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Letter from the Game Director - August 2009
AmazingAvery
Age of Conan AdvocateMember UncommonPosts: 7,188
forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php
It has been a hectic month here with preparations for the reveal of the new expansion, visits to several key games shows and of course preparing the next set of live content updates.
Rise of the Godslayer
The most important news this month is of course that we revealed the first expansion pack for Age of Conan – Rise of the Godslayer. I am very excited to have been able to see people’s reactions to the expansions plans and what we were able to show.
The team has done a wonderful job in being able to bring the land of Khitai to life. I think that the adventures people will be able to have in the expansion will be interesting and fun, and we have strived to make sure that our approach to this new continent reflects some of the key feedback from players when it came to the layout of the original game playfields.
This is a great example of where your feedback and input truly helps shape the development process. With the expansion areas we wanted to address a couple of areas that people raised regularly about the existing playfields – that they often felt too linear and that there are great distances between them that sometimes breaks with the immersion of the setting.
Going to Khitai does give us much more freedom with the map. Whereas Howard had fairly carefully mapped out the layout of the kingdoms in Conan’s world, that isn’t the case with Khitai and that has allowed us to address the second of those issues by ensuring that all of the playfields lead on from each other. You will be able to see where you are going and moving from region to region in the expansion should feel much more like a coherent journey.
Then we also approached the actual world design differently and have made sure that we maximize the playable area much better than we have in the past. While technically the same ‘grid size’ as our largest existing playfields, the expansion areas will have much more playable game-space, roughly some 30% more. This is done through creating more open and spacious areas with less of a focus on mountain passes and having large impassible areas. We really wanted to give players that feeling of exploration and discovery that comes with visiting this foreign and mystical land.
We also have the same approach with the new armors, it was also driven by player feedback that we really want to ensure that every last piece of armor created for the expansion can be acquired by the player. Whether it is simple social clothing or the faction armors themselves. It is very important to us to deliver on that element that the players really want and be able to use the expansion to increase the diversity of the armors that players acquire and use.
I just wanted to take this opportunity to demonstrate that the feedback does end up influencing design choices we make, in particular for larger content like an expansion. While of course we won’t always agree on all things, the feedback can play an important role in our decision making process.
Of course the expansion is only half of the story and the live development process continues apace
What’s coming up?
We are currently working on three separate live updates at the same time. There is an update imminent for the Conquerors (should hopefully be on the test servers very soon! )then we have a more significant update with the new Iron Tower level 80 instance and then beyond that the 1.06 update itself that includes the features revealed last month in the shape of Guild renown, the Tower PVP system, House of Crom and the tier three raids. The 1.06 update will be deployed to the test servers once we are done with the 1.05.x updates and Iron Tower is released. It is a significant update and I do expect that it will need some time on the test server, in particular as we want to test the rate and progression of the new Guild renown systems and will be enlisting your help there!
Before we wrap things up for this month there are a couple of clarifications and answers from questions I have noticed after last month’s details on 1.06 that are worth covering.
- Update Schedule for 1.06: We might split the update up into smaller parts to mean some elements come before others, but we haven’t decided what order that might be yet, and it will very much depend on testing. There is a lot in this update cycle so rather than wait on everything we currently think it might be better to split it up, which would mean it will be slightly longer before you get everything, but you would get parts sooner too.
- House of Crom: House of Crom is a level 80 instance that will have social elements. So what does that mean exactly? That means that we are aiming to have two parts to House of Crom, one which is more open and supports several teams in a social dungeon setting (and will have co-operative goals) and a part that will be a regular single team instance. I think the mechanics the team is cooking up for this will make for a very interesting experience!
- Tier Three Raiding: Yes, the new raids will come with new loot and third tier new armor sets (and maybe a little more time permitting )
- Veterans System: I know I have hinted at this before, but not I can confirm that yes, there is something coming for veteran players, and the current plan is that we are trying to release it with the current 1.05.x series rather than wait for 1.06. This will be a new system that will allow veteran players to earn a new currency based on how many months they have subscribed for that can then be spent on a special vendor who will offer a wide range of items, both convenience items (like additional travel options or cheaper mounts for your alts), fun items and cosmetic items. The points will be on a character basis, so you will be able to spend your veteran points on each character. (i.e. if you are eligible for one hundred points as an example, all of your characters will get that number of points each)
So there you have it, we are looking forward to the coming months and some really exciting updates. The great thing about getting to do the trade shows and conventions is that you get to meet up with and chat to players and it great to get to meet so many of you enjoying the game. We will be working hard to continue to realize that potential!
See you in Hyboria!
__________________
Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison
Game Director
Comments
Not to shabby.
Sounds cool, but Funcom needs to fix the boss loot drops while your at it or no tier 3 for me.
Played : WOW, LOTRO, COH/COV, EQ2, SWG, and WAR.
Playing EVE Online and AOC.
Wtg for SW:TOR and WOD
I'm quite sure there was a hint somewhere between the lines that 1.6 is coming when the Apocalypse sets in... Oh wait, the Conqueror update isn't even on the test servers yet.
The conq update is on the test servers, he updated on the AOC site that line was wrong.
I think its all very postitive so far they seem to focus on the PvE content in particular at present for me thats no surprise beacuse the PvE servers lose the most players despite all the whining about PvP they appear populated. I really hope 1.07 addresses the siege / guild city rubbish that is in the game at present.
However it does look like a lot of new things to come.
Well I think this expansion will be getting released around this Christmass, otherwise if left longer you'll have hardly any subscribers left to sell it to! Also I doubt anyone is going to resubscribe and buy an expansion to try it out, I just don't see any hope for ressurecting this corpse. In the fantasy world of online games ressurecting dead things is common place, but in the real world it just isn't going to happen.
The core of AoC is just a bad CORPG, we were promised a sizziling steak but all I got was Guildwars V0.352 and a half eaten Macdonalds
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience"
CS Lewis
Well, i played from early release until yesterday,and i left for a couple of reasons.....the main being lack of content,and tired of waiting for more( i have 6 lvl 80 chars...why because there is not enough content to keep me busy with one).The patches are slow to make it to the live game,and the expansion in my opinion was just for the korean players funcom is hoping to make money off of when the korean company launches it there.To me that shows that they dont give a **** about the players on the US servers ( I could care less about a asain themed game along with most people i talked with about it).They cant get updates out on time a year ,and a half later to add enough content to keep players busy aside from raiding or crafting at lvl 80.Just bad decision making by funcom management( i should not be surprised).Maybe if the game is still around for another expansion that expands on the orginal game map( western not asain) i will try it again then.
Thanks for the update.
I'm happy for those that have eaten their way through the content and want more. The x-pack should give them some more to play with. More areas to explore and new armor to acquire will be good for all.
The thing I really miss tho, is a plan to smoothen out sieges. That and getting x-server mini-games is what I want the most. Seems that's not gonna happen any time soon...
"nerf rock, paper is working as intended."
- Scissors.
Head Chop
Is that another way of saying they are going to give us one big colorless "room" with no details?
The fact that there is no talk about when the expansion is coming out worries me. I would be less worried if he had said 2010, but he didn't. 2011 release is looking more and more probable.
And this splitting a patch into a several smaller patches is never a good idea, especially with Funcom. Why can't they just do one, and do it right? I understand this is probably because of Aion. They want to push out all the bits of code they can find to try to avoid players from leaving to Aion.
I don't think so, if AoC does one thing well (I said IF) it looks good. This is more just acknowledging that the corridor like zones they have now turned off a lot of people. Or at least is a common complaint.
Here we see FC using (their overused) "promises" to lead on players to continue to subscribe. However i think FC is in for a surprise the second AoC players have some real options with other MMO's. (like on the 22nd)
Im not surprised that Veteran rewards are a priority. They should pay the players who have been in AoC for longer than few months since they have been basically watching paint dry for quite some time now.
Although they are talking about a new armour set (T3)...it seems like you fans aren't getting any real armour choices til the xpac which sucks, since armour choice in any MMO shouldn't be an "after thought."
It's probably good they are releasing these patches in "slivers," finally they are starting to recognize their own incompetence. But then again, it could also represent a reallocation of internal resources with SW on the way ..they just don't have the manpower to do the huge fixes with huge mistakes anymore. With their massive screw ups at launch and every major patch-it begs the question...Who in their right mind think that the Xpac will be a complete and functional product?--because if it is...that will be a first. If history is an indicator (and it is) I expect the Xpac to be a technical disaster. I mean the classes are so very imbalanced right now...and they are going to add new talent trees?..thats an lol notion.
Lastly, aside from the mumblings of some towers, I can't help notice that they make no mention of sieges and the real issues behind it. Wheres all the new siege equipment and tools (this is their end-game content). But most importantly....where does it say "we are fixing sieges so they function at an acceptable level." Because adding towers too a broken siege engine isn't going to matter one bit. But...i maintain they will never be fixed because they can't. Otherwise they would be playing off that since it would really be the only unique feature that AoC had the potential to offer.
Of course im 99% convinced that with the xpac will come a F2P format. But at that point it won't really matter--everyone will be playing something else.
Is that another way of saying they are going to give us one big colorless "room" with no details?
The fact that there is no talk about when the expansion is coming out worries me. I would be less worried if he had said 2010, but he didn't. 2011 release is looking more and more probable.
And this splitting a patch into a several smaller patches is never a good idea, especially with Funcom. Why can't they just do one, and do it right? I understand this is probably because of Aion. They want to push out all the bits of code they can find to try to avoid players from leaving to Aion.
I don't think so, if AoC does one thing well (I said IF) it looks good. This is more just acknowledging that the corridor like zones they have now turned off a lot of people. Or at least is a common complaint.
It is all the truth.
Funcom was very lucky with timing. They launched in a time when there was a big demand for new AAA MMO. They had to rush the release to beat WAR because had they launched after WAR, I don't think they would have sold half the boxes.
WAR's biggest problem was previous bad AoC launch. Many players quit MMO's altogether and those who didn't were already disappointed by AoC so every fault WAR had multiplied because of their previous horrible experience with AoC.
But like you said things are about to chance. Now that Champions Online and Aion are coming out, players have real options, and AoC is on the bottom of that list.
If people going to play new game every time, all i can say "where is the loyalty?" I really wonder how someone likes all different game style? because those games has different universe and different game theme AoC, CO, Aion. If someone going to jump in all new shit, maybe he/she is just a greedy, he dont have loyalty and friendship in any game?
On the other hand, if i misunderstand your post what are you trying to say than?
Funcom was very lucky with timing. They launched in a time when there was a big demand for new AAA MMO. They had to rush the release to beat WAR because had they launched after WAR, I don't think they would have sold half the boxes.
WAR's biggest problem was previous bad AoC launch. Many players quit MMO's altogether and those who didn't were already disappointed by AoC so every fault WAR had multiplied because of their previous horrible experience with AoC.
But like you said things are about to chance. Now that Champions Online and Aion are coming out, players have real options, and AoC is on the bottom of that list.
If people going to play new game every time, all i can say "where is the loyalty?" I really wonder how someone likes all different game style? because those games has different universe and different game theme AoC, CO, Aion. If someone going to jump in all new shit, maybe he/she is just a greedy, he dont have loyalty and friendship in any game?
On the other hand, if i misunderstand your post what are you trying to say than?
Yes, those games "has".... I play more than 1 MMO and have been since Asheron's Call. The big deal? And according to your "post" if someone jumps into these games and are greedy, well the fact they are playing so many would kind of preclude them from getting all the "l337" stuff, wouldn't it?
That Guild Wars 2 login screen knocked up my wife. Must be the second coming!
Loyalty has to be earned. What has Funcom done to inspire loyalty? Why would anyone be loyal to a computer game anyway? Are you talking about loyalty to a guild? Often times, a guild will (mostly) all join and leave games together. I know English isn't your primary language, so I won't slam you on saying people looking for a better game are being greedy.
Loyalty has to be earned. What has Funcom done to inspire loyalty? Why would anyone be loyal to a computer game anyway? Are you talking about loyalty to a guild? Often times, a guild will (mostly) all join and leave games together. I know English isn't your primary language, so I won't slam you on saying people looking for a better game are being greedy.
*note* this is basicly a general response and my view isn't about loyalty as much as it is about people who have actually stuck with the game this long for whatever reason....and some comments are just about the OP *end note*
My point of view is going to be...
If someone has stuck with AoC this long, they will probably continue to stick with it. The people I played AoC with quit so I quit.. I have Aion on Pre-Order but I don't really think its "all that" either.
This thread is basicly a place for some people who quit AoC.. to come in and act like the game they didn't like will end just because Aion comes out. (or I guess Champions Online but for me personally after being in its CB from the start I just can't see it with CO at all..)
Oddly after the Anarchy Online bombshell and all the games that came out after... Funcom still exists and so does Anarchy Online. So I guess we'll see.....
I'd also think to be fair with this thread that WAR and/or DAoC / Mythic (what is left of it) in general should have been mentioned. As to whether EA will actually hold those properties together... or just flush them entirely as they focus on TOR or something like that... Funcom is obviously focused on its games as opposed to the corporate that spent 860 MILLION to buy BioWare.
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
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I don't think AoC is in any danger of shutting down in the near future...maybe another round of server mergers by the end of the year if the people that leave for CO,Aion, FE or any other MMO launcing soon don't come back. AO is still running on life support after all these years, so no reason to think AoC can't survive with fewer subs than it has now. How many paying subs does AO have? 20k? I am surprise that EA hasn't shutdown DAoC yet. They might not even have 20k subs left. Maybe EA isn't the Evil Empire anymore lol.
Edit: No, there is no 360 version. I haven't heard it being officially canned, but I haven't heard ANYTHING about it recently, so I'd venture to say it's never going to happen, which is a shame considering the bad design compromises they made with this game so it would be more xbox port friendly.
Yet see that's exactly what I don't get...
There are companies that have gone bankrupt with no product to market.. there are companies that are bankrupt right after a launch.
If Anarchy Online didn't kill Funcom ..then AoC certainly won't. How long before they got bankrupt I mean its been quite a few years after AO so far...
I'm just curious I guess.
some good some bad . looking tword the expasnions my self trying get a guardian to 80 .not sure on where the x box 360 version is belive it was in development still.
still amazes me how many people treat funcom like they were soe.or how the same people post the same thing over an over again in this fourm.woot for one thread with out x fire post or f2p predictions!
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." Robert E. Howard, The Tower of the Elephant (1933)
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
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There's just not enough trolls, so not only do they have to repeat their mantra again and again, but they have to make alts so they can agree with themselves.
badboybilly-gauteisback-silvapower-DIIImaster-Eureka105-benjen etc Believe it or not, this is actually the same guy. I'm kind of getting fascinated by his lack of normality. mmorpg.com has banned his accounts regularly, but he keeps making new ones.
"nerf rock, paper is working as intended."
- Scissors.
Head Chop
All the things in this expansion would be in the Base game! But that can't happen, so this expansion was kind of pointless to spend time and money on I think. They fail with AoC and I don't think people will spend money on a expansion just to see if it's better or not... and most expansion are for high lvl players... so again new ones might have a little problem with it and so on.
Sorry but it will fail!
Played:
From Earth & Beyond, Anarchy Online, Matrix Online, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Tabula Rasa (Beta), EvE Online, City of Villians, Atlantica Online, Guild Wars, Lineage 2, Pirates of the Burning Sea, PlanetSide, RF Online, Second Life, Fallen Earth.
Like Turbine failed with Mines of Moria for LOTRO?