If you played Vanguard at launch you might remember the game in an unfinished state. That's no longer the case and Sony Online Entertainment wants to prove that to you. Check out the promotion that's going on for the next 60 days.

"Former Vanguard subscribers whose accounts have been inactive for 60 days or more are being  called back to Telon! Come back to Vanguard Saga of Heroes for free starting Sept. 18, 2008, through Oct. 18, 2008, through your reactivated account and uncover new game updates, enhanced character  models and an exciting new starting area, the Isle of Dawn.

Those heroes who return to Vanguard through this reactivation promotion, create a new character and journey through the Isle of Dawn while achieving level 10, and then continue into the lands of Telon by re-subscribing to Vanguard with a paid, active subscription in good standing will receive a special pair of Gnomish Rocket Boots. These boots will help you to progress through the land with great bursts of speed. The Gnomish Boots are yours once you progress off the Isle of Dawn and into the world beyond.

Vanguard Podcast #51 is now available.

Voyages of Vanguard Episode #51 is live! This week hosts Beau and Luper had a chance to chat about lore with Ichie, the most recent addition to the Vanguard development team!

Click here to listen to the most recent podcast! Be sure to check out the Voyages of Vanguard blog for great articles or to leave your feedback!

Download the podcast from Virgin Worlds !

Looks like the big Vanguard promotion has ended but the Vanguard team has some big plans for the future of the game. Check it out....

Yesterday we wrapped up our play for free promotion, and we're glad to see so many people sticking around! There couldn't be a better time to be a Vanguard player with all the great things planned before the end of summer!

Fan Faire is right around the corner, and for those of you who are attending as Vanguard players, you'll be treated to an exclusive in-game item! Drink if you dare, but be warned - we're not liable for its effects!

More...

Can't wait for the Isle of Dawn trial to be released this summer? Every week I run contests where I give away 10 Buddy Keys for Vanguard: Saga of Heroes! These are full passes, not trial accounts, that will allow you to explore the world of Telon for 10 days!

This week's contest involves your skills (or not so much!) in MS Paint!

For questions regarding starting out as a Pre-Newbie, please see my tips from the Zam-VG Wikibase!

Happy Contesting!

Did you happen to become a Vanguard subscriber at launch, only to leave the game? Have you been wondering what life's been like on Telon since launch? You might find that investigating your account page would be worthwhile, as chances are, your account could be flagged to currently play Vanguard: Saga of Heroes for free!

Starting yesterday, people who previously signed up for the email newsletter received a new email stating that canceled Vanguard accounts will be going through the process of becoming flagged free from now until July 31. While the Isle of Dawn trial is nearing its release, those who work on Vanguard cannot wait for anyone with an inactive account to see how many improvements have been made to the game.

New quests and content are currently in the game, along with many different mounts to obtain as well as constant updates in code to fix 'hitching' and other performance issues. This is not the Vanguard it was at launch. It's free, so try it out. You might be pleasantly suprised!

The official word can be found here and if you need to digitally reinstall the game, the installer can be downloaded from here.

I look forward to meeting you in Telon!

Recently, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes artist Chris Atkins was interviewd for the VGPlayers site. In the interview, images from the Isle of Dawn, Vanguard's trial in the making, are shown.  Also in the interview, Chris Atkins speaks a little about working on the trial:

I think players can expect to see an environment that is rich with content and visually "full". Something that I think Vanguard lacked was dense population of objects on the surface of the terrain. There are a ton of dungeons and vast underground areas, whereas here on the IoD there is very little barren space on the surface. The IOD was created by a smaller team with serious focus on performance so everyone had to wear more hats this go around. It was a great team effort where design and art worked closely to create interesting content and a visually cohesive island.

The full interview, along with 3 screen shots of different areas in the trial can be found here.

The trial is a very anticipated push from not only the Vanguard development team, but from anyone who's wanted to try Vanguard since release as well as those who left the game due to its original performance issues.

Myself and others have been giving away Buddy Keys on the Newbie Yard forum. If you can't wait until the Isle of Dawn releases, I recommend keeping an eye on that forum!

Want to try out Vanguard: Saga of Heroes before the new Vanguard trial, Isle of Dawn, is finished?

This week, I decided that the 10 Buddy Keys I am giving away will be done a la MadLibs. If you'd like to participate, follow this link! If I run out, try back next week : )

If you are new to Vanguard, I suggest reading the Pre-Newbie Tips guide I wrote for the Zam-VG Wikibase.

Come join your friends in Vanguard in celebration! The festivities are scheduled to begin tomorrow, and last over the next few weeks.

The Gnomes of Mekalia are out to prove that smaller is most certainly better! While here in the States we're getting ready to celebrate the Fourth of July, Telonains will have a chance to participate in the Mekalian Extravaganza of Science and Technology (known to most as MEST).

This celebration should be on the Live servers beginning next week, and promises to be entertaining for "soloers", groups, and even raiders, with various quest lines designed for each type of player. These tasks will let adventurers earn unique rewards designed to help everyone celebrate MEST! In addition, all quests offer Ancient Platinum Coins as well, which can be traded in to receive faction coins from any city!

Check out the full release here.