I feel like AoC could have been a very awsome game, and had a ton of potential, i was very dissapointed to see the population drop so much :-( but now they are saying its all better and that they fixed their problems. Is this true? is anyone going to re try it, or try it for a first time? Just wondering.

Originally posted by StevieHmself

 

I feel like AoC could have been a very awsome game, and had a ton of potential, i was very dissapointed to see the population drop so much :-( but now they are saying its all better and that they fixed their problems. Is this true? is anyone going to re try it, or try it for a first time? Just wondering.

Almost, but not yet.  While I like the music, art style, and grittiness of a Conan world, the original release turned me off with it's 20 LEVEL LONG tutorial that was more linear in feel than most novels.

If Funcom ever makes an AOC2 and opens the world up a bit, then I am sure to jump aboard.  The Conan setting is, to me, the coolest of fantasy settings.

For now, it is tempting, but I wonder if I would just subscribe, login, remember why I left, log out, cancel, and uninstall.  Still, it's only $15 to find out, I suppose.

With a few upgrades to crafting and fixing sieges it will be a unique, fun game.

I just stopped playing, but I'll likely come back in the future.

Not at the moment maybe when they get the game to release levels i may try it again.

Now?nope

expansion? think so, but it depends on the release date

I made a break of 3 month on raiding in AoC and 2 month on playing AoC but there is no other game out that i like more.

Beside some flaws any game has and some specific things AoC has it is the game i want to play.

Best Graphics

Best Combat System

Best Classes

Best Avatars

Best Questing in Tortage and avarage to good Questing after Tortage

Best World to play in bcs the background / lore (i am so bored of Elves and Dwarfes and Hobbits - all the High-Fantasy-Stuff)

Needs improvement in Crafting, PvP and more Sandbox-Elements.

AoC runs most times without any hickup on a AMD-Win7-Machine so i am not angered about technical bugs galore ;)

Originally posted by pencilrick

20 LEVEL LONG tutorial that was more linear in feel than most novels.

Hmmm, odd, I found that it was not linear except for the destiny quests, which you can choose or skip if you completed them once. The world quests below lvl20 are so diverse you only have to do half. If anything it is the most enjoyable part of the game and the least linear compared to later in the game.
 

And tutorial? you do know you can turn the help off?

Originally posted by haratu

Originally posted by pencilrick

20 LEVEL LONG tutorial that was more linear in feel than most novels.

Hmmm, odd, I found that it was not linear except for the destiny quests, which you can choose or skip if you completed them once. The world quests below lvl20 are so diverse you only have to do half. If anything it is the most enjoyable part of the game and the least linear compared to later in the game.
 

And tutorial? you do know you can turn the help off?

So when you got off the boat after the mandatory boat-sinking cutscene then walked down the forest path which has invisible walls on each side and would not let you walk past the tied-up girl unless you talked to her and did a quest, you did NOT feel that was linear?

Originally posted by pencilrick

Originally posted by haratu

Originally posted by pencilrick

20 LEVEL LONG tutorial that was more linear in feel than most novels.

Hmmm, odd, I found that it was not linear except for the destiny quests, which you can choose or skip if you completed them once. The world quests below lvl20 are so diverse you only have to do half. If anything it is the most enjoyable part of the game and the least linear compared to later in the game.
 

And tutorial? you do know you can turn the help off?

So when you got off the boat after the mandatory boat-sinking cutscene then walked down the forest path which has invisible walls on each side and would not let you walk past the tied-up girl unless you talked to her and did a quest, you did NOT feel that was linear?

lol, you're joking, right? Or when you have to enter your account id and then a password, man that's linear too, huh?

Originally posted by Timzilla

Originally posted by pencilrick

Originally posted by haratu

Originally posted by pencilrick

20 LEVEL LONG tutorial that was more linear in feel than most novels.

Hmmm, odd, I found that it was not linear except for the destiny quests, which you can choose or skip if you completed them once. The world quests below lvl20 are so diverse you only have to do half. If anything it is the most enjoyable part of the game and the least linear compared to later in the game.
 

And tutorial? you do know you can turn the help off?

So when you got off the boat after the mandatory boat-sinking cutscene then walked down the forest path which has invisible walls on each side and would not let you walk past the tied-up girl unless you talked to her and did a quest, you did NOT feel that was linear?

 

lol, you're joking, right? Or when you have to enter your account id and then a password, man that's linear too, huh?

If you cannot, or will not, understand what forced linear gameplay is, then I likely cannot explain it to you (but will try anyway).  Your analogy of comparing logging in to gameplay is as weak as comparing a pond to an ocean and saying, "they are both bodies of water and therefore are both the same."

If you are on a forest path on an island, you should be able to walk off the forest path.  Might not be the safe or sensible thing to do, but you should be able to do it.  If you cannot, and if the path is blocked with a quest NPC you MUST interact with in order to proceed further, then that is linear.

Lots of games release with bugs, but it is design elements, not bugs, that sink a game.  Linear design is weak and unimaginative.  And Howard's world of Hyboria was anything but linear and constrained.  The Conan stories always gave you the feeling that Conan was a free-spirited wanderer in a wide open and dangerous world.  The Age of Conan game gives the feeling of a linear single player RPG, at least in the early levels.

The "early levels" you're referring to are 5 levels that last 20 minutes.  If you're referring to all 20 levels in tortage, it is by far the most compelling and interesting introduction to an MMO that've played. I'd much rather feel engaged in the storyline, interested in my character's journey, and "led", than dropped into the nonsense that is Darkfall.  Your mileage may vary, however.  It is strange to me that you find Tortage the problem with AoC.

Originally posted by feste

The "early levels" you're referring to are 5 levels that last 20 minutes.  If you're referring to all 20 levels in tortage, it is by far the most compelling and interesting introduction to an MMO that've played. I'd much rather feel engaged in the storyline, interested in my character's journey, and "led", than dropped into the nonsense that is Darkfall.  Your mileage may vary, however.  It is strange to me that you find Tortage the problem with AoC.

Well, I've been seeing "forced linear gameplay" creep into a lot of games lately, and not just MMO's.  I think it is an effort to "hand hold" and to draw in the general non-gaming population and to introduce them to gaming. 

Still, I find it frustrating and immersion breaking, at least for me.  I do not mind direction, such as an NPC saying, "Hey, you're new, go talk to the trainer on the other side of the village if you want some tips."  That is much better than being trapped inside an invisible hallway with only one way to walk. 

I think WOW (not my favorite game, but admirable for many reasons) did it right.  You entered the world with some direction and clues on what is best to do, but no immediate artificial restraints (i.e., nothing to stop you from wandering out of the noob area and into a higher level area where you could get stomped.)

AOC, to my limited experience and to my understanding of what others have revealed about subsequent gamplay, does not do that.

Originally posted by pencilrick

Originally posted by feste

The "early levels" you're referring to are 5 levels that last 20 minutes.  If you're referring to all 20 levels in tortage, it is by far the most compelling and interesting introduction to an MMO that've played. I'd much rather feel engaged in the storyline, interested in my character's journey, and "led", than dropped into the nonsense that is Darkfall.  Your mileage may vary, however.  It is strange to me that you find Tortage the problem with AoC.

Well, I've been seeing "forced linear gameplay" creep into a lot of games lately, and not just MMO's.  I think it is an effort to "hand hold" and to draw in the general non-gaming population and to introduce them to gaming. 

Still, I find it frustrating and immersion breaking, at least for me.  I do not mind direction, such as an NPC saying, "Hey, you're new, go talk to the trainer on the other side of the village if you want some tips."  That is much better than being trapped inside an invisible hallway with only one way to walk. 

I think WOW (not my favorite game, but admirable for many reasons) did it right.  You entered the world with some direction and clues on what is best to do, but no immediate artificial restraints (i.e., nothing to stop you from wandering out of the noob area and into a higher level area where you could get stomped.)

AOC, to my limited experience and to my understanding of what others have revealed about subsequent gamplay, does not do that.

 

 

 

Point taken.  You want the freedom to explore; you're right--Conan doesn't really offer that.   Sadly, with the recent releases of Aion, Champions, War, etc...  there's plenty of evidence you are no longer the target audience for mainstream mmos.  All of them funnel the experience in very linear fashion.  Fallen Earth has a design more consistent with your WoW experience. Perhaps that'll suit your needs better.  The AoC expansion, to some extent, seems to be designed to allow more exploration and a more seemless world.  Time will tell.  Nothing else on the horizon looks promising for open world exploration...maybe Star Trek, but given Cryptic's choices with Champions I'd be shocked.  

I thought AOC was an awesome game. The only drawbacks are the raid boss loot drop issues and pvp. I may go back at some point to try out the expansion if that ever comes out soon.

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH dances with delicious Stygian bar lady)

plan on subing for a year asap.had to quit cause of cash flow  prolbems which getn co for cheep on amazon market place didnt help matters either.i had quit the 1st time 3rd month after release.went back think start of last summer after droping wow .had a blast.

the year deal puts it under 9 bucks a month .an thats a great deal imho.looking forward to their expansion .

I tried to go back to the game a couple of months ago, but it reminded me too much of the disastrous launch. Guess it left a bitter taste in my mouth to say the least.

Couldn't do it.

There's no way I could ever play this game again. I do wish it and it's fans luck though!

I tried 3 times but it doesn't cut it for me.

Originally posted by feste

Point taken.  You want the freedom to explore; you're right--Conan doesn't really offer that.   Sadly, with the recent releases of Aion, Champions, War, etc...  there's plenty of evidence you are no longer the target audience for mainstream mmos.  All of them funnel the experience in very linear fashion.  Fallen Earth has a design more consistent with your WoW experience. Perhaps that'll suit your needs better.  The AoC expansion, to some extent, seems to be designed to allow more exploration and a more seemless world.  Time will tell.  Nothing else on the horizon looks promising for open world exploration...maybe Star Trek, but given Cryptic's choices with Champions I'd be shocked.  

Come on over to Fallen Earth.  There are 4 massive continents to explore, and ZERO hand holding.  My character is Cyrus Badmoon.  Look me up and I will  hook you up with some suspicious cheese and flat beer to get you started :)

Honestly while i was playign aion becuase my  rl friends are im quiting its boring just like i thought it would be i tried tho have 1 lvl 25 and another 31.  It just no aspect of that game is fun , the pvp setup is good but the combat is trash.

I liked aspects of aoc, but really the game was released underrealized and tortage (sp?) is pretty good the the game sucks after that.

ATM the only new mmo out that has any interest for me is champions online, but alas its end game is dismel... at least i enjoy the pvp.

I enjoyed AoC a great deal while I played, the only reason as to why I stopped was I picked up lotro again with my girlfriend, and we got into that, and as to not want to spend money on two subs, I opted to cancel my AoC account.

I will agree that the game was very linear in the fact of the heavy reliance on instancing. It seems however, that the devs might have understood players issues with this, and it seems they might be changing the way it works in the expansion, or at least how many instanced zones there are.

I did really enjoy my time in AoC though. I loved the gritty feel of the game along with the realistic styles of the towns and armor. It was also one of the very few mmo's that actually felt like there was turmoil and destruction all around you, and that the world was plunged headlong into war.

Ive been keeping my eye on AoC for a few weeks now and anticipating more news on the expansion. I have always been a huge fan of Oriental themes, so Im hoping this expansion really delivers. If it does I will most likely come back and give AoC another shot.