Thom-Terrazas
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Massively interview: Part 2 of Thom Terrazas in his new role as EverQuest's producer
TT: The number one thing is really to make sure that the current playerbase is enjoying the game, and give them what they want to see next. "You can expect to see something in the near future, without letting too many cats out of the bag, which I probably just did anyway." TT: <laughs> There's probably too many to list.
Thom Terrazas takes over EverQuest producer role
For the last few years Thom Terrazas has been the producer for Vanguard -- we interviewed him in that role only a couple of months ago. Now, with EverQuest's former producer Clint Worley moving on, Terrazas has stepped up and taken the reigns. Although some might already be familiar with him, he has introduced himself properly over at the EQ Dev Blog, where he explained that this won't be his first involvement with the venerable EverQuest. He was one of the first GMs on the Tunare server way back in the day, so he certainly has some old-school credibility.Most people would agree that Terrazas has done a fantastic job at improving Vanguard, and he will probably continue to perform well in his new position. This does leave one big question though: who is taking over as producer of Vanguard? We haven't heard any news from the Vanguard team about their producer departing. Is it possible that Terrazas is doing some uber multi-tasking?
Vanguard's past, present, and future with producer Thom Terrazas
It's been two years since the world of Telon opened its doors to a rocky launch and unstable future. The team of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes had much to overcome after launch with a whole plague of technical hurdles, incomplete content, and a dwindling player base.Yet, two years later, Vanguard managed to stay on its feet thanks to an aggressive development team and a steady schedule of tackling performance issues and bugs until they could open the doors for new content -- one of the few games to make it through with such a rough launch and begin to see a new growth years after opening.Massively was able to sit down with Vanguard producer Thom Terrazas and talk to him about where Vanguard's been, where it is now, and what the future looks like for the expanding fantasy title.
Vanguard's past, present, and future with producer Thom Terrazas pt. 2
You mentioned Pantheon of the Ancients, and that's another one of my questions. What will Pantheon of the Ancients be bringing to the game? What can the players expect from the new dungeon and raid? "Pantheon will not look the same as the rest of the game. We have all new textures and brand new monsters, really cool ones that were created just for this zone." Thom: Our first launch for Pantheon is going to be including new 6 man raid content. There will be a little more content past that, but you're looking at mostly a 6 man group. Pantheon will not look the same as the rest of the game. We have all new textures and brand new monsters, really cool ones that were created just for this zone. It's pretty exciting. I've got a walkthrough this week from the designers, and it is really looking awesome. Along the lines of that, in our attempts to get content out, we're incorporating new quest lines, new loot, new rare drops. We're incorporating the three spheres of diplomacy, crafting, and adventuring into this release. There's alot of work that's been done, and the unfortunate and fortunate part of this is that this is just the first part of Pantheon. The higher end raiding portion of Pantheon will be coming out as we're working on the customer request list, but we will be doing all of that work simultaneously. That's just a process of balancing, mostly. Different areas to play in and not to have raids and groups playing on top of one another. It's just quite a bit of work to juggle. This is a simple question, but there seems to be something more to it. I noticed that you were increasing the level cap from 50 to 55, which is something usually reserved for an expansion. I'm interested in your thought process behind raising the level cap. Thom: Well, we have quite a few players, a large percentage, that is already at the cap of level 50. This is the kind of value that we keep adding to Vanguard. Something that you've already paid for, we just keep adding more and more value for your money. You don't need to go out and spend 20, 30, or 40 on a new expansion. We've chosen to do content and level expansions, giving you new race/class combinations, all with existing content and your existing purchase of Vanguard. We felt that this is something that the players would appreciate more rather than going out and purchasing a new box. Speaking of leveling, there's a little note here on your Producer's Letter about alternate advancement. Can you shed some more light on that? Thom: We're building a way for you to advance your character, well, I guess, alternatively. *laughs* Thom: But the idea is you can build your character out so it's a bit more specialized in things like damage, or mitigation, or spell damage. So you can specialize any way you want. We're working on that now, and it's something we're looking to launch in the raiding portion of Pantheon. So if you really love your character and want to specialize in something more, be a little different then the rest of your class, then AAs will be coming with the second part of Pantheon so you can customize your character further in the higher level. So, then, let's pretend for a moment that I've heard about Vanguard, but I don't own it and this Collector's Edition box isn't sitting next to my desk. In fact, let me hide this box for a moment. Thom: *laughs* So I've only heard about Vanguard. I heard about the rocky launch, it's been two years into the game and many people are at level 50. Why should a new player pick up Vanguard today? "So I'd say come on back and we'd love to have you. I'd like to prove that we've been able to take a rocky launch and make it into a better game." Thom: I think that if you're interested in playing a game that is a little bit different than the hack and slash games, Vanguard gives one of the best vistas and looks of any game I've played or been associated with. It is incredible to just hop on a flying mount and just see the vast areas that have been created for Vanguard and explore this artwork that is inspired by Keith Parkinson and continues on with our current art team. This is something you don't see in every game. I'm not saying we're doing something that nobody else has done. But I'm saying the views, the artwork, the level in detail in Vanguard can measure up to some of the highest games you can think of. If you're looking for visual, but also exciting playstyles, you have three spheres of progression you can choose to be an expert in. So, I guess the experience in Vanguard is just limitless. Well thank you for your time today, Thom. This has been very insightful. Any last words you have for everyone? Anything we should know about? Thom: Thank you! Let's see! Well, check out my producer's letter on the forums and you can see what the team has put together. The game is certainly getting out to new audiences. If you've tried us in the past or haven't tried us, then come on back, we have free trials on the website. You can also find it now on Steam as well as FilePlanet, so this is a great time for Vanguard and our team right now. So I'd say come on back and we'd love to have you. I'd like to prove that we've been able to take a rocky launch and make it into a better game.
Vanguard producer discusses the state of the game
In an interview with Allakhazam, Vanguard producer Thom Terrazas talked about how his game is going right now, how it is currently being improved, and improvements that can be expected for the future. Allakhazam wasn't afraid to ask the tough questions, bringing up the game's less-than-stellar launch, and asking Terrazas to pinpoint the areas that have held back Vanguard until now.Terrazas admits that the performance and system requirements of the game during the launch period lost them a lot of players, but promises that these issues are well behind them now, with a lot of optimization to the client. His advice is to get in the game and join a guild, and promises that his team listen do the community and make updates accordingly. But with the next generation of MMOs already upon us, is it too late for Vanguard to recover?
Vanguard Producer's letter to the community details what's in store for Vanguard
It's been about a month since the Vanguard development crew made the big move from Carlsbad, and they must be settling into their new lofty digs at SOE HQ in San Diego, California, as work on Phase II and III continues as scheduled. Other than that, what's Vanguard's plan? Well, cleaning up one of the worst MMOG launches in the history of the genre isn't an easy feat, and SOE has delegated Thom Terrazas to command Vanguard's development team to some sort of victory. In Vanguard's defense the game has drastically improved since launch but much more still needs to be done. Terrazas has already shown frequent communication with the playerbase on the official Vanguard forums since taking the assignment. In his recent letter to the community Terrazas details Vanguard's long term development focus and proposes a few controversial changes that some consider "WoW-ifying" the game. The two biggest changes causing a forum uproar are: implementing a faster leveling curve and removing the experience loss component from the death penalty. (More after the jump.)
