4.0.1 Is the game level or skill-based, or both?
When it comes to adventuring, Vanguard is more of a traditional level-based game than it is a traditional skill-based game. That said, levels are really a way to group skills and abilities (as are different classes and races). These defined roles are used to foster interdependence and community building.
We feel it’s important for players to understand where their exp is going, how it is being applied and how they are advancing in order to avoid frustration; using traditional terms helps that. The other spheres of gameplay (Crafting, Harvesting, and Diplomacy) use a more skill-based system.
4.0.2 How will characters advance?
There will be a number of advancement paths depending on the role, class, race, etc. that you choose for your character(s). More on this later.
4.0.3 How many levels will there be?
At launch, the maximum level will be 50. It is likely that the level cap will increase when major expansions are released.
4.0.4 How has the game been designed so both new players can enjoy the game, but the older, more powerful characters will still find it challenging?
Experienced players will find themselves returning to their villages and cities of birth from time to time, but not nearly so much as some players might be used to. Vanguard's large, seamless world allows us to steer the more powerful players into faraway places where they won't be interfering with content meant to support younger characters or newer players. We can promise you that those distant lands will provide the most adept player with ample challenge.
Players who don't wish to risk their lives around every corner will also be able to find their comfort zones as they advance through the world. There will not be a point in the game where in order to progress, a player must adopt a specific play style. We are including things like the Travel Journal , which will guide you to places –it will include things like a location to your guildmaster, or where to buy food so that some basic knowledge will come with your character. You won’t be dropped in the world and left to figure out things on your own, unless you’d prefer that method of playing. Then you don’t need to use things like the Travel Journal, and are able to explore and discover on your own without this assistance.
4.0.5 Will there be a faction system? If so, will we be able to see our faction standing?
Yes, there will be a faction system—we are currently planning to allow players to see their faction standing. The Diplomacy Sphere is closely linked to the Faction System.
4.0.6 Will we be able to see our faction standing?
Yes. More on this later.
4.0.7 How important a role will faction play?
Faction is tied into quite a few areas of gameplay. As you advance in the game, your actions will decide your faction standing in the world, which will have a direct effect on which quests are open to you down the road.
When faction comes into play, we believe there is a balance: you don’t want a new player accidentally attacking someone and getting their faction messed up because they don’t understand the repercussions of their actions. However, we also don’t want to deny fun to other players, so as mentioned above, we are definitely open to that kind of action later in the game, when players have a better grasp of cause/effect. Faction is also not only affected by combat, but also through our Diplomacy Sphere of gameplay.
4.0.8 Will there be different religions?
Yes.
4.0.9 How will religions affect game play?
We're still working on the details but religion will likely be a subset of our faction system.
4.0.10 Can we expect to see religion-specific quests or items?
While you may not see religion-specifc quests, you can expect faction-specific quests and items (a faction can relate to or represent a religion, amongst other things).
4.0.11 Will you be able to kill gods or their avatars?
We're undecided at this point. There are good arguments both for and against killing gods and other powerful beings. If we do allow combat with god-like beings, it will likely not take place until an expansion, will be on a different plane of reality, and would involve fighting an avatar or aspect of that god or goddess and not the diety itself.
4.0.12 Will there be an alignment system?
There will not be a traditional system where you decide the initial alignment of your character. Alignments will more related to what your character does and how he or she interacts with various factions and other entities in-game.
4.0.13 Can we be good, evil, or neutral?
You are free to role-play different alignments, but you won't explicitly select an alignment at character creation. Your alignment is really your faction standing which is determined by your actions -- who or what you kill, what quests you solve, what NPCs you parlay with in the Diplomacy sphere of gameplay, etc. Your actions will have consequences, but those actions are up to you and not something set at the time you create your character.
4.0.14 Will this affect how we play the game and how the game reacts to us?
Your characters actions and the decisions you make will affect various outcomes, including those of factions, quests, etc.
4.0.15 Is the gameplay more ‘Twitch’ or more ‘Strategic’ or a balance between the two?
Gameplay will be a balance between the two. MMOGs are not twitch games, but they also don't need to involve boring encounters where you turn on auto-attack, sit back and watch. We plan on adding quite a bit of excitement and decision-making to combat and other gameplay areas. We want you to be actively involved in your character’s movements, advancement, and actions within the game. Combat in particular is reaction based, involving special abilities and spells, counter attacks, rescues, and more. A lot of the more visceral feel found in single player games (especially console RPGs) hasn't been present in MMOGs, and we think it's time that they are.
4.0.16 How will you achieve this in combat?
“Easy to learn, hard to master” sums up our concept of combat in Vanguard. .You will have to think about the results you want to achieve in combat, as well as how you’re going to achieve them. You will need to counter and respond to tactics and strategies your opponents might employ.
4.0.17 + 4.5.2 How will this affect crafting?
Vanguard will feature a more advanced crafting system than has been implemented to date; just like combat, you need to decide what you want to use during the process and you have to actively make decisions based on the situation. For example, attempts to gather resources well above your level could have dangerous or even potentially deadly results. If you attempt to chop down a particularly tough tree you may break your axe. Also, while mining for resources, lack of attention could cause a cave-in, trapping some players and wounding or killing others. Some resources may be in areas inhabited by your enemies, requiring cooperation between adventurers and crafters of high level. You will need to be aware of your resources, and the situation around you to reap maximum benefit.
4.0.18 How will you handle character naming, unique names, etc.? Can my character have a first and last name?
Our plans are currently to require characters to have a first and a last name at character creation in order to allow players to have unique names. If that doesn't work out, however, we will at minimum require players to have a unique first name.
4.0.19 What kind of focus and priority do you place on the newbie experience? Will there be a tutorial?
The newbie experience is very important. We do not want to intimdate them with information overload, but we do want them to enjoy as much of the world as possible, as quickly as possible. We are looking at tutorials that more experienced MMO players can skip if they like, as well as optional “assistance” items like the Travel Journal, which will help you find you way around, Whether you continue to use these assistance items or not, however, is up to you. In any case, the tutorial will most likely be part of the game -- an experience and set of quests that you are immediately introduced to that introduce you to the game while you are actually playing the game. That the tutorial be part of the game is important to us because 1. it teaches you how to play the game while actually being in the game world, online, and 2. so that more experienced players or players making a second or third character don't have to run through the tutorial quests and experiences again and again.
4.0.20 What about the character death – how does it work?
Vanguard: Saga Of Heroes will employ a variation on the traditional corpse retrieval death penalty – you die, you return to your bind point but leave a corpse behind and that corpse contains the items and coin you had in your possession. You're encouraged to return to your corpse with another set of gear stored at the nearest outpost if you desire to retrive your other possessions. Items can be stored in horses, in ships, and in player owned buildings. Horses are soul bound, such that when you die, they and any items on your horse, stay with you. Additionally, during Phase 3 we will be experimenting with different severity levels relative to the threat level of the NPC or encounter. One thing is certain -- while the death penalty is likely harsher than many of the more modern MMOGs, it is not nearly has harsh as it was in, say, EverQuest. We have made every effort to make death sting to the point that you are challenged for taking risks, but not so punished that you are discouraged from taking those risks.
4.0.21 I heard that a corpse may never rot. That seems like it would leave a lot of bodies all over the place. If I die multiple times, how would I find all those bodies?
When you die, an entry is made in your quest journal, which is where you can decide to pursue your corpse by turning on or off the silvery cord. So if you died multiple times, there would be multiple 'death' entries in your quest journal -- you then just choose which one you are trying to get to and tell it to display the silvery cord (if you want the cord displayed).
Empty corpses will probably time out. There may be other criteria that causes a corpse to eventually rot, but at this point we don't think that will be necessary and they are persistent
4.0.22 Will corpses rot?
Usually, no. Empty corpses will probably time out. There may be other criteria that causes a corpse to eventually rot, but at this point we don't think that will be necessary and they are persistent.
4.0.23 Will corpses rot?
Usually, no. Empty corpses will probably time out. There may be other criteria that causes a corpse to eventually rot, but at this point we don't think that will be necessary and they are persistent.
4.0.24 I die in the water, what happens to my corpse?
If you die on the surface of the water, both ship flotsam (corpses) and character corpses will float on top of the water and not move/drift. Doing a CR (corpse retrieval) on the water will be functionally the same as anywhere else. If you die underwater in an area marked as an adventure area or some such (say, a sunken city), your corpse will stay underwater where you died.
4.0.25 If I die in a dungeon and there is no one around to resurrect me, will I be stuck waiting for a stranger to come by?
Remember, if you die in the depths of a dungeon and cannot get a resurrection (which would bring you back to your corpse), you'll return to your bind point (likely the nearest outpost, village, or city); our intent is that you’ll have stored multiple other sets of equipment in these places, so, even assuming no resurrection and no assistance getting back to your corpse, you won't be running back to it naked. You’ll have a Travel Journal entry to guide you back. And if it's still in an area that is just too nasty for one person to get back to, the corpse never deteriorates, so it will wait for you until you can find help.
Until then you can keep playing the game using your other sets of equipment. Also, other players will be able to drag your corpse, assuming you give them permission, so they could move it at some later point to a location more accessible to you.
Worst, worst, worst case scenario: you go and play and gain a few levels until you can solo your way back to that particular corpse.
4.0.26 I read that there will be an object that appears upon death to guide you back to your body. Won’t this break immersion?
Telon is a huge world, and we are working on a solution that will help you navigate back to your corpse without breaking the player’s immersion.
One such solution is a Travel Journal entry to help guide you—based on the size of the world, we believe this is something a lot of players will find helpful. Of course, you’re under no obligation to use it if you’d rather work your way back on your own.
4.0.27 Will Vanguard: Saga of Heroes support voice communication?
Yes, Vanguard will support voice communication through any compatible third party program—participating in voice or group communication will be completely optional.
4.0.28 What about in-game mapping and navigation? Will it be present and how will it work?
We have some pretty cool ideas on how to integrate mapping and navigating areas area,s allowing you to earn the privilege of experiencing higher levels areas without spoiling the fun of exploration. While in game tools, such as maps, can be a benefit, we believe mystery is also important to a fun and immersive experience.
Vanguard has a fully customizable user interface, which means you decide if you want to use in-game navigation and to what extent. The in-game map is there for navigation but doesn't provide so much detail that the intrigue associated with exploration is ruined.
4.0.29 How will you deal with mapping, navigation, compasses, and the like?
In addition to having the travel journal guide you:
You'll be able to bring up a map of the region you are in. It's a hand drawn map and many things will be missing. It also doesn't all get revealed until you've traveled there.
Waypoints in your journal can also show up on the map as a dot.
We don't want maps to be spoilers. If you haven't discovered something yourself (or on the rare occasion been made aware of it by completing a quest resulting in a travel journal entry), then you probably shouldn't know about it. The maps will be basic, oriented for navigation, not finding your way to the phat lewtz. A lot won't be on the map.
The amount of detail on a map could differ depending on the region, or there could simply be no map at all. You guys know I'm a HUGE explorer. It's paramount that we don't hurt exploration with the map system, or with any system for that matter.
It's definitely NOT a radar. And what is shown on the map is controlled by us, because we're creating the maps. So the designers and artists work together to decide what aspects of the land would be known, or wouldn't spoil the game, etc.
One crazy idea was to have some maps be wrong. Cool, but not sure if it would actually be fun.
As for whether they'd have to be bought on vendors... probably not. Keep in mind the reason behind our scheming is to help people navigate a huge, seamless, and often confusing world. The people who are likely to need this the most are the noobs, or the more poor players, etc. Not sure what we'd gain by making people buy them other than a general money sink. And what we'd lose is potentially some subset of the playerbase not having purchased the map for the area they are in, which would then defeat the reason we're putting them in.
Again, keep in mind that we control what is shown, there won't be any for dungeons, and there likely will be areas, even overland, for which there will be no in-game map. The idea is not to spoil or make too easy, but rather to help with general navigation.
And by navigation I mean getting from one major point to another. You're still going to get very lost exploring, or trying to find specific places.
Ultimately, Jeff and I sat down and worked out a system we both liked. If you don't know already, I'm pretty anti-map. I'm the 'hey, if you want a map, someone's going to make one no matter what we do, so let them make it, and you can go get a copy if you choose to'. Jeff, however, wanted some functionality that should be in the game, especially given how large our world is.
So there will be maps. These maps are drawn by our artists and represent a region of the world. On that map you can see yourself, and then possibly any travel journal entries that are in range. Possible fog of war, although since we control what is shown on the map, this may not be necessary.
Still lots of details to be worked out. Keep in mind the primary reason for us including them is to help people navigate in this large, seamless world. We are very sensitive to exploits, spoilers, ruining exploration, etc. So we are keeping all of that in mind.
The silvery cord, or however it actually turns out displaying, will still be helpful, and then necessary in dungeons. No maps in dungeons. Dungeons are very 3d too, requiring our final silvery cord solution to accomodate the x, y and z axis. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.30 What is this travel journal? What does it do?
We came up with the idea of a counterpart to the quest journals we've seen pop up in newer MMOGs (though they've been around longer in single player RPGs), called the Travel Journal. Its purpose is ultimately to store information about locations that don't necessarily have to do with a quest. For example, we feel the new player when assuming control of a level 1 character who is, assuming he or she is human, at least 18 years old, probably ought to know something about their surroundings. Where to buy food... where their guild master is... where the merchant is... where the nearest noobie yard is... There's no reason to frustrate a player by forcing him to find these places and from an RP standpoint it doesn't make sense -- you're creating an adult noob, not an infant. So your travel journal, to begin with, will contain basic information that makes sense for you to know -- basic locations. And then you can use your travel journal to bring up the cord and guide you to that location. No, there's not a ton of info there, and we very much believe in learning your surroundings and not being too hand-held, but the key stuff is there.
Next, when you die, an entry related to your corpse appears in your travel journal. You can then use the cord to lead you to said corpse, and after you loot it, that entry will delete itself. As stated elsewhere, while it may be dangerous and difficult to get to your corpse based on where it is, you shouldn't simply lose it because it blends in with desert rocks.
And then, as you play the game, travel journal entries will come and go based on what you're doing. You could be given a quest with directions. You could complete a quest and be rewarded with directions to something important or valuable. You could pay a merchant upon entering a new town to scribble down some of those essentials again (food, merchants, etc.) The possibilities and power of the travel journal are really cool, I think. And those locations, combined with the cord, definitely help you navigate the world. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.31 Will I be able to alt-tab and/or run the client in a window?
Vanguard will be switchable/windowable/minimizable because of the way newer operating systems and graphics APIs work. And, honestly, we’re glad. The additional challenges to keep the game as 'cheat-free' as possible are more than worth the effort, and we'll also do our best to impact the average, honest gamer as little as possible.
4.0.32 Is the game first person, third person, or what? How does camera control work?
Our philosophy is to allow the player to put the camera where he or she wants. Third person, first person, whatever -- it's a matter of preference
Currently you can either function key through your camera options, or scroll the mouse wheel to switch between 1st and 3rd person. We think this is another area that should be completely user-configurable.
4.0.33 How will the User Interface work? Will it use XML skins? Will it be customizable?
The UI will come with several different configurations and also be configurable by the user.
4.0.34 "How difficult will making a custom UI be? "
It would not be too difficult for someone with simply a competent knowledge of computers and software to design a custom user interface, given that developers are improving upon access to customizability by providing custom tools. There are excellent tools available now commercially to the average user to aid the artistic element of interface design. – Tom King @ Okratas.com
4.0.35 Does Vanguard tend towards role-playing at all? What in-game systems are there to develop this aspect of the game, if any?
we're implementing. One of our goals for Vanguard was, from inception, to appeal to several specific types of players, including those who count on the world to be immersive enough to support and enhance their role-play experience.
4.0.36 How does Vanguard encourage player-to-player interaction?
Though players of Vanguard will be able to spend their game time isolated from other players if they choose, the most rewarding experiences will be had in groups of players that learn to work together. We believe strongly that grouping is one of the cornerstones behind community building, especially pick-up groups, and we are working on a variety of things to make it easier to pick up and maintain groups, and we are striving to create a sort of interdependence that will naturally fulfill itself through grouping.
The most obvious way for us to encourage player-to-player interaction is by creating classes that fill roles. When players filling different roles group together, they are far more powerful than a solo player or a group of players who all fill the same role.
4.0.37 Is this game all about grouping, or will there be content for solo/casual play as well as raid content for more hard core players? Even if Vanguard is mostly about grouping, how will you deal with players who prefer the other two extremes? Tell me more about casual, group, and raid content and how that dynamic will work in Vanguard.
You will be able to solo. Most casual conten will be outdoors or in mini-dungeons. Group content will be in dungeons or in overland adventure areas, Raid content the same, but likely mostly in the dpeths of our larger dungeons.
Some of you may enjoy soloing in Vanguard, and some of you may find it too tedious or slow or not rewarding enough... Are we designing Vanguard as a solo-oriented game? No. The focus is on grouping. Does that mean we hate soloing and want to make it impossible? No, certainly not.
You will always be more efficient and encouraged to group, even in casual areas, although you won't need a large group. The casual areas are geared towards small groups and also designed such that one can achieve advancement in shorter contiguous chunks of gameplay, so these areas should be attractive not only to the more casual gamer, but even the hard core raid gamer who just has an hour or so to log on and wants to be able to move his character forward in some way.
In summary, soloing will be easier than it was in EverQuest, even with our focus on grouping.
Likewise, there will be content geared towards raiding and more hard core play. Even though Vanguard's content is mostly group oriented, both casual and raid gameplay are very important to us and supported.
4.0.38 Someone said most of your content is going to be for groups? Does that mean there's no raiding?
Vanguard is targeting the 'core' gamer. It will have three types of content: casual, group, and raid. Casual and raid will be the minority, with most content group oriented.
I know some people accuse EQ of being too raid oriented. I would say Vanguard will be less so. But we also think raiding is very important and fun. Our goal from the beginning was to create a world that would support core gamers, as well as more casual or people with less time, as well as those crazy raiders you refer to
Aside from that, well, Vanguard is a new game with a lot of new features and a whole new world to explore. I don't think we'll have any problem enticing hard core raiders to migrate over.
The plan is to have the majority of content be for groups, with the minority for solo/casuals and raids. Lots of game mechanics in or planned to make sure this works and to let us make group dungeons, even at higher levels, appealing and rewarding. Easier said than done, but we gotta do it. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.39 How about soloing and casual play? If Vanguard is mostly about grouping, but I am more of a solo or casual player, is Vanguard not for me?
We are NOT trying to drive out solo players -- that would be foolish. In fact, we're making casual areas to support solo players, as well as players who have less contiguous time to play, and then even the occasional more hard core player who wants to log on briefly and actually still get something done.
The focus of the game is on the group experience. On each side, you have the solo or more casual content, and then the raid content.
You also touched on some reasons, as did I, as to why people solo. A big one is that it's hard to find a group. We agree and are doing a bunch of things to make it easy to find a group and to keep that group together -- in fact, we believe strongly that grouping is one of the cornerstones behind community building, especially pick-up groups. I can't promise you that you'll always find a group, but I will promise you that we'll do our best to bring people together, by the way we lay out the world, with various game mechanics, abilities, tools, etc. So, in a nutshell, having any significant number of people who would rather group but are forced to solo is something we can't allow.
Then there are people who simply like to solo, but to solo in an online game. I've seen some people ask these people, hey, why the heck are you playing a multiplayer game if you want to solo? Honestly, I think this is a little narrowsighted. Just because it doesn't appeal to you, doesn't mean that somebody else likes to solo in an environment with other people because it makes the world seem more alive, or, really for whatever their reason is. People are different.
Now, will these people like Vanguard? Good question. I think some will, and some won't. You *will* be able to solo in Vanguard, but it will be more difficult, you will advance more slowly, and you won't be able to realistically access many areas (and so will either not obtain some better items or have to buy/trade for them). That will turn some solo players off and while we regret that, I don't see how we could cater to them and our primary target audience both: those who like to group. But I think there are other solo players who don't mind this. If they want something, they don't mind deciding to either not worry about it, or perhaps to group on a rare occasion and see that area or obtain that item, or even save their money and buy it in-game. This subset of solo player is usually less competitive and more focused on his character and his accomplishments and less on what other people are doing. That solo player I think could have a great time in Vanguard.
Just to make sure I'm being consistent with what I've said in the past: we are making content for casual, group, and raid. Obviously, the solo player would be playing in the casual areas. But even the casual areas are designed for small pick-up groups. So he'll be able to progress, but still not as quickly or as effectively as if he were to join a small group of people and play a while.
The reason we did this is because we think there are more people who want casual areas because they have less time to play, or more specifically less contiguous time to play, and still want to be able to log in, advance, and have a good time. We feel there are more people like that than those who insist on soloing (wrong or right, that's how we're looking at it). So they are the target audience for the casual regions, more so than the solo player, but I don't think it will exclude the solo player either.
I've also said that, when asked to make comparisons, that the ability to solo will likely turn out to be about as effective as it was to solo in EQ. Now this is a very broad and general statement. Some classes could solo a lot better in EQ, plus there were some exploits that went on for some time that would allow solo players to advance relatively quickly (eg more quickly than what was designed). Addressing this, we hope our approach to classes with our Job system makes it such that there isn't a specific class that always solos better. But we do make mistakes, and I imagine there will still be, but hopefully it won't be as bad. And as for exploits, well, we have to fix those right away for a variety of reasons -- not to screw the solo player, but to maintain the overall health and integrity of the game. So *roughly* similar to EQ and other games where you could similarly solo, but not exactly the same either.
You can solo the casual content (mobs) right now in beta. We're still making lots of tweaks, but this should remain true. A group of 2-3 is more efficient, of course, but you can solo.
But please make sure you've read the multple posts I and others have made regarding this topic. The vast majority of the game is focused on group content (something like 4-8 players, working together). That is where most of the content will be geared for, where most of the good loot will be found, most of the adventure. And, honestly, IMHO, most of the fun. I'm not saying soloing won't be fun. A lot of this is subjective and relative to the player and what he or she enjoys. But right now the group/guild I play with nightly consists of 6-8 players and we are able to enjoy the dungeons and other areas meant for our level range. And it's a blast.
Note I'm talking here mostly about the adventuring sphere. The other spheres are to some degree more doable with less people in your group, and some very doable individually. We're shooting for variety here, not just for those who like to group less, but also those who like to group but perhaps are on when their buddies aren't, or who have less time to find a group and head into the depths of a dungeon some night and still want something to do, areas where they can advance, activities where they are still having fun. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.40 Tell me more about Group Structure/Core Group
The intent is that a well rounded group encountering group and raid content should have at least one member class from each primary Job (heavy fighter, light fighter, caster, healer). That's the core group dynamic we're going, with then lots of variations in terms of how these core jobs manifest themselves depending on what the classes are, where you are, the type of encounter and the strategies the mobs are using against you and your group members, etc. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.41 What is the Group Size? How about raiding party size?
The current plan for raid sizes is indeed mostly around the number 25 or so, as mentioned, but the paln also is to have raid areas vary as to how many people are needed. So solo/casual content is for 1-3 players, group content 3-6, and raid content 6-X, where X is a variable. We hope to control X to some extent (to stop people from bringing, say, 40 people to an encounter desinged for 25) using TLC, dynamic threat assessment, and a few other mechanics I can't talk about yet. We're focusing first on group content, then solo/casual, and will implement raid content towards the end of beta, so a lot of this remains theory until tested in a beta environment.
The group size is something that is subject to change during beta. We have thrown around some numbers in the past but ultimately we hash that out in beta.
As for screenshots showing groups of larger sizes - that build of the game did not have any restriction on the number of group members. That will not be the case upon release..
Current thoughts, subject to change as we continue to beta: Max hard limit: 6. Most group encounters tuned for 4-6.
This means that a group of 4-6 should be in good shape, assuming the group members have a variety of members from each core job.
The group limit for casual content is obvously a lot lower, with exp penalties much more extreme so we don't get larger groups killing casual mobs over and over again.
Group size for fighting raid mobs is obviously and conversely much higher.
The current plan is max size of 6 for a group group (fighting group based mobs). 2 or 3 for casual. Raid we haven't totally worked out yet, whether it will be a max group size or some sort of group linking or both.
For groups though most encounters will be tuned around them being doable with groups of 4-6, so you can think of the target group size there being 4-6, with a hard cap of 6. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.42 How do you handle Looking for Groups?
It's going to be a very sophisticated and powerful system, and given our goals and game world, needs to be. More on this later (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.43 What about groups and Level Spread?
We hve a formula for the grouping spread which is fancy and based upon character level. I believe you will end up seeing something like the 3-5 spread, perhaps a bit more. The spread will also vary depending on what level your party is. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.44 It your game is item-reliant, how will this affect changes in playstyle? Can I easily switch from being a casual player to a group player or a raid player?
I owe you a better explanation, and the reason I hesitate is a lot of this is in flux and testing. The general idea though is if you were a dedicated casual gamer who never got any group loot and suddenly decided to loot you would indeed be at a disadvantage. But you certainly could befriend a solid group and they could escort you in and keep you alive and eventually get you some new lewtz. You are not a total sitting duck, but relatively ineffectual.
I realize some may panic at that, but, really, if you have a change of heart like that, which is great, I trust you will find some people who will take you in.
Going from casual to raid? I'm thinking no. Baby steps. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.45 What is this Fellowship system?
The general idea is that there are some people who have close friends they want to group with but also have different amounts of time they can commit to playing an MMOG. The Fellowship system is for these people to whom staying together is so important that they will sacrifice some of their own experience to give to these close friends so they *can* stay relatively together in terms of level. Bottom line for me is that as long as someone is earning the exp, I don't mind it shared in a controlled manner (e.g. mindful of potential exploits) and such that there's no 'free lunch'.
That said, I realize it's a controversial subject. We'll mess with it in beta and if it's something that just doesn't pan out, we'll pull it (though I have high hopes for it).
A group of friends would form a persistent social construct called a Fellowship. Then, say there were 3 in the Fellowship, but only 2 were logged on, a percentage of the exp earned by the 2 would go to the third such that his level was kept at or near his 2 friends. There's no free lunch, because the people online earning exp end up having to earn the exp for themselves and the offline person.
We plan on experimenting with this system (and other ideas involving offline advancement) in beta. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.46 What are your aims with the Diplomacy Sphere? Why include it?
Diplomacy I think is very exciting because it adds something to MMOGs that's been missing, and that's that it doesn't make sense that combat solves everything. No, I'm not down on combat (I love it), nor am I trying to make a statement about too much combat or whatever in a game, nor am I wearing a make peace not war t-shirt.
What we're trying to do, and have been going all the way back to EQ 1, is create a virtual world similar to the ones we've played in single player RPGs and in MUDs, but also similar to the ones weve read about in fantasy novels. And when looking at these fantasy worlds, especially in the books, I see a lot of intriguing diplomacy and politics going on... using ones influence to speak with the king, saving ones hide not by fighting but by convincing the lord of thieves to spare your life, bribing a guard to let you pass (especially when he's 20 levels above you, e.g. you couldn't have killed him), so you can gain access to an area
I think these alternate approaches provide additional dimensions to gameplay and more immersion, not just because it's another advancement path, but because it's something we've grown up reading about, and it's something I think we expect a fantasy world to have, but perhaps have forgiven game worlds for not having because it wasn't possible or even that it didn't occur to us.
I also think Diplomacy will help Vanguard appeal to a different set of core gamers, perhaps those who are more interested in strategy games and the like. This is especially true when later, as a diplomat, your skills and abilities are crucial when building player towns and cities. So its really cool, IMHO, and will hopefully broaden the games appeal: win-win.
So, the player characters will not be clones, especially once equipped; the opposite is actually true, as I addressed above, with the additional clothing and equipment that will exist. And Diplomacy is not about virtual bottlenecks, though it certainly involves contested rolls, but no more so than does combat. Your decisions will be important. The equipment you wear will be crucial. The abilities you choose to activate when in parlay with an NPC are critical. The correct reactions to what the NPC is doing, especially in terms of countering one of his moves, or using the right ability in response to his last move, involves strategy and thinking.
And yes, so does luck, because, as I mentioned, there are definitely 'rolls of the dice' going on, as there will be in combat and crafting and as has been fairly fundamental to RPGs in general for some time.
Hack and slash is great, adventuring is great, but if you read a good fantasy novel most of them are not just confrontation - Fight fight fight fight. There's a lot of neat things going on. What we're trying to do is capture a more robust fantasy world like those that we have all read about, dreamed about and seen in the movies to add more dimensions to the world and make it more interesting. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.47 I've heard that Diplomacy will allow you to get past mobs that would otherwise attack you. How does that work?
There may be instances where you have the option of either attacking or parlaying with a mob, but there will also be situations where attacking the mob won't result in what you're looking for.
For example, let's say you are on a quest where you need an audience with a king or a noble inside the palace. Diplomacy may be the way to accomplish that, e.g. influencing the guards to grant you audience with the king. Attacking the guards in this scenario would likely not result in an audience with the king; instead, it could lead to a situation where you are perceived as a threat and therefore not able to interact with the king in order to complete or move forward on a quest. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.48 Is Diplomacy Item-centric like the rest of your Spheres?
As for gear and item-centricty, we hope to make gear important in all three spheres. Wearing the right clothing could certainly make you more successful when engaging in diplomacy, and I can also see magical items used in diplomacy (perhaps that up your charisma, making you better at charming certain NPCs, or gear that makes you more intimidating, etc). (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.49 So where do diplomats do their stuff?
Cities are there not just to look pretty and epic, but are also in a sense the 'dungeons' for the diplomacy sphere and will play a very important role.
In Vanguard the Diplomat plays his game in the cities and the villages. It's basically his dungeon, if you want to think of it that way. That's where he goes and does he job.
The faction ties into that a lot. There'll be areas that you can't access except through diplomacy. I like to use the example of if you are going to get a quest from the King of New Targanor. Likely the guards aren't going to let you in, likely even if you are level 50 you're not going to be able to fight every guard in the New Targanor, so diplomacy would be a way to use your skills, perhaps your influence as an aristocrat, to gain access to the throne room.
Equally if you are a thug, you cannot walk right up to the leader of the Theives' Guild. You'll be killed. So you'll work your way up with tasks, levels, that you'll have to complete to gain access to certain people, quests, items, things like that. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.50 Tell us about the Perception System and how it relates to combat.
That's the basic premise behind Perception, that based on a skill check, you do or don't perceive what your opponents are doing to you (are they focused on you, what spell are they casting so you can react, etc.), as well as whether you detect the NPC at all (for example, the Ambushers in the latest screenshots hide until you are very close unless your perception skill check is successful, in which case you have more time to react to them). (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.51 So will Perception be meaningful when you're just wandering about?
Yes, there will be times where walking will be more advantageous than running, and this ties in with Perception. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.52 I heard that if you fail to perceive them, mobs might ambush you. How is that displayed?
Right now they just pop. In the future? Maybe a particle effect or something -- not sure yet. Focused on the gameplay more than the flash right now. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)
4.0.53 So what does perception mean for the Con System? Is there a con system? How much will it reveal?
If you can just click on an encounter and it tells you their name, how many friends they have, what their favorite combat style is, what they typically drop, etc., it gets pretty lame.
We do plan on experimenting with a more dynamic con system that ties into the advanced encounter system, dynamic threat assessment, etc., but hopefully the information will not just be helpful but be information that couldn't have just been found out by engaging the mob, which is what adventuring is all about.
We are undecided currently if we are going to display information about the "back end / designer side" settings on the NPCs. It will ultimately come down to usability/playability with the system.
The con system currently in beta is very rough. We're not happy with it yet. Our ideal is a 'dynamic con system' that gives you information not just on the mob relative to you, but relative to the group you are in, where you are at, etc. It's still work that's going forward and will get better and better through the different phases of beta. One thing for sure, just indicating the level differential between you and the mob isn't sufficient. At the same time, providing too much insight before you engage the mob or encounter takes a lot of the mystery and learning about of the game. As with so many other systems, the trick is to find the middle ground.
Most recently, we have added a 'threat meter', such that when you select a mob, it's relative threat to you and your party is displayed. As mentioned elsewhere in the FAQ, the severity of the death penalty may vary depending on the 'con' or threat severity level of the mob or encounter that defeats you. (This answer is courtesy of Silky Venom)