General Discussion

hmm...

i dont mind the aoc zonce concept that much.

as for exploring there are zones that absolutely stunned me the first time i ventured there (thunder river for example). the zones arent big but in themselves beautifull.

i think that people also have to see that aoc is a story/quest driven game and not a sandbox.
agreeably there is to little story in it to justify lets say more then 100h of gameplay but conan is not a grinder where you venture into the woods, look for a place where wolves spawn and kill them for the next 20h to gain a level.

by showing only hotspots/points of interests they do what every other form of entertainment would do showing you only the temple and the nazi hideout in an indiana jones moie but not the 20h of continental flight.

to me the outsides zones make sense, especially the fact that you take wagoneers/caravans to venture to another spot. if you look at it from a realism perspective everything else wouldnt have made sense.
in lineage2 (and probably in wow and war as well) i can venture on foot thrue 5 different clima zones visiting 4 capitol cities in one game day from icy mountains to hot deserts.
in aoc you venture to an area to play out your story there. for me it would have been a clear break with the conan world if i would exit tarantia on horseback to end up in keshata in a few game-hours ride.

as for exploration, yes there hopefully will be more and bigger zones to discover/explore in the future but i dont see how a seamingless world that spans all the landmass of the conan universe could work

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

Why would you pick a topic that the game is clearly not about?

Should he have picked PvP for his article? Oh, wait. That's mostly either broken or not even implemented yet.
 

PvE? Oh, wait. That's mostly bugged or lacking in content.

So tell us, Mrbloodworth. What was he supposed to write his article about in your opinion?

"You know I have seen the 800k with only 415k still active (yea you missed 15k people) thrown about as the demise of AoC for a week or so now. It is utter crap, AoC is not floundering nor can it be considered a failure, yet."

What a load of nonsense.  Those figures were of June 30, NOT August.  Conservative opinion posts current playerbase at under 200k and falling.  Next time read the fine print that came along with the numbers. 

No matter what Funcom adds to the game, it won't be enough.  War and Wow will just remove a good portion of their remaining playerbase this fall.  Big server merges will be announced at the first of the year.

I am just very saddened by their extremely poor implementation of such a legendary genre.   Looking pretty is just not enough, it has to be combined with good gameplay.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

"You know I have seen the 800k with only 415k still active (yea you missed 15k people) thrown about as the demise of AoC for a week or so now. It is utter crap, AoC is not floundering nor can it be considered a failure, yet."

What a load of nonsense.  Those figures were of June 30, NOT August.  Conservative opinion posts current playerbase at under 200k and falling.  Next time read the fine print that came along with the numbers. 

No matter what Funcom adds to the game, it won't be enough.  War and Wow will just remove a good portion of their remaining playerbase this fall.  Big server merges will be announced at the first of the year.

I am just very saddened by their extremely poor implementation of such a legendary genre.   Looking pretty is just not enough, it has to be combined with good gameplay.

 

 

Yep, those numbers are second quarter (1 April - 30 June 2008).  While in Leipzig this month, FunCom mentioned these same numbers and labeled them as "current" as of mid-August.  Incredibly, many fan sites, media and MMO hobbyists believed it.  But remember, we're talking about FunCom -- the masters of hype, the seigneurs of spin, the PR ... well, I think you get my drift, RE: FunCom credibility.

So yes, it's quite naive for anyone to actually believe FunCom's definition of "current" numbers.  As of today, more accurate estimates place the subscription base (total active subscriptions, much lower for active players) at 200-250K and dropping.

FunCom can save this game by actually delivering on their promises.  But obviously, time is running out.  The effective range of any more of FunCom excuses for not getting this game to release quality *NOW* -- well into the Fourth Month after release, is zero meters.

There is no doubt that Age of Conan has the potential for being a truly great MMO.  But as of today, AoC is hemmoraging active players at a disturbing rate (a true bane for guilds/guild leaders who are still trying to play the game) and many have left AoC and won't be back.  Many others, like myself, continue to play the game casually, hoping FunCom actually gets this game to release quality.  

Age of Conan, where do I start?  For one, if you read any of the previous posts i've made regarding Age of Conan, I was hooked before AoC came out.  I was one of the ones drawn into the game, world and adventure only to find out what a complete failure it is.  What they need to do is wrap AoC up, rehash Anarchy Online with DX10, update AO's content, add another expansion for AO and move on.  Maybe they can get back above 20 per share.

When I heard news of an expansion for AoC, I really laughed.  I thought to myself, could this be true?  They haven't even fixed the release yet.  Doesn't make good business sense to release news of an expansion when DX10 on release was supposed to happen and never did.  Back in the first week when they disabled DX10, they CLEARLY stated that DX10 will be out first part of August.  Guess what, it's almost September.

FunCom better shape up, and quick.  Microsoft needs to pull the AoC title off their list, and FunCom needs to take a day off (for real) and honestly look at the game and ask themselves is AoC "Gold" or still in beta.

Note to FunCom: I think it's time to give it up, refund everyone's money, and take a loss.  That would be the admirable thing to do.

Originally posted by Lizante

Originally posted by Ozmodan

"You know I have seen the 800k with only 415k still active (yea you missed 15k people) thrown about as the demise of AoC for a week or so now. It is utter crap, AoC is not floundering nor can it be considered a failure, yet."

What a load of nonsense.  Those figures were of June 30, NOT August.  Conservative opinion posts current playerbase at under 200k and falling.  Next time read the fine print that came along with the numbers. 

No matter what Funcom adds to the game, it won't be enough.  War and Wow will just remove a good portion of their remaining playerbase this fall.  Big server merges will be announced at the first of the year.

I am just very saddened by their extremely poor implementation of such a legendary genre.   Looking pretty is just not enough, it has to be combined with good gameplay.

 

 

 

Yep, those numbers are second quarter (1 April - 30 June 2008).  While in Leipzig this month, FunCom mentioned these same numbers and labeled them as "current" as of mid-August.  Incredibly, many fan sites, media and MMO hobbyists believed it.  But remember, we're talking about FunCom -- the masters of hype, the seigneurs of spin, the PR ... well, I think you get my drift, RE: FunCom credibility.

So yes, it's quite naive for anyone to actually believe FunCom's definition of "current" numbers.  As of today, more accurate estimates place the subscription base (total active subscriptions, much lower for active players) at 200-250K and dropping.

FunCom can save this game by actually delivering on their promises.  But obviously, time is running out.  The effective range of any more of FunCom excuses for not getting this game to release quality *NOW* -- well into the Fourth Month after release, is zero meters.

There is no doubt that Age of Conan has the potential for being a truly great MMO.  But as of today, AoC is hemmoraging active players at a disturbing rate (a true bane for guilds/guild leaders who are still trying to play the game) and many have left AoC and won't be back.  Many others, like myself, continue to play the game casually, hoping FunCom actually gets this game to release quality.  

You are being WAY too nice with FunCom.  The fact of the matter is, the game is done.  It has been done with ever since the free subscription was up on the retail boxes.  I subscribed for another month thinking DX10 was gonna roll through.  I login and no one is on my server (Deathwhisper).  The gathering instances are dead, Old Tarantia is dead.  AoC is dead.  FunCom needs to realize it.  Realize they made a mistake and refund money.  (period)  I'm upset with FunCom, sure they messed up with AO initially but they made good in the end by offering people free months and items.  Doesn't seem they are offering ANYTHING this time around.

Originally posted by WisebutCruel

Originally posted by Mrbloodworth

Why would you pick a topic that the game is clearly not about?

Should he have picked PvP for his article? Oh, wait. That's mostly either broken or not even implemented yet.
 

PvE? Oh, wait. That's mostly bugged or lacking in content.

So tell us, Mrbloodworth. What was he supposed to write his article about in your opinion?

 

Realize MrBloodworth can't meaningfully answer that question as he - by his own say-so in another thread - isn't even subscribed to the game.

He's one of the game's and FC's more vocal defenders, going after anyone who criticizes the game, or FC. As his comment here demonstrates, he even goes after those actually playing the game. Yet... for all his fervor in defending it, he stops short of putting his money where his mouth is.

I think they call that... sanctimony?

Overall... the comparison to Dungeon Siege is actually very good, heh. I never thought of it that way.

An Opinion from a run of the mill Gamer, I bought AoC on the promises on the box, on the reviews, and on the promise of a great MMO....

What I have is a Game I am paying for, that is stunning graphics, has the basis of a great amazing game! That crashes every few hours, that I get that stunning unique AoC Mod of grey screening, that I get to read and see all the updates being brought out, that none of address the basic problems of the game, I want to play this game, I really enjoy this game, but how can I when I crash at least once every two hours possibly more, that simple things like the promised Direct X 10 is not there, that the simple game content that was promised is not there.

Simple, they Panicked and released before the game was ready, and as a gamer all I want is to read or hear from the game director "Hey we are sorry, we know we have problems, and we are doing our best to fix them" instead all I get to read is all the new updates and changes to a game that the very basics are flawed.

From the business side, you do not loose $40 dollars off your stock price and call it leveling out, that is called stock holders going oh crap this is not a good thing I am taking my money elsewhere.

I have Pre ordered Warhammer, and I believe I will not be renewing my subscription, unless something happens and FunCom decide to come clean and fix the broken windows in their house.

Just the Thoughts of an everyday gamer.
 

&n