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Anarchy Online: New Engine Q&A and Video
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
The folks over at Funcom have announced that Anarchy Online will be getting a face lift in the form of a new engine. Game Director Craig Morrison takes the time to answer a few of our questions as we present a trailer featuring the new engine.
MMORPG.com:
What was the rationale behind developing a new engine for a game that launched all the way back in 2001?
Craig Morrison:
We still have thousands of new players every week through the free player offer and we realize that while we are very proud of the games art direction, it is starting to look its age compared to modern titles. With so many players still signing up and trying the game every week we felt it would be a missed opportunity if we didn’t bring the engine up to date and little and improve the visuals. We know we have a great game with a lot of depth so in doing this we hope we can also attract people with a modern looking engine.
Check it out here.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
Games i'm playing right now...
"In short, I thought NGE was a very bad idea" - Raph Koster talking about NGE on his blog at raphkoster.com
I never understood why FC didnt make AO2
It would surely be much more succesful (and easier to make) than Conan
Woohoo - very nice. Great article - thanks MMORPG.com. AO being free to play -- uhm.. this is nice!
Hey great now everyone can do the same instanced generic missions and grind their way up to 220 with new graphics.
No player involvement in storyline no updated mission system but new graphics?
Go back and do some research on the early days of AO and you may find they had intended to have a "prison system" and player made missions and quests.
What is your physical limit?
And here I thought they were only moving it to use DX9/hardware for performance reasons. I did *not* expect that.
Can't wait to see what the characters look/animate like in the new engine. Hopefully they get some kind of upgrade, too.
In any case... wow.. Looking very good.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
wow, hopefully they can pull it of as I very well may go back to it if they do.
I for one loved AO. Right now I am in Tabula Rasa, and love it also. If they upgrade AO, I will be torn between the two. There is a lot of content in AO and a very good game. Glad it’s getting a face lift. I will take a look at it in the near future.
Look's amazing! thou I fear It may affect my gameplay now due to the fact I don't have the best computer. Hopefully It wont affect me much, thou im sure the system requirement's will go up.
When ready and released, I for one will re-subscribe with a paid account.
Have always had a fondness for AO, but the software graphics engine just did not cut it for me. To much lag. I hate Stop 'n Go movement.
Looking forward to it. Probably won't be my main MMORPG, but will be one I play a couple times a week.
Awesome! Glad to see AO getting a face lift. I always liked the game, but it's graphic were pretty ugly. Now if only we could convince the folks over at Turbine to give the same face lift to AC.
I played AO for 2 weeks during summer 2006, whilst on annual leave. That brief period was the most addictive MMORPG experience - up to and including EQ from April 2001 until I /quit in September 2002.
I stopped playing AO for a variety of reasons - mostly because I felt unsure for how much longer the product would be supported, I instinctively hated SL [Shadowlands], and some of the subsequent expansions didn't really pique my interest.
So why am I planning to return? I knew the history of AO - perhaps the worst launch in MMORPG history - as I remember EQ players leaving in droves to play AO, then scurrying back with horror stories about the state of the game, but I never actually played AO. Despite being a 1st generation MMORPG in terms of game engine, some of the game mechanics - character customization, class / skill hybrid system, OE [over-equipping], dynamic mission system - were 2nd generation, if not 3rd generation, given the lack of genuine innovation in (alleged) 2nd generation MMORPGs.
AO has a style all of its own and a strong sense of place, from the character models, items that one could equip that actually displayed on the character model, the vast variety of weapons, armour, modules, to the hauntingly beautiful music, and wonderful touches of humour and originality such as the cute lil' leets who insulted you, the dancing Atrox in a discoteque / club, and the astounding array of emotes - my favourite being the /dance emote when in one of the many clubs, with pulsating rhythmic music, and laser flashes and strobes.
So, why am I returning (and staying) once the graphics update goes live? Aside from the fact that no new releases on the horizon pique my interest (with the exception of 'Fallen Earth' - but whether the product is released in a playable state - all features implemented and working - and lives up to its billing is another matter ..), this quote from the AO New Engine Q&A is why I now have zero interest in the whole EQ 'Classic Server' (non-existent) debate:
Regards,
Riotgirl
"If you think I'm plucky and scrappy and all I need is love, you're in way over your head. I don't have a heart of gold or get nice. There are a lot nicer people coming up. We call them losers."
Anarchy online is one of the greatest MMO's.
THis is I call good news.
Not really interested by AOC, but can't wait for AO "relooked"
This is great news indeed. I will definitely be checking out the new game engine.
Now if only Sony would do something similar with the original EverQuest.
Anarchy Online is a very addictive game if this graphic update utilizes my HD3870 (Will be in crossfire shortly) to its full potential I may be drawn back to the game.
Good old level 200+
I tried AO though the free trial. It was a bit over my head at the time (I was also drunk, which probably didn't help matters), but I've been waiting for a time to jump back in. Once this new engine goes through, I'll try it again.
MMO Devs: limited free accounts on your games is a GREAT way to bring up populations.
MMO games played or tested: EQ, DAoC, Archlord, Auto Assault, CoH, CoV, EQ2, EVE, Guild Wars, Hellgate: London, Linneage II, LOTRO, MxO, Planetside, SWG, Sword of the New World, Tabula Rasa, Vanguard, WWIIOL, WOW, Age of Conan
It's proof that sequels don't count in the MMO space. Well, at least not yet.
-- Brede
I would expect the new engine would affect all the spells casted ...weapon effects...etc etc...could be spectacular.
and yes....clothing needs to take advantage of the new capabilitys too
The content is there for this game. This engine upgrade is brilliant. This will make this game 5 game. First Eve online and now AO. Its the smart way to go with games and other older games should follow suit.
They're starting to make a great come back from the disasters they had for a long while.
They still need to bring the old storyline back and let players have an impact on the game world once more. There was nothing like the early days of AO when you could make a name for yourself and groups of players could feel like they were impacting the game.
Players do have some impact on the game still, mainly those in the roleplay community. Examples would be the remake of Old Athens and re-arming of city guards with Alien weapons( both pushed for years by the roleplay Council of Truth). Obviously, players cannot change the longer story arcs the Dev's have in place (If some NPC/legacy leader needs to be assassinated, it will happen because the Events staff decides to do it, not because some group of players decided that would be a good course of action).
One can expect the clothing and weapons' meshes and textures to be better looking under the new graphics engine, and the models to probably have better flesh tones, but their emotes and animations will undoubtedly be just as they are now - modifying that would be an even bigger chore than creating the new rendering engine.
~\_/~\_O