This week's topic is: What are you looking for in a Fan Site?

Here are some basic questions to facilitate the discussion. They are here to help the discussion get started.

Why do you visit fan sites?
What information do you like to see on the site?
Do you often participate on the sites chat board?
Aside from Vanguard Vault, of course, what is your second favorite fan site?
What would you like to see added to Vanguard Vault?
What would you like to see greatly expanded on Vanguard Vault?

MMOsite.com: First, would you please tell us who you are and what you re working on for Vanguard now?

Darrin McPherson: My name is Darrin McPherson and work on classes, combat and adventuring systems.

MMOsite.com: How do you come up with so many abilities/spells? Have any other games or works influenced your work?

Darrin McPherson: Good question. We have a lot of influences. Games we have played, books we have read, movies we have seen. It is not any one source, but more a collection of them. It is not easy and we often feel pretty thinly stretched. It is not because we run out of ideas, it is much more that we run out of new things to do within our limits. A good example of what I am talking about can be had by comparing a video game to a pen and paper game. Pen and Paper designers are not constrained by things like Interface, Animations, NPC assets, Sound and Particle Effects. Our limitations are very real and it can be tough to do something new time and time again using the same building blocks. The challenge is fun though!

After much deliberation, the judges have chosen Daeron's submission to Vanguard Rangers of "Rift Walker" as the winning entrant.

Congratulations Daeron! Here is your Rift Walker.

This week's topic is: Sony vs Microsoft

Here are some basic questions to facilitate the discussion. They are here to help the discussion get started.

Which company do you think would have done a better job with Sigil?
Is there another company other than Sony or Microsoft that you think they should have gone with?
Why did you pick the company that you picked?
Do you think that Sigil should have tried to "go it alone"?
Has the choice of SoE impacted your desire to play Vanguard either way? If so, how?
Now that Sigil has gone with SoE, do you think you will do the "Station Pass" or just play Vanguard?

"Sea-Imp of Turquoise Death" from Ashjgasimox at Vanguard Die Gemeinde
"Nightshaw" from Rhilo at Vanguard Gamona
"Clawfang Reaper" from NestorII at Vanguard Vault
"Gothic Gargoyle" from Manow at Vanguard Jeuxonline
"Gargolich" from Cannon141613 at AusGuard
"Draakera" from Rhilo at WarCry
"Dread Wing Bone Gleaner" from Mobius at Vanguard Spheres
"Demogoyle" from Elvrit at Vanguard Hispano
"Odagomey" from Koel at Vanguard-esp
"Rift Walker" from Daeron at Vanguard Rangers
"Soa'Rach Horror" from Nevermuse at Vanguard Roleplayers
"Vhrilbog" from Eizen at Ten Ton Hammer
"Hephaestus Imp" from Obtuse at Silky Venom

I have found during my time as a critic that I like to use food for my analogies. I don�t know why, I�m certainly no culinary expert, but there it is. I compare apples to oranges in an overly verbose manner. Today�s writing is no exception; I cannot help but think of pizza and the various ways in which it may be assembled. You see, one chef may make the pie with more cheese and less meat, whereas another may reverse that order and make up for the difference with salted fish. When all is said and done, both cooks have made a greasy wheel of love, but it�s hardly the same. Sigil Games Online, in creating Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, haven�t done anything drastically different from other massively multiplayer online titles, but in this case it�s not particularly important. What matters is the manner in which this recipe has been prepared. As I have been lucky enough to see, this pizza looks to be palatable indeed

Vanguard Radio aims to provide the following to the community of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes:

News coverage of both ingame(when the game launches) and out of game news

Event coverage; Meaning player parties and whatever live events happen in the game

Podcasts

Up to date news on the web

Partnerships with other Vanguard: SOH fansites to provide the best services possible

To help the community through whatever means necessary