Age-of-Conan-news-Interview-with-AoC-game-director
AoC Game Director fields more questions.
Age of Conan's (AoC) Game Director Craig Morrison joined the crew at GamesBloggo for a little Q&A session to answer a few questions sent in by the community about possible content additions and AoC's upcoming expansion, Rise of the Godslayer. While the Interview doesn't really offer a lot of new information, it's a decent primer for those that may not be quite up to speed on plans for the game. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Funcom plans to add any new areas to substitute Tortage any time soon.
Craig: I don’t think we will consider adding a different new player experience anytime soon. We have considered some means for players who have already explored each of the archetype paths to possibly skip Tortage with future characters, but we haven’t got any firm plans there at the moment.
Funcom has said that their "Real Combat" system, a combat system designed to offer more real-time options than traditional Dungeons & Dragons-inspired "turn-based" combat systems commonly used in RPGs, will be a prime attraction of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. This Real Combat system is a first-person melee approach in which every enemy has three different areas that players can swing at. Combos can be performed by stringing together consecutive successful attacks in particular directions. Feedback from players has pointed out that this system requires a certain degree of dexterity. Player stats and item bonuses will also play a role in this system, however item bonuses have less effect on a character's power than in comparable games, so that equipment does play a certain role, but less than other factors (player, teamplay, situation etc.). The idea of "Real Combat" is to eliminate the dullness of typical MMO fighting, which often consists of an auto-attack feature.
The "Real Combat" system is used in one-on-one weapon battle, as well as spell-casting, ranged combat and even mounted combat. In some situations, however, players will choose to band together and unite their skills to face other bands of players or AI controlled armies or uber-mobs; in essence, "formations", location based effects available for some classes. For example, a character standing in line with a Conqueror when he is running his formation will have a great deal of resistance to knockbacks.
Players are able to take part in large scale siege operations. Adventurers can cooperate with one another to build cities with walls, towers and catapults that can protect player-owned taverns and merchant facilities.
The lead artist Terje Lundberg said that the look and feel of Hyboria was based on the interpretation of the stories written by Robert E. Howard. "When you read Howard's work you're immediately drawn into a gritty world of dark and ancient forces, and mighty and decadent civilizations. You feel the great weight of the ages and sense the very history in the crumbling mortar and the ruins. Therefore we've been mindful from the outset to create a world which is true to Howard's writing. There is majesty in Hyboria but it's of a monolithic, brutal and primitive kind - it certainly isn't "high fairie" where everything appears as though it was built only yesterday and is devoid of context."
Lundberg said the game at launch will contain three countries, Cimmeria, a northern country with snow and highlands, Aquilonia, which contains "green hills, lush riverbeds, and the marvelous city of Tarantia", and Stygia, with mostly deserts and "some beautiful cities" — as well as the island of Tortage which "has a diverse geography ranging from jungle to harbors.
The relative business:
