Shrines of Bori to offer Age of Conan players more outdoor PvP
Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, Guides, Patches, PvP
Even with all of the fuss around new tier 3 raids being added to the land of Hyboria, the developers at Funcom haven’t forgotten about the PvPers! A brand new feature will be landing on Age of Conan’s test server for all barbarians to enjoy, and it comes in a form many PvPers love — outdoor PvP objectives.
The Shrines of Bori, a brand new addition to the Border Kingdoms playfield, will give PvPers the chance to not only engage in combat with others in a wide open zone, but also to earn their next set of PvP tier gear via a complex set of capture and hold objectives in the form of altars.
Have questions on how this new system will work? Say no more! We’ve got a full explanation of the brand new system for you right after the break.
Continue reading Shrines of Bori to offer Age of Conan players more outdoor PvP
Shrines of Bori to offer Age of Conan players more outdoor PvP originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
PAX 2009: We travel east with Rise of the Godslayer
Filed under: Age of Conan, Expansions, Massively Event Coverage
Age of Conan came to PAX pretty much directly off their announcement of the Rise of the Godslayer expansion. So when we arrived at our appointment to check the game out and speak with Executive Producer Craig Morrison, you can imagine our curiosity levels were quite high.
This expansion is taking players far into the eastern lands of Khitai, which is essentially a retelling of our own ancient eastern worlds. Something we were told right away is that Funcom wanted to avoid Japanese influences, as they’re fairly over-saturated in videogames. Instead, they’re going for a heavy focus on Korean and Chinese culture for the lands of Khitai.
Gallery: Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer
Continue reading PAX 2009: We travel east with Rise of the Godslayer
PAX 2009: We travel east with Rise of the Godslayer originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
The Digital Continuum: Expanding horizontally
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Expansions, Opinion, The Digital Continuum
The worlds we live in are always expanding some way or another. In our real world, we get promotions or new career opportunities. In our virtual equivalents, it’s level cap raises and new classes. Yet for years and years, too many expansions have overlooked what they’re truly capable of accomplishing.
In real life, we can’t go back and make our teens, twenties and thirties better than they once were because that’s physically impossible. So why in these worlds of infinite possibilities, have countless developers scoffed at the chance to do this very thing?
Lucky for us, Funcom and Blizzard recently both asked themselves this very question. While the latter may be doing something much more grandiose than the former, both deserve our praise for finally turning around and swimming upstream in a current of same old grind goals. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Blizzard is sitting on the Mt. Everest of money hills.
Continue reading The Digital Continuum: Expanding horizontally
The Digital Continuum: Expanding horizontally originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
The Digital Continuum: The people problem
Filed under: Age of Conan, News items, Opinion, The Digital Continuum
As I’ve spent time with Age of Conan this last week, something has been preventing me from finding a nice groove to settle down into. Mostly, it’s from people being jerks. Then again, that could be what I get for venturing into a PvP server. If you haven’t already guessed, this week’s The Digital Continuum strives to dig down deep into what makes a community tick, and why that can potentially matter more than any game feature on the back of the box.
Continue reading The Digital Continuum: The people problem
The Digital Continuum: The people problem originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
The Digital Continuum: Reentering the Age of Conan
Filed under: Age of Conan, News items, Opinion, The Digital Continuum
When I decided to come back and check out Final Fantasy XI, I’m fairly certain that I was in the small minority of people returning in that moment. With Funcom offering previous subscribers a chance to take a second look at Age of Conan, I somehow doubt I’ll be in a minority this time around.
So here we are, coming back to the digital realm of Hyboria just past a year since everyone first ventured into its lush and deadly landscapes. What will I find? What will I think? These are just a few of the many questions that go through my mind as I boot up the game for the first time in a while.
Continue reading The Digital Continuum: Reentering the Age of Conan
The Digital Continuum: Reentering the Age of Conan originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
The importance of good audio in an MMO
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Age of Conan, EVE Online, EverQuest II, Culture, MMO industry, Academic, Education, Virtual worlds, Black Prophecy
In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the development budgets of new MMOs. To stay ahead of the technological curve, a large portion of the budget invariably goes toward the graphics department. Studios produce impressive graphics engines and mountains of art assets in an effort to make their game one of the most visually impressive out there. Amidst all the fuss over graphics and gameplay, audio is often overlooked and underfunded. It’s been shown that good music and sound effects can have a significant impact on the perceived quality of a game. This is something that some development studios recognise and support but many continue to neglect this vital part of the gaming experience.
In this article, I examine the importance of good audio in an MMO and explain the underlying psychology involved.
Continue reading The importance of good audio in an MMO
The importance of good audio in an MMO originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
The MMO launch subscriber bubble
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Betas, Age of Conan, EVE Online, Business models, Culture, Launches, MMO industry, New titles, Warhammer Online, Academic, Education, Virtual worlds, Star Wars: The Old Republic
It feels like a new MMO is being released every month these days and the market for persistent online games is certainly expanding. At the head of this market is a set of games commonly referred to “triple A” titles. These are popular games from big name studios or games using popular intellectual properties. New games that are considered “triple A” have a unique ability to build unparalleled levels of anticipation and hype around themselves prior to release. In order to draw in as many players as possible, an obscene amount of cash is often spent on advertising to hype these games up for release. But is this appropriate and cost-effective or does it show a fundamental misunderstanding of of the MMO market?
In this article, we look at what can go wrong with over-hyped MMO launches and what happens when the subscriber bubble bursts.
Continue reading The MMO launch subscriber bubble
The MMO launch subscriber bubble originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Massively Speaking Episode 54: Happy Birthday, Age of Conan!
Filed under: Fantasy, Podcasts, Age of Conan, Culture, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, Massively meta, Massively Interviews, Massively Speaking
Massively Speaking Episode 54 is a very special episode where Shawn is once again joined by Funcom’s Glen “Famine” Swan and Craig Morrison as they discuss the upcoming Patch 1.05 and first anniversary for Age of Conan.
Have a comment for the podcasters? Shoot us an email to podcast AT massively DOT com. Maybe we’ll read your letter on the air!
Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to Massively Speaking directly in iTunes.
[Zune] Subscribe to Massively Speaking via the Zune service.
[RSS] Add Massively Speaking to your RSS aggregator.
[Digg] Like the show? Digg it.
[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.
[VW] Listen at VirginWorlds.com
Listen here on the page:
Read below the cut for the full show notes.
Continue reading Massively Speaking Episode 54: Happy Birthday, Age of Conan!
Massively Speaking Episode 54: Happy Birthday, Age of Conan! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 May 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
GDC09: A candid interview with Age of Conan’s game director
Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, News items, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage
Last week at GDC 2009 was exceptionally busy, but that didn’t stop us from talking with Age of Conan’s game director Craig Morrison and discussing what went wrong with the game at launch and what’s been done since to improve upon it.
You’re in for a treat, we think.
After the jump, you’ll also find discussion on free trails for this year, the DX10 client, successful MMOs and upcoming content philosopy for Age of Conan. It’s a bounty of information even King Conan would be proud to see!%Gallery-9836%
Continue reading GDC09: A candid interview with Age of Conan’s game director
GDC09: A candid interview with Age of Conan’s game director originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Behind the Curtain: Multiple MMOs
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Age of Conan, EVE Online, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Star Wars Galaxies, Behind the Curtain
Is one MMO ever enough?
Lots of people play more than one MMO. Among the staff here at Massively, you would be hard pressed to find a writer with only one active subscription. Ever the exception however, I am a one-game kind of guy.
“Is that through choice, or necessity though, Craig?” I hear you cry. The answer is that it’s a little of both. It’s easy to say that I don’t have enough time to play a couple of MMOs, but if I was really honest with myself, I’d admit to that being a lie. If I’m able to free up a couple of hours every couple of nights to play World of Warcraft, then why can’t I alternate those nights, for example, between WoW and another game?
Continue reading Behind the Curtain: Multiple MMOs
Behind the Curtain: Multiple MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
