Age of Conan's anniversary hiccup
In what some are calling "their biggest debacle since launch," Funcom's anniversary bash for Age of Conan (EU) experienced a hiccup this past weekend, and unfortunately, it wasn't alcohol-related. A combination of miscommunication and technical glitches left hundreds, if not thousands, of party-goers in poor spirits.
Funcom's initial announcement invited players to take part in "small festivities" outside Conan's castle at a particular time and urged them to bring along celebratory fireworks obtained with a "/claim" command. Due to some time zone confusion, many players showed up over an hour early. When the event didn't even kick off when it was supposed to, the forums lit up with agitated players.
The Senior Community Manager, Tarib, showed up and explained that the festivities were actually intended to be player-driven rather than a scripted or GM-led world event. This did not sit well with many in the community who pointed to the event promotion, which led them to believe otherwise. Tarib apologized for the miscommunication and also stated that technical issues prevented certain merchants from showing up in certain instances. He later called off the North American event of the same name.
Funcom is now running an Easter egg hunt where fans can search through their favorite community sites in search of special silver and golden King seals. The prizes are quite good, including: free lifetime subscriptions, monthly and multi-month subscriptions, in-game items, and custom forum avatars.
