Just to state something up front.  I pre-ordered AoC about a week ago and the game has been on my radar for several months now.  Have to say WAR is my first choice but with the latest push back AoC went to the front of the queue.

I am a regular player of MMO's and recently I have spoken to a fair few AoC beta testers who are being less than complimentary of the game.  I log on here and I see a lot of the same issues being raised, which are:

* community is mostly 14 year olds getting off on the gore and nudity

* combat is average

* way too buggy and not ready to launch

I take a lot of this with a pinch of salt because 3 MMO's I play now and really enjoy were slammed at this stage also.  However I have yet to speak to one person who really swears by this game...not a good sign imo.

I did worry about a game that was pushing for 'unbelievable' graghics and tailored combat.  I don't think the average PC or ISP can handle it tbh.  Vanguard looked great on my pc but bombed out because 6/10 gamers couldn't play the damn thing.  I wonder if AoC needs another 6 months and maybe wise to push back just like War...

Be glad to hear from anyone why this game is so great and how they had some good experiences with the community because I am losing faith fast!

I havent been following Conan too close but I have now tried the open beta.

Unfortunately my only positive experience is the graphics. Other than that I really dont see why this game is so over hyped which is the only reason I tried the open beta.

1. The gore and blood and all the adult thing is just too much and nothing realistic. I think they should have toned it down. Now it only looks silly.

2. The combat system didnt feel that revolutionary too me. But this is probably because of wrong expectations from my side. I thought the combat would feel more "FPS" style, but having some directions in the game where you choose one doesnt seem so "free movement" to me at least.

3. The game is not ready for release. I felt playing closed beta. Too many bugs that I got tired fast.

Although I can see how a "good" conan would pay like:

1. Fast paced combat, now it feels clunky.

2. Tone down the blood. It's not realistic, it's silly.

3. Fix a lot of clipping and graphic bugs.

But like I said, Im hardly an expert on Conan and have more or less only followed the game last couple of months because of hype and only played the open beta.

But for someone that hasnt played the game in closed beta and just picked it up, the "pick up and play factor" is just lousy, You really need to be a fan of this game to play it or have the patience to learn it, neither which I have.

Well, I can tell you this.  I haven't followed the game at all, I simply read a preview along time ago and decided to sign up for the beta and didn't look at the game again untill I got the email saying I was in. 

90% of the "beta reviews" I have seen on this site and many others are posted by frustrated people who don't go to forums to find fixes to issues they are having.  The client that I played before the one now was HORRIBLE I couldn't even make a damn character it was that bad.  Now (with fixes for the hitching found on forums) I am able to play on my medicore system on med-high settings and run at 30-45 FPS.  But yes before I actually SEARCHED for answers to my problems AoC really frustrated me on preformence and I wanted to post a troll post myself but decided not to and I'm glad I didn't because I'm really enjoying the game now.

Honestly, I can just hope that if there is this "magical build" it is as big of an improvement jump as the last build to the current one was for me and AoC will be a A+ game.  If not I can tell you right now AoC will "survive" but it won't be as great as it could be if the release build is as unstable as it is now.

So really what I'm saying is the game has issues anyone who tells you otherwise is full of it, but they are issues that can and probably will be fixed within 3-4 months of release I will personally probably wait about 2-3 weeks for the initial patches and read some hopfully unbias reviews before I buy the retail copy on if they are fixing what needs to be fixed.  Hope this helps.

Originally posted by chryses

Be glad to hear from anyone why this game is so great and how they had some good experiences with the community because I am losing faith fast!

However, you can only find out by yourself if the gameplay is fun for you.
 

That's helped a lot thanks!  I always have a rule (which I break way too often!) about joining a game at launch.  Basically don't.  3 months is when I decide to play a game because as you say by that time they have brought out 2 gig of patches and a lot of the annoying stuff is gone.  Plus if you are into project management as a profession like me you can always see the life cycle. 

Launch - Excitement, enthusiasm and 1000's of players screaming how great it is...

mid term - trolls come out and the haters leave on mass...

end term - (3 months) the game has a core fan base and people start to realise that its not so bad and their expectations come into line with what is actually realistic.

Pretty much is make or break between 3-6 months.  Vanguard improved massively but lost way too many people early on and focused way too much on the world, graghics and not enough storyline imo.  Just thinking AoC may be the same...

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Originally posted by eugam

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Originally posted by chryses

Be glad to hear from anyone why this game is so great and how they had some good experiences with the community because I am losing faith fast!

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We are 2 weeks from release. This is peak of the mudfight ;) It wont get better till 1st subscription is due to pay 30 days after release. Trust me, there are nerds out there who bash a game just because they have the most expensive hardware and the game doesnt run at 100 fps on max. settings.
However, you can only find out by yourself if the gameplay is fun for you.

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Indeed. Make up your own mind about things. Don't wait for people to tell you if it's good or not good. Other peoples POV counts for crap. Only one that does is your own.

Originally posted by chryses

That's helped a lot thanks!  I always have a rule (which I break way too often!) about joining a game at launch.  Basically don't.  3 months is when I decide to play a game because as you say by that time they have brought out 2 gig of patches and a lot of the annoying stuff is gone.  Plus if you are into project management as a profession like me you can always see the life cycle. 

Launch - Excitement, enthusiasm and 1000's of players screaming how great it is...

mid term - trolls come out and the haters leave on mass...

end term - (3 months) the game has a core fan base and people start to realise that its not so bad and their expectations come into line with what is actually realistic.

Pretty much is make or break between 3-6 months.  Vanguard improved massively but lost way too many people early on and focused way too much on the world, graghics and not enough storyline imo.  Just thinking AoC may be the same...

 

Sigil or more McQuaid did too many things wrong and spread too many lies for VG to be forgiven of its faults. Too many bitter gamers for it to make a comeback based on it's own merits now, with too nasty a reputation despite the changes.

Even as a fanbois myself I accept this game will suck in areas and will run like crap at launch, but I don't think Funcom has dug a grave for itself anywhere close to Sigil, Farlan or SOE. Remember on launch day SWG was a steaming pile of bugs lag and unfinished content and survived until SOE commited hari kiri. I'm willing to bet $80 that Funcom can turn alot of bad points into positives in 3 months, and if not I'll just have to wait for WAR or Stargate Online.

As for nudity and gore, I'm 33 this month and can't wait to get into some drunken, violent, sex in AoC. I say wait for launch and scrounge a buddy key in these forums if you don't want to risk the cash. Also it'll help you get a buddy key by not calling fanbois like me immature 14 year olds, even though I probably am ;)

10$ on release being postponed.

If they don't then 20$ on game failing after 3 months due to not being playable.

Tip: 30 minutes loading times make me never subsribe to it.

I am not very happy with what i seen in AOC open beta.

But I wouldnt regret buying the game (if my rig can run it , that is)

It is far far far away from being what it was promised. But it is nice game. Not for MMO , but rather as single player RPG

Originally posted by Lobotomist

I am not very happy with what i seen in AOC open beta.

But I wouldnt regret buying the game (if my rig can run it , that is)

It is far far far away from being what it was promised. But it is nice game. Not for MMO , but rather as single player RPG

 

So true, what was promised was so different.  Imo game fails on everything they have now put inot the game, next gen my arse.  Like you said good for a single player game most likely, if you like LOADING SCREENS everywhere.

Originally posted by Demz2

 

Originally posted by Lobotomist

I am not very happy with what i seen in AOC open beta.

But I wouldnt regret buying the game (if my rig can run it , that is)

It is far far far away from being what it was promised. But it is nice game. Not for MMO , but rather as single player RPG

 

 

So true, what was promised was so different.  Imo game fails on everything they have now put inot the game, next gen my arse.  Like you said good for a single player game most likely, if you like LOADING SCREENS everywhere.

 

 

Can I have your stuff (beta key)?

First off, people really need to stop calling it Open Beta.

They should of called it a File planet Stree test, using an older buggy client. People do know that the closed beta doesn't have these problems, are the Closed Beta and "Open Beta" are running on different servers. Not to mention there isa level cap, I am 100% positive, that after release most of the big problems will not be there, and even if you can't stand the little ones. Wait a month or two, anyting too bad should be fixed.

If you remember correctly, world of warcraft used to have this problem of getting stuck inside buildings, Walls, pillars, you name it. It was quite common in the beta, I hit that problem quite a few times, Though before release they fixed alot with a big patch the day it came out. About a month or two later it was no where to be found.

Look at it this way, it could never be as bad a vanguard or hellgate london.

It depends on which feedback you read & whether you think it is fair & unbiased.

Sad to say, most people are inherently negative and enjoy hearing how bad things more than listening to someone who has positive things to say. People that are happy are more likely to sit back & think to themselves "Hey that's great", whereas those that are unhappy are more likely to think "I must tell the world" & exaggerate the details just to get their points across.

In my experience most MMOs are at least bit buggy on launch, but usually still playable. EQ2 had persistent graphics bugs for almost the first year but they were easily fixed by just minimising  & maximisng the window. It still has persistent 'path bugs' where you are told you can't hit or pick up something that is right next to you because it is so far away, but these are minor.

Vanguard on the other hand was a complete disaster for me, I preordered the collector's edition but no amount of tweaking could get it to be even vaguely playable, despite having a pretty decent rig with lots of RAM & a good graphics card. Even though many of the bugs have allegedly been fixed now, I haven't read enough positive things to make me want to risk trying again.

Back to AoC though, I have once again pre-ordered a collectors edition & despite all the negative posts I am still feeling fairly optimistic. Since the Open Beta, it looks like people are queuing up to call AoC the next Vanguard, but many of the comments seem to be written by people who obviously just enjoy criticism for its own sake. Look how often empirical terms such as 'always & never' are used when 'usually & rarely' or even 'sometimes' would be more appropriate.

Many AoC supporters are not that much help either, since their answer to trolls is often to call their PCs antiques & get involved in flaming wars rather than write constructive responses. I am so bored of reading about the nudity/gore factor, even if there are people sad enough to be 'turned on' by cartoon nudity I am sure that most will be gone once the trial period is over.

I suppose I am just going to have to wait & see for myself. In the larger scheme of things, games are still fairly cheap to buy. If the game has too many issues or I just personally don't like it, then it doesn't really matter that much, as I can just keep playing my current MMO until WAR comes out & the cycle repeats itself.

It's disappointing though that despite all the detailed posts since open beta, it's often too difficult to distinguish the ones made by those that actually want it too fail, from those that are trying to be genuinely objective.

I saw many ss of  vanguard and those ss were not great as Aoc grafics, at least they were not that much beatiful. Are you sure that ppl gave up to play vanguard coz of its bad programming or ppl's pc can't support vanguard's requirements?

SWG is very old game and with my decent pc, I can't maximize grafics. Its sure coz of bad programming like Vanguard and SWG.

my computer is above minimum specs but not above recommended, while i found out that it can run ok on low gfx settings i still got a lot lockups and zoning times were horrible so i guess i won't play aoc till i can get a better computer.

I'm enjoying the game so far. Have had none of the major issues that some others in /global seem to have had. Running a c2duo 8200, 2gb ram and a 7900gt (1280x1024, high, bloom/shadows off). Loading times are short enough not to bother me and going into/out an inn only takes 3/4 seconds which for me isnt annoying. Sure there are some issues due to it being an old build and whatnot. I've dropped through tortage once and global chat is pretty entertaining. I won't judge them till after a few months in.

They did lose points with me for letting people get a fileplanet subscription for an older version stress test (and calling it open beta) with a lvl 13 limit. It just doesnt feel right and i would have liked have had them clearly state this before letting people pay fileplanet. This would have avoid quite a bit of confusion and imo bad press. It's not enough to put me off the game, but it shows they have something to learn on the communication side of things.

Originally posted by Boompje

I'm enjoying the game so far. Have had none of the major issues that some others in /global seem to have had. Running a c2duo 8200, 2gb ram and a 7900gt (1280x1024, high, bloom/shadows off). Loading times are short enough not to bother me and going into/out an inn only takes 3/4 seconds which for me isnt annoying. Sure there are some issues due to it being an old build and whatnot. I've dropped through tortage once and global chat is pretty entertaining. I won't judge them till after a few months in.

i would not complain if zoning would just be 3-4 seconds for me but it usually is about 5 minutes on my computer only if i was in that zone before and its still cached its done in a few seconds. and i allready tried all things that people told me to do with no real improvements. (and my harddisk is not that slow its a 7200 rpm sata disk).

also ram is no problem i have 4gb ram (only 3gb of it accessible under xp) but the game client only seems to use 1-1.5 gb of it.

Originally posted by chryses

Just to state something up front.  I pre-ordered AoC about a week ago and the game has been on my radar for several months now.  Have to say WAR is my first choice but with the latest push back AoC went to the front of the queue.

I am a regular player of MMO's and recently I have spoken to a fair few AoC beta testers who are being less than complimentary of the game.  I log on here and I see a lot of the same issues being raised, which are:

* community is mostly 14 year olds getting off on the gore and nudity

* combat is average

* way too buggy and not ready to launch

I take a lot of this with a pinch of salt because 3 MMO's I play now and really enjoy were slammed at this stage also.  However I have yet to speak to one person who really swears by this game...not a good sign imo.

I did worry about a game that was pushing for 'unbelievable' graghics and tailored combat.  I don't think the average PC or ISP can handle it tbh.  Vanguard looked great on my pc but bombed out because 6/10 gamers couldn't play the damn thing.  I wonder if AoC needs another 6 months and maybe wise to push back just like War...

Be glad to hear from anyone why this game is so great and how they had some good experiences with the community because I am losing faith fast!

 

 

 

It's all a matter of opinion, but everyone that I play with which is close to 200 people has been between the ages of 18-50.  In Open Beta i'm sure some kids are getting in but I doubt they will stay for launch.

The combat is awesome in my opinion and will only get more advanced as combos get more difficult and spellweaving gets added.

It is running much more smoothly now for many people.

Just wait for reviews after launch. 

Can the people who say that the Fileplanet beta and closed beta run different you back this up, or is it wishful thinking.  Game runs like shit for me on two different computers, one of which is quite close to high end with quad core, 3 GB ram, HD3870, etc. And one look at the closed beta boards tells me that many others are having the same issues.

Originally posted by Sabic133

Well, I can tell you this.  I haven't followed the game at all, I simply read a preview along time ago and decided to sign up for the beta and didn't look at the game again untill I got the email saying I was in. 

90% of the "beta reviews" I have seen on this site and many others are posted by frustrated people who don't go to forums to find fixes to issues they are having.  The client that I played before the one now was HORRIBLE I couldn't even make a damn character it was that bad.  Now (with fixes for the hitching found on forums) I am able to play on my medicore system on med-high settings and run at 30-45 FPS.  But yes before I actually SEARCHED for answers to my problems AoC really frustrated me on preformence and I wanted to post a troll post myself but decided not to and I'm glad I didn't because I'm really enjoying the game now.

Honestly, I can just hope that if there is this "magical build" it is as big of an improvement jump as the last build to the current one was for me and AoC will be a A+ game.  If not I can tell you right now AoC will "survive" but it won't be as great as it could be if the release build is as unstable as it is now.

So really what I'm saying is the game has issues anyone who tells you otherwise is full of it, but they are issues that can and probably will be fixed within 3-4 months of release I will personally probably wait about 2-3 weeks for the initial patches and read some hopfully unbias reviews before I buy the retail copy on if they are fixing what needs to be fixed.  Hope this helps.

Same thing.