One Year of Age of Conan

Age of Conan is celebrating One year since launch! A 7 day free trail is available http://www.ageofconan.com/trial/index.html Give it a go, lots of new improvements with a major update in the workings to hit soon! A video of some in game action: <object width='425' height='344'><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7hXy8WJX6ZM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7hXy8WJX6ZM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width='425' height='344'></embed></object>

 

Language warning in effect 3:00 minutes into the video.

 

It may be a one year anniversary but Funcom are just introducing 'features' and updates that were originally promised at launch.

Fail.

 

Pffft!! What MMO ever launched didn't need improvement? Funcom is constantly listening to players and updating with improvements all the time, a large stream of players that left are returning, because of this. This is a much different game compared to launch, and your opinions of it aren't fair, your missing out on a fantastic MMO that is constantly evolving. The massive siege battles 48 vs 48 fighting for a battle keep are my favorite! Its an amazing game don't miss out!

 

Dude. Unfair?

I played AoC for the first 4 months of release. Half the stuff advertised on the game box were not in-game @ launch. And during the course of it's first few months the game progressively got worse.

• Non-functioning Buddy Passes
• Nerfed adult content
• Meaningless item stats
• Drab gear
• DX10???
• Zero game polish outside Tortage
• Terrible group instance mechanics

I can understand bugs and growing pains for the early stages of any new startup MMO. But in Funcom's case, they knowingly launched AoC way too early. I know because I was in the beta and voiced this in the beta feedback program. I check the official forums from time to time and while there seems to be some improvement in the game I can tell a lot of issues or ommissions are still pending. Maybe Funcom's aloof attitude has changed with the new CEO but it's too little too late, imo.

 

tortage was probably the BEST newbie area ever created.

the main problem, was that immediately after you left tortage, you saw the pile of crap that you just paid for.

 

Pretty much. And the worst imo is that since everybody left after a month, there were too many servers for the population so everything became empty. How is right now? I'd be willing to give it back a shot this summer.

 

the video looks nice imo..but its honestly too little too late for me.

first impressions happen once. it left a sour experience, and i feel it just isnt worth the $$ now.

are there any re-reviews of it that say otherwise? (not being sarcastic, honestly asking..if the re-reviews are decent enough, i would typically give it a second try)

 

Gotta be honest - looks like every other PvP video for every other MMORPG out there to me. Jumpy camera angles and quick flashes of dudes ganking other dudes.

What's special about this one? Blood? meh.

 

I was thinking of trying it out the other day, mainly wanted to play with it eventually with Wine and Cider to get a non-Windows version going (hey its fun ) but... I went to install it and it said it wanted 25gb of space... 25 ??? holy hell... my Windows partition only has 32gb of space total, no way I can fit that.... and I need to install it in Windows first to learn how it works and registry entries and such. The game looks cool, but at that size i don't think i care to resize my partition or run it on a slow external drive.

does anyone really think its worth it? what's so great about the game? I've played a ton of MMORPGs... what specific things are similar to other well known ones.. what things are majorly different/better/worse? Just trying to get an idea if i should spend any time worrying about it.

 

Oh yes! I forgot about that. Chalk up another minus for the game. It was nice getting that space back once AoC was uninstalled.

 

Well seeing as I haven't posted on this forum since 9/18/08 I find it remarkable that that post was in a thread involving you bashing AOC, and the fact you haven't played the game since 9/4/08 http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=248793&page=75 its amazing you feel you know what the game is about today. Gear isn't drab some amazing gear from boss drops are there as are recipes for crafting. DX10 has been in the game for awhile tons of new endgame content and gameplay is far improved from Sept 2008. True the game takes a lot of HDD space but the graphics are the best by far of any game. I also see you have an 8600GT, might not be enough to get the most out of this game. Today the game is much different servers were merged and a great community exists, try the free trial its an amazing game. Another nice video made by regular players : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jog--MkZoek

 

LOL. Dude, I have a fairly kick-a$$ gaming desktop to play performance/graphics-heavy games on.

And yes, I already acknowledged how long it's been since I last played AoC. I will likely try it again but from what I'm seeing on the AoC forums it won't be anytime soon.

Thanks for the response, tho'. Maybe Funcom will give you a free month or something for your dedication.

 

I played the 7 day trial and I got mixed feelings with it.
Mainly because I tried Guardian, Conqueror and I forgot which other, but it was melee, and at least the first skills for combat felt exactly the same, or literally were the same.

As for the first 20 lvls, I rarely got any equip drops, and when I did, the items were 1% better. I don't particularly like the combat with 3 options to attack, which makes it difficult for me to fight several people while comboing and keep on the move. Maybe I will map some of the attacks to the mouse, I dunno.

Overall the game felt good, but seems to lack something and I don't know what that is.

I think I am going to get a 60 day thing and try it out and get higher level.

Ah! I also hated stupid archers! They were lvl 16 and I was lvl 18 and I couldn't beat them! stupid traps and slowing me down... but well, I hope it balances out later

And graphics wise I don't see it that impressive... I crank up everything to highest and even try the DX10 thing, but It doesn't look that amazing as I originally thought it would.

 

Most classes don't really start getting good till the 30s level wise, I'd go with the Conqueror next big update they will be a very strong class, give the Demo or Necro a try a blast to play and valuable in raids and sieges. As for gear you don't get much till the Main land then it really picks up, mainly from boss drops, here is an excellent data base for AOC gear : http://aoc.yg.com/ Rangers are powerful at low levels, but you'll have no problem when you get higher level and more skills, you'll eat them for lunch. Try to join a good guild as other classes buff others when your grouped (Such as self healing and shielding even damage buffs) Yeah, level 20 is a small taste of the game, keep leveling I'am sure you'll get addicted.

 

You can checkout gear and specific players stats and gear with Yellow gremlin http://aoc.yg.com/ , like this Necromancer: http://aoc.yg.com/profile?h=2e18ot1p hover over the gear for stats window popup, Cool gear with great stats to be found.

 

Im quite put off by games that people have to pay monthly for to be honest, also by the size of this game. I got a decent hard disk size but that is a tad unreasonable to me...
When the game progresses a bit more I will have a look but at the moment I dont think I can download 25GB on a 100Kbps line...

 

1)Monthly fee is something you get used to - Everbyody has been through it. Trust me, that me when I say that you will get used to it, be okay and content with it, as soon as you find a MMO you enjoy.
Then you can see that a MMORPG is perhaps the best way to get your moneys worth in this resession. You get so much game for those 15 bucks a month.





I recently played it again, and the improvements are massive. At launch the game was pretty much unplayable on 8600m GT. The improvements to the engine has been so drastic that now I could play it smooth with medium-ish settings. An insane improvement with no change of hardware - from less than bareable to medium.

There are still leaks and problems. There are also still plenty of people around. The game has had a dedicated live team fixing everything, and that has made people stick with it. Also because Age of Conan offers things than the others do not.

1)maturity.. breasts, foul language, blood, gore, decapitations(mortal kombat style fatillities)

2)a good community. From what I could see and hear in the game, the community has become better than WoW and WAR. Many of the kiddies seem to have left the game, only leaving it to the dedicated adults. So if you like fantasy and are sick at 13 year old barrens chat jerks in WoW and Warhammer, you should try a game like Age of Conan and Lord of the Rings Online.

3)Combat. The game has a fantastic combat system. A great idea, they probably patented. I would call it real-time(not fake point'n click and auto attack bullcrap). Some people don't like it because it's not like WoW(whatever), but I think it's brilliant and involving. Executing combos are fun, doing the most insane finishing moves is cool... You really get addicted to it, when you finish off an enemy with cutting of the head.. or sticking sword through chest, letting go of it, going around in a quick circle, taking it, again and in gladiator style fashion cut kick him down.

4)there are quite a ton of people who have come back. the good word of mouth seems to have worked, and since WARHAMMER has had it's problems, and people are rejecting the latest expansion(or growing bored) in WoW, people have gone back.

5)Graphics. Graphics don't make a game, but Conan is one of the few games where both the art and the technical detail is outstanding. If you got the hardware, try this baby out of principle.

6)quick improvements. more content... apparently they are still going to overhaul the pvp - sieges and such. ganking is more controlled, and they have even added voice acting to many of the main story quests post tortage, which is really important IMO. I hope they add to everything. It still annoyed me, that once I got off Tortage that they didn't speak anymore. couldnt get used to it.



It should be noted I didnt play beyond my trial(just got off lvl 20). I am playing WoW. Have been playing Warcraft since Warcraft 2.
But I would still recommend Age of Conan. It's a good and playable game, and it's improvements is worth your time again, even if you swore not to buy a game from them due to dissapointment.




What is admirable about this game:

WoW, and Lord of the Rings Online and such games, became so polished and playable, and had such smooth launches due to one thing - They are doing the same thing as other MMOs. they are not mainly driven by ambition or innovation, and such they played it safe, and became good games, but rehashes of somethingwe already knew.

Age of Conan was such an overwhelming project, so ambitious... it was obvious, even back 3 years ago that what they tried to do, was too much. Conan is a FANTASTIC game considering how hard it could have failed. People said this game would die after launch but it has survived and come back to life, in the face of naysayers.

As Warhammer, has become a direct dissapointment, despite mythics best intentions, due to unbuggy and loose game engine, that feels squishy, and RvR(the games main selling point), Age of Conan has a uniqe place in the MMO space not filled by any others.

Right now,
WoW Is top Dog.

After that is the Guild Wars games(no monthly fee, just passed 6 million copies sold - outstanding game. I recommend everyone buy these games. millions still play it every day, and in a few years Guild Wars 2 will come out that will let you unlock stuff, that your character did in GW1, meaning that GW1 will still be alive and well when GW2 comes around in 2011 or 2012).

Then it's Lord of the Rings / Age of Conan

and then you have the others, City of Heroes and Eve and such. different game, but not the most desired ones.

 

Youve convinced me, I would be willing to try this game but am hesitant to dl 25GB just for trial purposes. Any clue how much i would need to download to try it?

 

AOC is a smoking pile of garbage. Yes I've logged back in recently.

I'm enjoying lotro right now.

 

Actually Im planning a lot of the MMORPG trials.
I was particularly interested in LOTRO because I read that it is very casual and is not so gear dependent like WoW. Any idea on the size of that trial?

 

I believe the official DL is *only* about 8GB (some sites show 13GB!) in file size then uncompresses to 22+GB once installed.

Words of advice: Don't let the trial and your time in Tortage fool you. AoC is/was a great game for the first 20 levels or so. Once you're done visit the official AoC forums to get a feel for what AoC life is like after you leave the confines of Tortage before you decide to plunk down some chump change to Funcom.

 

This is nothing new in the world of MMORPGs. The fact is, I could provide a long list of MMO's that promised the world but upon release, failed to deliver. Star Wars Galaxies and even more recently, Warhammer Online are probably two of the most notable examples. Hell, when WAR was released, the folks at Mythic removed a major city and at least four classes from the game before it was released due to QA issues.

Quite right. I'd rather a game developer remove certain elements and/or content from the game if it means a more polished and fun product in the end. Nothing is worse than playing an MMO that is half finished and paying a monthly fee waiting for it to be fixed.

 

True these 'features' such as the major city and four classes were removed before the release date. In Funcom's case some of the AoC features were actually advertised on the retail game packaging! That is inexcusable, imo. For example, I had a Collector's Edition game with buddy passes that could not be used for the first month and zero DX10 support which was advertised on the package.

 

Don't listen to this troll, he hasn't played the game in 8 months, what does he know! Don't miss out on a great game because of him.

 

See the problem with AoC with me was that the instancing system for zones. It was a HUGE turnoff when I had to instance to enter a new zone, not to mention that sometimes I would enter a different instance then my party. I played 1-40 as a ranger and it was fun at first, mez shot, salv, trap salv then dead. But the game play really didn't change all that much, and I felt that between that and gear looking the same all the way up just rubbed me the wrong way. I did also notice that the talent trees really didn't enhance my game play all that much.

I wont bash AoC as it was in fact the most adult and visually pleasing MMOs, as well as my WoW guild and I had some fun for the few months we played the game. But at this time I just don't see anything in that video that is much different or that can overcome the sour taste the game left the first time around.

I agree 100% with these statements.

 

Well seeing you only made it to level 40 you really didn't get the chance to open up the true features of the game, such as sieges, raiding end game bosses that drop the amazing gear, and the true potential of your toon. If you never leveled at toon to 80 you wouldn't know the game very well. Hmmmm, this seems simular to this site Notebook Review.com, I quit the site 8 moths ago, this is the first postings for me since I left, found the site and its posters very negative, after the 8 month break I have to say its much more negative, sad to see a once great site degrade so badly.

 

If you think that peoples opinion of a game as too negative, then this may not be the site for you. I never bad mouthed the game, just gave my opinion on it, and I'm sorry but game play should change drastically from 1-40. If a game does not do that then there is something wrong. It is the publics general consensus that AoC bombed, yes there are people like yourself that still enjoy it and thats fine. But don't assume that every opinion that differs from your own as negative or bad.

 

lol 8 months and Notebook Review is still full of the same old trolls, so sad, sorry I peeked back in.............

 

Yet you keep posting. Please don't bad mouth a great site like NBR and its population just because there are people in this world that view things differently then you do.

 

I'm sorry I come across as a "troll" to you. I'm just saying like it is in my experience with the game, what I still continue to read on the official AoC forums (because I am still interested in getting back into AoC), and what thousands of other 'veteran' AoC players have voiced as well.

If you like AoC, so be it. This is all I'll have to say on the subject.

 

Hearing this song always pumps me up for playing AoC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deDNzOYHu-4
The Dreaming Anew - Memories of Cimmeria (Track 25, gets good at 1:24 into the track)

However, the soundtrack has gotten more playtime than the game for many of the reasons brought up at the start of this thread.
Funcom totally underdelivered at launch. I played it for a few months and got up to level 73. Our guild had a raid fort thing built and we attempted some laggy mammoth battles, that was pretty neat, but it wasn't playable really at the time...