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John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, is the next big name in the games industry to be interviewed as MMO Week continues over on Games Industry.biz.

Smedley talks in depth about SOE’s strategy in the MMO market. The most important lesson SOE has learned along the way is to listen to its customers. He cites the reaction of the Star Wars Galaxy community over changes to the game a few years back.

I think we were a little too arrogant as a company. We thought we knew what was best as a company, and we should have listened more. That’s really the biggest lesson we’ve learned as a company in the last eight years. Listening to our customers is everything.

The lessons we’ve learned from our community have just been extraordinary. For years now we’ve been running something called the Influencer Summit, where we pull 100 people, and 50 of those people will be our worst critics.

So one of the things we’re trying to do is listen better as a company, and over the past few years I think we’ve done that - I’m really proud of the strides we’ve taken in that direction. Listening is a very important skill.

This interview will give you information on SOE’s portfolio of MMOs including EverQuest and EverQuest2, the troubled Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. The article also covers new titles in development such as The Agency for the PS3 and another title for the Indian market based on the Ramayan 3392 AD comic.

via GamesIndustry.biz

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Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and if you are single, in a gaming relationship or just boycotting this overrated Hallmark Holiday, SOE has something that is sure appease you whatever your situation may be. SOE is hosting a barrage of Valentine related events via three of their popular online games EverQuest II,Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Planetside.

EverQuest II will be romancing players throughout the annual week long “Erollisi Day” celebration honoring the goddess of love, Erollisi Marr. Players will be able to present each other with virtual Erollisi roses, enjoy heart shaped cookies and sip love potions. Also during this holiday, players may discover love notes or message candies when they kill mobs throughout the online world of Norrath. While in EverQuest Online Adventures, the adventurers of Norrath will be celebrating Valentine’s Day by seeking out a GM who will provide them with a unique holiday quest available to all.

In Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, the world of Telon has caught the love bug and it is spreading Valentine’s cheer among the citizens with city decorations that give players candies and treats. These aren’t just any treats, eat one of these candies and you will experience temporary Valentines buffs.

Planetside players who log in February 12-14 will receive a special ball-and-chain merit. Also, the dummy NPCs that fill the virtual shooting range now feature names such as “It’s Not You It’s Me” and “Ice Queen” - both phrases which are near and dear to my heart.

Erollisi Day and Valentine’s Day events are scheduled to take place the week of February 12th – 19th. Exact days vary by title. For more information check out the respective game links.

Via: Press Release

Towns and cities in Telon will be celebrating the Festival of Glorian on Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Tales of Atnas Claws and his spirit of giving lift spirits and inspire an abundance of gifts and goodies for players throughout the world. Players can celebrate with rides over the rooftops on Randolph the flying reindeer or decorate your home and guild with ominous looking snaggle-toothed snowmen.

Log on to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes next week to join in the celebration.

via Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

The guide to the Ancient Port Warehouse, Vanguard’s newest raiding zone is up on SOE’s Saga of Heroes web site. The guide is meant to prepare players for the new 18 man raid zone before it goes live.

The guide lists suggestions for preparation of your raid members and equipment. It also lays out some tips on how to handle Leadership roles.
Players might want to bookmark the site and check back frequently as Vanguard promises daily updates to the page.

via Vanguard: Saga of Heroes 

Thom Terrazas, producer of Sony Online Entertainment’s Vanguard: Saga of Heroes has posted a letter to Vanguard players covering some of the changes being introduced in phases 2 and 3 of Update 3.

Terrazas expounds upon the Vision of Vanguard and hints at changes being made to fundamental game mechanics. The team is striving to optimize game mechanics and stability of the system.

One of the many changes players will see are character model improvements such as the removal of unnecessary bones for faster rendering of characters and making the character models sexier in general.

Players can also look forward to changes to the travel system to make grouping easier, increased loot drop percentages and a tweak to expedite the experience gain cycle to increase fun factor. There are also planned additions to combat tactics such as a Stun ability and the death penalty will now only cost players degradation of their items and the trauma of traveling back to the scene of their death.

Read the full article

Are you looking for your weekly fix of MMO news? Would you prefer it with a dash of irreverence and plenty of humor?

If so, we’ve got you covered. G4 TV has a segment they’re putting out weekly titled, “The MMO Report.” It features news and rumors from a number of MMO’s, and presents it all in a format styled after Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report.”

Check it out, and stay tuned for more from our friends over at G4!

Vanguard Saga of Heroes takes a look at two of Telon’s Guild Hall. The Old Timers Guild of Xeth has constructed a Large Thestran Guild Hall. So new it’s unfurnished yet, the guild hall offers an impressive interior with breathtaking views. Divinus of the Xeth server has constructed a Large Qalian Guild Hall. Like something out of the Arabian Nights this guild hall rises from the sands near the coastline.

The Official forum invites players to post screenshots of their own creations on the community forum.

via Vanguard Saga of Heroes

Back in June we posted some screens for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, the MMORPG from Sony Online Entertainment. The developers have just issued some more new screens a second update to the game which includes the following fixes and additions:

Guild Halls
-Be the first to build a grand Guild Hall! Although Guild Hall Plots won’t be available until after server merges, quests to help you on you way are in game for those who can’t wait to get started!

Bind on Equip
- All equipable items that were bindable are now either bind on equip or bind on pickup, with the majority of the items being bind on equip.

Improvements Made to LFG!
- The Looking For Group tool is receiving a revamp, and now you’ll have the ability to display which quests you’re working on, as well as which dungeons you’d like to explore when looking for a group. There are many other options that allow the LFG tool to be tweaked to your liking!

MORE AFTER THE BREAK

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Back in June, Shawn posted a review of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Today, SOE released some more screens of the MMORPG. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, from the original producer and co-creator of EverQuest, designed this game based upon the many years of development expertise in this genre. Vanguard is a high fantasy themed MMORPG with a heavy focus on character advancement, an immersive world, and player interdependence. A vast, detailed universe of fiery swords and powerful sorcery, dragons and knights, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes involves a myriad of sentient races and creatures, many of whom players will be able to choose to play as their own. Players can follow different paths of advancement, including assuming the roles of adventurers, crafters and merchants. They can make their mark on a world while ultimately shaping and forming its future.

More Screens

MMORPG.com Community Manager Laura Genender takes an in depth look at the trials and triumphs of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Starting with Vanguard’s polarized community, Genender describes the game and the forums and fansites as having “the most heated faction warfare I have ever witnessed.” However she assures gamers that outside the forum and general chat the players are friendly and polite which she quickly qualifies with the (as long as your not on a PvP server) disclaimer.

That having been said, Genender goes on to say that the server population is steadily shrinking due to promises of items and classes not having been fufilled. She also sites performance problems particularly the dreaded black screen of death.
However all is not totally bleak. Genender says that the content that is already in use is well worth the trouble. She sites several classes specifically and says that all character classes “appeal for power and fun”. She also describes game play and her enjoyment of the game’s quests in particular.

Genender gives a solid recommendation to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes for the casual or solo player. However she also notes that the hardcore gamers and raiders are not likely to find Vanguard a satisfying experience.

In an announcement that shocked no one, we find out that SOE has acquired what they call ‘key assets’ of Sigil Games Online. In case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past year or so, Sigil is the developer of the recently released MMO, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Brad McQuaid, co-founder of Sigil, is now a consultant for SOE, with the title of Vanguard Creative Advisor.

Previously, SOE was co-publishing Vanguard with Sigil, but now SOE owns the title outright. Most of the Sigil staff has joined SOE and is being integrated into its studios. SOE President John Smedley said, “We look forward to continuing the vision for Vanguard and to continue to deliver some ground breaking game play.”

Personally, I think that delivering some unbroken gameplay would be a big step forward.

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Over at the Official Vanguard Forums, Brad McQuaid, AKA Aradune, has made a lengthy post discussing the present and future state of Vanguard, SOE, and Sigil Games. While it’s a long winded post, here’s a few highlights. “SOE is in discussions with Sigil regarding the future of Vanguard and Sigil Games in Carlsbad. Talks are going well and first and foremost, our primary concern right now is what’s best for Vanguard and its community. We want to ensure that this game and its community have a healthy future. The specifics that we work out over the coming days will all be with that single goal in mind. What does that mean? It means that right now Vanguard is doing decently but not as well as we hoped.” More important to players, McQuaid goes on to say, “So the bottom line is that SOE is going to be getting more involved with Sigil and Vanguard - our relationship is going to become even tighter - much tighter. At this point I can’t say much more than that.” While McQuaid doesn’t elaborate on how the relationship will be “tighter,” it sounds likely that SOE will be taking a much more active hand in the future development and promotion of Vanguard. Whether or not that turns out to be a good thing remains to be seen

Seems Blizz may be getting a little looses with the old Ban Hammer. There are always a few players complaining they were wrongly accused following one of Blizz’s sweeping account closures. Difference now is that a lot more of those players speak English. Perhaps it would be easier to spot true power levelers if it was harder to level in the first place? To those of you who feel wrongly displaced fear not. I hear Vanguard has room for new faces. There is also a rumor they are giving free hugs to new players! Hey SOE, where’s my check!?!

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes has been reviewed by just about every gaming site on the net…twice. Most sites say the same thing; VG is an impressive, but unfinished title, worthy of checking out “down the road”. Now Vanguard is celebrating it’s 1 month birthday and the Devs are rewarding players that have taken the good with the bad who are helping take the title down the road to greatness. From Saturday morning at 5:00 PST until Monday at the same time, all adventuring XP values will be doubled. I don’t know about you, but for me the game just got twice as fun.

Sigil’s new epic MMO Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is now live. In addition to the servers being up, the old website now redirects to a bright shiny new page with some sweet features. While dabbling in their beta, I didn’t have nicest things to say about V:SoH. Now that I’ve had a chance to play without all the debug overhead I would like to recant my statements. Turns out this is a pretty sweet little game. Bugs? Yes. But name me an MMO launch that didn’t have them. Ready to play? Hell yea.