What Has Us So Excited For Age of Conan?
Saturday, May 17th, 2008 - 2:51pm
This week on the podcast we're going to be talking about hype and anticipation, especially in the context of the upswell of excitement about Age of Conan. I don't think we've seen this kind of support since WoW and much as much as I've been anticipating the game, it's not like Age of Conan is breaking the mold. It's just kind of ... stretching it in places.
So what gives? More than three years since the WoW launch, is there finally a larger desire for a new take? Just the effect of a new and shiny game? What is it about Age of Conan that has you chewing your nails waiting for early access? How long do you expect it to last?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
You know, I haven't looked at AoC at all. Maybe I should, just for the heck of it.
Unfortunately, if I slash my wrist with my lightsaber it cauterizes instantly. - PurEvil on emo Star Wars plots.
While growing up i was introduced to the idea of escaping into new worlds through books. First by the Hobbit and the LotR, but i began expanding out looking for others and stumbled upon Tarzan and then Conan by R.E. Howard. I thought i was getting away with something naughty after reading about Conan's exploits. So AoC is a chance to explore and participate in Hyboria that's been locked away in my imagination all these years.
Added to that they're making the game built around guilds and their player cities and battle keeps and allowing ffa pvp to fight for them. I get a huge amount of satisfaction from the chance to work with guild mates toward keeping or taking battle keeps. After being bored to tears from the WoW raiding/rep grind it is exciting to know that after i reach 80 there's something for me to do that wont be the same thing every week.
As for how long it'll last... Depends on Funcom. They have to prove alot after AO, but they seem to be making a solid effort. If they stay true to what they've been showing us the past couple of years this could turn into something lasting.
Gamer Tag: Rantyr
Personally, I've been following Age of Conan for years now. Ever since I saw it at E3 the first time, I've always believed that Funcom was trying to break away from some of the more typical MMORPG tropes while maintaining what gives the genre legs. The inevitable scaling back of some of their more radical early ideas (complete single player for first 20 levels) have happened, but I think they've maintained enough difference to excite me.
A more visceral, engaging combat system is probably what has me most eager to get started with playing without the inevitable character wipe. As someone who's never crawled outside the 40's in any MMO, the prospect of more involved combat is something that ratchets up the hype a little more than say, LOTRO did.
The same holds true for the presentation. The world, story, characters, voice acting, animations and atmosphere combine into one hell of a motivation to be in the world and explore. It doesn't help that I have a history with the Conan stories. Especially the black and white comics when I was a kid.
Finally, there's a certain momentum I think we all experience in a situation like this. Forums are unique in that they bring a kind of crowd mentality drawn over the span of weeks and months. A few strong voices can act as ring leaders, drawing dozens in with them. The prospect of not "going it alone" makes everything more exciting.
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
The sole reason I am this hyped and that I'm even starting to play AOC is because of this forum =P , you guys just managed to pull me in these past 7days.
WoW is great but it is so stagnant. They really should be putting more effort into cranking out the hero classes.
As much as I'm excited to play AoC I can't see it lasting longer than 6 months for me. Seige PvP is AoC's end game and I think Funcom is going to find that it doesn't have anywhere near the longevity of raiding or epic dungeons.
I also wonder where they are going to go to expand the game? Most of their classes have broad utility and the feat tree gives a lot more options. So, I'm not sure that adding more classes will provide that much of a boon. If Funcom adds more epic dungeons for level 80's you have to make a reason to go there. Often, that means better loot, which means you start to lose focus on the game not being an item grind. You can add more PvP areas and new shiny places to build keeps, but that runs the risk of segmenting your population which thins out the PvP population.
Being fangoriously devoured by a gelatinous monster.
For me, it really ramped up recently due to forum hype. But overall I've been looking forward to it because I love the Conan universe and I'm really looking for a more adult take on an MMO. By which I mean how everything is handled and how it looks. World of Warcraft has an art style that fits that game, but I've never liked it. It always felt too cartoony and didn't really appeal to me. LOTRO had a better art style but the game felt too much like WoW. I appreciate that Conan doesn't seem to be pulling any punches with how it's world, especially the brutality of the combat, is displayed.
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One thing that I dislike about WoW is that EVRYTHING has been done numerous times. When I started playing there was nothing new to explore or do that a million other people hadn't done. AoC is a chance to play a decent game and enter a NEW world where everything is fresh and exciting and my friends and I can be excited about what we are doing and not just "ho hum downed XXX for the XXX time again".
I remember when EQ2 first came out on the web pages you could find out if something new had been discovered or made and who did it and how many quests you and others did. It gave a much better sense of "explore and discover".
I don't think I've ever said this sentence before, but man would I love to hump that butterfly.-- KrazyTaco
One phone call and you're melting like butter over my kettle pop. -- Edwin to Mex
2005 GWJFFL2 Champion
I really like the setting of Conan. That's what has me most excited about playing the game. Also, the M rating is a big plus since it allows for a more realistic "Conanesque" environment.
WoW Baelgun: Omusa, Spits
I forgot to mention my number one reason for excitement is Slambie. I still haven't forgiven myself for pointing you to WoW
Certis beat me to it. - Elysium
For me, it's the setting (loved Conan as a kid, and it reminds me of the early D&D days), the promised guild-centric stretches to gameplay, and also the chance to start new in a fresh environment, in the company of many fine Goodjers. And nipples.
XBox Live / PSN: jonnypolite | WoW: Cait (Warlock) on Blackhand | Twitter
What am I looking forward to in AoC?
* Something new. Once you hit 70 in WoW (especially with 3 characters as I have), you realize you really have done it all except for Raiding. Raiding is a pretty big commitment and not casual friendly.
* A break from the required Item Grind. Doing 20 hours (or more) of raiding for a chance at one item starts to really wear thin after a while. Worse yet, it's in the same raids that I've been doing for 3 or 4 months.
* Greater challenge and interest in combat. WoW is a wonderful, relaxing, easy game. The only times it challenges me is when I do something unorthodox. Like Solo-Healing a full Karazhan run. Or proving I can heal a friend's tank who's half in greens through his first Heroic. Or healing through people moving during the wreath phase on Shade (twice!) and still pulling it off. Otherwise, it really lacks much effort or skill.
* A mature, graphically pleasing world. After taking my first spin in Beta, yes, it was worth dropping a few coins to upgrade the PCs we have here to run AoC at max.
* A world with history, plot, and a rich, gritty story.
* Interesting classes with a good mix of abilities and Spellweaving(!) for the pure casters. I can not express how much fun it was to play a character class that required you to pay attention to what you were doing and follow combat more closely. Combat felt intense and active. It was draining and refreshing, if that makes any sense.
* Better PvP on a greater scale. Battlekeeps and seige?!? Yes please!
* Guild City building. I didn't realize how much I would look forward to this until my interest in the game began building. Once I realized I was in, the idea of working together as Guild to build something permanent.. not just having a channel to chat in... was a very big plus in AoC's favor.
Honestly, I would probably not have noticed AoC that much (unless some friend recommended it eventually) had it not been for my wife's change in raid availability and the advent of summer. When we realized that we couldn't commit to the 20+ hours (all things inclusive) of raiding a week that is WoW, I started looking around. Once I got a taste of the Age of Conan, though... wow...
As to how long I will stay? That really depends on how stable the game is and how well supported it becomes. Perhaps WoW's greatest strength is the fan community. All the guildes, databases, theorycrafting, UI AddOns, and so forth are at least half of what make the World of Warcraft what it is. If AoC gets even half that kind of support, it will go a long way to making more than a short-term fad.
Beyond that, FunCom needs to stay on top of bugs, continue to support it, and continue to expand it.
If that happens, it will hold my attention until at least WotLK comes out.. then it's a question of what the End Game is like. That's impossible to guess at this point.
4E D&D Campaign: Valley of Shrouds
Steam Community: ShadeRaven
WAR: Dardynn, ShadeRaven (x2), Sunseeker
I might come back and clean this up a bit but here's a few quick takes on it:
- A combat system that feels brutal, gory, and most importantly makes you feel like a true warrior the minute you float up on to shore.
- A rich back story, drawing from an impressive heritage - but most importantly, it's a brutal and unforgiving (and scary) world. Each day WoW seems to cater to the kid/anime/casual crowd with Valentine's Day, etc events. It's getting very Hallmark/Disney. That is a huge draw to some, it is not so much with me anymore.
- It blurs the lines between "real" game and MMO. Well done cut-scenes pull you in like a real game would, instead of just skipping text to see the "Kill 1-10 Boars" quest tracker pop up.
- Absolutely gorgeous. I love WoW, I love the art style, but it is really showing it's age more than ever. I am glad to see something that looks more akin to what I'd be playing on my 360 or PS3.
- Outgrowing the gear grind. I'll be glad if this is the first step in the eventual deconstruction of the EQ gear grind model. I would like more game and less grinding in my MMO. Gear you've worked several months of grinding your ass off to achieve, only to find out it's pretty much nullified the next patch, is.. well.. annoying as hell.
I personally would love to see the death of the MMO in it's current state to usher in the new age of massively multiplayer without the archaic trappings and artificial grinds. The grind isn't what makes the game special, it's having 30 or so of your friends around to jump into a game with you at any point. After messing with GTA4's open multiplayer mode, even that is a step in the right direction - one big sandbox that you and ALL of your friends can hop into. Hell, even playing 16 player co-op with other Goodjers when Ghost Recon came out for the 360 was easily up there with any raid experience I've had in WoW - the difference being I could just hop in and go, without having to grind hundreds of hours of gear to be able to hang with the cool kids.
Now I'm not saying there won't be parts of Conan that will stink. I'm expecting a plethora of bugs, crashes, and I fully expect there to be some of that archaic grind in place. But, I like what I've seen so far, and if this is one of the first steps in the right direction, I fully support where it's headed - and hope it's a wake up call to developers to colour outside of the EQ lines until we've all but forgotten them.
XBL/Swat R2 SPORE/Swatr2 WAR/Nephlokan
Bingo! I grew to loathe the Christmassy Valentiney crappity Disneyland events in WoW. Nothing against the real life holidays, but for me they had zero place in Azeroth.
Other than that, grinding for the same gear as everybody else in the same place as everyone else is a real turnoff for me.
my vote cancels out yours
Yeah. The real kicker was busting my ass to grind out the S2 Warlock set - only to be standing around waiting for BG/Arena queues - looking at everyone else in the same goddamned set. Not to say I imagine any game to be truly unique (well, except for City of Heroes/Villains of course) but at least some sort of variation should be in place so everyone doesn't end up wearing the exact same items. I'm all for multiple sets that look badass in their own rights, but with very similar stats. Choose what you want to wear, don't let the devs tell you what to wear!
XBL/Swat R2 SPORE/Swatr2 WAR/Nephlokan
I am drawn because of the combat. Its a fresh take on mmo style combat in a fantasy setting. For me, I was never going to play another mmo cause the core gameplay, if its the same as every other game, I would rather not get into it. Thats why I didnt like LOTRO that much, seemed too similar to WOW.
Being a big fan of the Savage Sword of Conan magazine I just want to see the people and the places I've read about oh so long ago. Also since it is a mature mmo I'm hoping they can get really gritty and seedy with some of the storylines. If they have any quest that will make me stop and really think about the outcome, and what it reflects on me that will be awesome.
Plus I destroyed my 360 elite, and need a new time sink...
Community Community Community.
In a FFA world no factions you have your friends to have your back and that is it. For to long MMOs have lumped you with every joe dick and harry who happens to roll your faction or realm etc.
Now you can be selective of who you call an ally.
Certis said it best with the following.
That really has me amped about this.
lancejt wrote:
LOL. I hold you completely responsible for messing with 20 years of single player gaming. There's no turning back now.
WoW Baelgun: Omusa, Spits
Why do I want to play Age of Conan ...
To kill my enemies, to see them driven before me, to hear the screams and lamenting of thier women.
.........................................
My wife and I are still (more or less) coming in from DAoC where we've been running around in the frontiers fighting RvR for years now. I enjoyed it, my wife thoroughly enjoyed RvR, and we had fun in DAoC -- but DAoC was dying. It's getting older, servers are consolidating and folding, Mythic sold out to Electronic Arts -- EA is focusing on Warhammer, etc. and they're sending DAoC into maintenance.
So we moved to WoW. And WoW's nice sure. But I could already see it was becoming a rep struggle. My wife and I were terribly behind the guild curve coming into WoW several years behind most players, etc. So we couldn't do many events with folks - except sometimes when they happened to be on their alts/twinks. In the battlefields - folks already had dedicated BG twinks, and had been playing them for years too - etc. It was an uphill battle for us in WoW, and the primary reason we were there was to play with some friends.
Well, if those friends want to come to AoC - I think it's an IDEAL chance to get everyone off on equal footing again, new game, new world -- and it looks fun as hell to me. Conan is something I'm very familiar with, through books, movies, comics, even the "old" play-by-mail Conan strategy game before there were computers or an internet.
Yeah, folks signed up to play Conan via snail-mail letter, and plan moves, and maneuver around in Hyboria fighting, and sometimes Conan himself would show up. How's that for showing my age ...
How's that for reasons. I like the RvR (guild v. guild) aspects of this game, and the crafting system where you can build an entire guild city ... damn - I'm impressed.
In DAoC I had 16 characters who were all completely maxxed out, best gear, highest level, highest master level, and Realm Rank 9+. Give me a game I like, and I'll toss some hours into it. I'm planning to enjoy Conan.
Cleachdadh mi fo m' féileadh dé tha an m' osan.
I'll put it like this:
Years ago, when I was forced to sit around a table with stinky humans and put in my turns by voice chat and dice rolls, I envisioned a 3D world where I was playing with the same humans, sans stinky corpse. I wanted to run around a highly detailed world, get all the excitement of Rolemaster's endless damage tables and be able to leave my mark on the current campaign setting. With Conan, it's finally putting into place a more action-rpg-oriented combat system as well as a top-notch graphics engine in an adult setting. If I'm going to drag around a four foot sword and full plate, I'll be damned if there's no blood or decapitation. If I'm a giant barbarian drunk in the bar, and there are girls there, "I wanna do them!"
Reasons why conan is something I've been waiting for:
-well done, large scale siege warfare is about as good as it gets for fantasy rpg pvp.
-collision detection in an mmo is always something of an empty promise and it seems like conan is going to be able to implement it to the best I've seen. (auto assault would be the other)
-speech over text saves me a lot of reading, and allows me to run to the other room for a bio while an ancient sage dribbles out some more plot. Thank you THX 5.1, though I'm sure the apartment above me hates it.
-the conan world is another deep well to draw content from. Why reinvent the wheel? (EQ, WoW)
-=<
Let this be the hour that we draw swords together.
Fell deeds await.
Now for wrath.
Now for ruin.
And the red dawn
>=-
As a huge Conan comic collector, I remember the ads in the back of issues in the late 80's for this stuff. I was a little on the young side to play any of it though, spending all my dollars to get the 3 or 4 conan titles each month.
My favorite issue, which I feel is quintessential Conan, he spends half an issue fighting with a sword through his forearm, and still gets the girl. Perhaps that's why I've enjoyed Cerebus the aardvark so much.
-=<
Let this be the hour that we draw swords together.
Fell deeds await.
Now for wrath.
Now for ruin.
And the red dawn
>=-
It's like moving to a new city. I've lived in this city, called WoW, and it was a great place to grow up. It's probably the greatest city (certainly the largest) in the world. However, it's still possible to get into a rut, regardless of how cool your neighborhood is, and how cool the people are (and that point is truly debatable at times).
Now I've hitched up the horse and wagon, and I'm heading west. I want to be a part of building something new. I'm looking for a new homestead, and building a new community with like-minded folks. We are talking about Age of Conan here, so we're not planning to settle in Salt Lake City. Think Sacramento, or maybe Tombstone.
It's a brave new world and I'm pretty excited about exploring it.
WAR - Crunchy & Hummer (Order), Healchucka (Chaos)
I get stoked for new MMORPGs in general, but this one has me super stoked. I love the conan universe and they've really done it justice. The mature setting and grittiness is a welcome change. The combat is also engaging, though after time it might just feel like another click fest.
Mostly it's just a new shiney, and boy is it shiney! Also, the fact that the GWJ crew is hitting it full force only makes it twice as exciting.
Really looking forward to the guild cities and seige stuff, as well.
I've got nothing much to contribute, since LOTRO's my thing, but I want to thank Certis for asking this exact question. My other online gaming home, SeasonedGamers, tends to get excited like this for games like COD4, and it's really interesting drawing the comparisons; I think there's more similarity than difference despite the fact that the ways the two sorts of game-world are put together are so different.
I think the combination of exploration and community is very heady, the more so when the place to be explored is literally built to fulfill explorers' fantasies, whether of glory or of treasure.
ou gar dokein aristos, all' einai thelei
http://livingepic.blogspot.com: where Classics and gaming meet
Fuelling the flames beneath the bubbling cauldron of life.... Oh cr*p!!!
This is the first time since my days in EQ that I've been stumped as to what class I would play. After playing in the PVP weekend event, I saw that all of the classes seemed fun due to the changes in combat. I think the main reason for my excitement is simply due to not feeling pigeonholed into any one class in particular.
It's like pokemon syndrome, I want to have them all.
XBox Live Gamertag: Lancejt | Zune | SteamID
PSN ID: Lancejt
A lot has changed since the PvP weekend. It is even harder now to decide which character to play.
Being fangoriously devoured by a gelatinous monster.
Isn't that the truth!
I had never tried Guardian before yesterday, but in just a day of playing, I already love the class. I'd really like to try Assassin or Barbarian next, but I am afraid I will find them equally as fun and then I'll be trying to find out ways to play yet another character.
4E D&D Campaign: Valley of Shrouds
Steam Community: ShadeRaven
WAR: Dardynn, ShadeRaven (x2), Sunseeker
Dude, I own all of the comics. I love those things...in fact, I think I'm going to go ahead and pull those out and start reading them during the downtime on the server.
Well, Cooking Mama didn't help me become a better cook, and Trauma Center certainly didn't help me become a better surgeon. I have the proof of both sitting in my freezer. -- imbiginjapan
Until Conan wears pink - make mine Marv... err AoC!
The artwork changes from the original Barry Windsor Smith stuff, to Ernie Chan and those guys was an interesting progression. BWS had some absolutely stunning close shots. Also fun was dating the magazines by how the girls were dressed. More clothing meant conservative RL culture, and the opposite as well.
But to answer the question:
I have been a fan of both Howard and Lovecraft since about my third novel read, 20-some years ago. There was no option, and I don't usually subscribe to game hype, but this one hooked me. I have all this stuff in the back of my brain, and I am almost glad I didn't dig up books, because it is so much better to 'sort of' remember, and see it as someone else imagined it.
AoC: Another game I never hit the level cap.
CoX: Back on! Villains and IO's are fun. Liberty server.