Age Of Conan

[Slak]

I know there was an original thread....somewhere but i cant find it.

anyway

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/age-of-conan-hyborian-adventures/611365p3.html

Some more updates about the game, which is going to be in E3 pretty soon.

[Virt]

Looks interesting. But any game that has this to say about PvP gets an automatic -1000 points in my book:

"Yes there will be PvP gameplay in Age of Conan, we will be announcing more details on the PvP systems closer to release."

[Aradorn]

No other fantasy universe lends itself so well to player versus player combat as Hyboria -- Conan's world. Crushing your enemy is the heart dark, brutal realm. Therefore there will be many shapes that player vs. player combat will take. At the core of it, though, is the "Real Combat" engine, where not only player stats but also skill comes to play

You can roughly divide (Age of Conan's) PvP into three categories. First, you have one-on-one PvP traditionally found in arenas. Second, you have team based "mini-game" type of combat. The essence here is a GUI-driven match-making system which will allow you to form teams with players from all over Hyboria. You will fight it out in instanced "mini-areas" with concrete goals. Goals include, capturing the flag, annihilating the opposing team, razing a building with light siege weapons or "Kill the Lord" in which you must kill the PvP boss of the opposing team.

A big part of the team-based PvP is our auto-balancing system. Using the Apprentice Leveling system, the members of a team will be slightly boosted to match 1 of 4 tiers. Level 20-28 player will be boosted to level 28, for example. It should make PvP less based on your Player vs. Environment level, and more on having fun. We're also implementing a PvP-only leveling system. Here you can gain feats only usable in PvP. This system is in parallel to the normal system of gaining levels, so that we reward the dedicated PvP players.


Finally, there's "siege PvP". This will take place in the infamous "Border Kingdom" lying on the borders between Cimmeria, Aquillonia, Brythania, Nemedia, and Hyperboria. The "Border Kingdoms" were always a constant place of battle, skirmishes and war in the books and Conan visited these areas on numerous occasions before he settled down as King. Now, as King, he has let it be known, that anyone proclaiming one of these areas part of "Greater Aquillonia" will be rewarded with a title at his court. This means that several court-based individuals will sponsor forays into Border Kingdoms with the goal of setting up a castle to control an area in Conan's name.

Using the village building technology, guilds can find a sponsor and build their own castle in a Border Kingdom instance. This will have to be defended against other guilds. You must destroy enemy walls, towers, and defenders before razing their keeps and castles to the ground. The ones holding areas in Border Kingdoms will gain bonuses to their guild. Let the best Siege Engine win!




We have tried to let the game be playable in 3rd person view, almost everywhere. The controls should mimic the most popular games out there, and it should be easy to get into, fluid and with good response. At the same time we have tried to improve it by adding something we call "dual focus" as an option. Here the 3rd person camera will try to keep you and the opponent in focus at all times.

Ranged combat and some spell action will actually take place in "shoulder camera" as seen in Splinter Cell. Here you will have to actually aim your bow or spell at the opponent to hit. The programmers have called it the "Parrot Cam," since we have a Pirate theme in the opening sequence of the game.



Delsyn: When players fight one another, are they locked into a combat cycle? Can they get out of it, or does one of the fighters have to be defeated?

Godager: The most importance thing to remember in Age of Conan is that it does not have indirect combat. When you click, you will swing! It doesn't matter who is in front of you. It doesn't matter if you are too far away. It doesn't matter if you have an opponent at all. When you swing, you swing. This is not a turn-based game, although there is difference in weapon speed and spell speed, so you can't win by punching buttons faster than your opponent. Nturally you can't be locked in battle with this type of system. You have to be careful, move about, and think quickly to survive.


Delsyn: Is there a different fighting system for fighting computer controlled mobs than for fighting another player?

Godager: No, the fighting system is the same. The difference is that in PvP your level is boosted to the closest tier point and you can use your special PvP levels and abilities to win.


Delsyn: Is all PvP combat consensual? If not, how do you determine who can fight each other and where?

Godager: PvP is consensual. Our aim is that you will never be killed unless you ant to participate. PvP should be fun and exciting, not filled with griefers and exploiters. In the darkness of Hyboria, though, and its hidden alleys and grim battlefields everything should be seen as a legal tactic to crush your enemy!


Delsyn: How do player statistics and armor and weapon abilities come into play? Is there a statistical chance of players missing or is hitting and missing completely under a player's control? If the player does hit how is damage determined?

Godager: Since the game is an "Action" Role Playing Game we will definitely make sure your role playing stats come into play. The chance to hit is determined by where you attack, if you are close enough, the orientation of your opponent, if you're facing his back, etc. All this is player skill. There will also be other things at play, like the relative level difference, what weapon you use, what class you have -- all the normal statistical influences from a role playing game. The focus here is on the role playing aspects of the game. The player skill required to hit will be more like those found in action games like God of War and Devil May Cry 3 than in a fighting game like Tekken.


Delsyn: How do you handle magic in combat? Are there traditional spellcasters who act as ranged combatants, and can their spells be avoided?

Godager: Spellcasters are different in Age of Conan than what you normally see in online games. First of all, only Stygians will use arcane magic -- this foul form of power is not used by the saner Cimmerians or Aquillonians. Second, magic will look, feel and handle differently than in other games. There aren't any magic missile tossing clowns with funny hats. Instead we have more "real" magic, manipulating reality, shaking the Earth, and summoning the odd demon from an unspeakable Hell.

In Conan's Hyboria, arcane magic is deemed dangerous and foul and is very often focused around the manipulation of artifacts, more than the simple channeling of energy. To simulate this we are playing around with a system called "Soul Corruption" that will determine the degree to which you have sold your soul for power. Naturally, for most, this will be fatal and something to be avoided. For others, walking the edge is the only form of true excitement there is, and is, by far, the most efficient way to gain maximum power. It is still uncertain if "Soul Corruption" will make it all the way to the final game, though.

Since you must "aim" as a mage in Conan it is possible to somewhat avoid magic by having high resistance or by getting out of the line of fire. Magic-like powers can be also be gained through shamanistic and religious powers. They are more close-up and personal, and most forms of healing or "buffing" will be team based.


Delsyn: How do you handle movement? Can players move around while fighting and is that a key element of avoiding getting hit?

Godager: You can move when in combat, and positioning and orientation is central to survival. When entering combat mode, the movement will be slightly lower than outside combat to ensure a fairer system than just hit-and-run.


Delsyn: Tell us a little bit about special moves and combos?

Godager: There's a marked difference between "special moves" and "combos" in Age of Conan. Combos will be the only way of dealing additional damage in battle. By stringing attacks together normal attacks, they will convert to combo moves, doing additional damage, adding negative effects to the opponent or yielding beneficial bonuses. This also works in ranged and magical combat.

Special moves are ways of moving quickly across the battlefield, dodging left or right, or making "heroic moves". These are accessed through special buttons on the keyboard, clicking on their icon, or by using a joypad.


Delsyn: How many moves and combos are there and how do players acquire them? Do they have to learn the moves from trainers or are they quest rewards?

Godager: The exact number is different from player to player. For many classes the number of combos can reach more than a hundred at maximum level. There will not be that many special moves, more like 10-20 at maximum level. There will also be class specific special skills like sneaking around and disarming traps which falls into the special move category.




there ya go

[Aradorn]

Delsyn: How does this system work with mounted combat?

Godager: The mounted combat will come in two forms. First, you can fight from horseback with almost any weapon. You'll move quicker, but you won't have as many combat options. You can't strafe with a horse, for instance. Second, you can access special moves which include charges that have a fair chance of flinging your opponent around as you thunder past.



Delsyn: Can you aim at and kill a player's mount? Does that cost the player money and is the death permanent?

Godager: As with any NPC player follower, the mount can be beaten unconscious, and can not be revived until the end of battle.


Delsyn: Tell us a little bit about formation and multiplayer combat.

Godager: The formation combat found in Age of Conan is unique. Not only do players get a "collision" sphere around their formation to push other players and monsters around, but the formation also offers special attacks and bonuses. The players will be able to move freely within a certain "circle" around their designated position, and the whole formation is moved by the formation leader.

Formations are the only real protection against the violent onslaught of boss powers. If you ever were to fight a massive demon it would play golf with your head unless you gang up and help each-other.

Formations are also the best offense and defense against other formations. In a paper-scissors-rock type approach, Age of Conan will offer a unique PvP and PvE approach to tactical combat. A charging gang of knights will decimate a formation of archers. On the other hand, the knights will be hard pressed to survive their charge if it actually was a formation of pikemen they charged at. What better way to break the pikemen formation, then, than to fire volley after volley of arrows at them from your archer formation?


Delsyn: How do players choose who's in charge of a formation?

Godager: The leader will make the formation. The leader can give leadership to another in the formation. If the leader leaves the leadership will be given automatically to another player.

Delsyn: When and where would players use formations versus a free-for-all?

Godager: We will try to make the choice of formation vs. free-for-all so that cooperating players will always gain a certain advantage, but not so much as to rule the battlefield.


Delsyn: What happens when a horde of individual players goes up against a group in formations?

Godager: Naturally, the amount of players on each side will be the biggest factor in determining who wins. But, given equal numbers, or even a slight disadvantage on the side of the players in formation, the organized players should almost always win. This is most clearly shown in the Roman history; they used formations very effectively in skirmishes.


Delsyn: Tell us a bit about siege combat

Godager: There are 3 distinct forms of siege combat. Two are found in the PvE environment.

In one you will defend your village, city, or castle against a rush of monster opponents. In the other you can take the battle to their village, and crush them in an RTS style of gameplay. The third is the PvP Border Kingdom battles we already discussed.

The walls and buildings in Age of Conan are attackable. In fact you can swing at them with any weapon. The only problem is that they will only take damage from the siege engine and magical attacks. To break through you need to find a weak place in the wall, and hit it with all the siege engine powers you have. Even then, though, you're not home free. You need to knock out the automated defense towers firing NPC controlled volleys of arrows to enter safely. And yes, these towers can also be controlled by players.

Naturally, the siege engines are slow moving and slow firing. They're also easily crushed by rushing cavalry attacks. They can also be knocked over by attacks by other siege engines. I guess they need protection to be functioning properly. I wonder whose responsibility that is? (laughs) To win an attack, you need to destroy the Keep in the center of the village.



Delsyn: What kinds of siege machines will players get to use?

Godager: I can't reveal the exact amount or types at the moment, but the most important aspect of the siege machines is that they are special types of "mounts" which can built only by a certain type of Guild Class. This class becomes available at level 40. You can build the siege engines on the battlefield, but it takes several minutes to build one, and you can only build a set amount per day per individual. The siege engines will move slowly, and you will need to mount them and fire from the "seat" of the machine.

The siege engines will do a special type of heavy damage to individuals, but more importantly, they damage buildings like nothing else.


Delsyn: Can player cities fight one another and will their destruction be permanent?

Street: The player villages found in what we call "resource and building Regions" will not be attackable by other players. They will be attacked by monsters. The battle keeps built in the Border Kingdoms will not be attacked by monsters, only other players.


Delsyn: How do players communicate with each other in these massive battles, and what happens if a player decides to disobey an order?

Godager: Chat, Teamspeak, Skype -- take your pick. Only chat is built into Age of Conan, though. What happens when one disobeys? I guess that is up to you? Kick him from your guild, ostracize him, challenge him for a duel, or congratulate him for creative thinking when he saves the day -- I guess the situation defines what happens.


Delsyn: . What happens when you die in PvP combat vs. fighting against computer controlled mobs?

Godager: There is a special form of "death" in PvP - with less "downtime" as a result of dying. Details will be given closer to launch.


Delsyn: Is there a particular "feel" for combat you'd like to get across to players?

Street: Never forget that Hyboria is different! Conan's world is darker, more brutal and more filled with lust than any other world I know about. I would like to point out that PvP is but one part of the game, and not the be-all, end-all of the game. What we want more than anything else is to give you that feeling of being in the unique Hyborian Universe, where the gods are cruel and uncaring…

and the rest

[Slak]

bleh seems more PvE oriented than i originally thought...