Nick Parkinson Interview

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is in Open Beta and on a path to launch at the end of the month. Sigil Online's Nick Parkinson took the time to answer a few of our questions about the game that people want to know as it marches towards the market.

WarCry Network: You're into the late stages of beta now. How has the process treated you guys and what are some of the changes in the game that came from the beta testers?

Nick Parkinson: The first part of that question might be better answered once we'd had some time to sleep *grin*. That last few months have been a lot of work, but it's really paying off now. Overall, there's been things that have worked and things that haven't. Most things we expected, but there have been a few surprises.

In terms of what the players have affected, their feedback is invaluable for tweaking the difficulty of encounters as well as how each class interacts with each other. There's always going to be differing viewpoints though, and knowing when to change things and when not to is the real trick.

WarCry Network: Of the issues left to solve, what do you feel is your biggest hurdle between today and the launch of your game?

Nick Parkinson: Performance and server stability are the big ones, as they usually are at this stage in development for any MMO. Some of this stuff you just can't test properly until you've got the kind of numbers that only come with late phases of beta. So there's still some kinks to be worked out in this area, but we're not too worried.

WarCry Network: You guys have put a lot of effort into the development of non-combat classes. Can you about your diplomacy system as it exists today and what you feel it adds to the game?

Nick Parkinson: diplomacy system in Vanguard allows players to learn the history and legends of the world of Telon, while influencing the game world itself. Political and social changes can be made by groups of determined diplomats, causing benefits for all. An example of this is the ability to make a city a haven for crafters by working to create a number of city buffs that benefit all crafters who work there. Adventurers will gain the advantages of greater hit points, harder hitting spells, and boosts to their run speed through the efforts of players using diplomacy.

As a sphere, diplomacy uses a unique skill system that emphasizes the player's skill. Through an innovative card game, players will experience the push and pull of a conversation by playing cards such as "Aggressive Statement", "Truth Be Told", and even "Cult of Personality." As your character gains skill in diplomacy, larger rewards await in the form of unique diplomacy gear, upgrades to adventuring gear, and access to some of the places of power on Telon.

WarCry Network: How about crafting? What sets you apart from crafting in other MMORPGs?

Nick Parkinson: Crafting in Vanguard is a little different than most MMOs. Crafting recipes are each made up of a different set of actions you have to perform in a particular order. Each of these actions cost and take from a pool that is known as the action pool. The max amount of action points available vary with each recipe. While you are crafting and performing these actions you will have problems arise that can affect many aspects of the process. You can have up to three of these on you at a time and which ones will occur is based on the crafting station you are using, its quality, the recipe and the material you are using. Through experimentation players will be able to discover new recipes and formulas.

As a sphere, crafting will have its own set of classes and levels. Your character will level up and advance within the crafting sphere independent of the other spheres. The combinations of things you can make, even right now, are mind boggling high as well. Literally tens upon tens of thousands of items.

You also don't have to sit back and make items you can't even use just to raise your skill any more. We've got something called "work orders" which is essentially a crafting quest. You're given an assignment of things to make, and completion of the work order will yield an additional award.

WarCry Network: There is a small but vocal group of players out there who has been asking for a true thief or rogue class in an MMO for years. What have you done to make your rogue a bit more rogue-like, rather than the traditional MMO stealth-fighter?

Nick Parkinson: Instead of simply being a damage dealer who can also hide and sneak when it suites them, Vanguard rogues rely on their stealth abilities in combat as well. The longer you can manage to stay stealthed in combat the more cool abilities and damage you will be able to do. Striking the right balance between doing damage and remaining unseen isn't always so simple though and involves a good bit of strategic thinking.

However, for those who like to hearken back to the old days of D&D rogue using things like pickpocket, poisons, magical devices and scribing scrolls should also be a draw.

WarCry Network: You boast highly tactical combat. Can you run us through your combat and what makes it exciting and interesting?

Nick Parkinson: "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.

After activating your auto attack, you've got a bunch of special attacks. Those special attacks can be chained together in different combinations to attain different goals. Some require you to be in a defensive stance, and are primarily concerned with debuffing or maintaining agro, while others require you to be in an offensive stance and are focused with dealing as much damage as possible. If your first couple attacks are successful, you can attempt a finishing move that generally has a more powerful affect.

On top of that there's the reactionary portion of combat. What the reactions are, for us, is our ability to give players the opportunity to change their tactics while in combat. While I may normally go in to a fight as a cleric and cast my heal a few times and then turn on auto-attack, it's not that way every time, and in fact no combat will be like that. There are a bunch of things that happen in a normal combat. If you and I were in a group fighting a bunch of undead all sorts of stuff could happen aside from you swinging five times and me swinging six times. NPC do things and we allow you to react to that. The basic reactions are, like I explained earlier - the attack chain, every time you execute an ability that can be chained you'll be notified - you'll hear a chain sound and your buttons will indicate which abilities can now go.

A good example of a reaction in work would be for those players who are Warriors. Warriors have a set of reactions called rescues. Rescues allow you to protect your defensive target. We have an offensive target (which is your traditional targeting method of all the other games) and you also have a defensive target. So a Cleric can have the NPC that you're fighting as the offensive target and your tank as the defensive target. That allows you to get off your heals while still fighting. It also allows the warrior to get reactions for the defensive target. The defensive target for a Warrior is the Cleric. In our group the Cleric is getting beat on by one of the NPCs. If I enough perception (based on intelligence and skill) then I will receive a reaction to that and I can use an ability and take all the damage that my defensive target would have taken allowing me to force the NPC to switch.
As a player you'll have to decide whether to keep going in the chain you've already begun, to act on the reaction or to start a completely new chain. It sounds simple, and it is pretty easy to pick up, but as I said earlier - mastering it isn't quite as easy.

WarCry Network: Deserved or not, Vanguard seems to have developed a reputation as a hardcore MMORPG. Do you think that's fair and how do you feel you appeal to hardcore, casual and even new players?

Nick Parkinson: I think one of the primary reasons for that thought is because Vanguard is primarily a group centric game. However, that's not to the complete exclusion of solo play. We do actually have quite a bit of solo content - not as much as group geared content, but enough to make sure there's something meaningful to do for those who may not have the time or desire to find a group on any given night. That said, the best rewards are always going to be gained through working together with your fellow players in one way or another.

Is the hardcore description fair? Well, we've never advertised ourselves as a hardcore game and I've had people ask me essentially the same question, only flipped, "why are you such a casual game?" The truth lies somewhere in the middle. "Hardcore" and "Casual" mean so many different things to so many different people. Our target audience is what we call the "core" gamer. It's the person who plays a few hours a night and maybe a bit longer on weekends.

WarCry Network: In that vein, Vanguard also seems to have a serious reputation. Potential competitors like Warhammer Online have done a good job of showing how they take themselves less than seriously. Are there any laughs to be had in Vanguard?

Nick Parkinson: There's a common misconception out there that high fantasy automatically equals low personality. That misconception doesn't just apply to Vanguard, and it's hard to say where it started but you can rest assured you won't be walking through Telon all solemn faced all the time. Fortunately, I think anyone who has had occasion to visit our community page or run around any number of areas in the game (Mekalia being my personal favourite) would agree.

WarCry Network: What has the transition from Microsoft to SOE as a publisher meant to the development of Vanguard?

Nick Parkinson: It has meant that we are working with a company who is very experienced in MMOs. When we need something, be it something technical or something for marketing they know what we're talking about and they're on it. Being able to work with folks who have that experience is invaluable.

Also, for what we need they're really the best at, plain and simple. As our co-publisher, SOE will be handling distribution, data center operations (hosting the game, etc), technical (not in-game) support and will be helping us a lot with marketing. All areas where SOE really shines.

Not to mention, logistically it makes a lot of things easier as well. They're just down the road from us here in San Diego and many of us have worked with them before, so we're already familiar with one another.

WarCry Network: As you come to the verge of launch do you have any predictions for the commercial success of your game?

Nick Parkinson: The market has grown a lot in the last few years, more people are playing online games now than ever before. We're proud of Vanguard, so we're pretty optimistic. Number-wise though, I couldn't say.

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I am glad to see that Nick Parkinson has a very positive outlook on Vanguard since the repeated bashing this game has had on the forums in relation to its performance has made me truly concerned.

I am not a "hard core" player, and I do not have a "hard core" PC. I enjoy RPGs the same way I enjoyed D&D when I was so much younger. They both give me a break from the regular turmoils of life and put my mind off my day to day worries - so to say.

I only played one MMORPG in my entire life - and it is WoW - it was WoW who introduced me to this sort of gaming and I was fascinated - truly grasped by the concept - I read in a forum that anyone could only experience that "first kiss" feeling once in this genre - I hope he is wrong !!!

Why am I so tempted to move to Vanguard ? Well it seems that WoW has lost its flare in my case. It has become ripetitive and to a certain degree boring - especially if you have been raiding Naxxramas for the last two months three to four times a week. It has become boring and so far, TBC is kinda a repeat scenario of what we experienced two years ago when we started although the loot uis kinda great he he but it seems nothing as good as Naxx stuff until 68 :( it seems

Mind you, it has its good sides as well, it was very enjoyable from Level one to sixty - although again, sometimes repetitive - and it was fun playing with my old and new friends I made over the game. The game mechanics and the user inteface is also cool - the graphics hmm not that cool and certainly doesnt compare to what Vanguard is delivering with the Ultima 2 Engine !!!!

These last few weeks we were just astonished when we heard and saw what Vanguard is promising to be. We visited all the sites, seen the movies and where very happy to notice that its only a few weeks away - I also ordered the CE - dont want to miss that:).

What has eventually got us worried are the forums - all criticising the performance of this game especially if the PC is not "high end" - although it has been said that even certain high end PCs are having problems too. I myself have a mid range machine like many of my friends and we do not wish to upgrade just for the sake of one game - I personally have 2 gig RAM, a GF6800GT along with a AMD 3500 64bit Processor. I wish that Vanguard states something more substantive then it has said so far about performance.

I am definately sure that the topic of performance has had a damaging impact on the game in the forums and it is high time that something is published by Vanguard to put many minds at rest. An example is like issuing a detailed report stating how the game would perfom on low end, mid range and high end machines, even posting an ingame picture to show how it would look and the FPS.

One of the biggest plusses this game has is its feel to be in another world where the good graphics actually immmerses you to even more depth then other MMORPG out there. Although I would not expect that the game would run on max settings on my machine, since I do not have a high end machine, I still do not expect that it should run on low settings therefore losing much of the immersion.

This, in my opinion, was one of the main reasons why another MMORPG was such a success, it was readily availabe to the masses without having to go into huge bills to upgrade. So I think it would be healthy if Vanguard clears the mist on this matter.

Notwithstanding the above, I refuse to cancel my order because I believe that when this game is out, it would be immersive thanks, mainly, to the visual impact it creates and to the huge seemless world created and as promoted. The fact that you can see a place a few km away and actually ride to see what it is and check it out is really - woohoo. I would not mind supporting the game for a couple of months to iron out the problems - well lets face it other games had similar problems. What I am not willing to do is purchase a new PC just for the game - and its not a matter of changing the Graphic Card cause mine is still AGP so changing it and attaching a substantially feasable upgrade means changing my mainboard as well - and many of us have families mate.

Thanks for hearing my wall of words - hoping that my plea wont fall on deaf ears

Moon

Moon

I'm presently playing in beta. Having had a 4+ year old P4 system (and partly because I use my computer in a business) I upgraded to a dual core P4, 2 gig, Ge7900T video card system. I ran my old system through Asheron's Call, and more recently WoW, eventually giving it to my son. Running WoW on my new system was .... informative. I discovered I could actually see the sea/lake bottom in shallow waters as just one for instance!

In Vanguard, I'm not presently running in "High Graphics" mode - figured to wait until sometime after launch to allow the devs opportunity to optimize a bit. I will say that by and large, the graphics are fairly smooth until the servers begin to fill in the evenings. At that point, I begion to experience some lag, perhaps like what you might experience outside the auction house in the Ironforge.

It is apparant the game will likely launch still in "beta" phase, but frankly so did WoW, and virtually every other MMO I'm aware of over the last several years. What makes the game significantly different, is that there are (almost) completely independent "spheres" operating: Adventuring, Crafting and Diplomacy. Without a manual to refer to it was difficult to pick up HOW to start the latter two, but once that was worked through, I find them very interesting. WoW had relevant crafting in many areas, but the crafting I'm seeing here also involves some level of problem solving/planning that is beyond the "point and click" phase. The Diplomacy area is still fairly new, so I'm not sure where it will lead to. One thing I noted was that leveling in "Adventuring" wasn't dissimilar to WoW in terms of time to go from leval a to level b. The Crafting generally takes quite a bit more time. I've spent probably 6-7 hours as an "Outfitter" (combination of WoW Tailor and Leatherworker) and I'm just coming up to level 7. In Diplomacy, I've spent maybe 4-5 hours, and am level 40ish, though the system still views my level as high noob.

If you have the patience, download the beta (I think from Gamestop) and see if the graphics work for you; the game content certainly should.

Steve

I played Wow for 6 months.. maxed more than one character and began the repetitious raiding for gear. I quickly grew bored because of the lack of challenge and the lack of content. Being level 60 in WoW was not to me an accomplishment because of how easy it was to attain. Crafting in WoW was even easier in my opinion (got my twink to 300 Armorsmithing in one night). Im not saying WoW is a bad game.. its a great first timers MMO, but since I had been playing MMO's since the genre was founded I thought the game was shallow.

The first time MMO's are now getting over the newness factor and begining to want something deeper than the World of Warcraft. This is why I think Vanguard will do well, not WoW well.. but well. I dont expect to see 7 million subscribers to Vanguard but those who give the game a fair shake will I think find something wonderful. I really wish EQ2 had been released in the form it now bares (its now a great game) and I wish that EQ1 had not required quite so many hours camping rare mobs. I wish WoW had been more challenging and had at least three times more content (and had not been made to look like a cartoon). I wish alot of things had happend in other games and many of those wishes I had for other games are coming true in Vanguard.

While Vanguard did dissapoint me in one specific area .. no voice acting (come on Sigil voice acting is wonderfully immersive I cant belive you skipped it), the game has impressed me in many other ways. I think that muchof the whining that you are hearing in beta are from people who are young and/or inexperienced with MMO beta's. I have been in 7 MMO beta's and find that Vanguard is pretty much on the same track as all the others were. That means of course it isnt as polished as it should be for release because everyone producing MMOs must push it out in a "playta" version (think its an industry rule lol). Despite the lack of polish in some areas we will see at release, overall the game is coming along nicely. They need to concentrate on getting all quests for all spheres working correctly for levels 1-15 and get the performance issues under wraps before they start shipping out CD's but the overall system is looking very good.

There is not one video game on my system that has not been patched at least twice. This is counting MMO's, FPS, and RTS's. Vanguard will certainly be patching things for awhile but I think most of the problems people are crying so much about are already being patched as we speak. Will it be perfect?.. no.. will it be as polished as we think it should be?.. no.. will it be good?.. You betcha!

I have been in beta since beta 2. I would seriously consider waiting some time before trying out Vanguard if you are coming from WoW.

WoW was a much more complete game than Vanguard is. The problem is how Sigil has changed the whole game. You see in the begining, Vanguard's combat system was going to be pretty revolutionary. I won't get into all the specifics here, but it would have been like nothing in any MMO ever before. This is where the team spent the majority of the FIVE YEARS this game has been in production. All of it has been scraped. The combat system is no different than any other MMO out there now. While that in itself doesn't seem like that would hurt it that bad, the problem is that's where all the time was spent. The quests in the game aren't that interesting, the lore that is supposed to be uncovered by diplomacy isn't there, and there are most decidedly NOT three seperate spheres. You have Combat, crafting, and a tiny side game called diplomacy, which is all but pointless.

The performance issue, is there. I have a mid-range PC also (although at the time I got into beta it was top of the line), and even with the settings all the way down, I still have trouble moving around. They have 2 weeks I guess we'll see what happens.

If you're bored with your current MMO, I'd look around. There are free trials to almost every game out there. Check out EQ2(don't believe what you hear in WoW chat, check it out for yourself with the free trial), or any of the other MMO's out there.

As far as that "First Kiss" feel, no I don't believe you will ever feel it again. I think a lot of that feeling comes from exploring a new genre of game with different sets of limitations. Once you've played one, you've pretty much got the basics down.

In reply to Jodokai...I had that "first kiss" feel with CoH. However, I still had the same feeling with WoW. I'm still playing it and will continue to do so.

I have been in Vanguard Beta since Beta 2. I log on about once a week now after trying to get into it and help them test for 2 months. I won't be buying a copy.

I still think the graphics are horrid (although this could easily be a style issue). The scenery is beautiful...the characters are ugly.

You do not have 3 separate spheres. You have combat and crafting. In order to acquire the good materials for craftint you *need* good combat. Diplomacy was a fantastic idea that never went anywhere.

I have to disagree that diplomacy never went anywhere. I think it is not for everyone but a lot of people are having fun with it and I think some of the ideas for the future of diplomacy are very exciting.