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Crom! Grant us a good game! And if you donˇ®t listen, the HELL with you!
By Dan Adams
April 20, 2005 - Our dear Governator out here in California once strode the land of Hyboria crushing the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and James Earl Jones with a single stroke of his mighty two handed sword. More importantly, the burly barbarian had a hot little Olivia Dˇ®Abo looking to jump all up his stuff. If thatˇ®s not something to emulate, I donˇ®t know what is. While Arnie certainly popularized Conan beyond its previous appeal with the release of the movies, the actual fiction had been around for quite some time. In fact, Conan has been decapitating and eviscerating his enemies for around 70 years now. Thatˇ®s a pretty long career for a guy that started out as a wheel pushing slave. A new Conan movie, more comics, novels, anime, and McFarlane toys are all in the works, but most importantly to all of us game fans is the imminent arrival of the new Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. This single player/online hybrid has a whole lot of promise. After getting a chance to hear more about the game, itˇ®s hard not to whistfully dream of running around Hyboria covered in nothing but a loincloth and blood. This is Conan after all.
First things first. You will not be able to play as Conan. Seems simple enough, right? As an online game everybody would want the honor of becoming the prime barbarian, but heˇ®s too busy being king of Aquilonia during the time period the game takes place. Itˇ®s possible to visit and see the mighty one, in fact itˇ®s a goal, but players will have to carve their own destiny and fortune out of this unforgiving landscape.
The opportunity to start fresh is particularly interesting as Funcom is presenting this title as the "ultimate representation of the Conan universe" including everything from all of the fiction surrounding the character. Gods, mythical creatures, Atlanteans... you name it, you got it. Those that have a large knowledge base will have a great time exploring and finding reference to Conanˇ®s deeds and even go through some of them. Players unfamiliar will undoubtedly have fun simply exploring a rich and vibrant world. I myself am not familiar with the Conan fiction beyond a couple of books and thousands of hours watching the movies on video and TNT, but if the screens are any indication of what the final product will be like, itˇ®ll be a hell of an adventure.
There are a few really cool features about Conan that Iˇ®m particularly interested in that potentially set it apart from the typical online RPG. The first is that the game will actually begin as a single player experience. Up until around level 20 when the single player experience ends and characters enter into the larger world of Hyboria, they will follow a deep storyline that gives them purpose as a singular character and being. This isnˇ®t just a simple tutorial add-on to the multiplayer game.
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Players begin as a slave, working and fighting their way to freedom in one of three regions. All characters start out classless (without a class, not without class) and penniless. At level five after adventuring for a while to get used to all controls including the real-time combat system (which will get more into in a second), players will have the opportunity to pick a basic class like warrior, mage, priest, and rogue and start learning specialized skills. When players reach level 20, which will mark the unlocking of the greater world of Hyboria, theyˇ®ll have the chance to specialize farther in their chosen profession. Even later at level 40, more branches will be available to increase specialization and character differentiation.
Funcom wants players to get into the game with single player to really get in touch with their characters. They want players to explore the world with untainted eyes and learn the game mechanics in order to develop a much greater connection to the character without having to compete with other players. But while players wonˇ®t be able to wander the world with everyone involved until the single players story is finished, they will be able to group with other players before that time in smaller groups at certain times. This is definitely something we need to learn more about before being able to fully explain how integration with single and multiplayer works, something we can hopefully get answered at E3.
After completing the single player, players will get to join the online portion of the game. This isnˇ®t something necessary, Funcom has specifically designed the game so that players can feel content without having to play online, but judging by the features list Funcom lists off for online content, itˇ®ll probably be pretty hard to resist.
The main draw is the combat system, which will have several levels of play. The most immediate level of play include the personal things such as chopping off limbs and heads. There are no punches pulled with Age of Conan. This will be an M rated title that truly deserves the mark of maturity. The team is making a huge effort to bring the dark and violent world to life and that means a healthy helping of hemoglobin splattered across the landscape.
In order to facilitate that kind of violence, Funcom is introducing their Real Combat engine, a new "multi-point melee system" that will allow players to freely swing their weapons in different directions. Want to target an arm? Feel free. Go for the leg chop? The crutch industry will boom. Aim high? Heads will roll. Six different points can be targeted in total. All of this happens in real-time bringing a freedom to melee combat in an online arena that simply hasnˇ®t been seen up to this point. How well it works in practice is yet to be seen, but weˇ®re already sharpening our axes waiting to test it out.
Obviously magic is a fairly large consideration for the world as well. Along with the brutal combat style, Funcom is hoping to develop a magic style that is set in realism, making it more mystical and frighteningly dark than the cartoony style seen in many MMOs.
Those looking for a more team oriented experience will also have a lot to look forward to. Organized groups of players will, for the first time, be able to create formations that bring bonuses to combat. This should allow for commands to be given to both NPCs and real players to create some serious battles. Of course, formations may bring some restrictions to players using them allowing for a smaller range of movement. This isnˇ®t something that has been fully decided yet, but a smart consideration. These formations will also work for cavalry... which is even more exciting to thing about.
Once used to formations, guilds may decide to lay siege to their neighbors in a friendly game of "we hate you" that ends in tears and death. Players will be able to create cities (set locations which are more along the lines of how bases were created in Battle for Middle-earth) that can be defended and assaulted. For launch, city assaults will be relegated to AI however. While PvP is most certainly a big portion of the game, castle combat wonˇ®t be in right away.
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Because of the real-time combat, and especially AI driven attacks against player towns, that artificial intelligence will be an integral role in creating an enjoyable and challenging experience in both single and multiplayer portions of the game. Theyˇ®re hoping for a level of realism that surprises players including features group tactics. AI monsters should have different attack approaches depending on their strength and numbers. Outnumbered enemies might stay away or advance cautiously while others may simply up and attack.
Along with all of these intriguing features are a slew of auditory (7.1 surround) and graphical delights. You can take a look at the screens for yourself as theyˇ®re pretty amazing. As with the rest of the experience, Funcom isnˇ®t pandering to the faint of heart. DirectX 9 or higher will be required to play the game, meaning those looking for the full experience are going to need some pretty decent machines.
Adding to the realism of the world are character emotions. Players will be able to emote more profoundly with faces that can actually show emotion without having to type it out in the chat window. If they manage to include lip synching for voice over IP (something that is only in consideration right now) player characters could be something special.
The Funcom guys list games like Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and their own The Longest Journey as influences for Age of Conan, none of which are bad choices. If they can pull off the story telling elements from these games and really pull off a detailed and brutal combat system, it could usher in a new age of fantasy online games. With over 60 people, most of whom are Anarchy Online and The Longest Journey veterans, working on the game full time now for 18 months, a lot has been accomplished. Itˇ®s also easy to see that this is a pretty complex game. As of now, itˇ®s scheduled for release sometime next year. Hopefully weˇ®ll have more to write about the game soon and something to see at E3 that gives us a better glimpse into the potential of Funcomˇ®s next big thing.
Source: http://pc.ign.com/articles/606/606369p2.html |
