hyboria
Latest
The Anvil of Crom: Four reasons to return to Age of Conan
A couple of weeks ago, one of Massively's more eloquent commenters referred to yours truly as "Funcom's biznitch." Well, OK, biznitch wasn't the exact word, but you get the idea. This bit of nerdrage was amusing for multiple reasons, not the least of which was that I hadn't covered (or played) Age of Conan for nearly five months at the time. You know what, though? I do like Age of Conan, and I did miss Hyboria. Sure it's got its issues, omissions, frustrations, and WTF-were-they-thinking design decisions, but it's also got a game world unlike any other in the MMO space. Join me after the cut for a few reasons I came back (as well as a preview of what the future holds for The Anvil of Crom).
The Daily Grind: Should veterans and newbs be on equal footing?
Age of Conan game director Craig Morrison recently tweeted a frank reply to one of his followers. The reader asked why Funcom doesn't revamp PvP items to make everyone's minigame stats equal, thereby relegating grindtastic PvP gear to the game's vanity armor slots and providing theoretical balance. Morrison's response: "Not everyone wants a new player and a two-year veteran to be on equal footing. Many want that to count, aside from knowledge." By "that," Morrison meant time spent playing the game and paying your character dues, as it were. This brings up an interesting debate, since MMOs have a reputation for rewarding geared players over skilled players in both PvP and PvE. What say you, Massively readers? Should veterans and newbs be on equal footing? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Age of Conan dev blog outlines stamina changes, multi-spec functionality
Funcom may be gearing up for The Secret World's imminent launch, but the company hasn't abandoned its other Dreamworld-powered MMO. Yes, Age of Conan is still going strong, as it's closing in on its fourth anniversary and pumping out updates on a semi-regular basis. Today's traditional end-of-the-month development letter focuses on said updates, in particular a few systems changes slated for the near future. Funcom's Craig Morrison gives us an update on extensive changes to AoC's stamina mechanics, which have long been a thorn in the side of PvPers and PvEers engaged in lengthy battles. The new system boasts "a new personal resource that will be used just for sprinting. It is also not observable by other players," the dev blog states. Stamina will now be used exclusively for combos, and caster classes no longer have stamina at all. Age of Conan is also getting multi-spec functionality with respect to the game's feat system. Switching between specs can be done almost anywhere in the game world (aside from raids and group instances). Look for these changes on the live servers "later in the summer," Funcom says. Finally, class updates are in the works, beginning with the Tempest of Set and continuing on to the Bear Shaman, the Herald of Xotli, and the Necromancer. There's more too, so head to the official AoC site to read it all.
Leaderboard: Age of Conan's score vs. Guild Wars' score
Believe it or not, there are actually loads of incredible MMO soundtracks. Oh, I know we all bellyache about the repetitive music and how we turn it off and just listen to speed metal or Justin Bieber while we grind boars, but the scores are often wonderful when removed from infinite looping. Today we're going to pit two of the greatest MMO soundtracks against each other as they vie for your approval. In the first corner is Age of Conan's score, which was composed by Knut Avenstroup Haugen. It's not only award-winning and famous outside of MMO circles but hauntingly beautiful to listen to as well. In the other corner is Mr. Jeremy Soule's epic Guild Wars soundtrack (we'll lump all four of them together for this poll), which many claim to be just as memorable as the game's visuals. It's the cream of the audio crop presented for your judgment: Age of Conan's score vs. Guild Wars' score. Give each one a listen and then let us know which you'll vote for after the jump!
Choose My Adventure: Ultimate road trip edition
Let's go for another spin! Just like Mikey of Life cereal fame, I ventured into the realm of Choose My Adventure once before, and I liked it! Grand adventures, camaraderie with readers, exploring the unknown... what more could I ask for? More time, obviously! It ended all too soon. I was totally revved up and ready to jump right back in, but unfortunately neither pleading nor bribery worked to continue my stint as your plucky puppet (and locking the other staff members in a dark closet didn't pan out either -- they escaped), so I had to park it and wait my turn. It took much too long, but finally my time has come again. *happy dance* Now the boss may have handed me the keys, but you will be the ones driving. The top is down, and I've got snacks and shades; all that is left to begin our adventure for the next six weeks is to pick which direction to head and floor it. Although a lot of good places have already been visited, there are plenty more to choose from. In the mood for fantasy? Capes? Nebulas? Heavy artillery? Cast your votes by Sunday, April 22nd, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. EDT for your chance to steer me to the world of your choice. Our possible destinations (in no particular order) are...
Leaderboard: Hotbar combat vs. action combat
I've noticed that whenever a studio is developing an MMO that features action combat (i.e., faster-paced combat that's more dependent on positioning, reflexes, and mouse usage), it acts as though it's developing the savior of the genre -- even though action combat is nothing new (just ask Dungeons and Dragons Online or Age of Conan). Instead of seeing it as a revolution that will bring us out of the supposed dark ages, I look at it as a different style of play that some prefer while others shun. Both have their pros and cons. Hotbar combat allows for quick access to a wide variety of skills, levels the playing field for those of us old fogeys who aren't so tight in the reflex department, and focuses more on strategic thinking. However, it's typically slower and not as visceral as many non-MMO video games tend to be. Action combat, on the other hand, is certainly more in-line with its non-MMO contemporaries, with exciting pitched battles at the expense of time to think and a more limited selection of input. So for today's Leaderboard, we're going to tackle the grand ol' staple of MMOs, hotbar combat, vs. the action combat upstarts. Will reflexes or brains win the day? Cast your vote after the jump!
The Anvil of Crom Extra: Craig Morrison on new content, crafting, and customizable communities
It's been a little while since we've interviewed Age of Conan executive producer Craig Morrison. In the intervening months, Funcom's bloody fantasy MMO has added developers, new content, and fresh ideas at a fairly steady pace. This week sees the introduction of tier four raiding content in Khitai as well as a lengthy Morrison-authored update letter that provides a roadmap for the rest of 2012. Follow along after the break as we talk raiding, the upcoming crafting revamp, and the community potential (and perils) of Funcom's spiffy new single-server technology.
Age of Conan dev update details free content, spiffy server tech
Hullo Hyboria fans, and welcome to the traditional end-of-the-month update letter recap. What's the update letter, you ask? It's Funcom executive producer Craig Morrison's way of keeping players abreast of development happenings on Age of Conan. This month there are quite a few interesting tidbits, including a mention of the game's next adventure pack, the crafting update, and of course, the new tier four Khitai raids in and around the Jade Citadel. Also noteworthy is the latest mention of Funcom's single-server tech. You may recall that Morrison mentioned this in 2011 as a way for players to form their own niche communities within the larger server community. Not much has been said about it since, but Funcom's Dreamworld engineers have been working on it behind the scenes to get it ready for its debut in The Secret World. After that, Morrison says, the tech will make its way into AoC, and chances are you'll have a chance to vote on the implementation. "This will most likely be the main subject of our summer surveys this year given how radically we could change the experience with this technology," Morrison explains. "It is one of those things that could be implemented in a way that you don't even notice, or it could be deployed to make things work in ways that are not typical for MMO games (like potentially allowing players to define their own communities, or even, at the furthest fringes of what's possible, defining their own rulesets!)." Look for our exclusive interview with Morrison later this afternoon.
The Daily Grind: Would you pay extra for a filtered community?
Earlier this week we asked if there was a game you'd like to play but for its awful community. The topic got a lot of replies, and the usual MMO suspects turned up in many of the comments. The thread got us to thinking about customizable communities, server rulesets, and creative uses for instancing technology, and though no MMO firm has offered players control over their community experience as of yet, it's certainly doable. Funcom executive producer Craig Morrison mentioned the possibility in 2011, and for today's Daily Grind, we'd like to know how you'd feel about being able to carve off pieces of a game world specifically for your friends, your guild, or your niche community (roleplayers-only, PvPers-only, etc.). Would you pay extra for dedicated communities or filtering technology? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Gaikai: Delivering instant MMOs to your browser
Imagine that you're reading up on an MMO on a site such as Massively (far-fetched, but stay with us on this). The words intrigue you and you think it might be worth checking out. You make a mental note to do so in the future -- to head over to the game's site, see if there's a trial, download it, set up an account, and give it a whirl -- but time gets away from you and none of that actually happens. Now imagine that right after you read that article there was a single button or link. Clicking on it, a Java window opens up on top of your screen and tells you that you're now playing a trial of the game. There's no wait, no download, no lengthy form to fill out -- just click and play, right away. You go from interested to inside the game within mere seconds, your computer specs (mostly) aren't an issue, and your curiosity is immediately sated. This isn't a far-fetched dream but the here-and-now reality. This is cloud-streaming MMOs brought to you by Gaikai. And it just might be the future of MMOs as we know it.
Funcom gutting Age of Conan's crafting system, starting over
Age of Conan's latest development update is here, and producer Craig "Silirrion" Morrison has quite a lot to say about the game's forthcoming crafting revamp. And when we say revamp, we mean revamp. "When we sat down and looked at the system and how we could add depth and improve engagement, it became clear that it was better to start over," Morrison says. He isn't kidding either, as the new system does away with awkward quest blocks to progression and instead ties your advancement directly to making items and using the relevant skills. Harvesting nodes will also spawn with more variety (and at more locations), and the much-reviled random NPC attacks that used to happen while harvesting are finally being dropped. Still want more details? Well, material quality will matter, there will be some sort of refining process, and there's an entirely new system for the actual production of an item. There's a lot more to Age of Conan's new crafting system, of course, but we're out of space, so you'll need to head to the official site to check it out.
The Daily Grind: Would you buy an advanced character?
For many years, Ultima Online has offered an advanced character microtransaction. Well, the term "microtransaction" may be stretching it -- originally priced at $30 a pop, it's more like a macrotransaction. The advanced character token allows you to boost the skills and stats of a single character according to a preset template. It won't give you a capped Bard, Treasure Hunter, or Animal Tamer overnight, but it will get you a big chunk of the way there. And for skills that are notoriously hard to train .1 by .1 all the way to 100 or 120, advanced character tokens can be a huge boon to players who've been there and done that and just want to skip the early grind. UO's not alone in this; other games, such as Dark Age of Camelot, allow players to jump past some of the early game on their alts once they've capped a toon and proven they know the ropes of the game. Of course, those games aren't charging for the pleasure. So what do you think: Would you buy an advanced character from a game company? Or do you think you're cheating yourself and those around you by not grinding up the old-fashioned way? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Funcom teases AoC's House of Crom
The House of Crom is basically the Hyborian equivalent of Duke Nukem Forever. It was announced quite a while ago, it was expected long before its actual arrival date, and at long bloody last, it's finally on its way to an Age of Conan server near you. Thankfully, that's where the similarities end, as the new dungeon is looking quite impressive -- if Funcom's marketing blurbs are anything to go on. The latest such features a few paragraphs of textual description regarding the Threshold of Divinity and Vile Nativity dungeons (the House of Crom isn't just one dungeon, but rather a massive new area that supports multiple groups and amounts to the largest indoor dungeon that Funcom has created to date). Head to the official AoC website for more info, including screenshots of some of the new armor available throughout the instance.
The Anvil of Crom: Quality-of-life improvements for 2012
This week's Anvil of Crom took a bit of thought because honestly, I haven't felt very motivated to play lately. It's one part burnout and two parts wandering eye, as there are a lot of MMOs out there that I keep hoping Age of Conan will emulate in the interests of becoming a more complete game. It's certainly not a bad game as is; I've been traveling Hyboria for four years now (and writing about it for two), and you don't do that with titles you have to force yourself to play. Like most things, though, AoC could be better.
The Anvil of Crom: Greatest hits vol. 2011
By Crom! Can you believe we've made it through another year? Well, almost, at any rate. Technically there are a few days left in 2011, but as I'll be taking some of them off for the purposes of gaining weight and opening presents, it seems like as good a time as any to do a little recapping. Saying that 2011 was a big year for Age of Conan probably qualifies as severe understatement rather than simply understatement. The big news, of course, was the Unchained free-to-play conversion, but that was really just the tip of the gigantic Hyborian iceberg. Join me after the break for my top seven Anvil of Crom issues from the past year.
The Anvil of Crom: The winter of our discontent
Well, winter isn't just coming, folks -- it's here. And it's not one of those balmy south Florida winters when the temperature rarely drops below 50 degrees. No, this is a blustering Cimmerian winter, complete with hard freezes, winds of change, and dare I say a little Hoth-like chill in the air. Age of Conan's 3.1 patch rolled out to the live servers a few days ago, and along with all the Dreamworld tweaks, it also brought a decent helping of bugs and general discontent. Join me after the cut for a deeper look.
The Anvil of Crom: Thanksgiving leftovers and what's new in Hyboria
What's up, Age of Conan fans? Hopefully all of you had an overindulgent Thanksgiving (I'm picturing clusters of barbarians hunched around roaring campfires, gnawing the blackened meat off the bones of whatever game animal happened to pass by). For my part, I spent the last couple of days avoiding work, gaining weight, and catching up on recent news from Funcom's Hyboria. I've been a bit distracted with various online shooters lately, but I always find myself coming back to AoC because of its unique fantasy world and rough-and-tumble themepark mechanics. Join me after the break for a few recent tidbits that piqued my interest.
The Anvil of Crom: Celebrating the selfless gamer
Oh sh... it's time for another installment of Massively's Anvil of Crom! If I sound a bit harried, it's because there's simply not enough time in the day for all the gaming goodness going on lately. Whether we're talking about the MMO space where I'm currently dabbling in AoC, DC Universe Online, EverQuest II, and Global Agenda, or the single-player smorgasbords of Arkham City, Uncharted 3, and Skyrim, sometimes it sucks to be an adult with responsibilities! Those "sometimes" are usually during the pre-Christmas release window when game publishers all get together and decide to make our entertainment lives miserable by releasing 35 badass titles at once. Hello geniuses, how's about we stagger the badassery throughout the year; you'll still be rolling in money and your customers won't be rushing through one title to get to the next. Anyway, I'm continually on the lookout for interesting tidbits from Funcom's Hyboria, and over the past couple of weeks I've been struck by a noticeable uptick in what I'm going to call the quality community. Since AoC's 2008 launch, the game's community has been alternately awful and tolerable, and whether that's because of the game's mature rating (and the immature people it attracts) or some other factor, it's been a rare occasion when I've had cause to highlight the nice folk.
Funcom highlights Age of Conan player numbers, offers in-game reward pack
DC Universe Online isn't the only MMO crowing about its freemium changeover this week. Age of Conan made the switch last summer and now Funcom is highlighting the fact that more than 600,000 players have tried the Unchained version of the fantasy title since July. As a token of appreciation, the company is presenting players with a little ditty called the King's Reward pack. Everyone who logs in prior to November 21st can grab the bundle via the special offers tab of the AoC item shop. The pack contains various potions designed to speed your way through Hyboria, but it's also limited to one character per account, so make sure you're on your main when you claim it.
Age of Conan dev update talks new House of Crom dungeon
It's time for another month-ending Age of Conan development update, and the October version doesn't disappoint. Craig Morrison gives way to a gaggle of AoC developers who are more than eager to talk about the new House of Crom content coming in the 3.0.2 patch. The House of Crom is actually composed of two large dungeons. One is a social playfield that supports multiple simultaneous groups while the other is a six-man instance like those found in Khitai. The encounters take place in the bowels of the Eiglophian Mountains and are designed for endgame players. Lore-wise, the dungeon is an ancient Atlantean temple which has recently been unearthed (and defiled) by the Vanir raiders invading northern Cimmeria. That's all fine and dandy, but what about phat lewtz? "We will be bringing in new Atlantean-themed items. Power-wise, the rewards will be on par with those found in the more difficult instances, and there will be all the regular token and trophy rewards that you would expect to find," says system designer Knut Jagels. The 3.0.2 patch is currently slated for the end of 2011, and you should head to the official website to check out the full dev diary while you wait.
