Thank you for your answers to questions on this forum (and for your patience while doing it)
I would also like to know few things.
We know that each guild city will be build in an instanced area of the world (so each guild can have their city).
According to some old informations, in the same instance there will be few other guild cities present (4-5).
And we will have some NPC cities in the same area attacking player cities.
1. Would it be possible to attack other player cities in your instance, or at least to have some voluntarily CityVsCity combat (which would be very interesting for me)? Some guilds would not like to be attacked so they should have an option to not being able to be attacked by other guilds but I hope there is at least possibility to such combat (no bounty penalties etc)
2. Would it be possible to exchange guild cities between instances? Lets say you would like to to have some friendly guild in the same instance you are in. If your neighbor would allow it, he would exchange his place in instance with your another Guild.
3. Are instances locked to players who are not members of any guild in the instance? If is it so I believe there is some invitation system.
4. Are enemy cities easy to destroy - or even to prevent them from building it? PCs are in games usually stronger then NPCs (thanks to their tactics, skills, equipment) so wouldn't few PCs able to destroy NPC city easily?
The reason we say 2008 is because we need to focus on getting the game out the door before we spend a lot of time figuring out how many changes or alterations need to be made for taking the game to 360
i understand it may take along time, but an guestimate on how much time would mean alot to me and others. i'd rather be told 2009 then kept in the dark.
I also understand that funcom might not know yet, but i think it should be high on their agenda. there has been a release date specified for the pc version. its not long till the pc verson is released people will want to know abouts when the xbox verson will be out before it is released on pc so they can decide which game/platform they will buy.
i just think funcom should say which quarter of 2008 sometime soon. a year is a long time.
Thank you for your answers to questions on this forum (and for your patience while doing it)
I would also like to know few things.
We know that each guild city will be build in an instanced area of the world (so each guild can have their city).
According to some old informations, in the same instance there will be few other guild cities present (4-5).
And we will have some NPC cities in the same area attacking player cities.
1. Would it be possible to attack other player cities in your instance, or at least to have some voluntarily CityVsCity combat (which would be very interesting for me)? Some guilds would not like to be attacked so they should have an option to not being able to be attacked by other guilds but I hope there is at least possibility to such combat (no bounty penalties etc)
2. Would it be possible to exchange guild cities between instances? Lets say you would like to to have some friendly guild in the same instance you are in. If your neighbor would allow it, he would exchange his place in instance with your another Guild.
3. Are instances locked to players who are not members of any guild in the instance? If is it so I believe there is some invitation system.
4. Are enemy cities easy to destroy - or even to prevent them from building it? PCs are in games usually stronger then NPCs (thanks to their tactics, skills, equipment) so wouldn't few PCs able to destroy NPC city easily?
We have discussed some of this for PvP servers but I am not sure what the final result will be. Resource and building playfields will be instanced as needed to assure guilds a player village but I am not sure about moving your city between them
Combat, Control, Class Distinction Designer for Age of Conan
hey ath, i've searched the thread as best i could, but came up with nothing so apologize if you've answered this before .
Anyway, my question is, barring anything final (as I know at this point it's a "maybe, we may do it mechanic), In teh Warcry interview Gaute said that he (you guys?) want item looting... hey where ya goin, don't walk away from me! What I wanted to ask is, if you do happen to decide that for whatever reason the mechanic was sufficient and implementable, would you guys (most likely, again not any promises I know, just most likely) apply this ruleset to ALL FFA servers (because I think you stated on the official forums you're only considering it for FFA rulesets) or would myou make a seperate server-set with a loot template? Again, this is just a "well... probably" thing, i very well know that things are up in the air and you can't give anything definitive.
I guess I have a second, what are the chances of such a ruleset making release? I'd assume extremely slim, but I could be wrong.
Oh, that was a bit rude... thanks for the replies Ath .
I have a couple silly questions and a couple focused questions.
I'm currently reading some Conan books. One of the Age of Conan books, and the Robert Jordon ones. I haven't read the original Conan by Howard in awhile, but intend to do so as a refresher. I remember reading or seeing an an interview (I think it was the developer's diary) that the developers and employees on the project are conan fans and are read up on the books themselves. Besides Howard's which conan book(s) do you have an affinity to reading?
I'm most interested in playing rogue classes. In particular the assassin. What is their playstyle like? Do they require to stay at the back of their opponent for massive dmg similar to EQ or WoW rogues, or more like the guild wars assassin with fancy specials and combos?
I've read they are primarily built around daggers, I'm always a fan of single edged blades like combat knives, tantos, talons, fangs, korambits, etc. as opposed to things like dirks and stilletos. Is there a balance of types of weapon design being implemented?
I know most of the design resembles things celtic, roman, or egyptian because of the cimmerians, aqualonians and stygians being the main players at launch, but will there be any asian inspired equipment or armor? Katana, Obi, ninja gear? =P In addition would Khitia, Vendhya or Kambuja ever be considered to be added in an expansion or a patch. Or at least have their wares and goods mentioned similariy above through some interesting quests, missions, or vendors?
Armorwise, I'm not interested in dressing in scantily clad loincloths or sleeveless rags. Is there armor that looks similar to the warhammer fantasy tabletop dark elf assassins or corsairs?
The final question. How often do you carmelldansen? I have to get my carmelldansen on about 4-5 times a day.
Thanks!
AmazingAveryAge of Conan AdvocateMemberUncommonPosts: 7,188
Originally posted by tehninjaness
Hello Jason,
I have a couple silly questions and a couple focused questions.
I'm currently reading some Conan books. One of the Age of Conan books, and the Robert Jordon ones. I haven't read the original Conan by Howard in awhile, but intend to do so as a refresher. I remember reading or seeing an an interview (I think it was the developer's diary) that the developers and employees on the project are conan fans and are read up on the books themselves. Besides Howard's which conan book(s) do you have an affinity to reading?
I'm most interested in playing rogue classes. In particular the assassin. What is their playstyle like? Do they require to stay at the back of their opponent for massive dmg similar to EQ or WoW rogues, or more like the guild wars assassin with fancy specials and combos?
I've read they are primarily built around daggers, I'm always a fan of single edged blades like combat knives, tantos, talons, fangs, korambits, etc. as opposed to things like dirks and stilletos. Is there a balance of types of weapon design being implemented?
I know most of the design resembles things celtic, roman, or egyptian because of the cimmerians, aqualonians and stygians being the main players at launch, but will there be any asian inspired equipment or armor? Katana, Obi, ninja gear? =P In addition would Khitia, Vendhya or Kambuja ever be considered to be added in an expansion or a patch. Or at least have their wares and goods mentioned similariy above through some interesting quests, missions, or vendors?
Armorwise, I'm not interested in dressing in scantily clad loincloths or sleeveless rags. Is there armor that looks similar to the warhammer fantasy tabletop dark elf assassins or corsairs?
The final question. How often do you carmelldansen? I have to get my carmelldansen on about 4-5 times a day.
Thanks!
Hi while your waiting for Athelan to answer your questions I'd thought I'd point you in the direction of some weapon and armor screenshots, theres is a Khitai weapon in there There is some frivolous debating going on in our guild forum post with these pictures in too hence my more than passing interest - anyways - have a look here - ftp://ftp.funcom.com/media/Age_of_Conan/screenshots/01jun07
hi jason,can you please try to answer these questions.
1.can you block with your shield for people in your group like in daoc.
2.what is the recommended maximum ping time the dreamworld engine can compensate.I'm guessing less than100ms is ideal.maybe up to 200ms playable.And over 200ms,well you in the wrong continent anyways.
We know from previous statements that the creatures in AoC have collision meaning I can't stand on the same spot as others.. With this in mind, is it possible to barricade narrow coridors and gates? What happends if a lot of people zone into a place at the same time? If I ride my horse at a fast speed into a bunch of guys will my horse stop or maybe warp slightly to the side to continue it's path?
I guess what I'm asking is, what actually happends when 2 objects collide in the wrong way?
Thanks for answering our questions, Jason! I read the entire thread yesterday and at first couldn't come up with a question but now I've thought of something after browsing the forum;
I'm wondering how big zones will be and what it'll be like travelling between them (as in how subtle will it be, is it instant or via load screen? can one see activity from one zone to another? what are the chances of chokepoints where one might get ganked? can people exploit it to avoid death or pvp all together? etc.)?
Oh, and I read on the official site that if there's enough demand for a FFA PvP server it would be made available, well I'd like add my 'demand' for such a server.
Collision depends on the cars rules which handle interaction between different objects for example a friendly on friendly collision might gently push off eachother, while a hostile collision could cause a knockback or stop the person completely.
Item looting is in discussion as a way to improve the feeling of risk and reward for our PvP servers. What shape this will take is unsure at this time and all of which servers it gets put on will be largely dependent as to the need and granularity we see closer to launch.
I can't really answer all of your excellent post about Conan stories and rogues and what not but I can tell you my favorite non Howard or pastiche book is Conan and the Grim Grey God that one is awesome.
I am not exactly sure how an Assassin will play yet as I have not tried one. But as I worked on their special abilities a bit I think they are going to be cool. We have loads and loads of different looking weapons so I'm sure youll find something you will like
Some of the stygian leather armor and such is pretty sort of Lawrence of Arabia thief type looking to it, no asian stuff would be seen as that is Khitai which is not in the initial release.
Shemite stuff looks a bit mongol however.
I try to get my carameldansen on as much as possible for aerobic excercise
Combat, Control, Class Distinction Designer for Age of Conan
Hey , I was wondering something today... now that you are in US, what work are you doing for Funcom? Look like your doing some PR stuff, must be doing some QA and probably assist to reunion via phone.
Anyways those are all guess! Perhaps your already back in Norway and I didn't hear about it .
I haven't read Conan and the Grim Grey God yet, but will put it in my reading queue.
I have a question on raiding and the difficulty level that is being targetted. This includes things like respawn timers, lockout timers, etc. I myself have a love hate relationship with raiding. I like how it gives an incentive for guilds to get together to tackle difficult content, but I dislike it when it becomes so rigid that you have to try to accomplish it with only a core group on a very inflexible schedule.
This seems more of a guild problem rather then a design problem, but often unforeseen design issues forces people in guilds to mandate certain things, tactics, and strategies. These things become too structured that people aren't willing to stray from them for new or different group set ups or boss strategies. Things like lockout and respawn timers (at excessive timers) reinforces tried and tested strategies rather then new and fun ones, and also discourages from trying PuGs with new players. Do the developers have anything in mind how they'll deal with these types of things yet, or is it something that will be considered more with Beta feedback?
I like how you said earlier in this thread that there are no feats focused on improving healing as not to pigeonhole priests into a healing role. What other kind of descions are being made regarding group make-up and ensuring classes don't get turned into one-trick ponies or overlooked?
Can you talk a little more about the PvP minigames? I've heard there is capture the flag and some others. But what are the maps like for these places?
How's it like in Norway? Do they eat a lot of Lutefisk in there? I have some friends with Norwegian ancestry and they eat it every so often, I don't know why...
How's it like in Norway? Do they eat a lot of Lutefisk in there? I have some friends with Norwegian ancestry and they eat it every so often, I don't know why...
I happen to be from Norway so I can answer that part for you.
No, we very rarely eat Lutefisk (or any of the stuff commonly known to be Norwegian-only food), I am born and raised here in Norway (20 years old now) and have never ever tasted Lutefisk, and I don't know many that have either. Lutefisk is mostly eaten by decendants of Norwegians who try to be more Norwegian, which they obviously fail miserably.
How's it like in Norway? Do they eat a lot of Lutefisk in there? I have some friends with Norwegian ancestry and they eat it every so often, I don't know why...
I happen to be from Norway so I can answer that part for you.
No, we very rarely eat Lutefisk (or any of the stuff commonly known to be Norwegian-only food), I am born and raised here in Norway (20 years old now) and have never ever tasted Lutefisk, and I don't know many that have either. Lutefisk is mostly eaten by decendants of Norwegians who try to be more Norwegian, which they obviously fail miserably.
Ath, although my other question still holds, i have another question that's been tearing debates on some issues I've been discussing down. When it was explained that in figthing an NPC all the different of their areas had different armor values, does this apply in PvP as well, or do players have a flat cumulative armor value?
Still no answer on the jumping around like rabbits in counter-strike question?
I can probably offer an answer, theres a stamina bar (confirmed) that is in a way tied to both combos, but also sprinting/jumping, if you bunny hop you run out of stamina, and can not only be unable to jump any further, but also will fail to be able to use any moves.
I have high hopes for a good balance (never expect perfect, and by "balance" I mean that some classes can beat others but all classes they have someone they can beat, I dont' expect a happy commune of perfect equality), as no other game since Shadowbane has had PvP as an intrinstic part of the game...
And AoC even has OTHER THINGS besides PvP which, after playing SB, I realise even a PvP game needs!
Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood. -Nietzsche
Comments
Thank you for your answers to questions on this forum (and for your patience while doing it)
I would also like to know few things.
We know that each guild city will be build in an instanced area of the world (so each guild can have their city).
According to some old informations, in the same instance there will be few other guild cities present (4-5).
And we will have some NPC cities in the same area attacking player cities.
1. Would it be possible to attack other player cities in your instance, or at least to have some voluntarily CityVsCity combat (which would be very interesting for me)? Some guilds would not like to be attacked so they should have an option to not being able to be attacked by other guilds but I hope there is at least possibility to such combat (no bounty penalties etc)
2. Would it be possible to exchange guild cities between instances? Lets say you would like to to have some friendly guild in the same instance you are in. If your neighbor would allow it, he would exchange his place in instance with your another Guild.
3. Are instances locked to players who are not members of any guild in the instance? If is it so I believe there is some invitation system.
4. Are enemy cities easy to destroy - or even to prevent them from building it? PCs are in games usually stronger then NPCs (thanks to their tactics, skills, equipment) so wouldn't few PCs able to destroy NPC city easily?
I also understand that funcom might not know yet, but i think it should be high on their agenda. there has been a release date specified for the pc version. its not long till the pc verson is released people will want to know abouts when the xbox verson will be out before it is released on pc so they can decide which game/platform they will buy.
i just think funcom should say which quarter of 2008 sometime soon. a year is a long time.
My blog:
Really happy that i'll continue to use the same payment methods i use for AO for AoC in the future, atleast i hope.
Good luck with polishing and finish up the game.
Combat, Control, Class Distinction Designer for Age of Conan
community.ageofconan.com
Thanks for great and fast replies Jason. However something you said caught my attention:
I haven't heard of this before, would you mind going a bit more in detail about what this is?
hey ath, i've searched the thread as best i could, but came up with nothing so apologize if you've answered this before
.
Anyway, my question is, barring anything final (as I know at this point it's a "maybe, we may do it mechanic), In teh Warcry interview Gaute said that he (you guys?) want item looting... hey where ya goin, don't walk away from me! What I wanted to ask is, if you do happen to decide that for whatever reason the mechanic was sufficient and implementable, would you guys (most likely, again not any promises I know, just most likely) apply this ruleset to ALL FFA servers (because I think you stated on the official forums you're only considering it for FFA rulesets) or would myou make a seperate server-set with a loot template? Again, this is just a "well... probably" thing, i very well know that things are up in the air and you can't give anything definitive.
I guess I have a second, what are the chances of such a ruleset making release? I'd assume extremely slim, but I could be wrong.
Oh, that was a bit rude... thanks for the replies Ath
.
1) have you released a map of the world yet? i would love to see one
2)how big is the game world
3) how big is each area
4) are cities instanced or part of a larger area
5) you mentioned there would be PVP minigames, how big are the minigame areas?
I have a couple silly questions and a couple focused questions.
I'm currently reading some Conan books. One of the Age of Conan books, and the Robert Jordon ones. I haven't read the original Conan by Howard in awhile, but intend to do so as a refresher. I remember reading or seeing an an interview (I think it was the developer's diary) that the developers and employees on the project are conan fans and are read up on the books themselves. Besides Howard's which conan book(s) do you have an affinity to reading?
I'm most interested in playing rogue classes. In particular the assassin. What is their playstyle like? Do they require to stay at the back of their opponent for massive dmg similar to EQ or WoW rogues, or more like the guild wars assassin with fancy specials and combos?
I've read they are primarily built around daggers, I'm always a fan of single edged blades like combat knives, tantos, talons, fangs, korambits, etc. as opposed to things like dirks and stilletos. Is there a balance of types of weapon design being implemented?
I know most of the design resembles things celtic, roman, or egyptian because of the cimmerians, aqualonians and stygians being the main players at launch, but will there be any asian inspired equipment or armor? Katana, Obi, ninja gear? =P In addition would Khitia, Vendhya or Kambuja ever be considered to be added in an expansion or a patch. Or at least have their wares and goods mentioned similariy above through some interesting quests, missions, or vendors?
Armorwise, I'm not interested in dressing in scantily clad loincloths or sleeveless rags. Is there armor that looks similar to the warhammer fantasy tabletop dark elf assassins or corsairs?
The final question. How often do you carmelldansen? I have to get my carmelldansen on about 4-5 times a day.
Thanks!
Hi while your waiting for Athelan to answer your questions I'd thought I'd point you in the direction of some weapon and armor screenshots, theres is a Khitai weapon in there
PS. Mr Stone looking good in his latest Vid
1.can you block with your shield for people in your group like in daoc.
2.what is the recommended maximum ping time the dreamworld engine can compensate.I'm guessing less than100ms is ideal.maybe up to 200ms playable.And over 200ms,well you in the wrong continent anyways.
We know from previous statements that the creatures in AoC have collision meaning I can't stand on the same spot as others.. With this in mind, is it possible to barricade narrow coridors and gates? What happends if a lot of people zone into a place at the same time? If I ride my horse at a fast speed into a bunch of guys will my horse stop or maybe warp slightly to the side to continue it's path?
I guess what I'm asking is, what actually happends when 2 objects collide in the wrong way?
Thanks Jason
Take my word for it, do not trust me!
I'm wondering how big zones will be and what it'll be like travelling between them (as in how subtle will it be, is it instant or via load screen? can one see activity from one zone to another? what are the chances of chokepoints where one might get ganked? can people exploit it to avoid death or pvp all together? etc.)?
Oh, and I read on the official site that if there's enough demand for a FFA PvP server it would be made available, well I'd like add my 'demand' for such a server.
That's all for now, thanks!
Item looting is in discussion as a way to improve the feeling of risk and reward for our PvP servers. What shape this will take is unsure at this time and all of which servers it gets put on will be largely dependent as to the need and granularity we see closer to launch.
I can't really answer all of your excellent post about Conan stories and rogues and what not but I can tell you my favorite non Howard or pastiche book is Conan and the Grim Grey God that one is awesome.
I am not exactly sure how an Assassin will play yet as I have not tried one. But as I worked on their special abilities a bit I think they are going to be cool. We have loads and loads of different looking weapons so I'm sure youll find something you will like
Some of the stygian leather armor and such is pretty sort of Lawrence of Arabia thief type looking to it, no asian stuff would be seen as that is Khitai which is not in the initial release.
Shemite stuff looks a bit mongol however.
I try to get my carameldansen on as much as possible for aerobic excercise
Combat, Control, Class Distinction Designer for Age of Conan
community.ageofconan.com
Hey
, I was wondering something today... now that you are in US, what work are you doing for Funcom? Look like your doing some PR stuff, must be doing some QA and probably assist to reunion via phone.
Anyways those are all guess! Perhaps your already back in Norway and I didn't hear about it
.
I haven't read Conan and the Grim Grey God yet, but will put it in my reading queue.
I have a question on raiding and the difficulty level that is being targetted. This includes things like respawn timers, lockout timers, etc. I myself have a love hate relationship with raiding. I like how it gives an incentive for guilds to get together to tackle difficult content, but I dislike it when it becomes so rigid that you have to try to accomplish it with only a core group on a very inflexible schedule.
This seems more of a guild problem rather then a design problem, but often unforeseen design issues forces people in guilds to mandate certain things, tactics, and strategies. These things become too structured that people aren't willing to stray from them for new or different group set ups or boss strategies. Things like lockout and respawn timers (at excessive timers) reinforces tried and tested strategies rather then new and fun ones, and also discourages from trying PuGs with new players. Do the developers have anything in mind how they'll deal with these types of things yet, or is it something that will be considered more with Beta feedback?
I like how you said earlier in this thread that there are no feats focused on improving healing as not to pigeonhole priests into a healing role. What other kind of descions are being made regarding group make-up and ensuring classes don't get turned into one-trick ponies or overlooked?
Can you talk a little more about the PvP minigames? I've heard there is capture the flag and some others. But what are the maps like for these places?
How's it like in Norway? Do they eat a lot of Lutefisk in there? I have some friends with Norwegian ancestry and they eat it every so often, I don't know why...
Thanks
I happen to be from Norway so I can answer that part for you.
No, we very rarely eat Lutefisk (or any of the stuff commonly known to be Norwegian-only food), I am born and raised here in Norway (20 years old now) and have never ever tasted Lutefisk, and I don't know many that have either. Lutefisk is mostly eaten by decendants of Norwegians who try to be more Norwegian, which they obviously fail miserably.
I happen to be from Norway so I can answer that part for you.
No, we very rarely eat Lutefisk (or any of the stuff commonly known to be Norwegian-only food), I am born and raised here in Norway (20 years old now) and have never ever tasted Lutefisk, and I don't know many that have either. Lutefisk is mostly eaten by decendants of Norwegians who try to be more Norwegian, which they obviously fail miserably.
lol, thanks. Thats what I thought =P
I can probably offer an answer, theres a stamina bar (confirmed) that is in a way tied to both combos, but also sprinting/jumping, if you bunny hop you run out of stamina, and can not only be unable to jump any further, but also will fail to be able to use any moves.just got a few quesions here
1. will there be released a kind of Talent tree before relase?
2. will there be given a realm/server list before lanuch so that the premade guilds will have a chance to coordinate their realm/server?
3. when you craft "that-and-that" weapon will it then look the same no mater who makes it, or will it look difrent from every time it is made?
4. will you be able to gain über gear without endgame raids, through crafting and PvP only (not counting FFA loot)?
5. will you be able to cut the legs of a horse, throwing the rider of and dealing a decent amout of damage?
6...
dang had some more questions just some minutes ago, well will come post them when I remember them
who the heck have taken my name at this forum???
I don't know when we will release things like server lists
We don't have a talent tree persay I do not know if we will release feat information early
Raiding is not the end all be all, but we want to offer raids for those who enjoy them
Combat in Conan is not circle strafe + bunny hop
Combat, Control, Class Distinction Designer for Age of Conan
community.ageofconan.com
Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood. -Nietzsche
Athelan haven't master this part yet.
I have high hopes for a good balance (never expect perfect, and by "balance" I mean that some classes can beat others but all classes they have someone they can beat, I dont' expect a happy commune of perfect equality), as no other game since Shadowbane has had PvP as an intrinstic part of the game...
And AoC even has OTHER THINGS besides PvP which, after playing SB, I realise even a PvP game needs!
Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood. -Nietzsche