Age of Conan

If i read correct then the first 25 levels are solo play. AS a true RP fan, i think its a waste that you first have to wayt 25 levels before you can start building a community of friends in your new favourite game.

Since i have a hard time playing any single person RPG's since i entered the worlds of Norath late 1998, i really miss the options to roleplay and chat with others and to make friends in a sigle player game.

But if Conan wants to attract players like me, it should have options for players to meet ingame before they reach level 25..... Maybe they could create player hubs, like those found in guildwars, where players can meet inbetween adventures and talk with friends or form guilds...Maybe they could even add some groupinstancess that start from such a hub.

This would truely lighten up the first 25 levels for me. And i hope that most others here would be happy with such a system too.

I think this is really a conundrum for any MMO game designer to tackle.

Ideally, because it is an MMO, you want to encourage grouping.  After all, isn't this what MMOs are supposed to be about?

The probelm of course is finding other players to group with when you're online, and overcoming a degree of shyness that many new players always seems to have.  Chances are they're a bit overwhelmed by this experience in the first place, particularly if they not an old MMO hand.  My  landing in Azeroth was much less traumatic than when I was dumped on Tatooine.

Forcing the issue by making it difficult to advance without being in a group might turn off some of your new paying customers right away, which is just not a good idea.  OTOH, it might very well be just what they need to get into the spirit of an MMO and hook them, which is always a good idea!

Is the audience like the OP, eager to socialize and favorable to game mechanics that make socializing not only desirable, but necessary?

Or do you let people solo their way through all the scripted content if they want to play it alone, and not take steps to nudge them into social play?

Personally, I'm with Lord.Bachus on this one.  But others mileage may vary.

From AOC FAQ :

6.5 How long will the single-player experience last?
Only the first hour or so of the game is completely single-player. Once you reach the village of Tortage, you will start meeting other players. You can switch between day and night by sleeping at the inn, and during day you will always be with other players, while during the night you will be all alone.  At level twenty you leave Tortage island and head for the mainland, and from there on you will always be in a massively multiplayer environment.

Originally posted by siknu
You should really read into it a bit more. In hubs, gathering places of some sorts, you can meet other people before lvl 25, i believe you can even play a few quests together. They did it this way to familiarize you with the game controls before the real action begins, you dont even have to pay subscription costs untill you reach lvl 25.

Originally posted by IcePROject

From AOC FAQ :

6.5 How long will the single-player experience last?
Only the first hour or so of the game is completely single-player. Once you reach the village of Tortage, you will start meeting other players. You can switch between day and night by sleeping at the inn, and during day you will always be with other players, while during the night you will be all alone.  At level twenty you leave Tortage island and head for the mainland, and from there on you will always be in a massively multiplayer environment.

Seems my post was based on old information and some lazyness...

Seems like the gods themselves realised that community building from the earliest hour would be a necessarity for the game in the long run.

Thank you all for your quick replies, lets just hope that from these villages like Tortage will also have some minor options for group play.

What i read and understand from my point is:

1) When you start, you will have to solo to 25, I don't think this means that you WONT be able to see other players, but be able to still interact, but keep soloing until 25.

2) At night you will not be able to see other players until you sleep in an inn. Once off the island and into the mainland, you will be able to see the MMO community.

3) The first point I think, is to get people used to the gameplay and controls, so newbies alike, will not feel overwhlemed with the controls and speed of other players.

4) Yes, Rpers will be a little disappointed (excuse me for my errors :P) but, once you reach X amount of levels, you can RP all you want, just you have to get used to the gameplay and controls first, and learn how the game works (if that is possible?)

5) I think having this kind of concept will help everyone that is new to the community, but they should not be doing this if you already have a maxed char or some char over 25+. Cause, if you start new chars and have to do this over again, it gets tedious and quite boring, and takes the fun out of it, imo.

Not sure if I understood what I wrote...