Funcom has announced that it'll be making its presence known at the upcoming DragonCon 2008. They'll be doing more than hosting a booth though; they've got a big event planned, as well as game presentations and item giveaways to boot! Learn more after the jump!

Sometimes a simple preview of things to come is all it takes to generate excitement for an MMORPG. Funcom has done precisely that with patch 17.9 for Anarchy Online. Curious as to what's new this time around? Turn to the full article after the jump and find out!

The folks at Funcom have updated Anarchy Online yet again, as we've just found out that they're now on patch number 17.6. Specifically, they seem to have hit patch number 17.6.4, which adds some tweaks that should resolve certain issues associated with new Halloween items they've put in for the season.

In any event, below are the full patch notes for patch 17.6. Feel free to check the associated source link at the end of the article if you'd like more information.

17.6.4 Release Notes

• Resolved an issue with Battlesuits that could cause some users to crash.
• Players logged off in Halloween Morphs should no longer experience rendering issues when logging back in.
• Resolved issue with the drop level ranges of The Grinning Devil and the Uncle Pumpkinhead Doll.
• Resolved issue with the drop level range of The Vagabond Cloak.

More patch notes after the jump!

Anarchy Online administrators at Funcom have announced that subscribers  of Rubi-Ka can now purchase special virtual items online for their enjoyment. This will make buying hoverboards and other peripherals much easier with the introduction of real money.

Real money can be converted to game points at a rate of 100 game points equals US$ 1.00/EUR 1.00. These game points can be purchased at US$/EUR 10.00, US$/EUR 20.00, and US$/EUR 30.00 increments.

Basic hovercraft will be available for as low as 300 points, but those who fancy these rides can acquire the entire set by paying 2000 points as a special introductory offer.

"This kind of system puts the choice in the hands of the players by allowing them to take as little or as much of the new content as they like," said Craig Morrison, Game Director on Anarchy Online.

"It really adds an extra dimension to what we can provide in terms of fun social items, designed to look cool while being something players don't feel forced into," continues Morrison. "That extra element of choice has allowed us to add a much broader range of items than we might if we were simply targeting it into a self contained expansion."

 

Want to be on top of your game? Perhaps you simply want something a little extra without going through the trouble of working doubly hard for it in Anarchy Online? Well, the days of endlessly grinding to purchase sweet stuff are over. Funcom has announced the arrival of virtual item sales to Anarchy Online, allowing folks to purchase select virtual items, content and services.

The new arrangement introduces some sweet new items that won't interfere with gameplay balance, but will still be worth every penny you spend to get them. You can now purchase jetbikes and hover boards to get around the lands of Rubi-Ka. Scout mechs, luxury apartments, and leet pets will also be made available through the service.

Said Trond Arne Aas, Funcom's CEO,

Funcom has long been a pioneer on new MMO business models, and with the introduction of virtual item sales we are once again moving our game in an exciting new direction. Selling virtual items and smaller content upgrades is now a prevalent MMO business model in Asia. This has yet to be fully explored in the west, but we believe that the time is now right to test a limited version of such a model. At the same time we remain committed to the overall evolution of the game, making sure that Anarchy Online will be a success for many years to come.

  

More screens of the bikes and the boards after the jump!

MMO video game title Anarchy Online will be celebrating its sixth anniversary at the end of June. Now, what kind of a birthday party is without celebration and gift giving? To show its gratitude to players, Funcom decided to throw away some prizes to the existing players of AO.

The celebration has actually already began. Funcom announced that it will be giving the following to select players every Friday of the week:

• One free life-time account amongst all paying subscribers
• Two places in the Age of Conan beta program, selected from all active paying subscribers
• One place in the Age of Conan beta program selected from all active free players
• One free 'all expansion upgrades' to one of our free players with 30 days subscription
• One each of the exclusive in-game items: a luxury apartment key, a leet pet key and the pre-order mech key

We're pretty sure you are interested to join given the above mentioned prizes. But the good thing about this contest is that you don't have to do anything in order to win. Just log in as much as you can and then leave it up to father fate. And since the prizes are given every Friday, take note that the week commences at that same day up to Thursday of the following week.

Funcom announced today that recent changes have been made within the company's organizational structure. But before you dismiss this post as just another one of those corporate hullabaloos that you wouldn't bother reading about, you should know that the changes concern two of the company's game releases - Age of Conan for the Xbox360, and Anarchy Online.

According to the PR, Funcom has appointed former Community Manager Craig Morrison to be Anarchy Online's new Game Director, a position that Morten Byom used to occupy.

Not to worry though, Byom wasn't sacked or anything. Instead, he's now the new Assistant Game Director for the console version of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures.

Craig Morrison has this to say about his recent appointment:

It is a true joy for me to be working on ‘Anarchy Online’, and I am very eager to begin the job building on the remarkable success that the game has had for the last five years. The game is still a top priority for Funcom, and we aim to provide both new and existing players with an abundance of new and exciting content in the years to come.

Ah, the wait is finally over! All you Anarchy Online users who have remained loyal shall now reap your reward, because Funcom has just announced that the Lost Eden expansion pack is now up for grabs!

Lost Eden packs in tons of new features for all level ranges and is only available digitally, so don't even bother checking your local stores, alright? So anyway, before you download the expansion at Funcom's site, surely you wanna know the stuff that's included in the expansion, right?

Features:

• All-new orbital battle stations take PvP combat between Clan and Omni players to new heights.
• Enter the heart of the organic alien motherships! Unleash your powers inside the terrifying alien invasion fleet while exploring mysterious and challenging in-door environments.
• Go to war with missile launchers, gun turrets and call upon devastating air strikes! It's time to fight for Notum tower control in a whole new way.
• Add your experience points to planet-wide research and gain terrible weapons of war such as orbit-to-ground laser cannon attacks and upgraded battle-mechs.
• Master and use devastating new battle-mechs! Unleash their potential for death on massive player-versus-player battlefields, in space and on the ground.
• Conquer a whole new range of weapons and armor as you battle across Rubi-ka in its darkest hour! "Lost Eden" brings you on a journey ever closer to Armageddon.
  

Apologies for the very enthusiastic high-on-happy-pills features description, but there ya have it, those are some of the things that you'll be getting in Lost Eden. Oh, and another cool thing is that when you purchase Lost Eden, you'll also automatically get the classic version of Anarchy Online and the following expansion packs: Notum Wars, Shadowlands, and Alien Invasion.

The new Lost Eden expansion is now up for grabs at Funcom's site and costs US $ 29.95. Just click on the read link below and you're all set.

Being around for quite some time now, Anarchy Online helped pave the way for the MMORPG genre especially for those set in the world of science fiction. With 16.4 patch coming out at the end of this month and expansion Lost Eden around December, one can't help but wonder what's the secret behind developer Funcom's success.

"AO is doing very well, better then ever in fact. The free offer means that the game has a constant stream of new players into the game, and they integrate very well with our existing community as well," shared Community Manager Craig Morrison. He then added that the 16.4 update will definitely improve the game's client performance, aside from graphical resources and animations.

Morrison then talked about the planned character transfer system for the game. The official explained, "We are still investigating how we might use the feature on our live servers but are examining it with a view to some form of paid character transfer." Currently, the company is doing an in testing so players can copy their characters to the test dimensions.

Furthermore, one can not talk AO in-depth without any mention of IGA or in-game advertisement. While Funcom was one of the firsts to introduce such feature, the company still gets flamed by fans from time to time. Regarding the matter, Morrison answered that "the advertising system is always evolving. The optional nature of the system for paying subscribers and the flow of free players into the game means that the advertising works towards maintaining the game in a way that just wouldn't be possible otherwise."

These past few weeks, the MMO world was plagued by hacking incidents with titles FF XI and others being affected. Fortunately Morrison disclosed that the matter is rather minimal for AO. "There are actually very few cases where we have found any evidence of a virus or otherwise malicious program stealing passwords. 99% of all 'Hacking' incidents are actually the player not being secure with their password."

In the end, Morrison couldn't help but provide some advice on how AO made it to more than five years: "I think it's really two very distinct things coming together. Yes, we provide new content and new things to see and do, but it is the interaction with the players around them that really defines your experience in any MMO."

Imagine yourself in the paradise of your dreams. Maybe it's wading along the crystalline waters of the Caribbean. Maybe it's discovering the treasures that lie beneath the sea, swimming amongst wondrous creatures that vary in shape and color. Or maybe for you, paradise is just simply hanging out at home, lounging on the couch, reading a good book and eating Belgian chocolates to your hearts' delight.

Anyway, imagine that paradise is on the brink of destruction, as war is breaking out. Imagine that it's the land of Rubi-Ka, where its inhabitants are faced with the decision to either fight for their land or find peace. That is the plot of Lost Eden, Anarchy Online's latest expansion.

Interesting,eh? Our source recently had an interview with Funcom's Morten Byom, and he gives us more tidbits on Lost Eden.

Byom says that Lost Eden "takes all the elements from our previous expansions and adds in a huge extra helping of Sci-Fi". Expect lots of battle stuff, including PvP battlefields, kickass weapons, and "mech vehicles that really make you say 'ah.'"

The expansion is not expected until December 12, but there's an exclusive download opportunity via Digital River, GameZone.com's parent company. Pre-orders through Digital River/GameZone guarantee Anarchy Online, Notum Wars, Shadowlands, as well as Alien Invasion after users are done with the set-up, and of course, Lost Eden content once the expansion is launched.