Game Director Letter – April 2014 Discussion

[Suctum]

Really? The Conan books (and yes I do mean the original REH) I read are full of loin cloths, bare chests and horned helmets (well, maybe not the latter). On the other hand Khitai is barely mentioned and we don't hear about tiger/wolf/lizard mounts or dildo helmets (fearless souls). I actually only read Conan comics AFTER reading REH (and not many of them of them mind you). The only thing I saw before reading REH books was the 1982 film (fun and I love it but it's not really REH's Conan).

Funcom did not always stick to the original REH material anyway, be it Turan or Khitai or w/e they had other sources of inspiration than just the books Just check Gaute interview. Notice how he says that he wouldn't have gone for Khitai if the game had been a success and if he was thus free to do anything he wanted - Khitai was basically an attempt to save the game with the Asian market (I think there actually was Korean servers at some point)

Conan wore a multitude of outfits if you have read most of the short stories, from pure black plate mail in the latter parts of "Hour of the Dragon", to next to nothing in "Red Nails", to pirate outfits, to just rags, to chain mail, nothing was linear and to every story he was armored/clothed in pretty much how the culture of setting was based.

Many of the stories are set in the Black Kingdoms, yet you see so little of that actual make it's way to the game outside a few combat abilities and armor that the Dark Templar class has named after it, such as Malacador and Gorugula and Alkeemon (SP).

The point is that your right, Funcom has largely ignored many of the better stories available and went for their own take based on just of a few random short works. Khitai, for example, was largely set up to compete with Aion and other cookie cutter Korean MMOS which were flooding the market at that time and basically usher in the changes that most of us veteran players hate: GRINDING.

The only thing I do like is that they incorporated H.P. Lovecraft's Chtulu (SP) stories which were always implied in many of Howard's works but always on the edge of understanding what it was all about.

[Rathothis]

Is it that hard to understand that what you think of as Conan isn't Conan, but is in fact a shitty art style that got associated with Conan in the 80's thanks to Frazetta and the Conan movies, rather than what REH would've envisioned in the 30's?

Whether you like it or not, the world of Conan is pseudo-historical; every country and people in it correspond to real-life history - Nordheim to ancient Scandinavia, Aquilonia/Nemedia to ancient Rome, Khitai to ancient China etc.

The difference is that there are markedly less loin cloths, bare chests and horned helmets in REH's Conan.

Yes, the world of Conan is pseudo-historical. But REH's Conan is decidedly pulp. Most stories were released in Weird Tales, for god's sake. And no, bare chests and loin cloths are not a product of the 80s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...ugust_1928.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...s_May_1934.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...ember_1934.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...ember_1935.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We..._Red_Nails.jpg

I rest my case.

[Slith]

Yes, the world of Conan is pseudo-historical. But REH's Conan is decidedly pulp. Most stories were released in Weird Tales, for god's sake. And no, bare chests and loin cloths are not a product of the 80s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...ugust_1928.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...s_May_1934.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...ember_1934.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We...ember_1935.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:We..._Red_Nails.jpg

I rest my case.

"The lurid lights and drunken revelry fell away behind the Cimmerian.
He had discarded his torn tunic, and walked through the night naked
except for a loin-cloth and his high-strapped sandals. He moved with
the supple ease of a great tiger, his steely muscles rippling under
his brown skin."

The Tower of the Elephant

"He discarded his ragged tunic and moved off through the night naked
but for a loincloth. As he went he fingered the poniard he had
captured--a murderous weapon with a broad, double-edged blade nineteen
inches long."

Rogues in the House

"he was powerfully built, naked but for a girdled loincloth,
which was stained with blood and crusted with dried mire"

Shadows In The Moonlight

loin cloth? Check
bare chest? Check


The funny thing about Conan, and it's something I learned quite a while ago, is that whenever you make a bold statement that "Conan is so and so" there are always dozens quotes that will contradict it

So saying that "The difference is that there are markedly less loin cloths, bare chests and horned helmets in REH's Conan" is just not true...

so not true..

"He stood like a bronze image in
the sand, apparently impervious to the murderous sun, though his only
garment was a silk loincloth, girdled by a wide gold-buckled belt
from which hung a saber and a broad-bladed poniard"

The Slithering Shadow

[-tomhet-]

What happened in past with T4 gear was simply ridiculous. Any noob who spent two or three months in game could have better gear for PvP than players who tried hard for 4+ years... well it is not even ridiculous it is another dimension - its ABSURD

was chating with redartin we think that if t4 raid gear was revamped to have pve only stats would be enough for t5 gear to be introduced with pve only stats, no need to waste time with kithai gear or even erlic (wich is only marginaly better then kithai anyway)

alternatively just make unchained for every available pvp instance forcing pvp t1 armor on anyone who doesnt have pvp armor equiped,
by this i mean anyone entering a pvp enabled zone or minigame would have his armor replaced by pvp t1 armor if they hadnt any pvp armor of superior quality equiped.

i realy dont see any alternative to finish this bullshiit everytime new raid encounter come then full separation.

[Religolibri]

Conan was a ranger.

[-tomhet-]

Conan was a ranger.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t0-DaNcj3i...00/justinb.jpg

justin bieber is a ranger just like you mr i need taking the shot to play ranger lol

[Korando-AoC]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t0-DaNcj3i...00/justinb.jpg

justin bieber is a ranger just like you mr i need taking the shot to play ranger lol

I was sure you are a fun of Justin Bieber Tomhet, finally we have proofs

[-tomhet-]

I was sure you are a fun of Justin Bieber Tomhet, finally we have proofs

qq lies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaFS0ZMHeco

[Korando-AoC]

qq lies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaFS0ZMHeco

Lol, I'm not sure anymore if I preferred you as Belieber

Maybe better Burzum yeah..

[-tomhet-]

Lol, I'm not sure anymore if I preferred you as Belieber

Maybe better Burzum yeah..

lol belieber sounds awesome name for your ranger renamed it