Funcom announces its Dragon*Con plans
Massively — ... American readers: are you going to Dragon*Con this Labor Day weekend? Funcom (developer of Anarchy Online, Age of Conan, and The Secret World) is! Its specific plans have been laid out at the Age of Conan website. The company will have its own booth, of course, which will be open from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Friday through Sunday, and from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Monday. More interestingly, though, Funcom will be hosting what it calls the "FunCon Event" in the Sheraton Capital Ballroom on Friday at ...

The Daily Grind: Are rewards for offline time a good idea?
Massively — ... Other games have 'rested' systems, too. Age of Conan has 'fresh kills', where a set number of the first kills of the day net you extra XP (so long as they're a challenge), and something similar was popularized in ...

State of the Diku 2008
Terra Nova — ... that developers seem to implement them without asking what purpose or role they will serve in a particular gameworld. Moreover, precisely because these features have become so foundational, it seems difficult to think of new approaches or game mechanics, even those that offer only a mild twist. But even a single such innovation can do a lot to spark new interest among players. By way of illustration, a look at two such mechanics in two fairly new commercial virtual worlds, Age of Conan and Warhammer Online. (The latter is approaching open beta, with a release ...

Today's Age of Conan patch should be last one before new PvP system
Massively — Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Patches, Server downtimeThis morning, the Age of Conan servers received a small patch, tagged as patch 1.5. There's not much in it: a fix to the charging issues (that's charging into battle, not charging a credit card), a change to the price of basic riding skills (to 25 silver) and a few other bits and bobs. Small though it is, it's already caused the servers to be brought down for another 5 hours for technical reasons. The more interesting news is that patch 2.0, ...

Age of Conan: A postmortem analysis?
Massively — ... Ouch. That word pretty much sums up this article we found over at MMOCrunch regarding their opinion on the current state of Age of Conan. As declared in the article, it wasn't written to convince potential players that the game is bad ...

The Hyborian Backpackers' guide: Wild Lands of Zelata
Massively — ... The Hyborian Backpackers have returned to guide you through another of Age of Conan's expansive zones. Last week we ventured across Conall's Valley, and for this next tour, we have moved to another of the game's earlier areas, the Wild Lands of Zelata. Flip through our gallery guide to see our snapshots of all the major locations, find out where to pick up your quests, preview some of the bigger and meaner monsters, and to learn what exactly a Zelata is. ...

Why Other MMO's Don't Threaten WoW
A Rogue's Eye View — "It's going to be the WoW killer!" That's a phrase that's often uttered when someone is talking about a new MMO on the horizon. I heard it with Tabula Rasa, I heard it with Age of Conan, and now I'm hearing it with Warhammer Online. Now there's no doubt in my mind that all of these are good games. They're all MMORPG's with great gameplay styles, and they all bring something different to the table. But none of these games are WoW killers. In fact, I firmly believe that such a thing doesn't ...

The Daily Grind: How's LotRO treatin' ya?
Massively — ... With the Age of Conan launch not far behind us, and the release dates of Warhammer Online and Wrath of the Lich King coming up soon, The Lord of the Rings Online hasn't been getting much attention as of late. That's a pity, really, since it's just hitting its stride, with the Mines of Moria expansion coming out this fall as well. Turbine has been shy about releasing subscription numbers, but an educated guess could place LotRO in the #2 spot as far as subscription-based, ...

The Digital Continuum: Five attention-stealing MMOs
Massively — ... that's became a stand-in for my main game, which I actually don't even have as of right now. So with the summer's end nearing, I thought a look six or so months into the future releases would be an interesting topic. I know what some people may be thinking, Age of Conan did indeed come out just as summer was starting. While ...

Terra Nova looks back (and forward) at the Diku legacy
Massively — ... EverQuest, World of Warcraft, The Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online and many other MMOs all have one important thing in common. Well, okay; they have a lot of things in common -- like about 85% or more of their gameplay mechanics. But the main thing -- indeed, the reason why they have so much in common -- is that they are all descendants of a kind of text MUD game called Diku. Acknowledging that, virtual worlds blog Terra Nova published a " ...

Mythic's Mark Jacobs really wanted to see Age of Conan succeed
Massively — ... Multiplayer's Tracey John, speaking with head of Mythic Entertainment Mark Jacobs, has been exploring a line of questioning about the MMO industry in general. They noted the high failure rate for the genre, and the equally high expectations that are now placed on new games by fans and industry commentators. Jacobs offered up, as part of this discussion, some analysis on why Hellgate: London didn't make it, and why Funcom's Age of Conan has been having so many problems over their long first summer of launch. Of ...

Age of Conan reveals first PvP gear, stats and all
Massively — ... The bad news for Age of Conan PvP enthusiasts is that the patch has been put back yet again, and is now due to come out on September 10th. However, if you head over to the Testlive Server - and owing to a new feature, you can now copy over your regular characters instead of starting new ones - you can visit the ad-hoc PvP vendors in Tortage, and see how you like the long-awaited ...

Age of Conan: Still aiming for the 360
Massively — ... Have you been wondering what's been happening about Age of Conan for the Xbox 360? Come on, you were, weren't you? You're all ready to vent your endless barbarian rages in digital Hyborea via Microsoft's premier console, right? Well ...

The Hyborian Backpackers' Guide: Sanctum of the Burning Souls
Massively — ... , the Hyborian Backpackers have headed indoors for a change on this latest adventure -- but being sheltered from the climate didn't mean we were any safer than before. In fact, inside Age of Conan's Sanctum of the Burning Souls, you'll need a whole group of friends of the appropriate level if you intend to survive for very long at all. ...

One Shots: Beware the black cat
Massively — ... before, but never Assassin pets! But sure enough, we opened up our mailbox and found this screenshot of Age of Conan sent in to us by Rasos. Attached to the screenshot was the following note: Here's a shot of my assassin, Rasos, in ...

PAX08: GamerDNA interview focuses on subscription numbers
Massively — ... So in this audio interview that you'll find enclosed below, Radoff explains something that we found quite peculiar. "Interestingly, a high percentage of those people who quit Age of Conan didn't go back to ...

Ask Massively: You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.
Massively — ... Before I start singing "These are a few of my favorite things...", let me point out that these are references to comments in last week's Ask Massively. Specifically, they are comments from some of my readers on how they feel about "buggy MMO's" and the companies that launch them. Lupinus asks: How do you trust someone when they lied/misled you? I hope that most of you didn't find last week's commentary too painful, because you're not going to like this answer much at all. Continue reading ...

Massively goes to Dragon*Con: Funcom Q&A
Massively — ... Funcom was on-hand at this year's Dragon*Con, where they held a Q&A session regarding all things Age of Conan. What follows is as much of the event as could be transcribed from the audio we brought back with us. This writeup was completed based on audio with some garbled sections. Some details may be glossed over as a result. Without further ado: ...

Age of Conan direct download available on Steam
Massively — Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, MMO industryAge of Conan is now available for purchase and download on Steam, the direct download service run by Half-Life 2 publisher/developer Valve Software. It joins EVE Online in representing the genre in the massive digital store. ...

The Daily Grind: Are the stakes too low in modern PvP?
Massively — ... the penalties could be quite severe. When you died In Meridian or UO, you dropped all of your gear. The person who killed you could steal whatever he or she pleased. Of course, in games like that, gear wasn't quite such a big deal. In Meridian a sword would wear out after a few of hours of use anyway. But combined with stat and skill losses, death in the games of the 90s was comparatively harsh. Now, in World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online, the stakes are lower. You have ...

SUWT #33
The Grouchy Gamer — Search: The Grouchy Gamer | Ramblings from a grouchy old gamer. You kids get off my damn lawn! Home | Contact | About Posted on 09-08-2008 SUWT #33 Filed Under ( Podcast ) by Genda Read More Post a Comment Name: Email: Website: Comments: Subscribe Add to Google Reader or Homepage Subscribe in Bloglines [image] Subscribe in a reader Stuff I Said SUWT #33 Casualties of WAR has Officially Eaten All My Time WAR Love and H8 Shark, Jumped. Got a WAR Collector’s Edition or Preorder Key? Stuff You Said ...

French Age of Conan rap video rocks la maison
Massively — ... Even if the Age of Conan developers are coming in for some serious criticism of late, the players are coming up with some funky stuff. Rodion's Je Demonte - it's French for 'I kick ass', if you were wondering - is not only one of the better Age of Conan fanvids we've seen, it's one of the only AoC fanvids we've seen. There are plenty of demos of spellweaving and the like, but not so much in the way of character video or storytelling. (If you've seen any that deserve a wider audience, let us know!) So, take a look at the ...

The Daily Grind: What's a good player retention level?
Massively — ... It's curious how the exact same data can be taken as brilliant news, confirming a game's enduring appeal, and terrible news, dooming the game to oblivion, depending upon who you ask. Take Age of Conan, for example. Not so long ago, ...

Big Iron gets the skinny on quad-core Conan
Massively — ... Big Download's sardonic incubus Rafe Brox successfully ambushed Age of Conan developer Jorgen Tharaldsen at DragonCon, and demanded information about what ...

Burning Crusade's quality delayed WAR, says Jacobs
Massively — ... of quests in what he calls the "watercool quests" that players talk about around the watercooler. Jacobs continues, "We looked at the amount of content they put in that and said we need more time if we want to add some of those things, if we want our own watercooler quests or more watercooler quests. So our choice was to delay the game and spend more time on it." You can read more on the rest of this MTV interview with our previous coverage of Jacob's thoughts on Age of Conan and more.   Read | Permalink ...

The Daily Grind: The best MMO music
Massively — ... you: a certain blogger is playing The Lord of the Rings Online. He's in the Trollshaws, and he notices the music -- oft-ignored in MMOs -- is actually really good. It's classy and it's beautiful. Then he starts to think about the music in other games -- the gorgeous and mournful guild hall ballad of Meridian 59, the beautiful and muted arpeggios of EverQuest's Kelethin theme, and the dark and foreboding ancient instrumentation of Age of Conan's various Stygian pieces. Music is not usually the focus of a lot ...

Age of Conan declares rules for RP, four months after launch
Massively — ... Better late than never? The graphically intense, atmospheric slashfest Age of Conan has had designated roleplaying servers since day one, but it doesn't seem to have occurred to Funcom to give that status any kind of binding definition, let alone a formal code of conduct. Now, though, the exhaustive rules for what you can and can't do on a roleplay server ...

The Hyborian Backpackers' Guide: Khopshef Province
Massively — ... . On the cards for this latest Age of Conan adventure is the Khopshef Province region, a vast desert with a number of towns, both friendly and hostile. Not only are there quests galore for the outdoor areas, but this zone plays host to a handful of instances as well that are absolutely worth a visit. Check out our ...

One Shots: Thunder River moonscape
Massively — ... The moon crosses a dark sky, but many adventurers do not fear the night. The coldly-illuminated landscape of today's Age of Conan One Shot reveals just such a brave soul; Dabruut. In this screenshot, we see ...

Blog Banter #8: The modern re-make of a game
CrazyKinux's Musing — ... innovative in the MMO genre, and still is today. And with the visual direction they took with cell-shading, this little game had all the elements of a winner. As with many MMOs, they did have trouble with the launch of the game, and it wasn't completely polished when it shipped. But many games today had similar beginnings and yet, were eventually successful. EVE Online being one of those MMOs with a less-than-stellar launch. Not every MMO launches with the roar of a WoW, an AoC or a WAR. The major obstacle for Runestone, one that resulted in the death of ...

Age of Conan: Cooking Up Culture Armor
WarCry Network : Latest News — Age of Conan 's system designer Dave Williams is the author of an in-house interview about culture armor. See what's involved in 'cooking up' the culture armor recipes below. How many new recipes will there be? There are 24 culture armor recipes. Each recipe makes three pieces of set. Thus for patch 3 we are releasing twelve 6 piece armor sets -- one set per class. There are four culture weapon recipes grouped by geography, and each weapon recipe can make 3 weapons related to that theme. There are a couple of details that I'm going to leave to discovery, that I think players will ...

Age of Conan PvP Consequence System LIVE
WarCry Network : Latest News — The latest patch notes for Age of Conan have been posted and, most importantly, the PvP Consequence System is now live on all servers. Check out what that means for you gankers below. The PVP Consequence System is now live! This update also brings with a series of significant changes and updates to trade-skills, combat mechanics, massive PVP and GUI functionality in addition to a great new experience in the Cistern! PVP Consequence System - The Notoriety System This game update brings with it a major new game-play feature - a new consequence system for PVP. Off the back of the ...

Age of Conan Composer Nominated for Prestigious Award
WarCry Network : Latest News — Age of Conan music composer Knut Avenstroup Haugen has been nominated for a 2008 Hollywood Music Award. The nomination is for 'Best Original Game Score'. Other nominees include: Best Original Score - Video Game Greg Edmonson - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Naughty Dog/Sony Computer Entertainment America) Steve Henifin - Too Human (Silicon Knights / Microsoft Game Studios) Steve Jablonsky - Gears Of War 2 (Epic Games / Microsoft Game Studios) Jesper Kyd - Assassin's Creed (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft) Winifred Phillips - Speed Racer (Sidhe Interactive / Warner Bros. Interactive) ...

Age of Conan: Ymir's Pass is Live
WarCry Network : Latest News — Age of Conan servers were updated earlier this week with the free content update, "Ymir's Pass". The new area features new quests, monsters and a brand new story to accompany it. Grab the details, screens and video below. Major Content Update For Age of Conan Now Live! New update introduces new land area, a new dungeon, new quests and hours of more adventure Durham, USA - November 14th, 2008 - This week Funcom updated the 'Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures' live servers with the largest gameplay content addition since launch. By visiting the vast, new outdoor area of Ymir's ...

Age of Conan: State of the Game
WarCry Network : Latest News — Age of Conan director Craig Morrison has penned his monthly 'state of the game' letter. In it, he discusses today's Ymir's Pass update as well as the future updates and changes. See what's coming your way below: The latest outlook on planned updates and changes from the Game Director Craig Morrison With the latest game update launched and on the live servers I thought it was a good time to catch up with you all and let you know what is on the horizon for the coming game updates and give you all a general status update. With the new PVP systems now in place and Ymir's Pass now ...

Age of Conan: Snow Mammoth Mounts
WarCry Network : Latest News — Age of Conan players have an opportunity to score one of the coolest mounts in MMOs, the Snow Mammoth. Check out the facts about it below. The war painted Snow Mammoth is now available in-game at the NPC mount vendors and comes in three different looks. Besides being a very stylish player mount, the Snow Mammoth - like its brown brother the War Mammoth - can be used in siege PvP-battles to attack enemies and destroy structures. Here's a look at this bad boy: This unique mount even comes in three different 'war paint' looks. Pretty damn cool, IMO!

Purchase AoC Now And Mount A Mammoth
Age of Conan Vault - The Ultimate Resource — ... To celebrate winter and the arrival of the new Snow Mammoth to Age of Conan, Funcom is giving a free Snow Mammoth (of the digital variety of course!) to all future-Hyborians who buy the game now. Ride into battle in style, order up and mount your mammoth today! -- ...

Age of Conan Giving Gifts
WarCry Network : Latest News — Age of Conan players found a nifty gift in their inventories this week. Wrapped up in a bloody skin (j/k), the gift is a talisman to increase a user's stamina and mana stores. Find out more about it below: To celebrate the season, we are happy to unveil that as of today all active accounts have been given a never before seen virtual item: The Kosalan talisman of clarity. In addition to both boosting both the stamina and mana reserves of its wearer, the talisman also features strong regeneration of both these values. Although better items are found deeper inside the game, this ...

MMORPGs Are Like Sex
LagORama — No, I’m not talking about cybering on the Deeprun Tram. I’m talking about the community as a whole and its changing tastes. Before you have sex for the first time, just the thought of it is exciting. “Whoa baby,” you think, “Gotta get me some!” Then you actually have sex, and it’s fantastic. Once you prove that it’s attainable, you run around like a bunny on Red Bull, looking for it every chance you get. Sooner or later, though, almost everyone reaches the point where just “sex” isn’t enough. You start fantasizing ...

Why does WAR’s PvE feel like such a grind?
reroller: a warhammer online and mmorpg blog — ... In between WoW and WAR, I played Age of Conan for a couple of months. I didn’t play it heavily, and I didn’t reach the level 80 cap (I barely made it halfway before I stopped playing), but I do clearly recall the first 20 levels in Tortage as being a blast. I always think the game had a bad rap — Funcom probably deserved better than they got, but they did rush the game and it seemed pretty unfinished once you got into the 30s and 40s. I quit at level 35 or 36, being too busy with my real life™ commitments to continue the grind. At the time, it was still moving at a ...

The vicious cycle
reroller: a warhammer online and mmorpg blog — ... Age of Conan’s level 1-20 range in Tortage, as scripted as it was, was some of the most fun I’ve had in an MMO in years, but the game fell off badly after that, losing much of its charm as it felt completely unfinished past level 30. ...

Age of Conan State of the Game Letter
WarCry Network : Latest News — Age of Conan 's game director, Craig Morrison, has penned the latest 'State of the Game' letter. The letter deals with the server mergers and future updates for AoC. See what's in store below: 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 ...

Darkfall NDA is down
Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog — ... If you’re wanting the next graphical messiah and can’t stand looking at dated graphics (albeit not so bad, save for animations) then (in the words of Bartlebe) this is the game for you. ...

Darkfall’s intriguing potential
reroller: a warhammer online and mmorpg blog — ... I’m a cynic when it comes to MMOs, these days. In a past life, I wasn’t, but I’ve played them for well over a decade now, after years of online gaming prior to MMOs becoming commonplace. What I really enjoy is seeing some design progress in a genre that has, over time, become stagnant, rife with the success of polished yet staggeringly bland PvE-oriented games like WoW; products with tons of potential like Age of Conan that were released half-finished and lost their users as quickly as they gained them; games like ...

Checking in with Age of Conan's Game Director
Massively — ... The changes coming to Funcom's Age of Conan have really been picking up steam. While this update is more of a teaser for things to come, the breakdown of the new RPG system does give players a first look at how new stat breakdowns will change things down the road. From what they're saying, you'll want to be sure you stay on top of getting the best armor and gear! Also, they've added a new character sheet to better display all the new armor attributes and how they will impact each character as they progress through the wild lands of Hyborea. ...

One Shots: Cimmerian highlands
Massively — ... While we haven't seen too many screenshots of this game in a while, the lush forests and sweltering jungles are still there, waiting to be captured by intrepid explorers and shown off. Today's Age of Conan One Shots from David H. is an older image found in the depths of the ...

Neowiz Exec VP on F2P market saturation and working with EA
Massively — Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, News items, Opinion, Free-to-playWhen it comes to the Western market, the name EA will jump out at many gamers far faster than the name Neowiz will. However, Neowiz was involved not only in successful redesigns/ports like EA's FIFA Online, but is also localizing other Western games like Age of Conan. In a recent article with Gamasutra, Neowiz Exective Vice President, Sang-Won Chung had a lot of very interesting things to say about the ...

WRUP: Raise your hand if you aren't playing TF2 edition
Massively — ... : Once again I'll be stomping around in Age of Conan, which is especially easier to do now that the game never crashes and runs silky smooth on my machine. ...

Will 2009 be the best year ever for MMOs?
Massively — Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, OpinionTipa is wondering if the upcoming 2009 MMO titles will make this year the best yet for MMOs. EVE Online will be receiving its highly anticipated Apocrypha expansion pleasing the "impact PvP" crowd. Free Realms will soon launch to the delight of families around the world, providing another option in the "kid friendly" category. Champions Online will be zipping up its latex suit to compete in the superhero sub-genre. Cryptic has another potential hit on their ...

Checking in with Age of Conan's Advocate program
Massively — ... It looks like the quest is over, and most of the spots for community Advocates for Age of Conan are well on the way to being filled. ...

The Daily Grind: How important are console MMO titles to you?
Massively — ... With the news out yesterday that Champions Online will not be seeing a launch day release to consoles along with the PC client, we're kind of wondering what's coming for the future of consoles in terms of MMO releases. Sure, there are already a handful of MMOs out there in the space: Final Fantasy XI, Phantasy Star Universe, and EverQuest Online Adventures, but they seem to be more the exception than the rule. Age of Conan, promised to be released to consoles shortly after AoC's PC ...

One Shots: A bit of local color
Massively — ... The lands in Age of Conan are a strange place, populated with tribal folk who seem to love to run about in skimpy outfits and attack you when you're least expecting it - and that's not even talking about the NPCs! Today's ...

The Big DX Poll
Age of Conan Vault - The Ultimate Resource — ... - NPCs - Quests - Zones - Kingdoms - Features Feat Calculator The PvP Armory AoC Maps Articles Comics Interviews Guild Interviews Guild Directory Top 10 Lists Journals AoC Mailbag Week in Review Wallpapers Art Work Videos Screenshots - About AoC Game Overview FAQ Official Screenshots Review Scores - Community Links Age of Conan Official Site - My Profile Edit Profile Manage Submissions Vault ...

GDC09: A candid interview with Age of Conan's game director
Massively — ... 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. ...

GDC 09: A candid interview with Age of Conan's game director
Massively — ... 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. ...

Catching Up Conan at GDC '09
Age of Conan Vault - The Ultimate Resource — ... - NPCs - Quests - Zones - Kingdoms - Features Feat Calculator The PvP Armory AoC Maps Articles Comics Interviews Guild Interviews Guild Directory Top 10 Lists Journals AoC Mailbag Week in Review Wallpapers Art Work Videos Screenshots - About AoC Game Overview FAQ Official Screenshots Review Scores - Community Links Age of Conan Official Site - My Profile Edit Profile Manage Submissions Vault ...

Age of Conan Game Director's Letter
WarCry Network : Latest News — Age of Conan game director Craig Morrison has posted this month's director's letter. In it, he takes a look at last week's GDC and updates soon to be implemented. See what Morrison has to say below: All Things GDC Last week some of us were at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, and while members of the team were busying themselves learning at the various panels, lectures and roundtables I took some time out to spend a day with members of the press talking a little about the past present and future of Age of Conan. It was a great opportunity to chat about everything ...

Conan Letter From The Game Director
Age of Conan Vault - The Ultimate Resource — ... - NPCs - Quests - Zones - Kingdoms - Features Feat Calculator The PvP Armory AoC Maps Articles Comics Interviews Guild Interviews Guild Directory Top 10 Lists Journals AoC Mailbag Week in Review Wallpapers Art Work Videos Screenshots - About AoC Game Overview FAQ Official Screenshots Review Scores - Community Links Age of Conan Official Site - My Profile Edit Profile Manage Submissions Vault ...

Age of Conan begins 7-day free trial period
Massively — ... During last week's GDC interview with Craig Morrison, the Age of Conan game director spoke with us about the future of the game and the new direction the team is taking to get new players in and old players back. One of those methods he ...

Special FilePlanet Perks For Conan Trial
Age of Conan Vault - The Ultimate Resource — ... - NPCs - Quests - Zones - Kingdoms - Features Feat Calculator The PvP Armory AoC Maps Articles Comics Interviews Guild Interviews Guild Directory Top 10 Lists Journals AoC Mailbag Week in Review Wallpapers Art Work Videos Screenshots - About AoC Game Overview FAQ Official Screenshots Review Scores - Community Links Age of Conan Official Site - My Profile Edit Profile Manage Submissions Vault ...

GDC Interview with Craig Morrison
Age of Conan Vault - The Ultimate Resource — ... - NPCs - Quests - Zones - Kingdoms - Features Feat Calculator The PvP Armory AoC Maps Articles Comics Interviews Guild Interviews Guild Directory Top 10 Lists Journals AoC Mailbag Week in Review Wallpapers Art Work Videos Screenshots - About AoC Game Overview FAQ Official Screenshots Review Scores - Community Links Age of Conan Official Site - My Profile Edit Profile Manage Submissions Vault ...

Age of Conan Dev Chat on XFire
Age of Conan Vault - The Ultimate Resource — ... - NPCs - Quests - Zones - Kingdoms - Features Feat Calculator The PvP Armory AoC Maps Articles Comics Interviews Guild Interviews Guild Directory Top 10 Lists Journals AoC Mailbag Week in Review Wallpapers Art Work Videos Screenshots - About AoC Game Overview FAQ Official Screenshots Review Scores - Community Links Age of Conan Official Site - My Profile Edit Profile Manage Submissions Vault ...

WRUP: Everyone's talkin' about Conan edition
Massively — ... Age of Conan's current free trial program is tough to say no to. Seven days of freedom in the brutal world of Conan? Besides the initial 13GB download, what's not to love? Of course, every Massively writer has their own favorite game, and not even free game time can tear all of us away from our MMO of choice. So what's the Massively team playing this weekend? Read on to find out! And if you couldn't care less what the Massively team is playing this weekend? Well then, tell us what you're playing this weekend, instead! Continue reading ...

Another Khemi Sunday
Age of Conan Vault - The Ultimate Resource — ... - NPCs - Quests - Zones - Kingdoms - Features Feat Calculator The PvP Armory AoC Maps Articles Comics Interviews Guild Interviews Guild Directory Top 10 Lists Journals AoC Mailbag Week in Review Wallpapers Art Work Videos Screenshots - About AoC Game Overview FAQ Official Screenshots Review Scores - Community Links Age of Conan Official Site - My Profile Edit Profile Manage Submissions Vault ...

The Secret World approaches revelation
Massively — ... , it's about time you knew that the secret is about to be unveiled. Forget the stigma associated with Funcom and Age of Conan, and consider the fact that The Secret World comes to us from ...

Age of Conan offers chat and prizes
Massively — ... With the current 7-day free trial going for Age of Conan and DX10 working, eyes are starting to turn back to Funcom's brutal and bloody MMO set in Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age. If you've been on the fence about popping back in to play again, ...

GDC09: Interview with The Secret World's creator, Ragnar Tørnquist
Massively — ... our unveiling of The Secret World, we were also able to have some time to ourselves with Ragnar Tørnquist, the creator of Dreamfall and, of course, The Secret World. While our look at the videos and basic fact sheets were interesting, we wanted to get to the heart of the matter. What should lure us into this dark, fantastic world? What had Funcom learned since the launch of Anarchy Online and Age of Conan? And how many times can we have one man say the words, "I can't talk ...

One Shots: On the climb
Massively — ... the other day, lots of players are headed back into Hyborea to check out the free 7-day trial. Hey, why not - for "free" all you really risk is time. Today's One Shots comes to us from Royale who is one such person who recently returned to Age of Conan. He writes in: I just returned to the game a couple weeks ago and this was my first run of my favorite dungeon Sanctum of Burning Souls. This is the stairway leading up to the final boss, the Acheronian Warlord. It's quite the hike to the boss, but it was worth it. This dungeon is awesome. ...

Interview with AoC Live Producer
Massively — MMORPG.com sat down with Age of Conan Live Producer, Henning Solberg to chat about various aspects of his job, recent positive reviews the game has been getting, and new things coming down the pipe. In case the second point in the previous sentence is surprising to you, here's some proof! Henning has been with Funcom since 1995 and has worn many different hats during his tenure, including: QA Manager, Designer, Lead Designer, Lead Scripter, Director of Online Services, Associate Producer, and now finally Producer. His current job has him planning, organizing, ...

Face-capturing tech to be "in-game soon" for Age of Conan
Massively — Lopping off heads in Age of Conan might soon be taken very personally, as ShackNews has reported that some fancy face-importing technology is being prepared for use in-game -- you're bound to be just a tad more put out when you see your actual face rolling away on a decapitated noggin. The above picture is a somewhat terrifying example of what might be seen when walking around Funcom's Hyboria in the near future. The technology itself comes from a company called Big Stage Entertainment, and you can already get a feel for how it works at their ...

One Shots: Luckily, they're friendly... for now
Massively — ... , no game is immune. Take, for example, this weird group of NPC spawns in Age of Conan. What is this gaggle of followers all about? Today's contributor Mac, who found this strange crowd, has some ideas: Normally, the "Followers of Derketo" NPCs spawn in the ...

AoC's April game director letter: roll a new level 50 in the next patch
Massively — ... Age of Conan's game director Craig Morrison has penned a 'state of the game' letter for April, primarily to discuss progress on the upcoming patch 1.05. Undoubtedly the biggest piece of information to come out of the letter is the news that players will be able to create a new character that starts at level 50 when the patch hits. There are, of course, a couple of caveats to this; the option is only available to players that have a character who is level 50 or higher, and it only works once. Players who reach level 50 for the first time after the patch will also ...

One Shots: Tropical paradise
Massively — ... Hooray weekend! If you're not currently working, or working on those around-the-house to-do lists, it's all about the relaxation. We don't know about you, but the idea of spending some time in the water in a sunny area sounds pretty good to several of us. For the rest of those who are afraid of getting burnt to a crisp by that giant ball of fire in the sky, we have today's Age of Conan ...

Meet Jarle Snertingdalen from AoC's Systems Team
Massively — Funcom's Glen "Famine" Swan would like to introduce us all to a member of the Age of Conan development team, Jarle Snertingdalen. Aside from having a fairly superb name, Snertingdalen is also the Associate Producer for AoC's Systems Team. Unsurprisingly, this team deals with a lot of the systems in the game, such as combat, character development, items and loot tables, and RPG systems. The associate producer role has him managing the team, making sure that things are on track, and coordinating with other teams. We're sure that some of ...

One Shots: Hyborean cliffs
Massively — ... coming up - players are turning again to check out Age of Conan. We know from just what we here at Massively experienced, the game is certainly doing far better than it fared at launch. But to get back to the point of this column, today we're bringing you a lovely cliff-side image from ...

One Shots: Snakes on a plain
Massively — ... It's the blockbuster action-adventure screenshot of the summer! This is the one everybody's been waiting for! It's full of intrigue, sand [snow?], and Age of Conan graphics... it's snakes on a plain! Okay, okay, so we don't know much about this screenshot other than it came from ...

WRUP: Yet another weekend edition
Massively — ... : I have downloaded and installed the AoC free trial, so I might kill some time with that. Unfortunately, I'll spend most of this long weekend spring cleaning. Boo! ...

Funcom's Q1 2009 report shows solid revenue
Massively — ... ), they are pleased with the stability of their earnings during the economic turbulence of recent times. The report also mentions some positive trends in their flagship game Age of Conan: ...

Age of Conan: One Year Later video
Massively — ... It's almost the first anniversary of Age of Conan's release, and Funcom's Glen "Famine" Swan was reflecting on the past year when he found the "One Year Later" video. Although it's a fairly well-made piece, it doesn't come from Funcom; a community member called "CptHeatSink" is given the credit ...

Age of Conan's letter from the game director for May explains Update 1.05
Massively — Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics Craig "Silirrion" Morrison, game director for Age of Conan, has posted a May letter (on the European forums) to the playerbase that reflects on the year since the game's launch, a year full of ups and downs. Beyond explaining a bit about how he came to work on Age of Conan and his enthusiasm for the game moving forward, the Letter from the Game Director drops info about Update 1.05. Morrison briefly touches on some of the highlights of the ...

One Shots: Nice 'details'
Massively — ... Maybe it's just us being silly because the weekend is almost upon us and we're looking forward to getting our game on. However, we have to admit when we saw "nice details" coupled with today's Age of Conan ...

Age of Conan's anniversary hiccup
Massively — In what some are calling "their biggest debacle since launch," Funcom's anniversary bash for Age of Conan (EU) experienced a hiccup this past weekend, and unfortunately, it wasn't alcohol-related. A combination of miscommunication and technical glitches left hundreds, if not thousands, of party-goers in poor spirits. Funcom's initial announcement invited players to take part in "small festivities" outside Conan's castle at a particular time and urged them to bring along celebratory fireworks obtained with a "/claim" command. Due to some time zone confusion, many players ...

Age of Conan anniversary contest prizes include lifetime subscriptions
Massively — We mentioned an Age of Conan event in passing recently but we'd like to point out a bit more about the AoC Anniversary Contest, "Find the King's Seals". It's an easter egg hunt of sorts, where players are given a list of game sites which contain silver seals. There are 25 silver seals to be found for each language (English, French, and German, although only 10 for Spanish), which are collected in the form of codes, found among the Age of Conan articles on the various MMO sites. Funcom states: "There is ...

Buy some MMO games, save some cash on Steam this weekend
Massively — ... refuse. It's the weekend, so Steam has to put some of their games on sale, as per the usual. This weekend however, it's most of their massively multiplayer collection. This isn't just a select few games. No sir. We're talking about EverQuest, Everquest II, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Lineage, Lineage II, City of Heroes, the Guild Wars trilogy pack, Age of Conan, EVE Online, and Vanguard have all been ...

Age of Conan Updates With Gangs of Tarantia
The MMO Gamer — ... has changed radically, making items have a more profound impact on your character’s powers. This will make equipment even more valuable, and the process of obtaining new weapons and armor through quests and adventure even more rewarding. The update should make a significant impact on how gamers play ‘Age of Conan’ and how they now experience the gameplay with their characters. You can read more about this update and Age of Conan on the official website. ...

Age of Conan's Update 5 goes live, game director hints at future improvements
Massively — The fifth major update to Age of Conan,"Gangs of Tarantia", has gone live. The update adds the Tarantia Commons District, a high level area with both single player and group dungeons, as well as a revamped RPG system. There are substantial system changes that have gone into effect in Update 5, which impact every class in Age of Conan, covering everything from itemization changes to feat trees, as well as abilities, spells, and combos. Plus Funcom has rolled out a complete overhaul of the gem crafting ...

Age of Conan video walks players through new Tarantia Commons zone
Massively — ... This has been a really big week for Age of Conan. They released Update 5, "Gangs of Tarantia", which has introduced new zones and content, but more than that, completely reworked some of ...

Age of Conan to unveil new expansion at GamesCom
Massively — ... The first proper expansion for Age of Conan will be unveiled this August at GamesCom in Cologne, Germany. Funcom's Erling Ellingsen confirmed the news: "Yes, we will be revealing the first expansion for Age of Conan at the GamesCom ...

Age of Conan expansion to be revealed at GamesCom
The MMO Gamer — ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ expansion to be revealed at GamesCom, Cologne, Germany in August.  Funcom will present: story, environments, monsters, quests, rewards, and the new features that will be included in the expansion. Age of Conan was the best selling MMO of 2008. Visit the official website at http://www.ageofconan.com/ ...

Age of Conan offering two free weeks to previous players
Massively — ... for Age of Conan. Anyone who possesses a previously active account can -- as of today, July 8th -- reactivate and play for two full weeks entirely for free. In the last year, the game has seen a literal avalanche of updates and improvements. So if you haven't been back in Hyboria since launch last year, you're in for quite a few big surprises. ...

Age of Conan: 10 Reasons to Give It Another Look
WarCry Network : Latest News — Funcom is launching a new drive to bring players back into Age of Conan by offering two weeks of reactivation. Devs want players to know that Conan is a different game, one they are confident will meet player expectations. AoC features new changes, enhancements, improvements, content additions, storyline overhaul and more. WarCry editor Suzie Ford recently had the chance to tour the new and improved Age of Conan with North American Community Manager Glen Swan and Senior Community Manager Oliver Kunz. Read on to discover the Top 10 Reasons to Give Age of Conan a New Look. 10. ...

Age of Conan Celebrates First Birthday, Invites Old Player Back With Two Weeks of Free Play
The MMO Gamer — ... Funcom will also be revealing the first expansion pack for Age of Conan at GamesCom later this year. For more information about the game, visit the official website. ...

One Shots: What's behind door number one
Massively — ... With Age of Conan opening up their servers not only to new trials, but also for those of us who previously had accounts, we suspect there is going to be some hell-raising in Hyboria this weekend. It should be a fun adventure for those of us returning to this eye-catching world. Today's ...

The Daily Grind: What part of MMOs do you not like?
Massively — Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Age of Conan, Aion, EVE Online, Game mechanics, The Daily Grind MMOs are well known for variety, in fact they're famous for it. The world (whichever you might choose) is quite literally your ...

Free to play an option for Age of Conan
Massively — ... It would appear that for Funcom, going the way of free-to-play with Age of Conan isn't entirely off the table. At least so says Erling Ellingson in a recent interview with IncGamers. There's certainly a precedent with Anarchy Online having gone that route long ago and its director -- at that time -- was also Craig Morrison. So really, all bets are off on this one. Still, for the time being subscription remains the primary method of play. Our guess? Funcom is probably waiting for the first expansion or two before opening the original ...

The Daily Grind: Does playing an MMO pique your interest about its origins?
Massively — MMOs are rarely stand-alone entities; there are exceptions of course but most are created thanks to a fan base from some other medium. Some, like WoW, are based on older games (often completely different types of games like an RTS or RPG) with a rich mythology that lends themselves ...

One Shots: A mammoth difference
Massively — ... With the recent Come Back weekend for Age of Conan, we've gotten a few more shots of this lovely game. Of course, along with those great shots, we're taking some heat for why we don't post even better shots of the game from today's contributor. He writes in: Hey this is Damaroth from ...

Still time to enter the Xfire Age of Conan video contest
Massively — ... Like brutality, blood, buxom babes, or bizarre stunts? How about free stuff? Now what if we told you that your deft skill with creating and recording the first in Age of Conan could get you the second? Thought that might get your interest. It turns out our friends over at ...

The Daily Grind: Apps and MMOs
Massively — These days, without descending into total geek fan girl mode, phones are all about apps. Whether you have a Pre, an iPhone, a Google Android handset or one of the new, shiny Nokia phones, apps (short for applications) are usually an important part of how phones work. Even more so now your humble mobile phone is becoming more like a mini computer. But I digress. This week Blizzard released their second app for the iPhone, which allows you to access the World of Warcraft Armory without needing a PC and, it is, quite simply, awesome. It got me thinking though, if one MMO can make ...

The Digital Continuum: The people problem
Massively — ... 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 ...

Age of Conan Re-evaluation Period Successful
WarCry Network : Latest News — Funcom Director of Communications Erling Ellingsen says the Age of Conan re-evaluation period resulted in 'really good' results. Also, WarCry has news about Update 6. Keep reading! To summarize quickly for you, Update 6 will contain a slew of new gameplay features for guilds. Guilds will be able to acquire renown points through a myriad of actions carried out by the members of the guild. Sieges between guilds will earn renown, but also other actions such as crafting, questing and general monster hunting. Guilds will be ranked, and rankings will be visible in the game. This will ...

Craig Morrison's latest AoC letter discusses guild features in Update 6
Massively — ... As July is coming to a close, Age of Conan's game director Craig Morrison has weighed in with his letter to the community for the month. The biggest discussion point this time around is a new 'Guild Renown' system that will be introduced with the next major content patch, Update 6. This system will allow members of a guild to contribute to its reputation on two separate scales. A guild's Renown Level will be increased by members earning Valor points (from PvE activities like questing and killing NPCs), Glory points (PvP) and Artisan points (crafting). Higher ...

One Shots: Fortune favors the bold
Massively — ... We've heard of several folks enjoying questing in Age of Conan after the recent 14-day welcome back weekend. The small pile of screenshots in the One Shots mailbox would also seem to support that, too! Today's spooky screen comes to us from Damaroth, who writes in: Was walking through the Haunted Forest on my character Damaroth in ...

Age of Conan: Four Videos Highlighting New Featues in Hyboria!
Curse — ... Technology: Groundbreaking visuals plunge you into a world of breathtaking  beauty, with characters and environments sporting unprecedented detail. ...

AoC dev blog discusses class tweaks and recruiting more advocates
Massively — ... Funcom's Glen "Famine" Swan has put another entry into his blog at MMORPG, discussing Age of Conan's upcoming guild features (which Craig Morrison elaborated on in his recent game director letter) as well as some class tweaks that the developers have been working on. Right now the dev team is looking at the Bear Shaman and Barbarian classes, with the Conqueror and Dark Templar up for possible changes after they're done with the first two. He doesn't spill the beans on exactly what might be happening with these classes but we're told to stay tuned ...

Revisiting PvP in Age of Conan
Massively — ... Fantasy MMO Age of Conan launched to one of the most successful MMO sales sprees in recent memory. People were hungry for a new MMO to deliver something different and ...

One Shots: The moon watches over
Massively — ... ? But if we're lucky, as we head through the dangerous areas, we may stumble across a beautiful, breathtaking scene like this one taken in Age of Conan, by today's ...

"Where Am I?" screenshot contest results
Massively — ... Yesterday's "Where Am I?" screenshot contest marked another successful week with several players throwing out that correct answer. What was that correct answer? If you're one of the few who answered Brandoc Village in Lacheish Plains, not only are you a dedicated Age of Conan player, but you were also in the running for the prize this week. Congrats goes out to a reader by the name of AP MCBZ who was randomly selected from the small pool of correct answers to win themselves a special in-game code that unlocks all bonus virtual items in the ...

The Daily Grind: Is action-based combat the way forward?
Massively — ... In the early days of MMOs, it wasn't really feasible for developers to put action-based combat into an online game and expect all users to be able to have a good experience. These days faster internet and other advancements allow games such as Age of Conan ...

One Shots: Fine barbarian fashion
Massively — ... contributor Amana, opt for fine hand-tooled leather instead. She writes in: Sometimes, amongst all the bad press, it's easy to forget just how stunning and detailed the characters and environment inside the Age of Conan world can be. As Amana the Ranger here speaks to a villager in Conall's Valley, you can see every detail of her outfit and gear; down to the last stitch on her belt. We'd agree - the textures in ...

Funcom announces Rise of the Godslayer expansion for Age of Conan
Massively — ... With GamesCom has come the announcement of a brand new boxed expansion for Age of Conan -- Rise of the Godslayer. Age of Conan fans rejoice, you have been loved. Rise of the Godslayer, however, will not be an expansion as your normally understand it. Instead of expanding the game vertically, like so many other MMOs, RotG will be expanding the game horizontally. The level cap of 80 isn't changing, but expect RotG to be adding much more meat to the lower levels of the game's content -- ...

The Daily Grind: Do you play the MMO stock market?
Massively — Ahhh, the stock market: The yo-yo that makes people jump for joy or jump off twenty-story buildings. Playing it can be just as exhilarating, frightening, and expensive as a high-octane weekend bender in Free Realms. Well, almost... With the quote-unquote Global Economic ...

One Shots: That's a mighty big blank you have there
Massively — ... There's nothing quite like the sun setting across the mountains in the distance - even if the lens flares are a bit heavy at certain times! Today's Age of Conan One Shot shows off Blamefulgecko standing near a heavy wall, waiting for the night. He writes in to tell us about his experience: This is my Bear Shaman, Omuro's first venture into the tainted lands of Stygia. One thing that can't be experienced from this picture though is the ambient sounds from the marketplace behind me or the fantastic soundtrack that evokes the arid wasteland that this region of the game ...

Age of Conan devs release their August newsletter
Massively — The devs over at Age of Conan have just posted their August newsletter on the game's official website. In it they look back over the last month and the announcement of the new AoC expansion, Rise of the Godslayer, as well as clarifying some ...

New Funcom Studio Opens In Montréal
The MMO Gamer — Funcom, the developers of Anarchy Online, Age of Conan: Hyborean Adventures and the upcoming The Secret World, both of which you will hear more about from The MMO Gamer’s PAX 2009 coverage, announced today the opening of a new development studio in Montréal. The studio will be their second in North America including the one in Durham, USA. Besides talent, the region’s incentive programs are given as a reason for starting the studio. The studio is referred to specifically as an “MMO games studio” and it is being said that the ...

Age of Conan: New US -English Community Manager
WarCry Network : Latest News — There's a new face for Age of Conan 's English speaking community in the form of Dominic 'Senek' Acquarulo. Find out more about this changing of the guard below: Dominic 'Senek' Acquarulo comes to us from a previous role in the support team where he was Lead Customer Support Representative for Funcom. His experience in that position allowed him to work closely with the players on a day-to-day basis and will prove a valuable asset to the community team with ensuring a better understanding of the communities we manage. In addition, Dominic is an avid MMOG gamer and displays ...

Direct2Drive offering $5 MMO downloads for their birthday
Massively — ... . That's right: for less than a triskadecaccino no-whip chocolate half-caf latte with soy milk, you can score a copy of Age of Conan, ...

Age of Conan director's letter unveils veteran rewards and level 80 instance
Massively — ... The September edition of the Age of Conan director's letter is offering some exciting developments for dedicated players in the form of a new level 80 dungeon, the Iron Tower, and the implementation of a veteran rewards program. The veteran rewards program works a bit differently than most other programs, utilizing the new currency of "veteran points" instead of a reward per-month interval system. Each month players will be rewarded X amount of points that they can either save or spend in a new veteran reward shop, which contains items of convenience. The ...

Funcom layoffs slow The Secret World development
Massively — ... by "several months" according to the Norwegian developer. It's currently unclear if this will effect the release of Rise of the Godslayer, Age of Conan's first expansion since release last year. ...

MMOGs rated in Australia. Warcraft a bit late, no sign of Conan, Warhammer
Massively — ... departments. The government departments involved ultimately passed the buck back and forth between State and Federal jurisdictions, until their press-offices simply refused to talk. Now, at last, the government seems to have gotten its message straight. In the wake of the coverage most MMOGs applied for and received a rating. Even Blizzard's World of Warcraft (a bit of a johnny-come-lately) has a proper rating this month and only Funcom's Age of Conan and Mythic's Warhammer Online seem to be holdouts, as far ...

Age of Conan's PvP developer interview
Massively — ... Age of Conan didn't have the smoothest launch, and its first year has been spent in no small part dealing with the aftershocks. Now, however, the game is cleaning up quite nicely, and it's focusing on core areas that keep people in the game and engrossed. The strength of the game's PvP was always one of its core selling points, which should make it even more interesting to fans to see ...

Age of Conan reintroduces free trial
Massively — ... Age of Conan has seen its share of ups and downs in this first year since launch, but the ride seems to be smoothing out lately. The ...

MMO Family: Con your games like a pro
Massively — ... MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family ... From tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate niches for every family member, MMO Family offers you advice on MMO gaming of the family, by the family and for the ...

The Daily Grind: What game is wearing you down?
Massively — There's always that one game. We all know what it is, even though which game it is changes for person to person, but we know about it because we're adamant that we won't play it. We don't want to. Half the time we've read up on the game and explained in detail how many things we dislike about it and why we're certain -- certain! -- we would never enjoy it. Other players can praise it to high heaven, over and over, but we won't even touch it. We don't want to, no way. Cue two months later ...

Rock the jailhouse with Age of Conan's Iron Tower
Massively — ... . We always seem to assume that rather than being filled with fuming criminals kept under strict control, every one you venture through will be full of escaped criminals staging an elaborate prison break. Then again, it does have a cool factor going for it, which is doubtlessly why Age of Conan has dipped into the well with its upcoming Iron Tower. ...

King Conan lowers prices on long-term subscriptions for all
Massively — ... 's monarchy. But we don't honor him for the order that he brings to the lands of Hyboria and not for rippling muscles and barbarian tactics that he brings to the throne. We honor him today for the price drop! ...

Official Age of Conan database offers easy info
Massively — ... MMOs see updates quite frequently, and with games that have developers actively posting on forums an attentive community member can absorb plenty of useful information. However, not everyone is up to the task of tracking all news, dev posts and dev blogs on every little topic. This is where Age of Conan's ...

Age of Conan Director's letter for October
Massively — ... The October Director's letter for Age of Conan has been released, and it looks like the AoC team is continuing to seek player support and suggestions for improvement. The increase in player questionnaires and surveys will continue in an effort to get feedback from fans, as will weekly updates from the community teams to keep players informed of what's happening. They're also working for increased player interaction by seeking more members for the volunteer program and continuing the recruit-a-friend program. The big news, as ...

Funcom receives grant to create extreme sports MMO
Massively — ... In between navigating the sometimes-choppy waters of Age of Conan and working toward the launch of The Secret World, Funcom is having a busy year, but it looks like they are adding one more project to the pile as well. Funcom has been given a grant worth NOK 1.5 million -- $262,000 US -- in order to create a new extreme sports MMO. Funcom's Director of Communications Erling Ellingsen says "Yes, I can confirm that Funcom is working on a new project called Board with the World. This will be a free-to-play social ...

Age of Conan community interview: Ask Funcom!
Massively — ... As anyone who has been following Age of Conan for the last few months knows, Funcom is working hard to get their MMO back on the top of everyone's playlists. Launch-day bugs have been fixed and they're focusing on more incentives to get players back into their game. With last month's Game Director's letter explaining a push towards more player feedback, we wanted to help along the process a bit with your questions. Do you have something you'd like to ask about the new content? How about something concerning their revised subscription ...

One Shots: We could use a vacation here
Massively — ... from Age of Conan are welcome sights. If you use those powers of imagination, you can almost imagine the balmy breezes coming in off the water as you disembark in a strange new land. Ray S. sent this great shot in of his first moments in town, and explains the scene: This is the view of Tesso village in Wild Lands of Zelata that greeted my Assassin Deltex when he was fresh off the boat from Old Tarantia in ...

Subscribe to Age of Conan and receive The Secret World beta access
Massively — Funcom recently announced their plans to get older players back into Age of Conan and boost multi-month subscription rates. Players with inactive subscriptions are invited to retry the game for two weeks and receive a double experience bonus. Those who sign up for ...

Age of Conan: Re-Up and Level F-A-S-T
WarCry Network : Latest News — Funcom has announced some new incentives for former players to return to Age of Conan . Chief among the enticements is the double XP boost throughout the month of November. Check out the details! Come back to Age of Conan, play for free, and level up twice as fast! Re-evaluation launches with double experience boost throughout November - - Continue subscribing and secure a spot in The Secret World beta test plus more Durham, USA - November 11th, 2009 - Funcom has decided to repeat the successful re-evaluation campaign that went live earlier this year for the best-selling ...

Age of Conan Launches Second Re-Evaluation Period - Ten Ton Hammer
Ten Ton Hammer Headlines — ... the game has grown. Previous players will find new content such as the adventure region of Ymir’s Pass, new dungeons such as The Iron Tower, and new features such as the player vs. player notoriety system and a complete re-design of the items and character statistics mechanics of the game. The technology platform has also been vastly improved, allowing for better performance across a wide range of computer systems. Read more about what’s happened to ‘Age of Conan’ since launch on the new website ! ABOUT FUNCOM - Funcom is an independent developer and publisher ...

Age of Conan community interview: Your questions answered!
Massively — ... Earlier this week, we asked for your Age of Conan questions, and you delivered. Although we only received seven usable questions (some were duplicates and two we combined), the answers given by Game Director Craig Morrison are candid and ...

Funcom publishes sharp revenue drop for Q3
Massively — ... million loss. They see a few reasons for this drop, including some stiff competition: "The Company ran a successful re-evaluation campaign during July, increasing the number of subscribers to the game. However, the launch of two major competing MMO-games during Q3 led to a subsequent reduction in subscriber levels." Funcom remains optimistic, though, thanks to numerous upcoming projects. The Secret World is reported to be "progressing well", Age of Conan is planning a launch in Korea, the "Rise of the Godslayer ...

Age of Conan Giveaway: 1 Year of Free Playtime!
Free MMORPG and Free MMO Games - FreeMMOGamer.com — ... For more information on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures check out the Official Website

Win a free year of Age of Conan
Massively — ... , a site dedicated to...well, giveaways, is the latest site to jump on this bandwagon, and the carrot on the stick is a year of free Age of Conan playtime. All they ask is that you spread the word about their contest in whatever way you choose: Twitter, Facebook, interpretive dance, mention it on your blog or podcast; it's entirely up to you. Send Giveaway Gamer an email telling how you passed the word along -- links, screenshots, photos, and videos are even better -- and you're entered in the contest. ...

One Shots: More still to learn
Massively — ... With Funcom offering some crazy good deals for returning players to Age of Conan, many folks are once again wandering the lands of Hyboria. Well, not just that - but it's nice to have a sunny, hot land to wander as opposed to going out in the freezing cold. Today's great ...

November letter from Age of Conan's director released
Massively — ... As the end of the year approaches, Age of Conan has been quietly but steadily progressing through development and improving its engine and gameplay. It's certainly improved compared to its state at launch, and with its ...