Funcom has produced the first Hyborian Insider, a video dev diary which looks at the game-play and features of Age of Conan.  In the first video, Erling Ellingsen shows us the game's combat system.

Join product manager Erling Ellingsen as he takes you into the world of Conan and shows you just how the combat system really works.

Today we're launching a new video series called The Hyborian Insider.

These videos are meant to show you the game and its features using actual gameplay footage. Thanks to the wonders of bluescreen technology, we even manage to put Funcom's Erling Ellingsen into it so he can explain what's going on.

Read more here.

it looks awesome very in depth

Just wacthed this on YouTube.  Great to see someone talking about their game in detail, showing what is actuallyhappening and how to use the game.  Certainly combat looks to be very intense and I loved his parting comment .. something like "Comabt is about going in hard into a group of enemies and doing as much damage as you can before you go down" - SUCH IS THE LIFE OF A BARBARIAN.

Roll on May and when we can finally play AoC.

Despite doing levels over skills, despite a pansy death penalty, despite combat required crafting, despite poor customization for clothing/armor, and despite class race-limits, AoC is doing everything else perfectly.

• Powerful Collision System-Yes!
• Evasion-Yes!
• Adjustable Defense System(Shields)-Yes!
• Active Blocking-Finally!
• All Human Races-Woot!
• No Race Factions-Race Factions are a Piss Poor Idea(WoW)!
• Somewhat Hardcore PvP Server-Duh!
• Seige Warfare and Player Cities-Instanced, Separated, and lacking Individual House, But Good!

Now it is up to the Devs to stick to their guns and ignore the idiots that want AoC to be like every other damn piece of crap MMO out there. Also I hope to god the game has the polish WoW does.

man, this game will take things to a whole other lvl....watch out non WoWs, u may be the next Daoc/shadowbane/ghosttown....

this is looking good... looking forward to seeing some magic classes to get a feel for how they differ...

I wonder, do you need to click the button for the combo? Or if you memorise the swings, does it work anyway?

  Combat looks like its going to be a learning experiance for once ,instead of something you have little control over,should be interesting .

Yeah this video really did make me like the combat system instantly.

I think the combat system is going to require a lot of twitch combat and just knowing the game to be good at. I really hope they do an open beta like wow did, if they do the game will be super populare and probably easily hit the #2 mmo in America via subs.

Yes the video does rock, in that it realy shows the combat system , the graphics look real and not cartoony 5/20/08 or a beta invite(yeah right) can not come soon enough

After 8 yrs of EQ1 & 2 yrs of dissapointment looking for soemthing new , i can honestly say ive never been so pumped up about a game & it takes alot for me i assure u after MMO let downs ive/we had.

Age of Conan won't be perfect in every regard at launch, nothing really is - but this is THE MMO I am looking forward too. No elves, No Dwarves, Mature setting, Real-time Combat, AudioVisuals from heaven, Sexy, Bloody and well.. it's Hyboria - formed in the late 1920s in the USA by R. Howard and polished ever since!

Combat, combat,combat ---yes!

What I like about AoC is that (1) Funcom is trying to reach the older players with this game (in different ways). They also have stated that (2) they intend to listen to the player base very carefully and (3) provide new content (I hope improvements to mechanics and added possibilities too) on a regular basis.

I think the combination of these 3 "facts" is quite promising.

I just hope, it being 18+ that they make an attempt to monitor that sort of thing.. As a 32 y/o gamer I am looking forward to an "older" crowd community. FINALY...

The variable defence does work well in testing but unfortunately is quite intrusive graphically.

Still after a year waiting for a decent mmo after retiring from eq2 and trying at least a dozen since then I am likewise chomping at the bit - especially as there seems to be soloing possibilities.

Regards

Chrimwinster