LordjOX
Part of the furniture
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2003
- Messages
- 3,885
Thought it was about time someone made a thread about Funcom's next MMORPG: Age of Conan : Hyborian Adventures.
It is due for release, if all goes to plan, in Q4 2006 (this year).
It is based on the books by Robert E. Howard. Who created the time forgotten to men now, known as the Hyborian Age.
It is a typical MMORPG nowdays, you can achieve up to 80 levels and communicate with other players etc. But that's about where the similiarities stop.
The first 20 levels you'll play through a 10-15 hour long epic singleplayer story with your first character. Then you can choose to subscribe to the MMO part and play as much as you like in the multiplayer world.
There are four class-archetypes, similar to any rpg. Priest, Soldier, Rogue and Mage which you play from level 5 to 20 (from lvls 1-5 you are a "commoner"). Then at 20 you choose a specific class within the archetype, then again a 2-branched specialization at level 60. At level 40 you choose a prestige class which is mostly benificial to guilds or larger groups of players. ARCHETYPES AND CLASSES.
Combat and Magic
Here's what makes AoC the oh so special. Instead of your normal targetting routine, in melee combat you just swing your sword/axe/dagger/mace/polearm/etc.. As easy as that. Just swing it!
You attack by making a cone in front of you and then slashing or trashing with the numerical keys to the right on the keyboard (or click on the interface). So '7' would be a slash or stab to the upper left, '3' to the lower right etc. Which again makes combat much more interactive, flexible and fun! And there are also combinations of these moves for devastating attacks rather than pressing '1' on the keyboard and you do "Skullcrusher - the uber 1-hit-death attack". There is also finishing moves, where you can pick up a player or NPC and stab him in the torso as shown in the E3 movie.
There is also combat from a horseback, which is elegantly made with people motion capturing a live horse and rendering it to the game. You can stampede around on a horse and swing your sword at the enemies, or charge em' with your lance and gouge them in the eye!
Magic is also handled differently, you get the normal and weaker forms of magic, like a lightening strike, simple heals over time and whatnot. Then you got SPELLWEAVING.
Basically this works kind of like the combat system, you stand still (similar to casters in daoc, wow etc) then go into a trance. Then you are free to weave the spells you have at hand, capped at a certain point noted by your current level. When you weave, you essentially stack spells together and combine them to make devastating attacks, but at a greater cost.
Want a spell that sends a lightening strike crashing down and roots the enemy in place? So be it! Just think of the possibilities! The details are still sketchy, but there are lots more to it.
Groups and guilds
Groups have a normal 6 players in it, but with people that have chosen the Commander Prestige class, you can expand this to 10 people per group. Where you can choose to go in a tight formation, or run free when you hunt around to kill stuff.
But the real deal are the guilds. There is one major aspect of a guild, rather than the community bit. You can make player made towns set in a RTS-style setting. You got resource points like gold, iron, wood etc. to maintain the player city (resource gathering is a passive thing, made by the amount of members). You get monsters or animals nearby to hunt etc. Then these enemy NPCs start building their own town to rival yours! Over weeks they will build up and amass an army to lay siege on your guild town. And ofc the players can loot the enemy npc "hive" for gold and glory.
There is also lots more to this bit.
PvP?
Yes they said they would focus lots on PvP, aside from the "PvE towns" a guild can make a Keep in the Border Kingdoms (essentially a big RvR zone). Where other guilds compete for terrain etc. But of course you get the random smaller skirmishes and then the bigger siege-like fights like you find in DAoC. And this will also ofc use the combat and magic system which will inspire to some truely exhilirating gameplay.
So, if you EVER wondered what MMORPG to play next. Or wait for EA/Mythic's WAR (due 2007)! This would easily be the best choice for this year to come.
Also check out these videos, since they say much more than words: VIDEOS.
The IGN video is HIGHLY recommended as a first-time view as it says on the tin: "23 minutes of ingame goodies. Combat, riding, city building, siege engines, character cutomization, and King Conan himself. If you're only going to see one video, see this one."
Discuss!
It is due for release, if all goes to plan, in Q4 2006 (this year).
It is based on the books by Robert E. Howard. Who created the time forgotten to men now, known as the Hyborian Age.
It is a typical MMORPG nowdays, you can achieve up to 80 levels and communicate with other players etc. But that's about where the similiarities stop.
The first 20 levels you'll play through a 10-15 hour long epic singleplayer story with your first character. Then you can choose to subscribe to the MMO part and play as much as you like in the multiplayer world.
There are four class-archetypes, similar to any rpg. Priest, Soldier, Rogue and Mage which you play from level 5 to 20 (from lvls 1-5 you are a "commoner"). Then at 20 you choose a specific class within the archetype, then again a 2-branched specialization at level 60. At level 40 you choose a prestige class which is mostly benificial to guilds or larger groups of players. ARCHETYPES AND CLASSES.
Combat and Magic
Here's what makes AoC the oh so special. Instead of your normal targetting routine, in melee combat you just swing your sword/axe/dagger/mace/polearm/etc.. As easy as that. Just swing it!
You attack by making a cone in front of you and then slashing or trashing with the numerical keys to the right on the keyboard (or click on the interface). So '7' would be a slash or stab to the upper left, '3' to the lower right etc. Which again makes combat much more interactive, flexible and fun! And there are also combinations of these moves for devastating attacks rather than pressing '1' on the keyboard and you do "Skullcrusher - the uber 1-hit-death attack". There is also finishing moves, where you can pick up a player or NPC and stab him in the torso as shown in the E3 movie.
There is also combat from a horseback, which is elegantly made with people motion capturing a live horse and rendering it to the game. You can stampede around on a horse and swing your sword at the enemies, or charge em' with your lance and gouge them in the eye!
Magic is also handled differently, you get the normal and weaker forms of magic, like a lightening strike, simple heals over time and whatnot. Then you got SPELLWEAVING.
Basically this works kind of like the combat system, you stand still (similar to casters in daoc, wow etc) then go into a trance. Then you are free to weave the spells you have at hand, capped at a certain point noted by your current level. When you weave, you essentially stack spells together and combine them to make devastating attacks, but at a greater cost.
Want a spell that sends a lightening strike crashing down and roots the enemy in place? So be it! Just think of the possibilities! The details are still sketchy, but there are lots more to it.
Groups and guilds
Groups have a normal 6 players in it, but with people that have chosen the Commander Prestige class, you can expand this to 10 people per group. Where you can choose to go in a tight formation, or run free when you hunt around to kill stuff.
But the real deal are the guilds. There is one major aspect of a guild, rather than the community bit. You can make player made towns set in a RTS-style setting. You got resource points like gold, iron, wood etc. to maintain the player city (resource gathering is a passive thing, made by the amount of members). You get monsters or animals nearby to hunt etc. Then these enemy NPCs start building their own town to rival yours! Over weeks they will build up and amass an army to lay siege on your guild town. And ofc the players can loot the enemy npc "hive" for gold and glory.
There is also lots more to this bit.
PvP?
Yes they said they would focus lots on PvP, aside from the "PvE towns" a guild can make a Keep in the Border Kingdoms (essentially a big RvR zone). Where other guilds compete for terrain etc. But of course you get the random smaller skirmishes and then the bigger siege-like fights like you find in DAoC. And this will also ofc use the combat and magic system which will inspire to some truely exhilirating gameplay.
So, if you EVER wondered what MMORPG to play next. Or wait for EA/Mythic's WAR (due 2007)! This would easily be the best choice for this year to come.
Also check out these videos, since they say much more than words: VIDEOS.
The IGN video is HIGHLY recommended as a first-time view as it says on the tin: "23 minutes of ingame goodies. Combat, riding, city building, siege engines, character cutomization, and King Conan himself. If you're only going to see one video, see this one."
Discuss!
