Age of Conan

[Mareus]

MMORPGs suck!

 

[Jaime Lannister]

MMORPGs suck!

informative poster is informative

 

[Truth]

MMORPGs suck!

informative poster is informative

informative poster is informative

 

[Kortalh]

I don't remember if it's been said here or not, but apparently the Wiccana server is the unofficial RP-PvE server, since Funcom didn't designate any themselves.

This probably means a larger share of LARPer/Furry types will populate it, but in my experience with other games, the RP servers tend to have the (slightly) more mature player base. So I'd recommend everyone to Wiccana, if that's what you're interested in.

 

[fizzelopeguss]

God FFA pvp is a load of overrated wanky bollocks, gang banged by level 20s when i was a level 10, so i've rerolled to hyrkania, the EU PVE-RP server.

 

[Walkin' Dude]

What class would you guys say is the least played right now? I having trouble deciding my own and I have this small compulsion to play underpopulated classes.

Give it a few months, and they will probably ALL be underplayed.

 

[King Crispy]

I've been playing AoC for a couple of days now. I created an Aquilonian Conquerer, and, so far, I'm liking the game.

Maybe it's because I'm not a jaded MMORPG vet (read: nutcase), but I think there are some very appealing things about this game right off the bat that the few other MMO's I have tinkered with in the past have lacked: a legitimate single-player experience that you can jump into and out of (and so far, seamlessly) at will; an excellent rendering engine that is providing smooth gameplay right out of the box; and very few if any login issues, lag, etc. -- all the things that normally plague most other MMO's at launch.

Some of the things that are turning me off a little bit: First off, even on a "RP" server, there are still just too many fucking imbecile idiots running around. ALWAYS RUNNING! Sorry, but this is just a pet peeve of mine. But worse yet, nobody seems to be spending any time actually role-playing. I can attempt to start up a conversation with another player and get... nothing. No response. No, I'm not talking about NPC's; shut up. This is in two days of playing. Maybe everyone on my server (Hyperboria - RP) is retarded? I dunno. Also, the combat interface is pretty lame. I agree that its "3D" nature is really just a gimick. You've got to either be a keyboard gymnast or completely remap everything the way you like it to be able to pull off some of these combos.

Still, it's definitely interesting for now and does a great job of capturing Howard's and deCamp's universe in its own little WoW-type way. I doubt I'll keep playing much after Mysteries of Westgate finally gets released, though. SP FTW!1!

 

[Gay-Lussac]

I understand your frustration, after all it does say role playing in the server's name but come on let's be realistic: there are retards all over the world specially in the internet how do you expect funcom to force them to roleplay? By banning paying clients because they weren't staying in character? Is there even a way to prove that?

Face it: actual roleplaying and mmorpgs are completely incompatible that's not really an AoC specific issue.

 

[shihonage]

Maybe it's because I'm not a jaded MMORPG vet (read: nutcase), but I think there are some very appealing things about this game right off the bat that the few other MMO's I have tinkered with in the past have lacked: a legitimate single-player experience that you can jump into and out of (and so far, seamlessly) at will; an excellent rendering engine that is providing smooth gameplay right out of the box; and very few if any login issues, lag, etc. -- all the things that normally plague most other MMO's at launch.

LOTRO and City of Heroes both had smoother general launches than AoC. When it comes to the client renderer itself, framerate consistency, crashes, visual abnormalities, bugs, etc, City of Heroes and WoW had a much more stable launch than AoC.

LOTROs launch was pretty much flawless (framerates aside).

I understand these things are new and exciting to you but AoC hardly has a monopoly on them. Oh, and putting extensive single-player into a MMORPG is one of the dumbest design decisions I've seen anyone make when it comes to a genre that is built around replayability. A MMO will never have the depth of a single player RPG, and putting single-player in a MMO doesn't have an upside past the first time you run through it.

 

[King Crispy]

force them to roleplay

I was actually thinking about that earlier. I think Funcom should have several GM's invisibly wandering around the RP servers and randomly awarding players they catch in the act of roleplaying with some experience points. It wouldn't take much, but once word got out that you could actually benefit in-game from playing in character, it might encourage more to try to do it.

But yeah, it's probably just a pipe dream.

 

[King Crispy]

I understand these things are new and exciting to you

Don't fucking talk down to me. Just because I may not have played as many MMORPG's as you doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about.

I tried LOTRO. I thought it was a fucking pathetic mess. The graphics were relatively smooth, yes, but they were butt-ugly. AoC simply blows it away in this department, hands down, and if your shitty-ass computer can't run it properly, it's your problem, not the game's. I ran AoC last night for five or six hours straight at 1920x1200 resolution with many options maxed/turned on, and it hummed along at 40+ FPS without one single hitch. It's a very stable client and the rendering engine is superb.

You just suck, I guess. :idea:

 

[shihonage]

rage

You made inaccurate claims. I corrected you. What you provide in above reply is a mix of personal attacks, anecdotal evidence, and arguments that have nothing to do with supporting your previous claims. I never said LOTRO was prettier than AoC, but you imply that I did.

If all you're capable of is frothing at the mouth, why bother replying at all.

 

[King Crispy]

At least I'm enjoying AoC (that $50.00 probably hit you pretty hard, eh?) you egomaniacle, emotionally unstable freakboy!

Come near me in-game and I'll slice your bloated head clean off!

:twisted:

 

[Data4]

Re: Always running.

Yeah, it pisses me off when people talk shit to me for running. Sorry if that bothers you or any other MMO RP nut, but sometimes time is precious and I'm not going to slow down just to keep from breaking anyone else's OMG IMMERSION! Of all the things to bitch about, running is probably the least one I'll ever give credence to.

BTW, what sort of system reqs does this beast have? I'm on an AMD64 X2 4800+ with a gig of ram and an ATI 1900XT w/256 MB. Will I be able to run it?

 

[shihonage]

BTW, what sort of system reqs does this beast have? I'm on an AMD64 X2 4800+ with a gig of ram and an ATI 1900XT w/256 MB. Will I be able to run it?

If the 1900 is not AGP, you may be able to run it fine. This game does a lot of texture swapping. Of course you may also have to downgrade to shader 2.0 (despite having 3.0) because some people report a significant performance boost at the expense of some spell effects.

 

[King Crispy]

Sorry if that bothers you or any other MMO RP nut

First of all, I am logged into a RP server, so I don't think I'm so nuts to wish for at least some immersion.

And, you know it's more than just running to and from locations. That's fine -- everyone does it. No, I'm referring to the vastly overhyper psychos that can't seem to sprint and change direction looking at everything fast enough while bumping into everyone . It's like they're all cranked out on some Stygian super-weed or something. Makes me want to just constantly follow them around spamming "HAY!! WANNA ZERG SUM QUEZTS???"

I thought AoC was Mature 17+? Fucking kids.

 

[shihonage]

Until the game software starts to actively ENFORCE RP behavior on RP servers, people will always continue to behave "out of context".

WoW RP servers were actually surprisingly good in that respect, with a lot of people walking instead of running, but still, what use is it when the female elf walking in front of you is called "bignutz69" ?

 

[Spectacle]

I wonder if charging a little extra to play on RP servers could work? Then people who aren't interested in roleplaying would play on different servers to save money, and they could spend the extra income on hiring extra GM's to roleplay NPCs and talk to and eventually punish those who won't roleplay.

Probably too many tools who'd whine about this being a ripoff to make it viable...

 

[Truth]

People will whine about anything, especially if they feel entitled to it because they're paying a monthly fee.

Sounds like you're thinking of something like NWN's DM client?

I can see GM's getting very bored saying the same shits over and over again on a massive scale. Also, didn't the Matrix Online try something similar? They had scheduled events with 'actors' taking the role of Morpheus or whoever.

The concept of MMO as a LARP substitute is just beyond my comprehension. I can't see it ever working for those who want that.

 

[Data4]

I prefer RP servers over the others because as stated, people GENERALLY behave themselves. I enjoy a little freeform in-game LARPing too from time to time. I just get irritated as all fuck by the self-appointed RP police because the way I play doesn't meet their lofty standards and they're so worried about their precious immersion being busted.

Crispy, your points are duly noted. One thing I DO happen to do is at least try to respect the personal space of the characters around me. I'll stick to the right in two way traffic down paths, I won't go between two people facing eachother, obviously in conversation. You know, real world type stuff you'd do out of courtesy when at, for instance, a shopping mall. But I run everywhere. Bree was a nice experience while taking a liesurely stroll ONCE. Now I run. And people make wise-ass comments about it in game, though not as bad as it was when I played WoW. I play LOTRO mainly because I enjoy the setting.

 

[DarkSign]

Havent tried to get into this one. Expecting epic phail.

 

[King Crispy]

More enjoyment of the game last night, but some more slight frustration, too.

- Still absolutely no roleplaying evident anywhere except by myself. (I actually talk to myself in this game) Somebody please just say something...

- Levelling up is fairly rapid, and you get some nice perks almost every time. I don't understand why they didn't make the whole Feats thing a little more clear, though. At first, I didn't even know I had any feat points to spend. Then, if you make a mistake, there's no immediate way to reverse your choice, although you're supposed to be able to "untrain" them later. Weird.

- Got ganked for the first time on an island quest outside of Tortage looking for food items. Players were attacking other players for no apparent reason, I guess just because they could. I tried my best, but the guy that gutted me was at least 3-4 levels higher than me. Crybabies need not apply to PvP servers. I'm going back there again tonight to try to finish the quest, and I'll be more prepared this time, even if to just sprint outta there if need be.

- I love the audio in this game. The ambient jungle sounds, the music, the effects, all very nice and sound great. Lots of polish, for sure.

- Think I'm ready to turn off the "adult" content now. Once you've seen your first beheading, complete with lame, cartooney blood "splattered" all over the screen, with your avatar standing there in a "I 0WNED J00" pose while more enemies continue busily bashing away on you, you've seen enough.

 

[Inziladun]

I'm playing this on a FFA-PvP Server (oh the horrorz!) and I'm enjoying it very much. I'm in a veteran guild and the competition on my server (Deathwhisper) looks like it's shaping up very nicely. Sure you get a bunch of idiots on our server, but it's nothing I haven't been exposed to in online games before. And the Guild from Something Awful (Hordes of Goonheim) are on our server and EVERYONE on the server goes out of their way to gank them(and/or help people gank them), which is a beautiful thing to see.

So far the game 1-50 hasn't been terribly exciting but it's certainly been above average as far as MMOs go, and the quests are surprisingly quite interesting.

PvP has been a big disappointment for me so far, however. It usually consists of people running around in circles so you can't get your Combos off and then running away when you're about to kill them (or just straight to the running away). And as a Barbarian the only ability I really have to keep people from running away is bugged so half the time I use it I can't attack again until I relog....great. I'm hoping PvP gets a little better in the Mini-games(IE. Capture the Flag, ect.) and the Sieges but we'll see.

The game has been pretty enjoyable, but it really needs to come a long way to keep its player base active and so far the Funcom Public Relations has been a fucking tragedy.

 

[bylam]

Oh, and putting extensive single-player into a MMORPG is one of the dumbest design decisions I've seen anyone make when it comes to a genre that is built around replayability. A MMO will never have the depth of a single player RPG, and putting single-player in a MMO doesn't have an upside past the first time you run through it.

Honestly, I'm startng to wonder if you have a personal vendetta against the game.
You obviously haven't played the single player if you call it "extensive". 45mins from the beach to Tortage is the only forced single player in the game.

 

[shihonage]

Can you please show me where I said it was forced ?

They spent all those man-hours on developing single-player "destiny missions" between levels 5-20 which nobody is going to play (for the second time, at least - and a lot of people won't play them for the first time, either, because if they wanted a highly simplified single-player RPG they wouldn't be paying a monthly fee for it), which was just an entirely pointless waste of resources better spent elsewhere.

Spin it all you want, it was a dumb design decision for a MMO team to make.

Oh, and those 45 minutes ... they will get real tiring when you create your Nth character. Just as Funcom eventually yielded and made 5-20 single-player "optional" (as opposed to the original plan where it was mandatory), they will eventually be forced to offer an option to skip the initial area as well. It's only a matter of time.

City Of Heroes did it eventually, and so will they. Artificial limitations like this never worked for anyone. It's just frustrating to see developers operating in a seeming vacuum and refusing to learn from mistakes of those that came before them.

 

[DarkSign]

Oh, and putting extensive single-player into a MMORPG is one of the dumbest design decisions I've seen anyone make when it comes to a genre that is built around replayability. A MMO will never have the depth of a single player RPG, and putting single-player in a MMO doesn't have an upside past the first time you run through it.

Honestly, I'm startng to wonder if you have a personal vendetta against the game.
You obviously haven't played the single player if you call it "extensive". 45mins from the beach to Tortage is the only forced single player in the game.

Since shihonage deleted all his rants I'll have to use this quote to reference his babblings. Extensive single-player design is not a flaw and in fact, something that designers need to try to do more often (If we werent on a board where people hate MMOs you'd be up for a dumbfuck tag). Not only is this how an ever-growing (read: most kiddies these days who can't be arsed to be part of a group) segment plays these games, but when done well, a game designed around a person's specific point of view gives a much more immersive experience - things are timed right and respond intuitively etc.

I dont doubt the game sucks major ass wind, but that comment had to be addressed.