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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Looking forward to Age of Conan?
I will play some Age of Conan. Preferably in the free form of an open beta, but if that shouldn't be available, I'll buy the box and play for the free month. But if a reader hadn't asked me to, I wouldn't even have written about the game before playing it. Age of Conan isn't really the game I've been waiting for. I have a couple of reservations against that game, where I really have doubts whether this is the game for me:
1) Twitchy combat. I'm 43 years old now, and in spite of life-long training I simply can't press buttons as fast as somebody half my age. And apart from my brain being laggy, I also foresee some people having problems with internet lag. If a split second in reaction time makes a difference in combat and for some reason your ping goes up beyond 100 ms, you're obviously in trouble. I'll have to play it to see how twitchy the AoC combat actually is, but lets say that all their announcement of Real Combat aren't exactly causing me to want this game.
2) PvP centric. Again, I only know what the press releases etc. say, I'll need to play it to see it. But there is no doubt that AoC will be PvP centric, and I'm a carebear and don't like PvP all that much. Apparently you can switch other players off until level 20, but if I get repeatedly ganked at level 21+, I'm out.
3) Conan Kiddies. Keen said it best: "Age of Conan is attracting a lot of the diehard, hardcore guild elitist, computer muscle, highly competitive trash talking thug types." Not the kind of people I'd voluntarily hang out with.
The one thing that speaks for Age of Conan is its timing, presuming it is too late to change their May 20 release date now. By then everyone will be fed up by WoW patch 2.4, and Wrath of the Lich King will still be far away, so it is a perfect opportunity for a new game. I just have to hope that AoC is actually finished and polished enough for release then. As I said, I will play it and give it a fair try, but my expectations are low. So don't be surprised if I end up not liking it. I might simply not be the target audience for that game.
- posted by Tobold @ 1:00 PM Permanent Link
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Release is going to be critical for Wow contenders. Blizzard has set the bar high above any other game when it comes to game quality at release time.
As for expectations, I'm afraid games like AoC or WAR are going to disappoint a lot of people. Not that they won't be great games, but I definitely think people are expecting too much.
As for expectations, I'm afraid games like AoC or WAR are going to disappoint a lot of people. Not that they won't be great games, but I definitely think people are expecting too much.
# posted by 
: 15/4/08 13:39
: 15/4/08 13:39
Hi, thanks for creating an AoC post!!
I posted earlier under the WAR thread (http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2008/04/will-war-have-good-pve.html)
I have been in the beta for months now, which is why I am posting as 'Anonymous'.
To your points:
1. AoC is by no means twitchy. I am also an older gamer, and I am no good at FPS games, but I have no problems with AoC's combat. It is certainly more involved than WoW, but that's a good thing in my book. No more auto-attack, wait for cooldown, aimed-shot, auto-attack...
2. I can't tell how this will play out for sure yet. Thus far I have had a blast without really any PvP at all though. Plenty of content, roles, and gameplay for any type of player. I am NOT a huge PvP player, and based on my current impressions/beta play I pre-ordered the game.
3. A lot of the people in the beta have great gaming PCs, but I have not seen any more elitist type of players than WoW or any other large MMO. Most of my friends who are in their thirties with families and jobs are playing (beta) or planning to play AoC. Also, if you visit the official AoC forums you'll see that just like any other game, AoC will have all different types of gamers.
I am by no means guaranteeing that AoC is going to be the best MMO out there, but from what I have seen so far it is going to be a lot of fun, which is ultimately the most important factor to me.
I posted earlier under the WAR thread (http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2008/04/will-war-have-good-pve.html)
I have been in the beta for months now, which is why I am posting as 'Anonymous'.
To your points:
1. AoC is by no means twitchy. I am also an older gamer, and I am no good at FPS games, but I have no problems with AoC's combat. It is certainly more involved than WoW, but that's a good thing in my book. No more auto-attack, wait for cooldown, aimed-shot, auto-attack...
2. I can't tell how this will play out for sure yet. Thus far I have had a blast without really any PvP at all though. Plenty of content, roles, and gameplay for any type of player. I am NOT a huge PvP player, and based on my current impressions/beta play I pre-ordered the game.
3. A lot of the people in the beta have great gaming PCs, but I have not seen any more elitist type of players than WoW or any other large MMO. Most of my friends who are in their thirties with families and jobs are playing (beta) or planning to play AoC. Also, if you visit the official AoC forums you'll see that just like any other game, AoC will have all different types of gamers.
I am by no means guaranteeing that AoC is going to be the best MMO out there, but from what I have seen so far it is going to be a lot of fun, which is ultimately the most important factor to me.
# posted by : 15/4/08 13:52
: 15/4/08 13:52
To be honest at first I was very excited for AoC. However, I agree on the twitch factor. Reaci8gn 39 this Friday also my PC is at least six years old (though upgraded a few times) so that leaves an aged system and aged player that may not equal fun.
I also may let it run a year before I do try it. I did this with LOTRO (did open beta and it was ok) and now I really love it.
So next year .. I may be singing praises about AoC, or still in LOTRO 100%. I fear my WoW time is running thin (as I am not big on PvP or “farming” raiding).
I also may let it run a year before I do try it. I did this with LOTRO (did open beta and it was ok) and now I really love it.
So next year .. I may be singing praises about AoC, or still in LOTRO 100%. I fear my WoW time is running thin (as I am not big on PvP or “farming” raiding).
# posted by : 15/4/08 14:39
: 15/4/08 14:39
If AoC is even remotely like Darktide, it will go belly up faster than Horizons.
My big concerns are min specs, content, and balance.
My big concerns are min specs, content, and balance.
# posted by : 15/4/08 15:11
: 15/4/08 15:11
"Age of Conan is attracting a lot of the diehard, hardcore guild elitist, computer muscle, highly competitive trash talking thug types." Not the kind of people I'd voluntarily hang out with.
LOL
I'm sorry, but that is almost as bad a comment as "The only people who play Alliance are the nice people, the Horde are evil". Nothing makes people more comfortable than bashing a new idea, product, ect until they feel all soft and fuzzy again. That said, I don't think that a large amount of players in AOC will be "thugs", but I do think that there will be trash talking people. Oh Wait, aren't those same people in WOW???? AV isn't going to become a beautiful grassland with shiney happy people holding hands once AOC comes out. Just like AOC isn't going to be a safehaven for the mentally ill.It's going to be a game like any other.
I've been waiting for AOC for awhile, and I can't wait to give it a shot. It looks and sounds different and that is good enough for me. I'm sick of mash 1, mash 2 then 4 with an occasional splash of 3. If AOC breaks that mold, good for them. If not, oh well.
-Wolfgangdoom
LOL
I'm sorry, but that is almost as bad a comment as "The only people who play Alliance are the nice people, the Horde are evil". Nothing makes people more comfortable than bashing a new idea, product, ect until they feel all soft and fuzzy again. That said, I don't think that a large amount of players in AOC will be "thugs", but I do think that there will be trash talking people. Oh Wait, aren't those same people in WOW???? AV isn't going to become a beautiful grassland with shiney happy people holding hands once AOC comes out. Just like AOC isn't going to be a safehaven for the mentally ill.It's going to be a game like any other.
I've been waiting for AOC for awhile, and I can't wait to give it a shot. It looks and sounds different and that is good enough for me. I'm sick of mash 1, mash 2 then 4 with an occasional splash of 3. If AOC breaks that mold, good for them. If not, oh well.
-Wolfgangdoom
# posted by : 15/4/08 15:25
: 15/4/08 15:25
I believe Age of Conan will have PvP and PvE servers so if getting randomly ganked isn't your thing then you can avoid it. The border kingdoms and guild cities will be very interesting and reminds me a bit of the PvP structure of EvE Online. It should be interesting.
From random bits online it seems that guilds can set the time range that their cities are vulnerable to attack. The longer the time the more benefits they get from the city.
From random bits online it seems that guilds can set the time range that their cities are vulnerable to attack. The longer the time the more benefits they get from the city.
I am looking forward to it, but not enough to preorder a copy.
I never got a chance to play in the beta so I can only speculate based on literature, screenshots and videos as to whether it is my type of game or not. So far it is looking like yes.
AoC's dark fantasy world looks like the closest we will get to Diablo Online this decade and I am totally into the M-rated content. I am a carebear at heart but if the game has decent PVP I will partake.
But most of all, I'm just sick of warcraft and while I play LOTRO a couple nights a week, it is really dull and boring to me.
My lingering concern is that when I DID used to participate on AoC's pre-release forum like 3 years ago (again, why I never made it into a beta just burns me a little more) there was much dick swinging and "go back to wow" mentality, which I think is really the wrong way to look at it. It just seems really stupid to alienate so many players by making something completely different that they can't relate to. If you can't manage to chip off a bit of that audience, I don't think your game will be around for long.
I never got a chance to play in the beta so I can only speculate based on literature, screenshots and videos as to whether it is my type of game or not. So far it is looking like yes.
AoC's dark fantasy world looks like the closest we will get to Diablo Online this decade and I am totally into the M-rated content. I am a carebear at heart but if the game has decent PVP I will partake.
But most of all, I'm just sick of warcraft and while I play LOTRO a couple nights a week, it is really dull and boring to me.
My lingering concern is that when I DID used to participate on AoC's pre-release forum like 3 years ago (again, why I never made it into a beta just burns me a little more) there was much dick swinging and "go back to wow" mentality, which I think is really the wrong way to look at it. It just seems really stupid to alienate so many players by making something completely different that they can't relate to. If you can't manage to chip off a bit of that audience, I don't think your game will be around for long.
I'm waiting for AoC even if it will probably less polished and huge. Even a little competition on the mmo market is good for it.
Some publisher are sleeping because they have no competitors in my opinion.
I really hope that the mature stuff they announce will be at the rendez-vous.
I logged some time on last tech test i was invited and i loved what i've seen. It seems fun but i'm waiting to see more.
(i'm not breaking NDA, just saying that it seems fun).
Some old MMO players like us need some mature-and-no-need-for-reflex game, a new mmo kind :)
Some publisher are sleeping because they have no competitors in my opinion.
I really hope that the mature stuff they announce will be at the rendez-vous.
I logged some time on last tech test i was invited and i loved what i've seen. It seems fun but i'm waiting to see more.
(i'm not breaking NDA, just saying that it seems fun).
Some old MMO players like us need some mature-and-no-need-for-reflex game, a new mmo kind :)
# posted by : 15/4/08 16:00
: 15/4/08 16:00
Do you remember going from eq 1 combat system to say daoc / or wow ?
Well AOC is the next level up, not twitchy but very active and involved .... ie. fun and engaging
As for guilds just look for the older gamers guilds, less swining dick more organized and motivated guild with good skills both for pve and pvp
Well AOC is the next level up, not twitchy but very active and involved .... ie. fun and engaging
As for guilds just look for the older gamers guilds, less swining dick more organized and motivated guild with good skills both for pve and pvp
# posted by : 15/4/08 16:16
: 15/4/08 16:16
It is nice today to get some blog posts on something besides WoW, though there isn't much you probably could have done about other games without a lot of news coming out, other than "This games feature sounds like it might ..." posts that have been appearing a lot lately.
I've played the technical betas and AoC sucks IMHO. No chance in hell any fence-sitters will pick it up and last long enough to enjoy the potentially better end-game.
Don't want to break any NDA, but the game is currently quite bad, far (very far) from finished and the 6 GB (!!) of patch of last week end didn't really change a thing. The client is way too demanding for a broad success anyway and the universe will turn down many players. I expect a Vanguard launch, a tad better because of timing, not much more. :/
# posted by : 15/4/08 17:07
: 15/4/08 17:07
Hey Tobold, you should let us know what server you plan to play on. I plan on getting AoC as well and I have the same feelings as you for the game so maybe we could be leveling buddies.
# posted by : 15/4/08 18:41
: 15/4/08 18:41
I really wouldn't trust any reports of the game "sucking". Just a note. Just a simple note... without breaking the NDA.
Sadly, that's all I can say.
Oh, and I can say from all the info available that the game's not "PvP-Centric". It's got a TON of PvE content from they've shown us so far, and there will be dungeons, and whatnot to boot.
My guess is that it will be more like WoW than WAR in that aspect.
Sadly, that's all I can say.
Oh, and I can say from all the info available that the game's not "PvP-Centric". It's got a TON of PvE content from they've shown us so far, and there will be dungeons, and whatnot to boot.
My guess is that it will be more like WoW than WAR in that aspect.
I've been in the Tech and General Beta, and...
1) Twitchy combat:
Nope.
More involving and engaging. Yes. Twitchy in the sense of a FPS. No. Not in a long shot.
2) PvP centric:
Initially this might have been true. But fact is, it's pretty balanced like WoW.
3) Conan Kiddies:
It's a little premature to start guessing about this...
Because of it's more grim, pulpy and less WoW-cute content it might as well attract more mature gamers.
1) Twitchy combat:
Nope.
More involving and engaging. Yes. Twitchy in the sense of a FPS. No. Not in a long shot.
2) PvP centric:
Initially this might have been true. But fact is, it's pretty balanced like WoW.
3) Conan Kiddies:
It's a little premature to start guessing about this...
Because of it's more grim, pulpy and less WoW-cute content it might as well attract more mature gamers.
"The only people who play Alliance are the nice people, the Horde are evil"
Whoa there, everyone knows the Horde is home to the awesome people! ;)
Whoa there, everyone knows the Horde is home to the awesome people! ;)
Well, if the recent tech beta is anything to go by, the game is in a bad way. Lots of people reporting blank screens, inability to play etc. Along with the usual fanboys claiming that because it didn't happen to them, the game has no bugs and the others are liars.
The client seems not to have been written with the possibility of server failure in mind: it simply locks rather than giving an error message. This kind of inattention to basic computing principles doesn't bode well for the rest of the game.
From what I've seen, it's in much worse shape than Vanguard was this close to release. If they don't postpone launch, I fear for the future of the game. Not in lore or gameplay terms, just basic software quality.
It's true that there have been a few "I <3 ganking, cos I is l33t" posts on the forum, but you get those on most new games. Not sure you can draw conclusions about the community from that.
The client seems not to have been written with the possibility of server failure in mind: it simply locks rather than giving an error message. This kind of inattention to basic computing principles doesn't bode well for the rest of the game.
From what I've seen, it's in much worse shape than Vanguard was this close to release. If they don't postpone launch, I fear for the future of the game. Not in lore or gameplay terms, just basic software quality.
It's true that there have been a few "I <3 ganking, cos I is l33t" posts on the forum, but you get those on most new games. Not sure you can draw conclusions about the community from that.
# posted by : 15/4/08 22:41
: 15/4/08 22:41
3) Conan Kiddies:
It's a little premature to start guessing about this...
do you guys remember being a teenager?
Conan is advertising itself as the ADULT game with boobs and nudity.
think back to age 14 on up.....
Yeah there will be lots of conan kiddies. The surest way to get teenagers there is tell em its Adult only.
Been that way since man built thier first city.
It's a little premature to start guessing about this...
do you guys remember being a teenager?
Conan is advertising itself as the ADULT game with boobs and nudity.
think back to age 14 on up.....
Yeah there will be lots of conan kiddies. The surest way to get teenagers there is tell em its Adult only.
Been that way since man built thier first city.
The surest way to get teenagers there is tell em its Adult only.
Probably. But it's still guessing.
I know a lot of easy going grown ups (my entire old WoW guild) who wants to play this game - because of its more gritty, more, mature content...
Probably. But it's still guessing.
I know a lot of easy going grown ups (my entire old WoW guild) who wants to play this game - because of its more gritty, more, mature content...
Even if the combat is twitchier, the majority of that twitch would be client-side, anyway. Click the right icon before it goes away and the client sends the appropriate packet up to give you a little bonus damage.
There's a huge gap between real twitch and the kind of slowness we have today in WoW. You can trust the client at least that far.
There's a huge gap between real twitch and the kind of slowness we have today in WoW. You can trust the client at least that far.
# posted by : 16/4/08 02:34
: 16/4/08 02:34
Guys,
the latest tech beta was a STRESS test. They intentionally created 3 years worth of MMO data and tried to reach the limits on login, trading etc
The goal of this stress test, aside from the trading post testing, was to hammer the login servers as hard as possible, to identify possible bottlenecks.
So this was not purely a gameplay beta. It was expected that it would not be a smooth run. That being said, it looks like they identified issues, and they better fix those prior to go-live.
the latest tech beta was a STRESS test. They intentionally created 3 years worth of MMO data and tried to reach the limits on login, trading etc
The goal of this stress test, aside from the trading post testing, was to hammer the login servers as hard as possible, to identify possible bottlenecks.
So this was not purely a gameplay beta. It was expected that it would not be a smooth run. That being said, it looks like they identified issues, and they better fix those prior to go-live.
# posted by : 16/4/08 04:00
: 16/4/08 04:00
copra I didn't say it would be teenagers only. Just stating the fact that the harder they market it too adults the more attractive it becomes to teenagers. Its a simple fact of life.
and there are more web savvy teens than adults I think.
and there are more web savvy teens than adults I think.
Follow the link and note that the Conan Kiddies comment is from Keen. And while I have no first hand experience with the AoC community, Keen was writing about the *current* AoC community he found on various message boards. So while gameplay etc. is certainly a "wait and see" thing, the community already exists. And I trust Keen to have reported on it correctly.
It's funny to hear people complain about poor quality gameplay during a stress test... just shows everyone they don't know a damn thing about what they signed up for or what their even doing.
And as for the "if AOC is anything like Darktide it will go belly up faster then horizons" comment I just have to ask if that poster's on some sort of delusion inducing narcotics?
Especially when trying to compare two completely different games.
And as for the "if AOC is anything like Darktide it will go belly up faster then horizons" comment I just have to ask if that poster's on some sort of delusion inducing narcotics?
Especially when trying to compare two completely different games.
# posted by : 17/4/08 05:07
: 17/4/08 05:07
For me it's very simple. I've tried almost every game that's come out in 3 years looking for the new fun thing.
I'm done. When I see hundreds of posts on gaming blogs, and all the other places I go check out game information, then I'll try the new game. I'm done buying boxes to see if its good. And I think the gaming companies are setting peoples expectaitions so low that may become the norm. If WAR and AOC dont' do well it's going to get harder and harder to find people willing to buy the game at launch.
And I'm not sure thats a bad thing. I think the current model of sucking a bunch of casual players into beta testing with promises of keeping thier character and haveing a leg up on everyone is really hurting the games. TR is a perfect example of that. Thier beta killed thier game.
I'm done. When I see hundreds of posts on gaming blogs, and all the other places I go check out game information, then I'll try the new game. I'm done buying boxes to see if its good. And I think the gaming companies are setting peoples expectaitions so low that may become the norm. If WAR and AOC dont' do well it's going to get harder and harder to find people willing to buy the game at launch.
And I'm not sure thats a bad thing. I think the current model of sucking a bunch of casual players into beta testing with promises of keeping thier character and haveing a leg up on everyone is really hurting the games. TR is a perfect example of that. Thier beta killed thier game.
It will be a niche game, and its safe to say it wont exceed what WoW has accomplished in terms of subscribers and polished product expectations.
It does have some great thigns going for it which can weather some more major problems people are noticing.
~adult themed I think will play very nice as this sort of theme wont hold the attention of a younger crowd for reasons of complexity, expectations, and most being unable to actually purchase the game.
~involved action sequences, from what I understand the game really revolves around a live player and altho it may still suffer from a repetitive streak of commands, it is still going to be a player vs a bot (for now anyway) at the control. This has a large degree of replayability over other current MMOrpgs with just this factor alone.
I might even compare playing AoC vs WoW, like playing the board games Risk vs Mouse Trap respectively. The depth of the content can be much more than a statistical gearcheck/grind and actually reward the players to playing the game (which is hard for game devs to put from paper to code in many ways.)
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It does have some great thigns going for it which can weather some more major problems people are noticing.
~adult themed I think will play very nice as this sort of theme wont hold the attention of a younger crowd for reasons of complexity, expectations, and most being unable to actually purchase the game.
~involved action sequences, from what I understand the game really revolves around a live player and altho it may still suffer from a repetitive streak of commands, it is still going to be a player vs a bot (for now anyway) at the control. This has a large degree of replayability over other current MMOrpgs with just this factor alone.
I might even compare playing AoC vs WoW, like playing the board games Risk vs Mouse Trap respectively. The depth of the content can be much more than a statistical gearcheck/grind and actually reward the players to playing the game (which is hard for game devs to put from paper to code in many ways.)
# posted by : 22/4/08 02:46
: 22/4/08 02:46<< Home
