I have finished my first semester in the Red Hat Academy for Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It was the most demanding class I've taken in my degree program thus far. I was a Linux newb before entering the fray and while I still feel like a newb; I have learned some valuable essentials about Linux. I came out with a 100.28% average for the semester. I am extremely proud of myself, and it makes all the extra hours of work well worth it.
No rest for the weary. I have signed up for the summer semester and the next Linux course: Linux System Administration.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Brad "Spin" McQuaid
As mentioned, Brad McQuaid has posted an in-depth update regarding the state of Sigil and Vanguard. I don't recommend suffering through the exhaustively long read; unless you actually plan to play Vanguard in the future, which I don't believe anyone actually plans to do.
Brad spends several long paragraphs explaining what everyone already knew. Sigil missed the boat; by a long shot. Their graphics engine was far too intensive. Their marketing was nothing more than Brad's vision and a constant argument that Vanguard was not another Everquest. Unfortunately, Vanguard's core community was full of Everquest purists and its gameplay was nothing more than Everquest whack-a-mole.
Brad is in complete spin mode now. He is obviously taking lessons from SOE! As of late, some people have been applauding Brad for his honesty. I wonder what these people think now? Brad can't simply say; "We've failed and there is no way out financially other than dumping Vanguard." He has to sit around and blame development issues and the 600 lb gorilla in the room. Brad's honesty was nothing more than regurgitated drivel of facts we already knew. Facts that most developers figured out years ago.
If Brad was truly an honest developer, and not another spin doctor, the following would have been answered:
The truth will hurt those that believe honesty actually exists in the world of business.
Brad spends several long paragraphs explaining what everyone already knew. Sigil missed the boat; by a long shot. Their graphics engine was far too intensive. Their marketing was nothing more than Brad's vision and a constant argument that Vanguard was not another Everquest. Unfortunately, Vanguard's core community was full of Everquest purists and its gameplay was nothing more than Everquest whack-a-mole.
Brad is in complete spin mode now. He is obviously taking lessons from SOE! As of late, some people have been applauding Brad for his honesty. I wonder what these people think now? Brad can't simply say; "We've failed and there is no way out financially other than dumping Vanguard." He has to sit around and blame development issues and the 600 lb gorilla in the room. Brad's honesty was nothing more than regurgitated drivel of facts we already knew. Facts that most developers figured out years ago.
If Brad was truly an honest developer, and not another spin doctor, the following would have been answered:
Does this mean an acquisition? I can't say at this point.So, I ask all you fuzzy lumpkins, who actually believed Brad's "honesty", to spin this one for him. Why can't he just come out and tell us what the future holds for Sigil and Vanguard? If Brad can be so candid about Vanguard's failings; then why can't he simply let everyone know what the future holds?
Does this mean more or less people at Sigil? I can't say at this point.
Does this mean management changes at Sigil? I can't say at this point.
The truth will hurt those that believe honesty actually exists in the world of business.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
So It Begins, SOE Taking Over Vanguard
Brad McQuaid has all but confirmed the transfer of Vanguard into SOE's hands.
Update: 30 Apr 2007 - Link updated. Brad has posted a more in-depth post with more details.
It's all ultimately good news, but complicated enough to justify one of my verbose postings I should have my first Sigil/Vanguard update up tomorrow and then look for regular updates as to the future of the game here and on the affiliate sites (probably weekly or so, depending on what's going on). I will post here first and then immediately copy the post to a set of the Vanguard affiliate sites.
Thanks,
-Brad
Update: 30 Apr 2007 - Link updated. Brad has posted a more in-depth post with more details.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The Death of "The Vision"
I helped propagate the rumor that SOE was poised to purchase Vanguard from Sigil that was started at EQ2Flames.com. Some people doubt the rumor, and some people agree with me that it is a very likely outcome. If I was a betting man, I would be putting money down on this one. There is no way in financial heaven that Sigil can foot the bill any longer, even with SOE's help. Vanguard is just not pulling down the subscribers that Sigil needs to survive financially. Vanguard was not a cheap title to produce, unlike some other second-rate MMORPGs that have managed to survive with few to no subscribers.
Over at Cuppytalk, the question is being asked: SOE TO BUY VANGUARD? BIG WHOOP. Actually it is a very BIG WHOOP; one that seems to be ignored by a lot of casual observers of the situation.
On an immediate level, SOE purchasing Vanguard most likely means that two things will happen to Sigil. First off, Sigil will most likely dramatically downsize their company. Secondly, a small segment of lead developers will most likely be picked up by SOE to transition Vanguard over to SOE. I suspect the MMORPG industry will be having a sudden surge of resumes floating around sometime soon, and it will signal the start of the truth behind this rumor.
What this means for Sigil's head man, Brad McQuaid, is yet to be determined. Most likely, this signals the end of "The Vision". I seriously doubt SOE would hire McQuaid back with his now proven record of "not getting it". Even if SOE hires McQuaid to stick with Vanguard; it is very unlikely that his "vision" for the game would be followed. Vanguard needs to change and if SOE is going to throw down the money, they are going to do things their way.
As "The Vision" dies in the mess that is Vanguard, I sincerely hope that it signals the death of the old way of doing business in the MMORPG market. We really needed a big, AAA title to fail miserably trying to follow the old "release now, fix later" mentality. World of Warcraft slammed open the door on this market, but the old standbys just didn't believe that anything had changed. People like McQuaid believed, and probably still do believe, that there are just more MMORPG gamers in the market looking for "The Vision". World of Warcraft proved there was a massive market for MMOGs. Vanguard proved that the expanded player base was not a fickle coagulated blob looking for the next great game. Vanguard has shown that the days of Everquest are gone; forever.
I hope that people realize how big a of a deal this really is. Games require money, and having a multi-million dollar title fail miserably is not encouraging in the least for any perspective venture capitalists out there. Less investment, means fewer games and less innovation (aka risk). At the same time, this grand failure, cements the start of a new line of thinking that all MMOGs of the future will benefit from. There is a template to be followed for success, but it is still up to the developers to deliver on the product. BIG WHOOP that SOE is buying Vanguard. BIG WHOOP that Sigil is most likely done. BIG WHOOP that the business of MMORPGs is changed forever.
Over at Cuppytalk, the question is being asked: SOE TO BUY VANGUARD? BIG WHOOP. Actually it is a very BIG WHOOP; one that seems to be ignored by a lot of casual observers of the situation.
On an immediate level, SOE purchasing Vanguard most likely means that two things will happen to Sigil. First off, Sigil will most likely dramatically downsize their company. Secondly, a small segment of lead developers will most likely be picked up by SOE to transition Vanguard over to SOE. I suspect the MMORPG industry will be having a sudden surge of resumes floating around sometime soon, and it will signal the start of the truth behind this rumor.
What this means for Sigil's head man, Brad McQuaid, is yet to be determined. Most likely, this signals the end of "The Vision". I seriously doubt SOE would hire McQuaid back with his now proven record of "not getting it". Even if SOE hires McQuaid to stick with Vanguard; it is very unlikely that his "vision" for the game would be followed. Vanguard needs to change and if SOE is going to throw down the money, they are going to do things their way.
As "The Vision" dies in the mess that is Vanguard, I sincerely hope that it signals the death of the old way of doing business in the MMORPG market. We really needed a big, AAA title to fail miserably trying to follow the old "release now, fix later" mentality. World of Warcraft slammed open the door on this market, but the old standbys just didn't believe that anything had changed. People like McQuaid believed, and probably still do believe, that there are just more MMORPG gamers in the market looking for "The Vision". World of Warcraft proved there was a massive market for MMOGs. Vanguard proved that the expanded player base was not a fickle coagulated blob looking for the next great game. Vanguard has shown that the days of Everquest are gone; forever.
I hope that people realize how big a of a deal this really is. Games require money, and having a multi-million dollar title fail miserably is not encouraging in the least for any perspective venture capitalists out there. Less investment, means fewer games and less innovation (aka risk). At the same time, this grand failure, cements the start of a new line of thinking that all MMOGs of the future will benefit from. There is a template to be followed for success, but it is still up to the developers to deliver on the product. BIG WHOOP that SOE is buying Vanguard. BIG WHOOP that Sigil is most likely done. BIG WHOOP that the business of MMORPGs is changed forever.
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