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January Age of Conan director letter details the road ahead
While the January edition of the Age of Conan Game Director letter isn't the flashiest one we've ever seen, it is an excellent road-map of just what the team over at Funcom have in their sights for the next little while. They've been giving us tons of tasty Rise of the Godslayer news outside of the Director updates, so we certainly won't complain! This month, Age of Conan's Game Director, Craig Morrison, sits down to tell us just what the team has in mind for the future of Hyboria. Patch 1.06 will be coming to the live servers shortly, bringing with it the Guild Renown system, tier three raiding, and a major revamp for the Assassin class. As for Godslayer, he says that more players have been invited into the beta and the feedback has thus far been great. There's also a good chunk of information on what they're planning for long-term PvP improvements for those who can't wait to bash Hyborian brains in. In all, it sounds like Craig and the team have some excellent things in motion for the future of Age of Conan, so be sure to pop over and check it out. 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!
A look into Rise of the Godslayer's Northern Grasslands
The team at Funcom are hard at work on the new content coming to Age of Conan, like guild renown and raids, as well as the upcoming expansion Rise of the Godslayer. Thankfully, they managed to steal a few moments out of that time to send along some screenshots, concept art, and a great video of the exotic Northern Grasslands area that players will be adventuring through in the upcoming expansion. Players who pick up Rise of the Godslayer will be treated to beautiful yet dangerous locales, where they'll meet strange and fascinating new people, and then kill them. Just kidding! Well, not really. Mounted atop tigers, the Khitans will undoubtedly be a fierce fighting force -- and that shiny new armor certainly looks pretty cool too. (Thankfully, the red accents will hide the blood well when you strip it off your dead enemies.) Be sure to check out the gallery and the teaser video behind the break for all the latest from this future corner of Hyboria. %Gallery-72323% 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!
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%
Funcom begins 2010 with new concept art
Funcom's concept artists have been letting their imaginations run wild again. After the last round of concept art was released for Rise of the Godslayer and The Secret World, fans had a good time speculating about what they were looking at, and now it's that time again. Funcom has released Creepy Concept Art 2.0 via Facebook, and fan speculation is even more enthusiastic and varied than it was for the last round. The first piece of concept art is for The Secret World, and features a very small, very angry totem or pendant of some sort (It's tiny - check the size reference figure in the corner). The second new item is from the upcoming Age of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer, and garnered nearly as much interest as the other, with thoughts of Wookiees, Bear Shaman, and Picts from commenters. You can take a look for yourself on Facebook, and join us in our thanks to Funcom and their concept artists for the new eye candy!
Age of Conan December community letter released
Age of Conan Game Director Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison posted the December community letter today, and he's clearly feeling very optimistic about the future. The 1.06 update cycle was the focus of most of the letter, with Morrison reminding players that it is currently up and available on the test server, and encouraging players to check it out (particularly the Guild Renown system). The Age of Conan team has put in quite a bit of work and are anxious for players to put it through its paces. Of course, the other big area of focus was the upcoming expansion Rise of the Godslayer and the excitement of the recent live beta broadcast. The letter also included a quick rundown of where progress on the expansion is right now. Players had some questions after reading the letter, particularly regarding PVP Towers, and Morrison was quick to step in and chat with the community in the thread, keeping them up to date on what is happening in that arena. The full letter (and thread) can be seen here.
Funcom gives us some AoC and TSW concept art for the holidays
Remember how we told you the other day that Funcom was looking for more friends on Twitter and Facebook? Well, it appears that they've decided to sweeten the deal from just the initial contest offering. Sure, you can win all kinds of goodies as we mentioned, but if you do wind up following, you'll find that Funcom is using these feeds to offer up tasty little concept art sneak peeks of The Secret World and the Rise of the Godslayer expansion for Age of Conan. Currently out on their Facebook gallery are two pieces of Age of Conan art depicting the above scene and a Scholar of Cheng Ho. Both of these images show the strong Eastern art style for Godslayer that many find intriguing. As for The Secret World previews, there are two pieces as well. One appears to be a character sketch of a young man - perhaps an NPC that will help us move the story along. The second, much more haunting image, is a picture of a slavering six-armed demon wielding a blood-covered trio of tanto, wakizashi, and katana mounted to a pole. Definitely not the kind of thing you want to run into -- secret society to help you or not! Be sure to pop by and take a look at the concept art that Funcom have posted - and consider adding them to your page so you'll know when they post more!
FilePlanet offers unlimited free trial for Age of Conan
With the Age of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer approaching, opportunities for new and returning players to explore the game (or revisit it) have been more frequent than usual these days. The latest offer comes via FilePlanet. If you're a FilePlanet subscriber, you can play the first part of the game for free in an unlimited trial. The offer is good until December 31st, but as long as you download before then, your trial will not expire. FilePlanet has a limited number of keys for this offer as well. As a bonus, anyone taking FilePlanet up on their offer will receive a free Enruned Kosalan Ring, which was previously an in-game bonus available for buying an Age of Conan ZBoard keyset. The ring offers melee, ranged, and magic damage bonuses, as well as a +1% evade chance bonus. The offer is available to customers in North America and Europe, and can be accessed through FilePlanet. [Edit: Apparently, this trial is available on the AoC main site as well, not just FilePlanet.]
What's to come in Rise of the Godslayer
Tigers, PvP, corruption, and more are coming with Age of Conan's next expansion, Rise of the Godslayer. Xfire has hosted a sneak peek live broadcast hosted by game director Craig Morrison and lead expansion designer Joel Bylos, and the two have shown off some of the inner workings of the expansion, including some of the changes and additions players will find. We here at Massively were watching closely and taking notes, so if you didn't get the chance to watch the video then no worries! As we said before, we have your back and we're ready to take you headlong into the blood and corruption of Age of Conan's expansion.
Reminder: Rise of the Godslayer preview today at 3 PM ET
It's been a few days since we announced it, so we thought we'd be a kind website and drop you a friendly reminder that you can catch a preview of Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer today on Xfire at 3 PM. Today's streaming preview will be composed entirely of features and areas from the new expansion, played by the developers themselves. The presentation will last about an hour and will be streamed entirely from the Xfire site, so no need to rapidly re-install Xfire if you're looking to watch. Just go to the page at a little before 3 PM, watch the video, and chat live with other viewers. If you can't make it, don't feel like you're missing out! We'll be putting up a synopsis of what went on in the presentation after it ends to keep you in the loop. So don't fear, we've got your backs!
Age of Conan offers streaming expansion demo Monday
If you're playing Age of Conan, the odds that you're looking forward to the upcoming Rise of the Godslayer expansion are... pretty much one to one. The news on the expansion has been fairly slow in coming since its announcement earlier this year, but it looks like we're due for a big burst of new information on Monday. Funcom has announced that the developers will be hosting a streaming demo of the game on December 7th via Xfire. The demo, hosted by game director Craig Morrison and the expansion lead designer Joel Bylos, will begin at noon PST (3 PM for those of us on the other coast). Scheduled to last for an hour, it promises to cover both the content in the demo -- which is all slated to be new material -- as well as the expansion in general, which is targeted for release in the first half of 2010. Both the developers and their hosts at Xfire are excited about the chance to show off a live demo, and odds that the game's playerbase is excited are, again, probably one in one. So clear some time to catch the broadcast on Monday, and see what's in store for Age of Conan as it journeys into the eastern empire of Khitai. [ via WarCry ]
November letter from Age of Conan's director released
As the end of the year approaches, Age of Conan has been quietly but steadily progressing through development and improving its engine and gameplay. It's certainly improved compared to its state at launch, and with its first expansion on the way the game has a promising future ahead of it. The end of November saw the release of a letter from the game director, Craig Morrison, addressing the game's upcoming Korean launch as well as the incoming changes in the near future. The biggest bits of news are the statement that 1.06, the game's next patch, is planned to begin rounds on the live test servers this week. 1.06 will also be seeing a few adjustments to the balance of force between casters and melee, one of the more contentious issues in the game. Crowd control will see a severe reduction in range and efficiency, with the letter explaining that the intent of the abiliies is to give casters a panic or escape button rather than allowing them to effectively pin targets at range. They're also denying casters the option of stamina potions to avoid making them too durable. Age of Conan's casters are probably unhappy about the news, but the letter itself has more to say, so it's likely in every player's best interest to take a closer look.
Funcom publishes sharp revenue drop for Q3
Funcom has released its financial results for Q3, and it's not pretty. Revenue was down 68.5% to 5.7 million USD, and expected to drop even more in Q4. This time last year they were reporting a profit of $3.3 million, a strong contrast to the current $9.6 million loss. They see a few reasons for this drop, including some stiff competition: "The Company ran a successful re-evaluation campaign during July, increasing the number of subscribers to the game. However, the launch of two major competing MMO-games during Q3 led to a subsequent reduction in subscriber levels." Funcom remains optimistic, though, thanks to numerous upcoming projects. The Secret World is reported to be "progressing well", Age of Conan is planning a launch in Korea, the "Rise of the Godslayer" expansion for AoC is on its way, and Funcom recently received a grant to create an extreme sports MMO. The full report can be viewed here.
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.
Funcom layoffs slow The Secret World development
The announcement of a 20% workforce layoff at Funcom will be delaying the release of The Secret World by "several months" according to the Norwegian developer. It's currently unclear if this will effect the release of Rise of the Godslayer, Age of Conan's first expansion since release last year.We're curious as to whether or not the company will be refocusing its efforts on the recently opened Montreal studio, as the layoffs appear to be hitting the Oslo building much harder. We hope everyone let go lands on their feet and finds new work as soon as possible.If you missed it, we previewed both The Secret World and Rise of the Godslayer at PAX09 this year. Both titles are already looking promising, so here's hoping they make it through these somewhat turbulent financial times.
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%
Age of Conan devs release their August newsletter
The devs over at Age of Conan have just posted their August newsletter on the game's official website. In it they look back over the last month and the announcement of the new AoC expansion, Rise of the Godslayer, as well as clarifying some titbits about the new expansion. This includes thanking players for their feedback and explaining why they chose to venture to Khitai (the Conan-version of China) over other lands featured in the original books. The devs also touch on the fascinating subject of world design and how player feedback has shaped the new armor they are working on.The most interesting nugget in the newsletter is a sneak peak at what the immediate future holds for AoC in the form of the 1.06 update. This includes the possibility of splitting the update into parts rather than deluging players with a giant patch. They also look at the new level 80 dungeon, the House of Crom, the Veterans System and Tier Three Raiding. So if you're an AoC player excited about the new expansion and the next big update, you might want to head over to the official site and check out the newsletter for yourself.
The Digital Continuum: Expanding horizontally part 2
For every hardcore raider, PvPer or what-have-you playing the game regularly there are probably ten or so people not playing, who just wish Blizzard would do something for the older world content. It's not an unheard of concept, but I can't think of a single case like Cataclysm where it's been taken to such an interesting extreme. Will we see future expansions for all other MMOs have a little more horizontal content expansion?
Funcom announces Rise of the Godslayer expansion for Age of Conan
With GamesCom has come the announcement of a brand new boxed expansion for Age of Conan -- Rise of the Godslayer. Age of Conan fans rejoice, you have been loved.Rise of the Godslayer, however, will not be an expansion as your normally understand it. Instead of expanding the game vertically, like so many other MMOs, RotG will be expanding the game horizontally. The level cap of 80 isn't changing, but expect RotG to be adding much more meat to the lower levels of the game's content -- specifically from level 20 (and the end of Tortage) up until 80.RotG will also be adding Robert E. Howard's vision of the far east -- the Empire of Khitai -- and the brand new race of the Khitan. Khitans will be starting in Tortage, like all of the other slaves, but don't expect to magically appear in the empire once you get done. Khitai will be reserved exclusively for higher level characters, while lower level characters will have to make a great trek across the lands.For even more scoops than we could fit into this post, head on over to Eurogamer and check out their first impressions of the new expansion. Or, if you love us, you'll jump over the break and check out the first trailer for the new expansion, embedded right in this post![Thanks, JP!]
