Speaking to F13.net, Brad McQuaid, Sigil CEO and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes executive producer talked about Microsoft and Sigil's relationship when it came to developing Vanguard in the early days. Regarding that he said:

They didn't have their MMO people anymore really, and they had a major priority of getting the Xbox 360 out which cost billions and billions of dollars. Our ability to petition this to higher-ups and get any attention just really wasn't there.

I don't want to appear to negative here... but this happens with large corporations. There are changes and changes in mandate and focus, and clearly the Xbox 360 is doing very, very well. It has great titles and Microsoft is sitting fine. It's not like they made a catastrophic corporate error. I very much respect Microsoft as a whole and there are a lot of great people there and I'm definitely not one of those "I love Linux and hate all things Windows guys." I understand that all these things happen. Unfortunately it happened to us.

However, in light of the studio's recent acquisition by Sony Online Entertainment and the fact that a number of employee's lost their positions during the transition, Brad McQuaid had this to say:

I'm really sorry it went down that way, I can promise you that I and everybody in upper management did everything they possibly could to avoid this happening. Sigil was everything to us. It was our dream.

As CEO, I take full responsibility and the buck stops here. I did everything I could and so did everybody else to make it work. But it didn't.

At least he's upfront about his apology. To read the complete interview, feel free to head to it via our "read" link below.

So it has been settled that MMO video game title Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Sigil Games are now wholly-owned by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE).

There have been reports that some employees were fired on the spot because their positions are quite redundant. The question now is what happens to those who were not fired? We know that former head Brad McQuaid was retained in an advisory role, how about the others?

Jeff Butler, on the other hand, is being transferred to SOE's San Diego office to lead a team of five developers and create a new prototype MMO. However, this project is not on a full scale basis and it's still uncertain if it will ever see the light of day.

Also, SOE Director of Corporate Communications and PR Courtney Simmons said that fans shouldn't be worried by the recent acquisition because SOE is going to take care of Vanguard. She explained,

People who purchased Vanguard knew what they were purchasing. There is no doubt that Vanguard is a hardcore game, for hardcore MMO fans and SOE is very much committed to that vision. They have no plans to dumb it down for a mass audience.

Well, this is actually the second time that it came to Sigil's rescue when it comes to Vanguard. Before all of these happened, Microsoft partnered itself with Sigil Games to published the product. However, that didn't push through and the reins were picked up by SOE May of last year.

That explains the "on-the-spot firings" reported earlier. Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has acquired Vanguard developer and co-publisher Sigil Games. There are going to be job losses in this kind of full acquisition: in an interview with Next-Generation, Sony PR confirms the job cuts and notes that they are in the "redundant" positions such as customer service and marketing, as well as a consequence of the post-release slowdown at the developer.

So, what will happen is that Sigil becomes one of SOE's studios, retaining its Carlsbad offices, and continue to be in charge of Vanguard. Brad McQuaid, Sigil CEO and the game's executive producer, will continue his duties to Vanguard as Creative Director and serve as a consultant with SOE.

A small group of Sigil employees will move to SOE-San Diego to work on "a prototype for a new MMO." And finally, the Sigil brand itself will be dissolved, with SOE having absorbed practically everything else.

Truth be told, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is an excellent MMORPG. However, it appears that its performance in the market is being affected by the rocky relationship between Sigil Games and Sony Online Entertainment (SOE).

At the beginning of this month, CEO Brad McQuaid admitted that they are talking to SOE to "ensure the future of the title and its community".

At that point, the official didn't mention how exactly SOE fits in the picture, and talks about employee re-shuffling immediately surfaced. Over at online site F13.Net, one of its staff posted that Sigil Games employees were told to meet outside and then they were all fired on the spot. The post continues:

By whom? Doesn't seem to have been Brad McQuaid, if it was, nobody is talking. But that doesn't seem like something he'd do. But I suppose the executioner is irrelevant since most folks secretly want it to be SOE and it wasn't. As it stands, people were told to come back tomorrow to do their paperwork and some may get hired by SOE.

F13.Net also mentioned that it tried to contact SOE about the matter. The only response it got is that an official announcement will be done tomorrow. Just so you know, aside from being the title's developer, Sigil also co-published Vanguard with SOE.

 

The CEO of Sigil Games, Brad McQuaid, has released a statement regarding the future of Vanguard. He is currently having a discussion with Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) regarding the future of Sigil Games and their MMORPG.

To be exact, he has given word that the talks with SOE are being done because "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."

These talks are being held because Vanguard, upon McQuaid's own admission, is not doing as well as planned. Now, certain questions were brought up such as: "Does this mean an acquisition?", "Does this mean more or less people at Sigil?", "Does this mean management changes at Sigil?". He simply answered all the questions with "I can’t say at this point."

What he can confirm though, is the fact that "regardless of the turn out, SOE knows that Sigil has the experience and vision necessary to run Vanguard and therefore a major change in that area is extremely unlikely and would be foolish on their part." Very strong words from McQuaid. Fans of the said MMORPG shouldn't feel threatened because the word on the street is, there's a chance that the game will be re-launched in the late 2007. You can read his exact announcement via our read link.

For Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, every pre-release event and every single early access giveaway end today. The anticipation for the game is over, the reviews and the talks are now mooted. Vanguard hits retail stores today, and players will now decide if it indeed matches up to the hype.

Sigil Games CEO Brad McQuaid is kind of up and about as he expressed his thoughts about the launch. He couldn't help but remember its beginnings as well as Vanguard's rather unique features.

From day one Vanguard was created with the vision of developing an MMO with an unparalleled feeling of immersion. To accomplish this, we included innovative features that break the shackles of the traditional MMO experience. Our diplomacy system, for example, is one of many original concepts we employed to invigorate the MMO game play experience.

For the meantime, that's all we have for Vanguard. As we've said, we have all done are jobs - discussing and reviewing this MMO from Sigil Games and SOE. We'll wait here, however, because we're pretty sure that we'll be hearing from the players pretty soon. Vanguard can be purchased for the SRP of GBP 29.99 (US$ 58.81).

Eurogamer has considered MMOs as a separate platform from the PC as it is a growing part of the gaming world with each passing year. As a result to WoW's success (read: cash cow), MMOs are popping up like mushrooms. Cynics either consider them as imported mind numbing grindfests from Asia or WoW rip-offs.

However, others beg to differ. The question is whether WoW can keep it's throne in 2007 with all the other MMOs wanting a piece of the pie. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (steroid shot men and giant swords), LotRO: Shadows of Angmar (based on J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece), and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (from the maker of EverQuest, Brad McQuaid) are mentioned in the list along with what else - World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

Tabula Rasa makes a surprising entry on the list, given its numerous delays and tight-lipped devs. Redesign has ultimately caused it's nth delay, and we're surely not complaining that they want to have the game released when it's really ready. Hopefully, this sci-fi MMO would be released by the end of this year.

Eurogamer concludes the list with Honourable Mentions - AION: Tower of Eternity (who wouldn't want to have usable wings?), Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising (to an age of togas and gladiators), Huxley (an MMOFPS), Pirates of the Burning Sea (Harr!), and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (from the pen and paper RPG).

If you've been left in the dark regarding the most recent goings-on in the Vanguard beta, you'll be glad to know that they've posted a Beta 5 FAQ over at the Vanguard: Saga of Heroes site.

Read up as Sigil Games' CEO Brad McQuaid, along with game designers Bill Fisher and Darrin McPherson, answers ALL your questions about the game's classes, races, and quests. The FAQ also tackles whatever server issues you may have, as well as the technical concerns some users have about the required specs and whatnots.

The most recent game updates are the following:

• The new PVP server is up
• Ruleset updates are as follows:
• Must be within 5 levels of your target
• Faction Based
• Factions are Martok and Qalia vs Thestra and Youngree factions

So if you wanna read up on all these and tons more game updates like the bugs the dev team is currently working on, head on to the SoH site which you can access by clicking on the "Read" link below.

There's nothing that shows off the developer's intent with a video game than a video of the gameplay, WITH the developer/s giving background commentary every minute or so. So, in watching this PR preview video for Sigil Games Online's Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, we have an even better idea of what the game is, and how it looks like and will play, than any interview or trailer, short of kidnapping the devs and torturing the info out of them.

And accompanying us on this preview are Sigil CEO Brad McQuaid and "partner in crime" Jeff Butler. Using the beta tests and other gameplay footage they have, they walk us through so much of the game.

• The 19 character race varieties to choose from, and the "unparalleled" character customization.
• The game's feature that allows you to own your own house, and to trade it in for bigger properties as you level up. MTV Cribs, anyone?
  
• The seas of a seamless world, complete with customizable water transport. Pimp my Galleon?
  
• A sneak peek at the external environments and the warrens of internal dungeon hallways and mazes, and the creatures and foes that reside within and without.

One feature that interests us greatly is what looks like a "safe save-point" where "you and your party can log off" and come back at a pre-agreed time to continue where you left off. The emphasis is to break up those notorious hours-long raids and grinds in that other MMORPG into what the devs like to call "short-time commitments". "Plenty of solo content" too, they say. This should help set the game apart from other RPGs, or at least attract the casual gaming audience.

All of these and more await you in just under 18 minutes of solid gameplay video and developer commentary, just by clicking the DL link below. File's about 110MB on the HDD, though. Sorry about that. The price of in-depth, it seems.

Download: [Vanguard video preview-walkthrough]

Sigil Games founder/CEO Brad McQuaid tells Ten Ton Hammer that with Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, he hopes he's creating his dream of "a never-ending MMO." No kidding. That's how long-term he's pacing this new MMORPG from Sigil and Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), currently in Stage 3 beta. "We have it all mapped out for the next 7 or so years."

The team at Sigil hopes to release new content monthly, he says, and to punch expansions out around once a year (that's A LOT of content over a seven-year period). For that, once Vanguard launches, Sigil will organize into two teams: the live team that handles the game in real-time, and the expansion team whose focus is on punching those monthly content updates and yearly expansions out.

As Vanguard slogs through beta testing, Brad promises that they will be duly rewarded for their efforts. "We’ll definitely give them something. It won’t be imbalancing; but it’ll be cool." After all, he appreciates the beta testers who've given their time and effort to locate the bugs in the game. The bugs, and the loopholes. "I need the exploits so we can find them...I need the jerks."

If there's ever a Stage 4 beta test, we know a few jerks we could volunteer for the job.

Speaking of jerks, the Ten Ton Hammer interviewer pointed out Brad's, well, habit of trying to extend the game's reach beyond the existing fan base, even going as far as to talk to the Vanguard-bashers at MMORPG.com:

I think it’s important. The grass roots marketing is important. And sometimes it might be controversial when I do that...but you have to get the word out on places like Fires of Heaven where they might have questions or misconceptions about the game.