vanguard posts

One of the major forces behind the launch of the MMO EverQuest has announced he is returning to making games. Brad McQuaid has announced on his personal blog site that he is now a co-founder of a new but unnamed game developer in San Diego. McQuaid says that the company will be working on casual and social games but, "At some point we will also return to developing MMOs." The company is now hiring as well.

McQuaid was the co-designer and producer for the original EverQuest. After its launch he left Everquest's developer in 2002 to become a co-founder in Sigil Games. At his new company he helped to create another fantasy MMO, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. The game launched in early 2007 but the launch had significant issues. Just a few months after the game's launch Vanguard and Sigil Games were bought by McQuaid's former employer Sony Online. McQuaid decided at that point to leave game development entirely until now. His web site states he took time off for "hobbies and to spend time with friends and family."

[Via Massively]

As one of six playable classes found in Mass Effect 2, the Vanguard specializes in close range combat. Using biotic powers, Vanguards can use a signature charge move and pass through solid objects to get up close and personal with enemies. Mass Effect 2 releases on January 26th.

Download HD Mass Effect 2 'Vanguard' Class Video (90 MB)
Check out all Mass Effect 2 downloads

It's not exactly a shock that some MMO games will be holding special Halloween themed events this month but Sony Online Entertainment decided to go all out and have almost all of their MMO titles have some kind of Halloween related event (Planetside seems to be the only game in Sony Online's line up to not be participating).

A couple of examples; Star Wars Galaxies will be holding something called the Galactic Moon Festival from now until Nov. 7 that will have "Sith-o-lanterns" (hehe) among the spooky stuff around the Galactic Empire. The Matrix Online will have events that will allow players to fight off zombies and risk getting infected. The collectible card game Legends of Norrath will also have a special Halloween senario this month. So if you are too old for trick-or-treating, at least you can stay at home and trick a lot of other folks online.

Ready to geek out with fellow EverQuest II, Vanguard, and Star Wars: Galaxies players? Sony has announced that registration for their sixth annual Sony Online Entertainment Fan Faire has begun.

The SOE Fan Faire will run from August 14 through August 17 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Tickets are $89 per person and come with a number of perks. Besides the chance to meet fellow SOE gamers, all ticket buyers receive the chance to participate in a number of betas, including Free Realms and the next EverQuest II expansion. Fun festivities such as a costume party, Grand Banquet, sneak previews of upcoming games, and a kickoff reception await attendees.

For Guilds of ten or more members, make sure to pre-register the All-Access pass online: Sony will grant a 50 percent price reduction for doing so.

The fifth update for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is now available, which adds new features, class updates, and performance fixes to the game.

Chief among the new additions are racial mounts. According to the Vanguard website, the mounts "can be attained at levels 30 and 50 after you have gained the required faction and number of platinum coins." In terms of class updates, the Vanguard website states that "Blood Mages and Psionicists have received a lot of developer attention," with many broken abilities now functioning properly.

Consult the updates section of the Vanguard site for specific Game Update 5 info, and log on to Vanguard to apply the new patch.