Ive been a player since 2006 with too many characters to count.  But I dont see Funcom thinking about making a sequel, with the new engine supposedly coming "soon". But I would love to see a true successor to Anarchy Online, though, it would be awkward to have Anarchy-Online and Anarchy-Online 2, so the first one would sadly need to end before the second could be made.

Unfortunatly Funcom is doing what every other mmo company do, they play it safe.   AO was new and original and i played this game for 2-3 years straight.   A sequel would have been much welcomed, but i guess i can understand that with the shaky start (and still shaky) of Conan they are not willing to invest in a new game.

The same question was asked some years ago and the same ansewer was given. if you wanted to ask them a question it should have been "so hows the work on the graphics overhaul coming?" "when can we expect to see some new footage?"

I'd invest $50 right this second in Funcom, INC if they were working on a true AO2.

I won't pay for AO or AoC, but if they had an AO2 in the works, I'd SOOOOOO be there.  AO is truly a great game, but it's simply old and tired.  Man, can you imagine how amazing AO would be using AoC or WAR graphics?

ao2? wtb!

great game, spent so many hours on rubi-ka (society of salvation <3). ill be 1st to preorder that :D

You do realize that the "graphics overhaul" mentioned above is literally converting the AoC graphics engine for use in AO, right?  When they do the overhaul, that's exactly what AO will be: AO with AoC graphics (since it's using the same engine...)

Originally posted by Aguitha

Unfortunatly Funcom is doing what every other mmo company do, they play it safe.   AO was new and original and i played this game for 2-3 years straight.   A sequel would have been much welcomed, but i guess i can understand that with the shaky start (and still shaky) of Conan they are not willing to invest in a new game.

Yeah I'd have to agree.  AO2 would never really be a game like AO was. 

Part of the magic behind AO was it's complexity and the fact that it actually required some thought process.  For example I knew people who 6 months after release still didn't know how to properly use things like the implant system.  This lead to  situations where you were better off grouping with the level 70 doc who was outhealing the level 130 simply because one knew the games mechanics and the other just spent all his time killing mobs and leveling as fast as possible. 

One of the VERY few mmorpgs I've played that had more to offer than just combat 24/7.  I could personally spend weeks just building plants and over-equiping my characters to an extreme result.  Those were the rewards the game offered people who really learned it as opposed to just mindless whacking of rabbits the entire gaming session.

I at least forgave Funcom for such a horrible release when frankly the game brought in mechanics way ahead of it's time.  First use of instances to solve overcrowding, item linking in chat windows which did wonders in the day for trading.  Self generated missions from terminals when you didn't have the time to join a group but still wanted some xp. So on and so on..

I'm afraid AO2 would be infested with static easy to understand classes and little arrows always telling me exactly where I need to go and what I should be doing.  You can't blame Funcom for that in my opinion.  The mmo masses have spoken with their money and that's the gameplay they want. 

Or perhaps just no developer is willing to take the chance and find out how many mmor's like myself still exist that prefer a game that beats the crap out of you for a few months until you really learn it?  I don't think we'll ever find out. 

Damn that was a bunch of drama filled sounding crap, back to playing some FPS's before someone confiscates my penis over this post.

Originally posted by SporkWitch

You do realize that the "graphics overhaul" mentioned above is literally converting the AoC graphics engine for use in AO, right?  When they do the overhaul, that's exactly what AO will be: AO with AoC graphics (since it's using the same engine...)

Not true.  The texture, models, and animations, from what I can tell, are all going to be the same.  And only some of the particle effects are in line for change.

Then you haven't looked at any of the releases at all, as even the very early ones show very significant improvements to models and textures.

The thing about MMOs is that they are supposed to evolve in my opinion. I think the overhaul of AO and a new marketing campaign would be better then trying to create a sequel. I wouldn't suggest an overhaul in the sense that the SWG NGE was an overhaul, but certainly the graphics overhaul (lost track of where this really stands anymore) and some other modernization.

Originally posted by SporkWitch

Then you haven't looked at any of the releases at all, as even the very early ones show very significant improvements to models and textures.

No, they don't. Learn the difference between "graphics engine" and "graphics", please.

Those "improved" models and textures are the same ones already in AO. What is different is the things the engine supports, including dynamic lighting and shadow, bumpmapping, and dx9 as opposed to AO's current dx7. The only things being redone for the new engine are the particle effects for nanos and such. And yes, even the nice water in the "new engine videos" ( which, by the way, were from the Ogre engine, not the Dreamworld engine ) is the result of dx9 and lighting/shadows.

Let's be honest, the CU and NGE overhauls are not something that should ever be referenced in any kind of positive light, or even a good example of an overhaul.  The NGE especially was simply decimating everything good in the game that was left after the CU, with zero beneficial changes.

A good example of an overhaul would be things like the fishing changes in FFXI to make it harder to write bots to do it, or the massive changes to speed mechanics in EVE Online, that resulted in much improved game balance (no more HACs -- which normally go a few hundred meters per second -- going 8-15km/s).  These are much better examples of overhauls, especially since for all the nerfing they did, the benefits are significantly greater.

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by SporkWitch

Then you haven't looked at any of the releases at all, as even the very early ones show very significant improvements to models and textures.

 

No, they don't. Learn the difference between "graphics engine" and "graphics", please.

Those "improved" models and textures are the same ones already in AO. What is different is the things the engine supports, including dynamic lighting and shadow, bumpmapping, and dx9 as opposed to AO's current dx7. The only things being redone for the new engine are the particle effects for nanos and such. And yes, even the nice water in the "new engine videos" ( which, by the way, were from the Ogre engine, not the Dreamworld engine ) is the result of dx9 and lighting/shadows.

In general use, when we talk about the engine, we include models and textures, though you are correct as far as the technical description of what the engine alone does. And yes, they are updating textures and models, they've said as much, and do you honestly think it would be taking as long as it is if they weren't? Look at EVE Online and the massive overhauls they've done over the past year. They not only wrote a new engine for it, but overhauled models and textures, and pulled it off in no time by comparison. Even taking into account the fact that Funcom works on other games too, and so it can't devote all its resources to just one, they would have had it done by now if all they were doing was porting the engine and leaving the existing textures and models.
 

As Craig stated quite some time ago..

One slight correction is that I believe some of the sites have credited as being the Conan engine, which isn't the case, the updates to the new anarchy engine are being developed independently and its not the same engine tech as we have said before the engine for Conan isn't backwards compatible with the AO engine.

__________________
Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison
Old Timer

Originally posted by SporkWitch

Let's be honest, the CU and NGE overhauls are not something that should ever be referenced in any kind of positive light, or even a good example of an overhaul.  The NGE especially was simply decimating everything good in the game that was left after the CU, with zero beneficial changes.

A good example of an overhaul would be things like the fishing changes in FFXI to make it harder to write bots to do it, or the massive changes to speed mechanics in EVE Online, that resulted in much improved game balance (no more HACs -- which normally go a few hundred meters per second -- going 8-15km/s).  These are much better examples of overhauls, especially since for all the nerfing they did, the benefits are significantly greater.

I think there are plenty of examples, and people have plenty of ideas as to what would be appropriate overhauls. My intention in specifically mentioning the NGE was as a means of pointing out an overhaul that went bad. Personally, I was disappointed with the CU and left at that point so I do have some understanding of what went on and the context in which I brought up the NGE.

Certainly, the AO devs should engage the community before making any significant changes to core game features and machanics, but I believe, graphics alone, would go a long way toward diminishing the idea that a whole new game should be coded.

Originally posted by SporkWitch

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by SporkWitch

Then you haven't looked at any of the releases at all, as even the very early ones show very significant improvements to models and textures.

 

No, they don't. Learn the difference between "graphics engine" and "graphics", please.

Those "improved" models and textures are the same ones already in AO. What is different is the things the engine supports, including dynamic lighting and shadow, bumpmapping, and dx9 as opposed to AO's current dx7. The only things being redone for the new engine are the particle effects for nanos and such. And yes, even the nice water in the "new engine videos" ( which, by the way, were from the Ogre engine, not the Dreamworld engine ) is the result of dx9 and lighting/shadows.

 

In general use, when we talk about the engine, we include models and textures, though you are correct as far as the technical description of what the engine alone does. And yes, they are updating textures and models, they've said as much, and do you honestly think it would be taking as long as it is if they weren't? Look at EVE Online and the massive overhauls they've done over the past year. They not only wrote a new engine for it, but overhauled models and textures, and pulled it off in no time by comparison. Even taking into account the fact that Funcom works on other games too, and so it can't devote all its resources to just one, they would have had it done by now if all they were doing was porting the engine and leaving the existing textures and models.
 

In other words, you haven't read one post from Means.

Do you realize they just scrapped two years of work on the engine, and just restarted with the AoC one?

Originally posted by HoldMe

As Craig stated quite some time ago..

 

One slight correction is that I believe some of the sites have credited as being the Conan engine, which isn't the case, the updates to the new anarchy engine are being developed independently and its not the same engine tech as we have said before the engine for Conan isn't backwards compatible with the AO engine.

__________________
Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison
Old Timer

Yeah, some time ago LONG before Colin "Means" Cragg took over. When Craig was in charge, they were using OGRE for the new engine.

Means scrapped that engine a few months back and announced they are using the AoC version of Dreamworld ( FYI: the AoC engine IS the AO engine re-written and upgraded to modern code standards, such as dx9 ).

I highly recommend people start paying attention to the guy running AO. And that is NOT Morrison.

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by SporkWitch

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by SporkWitch

Then you haven't looked at any of the releases at all, as even the very early ones show very significant improvements to models and textures.

 

No, they don't. Learn the difference between "graphics engine" and "graphics", please.

Those "improved" models and textures are the same ones already in AO. What is different is the things the engine supports, including dynamic lighting and shadow, bumpmapping, and dx9 as opposed to AO's current dx7. The only things being redone for the new engine are the particle effects for nanos and such. And yes, even the nice water in the "new engine videos" ( which, by the way, were from the Ogre engine, not the Dreamworld engine ) is the result of dx9 and lighting/shadows.

 

In general use, when we talk about the engine, we include models and textures, though you are correct as far as the technical description of what the engine alone does. And yes, they are updating textures and models, they've said as much, and do you honestly think it would be taking as long as it is if they weren't? Look at EVE Online and the massive overhauls they've done over the past year. They not only wrote a new engine for it, but overhauled models and textures, and pulled it off in no time by comparison. Even taking into account the fact that Funcom works on other games too, and so it can't devote all its resources to just one, they would have had it done by now if all they were doing was porting the engine and leaving the existing textures and models.
 

 

In other words, you haven't read one post from Means.

Do you realize they just scrapped two years of work on the engine, and just restarted with the AoC one?

No, obiously he doesn't lol...  But then again they can't use AoC texture modeling in AO, the workload would be impossible for the small dev team of AO to take on.

Originally posted by NeokiNaomi

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by SporkWitch

Originally posted by Zorvan

Originally posted by SporkWitch

Then you haven't looked at any of the releases at all, as even the very early ones show very significant improvements to models and textures.

 

No, they don't. Learn the difference between "graphics engine" and "graphics", please.

Those "improved" models and textures are the same ones already in AO. What is different is the things the engine supports, including dynamic lighting and shadow, bumpmapping, and dx9 as opposed to AO's current dx7. The only things being redone for the new engine are the particle effects for nanos and such. And yes, even the nice water in the "new engine videos" ( which, by the way, were from the Ogre engine, not the Dreamworld engine ) is the result of dx9 and lighting/shadows.

 

In general use, when we talk about the engine, we include models and textures, though you are correct as far as the technical description of what the engine alone does. And yes, they are updating textures and models, they've said as much, and do you honestly think it would be taking as long as it is if they weren't? Look at EVE Online and the massive overhauls they've done over the past year. They not only wrote a new engine for it, but overhauled models and textures, and pulled it off in no time by comparison. Even taking into account the fact that Funcom works on other games too, and so it can't devote all its resources to just one, they would have had it done by now if all they were doing was porting the engine and leaving the existing textures and models.
 

 

In other words, you haven't read one post from Means.

Do you realize they just scrapped two years of work on the engine, and just restarted with the AoC one?

 

No, obiously he doesn't lol...  Somebody just posted a direct qoute from means about the engine too, scroll up and those of you that think you're AO upcoming engine smart, will realize you're wrong.

No, they quoted directly from an old post of Morrison's, not Means. Don't try to show others how "smart" they are when it makes you look like a fool.

Something else to say, or you want to quit while you're ahead?

I was rather refering to engine smart in regards to textures being textures from AoC, which they aren't, and I'll quit while I'm "ahead" since my little name mistake means a lot you.

The smart remark is aimed at this comment, you shouldn't take it too personal next time.

"You do realize that the "graphics overhaul" mentioned above is literally converting the AoC graphics engine for use in AO, right? When they do the overhaul, that's exactly what AO will be: AO with AoC graphics (since it's using the same engine...)"
 

Anarchy Online's /new/ engine.

forums.anarchy-online.com/showthread.php

"The Engine

We have been working on the conversion to Ogre for quite some time now...and there have been good days...and bad days. The team has really done a great job and it has been amazing to watch AO slowly move towards a day where we could release the game "fresh" with the upgraded look the AO world deserves. The problem with this journey is a matter of time and the destination. While the Ogre engine is an excellent choice it is just not providing the full featureset that we originally hoped to would deliver...moreover to add those features seems to be a task with ever growing estimates....which is something our small team can not afford, nor expect our players to wait for. When the decision to go with Ogre was made the engine used for Conan was in its adolescence...it ran but it was gangly, awkward and had stability issues. After two years of constant work by a large and brilliant render team the engine used by Conan runs beautifully and stably and offers a great number of complete features that would require additional years of work in Ogre. With the delays due to difficulties associated with optimization of Ogre to work well with current AO and the estimated timelines for a full implementation of the Conan engine (Dreamworld Engine/Cheetah) being nearly identical we were faced with a difficult decision.

We chose to go with the Dreamworld Engine."
 

ANYway.......I would SO TOTALLY jump on an AO2! I've been hoping for one for years....although obviously not holding my breath.

Me too, killing old school Ace and Real mean mobs in Home to level 200 on a sick physics and graphics engine? Yes please! They could totally gear AO2 towards the Alien storyline and make it all out epic, but it would be tough to have it not contradict the storyline of Tabula Rasa I suppose.

AO2 has the main problem of would it be same as AO, setting is one thing, but system is main one. Would there be market for something more complex?

It would be intresting to see if they could make a new game with similiar system to AO, few things could change(dynamic items, not so that every item is copy of one other and complexity of items is limited because of exponetial growth). Something where your choises would be more free, and knowledge would be power.

Yep, they are using Dreamworld. Basicly, AO will get most of enviromental effects of AoC, textures will be lacking a bit and models also, but I have heard rumours that textures aren't too bad. Main thing of new engine is that work is moved from CPU to GPU, as AO is almost fully depend on CPU now, HDD speeds factoring second.

I would say that moving from Ogre to Dreamworld was a realistic move, they can get support from FC, as TSW almost certainly will use it too. A

Originally posted by NeokiNaomi

I was rather refering to engine smart in regards to textures being textures from AoC, which they aren't, and I'll quit while I'm "ahead" since my little name mistake means a lot you.

The smart remark is aimed at this comment, you shouldn't take it too personal next time.

"You do realize that the "graphics overhaul" mentioned above is literally converting the AoC graphics engine for use in AO, right? When they do the overhaul, that's exactly what AO will be: AO with AoC graphics (since it's using the same engine...)"
 

My apologies. NeokiNaomi.

I read your post wrong.

Originally posted by Ekaros

AO2 has the main problem of would it be same as AO, setting is one thing, but system is main one. Would there be market for something more complex?

It would be intresting to see if they could make a new game with similiar system to AO, few things could change(dynamic items, not so that every item is copy of one other and complexity of items is limited because of exponetial growth). Something where your choises would be more free, and knowledge would be power.

That's what would worry me about an "AO2". After seeing the small, non-complicated, standard-80-levels, EQ/WoW formula FC used with AoC, it would probably be the same with a new AO. And that would totally kill it, for me anyway.

Originally posted by grunty

Anarchy Online's /new/ engine.

forums.anarchy-online.com/showthread.php

"The Engine

We have been working on the conversion to Ogre for quite some time now...and there have been good days...and bad days. The team has really done a great job and it has been amazing to watch AO slowly move towards a day where we could release the game "fresh" with the upgraded look the AO world deserves. The problem with this journey is a matter of time and the destination. While the Ogre engine is an excellent choice it is just not providing the full featureset that we originally hoped to would deliver...moreover to add those features seems to be a task with ever growing estimates....which is something our small team can not afford, nor expect our players to wait for. When the decision to go with Ogre was made the engine used for Conan was in its adolescence...it ran but it was gangly, awkward and had stability issues. After two years of constant work by a large and brilliant render team the engine used by Conan runs beautifully and stably and offers a great number of complete features that would require additional years of work in Ogre. With the delays due to difficulties associated with optimization of Ogre to work well with current AO and the estimated timelines for a full implementation of the Conan engine (Dreamworld Engine/Cheetah) being nearly identical we were faced with a difficult decision.

We chose to go with the Dreamworld Engine."
 

so those 2-3 years that they were upgrading to Ogre engine are now wasted and we will have to wait another 2-3 years until they switch to Age of Conan engine? meh, i dont think they will ever complete it.....

Who knows, maybe they were able to translate some of the files and keep the work flowing over to the new engine.  Regardless I just hope it does come.  And when it does I hope some players are willing to step up and alpha test it to make sure it has a smooth implementation, it's very likely there will be tons of graphical glitches with the new engine.

 The screens/videos was of the engine that they ended up scrapping and they decided to go with the AoC engine.  They are saying late this year for the graphics overhaul.  Here is a thread with video from FC of the Alpha version of AO with AoC engine http://forums.anarchy-online.com/showthread.php?t=519499