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In the competitive massively multiplayer space, there are only a handful of games that stand a serious chance of making it big, especially as the shadow of Blizzard's World of Warcraft phenomenon looms large. After a recent visit, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes looks to be one of them. Sigil Games Online is headed up by Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler, key figures behind the development of the ground-breaking EverQuest, and McQuaid considers Vanguard the spiritual successor to the vision he had in mind for EverQuest.
The game world was showcased during a demonstration, and it was quite impressive to see what Sigil has been able to do with their modified version of the Unreal 2.5 engine. The city of New Targanor was positively massive, and every nook and cranny of the castle and the outlying buildings in the courtyard are fully modeled from the inside out. The construction isn't limited to Sigil's behalf, however, as players will be able to build their own domiciles, shops, and taverns, complete with all of the visual features and floorplans utilized in the established cities, providing for an ever expanding world. Players will be able to stake out a plot of land as their own, shouldering the responsibility of paying upkeep and building their own base of operations. You won't be able to play the real estate market, though, as you're limited to a single chunk of land per character.
The game's weather effects were also put on prominent display, with category 5 snowstorms, torrents of rain, and their associated thick clusters of billowing cloud cover that would pass over the game world in real time. Vanguard's aural features came to light here. The sound of your footsteps will take on a muddy aspect during showers, and the orchestral soundtrack will actually change based not only on location and weather, but also takes into account other variables, such as time of day, and player health. There are over 24 hours of composed music in the game thus far, recorded along with the Seattle symphony and choir.
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