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Age of Conan video walks players through new Tarantia Commons zone
This has been a really big week for Age of Conan. They released Update 5, "Gangs of Tarantia", which has introduced new zones and content, but more than that, completely reworked some of Age of Conan's existing game mechanics. The amount of written content that Funcom has put together on these changes is substantial -- in fact we linked to all of it in our post on Update 5 earlier this week. Funcom can write all they want about the new changes to the game, but when it comes down to it, actually seeing these places they've described may have a stronger impact. With that in mind, Funcom released a video tour of the Tarantia Commons zone today, narrated by game director Craig Morrison.Tarantia Commons is what he describes as "the urban underbelly" of the capital city of Tarantia, a place Morrison says is "wracked by gang warfare and civil unrest." In other words, there's always a lot going on in Tarantia Commons and the video walkthrough shows this, revealing how players will choose which side to take in riots -- either aid the city guards or stick it to the man with fellow rioters. The riots then trigger other events. Specific quests become available and certain bosses spawn, depending upon the general state of chaos in the streets of Tarantia Commons. There are two warring gangs in the new gameplay area, The Wharf Rats who exist at ground level in the streets of Tarantia Commons, and The Crows whose area of influence shows off a different aspect of the game: rooftops. Interacting with The Crows above Tarantia Commons gives a different perspective on the city, with some impressive views of the zone. Of course there's content on the outskirts of Tarantia Commons for players to experience as well, including a leper colony where NPCs will lash out at you, intentionally trying to infect you with disease. As an added bonus, or spoiler depending upon your point of view, the walkthrough also shows off a boss encounter and the tactics he'll employ against players. If you're on the fence about returning to Age of Conan to see the new content, this Tarantia Commons walkthrough might just be the tipping point. We've got a video embed for you after the jump:
Age of Conan's Update 5 goes live, game director hints at future improvements
The fifth major update to Age of Conan,"Gangs of Tarantia", has gone live. The update adds the Tarantia Commons District, a high level area with both single player and group dungeons, as well as a revamped RPG system. There are substantial system changes that have gone into effect in Update 5, which impact every class in Age of Conan, covering everything from itemization changes to feat trees, as well as abilities, spells, and combos. Plus Funcom has rolled out a complete overhaul of the gem crafting system and introduced new rewards tied in with guild cities. Any in-depth look at the sweeping changes made to Age of Conan with Update 5 is beyond the scope of this post, but are summarized in the patch notes. In the June letter from the game director, Craig Morrison explains how Gangs of Tarantia is the most significant update made to the game thus far. Morrison also drops some hints about the directions Funcom plans to take Age of Conan with future game updates. He writes that the next update to Age of Conan will focus on three main areas: improving guild gameplay; new high level content in the House of Crom; and more goals and objectives with Border Kingdom PvP. Beyond the letter from the game director, Funcom has grouped together a ton of information related to Gangs of Tarantia and AoC in general, which can be found in Issue #23 of the Age of Conan newsletter.
Age of Conan's letter from the game director for May explains Update 1.05
Craig "Silirrion" Morrison, game director for Age of Conan, has posted a May letter (on the European forums) to the playerbase that reflects on the year since the game's launch, a year full of ups and downs. Beyond explaining a bit about how he came to work on Age of Conan and his enthusiasm for the game moving forward, the Letter from the Game Director drops info about Update 1.05. Morrison briefly touches on some of the highlights of the update, namely the large outdoor playfield and its quests and storyline, a new RPG system, and updates for all classes in terms of abilities, spells, and feats. Morrison opts to steer away from these big changes in his letter, which are likely to get more attention in the long run, and looks at some of the smaller changes to Age of Conan that are on the way.
AoC's April game director letter: roll a new level 50 in the next patch
Age of Conan's game director Craig Morrison has penned a 'state of the game' letter for April, primarily to discuss progress on the upcoming patch 1.05. Undoubtedly the biggest piece of information to come out of the letter is the news that players will be able to create a new character that starts at level 50 when the patch hits. There are, of course, a couple of caveats to this; the option is only available to players that have a character who is level 50 or higher, and it only works once. Players who reach level 50 for the first time after the patch will also get their chance to roll a new 50 of any class, but it sounds like it's a one-per-account offer, not per-character. Morrison explained that the re-roll is being offered so that people can try out a new class with updated 1.05 feats and skills, without enduring the first 50 levels again. Some form of concession on feat re-training will also be given so that players can decide how to tackle the new options available to existing characters. Morrison leaves us with the hint that more news relating to character options will be revealed come May, around the time of AoC's first anniversary.
GDC09: A candid interview with Age of Conan's game director
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/A_candid_interview_with_Age_of_Conan_s_game_director'; Last week at GDC 2009 was exceptionally busy, but that didn't stop us from talking with Age of Conan's game director Craig Morrison and discussing what went wrong with the game at launch and what's been done since to improve upon it.You're in for a treat, we think.After the jump, you'll also find discussion on free trails for this year, the DX10 client, successful MMOs and upcoming content philosopy for Age of Conan. It's a bounty of information even King Conan would be proud to see!%Gallery-9836%
Ten Ton Hammer interview with AoC's Craig Morrison
On the heels of one of Age of Conan's biggest patches since release, Ten Ton Hammer had a chance to speak with Game Director and Producer, Craig Morrison. The interview sheds much light on patch 1.04, forthcoming features, and Funcom's plans for the future. It appears that while Funcom's CFO may have recently resigned, the company has no plans to give up on the game just yet.One of the more interesting things to note is that they designed their new group dungeon, Xibaluku, based on player feedback. Funcom aims to make the bosses of Xibaluku much more dynamic and interesting than the bosses AoC originally launched with. Not to leave PvPers behind, they have also overhauled the mini-game queue system to improve its frequency as well as improved the guild/siege declaration system. DirectX 10 support is coming soon but wasn't stable enough for release in 1.04. Future patches in this cycle will focus on itemization, tweaking character statistics, and a totally new gemcrafting system.With patch 1.04 and additional patches over the next couple months, Craig feels that most of AoC's major problems will comprehensively dealt with. They are interested in seeing how players will react.
"No retreat, no surrender" for Age of Conan
Age of Conan's Game Director Craig Morrison recently had an interview at Gamespy to dicuss his game's future. In the end though, he ended up speaking more about the past, and in particular, past problems and mistakes that have now been seen to. Technical game client issues, a lack of PvE content at certain levels, and an unsatisfying PvP system were all cited as causes of people turning their back on AoC -- followers of the game since launch would agree with all of these things being issues -- but Morrison went through this list and explained how his team has improved the game on each of these fronts. The embedded video, featuring Erling Ellingsen, shows off some of the current and planned improvements.As for talk of the future, Morrison reminded us that Xibaluku is coming for the PvE junkies, and mentioned the PvP resource system, which should bring a new level of interaction to PvP gameplay. He believes that the biggest issue still remaining from launch is to do with a shortage of good gear, and an itemization overhaul is in the works to address this. We can also expect some more guild and community functions later in the year. The stage is set for a comeback; now we'll just have to wait and see if the players come to the party.
First Age of Conan server merge successful
When news of impending server merges in Age of Conan broke in December, it caused a bit of a stir -- particularly in the post's comments. Age of Conan Producer Craig Morrison later said the merges would take place in stages, but then technical issues arose, postponing these changes for roughly a month before Funcom was confident it could go off without a hitch. Earlier today, one month after the initial plan, the first set of servers were merged in Age of Conan: Bloodspire and Hyperborea have now merged into Bloodspire. Apparently AoC's virtual realm did not implode as the worlds were spliced together. Glen 'Famine' Swan, Age of Conan's US Community Manager, jokes, "I'm currently on Bloodspire now watching the global spam." Well there you go, business as usual in Hyborea. For the Age of Conan players among our readership, did the server merge affect you in any way -- be it positive or negative?
Craig Morrison discusses future Age of Conan updates and changes
Age of Conan's game director, Craig Morrison, has written a letter to the community about the next slew of upgrades and updates coming to the game now that Ymir's Pass -- and its new PvP system -- is on the live servers. First on the list of patches will be DirectX 10, which Morrison says is something the team wanted to be really special. We're just hoping it doesn't bring any serious new bugs with it, but from the sound of things Funcom is trying to make sure the new graphics are highly scalable for various computers.The second big project in the works are two new dungeons. Thunder River will hold both of them and they'll be aimed at max-level players. The Slaughter House Cellar is for single players, while Xibaluku is a large team dungeon. We can expect to see these released with the next update, apparently.
Age of Conan director interview pt. 2
Was there anything else in particular that jumped out at you as being noteworthy? Craig: In terms of the other content most of what we focused on, as we discussed earlier, there were several issues the players have brought to our attention. There were a lot of changes to the combat system in today's update, making sure that the game systems and the combos are fun. We tried to make them slightly easier to use in hectic situations, without dumbing things down. We definitely didn't want to do that. We did realize that certain of the high level combos tended to be a bit volatile, some of them had five steps to them in addition to the starter. We found in PvP that meant they weren't as effective as they could have been; they actually counted against people who were relying on the damage from those combos.
Massively catches up with the new Age of Conan director
A short while ago we had the chance to speak with Craig Morrison, the new director for Funcom's pulp fantasy epic Age of Conan. Morrison assumed the helm after the previous (development) director Gaute Godager stepped down, and since then the AoC team has been making a concerted effort to reach out to players. Perhaps drawing on lessons from other companies that have experienced player perception problems, the Funcom director seems to be making a deliberate campaign out of player recruitment, feedback, and communication.Join us as we reflect on this initiative, discuss issues that the Funcom staff see as most important to the Age of Conan playerbase, and walk through features associated with the most recent expansive patch. Read on for the full details and insight into this unique MMO. %Gallery-11743%
Word of mouth key to bringing Age of Conan players back, says Craig Morrison
Since Craig 'Sirillon' Morrison took over as the director of Age of Conan, even the gnarliest curmudgeon would have trouble claiming that things hadn't changed for the better. They might not have changed enough for some people's tastes, but work has been done and is still ongoing. Now, Craig talks to Eurogamer.net (at considerable length) about AoC, the changes that have been made and those that are yet to come.Although there's plenty of information, there isn't all that much new information; players will be glad to know that the hope is for the PvP consequence system to go live 'early next week, if not this week' with Ymir's Pass following soon after. When it comes to enticing back lost subscriptions, Craig places great value on word of mouth among the players themselves, observing that people who are having a good time in AoC will naturally pass on that information: '... that's what we focus on - making the game as good as we possibly can, so that our own players become advocates for the game.'
Craig Morrison keeps players posted on Age of Conan changes
Without doubt, things are hotting up in Age of Conan. There's still a lot of ground left to cover, but it would be senseless not to acknowledge that a game which recently seemed to be wallowing in post-launch doldrums has turned into something of a comeback king. The final instalment of the current series of patches, Patch 3, is growing by degrees on Testlive, and now Craig Morrison has given a rundown of what's coming and why.Craig kicks off by detailing the final version of the PvP consequence system, which regular readers will be familiar with. The gist of it is that AoC players who attack weaker foes will become outcast 'murderers', attacked on sight by guards, fair game for anyone who wants to kill them, and depending on rough camps on the fringes of society for their needs. There's a new mechanic of 'redemption' that allows murderers to go on special quests to rid themselves of this bloody stain.
The Daily Grind: What will the server merge mean for Age of Conan?
You may have heard that some Age of Conan servers will soon be merged in both the North American and European regions. New game director Craig Morrison made the announcement in a letter to the community just over a week ago. That revelation was a tacit admission that the game is not performing as expected, but Morrison has made it clear that he wants Funcom to brush the dirt off its shoulders and move on.Will the mergers encourage you to jump ship, or do you take them as a sign that Funcom is aware of the situation and ready to take decisive action to improve the game? Morrison claimed that the decision was made in response to player demand; were you demanding it? And regardless of whether you plan to stick with AoC (or return, if you've already left), do you believe the game has recovery and a positive future ahead of it? Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!
Major revisions in Age of Conan crafting revealed
Okay, Funcom, we get it. You're deadly serious about fixing Age of Conan. First the beginnings of the PvP patch went live, 'Patch 2', giving players PvP XP and gear. Then we got to see the reworked notoriety system on Testlive, along with shady camps and six pages of patchnotes. And now we get a lengthy document about coming changes to the crafting system on the Testlive server. Good heavens, anyone would think that Craig Morrison bloke actually knew what he was doing.Age of Conan crafting had been lacklustre. The new changes, which are scheduled to go live as part of Update 3 - the very same update that will polish off the PvP changes - add much more depth and complexity to the tradeskills. Weapons and armor will now have recipes that drop for city, base and culture versions, depending on whether they require a guild city or not. The 'base' pieces can be worn, and also used up in crafting to produce new pieces. Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!
'Shady camps' and more in latest Age of Conan Testlive patch
Just as players' patience was starting to fray again, 'Patch 3' has arrived on the Age of Conan testlive server, and it is a chunky one - we counted at least 594 meg. Feel like browsing the patch notes? Make a nice cup of something, put your feet up, take your time... there are six pages to wade through.Obviously we can't detail all of them here, but they range from the silly-but-desired 'Party people rejoice - proper drunkenness has been implemented!' to the necessary 'Fixed several causes of crashes and assert errors' to the trivial 'For decency's sake, Old Finn now has pants!'But the most interesting new feature is the addition of Shady Camps as a complement to the new Age of Conan PvP notoriety system, as promised by Craig Morrison recently. There are several other new tweaks to the system that had us eager to see it go live. We've put them behind the cut.
AoC Game Director declares server merge, previews coming changes
Age of Conan players have been curious to see what new Game Director Craig Morrison will bring to the table. He's already proven willing to wade in to the forums and give players clear answers to their questions, and today he's provided a lengthy and frank letter about what will be coming to AoC in the future. There's a lot of information to digest.Although it's low down on the list, the news of coming server merges caught our eye immediately: 'we are actively working on an approach to merge servers, both in Europe and North America.' While this can (and no doubt will) be interpreted as an admission that the population is low on certain servers, it is also indicative of a willngness to do something decisive about the situation, so that the players can have the best experience. That gets points from us.In addition to explaining Power Points and Kingship, which were announced some time ago but not really mentioned much since, Craig also provides some very interesting new information about the PvP consequence system, which adds more detail and game world immersion than had previously been announced. Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!
No toning down of Age of Conan's mature content, says new director
Remember the debates about whether Age of Conan was being slowly and stealthily stripped of its mature content? So do we. Some nights we still wake up screaming, haunted by visions of lithe Stygian dancers replaced by family-friendly Teletubbies. We thought those days of speculation and hysteria were gone, but apparently the changes to the succubus model, the rejigged Black Pyramid, and the addition of au naturel Derketo worshipers outside said structure weren't enough to quell the rumors.Now new game director Craig Morrison, who has taken on the role following the resignation of Guate Godager, has addressed the players directly on this issue. He gets props from us for doing this at all; a product director who actually talks to the player base is far more likely to do a good job than one who leaves that job to intermediaries.
Producer & game director for Age of Conan resigns from Funcom
Some big shake-ups seem to be happening over at Funcom today as Gaute Godager resigns from his position at the company as producer and game director for Age of Conan. His replacement is Craig Morrison, who's held the same position with Anarchy Online for several years prior to this change. While most (or more than half) will agree that Age of Conan is in a very dissatisfying state, this news still comes as a shock. Gaute Godager was one of the founders of Funcom and is leaving the company and the games industry after 16 years. He was also a part of Age of Conan's development since its conception. Incoming producer/director Craig Morrison stepped fully into the Conan community to greet the players today, as well. You can read his address to the faithful on the official forums. Follow the break for Godager's parting words and reasons for leaving Funcom.
Funcom: cool stuff coming for AO in 17.8
Craig Morrison, the director of Funcom's Anarchy Online, wrote up a letter to the game's player community describing what's to come in the 17.8 update.17.8 will bring a new team-based instance encounter that continues the Dust Brigade storyline, a complete overhaul of PvP titles, and a separate "social" tab in the inventory system so players can equip items specifically for their appearances without completely replacing the stat bonuses of existing gear. Also, Funcom's focus is shifting back to the pre-Shadlowlands world in terms of new content development.Morrison said information about upcoming holiday events and the graphics engine upgrades is forthcoming. The updated engine is still in alpha testing but should be ready "mid to late next year." Fans of the game can expect to see some footage of the changes "very shortly." We don't think a graphics update is likely to incite a surge of new players for this industry dinosaur, but hey, if you're already an AO player, it's still exciting.[Via WarCry]
