Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Age of Conan reintroduces free trial]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/13/age-of-conan-reintroduces-free-trial/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/13/age-of-conan-reintroduces-free-trial/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/10/13/age-of-conan-reintroduces-free-trial/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Age of Conan has seen its share of ups and downs in this first year since launch, but the ride seems to be smoothing out lately. The first expansion is on the way, new content has been offered, and the PvP side is getting some extra attention. Community manager Oliver "Tarib" Kunz even took a bit of time lately to lay out a patch timeline for players, to let them know what's coming up. Back in July, a list of "10 reasons to give it another look", included free account reactivation for two weeks.

Now Funcom is issuing a similar invitation to everyone, reintroducing the free trial for players looking to try Age of Conan, and those wanting to take a second look at the new and improved game. This time they're offering 7 days of full game access, although there are some restrictions on things like trading, public chat channels, forums, and in-game mail.)

If you want a closer look at what Funcom has been up to with Age of Conan lately, visit the trial website to take them up on their offer.

MassivelyAge of Conan reintroduces free trial originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Age of Conan didn't have the smoothest launch, and its first year has been spent in no small part dealing with the aftershocks. Now, however, the game is cleaning up quite nicely, and it's focusing on core areas that keep people in the game and engrossed. The strength of the game's PvP was always one of its core selling points, which should make it even more interesting to fans to see MMORPG.com's recent interview with PvP developer Tim Donks.

The interview is very frank -- Donks comes out and says clearly where he feels that PvP is hitting its mark, and what places he thinks it's still falling short of target. He's pleased by and large with the game's "murder point" system that discourages high-level players demolishing weaker (although some players aren't), but he's not wholly happy with how the PvP advancement system in the game is working and talks a bit about how he wants to improve it. There are also a few stories that highlight some of the little changes that can have a larger impact on the overall direction of the game, including how something as small as altering NPC patrol routes can encourage PvP.

If you're curious about the direction that Age of Conan's PvP is going right now, both in the near future and with the upcoming expansion, the interview should provide a meaty read. And if after that you feel the urge to pick up your sword and go find someone unsuspecting to test it on, well, so much the better.

MassivelyAge of Conan's PvP developer interview originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanage-of-conan-hyborian-adventuresaocfuncominterviewspvpSun, 11 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Does playing an MMO pique your interest about its origins?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/18/the-daily-grind-does-playing-an-mmo-pique-your-interest-about-i/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/18/the-daily-grind-does-playing-an-mmo-pique-your-interest-about-i/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/07/18/the-daily-grind-does-playing-an-mmo-pique-your-interest-about-i/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,


MMOs are rarely stand-alone entities; there are exceptions of course but most are created thanks to a fan base from some other medium. Some, like WoW, are based on older games (often completely different types of games like an RTS or RPG) with a rich mythology that lends themselves perfectly to transcend its original form and become an MMO. Others, like Age of Conan and Star Trek, have their origins in novels, film franchises or even a TV series. I know, I know, I'm still waiting and living in hope of that Firefly MMO just like the rest of you.

So my question for you is this: Do you play an MMO because of where it came from? Are you a Trekkie who is dying to captain your own ship? Did you play Warcraft back in the days of The Frozen Throne and gravitate naturally to the MMO? On the flipside, did the lore of LotRO make you want to read Tolkien's books? For you, what came first, the origins or the game?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Does playing an MMO pique your interest about its origins? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanage-of-conan-hyborian-adventuresaocbooksfilmslord-of-the-rings-onlinelorelotrommo-originsstar-trekstar-trek-onlinethe-daily-grindtolkientv-seriesworld-of-warcraftwowSat, 18 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Age of Conan trailer is up, and it's bloody]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/06/age-of-conan-trailer-is-up-and-its-bloody/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/06/age-of-conan-trailer-is-up-and-its-bloody/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/06/age-of-conan-trailer-is-up-and-its-bloody/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


Here's the Age of Conan trailer we've been waiting on (the whole thing is after the break) fresh off of its release on GameSpot. The environments look good, but I have to say that the character models seem a bit disappointing, at least from what I could see. But there are some cool-looking mounts in here, flowing cloaks, lots of boats and of course, plenty of blood and dismemberment: the heads, they are a-poppin'.

Haven't got enough Age of Conan media yet? Be sure to check our Dark Templar and Barbarian hands-on, as well as the gallery of screens from CES, and a GDC PvP city preview. Could May 20th maybe come a little sooner this year?

Continue reading Age of Conan trailer is up, and it's bloody

MassivelyAge of Conan trailer is up, and it's bloody originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanage-of-conan-hyborian-adventuresblooddismembermentfuncomhead-loppingtrailerThu, 06 Mar 2008 22:15:00 EST<![CDATA[New Age of Conan trailer drops Thursday]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/05/new-age-of-conan-trailer-drops-thursday/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/05/new-age-of-conan-trailer-drops-thursday/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/05/new-age-of-conan-trailer-drops-thursday/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Ten Ton Hammer is reporting this morning that Funcom and Eidos have announced that a new Age of Conan trailer will appear on Gamespot.com Thursday. According to the announcement on the AoC official forums, the video will launch at 1700 California time ( -8 GMT). Since I'm bad with that whole international time thing, the TTH guys have done my work for me... apparently "1700 California time" translates to roughly 12pm EST. If it's as bloody as the above pic - wow!

We'll let you know when the ball drops so you can make a beeline for Gamespot.

MassivelyNew Age of Conan trailer drops Thursday originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Age-of-ConanAge-of-Conan-Hyborian-AdventuresAoCConanConan-the-Barbariandeveloper-blogEidosFuncomgamespotHyborian-Adventuresten-ton-hammertrailerWed, 05 Mar 2008 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[There's no crying in head lopping]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/15/theres-no-crying-in-head-lopping/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/15/theres-no-crying-in-head-lopping/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/15/theres-no-crying-in-head-lopping/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


The fine folks at Funcom have posted a brief update about the beta for their upcoming head-loppalooza, Age of Conan.

The biggest news: female avatars are now available! Gotta love this line from Funcom: " ... while there are some bugs to work out -- people always seem surprised to find out a beta is actually used for finding and squashing bugs! -- they are playable..." They also gave a count of how many patches have dropped in the last few weeks. January had three, while there's been two so far this month. Wednesday's update dropped over 2.5 gigs of data! Lastly, PVP and the PVP servers will - for the first time - be opening soon.

So if you're one of the lucky ones in beta - rejoice! But whatever you do... don't cry. As Tom Hanks might say: There's no crying in head lopping!

MassivelyThere's no crying in head lopping originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Age-of-ConanAge-of-Conan-Hyborian-AdventuresAoCbeta-updateConanConan-the-BarbarianFuncomHyborian-AdventuresFri, 15 Feb 2008 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New Age of Conan developer blog on MMORPG]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/15/new-age-of-conan-developer-blog-on-mmorpg/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/15/new-age-of-conan-developer-blog-on-mmorpg/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/15/new-age-of-conan-developer-blog-on-mmorpg/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


MMORPG.com just launched a new developer blog for Age of Conan. Writing about the ins and outs of this mature hack-n-slash is Jason Stone (aka "Athelan"), one of the game's designers. In his first entry (posted yesterday), Jason introduces himself by explaining his roll in AoC and what his gaming background is.

His goals for the blog are to "highlight the goings on in the Age of Conan community, respond to community questions and feedback, give you sneak peeks into my own Beta experiences..." For now Jason will be the only contributor, but he hopes that other members of the development team will chime in from time to time.

Almost all of these dev blog's are worth the time to read because they really give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the game's design and progress. Us old timer's never had anything like this back in the day, so it's a real treat to get what amounts to first hand information straight from the "horse's mouth" - so to speak.

MassivelyNew Age of Conan developer blog on MMORPG originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Age-of-ConanAge-of-Conan-Hyborian-AdventuresAoCConanConan-the-Barbariandeveloper-blogFuncomHyborian-AdventuresTue, 15 Jan 2008 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Virtual World Boom]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/16/the-virtual-world-boom/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/16/the-virtual-world-boom/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/10/16/the-virtual-world-boom/#commentsFiled under:

Looking for a great escape from reality? Nothing comes close to a Virtual World for a thrill seeking whimsical adventure that doesn't require you to crash your bank account or take some time away from work-- except when an expansion is released or you that long-awaited beta invite shows up, thank you sick leave! It's only natural that people from all walks of life and ages enjoy being entertained by an interactive medium that offers socialization, avatars, items, mini-games and other various shenanigans. Everyone from Webkinz moms, Club Penguin kiddos, the voracious World of Warcraft indulgers and in between is getting in on some Virtual World action.

The whole Virtual World genre is going to get a lot more crowded as big media conglomerates take notice and throw staggering piles of cash around in an attempt to attract new visitors. Recent findings by the Virtual World Conference suggest that from October 2006 to October 2007 more than 1 billion dollars was invested in 35 virtual worlds companies. Over at Business Week, there is a great write-up from Paul Heyman of Game Daily about the stirrings from the last Virtual Worlds conference and where some of this money is coming from and where it's going. You won't find any Jeff Kaplan quotes on "welfare epics" but it's still worth a gander if you are interested in an upcoming subset of the genre that will probably prove to be more popular than traditional based fantasy MMORPGS.

It isn't the promise land for every Virtual World. Mike Schramm recently reported on the MMO Boom and how it isn't always peaches and cream. This year has been rough on Auto Assault and Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising as both MMOGS shut down permanently while Ryzom is still hanging on for dear life. Despite the pitfalls, MMORPGS will thrive or World of Warcraft will at least, for how long? If Ultima Online has lasted 10 years, WoW will easily top that. 2008 should prove to be a better year for MMORPGS with Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning and Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures set to hit our desktops. My hope is that these Virtual Worlds, the ones with elves and fireballs and not Hello Kitty, will be just as fun to explore as their predecessors.

MassivelyThe Virtual World Boom originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Age-of-ConanAge-of-Conan-Hyborian-AdventuresClub-PenguinHello-KittyMMORPGMMORPG-BoomMMORPG-BudgetOnline-GamingRyzomUltima-OnlineVirtual-WorldVirtual-Worlds-ConferenceWarhammerWarhammer-OnlineWarhammer-Online-Age-of-ReckoningWebkinzWorld-of-WarcraftWoWTue, 16 Oct 2007 14:52:00 EST