Maybe they would have stayed, but I doubt it. A lot of (but not all) ex-EQers are looking for something that rekindles the magic they felt playing EQ. It was for many people their first MMO. Another game that copies it has to also have something else to hold those people, and Vanguard didn't have it.  It's the same problem games that copy WoW have now: if you make something that's too much of a WoW clone in gameplay, people will get bored very quickly because there's really nothing to keep them from just playing WoW. I mean why play a clone when you already have friends, characters, and fond memories of the original?

But you're right, a bait and switch was a stupid idea. All their talk about what they were doing originally drove everybody other then the ex-EQ folks away. Not delivering on that just chased off the only audience they had left at that point.

I pre-ordered this game, tried a whole beta weekend and decided to cancel my preorder.

It's not that this game is bad. It's far from it. The graphics are beautiful and the interfaced is polished. It's just that this game is really, really bland. It fails to break from the trope of Kill X and fetch quests (WAR at least tried something new with PQs, LOTRO had great storylines attach to their quest lines). Flying actually REMOVES an element of tactics in PvP, which is the terrain. Boss fights are still pretty much tank and spank.

Not a bad game by any means, but I've felt I've played this all before, and I have. If you're looking for WoW in a different environment, this game will definitely sate you, though.