Age of Conan Delayed untill March '08!!!! W T F

[Kemosavi]

Forum Link (http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=36594)

Letter to the Community On The New Release Date


Hello everybody,

As you saw from the press release, we've decided to delay the game until March 25, 2008. As you all understand, this is obviously one of the hardest decisions we could've made as a company, but this is done to ensure that you all the get the best possible experience when the game is done next March.

While we have seen that the overall reactions to our game has in general been extremely favorable, we as a company can only go for the best possible experience for our users. We are a MMO company, and we know that the only thing which matters when building a long-term community is the quality of the game. When our beta testers have come back to us with concerns in a couple of different areas, we have therefore been listening. The feedback has especially been on the entry barriers to the game, and how people are learning and coping with the combat system in the first few hours of gameplay. While most are having a fantastic time with it once they learn it, we also see that it is new and different to a lot of people, and that it takes longer to get into than what we have anticipated. This means that we need to ease the barrier, and make the first few hours of gameplay more accessible.

After careful consideration we have therefore decided that this must be improved for the overall good of the game. We are now putting considerable extra efforts into improving the game, despite the fact that a whole world is raving about the qualities of what we have shown them. It was not an easy decision to make, but we felt it was necessary, both for you and ourselves.

We would also like to point out that the pushback does not affect the beta. General beta is currently ongoing, it will still go on in the weeks and months to come (and escalate) and invitations will continue to go out. As a part of this, rest assured that Funcom will continue to listen to our beta testers, who are an invaluable source of honest feedback, and that we together will create a special game.

A lot of you have shown an incredible amount of patience with us through the production process and we appreciate it tremendously. These next few months will give us time to deliver to you what you want as bad as us; a great MMO game.

Thanks,

The Funcom Team
__________________
Shannon 'Pharamond' Drake
Community Manager – Funcom

[Kemosavi]

It hurts....on the inside.

[Ferrum]

I dont even know what to say

[Alkterandorn]

Alright so this basically gives us an excuse to destroy Dark Iron Alliance in WoW for a few months whatever.

[Ferrum]

If by few you mean 8 months. Then yeah.

[Sumuji]

Not suprised it was delayed but 5 months was a about 3 or 4 more months than I expected :(

Oh well, I think I'll be trying Gods and Heroes if anyone else doesn't want to play WoW and might be interested.

http://www.godsandheroes.com/

[Faelor]

I dont even know what to sayI know what to say...

Hit the cap in WoW, and destroy. Destroy everything.

[Fraktal]

Delays can hurt a company more than help them sometimes. The more it gets pushed back, peoples expectations start soaring through the roof.

But oh well, I guess I will roll up in WoW or w/e

[Alexandrious]

Tch, well guess ill have to keep myself busy with something for several months. Id love to go to WoW but their are three major reasons stopping me from doin it. And due to those reasons id probably feel miserable playin WoW.

Bleh, damn, maybe me and my girl will screw around on PSU and hope for a damn AoC beta invite. Nothin else to do.

[Cilus]

Well this really sucks. I am sure that FC will be getting a LOT of negativity from the forums when they FINALLY bring there website back up. I mean jesus it's been down for 3 days. WTH are they doing over there. Get the site ready on a separate server then bring down the site for a max of one day while you update it. They better be releasing a TON of beta invites to make up for this.

[Strykr]

Yall need to read the forums some more lol they are " tweaking" the combat system aka revamp it so the nibs errrr new players don't cry about it being difficult..... That and i guess good ole MS wanted the Xbox version to release at the same time as the PC version......

[Kemosavi]

Hmm, well after a night of sorrow Ive done some thinking, and found a dim light at the end of the tunnel. Best case scenario, we each get in the beta, level, learn, experience, and recruit, and do so as a guild. But honestly, fuck me....I dont want to go back to playing WoW.....VG anyone? ...kidding.

[Alkterandorn]

I think they are actually making the system harder for players. Previously you were allow 4 slots for combos 8 slots for spells. Look at how communities now cookie cutter a lot of games by basically having the best player tell everyone else what to use. Out of those 80 everyone would have the same 4 combos and 8 spells. This new system opens it up which I like an allows that much more of a chance for skill to truly show itself.

[Murdon]

I'm not suprised at all, and fully expect it to be delayed again.

[Ferrum]

Agreed, but if your not surprised by a 5 month delay then you got some serious psyhic shit going on. ;)

[Sumuji]

If they were to delay again in March they might as well call it Age of Duke Nukem.

[Kemosavi]

hahahaha, age of duke nukem, fucking classic, "Age of Conan Forever".

[Fraktal]

Well at least the chances of AoC doing a Vanguard have gone down...

You don't delay (twice now?) and release a shitty game, that just doesn't happen....

[Sumuji]

Warhammer will probably try to release in Jan or Feb now.

[Ferrum]

Well at least the chances of AoC doing a Vanguard have gone down...

You don't delay (twice now?) and release a shitty game, that just doesn't happen....

Was that sarcasm? You do know this is exactly the path VG took. Even down to the company losing money and having another large sum of cash thrown in by an investor.

[Fraktal]

Was that sarcasm? You do know this is exactly the path VG took. Even down to the company losing money and having another large sum of cash thrown in by an investor.

Hmm, you are right my furry friend.

*knoc.. punches on wood*

[Abigor]

::slays Boo::


I'm not suprised at all, and fully expect it to be delayed again.

Exactly. How many games in the history of video games, MMORPGS included, have been delayed for the sake of quality? Just judge the game on the base of release, instead of speculation.

This is why developers and game stores do NOT like to give bonafide release dates.

[Ferrum]

Actually they love release dates, builds anticipation and presales. Convince the customer they want it, even if you can't supply it yet. Especially in a competative market.

Now as for AoC, what has people concerned, was that this is one of many pushbacks. This one stands out it since it was right after E3 and them bragging about how they have everything planned and kicking ass. They caused their own backlash.

And as Alk said. This game went into production at the same time as Vanguard. It's been a very long time now. If they couldn't get it right in 4(or is it 5?) years, is 5 months going to be enough to fix it?

[Minax]

hmm well im glad they delayed it instead of rushing it out, after the nightmare that Vanguard was id rather wait awhile longer.

[Distratus]

Eff the delay i want to punch them all in the face.

[Sighko]

This makes me a sad Panda.

[Kemosavi]

Now as for AoC, what has people concerned, was that this is one of many pushbacks. This one stands out it since it was right after E3 and them bragging about how they have everything planned and kicking ass. They caused their own backlash.

And as Alk said. This game went into production at the same time as Vanguard. It's been a very long time now. If they couldn't get it right in 4(or is it 5?) years, is 5 months going to be enough to fix it?


I dont know if any of you recall, but WoW was pushed back so many times its not even funny. At launch WoW was buggy as shit, servers were always going down and being updated, it was not the shiny pristine game it has come to be these days, it took like 6 months for that to happen, and the release was pushed back many many time. As was the same for Diablo 2 if anyone can recall that far back, that game was pushed back so many fucking times it hurt.

As for AoC I would not worry. What there fixing is not really that big of a deal, however, my schooling has thought me enough to know that what there doing is extremely time extensive. There taking a game that had 8 hit swing combos from the bat, and setting it up to where players are weened into them, starting small then building on combos. That means going back, creating limitations, tool tips, and that is alot of rewriting code. When you rewrite, that code then has to be tested, then they also have to continue to fix everything on the art side that they had already planned on doing before the setback.


I have been thinking for some time that the combat seemed a little slow, my guess is that this will also be fixed. We havent seen any real footage of a spell caster, such as a traditional projectile mage, this also has worried me, my guess is that there was alot of work that needed to be done on that side, which is why we just saw dude swinging swords up until now.

The game will be good, the art is to well polished for them to not have a successful title. They need the extra time, fuck it let them have it, it sucks, but now we have more time to enter the beta, get a jump start and hopefully do some ingame recruitment.

thats my 5 cp

[Distratus]

WoW also had a long open beta phase and also wows relase wasnt buggy like most other mmos ive played. 7 months is a long time. But whatever aoc can do whatever it wants its out of my mind now. (dont give a finger in the middle)

[Sumuji]

Look at the people that joined early closed beta. These people will have beta tested for like a year when this game releases, heh.