# CONAN coming out in October..big stuff



## Emirikol (Jul 19, 2007)

Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures looks quite sweet.  I've already adapted what I could find to my D&D Conan house rules (email me if you want a look).

It comes out in October.

 jh


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## Insight (Jul 19, 2007)

This looks cool.  I am torn between this game and Warhammer, which should come out a few months later.


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## LrdApoc (Jul 19, 2007)

Having seen both hands on I say Conan is the more impressive of the two titles. I liked Warhammer but it is still pretty rough, at least the version they demo's at Origins this year. While it has grown a heck of a lot in a year since I last saw it it falls into a pretty typical mold.

Conan however is trying to do something completely different and it may fail but its Howard's world, the grim and gritty fantasy and the gorgeous graphics that drew me to it. We saw team party play and monster play this year at the E3 event hosted by the publisher Eidos. The game looks polished and is definitely a game for ADULTS. Which frankly is something I think we need... a gritty, grim, bloody world who knows its audience and doesn't try and dumb down backstabbing barbarian thieves and traitorous sorcerers.

I am looking forward to both games honestly but if I had to choose where to spend my money and time I think I'd pick Conan. Though if 40K hits the market in a few years with the same adult focus I'd go there in a heartbeat. I'm getting a bit tired of idyllic fantasy worlds filled of long eared elves and grumpy dwarves fighting green orcs and undead kings.

But maybe that's just me.


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## Insight (Jul 19, 2007)

I've just read some more about the Conan game, and I think it will appeal to me moreso than Wahammer.  I really like the Warhammer world, but I also like the Conan world, and the mechanics of the Conan game appeals to me a LOT more than what I have seen so far from Warhammer.


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## Felon (Jul 19, 2007)

SO, what specific aspects of Conan do you guys find appealing?

Is it just another MMORPG with fetch quests, kill X amount of Y quests, and cities so clotted with heroes that it actually complicates the process of getting to know people instead of facilitating it?

Will my character wind up being just like hundreds of other characters?


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## GlassJaw (Jul 19, 2007)

AoC looks awesome.  I'll be playing.


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## ssampier (Jul 20, 2007)

*makes me enter my birthdate*

I hope the extra graphic content is worth it.


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## Felon (Jul 20, 2007)

Meh. I don't know that lopping off arms and legs is going to offer that much of a change from the normal grind of a MMORPG.


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## Insight (Jul 20, 2007)

Two of the main draws for me are from Star Wars Galaxies before the designers ruined it - crafting and player cities.  Note that neither WoW or WAR implements these well or at all.  I really like an in-depth crafting system, and I like the idea of player-run settlements.  AoC also has woven into their 'prestige classes' specific roles for each in player cities, especially the Lord (and to a lesser extent, the Crafter).  AoC also has a guild bank and vault as part of the game (as opposed to something you have to work out on your own).


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## LrdApoc (Jul 20, 2007)

Felon said:
			
		

> SO, what specific aspects of Conan do you guys find appealing?
> 
> Is it just another MMORPG with fetch quests, kill X amount of Y quests, and cities so clotted with heroes that it actually complicates the process of getting to know people instead of facilitating it?
> 
> Will my character wind up being just like hundreds of other characters?




Well Felon, for me it is the unabashed nature of the universe I find appealing in AoC. Yes you will still have fedex quests, yes it will still follow many of the standard MMO conventions. 

Frankly if you want to feel like you aren't in an MMO - which to some extent is how your comment reads with your dislike of player filled cities and carbon copy characters - then you might be more interested in Guild Wars as it runs mostly in instances - with the exception being the main cities.

What AoC brings tot he table are player built and run cities, a very adult and developed setting and an interesting new control system that I can guarantee will not feel like every other MMORPG. It also won't appeal to everyone because it isn't World of Conan.

I've not had good hands on with the game but the initial play and impressions I got make it at least interesting to me as someone who looks at and plays games for a living. It appeals to my sense of story - the first time I saw a Vanir on the game I laughed with sick joy - and  the twist on classes like the priest and necromancer made it interesting as well.

My advice is to watch and see what it develops into. WAR is looking more and more like WoW which is ironic considering Blizzard stole the design concept for Warcraft from GW years and years ago. It is a far more conventional MMORPG in both play and design than AoC.


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## Rodrigo Istalindir (Jul 20, 2007)

Crafting ruins MMOs.  It diverts reveloper resources and creates an inherent schism in your player base.  The same can be said for PvP.


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## Felon (Aug 1, 2007)

Rodrigo Istalindir said:
			
		

> Crafting ruins MMOs.  It diverts reveloper resources and creates an inherent schism in your player base. The same can be said for PvP.



Crafting is how MMOG developers cop out on providing content that appeals to gamers who want at least same gameplay based on something other than killing things. They either can't think of anything else to offer, or they don't feel like developing some mini-games are a good investment of resources, so they just offer a variant fetch n' grind scenario.

Anyone else remember when WoW was in development and the devs talked about how it was supposed to offer mini-games, like going into a bar and playing cards?


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## Felon (Aug 1, 2007)

LrdApoc said:
			
		

> Well Felon, for me it is the unabashed nature of the universe I find appealing in AoC. Yes you will still have fedex quests, yes it will still follow many of the standard MMO conventions.
> 
> Frankly if you want to feel like you aren't in an MMO - which to some extent is how your comment reads with your dislike of player filled cities and carbon copy characters - then you might be more interested in Guild Wars as it runs mostly in instances - with the exception being the main cities.



I want to feel like I'm in a MMO, but I want it to be the MMO that finally gets it right instead of just assuming that the conventions of the MMO are set in stone. In AoC's case, I don't think that chopping arms and legs off your foes is really anything to write home about. Its a gimmick that will become routine very quickly. When you get right down to it, is there anything other than the scenery and the limb-chopping that's a significant departure?


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## LrdApoc (Aug 2, 2007)

Felon said:
			
		

> I want to feel like I'm in a MMO, but I want it to be the MMO that finally gets it right instead of just assuming that the conventions of the MMO are set in stone. In AoC's case, I don't think that chopping arms and legs off your foes is really anything to write home about. Its a gimmick that will become routine very quickly. When you get right down to it, is there anything other than the scenery and the limb-chopping that's a significant departure?




Well with my limited experience I'm not sure it does have a huge departure in a way you might want it to. But the scenery and feel of a world to me is what sells a shared world. I know I can't expect a single-player game experience online.


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