‘Age Of Conan’ Board Game – Video Promo

The Age of Conan is coming…

The war has begun, and every nation is sending forth armies. In Age of Conan, you take control of one of four mighty empires. Will you lead the military might of Aquilonia, crushing the forces allied against you? Will you adopt the mantle of the magical Stygians, and use your powers to lay waste to the peoples of the lands?

Each kingdom rules differently, and has unique powers to bring forth in the conquest of the world. In the midst of the war, Conan moves about the land, slaying monsters and claiming plunder. Many leaders have tried to control the awesome power of Conan, but no ruler is ever fully in control of the Cimmerian.

The latest video from Fantasy Flight gives you a glimpse into the world of the thief and reaver, the slayer and barbarian, Conan! Read more

Age of Conan Free Trial in Progress

Funcom is offering a free trial period for their struggling MMORPG, Age of Conan.  The game has recently gone live with a beta version of their DirectX 10 graphics package as well as added a ton of new content thanks to the ”Ymirs Pass” content expansion.  This is one of those titles which should not be allowed to die people, show your support.  Its graphics are outstanding, combat mechanics a ton of a fun, and it has a big helping of mature subject matter to boot.

Official Release:

Funcom is proud to announce that ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ is now available as a free trial.  Funcom, Fileplanet and Ausgamers have teamed up to provide gamers everywhere with the opportunity to download and play ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ for free for a period of seven to fourteen days.  This is the chance to experience the brutal, savage and sexy world of Conan where you can live, fight and explore in the world of Hyboria together with thousands of people from across the globe.

Fantasy Flight Games’ ‘Age Of Conan’ Boardgame Has Been Released

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to present, in conjunction with Nexus Games, Age of Conan: The Strategy Board Game. Bringing to your gaming table the epic sweep of the Hyborian age, Age of Conan presents the battles and intrigues, quests and magic, of Robert E. Howard’s celebrated tales of Conan the Cimmerian.

In Age of Conan two to four players will take on the roles of the great kingdoms of Hyboria – Aquilonia, Stygia, Turan, and Hyperborea – and build through military might and cunning the most powerful empire the ancient world has ever seen!

Meanwhile, Conan the Cimmerian adventures through Hyboria on his own quests and the kingdom who ignores him, does so at its own peril. The kingdom which crowns Conan may harness his power, but the barbarian is unpredictable and savage, and failure will only unleash his wrath!

Brought to you by the design team of War of the Ring, Age of Conan is an epic-level strategy game featuring 170 plastic figures, 165 playing cards, 13 dice, and a large game board map of Hyborea, with rulebook and reference cards.

Fantasy Flight Games

Age of Conan Launched in Russia and Poland

GamingShogun has word that Age Of Conan is still trying to hang in there and survive…

Struggling MMO Age of Conan has launched in Russia and Poland, according to a press release put out today. The game has experienced several setbacks since its rocky launch last year, but Funcom is determined to turn it around. 1C and CD Projekt are handling the game”s publishing and local community relations in those regions.Official Release:Funcom is proud to announce that Age of Conan has launched in Russia, and Poland.

As the game gets ready for full service in two new languages, Funcom has seen a clear trend towards strengthened feedback from the current player community, which praises the many improvements to the game.

Read more

Fantasy Flight Games Posts Rules for Age Of Conan – The Boardgame

In anticipation of the Spring 2009 release of Nexus Games’ and Fantasy Flight Games’ new epic strategy board game, Age of Conan, we are presenting this brief sneak peak at Age of Conan, by Editor Sam Stewart. Those of you who attended Gen Con 2008 and got a chance to play the prototype of Age of Conan will remember Sam – he ran demoes the entire Gen Con weekend.

Age Of Conan – The Boardgame Rules

Age of Conan is, at heart, a game of military conflict. Phalanxes of armored soldiers square off against hordes of howling, axe-wielding barbarians, while swarms of horsemen pepper ensorcelled legions with clouds of arrows. While players can (and should) send their diplomats to convince or coerce the provinces of Hyboria into alliances, they should not do so at the expense of their armies. Though military conquest may prove more difficult than diplomatic intrigue, it will also provide a player with more long-term rewards. After all, this is the time of Conan the Barbarian, when only the strong survive to reap their rewards.

Conan is a major presence in this game (of course!), as he adventures through Western Hyboria. He can start minor uprisings and raise bands of brigands in provinces as scum and rabble-rousers flock to his presence. He may even join the armies of neutral provinces to fight against the invading armies of the players. Obviously, this means Conan’s influence can often upset a player’s carefully laid plans. However, there are ways for players to temporarily enlist Conan to aid them in their endeavors. A canny player will time his actions to take full advantage of Conan’s presence or absence. A player may even steer Conan in the direction of his opponents, so their schemes will be disrupted while he can proceed unimpeded. Read more

Age Of Conan Still Slated For The Xbox 360

Though there’s been no official word for a while and developer Funcom recently laid off some staff, the studio is still planning to deliver the long-promised Xbox 360 edition of its mature MMO Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures.

“The Xbox 360 version of the game is still in production, but as before we are not committing to any specific dates,” product manager Erling Ellingsen told MTV Multiplayer. “I wish I could give you more information, but I can’t at the time being.”

As for the layoffs, Ellingsen noted that “our aim is for this to not affect development of Age of Conan, or any of our other games, at all. We are sticking firmly to our plans.”

Following its May 2008 launch on PC, Age of Conan has seen some troubled times, including a misogynstic glitch that made male characters more powerful than their female counterparts, and the recent departure of game director Gaute Godage, who cited his dissatisfaction with the overall product.

More recently, newly appointed game director Craig Morrison announced his intent to begin addressing common woes, such as “content gaps [at] the highest level.”

Source: ShackNews.com

Funcom confirms Age of Conan layoffs

The bad news parade for Age of Conan doesn’t look like it’s going to stop until it pulls a Tabula Rasa. TenTonHammer has confirmed layoffs at developer Funcom’s US branch. Although the company would only acknowledge "staffing cuts," TTH reported rumors that 70% of the staff, mostly from the customer service and quality assurance departments, were let go.

Although it’s certainly no secret that Age of Conan is hurting at this point, the QA and CS departments are the two bookends of support on many MMORPGs. When there’s no need for them, it speaks volumes about what happens next.

Source: Joystiq

Age Of Conan Getting DirectX 10 Support in ‘Next Major Game Update’

The long-promised DirectX 10 support for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures will arrive in the “next major game update” for the PC MMO, developer Funcom has revealed.

“We have been determined that the new DirectX 10 functionality would not just be a ‘gimmick’ addition to the game and would add visual quality to the game,” newly appointed game director Craig Morrison wrote in his November Letter.

“We feel that the version we are preparing now for testing does achieve this and in a way that will find the right balance between visuals and performance,” he added.

While Morrison did not specify when the “major” update will arrive, he revealed that the next update will pack two new dungeons “aimed at maximum level players” in an attempt to begin filling “content gaps [at] the highest level.”

Source: ShackNews.com Read more