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Age of Conan: Unchained General Article: The Road to Most Improved: Jan - Mar
MMORPG.com Age of Conan Reporter John Humphrey writes this multi-part article detailing Age of Conan's 2009 progress toward being named MMORPG.com's Most Improved MMO. In today's addition, he discusses changes and events for the game from January to March.
By John Humphrey on January 14, 2010
You can read the background, here.
Part of Age of Conan’s recovery involved server merges, and there was much controversy as a result of it. On January 9, 2009, FunCom merged their host down to eight North American Servers and twelve European servers of various languages from the 49 originally populated servers. In truth, this event was inevitable. FunCom had set up a substantial number of servers believing that their game would rival WoW. When the dust settled in 2008 and 1.2 million boxes sold turned into 400,000 (or less) subscriptions, it turned out to be a business decision to maintain the game by reducing the maintenance on servers and the number of support personnel needed for technology and customer service, not to mention having players on the same servers.
The publicity surrounding this act was a two-edged sword. While many players now found a lot of new players to associate with, other veterans lost favorite player names and guild names, and the healthy RPG servers had to adjust to a large number on non-RP gamers being thrust into their previously large and happy populations. Opponents of Age of Conan had a field day, announcing that this event signaled the demise of the game, and it was only a matter of time before the plug was pulled on the remaining servers. Looking at this event a year later, I can say that though unwelcome by some players, the merges did more good than harm, and healthier populations can be found on each remaining server, evidence that the game is not yet dead.
January announced the anticipated content update of Thunder River and Xibaluku. The update was released on February 18th. The bar had been raised on Ymir’s Pass, and the developers now had to make this quest chain perform even better and with more surprises for end-game, level 80 players. Xibaluku is actually a six-man instance in an old Pict-infested Acheronian Ruin for level 80 players found within the Thunder River region with new high-end loot.
Xibaluku is unique in that you can face up to twelve different bosses depending on how the players approach the content through their character choices and what time of the day the dungeon is challenged. The bosses rotate and you will not see the same bosses on every visit; you may have to run through the dungeon on several different occasions to see everything and challenge every boss. The quest chain can end in two very different ways. In encounters, you must be very aware of your environments, and you have many console-style physical actions that you may need to demonstrate, if you can figure out what you need to do to succeed.
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Those players that are successful may find a new companion pet in the form of an Undead Skeleton or Ghost of a somewhat familiar looking Human. To access Xibaluku, each player has a solo event that must be completed in the form of the Slaughterhouse Cellar; it actually contains dozens of its own quests to challenge the unwary. In addition to all of the above, the “Cradle of Decay” and a level 80 raid dungeon (the Wing 3 Raid Instance) of the Black Ring Citadel, introducing the sorceress Athyr-Bast and the demon Leviathus, were released.
Wings 1 and 2 of the Black Ring Citadel had already been released for Level 80 players in 2008. The “Cradle of Decay” is content created for a six-man group of level 43 or stronger players providing a new selection of loot and an introduction to the more interactive dungeon environment similar to that found in Xibaluku; you should be prepared for encounters with a seductive mistress, a wrathful mother, and a horrid master.
PvP system improvements were also addressed early in 2009 with Update 4 making changes and additions as over 50 improvements and tweaks to PvP Minigames, Massive PvP Sieges, and the PvP Notoriety System. In order to build Battle Keeps in the Border Kingdoms, you must gather resources that can typically only be found in the Border Kingdoms. Guilds can inhibit each other from obtaining the resources that they need prior to an expected raid.
If you are killed in a PvP Zone, players can actually loot these PvP resources from your avatar. It becomes a team effort to accomplish all goals in this environment. Your crafters and gatherers will need to be protected by an armed cadre of other players, if your upcoming opponent is indeed paying attention.
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The sign-up process was improved, so it would become more accessible for more players. A separate leveling system was introduced for PvP, and with each PvP level earned, access was granted to more powerful PvP weapons and armor. A “Consequence” or “Murderer” system was introduced for PvP as well. High level players are not stopped from ganking lower level players; instead, the world turns against them for a set amount of time. There are also “Redemption Quests” and “Outlaw Camps” available where a Murderer can try to more quickly remove their Criminal flags. After a set number of “unfair” kills, the “criminal” experiences a debuff that affects his or her play. Normal NPCs in cities will no longer speak to a murderer and guards will try to kill the murderer on sight when the debuff is active.
The behavior of many bosses, including Yakhmar, Kyllikki, and Vistrix, were modified to reflect an improved AI to more deeply challenge Raid encounters. A brand new master loot option was implemented. Group leaders could designate a Master Looter who is in control of loot distribution during a raid. Every group member can now also designate a personal loot distribution option during raids, and other group events, to ease the distribution burden and help their teammates. PvP maps have been improved and new maps were added.
Nice article. It really points out alot of the changes made to the game since it's release...The new update is going to bring pretty big changes to the game as well, including the guild overhaul.
Looking forward to this.Hopeing AoC contiues improving an growing .
Soooo...
There is a HUGE public opinion amongst MMO gamers that tells you to "STAY AWAY" - from this title and every MMO title that Funcom touches.
Now... Let me tell you few things that have not improved and will not improve in the coming "expansion" (payed for patch with 1-2 zones added at release and 1-2 dungeons and 2 new mounths = same as most MMOs release now for free).
THey are NOT changing the basic flaw of the entire game. The fact that the entire gaming story is built around the fact that you were left stranded on an Island like EVERY other person playing that game. And your alts... and your PVP oponents.. and your friends...
Yes ... ALL go throught the same nighmare of a starting story that is then involved EXACTLY the same (no branches for 80 lvls) to the end. This is what FUncom calls MMO settings. The rest of the MMO genre actually sees how naive this is... how TERRIBLE job was done in the entire making of the game (is really just a single player storyline) and since the starting zone cost millions to create - their "expansion" is not changing this at all.
This is all I have to say about AOC at this point. You can fix everything you like - but the game had fundemental flaws in ALL departments at the start. And it still has. Even 50 articles on how it has improved will not change that.
[Mod Edit]
I'm sorry, was WoW also chosen as "Most Improved Game of 2009"? No? Then why would their be an article on WoW?
They are showing WHY they chose AoC as "Most Improved Game", more than likely to appease the countless whines of "Why did you choose AoC over X?".
I find it amusing that the scrubs who always come out accusing mmorpg.com of only picking a game because of advertising money still come here instead of one of these obviously better sites that are just so full of journalistic integrity compared to mmorpg.com ( lol if you can name one, I'll be amazed and if you say Massively or TenTonHammer, I'll laugh my ass off ). If the place is so horrible, why come at all? Oh, yeah. Gottta have somewhere to bitch, moan, and groan.
I'm sorry, was WoW also chosen as "Most Improved Game of 2009"? No? Then why would their be an article on WoW?
They are showing WHY they chose AoC as "Most Improved Game", more than likely to appease the countless whines of "Why did you choose AoC over X?".
I find it amusing that the scrubs who always come out accusing mmorpg.com of only picking a game because of advertising money still come here instead of one of these obviously better sites that are just so full of journalistic integrity compared to mmorpg.com ( lol if you can name one, I'll be amazed and if you say Massively or TenTonHammer, I'll laugh my ass off ). If the place is so horrible, why come at all? Oh, yeah. Gottta have somewhere to bitch, moan, and groan.
No - why I come here is to point out that just like in Massively and TenTonHammer - things are not based on facts. The fact that MMORPG.COM is run by adds that are very much sponsored by certain companies should be pointed out to everyone that thinks - OH this must be a great game cause a "gamer site" is picking it.
TTH actually woted Runes of Magic in pretty much every department as their "game of the year". Considering that ROM was a new release in 2009 and ALSO added 2 new races - LVL cap - new starting zones and end zones and ALL for free!.. YOu must start to wonder if we should listen to the gamers.... or the "experts" that are beeing payed for their opinions.
And btw - just to point one thing that shows you how rosie this Article is.
"Full implementation of DirectX 10 went live the last week of March 2009." This is a LIE! DX 10 is STILL in Beta and is NOT fully implemented. I will take this point to the headquarters of MMORPG.COM and point out that an author that is writing in their name is actually LYING.
DirectX 11 is in Windows 7:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/aboutGFW/pages/directx.aspx
DirectX® 11, the next generation of graphics technology, arrives with Windows 7. This is great news for players as many of the newest Windows games will take full advantage of this technology to create more immersive and detailed worlds and experiences. Game developers will utilize new features to create rich worlds, realistic characters, and more fluid gameplay.
DirectX 11 features include:
Tessellation – Tessellation is implemented on the GPU to calculate a smoother curved surface resulting in more graphically detailed images, including more lifelike characters in the gaming worlds that you explore.
Multi-Threading – The ability to scale across multi-core CPUs will enable developers to take greater advantage of the power within multi-core CPUs. This results in faster framerates for games, while still supporting the increased visual detailing.
DirectCompute – Developers can utilize the power of discrete graphics cards to accelerate both gaming and non-gaming applications. This improves graphics, while also enabling players to accelerate everyday tasks, like video editing, on their Windows 7 PC.
While Windows 7 is fully compatible with games and hardware that use older versions of DirectX, the new DirectX 11 features are available with a DirectX 11 compatible graphics card and games designed to take advantage of this new technology.
DirectX 11 is in Windows 7:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/aboutGFW/pages/directx.aspx
DirectX® 11, the next generation of graphics technology, arrives with Windows 7. This is great news for players as many of the newest Windows games will take full advantage of this technology to create more immersive and detailed worlds and experiences. Game developers will utilize new features to create rich worlds, realistic characters, and more fluid gameplay.
DirectX 11 features include:
Tessellation – Tessellation is implemented on the GPU to calculate a smoother curved surface resulting in more graphically detailed images, including more lifelike characters in the gaming worlds that you explore.
Multi-Threading – The ability to scale across multi-core CPUs will enable developers to take greater advantage of the power within multi-core CPUs. This results in faster framerates for games, while still supporting the increased visual detailing.
DirectCompute – Developers can utilize the power of discrete graphics cards to accelerate both gaming and non-gaming applications. This improves graphics, while also enabling players to accelerate everyday tasks, like video editing, on their Windows 7 PC.
While Windows 7 is fully compatible with games and hardware that use older versions of DirectX, the new DirectX 11 features are available with a DirectX 11 compatible graphics card and games designed to take advantage of this new technology.
What exactly are you trying to show, Thorgrimm? He was referring to DX10 in AoC, not saying DX10 was not in Windows.
And he is correct that it is a test version of DX10 that is still not optimized fully with AoC and that Funcom has never said DX10 was implemented, only the test version. Although I doubt the author of the article was outright lying as Frobner acccuses him of, more than likely he just didn't notice the "TEST" part of the DX10 description when playing.
GameSpot- July 2009
"In addition to new content areas already added, the team is now simultaneously working toward full implementation of DirectX 10 support, toward the game's next update House of Crom, and on a full retail expansion pack, which will be revealed in August. DirectX 10 support is currently in a beta state and a portion of the game's active players are already using and testing the game, but Funcom is continuing to test the game and accept player feedback--according to Morrison, the inability to have broader testing among a range of systems to make sure DX 10 works OK is what has delayed the full implementation. However, Morrison suggests that the team is "getting close" and hopes to have full DX 10 support in the game in the next month or two."
Eurogamer - April 2, 2009
"In the last few days, Funcom has even managed to put to rest one of the biggest criticisms levelled at the game, the lack of the heralded DirectX 10 support. It has finally rolled out, albeit in a "test" form which needs to be switched on by the user. It's not perfect, but it does look pretty - the most notable changes are to foliage in the game, with trees and lush grass swaying gently in the wind, but other additions like "god rays" (sunbeams piercing the clouds) and enhanced underwater lighting are also very nice to look at."
Craig Morrison - January 2009
"Last, but by no means least, the Direct X10 version is also starting to shape up nicely. While we aren’t going to allow it hold back the deployment of the rest of the update we are hard at work ensuring that we concentrate on optimizing the DX10 features and making sure it’s ready to launch as soon as possible. A huge thanks to everyone who has given us excellent feedback from the test server, it really does make this stage of the process much easier."
Craig Morrison - November 2008
"We are now preparing to take the DirectX 10 version of the game from our internal testing servers out to the public test servers, so you can see it for yourselves. The next major game update will include this version of the game and make it available for everyone with the appropriate hardware to enjoy. Since the outset we have been determined that the new DirectX 10 functionality would not just be a ‘gimmick’ addition to the game and would add visual quality to the game, we feel that the version we are preparing now for testing does achieve this and in a way that will find the right balance between visuals and performance. We have also gone to great lengths to try and make virtually all the DirectX10 features customizable so that you can find the right balance between features for the performance level of your hardware. What we did not want to do was push this version out too early and not see the real added benefits this technology can bring. I am really looking forward to players getting to experience some of the new visual improvements that this new technology allows. It really brings an even further splendor to the game world."
I am the author of the article, so I am setting the record straight above. The "official" report is that the Direct X 10 is deployed in a "Test" form, but it is still deployed. I went back to my AoC Client Config, Video Options, tonight, and the Video Settings still say "DirectX 10 Test". So my statement was incorrect. It was not a LIE. I gathered material from various sources and, in summarizing the information, I misquoted. Some of the material that I reviewed simply said it was finished or delivered. This is what I remembered. Age of Conan was the first MMO to deploy DirectX 10. As stated in July 2009, the only reason it was not listed at "fully deployed" was "the inability to have broader testing among a range of systems to make sure DX 10 works OK is what has delayed the full implementation". Other companies have since deployed their versions of DirectX 10 in their MMOs, and I think we can all agree that none of the others are near as "pretty" as Age of Conan is in its "test state". I have 39 different games on my rig that I have played or tested in the last fifteen months, and Age of Conan is the best looking of all of them. Funcom could not guarantee performance across all platforms that it would work correctly, and in honesty, they listed it as "test" to clarify this. Funcom wanted to err on the side of caution. They could have released it as is, and no one really would have known the difference. In the long run, it always boils down to how a user configures their own system and which software and patches they load for their choice of OS. A developer cannot guarantee what patches and updates for DirectX are on every machine that installs their client. Other companies pushed out what they had and claimed they were finished. I have been using DirectX 10 since April 2009, and there is a huge difference in the performance between DirectX 9 and 10. I have not had a crash attributed to the implementation of DirectX 10. It works for me, and I run it all the time...
Oh, that explains alot... So can you tell us why AoC won this when very little new content and improvements was made during 2009 compared to alot of other MMOs? Funcom and thier advocates are great at marketing so I guess thats the how they won.
Thorgrimm said:
"Age of Conan was the first MMO to deploy DirectX 10. "
Eh Lotro had dx10 6 months before the AoC launch. DDO also had dx10 before AoC did.
Oh, that explains alot... So can you tell us why AoC won this when very little new content and improvements was made during 2009 compared to alot of other MMOs? Funcom and thier advocates are great at marketing so I guess thats the how they won.
Thorgrimm said:
"Age of Conan was the first MMO to deploy DirectX 10. "
Eh Lotro had dx10 6 months before the AoC launch. DDO also had dx10 before AoC did.
Technically you're right DDO and LOTRO both had DX10 before AoC. However their Implementation of it was pretty much 'wank' at best. AoC is the only one to use it to great effect, adding many extra features.
Right so you think the bbigest problem with AoC is the same start area of the game for each toon you build? WHAT? Nearly every mmo has that function. I know WOW doesn't as I am sure you are about to bring that up... This shows you know zero about AoC (and mmo's in general I suspecT) as the biggest problem with AoC is the lack of PvP content (which is about to start getting addressed.)
AoC truely has improved greatly and justly deverves this award. :)
Thank you Torgrimm for clearing things up on the DX 10 still beeing in test but not officially launched. I hope you will change that part in the article asap. As a reporter you have an obligation to bring out true statements.
I have sent an Email to MMORPG.COM regarding this article and pointed out that in its current state its not a report - but a promotion on an MMO game. There is no reason for a gaming site like MMORPG.COM to not stick to facts in their writings - and I hope my points will be taken under consideration when it comes to future reports.
Like I said in the Email - DX10 is a huge issue when it comes to AOC. It was a feature that was big part of the orginal promotional campaign. In the end the game did not lauch with this feature - even when a statement on the retail box claimed so. So for a gaming site to bring out false statements regarding this feature in the current state of the game is not wise. Specially considering that the author is obviously very well informed about the earlier history of DX10 in AOC.
As for if DX10 was first in this MMO or that MMO. I do not care. This is about reporting facts - not stating opinions.
I am a big fan of the dx10 test settings. If i see AoC bring in a dx11 test i'll take the plunge and upgrade. (though i am always afraid of upgrading windows.....)
So you wanted Funcom to come up with several different starting and endings? They did have a limited budget, so give them some money for the programming......LMAO I thought it was a great way to start the game. The beginning AOC story is so much better than most of the games out there! The above post is being stupidly nick-picking.
(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH raises plunger in salute to main article!)
Good Article OP! Its great to see the resurgance and how it happened!
(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..bom bom...bom bomm.....raises double plunger salute to Op!)
Nearly every MMO does not have the entire population of a MMO game go through the same Single person story line. This has nothing to do with just one starting zone. It has to do with the fact that every single character that is played in AOC is going down the exaclty same path. The person next to you also stranded in exactly the same spot and is talking to the exact same person to do exactly this. NO other MMO has so naive storyline. None!
And agian - this has NOTHING to do with one starting area. Even Warhammer online has now turned their game into just one starting area. But there the STORY starts with you as a soldier of either Order or Chaos going into war and from there your are free to do EXACTLY what you want as part of that story.
There is a huge diffrence. Something that I find not acceptable when it comes to AOC. You are welcome to spit on me all you like and claim I talking nonsense. That does not change my opinion nor does it make it any less of an opinion.
Is that an article or advertisment?
My thoughts exactly. It's commonly understood that this is isn't a very fun game. It's not something that minor improvements are going to fix. It's the core gameplay. I'm not talking out of my ass obviously, as (literally) the majority of those who played at launch and shortly thereafter quit and haven't started playing again despite multiple offers of free game-time.
That being said, I don't hate Funcom. I <3 AO
My thoughts exactly. It's commonly understood that this is isn't a very fun game. It's not something that minor improvements are going to fix. It's the core gameplay. I'm not talking out of my ass obviously, as (literally) the majority of those who played at launch and shortly thereafter quit and haven't started playing again despite multiple offers of free game-time.
That being said, I don't hate Funcom. I <3 AO
The game has improved dramatically and alot of people have come back to the game. Im one of those. You should get the info from people who actually playing the game and not some "commonly" opinion. Yes there are some bugs still but core gameplay is far better and alot more fun than most games out there! B4 you mimick someone elses opinion check out yourself 1st hand.
(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Conan and the Raving Rabbid fight a resurrected Thoth Amon with Pliungers!)
I have submitted a correction as requested. I do respect the truth, and I try to do justice my my writing.
Yes, I followed up on the correction to my other comment, as well. Yes, LoTR and DDO did come before Age of Conan. I was wrong on that fact too. Of course, I also discovered that LoTR and DDO are both the same core engine, and all of the info that I have been able to find so far is that they are both "Test" just like Age of Conan. The DirectX 10 in LoTR was labeled as "Beta" and was never changed or published as completed, just like the current status of DX10 in AoC. LoTR has also had a steady stream of corrections over the last two years, including some features completely disabled, with no word on reactivation. LoTR does look a lot better than DDO in quality, so I was a little surprised to find out they were the same engine. I am still trying to learn more. As you say the facts are what we are really looking for...
Well, if every game had the exact same beginning, life really would be boring. This beginning fits in with the Destiny Quest storyline. It is a good plot hook to get the story moving.
Let's look at it from a different angle. For those that played through the Destiny Quest, we know that agents of Thoth-Amon were gathering hundreds (or thousands) of slaves as an Army to sweep across Hyboria. A serious storm (Hurricane or Typhoon or magic) sunk the player's ship, or could it have been a fleet of ships? Now, how many slaves are required to man the oars on a bireme, trireme, or quadreme? It could have been hundreds of slaves that washed up on shore. If we stretch our imagination, we can come up with our own stories under roleplay, just like any other game. Likewise, it was an Intro area, after all, designed to showcase the strongest features, a great story, full dialogue, many of the mechanics to be found in game, and, most of all, teach the plaeyrs how to use the system. If a player concentrates on the Night Missions, a veteran can blow through it pretty quick. I have 9 toons, and, with the Veteran Double XP potion (benefits hunting, not quests), I can blow through the first 12-16 levels in a night concentrating on Nighttime missions.
There are actually four different tracks of Night-time Destiny Quests, one for each of the core classes: Warrior, Priest, Rogue, and Mage. The day quests stay pretty much the same, but a player can have four different experiences, if they follow the plot and storyline.
Nice reminder of the changes during this period. It is a good refresher for those looking in to the game to scope some background.
About the DX 10 thing, Age of Conan was the first mmorpg to annouce it, but not the first to implement it.
There was a reason behind this, the implementation of the test version contains more DX10 tangible feature settings than any other mmorpg and most games labelled DX10 ~ that goes for HAWX and Crysis.
Turbine recently announced that they will partner with ATI in delivering DX11 update to LotRO and DDO at somepoint in the future.
Funcom are currently not persuing a DX11 update for AoC at this time due to further work on DX10 in addition to the Rise of the Godslayer Expansion. So with the annoucement by Turbine for DX 11 after major work with LotRO (just completed Xpac) and DDO (just going F2P and content work) it makes sense for them to procede here in this area where as Funcom have other things going on.
Looking forward to the rest of the series detailing further info on the Xpac, the conventions attended, the winback programs and finishing up update 1.05.
Well, if every game had the exact same beginning, life really would be boring. This beginning fits in with the Destiny Quest storyline. It is a good plot hook to get the story moving.
Let's look at it from a different angle. For those that played through the Destiny Quest, we know that agents of Thoth-Amon were gathering hundreds (or thousands) of slaves as an Army to sweep across Hyboria. A serious storm (Hurricane or Typhoon or magic) sunk the player's ship, or could it have been a fleet of ships? Now, how many slaves are required to man the oars on a bireme, trireme, or quadreme? It could have been hundreds of slaves that washed up on shore. If we stretch our imagination, we can come up with our own stories under roleplay, just like any other game. Likewise, it was an Intro area, after all, designed to showcase the strongest features, a great story, full dialogue, many of the mechanics to be found in game, and, most of all, teach the plaeyrs how to use the system. If a player concentrates on the Night Missions, a veteran can blow through it pretty quick. I have 9 toons, and, with the Veteran Double XP potion (benefits hunting, not quests), I can blow through the first 12-16 levels in a night concentrating on Nighttime missions.
There are actually four different tracks of Night-time Destiny Quests, one for each of the core classes: Warrior, Priest, Rogue, and Mage. The day quests stay pretty much the same, but a player can have four different experiences, if they follow the plot and storyline.
Now.. what you fail to see is that the destiny quest it NOT taking into consideration that this is a MMO game. Not everyone washed up on the beach at the same time (what a storm that would have been) and therefor the timescale is screwed from scratch. In an MMO game the whole purpose of the game is to meet other players - and in most MMO games (WAR just for example since its the other failure of 2008) you will meet top lvl players that have gone through the content and that on its own gives you diffrent options for your own endgame content. Destiny quests storyline means that EVERYONE knows that every single player in the game has lived the EXACT same story (I have played the diffrent classes and know where they lead) witch makes it very acward to play (for me ofc)
lets see Sieges are still broken (not mention the framerate issues)
We got major system revamp that STILL NEEDS alot of work
around 4 new 6 man instances
3 raid bosses
in a year .....
You can spin awfully many articles around that you you know. 3 whole raid bosses. I see 3 diffrent articles coming.
This article on the other hand is not neurtal in the sence that it does not tackle the negative issues that have accured and are still in the game. The famous qoute of - "get a better PC" when a player has low fps or is lagging is good way to get rid of critics. In many cases tho - it has very little to do with the rig but maybe more with the software (antivirus, antispyware and firewalls) that are affecting the game. In the end it IS up to the GAMING company to provide the framwork that allows players to enjoy the game no matter if they are using bitdefender or Norton. Or if they have this grapich card or that one. Funcom has failed in this department and thats why DX10 is still in test state. The company simply doesn't have the cabability to provide ALL their gamers that have Required or recomened hardware spec to enjoy guarantied and playable content. And Funcom will not put in writing - "will not support Window Vista unless 4 gigs of Ram" or "DOes not support Nvidia X model cards or Ati X chips". Nor will it say - can not run with Micro trend antivirus software" (it didn't for a very very long time).
This is part of beeing a game manufacturer. And even when Torgrimm says most players (including himself) are not having any problems - he fails to mention what sort of problems those that have problems are dealing with. It very much underminds his article and like quite a few have pointed out - sounds more like an add or promotion - than a real report.
If a person wants "Negativity", they can read the posts from many of the folks that Troll these forums on a daily basis to trash AoC. Now, in my articles, I have shared some negative opinions and observations, but I do not dwell on it. I am a fan of the game, and I play it on a regular basis. I have not seen all of these issues that other people report, so therefore I am not going to write an article based upon heresay. If I cannot duplicate the problem, then it is not a problem for me. I built my system to run this game and others like it. It does the job. By the following description, I am allowed to "voice my opinions" and "share my thoughts".
Game Correspondents
Game Correspondents are responsible for keeping up-to-date with their assigned game, covering everything from reviews to unique features to major patches and updates. You will have the opportunity to voice your opinions about the game's progress and share your thoughts with the community at large. You will also have a chance to write useful gameplay and strategy guides that would greatly benefit your game's community!
Funcom advertised this game to a high spec since long before release, so the quality of the rig is important. After all, would you play a PS3 game on a PS2 or a PS1? Would you play a XBOX 360 game on an XBOX or Nintendo Wii for that matter? No, you would not. Expecting a 2011 Mercedes for the price of a 1999 Ford Escort and expecting all of the benefits of a Mercedes is unrealistic. They are not the same car, and each has the performance that was designed into it. You can't race an Escort with a Ferrari and expect it to win.
Try to avoid personal attacks against other posters. Retaliating to such posts is also against our ROC. Stay on topic and stay civil please.
As a veteran of MMO's (my first real biggy being UO) I see this trashing prevading more and more. Of course alot of this is due to poor quality releases but I think alot of it comes from the new audiences that now play mmo's.
AoC does easily receive far too much trash talk from people who have either never played or got burnt in the first month of release. Don't believe the AoC haters, give it a try yourselves as there is a free trial waiting for you.
I personally think AoC is (after a rocky start) awesome and over the coming weeks more videos are due on the expansion, one per week per new area I believe.
GO AOC! :)
Haven't played DDO, have you?
AOC would be fun if the pvp wasn't awful.
Casters are playing Go Fish while melee are playing chess.
It becomes an issue exactly BECAUSE it is a prominent listed feature and used as an incentive for people to buy the game.
You're not seriously using "noone else could do it" as a valid excuse, are you?
So anytime from now on when devs say "We'll have this feature that noone else has." and then don't, we should all say "It's okay, noone else could do it either.".
I find although the article states facts there is alot of wishfull thinking and idealism attatched to them. For instance (no pun intended!),
"PvP system improvements were also addressed early in 2009 with Update 4 making changes and additions as over 50 improvements and tweaks to PvP Minigames, Massive PvP Sieges, and the PvP Notoriety System. In order to build Battle Keeps in the Border Kingdoms, you must gather resources that can typically only be found in the Border Kingdoms. Guilds can inhibit each other from obtaining the resources that they need prior to an expected raid."
Whereas this part is fact it insinuates that there were massive PvP sieges in 2009 and that since this is an article about improvement and not lack of it he doesn't mention that they've been broken from launch. Full of glitchs and bugs and even today crash more often than a suicidal Kamikazie pilot. Also it's very debateable wether the PvP system is an actual improvement. Also battle keeps and the border kingdoms is insinuating that it's actual ever played in, all the PvP has been and still is at Kesh.
Finally AoC is merging servers yet again now, I myself have a deep dark sense of forboding about the future of this game. I see by next year a F2P system simalar to AO. All the foreign language servers will eventually have to go as it splits the europen playerbase up too much, FC thought AoC was going to be bigger than it really was.
There was too much rose tinted specs in that review for my taste, you can polish a turd all you want but it still doesn't make it palettable to the 1million+ that feel duped by Funcom.
Videos do not represent actual gameplay. Nor do they actually show anything else than the PR machine that the Developers are trying to spread to the public. The expansion will not be part of any trials and noone knows if the maps will even be playable for the current required system specs (since AOC has always been very prone to memory issues).
Funcom showed videos of sieges with "hundreds of players" before launch of the game. They showed mounted combat videos and alot of other features that have turned out to be lackluster or none existant ingame.
You are a fan - I am a doubter. Both sides should be heard. Always. Then its up to the actual gamers to make up their own opinions.
Videos do not represent actual gameplay. Nor do they actually show anything else than the PR machine that the Developers are trying to spread to the public. The expansion will not be part of any trials and noone knows if the maps will even be playable for the current required system specs (since AOC has always been very prone to memory issues).
Funcom showed videos of sieges with "hundreds of players" before launch of the game. They showed mounted combat videos and alot of other features that have turned out to be lackluster or none existant ingame.
You are a fan - I am a doubter. Both sides should be heard. Always. Then its up to the actual gamers to make up their own opinions.
While I stand by my point that AoC is awesome now I would agree that there are several issues (Sieges are borked still - which is a fecking shame) and several features that were on the box which are still not in the game: Sieges - borked pretty much, Drunken brawling, mounted combat. I would personally let DX10 pass now as although it is still in test it works for the majority.
One last thought; in my mind one the issues that grinds on players ex and exisiting of AoC is that possible potential of the game which is not being realised. With enough skilled devs and all the features mentioned working as intended it truely would be an amazing game.
AoC is still in my mind the most improved MMO by far and has really turned around. I would agree with you fan's and doubters are fine and are needed.
I hope Funcom (lets face it Craig Morrison who has done an amazing job) can turn you into the first. :)
I've played AoC for 1,5 years and only quit 2 months back. Allthough I agree the game is graphically before a lot of other MMO's I still have to say that the most alarming issue with this game is not the current state it is in, but the fact that the developer is very much a laughing stock for many players in-game. And the PvP is still lacking in meny aspects. If Age of Conan was bought by Blizzard or any other larger more capable developer I would consider coming back to the game.
First off Siege still crash... second it runs like shit on core i7 @4.5GHZ with a GTX 280 12GB DDR3 1800, RAID 0 setup... and it was called daoc and it did it better
its still age of casters until this patch 1.6(which they missed thier timeline) goes live
And clearly You havent been to lev (we have gotten Chatha,AB,LEV, 3 bosses not to menton AB intended strat doesnt work) THATS IT For raid CONTENT.
add in the epic failure patch of iron tower patch which took 1 month to fix instead of rolling back the patch (i guess you wanted your swift mount)
I also been sitting in my full t2 gear for over 8 months
Awesome article Thorgrimm.
I can really see the difference here from the background article and this article. I wish MMORPG did not confuse us like this and split it up into multiple articles.
As for all of the features and improvements in 2009. I can see how they are fairly major and greatly improving. My only concern is why the recent fallout and need for another server merge. I feel that possibly these improvements were the wrong ones?
But none the less, this article was greatly written and portrays age of conan in 2009 very well. I pray they turn the game around for the better in 2010 though as I feel they may have failed to do so in 2009. I loved Age of Conan and wish it to prosper. :)
I would return to this game for all its buggs and laggs on the day Funcom adds some imaginative PvP and not the so boring instanced capture the scull that is so 1990.
? you live in another wold then me I guess. AoC have no more bugs than any other MMO out there. The PvP is the best PvP in any MMO atm.
Well I can only compare with WOW and that game had so few buggs compared to AoC that it could be considered buggfree. And allthough the PvP isnt very imaginative in WoW it was at least more accessible and more even. All in all better. Allthough I'm not saying Wow is a better game over all then AoC, I don't think so. I'm a MMO:er in waiting for a better MMO I guess.
PvP is best in Darkfall.
AoC and WoW are leagues in the past and are in there core nature PvE games. Darkfall was built with PvP as its core.
Dont believe me? Watch some Youtube vids.
Yea from looking at some vids on darkfall I belive you, would be great if more games had ship to ship battles etc. But Darkfall looks realy chubby even compared to wow, and to even comparing animations in darkfall with age of conan is a joke. Age of Conan is a 2010 MMO game in the aspect that it pushes the PC to the limit, while Darkfall and WoW would hardly push a 5 year old computor. While some people think that is good I think its too safe.
I am sorry but I am gonna have to disagree with you there.
Did you watch any of the darkfall vids? The game is very PC demanding as it is one of the only games that can support 200v200 man battles in a seamless open-world server. AoC is instanced and the game crashes when u get more than 25-50 people in seiges.
That is why you see the lower quality graphics and animations in Darkfall. Because they push the limit on server stability which equates to more fun and awesome PvP. Even then people still get hit with FPS lag and sometimes crashes but hey, it is expected in every mmo these days.
I cant argue the fact that AoC is a 2010 MMO in terms of graphic engine and look. I might argue it is a 2012 MMO hehe. But Darkfall is always improving. And this year they are releasing a huge graphics expansion update with DX11.
Yea I agree with you that AoC is constantly laging, crashing etc but that is not due to low gamer PC by the customers, meny ppl in that community have upgraded their graphic cards at least once, its duue to bad servers and possibly bad code etc.
Most likely your completly on the spot that darkfall is much more stable, hey AoC cant field a 48v48 with out crashing, 200v200 would be inconsievable.
Ya that was sorta my point. They built darkfall with the lower end shaders, anti aliasing, and graphics to help support the 200v200 seiges.
They went the opposite directions of which AoC is taking. Where as Darkfall focused on server stability and are now increaasing graphics and quality inch by inch measuring how it affects performance. AoC went he opposite route and started with graphics first. Hopefully one day it will be optimized to support more larger scale PvP but untill then I am likely in Darkfall.