Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
VideoGamer Interview ~ E.E. is back!
AmazingAvery
Age of Conan AdvocateMember UncommonPosts: 7,188
| When Age of Conan unleashed itself upon the gaming world in May last year, it brought with it expectations so high some felt it had a chance of dethroning the mighty World of Warcraft. Things haven't quite worked out like that, and recent server mergers have been viewed by some as the beginning of the end for the violent fantasy MMORPG. Not so, according to Funcom's Erling Ellingsen, who tells us in this wide-ranging interview why 2009 is set to be the year Age of Conan proves itself.
VideoGamer.com: Now that the game's been out for almost a year and you've had time to reflect, what were Funcom's highlights for 2008?
VideoGamer.com: Looking forward, what's in store for Age of Conan players in 2009? EE: We have several different updates planned. Coming up next, for instance, is an entirely new level 80 dungeon called Xibaluku, intended for players who have reached the end game. Included in this update is a smaller dungeon, also intended for high level players. All of this is included in what we call Update Four, and there's a lot of other improvements as well. For instance we're going to make PvP slightly more interesting by making it so that resources required to build Battle Keeps will need to be gathered in the Border Kingdom area. Basically it means that there will be a whole new dynamic when it comes to fighting over resources. Because when you're collecting resources in this part of the game world you're fair game for other PvP players, so I think we'll be adding a lot of drama to gathering PvP resources. We're also doing major changes to the mini-game system. It's going to be a lot easier to find other players, so the whole process of getting more PvP experience and rising up in PvP levels will hopefully be a lot smoother and a lot more interesting. VideoGamer.com: Do you have a time frame for when this update will be implemented? EE: Well this is what we call Update Four. We're aiming to have it out over the next month or so depending on testing. Later, in a future update, we are also doing changes to the items system. One of the criticisms that we have been getting is that items in the game don't have a lot of impact on your character's statistics when you play - it doesn't always feel like you're a lot more powerful after having gotten a new sword, helmet or shield. Another problem is that when players hover their mouse over items in their inventory, the tooltip describing the item can be confusing and difficult to understand. We will be improving all of this, making items matter more and have a more profound impact on your character's power. Statistics will also be better represented, and it will be easier to understand them. Items will simply matter a lot more, and I believe this will make gameplay a lot more entertaining and meaningful - going out there and getting better items will matter more. VideoGamer.com: A lot of these changes seem like they're being put in place for existing players of Age of Conan. Will Funcom be doing anything to attract new players into the game? EE: We will definitely be doing a "Come back and play" campaign when we feel that the time is ready for it. We're really biding our time right now, though, and we want to wait until the time is right before putting it out. We would, for instance, like to have certain improvements in there before we go ahead with such a campaign. VideoGamer.com: What's happening regarding the promised DirectX 10 features? EE: DirectX 10 is also on its way. It's been on the test server now for a while, so players can actually log on to the test servers and play around with DirectX 10 now. That's actually spawned lots of videos and screenshots circulating all over the internet. I've seen comparison shots and videos floating all over the web now. VideoGamer.com: Do you have any time frame for when the DirectX 10 features will be going live properly? EE: We can't commit to any dates regarding DirectX 10. We're working on it, it's on test live, and we'll release it when we feel it's ready for prime time. VideoGamer.com: Towards the end of last year you teased the first expansion pack for Age of Conan. What's the latest on that? EE: Absolutely. Well (laughs), one of the things we just don't want to do right now is talk about what the expansion is all about at all. We showed a concept image at GC in Leipzig. So we just showed that image and let people get their own ideas in their heads, but we don't want to say anything about it yet. But I think later in the year we're definitely going to be revealing it. VideoGamer.com: Fans won't have long to wait to get the first details on the expansion pack then? EE: They might have to wait a little bit. Right now our biggest focus is on the live game, improving the live game, listening to the concerns of the players and addressing the issues they put forward. That's the number one priority right now and we want to make sure players realize that's our main focus. VideoGamer.com: I know you're not disclosing exactly how many active subscribers you have for the game, but is it meeting internal expectations? Are you personally happy with the number of subscribers that Age of Conan has currently? EE: The initial sales have definitely met our expectations, but the longevity of the subscribers hasn't been as good as we had hoped. Improving upon that longevity has been one of our main goals these past months, and what we're seeing is that there are positive trends right now. People are really reacting well to the updates that we're doing, and we're seeing both returning customers as well as better longevity. We will continue with the updates, and there's a lot of exciting content in the months ahead that I hope will have a positive effect on the player base.
EE: The game is definitely going to exist. As long as enough people are playing we're going to keep it running. The server mergers are actually something we're doing to improve the gameplay for the people who are already playing. One of the things that can be quite detrimental to an MMO is when there aren't enough players on each server, and we launched with a very high number of servers for Age of Conan. So for us it's now just a matter of making sure that all the servers have a healthy population number. This is improving gameplay radically for the people who are actually playing on these servers. We have started the server mergers now and the reactions we are getting are very positive. People appreciate the fact that there are more people to play with now and it's easier to get into groups. The community on each server feels more alive. The most important ingredient in an MMO is, after all, the players themselves and the interaction between them! VideoGamer.com: Some commentators have suggested it's the beginning of the end for the game. You would deny that then? EE: I would deny that, yeah. It's definitely not the beginning of the end at all. It's an opportunity for us to improve the gameplay for the people who are already playing and hopefully that will generate a more positive word of mouth. When the people who are already playing are entertained, are enjoying themselves, I think that's going to have a positive effect for people to come back and try it again, people who have already cancelled, even new players. Word of mouth is very important for an MMO such as Age of Conan and by merging servers, and by making gameplay more entertaining for those playing, I believe it's going to have a very positive effect. VideoGamer.com: We're you disappointed by ex-game director Gaute Godager's comments he made after he left Funcom (He said: "I have done my very best making this fabulous game, but I have concluded there are elements which I am dissatisfied with.")? EE: I don't want to comment too much on that, but I definitely understood his concerns. On a general basis I can say that Gaute did a brilliant job with Age of Conan and he worked with Funcom for over 15 years. He was one of the founders of the company. I was very sorry to see him go of course, but I think he made the right decision. The game director that we have now is definitely taking the game to new heights, and it was necessary to get some fresh eyes on the game. VideoGamer.com: What's the latest on the Xbox 360 version of Age of Conan? Will it ever be released? EE: We are still working on it and it's very much going to happen! We don't have any dates for it, we've never set any specific dates for the Xbox 360 version. The only thing I can say is that we are still working on it. VideoGamer.com: Is it something you can say might come this year in 2009, or will it be 2010? EE: I wish I could, but I can't give you any dates regarding the Xbox 360 version. What I can tell you is that I think it's going to be fantastic on the console! VideoGamer.com: Can you talk about some of the design challenges you're facing translating the PC MMO experience to the console? EE: The positive thing is that Age of Conan, I think it's a game that will work very well on a console. First of all because of the action-oriented real-time combat. It's not so much about just clicking on icons and looking at your character fighting, which will be a combat system that doesn't necessarily translate very well to a console. The way that combat is handled in Age of Conan already, it just lends itself very naturally to a game pad. I think it's going to be well received with a console audience. But of course some of the challenges that we're facing is obviously the interface. It is an MMO so there's a lot of clicking on icon skills, even though it's not an interface-heavy MMO. So there are definitely a lot of challenges that we have to face there, and of course also the matter of whether or not we're going to allow cross-platform play on servers. So there are a lot of challenges we have to face, but we're working through them. VideoGamer.com: What's the latest on The Secret World? We know next to nothing about this project... EE: We don't want to talk too much about that either. We want to take our time and make sure that we start talking about The Secret World when the time is right. Right now it's very important for us to focus on Age of Conan and making sure players understand that it's our number one priority. But it's very much in development. The team is growing and the game is too. I was looking at recent builds internally and the game is looking absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to start talking about it! VideoGamer.com: Do you have any idea when you'll be ready to start talking about it? EE: I'm pretty sure that we're going to have a lot more information some time this year. VideoGamer.com: Finally, what message have you got for current Age of Conan players and those who did play it when it first came out but aren't playing it now and are maybe considering coming back to the game in 2009? EE: For the people who have played it and cancelled, I urge you to come back and try the game now, most importantly because of the radical improvements that have been made to the game since launch. Even by going to the official forums I think you will see that the tone is starting to change within the playing community, and things have turned around quite dramatically .I really hope that people will give the game another chance and I believe those players will be impressed with the improvements that have been made. For the people who are already playing I just want to say thank you so much for still sticking with us. I believe 2009 is going to be a strong year for Age of Conan and the Conan license in general, and we have a lot of really good stuff coming up through our updates. We also look forward to start shedding some light on the expansion. I was just looking through some of the art for the expansion lately, and I was completely blown away with what I saw. I can't wait to show it to you all! VideoGamer.com: Thanks for your time. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is out now for PC. |
I think the year is off to a good start in game. Progress could be a bit faster in materializing from the test server and it looks like the PR/marketing has a different approach for the better 
Comments
Double post ftl, my apologies.
PS: Oh wow, reverse double post no less, I must be in rare form.
Thanks for posting this AA, was a darn good read.
I'm glad they're working hard on AOC, it's a great game, lots of violence, amazing graphics, and many other stuffed I liked....but like many others, the game died long ago for us.
A little too late for most, I know for a fact I won't be returning back to the game but I do hope AOC will survive and improve, if they ever remove the zonings in the game I might return.
I really don't think he is helping. Maybe he should go back into hiding.
I always find it amazing that he starts out with this
"The launch itself went very well, without any major technical difficulties, and sales wise it was an astounding success"
We suckered a lot of people into buying the box, and our billing system worked flawlessly.
Really, at some point he is going to realize that people don't like being reminded that they were scammed.
I don't know if that is a wrong thing to say.
I had no issues with billing.
No issues with installation
No issues with server crashes or downtime outside of scheduled updates.
I did have a few issues with falling through the floor (subsequently fixed for me 1 month after)
I didn't have issues with lagg
I played with more than 100+ people in a zone since launch etc etc
But did you read on?
"Some features were not properly implemented and there were parts of the game where the content was too slim. We needed to do some more work on it. We completely realize that there were a lot of difficulties and challenges that arose in the months after launch. I think that we have faced those challenges in a very, very good way. The game has evolved dramatically since it launched. We have introduced numerous updates that have changed the game in radical ways."
That is addmittance to some issues, such as content, realization there were other issues and difficulties.
You should address the people who can't let it go, like a few that post here still (which is all they can say) then you wouldn't have to be reminded, is it not good though in reflection in what was said?
I didn't have issues with gameplay.
I didn't have technical issues... save for a few crashes.
Billing is a POS. I did have some issues there.
I was really interested in this article but after reading the first line "
Erling Ellingsen: The launch itself went very well, without any major technical difficulties, and sales wise it was an astounding success."
I couldnt stop laughing...seriously that made my day haha no mister absolutely no major techincl difficulties, wink wink. You know what, i think its great if developers can make a fantasy but to live in one is something else!
Really good read Avery, thanks. I'll definately be returning when this "come back and play" campaign is eventually put into action.. was contemplating re-subbing and giving it a whirl, but after reading this i'll wait
.
"If all you can say is... "It's awful, it's not innovative, it's ugly, it's blah.." Then you're an unimaginative and unpolished excuse for human life" -eburn
The game IS heading in the right direction, just not at the speed that people would like.
I believe that patch 5 will change a lot of peoples opinions of the itemisation and therefore progression in AOC. Re-itemisation, gem changes, changes to gem cutting should all help to re-vitalise the economy.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
There is no denying that some people had issues in different parts of the game as whole at the start, all we can do is hope these issues are fixed in a timely manner (from my understanding a lot of the biggest ones were) and in that regard I think the game has come a long way. Especially today in this timeframe.
I wouldn't expect everything to be perfect for everyone.
There is no denying that some people had issues in different parts of the game as whole at the start, all we can do is hope these issues are fixed in a timely manner (from my understanding a lot of the biggest ones were) and in that regard I think the game has come a long way. Especially today in this timeframe.
I wouldn't expect everything to be perfect for everyone.
Yeah totally! I believe it was also referring to other technical aspects of the game too. Don't forget, it's almost common to have issues with the server hardware on launch too. I have lots of experience with this when dealing with AO and some of their issues with server hardware when lots of people are jammed into one space. Age of Conan had lots and lots of people on launch and the hardware had little to no issues supporting those people per server. Even more so with the database structure and the support for streaming live updates.
We did however have lots of technical issues client side. Even one really annoying one that maxed out the latency bar. Those type of issues were to be expected because of the risks with developing on PC (everyone uses different PC's). Those issues were very hard to overcome in a quickly manner but we worked through them. I think today we have a lot crushed and still some more to work on. Judging on feedback, I have to say the technical issues have reduced greatly since launch; which was a very good thing to me.
Glen ''Famine'' Swan
Senior Assistant Community Manager - Funcom
I think the points EE concedes to are in line with the industry standard for admittance to various problems. He has at multiple occations admitted that the game itself had thin content on higher levels and other issues like memory leaks at launch. What I think he is trying to get across, is that the launch of the game itself went smooth as in there were few complaints first month, servers were running very well and sales numbers were insane. That is true. Take a look at Play.com's reviews and comments from people. It was all 5 stars comments from everybody up to like middle of June, 1 month after launch. It is easy to forget how things really went long time back, but if you just go back you will realize that the launch itself went quite well in fact, it was the memoryleaks patched in with new patches, the gems and the thin content on upper levels that actually got to them. Looking to the other MMO launches we had in 2008, WAR, they also had lots of issues. I remember when I started and people were calling WAR for "WARhammer Offline". It was always weird stuff going on with their servers, downtime often 4 out of 5 weekdays. Sales were not as good, MJ sold in fact just half of all the boxes he got made and finally noone could really play RvR without disasterous lag. Servers had to be merged just a couple of months after launch... and so on. What kind of confessions do we see from MJ? NONE. What kind of Confessions do we ask from him? NONE. So before we flame the amount of criticism EE concedes with or not, have a look on the indusry standard. I think in fact EE and FC are doing more than well in terms of reading feedback and implementing fixes for whatever the criticism might be.
If you want to kick of a discussion about the industry standard in terms of how much the game developers admit to or not, then you should start a new thread. I'll be happy to join in.
There is no denying that some people had issues in different parts of the game as whole at the start, all we can do is hope these issues are fixed in a timely manner (from my understanding a lot of the biggest ones were) and in that regard I think the game has come a long way. Especially today in this timeframe.
I wouldn't expect everything to be perfect for everyone.
Yeah totally! I believe it was also referring to other technical aspects of the game too. Don't forget, it's almost common to have issues with the server hardware on launch too. I have lots of experience with this when dealing with AO and some of their issues with server hardware when lots of people are jammed into one space. Age of Conan had lots and lots of people on launch and the hardware had little to no issues supporting those people per server. Even more so with the database structure and the support for streaming live updates.
We did however have lots of technical issues client side. Even one really annoying one that maxed out the latency bar. Those type of issues were to be expected because of the risks with developing on PC (everyone uses different PC's). Those issues were very hard to overcome in a quickly manner but we worked through them. I think today we have a lot crushed and still some more to work on. Judging on feedback, I have to say the technical issues have reduced greatly since launch; which was a very good thing to me.
Also known as LAUNCHING PREMATURELY.
FC knew the game wasn't ready to go live, the beta testers knew the game wasn't ready to go live.
FunCom swore up and down they wouldn't launch unfinished and broken like they did with Anarchy Online and stil .....
No MMO gamer expects perfection on day one, but FC can't seem to keep from pulling the trigger too early. 8 months since release and it's is only now starting to get near where it should have been.
Res Ipsa Loquitor
Yep. Thats pretty much the main reason I refuse to return to AoC. Its going in the right direction. I would look forward to resubbing for that House of Crom update, but alas its too far away.
By April I'll probably move to Aion. I'm pretty sure that will be very successful in the West. So unless Aion totally flops here (which it won't) don't think I'll be going back to AoC.
Yep. Thats pretty much the main reason I refuse to return to AoC. Its going in the right direction. I would look forward to resubbing for that House of Crom update, but alas its too far away.
By April I'll probably move to Aion. I'm pretty sure that will be very successful in the West. So unless Aion totally flops here (which it won't) don't think I'll be going back to AoC.
Why house of Crom thats just another dungeon? Xibaluku and the other dungons launched with patch 4 is HUGE in comparison. ??
Hmm Erling is back? Let's see...
EE: We will definitely be doing a "Come back and play" campaign when we feel that the time is ready for it. We're really biding our time right now, though, and we want to wait until the time is right before putting it out.
and 2 minutes later...
EE: For the people who have played it and cancelled, I urge you to come back and try the game now, most importantly because of the radical improvements that have been made to the game since launch.
Yeah I guess EE is back: Inconsistent hot air as usual, nothing new here. Oh and remember: No major features were missing at launch
(And I really don't care about sad "just doing his job" excuses - He hurt the company as much as Gaute.)
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!!
(repeat ad infinitum)
People get it so wrong...i wasnt the technical issues at release that was the problem, we all expected that, its the lies, false promises and totaly delussion of the company. I mean come on....4 months and still DX10 not implimented...and they are making changes to the gem system.,....again, how many times are they going to overhaul the entire system?
It sounds to me like this EE guy is full of shit.
Not everyone left AOC just after launch for the issues that YOU left AOC for. Where they wrong to leave for reasons that differed to yours? No. Yours is not the ONLY opinion or reason to matter. I'm not going to get into the whole argument and discussion as to whether or not AOC lied, because quite frankly there are higher priority aspects to be dealt with than Dx10. Regardless of how someone interprets what was written on the box.
Suffice it to say, that some people have gotten over the issues concerning the AOC launch. I can personally vouch that people ARE returning to the game and are surprised by what's changed for the better. You can believe me or not, it doesn't matter. I'm not trying to sell the game. I'm giving facts.
As for the gem changes? They were nerfed for a legitimate reason, the reasons why they haven't implemented ways to make gems more meaningful has been already explained on the forums and the reasoning is understandable. The gems can only be made more meaningful once reitemisation in patch 5 goes live. And that IS happening after the next patch.
My suggestion is that rather than looking to the past, try looking to the present and the future. Sure it still needs work, no one is denying that. But after reading the dev posts, you get the feeling that they DO have a fully understandable and logical plan for the development of the game.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
I almost agree with this. But with all the work that have been done to AoC I find it a bit tragic that they once again give Erling Ellingsen another chance to mess things up.
IMO he have absolutely no credibility. His pathetic attempts at "damagecontrol" has cost Funcom's stockholders more money than all bad re-reviews and socalled "trolls" and "haters" combined!
We dont need casuals in our games!!! Errm... Well we DO need casuals to fund and populate our games - But the games should be all about "hardcore" because: We dont need casuals in our games!!!
(repeat ad infinitum)
I almost agree with this. But with all the work that have been done to AoC I find it a bit tragic that they once again give Erling Ellingsen another chance to mess things up.
IMO he have absolutely no credibility. His pathetic attempts at "damagecontrol" has cost Funcom's stockholders more money than all bad re-reviews and socalled "trolls" and "haters" combined!
He aint the only one that was interviewed today, Craig "Silirrion" Morrison (Game Director) was also being interviewed over on Eurogamer iirc.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
Like everybody else that play AoC because they like it
I almost agree with this. But with all the work that have been done to AoC I find it a bit tragic that they once again give Erling Ellingsen another chance to mess things up.
IMO he have absolutely no credibility. His pathetic attempts at "damagecontrol" has cost Funcom's stockholders more money than all bad re-reviews and socalled "trolls" and "haters" combined!
Fck stockholders, EE and what not. For christ sake you do absolutely not need them. For you annoyance with EE though, I fully understand you. I don't have a compatability issue with him. Well, sure enough he always get into this overenthusiastic role where everything is fantastic, But then again I have never seen him act differently. Meaning it's most likely his personality. He might even be like that even when taking a shit. I know of fare more annoying personality traits than that. Let it slide.
Same thing for me, I can't fcking take that fat CEO for WAR. Constantly blabbing about how much of an success this or that WAR was, while the actual truth was, every evening the whole server would sit chatting about how pathetic the no RvR condition and all the disasterous lag in RvR were. There was no doubt about that the whole lag problematics were a huge Hoax from Mythic and MJs side. There is no way in hell they could not be aware of this before they launched. Still MJ would fire off his usual "Most smooth MMO launch ever and so on...". It's called BS from gaming companies. Now in the end, I have put an ignore on MJs comments and just let it slide.
Focus on the game, and yes, even though I joined late and everything was more or less ok when I started, the game have just kept getting better and better and better over the last 3 months. I am actually willing to give it grades in the 8 to 10 now (looking on all categories in MMORPG).
Who is in charge at FC that would let this person show his face to thepublic let alone talk to media? His vanishing act was the best thing that could have happened an dnow hes back at it. Not good news.