EVE Vanguard is set within the New Eden universe. With the latest changes in the Public Playtest of November 2024 many new deployments have been made. The update is strikingly different from the Solstice update mid 2024 so let's go over some of these changes.
The first change is the immediate UI color difference from a "blue, grey, and black" to the strictly "black and red" theme. This theme is a give or take with many players. Some players stating they enjoy the deeper piracy feel of Vanguard, while the other take is, it locks in the feeling that Vanguard only a choice between the good or bad player agency.
In my personal opinion, I hope Vanguard migrates away from the dark and gloomy red on black, back the EVE-like blue, so the sense of space and vastness returns.
Another big change is the new game mode! With this deployment you can now enter insurgency 9v9 maps similar to what it's predecessor Dust 514 had for larger player vs player matches. Watching the discord feedback and comments pile in, I can say there is a large positive sediment in the new direction. Insurgency directly ties into EVE online, as logging into EVE online and playing faction warfare will show you the influence Vanguardians have in New Eden.
While playing insurgency you can expect enemies dipping into the Null Cannons sites to capture them. These "Null Cannons" allow either team to destroy the MCC of the opposing faction resulting in victory. As this game mode is still in its pre-alpha state, there is lot to not find. Many players have complained about the lack of persistent mini-maps like in Dust 514 or Project Legion for this game mode and the lack of empire based weapons.
The personal opinion I have is I see what insurgency may become in the future, a wonderful and exciting game mode for quick action. Yet my first note is the lack of feeling that the MMCs are not just floating pretty objects, drag-and-drop style. The Caldari and Gallente MCCS are underwhelmingly ported/implemented from Dust 514 and Dust 514 made huge progress in making these things feel real. With Unreal Engine 5 being used for the base of Vanguard I expect to really feel their weight and presence on the battlefield. So effects on gameplay and addional functionality like deploying directly from the ships is what I would like to see.
I'm hopeful to see the return of assets and content from Dust 514 like the treat we have already received like the current dropsuit. CCP developers have also hinted at the return of the Nova Knife and suit fittings!
There are so many other topics to discuss with the new update, so in summery, the game functionally is progressing in a great direction. The focus on graphics and design is a bit too much for a lot of players and may need to be dialed down to focus on functionality. Even on low graphics the game plays with high framerates and looks great.
In the current alpha state you can see the game will encompass and surpass it's previous titles! I can see Vanguard years down the road being as simple and complex as EVE online itself while including Dust's Legacy and so many other features and content not yet imagined. Not everyone may agree with these statements but to see for yourself, hope on, deploy, and choose your own take Vanguards! Destiny Awaits!
