AOC - General Information

[Vatoreus]

I actually like it, the first like, 5 levels are solo in a jungle until you get to Tortage. Once you reach Tortage you can group up with people, or jump right into the Destiny quests. I didn't get very far on them until they ended, but they seemed really awesome from what I did get to do. I love the cut scenes and the Bioware style quest advancement system.

It's all a matter of options I think, you can choose to play it solo until around 20 I assume, or be able to group with your buddies also.

[Rayne]

Sounds like the world is pretty dynamic and interactive. Quests being affected by the phases of the day? Reminds be a bit of that zone in EQ, Hollowshade Moor. That place was awesome. Its a shame they didn't really expand upon that type of thing. I can only imagine what PoP could have been like if they had.

The online/offline change really doesn't bother me much. It could have its pros and cons either way I suppose. But i'm curious, how linear is it? Is it the usual this quest leads into another ala WoW, or can you choose what you want to do in no particular order? Or perhaps a combination of both? Do the rewards seem fitting for the relative difficulty of the tasks you have to perform? I guess what i'd like to know is, do you get that sense of "epic" early on?

TIA for any insight.

[Wizerud]

How open-ended is this game?

[Aamina]

And when is the REALLY open beta, since for whatever reason I didn't get into any other phase?

[Flight]

Tipping this to be a surprise hit. The timing of the release couldn't be better for them.

[Hatorade]

Originally Posted by Flight

Tipping this to be a surprise hit. The timing of the release couldn't be better for them.

I think most will pick this up because they are tired of the current mmo's out there. If its any good they should stay and see some solid numbers after launch month.

[Flight]

Will EU and US folk be playing on same servers or will they be regional like WoW and WAR ?

[Hasto]

My understanding was that they were separate server groups. But eh, I could be wrong.

[Rayne]

Originally Posted by Flight

Will EU and US folk be playing on same servers or will they be regional like WoW and WAR ?

I'm not quite sure if this answers it or not but, from the FAQ:

1.13 Will Age of Conan be localized in any countries?
Yes, we will localize in French, German and Spanish, and all the languages will launch simultaneously. This includes localized language and localized customer service. Additional languages may be added after launch.

I'm thinking it means separate servers for those wanting to play in thier native language, but mixed servers for those without a preference, ala AO. Which would be really nice IMHO. WoW really did a number on my old friends list from AO/EQ with its localisation. It was probably the single biggest turn-off about the game for me.

[spronk]

Originally Posted by Rayne

Sounds like the world is pretty dynamic and interactive. Quests being affected by the phases of the day? Reminds be a bit of that zone in EQ, Hollowshade Moor. That place was awesome. Its a shame they didn't really expand upon that type of thing. I can only imagine what PoP could have been like if they had.

The online/offline change really doesn't bother me much. It could have its pros and cons either way I suppose. But i'm curious, how linear is it? Is it the usual this quest leads into another ala WoW, or can you choose what you want to do in no particular order? Or perhaps a combination of both? Do the rewards seem fitting for the relative difficulty of the tasks you have to perform? I guess what i'd like to know is, do you get that sense of "epic" early on?

TIA for any insight.

Think of it as more like there are 2 overlapping zones that share 99% same graphics, one is in night and one is in day. You "hearth" between the two using a bed, except the night zone is instanced and you are the only player character.

In day mode (multi) there are tons of quests and you can do them in any order. You will face spawn camping and such like any MMO, for popular mobs and quest items in Tortage and surrounding areas (newbie zone).

In night mode (solo) its much more linear, and there is a story line driving you forward.

Keep in mind night mode is ONLY 1-20, after that there is no more single player mode. Its really no different than LOTRo imo, except the solo mode is a lot richer and lasts a bit longer. They don't have the destiny quests, aka the book quests in LOTRo, continue past 20 though.

The night stuff is definitely cool and fun, having a real part-time story drive an MMO forward where "YOU ARE THE STAR" is something more MMOs need to do. But it stops at 20 and then you are back to being generic MMO player #8381343, running off to kill more wolves, picts, bears, and crocodiles for random NPC Fred.

[Flight]

Originally Posted by Rayne

WoW really did a number on my old friends list from AO/EQ with its localisation. It was probably the single biggest turn-off about the game for me.

Yeah, WAR is doing the same thing

[Tual]

Originally Posted by spronk

Keep in mind night mode is ONLY 1-20, after that there is no more single player mode. Its really no different than LOTRo imo, except the solo mode is a lot richer and lasts a bit longer. They don't have the destiny quests, aka the book quests in LOTRo, continue past 20 though.

Afaik the destiny quests do continue past Tortage.

[Grumpy Old Fart]

Originally Posted by Aamina

And when is the REALLY open beta, since for whatever reason I didn't get into any other phase?

I'd like to know if anybody at all is even still in the "closed" beta. I was invited to the Technical Beta a month or so ago, but with the patching disaster of that crap, I decided to not even bother logging in until FunCom stops fucking around with their 4-hours-once-per-week shit and gives me a real beta invitation.

I haven't seen a single post in this thread from a beta player in weeks (and I don't feel like registering for that Korinth/Sovin-Nai forum so I can read the NDA breaker goodness). Is there even an on-going closed beta for this thing?

[Twobit Whore]

They do tech tests every Sunday afternoon now.

[Grumpy Old Fart]

Originally Posted by Twobit Whore

They do tech tests every Sunday afternoon now.

Yes, I'm well aware of this fact. I get 3-4 e-mails from FunCom per week asking me if I'll be attending, then reminding me over and over.

Strangely, although I'm generally an MMORPG freak, I haven't been motivated enough to patch up the AoC client and try this sucker out over the past month.

I hate to dwell on old news, but the simple fact that this "RPG" has some ridiculous "Capture the Flag*" as its PvP makes me throw up a little in my mouth when my mouse cursor passes the "Age of Conan" icon on my desktop.



*Which is a touch bizarre/hypocritical on my part, since I'm writing this alt-TABbed in WoW while my 70 priest is queued in EotS and WSG! Hah!