MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood had the opportunity to ask new Age of Conan Game Director Craig Morrison a little bit about himself and his philosophies on gaming.

MMORPG.com:

How does your vision for the game differ from your predecessor's?

Craig Morrison:

I’m not sure there are all that many core differences there in terms of the game-world and what Age of Conan represents. I think the game has a fantastically realized game-world and an experience that is genuinely different and sets us apart from other MMO titles. We really have already captured that brutal energy of the Conan universe and it is reflected in the very action orientated combat system and the lush vibrant game-world. I think it would be foolish to not be proud of that and to strive to extend it even further.

The areas that I will be focusing on in order to achieve the ambition of take the game to the next level are two fold really. Firstly, as I have discussed with the community in my first letters to them, there are some fundamentals to the progression systems (in particular in relation to itemization and statistics) that have to be addressed and we are doing that. Then beyond that I really want to focus on the community aspects of what makes an MMO community shine, improving the PVP systems, improving the guild functionality and support systems and introducing ways that players can feel even more involvement in the world we have build up already.

Read the interview here.

Very encouraging indeed.

While I know this really isnt this new directors fault, but an apology for being IGNORE, DELETED, MOVED, and outright BANNED from the forums for attempting to bring things like, THE MEMORY LEAK issues, Crashes, grouping issues and others to light on the forums would be a good place to start.  Furthermore, assurances that the forums will become a place where these types of issue are handled, addressed and OPENLY discussed rather than shot down and dealt with punatively would be even better. 

As long as I continue to see people like Rihnlann or whatever on the forums with disclaimers that while he can ban posters and move posts, his views might not be those of FUNCOM, I cant give them my gaming dollars. Well, they already have them until december, however I dont sign in or play the game.  The first few months experience really put me off Conan and FUNCOM in general. 

Where is the new game director to say 'Hey, we know some stuff wasnt done right and we aim to change that." ?  When I receive an apology email and a free month (after december), MAYBE I might be pursuaded to return to this game.  Now dont misunderstand me, I NEVER expect this will happen, though nothing short of this will do for me.  I suspect there are many more out there that feel the same way, most of whom dont post here or anywhere else. 

I wanted Conan to be the place I landed every evening after work and the place I found myself late saturday night smashing away on someones skull. I wanted a place to come and leave the outside world behind, but what I got was something quite different.  I still see this new game director claiming they have a wonderful world etc.... I dont see him admitting the game was a disaster at launch and should have been handled differently.  I dont feel like this guy is fully admitting the extent of the issues with the game and that they understand they alienated alot of folks.

At this point, I think thats the LEAST they need to do to start rebuild the relationships with their customers that they so carelessly and wantonly discarded in the opening months of this game.

Thats my 2Tin.

I ...feel jipped...i bought a collector's edition had problems right from the git-go, and it really didn't turn out to be a fun game AND nothing like what I thought it would be. I echo those sentiments above, I should have cancelled my subscription though at the end of the 1st month and saved myself some more gaming dollars then what I did, I stupidly forgot to cancel it and let it run, nearly 3 months before turning it off.  I would only come back after 6months to a year after launch to see if all the performance, crashes and other issues are fixed.

1 day is what I would give it, if it didn't make me feel part of the world and fun I would never return ever again.

I have learned some things though, on what not to do with a game....that's good for my part.

The hell with you all.  I'm a merchant of doom! (I knew there was a label to describe me somewhere)

Seriously, though -- I do have a couple of friends who still play AoC so I'd love it if Funcom can somehow turn the game around.  I wish Morrison & crew the best of luck doing so!

A lot HAS been done, things are looking up.

If you don't like the game, move on with your life, you will be much happier in the long run.

Merchants of Doom.. perfect

Originally posted by 3on1

Originally posted by Superstition

im afraid its too late for aoc and the damage has already been done and substantially at that

 

next time read the interview before saying such non-argumented things ;)

I'm not speaking for Superstition or anything but...

I, for one, did read the interview and do think the damage has been done.

However, unlike many others -- I would love to be proved wrong. I think that a turnaround would be a good thing for the MMO community in general. The only thing that would concern me about this becoming a success story would be if it somehow made other developers believe they could get away with a similar situation.  Let's face it, there's plenty of crappy MMO's on the market and I'd personally rather not see more crap clutter it up and get fixed after.  I think AOC's issues were not in launch (which went very smoothly for me and my guild) but in the weeks directly following it. Change after change, nerf after nerf -- this all convinced me that balance and design just didn't meet with the proper testing and/or programming prior to going live. Change A and I'll move on and concentrate on B. Change B and I'll try to salvage things and work on C. Change C so drastically that there isn't really any point in A through C and I'm done messing with things. (substitue in whatever mixture of classes, powers/abilities, crafts you want -- for me it was the repeated gem changes prior to the PvP patch. Yeah, they were pretty unbalancing before but everyone had access to the same. I didn't PvP in AoC so I took that final kick to my boys and canceled.)

AoC might not be so bad to a newcomer who hasn't seen or been through what many of us have. I have great respect for those with the patience to persist with it. I'm just a merchant of doom and AoC's window to impress has passed for me.

It was meant in the most possible of cynicism.  But honestly, Funcom should just shut their doors and admit they messed up.  I and quite a few of the AoC launch people are saddened and griefed by Funcom's demise.  AoC could have been something new and revolutionary, but in turn we get the usual "It's your fault for buying it" routine.  Funcom deserves every cynical response they can get and i'm not stopping until they fess up that they messed up royally.  I want an apology, a formal apology.  Not some washed up, gleaned over response from Erling.  I want the faces we know from Funcom to formally apologize to EVERYONE for their mistakes.   But until then, they will get nothing.

Originally posted by pjcarmen

A lot HAS been done, things are looking up.

If you don't like the game, move on with your life, you will be much happier in the long run.

Merchants of Doom.. perfect

No, I paid $50 for a game and was lied to.  And for that, I'm not going to move on.  I will stay locked in on this subject until I get a formal apology from Funcom stating that they messed up and HOW they messed up.

Sure, I'm playing my WoW and have WotLK on Pre-Order so in essence i have "moved on", but this is a wound left open by me paying $50 for a product that never delivered. ya dig?

Originally posted by 3on1

Originally posted by Superstition

im afraid its too late for aoc and the damage has already been done and substantially at that

 

next time read the interview before saying such non-argumented things ;)

I think he did read the interview.  Fixing the faults now is not going to win back the hearts of the launch.  You think we want a free month?  You think we want something for nothing?  We already got nothing for something.  Again, and I think I speak for everyone that bought AoC and is no longer playing it, We don't care about a free month.  We're just not going back to it.

Originally posted by drarkanex

Originally posted by 3on1

Originally posted by Superstition

im afraid its too late for aoc and the damage has already been done and substantially at that

 

next time read the interview before saying such non-argumented things ;)

 

I think he did read the interview.  Fixing the faults now is not going to win back the hearts of the launch.  You think we want a free month?  You think we want something for nothing?  We already got nothing for something.  Again, and I think I speak for everyone that bought AoC and is no longer playing it, We don't care about a free month.  We're just not going back to it.

I felt the same way. then I played WAR, realized that the visual quality, combat, mechanics and systems in AoC were more looking toward the future, and went back.

I have been happy ever since.

I mean, WAR is played. It is old and derivative. Funcom screwed up, but they also , I think, learned from that mess up. Going forward, AoC of all games has a better chance of holding up. Make the right moves, and it can be fun again.

WoTLK will be doing the same thing that Blizzard has been doing for 4 years, resting on it's laurels, and right now no other game comes close to looking stunning on todays hardware than AoC.

I am willing to support a company who at least took a chance and tried something new. It may have been a mess at first, but the games potential is finally showing. I have a full guild, and I am having a ball.

And believe me...I can be a harsh critic (ask all of my LOTRO fans), and AoC is at least fun...and that is what counts.

What's with this company, anyway?

First we have "Steak and Wine" and now we have "Merchants of Doom".

Does Funcom not understand why so many people have given up on this game?  It's totally their own fault for both lying to their playerbase and not giving what was promised.

I will take the moniker "Merchant of Doom" any day over Funcom's well earned "Merchants of Deceit".

I was upset about the constant lies, the ignoring of the game testers, and ignoring the problems on the forums. Lag spikes have been a major issue since day one, and there is a thread with over 120 pages of people reporting information such as ISP, city/state/country, server. The lag spikes affect everyone in every country on every server, While in a group (with people from all around the US) we all experience the lag spike at the same time, but oddly enough we are still able to communicate using ventrilo with no hitches, while the game world stands still for a minute (or more), and Funcom still denies that the problem is on their end.

I don't wish Funcom to fail, but if they continue the dishonesty, they will fail, and they will deserve it. The onus is on them to pull their head out. People won't leave because you admit that you screwed up, apologize and work towards the fix, they will leave if you if you continue to lie, blame your customers for your bad coding and drag your feet for half a year to fix things.

Once Funcom can stop the lying and be honest with it's customers, I may resub, but until then I have no need to be a customer of a company that blames me for their own problems.

Originally posted by drarkanex

It was meant in the most possible of cynicism.  But honestly, Funcom should just shut their doors and admit they messed up.  I and quite a few of the AoC launch people are saddened and griefed by Funcom's demise.  AoC could have been something new and revolutionary, but in turn we get the usual "It's your fault for buying it" routine.  Funcom deserves every cynical response they can get and i'm not stopping until they fess up that they messed up royally.  I want an apology, a formal apology.  Not some washed up, gleaned over response from Erling.  I want the faces we know from Funcom to formally apologize to EVERYONE for their mistakes.   But until then, they will get nothing.

Well, Gaute resigned, Erling HAS apologized and he's the voice of the company... I'm not sure what else you want. You want to be angry, that's cool. You have every right to be, but that just seems like an odd request.

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by drarkanex

It was meant in the most possible of cynicism.  But honestly, Funcom should just shut their doors and admit they messed up.  I and quite a few of the AoC launch people are saddened and griefed by Funcom's demise.  AoC could have been something new and revolutionary, but in turn we get the usual "It's your fault for buying it" routine.  Funcom deserves every cynical response they can get and i'm not stopping until they fess up that they messed up royally.  I want an apology, a formal apology.  Not some washed up, gleaned over response from Erling.  I want the faces we know from Funcom to formally apologize to EVERYONE for their mistakes.   But until then, they will get nothing.

Well, Gaute resigned, Erling HAS apologized and he's the voice of the company... I'm not sure what else you want. You want to be angry, that's cool. You have every right to be, but that just seems like an odd request.

 

Agreed...

I mean, look at SWG, Vanguard and SOE, or LOTRO, DDO and Turbine..

I have yet to get an apology OR my money back for that wasted hard drive space..

But, I did learn my lesson and just said "No" to WAR!

It is up to Funcom to deliever on it's promises for AoC.  We will just have to wait and see.  Remember SWG did not get good until almost a year after release.  You have to admit that AoC still has lots of potential.

As to EA's claim that DAoC has over 100,000 subscribers, I just highly doubt that.  Maybe in the past year they had that many at some time, but the game is so dated and so messed up with all the multiple server types and server consolidations.  I would be shocked if they had more than 50k.

Originally posted by Stradden

Originally posted by drarkanex

It was meant in the most possible of cynicism.  But honestly, Funcom should just shut their doors and admit they messed up.  I and quite a few of the AoC launch people are saddened and griefed by Funcom's demise.  AoC could have been something new and revolutionary, but in turn we get the usual "It's your fault for buying it" routine.  Funcom deserves every cynical response they can get and i'm not stopping until they fess up that they messed up royally.  I want an apology, a formal apology.  Not some washed up, gleaned over response from Erling.  I want the faces we know from Funcom to formally apologize to EVERYONE for their mistakes.   But until then, they will get nothing.

Well, Gaute resigned, Erling HAS apologized and he's the voice of the company... I'm not sure what else you want. You want to be angry, that's cool. You have every right to be, but that just seems like an odd request.

 

I agree with Stradden

They have fixed a good chunk of the launch issues, the game is still really young, so there is ALWAYS going to be issues to work through. People expect the game to come out flawlessly and BE that way 4 months after launch? That doesn't make any sense, and isn't a realistic request with a game like Age of Conan. I understand the disappointment, I understand the frustration, I understand  people wanting more, but let's be honest. Look at everything they have done over the past few months, a short time in a MMO's life, to fix as many issues as possible, while adding in features people want to see. Nobody is giving them a fair break, once they fix a handful, people want two handfuls, once they do that, people want 3 handfuls, so look at it from their perspective. Look how short a time it has taken them to fix the bugs, to fix the performance, to add the new content in comparison to other games which can take a year, or even two years to fix and add half of what Funcom has. (Not going to mention which title I'm speaking of).

The way I see it, if you were once really looking forward to Age of Conan, wait a couple of big updates, than try it out again. If you're one of the people who's going to naysay everything, please do it to your own group of friends, or try it out again, too and see if it changes your mind at all.

Jumping on the proposal for questions to Stradden.

First even if I'm not anymore subscribed to AoC I can say, as many others players, I'm following the game closely and I do see the improvements  and more important better communication.

I'm parsing below the post I made when I quit the game the questions in blue are the ones I'm still asking.

For Now I have an issue with itemization as stats should matter in the near future. Unless there is social clothing how will you let players have their characters look like the way they want to?

For quite some time now, I saw no official word on the UI, which is still a major hindrance as the interface between the player and the game.

I'm still hopeless  for socialization, still not as much as WAR though...

By the way your customer service never actually answered my personal email, nor your community managers my PMs. In this I have some faith with you, as new Product Director, that the service will improve.

As a final note I did read the data about crafting changes and well I'm sorry but I'm not impressed nor even interested in so far.

Almost forgot : why don't you merge English US and European forums? US are dead and there are much less official posts than europeans ones.

Originally posted by lumache

While I know this really isnt this new directors fault, but an apology for being IGNORE, DELETED, MOVED, and outright BANNED from the forums for attempting to bring things like, THE MEMORY LEAK issues, Crashes, grouping issues and others to light on the forums would be a good place to start.  Furthermore, assurances that the forums will become a place where these types of issue are handled, addressed and OPENLY discussed rather than shot down and dealt with punatively would be even better. 

As long as I continue to see people like Rihnlann or whatever on the forums with disclaimers that while he can ban posters and move posts, his views might not be those of FUNCOM, I cant give them my gaming dollars. Well, they already have them until december, however I dont sign in or play the game.  The first few months experience really put me off Conan and FUNCOM in general. 

Where is the new game director to say 'Hey, we know some stuff wasnt done right and we aim to change that." ?  When I receive an apology email and a free month (after december), MAYBE I might be pursuaded to return to this game.  Now dont misunderstand me, I NEVER expect this will happen, though nothing short of this will do for me.  I suspect there are many more out there that feel the same way, most of whom dont post here or anywhere else. 

I wanted Conan to be the place I landed every evening after work and the place I found myself late saturday night smashing away on someones skull. I wanted a place to come and leave the outside world behind, but what I got was something quite different.  I still see this new game director claiming they have a wonderful world etc.... I dont see him admitting the game was a disaster at launch and should have been handled differently.  I dont feel like this guy is fully admitting the extent of the issues with the game and that they understand they alienated alot of folks.

At this point, I think thats the LEAST they need to do to start rebuild the relationships with their customers that they so carelessly and wantonly discarded in the opening months of this game.

Thats my 2Tin.

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Gaute "Disaster" Godager has left the building. So Craig can be forth coming and express himself and admit that Gaute screwed up big time!

There is a good reason Gaute left (better described as he HAD to leave).

If you sell 800.000 copies and then couple months later, except for a couple servers, all game servers have turned into a ghost town. Then I call that a dissaster!

And all those players left for a good reason. And if you even want a small percentage of them back, then you better start with an Open Apology to the community that your predecesor screwed over their entire playerbase and litterly chased them out of the game.

As that is what happened. And it will be very, I repeat, it will be very very hard for Funcom to get even a small percentage of their customers back.

There is just so much that need to be done in that game, I don't even know where to start or where to end.

But I do feel for Craig tho. That he is the one that has to step in and clean up the mess Gaute left behind...... again.

Cheers

Originally posted by Guillermo197

Originally posted by lumache

While I know this really isnt this new directors fault, but an apology for being IGNORE, DELETED, MOVED, and outright BANNED from the forums for attempting to bring things like, THE MEMORY LEAK issues, Crashes, grouping issues and others to light on the forums would be a good place to start.  Furthermore, assurances that the forums will become a place where these types of issue are handled, addressed and OPENLY discussed rather than shot down and dealt with punatively would be even better. 

As long as I continue to see people like Rihnlann or whatever on the forums with disclaimers that while he can ban posters and move posts, his views might not be those of FUNCOM, I cant give them my gaming dollars. Well, they already have them until december, however I dont sign in or play the game.  The first few months experience really put me off Conan and FUNCOM in general. 

Where is the new game director to say 'Hey, we know some stuff wasnt done right and we aim to change that." ?  When I receive an apology email and a free month (after december), MAYBE I might be pursuaded to return to this game.  Now dont misunderstand me, I NEVER expect this will happen, though nothing short of this will do for me.  I suspect there are many more out there that feel the same way, most of whom dont post here or anywhere else. 

I wanted Conan to be the place I landed every evening after work and the place I found myself late saturday night smashing away on someones skull. I wanted a place to come and leave the outside world behind, but what I got was something quite different.  I still see this new game director claiming they have a wonderful world etc.... I dont see him admitting the game was a disaster at launch and should have been handled differently.  I dont feel like this guy is fully admitting the extent of the issues with the game and that they understand they alienated alot of folks.

At this point, I think thats the LEAST they need to do to start rebuild the relationships with their customers that they so carelessly and wantonly discarded in the opening months of this game.

Thats my 2Tin.

 

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Gaute "Disaster" Godager has left the building. So Craig can be forth coming and express himself and admit that Gaute screwed up big time!

There is a good reason Gaute left (better described as he HAD to leave).

If you sell 800.000 copies and then couple months later, except for a couple servers, all game servers have turned into a ghost town. Then I call that a dissaster!

And all those players left for a good reason. And if you even want a small percentage of them back, then you better start with an Open Apology to the community that your predecesor screwed over their entire playerbase and litterly chased them out of the game.

As that is what happened. And it will be very, I repeat, it will be very very hard for Funcom to get even a small percentage of their customers back.

There is just so much that need to be done in that game, I don't even know where to start or where to end.

But I do feel for Craig tho. That he is the one that has to step in and clean up the mess Gaute left behind...... again.

Cheers

I agree the forum moderation is a disaster on the US part, inconsistent for the least. They need to hire pros...

I think they did apologize and there are limits Craig can't go over. Honestly could he really say : hey we screwed big time, Gaute work blows and blah blah blah... no can't do Sir.

Funcom needed a head they took Gaute. If you step back SOE didn't do half that with SWG.

Personally I'm giving Funcom a 6-12 months. Then I'll be back to check how things goes on so I can try my collector's edition mount I never had the level to try out, funny indeed.