Latest News

Gamespot's Interview with Andrew Griffin

JoBildo — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:26:25 -0400

Gamespot recently had the chance to sit down and chat about Funcom's Age of Conan with Senior Systems Designer, Andrew Griffin.

GS AU: Tell us more about single-player in Age of Conan. Are you still locked to that for the first 20 levels of the game?

AG: That's been changed a bit. You still have the core destiny quests which is where you swap into a single-player quests where you're doing you're own destiny quests to progress you through the story. You get the bulk of that through levels one to 20. But we found out in beta testing that players wanted more interaction with other people, so now you can switch back to the multiplayer mode during that period so you're not actually locked in to single-player gameplay. The first five levels are tutorial, and that's just you progressing through the beach until the city. But once you get to the city at level four or five, then you can switch into multiplayer mode.

Read the rest HERE.

New Interview with Erling Ellingsen

Martuk — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:34:59 -0400

Gameindustry.biz recently had a chance to interview Funcom's Product Manager, Erling Ellingsen. The interview discussed many of the aspects involved in creating a high profile MMORPG title such as Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures and how Funcom is approaching the launch to try and ensure everything runs smoothly.

Erling Ellingsen: We definitely learned a lot about technology, in terms of how big a deal it is launching an MMO. I think we learned a lot about how player numbers work out at launch, in terms of technical specifications and adapting to more computer set-ups to succeed.

I think Anarchy Online was perhaps a bit ahead of its time really, not too many people could play it when it launched - and I think Age of Conan is doing a much better job at that.

You can read the full interviiew here.

Come see Age of Conan live in Oslo!

Martuk — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:19:44 -0400

Gathering of the hordes

The good people at Funcom are prepping for launch and what better way to do so than with a good old fashioned gathering of the barbarian hordes. Starting May 13th in Oslo, Norway, Funcom will be hosting a preview of the game followed by a huge party to celebrate the coming launch of their soon to be hit MMORPG Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures.

As some of you might have heard, we’re kicking off the launch for Age of Conan with a barbaric gathering here in Oslo. We’re doing this in two stages on Tuesday May 13th .

During the day, at 12:00 CET, we’re doing a presentation of the game at Latter Aker Brygge where we will show the game’s exclusive features and content. Seating is limited and is reserved for journalists, but we will have quite a few extra seats for some of Oslo’s Age of Conan fans. We can’t guarantee a seat, but if you meet up outside Latter on Aker Brygge at 12:00 CET, there might be a chance for you to get in!

In the evening we’re hosting a huge party in Holmenkollen – one of Norway’s key national wonders – where we’re building an entire Cimmerian war camp to honor the release of our game (and possibly wage war on the evil wizard inhabiting the tower!). And guess what? Those of you who actually get into the presentation during the day will have a chance of also being invited to the party in Holmenkollen!

Again, seating at the presentation is limited and so is access to the party. But with some luck you might be one of those who get to send Age of Conan into history!

By Crom! This will rock!

You can read the official announcement here.

Be a Volunteer Moderator for Funcom

Martuk — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:17:39 -0400

Are you interested in being a volunteer forum moderator for Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures? Well now is your chance. For those willing and able bodied people who wish to give this a try, you can send your applications to the Voice of Crom on the official Age of Conan forums.

Funcom is looking for additional volunteer forum moderators for our official Age of Conan English forums. The details are as follows:

Recruitment

Do you want to help build and ensure the well being of the Age of Conan community?

The Funcom Volunteer Forum Moderation Program is looking for individuals with excellent communication skills who are active in the Age of Conan community. These individuals would be entrusted with the moderation and well being of the Age of Conan community.

If you are interested in volunteering your time to joining the Funcom Volunteer Forum Moderation Program as a moderator. Then please read the information below on the requirements and send in your application via Private Message to The Voice of Crom.

Requirements

An applicant for a moderator position on a Funcom forum has to meet the following requirements:

Good English Skills (no matter what language the preferred forum will be)

Good skills in the preferred forum’s language (English, German, French, Spanish…)

Active member on a Funcom forum for at least 2 months

Active player of the game (where applicable)

No infractions in any of the Funcom forums

Some experience in moderating forums

Organization skills

Application

Please include “Volunteer Forum Moderation – Application” as the subject of your message. All other subject lines will be void and will be discarded.

Copy and paste the information below as the body of your message. Then please fill out the application and submit it to forum user The Voice of Crom.

Quote:

----------------BEGIN-VOLUNTEER-APPLICATION----------------

Game: Which game forum would you like to moderate?
Language: Which languages do you speak and want to moderate in?

Name: Your real name.
Forum Handle: Your name on the Funcom forum you want to help moderate.
Age: Your date of birth.
Country of origin: Where you live and which time zone.
Online hours: The hours you tend to be around on the forums.

Past experiences:
Have you had any training on specific experience with moderation or community work in the past?

Additional comments:
If there were anything else you would like us to know about you that we didn’t cover in the other paragraphs.

-----------------END-VOLUNTEER-APPLICATION-----------------

Contacts

If you have any questions about the program then please contact us by private message to The Voice of Crom.

You can read the official post here.

Server Name Vote Phase 2

Machail — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:32:35 -0400

Phase 2 has arrived for the server name votes. Vote on your favorite server names before launch!

Cast Your Vote.

The Vault's Beta Review

JoBildo — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:20:56 -0400

The folks over at Conan Vault have taken the time to write up a nice lengthy review of their experience in Age of Conan's beta. Click the link below to take a gander...

Conan Vault's Beta Review

Euro Early Access Date Now the Same as the US!

JoBildo — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:11:51 -0400

It looks like there's reason to be excited if you live in the EU release territories and are eagerly awaiting the launch of Age of Conan. Funcom has announced that both the EU and US servers will be opening on the 17th of May, as opposed to what was earlier the 20th in EU territories. Rejoice! Read the full announcement by clicking the link below.

Early Start Announcement

Server Names Incoming...

Martuk — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:35:01 -0400

Tarib made a post on the official forums today informing the masses that the final decision for the server names are being worked out and we can expect to possibly hear an answer later this week.

Yes, we hear you. The final details on server names are now being worked out and we will need the feedback/votes from our community too. And it will all happen this week so please stay tuned.

Thanks!

You can read the official post here.
Discuss it here.

Epic ending to the Age of Conan Open Beta

Martuk — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:11:07 -0400

Heads will roll...

Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures is nearing launch and Funcom wants to send its open beta players off with a bang. Starting May 10th, the open beta servers will be changed into free for all PvP rulesets and players will get to experience the mad killing on a massive scale.

On the 10th of May Funcom is transforming the entire Open Beta into PvP MAYHEM, while at the same time giving testers access to all which Hyboria has to offer!

As we take down our servers for a short period we are at the same time changing the entire server rule-set to Free For All PvP carnage!

Here are the dirty details:

All servers become PvP servers. You can kill each other – no level restrictions on killing or getting killed, but you cannot PvP in the major cities.

All level 13 characters becomes level 20. Their inventory is wiped, but they have “tons” of money and really nice equipment suitable for level 20’s. Shopping bonanza!

You have access to ALL zones and ALL levels after level 20!

You will be zoned to your Race’s Hub. (Cimmerians – Conarch Village, Aquillonians – Old Tarantia and Stygians – Khemi!

We will get back with detailed information on the exact time it starts on the official Open Beta forums at IGN, as well as on the Age of Conan forums and community site.

You can read the official announcement here.
Join the discussion on our forums.

MMORPG.com Previews Age of Conan

Martuk — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:10:25 -0400

MMORPG.com joins the string of previews coming out for Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures. This preview discusses many of the early aspects of the game such as character creation and the newbie experience. It doesn't cover later parts of the game, but it is a good read for the early on experience.

I don't know why this particular bit filled me with glee. I think that it's the interactivity of it all. Right from step one, I got a sense of how the story would be presented. For those of you who might not know, I am a story junkie. I can't get enough of it and I enjoy when it is presented not as a side attraction to a game, but as an integral focus. By using their opening in this way, from step one, you are engaged with and participating in the story, which starts with characters who were once slaves being washed ashore after the wreck of their boat.

You can read the full preview here.