Age of Conan Beta

[sam, an eggplant]

Yes, you are profoundly lacking in imagination.

[Venkman]

Another goddamned dungeon, another goddamned raid. The things that are interesting about AoC are the things they haven't really been showing much of. The UI (which got a few seconds), the sheer size of the cities, the economy. You'd think having been in this genre for so long, Funcom would know that showing yet-another-dungeon-crawl is only good for the few minutes you want to dedicate to your gaga graphics engine. Otherwise, it's just going to show yet again that there's no real collision detection and the outcome is driven by dice.

It reminds me of the TR videos. This genre needs an influx of video Directors.

[cmlancas]

Another goddamned dungeon, another goddamned raid. The things that are interesting about AoC are the things they haven't really been showing much of. The UI (which got a few seconds), the sheer size of the cities, the economy. You'd think having been in this genre for so long, Funcom would know that showing yet-another-dungeon-crawl is only good for the few minutes you want to dedicate to your gaga graphics engine. Otherwise, it's just going to show yet again that there's no real collision detection and the outcome is driven by dice.

It reminds me of the TR videos. This genre needs an influx of video Directors.

How about a FRAPS or whatever-equivalent contest between everyone in the closed-beta. Winner gets a free year sub or something. Then put all the best videos together and tada!

[sam, an eggplant]

There is no closed beta for AoC yet, so that would be hard. But in general, yeah, that's the way to go.

[tkinnun0]

Oh, and you did catch the part where they gave the player 99999 health and a 700% damage multiplier, or some such, so he could solo the content for the demo's purpose, yes?

That sounds fun! I wish more games would let you do that.

[Falconeer]

WTF is this?!

[Oban]

Maybe someone confused the Pirates<->SOE announcement with Conan?

[Falconeer]

Or maybe SOE is now used to keep unruly children at bay. "If you don't stop whining now and go wash your hands I'll call SOE and will have them acquire your favourite MMORPG!"

[SnakeCharmer]

Or maybe SOE is now used to keep unruly children at bay. "If you don't stop whining now and go wash your hands I'll call SOE and will have them acquire your favourite MMORPG!"

Heh.

That'd keep me inline.

Speaking of SOE, I'm tempted to put together a re-review of SWG...

[Venkman]

No.

On the AoC/SOE thing, I love this part:

You bought a second hand mmo and expected the game key to be unused... I can't even begin to work out how your brain works.

[SnakeCharmer]

There is no closed beta for AoC yet, so that would be hard. But in general, yeah, that's the way to go.

Where did you get that info?

According to this, they went closed beta last summer, and are now in 'technical' and 'general' beta.  They started accepting beta apps in April this year.

[sam, an eggplant]

Actually reading your link, I guess it's accurate. I suppose it depends on how you define closed beta.

[Falwell]

My guild is also in the "Christ AoC, please don't suck" camp. WoW burnout is in full effect and it's definitely time for a change. Signaled by the fact that I'm logging in for no other reason than to make sure guild goings on are in good shape, and it feels like work. Cue Big Audio Dynamite.

The major problem for us has been that we want people to be hopeful for AoC and the features it has, but the big ticket items that we are drooling over are, in fact, all MIA. Call me crazy, but at this point (actually well before this point) to hold back any and all details on these features at this late in development shows me nothing but a red flag. That red flag being a release feature cut, or another delay. For now, I'm inclined to lean towards the former.

It's getting harder and harder to try and "sell" my guildmates on AoC. Something the game should be doing for itself.

/doomandgloom off

[Slayerik]

My guild is also in the "Christ AoC, please don't suck" camp. WoW burnout is in full effect and it's definitely time for a change. Signaled by the fact that I'm logging in for no other reason than to make sure guild goings on are in good shape, and it feels like work. Cue Big Audio Dynamite.

The major problem for us has been that we want people to be hopeful for AoC and the features it has, but the big ticket items that we are drooling over are, in fact, all MIA. Call me crazy, but at this point (actually well before this point) to hold back any and all details on these features at this late in development shows me nothing but a red flag. That red flag being a release feature cut, or another delay. For now, I'm inclined to lean towards the former.

It's getting harder and harder to try and "sell" my guildmates on AoC. Something the game should be doing for itself.

/doomandgloom off

Sounds very similar. They don't seem to want to show the stuff that we're all interested in. I'm growing weary , but remain hopeful.

[Hound]

If this game releases Oct 31 with everything advertised and in polished condition I will be shocked. I have a feeling that if they release this year it will make Vanguard's release look good. Put me on record as predicting massive graphic lag, lack of content, and buggy game play. A few months ago I was more of a AoC fan than a WAR one, but now I am thinking my next MMORPG purchase will have a Mythic label on it.

[waylander]

I thought AOC was being delayed until Q-1 of 2008?

We're watching AOC and Warhammer, but don't know which one we're gonna go for. If AOC has massive character grind, then we'll probably just go to Warhammer.

[sam, an eggplant]

I just don't see how they could launch a polished title in 3 months without having even started closed beta testing. I also suspect that the release will be delayed.

Warhammer on the other hand looks like it's going to be HUGE. Nobody's breaking NDA, but their promotional and marketing materials are incredibly well done. That british producer guy Paul is just brimming with enthusiasm. Not only is he a fantastic evangelist for the title, but he also goes into detail on mythic's innovations in the genre, showing how they really understand and are addressing other games' failings. Really looking forward to it.

[palmer_eldritch]

I just don't see how they could launch a polished title in 3 months without having even started closed beta testing. I also suspect that the release will be delayed.

Warhammer on the other hand looks like it's going to be HUGE. Nobody's breaking NDA, but their promotional and marketing materials are incredibly well done. That british producer guy Paul is just brimming with enthusiasm. Not only is he a fantastic evangelist for the title, but he also goes into detail on mythic's innovations in the genre, showing how they really understand and are addressing other games' failings. Really looking forward to it.

Yeah, if anyone hasn't seen Paul Barnett talking about Warhammer, look here - enthusiastic doesn't begin to describe it. And he does make it sound like great fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWvAznIRVLA

[sam, an eggplant]

That's not a bad example, but I like him in his british punk getup with the wide rimmed sunglasses. Check out the podcast #7 here. Not only is Paul a great presenter, but the video has a ton of info about how the game works. EA/mythic is doing an unparalleled job with marketing. Only blizzard could beat it with their non-NDA closed beta.

Sorry for derailing from AoC, but we don't really know much about AoC, do we?

[Xuri]

Funcom and Eidos announce new release date for Age of Conan (Again).

The new date? 25th of March, next year.

[Nerf]

Funcom and Eidos announce new release date for Age of Conan (Again).

The new date? 25th of March, next year.

I vote we nuke those swedish cocksuckers.  Motherfucking sons of donkey ass raping bitches.

[Montague]

Funcom and Eidos announce new release date for Age of Conan (Again).

The new date? 25th of March, next year.

I vote we nuke those swedish cocksuckers.  Motherfucking sons of donkey ass raping bitches.

What, you WANT another Vanguard? Be thankful game companies are seeing the light, finally.

[Tarami]

I vote we nuke those swedish cocksuckers.  Motherfucking sons of donkey ass raping bitches.

Duh, get your facts right. It is not Swedes that ass-rape donkeys. We got the mightily surperior elks. We leave the donkey-loving to the Norwegians, so you were half right.

What, you WANT another Vanguard? Be thankful game companies are seeing the light, finally.

On the other hand, Vanguard was delayed for ages too. Delays, as far as my experience goes, means -nothing- for the quality of the game. It just means they realise it's still shit/incomplete, not that they will be able to clean it up before the next release date. There's a reason it was delayed to begin with, which usually spells incompetence or unrealistic goals. The former which they've proved before and the latter AoC seems to bolster.

[Slayerik]

This is no shocker, really.

I'm a little bummed, but at the same time I didn't realistically expect them to make their release date anyways. Another 6 months of development CANT hurt.

[Bandit]

Anyone have an idea on specs to run AoC?  I assume it will drop my current computer to its knees ala Vanguard, so I am in no rush for it to be released right away.  I am excited for the game based on Robert E. Howard lore alone.

[Slayerik]

According to an E3 demo, one of the Funcom guys said 'Oblivion playable machines' is their target. Obviously, if you want the DX10 and all the bells and whistles you will need a monster. I think it would be playable on the machines described above, just not gorgeous.

[cmlancas]

I'd be willing to guess that anything that isn't around 3400+/2GB/7000+ or the P4/ATI equivalents will choke a bit.

That's pretty standard middling to low-end nowadays.

[sam, an eggplant]

We should all be overjoyed it was delayed. AoC still isn't in closed beta as of today. With an additional 5 months of testing and development the title has an outside chance to not totally fucking suck. Funcom just got additional funding last month, so they can afford the delay. This is a good thing.

[SnakeCharmer]

UGH.

Damnit.  March??  It's not as if we didn't know it was coming, but damnit.  And yeah, it's probably a good thing, doesn't mean I have to like it though. 

*shakefist*

[Venkman]

Guys, this is Funcom. They have more than just other games with which to compete. They have their own past. They very much do not want a repeat of AO. And they can't even afford to just have it playable in the first month. They need at least EQ2 quality day one (better gameplay plzk) or the anyone who follows these games will bury the web in "they haven't learned shit since AO"-like posts.

And personally, I think it's better to NOT launch at Christmas unless you have a huge attention-grabbing IP. There's too many distractions. Better to launch when nobody else is. Or around one of the mini-Christmas-for-videogame periods like, say, GDC :)

[sam, an eggplant]

I really don't think their primary concern is the diaspora of LtM dogging their footsteps. Posts on web forums and such don't actually matter. Primarily, they want to release a successful game. And as we've all learned, first impressions are critical.

[HaemishM]

I'm sure it isn't LtM-diaspora sites so much as just general word-of-mouth they want to avoid. AO was a monumental clusterfuck of a release, and it wasn't just rant sites that knew it. That shit stuck with them and the stigma is still there on AO, even if it's diminished. That same stigma still sticks to WWII Online.

A delay is a good thing, so long as they use that time to make sure AO isn't repeated.

[SnakeCharmer]

Been reading their forums, and holy hell poop on a stick people are going apeshit.  Yeah, I was whining about it being delayed, mostly because I was really looking forward to it, but understand the necessity of the delay and I've already gotten over it.  But damn, some of those people have really lost it.

[Merusk]

Been reading their forums, and holy hell poop on a stick people are going apeshit.  Yeah, I was whining about it being delayed, mostly because I was really looking forward to it, but understand the necessity of the delay and I've already gotten over it.  But damn, some of those people have really lost it.

This the first MMO delay you've seen the official forums for, then?   It's been like that, along with contrasting "OMG they're fucked, this means it sucks hard, they can't fix it!"  and "Omg they're just going to make it that much BETTER now, SEE!!" posts, for every game I've ever seen.  Including WoW.

And yes, it's not the disapora at all. We're such a minority that we've been irrelevant ever since '01.  That doesn't mean that others don't share the opinion that AO sucked balls.  Ask in the global/ general chat of a few MMOs sometime.

[Rasix]

Anyone have an idea on specs to run AoC?  I assume it will drop my current computer to its knees ala Vanguard, so I am in no rush for it to be released right away.  I am excited for the game based on Robert E. Howard lore alone.

It's going to be on the 360 also.  I might wait a week or two before picking it up.  If any company can brick my 360, it's Funcom.