am not as big a crafter as I wanted to be since I lost so much time I am not even playing my many alts much until my main is like 45+. However, I had gotten my lvl 15 Smith (who was delayed back at start cos he couldn't complete the damn armorer specialization when that was bugged for so long) to 22 during the +50% week (I studiously avoided logging on any of my Adventurers since I didn't WANT to level FASTER... I want to be higher level, but I want to experience CONTENT on that way - as it is, I keep outleveling potential areas, I've skipped dungeons I thought would be great simply because of following other questlines made me pass them in levels...) and since then to 23 and it has been fun. I stopped when I heard tokens were coming, figured time to get back to my Psi and also wait until that system b4 going to do batches for recipes. I must say I delayed going back tot he Psi for like 2.5 levels of crafter cos I was addicted to doing it and the lvl 20s quests for a while - I think it wasn't until a week AFTER 50% thing ended that I played my Psi. Didn't expect that to happen.

I think the XP on crafted items is possibly a bad change (meaning from other games, items used to level flood the game and economy...) but if you didn't like WO grinding, this is a good change I guess. The tokens should at least making getting recipes a guarantee if you want them, without needing to gather hoards of cash. I will prob start on that during the weekend (I generally craft now when having to be on-call for the baby so I don't mess up groups)

So much promise from Brad's letters/posts is dust in the wind, groups of crafters working together and 'battling' to make an epic item never appeared among a gazillion other things but ... I love MMOs and I do not like any others as a better fit than this one. I just wish it really was like old EQ modernized (but not WoW-ized of course ;P)

They DO need a 'Vision', hopefully the have something blurry at least in partial focus as they wait for more subs then pin it down. Atm, the most important thing is a non-buggy game (I don't run into many, but I think several areas are still bugged up the wazoo ;P liek Pantheon, which I had to skip due to leveling anyway) and get things 'settled' then re-advertise get good reviews etc to grow the base and THEN stick to a single Vision going forward. I don't recommend this Vision AFTER thing, but I can't see how SoE would do it otherwise from a business model perspective. They already pissed off (Sigil really) the old base and didn't attract the WoWers (they never had a chance if they wanted to make a game REMOTELY as they intended, and I think that's a GOOD THING(tm)) but they also didn't gain many new mmoers or on-the-fence people due to all the mishaps and poor advertising/reviews


I'd try it if you liked anything about the PVE stuff in the past, it only has gotten better. Crafting I cannot yet speak to and certainly cannot compare - I was and am a lowbie still.

I hope someday most of the old guys will return and the names I used to know on these forums especially. So many ppl

[Shinto]

It does sadden me somewhat to know that in the future I won't get to interact with most of the people that I met in Vanguard. I will miss that.

This may still be the "best fit" for me out of the MMOs currently on the market, but that is ruined by the fact that the game isn't what I signed up for. The three spheres are not equal. The items are not balanced (particularly the crafted items). Leveling is a grind for crafters (and for adventurers IMO, but not as blatantly) rather than a side-effect of content. I was willing to endure the grind if the content came later and the crafting abilities were worthwhile, but the devs catered to adventurers exclusively when balancing items and making content.

Alas, perhaps there will never be equality for us common merchant folk.

[Kiril]

I think the vision might still be there, just at the moment the soe guys are doing the business thing in getting it stable and getting it profitable and they are doing it, more people ARE coming in, it is much more stable, not perfect but I don't crash often, maybe once in 2 weeks. The game is better but I never left, I was lucky, I never experienced the problems of others, and I played with some RL friends, only left with 1 as the others dropped because of college and work. I'm also in a great guild with lots of active players so I'm happy. We also have a very active crafter side that don't do anything but craft it seems. All old accounts are now re-activated so I would say patch and try for yourself, I'm not a crafter, I like to stab things till they die from it.

[Siul]

Funny, due to computer problems i stopped playing in May and has a consequence of work i stayed away from the forums too. So now I'm back with a new computer and i can finally play. So i decide to come back to the forums and what do i read? Still the same disapointment with crafting... I wonder how diplomacy is doing. I guess adventuring has been worked on.
I think that for a crafter would be really cool after gaining some experience to be able to craft items that are unique, that are better then what one gets from a merchant and that could be almost has good as some rare drops (altough making it so good might make ppl look for a crafter instead of going for the hunt). But this would make crafters more enthusiastic (and richer) to create their own art....