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Discussion: Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures / Age Of Conan - General Discussion - AoC question - I read a well written post over at the IGN Vault forums that made two
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05-27-2008, 07:29 AM #1
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AoC question
I read a well written post over at the IGN Vault forums that made two interesting points. Note that I don't own the game and don't know if I will buy it. The poster said the game reminded him of Guild Wars because the zones were instanced so you never get to see many other players except in the towns. He also said they were very much on rails as in Dungeon Siege so there was not much room to explore. Several posters agreed with this but I'm inclined to trust opinions here more.
Can any of you comment on this? Thanks.We don't stop playing games because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing games. Anon
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05-27-2008, 07:37 AM #2
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Re: AoC question
I am quite new myself here, and I have to disagree and agree with some points those people made.
Yes the game is quite instanced, but earlier on today, I went to the Underhalls and there were TONS of ppl there, it appears that other players can join get inside your instance.
As for the game size, yes the game seemed qutie small at first, but that may be because of the Starter Area - up untill level 20 you are stranded on this small island, now I havent been off the island yet so cant speak for the mainland, but from what the map looks like, its qutie huge.
But I think the part about instances and not being able to see many other players is dreadfully wrong. I mean ive bene to White Island, and Underhalls and not only have I met hundreds of other players I even got ganked a couple times!
The game is definetly worth buying, because it is very unique in terms of fighting style and leveling. There is no "delay" between killing mobs because you have the "rest" ability which regens all your mana/stamina and health in a manner of seconds.
The fighting WTFPWNS ass, I am a Pole Guardian, and with every swing I hit multiple mobs and the animations are sick, you litelarly decapitate enemies.
My fatality involves bashing the enemies head with the Polearm, and then driving it through their chests and pinning them against the wall. xD
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05-27-2008, 10:39 AM #3
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Re: AoC question
OK, thanks. So the instances are not just for you or your group. Good to know. Will be interested to hear from others about how much exploration you can really do vs how many invisible walls you run into.
We don't stop playing games because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing games. Anon
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05-27-2008, 10:52 AM #4
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Re: AoC question
The key thing here is that EVERYTHING about the world is instanced. There is no one area where, if everyone on the server were to go, you'd see every player on the server. Each area of the world can have multiple versions running at the same time; i.e. there can be 5 Wildlands of Zelata instances going, 2 Old Tarantia, etc.
There's good and bad about this. The bad is that the world doesn't feel as populated as other games like WoW or FFXI. However, I've never not run into other players, even in some of the huge zones like Connall Valley. The good is that, aside from helping performance, it prevents overcrowding- you won't have 50 people trying to kill that mutated bear like you are.
You can change which instance of your zone that you're in by using the little triangle near the upper left hand corner of the mini map. This is great because you can 1) get away from asshat gankers if they start harassing you and 2) swap to another instance if there's too many people competing for the same quests you are.
[squadl]
"I am the prettiest african-american, vietnamese..cong..person." -SugarNCamo
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05-27-2008, 01:16 PM #5
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Re: AoC question
Most next gen. MMOs are built this way to ease server load and increase performance. You cant have Unreal Engine 3 type graphics in a gamespace like WW2O. Your computer would barf its innards.
Now, when HDDs no longer become a systems most easily bottlenecked area then everything will change. But, for now loading all those high poly textures/meshes is the big problem... hence why you see so many games using instances.
Also, who wants another Ironlag/Lagforge (ala WoW)? I personally dont, even though it's kinda nice having so many people together.
The key is finding a quick, reliable, and fun way to intersect all the instances. The problem I've got with AoC now is that this isnt happening. The guild/friends UI needs some work, the trader is broken, and travel is slow until you've got a mount. You also cant "skip" or fly-over zones to get to other zones... which I think is kinda dumb considering the places are instanced in the 1st place. Look for Funcom to make you able to move to Poitain from Knopsef w/o having to zone and walk through Khemi, then Torentia, then Wild Lands... (headslap). For now though, it's newbsauce. Tabula Rasa was instanced this way and it worked really well, but in that game you could easily teleport to different regions quickly.
If they can do all this and make interaction with people more "personable" then you wont feel the instances at all. Right now though, I'm with you... it definitely feels claustrophobic in areas.
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05-27-2008, 02:10 PM #6
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Re: AoC question
Thanks for the feedback. I have no problem with instances as long as it's not only me or my party in there.
Can anyone comment on the linear (aka rails) aspect of the game? Once you are off the noob island can you head out and explore or are you limited in where you can go in a zone?We don't stop playing games because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing games. Anon
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05-27-2008, 03:50 PM #7
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Re: AoC question
Each area is designed for a general level range, be it 20-35 of 75-80. From what I've seen so far, there are several areas for each level range to adventure, and each area also has its content spread out across the zone. So you're not forced to go to Town A, then Town B, then C, etc. More like from Town A you are free to visit Towns B, C and D with relatively high survivability. You could also hit Town Z if you wanted, but you might die the moment you step in there because the mobs are 60 levels higher than you are. :P
Originally Posted by Ironsight
It's linear in the respect that you will want to hit certain areas first before moving on. However, you have a good deal of choice in which several areas you choose to visit first. Just don't expect to leave the noob island and travel to The Dungeon of Deadly Doom right away.
[squadl]
"I am the prettiest african-american, vietnamese..cong..person." -SugarNCamo
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05-27-2008, 06:46 PM #8
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Re: AoC question
I understand zones are designed for a certain range of levels and low level characters won't survive in many higher rated zones. What I meant was in a zone can I move around wherever I want and explore or is movement restricted by artificial barriers. IOW are the zones open like in WoW or on rails like in Guild Wars or Dungeon Siege?.
We don't stop playing games because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing games. Anon
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05-27-2008, 06:48 PM #9
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Re: AoC question
I've not played GW or DS, but the zones are very WoW-like with respect to freedom of movement. I'd actually venture to say that they're more free than even most WoW zones; I've encountered very few "the trees are too thick to pass, follow the long winding path instead" areas.
[squadl]
"I am the prettiest african-american, vietnamese..cong..person." -SugarNCamo
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05-27-2008, 08:58 PM #10
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Re: AoC question
OK, thanks.
We don't stop playing games because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing games. Anon
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05-27-2008, 08:59 PM #11
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Re: AoC question
I've actually been complaining as of late because of the over-abundance of quest choice in the game. Literally, there are 3 TIMES as many quests as needed. A Cimmerian could easily just quest his homeland and be just fine... but, he has the choice to play around in Aquilonia and Stygia also... each place having its own sub-locales. It can get overwhelming and you've got to exhibit some restraint in this way, or else you end up traveling all over the world fulfilling quest chains.
You're better off staying linear in one locale and then switching to the next... skipping over quests that have greyed out unless they're long quest chains.
Grouping is problematic in this regard because it's difficult to find people in the right place in time of the quest chain of a particular area. If you can sift through the fluff and find the "generic" quests everyone can do then you're good. Other than that you've got many quests where grouping is required (there will be an icon for this).
So, it's a catch-22. WoW was nice because everyone was basically doing the same thing, so easy grouping. AoC has 3+ paths to take, so grouping is tough... that's why they had no qualms about adding a "Culture-PvP" server. Because in reality, they're entirely different races with different quest lines and areas.
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05-27-2008, 09:23 PM #12
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Re: AoC question
I wouldn't do that. Even if a quest gets grayed out, it's still worth just as much XP as it was when it was another color. Nothing like turning in a gray quest for 7-8k XP, along with whatever other rewards there are. :P Originally Posted by Gambit7
[squadl]
"I am the prettiest african-american, vietnamese..cong..person." -SugarNCamo
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05-27-2008, 09:32 PM #13
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Re: AoC question
Yah, but 7-8k xp doesnt mean as much when you're a MUCH higher level. If you're investing a large amount of time in grey quest chains, technically you're not taking a very big bite out of your xp-bar. You need the quests to be green at least otherwise you can be wasting your time. Granted, some of those grey quests are quick and painless and can lead to bigger, better quests and loot. Originally Posted by SmokingTarpan
Ur just a quest-monger smoke...
My quest log is 'sploding.
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05-28-2008, 11:36 AM #14
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Re: AoC question
OK, thanks for all the feedback. Still on the fence but leaning toward buying it.
We don't stop playing games because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing games. Anon
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