About
Age of Conan
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is a fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by the Norwegian computer, video game developer company Funcom for PC and the Xbox 360. The game launched at 9 p.m. (GMT) on May 17, 2008 in a limited way, being available to those who had pre-ordered the game and registered for early access. The full release of the game for North America was May 20, 2008 and for Europe May 23, 2008 for the PC version. The Xbox 360 version is scheduled to be released a year after the PC release.
Hyborian Adventures is the first installment in the planned Age of Conan series. Age of Conan itself takes place within the continent of the Hyborian kingdoms, a year after the events depicted in Howard's sole Conan novel, The Hour of the Dragon. Hyborian Adventures' release celebrated the 76th anniversary of the Conan franchise.
Like many other MMO games, there is a monthly subscription fee. The suggested retail price of an Age of Conan subscription card is $29.99 ($19.28) for two months. Another available option is a recurring monthly subscription plan paid online by credit card, usually costing $14.99 ($9.63) a month. Discounts can be obtained when subscribing online by purchasing multiple months of play time simultaneously; however, the first month is free.
Characters in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures are created on a user account on a particular online server. Characters created on one server cannot be played on another; however, Funcom is planning to have a server transfer process for characters after the game is launched. Players create characters which function as their virtual avatars in the online world of Hyboria. When creating a character in Age of Conan, the player may choose from three playable races. The character is one of four archetypes (in bold) and one of three class selections for each archetype. There have been hints of more playable races with expansions.
Funcom has said that their "Real Combat" system, a combat system designed to offer more real-time options than traditional Dungeons & Dragons-inspired "turn-based" combat systems commonly used in RPGs, will be a prime attraction of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. This Real Combat system is a first-person melee approach in which every enemy starts with three different areas that players can swing at, with a possible increase at future levels depending on the class. Combos can be performed by stringing together consecutive successful attacks in particular directions. As players become better at using the system, they will find combinations of abilities, swing styles and target points that string together to make more devastating attack combos. Player stats and item bonuses will also play a role in this system. However, the idea of "Real Combat" is to eliminate the dullness of typical MMO fighting, which often consists of an auto-attack feature.
The "Real Combat" system is used in one-on-one weapon battle, as well as spell-casting, ranged combat and even mounted combat. In some situations, however, players will choose to band together and unite their skills to face other bands of players or AI controlled armies or uber-mobs; in essence, "formations", location based effects available for some classes. For example, a character standing in line with a Conqueror when he is running his formation will have a great deal of resistance to knockbacks.
Players will also be able to take part in large scale siege operations. Adventurers can cooperate with one another to build cities with walls, towers and catapults that can protect player-owned taverns and merchant facilities. The world will respond appropriately to the rise of player cities with AI controlled enemies building their own cities, ensuring a renewing supply of city-vs.-city combat as players try to knock down enemy walls or defend their homes.