Originally posted by afoaa

The exact size of the entire AoC world is 42 Km2. But that is the size of the maps. The real land you can explore is about 50% to 60% of the mapped area giving it about 10 square miles of area for the entire world.

WoWs base world before BC were 8 to 9 times bigger.

DaoC is 11 times bigger if you count the TOA regions only once since they are reused in each realm.

I agree that aoc zones are too smalla nd restricting but comparing them to wow is stupid. wows lands are all flat with no features PERIOD. plop me in conan and I know where I am, every inch is unique.

they need to remove invisible walls and make the entire maps explorable. but I dont want them to make vast empty wow-eqse landscapes.

Okay... there are problems with Conan... yes.. big problems. Most of which, in my opinion, have to do with the people who bum-rushed the game, immediately declared it a failure, and now have spent more hours than they did in the game gnashing their teeth about it in forums around the net.

However, besides the HORROR of having to log and clear memory once every 5 or 6 hours to avoid a crash, there isn't much to the whole "crash" complaint.

As to exploration, yes, the level 1-5 intro run is linear. It's also solo, and pretty much designed to introduce you to things like talking to npcs, clubbing things over the head, and picking up loot bags.  As for exploring the rest of the world, yes, there are closed doors in the cities, and places you can't go. Then again, I don't know of an mmo where every single door in a city has something worthwhile inside it.

Once you're out in the real Conan world, there are plenty of little hidden things, canyons off the beaten path, camps and locations that you can visit which are off the edges of the map you can look at, even. I'm just not sure this is a really valid complaint about the game.

Try and run back and forth from Old Tarantia to the Eiglophean Mountains, without using the coaches, a few times. Then you'll see just how 'adventurous' travel in AoC can be.

Exact reason why I left AoC, felt like a studio apartment, compared to the 20,000 sq ft mansion that is Vanguard.

Went back to VG and am very happy. I hope to see AoC reach its potential, and maybe come back but, with no where to go, forget it.

Originally posted by Sinkael

Originally posted by araliun

Replying to Sinkael's post:

 

Regardless of the financials; everything in my initial post stands.  FunCom is a mis-managed company, mislead the gaming community, stockholders and ultimately abused its players/customers.

Its nice to know there are emoployees of FunCom using these forums and spoofing themselves to the rest of us.

FACT:  the number of CONAN players on XFIRE have dropped continually and significantly over the past 3 months.  Hmm - wonder why.

FACT: FUNCOM's stock price has TANKED to a all time low over the past two years, only 3 months after the release of CONAN.  The stockholders know why - LOSS, LOSS, LOSS.  To be at $51 a share in the end of May 2008 and a record low in the past two years of $13.65 as of a few days ago, tells much.

FACT: at the end of the day - it does not matter how many initial copies the game sold - what matter is the individual experience each one of those customers have/had with the game.  The clear truth is that players have quit the game, uninstalled the game from their computers, cancelled their subscriptions, and it is VERY EVIDENT in the game!!!  Gwahlur is EMPTY, DEAD, GHOST TOWN!  And I am reading the same for all the other servers as well.

 

WHERE is the full-disclosure regarding the client crashes?
WHERE is the directx-10 that is clearly labeled on the retail box?
WHERE is the PVP system labeled on the retail box?
WHEN will we see fixes, WHEN will we see directx-10, WHEN will we see PVP?

Continue your SPIN MACHINE, FUNCOM - its just more of the same from you - and you have people in these forums serving us exactly that.

Angry much?

I want to address a few of your points.

• Xfire is not an accurate way to measure the number of people or the amount of time they play. My xfire account hasn't been logged into for months and seriously doubt I am such a unique individual that no one else has opened an Xfire account because it seemed cool and then grew bored with it.
• The only thing the stock price tells us is that a companies stock maintained a steady increase during the development of a new product and then had a rapid growth right when it launched and then leveled out. Please, go do some research into the market, it will show you that this is the rule and not the exception.
• No one is arguing that there has been a sharp drop in customer numbers, that is evident, what is being argued is that AoC is as bad off as some would have us believe. I personally play Cimmeria which is quite active and doesn't seem to be suffering any population problems, I am not saying they don't exist, just that not every server is empty.
• When you ask for "full disclosure", what do you mean? Do you want them to explain in detail the causes of the crash, the code that is the problem, the origin of the bad code, the writer of the bad code, explain each and every step of the fix proccess? Or do you simply want a yes this is broken and we are trying to fix it. I have never seen ANY game give Full Disclosure on CTD bugs, why you would expect this from Funcom confuses me.
• DirectX10, there is simply no exscuse for this to be listed on the box and not in the game. /agree
• Fixes are being patched, last ones were August 19th 2008, perhaps with you canceled account you missed the patch.
• Once again, I agree that the lack of DX10 is unexscusable.
• Last I checked, PvP was in and working, perhaps not to what you expected it to be, but it is there, in fact I was in some PvP just yesterday, getting ganked on White Sands. This may not be what you mean, but PvP is there.

As for you saying I work for Funcom, I wish, I could afford my truck payment then. The initial sale of the game is a very important factor, it means they can pay back much of the capital they got to build the game and keep developing.

After reading your post, I wonder if you even read my response or if you simply saw someone respond and not spit vitriol at Funcom and assume I was a fanboy. Quite the contrary, I don't really enjoy AoC all that much and I knew I wouldn't from the get go, the only reason I play is because it's a different flavor candy, I have had all the WoW I can stand need something to kill time until WAR releases (I am a Mythic fanboy). Like I said in my previous post, we can't claim doom and gloom until November when the prepaid time starts running out, this will tell us how many are renewing.

Well, let me answer a few points here:

a) I am actually a fan of the game.  I am still playing it - hence I am subscribed.  I run a large guild on Gwahlur.

b) I love the game.  I love the graphics and the music. 

c) I get barraged, daily, with my guild's frustrations with the game.  I hear it all - I experience it all - I feel it all.  I see our members dropping.  I see guilds shrinking and consolidating on the server.  I have witnessed the now "ghost-town" result of lack of players on the server. 

d) I am frustrated.  I want my voice heard - I want the game to succeed.  But change will not be brought about by not voicing concerns and frustrations.

e) My comments truly reflect the state of the game.  The PvP system of which I speak is NOT enabled in the game.  While it is on the test-live server, it is NOT in the game.  Yes, there are servers where players can gank each other - I am on a PvE server awaiting the PvP instance module for playing.  This is what is NOT in the game in production.  Forums galore are filled with players voices frustrated regarding lack of this content/module/component/functionality.  In truth - a large number are leaving Conan for Warhammer.  I know - I lead a mult-gaming community of 2,500 adults.  I dont need to read the forums to understand the frustrations my members (and myself) are experiencing with Conan.

f) I am not openly attacking you.  I have read your comments and feedback in detail.  I agree with the supposed number listed on sales of the game, but that does not equate into anything relative to how the game is performing, how FunCom is addressing performance, development, customer support, etc..  This is where the true issue lies.  Sales of the game mean nothing at the moment.

g) XFire is the ONLY means available to cross-check any information provided by FunCom in regards to active players vs. subscriptions.  I agree, it is not the best to use as it requires players to actually run XFire in order for the tracking of Conan Game Play - but it is the best available.  And per XFire's own historical tracking - the loss of players (or lack of game play) has been significantly declining in the past 3 months.  So in reality; it matches what we are reading in the forums - and reflects to a large degree the sharp decline in FunCom's stocks. 

h) In regards to FunCom's stock performance; if you have been up to speed with the history of what was shared with stockholders; the bet the bank on this game - convincing stockholders of a multitude of information - some of it false - to increase the stock's value.  They gambled - and they lost.  The averaged 30 per share in 2007, 20 per share in 2006.  In May they reached 54 and three months later they are at an all-time low just recovering from bottoming at $13.65 per share.  That is over 60% market value in 90 days.  OUCH.  Why?  Because they know what I know - the game is deeply in trouble and there is no confidence in FunCom's ability to fix it.  Such is the nature of the stock market.

i) Retail sales of the game are not %100 pocketed.  Distrubition, retail, marketing all receive their percentages before any is banekd by FunCom.  The markets are very wary of FunCom's ability to provide honest informartion regarding CONAN - again - a reality seen in the plummeting share price of the company in the past 90 days.

It is what it is.  I do love the game - I just want them to fix all that is broken (and so much is truly broken).  Everyone I speak with agrees... this game is still in Beta and we are simply paying to test the game for FunCom.  I agree with that assessment fully.  It was released entirely too soon; most likely an epic failure of the beta program and the management of such.  The quality control is not in the game - clearly - so one can easily determine that it was sorely lacking (albeit missing) in Beta.

I will most likely be one of the last to leave the game if problems are not addressed, major bugs are not fixed - PvP is not enabled - and most importantly, if I cannot continue to retain our own members because of their decision to leave the game like the thousands before them who already have.

Originally posted by JackFetch

Okay... there are problems with Conan... yes.. big problems. Most of which, in my opinion, have to do with the people who bum-rushed the game, immediately declared it a failure, and now have spent more hours than they did in the game gnashing their teeth about it in forums around the net.

 

Oh, look. Another "It's the customers fault, not Funcoms!" post. How very original. When you come up for air, say hi to Gaute for us.

hmm...

i dont mind the aoc zonce concept that much.

as for exploring there are zones that absolutely stunned me the first time i ventured there (thunder river for example). the zones arent big but in themselves beautifull.

i think that people also have to see that aoc is a story/quest driven game and not a sandbox.
agreeably there is to little story in it to justify lets say more then 100h of gameplay but conan is not a grinder where you venture into the woods, look for a place where wolves spawn and kill them for the next 20h to gain a level.

by showing only hotspots/points of interests they do what every other form of entertainment would do showing you only the temple and the nazi hideout in an indiana jones moie but not the 20h of continental flight.

to me the outsides zones make sense, especially the fact that you take wagoneers/caravans to venture to another spot. if you look at it from a realism perspective everything else wouldnt have made sense.
in lineage2 (and probably in wow and war as well) i can venture on foot thrue 5 different clima zones visiting 4 capitol cities in one game day from icy mountains to hot deserts.
in aoc you venture to an area to play out your story there. for me it would have been a clear break with the conan world if i would exit tarantia on horseback to end up in keshata in a few game-hours ride.

as for exploration, yes there hopefully will be more and bigger zones to discover/explore in the future but i dont see how a seamingless world that spans all the landmass of the conan universe could work

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

Why would you pick a topic that the game is clearly not about?

Should he have picked PvP for his article? Oh, wait. That's mostly either broken or not even implemented yet.
 

PvE? Oh, wait. That's mostly bugged or lacking in content.

So tell us, Mrbloodworth. What was he supposed to write his article about in your opinion?

"You know I have seen the 800k with only 415k still active (yea you missed 15k people) thrown about as the demise of AoC for a week or so now. It is utter crap, AoC is not floundering nor can it be considered a failure, yet."

What a load of nonsense.  Those figures were of June 30, NOT August.  Conservative opinion posts current playerbase at under 200k and falling.  Next time read the fine print that came along with the numbers. 

No matter what Funcom adds to the game, it won't be enough.  War and Wow will just remove a good portion of their remaining playerbase this fall.  Big server merges will be announced at the first of the year.

I am just very saddened by their extremely poor implementation of such a legendary genre.   Looking pretty is just not enough, it has to be combined with good gameplay.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

"You know I have seen the 800k with only 415k still active (yea you missed 15k people) thrown about as the demise of AoC for a week or so now. It is utter crap, AoC is not floundering nor can it be considered a failure, yet."

What a load of nonsense.  Those figures were of June 30, NOT August.  Conservative opinion posts current playerbase at under 200k and falling.  Next time read the fine print that came along with the numbers. 

No matter what Funcom adds to the game, it won't be enough.  War and Wow will just remove a good portion of their remaining playerbase this fall.  Big server merges will be announced at the first of the year.

I am just very saddened by their extremely poor implementation of such a legendary genre.   Looking pretty is just not enough, it has to be combined with good gameplay.

 

 

Yep, those numbers are second quarter (1 April - 30 June 2008).  While in Leipzig this month, FunCom mentioned these same numbers and labeled them as "current" as of mid-August.  Incredibly, many fan sites, media and MMO hobbyists believed it.  But remember, we're talking about FunCom -- the masters of hype, the seigneurs of spin, the PR ... well, I think you get my drift, RE: FunCom credibility.

So yes, it's quite naive for anyone to actually believe FunCom's definition of "current" numbers.  As of today, more accurate estimates place the subscription base (total active subscriptions, much lower for active players) at 200-250K and dropping.

FunCom can save this game by actually delivering on their promises.  But obviously, time is running out.  The effective range of any more of FunCom excuses for not getting this game to release quality *NOW* -- well into the Fourth Month after release, is zero meters.

There is no doubt that Age of Conan has the potential for being a truly great MMO.  But as of today, AoC is hemmoraging active players at a disturbing rate (a true bane for guilds/guild leaders who are still trying to play the game) and many have left AoC and won't be back.  Many others, like myself, continue to play the game casually, hoping FunCom actually gets this game to release quality.  

Age of Conan, where do I start?  For one, if you read any of the previous posts i've made regarding Age of Conan, I was hooked before AoC came out.  I was one of the ones drawn into the game, world and adventure only to find out what a complete failure it is.  What they need to do is wrap AoC up, rehash Anarchy Online with DX10, update AO's content, add another expansion for AO and move on.  Maybe they can get back above 20 per share.

When I heard news of an expansion for AoC, I really laughed.  I thought to myself, could this be true?  They haven't even fixed the release yet.  Doesn't make good business sense to release news of an expansion when DX10 on release was supposed to happen and never did.  Back in the first week when they disabled DX10, they CLEARLY stated that DX10 will be out first part of August.  Guess what, it's almost September.

FunCom better shape up, and quick.  Microsoft needs to pull the AoC title off their list, and FunCom needs to take a day off (for real) and honestly look at the game and ask themselves is AoC "Gold" or still in beta.

Note to FunCom: I think it's time to give it up, refund everyone's money, and take a loss.  That would be the admirable thing to do.

Originally posted by Lizante

Originally posted by Ozmodan

"You know I have seen the 800k with only 415k still active (yea you missed 15k people) thrown about as the demise of AoC for a week or so now. It is utter crap, AoC is not floundering nor can it be considered a failure, yet."

What a load of nonsense.  Those figures were of June 30, NOT August.  Conservative opinion posts current playerbase at under 200k and falling.  Next time read the fine print that came along with the numbers. 

No matter what Funcom adds to the game, it won't be enough.  War and Wow will just remove a good portion of their remaining playerbase this fall.  Big server merges will be announced at the first of the year.

I am just very saddened by their extremely poor implementation of such a legendary genre.   Looking pretty is just not enough, it has to be combined with good gameplay.

 

 

 

Yep, those numbers are second quarter (1 April - 30 June 2008).  While in Leipzig this month, FunCom mentioned these same numbers and labeled them as "current" as of mid-August.  Incredibly, many fan sites, media and MMO hobbyists believed it.  But remember, we're talking about FunCom -- the masters of hype, the seigneurs of spin, the PR ... well, I think you get my drift, RE: FunCom credibility.

So yes, it's quite naive for anyone to actually believe FunCom's definition of "current" numbers.  As of today, more accurate estimates place the subscription base (total active subscriptions, much lower for active players) at 200-250K and dropping.

FunCom can save this game by actually delivering on their promises.  But obviously, time is running out.  The effective range of any more of FunCom excuses for not getting this game to release quality *NOW* -- well into the Fourth Month after release, is zero meters.

There is no doubt that Age of Conan has the potential for being a truly great MMO.  But as of today, AoC is hemmoraging active players at a disturbing rate (a true bane for guilds/guild leaders who are still trying to play the game) and many have left AoC and won't be back.  Many others, like myself, continue to play the game casually, hoping FunCom actually gets this game to release quality.  

You are being WAY too nice with FunCom.  The fact of the matter is, the game is done.  It has been done with ever since the free subscription was up on the retail boxes.  I subscribed for another month thinking DX10 was gonna roll through.  I login and no one is on my server (Deathwhisper).  The gathering instances are dead, Old Tarantia is dead.  AoC is dead.  FunCom needs to realize it.  Realize they made a mistake and refund money.  (period)  I'm upset with FunCom, sure they messed up with AO initially but they made good in the end by offering people free months and items.  Doesn't seem they are offering ANYTHING this time around.

Originally posted by WisebutCruel

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

Why would you pick a topic that the game is clearly not about?

Should he have picked PvP for his article? Oh, wait. That's mostly either broken or not even implemented yet.
 

PvE? Oh, wait. That's mostly bugged or lacking in content.

So tell us, Mrbloodworth. What was he supposed to write his article about in your opinion?

 

Realize MrBloodworth can't meaningfully answer that question as he - by his own say-so in another thread - isn't even subscribed to the game.

He's one of the game's and FC's more vocal defenders, going after anyone who criticizes the game, or FC. As his comment here demonstrates, he even goes after those actually playing the game. Yet... for all his fervor in defending it, he stops short of putting his money where his mouth is.

I think they call that... sanctimony?

Overall... the comparison to Dungeon Siege is actually very good, heh. I never thought of it that way.

An Opinion from a run of the mill Gamer, I bought AoC on the promises on the box, on the reviews, and on the promise of a great MMO....

What I have is a Game I am paying for, that is stunning graphics, has the basis of a great amazing game! That crashes every few hours, that I get that stunning unique AoC Mod of grey screening, that I get to read and see all the updates being brought out, that none of address the basic problems of the game, I want to play this game, I really enjoy this game, but how can I when I crash at least once every two hours possibly more, that simple things like the promised Direct X 10 is not there, that the simple game content that was promised is not there.

Simple, they Panicked and released before the game was ready, and as a gamer all I want is to read or hear from the game director "Hey we are sorry, we know we have problems, and we are doing our best to fix them" instead all I get to read is all the new updates and changes to a game that the very basics are flawed.

From the business side, you do not loose $40 dollars off your stock price and call it leveling out, that is called stock holders going oh crap this is not a good thing I am taking my money elsewhere.

I have Pre ordered Warhammer, and I believe I will not be renewing my subscription, unless something happens and FunCom decide to come clean and fix the broken windows in their house.

Just the Thoughts of an everyday gamer.
 

 Exploration in AoC?  Blah, it's a big set of outdoor hallways, like Guild Wars.

This game is a George W. Bush size failure.

What AoC gives you to explore is Funcom's error screens and crash reports.  OK that's harsh (but true) - what you really can explore in AoC is how you got suckered and what you might do differently when the next over-hyped game comes around.

Originally posted by kujii

Glad to see he played the game for 30 minutes, became an expert on it, and successfully missed 90 percent of the content.   Gratz.

His review was of the exploration factor of the game not a full on review o the content or lack thereof.

Originally posted by Sinkael

Originally posted by araliun

Replying to Sinkael's post:

 

Regardless of the financials; everything in my initial post stands.  FunCom is a mis-managed company, mislead the gaming community, stockholders and ultimately abused its players/customers.

Its nice to know there are emoployees of FunCom using these forums and spoofing themselves to the rest of us.

FACT:  the number of CONAN players on XFIRE have dropped continually and significantly over the past 3 months.  Hmm - wonder why.

FACT: FUNCOM's stock price has TANKED to a all time low over the past two years, only 3 months after the release of CONAN.  The stockholders know why - LOSS, LOSS, LOSS.  To be at $51 a share in the end of May 2008 and a record low in the past two years of $13.65 as of a few days ago, tells much.

FACT: at the end of the day - it does not matter how many initial copies the game sold - what matter is the individual experience each one of those customers have/had with the game.  The clear truth is that players have quit the game, uninstalled the game from their computers, cancelled their subscriptions, and it is VERY EVIDENT in the game!!!  Gwahlur is EMPTY, DEAD, GHOST TOWN!  And I am reading the same for all the other servers as well.

 

WHERE is the full-disclosure regarding the client crashes?
WHERE is the directx-10 that is clearly labeled on the retail box?
WHERE is the PVP system labeled on the retail box?
WHEN will we see fixes, WHEN will we see directx-10, WHEN will we see PVP?

Continue your SPIN MACHINE, FUNCOM - its just more of the same from you - and you have people in these forums serving us exactly that.

Angry much?

I want to address a few of your points.

• Xfire is not an accurate way to measure the number of people or the amount of time they play. My xfire account hasn't been logged into for months and seriously doubt I am such a unique individual that no one else has opened an Xfire account because it seemed cool and then grew bored with it.
• The only thing the stock price tells us is that a companies stock maintained a steady increase during the development of a new product and then had a rapid growth right when it launched and then leveled out. Please, go do some research into the market, it will show you that this is the rule and not the exception.
• No one is arguing that there has been a sharp drop in customer numbers, that is evident, what is being argued is that AoC is as bad off as some would have us believe. I personally play Cimmeria which is quite active and doesn't seem to be suffering any population problems, I am not saying they don't exist, just that not every server is empty.
• When you ask for "full disclosure", what do you mean? Do you want them to explain in detail the causes of the crash, the code that is the problem, the origin of the bad code, the writer of the bad code, explain each and every step of the fix proccess? Or do you simply want a yes this is broken and we are trying to fix it. I have never seen ANY game give Full Disclosure on CTD bugs, why you would expect this from Funcom confuses me.
• DirectX10, there is simply no exscuse for this to be listed on the box and not in the game. /agree
• Fixes are being patched, last ones were August 19th 2008, perhaps with you canceled account you missed the patch.
• Once again, I agree that the lack of DX10 is unexscusable.
• Last I checked, PvP was in and working, perhaps not to what you expected it to be, but it is there, in fact I was in some PvP just yesterday, getting ganked on White Sands. This may not be what you mean, but PvP is there.

As for you saying I work for Funcom, I wish, I could afford my truck payment then. The initial sale of the game is a very important factor, it means they can pay back much of the capital they got to build the game and keep developing.

After reading your post, I wonder if you even read my response or if you simply saw someone respond and not spit vitriol at Funcom and assume I was a fanboy. Quite the contrary, I don't really enjoy AoC all that much and I knew I wouldn't from the get go, the only reason I play is because it's a different flavor candy, I have had all the WoW I can stand need something to kill time until WAR releases (I am a Mythic fanboy). Like I said in my previous post, we can't claim doom and gloom until November when the prepaid time starts running out, this will tell us how many are renewing.

Using the math you used in your othr post though I don't think they in fact have gotten back all the capital they borrowed to make this game.

Originally posted by JackFetch

Okay... there are problems with Conan... yes.. big problems. Most of which, in my opinion, have to do with the people who bum-rushed the game, immediately declared it a failure, and now have spent more hours than they did in the game gnashing their teeth about it in forums around the net.

However, besides the HORROR of having to log and clear memory once every 5 or 6 hours to avoid a crash, there isn't much to the whole "crash" complaint.

As to exploration, yes, the level 1-5 intro run is linear. It's also solo, and pretty much designed to introduce you to things like talking to npcs, clubbing things over the head, and picking up loot bags.  As for exploring the rest of the world, yes, there are closed doors in the cities, and places you can't go. Then again, I don't know of an mmo where every single door in a city has something worthwhile inside it.

Once you're out in the real Conan world, there are plenty of little hidden things, canyons off the beaten path, camps and locations that you can visit which are off the edges of the map you can look at, even. I'm just not sure this is a really valid complaint about the game.

Try and run back and forth from Old Tarantia to the Eiglophean Mountains, without using the coaches, a few times. Then you'll see just how 'adventurous' travel in AoC can be.

"Try and run back and forth from Old Tarantia to the Eiglophean Mountains, without using the coaches, a few times. Then you'll see just how 'adventurous' travel in AoC can be."

I think the post is about exploration of places not running back and forth down the same linear path a few times no less.

Now just hang on a minute, I might be a little late to the party, but accusing Age of Conan of not offering much for explorers is a little mind-boggling.

We won't cover all the -other- faults of AoC, of which there are plenty, and mostly to do with unfulfilled promises, lack of trust-building communication or confidence that the people in charge of the game know what the heck they're doing.

But Age of Conan has quite a few nice crannies to offer for exploration: it's just that a) they don't have a massive uninstanced world to run across and make one feel like you've covered a great distance, and b) these small touches don't link to any significant -content- that rewards the exploration.

They also killed the point of exploring and waypointing resource nodes in a later patch by turning them all into well-marked objectives - see above reference to knowing what the heck they're doing.

Here's a random list of things to "explore":

1) Have you found the Tortage poster that offers a quest to find the Tortage Smuggler?

2) Found Zelata?

3) Found the Corpse of the Adventurer in the Wild Lands?

4) Found Crunchy's Collar?

5) Found a Note by another vulture-attacked adventurer's corpse in Khopshef?

6) Found another Note down a dead end in Khemi?

7) The first rule of Fight Club is...

8) Two kill-mob, get-item-that-opens-new-quest chains in Conall's Valley and Old Tarantia=>Eg Mountains.

9) There's a Darkwalker by a sacrificial altar in Thunder River, way down southeast.

10) Ever climbed up the back end of Atzel's Fortress and looked down at the rest of the snow-covered pallisades? Bonus points if you got jumped by something undead...

There are neat touches. Especially those linked with climbing. Old Tarantia had a chest with some Electric Boogie potions that created an electric aura at one point. Couldn't find it again when I looked though, so don't know if a later patch stripped it bare.

And there's the final failure of AoC. Couldn't quite decide what it wanted to do, added a little bit of something for everyone, didn't quite get it all playable, tried to fix one thing, broke something else, all while already launched and supposedly out of beta. Not that many players will pay continuously and wait. We'll stop paying, and wait to see if things improve. Or not.

There are little "candies" here and there, that is true.  But the number and reward of those exploration candies are insignificant at best.  As already said, there are no reward whatsoever (or almost) for finding these, besides starting a quest chain and things like that.

There is some running around.  But regardless of what zone you are in, it takes at most 5 minutes to run from one end of it to the other, which I beleive is mighty short.  

If you compare to a game like LotRO, where running from the Ered Luin to Rivendell can take at least half an hour if all goes well - if you follow the road, which you don't have to, as opposed to in AoC-, where you can leave the road and wander randomly about the world and find nice places to take a screenshot of, a ruin or a pack of mobs to hunt down, and to features like the exploration deeds in LotRO(and other deeds) and the badges in CoH, you will see that AoC's game world has the size of a sandbox in comparaison.  And that there is virtually nothing to explore if you don't have a quest to let you do so.

And all these features were there at launch in LotRO, so there is no reason why they shouldn't be in AoC.  Both are inspired by a great literary work with tons of content, so there was no shortage of material in either.  But still, we ended up with a bucket on one side, compared to an olympic swimming pool on the other.

And even LotRO could have done better - much of those ruins were useless, and it would have been great if these ruins had an underground dungeon in them, which you can explore to find some random artifact, etc.

There is so much that could be done when you build a fictionnal world, but it seems like gaming companies insist on doing only the minimum to give the game a ground to walk on.