MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS SINCE
LAUNCH
Craig Morrison, Game
Director on Age of Conan
With the impending
launch of our trial offerings I have been asked to sit down and summarize
the changes that the game has seen since the launch last year. I think the
first thing I can say was that actually compiling this letter into a
digestible size for you all was actually another good affirmation for me as
to the effort the team here has gone to in order to realize the potential of
Age of Conan. I am very proud of the efforts that have been undertaken since
launch to address the various issues identified by our players, as well as
the improvements and additions that we have made to the game.
So what exactly has been
done since launch?
- New Content We have added
countless hours of more content through updates such as Ymir's Pass - the
largest playfield yet that comes with an entirely new storyline inspired
by the classic Howard tale 'The Frost Giant's Daughter'. Then you have
Xibaluku, a new end game dungeon packed with dynamic and engaging boss
encounters for maximum level players. In addition we have added countless
more quests and rewards to the game for players of all level ranges. The
launch dungeons have also been revisited, revamped and generally improved
to provide new and more interesting game-play and rewards.
- Enhancing PVP The world of King
Conan is a brutal one and we have made sure to focus on building on the
PVP offerings. One of the key elements that players reported enjoying in
the game was the ability to be part of a bloody and exciting game-world
and we wanted to build on that. Not only have we added a full PVP leveling
system, with a host of rewards - we have also built upon this with a full
PVP consequence system that adds a true meaning to PVP combat and allows
those that would tread a darker path to actually become criminals based on
their actions, opening up a whole new game-play experience.
- Improved Sieges Building on the
desire to have truly meaningful and engaging PVP in every update we are
continuing to refine, add to and improve the Siege warfare PVP elements.
We are striving to keep adding new features to make guild vs. guild
game-play matter more. In the most recent updates new PVP specific
resources required to build and repair battle-keeps have been added. These
resources must be fought over between players, and can be looted from
vanquished foes corpses, adding more intensity and drama to the siege
experience.
- Stability and Performance Our
technical team has been hard at work ensuring that there are constant
improvements being made to performance and stability. Framerate has been
increased on a wider range of computers, memory leaks have been corrected
and bugs have been ironed out making the game-play experience a lot
smoother and stable for the user.
- General Improvements The big main
features always get the headlines and previews, but we have also gone to
great lengths to ensure that the smaller points and general polish also
get some care and attention. A huge amount of general improvements and
enhancements have been made, some small, some larger, but all combining to
provide a better Age of Conan experience. More travel options have been
added, more voice-overs, a new friend interface, the raid interface has
been improved, a new GUI options mean it's now easier to locate and get
into PvP mini-games, tradeskills have been improved, loot rewards have
been re-distributed, vanity pets are available as a special reward for
those who adventure through the new Xibaluku dungeon… and the list goes
on! These changes may never be in the spotlight but they all contribute to
improving the experience for players each and every time they log in
- An Amazing World While we already
have a fantastically realized game-world we have been hard at work
ensuring it continues to shine as the most stunningly rendered MMO world
to date. First and foremost in this development is the new DX10
functionality that will allow players to see the kingdoms of Hyboria like
never before. Launching soon the DX10 version will bring more spectacular
visuals to the beautiful vistas of King Conan's world.
What the future brings
During the development of
the game the key phrase that was used to establish the goals of the project
was 'Combat, Combat, Combat' and I think that
goal was perfectly realized in our combat system, and element of the game
that continues to be a key feature and unique element players enjoy with our
game. When we set out to define the goals for the development team for the
ongoing production we decided to keep with the 'C' theme, so the goals of
the team are to focus on 'Content, Conflict, Character
and Community'
Content - Our
continued desire to keep providing exciting and engaging new content for
players
Conflict - Build on
the game's strong PVP elements and continue to expand on the brutal world of
Hyboria
Character - Strive
to provide better options for character development, something that is a key
focus at the moment with our impending revamp of items and statistics in the
next major game update.
Community - One of
the key goals for the next year will be improving upon the community and
guild functionality in the game to give the players more tools to craft
their own space and identity in the world of Hyboria
All of us on both
development teams are looking forward to telling you even more about it
soon!
Sincerely,
Craig Morrison
Game Director
Age of Conan
