Age of Conan: Answers from Kalanthes #2

It is time, once again, to poll the minds and hearts of our readership and answer their most burning questions.

First up, a mysterious crate marked "Courtesy of Our Friends At Mongoose Publishing" washed up on the beach at Kalanthes' feet. Inside, he found three books:

* Conan: Hyboria's Fallen: Pirates, Thieves, And Temptresses
* Conan: Tales of the Black Kingdoms
* Conan: Tito's Trading Post

As we have been unable to determine who owns three very lovely books sure to set the mood for any roleplayers that would like to dig deep into the world of Hyboria, we will give them to a randomly-selected person that emails community@ageofconan.com with "Kalanthes' Books" in the subject and their name, address, phone number, and email address in the body of the email.

Since we get more emails about this than anything else, the official system requirements for the game are:

Minimum configuration (1024x768, detail reduced)

* OS: Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista
* Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3Ghz or equivalent
* RAM: 1GB
* Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better
* Video memory: 128MB
* DVD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive
* HARD DRIVE SPACE: 30GB

Recommended configuration (Up to 1280X960, most features on)

* OS: Windows XP SP 2 or Windows Vista
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz or equivalent
* RAM: 2048MB Dual Channel DDR2
* Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX or equivalent
* Video memory: 512MB
* DVD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive
* HARD DRIVE SPACE: 30GB

Online Gaming;

* Broadband connection required.

I'm sure many people are wondering this, but what is the general style of end-game armor in Age of Conan? For example, are there dresses with ridiculous shoulder pieces? Or are there really cool metal armors and shields with spikes that look realistic yet also impose a, "Don't mess with me or your skull will be on display" kind of message? Basically what I'm asking is will the armor look insanely cool? Will there be weapons that cause fear in your enemies? Will there be shields you don't want to get bashed with?

Secondly, will everyone be running around in the exact same armor? Or is there a large variety of armor and looks for specific armor? One thing I have yet to see in an MMORPG is the exact same armor set with slight variations (and I don't just mean color, but added effects that one can purchase or create to add to their favorite piece).

All of the armor in the game will be largely be "in-character" and realistic within the spirit of the world. So while there may be skull helmets, helmet with horns, and other "stretching reality" sorts of things, they won't be bright purple with flashing lights and built-in spell effects. Some of the armor may be elaborate and some of the armor may even be colorful, but it's all been drawn from the history of our own world as well as Robert E. Howard's texts and other official Conan-type sources. It will all look like it belongs in the world, like something you could reasonably expect to find in a museum in our world, with small twists and hints of fantasy here and there. So, yes, you might see a skull helmet or Viking-style horns, but it's probably not going to be pink.

As for the exact same armor, it's doubtful. With the number of armor sets available in the game (and each set consisting of several pieces), it's fairly easy to pick people out based on what they're wearing and/or define your own unique look.

Will players be able to hide behind objects in the game so they can't be targetted? For example if someone was hiding behind a rock or a tree that was blocking their entire body, I wouldn't be able to target or see them until they were visible.

Players can hide behind objects in the game so they can't be targeted. For ranged effects and attacks, you will need a line of sight to your target, so ducking behind the walls or hiding behind a rock may be a smart survival strategy.

Hello Kalanthes, this is my question: Can you tell me how there will be the day/night cycles and how they will impact in gameplay?

This tends to cause a bit of confusion, so we'll try to make it as clear as possible by breaking it into two parts.

In Tortage, the "day" world is the multiplayer world where you can go out, run around, and do quests with other people. The "night" world is the single player world where you sneak around, do your Destiny Quests, and otherwise live the single player adventure.

Once you pass Level 20 or otherwise go to the mainland, day and night are not broken up in this way. It is all multiplayer, all the time, though you can certainly solo within it if you'd like to. There will still be day and night on the client, but it won't be broken up the way it is in Tortage.

In the Necromancer description (the same for the Demonologist) it says that you will have pets and that you will depend on them a lot so I understand that you will be able to control more than one pet at same time. So my question is: How can we control our pets? Because we don't have the typical target and control system, and in the Necromancer case, how can we control individually every pet or in group, or maybe the pets are always in a defensive stance acting alone?

The pet control system is much like it is in other games, in that you can select a target, then tell your pet to attack it. You can also tell your pet to defend you, follow you, assist, and go away, the usual stuff you would expect with a pet class.

What happens when you die?

You see a bright light...

Just to expand a bit on the answer given in the first Ask Kalanthes, each Playfield has several resurrection points, kind of like a waypoint system. When you enter a playfield, you will have one resurrection point for that playfield. As you explore, you will discover more resurrection points you can use should you shuffle off your mortal coil. Upon dying, you will be given a moment to contemplate your shameful fate, and you will then be presented with a screen that lets you choose from the various points you've found. Once you select one, you will wind up alive at that point with the death penalty debuff.

Lets say you are using a class that can only use a dagger as it's main weapon. If you are on a horse, will you still be able to participate in mounted combat as far as hacking and slashing your opponents on the back of the mount?

You can still hack and slash away with a dagger from the back of a mount, if it's one of the smaller mounts, and every class can use the mount's attacks (kicks, tusks, etc.) to drive their enemies before them.

My computer is neither top end or low end, it is somewhere in the middle and may not take to kindly to being bombarded by the beautiful world of Conan in full detail, so i'd like to ask, How much control will i have over the graphics in Age of Conan? For example i love character models, i like them to be of the highest detail with textures and lighting turned all the way up, i also love spell detail, the more the better in my opinion, but i don't give a Pict's Arse about the texture and quality of saaaay... the ground at my feet, the rocks on that hill and the clouds in the sky, etc.

Well, you won't be able to get quite THAT picky, but there are a number of measures you can take for the middle-of-the-road computer. If you like, there are presets for Low, Medium, and High detail where you can simply click a button and have things set in about the right ballpark for your particular preferences or machine. There are also options letting you adjust things like the view distance, the amount/intensity of particle effects, various texture qualities, and so on.

Since Age of Conan is so focused on consensual PvP (Border Kingdoms, Mini-games, Bar fights), the label "PvP Server" seems to really just mean "Gank Server." With all of the debate raging on the forums, and the origin of MMORPG being Role Playing games, would you please inform us of Funcom's plans regarding the implementation of RP-PvE servers. My thanks.

While we know a lot of people want and would enjoy an RP-PvE server, both our internal surveys and external figures have shown that only a small percentage of people overall desire an RP-PvE server. Should that change, or should we see a strong increase in demand, we will consider it, but RP-PvE is consistently, and significantly, behind every other server type we've thought about in popularity, and opening a server is no small commitment in hardware, staffing, etc..

With collisions being such a large part of the game, and one of the thing I look forward to most, will it be possible for say groups of 2 or 3 to block off entrances to other areas? I have seen in the forums that collisions are turned off in cities, but could some angry players be able to completely block the entrances to these zones? Or could a high level wanting to wreak hell on a new low level player block off the lower level from his or her area and then camp them?

It's feasible, in the "could be done" sense, but we haven't seen a lot of it so far. People would have to position their characters perfectly and then hold that position perfectly, otherwise, it'd be possible to squirm through the inevitable gaps and fight your way out. And that's assuming the ten guys blocking off a city could hold out against a few hundred people getting annoyed because they couldn't conduct their business (even before the questioning of reporting, where the harassment rules would come into play, etc.). Another thing to remember is a lot of the attacks move you in subtle ways, so even if they formed a perfect barrier, it would be hard to fend off an angry mob bent on clearing a path.

The second question is an example of harassment, which is the sort of things GMs would deal with, collision or no.

Will the Assassin be able to survive and do high DPS when fighting solo?

The goal for every class is a reasonable degree of soloability. Assassins are built around doing a lot of damage, so they will tend to have a lower survivability in exchange for that. Your best bet will be striking fast and killing quickly!

I tried searching the forums about movement and a lot of them talk about using WASD to move and hardly any mention movement with the mouse. Is it possible if you could answer me this question?

It is possible to move with the mouse by holding down the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously. What is not possible is click-to-move, i.e. clicking a spot on the ground and moving towards it.

Hi Kalanthes,
I've heard conflicting information on mounted combat. Can archers shoot mounted?

The latest possible word from the mounted combat guy: Archers and spellcasters can both shoot/fire/cast spells when mounted. There are some limitations regarding what spells can be used (for spellcasters) and archers have a more limited targeting cone than they do on foot, but it is possible for both to "shoot" mounted.

I thought, will all three races talk same language, or will they have their own language individually?

All three races will speak the same language. While making different ones for each race is a neat idea, coming up with three separate languages would be quite a challenge!

Can I "respec" my character's feats? Or once you pick your feats, is it permanent?

In the current beta build, it's possible to reset your feats at the push of a button (largely because we're interested in getting everything tested out). There may be a small fee or timer or some other penalty to encourage you not to change with every shift of the winds, but we're still working out precisely what that would and should be.

How will grouping work in AoC? How many players can be in a group? Can you only join a group after level 20? Is there a level range for players joining a group? I've looked all over the place and can't seem to find any information about group workings/dynamics.

To join a group/team, the group leader will simply have to invite you. You can join or start a team after you pass through the Acheronian Gate into Tortage, so about level 5 or so (and only in daytime Tortage, obviously). 6 is the current number of players that can be in a team. There is no hard-locked level range, but a Level 80 grouping with a bunch of Level 20s probably won't get much, if any, experience. All he or she will gain is companionship (which can be important, of course!).

In almost all online games I've played, mages are played like like sprinting and jumping acrobats, dancing circles around their enemies, showing stamina and speed greater than that of a veteran warrior, and completely opposite of their thin and frail bodies. Will mages in AoC be played like kiting bunny-hoppers that shoot fireballs instead of bullets, or will they actually have spells of power to deal with all sorts of situations?

Mages in AOC have very few instant-cast spells, which keeps them from firing off a spell, running around in circles, then firing off another spell. Spells also have to be cast from the ground or horseback/other mountback, rather than while in the middle of the air (like when jumping). Ultimately, you will need to hold your ground if you want to rain down flaming death on your foes.

Source : WarCry Network

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Champions Online: Breaking the Wall

This is the first of a two-part series about the field of game design. This first article talks about how to break the wall and get into game design. The second part will detail a bit about how design works from the inside.


At one point or another, most people who play games have probably at least entertained the thought of getting into game design professionally. Game design isn't like law or medicine though - there's no bar or exam to pass, so how exactly does one break into the field?

The most important thing to realize about breaking into game design is that it is very much subject to the laws of supply and demand. There are very few game design jobs of any sort available, and there are a whole lot of people who want to be designers. And many of the people applying for the few open game design positions are not strangers to the industry, either. In addition to people in areas like QA or CSR, it is not uncommon to see programmers or artists want to switch fields.

Different developers will have different biases and be looking for different things, but there are ways you can better position yourself to dramatically improve your chances of breaking in to the industry.

First, while it is not impossible to come in off the street and get a game design position, it is very, very unlikely. Internships are available from some places as well, and if you can find one can be a highly effective shortcut.

While "game designer" is not generally an entry-level position, what you can do is get a job that is an entry-level position, but that is a recognized feeder into game design. If you are already a programmer or an artist, both of these are in parallel areas of game development that work very closely with design, and as such are superb ways of cracking the wall.

What if you don't know code and your idea of art is drawing stick figures? You're not out of luck, but the path is a little longer. Publishers will almost always have large QA (Quality Assurance) and CSR (Customer Service) departments, and developers will usually have at least the first, and occasionally the second. QA departments at developers tend to be smaller and have better access to the developer, so they are generally a better route into game design. But because there are generally fewer available positions, competition can also be fiercer.

If you wind up with a job in QA or CSR at a publisher, never fear. Publishers also frequently run their own first-party development studios which occasionally have openings, and it is perfectly possible to move from a publisher position to a similar position at an outside developer.

Secondly, because there are so many applicants for so few positions, it can help to have ways to distinguish yourself. For this, I can tell you a secret:

Creativity is good, but it isn't primarily about the creativity.

What? Heresy! No, truth. Everyone - designer, programmer, artist, QA, CSR, marketing or executive - is convinced their ideas are the best, the most creative, the most interesting and the most innovative. A designer certainly should be creative, and being creative will definitely get you noticed, but it's generally not what will close the sale.

What will close the sale is the ability to demonstrate professionalism, practicality, understanding of the way development works and the relative costs and risks of different paths. Most importantly of all, however, is the clear ability to check your ego at the door and identify the best approach or design regardless of whether or not you were the one to think of it.

Game design is still a job, and it's amazing how frequently people forget this. All of the factors that apply to any other job - professionalism, courtesy, responsibility, confidence and diplomacy - all apply equally well in this field. Although game development is generally more informal than many other fields, it is still a business, and it is important to remember this.

Finally, being a game designer is not the same thing as being a game player. This sounds obvious, but in interview wrap-ups it is one of the points that comes up again and again. Obviously, you need to be able to enjoy playing games and to identify what aspects of gameplay are fun - this goes without saying. What you also have to do, however, is to separate the "game player" hat from the "game designer" hat, and start asking a whole new set of questions.

What is fun? Why is it fun? What alternative approaches could be envisioned? What are the risks and consequences to other systems for each alternative approach? What principles of the game must be adhered to in order to maintain the vision of the game or company? What resource restrictions are there - it might be great to have another year to polish something, but what do you do if you don't have an extra year to polish?

Above all, it can take a lot of persistence and a lot of patience to break the wall and get your foot into the world of game development. But if you do, the rewards are unmatched.

By : champions-online.com

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Vanguard: Sneak Peek at Update 5

Hey all! You should expect to see Game Update 5 on the Test sever after the weekend! Below is an outline of the main features included in the final update - please note though that they are not all fully implemented yet. As you play through the content on the test server, please keep an eye open for any bugs and be sure to submit a "/bug" for any you find - particularly in regards to particles not displaying correctly. Thanks, and enjoy!

Game Update #5

1. Racial Mounts
2. Class Updates
3. Anti-Hitching
4. New Particles

1. RACIAL MOUNTS
We have added a unique racial mount for each race in Vanguard! The mounts can be attained through a series of faction based quests that can be started in each race's home town. If you happen to like another race's mount better than your own though, worry not! With the appropriate faction, players will be able to complete any of the quests.

Can't wait until the weekend's over to get a peek at the new racial mounts? Select fansites have additional exclusive shots of these awesome mounts! Be sure to be on the lookout if you want to catch an early glimpse!
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Citizen Favor
The citizens of Telon are seeking adventurers to help spread their influence across the land. By seeking out a faction registrar you can don the banner of a city, gaining favor with its citizens while you battle their enemies. Each creature that is slain will offer a chance to receive tokens bearing the symbol of their registered city. These tokens can be returned to the city in exchange for citizen faction. Be warned that while many factions are friendly with each other, all factions have those that oppose them. Raising your faction with one city may reduce your faction with another. While you can switch factions at any time, those who are worried about becoming outlaws in certain cities should heed this warning.

Gaining faction will allow you to purchase factional rewards with the use of platinum tokens. These tokens can only be retrieved from the vilest of beings and only when you are wearing the banner of your chosen city. Those powerful enough to defeat raid NPCs will receive ancient coins which can be converted into a platinum token of any type you desire.

Racial Mounts
With the release of the citizen favor system comes the first factional rewards -- racial land mounts! All races have been granted a unique looking mount with improved speed over other mounts in their tier. These mounts can be attained at levels 30 and 50 after you have gained the required faction and number of platinum coins. Players will be able to get any of these mounts as long as they do the work involved for their attached cities.
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2. CLASS UPDATES
This update we have given significant attention to three more classes. Blood Mages, Psionicists and Sorcerers have all received a lot of developer attention. Abilities that may have been broken before have been fixed, spells have been tweaked and upgraded or updated and all three classes should be more in line with their intended vision in terms of power and utility. Specific tweaks and updates will be listed in the patch notes.

3. ANTI-HITCHING
As always, increasing performance remains a high priority for our development team. To that end, with this update we will be introducing new anti-hitching code that should have an immediate and noticeable effect.

4. NEW PARTICLES
Sometimes, things just need to look cooler. That was the case for many adventuring class spells and/or abilities. Blood Mages, Disciples, Dread Knights, Druids, Necromancers and Sorcerers all received new an improved particle effects.

Source : WarCry Network

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Lord of the Rings Online : Orc Defiler

Lighting flashed across the sky, briefly casting the forest in a sickly green glow. The wood was quiet, as the battle that had been waged beneath its boughs moved on to another venue. The only sound, other than the steady hum of insects, was of a small fire in a desolate hollow. The green flames of the small campfire crackled and hissed against the jagged stones, their smoky tendrils licking greedily at the pot of bubbling yellow putrescence perched above.

The sound of the fire was punctuated by the gasping moans from a misshapen figure lying amongst the bones littering the ground; the stench of festering wounds signaling the life quickly sliding away from the twisted form.

From a dark corner of the hollow a Defiler emerged; light leather straps crossed his body and a massive bear skull sat upon his brow. His flesh was black as night and covered in red runes and scars carved from the long years of service to Angmar. In one hand he clutched a massive wooden staff, adorned with bits of bone hanging from stretched sinew, while the other toted a gourd filled with a foul-smelling concoction. Uttering a guttural word in the Black Tongue, he stepped toward the fire, sending grey filth into the air.

Leaning his staff against the curve of the hollow, the Defiler made his way to the shattered orc form amidst the bones. The fallen beast howled in rage and pain as his chest wound was pulled open by an uncaring hand. With the full breadth of the putrefying wound exposed, the Defiler worked quickly, pouring the contents of his gourd into the wound while uttering the dark phrases taught him by his master and the masters of his past. The fallen orc ceased to howl, and fell into a fitful sleep as vile liquid spilled from the wound, bubbling and sizzling as it knitted him back together.

As he moved toward the fire, the Defiler reached into the cauldron and filled his gourd with the thick grey-green slime and returned to the sleeping form of the orc, where he applied a dollop of the filth to each of the pustules on the orc's legs. Wound by wound, the disease retreated from the slime. It would be hours before the orc was mended whole once more, but the Defiler, done with his work, called out into the night.

Two Uruks, clad in black iron bearing the symbol of the Krahjarn tribe, appeared from the gloom and hoisted the wounded orc from the dirt floor. As they removed their fallen servant into the night, another of Mordírith's soldiers was deposited unceremoniously into the cave. With a dismissive wave to the troll delivering the new wounded, the Defiler retreated to the darkness of the hollow to scrape fungus from the walls and return to his night's work.

A Message from Akulhún:

"All right, maggots! Mordírith's grown tired of you whining wretches and sent us Defilers from the sulfur swamps and wastes of Angmar to plug your bleedin' wounds and make those lily-loving Free People suffer! All your belly-achin' and screamin' finally yielded somethin' other than my whip! Well, maggots, that make me angrier than ever -- I'll not spare the lash from any of you spineless curs for any longer!

"We're at war here in the Ettenmoors and that means you fight and die for Angmar. You only see fit to whimper and drag your feet, tuck your tails, shoulder your weapons, and flee when War Leaders tell you to fight on... but no longer, sluggards! I'll not bear another visit from Lugbûrz. That happens and I start crackin' 'eads! Now... treat the Defilers with a fair bit o' respect. Give them defense when they need it and slaughter the Free People! The Defilers will be by your side makin' the Free People weak of resolve, weak of strength, and weak of faith. When you bleed, they'll see your wounds closed...if...you decide to whine and cower they'll let me know and then you'll feel the sting of my whip on your back shortly before they turn their talents to bringing about the greatest pain you have ever known...maggots!"

A New Addition to Monster Play

Monster play, where LOTRO players can don the wolf's clothing amongst the sheep by becoming an orc, Uruk, spider or Warg, is adding a new face to the fray. Players have long enjoyed the utility of their numerous classes and multitude of skills, and with the addition of the new orc Defiler; we are taking a step toward filling out the arsenal available to monster players. Hailing from lands filled with toxins and disease, the orc Defiler uses his knowledge of these virulent fungi and slime to aid his foes and hamper his enemies. The Defiler is the first addition to the monster side of the equation in the Ettenmoors since launch -- and is certain to alter the PvMP landscape as we continue to expand the War in the Ettenmoors.

Healing

Defilers utilize the fungus and slimes found within the sulfur swamps and dark places throughout Angmar to concoct pastes, dusts, and other disgusting rubs to apply to their allies' wounds. Through years of practice and learning, the Defiler has turned this practice into an art.

The Defiler begins with the ability to perform two initial heals, with the additional effect of healing over time (HoT).

Fertile Slime: "Living slime coats the target's wounds and restores morale." This is a low-power instant-cast HoT with a range of thirty meters and a six-second cooldown that lightly heals the recipient every ten seconds for a period of sixty seconds. It is meant as a bridging heal, to assist the Defiler or a War Leader in keeping a target alive during a light exchange.

Fungal Bloom: "Gourds filled with foul herbs and liquids from the depths of Angmar relieve the sting of wounds on the flesh of foul creatures." This is a low-cost two second cast HoT with a range of thirty meters and a four-second cooldown. It moderately heals the target upon a successful cast, and then restores a moderate amount of health every five seconds for the next thirty seconds.

In addition to these initial healing skills, the early expenditure of a Defiler's destiny points can net him a targeted revival for defeated comrades. Unlike the War Leader this is a costly skill, utilizing morale and power, that only works out-of-combat and targets one monster player.

Rounding out the remaining healing skills for the orc Defiler are the following:

Fell Restoration: "When finished casting Fell Restoration instantly restores a huge amount of morale to target." This is a low-cost three second cast heal with a long ten-second cooldown healing a great deal of health instantly. This becomes available at Rank Three.

Fungal Spores: "Spores weave their way into the target's wounds, stopping bleeding and helping to speed the healing process." This is a medium power cost instant-cast HoT restoring a great deal of health every six seconds for thirty seconds. The cooldown for the skill is low, and it is available at Rank Five.

Cursing

When looking at the monster player classes, we noticed that the majority of the classes had very little in the way of true debuffs with which to hamper the players. To that end, we decided that the Defiler would serve his second role as a debuffer. Utilizing gourds filled with virulent disease and pestilent oozes and slimes the Defiler is able to curse all who oppose him and assist in turning the battle to the monster player's favor.

The Defiler begins with one curse ability:

Curse of the Sticky Feet: "Coats the opponent's feet in a sticky substance that slows their movement speed." This is a low power-cost ability that reduces a target's movement by ten percent for ten seconds. This is an instant cast skill with a moderate cooldown.

As they progress, Defiler's earn new curses to use against the Free People. We outline these below:

Curse of the Lethargic Heart: "A gourd thrown at the target plagues them with spores attacking their heart and weakening their resolve. This skill is only effective against players." This is a medium power cost disease-based curse reducing the target's vitality by a crippling amount for two minutes. It has a two second cast and a long thirty second cooldown and is available at Rank One.

Curse of the Coward's Soul: "Release hallucinogenic spores that strike fear into nearby enemies." This is a medium power cost fear-based curse affecting up to three targets in a six meter radius surrounding the Defiler. This skill is affected by diminishing returns and applies the fear effect to each target for ten seconds. This is an instant-cast skill with a thirty-second cooldown available at Rank Two.
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Curse of the Deadly Sorrows: "Douse opponent with corrosive liquid that weakens their armour and releases a soporific gas that reduces Will, Fate and Strength." This is a medium-cost poison-based curse reducing the target's fate, will, strength, and armor by a crippling amount. It has a three-second casting time and a thirty-second cooldown and is available at Rank Seven.

Basic Skills

No monster player is complete without the ability to deal some level of damage to their opponents, and the Defiler is no different in this regard. The Defiler begins with one basic damage-dealing skill at the outset and can purchase two others at no rank.

Here are the Defiler's basic skills:

Fire Gourd: "A gourd filled with burning embers is launched at your opponent, setting them alight." This is a medium-cost skill dealing a good deal of initial damage and burning the target for a fair bit of damage every four seconds for the next twenty seconds. It has a range of thirty meters, a casting time of two seconds, and a six-second cooldown.

Plague Gourd: "A plague of flies fills a foetid gourd which explodes on your opponent. On a good throw, the plague flies may cause your opponent to become easier to hit for a short time." This is a medium-cost skill dealing a fair amount of damage, and has a bonus critical effect of lowering the target's avoidance (parry, evade, and block) chances by two percent for twenty seconds. The skill has a two-second casting time and an eight-second cooldown.

Head-crack: "A strong blow from the Defiler's staff. Contact with a Defiler's staff can poison many denizens of Middle-earth." This is a costly melee skill dealing medium damage to a single target with a carrier poison-damage DOT dealing moderate damage over a short period of time. This is an instant-cast skill with a short three-second cooldown.

Follow the Gourd!

Defilers are orcs, and therefore get all the racial abilities inherent to other orcs. In addition, the Defiler can earn enhancing traits to alter and improve their Curse of the Sticky Feet, Plague Gourd, and other skills.

We look forward to seeing the shape of monster play battles change with the addition of the orc Defiler, and know that he will have an impact immediately upon arrival in battles across the Ettenmoors!

Source : lotro.com

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Age of Conan gets ready for launch !

- Pre-order programs now available in all Western territories - Get three day head-start in Hyboria -

Durham, USA – April 16, 2008 – Funcom and Eidos announce that Age of Conan pre-order programs are now fully available in all major territories, including USA, Germany, France, Spain, UK, Oceania and the Nordic countries. Conan fans and MMO gamers are already raving about the incredible pre-order items, including the War Mammoth and Killer Rhino, and today Funcom ups the ante and confirms that everyone who pre-orders may access Hyboria several days prior to the retail launch.*

Ever since Funcom and Eidos started the first pre-orders in early 2008, the program has received great feedback. The exceptional Age of Conan Collector's Edition has topped the charts in numerous online retail chains for weeks, including being #1 on several all-format lists. The most eager fans are therefore urged to order their copy of the Collector's Edition immediately as it only comes in one print-run.

Funcom now also confirms an early access program which will give customers a chance of a head-start in Age of Conan. Funcom reveals that American, European and Oceanic players may enter Age of Conan as early as the 17th of May. Mere weeks away, early adopters can now live, fight and explore in Hyboria, as well as getting an essential head-start before the hordes invade.

"We are very pleased with the reception Age of Conan has had in retail and we naturally hope that the early interest and our early access programs will materialize in an eventual success," said Morten Larssen, VP Sales and Marketing of Funcom. "The positive indications are naturally an honor, but they also bring a great responsibility. As we prepare the roll-out, we know our servers will be put to the test. We therefore hope potential players will aid us by signaling their interest as soon as possible so we can scale our servers and services accordingly."

Age of Conan launches on the 20th of May and is consistently mentioned as one of the most anticipated PC games in development. It has received more than twenty-five magazine covers and more than fifteen major awards, including numerous "Best MMO of E3" awards and the "Best Online Game of Show" award at GC 2007. Age of Conan is a key title in Microsoft's Games for Windows line-up, as well as a showcase title for nVidia.

Visit www.ageofconan.com to join the thriving community or to sign up for the Beta

For a list of participating retailers or to get more information about the game, please visit www.ageofconan.com

Source : MMOGInfo.Com

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Struggling MMO Horizons renamed "Istaria"

Virtrium LLC, the new stewards of the MMO Horizons: Empire of Istaria, announced that Horizons will now be known by the name Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted.

Virtrium President Rick Simmons explained in a press release blurb and also in an interview with RPG Vault's Jonric that the name was changed because the game is about the world of Istaria and its people, and because it has lived at the domain istaria.com since the beginning. "You have no idea how stupid I've felt explaining that the game was called Horizons, but you had to go to www.istaria.com," he told RPG Vault.

Horizons -- err, Istaria -- has had a rough time of it. After some truly savage corporate politics in the original development studio, the game launched incomplete, buggy, and honestly ... well, lame. It does, however, feature a great crafting system, and it lets you play as a dragon. Simmons was eager to point out both of those things in the RPG Vault interview. It looks like Virtrium is doing as much as a small team can to make the game attractive. Simmons explained: "our niche is very much the crafter, non-competitive gamer, and we're very happy being in it."

He also said that the game has seen a lot of fine tuning in recent months, and that its due for a big content expansion called "the Blighted Labyrinth."

Source : massively.com

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EverQuest 2 : Unforgiving Nektulos

Even though I didn't MMO for most of the weekend (see update tomorrow for more on that), I did play EQII on Friday, and put in good time with Isnin for the challenge. On the plus side, I really started to get into a groove with Isnin. Nektulos forest + Isnin = fun times.

When things were going optimally I was having a LOT of fun with the character. On the minus side, there is a lot of aggro in Nektulos and I pulled more critters than I could handle.

To be specific, I did that four times too many on Friday:

OH Noes!

That really puts the challenge at risk of an early end! I'm now on my very last life! I can't blame anyone either. I was rolling with the content in Nek and just enjoying it. I was in that magic groove where things feel right and it was hard to worry about over pulling. Which means I was getting cocky. Thus the price I paid. 25 levels and 8 lives. Now the trick becomes making this last one really stick — without wimping out on the content. Wish me luck!

EDIT: I forgot to include that the first death was in the Wailing Caves. I pulled a named and didn't see his four buddies. They came along for the party though…

By : Grimwell


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Funcom, Eidos and GameSpot Reveal Unique AoC PvP weekend

- 15,000 gamers get exclusive Age of Conan access from April 18th to April 20th –

Durham, USA – April 9th, 2008 – Eidos and Funcom is proud to announce a unique Beta partnership with GameSpot.com, one of the world's biggest gaming websites. In a highly exclusive event, 15,000 gamers from across the world can log in and play Age of Conan, non-stop, from Friday April 18th to Sunday April 20th. The unique PvP weekend allows lucky gamers to test a limited part of the PvP functionality of Age of Conan, and the two different PvP mini-games Capture the Skull and Team Annihilation will be available.

To make the weekend even more interesting Eidos and Funcom also includes the engaging Age of Conan character creation system, allowing players to create avatars with strong personalities. All 12 classes in the game, including the barbarian, can be picked and tested, with Funcom transforming each character into a fully specced level 20 death machine. In PvP lobbies players can then chat and socialize, prior to entering PvP matches. Participants are urged to test different classes, and offer any feedback on the forums. There will also be forums on GameSpot.com where people can talk about the event, and Funcom staff will be present to gather feedback.

"The battlefields of Hyboria are craving new, fresh blood," says an enthusiastic Game Director/Producer Gaute Godager at Funcom. "Throwing newcomers into a fully specced level 20 PVP character is naturally a challenge in this most unforgiving of all MMO environments, but I am confident the players will rise to this challenge. We have spent years fine-tuning the combat system in Age of Conan, and allowing GameSpot readers to be the first to get a small glimpse of this is something we really look forward to."

The unique PvP weekend marks an escalation in the stress testing for Age of Conan, and aspiring barbarians can now sign up on GameSpot's website. The 15.000 lucky winners will be then contacted by email on Wednesday the 16th of April, and then they can then start downloading the game. The servers open at 1600 EST Friday the 18th of April and close at 1600 EST on Sunday the 20st of April. Funcom would like to point out that the PvP weekend is still a part of the beta testing process, and that it is a part of the planned stress test escalations towards launch. As of such it is not fully representative of the final product, and players are asked to treat it accordingly. Stress traffic issues may therefore occur.

Age of Conan is consistently mentioned as one of the most anticipated PC games in development. It has received more than twentyfive covers on high-profile gaming magazines across the globe and more than fifteen major awards, including numerous "Best MMO of E3" awards and the official "Best Online Game" award at the Games Convention 2007. Age of Conan is a key title in Microsoft's Games for Windows line-up, and a showcase title for nVidia. The game is set to launch in several territories on May 20th, 2008.

For more information on Age of Conan – either in English, German, French or Spanish – visit the official website at www.ageofconan.com where you also can access the respective community websites.

To sign up for the unique PvP beta weekend please visit:
http://www.gamespot.com/test/ageofconan

To post on the Conan PvP weekend forums please visit:
http://www.GameSpot.com/pages/forums/show_topics.php?board_id=909185323

To see what GameSpot has previously written about Age of Conan please visit:
http://www.GameSpot.com/pc/rpg/ageofconanhyborianadventures/index.html

About Eidos Interactive Ltd - Eidos Interactive Ltd is part of SCi Entertainment Group Plc (SEG) creators of some of the world's leading videogame properties. Eidos consists of offices across Europe and the US and several development studios including Crystal Dynamics, IO Interactive, Beautiful Game Studios and Eidos Montreal. The Group has a valuable combined portfolio of intellectual property including: Tomb Raider, Hitman, Deus Ex, Championship Manager and Just Cause.


By: MMOGInfo.Com

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Age of Conan: Character Select Screen Video

Age of Conan developers took a video while working on the in-game character select screen. Figuring that it was pretty cool to look at, they have released the video for viewing pleasure.

Here's what they have to say about it:

Every now and then, we rummage around and find some cool stuff on the way, and we just can't resist sharing it.

For example, we were digging around the various arcane folders in our virtual haunted library and stumbled upon a video from some of the developers, obviously captured while they were working on something.

It was a hot new character select screen, one that's never been seen before. Heck, half the development team probably hasn't seen it. We watched it and we thought, well, that's pretty cool. We should give that to people. Then we should leave, before Gaute comes stomping up to demand an explanation for releasing definite Work In Progress-type stuff.

So, here it is, the very latest, cutting-edge, ganked from the developer's desktop, version of the character selection screen. What's interesting is that has a life of its own, like a day-night cycle (it's night in the clip you're seeing), plus wind and all sorts of things. Some of this is still not even ready for beta, much less public viewing, but we're bringing it to you anyway!

We hope you enjoy!

by:Suzie Ford, WarCry Network

Cryptic beaming up Star Trek Online?

What we heard: Following months of instability, a beleaguered Perpetual Studios officially closed it doors in January, laying off employees and selling off its coveted license to develop a massively multiplayer online game based on sci-fi canon Star Trek. Initial rumblings that came as a precursor to Perpetual's official shuttering indicated that "another Bay Area development studio" would pick up the license to develop an MMOG set in the far-future universe. Although the Bay Area is replete with development houses, eyes quickly turned to Los Gatos-based Cryptic Studios, best known as the developer behind NCsoft's City of Heroes. Evidence continues to mount today that Cryptic will indeed be taking the reins on the Star Trek Online MMOG. Saying it has "independently confirmed with sources," Trekkie hub TrekMovie.com is reporting that the shop is "definitely" the new license holder to develop Star Trek Online. As for why the developer is keeping the project cloaked, TrekMovie states, "Since acquiring the game, Cryptic has been assessing the current state of the game and assets, and deciding what to keep and what to change. Cryptic is holding off on making an announcement because they want to make their announcement more than just words and actually have something to show." Cryptic is certainly positioned to be a likely candidate for salvaging Star Trek Online. After the development house said it would be selling off its interests in City of Heroes/Villains to NCsoft, Cryptic expressly stated that "the decision to sell the franchise allows us to focus resources on our soon to be announced first-party projects." [Emphasis added.] With Microsoft officially pulling the plug on Marvel Universe Online in February, Cryptic's only other announced project is Champions Online. The developer purchased the IP to Champions from pen-and-paper RPG maker Hero Games last month. However, though the developer has expressed interest in developing multiple IPs, much of its resources will be tied up by the task of self-publishing Champions Online. Creating MMOGs in today's market requires an investment of tens of millions of dollars--or $500 million, if Blizzard's World of Warcraft is the target. It seems unlikely that Cryptic, which is a relatively small independent studio, would be able to bankroll more than one MMOG at a time. The official story: Cryptic Studios had not returned requests for comment as of press time. Bogus or not bogus?: Cryptic certainly has the pedigree and experience to handle Star Trek Online, although self-publishing two major MMOGs is a task that even Captain Jean-Luc Picard would find challenging. Either way, with Cryptic keeping mum and no other studios stepping up, Star Trek Online officially remains dead in the water. by gamespot news,( TomM GsCom )