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iPhone 4 Launch: CoCo drops in on the Apple Store line
It's New York City, people; deposed late-night talk show hosts are always walking around looking for a good time. Yes, the 5th Avenue Apple Store iPhone 4 line is officially on Team CoCo now after a brief visit from Conan O'Brien, captured here by reader Matthew Redmond. More pics from the waiting game in the gallery below. %Gallery-96125%
AoC: Godslayer downtime extended
Those of you taking the day off work to enjoy Funcom's first Age of Conan expansion are hopefully finding other things to do with your time as afternoon gives way to early evening. Rise of the Godslayer, the sprawling addition to the Robert E. Howard-based fantasy MMORPG released in 2008, has been delayed. The server downtime was originally scheduled to last approximately 12 hours, beginning at 4am Eastern time this morning. As the day wore on, Funcom began experiencing undisclosed technical issues with the European server deployments and opted to release an updated announcement via the official forums. The EU delay also means that the American server launch will be pushed back, and Glen 'Famine' Swan, Senior Assistant Community Manager for Funcom, posted an expected up time of 8pm Eastern. "Overall, we are aiming to come up within the 2 hour extended delay, but it highly depends on how the EU deployment goes when it's fully launched," Swan said. While you're waiting, you can check out the official Godslayer update notes (dubbed version 2.0) to get a taste of what you can expect when the servers come up.
AoC: Rise of the Godslayer launch day roundup
Can't get enough Rise of the Godslayer? We here at Massively can't either. In fact, if we weren't slaving away composing this roundup to make your Godslayer launch day research a little easier, we'd be logged in right now. So thank us, of course, and be sure to check out all of our Age of Conan expansion coverage that you may have missed. GDC10: A look at Rise of the Godslayer If you're looking for an exhaustive run down of all the features coming your way in the new expansion, look no further than this Rise of the Godslayer preview from GDC2010. The piece features extensive information on new factions, mounts, dungeons, and excerpts from an interview with Game Director Craig Morrison. Faction Armor detailed in Game Director Letter Game Director Craig Morrison details the new faction armor system in the upcoming Rise of the Godslayer expansion, and Massively brings you the highlights as well as a smattering of helpful links. Massively interviews Craig Morrison Massively's weekly Age of Conan column, The Anvil of Crom, sits down with Funcom's Craig Morrison to talk about a wide range of topics, including tidbits about the new Rise of the Godslayer expansion. Rise of the Godslayer retail exclusives announced Funcom announces that Rise of the Godslayer will be available in both digital download and retail formats, both including exclusive pre-order pet items, XP bonuses, and assorted goodies. Instanced travel encounters detailed Funcom's Craig Morrison returns with another Letter from the Game Director, this time highlighting a unique feature of the expansion that takes the form of instanced travel encounters. Massively is there with all the details and links. Rise of Godslayer beta impressions Jef Reahard, Massively's man on the street in Hyboria and author of the weekly Anvil of Crom column, takes a long look at the Godslayer beta and the Alternate Advancement system and likes what he sees. Rise of the Godslayer launch trailer released GameTrailers releases the exclusive teaser trailer for Funcom's Rise of the Godslayer expansion. The trailer, a pleasing mixture of concept art, comic panels, and in-game footage, shows off the lush lands of Khitai, new tiger mounts, and brief glimpses of the new dungeons in action.
Comic Jumper's second, totally barbaric comic style revealed
Click to Barbarian-size Curious about the variety of artistic and thematic comic book styles you'll experience once you get your hot little hands on Twisted Pixel's action-platformer, Comic Jumper? The game's second overworld was recently revealed in screenshots and concept art, and ... well, we sure hope the estate of Robert E. Howard never sees this particular stage, as it clearly parodies his beefy, Cimmerian brainchild. Heck, the comic's named Nanoc: The Obliviator -- flip it around, and you get Conan. (Actually, you get Rotaivilbo Eht: Conan, but ... well, two of those words aren't words.) Check out both galleries below to get a sense of what the world of Nanoc is going to look like, then check out Twisted Pixel's in-depth preview on the game's official website. %Gallery-92487% %Gallery-92486%
The Anvil of Crom: A server conundrum
Sooo, I recently returned to Age of Conan, not exactly news given the existence of this column, but what is news is the amount of fun I've been having. The game has changed since release, certainly, and when you add content, bug fixes, and polish to a darkly decadent game world that was already the best looking on the MMORPG market, you've got a recipe for good times. I'm actually surprised by how much there is to do in Age of Conan. At release, I power-leveled an assassin up to 70 on the Tyranny PvP server, and basically ganked and got ganked for a solid month, rarely experiencing much outside of monotonous mob grinding and guild drama. This time around, I'm taking my time, exploring the world, reading the quests, and generally having a blast. As an example, I spent a good week to ten days fiddling around with all of the classes, putting each of them through their paces in the early Tortage levels. After much deliberation, I finally settled on a Cimmerian Ranger, not the most original choice I'm sure, but one that has proved to be great fun through level 21. Choosing a server was an even tougher decision. Read about Cimmeria versus Wiccana after the cut, and don't forget to tell me what I'm doing wrong in the comments.
Funcom reveals more of Rise of the Godslayer's Chosain Province
During the last preview of Rise of the Godslayer, we were introduced to the wonderfully large play field of Chosain Province -- a land of war, corruption, and strife. Chosain is home to two rival clans, the Tamarin Tigers and the Scholars of Cheng-Ho, where Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer players will be able to take sides and work against one another in faction based PvP. But the Chosain Province is home to much more than just the Tigers and Scholars. Corruption has worked its way deep into the land, warping nature and spreading with each passing day. Roads are becoming broken as they lead through swamps and war-torn land. This time around, Funcom is introducing us once again to Chosain via beautiful concept art and a brand new trailer that highlights specific areas of the zone. We've got both of these things here for your viewing pleasure, so check out the gallery below if you're interested in the artwork, or hit the continue reading button to come face to face with the trailer! %Gallery-72323%
Conan O' Brien thinks Avatar: The Game was rushed
There's a good reason why we never went into late-night comedy: We really didn't want to compete against lanky comic genius Conan O' Brien. We thought writing about (and, more often than not, making fun of) video games would be a career path where we'd never have to compete with the gargantuan Irish host -- unfortunately, in a recent episode of Late Night, Conan managed to encroach on our territory, making a joke at the expense of the recently released (and tepidly received) Avatar: The Game. Check out the video of Conan's gag after the jump while we consider another career choice -- one that will definitely be devoid of Conan competition. (We're thinking about horse whispering. Seems pretty safe, right?) [Via Kotaku]
King Conan lowers prices on long-term subscriptions for all
If there was ever a benevolent government in these rough financial times, it's King Conan's monarchy. But we don't honor him for the order that he brings to the lands of Hyboria and not for rippling muscles and barbarian tactics that he brings to the throne. We honor him today for the price drop! While the usual $15 a month price hasn't changed, the 3 month, 6 month, and 12 month prices have dropped. The 3 month now offers a 20% discount, the 6 month is a 30% discount, and the 12 month subscription is now a 45% discount. This brings the prices to $99 for the 12 month, $63 for the 6 month, and $36 for the 3 month. Certainly good news for anyone who's been sucked in by the barbarians, or looking forward to the release of Rise of the Godslayer.
Conan O'Brien talks to the co-creator of USB on The Tonight Show
Now this is kind of amazing. Remember those Intel "rock star" ads -- featuring the co-creator of USB, Ajay Bhatt? Of course you do. What you might not know is that the Ajay Bhatt in those commercials is actually an actor. Apparently, Conan O'Brien made this discovery and felt compelled to sit down with the actual Ajay and pick his brain about technology... and, er, other things. Just watch the video after the break -- you'll thank us later. [Thanks, Carter]
Age of Conan's patch plans laid out
Timelines are always subject to change, but it's still nice to know them, right? Age of Conan's patching timeline was just laid out by community manager Oliver "Tarib" Kunz in an informal manner on the forums.Patch 1.05.6 is currently on the test server, and it will be staying there for about another 2 weeks before it makes its way to the live servers, barring any unforseen testing mishaps, of course. That's the patch that has the new Iron Tower instance and the veteran rewards system.Once 1.05.6 is out on the live servers, patch 1.06 will be pushed onto the test server. Patch 1.06 is the big one, featuring new tier three dungeons, the House of Crom "social dungeon" where multiple teams of players will work to overcome unknown obstacles, guild renown, and tower PvP. 1.06 will be added slowly to the patch server, however, focusing on the bigger updates like guild renown and tier three dungeons before moving on to the other features of the patch.
PAX 2009: We travel east with Rise of the Godslayer
Age of Conan came to PAX pretty much directly off their announcement of the Rise of the Godslayer expansion. So when we arrived at our appointment to check the game out and speak with Executive Producer Craig Morrison, you can imagine our curiosity levels were quite high.This expansion is taking players far into the eastern lands of Khitai, which is essentially a retelling of our own ancient eastern worlds. Something we were told right away is that Funcom wanted to avoid Japanese influences, as they're fairly over-saturated in videogames. Instead, they're going for a heavy focus on Korean and Chinese culture for the lands of Khitai.%Gallery-72323%
Clan of Conan previews Update 4 and Xibaluku
We've already had a look inside the latest Clan of Conan newsletter, finding that there were shiny Kosalan talismans for everyone these holidays. Free jewelery aside, the newsletter also contains a great deal of information about what's coming in Age of Conan's Update 4, and a video of the new dungeon Xibaluku to boot. Xibaluku is intended for a full group of max-level players, and will be situated in the Thunder River area. After reading about it in the newsletter, you can click the "read more" link for an in-depth writeup of the dungeon.Players won't just be free to walk into Xibaluku. They'll first need to complete a new solo dungeon called The Slaughterhouse Cellar, also located in Thunder River and to be released in Update 4. Those that venture deep enough into Xibaluku might find one of two new Undead social pets that are being introduced to the game, which are good for "spreading gloom and dreadfulness", and probably scaring newbies in town. Expect the PvP system to receive some tweaking in Update 4 too, with the "PvP resources" system set to debut. If you're holding PvP resources to bring to an architect and get player-killed, you have a chance of them being looted by your assassin. Architects will need the resources to build and repair battlekeeps, and the hope is that epic battles will take place over the humble gathering nodes.
Funcom reaffirms commitment to AoC on PC and Xbox 360 following layoffs
After the rumors of staffing cuts at Funcom turned out to be true last week, many of you may have been predicting bad things for the future of Age of Conan -- or at least, enough of you to have Erling Ellingsen provide MTV's Multiplayer blog with a short statement regarding the health of their flagship title:Our aim is for this to not affect development of 'Age of Conan,' or any of our other games, at all. We are sticking firmly to our plans. The Xbox 360 version of the game is still in production, but as before we are not committing to any specific dates. I wish I could give you more information, but I can't at the time being.This backs up what Funcom had to say last week, that this is simply "business as usual" and not anything to be concerned about. It is good to hear about the Xbox 360 version once in a while, even if essentially nothing was revealed other than "it's still coming". We're pretty sure, however, that most of our readers that are interested in AoC haven't been held back due to waiting on the console release, because let's face it -- if you're an MMO-fan, you've got a PC. The 360 release stands to reach a new audience, one which will cause Conan's roleplaying-racism to join together with real-life racism through the magic of Xbox Live, and might just make the internets spontaneously combust.
Al-Qaeda endorses... the Zune on Conan O'Brien
Because as we all know, "The iPod is the Devil's MP3 player!" Enjoy this charming clip after the break.Note: Video is only available in the US. And only to Real Americans.
The Daily Grind: Movies based on MMOs
Word is that there will be a new Conan movie next year, and that Age of Conan will tie in with it. Of course, the movie isn't based on Age of Conan; both are independently based on Robert E. Howard's pulp fiction stories. Nevertheless, the Massively office is now full of ideas for MMO-based movies.There have been rumors of EverQuest and World of Warcraft films in the past. Some would say there's a fundamental problem with the idea though: there's no story to adapt! Let's face it: movies adapted from computer and video games have usually been pretty damned terrible. But if there is a disconnect between the two different styles of storytelling, then maybe MMOs are the perfect games to adapt to film. Since they only provide a setting, screenwriters, directors, and producers can create a medium-appropriate story of their own.Then again, isn't that what they do most of the time anyway? What do you think; could an MMO be adapted into a good movie? Why or why not? And if it can, which virtual would would you lke to see on the silver screen?
One Shots: It's good to be the (GM) king
We have to admit, we were a little bit surprised when this particular Age of Conan screenshot landed in our One Shots in-box. While we have no way of verifying if the person in question is actually a Funcom GM or if they're just really good at Photoshop, we still thought this one was highly amusing. Confused? We were too, until we read the attached note:After a long hard day of assisting players, sometimes a Game Master just needs a good sit. Where better than the throne of Conan himself? It's good to be the king.-- your friendly neighborhood Funcom employee who happens to read MassivelyIf that really is a GM, we think that's a pretty funny/cool thing to do after a long hard day -- and we certainly don't begrudge them the chair! If you're a GM in a game, feel free to send us screenshots of your particular game (no names required) and if not, feel free to send your screenshots in anyway! All games are welcome, from indie to mainstream! Just send those cool screenshots to us here at oneshots AT massively.com along with a note describing what we're seeing. Pretty easy way to give your favorite game exposure, no?%Gallery-9798%
Zero Punctuation reviews Age of Conan
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw is the naughty charismatic pontificating stallion behind Zero Punctuation, the hilarious weekly videogame review web program. It's not often Croshaw will review an MMORPG, so it is apropos to share the latest Zero Punctuation with the new roast target being Age of Conan. The review itself contains naughty words making it: NSFW. Reviewing MMORPGs isn't an easy endeavor. The MMORPG is a beast, various systems, game mechanics, and time sinks to wade through to get from beginning to the end. To give an honest and fair shake it takes hundreds hours of investment for the reviewer to familiarize and formulate a real knowledgeable opinion. MMORPGs aren't fair in that regard, and reviews aren't very sticky since most MMOs are undergoing constant development. But come on, it's Zero Punctuation!
Zero Punctuation visits Conan in Hyboria
No matter how much the hardcore MMORPG crowd may want to deny it, almost every game in the genre wants to be, or wishes it could have been, World or Warcraft. This week's Zero Punctuation says as much, with Yahtzee trying to enjoy his Hyborian adventure but wandering into familiar -- but not quite right -- WoW territory. Check out the NSFW review of Age of Conan after the break.
Patch report for Age of Conan's July 17th update
Yes, it's time again for another edition of undocumented Age of Conan patch notes. We briefly mentioned them in the invisible hotfix edition that took place shortly after the latest Age of Conan patch. The list maintained on the official Age of Conan forums has grown since then. We know some of our reader's favorite Age of Conan moments were canceling their accounts (very funny guys) but not everyone is a quitter, and this time around there are a lot more fixes reported. There are two forum threads that players maintaining the undocumented changes from the latest patch. One on the US player forums and a bug thread on the EU player forums. We took a little heat last time we reported on the last undocumented changes so please keep in mind that Massively can not confirm or deny the submissions reported in the undocumented patch note threads. The reports and feedback presented are done by the Age of Conan playerbase and their intentions are their own. The full list from the US player forums continues after the cut. General Custom-made saddle listed in the patch notes did not make it in. 1 Update: Saddle in game GUI Right clicking to someone's name on chat will result in 5-6 duplicate system spam, including the info about that person. 1 Mouse autowalk with mounts doesn't enable other controls. 1
