Is The Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Emulator Worth It?

[@TroyChristensen]

Just started again after 17 years. I have created 10 characters and am truly enjoying the game again in all its glory.

[@Renfail]

cool

[@TroyChristensen]

@@Renfail You going to make any more on Vanguard?

[@Renfail]

@@TroyChristensen Nope

[@Grinningfartking6969]

How many people are playing now?

[@TroyChristensen]

@@Grinningfartking6969 It varies but not many. Perhaps 15 to 40 on, more so at night. Its still alpha so its a work in progress.

[@stephendempsey3305]

Played this hardcore back in the day. Ancient Port Warehouse is one of the best raid zones ever.

[@Renfail]

Twas fun!

[@MrBouleyman]

APW was amazing...then they dropped that grinder ass POTA and it although it was fun...man did it get boring

[@Demane69]

I'm splitting my time between Vanguard and SWG Legends. I do not have much time to play, but these games let you log in and play stress free. This game deserves to exist. I hope they gain access to the base files eventually so this can be reborn for all of us to enjoy.

[@Renfail]

Hear hear

[@LiamsLyceum]

I gotta try this out. I played very very little when the servers were live, hardly remember it

[@Renfail]

The game has a lot of the early level content in place so you can get a good 30-40 hours out of it in most of the starting areas, though there are a LOT of quirks/bugs/jank and NOBODY playing, so make sure you do it with your brother!

[@ArsenicShooter]

I remember some time ago, Vanguard SoH was considered like the real EverQuest successor. I just installed VG and switch from time to time to EQ2 😊

[@Renfail]

It was a great game

[@ArsenicShooter]

@@Renfail oh hell yeah!

[@jeffscott3160]

I had 7 max lvl adventuring 5 max lvl crafters and 3 max lvl diplo's. Miss this game and my old guildmates, Exile, Forged Souls, Concilio Erus, immensly.

[@Renfail]

Groovy

[@mikaelhylen7926]

Played Vanguard from beginning to end. Loved it! Left a couple of epic characters behind, was such a grind in many ways. Havn't tried the emulator yet but this is def giving me the itch.

[@dragonsickness4561]

It's a great game. Pretty much lvl 1-40 have plenty of quests. The endgame zones don't have quests yet. It's a good chance to learn how to play the game. I played at launch for a few years and I'm learning a lot more now.

[@Renfail]

If folks want to grind mobs from 30-50 it's possible, but I wouldn't do it without the quests :)

[@dupre7416]

I agree with your take on the VG Emu. It seems pretty great for what it is. I never dreamed that I would be able to play Vanguard again. When it closed down back in the 2010s I had long since quit playing because SOE wasn't giving the game any love. I've played just about ever MMO since and none has grabbed me the way Vanguard did. I'm hoping Pantheon will have some of the DNA that made VG so great but only time will tell...

[@Renfail]

It's a hell of a lot of fun IF you treat it like what it is...an alpha with limited content :)

[@EQOAnostalgia]

SoE didn't seem to know how to support their games post launch very well but to be fair, this wasn't their headache, they just bought it lol, some say to bury it on purpose... but idk But i remember how they let EQOA die because we only hit like 20-40k subs... our first expac was rushed 9 months after vanilla, and then they shitcanned our 2nd expansion Underfoot, carved it up and repurposed it for EverQuest 1 which REALLY pissed off the remaining population, around that same time they increased the fee from 10 a month to 15 and that, right around the launch of WoW. . . It still makes my head absolutely spin at how quickly they destroyed their own lands. A port to PS3 with the Underfoot expansion would have definitely picked up more subs, especially if they actually took some of our money and put it towards advertising our game. They took it all and poured it into EQII and other games. Looking back i hate to say this, but they deserved to be brushed aside, they grew complacent with an IP that is still to this day, potential GOLD.

[@rostudios1358]

I just downloaded this EMU, and there was 17 ppl playing. I have to find the instructions on how to talk to NPC's

[@chrisworld2]

I log in every once in a while to enjoy the atmosphere of the game, specifically Thestra. The music, atmosphere, art and visuals of this old world are simply unmatched. I wish it was still live or brought back. The EMU only goes so far obviously. I may try to get it installed on my steam deck.

[@joshk.6246]

One of the best games that never got to reach its full potential. Loved the lack of instances and sandbox of it. Huge world, very customizable, a beauty.

[@Renfail]

Indeed

[@NookaNifty]

Ooh, had no idea this is a thing! If only I could bring my lvl 52 PSI Raki over from the original game.....

[@Renfail]

It is absolutely a thing although I will say that the normal population is only about 5 to 10 people until there's a bump which usually only happens about once every 2 or 3 years when people get a surge of Interest such as around the time this video was filmed because by now that surge is already gone and it's back down to its normal population

[@WesleyWyndam-Pryce]

I know very little about this game outside it was a failed project by Brad McQuaid. I love EQ and P99 and even old EQ2. I imagine I would very much enjoy old-school mmo gameplay if there is anyone to play with.

[@Renfail]

Nathan's guild has a lot of peeps in it now. Get on it!

[@EQOAnostalgia]

I always said this game was like EverQuest Online Adventures 2. It had a very similar vibe and open world feel. A shame it was never really fleshed out and supported with tons of expacs. EQOA had a similar fate of never reaching peak potential. I still get upset thinking about what could have been for EQOA had it been ported over to PS3 and supported with expacs. I need to check this out. I actually had a small let's play series on it called "Until the End" when i found it out was being shut down. I couldn't stand investing much into it though since i knew it was a doomed venture.

[@Renfail]

Fair enough

[@eq2relaxation549]

Hello there, Alex here (been watching the stream you guys and gals have been doing). I agree, I'm against emulators too, if the main game is still alive and healthy, but if a game has been sunset prematurely alias before its time, like Vanguard and SWG, then we should have the right to resurrect it by any means available to us. These are highly social and community driven projects after all - there is no denying this fact. Back in the old days, there used to be a strong bond between us - and - the devs / engineers of these worlds. As time goes on, this bond has started to fade away, sadly, which is why it is time to restrengthen this connection. The experiences gathered in these projects go beyond nostalgia, because the latter is known to fade away rather quickly. This is about every detail a title like Vanguard has to offer and it consists of many fundamental decisions throughout its entire development roadmap - decisions that either make or break a virtual environment. That said, ideally these two games should be resurrected officially by Daybreak or Darkpaw Games and readded to their existing game catalogue, but if that's not possible, no matter the reason, then at least support the community promoting these types of games / resurrections. At the very least this would result in good publicity for the companies and parties involved. Reasoning: We're all a dying breed of gamers. Nowadays it's all WoW, Fortnite, Minecraft and the likes - not my cup of tea. I want the highly immersive, living, breathing, highly complex virtual worlds filled with high adventure and less hand holding that only the likes of Everquest, SWG, Vanguard and Pantheon can offer. These virtual worlds are second to none. I made a post about this on the EQ2 forums, gathering feedback from my fellow EQ2 norrathians, and I feel like there still is hope, if we stick together that is. All in all, great content ladies and gentlemen, don't give up. The SWG emulators regularly have thousands of ppl playing and if they can do it, so can Vanguard. Whatever the case, this is a compliment to the engineers that created these games in the first place. They nailed it for us "oldtimers". I can also say that there is a positive trend going on over at EQ2, where I am seeing a lot of dev involvement, feedback and fixing of long standing issues going on. Something is changing deep from within the very core and I feel like it's for the best. Quote Pantheon Rise of the Fallen. "While some MMOs have been designed with the goal and desire to appeal to all gamers, all of the time, we at Visionary Realms believe the future of MMOs is all about creating more focused games, targeting specific gamers with distinct preferences. Pantheon is first and foremost a deeply social game. Players who desire cooperative play, working together as a team, and the shared experiences that result from playing with other real people to overcome challenges will enjoy Pantheon. Players who want an MMO to be their home and to interact with communities and player-driven economies will find what they are looking for in Pantheon. Why? We feel that, at least recently, the MMO players who enjoy these elements have been orphaned. In fact, the Visionary Realms team feels they are part of this orphaned group. And it doesn’t take a lot of research to find countless articles, blogs, and posts full of players seeking for the kind of experience we aim to offer in Pantheon."

[@Renfail]

Thanks for the comment!

[@JusSomeGuyOnInternet]

What are the odds of them actually getting the database?

[@Renfail]

Next to nothing =P

[@poppers7317]

I bought that game for a tenner some months after it came out. Wasn't really worth it.

[@Drakonskyr]

Vanguard I come again, after beta hope you are ready

[@Renfail]

No

[@perfektdark6938]

would like to play it but 6 players right now online..its dead tho

[@Renfail]

It very much has cycles but yeah most of the time it's dead :)

[@asdfasdfasdf4746]

its not worth it. its shit really. Peak has about 12 players. Buggs galore. Not to mention its all gonne get wiped anyhow, so dont waste your time lol. If they have not perfected the emulator by this point, its not gonna happen. We are all gonna be dead from old age by the time its officially released.

[@Renfail]

QQ thx for stopping by and paying my bills