Sigil Games' Vanguard: Saga of Heroes features the fantasy world of Telon, where there are three continents namely: Kojan, Qalia, and Thestra. And since we're featuring just one creature, we'll be checking out one of the creatures of the Kojan continent- the corrupted Ulvari.

The Ulvari came to Telon as they were pursuing the Raki, foxmen of Caal Briel. The Raki's world was destroyed by the Ulvari, who seeped magic away from the land and its people. Now that they've in Kojan, they're threatening to do the same thing. The Ulvari can be found throughout Kojan but is heavily concentrated on the Blighted Islands. They've started to invade Kojan by corrupting the high government official and have reportedly laid Tanku under siege. The only reason why the city hasn't fallen is because of the protection of a powerful artifact.

There are those who fight against them, the dream-warriors of the Aurora family and Lao'Jin. Among the Ulvari's followers are the worshipers of Ra'Jin and according to rumors, even the emperor himself. How will the heroes and villains of Kojan settle the fight? We'll find out in the long run.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes' Ulvari are both proficient in the use of magic and battle, with different Ulvari showing themselves across the mid-to-high levels. Take note of their armor, however, as those will also help you get the upper hand. The ones wearing the sakkat (coolie hat or conical bamboo hat) are magic wielders and the ones wearing heavy armor are surely melee. Check them out on Kojan, and do your part in stemming the Ulvari invasion.

  

Where do you go when you're tired from all the questing, pillaging and general adventuring? Find a nice warm patch of grass? Worry not valiant adventurers, we have a new video for Vaguard: Saga of Heroes featuring house construction.

In the universe of this Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and Sigil Games' MMORPG, players can specialize in three spheres of advancement: crafting, adventuring, and diplomacy. You've seen the boats and the flying mounts, now you can check out the houses in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Designer Kurt Wagner, in charge of player housing gives us a tour of the various housing available in the game. Land purchase, construction, the materials needed, plus the different houses in different locations (Qalia and Kojan) were shown.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is already available for download and in stores for US$ 49.99 (MSRP). We'll quit babbling so you can watch the video. Enjoy!

It was like something out of a Shakespeare story: The forbidden love between Adorin, the Dark Elf male, and Royle, female Gnome. Separated by years of hatred and strife between their races, these two had previously met on Qalia, and were certain they were made for each other....kind of like these two.

Except unlike the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (or Britney and Kevin), these two found a way to let their romance flourish into a tear-jerking "happily ever-after" clause, thanks to the help of a messaging system in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes called Guild Mail.

Earlier advertised as a means of collecting guild members, Guild Mail also allows players from across boundaries to communicate to their significant other via text-to-voice feature, and customizable portraits to help add that personal, sentimental touch that worked well for the love team featured here.

Another feature that players will find interesting is the Record a Message feature, which allows you to send voice recordings of yourself to that significant other waiting on the other side. Considering this game just popped up 3 days ago, this might be a good time to sign up for your own Guild Mail account via the read link below, and see what sort of surprising events kick in with this feature...like telemarketers...

Yesterday, we ran an article about Todd Masten, the associate producer of Sigil Games for their upcoming MMO title Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. We learned about his humble beginnings in the company as an audio man and how he worked his way to the top. This time, let's waste take a few moments to know a guy who's on his way to the top as well but isn't quite there yet.

James Rochelle is the Environment Artist for Vanguard, meaning he takes care of textures and shaders. Last month before Halloween, we shared with you a number of screenshots for the game. A lot of people were quite amazed because the images were vivid and alive. Those are actually Rochelle's craft.

"After hearing about the studio from my good friend Tad I decided to take a break from coloring comics freelance. After doing the infamous test, I was hired," shared Rochelle. He was actually referring to Tad Ehrlich, Sigil's senior artist who used to work for the great Jim Lee.

Rochelle shared that he encountered a couple of difficult things while working in Vanguard. "Both of the starting cities I’ve worked on were challenging, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything." He then somehow gave players a hint when he mentioned that his most favorite work in Vanguard lies in Qalia. The later is actually one of the four continents players can roam within the game.

When his work is finally done and the game is out by Q1 of 2007, Rochelle excitedly shares that he'll be playing as a Dread Knight. We don't know about the rest of you but we're choosing Blood Mages.

This week, you've gotten a little taste of what Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will be like with a close-up look at the character classes and unicorn mount video, but today you get the chance to look even more in-depth at the upcoming MMORPG being currently in development by Sony Online Entertainment and Sigil Games Online. Today you have the chance to sit through an in-depth video tour of Qalia, one of the three continents that will be featured in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.

This trailer is just over a minute long and features a wider look at the continent of Qalia than we have ever seen and a flying mount in the form of some kind of over-sized bird along with a standard horse mount for land-fearing. The size of the world in terms of scale easily equals that of that of the legendary World Of Warcraft, along with some amazing graphics and large structures that show off the designers' artistic flare. The range of colors used and the scope of different architectural methods draw you into the game for an immersive experience. Watch the trailer, set yourself free.

MMO fans might have to familiarize themselves with new names of creatures and places. The Beta Testers of Sigil's Vanguard: Saga of Heroes are generous enough to share with us this video taken live from Beta 3. And they don't just want us to watch. They want us to learn.

The video takes place in the Temple of Dailuk. This can be found in the continent of Qalia, in a low to mid-level massive dungeon. The Temple is inhabited by a cult known as The Covenant, together with the Temple Greeters and Xarkrafi. The well-armored creatures the Beta Testers are fighting in the video are The Steward of Xarkrafi and this is prior to the big encounter with Xarkrafi himself.

Sigil Games, developer of VSoH, also wants us to keep in mind that the video was recorded on medium settings at 1280x800, at a home system, an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (2.4 GHz) with 2 GB of RAM, and an EVGA NVIDIA 7800GTX w/256 MB. The rather unpolished animation with 7-10fps loss can be attributed to this.

Of course, the release version (probably coming out this winter) will not see such problems but instead boasts of graphics, sound, including character and story depth.

Download: [Vanguard Beta 3 Video]

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is set in Telon, a fantastic world where magic, intrigue and adventure are interwined with destiny. Once you enter Telon you must face the challenges of a rebuilding a civilization ripped apart by the merciless claws of war. A fragile alliance among the various races has been formed against invading forces.

Thestra, in the north is assaulted by an unstoppable undead menace. Down south, Qalia is relentlessy besieged by an elemental threat spawned from the sphincter of earth. And to the east, the jungles of Kojan rattle with the fierce battle between its inhabitants and the encroaching otherworldy fiends.

Wow! Is that a great set up for the game teaser or what?

One of the most eagerly-awaited new MMORPG's of 2006 is Sigil Game's Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Currently in beta testing and scheduled for release this fall. VSoH is a medieval/fantasy themed game set in the war torn world of Telon, where the various peoples (nineteen of 'em) struggle to rebuild a civilization. The green, hilly land of Thestra faces an invasion by hostile armies of the Living Dead, while the deserts of Qalia is besieged by elementals from the bowels of the planet; meanwhile, fiends from the Otherworld threaten the jungle peoples of Kojan.

In the face of these invasions, the races of Telon have entered into a fragile alliance. By the gods, this world needs HEROES, NOW!

Unfortunately, unless you're a beta tester, the Telonians will have to wait a few more months for you to come to their aid. In the meantime, whet your appetite on this sample of the latest screenshots. If these aren't enough for you, there's more at the VSoH Website.