Friday Updates

[Punchline]

Basically, this thread owns...

[Quazimodo]

Seems like alot of people feel the same, I get lots of rep from this *wants 2 green squares!*

[Quazimodo]

Coverage, screenshots and a video!


- Dec 15, 2006
This week saw a spur of information about Age of Conan hit the web, as serveral journalists were invited to see the game this week. Take a look at the articles, the screenshots and even a video!

Earlier this week we invited numerous journalists to come and have a look at Age of Conan for themselves. The result are several articles available on the web today, and more will follow in the coming days. We've also uploaded a massive batch of new screenshots to our screenshots section.

Here are some of the preview articles

Age of Conan on IGN
Age of Conan on Team Xbox
Age of Conan on Voodoo Extreme
Age of Conan on the Vault Network
Age of Conan on GameSpot

Be also sure to check out the video available on GameVideos.com!

[Quazimodo]

Man, the graphics.... gameplay... I'm so in love with this game.

[Quazimodo]

Clan of Conan Update and Happy Holidays


- Dec 22, 2006
We welcome the holiday season with a bumper collection of new updates in the latest Clan of Conan Newsletter

A huge thank you this week to all the community following the game, we are excited to see such a great and dynamic community emerging for the game and are really looking forward to being able to show you more of the game and launching next year!

This week sees the latest newsletter released and is packed with a bunch of new features videos and screens for you to feast over. You can find the online version here. So have a great holiday season and enjoy the latest newsletter updates!

[Quazimodo]

New Lore Updates


- Dec 29, 2006
In between all the seasonal feasting we have two new entries to the lore section for you to enjoy today!


In keeping with the Stygian theme of this months Clan of Conan update these lore updates focus on one of the other deities that is revered and worshipped in the Stygian lands - Derketo

You will find the new entries here in the lore section of the site.

[Quazimodo]

New Concept Art Feature


- Jan 05, 2007
This week we have added a series of great concept art pieces that highlight the very distinctive looks that weapons from each of the different regions of King Conan's world have.

In Age of Conan the player will be able to visit and face enemies from a great number of the locations and areas written about by Robert E Howard. We caught up with Assistant Art Director Grant Regan to find out a little more about what goes into matching up with the wonderful descriptions found in the stories when it comes to bringing the weapons of Conan and his many adversaries to life

"One of the greatest challenges of reproducing the world that was created by Robert E Howard in the Conan literature was that we have so much to live up to! Each and every region that Conan visited, or that Howard described, had such distinctive aspects that the reader was always given a wonderfully evocative mental image of what Conan faced."

"In Age of Conan we have to visually represent that in a manner that will retain that sense of being somewhere specific. If you are Stygia, or facing a horde of angry Hyperboreans then we want the players to be able to identify the difference visually. This isnt just represented by the world design but is also very important to the design of the weapons and armor that your foes will use."

"This means that the team spends a lot of time designing weapons and armor that have very different and unique looks to them. A Kushite weapon the players might face should look very different from that wielded by a Zingaran. We feel that the effort put into giving the different cultures unique aspects to their weaponry is very important to our goal of always allowing the player to feel that they are following in the steps of Conan and facing the same dangers!"

You can find the new images here in the concept gallery

[Quazimodo]

Class System Review


- Jan 12, 2007
This week we take a look at some of the changes that are taking place during the beta process and wanted to put some 'meat on the bones' on a decision tying into the class structure in Age of Conan.


This week we wanted to announce one of the major changes we have made during the beta process. As always we trying to give the best possible updates on any changes we are making to what has already been announced. For this week we wanted to put some meat on the bones on a decision tying into the entire class structure in Age of Conan.

One of the key things that the designers consider when going through the early stages of the beta process is whether the gameplay has turned out to be fun and involving. Have the designs that were originally done worked as we expected? Do they ensure that all-important fun factor is there?

Perhaps the most important factor we had to consider was whether the character development provided the right balance and sense of progression. Are the classes fun to play? That’s the question we have to keep foremost in our minds.

After our initial rounds of testing we found that the classes did what we had originally intended them to do, but there was one important aspect that we all felt was lacking a little and that was diversity of abilities. Each class played within its role, but those roles meant that each class had a more limited scope than we felt players would appreciate in the long term. With that in mind we started to look at the class roles, and decided that it was important to provide each final class we wanted in the game to have a little more flexibility. It was important that the classes didn’t have too much crossover between them which would blur the definition of what that class could perform.

So what we have done is a consolidation that provides each class with a more flexible role in the class structure. This means that in the long term it will ensure that there is an extra playability in each of the classes. We feel players will appreciate this approach much more than if we stuck to a more rigid structure with less scope within each of the professions.

So what has changed?

Effectively what we chose to do was to merge the character classes in order to improve the game further. This meant we could achieve our objectives without loosing anything from the original class listings. So for those of you that have followed the development from the previously listed professions here is the breakdown of what we have done:

Guardian and Halberdier have been merged, class name is Guardian.
Barbarian, Reaver and Master Thief merged, class name is Barbarian.
Conquer and Liberator merged, class name is Conqueror.
Zealot and Dark Templar merged, class name is Dark Templar.
Defiler and Lotus Master merged, class name is now Assassin.
Ranger and Waylayer merged, class name is Ranger.
Stormcaller and Druid merged, class name is Druid of the Storm.
Scourge of Derketo’s abilities have been merged across the Priest archetypes
So the final line-up is now as follows:

Priest Archetype – Druid of the Storm, Scion of Set, Priest of Mitra, Bear Shaman
Mage Archetype – Demonologist, Lich, Necromancer, Herald of Xotli
Soldier Archetype – Guardian, Conqueror, Dark Templar
Rogue Archetype – Ranger, Assassin, Barbarian
All the originally listed skills and abilities are still in the game, but they are just spread across fewer classes. We know that the players will benefit from the added abilities when it comes to the roles each class will fulfill in gameplay terms. We also know that this had to be done for the greater good of the game, and that our choice will seem the only logical one once you get your hands on the game.

What these changes accomplish is simply put that each class has much greater gameplay diversity, and we felt this was essential for the long-term playability. With more tools at their disposal players will for sure have a greater scope for their characters and thereby not feel so hedged in to a set role. At the end of the day it is all about the fun, and this consolidation will make the game more fun to play.

We didn’t feel that having classes that felt a little restrictive was the way to go as it simply didn’t make the game as much fun. As we see it is more fitting that characters who would flourish in the brutal and demanding lands of King Conan would have more then a few tricks up their sleeves!

You can check out the updated Class tree for all the details on the class specialities and keep your eyes out for special class previews over the coming times both here and on some of our partner sites.

[Quazimodo]

Class Preview - Scion of Set


- Jan 19, 2007
This week we start taking a look at some of the classes in Age of Conan in a little more detail. First up for this weeks update we travel to the desert lands of Stygia to find out more about the Scion of Set from the Priest Archetype.

Dedicated to the god Set, the Scions are often considered fanatics whose dedication to their god reaches devotion that many would confuse for insanity. The snake god offers the constant promise of power beyond mortal means and demands nothing short of total commitment in return.

While well schooled in the healing arts the true power of the Scion of Set comes from their being blessed by the snake god. This grants them with the ability to inflict damaging poisons upon their enemies and call upon the poisonous powers of Set to augment their allies' attacks with the venom of the snake god or curse their foes.

When they are faced with the enemy at close quarters they prefer to wield their sacrificial and ceremonial daggers and are certainly no slouches at cutting and stabbing their foes in cruel and very intentional ways!

Lets take a look at an example of the Scion's special magical skills and how they interact with each other.

One of the very basic abilities that all Scion's learn is known as 'Venom Strike', available from level 20 once they have chosen to follow the path of Set. This is a simple and straightforward poison based attack that they can call upon.

However as the Scion grows in power and knowledge they learn abilities that will augment and mean that using 'Venom Strike' provides them with extra effects and bonuses.

'Devour Essence' for example is first learned at level 55 (and can be improved upon at level 70) adds a mana restore element to 'Venom Strike' granting the Scion a moderate amount of mana back every time 'Venom Strike' lands. You also have spells like 'Set's Writhing Hate' moving towards their later dark arts that can learned at level 70 provides a poison damage boost to the Scion every time they use 'Venom Strike'

Those who truly show their unyielding commitment to Set and reach level 80 are rewarded with the ability to channel their god and become an 'Avatar of Set'.

With the power of their god cursing their very blood, the Scion becomes a giant snake, striking fear into their foes and temporarily giving them a powerful boost to their abilities.

This most powerful of ancient magic's increases the caster's magic poison damage and grants bonus poison damage to the caster's team. It also increases the amount of retributive damage from their 'Shroud of Snakes' spell line and causes the caster to actually be healed from poison damage, while continuously inflicts instant poison damage to enemies near the caster.

Like all Hyborian magic such power must be used carefully and soul corruption is always a risk, even for those as dedicated as the Scion. The art of using magic in Age of Conan revolves around timing the use of these powerful abilities so that you can inflict maximum pain on your opponents but avoid leaving yourself vulnerable to their retribution!

[Quazimodo]

Latest Clan of Conan Issue!


- Jan 26, 2007
Today sees the release of the latest Clan of Conan Newsletter packed with goodies to feed your appetite for Age of Conan info!

This month's update includes links to more great features and articles, including the new DX10 screens and video as well as the usual treasure trove of location reveals, characters and developer profiles.

So keep an eye on your in-boxes or check out the on-line version here

Remember if you aren't a member yet be sure to sign up here