Age of conan, Open beta: May 1st 2008.

[Triforcer]

It would be unthinkable to roll anything but an assassin on an FFA server, imho.  Stealth rules all. 

[Threash]

Every class has stealth.

[Nija]

Well the FFA pvp beta is going *splendidly*.  Who'd have thought a game with set-respawn places and FFAPVP would turn into a "stand around and gank the rezzers" debacle.  Not Funcom, that's for sure!

 

That sums up how they approached every single one of the games systems. They're making game design errors everyone here saw 4+ years ago. All over the place.

Funny in a car wreck kind of way.

[Triforcer]

http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=86867&page=4

That thread pretty much sums it up.  But it'll be ok, because according to the thread, the only reason ganking is happening in FFA PvP is because its beta, and once its live people will care about their reputation and not gank and anyway player policing will work.

I guess in an industry catering to mostly 14-15 year olds, nobody can ever truly learn because your customer base never really ages 

[Merusk]

That thread is fucking CLASSIC.  Goddamn it's like half those people never, EVER experienced a PVP realm, much less an FFA pvp realm in their lives.  Must've rolled into the genre with WoW and thought Battlegrounds/ Arenas were what World PvP would be like. 

[tmp]

I really like this concept how killing people on FFA server would somehow earn these who do it bad reputation, and so they'll obviously refrain from doing that in live game. 

[Signe]

It's probably very likely that those 17, 18 whatever year olds who can play AoC started their MMO playing with WoW.  Those people in that thread are one of the reasons I wouldn't get anywhere on a FFA PvP server.  I'm slow enough without all that and I want to have a guild town and stuff before the game puts me to sleep.

Also...  is what went through my mind reading that thread.

[HRose]

I don't see what these noob players should learn.

FFA servers without any structure are a bad idea, and they will remain so. It's the game designers that at this point should have learned something, not the players.

Then, of course, you've got a choice. Let's see how popular will be those servers post release. FFA servers are fun till there are noobs to gank, when the noobs are done those servers will become ghost towns.

[KallDrexx]

rofl, I love all the people who go "it won't be like this at release."

I remember being bored so I rolled a toon on Mordred over 3 years after DAOC was released.  I spawned in the starter city outside the main town (forgot the name) with a level 1 toon.  Even though no one could attack me (you couldn't attack someone until they were level 10) many people tried even though they saw that I was WAY lower level than them.

Nothing will change at release, and thinking that it will is retarded.

[SnakeCharmer]

Rumor has it that if you have an SLI system, you can force SLI mode by selecting "Force Alternate Frame Rendering 2" via nTune giving drastically increased performance - as in 20+ fps over the usual...

YMMV.

[Engels]

Once AO stabilized, it did have one of the most fun PVP systems available at the time, with no spawn camping, and a way to get back into the fight from a safe distance. They have done this before, for years.

FunCom did make a big woops by letting this stress test be a full on PVP event, but it smells to me like it was an idea from some moronic marketing exec who had to have their way.

[ShenMolo]

It would be unthinkable to roll anything but an assassin on an FFA server, imho.  Stealth rules all. 

Agreed. If your visible your gonna be a target. I'll be playing a Ranger, stealth and range FTW.

Every class has stealth.

I could never get my non-stealth classes to actually Hide..i put full points into it and always got the "Your too low to hide in this area" or "find more shadows". I much prefer the stealth class insta-hide in broad daylight option. Also I think non-stealthers cannot move when hiding, but never was able to actually hide so I couldn't test this.

[photek]

It would be unthinkable to roll anything but an assassin on an FFA server, imho.  Stealth rules all. 

Agreed. If your visible your gonna be a target. I'll be playing a Ranger, stealth and range FTW.

Every class has stealth.

I could never get my non-stealth classes to actually Hide..i put full points into it and always got the "Your too low to hide in this area" or "find more shadows". I much prefer the stealth class insta-hide in broad daylight option. Also I think non-stealthers cannot move when hiding, but never was able to actually hide so I couldn't test this.

They can move and I got it to work with my Herald of Xotli. You move very slow though.

[Venkman]

I don't see what these noob players should learn.

FFA servers without any structure are a bad idea, and they will remain so. It's the game designers that at this point should have learned something, not the players.

Triforcer wasn't talking about the players.

If your target age target never changes, then you think you're always designing for a certain type of player... which usually translates into how you were at that age. So, besides the fact that you're probably off because this generations teens are different from your generation's teens, you're also probably blinded by what you think they know about where they come from game-wise.

Once AO stabilized

That's the problem. Aside from the tech, AO benefited by being the fourth big MMO at a time when anything coming along was going to attract attention. Whatever gameplay emerged thereafter has more to do with the community than anything Funcom specifically did. And yet in this case, they're trying to program it in.

No doubt to big success, according to that thread 

[Xerapis]

Okay, my experience in beta so far:

Authentication Failure.

[palmer_eldritch]

One bizarre thing they have done is to announce that there will be an official roleplaying server, but it will have the PvP ruleset. You can make a good argument that real roleplaying in the Conan universe requires full-on PvP, but one that only works in theory rather than in practice in my opinion. Encouraging roleplayers to roll on a server where a level 80 can slaughter your level 20 as they are talking to an NPC, and then head off to the nearest spawn point to see if you respawn there, is asking for wailing and gnashing of teeth.

[Lantyssa]

One bizarre thing they have done is to announce that there will be an official roleplaying server, but it will have the PvP ruleset. You can make a good argument that real roleplaying in the Conan universe requires full-on PvP, but one that only works in theory rather than in practice in my opinion. Encouraging roleplayers to roll on a server where a level 80 can slaughter your level 20 as they are talking to an NPC, and then head off to the nearest spawn point to see if you respawn there, is asking for wailing and gnashing of teeth.

This is why I think my attempt to play on one of these servers is doomed to failure.

[Sir T]

http://forums.ageofconan.com/showpost.php?p=1981693&postcount=11

Also, for the guys that think it will get worse as people hit lvl 80, I think the endgame content should be enough to keep them busy. Not to forget also, that the pvp is open at every level, and I bet there wil be at least as much people ganking the gankers, than gankers themselves.

If anything, it will only cause major fights at the foot of the noobs town, which is a wonderful way to show to these newbs the content they are up to once they reach lvl 80 actually.

All positive!

 

[Abelian75]

...If your visible your gonna be...

...Your too low to hide in this area...

Man, normally I can restrain my inner grammar nazi, but DAMN, I just couldn't this time.  The improper-'your'-to-total-words ratio is off the CHARTS here.

[ShenMolo]

...If your visible your gonna be...

...Your too low to hide in this area...

Man, normally I can restrain my inner grammar nazi, but DAMN, I just couldn't this time.  The improper-'your'-to-total-words ratio is off the CHARTS here.

Damn! Your right, I was being pretty lazy there.

 I'm trying to make "your" the new "cuz".

[rk47]

[Signe]

I barely notice anymore.  I type faster than I think a lot and make tons of errors.  I expect the people who point it out all the time were not breast fed as children.  Which is also probably why they're playing a game with nipples.  See?  It all makes sense now.   Albelian75 just had a momentary nipple lapse.  Some people on the innerhoops need SERIOUS nipple therapy. 

[photek]

I barely notice anymore.  I type faster than I think a lot and make tons of errors.  I expect the people who point it out all the time were not breast fed as children.  Which is also probably why they're playing a game with nipples.  See?  It all makes sense now.   Albelian75 just had a momentary nipple lapse.  Some people on the innerhoops need SERIOUS nipple therapy. 

Say, that is quite a nice avatar you got there 

[Engels]

I think its Hello Conan Kitty. Jade nipples on the outside of the vest and everything.

[Miasma]

Okay, my experience in beta so far:

Authentication Failure.

I think it's over now.

[Threash]

Okay, my experience in beta so far:

Authentication Failure.

The patch notes said open beta was over.

[Abelian75]

I expect the people who point it out all the time were not breast fed as children.  Which is also probably why they're playing a game with nipples.  See?  It all makes sense now.   Albelian75 just had a momentary nipple lapse.

I've never really had the courage to ask whether or not I was breast-fed, so unfortunately I can't prove you wrong on that.

Tangentially, I've noticed in AoC that occasionally when an NPC model is being loaded you'll sometimes see it briefly flash on your screen without clothes on, resulting in an occasional glimpse of bare nipple on female characters, which I find absolutely hilarious for some reason (something about technical glitching resulting in scandal amuses me).  Perhaps I will hereafter refer to this phenomenon as "nipple lapse."

[lac]

I've been playing quite a lot of age of conan and I haven't seen a single nipple.

Since I'm rather accustomed to seeing nipples, I figured I'd do an extra check and run around all the NPC's in tortage and check their nipple status.
Unfortunately I saw none.

Being one those guys who enjoys a good boob once in a while, even if it's as pixelated as it has to be, I have to wonder. Where are all those nipples?

[Signe]

I think Merusk took everyone's nipples.   

[Draegan]

Anyone signing up for the Early Access?  I got it today and I couldn't find a client download link.  However they are supposedly emailing it to you.  Anyone know if there is another source?  A correct source?

[Khaldun]

I've been playing quite a lot of age of conan and I haven't seen a single nipple.

Since I'm rather accustomed to seeing nipples, I figured I'd do an extra check and run around all the NPC's in tortage and check their nipple status.
Unfortunately I saw none.

Being one those guys who enjoys a good boob once in a while, even if it's as pixelated as it has to be, I have to wonder. Where are all those nipples?

Isn't there an early quest to collect 50 nipples? I think that's the issue: slow respawn rate of nipples on mobs. They need to increase the nipple spawn rate.

[Signe]

Allegedly, they email you when your payment is approved and the link will appear on your account page under payment history or something.  Not entirely sure.  Of course, the last time they said they'd email about the open beta, no one got one.  I think they suck at email.  People are complaining about the "pending" status on their account page.  Some people have received the download link but not an email.  Other's have the email and the link.  Who knows what Funcom are doing?  In any case, you could always use the link people posted on the official site, much to Funcom's supposed chagrin.     http://funcom.cachefly.net/AoC-EU-EarlyAccess.exe  or http://funcom.cachefly.net/AoC-US-EarlyAccess.exe depending on where you are.  Funcom doesn't seem to be very chagrined over it as they left the posts with the link up.  It doesn't appear to be a keylogger, imo.   

Of course, you could just wait.  You can't play until the 17th in any case.

[Merusk]

I think Merusk took everyone's nipples.   

I did.. and I'm hoarding them.

Here's one
Here's another.

NSFW if you fear topless CGI from AoC.

[Xerapis]

I was definitely breast-fed.  Mom used to tell women with newborns all about how I used to bite the hell out of her nipples.  Right in front of me.  It wasn't embarrassing at all.

My experience continues:

No more authentication failure!

Now I just lose connection every time I try to create a character.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO spending my money on this!!!

[Merusk]

My experience continues:

No more authentication failure!

Now I just lose connection every time I try to create a character.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOO spending my money on this!!!

Erm.. you missed it. It ended 23 hours ago.  I'm surprised you even made it to character creation.