AoC’s Craig Morrison Talks PvP and Server Merge - Ten Ton Hammer
With server merges in place Hyboria is seeing a revitalization in game and nothing makes this more obvious than Game Director Craig Morrison’s zeal for moving forward. In a recent interview with GameSpy, Morrison had this to say:
According to Morrison, as the company worked through its opening-day problems, it also shouldn’t come as a surprise that the company would scale back when it needed to. “The server merges were done and dusted within 48 hours. We’re very pleased with how it went and the communities have come together pretty well.” Among other elements, Morrison cites the fact that all battlekeeps were deleted when the servers were merged, yet all the available spots were claimed and being fought over within a few hours.
“The bottom line is that players are happier when there are more players around,” Morrison said regarding the server merge. “The main thing we needed to do is focus on new content and improving the areas that launch players didn’t like. As we’ve done so and the game has gotten better, the community has become much more positive and started to spread positive word-of-mouth. The more that happens, the more people who have left might think that maybe they should give the game another chance and the more new players might decide to jump in.”
In fact, Morrison stated that only one major area from the launch remains to be addressed: the lack of decent gear. That, he says, will be addressed in a big itemization re-work that will help clarify item statistics and make gear more meaningful in the game. Going forward, he’s looking toward brand-new ideas and systems that the team can finally start thinking seriously about. “Just recently the balance has started to shift from fixing old things to working out new things to add to the game,” he said. “As we get through this year, we’re looking to add all sort of new community features and guild functionality. [Age of Conan] has so much potential that it’s finally beginning to reach. It’ll be nice to be able to move on to new stuff.”
Morrison also talks about Age of Conan’s PvP and consequence system and the tricks of keeping those balanced.
If you’d like to read more of this interview, stop on by GameSpy to get the full story!
AoC: Letter from the Game Director - Ten Ton Hammer
It’s about that time again when we get an update from Game Director Craig Morrison. We get to hear details about the latest zones that are currently on test and what the future holds for Age of Conan.
Now that the server merges are complete and the new communities start to come together, in some cases alongside new allies, in others against new foes, I wanted to take some time out and talk a little about what’s coming up in the immediate future.
This starts with the next major game update, and with it some great new game-play and a host of new game-play updates and new features. The update is currently available on the test servers and we’ve been making good progress on getting it polished up and ready for the live environment.
I have enjoyed playing through the new Xibaluku dungeon with the dev team over the last few weeks and I wanted to share a little more in terms of what you can expect to see coming your way when this dungeon hits the live servers. Xibaluku is a six person instance for level 80 players found in Thunder River. That much we have already said in previous information, so more importantly – what does it play like?
With Xibaluku we have challenged the developers to make the dungeon an even more dynamic, interactive and challenging encounter for players that will stand up well to replay. I think the game-play we introduced with Ymir’s Pass in the previous update cycle raised the bar in terms of the fun factor of the new content and we wanted to take it even further with this dungeon.
Xibaluku contains up to a dozen boss encounters, some are essential to progress, some are completely optional but all have been designed to try and provide a really dynamic and changing experience in the dungeon. Some of the bosses may even appear with different abilities or in different forms across different visits! I also say ‘up to’ a dozen because not all the bosses may appear on any given single play through, some are rotated in and out, and there are even two very different end encounters in the dungeon. Which end boss you get will depend on factors relating to your progress through the dungeon itself (and no, I’m not going to provide any spoilers here as to what those factors are!).
Many of the encounters take the game-play challenge up a notch and require you to not just consider the boss itself, but also to consider the environment around you, and even to perform other challenging, even platform style, actions during the boss fight. I think the team has done a fantastic job on focusing keenly on the fun factor in this dungeon and I am really looking forward to what you all make of it!
Another major change that’s on the horizon with the next update that I wanted to mention in this letter are the new PVP resources. This new game mechanic means that after this update PVP Battlekeeps must be made from special resources harvested in the Border Kingdoms themselves. Open world PVP is a game element that many of you have said you enjoy, but we wanted to introduce more reasons for you to take the fight to the open spaces of the Border Kingdoms and give you meaningful resources to fight over. Want to restrict an opposing guild from building up their resources, and head off a challenge? Now you have the ability to do so! We will be keeping a close eye on how this element plays out and are prepared to continue to tweak and adjust the resources and their locations as we continue testing. We firmly believe that continually looking to add more meaningful goals for PVP is very important and we will continue to work on this area of the game over future updates!
Open world PVP is also only one flavor of the PVP available and we are also taking steps to make sure that the instanced PVP battles are also more accessible. The next update will bring with it a better sign-up process that should allow people to find games much easier, and result in more frequent games.
That’s just a few of the new changes and features that will be introduced with the new update. Remember you can check out the test servers for full details of what’s coming up, including full provisional update notes on the test server forum.
Last, but by no means least, the Direct X10 version is also starting to shape up nicely. While we aren’t going to allow it hold back the deployment of the rest of the update we are hard at work ensuring that we concentrate on optimizing the DX10 features and making sure it’s ready to launch as soon as possible. A huge thanks to everyone who has given us excellent feedback from the test server, it really does make this stage of the process much easier.
In my next letter we start to cover the upcoming item and statistic changes in a lot more detail. As soon as the latest update is live the attention will move to introducing you to the nature of these changes and how they will affect the game. All the core work is now done internally and we are currently working on converting all the existing items to the new system. We hope to move the items and statistics update to the test servers as soon as possible after the upcoming update is released to live.
So that’s about it for this update. Thank you all again for continuing to make Hyboria an exciting and dynamic world!
AoC Game Director Optimistic About the Future - Ten Ton Hammer
Eurogamer.net’s interview didn’t dig up anything surprising but it did ease the fears of many knowing that Age of Conan was still moving forward. With plans of a Xbox 360 platform launch and an expansion in the works, Game Director Craig Morrison is optimistic that players will give AoC a second chance.
Jockie asks: Historically, once an MMO begins to slide there’s no way back, given the calibre of competition on the market. How do you about-turn and convince disillusioned players you’re back on track when so many claim Age of Conan remains fundamentally broken?
Craig Morrison: I’m not sure that it’s completely true a game can’t come back, EVE Online for example has built itself up very successfully over the years, and our own Anarchy Online is still going strong almost eight years on from its poor launch.
So I firmly believe that if we focus on the right things and continue to provide that fun and engaging content I mentioned above then it does start to turn. Once players are having fun in the game and enjoying the content, they start to tell their friends and word of mouth improves and it can grow from there.
There will of course always be some players who simply aren’t into giving a game a second chance and will continue to mention only the launch, but I think the majority are fair minded enough to listen when they hear fellow players saying, ‘You know what? This came has really improved,’ because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what we say about the game ourselves, the key is what those playing it think and share with the community. To achieve that we need to keep that all important focus on improving the game and giving players the experience that warrants them telling their friends about the improvements.
Learn a little about what the future may bring in this great player lead interview hosted by Eurogamer.net.
AoC Character Transfers Now Available! - Ten Ton Hammer
We’ve been waiting for it, and now it is finally here! Age of Conan Community Manager Famine has posted the announcement that character transfers are available and ready to be used. There are some stipulations though, so read carefully!
As announced before the server merges, we are offering a free one-use character transfer option for all characters. If you wish to join a different community after the merge than the one you were allocated you are free to do so. This transfer is free of charge and can be used once per character. The service is available from your billing pages (https://register.ageofconan.com) and it will be running for one month until 21st of February.
Some additional information about the character transfer that might be important to know:
* Every character is eligible for one free transfer.
* The time it takes to get the transfer completed will depend on the load. The standard transfer will take 30 minutes. If the load is very, very heavy it might take up to 72 hours for the transfer to complete so please be patient.
==> Please also note that you must not login to any character of the same account as long as a transfer is still running. You are able to check the status of a running transfer on the account website too (https://register.ageofconan.com). The character transfer would get aborted should you login with any character during that time and you would have to start it again.
* If one, or more, servers become too popular we reserve the right to stop transfers to the servers in question at any time.
* Transfers to or from the “fresh start” servers Ironspine and Agony are not allowed.
* Transfers to all other servers will be available for all characters, regardless of rule set and language. Please be aware though that the allowed chat language is defined for each server. So no other language allowed in the public chat channels than the defined server language (for example English on Fury or German on Mitra etc.).
Get more information and join the discussion on the official forums by following this link.
Exclusive Conan Movie Interview with Fredrik Malmberg - Ten Ton Hammer
The hype for the release of Age
of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
was enormous, and at Ten Ton Hammer we saw a huge influx of new faces
as the game neared its scheduled publication date. Over the last few
years, the popularity of Conan has continued to rise as Dark Horse
released a new comic book series, a new set of novels based on the Age
of Conan
mythos was released, and a single player Conan game hit stores. But the
one thing that hasn’t occurred as of yet is the release of a brand new
Conan film. As enormous fans of the franchise, the Ten Ton Hammer staff
took some time to track down Fredrik Malmberg, the president and CEO of
Paradox Entertainment (the company that controls the rights to the
Conan Properties) and talked with Fredrik about the latest attempt at a
Conan movie and how it might be tied in with the Age of Conan
MMORPG.
Ten
Ton Hammer: In articles about the film, it has been stressed that
staying true to the Robert E. Howard material is critical, how do the
writers plan on adapting his work for both true fans and a larger
audience?Fredrik: Very good question. My team worked closely with the
writers throughout the process, which has been more than a year now. It
is critical that we reach a bigger audience than the existing fanbase
to justify the budget, and yet we are dealing with an R-rated badass
hero with not all politically correct values. New fans need to
understand what made Conan who he is, so we focused on the character
traits that Howard gave us and hope that this will shine through.
AoC: Border Kingdom Cryer - Server Mergers on the Horizon - Ten Ton Hammer
Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures (AoC) got another small update this week and the first server merger between ‘Hyperboria’ and ‘Bloodspire’ was set to take place but suffered a delay due to some technical issues. Funcom US Community Manager Glen "Famine" Swan has posted a lot of new information and a Faq explaining several parts of the server merger process and how certain things like player names and Battle Keeps will be handled post merger. With the mergers looming over the horizon forum discussion has only intensified. This has led to an increase in flames and rants making it a difficult job to find all the good information. Let the Border Kingdom Cryer save you the trauma of reading through the drama. Join us as we examine some of the top pieces of discussion over the past week. The first server merger is delayed, Famine discusses the mergers with the community, kitty comedy makes the Weekly Funny, and Ten Ton Hammer bids a fond farewell to the comical icon known as Coyote, all this and more in this week’s Border Kingdom Cryer.
Ten Ton Hammer’s very own Coyote will be moving on to other things after this month. The staff and community are bidding farewell to one of the most comical personalities this site has ever known. Coyote authored the Blog "Not Funny Ever" and costarred in the Podcast "Game Over" with RadarX. Coyote and his unique brand of comical humor will be missed.
AoC: Pyramid of the Ancients Ultimate Walkthrough - Ten Ton Hammer
Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures has an assortment of dungeons for players to explore and one of the more interesting ones is called the Pyramid of the Ancients residing in the eastern regions of Khopshef Province. This dungeon is home to the imprisoned Lord Atum-Keket who has been extending his dark influence to over Stygia from within his tomb. The Pyramid’s content is keyed towards groups within the level range of mid 30s to early 40s and comes equipped with an assortment of quests and scripted events climaxing with the final battle with Lord Atum-Keket himself. This week we have put together a complete walkthrough of the Pyramid of the Ancients and an assortment of other useful information to aid you with eliminating Lord Atum-Keket’s influence once and for all.
The Pyramid of the Ancients resides in the eastern regions of
Khopshef Province. The self-proclaimed Oracle of Derketo has led his
followers to this area. Many times these followers will vanish
never to be heard from again. Entombed within this Pyramid lies an
ancient evil imprisoned long ago that now stirs in the shadows once
more. By adventuring into the Pyramid of the Ancients you will uncover
the deception of the Oracle of Derketo and learn the story of Lord
Atum-Keket. Assemble your allies and when you are ready, enter the
Pyramid in Khopshef Province at coordinates (1256,799).
Upon entering, the first thing you will see is a few lashers chasing out
topless Harem Girls making it one of the breast…er best entrances ever.
AoC: Border Kingdom Cryer - The Culture of Armor - Ten Ton Hammer
Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures (AoC) developer team is working hard on the next update to the game. That update will possibly push out the new Culture Armors that are being developed and this week Funcom System Designer, Dave Williams answered a few questions about the upcoming Culture Armor for the community that has been generating a lot of good discussion. Dave Williams is not the only one fielding questions this week as Funcom’s Svein Erik "Sharum" Jenset addressed some concerns about the future of mounts in AoC. With all the news circulating around AoC it can be a difficult job finding all the good information as the forums become more saturated with endless rants and dramatic post. Let the Border Kingdom Cryer save you the trauma of reading through the drama. Join us as we examine some of the top pieces of discussion over the past week. Dave Williams answers questions on Culture Armor, Svein Erik "Sharum" Jenset talks about the future of mounts, Wexx returns with the results of his 3rd Community Survey, and in the Weekly Funny we learn about scary stupid, all this and more in this week’s Border Kingdom Cryer.
At launch Funcom allowed preorders to acquire siege mounts as a reward for preordering the game, but a while back while AoC was still in beta they stated that there would eventually be other siege mounts made available for players in the game post launch. However, the preorder mounts would have a distinctive look that would differ from the live versions. Some people don’t quite remember it like that and are a bit upset about Funcom’s Svein Erik "Sharum" Jenset statement that siege mounts may still be made available in the future.
Siege Mount Availability Discussion - Ten Ton Hammer
Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures siege mounts have been getting a lot of discussion on the official forums lately. In the thread "Pre order mounts and their future?" started on the Official AoC Forums by Nolf asks the question about siege mounts being made available to the community that did not receive one with a preorder. Funcom’s Svein Erik “Sharum” Jenset dropped in to respond and let the community know that there might be siege mounts available in the future.
We might make an attempt at “making everyone happy” by adding new Siege Mounts to the game and letting the War Mammoth and Killer Rhino remain pre-order exclusives. Who knows what the future might hold :>
Not everyone was happy about this statement and some went as far as to accuse Funcom for lying about making preorder siege mounts exclusive to preorders only. While I recall the look of the preorders being said to be exclusive, I don’t recall hearing the actual siege mounts as being exclusive. I’m pretty sure from the beginning of the siege mount discussion that Funcom stated there would be other siege mounts in the game, even though they have yet to make it in. Svein Erik “Sharum” Jenset
responded to one such post in this thread to try and set the record strait.
We never promised anyone that, through pre-ordering, they would gain access to a type/class of mounts that would be unavailable to everyone else; on the contrary we (even me personally) have said time and time again that while we have no direct plans to make the Killer Rhino and War Mammoth available to people that didn’t pre-order we’ve been playing with the idea of making other types of siege mounts available to the public.
One other option would be to NOT include other siege mounts, of any kind, in the game; which could easily be viewed as disruptive to game balance. Furthermore, should we implement other siege mounts but make them more powerful those that pre-ordered would most likely feel cheated.
So, as it was intentionally and as it it still is, our plans involve releasing further types of siege mounts into the game in the future; and doing so without disrupting the game balance. The Killer Rhino and War Mammoth will still be exclusive in their appearance, and as such should depict anyone mounted on one as someone who pre-ordered the game.
- You can read and participate in the thread here.
- Do you have something to add on this subject? Tell us here.
AoC: Border Kingdom Cryer - PvP and Packing Heat - Ten Ton Hammer
A New Game Director Takes the Helm…
Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures first big PvP update has stirred up quite a commotion in the community as the battlefields are drenched in the blood of warriors and anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire. With this new mechanic has come some commotion about some players possibly Fight Clubbing or throwing fights to get PvP experience. Needless to say this has not gone over well with players. Many other topics have turned up as well, including a post from our new Game Director about a possible future resurrection of the Drunken Brawling mechanic. Finding all the good information like this can be a challenging job as the forums become more saturated with endless rants and dramatic post. Let the Border Kingdom Cryer save you the trauma of reading through the drama. Join us as we examine some of the top pieces of discussion over the past week. PvP Fight Clubbing, Age of Conan’s Game Director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison chimes in on Drunken Brawling, the Weekly Funny includes a heat packin granny, all this and more in this week’s Border Kingdom Cryer.
This thread has a lot of
good points about various topics and not just boobies. Drunken Brawling gets brought up and the new Game Director
Craig "Silirrion" Morrison drops in for a quick response and the possibility of renewed hope that we might one day see Drunken
Brawling get resurrected.
