Age of Conan

[Viney]

I almost cried reading that

Dungeons of Daggorath blew me away as a kid, it is and was, the greatest game I have ever played.

As a kid we had stuff all like most people and were carted off to relatives at times just to eat but one day my old man scored this old piece of junk computer in a vegetable box. Literally had no books, no nothing just a computer sitting there with some cables.

I had never even turned on a computer but the whole concept freaked me out. I still remember it like it was yesterday. I had to buy a magazine from money I raided from my old mans sock draw just to work out the commands used in the BASIC rom. In amongst the stuff in the box was an old red cartridge of Dungeons of Daggorath.

The heartbeat at the bottom of the screen haunted me as I worked my way through. Being so young and knowing little about computers it took me a while to pick up some of the basic concepts like being able to type 'A R' instead of 'Attack Right' and working out things like illusion walls and the like, it just mesmerised me.

There is a website that used to exist that had a list of people who finished that game but I bet none of them were 8 or 9 like I was.

A truly amazing game that I reckon changed my direction in things. By age 12 or so I could program in Basic like typing english. Made some of my own games for the Tandy too.

Can't say enough about it really.

No one I've ever spoken to has ever heard of this game, so it's amazing it has had so much of an influence on you. I was beginning to think my family was the only one to have it (figuratively speaking of course).

It was IMO so ahead of it's time, I even got a kick out of playing it recently when I d/l's it.

The rhythmic heart beat really set the mood, and the noises of the creatures that could be heard in the distance gave it that eerie feel.

Who could ever forget the 1st time they actually came face to face with the Solider or Wrath.....or the Wizard at the end.

And the thrill of beating it was just amazing.

When I played it recently, I was so bad at it....I barely got passed the bloody spiders LOL

Did you d/l from the link I provided?

 

[Karl Pilkington]

WAR will be a grind too eventually. Most, if not all MMOs, suffer from grinding one way or the other. My initinal thoughts led me to believe that WAR was a WoW Mk II but I've heard a lot of good things about it. I will try it out just to see what it's like.

This game is realyl, REALLY, geared around PvP an Realm vs Realm. some parts of the non-disclosure agreement are still in force, so I can't say too much. But trust me, it has far less potential for needless grinding than any other MMO I've played. There is so mch human interaction in this game, which goes a long way to getting rid of any repetitiveness you experience in WoW.

I hated WoW to be honest. But I am loving WAR so far.

I suspect it will be plagued with the same issues all MMOs go through at release - bugs, class imbalances, lack of end game content, and bugs.

Didn't notice many bugs in closed beta. A few, as to be expected, but nothing major.

Class imbalances aren't as relevant in this game, because its very much rock/paper/scissors - every class has a corresponding class that completely owns it, and vice versa. PvP is much more about tactics than anything (even gear doesn't make a big difference really). i.e. tnak classes get owned by mages, so you need to work out how to get your tanks to the front lines without getting killed, likewise you want your melee dps guys in carving up the casters, your healers need to be protected, your ranged dps guys are glass cannons etc etc and you hvae to get everything to click properly or you'll fail.

Though I like the concept of the melee healer - that he *has* to melee and deal damage in order to heal and use better skills. WoW's Paladin in comparison is/was bland (5 min buffs and FoLs in MC *shudder*). I loved it when my pally could not only go into the heat of battle and whack things, but heal his team mates on the side. Suits my play style perfectly. But recently I have been experimenting with mage-type classes because I usually go melee first off in RPGs.

The Disciple of Khaine (destruction) and Warrior Priest (order) are awesome to see in action. Hard to kill.

 

[Thrawn]

But trust me, it has far less potential for needless grinding than any other MMO I've played.

I hope so.

Class imbalances aren't as relevant in this game, because its very much rock/paper/scissors - every class has a corresponding class that completely owns it, and vice versa.

It will be once the game is released and people start bitching about it. There will always be a loud vocal group who wants to "nerf this" and "buff that". In fact I am expecting a few of the classes to be OP until they balance them a bit. IMO every class should have a chance against every class... it should depend on human skill, not what character you picked.

PvP is much more about tactics than anything (even gear doesn't make a big difference really). i.e. tnak classes get owned by mages, so you need to work out how to get your tanks to the front lines without getting killed, likewise you want your melee dps guys in carving up the casters, your healers need to be protected, your ranged dps guys are glass cannons etc etc and you hvae to get everything to click properly or you'll fail.

Hmm, sounds like WoW's BGs (without the collision mechanics).

The Disciple of Khaine (destruction) and Warrior Priest (order) are awesome to see in action. Hard to kill.

Think I'll go the baddies this time. I'm sure the majority will want to be "do-gooders" or human, which means that there will be more crappy players on that side. It will probably be similar to WoW, where the horde was usually outnumbered but for the most part they were better PvPers.

 

[Karl Pilkington]

It will be once the game is released and people start bitching about it. There will always be a loud vocal group who wants to "nerf this" and "buff that". In fact I am expecting a few of the classes to be OP until they balance them a bit. IMO every class should have a chance against every class... it should depend on human skill, not what character you picked.

yeah there's a diff though between being actually OP and just a bunch of people SAYING its op.

Whatever class proves to be most popular (Bright Wizard at this stage) - whatever class its its counter (I think its marauder) will get CALLED overpowered by a bunch of noobs.

Every class has a chance against eachother, but the game isn't about 1 on 1 PvP, or PvE. Its about group PvP - so you need everyone to be playing their role to be succesful as a team.

That said, a tank can still beat a caster, they just need to be smart about it (and will find it very hard against a caster of equal skill). Likewise, a melee DPS class will struggle against a tank.

Hmm, sounds like WoW's BGs (without the collision mechanics).

Completely different. Trust me. its WAY, WAY mroe complex and rewarding than WoW's PvP. Battlegrounds was a joke.

Think I'll go the baddies this time. I'm sure the majority will want to be "do-gooders" or human, which means that there will be more crappy players on that side. It will probably be similar to WoW, where the horde was usually outnumbered but for the most part they were better PvPers.

So far I'd say destruction (baddies) is the most popular side. There are humans on both sides (chaos and empire), elves on both sides (dark and high elves) and aliens on both (dwarfs and greenskins).

Most of the fighting is tkaing place in the realm where empire fight chaos, because its the only one that goes up to tier 5 at launch.

 

[H2F]

No one I've ever spoken to has ever heard of this game, so it's amazing it has had so much of an influence on you. I was beginning to think my family was the only one to have it (figuratively speaking of course).

It was IMO so ahead of it's time, I even got a kick out of playing it recently when I d/l's it.

The rhythmic heart beat really set the mood, and the noises of the creatures that could be heard in the distance gave it that eerie feel.

Who could ever forget the 1st time they actually came face to face with the Solider or Wrath.....or the Wizard at the end.

And the thrill of beating it was just amazing.

When I played it recently, I was so bad at it....I barely got passed the bloody spiders LOL

Did you d/l from the link I provided?

I feel the same way mate. Finally found another person who was blessed to have this game.

Remember this ...

[YOUTUBE]mUilZ8Bmt3s&[/YOUTUBE]

RJ this is real game mate.

Both you and Thrawn should download it from the link above and play it. You'll thank me for it. Genuinely scary to play ...

I still remember sneaking up to the loungeroom at night and playing this under a blanket.

Hey Viney come on AoC with Thrawn and I. Thrawn mentioned the server we are on above. I am a HoX, which is basically a dude that morphs into the Predator. I chose it so that I could say, 'What the hell are you?' to Thrawny as he smashed PvP's.