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

[Xerapis]

Joy.

Their login screen was so informative.

I didn't make it to actual character creation...more like, clicked on the create button and then got disconnected.

So nice of them to fix my authentication failure problem before ending it.

Well, at least I get my gigs back.

[Abelian75]

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

Yeah, actually the only nipples I've seen are from those accidental nipple-reveals while loading in the NPC models.  Which makes it even more amusing... it's like this whole technology implemented just so you can catch a quick glimpse of digital nipple if your machine is struggling to load models.

[Triforcer]

A thread I started on the AoC forums:  http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=89027

My favorite quote so far: 

if you played all these games you say you have then you should have played Shadowbane and you knw every server was FFA pvp no rules with inventory looting. and the ONLY reason that game is not popular today is because of the glitches and not the game play.

... sometimes I wonder why F13 people stay here, when 95% of us could find some random MMO board and become its undisputed intellectual powerhouse.   

[caladein]

... sometimes I wonder why F13 people stay here, when 95% of us could find some random MMO board and become its undisputed intellectual powerhouse.   

Eh, beating up retards, like beating up the homeless, gets old after a while.

[WindupAtheist]

A zillion kids who hear "PVP server" and think of what they got in WoW, thrown into what sounds like Shadowbane with tits.  God, I can't wait.  You'll be able to hear the screaming on the fucking moon.

[Merusk]

Hilarious fucking logic... "Those games are almost dead anyway, so they don't count as examples!" 

[IainC]

Trying to put down people that like FFA pvp by saying they dont go to school really doesnt make any sense lol. ur turn

Wow...

[Modern Angel]

Joy.

Their login screen was so informative.

I didn't make it to actual character creation...more like, clicked on the create button and then got disconnected.

So nice of them to fix my authentication failure problem before ending it.

Well, at least I get my gigs back.

You got the authentication failure because the beta had ended.

[HaemishM]

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!

 

Yeah, Saturday night's PVP gankfest pretty much killed any interest I had in the game.

Here's a great fucking idea. Let's make PVP FFA. Then, let's make everyone rez at the same spot when they die. Then, just for shits and giggles, let's not give the recently deceased and re-rezzed ANY IMMUNITY AT ALL, so they immediately load in and are getting dogfucked before their screen has even finished loading. And to top it all off, LET'S MAKE THEM LOSE EXPERIENCE WHEN THEY DIE.

Fuck you, Funcom. We learned these design lessons back in Shadowbane. These are the kinds of things that would make me play on a PVE server, and that would eventually bore me to fucking tears becuase no one would be doing any PVPing. Apparently, I'm just not hardcore enough.

EPIC FAIL.

[Mrbloodworth]

You guys do know that was only an event for the end of beta right? One would assume that if you turn a Pve server into a FFA, this would happen. This dosn't mean that the real FFA server would be set up different. I hope they are, because it did suck getting killed like that.

EDIT: loose experience? I'm not aware of this, i didn't see this. only thing death did was , well, you died, and then had a sort of sickness that would stack if you kept dieing, this is fixed by clicking on your tombstone.

[Signe]

That's why I'm playing on a PvE serveer.  There's still some PvP via the mini-games if you want, and I'm more interested in the sieging and city building than I am in the FFA PvP and PK'ing. What happened at the last day of beta event was crazy, but expected.  I figured Funcom just wanted to get as many people doing as many things as possible at the same time to gather data.

Having said that, I fully expect launch day to be a huge mess.  I EXPECT it!

[SnakeCharmer]

ANGER!!! HAEMISH SMASH FUNCOM stuff

You can still engage in PvP on the PvE servers.

[Merusk]

Upon further reading, it seems when you die you get a 1min timer at the respawn point that makes you immune (unless you enter combat/ click off the buff."   Now, the question is WHY didn't they turn that on for the event, to give folks a better feel for what the FFA servers will be like.  Seems short sighted and foolish to not have done that.

Regardless, fixed respawn points in a PVP game is  

There IS xp loss on PVP death, but from what I understand it's only for your PVP rank.  When I died, I'd see a "-200pvp xp"  message.  The kills I got were worth about 1k xp each, so you've got to really suck to "de-level" in pvp.

[Mrbloodworth]

Upon further reading, it seems when you die you get a 1min timer at the respawn point that makes you immune (unless you enter combat/ click off the buff."   Now, the question is WHY didn't they turn that on for the event, to give folks a better feel for what the FFA servers will be like.  Seems short sighted and foolish to not have done that.

Regardless, fixed respawn points in a PVP game is 

There IS xp loss on PVP death, but from what I understand it's only for your PVP rank.  When I died, I'd see a "-200pvp xp"  message.  The kills I got were worth about 1k xp each, so you've got to really suck to "de-level" in pvp.

Ah, PvP xp, thats different, and i didn't know about it, but then again, last day FFA beta event, i wasn't worried about it.

[Nija]

The real PVP servers are set up exactly the same way.

Even in the largest zones have, at most, half a dozen respawn points.

There is immunity, but everyone runs the same speed, everyone has stealth, and everyone has a 'see stealth' ability.

Also, I'm pretty sure if you mount up you break immunity. Or self buff.

List goes on and on.

[tazelbain]

Upon further reading, it seems when you die you get a 1min timer at the respawn point that makes you immune (unless you enter combat/ click off the buff."   Now, the question is WHY didn't they turn that on for the event, to give folks a better feel for what the FFA servers will be like.  Seems short sighted and foolish to not have done that.

Ya, seems like they were trying to generate large amounts of negative PR or they are brain dead.
It's funny to have to have cutscenes in a FFA server which basicly leaves you stunned.

[Falconeer]

ANGER!!! HAEMISH SMASH FUNCOM stuff

You can still engage in PvP on the PvE servers.

It's not even remotely the same.
In fact, if you ask a PVPer about it, he/she'll tell you that it's not PVP unless you can do it wherever you want in the game world.
This is all old by the way. There's a reason why they are called PVP servers (not zones).

If you can gank (or be ganked) then it's PVP.
If you can go into a specific zone to engage in some skirmishing with other players then it's CounterStrike/Team Fortress, or Trammel.

It goes back to DAoC actually. Why DAoC players used to think of themselves as PVP players beats me.

[tazelbain]

Those aren't PvPers; they are retards.

[Falconeer]

I'll gank you and steal your house key.

[Signe]

In fact, if you ask a PVPer about it, he/she'll tell you that it's not PVP unless you can do it wherever you want in the game world.

No, that's the answer you get when you ask a 14 year old boy.  You can have good PvP without the FFA mess that this game will have.  I wouldn't go near this game's FFA PvP servers even with someone else's ten foot pole.  They will be completely and utterly buggered up from the technical side and filled with idiots.  No thanks.

[HaemishM]

EDIT: loose experience? I'm not aware of this, i didn't see this. only thing death did was , well, you died, and then had a sort of sickness that would stack if you kept dieing, this is fixed by clicking on your tombstone.

Yes, you lose experience. I can confirm this from my many deaths 5 steps from the resurrection platform. I think clicking on the tombstone lessened my penalty, but there were so many tombstones around that I didn't bother try to find mine after the first 4 or so deaths.

[Modern Angel]

You do not lose normal experience.

[Falconeer]

Hey.

I won't go near this FFAPVP either for so many different reasons, mainly about the poor implementation of the what makes a good gankjob (or escaping it) worth it. My friends couldn't believe it when I told 'em we should forget about the PVP server in AoC.

But I stand by my loose definition of PVP. I know that you all just need to face another human to call it PVP.
I, on the other hand, think that such simplification makes Pong, NASL® Soccer on the Intellivision® and Age of Empires PVP games.
While that could be technically correct, I think the term "PVP" is the child of a different legacy.

What most of you people (and the DAOCers) want is a squad Based mini/macro-game in your medieval virtual world.
While a PVPer wants a virtual world where he/she can choose his/her own path.
But the challenge, and the consequences (absent in mini-gamed PVP), are the key factors. NOT the pure keke-ganking. That is the realm of the Retad! Who can fuck up your gaming experience or life in any shared space in the universe, virtual or not. 

Anyway who cares?
Those days are gone save for the latest Shadowbane, and I agree: so far Conan PVP servers are an unreasonable mess.

[Merusk]

EDIT: loose experience? I'm not aware of this, i didn't see this. only thing death did was , well, you died, and then had a sort of sickness that would stack if you kept dieing, this is fixed by clicking on your tombstone.

Yes, you lose experience. I can confirm this from my many deaths 5 steps from the resurrection platform. I think clicking on the tombstone lessened my penalty, but there were so many tombstones around that I didn't bother try to find mine after the first 4 or so deaths.

Oh, that was another failure on Funcom's part.  You're not supposed to generate a Tombstone from a death to pvp combat.  Yet you were in the event.   

[tazelbain]

Wanting a virtual world with FFA PVP is fine.  Redefining the word PvP to mean that is "True Scotsman" wankery of the highest order.

[HaemishM]

So Funcom has so far forgetten to fix some of the optimizations from closed to open beta, forgot to turn off tombstone generation on PVP for open beta, forgot to turn on the death immunity for PVP from closed to open beta. All of these things Funcom has forgotten.

And why is anyone expecting release to be a non-clusterfuck?

[Miasma]

So I'm downloading the headstart client (from a link funcom still hasn't emailed me) and it is currently poking along at 8kbps, it started at 500kbps for about twenty minutes.

And I need someone to confirm something for me - Funcom made us pay five bucks to cover the cost of downloading this thing but then they made it a bittorrent anyways and are leeching off my connection to upload to other people?

[Triforcer]

So Funcom has so far forgetten to fix some of the optimizations from closed to open beta, forgot to turn off tombstone generation on PVP for open beta, forgot to turn on the death immunity for PVP from closed to open beta. All of these things Funcom has forgotten.

And why is anyone expecting release to be a non-clusterfuck?

That's exactly why I want to be there AT release.  For sheer entertainment value, what better time is there to subscribe to any given MMO? 

[Nerf]

I'm figuring this is going to turn out like AC Darktide, the first 6 months or so are going to be great, with lots of clanhopping and fighting over resources.  Once everyone levels up and finds the exploits, the server will start to stagnate and eventually eat itself.

First 6 months should be great though!   

[Draegan]

EDIT: loose experience? I'm not aware of this, i didn't see this. only thing death did was , well, you died, and then had a sort of sickness that would stack if you kept dieing, this is fixed by clicking on your tombstone.

You have regular exp and PVP experience.  I believe the current ratio for PVP experience is 1:3 so for every PVP death you lose 3 PVP kills.  You can not lose regular pve experience.

Also you can lose a pvp sickness debuff by killing a lot of stuff.  "A lot" can mean 5 or 10 mobs at early levels, I have no idea if it scales.

Edit:  I should of read the rest of the page 1st!

[Draegan]

The real PVP servers are set up exactly the same way.

Even in the largest zones have, at most, half a dozen respawn points.

There is immunity, but everyone runs the same speed, everyone has stealth, and everyone has a 'see stealth' ability.

Also, I'm pretty sure if you mount up you break immunity. Or self buff.

List goes on and on.

It's not as bad as people say.  Each zone has multiple rez points and you can chose any of them each time you die so you don't keep going to the same one.

Everyone has stealth and the search skill.  But they are short term buffs with a cooldown.

Everyone is getting up in arms about this.

[Signe]

And why is anyone expecting release to be a non-clusterfuck?

Strange, isn't it?  I have expected a total game breaking bug-fest since they announced the game and still do.  I think I'd be disappointed if it wasn't.  In fact, I bet the pre-order launch is pure clusterfuckery which is repeated at the regular launch.  Maybe, if they pull a real Funcom on us, it'll  be completely unplayable from the 17th through the 20th.  Maybe even after! 

And I need someone to confirm something for me - Funcom made us pay five bucks to cover the cost of downloading this thing but then they made it a bittorrent anyways and are leeching off my connection to upload to other people?

Yes, I confirm that we are idiots.

[Brogarn]

I thought I left for the restroom 10 minutes ago but it appears I'm still at my desk where I started. I sense that Funcom is about to invade my life again. 

[tmp]

You have regular exp and PVP experience.  I believe the current ratio for PVP experience is 1:3 so for every PVP death you lose 3 PVP kills.  You can not lose regular pve experience.

Yet, anyway. Supposedly they are saving the "real" death penalty for the live game, some time down the road... because they're scared people would find it "too harsh". 

[Hellinar]

You have regular exp and PVP experience.  I believe the current ratio for PVP experience is 1:3 so for every PVP death you lose 3 PVP kills.  You can not lose regular pve experience.

I thought the idea was that everyone in a group gets full credit for a PvP kill. So if you are in group of six, and kill one opponent, the group as a whole it credited with six kills. Two people in the group  have to die before  the group as a whole is behind on the K/D ratio. That generates a huge incentive to be in group. And not to be in the most easily killed class.

Maybe I misread that though?