[AoC] The Masses Have Begun to Cheer

[Kato Danzo]

Although I would also like this game to turn out well, starting threads like this one is just asking for trouble... especially if the game turns out to be not good.

[Drajakur]

The last time we had one of these it was a "Vanguard has turned the corner!!" post or some shit. And we all know how that turned out.

I'm really hoping that the game is good, mostly because the Howard Conan books pretty much saved my sanity during a difficult period of life, and I love the more mature appeal.

The beta video looked good, but didn't look in the least bit innovative. It reminded me very much of AC2.

I'm hoping and waiting like many people, but there are a few striking comments that bear no point repeating here and that have a number of people worried. No point trying to downplay that with little to back it up.

[Gilgamel]

As long as there are tits and blood and huge pvp battles the game will be a success. But with the censorship talk and the lack of seige battles in beta I'm worried about all of those things. Bleh.

[Froofy-D]

Originally Posted by Proto_DDH

... fresh outlook on realtime combat ...

YouTube - AoC Age of Conan Beta Ranger Level 12

Ehh maybe its just me, but in that video the combat looks the same as every other MMOG.

Originally Posted by Proto_DDH

mounted combat, huge siege pvp,

Maybe I missed them, but can someone link some AOC mounted combat and massive siege combat videos. With launch 2 months away surely there must be plenty of them?

[Istros]

Originally Posted by Froofy-D

Maybe I missed them, but can someone link some AOC mounted combat and massive siege combat videos. With launch 2 months away surely there must be plenty of them?

Mounted combat is in, but by all accounts just a gimmick at this point. PvP is by and large untested, there has been no sieges or large scale battles that involved the players yet.

[matmanx2]

I admit being hopeful and a little excited by AoC. I havent played an MMO since I quit EQ2 last fall and I've definitely got the itch for something new. Like alot of people I can tolerate an MMO that isnt finished as long as the game that's on the shelf is fun and relatively bug free.

However it sounds like Funcom still has an enormous amount of work to do to get AoC to where they want it to be and where it needs to be to be considered a complete product. I'll keep my eye on it, for sure, but with Crisis Core coming out the same day it may be awhile before I pick it up.

[Vatoreus]

Also, the Thursday Tech tests they've got going on seem to be focused on stuff past level 20, so this might mean they realize they need to get stuff in and balanced for it. We'll see where the chips lie come March I guess.

[Kodylan]

Sieging/City Building should be going into the beta soon -- it's another thing they showed us at the community gathering. There will only be 9 city "plots" total in the game per-server, so the competition to accessing the benefits of owning a city should be fairly huge.

There will be three types of siege weapons: Ballista, Catapult, and Trebuchet. You build these siege weapons by first creating a siege camp somewhere around the city. Players can then interact with the camp and choose to create the weapons. Siege weapons themselves don't cost resources to build, but the camps do, so there will be some monetary sink to sieging a city.

Of course there are also the siege mounts -- the Mammoth and the Rhino -- both with specific advantages on the battlefield of city sieging. Defenders will be able to place down spiked battlements as well to block horseback players, and hide their rangers behind the battlements, allowing them to fire on horseback players while they have to ride all the way around to get to the rangers.

Mounts essentially become a part of your character when you get on them -- each one can be controlled and attacked, and you gain buffs for riding them, depending on the mount. An armored horse for example may give you a slight HP boost and a decent armor boost, while a mammoth which isn't very armored will give you a substantial HP boost but no armor, etc.

I specifically asked about horse mounts, and how there would be disadvantages since it seems like with the buffs you gain while riding them, everyone will be on them in PvP. Two major things will keep this from happening: the battlements I mentioned earlier, and the fact that you cannot perform combos while mounted. Polearms are also being designed as the "horse-stopper" weapon, and will gain a bonus to fighting against people riding horseback.

[RudraRudra]

I was /fanboy on for Shadowbane when all it's hoopla was coming out pre release and I'm feeling the same way for this. I hope hope hope this turns out well, sounds like a lot of fun.

[Vatoreus]

My question about sieging is, how does it end for the defenders? I watched one of the videos that shows if the attackers get in and destroy a certain building and kill the residing uber-boss they win, but how do defenders win? Do they just have to outlast the window under the constant assault from the enemy?

[Kodylan]

Originally Posted by Vatoreus

My question about sieging is, how does it end for the defenders? I watched one of the videos that shows if the attackers get in and destroy a certain building and kill the residing uber-boss they win, but how do defenders win? Do they just have to outlast the window under the constant assault from the enemy?

Yeah you have to defend for the 90 minute window that the attackers can siege your city.

[Tyen]

I'm tempted to make an AoC thread titled [AoC] The Masses Have Begun to Sit on the Fence

Some of us like it, some hate it, but what about those who are undecided? I feel prejudiced.

[Istros]

Originally Posted by Tyen

I'm tempted to make an AoC thread titled [AoC] The Masses Have Begun to Sit on the Fence

Some of us like it, some hate it, but what about those who are undecided? I feel prejudiced.

Go ahead, at least it wouldn't sound retarded like this one...

[Sinter1]

Originally Posted by Kodylan

Sieging/City Building should be going into the beta soon -- it's another thing they showed us at the community gathering. There will only be 9 city "plots" total in the game per-server, so the competition to accessing the benefits of owning a city should be fairly huge.

There will be three types of siege weapons: Ballista, Catapult, and Trebuchet. You build these siege weapons by first creating a siege camp somewhere around the city. Players can then interact with the camp and choose to create the weapons. Siege weapons themselves don't cost resources to build, but the camps do, so there will be some monetary sink to sieging a city.

Of course there are also the siege mounts -- the Mammoth and the Rhino -- both with specific advantages on the battlefield of city sieging. Defenders will be able to place down spiked battlements as well to block horseback players, and hide their rangers behind the battlements, allowing them to fire on horseback players while they have to ride all the way around to get to the rangers.

Mounts essentially become a part of your character when you get on them -- each one can be controlled and attacked, and you gain buffs for riding them, depending on the mount. An armored horse for example may give you a slight HP boost and a decent armor boost, while a mammoth which isn't very armored will give you a substantial HP boost but no armor, etc.

I specifically asked about horse mounts, and how there would be disadvantages since it seems like with the buffs you gain while riding them, everyone will be on them in PvP. Two major things will keep this from happening: the battlements I mentioned earlier, and the fact that you cannot perform combos while mounted. Polearms are also being designed as the "horse-stopper" weapon, and will gain a bonus to fighting against people riding horseback.

Kody, that sounds great and all, but for something that is supposedly a key part of the game, making it into beta this late doesn't give me hope that all will be fleshed out for release. Now granted it's "endgame" but think about it. Release is in 2 months. It certainly won't be bug free by then. I'd say the top cream of guilds will be going after these about 2-3 months into the game depending on the leveling curve. So that gives Funcom 4-5 months to flesh out a workable siege/pvp system, not to mention fix itemization and the 20-80 game that seems to be lacking before release. Seems like a tall order to me and I wouldn't be surprised to see Conan crash and burn. I'm hoping that isn't the case, but I've become cynical from all the other pieces of shit that have been shoved out into the mmo market.

[Clericnon2boxed]

Originally Posted by Istros

Go ahead, at least it wouldn't sound retarded like this one...

And that other one.