Vanguard: Screenshots, a Map, new Lore, and More!

Screenshots!

Screenshots are a challenge. What to show? What not to show? When to start showing them? We ended up deciding to post a sampling of different places in Thestra. Look for more screenshots in the future, though not too often at first, and not only on the official site, but on fan sites, large gaming sites, and in game magazines as well.

Also please keep in mind that, relatively speaking, Vanguard is still fairly early on - we've been working on the game only about 18 months or so. That means the tech has a long way to go too, so images should only improve going forward.

The First Map is here!

Introducing Thestra, one of Telon's several continents and home to Men, Elves, Dwarves, and other playable races (each of which will be introduced over time). As we officially unveil Vanguard's playable races, as well as certain other points of interest, we'll update our maps accordingly.

Thestra is the birthplace of adventurers who cling to dreams of cleansing their land of danger, wresting ancient treasure from the grip of fearsome enemies, and restoring legendary knowledge, power and pride. The occasional survivor of expeditions into the depths of Thestra return with stories of jagged mountains, sheer cliffs, dense forests, stagnant swamps teeming with untold perils, and even islands rumored to hold precious resources and hidden treasures.

New Lore

A Shipwright's Letter

To the August Minister Dardan,

Greetings to you, sir. I send this missive regarding the commission of your most recent order. Our company has recently encountered supply setbacks that make it impossible to meet our agreed completion date. In addition to requesting more time, we are writing to ask for a fee adjustment. While I do not wish to bore you with a list of technical shipwright details, I do want to explain these issues as clearly as possible in hopes that the Crown's understanding of them will hasten renegotiation of our agreement and resolution of the problems.

As you know, steamed timbers are needed in great supply when building ships. Unfortunately, the most recent delivery of wood to us was of such inferior quality that we refused it. We are currently short the three wagonloads of timber needed to complete the outer hulls of five ships. We are thankful that we have found a trusted vendor who can replace the unsatisfactory goods. Our hope is that we will receive the needed shipment in the next week. However, the new supplier's price is significantly higher. Thus we request an adjustment to our original agreement with the Crown. We are committed to both creating superior ships and to providing for those in our employ. If we were to absorb this increased cost, we would be forced to either cut corners in fulfilling the order or we would be required to ask several longstanding and competent employees to leave. Neither solution is acceptable to us. We humbly ask the Crown to hear our petition and increase our compensation to cover the new costs.

Finally, the canvas sail supplier recommended by the Crown is extremely late in fulfilling our order. Our last visit to their warehouse revealed a startling near-disaster. We were dismayed to find that the canvas for the mainsail had been cut too short to accommodate the length of the boom. The sail makers have since corrected the problem, but the completed order is slow in arriving.

We of Lokus and Marcotte Shipyards know how important the delivery of this fleet is to the Crown. With His Majesty's latest edict, many other interests have begun to build and outfit ships. We recognize the need for sturdy and impressive ships to carry His Majesty's soldiers. Our desire is to fulfill the confidence the Crown has placed in us.

In The Crown's service,

Shandler Lokus
Master ShipWright
Lokus & Marcotte Shipyards
New Targonor

Exciting Announcement!

This announcement came along with the screenshots...

Lastly, we are releasing these shots in celebration of reaching our most recent major milestone, in which we delivered a 'playable alpha' of sorts. Both Microsoft and Sigil employees can log in to Vanguard, create characters, level up, trade, buy, sell, fight monsters, craft, and hone their skills (and, really more - the list goes on and on).

So, in that sense, it's only fair that we share a little bit of the game with all of you - enjoy!