Svein Erik "Sharum" Jenset, Game Designer of Age of Conan Gold recently posted an update on Mounts and Mounted Combat. He share with us what many of their meetings and discussions have come up with. Some changes to mounts has already gone live in recent patches, but there's more to planned, says Svein Erik "Sharum" Jenset.
Below he answers the top five questions/concerns regarding mounts and mounted combat.
A) If you've started mounting up you loose all control over your character until you're done
We're currently looking into changing this so that moving will cancel the process of mounting up.
B) Mounts and their abilities generally do too low damage
First of all, allow me to clarify that the damage you do when mounted on a Siege Mount such as the Killer Rhino or War Mammoth is intentionally low when fighting against other players or PvE monsters. The main component of the damage these mounts dish out is "siege damage" and players/PvE monsters are naturally resistant to such damage when compared to "normal damage".
When it comes to the damage you inflict while mounted on a Horse, and without going into specifics, I can promise you that it is currently being investigated and re-evaluated by our System Designers. When they are done, and based on their findings, the necessary adjustments will be made to ensure that we feel these abilities and attacks deal the appropriate amount of damage.
C) Whenever you talk to a NPC you're automatically dismounted
Let me start of by saying ‘Yes, I understand why you might find this as cumbersome' and ‘Yes, we're currently looking into whether or not we can change this'. However, while changing this might seem like a small thing, there's a lot of technology involved with regards to our dynamic camera placing during NPC interaction that needs to be checked and, in some cases, tweaked for this to work. I cannot guarantee when this change will happen, or if it even will take place, but we are looking into improving the current solution and making it so that you don't have to re-mount every time you're done speaking to an NPC.
D) I'm unable to cast any kind of spells while mounted
This report caught me a little by surprise when I first saw it as mounted spell-casting is one of those things that worked "straight out of the box" when we first implemented it. Rest assured that tracking down whatever bug that is currently preventing casters from working their magic while mounted is something we take very seriously and hope to have addressed sooner rather than later.
E) Dismounting takes too long
One of the hottest topics on these boards recently has been how long it takes to dismount, and how easily it is to get killed if dismounting while in combat. While this is true to our design, where mounted combat has a lot to do with gaining extra mobility at the cost of certain other factors, we take the feedback we receive very seriously and have mapped out a solution that we hope players will feel go a long way towards remedying this issue. As it currently is every character that is a member of the Rogue archetype have access to a Quick Dismount ability.
Now, before you all de-rail right here by saying ‘But that ability doesn't work' let me just jump in and say that ‘We're on top of it, we're fixing it'. However, to get back on track, we're going to give said ability out to every character regardless of his or her archetype. You will still have to stand still in order to use it, it still won't be a instant "poof" off your mount and it will have a cooldown to it; but we're taking this step in the hopes of making players feel less "doomed" because they want to dismount while engaged in combat.
To keep with the original design where members of the Rogue archetype, due to their naturally higher dexterity (and I use the word as a adjective here, not as a reference to the in-game stat), would be more nimble and able to quickly dismount we're revamping their version of the Quick Dismount ability and allowing them to use it while moving. I'm not going to go into further details about this revamp for the time being as, during the process of testing and balancing, many of the finer details might change.
I'm going to cut my post off here, but before I go I would also like to point out that these are but the most immediate changes we have planned to this part of our game. There will be many more updates to come, and we will of course take your feedback into careful consideration before fleshing out and implementing these updates. Stay tuned for future updates in this thread as soon as I have more concrete information to share!
By Crom! The PC version of Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (the Xbox 360 version is in the works) has dethroned Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) from the sales list in both Germany and Sweden.
While Rockstar's record breaking video game may have slipped from the top slot, no other video game on the market could deny it the second slot on the list in the aforementioned regions.
The demand for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures has apparently been much stronger than Funcom expected with the company reporting that it hasn't been able to fulfil all of the pre-orders for the game yet.
However, despite the strong showing of both GTA4 and AoC, both titles failed to reach the top slot in Spain. The honors went to Nintendo's Wii Play, a game that has been on the best selling charts ever since it came out way back in December.
We have got a list of Age of Conan patch changes on 27th May.
Here's another Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures patch update for you. Funcom's newest patch brings trading and banking into the game, as well as some fixes for some pesky problems.
Below is the changelog for this latest patch:
General
Traders and Banks are now available again Fixed some server and client crashes Invite to groups is no longer case sensitive
GUI
Added Character Right Click Menu to the Chat
Fire up those game clients and get to updating, alright? We'll bring you more updates on Age of Conan as they happen, so don't forget to check back here for more.
Check Age of Conan Gold, Gmbar fix the best price for our valued customers.
Funcom and PayByCash.com have announced a non credit card subscription payment model for potential Age of Conanplayers. Here's the official word:
Claim Your Age of Conan Adventure Using the Coin of Your Realm
Charlottesville, VA (May 27, 2008) - PayByCash®, a division of Internet Payment Solutions, Inc., will provide non-credit card payment services for Funcom's much anticipated, award winning Age of Conan massively multiplayer online game for PC. With the support of PayByCash, Funcom can offer Age of Conan subscribers throughout the world access to premium content through more than 70 payment methods not requiring a credit card.
"Funcom is pleased to expand its relationship with PayByCash. Their product and support services integrate seamlessly into the Age of Conan website, allowing us to tap into a vast customer base that chooses not to use credit cards," said Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. "We are incredibly proud of the Age of Conan game and can't wait to see players experience the amazing adventures we have created."
Added Kevin Higgins, CEO of PayByCash, "We are excited to be a part of the Age of Conan release. We have seen the excitement generated by the million beta subscribers and phenomenally successful early access programs. We know that PayByCash increases the ability of Funcom to reach more premium subscribers worldwide through our partnership. Our business has a global reach, allowing players from every region of the world reliable access to Age of Conan's premium content, using the payment method of their choice."
About PayByCash®
PayByCash, a division of Internet Payment Solutions, Inc., has been empowering non-credit card customers and the Internet businesses that want to reach them since 1998. PayByCash serves merchants who understand the importance of allowing any customer anywhere in the world to use the payment method they prefer, in their own currency, to buy digital goods and services online..
PayByCash® offers more than 70 payment methods with a global reach, typically with no transaction fee to the merchant. Most payment methods are not reversible. One straightforward integration gives merchants all the PayByCash payment options. PayByCash handles all foreign currency acceptance and alternate payment option support. For more information about PayByCash, visit www.paybycash.com/merchant/index.php .
Cool beans for people squeamish about using a credit card online. (AGE OF CONAN GOLD IS AVAILABLE NOW!)
According to a press notice released today, Age of Conan has already scored 400,000 subscribers and lays claim to "one of the best selling PC games of all time":
Age of Conan one of the fastest selling PC games of all time
Over 400,000 gamers have entered game - First 20 reviews with an average review score above 90%. Durham, USA - May 26th, 2008 - Funcom is proud to announce that Age of Conan is one of the fastest selling PC games of all time. More than 400.000 gamers have entered Hyboria over the last few days, with almost half coming from the North American market. This amazing figure for a PC game shows that the positive pre-order trend has transferred into actual sales, and people from all over the world are now flocking to the most savage, sexy and brutal MMO ever created.
Over the weekend an astounding amount of concurrent gamers were logged on to the game, making Age of Conan one of the busiest MMOs in the western hemisphere. With stock flying out of several retail chains, Funcom expects the number to increase in the days to come. In addition to the many gamers logging in, there was also substantial traffic to the Age of Conan websites, with more than 2,2 million unique visitors during the last ten days.
As a result of the great launch, players and press have been raving about the unique qualities of the game, and the first 20 reviews give Age of Conan an average score above 90%. The first US reviews are also live, with Gamezone.com giving the game an Editor's Choice Award, a 9.4 of 10 score, while heralding Age of Conan as a "Benchmark MMO". Sci-Fi.com was also an early mover and gave the game a straight A, stating that "If Robert E. Howard had been a game designer.., this is the Conan he would have invented."
"The initial sales and reviews are very encouraging, and it's great to see that so many are enjoying Age of Conan," said Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. "This is just the beginning, and we already look forward to massive updates and cool new features. We believe our focus on making Conan unique and groundbreaking is a key reason for the initial success. This is a focus we will keep and reinforce, and players can expect continued quality and innovation as we enter a new era for the game."
