# Age of conan



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

this is an awesome game. a few glitches but its still beta 

man. i cant wait to play this


----------



## jbunch07 (May 2, 2008)

this is a rpg right?


----------



## imperia (May 2, 2008)

FunCom actually fixes bugs and other problems with the game, that's why it got delayed like 3 times. I'm patching right now.


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

yes its a mmorpg.

yes i hop they fix all glitches. its abboying that i cant play at 1680x1050...as its sooo glitchy


----------



## jbunch07 (May 2, 2008)

meeh not my kinda of game...i prefer fps or racing...the graphics look pretty decent though


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

yeah they are awesome..wish i could play full res though


----------



## jbunch07 (May 2, 2008)

Azazel said:


> yeah they are awesome..wish i could play full res though



why cant you?
to many glitches?


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

yeah, the game is still not complete so it fucks up at 1680x1050   so many glitches.


----------



## jbunch07 (May 2, 2008)

Azazel said:


> yeah, the game is still not complete so it fucks up at 1680x1050   so many glitches.



ahh i see...thats a bumer...when is it due out?


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

21 days


----------



## imperia (May 2, 2008)

AO had a bad release but they fixed it. So I think they will fix the bugs and glitches over time. 18 days till release here.


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

yeah..we get it 3 days late in Europe


----------



## imperia (May 2, 2008)

Oh that sucks. At least you get to play before me. 7 hours till patching is done. Before that was 24 hours of converting files.


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

patch took like 20 min for me. what internet speed do ya have?


----------



## imperia (May 2, 2008)

DSL, it's going 588 KB/s and 2.5/15.9 GBs! How you get yours so fast? lol


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

the game was only 12gb (9 hours), and there was 500mb batch ...weird


----------



## NinkobEi (May 2, 2008)

nice outfit. I'd say those graphics look better than Vanguard's, which is impressive. Are you running with everything maxxed?


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

yes. except for res


----------



## imperia (May 2, 2008)

My total size is 21gb then this patch is 16gb.. So weird I don't get it. Where you get client from? I got mine from FilePlanet.


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

fileplanet as well. client is 12gb and game is 23.5 gb


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

actuallt this is dx9
dx10 wont work


----------



## jbunch07 (May 2, 2008)

i was thinkin that didnt quite look like dx 10 graphics


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

yeah i forgot about it hehe


----------



## imperia (May 2, 2008)

This game looks awesome. I was reading forums and it's all no auto follow and you can attack guild members which i think is awesome but there's already nubs complaining.


----------



## erocker (May 2, 2008)

imperia said:


> This game looks awesome. I was reading forums and it's all no auto follow and you can attack guild members which i think is awesome but there's already nubs complaining.



That IS awesome!


----------



## NinkobEi (May 2, 2008)

well, when you guys tire of it, be sure to send your beta key my way


----------



## newconroer (May 2, 2008)

This may finally be the MMO that keeps low self esteem teenage girls (or boys), middle aged desperate housewives and transgendered people away.

It might actually be for normal gamer folk who like RPGs and don't LIVE in a virtual world.

Like wow what a concept?


----------



## NinkobEi (May 2, 2008)

Ouch new, those are some harsh words. dont get your hopes up though, every MMO from here til the end of time will have hardcore players on it as well as teenage annoying little bastards. best advice I can give you is use the ignore feature


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

ok here it at full res  it work great now


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

someone on mmorpg complained that the game looks to realistic, so he dosent like it ^^ 
weird...


----------



## Creatre (May 2, 2008)

UGHHHHHH YOU MAKE ME JEALOUS!! I WANNA PLAY!


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

Creatre said:


> UGHHHHHH YOU MAKE ME JEALOUS!! I WANNA PLAY!





when you first log into the game you feal a bit weird. it doesn't feel like a traditional mmorpg. it fresh and i love it 
just a couple bugs thogh...like every time i swim i go balled


----------



## lowflyer (May 2, 2008)

What are the controls like? And I heard that when you attack, you actually damage the part of the body you hit, is that accurate? I have been waiting for this game a long while


----------



## Azazel (May 2, 2008)

you use wasd to move 

123 for the left right and up attacks
and keys 4567 are for magic an stuff. you can use a mouse if you prefer. 

yes. thats is true kinda. when you attack a mob he well have brackets around him (top , left and right) the more brackets there are the more shielding he has on that area so you avoid hitting this parts as they will not cause as mush damage as areas where there is less or no shielding


----------



## lowflyer (May 2, 2008)

Sweet, thats what I thought and I hoped it would stick to a WASD control I'm to old to learn something new.


----------



## W1zzard (May 3, 2008)

i'm playing the open beta too .. its a lot of fun but there are some major bugs which are quite fixable but extremely annoying. game has lots of potential, already preordered


----------



## Creatre (May 3, 2008)

what server is everyone getting on once it goes live? Any idea of server names yet? Might wanna get a TPU clan! I might preorder it, I really want to play.


----------



## imperia (May 3, 2008)

I finished patching finally but when I launch the game I get an error and it closes. 

EDIT: Fixed that problem and playing now. Fun so far!


----------



## Azazel (May 3, 2008)

server will be name after gods.  not sure what server il be on.

yeah game has a few bugs here and there...but its nothing that cant be fixed


----------



## newconroer (May 3, 2008)

Is there currently a gameplay beta going on that stretches to the opening of the live servers (or early accces ones too)?

The betas don't last long, this past one was laid out over a week ago no?


----------



## Azazel (May 3, 2008)

this is a 2 week beta,  cant get keys for it anymore though


----------



## ShadowXP (May 4, 2008)

Remember, though, that the issues we're seeing in the Open Beta (from now on called the stresstest, as that's it's proper designation) is because the client we're using is actually a much older build than what they're using in the closed beta, with major parts left out (DX10-support, Spellweaving for caster-classes, Banking/transportation system etc9. There's also a level-cap at level13. The reason why FunCom has done this is because they want to stresstest the login- and authentication-servers, as well as how much punishment the starter-areas can actually take before they go boom and the hamsters go into shock and die.

From what I've been able to learn (not saying where I learned this ), the version of the client that the closed beta-testers are running is something like 40 to 60% smoother than what you see in the stresstest. Most of this is because the debugger is NOT running in the background like it is in the test, but also because it is just much more polished. It's also about a metric f**kton more stabile. The sad fact, though, is that many people currently in the stresstest either don't see this or doesn't *want* to understand it. I would ask people to keep this in mind when they see reviews made by stresstesters.

For my own part, I've tested out quite a few of the classes so far. Not sure what I'll be once the game launches, but so far it's down to Demonologist, Tempest of Set or Herald of Xotli. I haven't tried out Conqueror or Guardian, since I'm not really a fan of close-combat melee-classes.

When the game is NOT crashing hideously on me (which it does, quite often), it's extremely pretty, as seen in the screenshots posted by others in this thread. It's also extremely violent, just as you would think that the Hyborean age should be. You're talking beheadings, throat-cutting, impalement with a piece of an oar, skullcrushing and people running around while they burn and screaming until they die. It definately earns it's M-rating quite fast  The fact that there's also boobs and nipples visible in the game also explains the rating it has (of course, for some people, the nipples and bare boobs is a much bigger problem than the fact that you can inflict hideous damage that is vividly and rather accurately portrayed). What also should be mentioned, is the fact that the sound-effects are extremely well made, the voiceovers are good if a bit silly at times (Sadur the Slaver talks WAY too much, and sounds too much like a little girl to be a 260lbs fat guy in a buttflap). The music, which is normally highly annoying in most other games, lend to the atmosphere very well as well.

Me? Fanboi? Very much so. But I'll ask people to see for themselves, and not take my word as the know-all, see-all truth. What I like might not be what others like


----------



## Deusxmachina (May 4, 2008)

ShadowXP said:


> (of course, for some people, the nipples and bare boobs is a much bigger problem than the fact that you can inflict hideous damage that is vividly and rather accurately portrayed).





Anyone have opinions on how much solo vs. group play AOC has?  When I was playing DDO awhile back, (a very group-oriented MMO), an online buddy said he wouldn't be around for awhile because he got in on an AOC beta that started the next day.  Two days later, I see him on and ask him what's up.  He said the game is pretty much all PVP and he hated it.


----------



## a111087 (May 4, 2008)

Deusxmachina said:


> He said the game is pretty much all PVP and he hated it.



lol, he got into the PVP weekend event...   its supposed to be just pvp


----------



## Azazel (May 4, 2008)

the game has allot of end game raiding and dungeons ....its a pve game mainly


----------



## ShadowXP (May 4, 2008)

It depends heavily on what type of server you pick. Pure PvE-servers does have areas for PvP, but they're the exception and not the rule. The RP-PvP-servers, however, are very much more PvP-oriented. I personally question the wisdom of putting making a RP-PvP-server, much since I'm 1: an RP'er, 2: not interested in PvP. To have RP-events that I'm participating in disrupted by a griefer isn't my idea of fun. That being said, there's no ban on RP'ing on the regular servers.

Many in the stresstest that's currently running are bitching to high heaven that the RP-PvP-servers won't be 100% PvP, in other words that you'll be able to attack and kill anyone at any time. Thus the accusations fly, and most are that Funcom doesn't hold what they've promised, and that AoC won't be any different from all the other so-called Carebear PvP-games out there. FC also hasn't said anything about PvP-looting and such, either, although I do hope they keep THAT bit to the RPPVP-servers exclusively. To have gear taken from you just because someone ganks you 18 times in a row just to be an asshat isn't really my idea of fun. A good bout of PvP can be fun, but not like that.


----------



## Azazel (May 4, 2008)

i was banned from mmorpg.com .....again (7th time now) .....thats site has some idiot mods....god...i hate em...


----------



## CrackerJack (May 4, 2008)

I've been waiting over a year for this game. ha ha Looks really good


----------



## Azazel (May 4, 2008)

it is. but the new patch is killing my game


----------



## CrackerJack (May 4, 2008)

Azazel said:


> it is. but the new patch is killing my game



what are you getting, gameplay lag?


----------



## Azazel (May 4, 2008)

yes...i went from 40 fps to 20 fps...and the game crashes every half an hour


----------



## CrackerJack (May 4, 2008)

Azazel said:


> yes...i went from 40 fps to 20 fps...and the game crashes every half an hour



on your 3870x2 
wow that's crazy.


----------



## Azazel (May 4, 2008)

yes it is...

game needs allot of fixing


----------



## CrackerJack (May 4, 2008)

Azazel said:


> yes it is...
> 
> game needs allot of fixing



well atleast it's just a beta release. And not the actual game, then that would really suck!!!
i'm signing up for the beta, and see what i get.


----------



## Azazel (May 4, 2008)

yeah  three weeks  better work there ass off

and gl with beta


----------



## a111087 (May 4, 2008)

I'm getting early access on 17th, so i'll be lvl 20 (hopefully and that would be the limit for early access) when everyone else gets their game


----------



## erocker (May 4, 2008)

I never got an email back from them.  Oh well, I'll still buy it, but I'll wait a few good months after it's released.


----------



## a111087 (May 4, 2008)

Azazel said:


> yes...i went from 40 fps to 20 fps...and the game crashes every half an hour



may be it also has something to do with card being ATi?  thats why there are hot fixes after game releases


----------



## flashstar (May 4, 2008)

The game looks great, but $15 a month seems like a lot for just 1 game + the initial cost.


----------



## a111087 (May 4, 2008)

flashstar said:


> The game looks great, but $15 a month seems like a lot for just 1 game + the initial cost.



agree, the game is better worth it


----------



## NinkobEi (May 5, 2008)

Any update on performance? I hear there is hitching in AoC as well... major bugs? side-boobages? fill us in, chaps


----------



## a111087 (May 5, 2008)

i guess we can expect patch to be before early access begins (may 17) or around the release date (may ~22).  of course after that there going to be more patches...


----------



## ShadowXP (May 5, 2008)

The client that's used for the Open Beta is *NOT* the same as the Closed Beta is using, and it's *not* the same that has gone gold. The reason as to why the client is so unstable and why people see so poor performance is because it debugs in realtime. This is done to maximize the load on the servers, as you then have hordes of people sending massive amounts of data to them all the time. Funcom made a mistake when they didn't explicitly specify that the Open Beta is, in fact, a stresstest.

The closed-beta users have between 40 and 60% better performance in general.

What's strange is that some users in the Open Beta, both with ATI and nVidia-cards, are saying that they get between 50 and 60 fps even in Tortage, with all eyecandy turned on. Others, with the same cards and fairly same computers, hardly get 5. I'm inclined to believe that it's due to the debugger in combination with bad drivers or slow disk read/write-times (antivirus, for example).


----------



## a111087 (May 5, 2008)

yes, I also heard that, lets just hope that it is true
and hope the game goes easy on CPU power...


----------



## Azazel (May 5, 2008)

http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/ageofconan/beta/

FREE BETA KEYS. NO NEED TO SUB TO FILE PLANET


----------



## NinkobEi (May 5, 2008)

ooer. thankes. seems like the server is jammed packed atm I cant even get through


----------



## a111087 (May 5, 2008)

yep, they say everyone gets error, need to try later


----------



## Metal-Head (May 5, 2008)

400 minute wait on east coast servers. wooooooooow

Im going west coast.


----------



## a111087 (May 5, 2008)

so you actually got into, i can't get the code to show up, i get broken link to the image with the code or "invalid code"...
even age of conan does not worth 400 minutes wait in line...


----------



## Metal-Head (May 6, 2008)

West coast server was 60 when I started.

I'm 64 now and its been 3 or so hours. lol


----------



## a111087 (May 6, 2008)

lol, just give up... and give your key to me


----------



## Azazel (May 6, 2008)

a111087 said:


> lol, just give up... and give your key to me



you can get a free key from fileplanet.
they had a ton left over.
first come first serve 
no need to sub


----------



## a111087 (May 6, 2008)

Azazel said:


> you can get a free key from fileplanet.
> they had a ton left over.
> first come first serve
> no need to sub



... thats what we have been talking about here


----------



## Azazel (May 6, 2008)

all key are gone  

oh well


----------



## newconroer (May 8, 2008)

Ninkobwi said:


> Ouch new, those are some harsh words. dont get your hopes up though, every MMO from here til the end of time will have hardcore players on it as well as teenage annoying little bastards. best advice I can give you is use the ignore feature



Not when they shape and mold MMO communities, and/or whine enough to get developers to accomodate their flimsy desires.
=======================
*EDIT*
=======================
As of May 9th, the debug menu is available by pressing CTRL RIGHTSHIFT C  
All features seem present as before.
You can continue to proceed with using the debugging suggestions in this post; and ignore the debug comments for May 8th, with the exception that 'Soft Shadows' is now replaced by a slider bar labeled 'Shadow Intensity' under the same Shadows section.
=======================
*EDIT*
=======================
As of May 8th, a new client patch was put forth for the closed Beta(not sure about open Beta). Because of this, many issues were addressed and some features are no longer available to the end user.

-Disregard anything concerning the debug menu, or features of the debug menu. They are no longer accessible.
-Load times and stuttering has been significantly reduced, although the debugger (not the debug menu) is still running during gameplay.
-Issues surrounding miscellaneous graphic anomalies have been partially addressed. Users may no longer see things like checkerboard textures and etc.
-Issues regarding broken quests, inaccurate skill/combo information, false-located quest objectives and etc. were also addressed, and many fixed.
-The suggested settings for 'maximum visuals with acceptable performance' is now a moot point. However the recommendations for the hardware needed to run this game are the same.
-Scores and ratings will stay as they are for now.

You can still use this to read about the game itself, and to get an idea of what it offers and/or doesn't offer.

=================
*END OF UPDATE EDIT*
=================



Anyways, on to the actual game. 

Firstly, in regards to Shadow's comments. The current closed beta client is not the final client, nor is it the open beta client as the developers have stated. What they haven't stated is whether this is just one step backwards in terms of time, or a completely different client released to test 'other' things. As far as we know, the final client is A) Much much more stable and optimized and B) Running on the second version of their base engine "Cheetah," while this client is on the first model.

Performance, I doubt is 40-60% worse in the open, as the performance in closed is suggested to be only 60% that of final/retail, though I don't disagree that it might be worse than closed beta.


Having said that, I will give you my run down on the game:


*Graphics and performance* :

_DX10 is not in this client_

Bugs are apparent, though not that many. I would say they are more like anomalies. Currently there's a problem with textures (particulary ground) not turning or loading into high res versions until you are right on top of them. There's also some problems with the quality and placement of the shadows, and also the soft shadow shaders. A lot of users have faced checkerboard textures on distance landscaping, buildings and sometimes npc/characters. 

There is a debug feature in the game, accessed by hitting *CTRL~*. For european keyboards, that would be CTRL and then the key to the left of your number 1 and just above the tab key(if not, try *CTRL \ *or *CTRL /*). From that main debug menu there is a feature called "*Depth Pass*." It's actual purpose is not detailed, though you can sometimes clearly see what it does and doesn't do, at least visually speaking. However, most players get a significant frames per second boost by disabling this feature; we're talking over 30fps at times. The drawback is 

*A)* Tags (as in name, health bar, information) above npc/mobs dissapears - not big for me, I don't use them but...) 
*B) *The yellow directional markers around your character dissapear in combat (again not big for me,..but)  
*C) *You can no longer use soft shadows. 

If you go into the *Shadow* section from that main debug menu, you'll have an "*Enable Shadows*" button at the top, and the "*Soft Shadows*" button a bit below. With Depth Pass on, disable Soft Shadows, and turn on Enable Shadows. You should see that the shadows become more identifyable, however look closely at textures, especially rocks. You should see some grainy-ness and 'mesh' like overlay. This could be a bug/anomalie in the client version, I am not sure. If you turn the Soft Shadows back on, that goes away, however there is a performance cost. The point of mentioning this, is that you cannot have soft or 'proper' looking shadows without having Depth Pass ON. Though Depth Pass + full Shadows and everything else maxed via the Video menu, will result in some pretty low frames. 

If you are attempting this at 1900 or greater resolution, do make sure to set your *pre-render frames* setting in your graphics control panel (outside of the game) to at *least 3*, to reduce stuttering and input lag at the lower frames you'll be getting due to the shadows.

If you can stomach it, turn off Depth Pass. If you must have shadows and do not mind the slight anomalies mentioned above; enable shadows from the shadow debug menu but do not enable soft shadows.

There is a feature called "*LOD factor*" at the main debug menu. If you turn this up to *level 4 *(maximum), high resolution textures currently loaded, will stay loaded, as long as you are in viewing distance. This essentially forces them to stay rendered, if you're after the best image quality.

If you find yourself in a high altitude and notice that the world seems as if it's in a 'bubble,' or you cannot see far enough, even though your high res and low res is set to maximum in the general video options, try increasing the *Farclipping* setting, also found on the main debug page. I don't recommend anything over *600-1000* as that should be far enough. Also, turn it down to *20* or so when in a town or close quarters. It draws performance away and you see no difference.



*Experience, skill points and feats:*

Experience is gained in numbers, which you can see in your *System* tab after defeating any enemy. The main experience bar at the bottom can be hovered over to show the popup containing your current experience, and the total needed to progress to the next level. For those that live and die by the numbers, at least they can calculate how long it will take them to level up  There's nothing special or new here in regards to gaining experience or 'leveling.' There's no twists or even apparent attempts to deviate from the norm.

Skill points are awarded from anything such as killing a mob, visiting a new location and/or completing a quest. When you open your *attributes / journal panel*, the amount you have is listed on the top of the window (top right). There will be four (maybe more later, or depending on class possibly?) attributes that you can increase with *+ or - clicks*. You can increase or decrease them as you like, then confirm them. *Once confirmed though, you can only increase*. The system here doesn't seem too dynamic, and some of it's a bit restrictive. I.e. in some places in the game you can climb; be it ladders, ropes, trees etc. However depending on the area there is a skill requirement, much like EQ 1 had. If you try to climb and you cannot (and please for the love of God put your weapon away before climbing!), then check your system tab. It will say you cannot climb as you need more points, and oddly enough it actually tells you how many! This is when you would open the journal and increase your climbing accordingly. 

Feats are much like Achievement Points or Talent Points found in other MMOs. Each level you get *one Feat point*, which you can spend by opening up your *Feats panel*. You will get two windows again, one left, one right. The one on the left revolves around your class, and the right one is general. They will have tabs to allow for the use of different skill 'trees.' You click and 'spend' them much like AA or Talent points as mentioned above. 


*Quests, npcs, voice over, maps etc.*

There are quite a few bugged quests throughout the level ranges. I won't give their names here, the list would be too long, and I've admittedly forgotten half of them. Needless to say, *be communicative with people in the global chat*, and most likely someone will inform you. The one main thing in regards to quests that comes up more and more often is when you do large hunt and gather, like for say fourty crocodile skins. When you attempt to turn them in all at once, the quest bugs and you essentially fail to complete it. You can try to do them individually as a 'work around.' In some cases, that's not an option. 

Quest objectives get auto-updated on your map as well as getting the 'summary' in your quest log window. To me the summary is enough. Part of questing is finding your objective, not just going straight there and getting it. MMOs are increasingly leaning towards a nanny-state, in that it basically tells you everything you need to know without having to do any research or using your brain, or heck, asking fellow adventurers for tips or advice. Remember the days of EQ when you had to ask other npcs beyond that of the quest npc, who which never mentions any other particular npc, just to see if they had ANY information that could help you. Frustrating at times, but you felt like a bloody detective when you figured it out! Sorry, none of that here so far. As mentioned above, just follow the "X"! Arr matey!


*Throwing weapons do not work.*

Voice over can sometimes be faint, low volume, high echo or reverberation, or muted. This might be fixed as of yesterday or today; with some players reporting in a small patch update and new working voice sounds.

Maps sometimes 'gray' out when during or after loading a new area or instance. This can be fixed sometimes by re - 'zoning,' or reloading the client (i.e. restart).

Icons on maps, particularly the "X" that marks your quest objective is *sometimes misplaced and is not properly respresenting the location of the objective. *Keep in mind, sometimes the map places the X at a zone line indicating you should go to that area. Also keep in mind that it may be underneath or above where the X is. I.e. you could be in town and see the X by the entrance to Archanian ruins, when in reality it's actually down in the Underhalls zone.



*Controls and interface:
*
You can completely remap and customise your controls (thank God), in this client and the final release client. There is not an advanced feature (as you will see it's blank) as of yet, though there is speculation if that's intended. As of now I am not aware of a config file that can be directly edited to make control adjustments, i.e. if you wanted to do advanced mouse input mapping like in EverQuest 2, *without raising a red flag by the patcher* and have it persist to redownload the delta data. As it is, there's enough flexibility to please players.

The interface is typical MMO, with a compass at the top right, some icons at the edges and a main bar at the bottom. *Most *windows are able to moved, and some resized. The chat window has decent amounts of options for setting up basic filters, but basic only. It's not near as in depth as EverQuest 2 offers. On the plus side, it comes already set with multiple chat tabs, one of which is a "system" tab that shows you miscellaneous information, like experience gained, money looted, items looted, roll numbers, etc. I smiled to myself, as whenever I set up my chat windows in MMOs, I make a "system" tab for that exact purpose. My Lord, there's an MMO developer that thinks like me? Wow, we might just save the day yet! 

The main hotkey bar unfortunatley cannot be manipulated. You can enable two extra hot bars, through one of the options given in the *UI/interface* setup in the game's options menu. As of yet, I've no idea how to map controls or key bindings to them. The main bar hotbutton slots are indicated as '*Action bar/button.*' The '*Special Action bar*' refers to the second main bar, which flips up when you hold or hit the coordinating key. I.e. If you hold CTRL+(whatever button) to access your 'Special bar/button' the main bar will rotate from it's current default bar at the bottom, to the Special action bar as long as you hold CTRL. When you let go it reverts back to the main. A nice feature in some ways, though a bit confusing at times. If you'd rather do it on a toggle on /off way, you can map a button(s) to select the actual bar bank which will show that Special Action bar all the time. I think you can cycle up to ten bars manually. 

The 'extra' two hotbars mentioned above, enabled through the UI options, again seem not able to have keys mapped to them and do not act as either the Action or the Special Action bar under any circumstances.

*
Inventory and looting:
*
Looting is a-typical of modern MMOs. By default you have a *NBG *system. No apparent looting bugs seen so far.

Inventory is quite small, and as of now, you can purchase one satchel/pouch that gives you another four slots of space. Also note that when you have your inventory window open,* you cannot have your skills/attributes window(s) open simultaneously*, it's one or the other. This is apparently being addressed in the final client.

*
Combat, combat arts, skills and spells:*

It's a bit hard at times to know whether or not something's working as intended, as quite a lot of the 'hover' info popups from mousing over skills, isn't always complete with data, and for that matter it might not be accurate data. Yet, most people are too busy trying to decapitate someone they don't care  Go figure... There are some known 'broken' buffs 
and skills that do not 'chain' appropriately. We expect they'll be addressed according to priority of concern (by whoever deems that ...hopefully not some corporate bozo who has no idea what's going on..).

It's based on a combo system, that's comprised of combat/spell arts and a *three way directional, manual attack setup.* These three attacks are labeled as "*Upper Left" "Middle/Forward/Up" and "Upper Right." *T*he objective is to initiate a combo by using a combat art or skill, then pressing the appropriate directional button or buttons* (some combos or higher level skills require multiple directions/manual attacks), *which automatically light up, in order to pull off the maneuver.* It's definatley nice to have to 'try' if you want to call it that, as opposed to auto attacking. And no, there is absolutley no auto attack. If you stand there and don't fight, that's all you'll be doing..standing..until you die. 

*Combo/skills are awarded automatically upon completing a level*; sometimes you may go a level without getting a new one. At this time there's no way to upgrade your combos. Unfortunatley, all the classes get basically the same combos up until about level 20. You do get class specific abilities, yet they don't come as often as the standard-shared ones. This leaves some people feeling like they are playing too much melee rather than ranged or casting or even stealth-assassin. You don't have to use the combos, though in a lot of situations you may need to in order to 'win,' or not die. The good thing about dealing with these combos early, is that it gets you familiar with the combat system and some much needed practice in, for when you start using more class specific abilities.

Yes, there are *fatality *moves of sorts. Currently the two most common are a side slashing beheading (which looks odd with a blunt weapon..you'd have to hit pretty hard to..ah nvm..) and a repeating downward slash/hacking across their head after they drop to their knees. Basically they died, and crumpled down. You aren't satisfied and go sadistic on them and keep digging your blade deeper and deeper even though they're already dead. Each time a fatality occurs, blood splotches splatter your screen. You can synthesize this splatter, by using the debug menu mentioned earlier, and click on the "*Blood*" button near the bottom of the list. *BTW, stay away from the "Eat Memory" feature, it does what it says.
*
Bows and cross-bows are pretty nice, at least in the sense that you have to actually *manually aim them.* You shoot from over the shoulder with crosshairs. It's unfortunate you cannot shoot in full first person view but it's close.* If you aren't over the shoulder when firing your arrows you will not see the crosshairs*. This forces you to 'roll' your camera up to your character. It's not a big deal for myself as I play mainly in first person, though I can see it annoying some people who are backed off from the character a bit with the camera, and have to start fingering the crap out of their scroll wheel to get into view for the crosshairs. Hopefully they'll implement a control to toggle from third to first person view and vice versa.

The unfortunate thing about ranged weapons is that:

*A)* Where you shoot them, whether head, body or leg makes no difference to damage or response i.e. if shot in the leg you'd expect them to be hindered or 'snared.' Rather if you want to snare, you must use a snare combo ability which requires you to use it first, like the melee ability, then fire off another arrow based on the the button that lights up as your indication. It's not as dynamic as I hoped, and it's a bit silly when you're snare is up, and the mob is on top of you, and your spamming arrows; it's even more silly that you can choose between upper left, up and upper right. The only purpose they serve at that point, is to continue the use of ranged combos. 

Though I find myself switching to melee at that point because

*A)* It's more effective, especially versus multiple mob encounters and groups and 
*B)* It makes things more challenging, fun, interesting etc.

*
B)**You cannot shoot while moving *(well actually you can, and if it's directly in line/makes contact with the mob you may hear them grunt, but they do not take damage). You also *will have a hell of a time hitting a moving target* if they are not directly in line with your shot, i.e. walking towards or away from you. However, make no mistake, mobs can hit you fine with ranged weapons from good distance and at any angle, whether you are sprinting, straffing or both.





I'm sure I've missed some things, though hopefully this will give you some ideas, or maybe answer some questions you've had, or maybe even help increase your performance or enjoyment.

I am optimistic that the final client will be better, though I understand people's concerns that expecting us to believe this version and the final will be like night and day, is a bit hard to swallow, especially given the knowledge and experiences we've had and seen from past developers and their 'promises.'

I haven't discussed 'instancing' or zone/world 'feel,' i.e. how large it feels, how immersed you feel as a player, as I have purposely not travelled far, saving it for realease. However, all dungeons and all buildings you enter are instanced. This isn't uncommon for current MMOs, especially with ones like LOTRO. However LOTRO offers something this will not unfortunatley, and that is a seemless world (there is one spot and only one in LOTRO where the 'outdoor' world has a zone line, and it's at a spot least travelled or accessed by any player, so it works out well). In AOC, there are alot of zone lines. This isn't too hurtful in some players eyes, except that loading times seen so far are pretty atrocious, and can even cause repetitive crashing of the client. Again, let us hope it's optimized upon release.


*Ratings:*
_
From this client and thoughts from previous build versions:_

*Graphics 9*. They are not next gen by any means, yet they do refine what we've expected from MMOs. EQ2 and LOTRO both previously offered up probably the best visuals we had seen, though only in certain departments (Lighting, Texture Resolution etc). The flora and grass is very thick in AOC, and with a good resolution and just 4AA, the textures are nice and smooth. Lighting is good, IF you can run with shadows on. Character models are exceptional, best I've seen to date, and look good enough to be in the most recent non-MMO DX10 titles. The Mrs. tells me her Ranger's legs are almost as good as her own. The characters look very appropriate for the theme as well, with some really good looking armor and animations.

*Sound 7*. There's too many unresolved issues at this time to rate it higher, however I have noticed that there's minute and subtle sounds that might be unintentional which is bad, or intentional which is good, though they don't really serve a purpose in that case. There isn't a nice ambience like LOTRO had, in certain zones that helped make it 'creepy,' or to set the tone/mood. Voice over is possibly still broken or damaged, and there's quite a few repetitive sound / sound usage whether it be from foot steps, or combat noises; basically they could do with some more diversity.

*Gameplay 9.* It's still an MMO, what can I say? Though it offers up something that none of the others ever have  - a chance to really decide whether or not it's going to be YOU, or HIM taking the fall. 

*Learning Curve 8.5* For a-typical or carebear MMO players, this may take some time adjusting too, especially if you don't learn yourself a good and comfortable remapping of your keys/buttons. However, for FPS, or action/arcade players, this may come more naturally than one might think. In regards to finding your way around and reaching objectives, it's particularly easy, in fact too easy, and I'm hoping they take away most of the notifications that automatically pop up on your map.




*System, hardware and settings recommendation.*

For maximum visual quality while retaining suitable playing experiences, I recommend:

*A) **A proper file/folder placement defragmentation *after you've installed *AND updated the client.* Ultimate Defrag will do this, it takes a bit of reading to figure out how to use it, though I have a guide around here somewhere I wrote. Hit me up if you would like to take a look at it.

*B) *An E6600 (or there abouts), with no less than a *640 8800 GTS* (or ATI equivilant) and 2gigs 667 or 800mhz DDR2 RAM. While this is seemingly GPU bound, we should all know by now that one dragging component in a system can render the other ones significantly less effective. You can get by with a somewhat older C2D or X2 style chip, though I highly suggest not attempting it with a single core, especially if you're after quality imagery/visuals. The 640 GTS is about the *lowest *or oldest you want to go on single card solutions (I will not be discussing Crossfire or SLI). The 640 RAMDAC and the bus size does go quite a long ways with the texture requirements from this game, and the general capabilities of the card should be just enough (if overclocked a bit), to let you use most of the lighting and shadow goodies, with a moderatley high rendering distance and maximum LOD.

The game can use up to 1.5gigs of system RAM, and I suspect less with the final client. 3 or 4gigs will not help you here.

*C)*If you are scraping the bottom of the barrel in regards to the hardware suggestions I gave above, I recommend:

-Turn Depth Pass *off*
-Turn Shadows *off*: (please refer to the first section regarding _Graphics_ to help remind you about how to disable all shadows in regards to using Depth Pass, as sometimes the shadows stay unless you reverse the order you turned things off)
-Keep FarClipping *under 60* when in a town or instance
-AntiAliasing *4X* - No more is needed at high resolutions
-Prerender your GPU to minimum *3 frames*
-Windowed mode* off*
-Vsync *off*
-Particle rendering distance (both sliders) *38 or less*


If you have an E6850 or newer, an 8800GT 1gb(or equivilant) or newer, you should be well capable of managing the 'full experience,' at any resolution with the final client, and possibly in most situations with the current client. You may notice some stuttering with this current client, however it's primarily a RAM and RAMDAC issue due to uncompressed textures.



*Conclusion:*

I only have one thing to say here. This game is evolutionary, yet not revolutionary. Take it with a grain of salt.


----------



## Azazel (May 8, 2008)

il read the tomorrow..im tiered


----------



## Ravenas (May 8, 2008)

Lol funny question but...I thought this MMO had one of the funniest title's I've ever seen.

What is the actual age of conan?


----------



## NinkobEi (May 8, 2008)

Ravenas said:


> What is the actual age of conan?



Lets see, The movie Conan the Barbarian came out in 1982, and Arnold is now 60. so, wow. Arnold was almost 40 when he made those movies? damn he's in good shape. This may be the only MMO ever created that is about a Governor.


----------



## Ravenas (May 8, 2008)

Ninkobwi said:


> Lets see, The movie Conan the Barbarian came out in 1982, and Arnold is now 60. so, wow. Arnold was almost 40 when he made those movies? damn he's in good shape. This may be the only MMO ever created that is about a Governor.



LOL! That is awesome, I laughed out loud.


----------



## newconroer (May 8, 2008)

Ninko, I wouldn't be surprised if some MMO devs visit these forums; and you've just gone and gave them a new concept : Wrestling MMO, with 'technical' insights from Jesse Ventura, a title due out in 2010, elegantly titled "Governer."
-Climb your way up the ranks, to being the best of the best at no-holds-barred entertainment and fake wrestling; steroids not needed.


----------



## NinkobEi (May 8, 2008)

newconroer said:


> Ninko, I wouldn't be surprised if some MMO devs visit these forums; and you've just gone and gave them a new concept : Wrestling MMO, with 'technical' insights from Jesse Ventura, a title due out in 2010, elegantly titled "Governer."
> -Climb your way up the ranks, to being the best of the best at no-holds-barred entertainment and fake wrestling; steroids not needed.



rofl. yeah that would be rich. pvp would be great on it too because they wouldnt have any class magical abilities to balance, because wrestlers are too dumb to use magic. except for the undertanker, he would definitely have to be a necromancer type class just because he is so awesome.

ps. awesome write up, btw Con.


----------



## newconroer (May 8, 2008)

Aye thanks, shame I hadn't though of it earlier, or thought more while I was writing it. I loathe butchered 'reports,' though can't always get them right!.

Looks like servers got delayed again. Let's see if they're up in...hmm possibly ..according to the news..twenty-two minutes.


----------



## newconroer (May 8, 2008)

UPDATE:

Please look back over my write-up on the bottom of page 3 in this read. A patch was released this afternoon that addressed quite a few issues, and some things are no longer accessible in the game.

Also, if anyone here in the beta is using a GTS 512, an 8800 GTX, 9800 GTX or 3870X2 at 1900 or greater resolution, please refer to this post here http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=59748 as the primary game of concern at this time is AOC. We know that it's primarily GPU intensive, and requires shader power + texture and memory bandwidth.

I'd like to get some feedback from players using these cards.


----------



## Duxx (May 13, 2008)

Friends have been nagging me for ages now to check it out, is it coming out this weekend for people who pre-oredered?


----------



## W1zzard (May 13, 2008)

yep launches this weekend (if you bought the 5 day early access), my preload is complete and ready to go.


----------



## Duxx (May 13, 2008)

W1zzard said:


> yep launches this weekend (if you bought the 5 day early access), my preload is complete and ready to go.



Which character are you going to play?  I'm having a touch time deciding


----------



## W1zzard (May 13, 2008)

i played almost all classes in the lolopen beta and i'm still not sure .. leaning toward demonologist or guardian


----------



## Duxx (May 13, 2008)

W1zzard said:


> i played almost all classes in the lolopen beta and i'm still not sure .. leaning toward *demonologist* or guardian



Now thats what i like to hear   That's what i wanted to play, i don't know if i like the melee combat yet.. i only played casting hero's in WoW and i preferred them greatly.


----------



## a111087 (May 13, 2008)

I'm downloading with early access client, but now that my plans about education have changed, I don't know if I will have time for games or at all for that matter


----------



## W1zzard (May 14, 2008)

most classes will probably get buffed or nerfed over the first months anyway... one of my biggest concerns is rolling a class that everybody rolls so i wont get raid spots


----------



## NinkobEi (May 14, 2008)

W1zzard said:


> most classes will probably get buffed or nerfed over the first months anyway... one of my biggest concerns is rolling a class that everybody rolls so i wont get raid spots



good luck planning around that. best bet is some sort of DPS class. there's always going to be one uber-time-sink tank out there. and everyone else is going to get the same idea you have and make healers so they will get raid spots. that leaves dps spots open, and uber dps is always welcome 

ps. when does AoC get released? they have a "Conan" Demo on xbox live, is it the same thing? thought i'd DL it and try out some of the class combos.


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

i've seen xbox trailer for conan, but it seems as complete different game.
lol, don't expect MMO to be on a console 
AOC  servers for early access player will open on May 17, the discs will ship to everyone else on May 20th.  So, we are almost there


----------



## NinkobEi (May 14, 2008)

a111087 said:


> i've seen xbox trailer for conan, but it seems as complete different game.
> lol, don't expect MMO to be on a console
> AOC  servers for early access player will open on May 17, the discs will ship to everyone else on May 20th.  So, we are almost there



yea i doubt the xbox version is online, but was hoping it would have similar classes


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

mmo involves lots and lots of communication in form of text and voice.  
you can't really type much on xbox and you can't have hundreds talk at the same time...
so thats is where the problem stands for consoles


----------



## NinkobEi (May 14, 2008)

a111087 said:


> mmo involves lots and lots of communication in form of text and voice.
> you can't really type much on xbox and you can't have hundreds talk at the same time...
> so thats is where the problem stands for consoles



well, there's always that microsoft voice-to-text program. wouldnt be surprised if it were implimented to a 360 game at some point.


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

Ninkobwi said:


> well, there's always that microsoft voice-to-text program. wouldnt be surprised if it were implimented to a 360 game at some point.


haha, I have never used it, but I have heard how frustrating it is to use 
but if they want, they might actually get a good chunk of that market


----------



## NinkobEi (May 14, 2008)

a111087 said:


> haha, I have never used it, but I have heard how frustrating it is to use
> but if they want, they might actually get a good chunk of that market



trying to say/type something then having someone in the room talk to you mid-sentence, (or mid-word) and you responding, seems like it would be frustrating. i mean, it could be rude to not answer the person but it would suck to have to erase/repeat a sentence. maybe i'm just getting too far into the idea


----------



## Azazel (May 14, 2008)

yes i want to go necromancer or demonligist...but i think they bot will be overplayed


----------



## newconroer (May 14, 2008)

For those of you who cannot access or are not watching the forums, early access is CLOSED due to reason : "FULL"


If you have not registered and paid the five dollars, it is too late.
Preorder customers will still get the special in game item(s).


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

newconroer said:


> For those of you who cannot access or are not watching the forums, early access is CLOSED due to reason : "FULL"



true.  I got in and could tell you that $5 really worth it since you not just getting head start, but you also get extra 10 days of paid playtime 
I will probably be Barbarian


----------



## Deusxmachina (May 14, 2008)

Ninkobwi said:


> trying to say/type something then having someone in the room talk to you mid-sentence, (or mid-word) and you responding, seems like it would be frustrating. i mean, it could be rude to not answer the person but it would suck to have to erase/repeat a sentence. maybe i'm just getting too far into the idea



Doesn't sound any different from using the voice-activation setting in other games.  ...which, yes, can be a big annoyance if the person has a radio on in the background or is talking to someone else, or the dog is barking, etc.  As long as the controller has one extra button, "push-to-talk" can be used.  

That would work great in groups.  If the software can convert the voice to text for global text chat, sounds like it would work, other than it not understanding complex words or the annoyance of saying individual numbers or something.


----------



## Azazel (May 14, 2008)

just use skype or xfire


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

Azazel said:


> just use skype or xfire



we were talking about consoles...
but you see just how better PCs than consoles now?  there was a time where I believed in consoles and was ready to buy x-box...


----------



## Azazel (May 14, 2008)

a111087 said:


> we were talking about consoles...
> but you see just how better PCs than consoles now?  there was a time where I believed in consoles and was ready to buy x-box...



oh i see  well i love my pc and my ps3  the pc lacks Asian rpg


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

but PC has so much Asian MMOs and almost all of them are free


----------



## Azazel (May 14, 2008)

a111087 said:


> but PC has so much Asian MMOs and almost all of them are free



i don't mean mmo   just a normal rpg...with a story...ect ect...i don't like f2p mmo


----------



## Duxx (May 14, 2008)

Well i guess I'll just have to try them all out before i pick my final choice.  Are the servers going to be set up just like they are in WoW?  If so which server you guys going to play on?(if you know of them yet)


----------



## Azazel (May 14, 2008)

what do you mean?


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

Duxx said:


> Well i guess I'll just have to try them all out before i pick my final choice.  Are the servers going to be set up just like they are in WoW?  If so which server you guys going to play on?(if you know of them yet)



probably just like wow servers.  I am still downloading early access. it is 13GB and download manager uses peer to peer sharing just like wow update clients


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

Azazel said:


> what do you mean?



wow has many servers.  if there too many players they create  new server and add it to the list.  you choose a server on which you want to play.  once you created a character on one serer, you can't transfer it to the other server unless there is a transfer even going on or you pay ~$25 for transfer.  so you need to choose server wisely and that is why there databases that list statistics for each wow server.  every server in wow is like a different dimension 
well, I think most mmos today use that system and I expect the same from AOC


----------



## Azazel (May 14, 2008)

i think all mmo have been like that for the last ten years


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

I played one where database of players is shared among all servers


----------



## Azazel (May 14, 2008)

runescape  ?


----------



## a111087 (May 14, 2008)

i don't remember for sure, I've tried so many mmo's its hard to keep track of all of them


----------



## commandercup (May 14, 2008)

what about guild wars?

they use that dynamic system where everything is an instance except for towns which you can switch through


----------



## Azazel (May 14, 2008)

guidwars is not an mmorpg...just a morpg


----------



## commandercup (May 15, 2008)

well then what about all those f2p korean mmos lol, they all have servers you can switch between (albeit nowhere near the scale of WoW)


----------



## newconroer (May 15, 2008)

You can find a listing of some of the Live servers on the main AOC page.
Currently all US servers will be based out of New Jersey (nice..the armpit of America...three cheers for no left hand turn lanes...morons).

Instances in AOC refer to dungeons, or particular quest based areas (whether solo or group oriented).

Unfortunatley it's not a seemless world like LOTRO or EQOA (though EQOA was truly seemless as even dungeons were open). It's a large game no doubt, yet there are many 'zoning' areas.


----------



## a111087 (May 15, 2008)

I have installed the game and have some issues with it. (servers open on 17th, so only movies and menus works right now)
On WinXP SP3 there are audio problems, game sometimes quites in the middle of the movie, sometimes in the menu there are black horizontal lines across the screen, and directX diagnostic tool had to be shut down once in the middle of the movie.... 
sounds promising! 
but on other PC (win64) everything was fine


----------



## Azazel (May 15, 2008)

the game is not very stable atm  kinda sucks....hope they fix it fast


----------



## a111087 (May 17, 2008)

Guess what day it is. its 17th here already, but authentication server is down, so... I guess I'll go to sleep


----------



## Duxx (May 17, 2008)

thought they opened them at 10AM?


----------



## a111087 (May 17, 2008)

Duxx said:


> thought they opened them at 10AM?



yep, you are right, I just saw it


----------



## NinkobEi (May 17, 2008)

that was quick. so the game is coming out this tuesday? rockin. which server are you guys on


----------



## Azazel (May 17, 2008)

im gonna be all on my own in an eu server


----------



## W1zzard (May 17, 2008)

omg teh excitement .. only 2 hours 30 mins to go .. cant wait .. must play

azazel: i'll play on EU too .. are you rolling PVE or PVP ?


----------



## Azazel (May 17, 2008)

il be playing pve  

lucky bastard  getting into early acess....people where pissed when it run out


----------



## a111087 (May 17, 2008)

I'm going to be on US-pvp-Bane
Edit:  bastards...  servers are  supposed to be up already, but get this "Final tweaking and testing... servers will be open with in 3 hours..."


----------



## NinkobEi (May 17, 2008)

how is the game play with the updated launcher? did they fix a lot of the glitches you guys were talking about?


----------



## Azazel (May 18, 2008)

i hear the game runs amazingly now


----------



## Duxx (May 18, 2008)

a111087 said:


> I'm going to be on US-pvp-Bane
> Edit:  bastards...  servers are  supposed to be up already, but get this "Final tweaking and testing... servers will be open with in 3 hours..."



My friends are all rolling on that server, if i do decide to play, thats where you will find me 

Its all about PvP.  That makes these games so much fun.


----------



## NinkobEi (May 18, 2008)

are there any pvp arenas vis a vis wow


----------



## a111087 (May 18, 2008)

Duxx said:


> My friends are all rolling on that server, if i do decide to play, thats where you will find me



My brother decided to go to a different server, so, I will probably be on a different one, don't know which.
I had to go to work, but now that I'm back I'll download all the updates and report on performance


----------



## a111087 (May 18, 2008)

my system pulls the game alright, even on the highest settings available, I just need to defragment my HDD (some in game textures are long to load)
I love the graphics, its not crysis, but detailed textures are very nice
sound of wild life in game is awesome
you can also choose the voice of your character (the way he will scream in the game  )
I play barbarian and it feels a bit too easy, I can take on 3 enemy and walk away without a scratch (health regenerates extremely fast after the battle is over, I have no idea what the "rest" button is for...)

So, I like it, especially the fact that NPCs read all text  it kind of reminds me of other great games like oblivion or such ...


----------



## NinkobEi (May 18, 2008)

awesome to hear A11  thanks. sounds like the programming is a notch or two above my current game Vanguard. that game wont run smooth on any pc.


----------



## a111087 (May 18, 2008)

you guys want me to post screenshots or have you seen enough already?
aoc has an interesting screenshot button that takes screenshot the way it would look at MAX settings


----------



## newconroer (May 18, 2008)

Performance has gotten somewhat better; I wouldn't say it's a huge improvement.
It's a shame that 'bloom' knocks off up to twenty fps in some cases; which is silly, it's bloom, not HDR.

Yesterday it was going quite well though. In Tarantia I was pulling 30fps in town with :

1920X1200
4xaa
16xaf
All settings to max or fully ON
All sliders to max or all the way up

And strolling through areas like Stygia, it was easily pushing eighty fps.

However, I logged in today, small fifteen mb patch update, and now I've dropped into the sub 20s in Tarantia and outside isn't much better. Seems like something related to grass, flora and or distance high res textures. Textures are loading late again.

They did fix a lot of the UI and control interfacing. We finally have full mouse look at the click of a button. You can find it under the controls options at the bottom "Reverse right mouse button." The extra two hotbars toggled via the interface avanced options can now be bound with a keystroke. You can do so under control options. The layout is now "Action bar," and then the other two primary/secondary ones. "Special action bar" has been removed.


It's shaped up quite a bit, though there's still much more to be done. DX10 is also not in, scheduled for release day, however I think they need more time.


----------



## a111087 (May 18, 2008)

newconroer said:


> However, I logged in today, small fifteen mb patch update, and now I've dropped into the sub 20s in Tarantia and outside isn't much better. Seems like something related to grass, flora and or distance high res textures. Textures are loading late again.



Yep same here. weird.


----------



## W1zzard (May 18, 2008)

i'm already level 28  yes, sleep is for the weak. and i can only post because there is a 2 hour maintenance now


----------



## Azazel (May 18, 2008)

lol  what class are you playing...i hear after lvl 40 it becomes a real pain to level


----------



## Duxx (May 18, 2008)

W1zzard said:


> i'm already level 28  yes, sleep is for the weak. and i can only post because there is a 2 hour maintenance now



Hahah well done!  I played my friends accounts, im lvl 6! /flex

2 hours maintenance is better than the 8 hours by blizzard.


----------



## a111087 (May 18, 2008)

I'm level 12

Edit: haha, the server will be down for another hour


----------



## NinkobEi (May 18, 2008)

level 28? in two days W1z??? tell me there are more than 50 levels to this game...


----------



## TUngsten (May 19, 2008)

lol, W1z will be soloing the "endgame" content in a few more days....


----------



## trt740 (May 19, 2008)

Azazel said:


> yeah they are awesome..wish i could play full res though



you cannot play full resolution with a 3870x2?


----------



## spearman914 (May 19, 2008)

That black human sure got a nice black ass


----------



## trt740 (May 19, 2008)

anyone know can the game be purchased and download from the web?


----------



## NinkobEi (May 19, 2008)

trt740 said:


> anyone know can the game be purchased and download from the web?



probably not til tuesday. maybe like tommorrow night at midnight or soemthing but I would be surprised.


----------



## Azazel (May 19, 2008)

trt740 said:


> you cannot play full resolution with a 3870x2?



i can now......probably....just the beta was a bit crap


----------



## a111087 (May 19, 2008)

I just received my 2 games and 1 mini art book 
I was supposed o have 2 art books, but gamestop later changed them to 1 mini art book, I guess they run out

BTW, when exactly will /claim work?  at lvl 40?


----------



## a111087 (May 19, 2008)

Well, the server is down for 5 hours... I'm level 20 already, wiz is probably lvl 99999999....999999


----------



## erocker (May 19, 2008)

Just installed an A.O.C. commemorative mini-fridge next to my computer.


----------



## TUngsten (May 19, 2008)

mini-fridge FTW!
I'll go grab a copy tomorrow after work....after I set my EVE char on a long-term skilltraining lol


----------



## a111087 (May 20, 2008)

omg... are they trying to get everyone as angry as possible or what?!  
ok, 5 hours of downtime... then 2 more... then 1 more... THEN 1 MORE!!!!
I know they are trying to get as good launch as possible, but ...:shadedshu


----------



## farlex85 (May 20, 2008)

So is this for sale now? Up and running? Largely glichless? And can it be bought online?


----------



## NinkobEi (May 20, 2008)

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/180133

should answer the digital download question for ya. you could buy from amazon or something but why not just head to your local pc game store and save on shipping


----------



## farlex85 (May 20, 2008)

I guess that is what I'll do. I dunno, I just was browsing around and got the sudden urge to play it, but its late where I'm at and nothing's open. I guess I'll wait for a bit and see how it pans out, better than the impulse buy anyway...


----------



## deathbyburk (May 20, 2008)

So just read saw a thing on G4 that said that AOC will not be DirectX 10 at launch!  Funny I saw the video on IGN where one of the creators said that the game was built with directx 10 from the ground up!  Very disapointed if this is the case.  but still looks like a great game


----------



## TUngsten (May 20, 2008)

at least W1z can get another hour of sleep!


----------



## TUngsten (May 20, 2008)

got it at the shop an hour ago...and it's installing:

Installing Resources: This may take a LONG TIME

holy crap - that's the understatement of the year!


----------



## Duxx (May 20, 2008)

TUngsten said:


> got it at the shop an hour ago...and it's installing:
> 
> Installing Resources: This may take a LONG TIME
> 
> holy crap - that's the understatement of the year!




Took me like 7 hours to download it at 700kb/s. (had to do it twice too!) hah


----------



## a111087 (May 20, 2008)

why don't you guys just go out and buy it?  or you are too young to buy it?


----------



## Azazel (May 20, 2008)

a111087 said:


> omg... are they trying to get everyone as angry as possible or what?!
> ok, 5 hours of downtime... then 2 more... then 1 more... THEN 1 MORE!!!!
> I know they are trying to get as good launch as possible, but ...:shadedshu



every game released is like this...they have to stabilize it  it should be over in a couple weeks


----------



## NinkobEi (May 21, 2008)

a111087 said:


> why don't you guys just go out and buy it?  or you are too young to buy it?



maybe video game companies should start packaging Beer into their video games...to "really" prevent underage kids from buying.


----------



## Polaris573 (May 21, 2008)

Meh the patches take a while.


----------



## Duxx (May 21, 2008)

I remember the beginning of WoW... that was pure evil.  Seemed like every day MY server was down for about 10 hours.  Everybody else was having fun  i just rolled the crappy one.


----------



## a111087 (May 21, 2008)




----------



## ShadowFold (May 21, 2008)

Anyone know where I can download this? I got a trial key from my buddy on the intarwebs.


----------



## a111087 (May 21, 2008)

trial?  i think you need to register at https://register.ageofconan.com/account
then they might give you a link for a download manager, at least i think so


----------



## ShadowFold (May 21, 2008)

Think I could max it on my rig?


----------



## a111087 (May 21, 2008)

ShadowFold said:


> Think I could max it on my rig?



sure, it should be 30+fps, but you could lower shadows a bit (from players only) to get a big boost


----------



## Polaris573 (May 21, 2008)

Trials are disabled for the time being in order to let the "paying customers establish themselves".


----------



## ShadowFold (May 21, 2008)

Polaris573 said:


> Trials are disabled for the time being in order to let the "paying customers establish themselves".



Yea she just told me  Well atleast I have time to try and get it now


----------



## TUngsten (May 21, 2008)

a111087 said:


> why don't you guys just go out and buy it?  or you are too young to buy it?



did you not notice the part where I said "I just got it at the shop and hour ago"?
:shadedshu


----------



## a111087 (May 21, 2008)

TUngsten said:


> did you not notice the part where I said "I just got it at the shop and hour ago"?



relax, I don't look at names, I just type stuff ...


----------



## Azazel (May 21, 2008)

you got a mounr already. i thought it was only at level 40


----------



## TUngsten (May 21, 2008)

its pretty awesome so far, playing a demonologist and a herald of X


----------



## Polaris573 (May 21, 2008)

Azazel said:


> you got a mounr already. i thought it was only at level 40



That's World of Warcraft.


----------



## Azazel (May 21, 2008)

Polaris573 said:


> That's World of Warcraft.




....no...i mean i read that people with rhinos (pre order gift) can only ride there mount at level 40...i though horse where the same...


----------



## a111087 (May 21, 2008)

Azazel said:


> ....no...i mean i read that people with rhinos (pre order gift) can only ride there mount at level 40...i though horse where the same...



pre-order gives mammoth and yes, you can ride it only at lvl 40
the horse on my pic is just the one that i saw in the city (near the NPC that sells mounts)


----------



## Azazel (May 21, 2008)

oh i see  thx


----------



## a111087 (May 21, 2008)

for some reason Funcom decided to send me a key that will grant me a cape (if I'm correct, it supposed to come with collectors edition)
but thats alright   I'll take it


----------



## Azazel (May 21, 2008)

lol haha lucky bastard..ya i think its supposed to be for CE


----------



## Azazel (May 21, 2008)

wow fanbois are scarred http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=5973991085&sid=1


----------



## a111087 (May 21, 2008)

too bad they don't have a good enough argument against aoc


----------



## Polaris573 (May 21, 2008)

I like the one that says, "this is the most ugly experience bar I have ever seen."  It looks almost exactly like the WoW experience bar except yellow instead of blue/purple.


----------



## mrw1986 (May 21, 2008)

So is this game actually good? FunCom sent me a voucher for a free drinking cape in my email, but I don't have an account with them.


----------



## Azazel (May 21, 2008)

@a1 and pol: yes lol there argumets suck 


@mrw: if you live in the EU you can have my buddy key and test the game your self


----------



## a111087 (May 21, 2008)

Azazel said:


> @mrw: if you live in the EU you can have my buddy key and test the game your self


lol, i thought you would ask him to give you a key for cape


----------



## Azazel (May 21, 2008)

lol..i never though of that  

so....gimme your key


----------



## PVTCaboose1337 (May 22, 2008)

I really wanna try this game, but cannot believe that it is so big and I will not pay the stupid 15$ per month fee.


----------



## Azazel (May 22, 2008)

..the fee pays for the server maintenance...employees and the constant upgrades...also the future expansions...


----------



## erocker (May 22, 2008)

I'm getting it tomorrow, but I'm a bit reluctant.  This kind of reminds me of Vanguard Saga of Heroes...


----------



## Azazel (May 22, 2008)

all iv heard from the game is good news. 

www.mmorpg.com

check it out...mist people agree that its the best mmo release in many years,,


----------



## farlex85 (May 22, 2008)

Most people can be wrong though, especially when hype is involved. I would like to at least check it out myself, but I may give it a solid month to catch its feet and see what it looks like when the dust settles.


----------



## Azazel (May 22, 2008)

the open beta nearly killed the game...compared to the open beta the game is amazing


----------



## erocker (May 22, 2008)

...and considering how dead this thread kind of is, people must be playing this game well enough to not post here!


----------



## Azazel (May 22, 2008)

yeah...like w1zz..hes been missing for a while


----------



## a111087 (May 22, 2008)

soon the trials will be available, if you don't feel like buying game now, then just wait for trials


----------



## TUngsten (May 22, 2008)

it's worth playing. I'm really enjoying it so far, the combat is a blast and the visuals are pretty impressive.


----------



## erocker (May 23, 2008)

Bought it after work today and yeah... It's good!  Does DirectX 10 work in the game?


----------



## a111087 (May 23, 2008)

it will be supported after some time, right now  they are focusing on fixing DX9
but they did say that it was primarily developed as DX10


----------



## warlord2000ad (May 23, 2008)

Going on the first few posts, i can play Age of Conan at both the 1680x1050 and 1920x1200, its just i do get some lighting flickering and lower FPS in places.

I find turning off the grass, bloom and setting the shader to 2.0 helps up the FPS.


----------



## TUngsten (May 23, 2008)

a single 8800gt is plenty to run this at max


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

DX10 wont be implemeted till a couple months....


----------



## warlord2000ad (May 23, 2008)

I got a DX9650, 4Gb RAM, 2x9800GTX

And on Max, in the towns i get 5fps.

The game needs serious optimisation


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

i think something is wrong with your comp...most people get 30-60+ fps


----------



## Duxx (May 23, 2008)

warlord2000ad said:


> I got a DX9650, 4Gb RAM, 2x9800GTX
> 
> And on Max, in the towns i get 5fps.
> 
> The game needs serious optimisation



Yah, something is definitely wrong...  what drivers are you using?  Monitor size?  Im getting 50 in towns and upwards of 90 outside in some places with a single 8800gts 512..  List your system spec on the left under User Control Panel.


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

im only getting 30 -50 fps


----------



## Duxx (May 23, 2008)

Azazel said:


> im only getting 30 -50 fps



?!  That in or outside of cities?

I should rephrase what i wrote, i get between 40 and 50 FPS in cities.  Usually somewhere in the middle.


----------



## erocker (May 23, 2008)

I'm running my system at stock with a single 3870 and it runs just fine maxed out.


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

outside...in the beginning bit...where ya kill the slave dude


----------



## -Skream- (May 23, 2008)

Is it worth buying?


----------



## erocker (May 23, 2008)

Yes, it's worth it!  I'm not even a big fan of MMORPG's but since I installed it yesterday afternoon, I've been hooked!


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

what sort of fps are ya getting?


----------



## -Skream- (May 23, 2008)

erocker said:


> Yes, it's worth it!  I'm not even a big fan of MMORPG's but since I installed it yesterday afternoon, I've been hooked!



thanks will grab the game after work tomorrow


----------



## johnnyfiive (May 23, 2008)

erocker said:


> Yes, it's worth it!  I'm not even a big fan of MMORPG's but since I installed it yesterday afternoon, I've been hooked!



Seriously? I may have to try this!


----------



## farlex85 (May 23, 2008)

erocker said:


> Yes, it's worth it!  I'm not even a big fan of MMORPG's but since I installed it yesterday afternoon, I've been hooked!



Thats just one day though. Most any game can be entertaining for a couple of days. Tell me in a couple of weeks (sorry, I'm a skeptic....).


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

its been out for a week


----------



## a111087 (May 23, 2008)

i wish they would optimize game and fix bugs as soon as possible, some bugs just impossible not to notice or ignore 
like yesterday, I wasn't able to hit anything


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

every time i walk next t plants it turns to dust


----------



## Duxx (May 23, 2008)

Azazel said:


> every time i walk next t plants it turns to dust



I LOVE the fact that you can walk through trees and they move out of your vision so you can see where u are going.  I HATE that in WoW, trying to climb up something, but can see shit cuz them damn bushes are in your way!  I still haven't bought it yet, I think I am going to today though


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

bah...i get 20fps in town..wtf


----------



## Duxx (May 23, 2008)

Azazel said:


> bah...i get 20fps in town..wtf



 Vsync enabled?


----------



## erocker (May 23, 2008)

You need to take out one of your sticks of RAM and run in dual channel.


----------



## a111087 (May 23, 2008)

new patch is out  they finally fixed the supply master quest
and btw, I'm almost 31


----------



## spearman914 (May 23, 2008)

erocker said:


> You need to take out one of your sticks of RAM and run in dual channel.



I bet theres such thing as a trio channel.


----------



## Duxx (May 23, 2008)

erocker said:


> You need to take out one of your sticks of RAM and run in dual channel.



Don't they still run in dual channel with each other while the lonely one just chills by himself?  He would have overall less RAM which would also affect his FPS.  Could this yield a significant drop in FPS?


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

i looked for vsync..found nothing..il take out a stick now and see...

but would it really help?

also duel channel is automatic...right?


----------



## erocker (May 23, 2008)

Azazel said:


> i looked for vsync..found nothing..il take out a stick now and see...
> 
> but would it really help?
> 
> also duel channel is automatic...right?



Well, you have to have two or four matching sticks in the correct slots.  With 3x1gb sticks you are running your DDR2 memory at high timings at 400mhz.  With 2 x 1gb sticks you will run 800mhz at timings that are suited for that speed.  There isn't a bios setting you need to change to enable it or anything, it's automatic in that sense.


----------



## mrw1986 (May 23, 2008)

Just bought this today, installing when I get out of work at 8! Any of you play on US servers? Which should I play on so I can have a buddy!


----------



## -Skream- (May 23, 2008)

GameSpot's is doing a Live Gameplay Marathon - Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures -

When:  Friday, May 23 from 6 p.m. PT to 9 p.m. PT
Where: Right here to watch the show, but to join Kevin in the game you need to find Ursobear on the Set server
Who: GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd, Ricardo Torres, and Lark Anderson

here

Might be worth the watch for no one who has got the game yet


----------



## Azazel (May 23, 2008)

@duxx...i was on the AOC forum and most people performance is like mine...why is yours so high


----------



## Polaris573 (May 23, 2008)

The game was running fine before, but now my "nv4 display driver" crashes every time I try to run the game.


----------



## warlord2000ad (May 24, 2008)

5fps, Thats in the towns, i find turning off the grass helps alot thou.

But in some dungeons or open areas, i can push 120fps at those settings, so i think its the towns that need to be looked into more. Everques got roudn this by having the main towns as several zones, spliting up the town alot. Little annoying but it kept up the FPS.


I use 175.16 drivers, so the 9800GTX fan doesnt spin down. And i've got the CPU overclocked stable, from 333x9 (3.0ghz to 450x9 (3.85ghz).


----------



## trt740 (May 24, 2008)

Hey guys how is the game play anygood, or is it a EQ/WOW knock off.


----------



## a111087 (May 24, 2008)

Azazel said:


> i looked for vsync..found nothing..il take out a stick now and see...
> 
> but would it really help?



force vsync through drivers
can't really tell if it help or not


----------



## erocker (May 24, 2008)

trt740 said:


> Hey guys how is the game play anygood, or is it a EQ/WOW knock off.



Well, I've never played WoW or Everquest.  I generally don't like MMORPG's but I have to say the game plays very well, runs well, and I'm pretty hooked.  Just bought the game yesterday.


----------



## W1zzard (May 24, 2008)




----------



## driver66 (May 24, 2008)

W1zzard said:


>



 He is alive!!


----------



## newconroer (May 24, 2008)

warlord2000ad said:


> 5fps, Thats in the towns, i find turning off the grass helps alot thou.
> 
> But in some dungeons or open areas, i can push 120fps at those settings, so i think its the towns that need to be looked into more. Everques got roudn this by having the main towns as several zones, spliting up the town alot. Little annoying but it kept up the FPS.
> 
> ...




What is the rest of your system Warlord?
And what resolution are you at?

I find that whenever you set the video options the first time, then restart the client, performance is pretty terrible. I've narrowed it down to the ground texture distance slider as being the culprit.

If you're running everything on high, including sliders, drop the ground texture down and restart the client. Then slide it back up a bit and restart yet again. It may fix the problem.
There seems to be a bug affecting how the game interfaces with the GPU.

Also, after restarting the client, go further, by tweak/adjusting the ground texture distance to your preferrence. Going full max is uncessary to the human eye, especially in most towns as you can't see that far anyways.

With the setting all the way up/max, a fail safe kicks in to keep your GPU from running out of texture RAM; you'll notice random and close textures not loading until very late as you're right on top of them. The game is scrapping the high res on these textures, to keep your GPU from bottoming out so to speak. This is why your performance might increase after restarting your client after lowering the ground texture distance.

Though you may still get the late loading textures in some areas, which is beyond your control.

I've also noticed that at random, character players texture resolution drops to low. You can remedy this by alt-tabbing out and back into the game. It also fixes geometric textures at times as well.


With this system, using 175.16 drivers.
Nhancer settings:

AA : Application
Gamma correction : On
Transperancy: Supersampling
AF: Application
Vsync: Off
Texture quality : High quality
LOD: Clamped
Prerender: Off
Multicore support: 1(Yes)

All other features are purposely un-set.





*=======EDITED as of June 2nd 2008=========*
*Video:*

_1920X1200_
_4xAA or 8xAA_ (for modern cards, it seems you can get away with the higher setting as the GPU has some headroom)
_Full Screen_
_Bloom_:  On (Off if your FPS is cutting it close. It does give back almost 10fps for some types of hardware)
_View distance_:3496; 2112; or 1024  (3496 ensures the game offers you all that it will allow, however, some areas no matter how high the view distance, will still not render when faced directly by the character, and have that unfortunate problem of rendering only when you turn your vision(in game/character's view angle) away/to the side - whilst not achieving some known anomalies that occur when set to max/3500. 2112 is a common 'sweet spot,' for being able to view nearly all availabe long range distanced rendering, with the exception of some areas, however only in these areas, of which are few, will the difference between 2112 and 3496 be visible. It's a good way to get visual quality/performance compromise. 1024 is good if you are already underpowered in terms of GPU or CPU capabilities. The nice thing about a low setting like 1024, is that in most cases what you see is what you get. There may be less long distance rendering on a whole, combined with an even greater performance gain).

*Advanced Video:*

*Global*

DX9 (obviously)
SM 3.0


*Shadows*

_Shadow Quality_: From Everything
_Shadow Resolution_: High  (To save a few FPS, you can use Low and notice no visual difference)
_3D Ambient Collision_:  High  (To save a few FPS, you can use Low and notice no visual difference)



*View Ranges*

_High Quality View Distance_:  70%(This affects, at least most noticeably, the quality of objects like trees based on distance. It makes them seem more 'fine,' and distinct. A setting of 70% gains a small amount of performance, while also giving you this 'clarity' for as far as the human eye can see on screen).
_Low Quality View Distance_:   0 or adjusted  (If you run a high view distance, or anything over 1400 or so, then this can be set to 0. This is a feature to allow those who cannot afford (performance) to use a high view distance. When you use a low view distance of say 1024, you can turn this setting up and it will draw behind the point where your 1024 view distance ends, giving the virtual effect that your actually seeing farther than you are [based on your view distance setting]. However, the textures on these mountains/landscaping is very crude, and will appear as either blanketed fog and/or unshaded green mountain texture, that is a noticeable eyesore).
_Particle View Distance_: 300 (Particles are mainly for spells, yet also effect environment particles, like campfires and smoke from volcanoes. Get some elevation in game and adjust this accordingly to your distance desire).
_NPC View Distance_:200 (It doesn't seem to do much..as in turning it all the way to 500/max still has NPCs popping into view, so meet it halfway, as if you drop beneath 100-150, you will permanently lose NPC viewing).
_NPC High Quality View Distance_: 800 (This, logically speaking, should be a noticeable factor in performance, however it doesn't seem to be. The transition to high res textures should be set so that it is the least noticeable to your eyes; this setting seems to make no difference in the matter.)
_Grass View Distance_: 700(You can probably afford to set it to full, though in some ways it's wasted at max, because the flora unfortunatley like most games, renders in real time where you can actually see it being drawn. Also, in 95% of areas, you cannot see enough land laid before you, that would be beyond 700m distance).
_Grass Density_: 100/max 
_Ground Quality View Distance:_ 150m (This setting ensures long range ground textures are loaded in high resolution form, however having this too high can cause close textures on anything from npcs, to objects to geometrics and landscapes, to drop to low quality).



*Textures*

_System Memory Cache Size_: It is not to be used with GPUs that have 512 or higher RAMDAC/texture memory. It IS for laptops or integrated GPU solutions. Having this set above 0, will cause the game to use your system RAM, which as you should know is slower). If your GPU is bottoming out of texture RAM, you may consider it, though I doubt that will become the case. Increasing it on cards with 512 or greater texture RAM, can potentially cause hitching or stuttering. 
_Texture Filtering _: Ansiotropic (Indeed the best filtering. Moving from Trilinear to Ansiotropic makes more of a noticeable difference in visual quality, than opposed to what level of filtering you use numerically speaking).
_Texture Resolution_: High
_Ansiotropic Quality_:  16 (8 might save you some FPS, and from recent studying, it seems 4x AF is no different for late model GPU users, than that of 8x or 16x. Going below a setting of 3 is not advised).
_Enable Parallax_:  Yes
_Remove Foliage Around Character_:  No



*Ground*

_Ground Render Quality_:  High
_Enable Specular On Ground_:  Yes
_Enable Grass_:  Yes



*Water*

_Water Reflection Quality_:   From Everything (Save a few FPS by using the setting before 'Everything.' It will load reflectons of terrain (which is most important), and leave out objects, which you most often won't notice).





With these settings the first time around, I had 8-14(or lower) fps in towns. Then I used a 'high' graphics preset, making adjustments manually afterwards, and finally, restarting the client. This seemed to fix the game in terms of performance. The results were that somewhere like Tortage, a heavily dense flora area/jungle or Tarantia/Cimmaria( a town )etc - high populated areas combining long range view distance and npcs - I muster about 25-30FPS, with a few dips below that now and again. And of course open out doors or instances I fly up anywhere from 70-200.





TRT740:

The game is unfortunatley all in all an MMO clone. It offers a decent manual combat system, and of course probably, overall, the best looking visuals for an MMO. Yet both of those points are debatable in ways; beyond that, you'll find everything to be just like it's genre ancestors. 

Still, it's fun, worth playing, and feels like Oblivion online!


----------



## a111087 (May 24, 2008)

W1zzard said:


>



if I wanted I would be there, but I play only when my bro is online too, so we can quest together
so my 32lvl could actually be 52


----------



## Azazel (May 24, 2008)

trt740 said:


> Hey guys how is the game play anygood, or is it a EQ/WOW knock off.



i played both and its nothing like them..its a pretty unique mmo


----------



## Duxx (May 24, 2008)

I hated EQ, loved WoW until it became the most repetitious game in history.  So far I have loved the game.  Im 24 in a day! Woot! 

Wizzard, i expected you to be 80 by now


----------



## TUngsten (May 24, 2008)

i'm on the pvp/rp server Hyperborea

It's fun - except for the escalation of the button-mashing combo system. Too reminiscent of console button-mashing for my taste. If it continues this way I'll probably have to give up lol. Last thing I want in a MMORPG is console-like button acrobatics required...


----------



## Azazel (May 24, 2008)

my game is ok..it runs like most people (with similar build) about the same as me  not sure what duxx is doing to get 90 fps  maybe he has the graphics on low without realizing


----------



## Azazel (May 24, 2008)

TUngsten said:


> i'm on the pvp/rp server Hyperborea
> 
> It's fun - except for the escalation of the button-mashing combo system. Too reminiscent of console button-mashing for my taste. If it continues this way I'll probably have to give up lol. Last thing I want in a MMORPG is console-like button acrobatics required...



well its built for the 360 as well


----------



## iamajunky (May 24, 2008)

All i got say is that this game is rated M, and at max settings it looks amazing


----------



## iamajunky (May 24, 2008)

> The game is unfortunatley all in all an MMO clone. It offers a decent manual combat system, and of course probably, overall, the best looking visuals for an MMO. Yet both of those points are debatable in ways; beyond that, you'll find everything to be just like it's genre ancestors.
> 
> Still, it's fun, worth playing, and feels like Oblivion online!



I just want to say one thing, do all they other mmorpgs have boobies in them....I think not! Just think of all the videos on the internet, now people can really rub one off lol, not like Wow videos lol.


----------



## mrw1986 (May 25, 2008)

Sooo what server should I go on?


----------



## Duxx (May 25, 2008)

Azazel said:


> my game is ok..it runs like most people (with similar build) about the same as me  not sure what duxx is doing to get 90 fps  maybe he has the graphics on low without realizing



:/  Im running everything full and never have droped below 40 FPS(when checking, cities, water, PVP, grass etc)  Who knows what the dealio is 


@mrw - Im on Tyranny and i love it   Lots of people, lots of PvP action.  Already have lvl 80's! (they have yet to leave house im told hah)


----------



## farlex85 (May 25, 2008)

Already lvl 80s?!! May be a true spiritual successor to wow. How is the grinding in this game?


----------



## Azazel (May 25, 2008)

only reason there are already 80s is cos geeks don't sleep  lol


----------



## newconroer (May 25, 2008)

I think Duxx is being a bit generous with his results, however 30-40fps at 1600 res (I'm assuming he's running in native resolution), is reasonable, if I'm pulling off 25-35 in the heaviest areas at 1920X.

Azazel, how you can say it's nothing like EQ or WoW makes me question your knowledge of MMOs.

You'd have to be pretty blind to not see how AoC is a near splitting image of them in everything except parts of the combat and the visuals.

Experience - progression; 'feats' a.k.a. achievement/mastery points; quests; skill attainment; weapons system i.e. 'weapon speed, weapon delay,' etc. etc.

The list goes on. Even LOTRO at least offered something different with it's Traits feature.


----------



## NinkobEi (May 25, 2008)

how easy is this game? I remember when WoW came out it took people a month to hit 60. if 80 is being hit in 1 week then whats up with that?


----------



## Azazel (May 25, 2008)

it is a mmorpg after all so its bound to have some similarities 

@nin:those are just the hardcore players who are power leveling...in wow there are people who have gotten from 1-70 in less than 24 hours


----------



## farlex85 (May 25, 2008)

Azazel said:


> it is a mmorpg after all so its bound to have some similarities
> 
> @nin:those are just the hardcore players who are power leveling...in wow there are people who have gotten from 1-70 in less than 24 hours



Thats quite simply not possible. Someone playing for 24 hours straight could not make it to level 60 in that game. 

@new: I know what your saying, most all mmorpgs that have come after wow have shared its characteristics. There were just so many things it did so well, other games would be foolish not to follow. Combat is a key thing though, something that could really be evolved, thats why this game interests me. Is it a truly dynamic system, or does it essientially require the same 1,2,3 button philosophy?


----------



## Azazel (May 25, 2008)

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/t...6CDC7DA3C5BCDB2CD8E4?topicId=5284850132&sid=1

it is possible


----------



## farlex85 (May 25, 2008)

Azazel said:


> http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/t...6CDC7DA3C5BCDB2CD8E4?topicId=5284850132&sid=1
> 
> it is possible



Well, that was 44 hours to 70. That is pretty wild though, I'm not sure how thats enjoyable......


----------



## Azazel (May 25, 2008)

20 hours,...not 44...where did you get 44 from


----------



## farlex85 (May 25, 2008)

Azazel said:


> 20 hours,...not 44...where did you get 44 from



The name of the thread is gets to 70 in 1 day and 20 hours. 20+24= 44. Where did you get 20 from?


----------



## NinkobEi (May 25, 2008)

Azazel said:


> 20 hours,...not 44...where did you get 44 from



also, thats 20 hours after the game has been out for years and people know the best places to level. AoC was just released a week ago! surely all of the good leveling spots arent found yet


----------



## Azazel (May 25, 2008)

those people where in the closed  beta so they know where everything is


----------



## -Skream- (May 25, 2008)

Azazel said:


> http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/t...6CDC7DA3C5BCDB2CD8E4?topicId=5284850132&sid=1
> 
> it is possible



Very true my friend being playing WoW since release.
He has every Fiction / Classes @ level 70 its crazy and knows the entire WoW world map/ quests is located, hes my personal quest helper lol.

I've heard group of chinese players get up to lvl 70 in like 18 hours but they're farm diggers like my friend lol


----------



## Azazel (May 25, 2008)

ARE YOU SURE HE IS NOT USEING THE QUEST HELPER ADD ON  LOL


----------



## NinkobEi (May 25, 2008)

-Skream- said:


> Very true my friend being playing WoW since release.
> He has every Fiction / Classes @ level 70 its crazy and knows the entire WoW world map/ quests is located, hes my personal quest helper lol.
> 
> I've heard group of chinese players get up to lvl 70 in like 18 hours but they're farm diggers like my friend lol



well, thats almost impressive..now if he had every race/class up to level 70 THAT would be something to brag about... or, probably the best idea, not tell anyone about it because he would just be laughed at


----------



## Deleted member 24505 (May 25, 2008)

I just watched a few of them athene videos on youtube,and on his site.He seems to be a tit to me with some weird pron/gay fixation.

If he did get to 70 in that time fair enuff,but he still acts like a tit.


----------



## Azazel (May 25, 2008)

the dude is ann asshole  i wanted to kill him when i saw that video


----------



## Duxx (May 26, 2008)

Azazel said:


> the dude is ann asshole  i wanted to kill him when i saw that video



Back on topic!

Anybody on the Tyranny Server?   I just got the game on friday evening, and im lvl 31


----------



## -Skream- (May 26, 2008)

Azazel said:


> ARE YOU SURE HE IS NOT USEING THE QUEST HELPER ADD ON  LOL




I don't know lol but i do use a quest helper addon 



Ninkobwi said:


> well, thats almost impressive..now if he had every race/class up to level 70 THAT would be something to brag about... or, probably the best idea, not tell anyone about it because he would just be laughed at




hehe I've seen youtubers who have many lvl 60-70 chars on each relams



Duxx said:


> Back on topic!
> 
> Anybody on the Tyranny Server?   I just got the game on friday evening, and im lvl 31




I ain't got my AOC copy yet :< shops close tomorrow due to bank holiday 

Q? is the game/servers regional only or world client?


----------



## Azazel (May 26, 2008)

regional only


----------



## Irish_PXzyan (May 26, 2008)

This game is awsome!! iam level 19 and nearly out of Tortage! cant wait to be finaly free from the damn single player part of it.

I am playing on full settings but my FPS drops alot...I just turned the SM from 3.0 to 2.x and I get 50+ and no lag. Seems like SM3.0 is pretty messed up.


----------



## Azazel (May 26, 2008)

Irish_PXzyan said:


> This game is awsome!! iam level 19 and nearly out of Tortage! cant wait to be finaly free from the damn single player part of it.
> 
> I am playing on full settings but my FPS drops alot...I just turned the SM from 3.0 to 2.x and I get 50+ and no lag. Seems like SM3.0 is pretty messed up.



but then...then there are no nipple....think of the nipples


----------



## Irish_PXzyan (May 26, 2008)

I have my gf nipples! why would I want pixel nipples?

Well anyway! I finaly got out but iam not really free yet...thought I would be!! god dammit!


----------



## Azazel (May 26, 2008)

lol i was jk


----------



## Karamas (May 26, 2008)

Dang i really wanna play this game but i need to upgrade my computer first.  How is the "real time combat system"?  Are there any class that are insanely over powered?


----------



## Azazel (May 26, 2008)

so far i haven't really noticed any overpowered class. its pretty balanced 

the combat system is pretty fun. but does become a bit of a button bash


----------



## NinkobEi (May 26, 2008)

Azazel said:


> so far i haven't really noticed any overpowered class. its pretty balanced
> 
> the combat system is pretty fun. but does become a bit of a button bash



button bash? like eq 2 type button bash? (my rogue had literally 50 buttons he had to press each fight) or like wow button bash? (same 3 buttons over and over)


----------



## Azazel (May 26, 2008)

more like eq2/ tekkan  the game has combos and stuff which was a great but after a while you just find yourself bashing the same combos with no great skill   kinda like that combo think in eq2...but all the time  forgot what its called


----------



## TUngsten (May 26, 2008)

it's a really beautiful game,but the buttonmashing has really turned me off. I find the combos to be all but useless in pvp as they take so long to activate that your target has usually stepped a few paces out of range by the time you get it off, and they get cancelled if you're moving...

so it seems the ranged classes are MUCH more powerful in pvp, as they can blast you from afar WITH combos while the melee classes are trying to close, and even then it's really hard to combo your target once you get close enough...


----------



## Azazel (May 26, 2008)

you should hide then jump em


----------



## TUngsten (May 27, 2008)

yeah that works....I did crit a poor bastard for 1504 yesterday 

but I think generally as a game mechanic, it's pisspoor


----------



## Azazel (May 27, 2008)

its like any mmo really  its not what they promised me


----------



## NinkobEi (May 27, 2008)

Azazel said:


> its like any mmo really  its not what they promised me



disappointed?  sorry to hear that. seems like MMOs never live up to expectations. I guess the best thing to do is stick with one you like and hope the devs dont completely give up on it, and hope they keep updating it.


----------



## vampyres (May 27, 2008)

newconroer said:


> This may finally be the MMO that keeps low self esteem teenage girls (or boys), middle aged desperate housewives and transgendered people away.
> 
> It might actually be for normal gamer folk who like RPGs and don't LIVE in a virtual world.
> 
> Like wow what a concept?



I am sorry, this made me giggle. Nice to meet ya, signed the gaming housewife. Not sure what ya mean by Desperate, been gaming a hell of alot longer then I've been a housewife. (Started out on pen and papers, gmed rifts for a while, Played Shadowrun, Vampire: The Masquerade of course, ) Played EQ pretty hard core (Erudite Ench in an end game raid guild), Played a Permakill game beta wont list the name, someone might accuse me of being a perv.  I own a PS3, a PSP,  Rockband, Guitar hero, all the FF series,  WoW 3 acct's 5 70s, Play Warhawk, Motorstorm, Lair, Halo, Granturismo, etc. One Can be a housewife and a serious gamer. Only thing I am desperate for right now, is a my computer parts, and b a new game to play. More kiddies to kill, or laugh at in vent when they hear me talk.


----------



## Azazel (May 27, 2008)

Ninkobwi said:


> disappointed?  sorry to hear that. seems like MMOs never live up to expectations. I guess the best thing to do is stick with one you like and hope the devs dont completely give up on it, and hope they keep updating it.



its a good game  but its not what i expected


----------



## a111087 (May 27, 2008)

vampyres said:


> I am sorry, this made me giggle. Nice to meet ya, signed the gaming housewife. Not sure what ya mean by Desperate, been gaming a hell of alot longer then I've been a housewife. (Started out on pen and papers, gmed rifts for a while, Played Shadowrun, Vampire: The Masquerade of course, ) Played EQ pretty hard core (Erudite Ench in an end game raid guild), Played a Permakill game beta wont list the name, someone might accuse me of being a perv.  I own a PS3, a PSP,  Rockband, Guitar hero, all the FF series,  WoW 3 acct's 5 70s, Play Warhawk, Motorstorm, Lair, Halo, Granturismo, etc. One Can be a housewife and a serious gamer. Only thing I am desperate for right now, is a my computer parts, and b a new game to play. More kiddies to kill, or laugh at in vent when they hear me talk.



haha, you are the wife many dream about 

@ Azarel:
i liked the game at the beginning, but the farther i go, more bugs, technical stuff, and even poorly implemented things come to the surface.  and some of them drive me crazy


----------



## Azazel (May 27, 2008)

yeah it sucks. just have to wait till they fix it  at least its not vanguard


----------



## Karamas (May 27, 2008)

Another question, I really hate this about WoW specifically, i got 3 70 a 62 and 60, but i play purely for pvp.  I have been looking for a long time for a game with a great story line behind it.  The last one i played that actual made me play all the way through was Fallout 2.  Does AoC have a good story line?  And how about the pvp the videos thus far all seem weak.


----------



## Azazel (May 27, 2008)

im in a pve server so i cant really tell you but w1zzard seems to be havening a good time,
but AOC has one of the best stories in a mmo ( a little to liner imo) but still its great


----------



## NinkobEi (May 27, 2008)

Azazel said:


> yeah it sucks. just have to wait till they fix it  at least its not vanguard



hey, vanguard is a pretty good game. once all the bugs from release got fixed its actually quite nice. I enjoy the combat system anyway. kinda neat that any character can level up to max tradeskills without having to adventure and level up.


----------



## mrw1986 (May 27, 2008)

Just officially started playing! Joined the Bluesteel server (pvp). Game is so far so good!


----------



## Azazel (May 27, 2008)

Ninkobwi said:


> hey, vanguard is a pretty good game. once all the bugs from release got fixed its actually quite nice. I enjoy the combat system anyway. kinda neat that any character can level up to max tradeskills without having to adventure and level up.



do you have a trial key? i only played it on release


----------



## Duxx (May 27, 2008)

First impressions:  Mediocre at best.  I didn't really like the combat system or the way the game felt however after lvling to 40(in a weekend)  I have grown quite attached. I dont play a melee class where i have to have combos(which do seem irritating) so i guess my sequence is always a little different depending on the situation.  I LOVE the PvP.  If I didn't roll PvP i would be bored much faster.  Sometimes ill spend an hour just running around ganking people for the fun of it with my friends, and waiting until they send me a message with hatred.   If you want to level fast, i recommend anybody Tempest of Set.  Best AOE class/heals over time out there.  Also much fun


----------



## echo75 (May 27, 2008)

i an a steady WoW player but i would like to try this, does it have a trial download like wow?if yes where can i get it?


----------



## NinkobEi (May 27, 2008)

rar


----------



## Azazel (May 27, 2008)

nos till ni trial or buddy key system


----------



## mrw1986 (May 27, 2008)

I went Guardian and I'm enjoying every minute of it!


----------



## Azazel (May 27, 2008)

lol thats good th hear man  what level you at


----------



## mrw1986 (May 27, 2008)

8 haha, I only played for a little while last nite, from like 1-2am then I had to goto bed to wake up for 8am. Definitely playing more today...the game is gorgeous btw, I love how the WoW fanboys said the gfx suck, they are some of the best I've seen.


----------



## Azazel (May 27, 2008)

yeah people are blinded by hate  level 1-20 is a basic tut to the game  once ya love tortage it will feel more like an mmo  but you can continue the destiny quests if you want


----------



## echo75 (May 27, 2008)

Azazel said:


> nos till ni trial or buddy key system



so anyone here have a spare invite?


----------



## Azazel (May 27, 2008)

em i will have one in a couple weeks when the buddy system opens up. its closed so far s o people can settle down into the game first


----------



## newconroer (May 28, 2008)

vampyres said:


> I am sorry, this made me giggle. Nice to meet ya, signed the gaming housewife. Not sure what ya mean by Desperate, been gaming a hell of alot longer then I've been a housewife. (Started out on pen and papers, gmed rifts for a while, Played Shadowrun, Vampire: The Masquerade of course, ) Played EQ pretty hard core (Erudite Ench in an end game raid guild), Played a Permakill game beta wont list the name, someone might accuse me of being a perv.  I own a PS3, a PSP,  Rockband, Guitar hero, all the FF series,  WoW 3 acct's 5 70s, Play Warhawk, Motorstorm, Lair, Halo, Granturismo, etc. One Can be a housewife and a serious gamer. Only thing I am desperate for right now, is a my computer parts, and b a new game to play. More kiddies to kill, or laugh at in vent when they hear me talk.




The fact that it made you felt the need to tell us _otherwise_, pretty much solidifies my point ; oh and the 'giggle' too 

Nice resume; I'm sure it's helped make you a wonderful spouse.


================

The more you travel in AOC if you can even call it that; the more dissapointed you become.

There's a difference between instancing, and a terrible lack of seamlesness. 
We all accept that instancing open zones has it's pros and cons. 

It aggrivates me however, that basically the main way to travel is by boat, to some region, which isn't even far far away across an ocean. Everyone travels the same. You cannot 'explore.' It's as if every zone has a strict purpose in that it provides quests for a level gap, and then you leave, probably to not return for a long while, if ever. You move from one spot to the next, having to boat or 'zone' numerous times to get around. 

Take Khemi for example. When you get there you can clearly see land and objects in the distance. Try swimming to them. Oh err what's that..a nice invisible wall. Not in the middle of the ocean, but right there in the middle of a populated area. So swim north, you'll eventually make it to some land. And then run around it..you'll find lovely tiled textures and sudden drops into the floor/world. It's entirely unfinished. The map shows(when zooming out, or using the world) map, that there's a whole continent to traverse, yet you reach the ends of the local map, and it's nothing but water all around... ???

I'd much rather have less out door zones for larger ones, with more instanced dungeons, than a bunch of small outdoor zones that touch each other physically, but require you to travel completely out of your way, and take a different path, simply because they couldn't be bothered to code it. Hell, I'd even take going back to old EQ 1 where you zoned into an invisible line; at least that was more seamless.


And ya, the so called 'dynamic' combat is really getting tiresome. As much as I like the idea of having to actually TRY at an MMO, it's becoming an uneventful and boring chore more than anything.

Whoever said it before, yes, they never can get an MMO right. Here's to hoping Bethseda's Elder Scrolls MMO actually works.


----------



## erocker (May 28, 2008)

Azazel said:


> em i will have one in a couple weeks when the buddy system opens up. its closed so far s o people can settle down into the game first



What is the buddy system?  One thing that should be implemented:  If you are the group leader in a group, you should have the power to teleport any group member to yourself (in non-combat situations).  I hope this is a part of the "buddy system".




newconroer said:


> ================
> 
> The more you travel in AOC if you can even call it that; the more dissapointed you become.
> 
> ...



I agree, though I guess I'm not as dissapointed.  I had very low expectations for this game, which I guess turned out to be a good thing for me.  I figure I'll save the exploring for when I reach some higher levels.


----------



## TUngsten (May 28, 2008)

I couldn't agree with Newconroer more.

My latest best combo move requires me to:
-activate the combo/attack, which invariably starts as a gimp swing of the weapon (making any potential pvp ganking targets aware of me BEFORE I can unlease said uber move)
-then press UL UL UL UR M M M attack, or 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 to get it off. Sometimes pressing the buttons too fast cancels out the combo (but I still have to wait for the combo to recharge) and sometimes the "combo" window that shows the arrow buttons comes up after I've already jammed half the buttons

hardly dynamic...not to mention that every few levels the combo buttons mashing orders totally change for the next tier versions of the EXACT SAME combo

sorry, I play PC MMOs because i hate the stupid buttonmashing of consoles

and to boot, I can't even access the forums with my correct login info to complain properly


----------



## Azazel (May 28, 2008)

erocker said:


> What is the buddy system?  One thing that should be implemented:  If you are the group leader in a group, you should have the power to teleport any group member to yourself (in non-combat situations).  I hope this is a part of the "buddy system".
> 
> 
> 
> ...



buddy system is basically a trial key. which will give your friends acess to the game for a limited period of time


----------



## echo75 (May 28, 2008)

erocker said:


> What is the buddy system?  One thing that should be implemented:  If you are the group leader in a group, you should have the power to teleport any group member to yourself (in non-combat situations).  I hope this is a part of the "buddy system".
> .



hehe, that sounds familier    thats Warlock summons in World of warcraft.


----------



## mrw1986 (May 28, 2008)

I have problems accessing their forums as well...sort of frustrating, good game otherwise


----------



## Azazel (May 28, 2008)

did you create a forum user name and password. cos you have to make one. its not the same as your game user name and password


----------



## vampyres (May 28, 2008)

More giggling, so sexist comments that elicit response are proof of your original position of implying that somehow housewives alone are desperate if they are gamers? What? Am I supposed to watch soap operas, and quilt like a good little housewife? Perhaps you could stereotype my gender and marital status some more. Want to make hasty generalizations about a gender etc. expect response dearie. 

I hate to inform you of this, but Transsexuals, housewives, females, gays, teenagers, all play video games for there own reasons, and often those reasons are the same as the ones you have for playing the same video games. Actually the base reason is normally the same, we like “shocked look” gaming. 

And I am going to cry, /wipes away a tear, you tried to insult my wifely skills.   Now you have chuckles and caustic sarcasm. 




newconroer said:


> The fact that it made you felt the need to tell us _otherwise_, pretty much solidifies my point ; oh and the 'giggle' too
> 
> Nice resume; I'm sure it's helped make you a wonderful spouse.
> 
> ...


----------



## newconroer (May 30, 2008)

vampyres said:


> More giggling, so sexist comments that elicit response are proof of your original position of implying that somehow housewives alone are desperate if they are gamers? What? Am I supposed to watch soap operas, and quilt like a good little housewife? Perhaps you could stereotype my gender and marital status some more. Want to make hasty generalizations about a gender etc. expect response dearie.
> 
> I hate to inform you of this, but Transsexuals, housewives, females, gays, teenagers, all play video games for there own reasons, and often those reasons are the same as the ones you have for playing the same video games. Actually the base reason is normally the same, we like “shocked look” gaming.
> 
> And I am going to cry, /wipes away a tear, you tried to insult my wifely skills.   Now you have chuckles and caustic sarcasm.




See that door there..? It leads outside. Do you know what's outside? Have you almost forgotten? 

Despite your apparent dislike of me, you should trust me on this. 

GO OUTSIDE, I PROMISE, IT'S "OP!"
===============================


I'm still running into the late loading texture issue. Seems it's inevitable at higher resolutions.
I've determined that increasing the system memory texture cache is a bad idea. You may gain a slight FPS increase, but I cannot stand late loading textures so..I'll sacrifice if need be.

Other than that...not sure what else can be done. Looks like it's down to the new video cards to make the difference.


----------



## a111087 (May 31, 2008)

guys and girls, relax, no need to show your different opinions, we all have them....


back to the topic:
I don't really have late loadings, but the NUMBER ONE thing that you must do is turn off particles at all.  yes, it will impact the gameplay significantly, but it is such FPS booster


----------



## TUngsten (May 31, 2008)

weird, I have an 8800gt, every setting maxxed and I get 50-60 fps pretty much everywhere

I just went back to playing a bit last night after a few days off...the buttonmashing isn't so bad for PvE but I think it's a pretty crummy PvP game


----------



## a111087 (May 31, 2008)

TUngsten said:


> I just went back to playing a bit last night after a few days off...the buttonmashing isn't so bad for PvE but I think it's a pretty crummy PvP game



yeah, they were saying it a while ago that pvp still needs work


----------



## TUngsten (May 31, 2008)

Yeah I think the pvp system (as far as server-wide PvP goes) is crap. Dunno what they can do about it though, as the core mechanic of the combat system is what makes it so terrible.


----------



## mrw1986 (May 31, 2008)

I haven't gotten into PvP yet, been playing PvE and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!


----------



## vampyres (May 31, 2008)

More assumptions and more , I garden, camp, fish, hike, build things including the house I live in, operate heavy equipment, jet ski, boat, Off road. Nope haven't forgotten the outside  Actually I am rather fond of it outside  And no, I don't hate you or even dislike you, I unlike you don't assume to know you. I just know what you're saying and its A. not true, and B. Generally annoying. 



newconroer said:


> See that door there..? It leads outside. Do you know what's outside? Have you almost forgotten?
> 
> Despite your apparent dislike of me, you should trust me on this.
> 
> ...


----------



## Creatre (May 31, 2008)

Got the game a few days ago and I've hardly stopped playing!


----------



## newconroer (Jun 2, 2008)

TUngsten said:


> Yeah I think the pvp system (as far as server-wide PvP goes) is crap. Dunno what they can do about it though, as the core mechanic of the combat system is what makes it so terrible.



Indeed a core mechanic. Unfortunatley core mechanics rarely get changed, or at least rebuilt. If you consider the only safe place for developers to do such things, would be on test servers.
They'd be putting probably 50% resources into redoing the mechanics, of which first started with 50% resources having to either strip the application down, or start again. Effectively you're damn near starting a whole new project.
Whether they'd be interested or not, economics and deadlines dictate otherwise.

AOC is what it is, and for the most part will stay that way until it fades away one day.


Putting that aside, I wanted to comment some more regarding video settings (these can be found now edited into the old information posted on page 10 of this thread).


It seems that(and this is confirmed elsewhere) the preset settings labeled 'low' 'medium' 'high,' have inherent/built in features/code that are not listed and/or adjustable to the end user. These settings, at this point, can hinder more than help. Reports are coming in from many places, that simply setting your preset to 'high,' and then making advanced adjustments will offer better performance and naturally better visuals than a 'low' or 'medium' setting.


I also wanted to touch back on my recommend visual setup several pages back.

I finally was able to get my brain in gear and sort out why 'low quality visual' slider never seemed to make a difference when adjusted. The purpose that feature is to render unshaded, low res long range textures, when and ONLY when your view distance range (from the basic video options) is turned low. The purpose of this is allow people who cannot afford (performance wise) to run really high view distance, yet still get some long range textures.

Basically it's the equivilant of having long range view distance with normal rendering, except beyond the set view distance, you see the low quality rendering. It's easy to test. Just turn your view distance down low, and the low quality slider up.

For those that run a long or high view distance setting, you can put the low quality visuals to 0, as they'll never display.

I haven't sorted out how to force or stop some really long range textures from only rendering when the focus or angle of your view is turned. I.e. you look straight ahead, no texture in the distance, turn your camera slightly and it renders. I forget what that's officially called, but it's bloody archaeic programming at this point. However, if you have your view distance on 3500, take it down quite a bit. It seems 3500 causes some anomalies and does not render the distances it should. I actually see more at less value(s). And on most outdoor maps, 2500 might be more than enough.

To take this a bit further - there's two schools of thought here.

A) If you're the type of person that does not like seeing long distance rendering when you turn the camera(as mentioned above), then you need to lower the view distance until no more rendering occurs when changing your view angle(turning etc.) When doing this you want to have the low res quality slider in advanced options at 0, and to find a particular specific distance on the view distance slider where what you see is what you get. If you lower it, but it's still too high, you'll get rendering, and worse, it will be in very low quality, where you'll get lots of 'fog' or particularly green mountains that are an eye sore. 

B) You set your view distance as high as you wish (but not too high, to avoid anomalies) and suffer the unavoidable rendering when changing your view angle.

The former allows you to not have to see the rendering in real time, and also can increase framerate. The latter ensures that you'll always get whatever the game will give you, but also possibly suffer a performance hit as well as potential anomalies.


High quality density slider seems absolutley ineffective after 60-70% for most people, and in some cases I didn't notice any difference between 0 and 100%. It's as if it does nothing...except, make things like trees render clearer or more 'fine' at a longer range.

Particles apparently also effect more than just spells. If you stand at a high elevation and change the setting, you may find that you see things like campfires, smoke, dust etc. from a longer range. Adjust this at your own discretion.

NPC high quality range seems to revert back to max often without you making any adjustments. It also doesn't seem to have any relevance on when or where the high res body/armor textures load.

Likewise, having little effect, is the NPC view distance. You can set it to max, and NPCs still 'pop-up' quite close to you; however if too low, you will notice a lack of NPCs in outdoor areas. A setting of 200m is probably more than enough.


Parallex mapping does make a visual difference, if you can afford to do so, use it.

The coding blunder surrounding anti-aliasing, may not be much of a blunder, but rather that the GPU is getting taxed at an approprate ratio to that of the CPU. For most 8800 generation cards, a setting of 16x may make no performance difference compared to that of 4x. However 8q or 16q overlay will create some performance degredation. Some users have reported better FPS using 8x over 4x and etc.

Anisotropic filtering is indeed noticeably the best. However after a setting of four, a difference can no longer be seen; at least on later model GPUs.

Using medium resolution shadows and a 3d occlusion setting of 'low,' can result in a few FPS gain, with visually no difference when using SM 3.0

Late loading textures happens more often in cities. It's hard to determine whether this is a by design fail safe, to take stress off the hardware, or a coding issue. However, the fact that alt-tabbing serves as a work-around, suggests the latter.


You can adjust settings via the prefs_2.xml found in your Age of Conan settings folder, though 99% of the visual code there, is the same as what is offered in the game menus.
Sometimes when zoning, settings can get changed without you being aware. This is a known and reported bug. You can set the file to 'read only' to help ensure this does not happen, or after a patch/update. Yet a few of the setting will revert/change regardless.





vampyres said:


> More assumptions and more , I garden, camp, fish, hike, build things including the house I live in, operate heavy equipment, jet ski, boat, Off road. Nope haven't forgotten the outside  Actually I am rather fond of it outside  And no, I don't hate you or even dislike you, I unlike you don't assume to know you. I just know what you're saying and its A. not true, and B. Generally annoying.




Your still here..'defending' yourself...you've long past proven my point. Now you're just becoming a spectacle.


----------



## TUngsten (Jun 3, 2008)

The oddest thing I've noted graphicallyis that if I change the "gamma" setting in any way the game stutters and becomes virtually unplayable. Might be just my system, I have no idea. 

Gamma 0% and everything runs pretty well 50-60 fps
Gamma 1%-100% fps drops to 8-12


----------



## a111087 (Jun 3, 2008)

TUngsten said:


> The oddest thing I've noted graphicallyis that if I change the "gamma" setting in any way the game stutters and becomes virtually unplayable. Might be just my system, I have no idea.
> 
> Gamma 0% and everything runs pretty well 50-60 fps
> Gamma 1%-100% fps drops to 8-12



heh, i adjusted gamma, so i will need to check t out
thx


----------



## Duxx (Jun 3, 2008)

What do you guys think of the new workings they posted this morning.  Re-doing the way FFA pvp is (cant blame them).  More quests for 30's and 50's (doesnt help me now that im 60 )  But nice none the less.  Increase end game fixing bugs more Customer service, etc etc.  I am very excited to see these things come into effect.  Yes they promised a lot at start, but who doesn't.  Nothing ever works out perfectly and as long as they are listening to feedback and adapting the game around the players, im all for it and will continue to play.


----------



## a111087 (Jun 4, 2008)

Well, I'm glad that they are working 
I don't have as much free time as i thought I would ... so, i'm level 44 right now


----------



## TUngsten (Jun 4, 2008)

I've been lvl28 for some time now, don't really have a motivation to level when I look at my questlog and it's all "bring this here, bring that there" and "kill X and return" missions...

I had really high hopes for different core game mechanics than W0W redux.
Funcom did some really great stuff with Anarchy Online. While they slowly lost the initial concept of wide-scale factional PvP, they were always trying to reinvent the game with unique content, some that worked and some that didn't. But love it or not, if you've played it you'd know that there was nothing else like it.


----------



## Azazel (Jun 4, 2008)

its an mmo  its eithar that or grind


----------



## a111087 (Jun 4, 2008)

TUngsten said:


> I've been lvl28 for some time now, don't really have a motivation to level when I look at my questlog and it's all "bring this here, bring that there" and "kill X and return" missions...



ok, i was thinking about it too, but what would you propose? a puzzle quest?


----------



## NinkobEi (Jun 5, 2008)

a111087 said:


> ok, i was thinking about it too, but what would you propose? a puzzle quest?



a puzzle quest would be awesome. like in the original KotOR game, having to solve the little mysteries on the desert planet with the temples. that was fun! or like on Dig (old game you probably dont know it) having to find the pattern in objects to progress to the next part. even sometihng as silly as a "Simon says" puzzle that requires you to remember the color pattern.


----------



## a111087 (Jun 5, 2008)

the problem is that i don't know about any mmo game with quests like that in development or released


----------



## NinkobEi (Jun 5, 2008)

a111087 said:


> the problem is that i don't know about any mmo game with quests like that in development or released



it will probably be in the next generation of mmos, when the majority of players get tired of the usual type of quests.


----------



## TUngsten (Jun 5, 2008)

The Tortage "Destiny" solo questline thru lvl20 was fun if not a bit drawn out, and a good start. I can hope that they implement more of this kind of thing in the future.

There's no doubt that the scenery is amazing, and all the design is brilliant. 

The problem is the *content* - there's no new content in AoC whatsoever, and what's there is basically a somewhat buggy replica of the W0W formula. The instances so far are funky and awkward and sorta buggy, and the loot (arguably the most universal of MMO desires) sucks so far. 

As far as the idea that "its an mmo  its eithar that or grind"
EVE Online is a game that operates on a very different paradigm. Lots of the "content" is generated by players and their real interactions, piracy is part of the game, and mission content comes in lots of different varieties. The industrial (crafting) aspect is incredibly deep, etc. Incredibly steep learning curve compared to the usual MMO suspects.

I always point back to Funcom's first MMO, Anarchy Online as well. Initially it had virtually no quests at all, a really deep character/skill system which made for tons of non-cookiecutter variation between classes, and lots of fun gems to discover throughout the world. I remember that one of the most lethal PvP classes at one point was a Doctor (healer) with skills in rifle/aimed shot, which initially was a totally non-optimal looking direction to go in. What was initially a faction PvP concept sort of lost emphasis as static content in the form of some instances and bosscamp things were introduced, as well as some really tricky and convoluted quests that took lots of time to figure out. Challenging game to play. Once there was a really grind-tastic feel to it, I left with sadness 

I might try AoC again in a few months or a year, but I'm canceling my sub for now. I don't want to grind mobs or run the same


----------



## Duxx (Jul 11, 2008)

Anybody still playing AoC?


----------



## NinkobEi (Jul 12, 2008)

so, is this game worth getting? I'm debating whether I should reactivate my WOW account..


----------



## Ketxxx (Jul 12, 2008)

Azazel... seriously, who is that chick in your AV pic? Shes hot


----------



## a111087 (Jul 12, 2008)

Ketxxx said:


> Azazel... seriously, who is that chick in your AV pic? Shes hot



its some porn star...

I didn't play AOC since the play time expired (more than a month ago, probably a lot have changed, so take my comments with a bit of salt)... the game is empty, especially if you are high level... yes, they are working on adding new stuff, but is it worth buying right now? probably not.  wait a little then it might be a better value for your $$$


----------



## a111087 (Jul 12, 2008)

if some one wants my account with ~46lvl Barbarian with ALL TREE SPEACIAL ITEMS (mamoth, bag, and a cape),  then it is for sale


----------



## NinkobEi (Jul 12, 2008)

a111087 said:


> if some one wants my account with ~46lvl Barbarian with ALL TREE SPEACIAL ITEMS (mamoth, bag, and a cape),  then it is for sale



edit: lol, if its cheaper than what I would pay for the boxxed game then sure


----------



## a111087 (Jul 12, 2008)

No deal!


----------



## trt740 (Jul 13, 2008)

well hows this game after a month is it still as good as everyone thought?


----------



## a111087 (Jul 13, 2008)

I would say go and look at their official forums. my brother likes to read angry posts complaining about how unoptimized the game is, memory leaks, bugged quests, general bugs, and so on...


----------



## trt740 (Jul 13, 2008)

a111087 said:


> I would say go and look at their official forums. my brother likes to read angry posts complaining about how unoptimized the game is, memory leaks, bugged quests, general bugs, and so on...



I figure since i'm on a thread with over 340+ post I could ask right here?


----------



## a111087 (Jul 13, 2008)

lol, i didn't mean "go away".  I just see that this thread was largely abandoned


----------



## NinkobEi (Jul 13, 2008)

do they allow non-account holders to view the forums? I tried to check on them during beta and it wouldnt let me.


----------



## a111087 (Jul 13, 2008)

well, they were saying that they will try to establish everything for paying people first


----------

