Age of Conan servers being consolidated

Funcom merging NA, Euro servers to ensure "more healthy populations"; DX10 support heads to external testing.

Conan had no easy time ascending the Aquilonian throne, but it just might be an easier nut to crack than becoming the leader of the massively multiplayer online games kingdom. Funcom appeared to be on track to accomplish just that feat after the game's May launch, with the publisher touting Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures as "the biggest MMO launch since World of Warcraft" less than a month after the game debuted.

By August, however, growth on the game had taken a swing decidedly for the worse. In its second-quarter financial report, Funcom noted that subscriptions stood at 415,000, far less than the 1.2 million boxes it had shipped to retail. Making matters worse, the developer announced earlier this month that game director Gaute Godager had resigned from his position, citing irreconcilable "dissatisfaction" over portions of the game.

Today, Age of Conan hit more choppy waters. In a post to the game's official forums, new game director Craig Morrison (formerly of Anarchy Online) confirmed that Funcom would be consolidating several Age of Conan servers in both North America and Europe.

"It's important for us to ensure the best gameplay experience for you all, and more healthy populations on each and every server will make sure we maintain healthy communities for the game in the future," wrote Morrison. "Still, there are many complexities involved in this, and we want to ensure that everything happens as fair and streamlined as possible. That work has now started, and we are naturally making sure that guilds and players can get to new servers in the best possible way. We will come back with more info on this, but I hope that this will serve as a positive injection to the social scene in the game."

On a brighter note, Morrison also revealed that the Funcom team is inching closer to introducing DirectX 10 functionality into its MMOG. "Once the next gameplay update is out, expect to start to seeing the DX10 functionality coming to the test environment," commented the game lead. "How long it will take to transition to live will depend on the testing, of course, but it's starting to shape up nicely."

109 Comments

  • fiskefyren

    Posted Jun 26, 2009 5:52 am PT

    @ azn_windsoul:
    no one enjoys wow, they just dont have anything else to do with their sad little lifes.
    i do so enjoy that i will never play a mmog xD
    btw what happend to the therm MMORPG? now everyone calls em MMOG xD

  • ice_radon

    Posted Jan 12, 2009 8:46 am PT

    As of Today, the game is going down a slippery slope! Now down to 18 servers.. Wow, I cannot believe it has not even been 9 months and the game is more or less dead!

  • azn_windsoul

    Posted Nov 29, 2008 11:14 pm PT

    wat are the number of subsribers on the game now?


    and angus: troll more, maybe people will actually fall for it. it doesnt matter if wow had less content when it first came out than aoc does now, because people enjoyed it. but people don't enjoy AoC, because of its bugginess and lack of content, and dumb design (interface and gameplay exluding combat system) i mean comon, its 2008 aoc shud be alot better than wow when it was frist released in like 2004

  • angusmandude

    Posted Nov 10, 2008 5:08 pm PT

    This game rocks but people go "errrrrrr....it not complete like fallout 3 or wow...errrrrrr" DER it isent i played wow in its 1st month and IT WREAKED LIKE CRAP AoC IT WAY BETTER THEN WHEN WOW was in its first 6 months WHEN WILL PEOPLE UNDERSTAND GAMES DO NOT COME COMPLETE (MAINLY MMO) AND THE GAME IS BEING FIXED ALOT (i really want a USA company to buy it truth then this game get fixed faster then often )

  • Bonius

    Posted Oct 29, 2008 6:31 pm PT

    Well I have to give it to Funcom, Age of Conan was probably the best performed scam of this decade.

  • Dollsmasher

    Posted Oct 25, 2008 11:14 am PT

    I was so waiting for AOC release, and what i get was a big disappointment. The players wont come back thats for shure, neither do I. The gameplay realy sucked the combos what they said "here is when player skill comes in", but that was OMG something like this, i pressed the 1 (in few sec ok its pressed) i pressed 2 (ok its pressed now you can press the next combo button)...etc. I cant see where is the skill here If some1 can press the button fast in some combination that would be a "skill".

    Anyway the enviroment was realy beautiful while the items and other stuff was realy grey and almost same color.

    And that instance map thing was realy ridiculous. We are on same server on same place but we arent.

    The game was released to early with to many bugs and players paid for testing the game.

  • Wardenb

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 4:22 pm PT

    this game should of been so much more, its a real shame because i loved the conan universe, the detail was lush and everything was fantastic, but the pvp was flawed (running away from fights and hiding in water.. get real)

    I may return at a later date if the game gets "fixed"

  • bobbo

    Posted Oct 2, 2008 7:09 am PT

    Well they have fixed the grey map (out of memory leaks), added quests, fixed quests,fixed lots of bugs, first part of the pvp system is up, second part will be up within 14 days or so i think.

    Items have been reworked and the same is happening to gems.

    Balance is much better now. They will also increase the bonuses on items, making them more meaningfull.

    Lot's of good things have happened to AOC lately including much better communication with the players.

    From what i have read in the lates patchnotes on testlive, things are looking up.

    Pretty soon word of mouth will be the otherway around.
    Instead of "don't play this it's buggy and crappy", people will say "man you got to check this out, AOC rocks and look ten times better than the competition"

  • xDj1nn

    Posted Oct 1, 2008 2:18 pm PT

    I quit it for some simple reasons, 1, the game is incomplete, there's lack on quests, so after lvl 50 u need to start grinding + questing the few avaible quests for ur lvl + questing low lvl quests, 2, you don't actually have an enemy to pvp, since all "countries" are "friendly", what is stupid, the story is incomplete and only allows u to aid fuking conan, what I was never intended to do, 3, the Main quests are quite unbalanced, some were too easy other were almost impossible, 4, the PvP system wasn't up and, Failcom started developing it 3 months after the launch instead of fixing the fuking Gray Map or Memmory Leak bugs, 5, we actually never had ne positive, I mean, any answers from the developers or nething like that, 6, the games do not have a scenario, it's divided into instances, so, everywhere u go u are in a fuking instance, and that's ridiculous for a game that wants to beat WoW, instances or separeted maps are things from the past, from MU ONLINE or some sh1t like that, not for a DX10 game, not for AoC, not for that game idea, 7, they charge u around U$15 per month to play in their servers that actually are just like an WoW Private dead server, with ALOT of bugs, incomplete systems, quests, story line...

    For real, it would be much better if they stop charging until the game starts to work like it should in the first place...

    If someday I come back to AoC is if they fix at least 5 from all my 7 complains, and, if I do not find a better MMO to expand my time in...

  • xDj1nn

    Posted Oct 1, 2008 2:18 pm PT

    I quit it for some simple reasons, 1, the game is incomplete, there's lack on quests, so after lvl 50 u need to start grinding + questing the few avaible quests for ur lvl + questing low lvl quests, 2, you don't actually have an enemy to pvp, since all "countries" are "friendly", what is stupid, the story is incomplete and only allows u to aid fuking conan, what I was never intended to do, 3, the Main quests are quite unbalanced, some were too easy other were almost impossible, 4, the PvP system wasn't up and, Failcom started developing it 3 months after the launch instead of fixing the fuking Gray Map or Memmory Leak bugs, 5, we actually never had ne positive, I mean, any answers from the developers or nething like that, 6, the games do not have a scenario, it's divided into instances, so, everywhere u go u are in a fuking instance, and that's ridiculous for a game that wants to beat WoW, instances or separeted maps are things from the past, from MU ONLINE or some sh1t like that, not for a DX10 game, not for AoC, not for that game idea, 7, they charge u around U$15 per month to play in their servers that actually are just like an WoW Private dead server, with ALOT of bugs, incomplete systems, quests, story line...

    For real, it would be much better if they stop charging until the game starts to work like it should in the first place...

    If someday I come back to AoC is if they fix at least 5 from all my 7 complains, and, if I do not find a better MMO to expand my time in...

  • Ryun511

    Posted Oct 1, 2008 6:54 am PT

    That's a damn shame. AoC was a lot of fun from what I played (got up to level 34 I believe) but I had to drop it after the first month due to financial reasons.

    Hopefully Funcom can get back some of its momentum. but 415,000 players is not realy a total loss. I believe I remember reading Gaute say that for the game to be a financial success it had to have at least 250,000 players.

  • solartiger

    Posted Oct 1, 2008 5:03 am PT

    Man...so soon?!?

  • hyperknight9

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 11:01 pm PT

    this really isnt good news

  • runstalker

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 5:26 pm PT

    Well, myself and friends have moved on to WAR. It's fresh, there's plenty to do in a good group. A lot of ways to make progress and get gear.

  • Monkeymantjg

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 3:50 pm PT

    I wanted to build a city not gather resources for the preset city outline put trader here put Keep here gather over a million resources for FUNCOMS city which at first had no content then merchant then other venders and some roaming gaurds. looked cool but with no practical use. the NPC village that would raid your city gone .. prestiage classess gone .... dx 10 taken out last minute after I preordered ion OCT of last year only to see release date pushed to May of 2008 I was fine with as long as it was fixing stuff but what really got me was after a few months of play which ended this Sept 2008 and a 30 something guild it was the Blue screen of death that ticked me off in which never happened previously but as patches rolled out it broke more then it fixed. new content was redundant pvp Armour not practical for me as an architect potian had no lvl 70 leveling mobs but 80s and lower 60s which is where i had to be as architect due to the fact i had to mine for days to get a building up and running or to enclose the keep with walls. THIS game is up for the biggest Hype worst return game of all time.

  • lozvil

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 2:28 pm PT

    i quit cos i wasn't satisfied of this game...

  • LegionOSH

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 12:22 pm PT

    shawnanthony - I never ONCE complained about the learning curve (the slow and sluggish combat statement is just true, deal with it) if you'd care to re-read what I wrote, nor did I say or even imply that I knew everything about MMOs (I am very well aware of how little I do know, but that still doesn't make my statements any less accurate).

    I am as much an inexperienced WoW player as I am AoC, WAR or EQ2 (sorry if I refuse to use the word noob. I like to try and use actual WORDS when I type thank you very much).

    You more or less insulted me because I said something that was basically true (my experience in EQ2 was exactly as I described it). Nice of you to stoop to that level.

    I am not praising WoW, WAR or AoC, just stating that for the beginner those seemed to be far more fun to me. I've even had FAR more fun in D&D Online these past couple of days than I ever did in EQ2. It at least makes me want to keep playing (somewhat), which is something EQ2 failed to do on any level.

    (I don't know about you, but I play games to have fun. When it becomes work then what's the point in playing anymore?)

    None the less I do understand your point, but I didn't write a review on a game I barely played. I just wrote about my bad experience (it isn't my fault it was such a bad experience so early on that I didn't WANT to keep playing. I had high hopes for the questing, huge zones, etc, etc. I expected massive worlds from the get go, and sadly that was SO not the case.)

    So is the game not being able to keep my interest my fault or the fault of the game?

    If people love EQ2 then more power to them. People can play whatever they like. Some people hate WoW/WAR/AoC and I am sure their reasons behind it are as valid (to them if nothing else) as mine are to me.

    Just because I didn't care for the game you like and posted what I felt were valid reasons there is no need for you to take personal offense. I would however appreciate the non use of personal attacks or insults.

    As a gamer I would hope you'd be better than that. I guess not.

    Kevin

  • Peter7921

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 12:04 pm PT

    I think people are over exaggerating the demise of AOC. It has sold 1.2 million copies!! That makes it a hit right there. Now it has 415,000 subscribers, which is more than most MMO's, including EQ1, EQ2, LOTRO etc.. They are not considered flops.

    Worst comes to worst, it settles down to 100,000 subscribers, that still gives them 1.5M per month, plus all the cash they made from sales of the game, plus all the future expansions.

    All in all I'd call it a successful game. It aint no WOW, but what MMO is.

  • shawnanthony

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 11:21 am PT

    QUOTING PREVOUS POST::::::::"For everyone claiming EQ2 is SO great..I bought it last month and tried it out (tried a trial early last year but never got past level 2..no time, machine wasn't that great, etc). I had always wanted to play it and decided I'd give it a shot as I'd upgraded recently.

    I played until I reach level 12 or so, and I HATED EVERY SECOND OF IT.

    I had always wanted to play the original EQ (so much so that I bought the base EQ and ALL the expansions and the atlas, etc..even though I never got to play it..don't ask..lol) and had always read how the zones were HUGE and MASSIVE, and had heard the zones in EQ2 were more or less the same.

    So I was EXTREMELY disappointed when I saw that EVERY area I visited was about the size of my back yard (eg..a TINY, LITTLE area surrounded by walls..er I mean, "mountains"..).

    Yes I play WoW, and I am also playing WAR and played AoC (got a little boring once I hit level 21-22).

    (heck I even picked up Dungeons and Dragons Online for $5 just the other day and I am having FAR more fun with that game than I EVER did with EQ 2 (and it looks pretty decent graphically to boot). I won't be subscribing to D&D Online but that's not the point.)

    But at least the 3 above mentioned MMOs (WoW, WAR, AoC) are FUN to play to at least SOME degree.

    Maybe I am just nitpicking, but to me it's hard to believe you're in this "massively multiplayer world" when EVERY area is basically no bigger than your back yard.

    I know very well that I hadn't seen anywhere NEAR what EQ has to offer, but even when I read reviews on all the expansions (which came with the game I bought) even THOSE areas looked tiny from all the screen shots and movies I'd seen.

    ..and graphically, while things are more or less detailed, I've NEVER seen a game that felt like such a "cut and paste" job. Say what you will about WoW, or even WAR, but everything in those worlds seems "right" and "in place"..and AoC is heads above those 2 in terms of graphical realism, and to me looks FAR more realistic than EQ2 EVER did.

    ..and before anyone says something about EQ2 being fantasy and "can't look as realistic" because of that, I totally disagree. The engine for EQ2, while nice is some aspects, sadly makes everything look (as I mentioned above) like a "Cut and Paste" 'fest. Nothing really seems like it "belongs" physically in the world. (full foliage and shadows DO help to some degree, but nowhere near enough to make things seem "right".)

    The AoC engine (or something similar) would have made EQ 2 look FAR better in my opinion, would've (hopefully) allowed FAR BIGGER areas, etc, etc.

    (I hope they didn't "design" the TINY EQ2 areas by choice. That seems TOTALLY inconceivable to me.)

    Anyway didn't mean to rant, just had to throw that out there.

    Kevin"
    ;;;;;;;;;;;; MY REPLY TO YOU KEVIN::::
    you were still in the newb zones dude... once you get about lvl 15 or 20 you get to see just how small you really are... lol... playing to lvl 12 and being mad that you have a new learning curve and then writing a review on a game is just what i would exspect from a noob wow player who thinks he knows MMOs now, anyways, play the game to lvl 40 and see if it ant the best mmo every created still... learn, understand, and dont compare to what you think you know to get the most out of gaming! : ShawnT

  • SrTVBR

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 10:16 am PT

    I say that AoC is going to end some time. Everyone going out, my server has almost no one online. Great deception aoc was.

  • MariusSE

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 9:50 am PT

    I hope LOTRO will consolidate it's servers as well if they don't get more crowded when Mines of Moria comes around.

  • zomglolcats

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 9:42 am PT

    "Also the forums are very positive"

    Well of course the AoC forums are very positive. Only AoC subscribers can post, and the only people still subscribed are the ones who like the game. All of the dissatisfied customers obviously left. I left after the 2nd month. Demonologist was completely gimped in PvP. PvP balance was horrid for a game whose primary attraction was the PvP. Maybe it's better now, but doesn't matter. If I want PvP, I'll play WAR.

  • CrapmaPants

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 9:05 am PT

    Ahahaha, "spreads like cancer".

  • LegionOSH

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 8:55 am PT

    Serious-Henke -

    I guess my post did come off more complaining about the graphics, but I did try to emphasize how much I HATED that the areas I played were EXTREMELY TINY. That COMPLETELY killed the immersion factor for me. Coming from WoW, WAR and even AoC, EQ2 (at least the starting area I was in) was a pitifully small island.

    The gameplay was ok I guess, but it did seem sluggish and slow. It did nothing to pull me in so to speak..and it's just hard to be pulled into an MMO world when your backyard has seemingly more square footage to explore. That in and of itself killed it to me more than anything. The graphics could've been the best in the business and that wouldn't have changed how I felt about the gameplay and the areas.

    (and if all I cared about about graphics, do you think I'd rank WoW and WAR above EQ2?)

    FezziwingJD -

    I started on an island and then went to another city port, where even it and it's outlying areas seemed abysmally small. It is indeed possible that I just started out on the smallest possible starting area there is, but as I said even when I left there even the new area seemed more of the same.

    Maybe you are right and I didn't make it far enough to get to the bigger zones, but the starting one I was in did nothing to entice me to want to find the bigger zones. If anything it really ticked me off and I stopped playing after a couple of days.

    (I don't care about the zoning aspect. I know it's purpose and why it's there. Like I said it's very possible I just chose the absolutely smallest starting area there is. First impressions are hard to change I guess...and oddly enough when I tried the trial last year I started on that exact same tiny island. Go figure).

    In regards to PVE/PVP, I never play PVP. I don't care for it at all. I will play a fighting game if I want that aspect. Like you, I play my MMOs for their PVE content. I love to quest. I do get your point about your character being unique though. That is one aspect where most of the bigger MMOs are lacking (WoW, even WAR). That was one good thing about EQ2.

    Anyway thanks to you both for responding to my post, although FezziwigJD seemed to see what I was really complaining about.

    Kevin

  • jazilla

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 8:47 am PT

    This is what happens when you release a game with minimal high-end content and a plethora of bugs. People go away. Nice job Funcom, on what could have been a GREAT MMO.

  • Skindofthedred

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:53 am PT

    great guild setup and what not. but did not have the jazz to keep me addicted. Great game. Love the blood and boobs.

  • FezziwigJD

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:50 am PT

    I'm not sure what Kevin is talking about with respect to EQ2. Maybe you didn't get out of the main city areas which are small zones. However, starting with Antonica the zones are actually quite large compared to most MMORPGs out there. They are certainly no smaller than anything in AOC, or even WoW, if you take away the "zoning" requirement. And, at 70, you will hit zones that are bigger than any "zones" in a MMORPG out there today.

    I always enjoyed EQ2 for PvE - it has added complexity in the form of more class skills than I've seen in any other game (some are fluff, sure) and there are some 20 races and 24 classes to choose from. It was my favorite game to group/raid in because you generally always felt fairly unique as it was unlikely there would be a duplicate of you in the group.

  • serious_henke

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:50 am PT

    Listen, LegionOSH, I don't play EQ2, I play WoW. But... The only thing you really said about Eq2 was that the graphics suck? That sounds kind of shallow to me. Why don't you mention the gameplay aspects of the game that you hate?

  • BigDaddy973

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:41 am PT

    That sucks I was thinking this game would do so well and such! I hope it turns around!

  • ColecoVsn

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:41 am PT

    I loved the game. At least until level 22. I thought the opening levels on the island were very very well made. No spoilers here but I thought what happens to get you off the island was the best I have seen in any MMORPH game, etc. However, once I left the starting island I felt this game felt and looked more like a solo, non online game. Make this game single offline player as is, and it would rule. I left because I did not feel like you were getting anything for $15 bucks per month.

  • brianpoetzel

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:39 am PT

    I think the performance issues killed it for most people. Right off the bat they were targeting people with higher end systems. And even then, you needed a very high end system to play it smoothly at higher settings. Then add in bugs, mem leaks and lack of end game content, the people who had a good enough system to play got frustrated and left.

  • brianpoetzel

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:34 am PT

    Oooo, server consolidation is NOT a good sign. It looks like all the prophets of doom were right. It's too bad too. I really liked this game. :-(

  • LegionOSH

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:21 am PT

    For everyone claiming EQ2 is SO great..I bought it last month and tried it out (tried a trial early last year but never got past level 2..no time, machine wasn't that great, etc). I had always wanted to play it and decided I'd give it a shot as I'd upgraded recently.

    I played until I reach level 12 or so, and I HATED EVERY SECOND OF IT.

    I had always wanted to play the original EQ (so much so that I bought the base EQ and ALL the expansions and the atlas, etc..even though I never got to play it..don't ask..lol) and had always read how the zones were HUGE and MASSIVE, and had heard the zones in EQ2 were more or less the same.

    So I was EXTREMELY disappointed when I saw that EVERY area I visited was about the size of my back yard (eg..a TINY, LITTLE area surrounded by walls..er I mean, "mountains"..).

    Yes I play WoW, and I am also playing WAR and played AoC (got a little boring once I hit level 21-22).

    (heck I even picked up Dungeons and Dragons Online for $5 just the other day and I am having FAR more fun with that game than I EVER did with EQ 2 (and it looks pretty decent graphically to boot). I won't be subscribing to D&D Online but that's not the point.)

    But at least the 3 above mentioned MMOs (WoW, WAR, AoC) are FUN to play to at least SOME degree.

    Maybe I am just nitpicking, but to me it's hard to believe you're in this "massively multiplayer world" when EVERY area is basically no bigger than your back yard.

    I know very well that I hadn't seen anywhere NEAR what EQ has to offer, but even when I read reviews on all the expansions (which came with the game I bought) even THOSE areas looked tiny from all the screen shots and movies I'd seen.

    ..and graphically, while things are more or less detailed, I've NEVER seen a game that felt like such a "cut and paste" job. Say what you will about WoW, or even WAR, but everything in those worlds seems "right" and "in place"..and AoC is heads above those 2 in terms of graphical realism, and to me looks FAR more realistic than EQ2 EVER did.

    ..and before anyone says something about EQ2 being fantasy and "can't look as realistic" because of that, I totally disagree. The engine for EQ2, while nice is some aspects, sadly makes everything look (as I mentioned above) like a "Cut and Paste" 'fest. Nothing really seems like it "belongs" physically in the world. (full foliage and shadows DO help to some degree, but nowhere near enough to make things seem "right".)

    The AoC engine (or something similar) would have made EQ 2 look FAR better in my opinion, would've (hopefully) allowed FAR BIGGER areas, etc, etc.

    (I hope they didn't "design" the TINY EQ2 areas by choice. That seems TOTALLY inconceivable to me.)

    Anyway didn't mean to rant, just had to throw that out there.

    Kevin

  • Xanzibar_Joe

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:10 am PT

    maybe they shoulda spent more time in development and sorted it out BEFORE they released it. at least then more people woulda kept subscribed.
    But at least they've learned their lesson.
    If it gets better i may even take a look

  • Gooeykat

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:02 am PT

    This game is dead? With 415K subs? Not hardly, that puts them in the top 3 in MMOs. Many people have halted their subscriptions until more content, PVP and DX10 changes are made. Many might never come back, their loss.

  • UPandB

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 7:01 am PT

    @soeppel
    Once a negative spin starts on the internet it spreads like cancer and there's nothing you can do about it. That is the real problem for AoC.

    ----------------

    Dude...spreads like cancer? A non-communicable disease? Jesus buddy...spreads like AIDS is a better term.

  • NemesisLives

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 6:57 am PT

    Fun game, but WAY too many bugs and glitches. By the time I got off the starting island I didn't want to play anymore.

  • Blank2k2

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 6:54 am PT

    I agree with defjam & FirstDiscovery, thats what happens when they promise 500 revolutionary things things & deliver 4 played out one.

    (That said, i really enjoyed the real-time combat of AoC, shame it sucked for pvp though.)

  • defjam33

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 6:46 am PT

    proof you should not release a game until it's ready...everyone needs to follow blizzard...

  • bobbo

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 6:44 am PT

    I suspect the reason many left is the fact that you need a good computer to run it. Many bought it with only minimum specks and found the game to be running poorly.

    One of AOC major flaws was the OOM's (out of memory leaks) causing the game to crash. For players with low end rigs that realy hurt the game experience. With less than 2 gigs of memory you would be in trouble crashing often.

    Those OOM's have been fixed now along with a many bugs, broken quests and what not.

    If some of you played the game and quit a couple of months back, you should try it again. It has been optimized alot and plays like a dream now for most players. Regardless of computer type.

    If you have a powerful enough computer and haven't tried it yet you should try it and decide for yourself if AOC is for you or not.

    Don't think i have ever seen so much hidden viral marketing in game forums before. Lot's of people from competing games. WOW and WAR have been all over AOC since release trying to spin doom and gloom. From the looks of it many have been payed to do so aswell.

    AOC is the only MMO out now that is future proof graphics wise. It has a solid core game , and what is coming next in updates, patches and content look awesome.

    If your rig can run it , you should try it. If you try it now and find it not to be your cup of tea, fine.

    Remember that you just might be missing out on a hidden gem here. AOC is without doubt the MMO out there right now with the highest potential.

  • weirjf

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 6:31 am PT

    Yup, there's a real shocker. Told people during beta "this game is crap" but they all came back with "oh, no... its just beta". It is never "just beta"... "just alpha" maybe. Good luck Funcom and better luck listening to your beta community next time you IDIOTS.

  • raahsnavj

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 6:26 am PT

    It looks like another MMO is on the 'tanking' list. I'm starting to think that WoW got lucky and until blizzard does an update that will be the only successful MMO.

    Really, how many people are there out there that would want to spend countless hours in an MMO? the answer? WoW subscribers... that's about it.

  • Cabal23

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 5:39 am PT

    You are entitled to like the game Soeppel, but as the article say 415,000 people were/are playing it. I think odds are a portion of those people will be unhappy. I just canceled the other day. I haven't played for over a month. As with all MMORPG's I found myself grinding relentlessly. Maybe to some people that is fun, but once again this game turned out just like Warcrap, minus the bells and whistles that made Warcrap bearable. I had high hopes, but there just hasn't been enough to really make Conan stand out ahead of the pack. It was fun while it lasted. Onto Warhammer now I guess.

  • thingta42

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 5:37 am PT

    I leveled to level 2 before i seid to myself. "Why am i even playing this?"

  • Zemus

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 5:04 am PT

    They had their time to fix the big issues that we all complained about them, and they are still not fixed for the most part. Funcom Dug their own graves by releasing the game 6 Months early as an unfinished content product. Level 80 and still NOTHING to do ingame. Im not suprised though, Funcom is a Bad MMO Developer and though Conan was a good game at its core via the combat, Everything else about it was eighter buggy, Not yet ingame, or totally broken.

    Im sorry to see it die in the fact that it was in general fun to play, but im also glad to see it begining to fail mainstream like this because of their lack of communication to the community. My 4 Month of Gameplay ended a couple weeks ago, And they will never see me again.

    BTW: Priest of Mitra is still TOTALLY BUGGED

  • FirstDiscovery

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 4:31 am PT

    Failcom dug their own grave

  • Vikingfbm

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 4:13 am PT

    Intersting times?
    I'll stick to EVE Online with a single server. It's been around as long as WOW and may still be standing alongside it when the dust settles.

  • recalcitrant1

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 3:41 am PT

    I am of the somewhat radical opinion that if i'm not enjoying a game because the basic game mechanic (in this case combat) is poor then I shouldn't be playing it at all.

    Hence I ended my subscription after 3 months (ample time for them to sort their issues out given the length of time it was in production and Funcom's experience in these matters).

    MMO gamers are FAR too accepting of grind and interface fluff for reasons I just can't fathom. What will be most concerning is the fact that future mmos probably won't even learn from this and still release buggy games to tweak and test on their subscribers. I don't care that WoW was buggy when it came out (a game that I also don't play anymore). What I want is polished product - hell the majority of purchasers are paying £50 just to get going on these things. Test, Polish, Prosper.

  • Ryuketsu2043

    Posted Sep 30, 2008 3:38 am PT

    I really liked the game i have to be honest..however the only reason i quit was ebcause the questing was horrid...just traveling delivering messages...other then that the game was awsome..combat was sweet..graphics fantastic..community was nice. Just the quests killed it for me...maybe some day

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