Ancient Port Warehouse

The most south-western parts of Thestra hold mystery to life before the Cataclysm, before the life of a simple street merchant was turned upside down, before hoards of undead marched across Thestra like a plague of locusts

Nestled beneath the Port of Innovus , the Ancient Port Warehouse of Thestra is a marvel of engineering and ancient crystal technology. A brilliant gnome inventor, Professor Hopton, designed and built the Warehouse for the Cartheon Empire over a thousand years ago.  The warehouse was thought destroyed in the cataclysm, and its vast sum of treasures lost. With the arrival of the undead Cartheon legions on Thestran soil, the warehouse has been rediscovered.  The Cartheon senator, Demetrius, seeks a relic of unimaginable power he knows to be hidden within: The Argent Coil.   Should this powerful relic fall into Cartheon hands, it is only a matter of time before the kingdoms of Thestra are crushed.  Only a band of worthy heroes can hope to stop Demetrius before it is too late.  The Cartheons, however, are not the only dangers lurking within. If the heroes are to win the race for The Argent Coil then they will have to ally with the Children of Hopton and stand against Professor Vercel and Senator Demetrius.  Only then can they repair the warehouse's core processor and acquire Professor Hopton's lost treasure – the only known protection against the breath of the mighty dragon, Kotasoth.  Kotasoth, the present keeper of The Argent Coil, is a plague ridden and malevolent beast that has grown powerful through centuries of sleep, and feasting on those foolish enough to tread into the lowest depths of the warehouse.  It is only through Kotasoth's defeat that the The Argent Coil can be recovered and its threat to the free races of Telon eliminated. The warehouse itself is protected by an army of colossal metal guardians gone haywire.  Adventurers will also need to contend with the sinister Professor Vercel and his Metalheads, gnome warriors equipped with the latest crystal powered armor suits.  Fortunately, some respite can be found with the benevolent Children of Hopton, who stand opposed to Vercel and are engaged with him in a bloody civil war. - Taken from the Vanguard Sept. newsletter.

The Ancient Port Warehouse is the first 18 man raid dungeon in Vanguard and the main feature of Game Update 3. Like Mount Stiirhand, the Ancient Port Warehouse existed in-game at launch. Also similarly like Stiirhad, the content, however is something to be desired as the bosses are untuned and unitemized.

When the Ancient Port Warehouse was first announced, performance limitations prevented raid groups higher than 12 people. Since then, through engine optimizations, raid groups now have a maximum of 18 people. Unlike recent news to ah... simplify the game? raid testers say that the Ancient Port Warehouse is no walk in the park. Even the roaming mobs will dispose of any ill prepared raid groups. The Ancient Port Warehouse is located in South Western Thestra in the chunk of the same name and is due for release shortly after thanksgiving.

Exalted X-99 is one of the late Professor Hopton's masterpieces. Within the powerful armored body of this colossus resides the soul of Tarselis, the exalted paladin sworn to defend the gnomes of Innovus against any aggressors. But, nearly a thousand years time spent entombed within an iron body can take its toll on even the purest of souls, and Tarselis has slipped further and further from humanity. Only the commands of the core processor have any meaning for him any longer, and the core processor demands the destruction of any trespassers. X-99 is beyond reason or compassion; only death will end his servitude

I took a visit to the test server to check out the new Khal and also to check out the Ancient Port Warehouse. There are mobs guarding the entrances, so I was only able to snap shots of the outside. Needless to say, it is still very impressive. You can download the video here, or watch via Youtube here.

Khal Redesigned

What have the Vanguard artists been working on recently? no jokes about helmets or tails, they have been working on redesigning and optimzing Khal. I've never had many problems with performance and since I started playing Vanguard, I have had one CTD. However, upon entering Khal my FPS would drop dramatically and I would have to point the camera to the floor.
Not only does the new Khal look incredible, I can walk freely around with steady FPS and no hitching. The current Khal looks too clean to be a port city, and the lighting is terrible. The redesigned Khal has rich colours, fantastic lighting and the walls and floor have a weathered and beaten look of a Port. Take a look for yourself at these before and after shots.

Here are a few I took while on test: