Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Your Opinion - Age of Conan - Research
TrentH
Member Posts: 44
Hello Readers,
Currently I am collecting information of opinions that members of this board have concerning the quality and features of Age of Conan for researching purposes. I ask only that everyone please give a constructive review, explaining in a few words or a paragraph or two why you do or do not like Age of Conan.
I also ask that we do not turn this into a flame-war was is common on these forums. While you may comment on others opinions, please do not argue about comments unless you wish to do so in some sort of constructive manner. This is greatly appreciated by myself and I'm sure other readers of this topic as it will allow for much more important information to be determined from this topic.
Thanks,
Trent H
Currently I am collecting information of opinions that members of this board have concerning the quality and features of Age of Conan for researching purposes. I ask only that everyone please give a constructive review, explaining in a few words or a paragraph or two why you do or do not like Age of Conan.
I also ask that we do not turn this into a flame-war was is common on these forums. While you may comment on others opinions, please do not argue about comments unless you wish to do so in some sort of constructive manner. This is greatly appreciated by myself and I'm sure other readers of this topic as it will allow for much more important information to be determined from this topic.
Thanks,
Trent H
Comments
Age of Conan might make new grounds in my eyes. Its got an awesome potential and the team working on it seems to be intent on living up to that. They want to make a game that is great and not just a money maker/holder. Its got tons of features to dwell on.. but some of the most impressive... at least in my eyes.. are the guild cities, combat, and realism.
Age of Conan isn't... World of Warcraft. You won't find pretty little elves dancing on tables for spare change.. gnomes running around in 'ultra-l33t' gear and you certainly won't find cute creatures to beat down on. The developers have tried their hardest to make it as true to name as they can without violating law... sorta.. Well if you've read Conan or even at least watched the movies and gotten past Arnold's acting.. you'll notice the world is dark and gritty. Its reality with fantasy.. (i know.. i know.. that doesn't make sense.) Its about the blood and gore of combat, the dark and evil people of the world, and the twisted goals of everything around us. Expect to find yourself morally challenged when going through quest-lines.. It won't be a happy little world.. its going to be barbaric.
The combat.. is different for MMOs.. its all about running in and hack n' slash.. none of that.. run up. click button. wait. click button. wait. click button. wait. etc etc. Its based on the idea of pulling you down into the combat as best and as fair as it can with real-time combat thrown in with some traditional style. Its a new concept and could do well on the market. Some however, say its too slow..
The Guild cities are interesting. Once you gain a big enough guild you can set up cities in the world. Name them, populate them, and build walls around them. Hire NPC to patrol your streets and defend your walls. Construct city-businesses to supply travelers or to better help the construction of your city. Awesome. Now, once your city gets big enough however, there will be those who will stand up against you. During long periods of time you'll find small encampments and eventually whole barracks building up around the roads leading to your town. Attacking visitors and maybe traders headed to your city. Once they get big enough.. they'll come after your city and its up to you and your guild with their hired NPC to fend off the attacks while also destroying the enemy encampment entirely with your trebuchet.
I find Age of conan will probably be very immersive and entertaining for at least a little while. If the developers keep up with the players and stay on track with updates, fixes, and new content down the road.. they'll make a killing with the game.. I'm interested in it and will give it a try.
Hope that helps!
Everquest - 2000 - '02
Anarchy Online - '01-'02
Earth and Beyond - '02-'04
Star Wars Galaxies - '03-'06('07)
World of Warcraft - '04-'07
Age of Conan - '08 - shelved.
-Waiting on-
Star Trek Online
SW: The Old Republic
Are there any other opinions or, I guess you might call them, reviews by anyone else?
P.S :Pardon my typing mytakes I'm just a french canadian trying to express himself in english. (Thanks to online gaming for teaching me the language)
For me, it's something that is has a different feel than most of the rest of genre does right now, and I'm a big fan of the Low Fantasy setting, that to me feels infinitely darker than most of the games on the market.
That's just a starting point for me, I'm tired of the whack a mole style of combat, and what Conan does is something that I think is unique to the genre.
I also happen to buy into Funcom, and the team that is making the game, from reading different posts, I get the vibe that they have walked some of the same paths that I have, experienced the same things, and are making a game that will touch some of the best parts of the past, while putting new ideas out for things that I felt did not work very well. In all, I think that they are going to hit what I'll find to be an immersive environment, and they'll do it in style.
Last part is the PvP/Guild City. Both aspects grab me as things that I feel I'll enjoy. I prefer the Guild versus Guild style of PvP as opposed to the RvR style that DAoC made popular, and WAR figures to emulate.
There's a lot here, and I'm ready to begin a long stay.
I am reading more and more, checking screens and movies and have only 1 thing to say ; i will need new comp.
1 more thing, someone know anything about womans in AoC ? I mean interactions
Violence level is not problem, it is like rly hot pepperoni in your pizza.
Here are a few of things I wrote down that I wanted in the next MMO I played:
1. Interactive combat: WoW, Lineage 2, Guild Wars, and LOTRO all had some features that I really liked, but I could never fully immerse myself into the game play. I would play a class for a couple of days, but get bored quickly as the combat became so redundant, I couldn't take it anymore. I went back to playing Oblivion where at least I felt I was involved in the fight.
AoC seems to have this interactive combat that I crave in an MMO. From the looks of the videos, the melee in AoC isn't quite what I was hoping for, but the range and magic are FPS style which is exactly what I wanted.
2. Deep, Voice-overed Quests: In Wow and LOTRO, I couldn't convince myself to read the backstory on the quests. I would just look at the objective at the bottom of the page and commence the quest grind. The few quests that I did read where boring and a waste of my time. I began thinking about the glory days of KOTOR and how immensely I involved myself with the story. To this day I am still moved if I hear the sound track to that game, because it was one of the most amazing gaming experiences of my life.
I thought it would be huge if someone came out with an MMO that had deep, voice-overed quests, where I could really involve myself. I was immensely pleased when I heard AoC has a selection of voice-overed quests.
3. No grinding. Guild Wars had me hooked for so long simply because I was so happy that I didn't have to grind to be good at PvP. I've always hated the grind. All that I want to do in an MMO is play interesting quests, and partake in exciting PvP.
This part has me worried about AoC. The developers have said that the time involved to reach maximum level is similar to WoW. This is nothing more than nails on a chalkboard to me. I realize that WoW has actually tamed down grinding compared to other games, but that doesn't change the fact that they haven't done away with the archaic system. The one thing that stops me from rejecting AoC altogether is the fact that they are going to have tiered PvP. In a PvP fight, a level 60 will be bumped up to 80. I don't know specifically if this will help a whole lot, but at least it is an attempt.
4. PvP oriented. I liked monster play in LOTRO, but some of the developer quotes scared me away from the game after they said that they didn't like PvP, and monster play was simply to appease the PvPers. If I was going to play a game, I was going to make sure that the developers love PvP and where designing the game around it. I loved the PvP in Guild Wars to no end. I came up with a lot of different strategies, and the complexity of the skills and classes still impress me. I loved the fact that I could log on and 20 seconds later I was in a fight. No waiting. Pure, unadulterated, player verses player on a high caliber.
There are going to arenas in AoC that sound similar to Guild Wars, and most exciting of all, City-keeps. I've never tried out this form of PvP, but it sounds way fun. Building siege weapons, partaking in diplomacy, and crushing your enemies all sound like something I really want to do.
So as you can see, AoC nearly fell in line with the list I wrote down before I knew anything about the game. I can't wait to try it out.
A side note: Everyone seems to obsessed with how much better AoC is going be than WoW just because the graphics aren't cartoony. I see this as a pretty weak selling point. Yes, I hate the cartoonish graphics like everyone else, but what really matters is the gameplay. So enough about bashing WoW's graphics, and start bashing WoW's gameplay and core mechanics.
1) It's the world of Conan.
This is a big selling point for me in terms of lore and immersion. I like theives (everyone in the books is a theif at one point) I like irony, I like power struggles, insane twists of fate, carving your own path with your skill, not your gear... I like naked chicks, bloody bar fights, getting drunk, doing the right OR the wrong thing depending on my mood, and being forced to hold up to what I do with the strength of my sword arm or the weight of my luck and skill.
So far as I've seen, the game looks to be keeping to that spirit.
2) It's PvP Centric
Too many games tack on the PvP last, as if it were just an ad-hoc last minute low priority item meant to only draw in a bit larger of a demographic than a pure PvE game. This one has put a lot of thought and effort into the PvP system (from what I've seen, mind you). That alone impresses me that the company is at least making an effort to make a quality game and not simply conform to the lowest common denominator in the interest of easy profits. Meaning, they are working hard to make a GOOD product, and for that I will at LEAST shell out the mula for the boxed game.
3) Your Character will have a Past
This one is a bit more complicated, but none the less, important. In most games, you create a level one character, run around, and start making your history up as you go. If you are a PvP player, that history becomes your kill stats, your gear, and your guild/group. Which means that you NEVER care about your character or the world your character is in. PvE is just a means to get more gear so that you can more easily gank others.
With the advent of a single player game leading UP to the MMO game, the player is given two things at once; A character history tying him/her to the game world and the story in general, and a proving grounds that will allow the player to see if they can stand the game at all or if they can even cut it.
Depending on the complexity of your choices and the storyline dynamic, the single player portion could be an extremely innovative move for MMOs in general. Imagine never seeing the same new player twice? If every person played the single player mission slightly different, they have a slightly different history, or completely different. And the tales they tell (in convo or in their bio) about how they came to be roaming around looking for wealth would then be something they earned.
Further, the fact that the player needs to play that single player portion forces the player to prove themselves. If they love the single player game WITHOUT raids, WITHOUT uber gear, WITHOUT chat, then the advent of the rest will only serve to make the game more fun. If they hate the game without all that extra stuff, then they don't have to stick around and whine endlessly about how horrible the game is and how it should change this way or that. It means also that the devs are taking a big risk cutting players off from the more addicting common parts of an MMO for those first few levels and forcing the game to stand on its own, with its own dynamics as the deciding factor of success.
Which, lastly, means that any successes you manage in those first levels will be worthy of boasting and praise, and conversely any failures you suffer will be worth hiding or avoiding mention.
Cliff notes: They give your CHARACTER personality based entirely off your own actions. Even if it's a small step, its a step back towards ROLEPLAYING for MMORPGs.
4) The world appears complex
The last thing that is going to make me want to play this game is the fact that the PvP isn't simply a "go out and gank" type of thing. With the advent of guild towns and other such fluid PvP objective, politics, econimics, trade routes, territorial disputes, and many other often completely overlooked forms of roleplay will most likely be present.
Meaning that essentially the choices for what you can do in the game will be extremely varied and not tied to just questing, grinding to max level, raiding for rare gear, and ganking other people. Stragety on a large scale, pulling people together and having them work as a cohesive whole towards one goal, leading and following, spying, diplomacy, and so on, all pop up in the game naturally once the foundation for those things is in place.
Territory, player owned cities, organizational tools for PvP, changing economics based on player actions... these all are incentives to form alliance and start wars. All of which make for great PvP and make for great in-game history and culture. Something that will KEEP players playing the game. Consequently, it's also something that makes for a quality MMO if done well.
My conclusion is that the game is PvP based, and every single decision so far by Funcom has been (so far as I've seen) to make the game a quality game, not a game that is rushed to market OR simply a mainstream money magnet or a scam. Every idea they've talked about and put into the game has pretty much been a rehash of old ideas that have mostly been avoided in MMOs because they are too costly and too difficult to put into the finished product. And yet those same ideas make for a much better product in the long run.
In other words, from what I've seen, the developers seem more interested in making a solid, long lasting game then giving in to a quick low quality get-rich-quick product. They are thinking long term, rather than short term. This is backwards thinking in this industry, and the way the MMO industry works, I'm glad someone seems to finally be pulling it off.
[Begin Sarcasm]
Girls don't use the internet unless theres a webcam involved....its a physical impossibility.
They also don't play them thar vidya gaymes, mmorpg = most men online role play girls...even in ventrillo.
-kyte317
We'll start out with the positive things.
World Detail - This game has surpassed every single game in existence with the attention to detail in the landscape and cities. It's amazing.
Bar Brawls - Pure and simple FUN. Love the idea.
City-building - The way it was explained in the PvE instances sounds like a lot of fun. Just to take a break from your typical MMO experience and play a little RTS on the side will be greatly appreciated I believe.
Formations - Until I see it in action, I'm not going to say whether it's good or bad. I don't think it'll be successful in PvP, but probably will be in PvE.
Now the Negative.
Combat System - I think they're trying really hard to create a new combat system, and kudos to them for trying, but it's hard to say just how different it is until they have a playable demo up for people to sit down and see what it's all about.
My impression and opinion is that it will be a lot of fun the first day or so, and then after that it will start to get boring and a click-fest.
Foot Slide - The one thing that I think is the bane of Funcom animations. It was everywhere in AO, and it appears to be everywhere in AoC. If you watch the feet of the PCs and NPCs in any video out, with almost every attack, there's a tremendous amount of foot slide to the point of NPCs actually sliding more than 5-10 feet in-game. Hopefully they'll finally fix this, but it's still in AO after several years, and when it suddenly shows up in their new game it makes me wonder if they know how to fix it.
Mature Rating - I've thought this would backfire ever since I saw the interview where they said you could make the female's breasts and ass as big as you wanted. I can't help but think of all the female avatars that are going to be running around with huge asses and breasts. I'm sure they're not going to have the maximum set to a gigantic level, but the amount of people that will max those sizes out is still just disheartening.
The only thing that's mature about this game that they've shown are the decapitations. The bodies and blood are allowed in Teen games. Take a look at Warhammer if you don't believe me. They've got crucified bodies, people burning at the stake, people hanging, etc. etc. Including crows pecking at the dead bodies.
I think going for the Mature rating will backfire, and will dumb down the maturity level of the player-base.
PvP - The PvP system with the combat system seems extremely volatile. Since you'll probably have both graphical lag and server lag, and your melee and ranged attacks only hit what your weapon actually passes through, a lag spike could mean the difference between life and death. Not to mention jumping will probably be considered an effective way to avoid being hit.
I think the lag affecting combat is the one thing that I see not being able to be fixed. Since the entire player base won't have top of the line computers, I see lag causing people to be killed as the number one complaint. In a game where they're trying to have massive battles and city to city wars, I just don't see the immensely detailed graphics, and the real-time combat working together.
So there's my opinions. A couple good, a couple bad. I tried to even it out. Again these are just my opinions from reading up on the game, so there's no need to flame me.
---------------------------------------------
I live to fight, and fight to live.
I like the visuals, not only because they are pretty but because of the general mood in the game; gritty and darker fantasy. Good graphics are a nice bonus though, in the end they do not make the game.
Real-time combat is one of the things that is very attractive to me, though I am slightly worried about how this particular combat system will play in the end. However I doubt it will get me bored as quickly as your basic mmo today does with the "target-attack-spam quickbar buttons" combat.
I do not like the whole grind, I would wish there were fewer levels, or even none at all but alas MMOs today just seem to be stuck on the idea that an RPG needs levels and classes. I'd prefer a more open system, but in the end I can certainly enjoy a class- and levelbased game. Character advancement is more fun to me the more open it is. Conan will make you choose, albeit not straight away, and you will be stuck with those choices unless you make a new character.
I am sure the PvP will be fun, even though I'd prefer it to be even more open. I hate the fact that you can't loot your opponents spoils, but recognise that most devs won't put that in because of the endless whining it would create. It also requires items to not be as huge a part of the character power level as they are in most games today, and will be in AoC by the looks of it.
I do hope the Mature rating means a more mature player base. I also know that this hope is completely utopian. I do not look forward to all the female avatars with max-sized breasts played by 13-year olds who borrowed their parents' credit card.
The whole RPvP server idea seems strange, combining full PvP servers with RP ones as if they are the same crowd. A lot of people who want hardcore PvP care nothing for roleplaying and a lot of roleplayers despise PvP. Sure, there are those like me who enjoy both, but I know to expect a completely non-moderated RP server enviroment as per usual. I don't even know why companies bother to make RP servers, since in the end no one enforces it.
[DTE]
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
I am looking forward to playing this game but i can't deny im not convinced of this games integrity yet. The intesne graphics effect on lag/performance is one concern. The combat as previously pointed out is another. Will it be a breath of fresh air or a flop?
I am interested in the "hardcore" elements that i have been reading about in the AoC's forums as well. Apparently Funcom is debating open loot servers. I would be interested in trying this.
i am hoping to score a beta so that i can try this game also.
best of luck to AoC.
I'm curious why you woud say this, and I expect it's because you are lacking current info.
Level 1-20 have been estimated from 10-15 hours. So you are talking between 30-45 minutes per level.
Absolutely NO reason that you cannot group between levels 5-20. There is no longer the solo 1-20, unless of course that is what you choose. Funcom has broken things up a bit, so that you can play together during that time, and they are doing it with the day/night cycle, where during one period you can group, and the other is solo. Both play styles are support.
Sorry, not meaning to derail the thread, but your claim that they expect you to go 1-20 solo is 100% inaccurate.
Most everything has been said but I will say this again:
The combat system. If all goes according to how the devs say; we are looking at a truly 3rd gen MMO with combat unlike anything thats been done before. Click target auto attack is silly. We need something new and AoC will hopefully deliver that.
Mature rating is a huge plus for me. More realism!
they claim PvP will be one of the major focus points, another big plus (im certainly on the fence of WAR and AoC; AoC appears to be much more innovative and original than WAR so far though)
edit: i wanted to elaborate on the above posters description of the night + day system in the 1-20 world. Night you are solo day you can group. The day/night doesnt change automatically, you simply go take a rest in an inn (not sure if its an inn but all you do it go to sleep somewhere)
So happy to see a topic that has not derailed into a flame war.
[DTE]
I miss DAoC
I'm sure it was a learning experience.
[DTE]
Time will tell whether this will be a LoTRO/WoW launch or a SOE style launch. The hype level is high, can they live up to it?.
I miss DAoC
Think it's this one:
Part 1: http://www.insidegamer.nl/pc/ageofconanhyborianadventures/videos/2719
Part 2: http://www.insidegamer.nl/pc/ageofconanhyborianadventures/videos/2742
So you want it spoonfed to you?
Go to http://bymitra.com/ and do a search on the dev posts for anything you want... or click on Athelan's account and check his post history
Of all that is written, I love only what a person has written with his own blood. -Nietzsche
Actually, I'm glad some nice people are spoonfeeding him. This has convinced me to give this game a try upon it's release.
Perhaps others are greatful also.
Thanks to all who posted here constructively. It's making a difference...at least to my decision.
So you want it spoonfed to you?
Go to http://bymitra.com/ and do a search on the dev posts for anything you want... or click on Athelan's account and check his post history
Actually, I'm wanting true player opinions on what interest the individual fans and soon to be players of Age of Conan, not flat facts about the game or what will or won't happen. I'm interested in researching and gathering data concerning the actual player-base. And as the poster before me has noted. While I am getting research about what the actual players who are interested in the game are looking at, it also does provide for other players to look in on.