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MPOGD - AoC Revealing Interview - FFA Severs & Expansion Team
AmazingAvery
Age of Conan AdvocateMember UncommonPosts: 7,188
By Linda "Brasse" Carlson : Read the full Funcom Round-Up Interview here: http://www.mpogd.com/news/?ID=3048
"Moving on to Age of Conan... When I last saw it at GDC, the female player models were not yet complete. They are in now. "We had a big demo at DragonCon; police came to the demo to clear the crowds." said Jorgen, "Several hundred people were turned away by the police due to fire regulations. It was the most popular demo at the show."
He continued, "We showed lots of different armor, and there was lot of focus on the female (player models), and the fact that we've been able to make them strong, yet sexual at the same time; female, but not bimbos."
He laughed, "You can undress and go around half naked of course, and a lot of guys will do that." The armor is highly varied and designed to suit the female form as well as it suits the males. They will have their own specific armors.
I asked about whether or not Conan groups were going to be highly class dependent in order to succeed. In other words, will groups require specific class combinations to succeed, or would a group of all fighters, or comprised of a number of DPS classes and a healer be as effective. "The nature of the genre is that a variety of skills will be needed. That is not to say that it will be impossible, but there is always strength in balanced groups. If you use our matchmaking system you will find you get the people you need."
"Our matchmaking system allows you to search for all kinds of levels, search for guilds, and any number of people. Groups are not inherently bad, what is bad is the amount of time getting hold of group members." says Jorgen, "Especially on raids, the amount of time spent organizing people for groups is bad, like when you lose your healer partway through a siege. How can you get access to new people fast? How can you find them? Can you teleport them in from other parts of the world? That is what we've done."
"If you sign up for a PvP match, as soon as it is filled, you will be matched with different classes and you will be teleported in. A group leader can have 6 magic classes, but there are certain cases where you will want a tank. I think it is important that we do not step away from the model too much, though there is flexibility." Jorgen explained.
I asked about the death penalty and bindpoints. "We have numerous bindpoints, and we try to tie it in with the lore so that it makes sense. We try to avoid the strict penalties of death that some games have used. Current design has two minutes of reduction in skills, and maybe you lose some blood money. We don't want to punish you too much for dying, because you will die a lot in this game." he laughs, "I promise. If you die during a siege, you will be teleported back to the scene. If you die very often, you might incur more penalties, to prevent 'Zerg' rushing."
Jorgen mused, "I see interesting individuals who have asked for "permadeath", but it's just not feasible as an MMOG mechanic."
The Age of Conan siege system holds much promise. Catapaults, Ballistas, War Mammoths and more will be brought to bear in the ongoing PvP struggle. I was curious if the siege weapons were something players would carry with them, or build on site? "Oh you have to drag them slowly through the wilderness" Jorgen chortled, indicating that he was kidding. "The siege implements can be bought or made. They are in your inventory, and you spawn them at the battlegrounds at preset points (we may change how this is controlled). You place them, and then there is a real-time targeting system. Each section of the wall becomes a target. Eight engines of war are possible in a big siege." War mammoths can be used to batter walls as well, and killer rhinos may be pressed into service to bash down gates.
"As a defender, you have a better chance of hitting and doing more damage at range, as you are firing down as opposed to firing upwards." That certainly made sense in terms of real-life physics. "We also have a mercenary system, so that you can send out calls to the world, ' Hey, we're hiring level 80 mercenaries for 100 gold!' and then bring them into the area. It is all based on what we've learned, what we've been doing for many years in Anarchy Online with the Notum Wars."
Funcom watches what other game companies do as well. "Guild Wars did a good job. We learned from Shadowbane that the power of the very few can ruin the game. One guild will eventually dominate the server in that situation." In Age of Conan, the devs plan to have nine Battle Keeps (the largest contested locations), and fifteen Battle Forts, (a smaller objective suited for smaller guilds) as well as eighteen controllable resource areas. To counter the problem found in Shadowbane, each guild can only control ONE fort or battle-keep at a time. Jorgen explains, "Each guild can hold one resource area, one city (which has your guild hall, tradeskill area and social focus) and then your PvP area."
Is PvP going to take place everywhere? Tharaldsen responded, "We will have free-for-all PvP servers, but the normal servers will use much the same model as in Anarchy Online, where we pioneered the use of "suppression gas" mechanics to control aggressive actions. When you get to a PvP area, you'll see 'You are now entering...' You will be warned, and if you continue... that's your problem." he smiled. On the other hand, "If you go into a siege and sign up for battle, of course you will immediately be in the fight!"
To even up disparities in level and to prevent ganking of lower levels, there are six tiers to the PvP system. As Jorgen says, "If you are 21 and have a friend who is 27, when entering an area you are both buffed up to the highest level of that tier. That way everyone operates on the same level, and makes it more accessible." He continued, "We looked at GuildWars and the sidekicking of City of Heroes, and found a way to adapt it to our systems. Most of us have kids, we have families, we love online gaming, and you can't always spend 40 hours getting levels. We have a lot of people to think about and cater for."
I asked about the numbers involved in the AoC project, and what the main focus was. "At this stage we are split into task forces and we're working on everything at once." said Tharaldsen, "MMO development today is not the same as it was five or ten years ago. We are getting close to 150 developers on the team. It means that we have different task forces assigned to different areas of the game. For instance we have the combat group, the 20-40 group, the 40-60 group, 60-80, end game group... within those groups they have designers and programmers. We are pushing the combat system now, to make it really fun, while polishing the core mechanics."
We discussed the decisions made to delay the launch of Age of Conan, to the laments of fans everywhere. "There is no room for a bad launch these days. You cannot say, 'Please pay for our beta, we still have 6 months to go!'" grinned Jorgen, "And I think that we are sort of the poster child for that sort of thing," referring to the rocky launch and post-launch experience of Anarchy Online. I consider Funcom to be a prime example of how to recover from a bad launch as well. They worked hard and the game became a solid, viable project.
"Even now, in this day and age, without naming names, there are still people who are putting themselves into a bad launch position. In those days it was possible to turn around, but now, people expect a much higher degree of quality in the release product, and are far less willing to give second chances." said Tharaldsen, "We could have launched in October, but that is the difference between 'ok' and 'great,' and it reflects our goals as developers to postpone release to March. We want a great game."
When Conan launches, the development team will be split into a live team and expansion team, moving into two teams that will be scaled according to the needs of the project. "We are at about 300 in Funcom, spread across AO, Conan, Secret World, other projects and of course support staff and customer relations." says Jorgen.
"We now have Anarchy for the science fiction market, Conan for the fantasy market, and now Secret World for the near-present market. We have also announced our interest in casual games. We do not rule out anything. We've been one of the most innovative in the west, including our free subs, ads, micropayments, instanced zones. As long as we don't sacrifice our relationships with our players, we'll try it."
Secret Worlds is the latest name on Funcom's title list, although little is known of it yet. "We announced Secret Worlds through a viral process, because we wanted to see how open the market is to this sort of approach." Jorgen recalled, "We sat there, having made all these letters from the 'British Museum of the Occult'... and it was Monday, start of the week. Nothing. Oh &#% we said, this isn't working. Then come Wednesday, there was suddenly this incredible amount of interest."
"It says something about the essence of what this game is about. The mysteries, the conspiracies, the real world, the references and links to what you know what is out there. The essence is that if you dig into the reality around you, Internet, newspapers, you'll find stories. Is there something to it?" he leans in conspiratorially and grins, "Of course there is!"
Secret World is the creation of Funcom's Ragnar Tornquist, and he serves as Producer and Director on the project. "He made Longest Journey and Dreamfall... he came up with it some ten years ago, and it's been in development since last summer." A great creative concept is now the point of immersion for many of Funcom's artists and programmers. I am looking forward to seeing how the concept is translated into gameplay.
"We are a 'community centric' company. We are always most concerned with what our playerbase wants and how they respond to our ideas." I believe this commitment to community, along with their urge to innovate and experiment, are the key reasons that Funcom continues to thrive in the choppy waters of the MMOG market. "
Funcom: http://www.funcom.com
Anarchy Online: http://www.ao.com
Age of Conan: http://www.ageofconan.com
Secret World: http://www.darkdaysarecoming.com/
....................................................................................................................
Thanks to Acolyte KsBerge for the linkage:
So we see the Product Director saying "We will have free-for-all PvP servers" I'm sure this inclusion will make some people happy and in my opinion alot of people have been asking for it - I for one will be on a PvP type server but no ffa for me straight away! How do you guys feel?
We also see Jorgen stating "When Conan launches, the development team will be split into a live team and expansion team, moving into two teams that will be scaled according to the needs of the project." I kinda find that cool as well, there has been talk on the official forums as to what races for the expansion should include, with the favourite currently the "Aesir" for those who appreciate the lore! The thread is located here if your interested: http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=24986
We also see an admittance again of how Funcom understands the need for a good launch in respect to Anarchy Onlines launch 6 years ago:
"We discussed the decisions made to delay the launch of Age of Conan, to the laments of fans everywhere. "There is no room for a bad launch these days. You cannot say, 'Please pay for our beta, we still have 6 months to go!'" grinned Jorgen, "And I think that we are sort of the poster child for that sort of thing," referring to the rocky launch and post-launch experience of Anarchy Online. I consider Funcom to be a prime example of how to recover from a bad launch as well. They worked hard and the game became a solid, viable project.
"Even now, in this day and age, without naming names, there are still people who are putting themselves into a bad launch position. In those days it was possible to turn around, but now, people expect a much higher degree of quality in the release product, and are far less willing to give second chances." said Tharaldsen, "We could have launched in October, but that is the difference between 'ok' and 'great,' and it reflects our goals as developers to postpone release to March. We want a great game."
To me when the last delay was announced I wasn't too pissed off, I only want to pay for a finished game. Lets hope the March 2008 launch date sticks and the release is the best it can be!
Comments
Well, Avery, I generally agree with what you put up in these forums, and Im finally thinking AoC. I played AO and was right pissed with it for the first year, but it got better into its 3rd year, when I got back into it. I'm glad that they pushed it back, I was actually relieved. I prefer a company pushes back the launch date than have it out sooner and pay to play beta.
Oh well, AoC...you have a new fan =/
I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad, The dreams in which I'm dieing are the best I've ever had.
Ok just curious, who else thinks that dude was stoned off his ass in that pic?
Btw thanks for the link
Me.
I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad, The dreams in which I'm dieing are the best I've ever had.
/raises hand! I bet Jorgen (guy in pic) likes the beer! I think he has done like 4 interviews in the last couple of weeks, travelling around alot, I'd be knackered too. But he does look a bit shattered.
Maybe the booth babes at Leipzig are have tired him out still to this day?
and before that the ones from E3 hahah, Jorgen "The Stamina" Tharaldsen! < bet he doesn't read these forums though.
and Bryan, im happy they pushed it back too, I was becoming slightly worried things weren't going to be in place, but still was confident they could do it better than Vanguard. Things are starting to look like they are coming together alot better now imo, although Im most interested in seeing and reading about the crafting aspect more.
Thank KsBerge for the link on our forums, was a good read if a little long, but going to the link says more about AO and things.
Needs to brush his teeth ....nasty.
thanks again Avery!
RIP Orc Choppa
Hah.....i just read that interview and i was going to post the awesome news. Looks like you beat me to it Avery. Im so excited for FFA, it will definitly be my first and only server. Only thing is.....doesnt it kindof suck that you can only own 1 battelkeep per guild? Whats going to make a guild want to seige anothers keep if they already occupy one. I see what they are trying to prevent but im sure guilds will find ways around it by simply making another guild with a different variation in its name.
Now we can only hope for full loot.....but i doubt that will ever happen in Aoc.
I think from the sounds of it, guilds upon managing to own a Keep, will be have to be quite organised to keep it. Benefits of occupying one would bring benefits of extra resources I believe. Plus with a 7 day window scaled lower to your chosing for battles to defend it (with the lower time frame to accept a challenge boosting your guild) I think having just the one keep will be a tough act to handle of a long period of time. Im not sure what ruleset (if the same) applies on the FFA server (if possible full loot) but it would be interesting to see. I think the amount on one server (9) is an ok amount, seems a little on the low side to begin with, but would only increase competition. Coupled with the fact the the fights are on a ticket system with objectives, sounds awesome and fun to me.
I figure with them saying around 150 plus in the area, you might be looking at anywhere from 65-100 ppl per side, so you could be a lower numbered guild relying on Mercs to increase your numbers, or with our guild with members spread from all over we aim to have a 24/7 presence so 75 guys from Europe might be defending one day with another 75 from N.America defending the next and so forth. Not sure how it will work out, but im still excited for all the tactics that could potentially come into play on the field of battle. Another bonus is that there aren't race restrictions from on either side, like in some PvP systems. The enemy might have an "Uber" Barbarian upon which we could send out our best for a square off! or assign some different classes to get their best... Seems like scouts will play a good part too. I wouldn't want to be out exploring when a rival guild has scouts in the treeline surveying our keep!
Anyway, lol, I know what you mean about affliation/brother/sister guilds forming, I do remember reading something about some suggestions and some hints from devs about this (I think). I'll see if I can find anything out. But I think the bonuses for holding one will only go to that guild, and I think the only thing I remember reading is that the bonus is more akin to a health buff for defenders. - Exciting stuff though!
Our guild won't be doing the "full loot ffa" if there is one though. Most members don't mind losing a piece of something but not everything - would keep the smithers and crafters too busy!
Meh.....like i said the chances of there ever being full loot in any game ever again is slim to none imo. So im not expecting it. But its ok Aoc will still be amazing.
As for the whole brother/ sister guild thing, Im somewhat worried about it. It really can destroy a PVP server no matter how good a game is. And i cant even think of a solution that they COULD implement.
Only other thing im worried about is lag. They have stated that hundereds of people can be on the screen at once. Has there been any proof of thier technology that they can deliver this? Im pretty sure that out of all videos there have been no more than 2-3 people online at one time. Somewhat concerned.
Last game I remember with full loot was UO... but I think that only worked because there was no uber gear anyone had to camp for, it was pretty much only what the crafters made. Heck most people PvP'd naked anyways lol.
Something that caught my attention, Secret World, that looks hot.
So they're really gonna do it hell ya they kept telling us on the official boards they were going to consider it and they wanted it.
I'm so glad they listened to us. it makes leveling so much more interesting too me when there is always a chance for PVP popping up somehwere. nice im glad they listened to us
i also just read an RP-PVP server will be avaialble too. this will be interesting guys, real interesting.....