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The Perfect Ten: Non-vanilla server rulesets
I've always thought that rulesets are a golden opportunity for MMO developers to get creative with their products and try something fresh and exciting. Unfortunately, most every MMO these days, new and old, adheres to the four "vanilla" rulesets that have been in place since Pong. You have your default PvE, your same-as-PvE-except-we-have-a-naming-policy PvE-RP, and the two player vs. player variants: PvP and PvP-RP. Those are all well and good, but... y'know... couldn't rulesets be used to create fascinating variations on these games? It turns out that yes, yes they can. While the vanilla rulesets are the vast majority, there does exist a group of fringe rulesets that dared to walk the different patch, er, path and made versions of MMOs that are a bold and refreshing flavor. Like blue! Sometimes these new rulesets were whipped up to inject new life into an aging title, giving players a valid reason to come back and see the game from a different perspective. In this week's Perfect Ten, we're going to check out just how wild 'n' wacky server rulesets can get!
Age of Conan dev update outlines PvP changes
Age of Conan game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison has posted his latest monthly development update, and the lengthy piece focuses heavily on the PvP side of the game. While class-specific balance fixes aren't given much lip service here (Morrison says they're addressed in each game update anyway, and are an ongoing process), Funcom is looking at quite a few changes to AoC's PvP component. Morrison tasks lead systems designer Einar Forselv with talking about the specific goals, and he gives us a general look at what's on the dev team's plate. First up is the problematic minigame respawn mechanic, and Forselv says that Funcom is looking to make it more like the systems found in your average FPS as well as address the loopholes people use to perform AFK exploits. Ranger tracking will also be "overhauled," which likely means a nerf since the feature is the subject of much QQ from the non-Ranger community. Siege performance changes are also on the table, as are stamina and aggro fixes, changes to animation and combat calculation interactions, and tweaks to the stealth system. Finally, this month's dev update mentions that new PvP world bosses are on the way to Hyboria, and teases the upcoming Savage Coast of Turan content that ties in with this summer's Conan film reboot.
The Anvil of Crom: Blood, glory, and some Deathwish impressions
Oy, Funcom, you're absolutely killing me here. Last week I had a column written prior to a guess-what-we're-launching-Unchained-today announcement. This week I was typing away on a review of some of the new instance content that showed up alongside the F2P update when the hey-Blood-and-Glory-launches-tomorrow bomb dropped. A veritable mad scramble ensued here at The Anvil of Crom offices, and as the piles of wadded up loose-leaf and discarded notes fluttered about, I was left wondering when my previous two pieces were going to see the light of day. If I sound somewhat perturbed, I'm not really, as this is a fantastic spot for any game columnist -- or Age of Conan fan -- to occupy. There's a lot of new content and not enough time to write about it; really we should all be so lucky. Sooo, that's my lengthy way of saying won't you join me after the cut for some initial impressions of hardcore PvP, AoC-style.
Age of Conan's hardcore PvP ruleset releasing tomorrow
What's a good encore for the week following a huge, game-altering freemium revamp? How about a new and much-anticipated server ruleset. Yep, Funcom is gearing up to release Age of Conan's hardcore Blood and Glory PvP shards tomorrow according to an update on the official boards. The American and European servers are scheduled to receive four hours of maintenance, after which time two new shards, Deathwish (US) and Rage (EU), will be brought online. These aren't just any servers, either. The Blood and Glory ruleset features free-for-all PvP throughout the game world, corpse-looting, and one character per account. Age of Conan's PvP community has been very vocal in its disdain for the game's turn towards the PvE side of the MMO street in recent years, and the new ruleset will finally give the die-hards an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is. For more on the ruleset, check out our exclusive interview with Funcom's Craig Morrison as well as our Blood & Glory opinion piece. [Thanks to Blasius for the tip!]
Age of Conan: Unchained (aka F2P) starts tomorrow [Updated]
Yeah, you read that headline right. Age of Conan: Unrated is now Age of Conan: Unchained according to a new Craig Morrison interview over at PC Gamer. Oh, and that free-to-play launch date we've been asking for? It's tomorrow today. Funcom is inviting both new and old players to check out a good portion of its Hyborian content on the house, and the company will also be unveiling its cash shop (complete with a new "temptress" pet that helps the title live up to its mature rating). Unchained also marks the release of new content in the form of the Forgotten City and The Breach solo instances. As we told you last month, these new dungeons scale to your level and offer an experience designed to relieve the monotony of the well-traveled Noble District villas. Stick with Massively all weekend as we bring you the latest AoC: Unchained news and impressions, and don't forget to check out the Unchained launch trailer after the break. [Update]: Funcom has also posted its traditional monthly dev update, which focuses on all of the new content coming soon to AoC (and there is a lot of it). In addition to the two dungeons debuting today with Unchained, players can look forward to the long-awaited House of Crom dungeon (no, really!), new tier four raids, the Savage Coast of Turan stuff, and of course, Blood and Glory. [Update 2]: AoC 2.6, and F2P, is in fact going live today -- June 30th -- and the game launcher is currently down for patching. Funcom's Glen "Famine" Swan confirms as much on the official forums, and we'll link the patch notes as soon as they're available.
Age of Conan game director talks Blood and Glory server rules
Age of Conan's game director has penned a new developer diary at MMORPG.com. The subject is the new Blood and Glory server ruleset, and if you haven't been keeping up with Hyboria lately, suffice it to say that the initial announcement made a lot of waves last February due to its player looting and free-for-all components. Craig Morrison's new post talks about how the desires of MMO veterans are often mutually exclusive with the industry-wide accessible design trend, and he goes on to outline Funcom's desire to give its displaced PvP fans something to sink their teeth into. In terms of ruleset specifics, they include no transfers, no offline levels, no guards, no Shrines of Bori, limited player looting, and open PvP restored to White Sands and the Underhalls. PvP kills will also grant additional XP in comparison with the game's normal servers. Finally, Morrison says that Battlekeep rewards will be adjusted, though he gives no specifics as of yet. For additional coverage, check out our March 2011 Blood and Glory interview with Morrison as well as our server ruleset and sharding discussion.
The Anvil of Crom Extra: Silirrion on Age of Conan's past, present, and future
Welcome, barbarian friends, to a special edition of The Anvil of Crom. Age of Conan's third anniversary is here, and the sheer amount of things to talk about has necessitated two columns this week -- and driven me to consume a celebratory pint (or six) of Cimmerian ale. First up is a recent sit-down with Funcom's Craig "Silirrion" Morrison wherein the game director chats about the fantasy title's past, present, and future. Hyboria has changed dramatically since AoC's May 2008 release, and even bigger changes are coming, including new content, a new server ruleset, and a big announcement that Morrison's been hinting at via Twitter in recent weeks. Join us after the cut as we discuss PvP, PvE, forthcoming appearance slots, and more!
Monthly update lays out Age of Conan development roadmap
The year ahead is shaping up to be a busy one for Age of Conan, and Funcom's Craig Morrison lays down a rough foundation for the next few months in his latest monthly development update. If you're looking for the short version, it's this: Now that the Dreamworld deployment is in the books, AoC is continuing to pick up new dev talent and will be adding more content going forward. In the immediate future, players are getting crowd-control balances, two level-80 group dungeons, and a faction progression revamp, all of which are slated for the next update and currently available on the test server. Following that, we can look forward to The Forgotten City and The Breach, two new solo auto-content generation dungeons designed for levels 40 to 80. There are also a handful of technical improvements, optimizations, and general balancing scheduled to accompany the new content, and of course the much-anticipated Blood and Glory PvP server ruleset is coming sometime this summer. Finally, Morrison teases fans with a blurb about AoC's late-2011 updates, specifically "two new and important elements incoming." He also hints at some sort of tie-in with the upcoming Conan film reboot. Head to the official AoC boards to see for yourself.
Massively Exclusive: Age of Conan's Craig Morrison on Blood and Glory, grind, and the future
Interesting times are just over the horizon for Age of Conan, and whether it's due to the Dreamworld game engine upgrade or the recently announced Blood and Glory PvP servers, Funcom's sword and sorcery epic isn't standing still as it moves toward its third anniversary in May of 2011. On the heels of the PvP ruleset announcement, we sat down with Funcom executive producer and AoC game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison for a chat about ruleset specifics, PvP balance, grind, and what we're likely to see once Dreamworld hits the live servers. Join us after the cut for all that and more.
The Anvil of Crom: Blood and Glory reactions and concerns
So the interesting news that Craig Morrison was hinting at via Twitter earlier this week wasn't free-to-play. It was, in fact, something altogether more surprising. For those of you hiding under a Bori rock and who managed to miss the announcement: Age of Conan is adding a couple of servers, one each to the U.S. and EU game regions. These aren't just any servers, either, but rather hardcore FFA PvP-enabled servers with custom rulesets (tentatively titled Blood and Glory) that make the pre-1.04 bloodletting on Tyranny look like a walk in the proverbial park. Player looting. Single character. No guards. These are just a few of the choice morsels Funcom has dangled in front of the snapping jaws of its ravenous PvP crowd. Join me after the cut for a bit of discussion on the potential impact of these new shards.
Age of Conan readying new hardcore PvP servers with corpse looting
Hardcore killas rejoice! Funcom has heard your cries of injustice and is in the process of putting together a new server ruleset for the old-school PKers in the audience. Age of Conan game director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison unveiled the news in his most recent monthly dev update, and while a few things remain up in the air (chiefly a release date and official server names), it looks like most everything else has been hammered out. In a nutshell, Funcom will be adding one new server to both the US and EU versions of AoC, each featuring the new PvP ruleset (tentatively titled Blood and Glory). The new realms will require players to start fresh -- i.e., there are no character transfers. The hardcore shards will also restrict players to one character and will lack NPC guards. PvP will be re-enabled in the Underhalls and White Sands portions of Tortage, and a player looting system will take effect (though details on this are scarce at the moment). Funcom hopes to have the new shards deployed in early May, with some version of the ruleset making an appearance on the test servers prior to that date.
