Age of Conan: New site update. + Release date is set.

[Velorath]

For me it's none of those. It's that AoC is coming in a post-WoW world. It's just not different enough in what's launching.

Which wouldn't make it a trainwreck unless you're talking just about subscription numbers in comparison to WoW (which would make every MMO a trainwrect).  Also, I'm not sure how a heavily PvP focused game, with mounted combat, a somewhat unique combat system, seige warfare, and guild-built cities isn't different enough from WoW.  If anything, part of the reason people are expecting a trainwreck is because they're putting so many things in the game that they just can't crib off of WoW, that people are expecting most of them to be broken on release if they make it in at all.

[K9]

The above (about delay/release date) was announced in August last year, so not really news?

Anyway, check out the full-screenable version of the CES trailer (one of the three video trailers being shown on the new page), it's about their Dreamworld MMO engine and what it's capable of:
Linky to 720p-version (144MB)

If they deliver even a portion of what's shown in that clip then this is not only going to be one of the best looking MMO gameworlds, but one of the best looking game environments ever in my view. That said, while the pretty is all fine and dandy, the gameplay will be the killer. From what I'm reading it looks more like they're currently streamlining bad aspects out based on feedback, rather than cutting stuff they can't actually make, but who knows. Hopefully open Beta should be up and running soon.

[Aez]

For me it's none of those. It's that AoC is coming in a post-WoW world. It's just not different enough in what's launching.

Which wouldn't make it a trainwreck unless you're talking just about subscription numbers in comparison to WoW (which would make every MMO a trainwrect).  Also, I'm not sure how a heavily PvP focused game, with mounted combat, a somewhat unique combat system, seige warfare, and guild-built cities isn't different enough from WoW.  If anything, part of the reason people are expecting a trainwreck is because they're putting so many things in the game that they just can't crib off of WoW, that people are expecting most of them to be broken on release if they make it in at all.

I think you're right.  The feature list is much closer to SWG than WoW IMO.  I hope they pull it off.  Anyone heard rumors?  This close to release, we should get some :

   don't old your breath
or
   robot jesus

Granted I remember a couple of  pages saying HG:L was the second coming...

[Venkman]

mediocre.

"Trainwreck" we won't know until launch. I have my suspicions but that's all I'm going to say.

[Trippy]

No NDA-breakage please.

[dbltnk]

New release date: May 20th

http://www.funcom.com/wsp/funcom/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&func_id=1258&table=CONTENT

[K9]

Sheesh.

[Trippy]

Better for them to keep delaying (and delaying) so as to not repeat the AO launch.

[Falconeer]

Stock's going good

[schild]

Stock's going good

You mean well. It's going well.

But it's not! That stock, as you can see, HAS A SARCHASM.

Weird to see a physical manifestation of such a phenomenon.

[IainC]

Today is a good day not to be a Funcom CM...

Nuggets of Solomon-like wisdom from the AoC forums

Well I give up because so many people in the community enjoy rolling over and taking it....

I am proud to consider myself a consumer who doesn't take lame excuses from anyone.

Let's face it, we are all going to play the game when it comes out because it is probably going to be the best. But at the very lease we shouldn't make excuses for them.

They are going to make a ton of money off of this, it is supposed to be hard. If it was easy to make games, then everyone would do it. Don't take lame excuses from people, there is nothing wrong with demanding excellence as well as punctuality for a product you are going to spend your Hard Earned Money On.

Demand something in return for us having to wait an extra 2 months.

I know for one with all this extra time the bar is going to be set so high for me that if there is one bug on the game release I will be even more angry than I am right now.

Random capitals make you look cool.

[schild]

Meh, in spite of the game, they have created one of the best collector's editions I've ever seen:

[Venkman]

Didn't they just announce the March date? Or was that WAR? And if it's the latter, I'd be more inclined to believe that's the reason for the former, though 8 weeks at this point would be something anyone would love

[sam, an eggplant]

Better for them to keep delaying (and delaying) so as to not repeat the AO launch.

Well yes, obviously, but they should pick a date far enough out that they have some reasonable expectation of hitting it rather than delaying twelve times in a row.

The march date was from last year's second extension.

[CharlieMopps]

Meh, in spite of the game, they have created one of the best collector's editions I've ever seen:

For a second I thought that cape was real.

[IainC]

Didn't they just announce the March date? Or was that WAR? And if it's the latter, I'd be more inclined to believe that's the reason for the former, though 8 weeks at this point would be something anyone would love

Announced 18th Jan.

Release date is set to the 25th of March 2008.

Rather cool, also contains new info, and vids.



EDIT: Added release info.

Edited to fix missing [

[sam, an eggplant]

That press release is dated 8/10/07. The OP posted old news, in a big font.

http://www.funcom.com/wsp/funcom/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&func_id=1230&table=CONTENT

Edit: and before anyone mentions it, the 1/25/07 press release on funcom's site also says 3/25/08 but it was changed-- it originally said 10/30/07.

[waylander]

Postponed to May 08 according to some news sites now.

Ageofconan.com

Some Euro news source

- Jan 21, 2008

Funcom announces a new release date for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures.

The highly anticipated MMO receives 8 more weeks of development, allowing Funcom to deliver a more polished MMO experience when the game launches on the 20th of May 2008. Despite great feedback on vital aspects like immersion, fun factor and the exciting combat system, the management of Funcom has decided to polish the game even more. Eight weeks of development work is therefore added to stress game systems and polish the game further leading up to launch.

Funcom is fully committed to its communities and the quality-level they demand and deserve, and has previously postponed the Age of Conan launch. The changes implemented as the game was moved to a 2008 release have proven to greatly improve the experience for newcomers, while introducing a more involving and accessible character progression throughout the game. Press and beta feedback in the aftermath of these changes has been very positive. As a result, the ongoing presentations of the game have continued to increase the anticipation for Age of Conan. To date, Age of Conan has received more than 20 magazine covers and 15 industry awards, and is widely considered to be one of the most anticipated MMOs in development.

Funcom has great faith in the Age of Conan game, and feels certain that further polish is in the best interest of the hundreds of thousands of gamers who follow the game. ?The companies standing apart in the gaming market today are those with a relentless drive to achieve quality. Even though we regret delaying the launch, I am certain we made the right choice. I hope that our followers and fans will support our decision, and respect our commitment to quality,? said Gaute Godager, Producer and Game Director of Age of Conan.

Funcom will also continue the beta efforts for the title with continued testing on its large server parks in North America and Europe. Players can already sign up at pre-order programs in several countries and enjoy the recently released website at www.ageofconan.com, displaying part of the wealth of marketing and game material already prepared for the game. A special Collectors Edition of the retail box is available for pre-order at select retailers. Thousands of players have been invited to the beta of the game, and the number will continue to go up as Age of Conan moves towards launch. If you too want to join the Beta of Age of Conan you may sign up for the Beta on www.ageofconan.com

[K9]

Didn't they just announce the March date? Or was that WAR? And if it's the latter, I'd be more inclined to believe that's the reason for the former, though 8 weeks at this point would be something anyone would love

This is what I was wondering, but I wasn't sure where the 25th of March date came from. Two "concrete" release dates in a single week seems more than a little iffy to me.

I still hope this game does well, because it looks like it could be fun; however FC aren't really doing an awesome job of inspiring my consumer confidence right now :(

[WayAbvPar]

Wow. This is going to be a giant maelstrom of suck. Maybe I will check out the free trial this time next year and double their subscriber numbers 

[Slayerik]

I'm glad they are delaying it.

I still am looking forward to it.

[Signe]

I'm glad they are delaying it.

I still am looking forward to it.

For any particular reason?  Or was that just a "So there!"? 

[tkinnun0]

Hey, as long as I get to be Conan.

[Reg]

No! I'm gonna be Conan!

[WayAbvPar]

I will settle for being Andy Richter

[sidereal]

From the latest developer chat:

Q: What is best in life?
A: To crush your fanbois, to see them driven from your forum, and hear the lamentations in their podcasts

[Trouble]

This game is going to fail hard. I think that most of us here have suck radar, and it's only a matter of how much we silence that radar with alcohol and delusions of hope. Failtrain inbound, gate AoC, all aboard.

[sam, an eggplant]

Reactions I've seen have been universally positive. You wouldn't know it by funcom's 10.4% stock price drop, but the fanbois seem to understand the delay. First impressions are everything. Release quality matters. Etc.

And WAR isn't coming out until fall (at best) so they can afford the delay.

[HaemishM]

On the one hand, I want it to succeed. I'm glad they pushed it out to May, because removing classes 2 months before release usually spells "Not enough testing." Adding another 2 months on that may still be "Not enough testing." On the other hand, Funcom's history with releases does not fill me with confidence.

[dr_dre]

Stock drop was EU wide

Amsterdam index had a 6.2 % drop.
US had a bank holiday today. I hope we don't get a Black Tuesday tomorrow.

On topic.

I'm not happy with another delay.

[Simond]

Reactions I've seen have been universally positive. You wouldn't know it by funcom's 10.4% stock price drop, but the fanbois seem to understand the delay. First impressions are everything. Release quality matters. Etc.

And WAR isn't coming out until fall (at best) so they can afford the delay.

Plus WAR's probably going to be $20/month & staring down the teeth of a WoW expansion release as well.

[sidereal]

Suck radar's a good name for it.  It's difficult to articulate exactly what it is that gives me the fail vibes.  The feature list that dbltnk translated was brutal.  You need to be lvl 40 to start crafting and you'll get to max crafting level in a few hours?  WTF?  Why bother with crafting levels, then?  You can't raid anything until max level?  Then why have raiding?  Nobody's anticipating AoC for the raiding.  It's open pvp and everyone can stealth?  Good god.

I guess if I had to pin it down I'd say that there doesn't seem to be a concise vision for the thing.  It's like they knew upfront that the Conan license was about brutal PvP and boobies, but didn't have the courage of their convictions so kitchen sinked everything else into it (like raiding, crafting, and sieging) because they thought a pure pvp/boobie game would fail.  So instead they're going to fail because they Vanguarded their way into doing half of everything.  And my experience as a consumer and a developer has been that products that don't have a clear product direction rarely have good technical direction, so I also predict Vanguard-like technical quality.

I had the same vibes about Tabula Rasa, Vanguard, and DDO.  I was iffy on LOTRO.  I had good vibes on WoW, DAoC, Guild Wars, Shadowbane, and PotBS.  So I'd say my radar is reasonably good, especially on the down side, even if I can't put my finger exactly on what I think the problem is.

Edit:  I should add for clarity: I don't want to fail.  I hope I'm wrong and it does well.  But not so confident.

[Mrbloodworth]

I am now completely confused. I apologize if some how i posted old news, it would have come from my source (as in the site i read it on). My bad.



So, its May 20th.

I will correct the OP.

You need to be lvl 40 to start crafting and you'll get to max crafting level in a few hours?  WTF?  Why bother with crafting levels, then?  You can't raid anything until max level?  Then why have raiding?  Nobody's anticipating AoC for the raiding.  It's open pvp and everyone can stealth?  Good god.

What??

First off, 1-20 is quasi-single player (At night its single, during the day, its multi. You choose when to "sleep") and achievable in a few hours (so i read)...so, uh...the rest....uhhh...... where are you getting your info?

EDIT: Ah, found it.

There will be some rudimentary crafting processes that you will encounter in the early stages of the game, but we didn't want to focus on the early levels when it comes to the crafting elements. This is because we want to introduce it to people when it can make a difference and when they feel they can produce items, weapons and armor that will be truly useful to them and their friends.

We didn't want to go down the route of forcing people to 'grind' items countless times in order to progress in crafting and at the same time make the process more involved and in keeping with the ancient traditions of learning your trade from a learned master as was the way in ancient Hyboria!

At level 40 players will be able to begin to embark on the crafting quests that will see them progress through the tiers of crafted goods. You will seek out one already well versed in the craft you wish to study and perform a series of quests for them to prove yourself worthy to receive the knowledge they are capable of teaching.

And you know, it makes sense... if 1-20 is quick, i don't see an issue, and the thinking is valid... They removed the useless item grind. I don't see an issue here. Unless someone likes making rusty swords 1k times over to get "shiny sword".

*shrug*

[Triforcer]

"Open PvP and Everyone can stealth??"  Former Horde pvpers should have an advantage then, as 95% of our opponents were rogues and/or night elves 

[Mrbloodworth]

Game Director has some words on the delay.

In this, Game Director Gaute Godager discusses the latest developments surrounding Age of Conan.

It feels to me I am the Herald of bad news (no, it is not a new class). Rather, I am the grey faced postman always arriving with the bills. I am the guy with a yellow post-it on your windshield confessing a fender bender. I am the only one in the elevator when the door opens, and a pretty lady enters reaching for her nose. It seems I only write to you with bad news – that’s all I do! I want to write this update to encourage you – we are on the right track, and by Crom we are close to the finish!

Although you might not see it this way, and you are frustrated, we delay because - it is right. It is the right thing to do! Naturally I sound righteous, haughty and bordering on arrogant when I say this: This is the right thing to do. You want something better than what you would have gotten in March. You deserve something better! I want to apologize – not for what we did but because some of you might have gotten upset. For that I am sorry. For this decision, and every one leading up to it – I stand by it 100%! This game will rock!

Ok, enough with the emotions, though I simply needed to get this off my chest. Why do we delay again? It is simple and it is complex:

- The level of bugs.

The previous delay was for a major reason – the combat control and balance. This is no longer the case. We have the big things under control, although not all has reached beta in the speed I would have liked to have seen! It is now simply getting in the things we did, polished. We have continued to receive fantastic feedback for the previous changes. See this article for instance: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=178652 if you worry that the game has not progressed. The previous delay was correct and time spent wisely, so is this - and so will this time be spent!

The simplicity of this explanation (bugs) as the reason behind the delay is that you have heard it before by all major players in the industry and by all others making computer software. Bugs are controllable on a statistical level, but I guess sometimes statistics don’t really reflect the experience. Although we have seen bugs go down as predicted by statistics, the increase in polish didn’t really follow suit. This discrepancy can only be explained that the bugs we have fixed aren’t by themselves flawless. Two bugs out of beta and one in. Again a well known phenomena. The added time should now deal with it. We are on the right track.

I guess you saw we hosted a large community event at the end of last week, giving the awesome Conan fan- sites a chance to see, ask and learn as much as they could about the nuts and bolts of the game. (And meet so many of you really cool people – how did you like the Stygian restaurant?) This event was all about giving as much info as we were asked (in addition to us presenting a lot ourselves;-). I think it’s safe to say that many of us had a great time at the event, but since so much info came out of it I also see the need to clarify some things. I am creating a State of the game update so you can learn more about how we are moving ahead. Today, however, I wanted to speak about the additional eight weeks of development, and the new release date.

Reading your concerns and replies about the delay on our forums I see, and understand, that many of you are concerned about the status of the game. I also see that many of you support our decision in pushing it back, since you have played enough MMO’s to understand. Like me, you know that the last stretch of polish is what makes or breaks our MMO straight-after-launch-first-impression. Like me, many of you know that making games is not an exact science. We are dealing with emotions, and fun, and technology and what have you.

Launching in March was our clear goal, even up to last week. As a listed company we are forced to deal with release dates in a different manner, especially since a lot of our value is based on Age of Conan. And whenever something changes, we need to inform the market first. Most of our people only found out this morning due to legal requirements. The final decision was something I and some of our key management people made over the weekend. The premise was simple. As we now moved into the home stretch, we took that last, long look at the state of the game. How would it be come March? Would it become like we intended it to be if we launched in March? The final word from our CEO came on Saturday evening, after we discussed this through the day. And here we are.

Let me be very clear about this; as opposed to our last pushback in August we are not about redesigning parts of the game this time around. Now we are on the final stretch, with the goal plain in sight. I have assured you before, but we are neither the first nor the last gaming company to add more development time to our game in the last stretch. That is not an excuse though, but ultimately it’s the quality which matters. That is the only yardstick which truly matters. This additional time is about hope. In only four more months you will know if we made the right move. I feel confident we have!

Yours truly,

Gaute