The Secret World inspired by movie The Ring
January 30, 2008
Funcom product manager Erling Ellingson explains: “The setting for The Secret World is actually our own world… But there is something out there, another world beyond our own”. Further down he reveils: “We’re putting a lot of effort into making huge, believable environments … you will actually be exploring vast cities such as London and New York. This creates some really exciting opportunities for us as a developer, to actually set a massive online game in real-world cities.”
Ok Funcom you got me hooked! More details please. Kthxbai.
Tags: Funcom, Interview, Movie, The Secret WorldAge of Conan Instance Run Video
January 25, 2008
Hiya, just a short video clip from the Community Event in Oslo, showing a little of the Sanctum of Burning Souls. I was playing for quite a long time with a group and remembered to pick the camera up at the same time (sometimes) hard to control with half a hand! … I played the Assassin and Jeff from Tentonhammer was also filming but not playing there really so expect some nice footage from them too. (longer) For me I couldn’t pull myself away … Bit at the end is the top floor view in Funcom Offices and 10 meters behind me is where they were working on the secret un-named mmo. (Editor’s Note: Maybe “The Secret World” ?)”
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New rendering engine for Anarchy Online
January 24, 2008
Funcom’s Anarchy Online team has released a trailer showing off the capabilities of the revamped rendering engine for the MMO. AO was released back in 2001 and its graphics don’t quite hold up when compared to games of this generation. The influx of new players caused by switching to advertising backed free to play model without monthly subscription fees, has motivated the team to redo the graphics engine for their aging MMO. In an interview with MMORPG.com, AO’s game director Craig Morrison revealed the the engine has been in development for more than a year.
Tags: Anarchy Online, Funcom, Rendering EngineAge of Conan Music Information
January 23, 2008
Ben Avery, the guy behind the excellent AoC Visual FAQ on which I’ve reported earlier, has created another Video containing lots of information about Age of Conan’s sound effects and its musical soundtrack. One of Funcom’s Sound Designers provides us with an in-depth demonstration on the creation process of sound effects for AoC’s magical abilities and at the end, we get to see the finished spell cast in the game. We also get confirmation that there will be 2.5 to 3 hrs of original music in the game, all of which recorded in 5.1 surround sound which is going to make the Xbox 360 crowd especially happy since many of them have hooked up their console to a 5.1 receiver.
Tags: Age of Conan, Audio, Funcom, Music, SountrackAoC: A Letter from the Game Director
January 22, 2008
“It feels to me I am the Herald of bad news (no, it is not a new class). Rather, I am the grey faced postman always arriving with the bills. I am the guy with a yellow post-it on your windshield confessing a fender bender. I am the only one in the elevator when the door opens, and a pretty lady enters reaching for her nose. It seems I only write to you with bad news – that’s all I do! I want to write this update to encourage you – we are on the right track, and by Crom we are close to the finish!
Although you might not see it this way, and you are frustrated, we delay because - it is right. It is the right thing to do! Naturally I sound righteous, haughty and bordering on arrogant when I say this: This is the right thing to do. You want something better than what you would have gotten in March. You deserve something better! I want to apologize – not for what we did but because some of you might have gotten upset. For that I am sorry. For this decision, and every one leading up to it – I stand by it 100%! This game will rock!”
Tags: Age of Conan, Delay, Funcom, ReleaseAge of Conan: Daily Life Trailer
January 22, 2008
A brand new Age of Conan Trailer was posted to Gametrailers.com. The video is dubbed “Daily Life” and could be as well a commercial for the Dreamworld Engine used in AoC. No real game play is shown in the video but we get to see pretty much every neat graphical feature the engine has to offer, including day and night cyles, the impressive terrain engine, environmental effects, full dynamic weather system, flowing rivers and some of the high detail models.
It is not clear from the video or its description, if the movie was filmed using the Cheetah 2 upgrade of the Dreamworld engine which has reveived a lot of tuning over its predecessor, or the “old” version.
Tags: Age of Conan, Funcom, Trailer, VideoAge of Conan delayed again
January 21, 2008
Considering the magnitude of last minute changes applied to the game, on which we have reported earlier, the delay comes as no surprise to us and is certainly a necessary move to even be able test the changes on a greater scope. Let’s just hope that the open beta will begin soon.
Here’s the official press release:
“Durham, USA – January 21, 2008 – Funcom announces a new release date for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. The highly anticipated MMO receives 8 more weeks of development, allowing Funcom to deliver a more polished MMO experience when the game launches on the 20th of May 2008. Despite great feedback on vital aspects like immersion, fun factor and the exciting combat system, the management of Funcom has decided to polish the game even more. Eight weeks of development work is therefore added to stress game systems and polish the game further leading up to launch.
Tags: Age of Conan, Delay, Funcom, ReleaseLeaked Age of Conan Beta Video: The Ranger
January 19, 2008
Someone apparently forgot about his NDA and posted a video showing off his Level 12 Ranger to Youtube. The computer running the client in the video is equipped with Core 2 Duo E6550, 2GB Ram, and an 8800GT which is not exactly high-end, so the Cheetah 2 Graphics Engine Upgrade to AoC has obviously payed off.
Make sure to read the full article at ATWire.
Tags: Age of Conan, Beta, Funcom, Leak, VideoAge of Conan: Mythic Lands Trailer
January 19, 2008
A new AoC trailer titled “Mythic Lands” was posted to Gametrailers.com. Check it out:
Tags: Age of Conan, Funcom, Trailer, VideoAge of Conan: Funcom axes two classes
January 18, 2008
Wether this is a good move or a bad one - I can’t tell but its certainly better that it happens now than one week prior to release or even worse, after release.
Update: MMORPG.COM reports that contrary to earlier reports, the Lich was not removed but the Stormcaller has been merged with the Scion of Seth class to create a new class called, The Tempest of Seth. This new class will maintain most of the abilites of both the Stormcaller and the Tempest.
Tags: Age of Conan, Classes, Funcom
