Vanguard Newsletter - December 1, 2006

Shayalyn

God Kills Devs...

Did you know that every time you say, "It's too brown..." God kills a Sigil dev? It's true, and I have the proof, which I presented in this thread on the official Vanguard forums. (The "It's too brown" thing may be a bit of an inside joke with hardcore Vanguard fans, but bear with me anyhow.) As a matter of fact, forum members regularly slaughter hard working devs with their baseless criticisms and dire predictions of doom. It's one thing to offer a suggestion or to say something critical yet constructive, but it's quite another to bitch and holler and scream and suggest that a game in development (a game that many of the bitchers, hollerers and screamers haven't even played yet) is going to tank because it does or doesn't have X feature that the complainers do or don't want.

It's no surprise that the OVF has become something of a cesspool--it happens to every official forum eventually. In fact, some of our community members at Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer have been discussing the OVF's decline in this thread. And yet, as predictable as the fall of an official forum is, I have to imagine all the wailing and gnashing of teeth takes its toll on the developers after a while.

I've had the pleasure of meeting a few of the folks from Sigil, and I can testify that they're a good bunch. They care deeply about Vanguard, and they're passionate about giving gamers the best possible experience. Based on some things I've heard recently, and a few things I surmised by searching my feelings and using the Force, I get the impression that the Sigil team is putting in some mean hours (yep, nights and weekends), and that they're beginning to stress a bit. No matter how confident they are in their game, there comes a point during any projects developmental phase where any team begins to second guess themselves. Will the players like the game? Is it fun? Is it polished enough? Will it launch on time?

I'm not going to suggest that anyone ease up on the devs--not because I don't think they should, but because I don't think they'd listen to me in the first place. In fact, the audience for this newsletter isn't likely the sort of people who would rant endlessly on the OVF in the first place, so extolling the virtues of a kinder, gentler approach to official forum posting would be akin to preaching to the converted. What I will offer is a haven from all that official forum badness. Our own forums are far more sane, as well as closely monitored and moderated. We happen to believe that it's possible to debate an idea without attacking the person behind it. We even try not to kill devs by saying things like, "It's too brown!" Our comments are constructive, and our tone is friendly and...well, helpful. I guarantee you can stop by and ask a question in our forum and not one person will call you a noob.

Are we too hard on hard working devs? Are the official forums so far gone that you won't hang out there anymore? Tell me about it by email, or post a comment here.

- Shayalyn

This Week at Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer

But first here's a look at last week's most clicked news stories...

Hot off the Presses...

Interview with Vanguard Radio's QforQ

One of the newest kids on the Vanguard fansite block is Vanguard Radio, which officially launched last week with a 6 hour on-air celebration. I took some time to talk to the owner of Vanguard Radio, Sam "QforQ" Houston, to get to know him a bit better and talk about his plans for the site, and what he hopes Vanguard Radio will bring to the community.

Psionicist Class Guide Preview

The Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Psionicist is the master of mind control. Want to learn more about how this integral class will function in Vanguard's world of Telon? Check out Zinn's class guide preview, which includes a thorough compendium of known Psionicist information, as well as direct-from-beta spell details from Shayalyn, who currently plays a Psionicist in Vanguard's beta 3.

POLL: I'm Bringin' Sexy Back

Are your MMOG characters sexy, generally attractive, or about as scary as that freakishly big-headed plastic Burger King dude from TV commercials? We sometimes take ourselves a bit too seriously at Vanguard Ten Ton Hammer, so this week's poll takes on a lighter tone and asks: are you bringin' sexy back?

ASK THE DEVS: Brad McQuaid on Listening to Fans

When it comes to game developers, few are scrutinized more closely than Brad McQuaid, CEO of Sigil Games Online and executive producer of its game in development, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. McQuaid's penchant for interacting with the gaming community has earned him both praise and criticism. Is there such a thing as paying too much attention to the voices of fans? Shayalyn asks and Brad McQuaid answers in this week's Ask the Devs.

Hot Forum Topics

jaxrabbit

Good grief Shay............I saw "God Kills Devs" in the title of this weeks newsletter in my inbox..................................for a moment I thought some tragedy had befallen Sigil, like the headquarters got hit by lightning and erased all the data, or an earthquake swallowed the building or something. No more Vanguard...............or worse.....SOE would pick up where Sigil left off. Don't do that to me ;_;

Zinn

Great job on the newsletter Shay.

It is quite a nice of you putting this together on a weekly basis. Even though I normally I have read through the information you put in the newletter I find myself quite excited when I see it in my mailbox and when I read through it.

I have to say I feel not only lucky to work at a gamesite but to work at a gamesite where I and everyone here truly loves the game. I can't imagine what it must be like to work on a gamesite where you may not like the game. Little things like the newsletter and other new information gets me fired up about Vanguard. It is such a nice thing.

Quillanon

I agree, I am finding the Vanguard forums have went downhill and there is more complaining then useful information at this point. It is really sad.

Nice to find another home, and I will have to start reading here more now.

Thanks Shayalyn!

Annatar

If I say "It's too brown...." three times in a row, will some homicidal Sigil Developer come hunt me down like in Candyman?

Quillanon

I don't think so Annatar. Instead I bet they just find you a permananent tracking earth elemental (brown), inivisible to all other chars, to chase down all your toons with a camera to collect the highlights for the other developers to ROFL at.

Darelas

Thanks, Shayalyn! I really appreciate the work u put in here. Also, I agree, the devs deserve a break, I wouldn't be surprised if most of them have just given up reading the OVF. Some people exist to try and discourage others, and from all I have seen about the Sigil peeps, I am truly glad to have them all working so passionately to bring us such an amazing game as VG promises to be! So I'll throw in my "Here-Here!" for the devs, and my wishes that they survive the stress that they must be feeling by now. And that their families don't forget what they look like in the process