Gratz FC!

I dont think there is other game that can compete in this category. I still dont like some things about AoC, but devs put a lot of effort into content, features and fixes - so well deserved! These were available for free even if they dont call it "expansion" to look cool, like some other games.

Originally posted by keithianw

No, he was not talking about Darkfall and I agree with him. Unlike games like WOW and Lord of the Rings Online, that subtle change of landscape that takes place as you run from one zone to another is missing because each zone has doors/instances. and the zones while beautiful don't make you feel as if you are exploring an open and breathing world. That is why I left in the middle of 2009. Though even WOW and LOTRO have instances, the world itself generally speaking is pretty open where you can literally run for miles and miles before you are forced to hit a door. The other issue is that their technical support gives up too easily with things they don't understand..like the sound anomolies I was having while walking (maybe they got better?)

Regardless, I will say that this game had stunning graphics, excellent classes, good UI responsiveness, had a great guild, and was  fun for a while, but I just couldn't hang on because i felt disconnected from the story and the instanced zones didnt help. It certainly is a game that everyone should try for themselves.

 

Sounds like you're talking about what I'd call zones then, rather than the usual meaning of instances - which as in Tortage night time would be instanced areas containing only you (and your group). However, most of AoC's world is open to everybody and the zones are large so I don't see how anyone could find them restricting to be honest.

I agree with the nomination, though I think Darkfall should have been a nominee even if it had been I'd personally have picked AoC out as the winner too.

DDO online made many changes with the Unlimited update but as for a straightforward "improvement" I don't think they qualify, though rescuing the game from the abyss is a credit to their ingenuity & surprisingly informed understanding of the free to play market Turbine haven't made huge strides in the way AoC has in actual quality, it was already good & got a bit of a polish.

However with that said, AoC is a long way from where it should be, the 1-20 Tortage quality is undeniable, but that should have been the same for the whole game, & until it is I won't consider it out of beta and worth my money.

 Well deserved. The game has shaped up quite nicely, and there´s a lot on the horizon too!

I would hope that other MMO companies take this example that a poor game at launch can be resurrected in quality with some good management (looking at you NCSoft).

 Well, this was a surprise.  I recently re-subbed and cancelled again after just a month back.  The changes I saw were only minor.  I'm glad other people are experiencing better results though!

This award makes no sense to me.  Very little has improved in Conan since launch.  They still haven't gotten a lot of the features they claimed would be in at launch (t3 raiding, tower pvp) and the battlekeep sieges are still buggy and unstable (not to mention the siege gameplay is horrible). 

The amount of content they have added is very small and when you look at how many monthly fees you paid since launch for them it's a horrible deal.   Funcom has some of the slowest patch cycles of any MMO dev.  They also have no idea how to balance casting vs. melee as shown by their recent, laughable attempt (casters can't use sta potions).

Originally posted by wilson1225

This award makes no sense to me.  Very little has improved in Conan since launch.  They still haven't gotten a lot of the features they claimed would be in at launch (t3 raiding, tower pvp) and the battlekeep sieges are still buggy and unstable (not to mention the siege gameplay is horrible). 

The amount of content they have added is very small and when you look at how many monthly fees you paid since launch for them it's a horrible deal.   Funcom has some of the slowest patch cycles of any MMO dev.  They also have no idea how to balance casting vs. melee as shown by their recent, laughable attempt (casters can't use sta potions).

    Agreed!  Cripes you cant even craft til your lvl 40 who thee heck ever heard of that and PvP is still an unbalanced gank fest

 Yeah it's called bias. There's way too much of it when it comes to journalism and the video game industry. 

I'm with a previous poster. They'd have to remove all of the world instancing to get me even slightly interested in going back. 

People who do not see much change in the game probably have not left Tortage or not played end-game. Many bugs have been fixed, system is more fluid, systems have been adjusted to work better and lots of new areas have been added over the last year.

You can not judge if a game has improved from a short time playing.

Congrats to Funcom.

I always heard how 'instanced' AoC was; but once you get out of Tortage it doesn't seem that bad to me. It's a technology mechanic- Whats the big deal?

Erm, honestly: What exactly is instanced in AoC that is open worlded in any other modern title?

Dungeons are instanced (like in WoW, WAR, Aion, you name it...) and overworld zones are open for everyone. Or are you talking about zoning and invisible walls? - That's another issue, but "instancing" is not more apparent than in any other major post-WoW game.

M

Originally posted by haratu

I would hope that other MMO companies take this example that a poor game at launch can be resurrected in quality with some good management (looking at you NCSoft).

Actually I hope other MMO companies see this and not release games in utterly unplayable states (like Funcom has done twice).

Stop encouraging companies like Funcom to release garbage and take an extra 2 years to make the game worth a damn while people pay to be dissappointed.

Congratulations to Funcom-

You have managed to polish this turd to shiny luster, next time try not to make a game that looks smells and feels like a turd.

P.S. - MMORPG has to have the crappiest message editor I have ever seen, it reminds me of  DOS based MS Works.

Originally posted by Soupgoblin

Originally posted by haratu

I would hope that other MMO companies take this example that a poor game at launch can be resurrected in quality with some good management (looking at you NCSoft).

 

Actually I hope other MMO companies see this and not release games in utterly unplayable states (like Funcom has done twice).

 

Stop encouraging companies like Funcom to release garbage and take an extra 2 years to make the game worth a damn while people pay to be dissappointed.

 

Congratulations to Funcom-

You have managed to polish this turd to shiny luster, next time try not to make a game that looks smells and feels like a turd.

 

P.S. - MMORPG has to have the crappiest message editor I have ever seen, it reminds me of  DOS based MS Works.

Just don't buy freshly released games.
 

I have only ONCE not been disappointed and that was when I bought LotRo 2 weeks after release. Seriously any game I know sucked when it went live, even the three letter game. 

Sure, you don't wanna join after 5 years, but waiting 6 months only brings advantages, the game is at 50% of the original price, people have already spread out, you don't run the risk of joining one of those vaporizing newcomer-guilds, ... 

M

Originally posted by Shadewalker

Originally posted by keithianw

No, he was not talking about Darkfall and I agree with him. Unlike games like WOW and Lord of the Rings Online, that subtle change of landscape that takes place as you run from one zone to another is missing because each zone has doors/instances. and the zones while beautiful don't make you feel as if you are exploring an open and breathing world. That is why I left in the middle of 2009. Though even WOW and LOTRO have instances, the world itself generally speaking is pretty open where you can literally run for miles and miles before you are forced to hit a door. The other issue is that their technical support gives up too easily with things they don't understand..like the sound anomolies I was having while walking (maybe they got better?)

Regardless, I will say that this game had stunning graphics, excellent classes, good UI responsiveness, had a great guild, and was  fun for a while, but I just couldn't hang on because i felt disconnected from the story and the instanced zones didnt help. It certainly is a game that everyone should try for themselves.

 

 

Sounds like you're talking about what I'd call zones then, rather than the usual meaning of instances - which as in Tortage night time would be instanced areas containing only you (and your group). However, most of AoC's world is open to everybody and the zones are large so I don't see how anyone could find them restricting to be honest.

AoC is heavily zoned, and each zone is heavily instanced. two people can be standing side by side, talking in IM's in the middle of the FoTD for example, yet not see each other because the zone is instanced. Every single part of AoC is instanced. If you haven't seen it, its because the population is so low the instancing isn't being triggered.

Originally posted by dhayes68

Originally posted by Shadewalker

Originally posted by keithianw

No, he was not talking about Darkfall and I agree with him. Unlike games like WOW and Lord of the Rings Online, that subtle change of landscape that takes place as you run from one zone to another is missing because each zone has doors/instances. and the zones while beautiful don't make you feel as if you are exploring an open and breathing world. That is why I left in the middle of 2009. Though even WOW and LOTRO have instances, the world itself generally speaking is pretty open where you can literally run for miles and miles before you are forced to hit a door. The other issue is that their technical support gives up too easily with things they don't understand..like the sound anomolies I was having while walking (maybe they got better?)

Regardless, I will say that this game had stunning graphics, excellent classes, good UI responsiveness, had a great guild, and was  fun for a while, but I just couldn't hang on because i felt disconnected from the story and the instanced zones didnt help. It certainly is a game that everyone should try for themselves.

 

 

Sounds like you're talking about what I'd call zones then, rather than the usual meaning of instances - which as in Tortage night time would be instanced areas containing only you (and your group). However, most of AoC's world is open to everybody and the zones are large so I don't see how anyone could find them restricting to be honest.

 

AoC is heavily zoned, and each zone is heavily instanced. two people can be standing side by side, talking in IM's in the middle of the FoTD for example, yet not see each other because the zone is instanced. Every single part of AoC is instanced. If you haven't seen it, its because the population is so low the instancing isn't being triggered.

you mean it opens up new instances of one overworld zone if the population gets too heavy? Come on, that's actually a safety mechanism and lots of other games do this, Everquest 2, Aion... so what?
 

I won't say it is an advantage, but it's nothing that makes AoC more instanced than any other modern game. M

Originally posted by Meridion

Originally posted by Soupgoblin

Originally posted by haratu

I would hope that other MMO companies take this example that a poor game at launch can be resurrected in quality with some good management (looking at you NCSoft).

 

Actually I hope other MMO companies see this and not release games in utterly unplayable states (like Funcom has done twice).

 

Stop encouraging companies like Funcom to release garbage and take an extra 2 years to make the game worth a damn while people pay to be dissappointed.

 

Congratulations to Funcom-

You have managed to polish this turd to shiny luster, next time try not to make a game that looks smells and feels like a turd.

 

P.S. - MMORPG has to have the crappiest message editor I have ever seen, it reminds me of  DOS based MS Works.

Just don't buy freshly released games.
 

I have only ONCE not been disappointed and that was when I bought LotRo 2 weeks after release. Seriously any game I know sucked when it went live, even the three letter game. 

Sure, you don't wanna join after 5 years, but waiting 6 months only brings advantages, the game is at 50% of the original price, people have already spread out, you don't run the risk of joining one of those vaporizing newcomer-guilds, ... 

M

Absolutely. I got LOTRO and AOC 6mo. after launch and had no problems with either.

Originally posted by Meridion

Originally posted by dhayes68

Originally posted by Shadewalker

Originally posted by keithianw

No, he was not talking about Darkfall and I agree with him. Unlike games like WOW and Lord of the Rings Online, that subtle change of landscape that takes place as you run from one zone to another is missing because each zone has doors/instances. and the zones while beautiful don't make you feel as if you are exploring an open and breathing world. That is why I left in the middle of 2009. Though even WOW and LOTRO have instances, the world itself generally speaking is pretty open where you can literally run for miles and miles before you are forced to hit a door. The other issue is that their technical support gives up too easily with things they don't understand..like the sound anomolies I was having while walking (maybe they got better?)

Regardless, I will say that this game had stunning graphics, excellent classes, good UI responsiveness, had a great guild, and was  fun for a while, but I just couldn't hang on because i felt disconnected from the story and the instanced zones didnt help. It certainly is a game that everyone should try for themselves.

 

 

Sounds like you're talking about what I'd call zones then, rather than the usual meaning of instances - which as in Tortage night time would be instanced areas containing only you (and your group). However, most of AoC's world is open to everybody and the zones are large so I don't see how anyone could find them restricting to be honest.

 

AoC is heavily zoned, and each zone is heavily instanced. two people can be standing side by side, talking in IM's in the middle of the FoTD for example, yet not see each other because the zone is instanced. Every single part of AoC is instanced. If you haven't seen it, its because the population is so low the instancing isn't being triggered.

you mean it opens up new instances of one overworld zone if the population gets too heavy? Come on, that's actually a safety mechanism and lots of other games do this, Everquest 2, Aion... so what?

I won't say it is an advantage, but it's nothing that makes AoC more instanced than any other modern game.

There is no 'so what'. Someone said there was instancing, someone else said there wasn't, I said there was.

I totally agree, AoC is indeed the Most Improved Game of 2009. Well done funcom.

 Congratz to  Mr. Mojo Risin Craig Morrison.