pc
Age of Conan Is Priced In Gold
Posted by Mark Wilson at 2:40 AM on April 24, 2008
In a Funcom investor briefing, the company has spilled the pricing strategy for their MMO Age of Conan. United States gamers will pay $US59.99 for the game and $US14.99/month for the subscription. (Meanwhile, European gamers will pay 49.99 Euro and 12.99 Euro/month.) A quick skim through the briefing reveals some other interesting factoids, like that the game has already gone gold, Funcom expects 500,000-600,000 active subscribers at launch and internal surveys show that a "large proportion" of beta testers would like to buy it. Anyone out there considering cheating on their WoW account?
AoC Briefing [TenTonHammer via Maxconsole]

Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
Spicicles
Posted April 24, 2008 9:22 AM
Anyone know the Australian monthly subs rate is?
Interestingly with todays exchange rate makes the price of this in Australia $US 85.27! If I order it from the US and pay US$20 courier fees it works out to A$73.80 (the RRP is $90) plus I get all the preorder bonuses they don't offer in Australia.
Schoolimangooli
Posted 3:53 AM 24/4/08
I thought it was gonna be 50 bucks.
Schoolimangooli
aveneyer
Posted 3:50 AM 24/4/08
@Tiber: WoW hardly started the $40 expansion, $15 a month trend. That's is my beef with WoW: Not the game, but the fact that every bizz-kiddie that plays it thinks that every game before it and after it stole from it. Try Everquest at $15 a month, with 15 expansions under it's belt.
As far as the AoC PVP: Have you ever played an MMO that made you Re-Zone every time you died? That's right, so even on a monster rig, if the other team is spawn camping, you were dead before you could even control your character. Also, you have to zone into the pvp area, and then zone again when the game started... yes its beta, but that's pretty unacceptable.
aveneyer
Lemming
Posted 3:48 AM 24/4/08
@yodablues: "DX10 is years from being properly used anyway, just like we are only starting to see good DX9 and 8 games (CoD4/MoH: Airborne).
Don't talk rubbish.
Lemming
unmarkedone
Posted 3:43 AM 24/4/08
$60 for a PC game? I'd pay that for a big release like Fallout 3 or Deus Ex 3, but for a game like Conan that looks like shit to begin with?
Who do these guys think they are, trying to sell it at that price AND compete with WoW? I see this game going nowhere fast.
unmarkedone
Tiber
Posted 3:40 AM 24/4/08
Ever since WoW, developers think they can get away with making you pay for a game and add high monthly fees on top of that. I'll stick to my policy that any more than $10 a month is extortion.
Tiber
aveneyer
Posted 3:40 AM 24/4/08
Open beta begins on May 1st, with 50,000 invites being sent, and re-inviting anyone who took place in the tech or pvp weekend beta phases. The grind isn't too bad, the PVP weekend was a complete disaster (with a reported 21% of invites actually logging into game, because no one could get the client downloaded in time)... I wish for nothing more than a WoW killer, even a temporary one, but this isn't it.
aveneyer
Snake726
Posted 3:36 AM 24/4/08
After the PVP weekend, WoW is going out the door.
Snake726
J449
Posted 3:36 AM 24/4/08
Will be involved with GTA 4. Plus hearing that it still needs a lot of work.
I pass.
J449
Obiter
Posted 3:35 AM 24/4/08
Of all the reasons not to buy Conan cited above, no one has named the most obvious: that every cyber-sexer who has ever directed their air-brushed gaze longingly at a Boris Vallejo calendar is going to make this game the dirtiest red-light corner of the internet since Second Life. By the thousands.
[hebuss.free.fr]
Obiter
Sir_Crocidile
Posted 3:34 AM 24/4/08
Hmmmm. . .The game looks like it will be a lot of fun, but if there is no trial then I'm not going to buy it blindly.
Sir_Crocidile
KittenKiller
Posted 3:33 AM 24/4/08
@karasu is my homeboy: My computer costs more than your 360 by 3. I think I've already paid my price of admission.
$60 for a PC game? Give me a break.
KK
KittenKiller
Ra on the A-Team
Posted 3:31 AM 24/4/08
I think im going to pass on this one. The next MMO i am exited for is Star Trek Online.
Ra on the A-Team
Shocky
Posted 3:31 AM 24/4/08
I already paid 50 bucks for it! Sucks for you guys who waited!
DOWN WITH WORLD OF SNORECRAFT,
AND WORLD OF WARCRAFT 2.0 (WARHAMMER!)
AGE OF CONAN FOREVER!!
WHO'S WITH ME MY BRETHREN!?
Shocky
arras
Posted 3:31 AM 24/4/08
@The Jerk:
It's too late for the black hole that was once my soul. But I cannot lie, it just wasn't that good.
arras
H8ff0000
Posted 3:28 AM 24/4/08
To everyone that mentioned the 360 version, its not coming out until 'some time 2009'.
H8ff0000
demonknightinuyasha
Posted 3:27 AM 24/4/08
i was interested in this for a while but eventually decided to give up on it. i got to try the combat last year at gencon and it was alright but its basically just skill mashing. i dunno. that was back in august so im sure its come along since then but at this point i have my warhammer collectors edition preordered and am waiting for that. plenty of other games to finish in the meantime.
demonknightinuyasha
Balius
Posted 3:27 AM 24/4/08
@drakino: Any online subscription based service makes money by getting a large number of subscribers to continue paying for what amounts to minimal investment from the company. i.e. the monthly fees should be driving this game.
The high initial cost is more typical of a game trying to recoup its losses based on software sales alone. Either a game without any (or with negligible) online component, or a game that won't be meeting the necessary number of monthly subscriptions to recoup losses if the software sales are low.
Hence my caution. That high buy in fee indicates, to me, either low faith in their product holding out in the long-run or substantial financial trouble for the company. Neither bodes well.
Of course, it could be simply greed, and exploitation of a market willing to shell out more.
Balius
karasu is my homeboy
Posted 3:27 AM 24/4/08
I love the fact that it costs $60. I'm sick of 360 and PC games costing more on 360.
So, I guess we can expect it to be $15/month for the 360 version as well. Not really suprised, though you're always hoping for the $10.
karasu is my homeboy
H8ff0000
Posted 3:26 AM 24/4/08
@Heyyou27: Will it fail in comparison? Yes. Will it fail? No. Veterans of many MMOs have made some bold statements, saying they felt this was the most fun MMO they have ever played. And that was during the EARLY beta. On paper, the Player-Created-City and Battlekeep madness sounds extremely fun, but hold out for a beta to try it yourself.
H8ff0000
The Jerk
Posted 3:24 AM 24/4/08
@arras: That's a travesty, there are thousands of gamers out there that would have loved that account. May God have mercy on your forsaken soul.
The Jerk
The Jerk
Posted 3:23 AM 24/4/08
@Tarmac: That's a bit of a push to compare Non-DX10 AoC to DAoC or UO, all that says is that you'll be playing it for the graphics.
Perhaps i'm too oldschool of a gamer for this new generation of "Function Follows Form"; I'm in it for the gameplay.
The Jerk
KittenKiller
Posted 3:22 AM 24/4/08
@drakino: I don't care what currency they are using. If this comes out at $60, I will purposely wait to get the game for 6+ months. I do NOT want to support raising PC games to the $60 pricing point.
And they think piracy is bad now... (yes, I realize you can't play Conan w/o a subscription, but man other games are not created that way.)
Ugh!
KK
KittenKiller
arras
Posted 3:21 AM 24/4/08
if I get into the fileplanet beta, I'll give it a shot and see how I like it. WoW's been good to me, so I don't have a compelling reason to drop it for anything right now.
I was in the Warhammer beta and didn't like it at all. So I stopped playing and they killed my account.
arras
BigWeather
Posted 3:21 AM 24/4/08
Waiting for the 360 version myself. I'll never play another PC MMO again. And they have to beat the GTA 360 MMO out or they'll lose me to that. =)
BigWeather
Tarmac
Posted 3:16 AM 24/4/08
@The Jerk: Your right, you don't NEED vista/DX-10 to play AoC, but if it's not going to have all the latest eye candy/bling then why should I play it? I may as well go back to DAoC, UO, or CoH.
I'll just wait wait for 360 version. They haven't mentioned pricing for the 360, has any game on XBox charged a monthly fee? Or will your subscription be part of the XBox live charge? Im guessing that they will just have micro transactions for new maps/zones.
Tarmac
Mienvard
Posted 3:15 AM 24/4/08
Preordered the game, and on waiting list for CE.
@Tarmac: DX10 will make it better, but no it's not a req. check [www.systemrequirementslab.com] (only the minimum is somewhat accurate )
Mienvard
The Jerk
Posted 3:13 AM 24/4/08
@yodablues:
That's what I was referring to, Tarmac had noted he was waiting for the 360 verison because his PC wasn't DX10 ready.
The Jerk
drakino
Posted 3:12 AM 24/4/08
Well, what do people expect when the $ continue to fall against every other currency? Funcom isn't a US based company, so they aren't paying their bills with US dollars. They are going to have to price the product appropriately. Yeah, $60 seems higher then normal to us, but in the end Funcom is still pulling in less cash then they would have pricing it at the normal $50 two years ago.
If you want to get pissed off over the rising cost of things as the economy continues to adjust, then make sure to direct that anger towards where it belongs.
drakino
yodablues
Posted 3:11 AM 24/4/08
@The Jerk: Vista is only needed for DX10. It plays fine on XP. DX10 is years from being properly used anyway, just like we are only starting to see good DX9 and 8 games (CoD4/MoH: Airborne).
yodablues
Yahto
Posted 3:10 AM 24/4/08
Well there's no question that I'll be getting it, though I hope this isn't a warning of a future standard increase in PC title costs. Just another reason for me not to buy the shittier games and have companies like Activision and Epic cry because PC gamers don't like their ports.
But yeah, Europe is getting screwed in pricing comparison, although games are usually a tad more expensive there at least in Italy in my experience. Technically $80 for the game and $20 per month. Although most of Europe isn't in a recession...
Yahto
yodablues
Posted 3:09 AM 24/4/08
I was less then impressed by the PvP weekend. I won't knock it for technical issues, as it was a Beta (although this close to release, I can't imagine much will change) but the combat system wasn't as "action packed" as i was expecting. I mean, it still pretty much boiled down to hotkey 1, hotkey 2, hotkey combo etc etc etc. That was the only thing going for it as Fantasy MMO's, and games in general, so ridiculously over represented and boring as hell to me.
Bring on the 40k MMO.
yodablues
Crull
Posted 3:08 AM 24/4/08
I'm looking forward to it, but they really should get smart and delay it another 3 months. If you've played anything else from funcom, you'd know they have a BAD track record of releasing all games and expansions 50% done, and end up finishing it a good 5-6mo after its released.
Sure they expect 500-600,000 subscribers, but I think people are getting a lot more wary and fickle of playing unfinished products now, and that number will dwindle drastically if this thing is as bad on release as its previous MMO.
Look at what happened to Tabula Rasa, that thing tanked, in no small part due to how buggy of a release it had.
Crull
The Jerk
Posted 3:06 AM 24/4/08
@Tarmac:
I'm 99% positive you don't have to have Vista to play it, that would murder their wallett as the majority of PC gamers still haven't switched to Vista.
The Jerk
The Jerk
Posted 3:05 AM 24/4/08
People thrown by the financial investment of MMOs must be total MMO noobs.
It baffles me that subscription based play still shocks people.
The Jerk
ArmyofJuan
Posted 3:05 AM 24/4/08
Well i feel like i have to get the PC version since i still havnt heard anything on the 360 version in like a year.
And for all those complaining about the 60 dollar price tag, welcome. We thought you PC gamers would NEVER get here.
Although for all of you who are also complaining about the 15 dollar subscription, is this a new price or am i missing something. Could have sworn 15 dollars was the norm.
But yes, i want to be all over this game. Im so excited. Unless the reviews are like in the 1's and 2's.
ArmyofJuan
Tarmac
Posted 3:05 AM 24/4/08
@Scioptic: Actually, it's Hyboria.
Im waiting for the 360 version to come out, my PC isn't DX-10 ready and I don't feel like spending $$$ to upgrade it just so I can play AoC.
Tarmac
pandafresh
Posted 3:05 AM 24/4/08
looks cool, i wanna try it first though.
looks like europeans are paying almost double? thats messed up haha.
pandafresh
z357x
Posted 3:04 AM 24/4/08
The Beta sucked.... I realize MMO's get patched all the time but I would not call that thing they call a game gold.
I love Conan but I'm pissed at the brokenness of the game.
z357x
Balius
Posted 3:02 AM 24/4/08
*whistles* Quite the investment. $240 for the first year of play?
That's a tough sell. I hope they've got some sort of trial period?
Balius
FranUnFine
Posted 3:02 AM 24/4/08
No WoW-account, I'd maybe buy AoC for the 360, it won't run on my laptop, and I won't buy a new one until in two or three years.
FranUnFine
danecy
Posted 3:01 AM 24/4/08
I was really thinking about this a few months ago. Now I've been sucked in by Eve and AOC seems rather meh at this point.
danecy
IrNoThnk
Posted 2:59 AM 24/4/08
I've been waiting on this for a while. If I can get a demo I will more than likely pick it up. WoW hates me now, and I hate it just as much *angry face*
IrNoThnk
Heyyou27
Posted 2:59 AM 24/4/08
Since when do PC games cost $60? There's no way I'd pay $60 for a game plus the $15 a month subscription fee. I expect this game to suffer from massive fail when competing with World of Warcraft.
Heyyou27
Eric
Posted 2:57 AM 24/4/08
$60 for a PC game in addition to a $15 subscription is ridiculous. And the worst part is that I will probably still buy it if I like the beta.
Eric
TrustyBadger
Posted 2:56 AM 24/4/08
I love that Euro price... $6 more for a subscription... the nerve...
TrustyBadger
Scioptic
Posted 2:54 AM 24/4/08
@Han Daimond:
Madness?
THIS... IS... EUROPE!!!
Scioptic
The Jerk
Posted 2:54 AM 24/4/08
Beta coming out for Fileplanet any time now.
I'll judge picking this game up on:
A) Wether or not the Beta sucks
B) Wether or not I get in Warhammer Online beta
The Jerk
darvos
Posted 2:54 AM 24/4/08
Age of Conan felt extremely unpolished during the pvp weekend. Going to wait on this one.
darvos
SnakeCL
Posted 2:52 AM 24/4/08
Eh, kinda botched it *tear* fail.
SnakeCL
SnakeCL
Posted 2:52 AM 24/4/08
@Han Daimond:
This is Conan!!!
Sorry, couldn't resist.
SnakeCL
Kyle81
Posted 2:52 AM 24/4/08
Screw this shit. Money is going towards Warhammer Online :P
Kyle81
TonX
Posted 2:51 AM 24/4/08
Im not touching this until I get in the beta or a demo comes out, even more so if its going to be $60 for PC. I can stick with WoW until WotLK, then drop it for Warhammer =D
TonX
DanteODiabo
Posted 2:51 AM 24/4/08
That sir is an expensive mistress.
DanteODiabo
Han Daimond
Posted 2:48 AM 24/4/08
What?! 60 dlls for a PC game and 15 dlls per month for the subscription???!!
This is blasphemy, this is madness!!!
Han Daimond
Knate
Posted 2:48 AM 24/4/08
i dropped wow a long time ago. and i most certainly will be playing this when it drops
Knate
Atratyys
Posted 2:47 AM 24/4/08
I preordered it and I will try it out, WoW has been getting a little stale but I am sure I will find myself back playing WoW when Lich King comes out.
Atratyys
BlackDove
Posted 2:45 AM 24/4/08
Open Beta or trial or no purchase here.
BlackDove
aveneyer
Posted 4:24 AM 24/4/08
@HarkMammil: Actually I believe defending a game before it's out would make you...
People have opinions, and if you take them as bashing instead of such, it would make you... a fanboy. :D
aveneyer
clintonskneecap
Posted 4:23 AM 24/4/08
@Han Daimond: maddness? THIS IS CIMMERIA!
anyhow good for them however I doubt they will be able to break 1 mil due to the insanely high system requirements.
clintonskneecap
aveneyer
Posted 4:20 AM 24/4/08
@Koztah: MMORPG.com sent out an email stating the 50,000 and the date, and a post on the gamestop beta boards stated the fact about re-invites (and I remember because he apologized but everyone would have to download a new client). I'll see if I can track down a link.
aveneyer
tk.
Posted 4:19 AM 24/4/08
@Schoolimangooli: I thought it was gonna be 50 bucks.
I guess it depends on how long ago they made the announcement, fifty bucks ain't what it used to be.
tk.
Koztah
Posted 4:19 AM 24/4/08
@HarkMammil:
Pretty much every MMO from the last five years or so has cost 14.99 a month, it's a bit untoward to call the fee steep.
Koztah
HarkMammil
Posted 4:15 AM 24/4/08
Ok People, the facts:
- There will be trial versions out when the game releases. The S.E. version alone comes with five trial passess, so quit whining about not playing it if you dont get into the beta.
- I've played the beta. It need some polish for sure but what new MMO doesnt when it first comes out? The game is very refreshing, and although when I first started playing it I didnt really enjoy it, it totally grew on me.
- If you HAVE to play the beta, try signing up for it on FilePlanet. Just don't complain if the beta is buggy because, well, . . . IT'S A BETA!
- 15 bucks a month is a bit steep though . . .
- Finally, if the game is going to be good, it will be good. If it ulimately sucks, it will suck. Quit talking shit about a game that isn't out yet - especially an early MMO because it just makes you sound stupid.
HarkMammil
myrlin
Posted 4:11 AM 24/4/08
Not sure if it was said yet, because comments are too long to read, but it comes with the first month free. That makes it a $45 game. stop crying folks.
myrlin
Koztah
Posted 4:11 AM 24/4/08
@karasu is my homeboy:
Game development on consoles requires licensing/devkit purchases, the same cannot be said of PC game development.
Koztah
Taifuu
Posted 4:02 AM 24/4/08
Now when the NDA is gone and all I'm going to go out and say that this game is going to be AWESOME. This is all based on the 30 or so hours I poured into the PvP Weekend that was last week.
Funcom are known for being close to the community and providing excellent support and AoC does not seem to steer away from that winning formula.
If you consider yourself at least semi-hardcore when it comes to the PvP scene in mmos, join the FFA PvP server on launch! Castle Sieges, world pvp, a combat system that greatly promotes teamwork and player input and a world that is nothing short of jaw-dropping. It's true that there are quite a few bugs in it and some features that need to be tidied up but those are, in my opinion, just nitpicks - the actual gameplay is really solid.
But most of all, this game is FUN to play and a few months down the road this is going to be one sparkling diamond in an otherwise gray genre.
Me and around ten other people I know are starting on the EU FFA server as soon as this game hits the shelves and if the real deal is anything like the beta, we're not going to be disappointed.
Taifuu
karasu is my homeboy
Posted 4:01 AM 24/4/08
@KittenKiller:
It's not fair to anyone. Why is Overlord / any PC + 360 game $10 more on 360 than PC? Just because other 360 games are, so they know they can. Standardize the pricing, next gen development is next gen development is next gen development. One price, please.
karasu is my homeboy
Koztah
Posted 3:59 AM 24/4/08
@aveneyer:
They're re-inviting people who took part in the PvP Beta?
Please, where did you read this? I thoroughly enjoyed the PvP beta and have pre-ordered the CE since it was available for preorder (months ago).
Koztah
Chewbenator
Posted 3:59 AM 24/4/08
I was mildly excited for this game a few weeks ago but after hearing peoples experiences during the PVP weekend and watching every trailer I could find I am no longer looking forward to this. Plus the more I hear and see about WoW:WOTLK the more excited I get about that. The game looks beautiful but it also looks empty, there aren't enough "flavor" items in areas and the landscape always seems to look sparse to me. The beta looks like an alpha version of an MMO albeit prettier, so I expect to hear the first 6 months being like a beta.
BTW, the 360 version will look about the same as the DX9 version of the game because it doesn't have the equivalent of DX10. Also, because of the 360s minuscule amount of ram expect longer load times and texture reduction. Mass Effect comes to mind.
Chewbenator
Silverbackne
Posted 4:59 AM 24/4/08
I've yet to hear any serious excitement from people who have played this game. For those in the know, is it really that broken/unfinished? After all this damn time?
I wish MMO developers would focus more on gameplay and content and less on visuals, since high requirements will end up screwing you out of a large audience.
Silverbackne
djsyndrome
Posted 4:59 AM 24/4/08
@Tarmac: Final Fantasy XI and Phantasy Star Universe both have separate subscription fees on the 360. I would fully expect AoC to have the same.
djsyndrome
Derigor
Posted 4:53 AM 24/4/08
I canceled WoW because well I beat it. Cant wait for Conan. Pisses me off that I will be in Canada when this game comes out.
If this game is good enough for me i'll stick with it. If not I will play it until War hammer comes out cause damnit I loved DAoC. Both these games shoul have good enough pvp to satisfy a DAoC type level.
Derigor
Koztah
Posted 4:45 AM 24/4/08
@aveneyer:
I knew about the 50000 and the date, but I hadn't checked the PvP beta forums since saturday.
Koztah
Kaizuden
Posted 4:44 AM 24/4/08
Hmm... I still wouldn't knock it. $60 is practically a full priced and polished game, what is outrageous here is that it's a MMO and one that is shipping buggy as well (Hellgate anyone?) But over time it might justify the purchase.
Kaizuden
z0phi3l
Posted 4:36 AM 24/4/08
@BigWeather
MMOs are meant to be played on PCs they usually suck on Consoles
I was curious about this game but if there is no OB no way I'm spending money on it sorry
z0phi3l
synrg023
Posted 4:32 AM 24/4/08
I passed on my WOW account to my younger bro a couple years back so this will be a nice replacement for me. From what I've played in beta, I have liked so far. If I pre-ordered this at the $49.99 price, will I still get it at that price?
synrg023
Grue
Posted 5:37 AM 24/4/08
By the way, I'm actually ok with the price, in a general sense. Really, they don't see the point in charging a different price to 360 owners and PC owners, and I can't say I blame them. Beyond that, $15 a month is the standard monthly fee for online gameplay, so there are no complaints there.
Grue
Grue
Posted 5:35 AM 24/4/08
I got into the recent GameSpot PVP beta, and I've got to say that I found the game needed a tremendous amount of work. Also, the combat didn't end up being quite as intuitive as I had hoped. This is sort of slipping down on my list of anticipated games, unfortunately. :/
Grue
WPack911
Posted 5:31 AM 24/4/08
Wow a $60 and a $15 dollar a month fee, for an unproven game that could and probably is a lot worst then WoW? WTF? I won't play this game for the simple fact that these douche bags are already full of themselves. Why do I say that you say?
Well let's see, charging $60 for it at launch and a $15 dollar a month fee, instead of say $50 or less for the game and a month free trial to help build a fan base and give people some incentive to try it out, is just flat out cocky, and for a company/game that has no reason to be just pisses me off.
I hope it fails and fails hard, if not we will see more $60 PC games and the next cocky punk company might try a $20 a month fee or some BS like that.
I hope WoW Owns you AoC, then maybe you will learn a thing or two then about selling a product for what it's actually worth, instead of trying to rip people off.
-WPack911
WPack911
Silverbackne
Posted 5:29 AM 24/4/08
@desterion: Crap.
I really, really wanted this MMO to be The One, but I won't make the same mistake I did with Tabula Rasa: falling for the initial rush of an exciting combat system and realizing a month later there's no real content beyond the first few zones.
Silverbackne
voidbringer
Posted 5:26 AM 24/4/08
I'm going to be in the wait and see crowd, after hearing about it I have the haunting feeling of Hellgate which was a sufficiently bad enough burn that it created a new "never again" catagory.
voidbringer
desterion
Posted 5:09 AM 24/4/08
As a guy who's been beta testing AoC since November, I can tell you that a large majority of testers in fact do NOT want to purchase the game.
And silverbackne, yes... it is broken and unfinished. I have no idea how they possibly expect it to launch in a month. I have never seen a company that works slower and gets less done than funcom with the exception of 3drealms.
desterion
Fyren
Posted 6:15 AM 24/4/08
I tried the PvP weekend. The game is heading towards garbage-dom.
I thought I had a Deja'vu of playing Vanguard a month before release.
Two things in common?, bug city and more bugs.
Please don't go towards the Vanguard route, this game needs to incubate for another 6 months.
Fyren
jtraveller
Posted 6:12 AM 24/4/08
sorry, funcom, you lost me... again.
jtraveller
Sandldan
Posted 6:12 AM 24/4/08
Had already pre-ordered the collectors edidition of this before i was lucky enough to get into the gamespot pvp beta weekend.
The weekend was pretty limited just leveling from lvl 1-5 and then stuck at pvping at lvl 20. At first the whole new combat system felt a bit awkward at first but it grew on me.
The beta was unsurprisingly full of bugs (the beta weekend did run a 4 month old client version)and needed a whole lot of balancing between the classes.
But in the end what i found enjoying the most wasnt the graphics nor the new combat system. It was the community which due to the 18 age limit was almost completely free of "omfg th3 g4m3 cr4csh3s on me, funcom suxx :(((((".
Sandldan
Turael
Posted 5:56 AM 24/4/08
If I play it for most of the trial month that you get with purchase then the $60 is well spent. I have console games I paid $50 for that I haven't spent more then a hour playing.
Turael
Sugaray
Posted 6:46 AM 24/4/08
I've watched this game for a long time and even have had the chance to be in closed beta for awhile now and will be the first to say that the game IS VERY,VERY, WELL DONE.Unfortunately I won't be playing the game when it ships to retail.However you break it down it's simply ANOTHER Fantasy based mmorpg and I can't take playing FANTASY BASED MMO's anymore.I'm going to take the summer off.Hopefully i'll
be able to play WarHammer this fall.Until then i've had my fill with fantasy based mmorpg's no matter what the license is or how well it's done.
Sugaray
Stormwaltz
Posted 6:29 AM 24/4/08
Additional note:
I'm surprised to see such a hue and cry over the $15 a month sub, considering that that price point has been pretty much standard since the release of SWG five years ago. I expect AoC will also have the "bulk discount" deals where blocks of 3, 6, and 12 months can be bought for less than a monthly resub.
Stormwaltz
Stormwaltz
Posted 6:24 AM 24/4/08
I preordered the Collector's Edition, then discovered the sysreqs were too high to run on my machine. So I won't be one of those 500K players. I may keep the Collector's Edition for the extras, but it seems like a waste of money until I have a couple grand to blow on upgrading my computer.
Note to developers - when deciding on the level of hardware required for your game, think more WoW and less Vanguard. I can guarantee you more players.
Stormwaltz
Forsaken_Snowball
Posted 3:13 AM 24/4/08
Cheat on WoW? It's not cheating if its a open-ended relationship. ^_^
Forsaken_Snowball
Dopeski
Posted 7:10 AM 24/4/08
So many haters here!
Oh well, I'll still be playing the game on release. I play MMO's for the PvP and AoC offers so much in terms of PvP, there's no way I could pass it up. I had a blast playing it during the PvP weekend, sans the bugs. Although, I'm not sure what people mean by "TONS OF F'ING BUGS!~!"? The only bugs I really encountered were loading screen bugs where the game simply wouldn't load. Other than that the game ran pretty well.
I will agree that the game could use some polish though.
Dopeski
myrlin
Posted 7:08 AM 24/4/08
How come no one bothers to read the website???
IT COMES WITH THE FIRST MONTH FREE!!!!!
IT COMES WITH THE FIRST MONTH FREE!!!!!
[www.ageofconan.com]
click on preorder for info on game
Standard Edition content :
* Game on two DVD's
* 72 page manual
* Buddy card (for one friend)
* 30 days free play
Please learn to read before crying about 60 bux for the game...
myrlin
rubadub
Posted 8:49 AM 24/4/08
I think Conan is going to be the game to play in 3-4 months but like any MMO at launch, its going to be a mess. From everything ive read about the game though it seems like it has some serious promise as far as depth goes and in some ways expands much further than wow, especially with the whole concept of architects and play built housing etc... its going to take a while to nail all that down and get it right because something that dynamic in an MMO sounds like a lot of trouble.
rubadub
HarkMammil
Posted 8:16 AM 24/4/08
@aveneyer
Dude, did you carefully read what I posted? My point was to not to judge the game if you haven't played it. And im not "defending" the game before it's out- I was "defending" my experience w/ the BETA that is out. ( And I wouldn't call it defending - I said it needed polish.)
Yeah, people have opinions, just like I have opinions. What I am "bashing" is people making ignorant comments about something they didn't experience - which is kind of like you making an ignorant comment about what I posted without really reading it.
HarkMammil
yodablues
Posted 9:24 AM 24/4/08
@Lemming: Rubbish? Why? Now, I'm not saying games prior to them didn't use DX9, its just that they didn't do it as efficiently or to the same graphical effect. Depth of Field, Shader 3.0, they've been used before, but its taken this long for developers to really learn how to use these tools effectively without an appreciable hit on framerate. Also helps that hardware capable of really rendering this stuff has caught up to it as well. DX10 will be no different. Look at the "Very High" Crysis hack for WinXP. It looks remarkably similar to a comparable rig running DX10 Very High. And that's cause all the stuff people are 'ooing' and 'awwing' over in Crysis aren't DX10 features, but DX9.
yodablues
rubadub
Posted 8:53 AM 24/4/08
@myrlin: Dont all MMOs come with the first month free?
I dont think the money aspect is a big deal because I honestly think they are trying to attract an older more economically established(adult) demographic to start with. There is no difference between $40 and $60 to some of us, I live in NYC and stepping out my door costs me $20. I think thats what theyre betting on.
rubadub
desterion
Posted 9:42 AM 24/4/08
I was a complete AoC fanboy. I got selected for the Veterans beta program as one of the most dedicated members of the community. My entire will to play the game was completely sucked out of me within the first 10 days. They have a lot of great ideas. They cut plenty of them and really watered down the rest from what they have people believing. Hell, they'd been telling everyone female characters were in, when they only actually got them even enabled for players a month ago and working 2-3 days before the big pvp test. Sure the game looks pretty in the screenshots, but it's an absolute mess and not very fun, especially the pve. The graphics actually, they forced everyone in beta to go on forced lowest possible dx9 graphics settings which, even then ran like shit as well as looking like shit. I've got a 2.66ghz quad core, 6 gigs of 800mhz ram and a 8800gt... and the coding was so horrible that i was constantly freeze framing, lagging and having a ton of graphical errors. I am absolutely amazed they thing they can ship this piece of crap. My advice to everyone is to STAY AWAY. I'm expecting it to launch like another vanguard in it's current state. If you absolutely must play the game... wait for the reviews. Don't waste your money on release day or a pre-order.
desterion
pupaboy3
Posted 9:37 AM 24/4/08
By CROM I must have this game!
pupaboy3
Lupin
Posted 3:28 PM 24/4/08
@desterion:
whoo dude ^^;
some people on the french hardware forum should read your point of view, we have like 10 peoples a day asking for hardware advices for building a 900euros PC so they will be ready for the AoC release in May ^^
Lupin
JojoTheSlayer
Posted 4:24 PM 24/4/08
Actually the worst thing for both US and Germany is that they get the censored version. Germans, less violence and US, less sexy stuff.
I would import, but then again I live in Norway where you can even look up swear words in a dictionary. So, sexy violence here I come :P
JojoTheSlayer
KroKan
Posted 5:25 PM 24/4/08
If the single player campaign is AWESOME, I may consider paying 60 bucks for it. But 15$ a month is madness! (yes, even for WOW)
If they made it 5-10$ a month with in-game advertisements, that would be more logical...
KroKan
desterion
Posted 9:43 PM 24/4/08
Awesome? The single player is a boring snoozefest which is almost painful to attempt to go through.
desterion