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"Holiday" edition of AoC box in the works; 360 version on track for late 2009
In another of Funcom's E3 interviews (this time with MMORPG.com) Erling Ellingsen and Senior Marketing Manager Rick Reynolds discussed a new edition of Age of Conan which they hope to release in time for the holidays. For now they could not say what else this version might entail besides a fancy box (Keaira with a big candy cane?), but it may be something along the lines of a unique piece of gear -- undoubtedly it won't have any must-have function after the Totem of Origins debacle.A lot of the rest of the interview runs similar to what we've seen already, but there is a brief mention of the Kingship system. We don't really find out anything that wasn't mentioned in the newsletter which announced the system back in June, although Ellingsen and Reynolds commented that graphics engine improvements currently being made should allow "hundreds" more players to participate in massive PvP without issues.The last section of the interview covers the Xbox 360 version of AoC, which is slated for a release at the end of 2009. These uber-latecomers will be able to choose between mixed platform servers, or a console-only affair.
Funcom confirms attendance at Comic-Con for AoC
Attendees of this year's Comic-Con International at San Diego will be able to catch up with members of the Age of Conan team, as Funcom has confirmed that two of their big names will be visiting the convention. Product Manager Erling Ellingsen and US Community Manager Glen "Famine" Swan will both be in attendance and ready for the fans.The AoC crew will be at the San Diego Convention Center from July 24th through July 27th, in Exhibit Hall G Booth 5129. To assist in your journey to meet them, you can check out the center's floor plans ahead of time. Just remember to be on your toes at their booth -- Conan fans are among the bloodthirstiest of gamers, so keep an eye on any twitchy cosplayers with sharp weapons.
E308: Interview reveals name of new AoC dungeon
At E3, MMO bloggers Keen and Graev caught up with Funcom Product Manager and all-around Age of Conan-spinster Erling Ellingsen. The Vault Network-hosted interview covers a lot of the same ground that we went over in our own talk with Ellingson, but there was one extra bit that we thought was worth mentioning. We know you don't want to miss a thing, so here it is!Ellingsen mentioned that a new dungeon instance called "House of Crom." He didn't give any information about it apart from the name, although Keen's prose suggested that he was unusually excited about it. We'd like to think that this House of Crom is, in fact, the actual house of the deity Crom, atop a monstrous mountain.We also find it fun to imagine that the name of that dungeon is basically a curse phrase. Crom's name is rarely invoked except in cursing and swearing in Howard's Conan novels. You don't want to attract Crom's attention, you know. He might kick your pathetic mortal ass.
Erling Ellingsen AoC interview high on promises, low on specifics
Age of Conan is firmly in the spotlight right now, as gamers across the world decide whether it lives up to the hype. It has passionate supporters and equally fervent detractors; product manager Erling Ellingsen had a good opportunity to put in some words of reassurance when he was interviewed over on incgamers.com. He clarifies exactly what went on with the infamous breast size bug, and then it's into the stuff we really want to know: game information.There's not a great deal revealed that we didn't know already. Mounted combat is to be improved, spellweaving will be expanded to be made more interesting and elaborate, and the goal for player gear is 'maximum balance', so you won't need to specialize solely in purple raid gear or PvP gear to get the best results. The real meat is in the revealed plans for guild cities, which will become more functional and less deserted via the addition of NPCs 'who roam around and create a living cityscape.' Erling also hints that guilds will be able to customize their cities more than they already can. Good stuff, as far as it goes - but let's get sieges working properly first, eh?
A quick developer look inside Age of Conan's combat system and player cities
Smash, Burn, Maim! Combat is so crucial in a game that revolves around killing enemies to advance your character. We have been anticipating Age of Conan's combat ever since its announcement. How did we get to this new era in combat with lopped off heads alongside a variety of other deadly reactionary combos? Well, in this part one video by MMORPG.com, Age of Conan's Gaute Godager and Erling Ellingsen help demonstrate the melee combat combo system and aiming with the ranger class and how it plays an integral role in the ranged combat system. There isn't nearly enough shown in the video to gauge the differences in combat from other MMOs, but the fact that the developers gravitated towards a combat system reminiscent to Street Fighter 2 and other console fighting games does help explain things a bit better if you haven't tried AoC yet. While the pundits mull over Age of Conan's early start and the thousands of others wait for the official launch we can't help comparing the differences in this combat system from the one in World of Warcraft. Be sure to check out MMORPG.com's inside look regarding AoC's player cities from the same event.What do you guys think: Is Age of Conan's combat system is revolutionary or does it take button mashing to a whole new annoyance level?
Erling Ellingsen describes AoC mounted combat in dev video
Videogamer.com is featuring a new developer diary for Age of Conan, presented by Erling Ellingsen, all about the mounted combat that will be found in the game. Rather than going into fine details about the system, Ellingsen elects to describe some of the cool things that will be possible when engaging in mounted combat.Players will get to either fight while on their mount, or actually use their mount as a weapon. With the former, the faster you are moving, the more damage you will inflict upon a target, making old fashioned drive-bys the order of the day -- Ellingsen says that you can lop someone's head off as you zoom past, if you're going fast enough. It will also be possible to make your mount attack, and these attacks vary depending on the animal you're riding. Check out the roughly two-minute video to see the mounts in action, rearing up and knocking crowds of enemies to the ground.
Erling Ellingsen shows off AoC PvP video
Those of you not currently enjoying the closed beta will want to take a look at this: Age of Conan's Product Manager Erling Ellingsen gives us a look at a couple of PvP mini-games in the latest "Hyborian Insider" video. While there isn't a ton of information in this video, Ellingsen does explain the game mechanics behind two PvP game types, Capture the Flag, and Team Annihilation.Capture the Flag is exactly as you'd expect, if you've ever played that type before. The object is to retrieve the enemy team's flag from their side and bring it back to your side; the team with the most points at the end of a predetermined set duration of time wins. The video shows off a few zones of combat that frankly appear very similar to each other, and could use a better color scheme to visually differentiate themselves.
New AoC interview touts the game's selling points
We've already heard from our friend Erling Ellingsen today, but he's got more to say, as he is featured in a CVG interview where he really manages to sum up why you will want Age of Conan. You can tell that he believes what he is saying, as he talks about how close his team has brought the game to their original vision. He expects those that are familiar with MMOs will be at home in the game, but will soon find that things are taken to the next level in AoC.A couple of other MMOs get a mention by Ellingsen during the interview. He praises Dark Age of Camelot for its innovations in PvP, but says that his game will improve upon what was seen there. He also mentions World of Warcraft, saying quite honestly that he doesn't expect Age of Conan will ever reach WoW's subscription numbers. The goal for his team was to distance themselves from this "social phenomenom" of a game, running with the mature fantasy theme. We are assured that the game will be fully supported after release, with a live update team as well as an expansion team to work on future content. The video also features some nice footage, so check out the full interview at CVG.
The Hyborian Insider shows off AoC combat
The first in a new video series called The Hyborian Insider has been listed on Age of Conan's community site. The opening episode looks at the combat mechanics in the game, with a detailed breakdown of the system. Hosted by the game's product manager Erling Ellingsen, the video looks at things we've mostly seen before (like the attacking and defending mechanics), but it's still a good watch that sums everything up in just a few short minutes. We're looking forward to seeing what The Hyborian Insider #2 will focus on, with the big combat issue out of the way.
Age of Conan contest calls for kingly tribute
If you live in, around or anywhere within reasonable traveling distance of central London and have an extreme craving for a certain massively title by the name of Age of Conan, then read on. Product Manager Erling 'Lord Orion' Ellingsen (whew, mouthful!) and Community Manager Oliver 'Tarib' Kunz are going to be in a cinema in central London on Thursday, March 13th to showcase the game via GM tour.
