Age of Conan, Anyone playing? What do you think?

[GMAN]

Hi All

I just got the AoC Collectors Edition, it was £10 so i figured i'd pick it up, i want the soundtrack anyway for my up coming Conan RPG sessions. When i found out that i'd get a free Snow Mammoth mount and extra bag for just starting the account i figured i might as well give it ago, i've got 30 days free anyway.

I've only been playing a couple of days, i'm on level 15, and apart from getting my backside handed to me when i get ganged up on by monsters and such, i'm really enjoying it. It's the first MMO i've really played, apart from a brief go at Warhammer Online, which i found really dull.

So is anyone else playing? If so what do they think of it and what servers are they on? I'm on the European server Crom. I'm still in the starting area of Tortage. I love the way i can see what Conan world by just exploring the places, that is it's main attraction to me

 

[kintire]

I'm playing it. I've got a conqueror to 56 and I think its great. They need a bit more high level content: once you leave Tortage the variety tails off a bit: but they already have mnore than they did aand more is going in all the time. Visiting the various areas is fun, although it sometimes clashes with your own vision (Aquilonia is too Roman, for example). My favourite areas are Cimmeria. They have some excellent stuff there.

For example... if you are wandering through the Eiglophian mountains and you come across a recent skirmish with corpses scattered about, be careful who you choose to chase from the scene.

 

[David St-Michel]

I just bought the collector's edition (mostly for the soundtrack and faux-leather map).

I had played it a while back before the HUGE revamp. I'll try it as soon as I get, to see if I'll have more of my money vanish every day.

 

[flatscan]

I long to give the MMORPG a shot. Sadly, my Powerbook G4 can't run XP or Vista. Will have to wait to upgrade later this year.

Now the Age of Conan board game I can speak of. A comic/game shop had a going out of business sale last weekend and I scored a copy for $40. Went through the first "Age" in a test-run of the game. It's fairly deep though scoring points is primarily done by military conquests over diplomacy. Can't wait to give the whole game a shot with all 4 kingdoms in play.

 

[Supplement Four]

I'm playing as well. It's my first MMO, too.

I started at launch, raised a 50 Ranger, got bored, quit for six months.

Just started it up again, this time on a PvP server, which adds a whole new dimension to the game, and I've managed to raise a 47 Guardian in the three weeks I've been playing.

It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and I'll prolly get bored with it again in the future. But, it is a good game.

I'm enjoying it, and I plan on taking the guard all the way to 80.

 

[tneva82]

Any suggestions on decent servers? Guess I might just as well try PvP server this time(in Europe) to contrast with non-PvP server in WoW(major mistake. Now it doesn't make sense. Blood elf helping Night elf? Oh...My...God...Okay sure PvP wasn't allowed but atleast he could have avoided helping me).

Ordered basic set(no way I pay 70e for collector's edition and can't seem to find cheaper than that here). 12e for 30 day tryout isn't too bad though I have doubts whether I'll play actively after that(though atleast this is cheaper than WoW) due to cash shortage.

WoW was major boredom(looks good but lacks content and becomes just mindless hack&slash. You face monster up to your level+2 and you have no problems unless you are swarmed(and -2 to your level and even swarm isn't issue). Above 4 levels and you might just as well forget it. Even if you beat it it isn't worth the effort. Hopefully AoC is better and atleast it's set in Conan's kingdom. Maybe less candy like atleast for graphics...

Not expecting it to beat THE ultimate MMOAG's(as IMO the acronym should go. Massively Multiplayer Online Adventure Game. They are hardly roleplaying games but are quite decent adventure games. They should concentrate on improving that side rather than try to sell them as roleplaying games.) Ultima Online but then again I doubt any ever will be as good as UO was pre-Age of Shadow(bloody EA). However maybe AoC will provide bit more fun than WoW was. Atleast combat system seems bit more interesting.

 

[Supplement Four]

Any suggestions on decent servers? Guess I might just as well try PvP server this time(in Europe) to contrast with non-PvP server in WoW(major mistake. Now it doesn't make sense. Blood elf helping Night elf? Oh...My...God...Okay sure PvP wasn't allowed but atleast he could have avoided helping me).

I'm on the Cimmerian PvP server because it's the only PvP-RP server. I love to role play, but, unfortunately, I don't catch a lot of role playing going on.

When I initiate, I have people respond in character. And, they typically like it. I get positive reactions. It's just that too many people don't do it.



PvP adds a whole new element to the game. I first joined a PvE server, and I got bored with the fetch quests after a time. I put the game up for about six months, just recently trying it again. I like what PvP adds to the game...but it ain't perferct, and it surely doesn't always make sense either.

I mean, it doesn't make sense that so many people are out to get you, especially at the lower levels. I've noticed that, from lvl 10-30 or so, ganking is an everyday part of the game. In your 30's, you start to see a slow down. In 40's and 50's, you'll typically only get ganked in certain areas--but, it's always a possibility (which is the element that I like).



There used to be a Culture Server, conisered PvP, where you are bared from attacking anyone from your same race. I liked this idea because it set p some natural allies for you, though I never tried it. I guess it wasn't popular, though, because Funcom got rid of the idea.



I do like what they've done with the Criminal System. If you attack someone that is 8 or more levels your junior, you get Criminal points. Get enough Criminal points, and they turn into Murder points.

The points where off after time. Criminal points where off fairly quickly, but it's easy to look down and see you've got an entire game hour before they go away. Murder points are harder to get rid of, evaporating at the rate of one per hour (or maybe it's day...I'm not sure).

As a Criminal or a Murderer you are barred from the rest of society. You've got to live on the fringe. You can't use the usual rez points or vendors or quest givers. You can't change zones either as you're a criminal and can't get a ride. There are special criminal areas with blackmarketeers that serve as vendors, but their prices are usually about 3x as high.

WoW was major boredom(looks good but lacks content and becomes just mindless hack&slash.

You'll be amazed at the combat system in AoC. It's brilliant. I never get tired of a fight, whether I'm fighting NPCs (they call 'em Mobs) or PCs (they call 'em toons or avatars).

It's a lot more than just pushing the same buttons over and over.

The game is also pretty damn gritty. Chopping heads and body parts off. Blood hitting the computer screen. Naked women. Stuff like that.

Graphics are amazing. It's a beautiful game if your computer can handle it.

Not expecting it to beat THE ultimate MMOAG's(as IMO the acronym should go. Massively Multiplayer Online Adventure Game.

AoC does a lot of things "right". But, it definitely has some room to grow. There are things that need to be fixed, changed.

A new expansion is on the horizon by the end of the year, though, bringing some new sectors and new playable classes/races.

 

[tneva82]

I'm on the Cimmerian PvP server because it's the only PvP-RP server. I love to role play, but, unfortunately, I don't catch a lot of role playing going on.

Well. The RPG part of MMORPG should be dropped. Nothing against MMORPG games but calling them RPG is scretching the definition a "bit". Would be lot more accurate call them action-adventure games like Zelda except less cartoony. Maybe RPG is more easy to sell though(though one would think not). Or maybe it has stuck because Ultima Online(which atleast tried to incorporate RPG as well as was technically possible and succeeded in it better than say WoW) was called MMORPG so even if late comers haven't been much of RPG they identify themselves as MMORPG since everybody knows the term thanks to Ultima Online.

I like what PvP adds to the game...but it ain't perferct, and it surely doesn't always make sense either.

Myself my experience with PvP is from Ultima Online which albeit shades my view since there it is LOT bigger annoyance to die than in WoW.

Where does AoC fall in terms of PvP? Ultima Online free-for-all and if you die your stuff is gone style or WoW where you resurrect quickly and your equipment is still in there style?

I do like what they've done with the Criminal System. If you attack someone that is 8 or more levels your junior, you get Criminal points. Get enough Criminal points, and they turn into Murder points.

The points where off after time. Criminal points where off fairly quickly, but it's easy to look down and see you've got an entire game hour before they go away. Murder points are harder to get rid of, evaporating at the rate of one per hour (or maybe it's day...I'm not sure).

Heh. Sounds much like short term and long term murder counts from Ultima Online(or atleast in free shard of Ultima Online I play in. Not sure if that's in official shard). There those long term counters are REAL bugger to get rid off and they are literally play time. You have 40h worth of murder counts, you PLAY 40h as a murderer. And you can't leave it there while locked in place without checking game due to macro checks(this is definetly on that free shard specific thing though).

And if you are murderer good luck going to city with their teleporting guards of slay-em-all. They aren't invincible but they are damn tough and there's damn many of them.

Graphics are amazing. It's a beautiful game if your computer can handle it.

2.66Ghz quad-core with Radeon 4870 and 4Gb memory. I think it can handle it ;-) I built this computer last summer and didn't exactly skimp on it. Too bad AoC isn't supported in Linux though. Hopefully I can run it on Wine(hey you can run WoW without too much of issues(and even less if you have nVidia) so maybe AoC as well? I HATE booting into windows).

AoC does a lot of things "right". But, it definitely has some room to grow. There are things that need to be fixed, changed.

I'm affraid it won't be concerned with the stuff that made UO just "click". Questionable did the developers even PLAY UO back before Age of Shadow killed it and if they didn't they wouldn't have likely first hand experience of just how awesome UO was. Sure graphic is antique compared to now but as far as living in realistic world and being something other than combat-only game it was just awesome.

Problem is though it's bloody hard to sell the idea compared to impressive combats and awesome graphics so it's pretty unlikely any new MMORPG will try to do the same. Lots of resources for small financial return. And maybe people's tastes have changed as well as original Ultima-generation changes. Definition of RPG's is different to new generation than for those who grew up with first Ultima's as their holy bible's of what computer RPG's can be. Damn I feel old

Ah well. All good things must come to an end. I only wish I had been able to play UO on official servers when it was still at it's best. Now though some free shards can emulate technique they had and even improve player bases are lot smaller which obviously diminishes feeling :-( And for that old game chance of gaining bigger player base is pretty much zero.

Ah well. Good old times. Wish I had ImaNewbie's cartoons stored somewhere. They bring back memories. Speaking of which if anybody reads this and has them stored could you please PM me? Damn page shut down and haven't found any mirror site available :-(

 

[Supplement Four]

Well. The RPG part of MMORPG should be dropped.

Well, I have gotten into some neat role playing in the game. Just the other night, I was doing a quest where I had to find this assassin down in Stygia. I went into the inn, and among the NPCs, two real players were sitting at a table. I approached them, totally in character, "Pardon masters, but have you heard of one..."

They had no idea what I was doing or whom I was asking for. They prolly thought I was asking about another player (they were lvl 80 while I was in my 40's).

But, they rolled right along, role playing back with me. The guy was trying to seduce the girl, and I was getting in his way. He asked me my name. I said my name was, "Ten Copper". Then, I opened the trade menu and slipped him the bribe.

He hit "reject" in the trade menu, having his toon say, "Nay, I will not take your coin, as I have not heard of this person you seek."

It went on like that.

It was fun.

I killed the dude I was looking for in the quest, then came back to their table, this time slipping them 3 copper, saying, "Please give these to the inn keep...for the mess....upstairs, third door on the left."

Not everybody does this sort of thing, but if you want, as it was here, it's usually respected and enjoyed, on this RP server.

I haven't particiapated in, but I hear some of the guilds do RPing events. Not sure what they're about.

And, many times, you'll see people using their toons to say things like: "[shouts]By Black Erlik's Throne! You will suffer!"

Stuff like that.

Where does AoC fall in terms of PvP? Ultima Online free-for-all and if you die your stuff is gone style or WoW where you resurrect quickly and your equipment is still in there style?

It's like WoW. You resurrect quickly. Getting killed isn't a major hassel. You lose no gear or coin.

I think this needs to be fixed, making it harder, but I'm in the minority opinion there. Most of the PvPers seem to like getting back in the action quickly with little or no consequence to death.

Funcom is considering, though, changing the system to where you do drop some coin or gear when you die, just like an NPC.

There is a huge patch coming. Not sure if this change will be in it.

Heh. Sounds much like short term and long term murder counts from Ultima Online(or atleast in free shard of Ultima Online I play in. Not sure if that's in official shard). There those long term counters are REAL bugger to get rid off and they are literally play time.

Yes, if you keep getting Murder points, they're very hard to wear off, taking days, weeks, even months of game time to go away. They can be a real deterrent.

I've seen people start whole new toons because they didn't want to deal with the penalties.

I understand there are quests a Murderer can take on to absolve himself of some murder points, but the quests are long and boring...like, go get me 300 alligator skins, when about 1 in 10 alligators will drop a skin. Things like that.

2.66Ghz quad-core with Radeon 4870 and 4Gb memory.

Your rig is close to mine. You should be fine. You must be running XP, I guess from your 4 Gigs of memory.

I understand the game is amazing in DirectX 10, but I'm not about to get Vista just to see it.

 

[tneva82]

I think this needs to be fixed, making it harder, but I'm in the minority opinion there. Most of the PvPers seem to like getting back in the action quickly with little or no consequence to death.

That's double edged issue really. If death is major hassle then it raises up tons of grievers who concentrate on simply killing others. That was common problem with Ultima Online which brought in introduction of Trammel(which is of course these days considered pretty much a bad thing so maybe it was less of a problem than removing it is).

Your rig is close to mine. You should be fine. You must be running XP, I guess from your 4 Gigs of memory.

Nope. Vista :-( Though 4Gb seems to be sufficient enough though Vista itself is major annoyance. But then again I only play with Vista these days. Rest is done with Ubuntu.

 

[Twin Agate Dragons]

Speaking of which, does anyone here have the Bradygames Strategy Guide? I'm considering picking it up even though I'm not yet playing the MMO, to see what I can use from it in my Conan D20 game. Would it be worth buying it for that?

 

[Supplement Four]

Speaking of which, does anyone here have the Bradygames Strategy Guide? I'm considering picking it up even though I'm not yet playing the MMO, to see what I can use from it in my Conan D20 game. Would it be worth buying it for that?

It's next to useless for your d20 Conan game. The first half of the book details the MMO character classes, which will be useless to you. The last half of the book describes the beginning area (Tortage and the Barrachan Isles) and some major areas (Fields of the Dead in Cimmeria, Old Tarantia in Aquilonia, Khemi in Stygia, etc.), detailing mobs and quests that will be encountered in those areas.

The only thing that I can see would be useful for your d20 game are the few maps that are included. For example, You could re-create the town of Tesso, in the Wild Lands of Aquilonia, by using the map and reading the text.

Maybe you could get some utility from turning the quests into an adventure for your group.

But, unless you get the book very cheap, or you're intending to use it when you start the MMO, I'd pass for just d20 Conan play.

 

[Twin Agate Dragons]

Like I said, it purpose would be for D20 for now.

I do want to get into and play Age of Conan, but it'll have to wait till I get a new sytstem, the one I'm using now is practically 8 years old and I'm not sure if I'fd meet the min reqs.

 

[VincentDarlage]

For example, You could re-create the town of Tesso, in the Wild Lands of Aquilonia, by using the map and reading the text.

The Wild Lands of Aquilonia?!?

 

[Supplement Four]

The Wild Lands of Aquilonia?!?

It's the border with Nemedia. Supposed to be unsetteled territory. Also known as the Wildlands of Zelata.

The area is taken straight from Howard--this from The Hour of the Dragon.

Except for the canon breaks that Funcom chooses to do on purpose, the game is actually very well researched. Many of the quests and most of the areas are taken straight from Conan tales, even the pastiches.



Here's a link: http://aoc.wikia.com/wiki/Wild_Lands_of_Zelata

 

[VincentDarlage]

Why would a border be unsettled? That'd be one of the first places I'd settle if I had a feudal government so I would have a bunch of defenders - much like what Aquilonia has done with the Westermarck (and the Bossonian marches before that). Unless they are talking about the stretch of mountains (a natural border) where Zelata lives. I'd still hardly call that the "Wild Lands."

edit: I see you are talking about the stretch of area where Zelata lives. Still - to call it the "wild lands" seems a bit of hyperbole.

 

[Vortigern]

I seem to remember that being more of a cultivated farmland type of area with just some lesser populated/rough patches, but I may be mistaken.

 

[Supplement Four]

It's not completely unsettled. There are three towns on the map.

In the d20 game, Borderers would flourish here.

 

[Supplement Four]

AoC is also interesting for the voice acting. It's done very well--better than most single player games.

All of the beginning section (Tortage, White Sands Isle, and the Archeron Ruins on the Baraachan Isles) is voice acted. This will take your toon to about Lvl 20 or so.

After you leave the beginner section, the world opens up, but the voice acting drops off. Funcom adds new voice acting to quests all the time, but there are so many.

It's interesting to hear a Cimmerian with a Scotch-Irish brogue. That's a lot different from hearing Arnold.

"Thoth Amon" is pronounced "Taath Ah-mon" in the game. Taath rhymes with cough.

 

[David St-Michel]

hehe.

One of my players starts each and every play session with a good five minutes of Ah-nuld imitations, ranging from well-known one-liners to suggestions from the crowd.

Seeing and hearing my player imitating Ah-nuld singing "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra is priceless.