In the latest episode of Hyborian Insider, product manager Erling Ellingsen discussed crafting, city building, and professions in Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. If you want to see the video for yourself and learn more about the topics we just mentioned, head on over to the full article.

As unlikely as barbarian kings going around wearing Nikes is, this was the latest rumor to go around Funcom's upcoming Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (PC, Xbox 360) title. In a recent statement released by the developers, it was confirmed that the actual game will not support in-game advertising. Learn more about this story by clicking on the "read more" link below.

So what is it that makes Funcom's upcoming MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures stand out against the competition? Well, Erling Ellingsen sat down for an interview and gave the lowdown on the things that make the game a cut above the rest. Catch the video interview after the jump!

Wondering just how much of a barbarian you can be when Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures comes along? Then the answers lie in this video update, where we get an eyeful of the game's combat system. Slash, decapitate, disembowel! It's all in the mind, and you'll definitely have to keep your wits about you to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to you. Check out the video in the full article!

By Crom! Ever since siege warfare was announced as a feature in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, this barbarian blogger and other fans have been waiting for more information about it. Who better to give us information about this than Funcom product manager Erling Ellingsen.

In a recent Eurogamer interview, Ellingsen explained the implementation of Siege Warfare in the game. It begins with the guilds in the game being given the opportunity to own lands. The options after that are diverse, ranging from the massive battlekeeps of the larger groups to the smaller forts for smaller organization.

However, as with all things in Hyboria, you have to fight to keep what you have. Other guilds who sense weakness might wish to take away your precious resources by attacking your base.

Those on the warpath will be given access to various siege weaponry such as trebuchets and the like. These machines of destruction are directly linked to a crafting skill. As it increases so will the character's capability for designing better and more efficient weapons.

Attacks on opposing forts and keeps are scheduled, set by those who currently have ownership of it. However, the more they put their territory up for grabs, the greater the rewards they will be reaping from it. Ellingsen explained why this mechanic was integrated into the game:

Age of Conan is designed with that very clear idea in mind that it should appeal to both casual and hardcore players. We want you to feel rewarded even if you only have the opportunity to play for a short amount of time each week.

If you want to solo, then go for it. Many of us at Funcom are family men and women, and we know very well that you can't pour endless hours into a game each night. You'll see this reflected in all the different aspects of Age of Conan.

Slated to be out on March next year, Age of Conan looks to be a lot of fun to play as the developers unveil even more game modes to keep the action fresh and furious. If you want to read more on this, feel free to click on our Read Link.

Should MMO players be worried about the uber fast rise of MMO games? Since online gaming is seen as a cash cow by many developers, it is only natural that some are lured to make their own MMOs. Funcom can be considered a veteran in the MMO industry with Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures and Anarchy Online under its belt, but the company expressed concern about making "half-hearted" MMOs.

In a recent interview with CVG, Funcom warned that creating MMO games is not an easy venture. According to Funcom, MMO projects require huge resources - "massive" being the operative term. Funcom's product manager, Erling Ellingsen expressed concern about the developers going into the genre with limited resources, and as a result, these developers won't be able to live up to the market's high expectations. He added,

Not necessarily because they're not talented enough, but because they're going into the genre with limited means. Creating these games takes a tremendous amount of resources, both people-wise and money-wise, but especially in terms of using the right technology. These games are hard to make.

Hmm... Sound advice. The MMO genre is still relatively young but it already has a good number of titles. Let's hope that developers listen and go for quality instead of quantity so their games don't fall short of what gamers expect.

Age of Conan's got DirectX 10. That's one of the most talked-about features of Funcom's upcoming MMORPG. In a recent interview with CVG, Funcom's product manager Erling Ellingsen gave out the scoop on exactly what it brings to the game.

Unsurprisingly, Ellingsen says that the improvements that DirectX 10 brings are mostly cosmetic. Graphics have become more detailed, and the devs were able to push "much more content into each scene" than they were able to do with DirectX 9. It also delivers parallax mapping, improved shadows and lightning, sharper textures, more realistic particle effects, and "a lot of other good stuff."

Other than the aforementioned features, Ellingsen says that "the two DirectX versions will be identical in terms of game play." This brings us to Age of Conan's Xbox 360 version. Ellingsen says that it's "steadily on the way," and just to make sure that things go smoothly, they've put together a separate team with a separate Game Director to work on the Xbox 360 version. Ellingsen also noted that the Xbox 360 version isn't going to be a straight-up PC port, but will be "a tailored version for the Xbox 360."

How do they intend to tackle the multiple interface and input issues that comes with bringing an MMORPG to consoles, anyway? Ellingsen says that while it's a bit early to talk about it, he's confident that with an entire team working on the project, Funcom will be able to put together "a very user-friendly interface on the Xbox 360 version." He gives out pretty much the same answer on inter-platform playability, so it looks like we still have to wait a while before we find out if PC users can play with or against Xbox 360 users.

For the full interview, click on the "read" link below.

When it comes to Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, developer Funcom started with the MMORPG genre on the PC platform. After months of speculation, Funcom finally confirmed the console version of the game on Xbox 360.

This time, gaming site CVG got to talk with Product Manager Erling Ellingsen and found out that a "cross-platform action" for the game is being cooked up, and the Age of Conan developers are currently toying with many different solutions.

Solutions to what, you ask? Solutions to any problems that might be encountered when PC and Xbox 360 players meet each other online. Ellingsen explained:

There are several issues with mixing people on the same server. Will they be able to communicate well enough with each other? Will the console users be less responsive than the PC users? There are many issues that must be addressed.

The product manager wouldn't go into details, but he mentioned that giving players the freedom of choice is what Funcom is going after. He then revealed that Age of Conan might come up with "shared servers" for players on both platforms but some other servers will remain dedicated for each.

Erling Ellingsen gave us an update about what's up with Funcom's upcoming MMO offering, Age of Conan. Erling actually had a lot to say, not only about the game but about MMOs in general. He kicked things off by stating the importance of single-player experiences. He says that "MMOs can be very intimidating at first. They lack many of the gameplay mechanics that draw the player in from the start of most games, such as story that really takes you by the hand and gets you going."

This mantra is what's in the dev team's head that is why they introduced a single-player part in Age of Conan. At first, you will be all alone in exploring the island of Tortage and eventually, you'll be encountering other players. In that way, Erling believes that the players would be able to bond with their characters and they'll have a wider understanding of the game.

With regards to the Real Combat system, he mentioned that the game will "rely mostly on the standard character skills, not the player's "twitch" skill. The action is never so fast and accurate that the faster you're able to press the keys, the more damage you will do. It is much more a strategic, tactical type of fighting." With that, you could already picture how violent and brutal AoC would be. So would a really physical world have room for spellcasters? According to Erling, spellcasters and magic are not neglected as Hyboria isn't only known for its brutal realism, but is also home to mystical creatures and mythologies.

For most game developers, a game being rated as Mature is a bad thing. But to Erling and FunCom, they see it as something good. Call it optimism, but he believes that "Having the game rated Mature does give us a lot more opportunities to fully realize the world of Hyboria in accordance with the works of Robert E. Howard, the original author of the Conan stories."

To read the blow-by-blow account of the interview, check out the link below.

Erling Ellingsen, one of Age of Conan's Product Managers, gave time out earlier this week to share with us how the game's promotion is coming along. And boy, there really is more to game development than just making sure graphics and gameplays are swell. To a certain extent, it can be said that the world outside of production is sometimes way tougher, cause at that point, you have to be able to sell your idea to your potential patrons. And that ain't no easy task.

Here's what they've been up to since first announcing Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Pretty much, they've been lugging it, living out of suitcases traveling around the world to show it to executives, the press, and players. Taking the game on the road entails a whole lot of preparation, such as ensuring that they could have a version of the game that can run on computers outside of Funcom's offices.

When working with a game as huge and complex like Conan, you don't expect it to be created all in one go. It's a piecemeal kind of project, where people from separate departments work on their own particular tasks independently, until the time comes when they have to put it together as a whole. Like a collage. And when this conglomeration happens, bugs are expected to be around. So it's up to the programmers to squish them all. And more often than not, there will always be a bug or two that will manage to escape from their tight scrutiny. And it sure sucks when the glitch chooses to appear just when the game's being presented on the road.

Ellingsen also explains why they don't just wait until the whole thing's finished before they go releasing it to the press. He says it's utterly important for the game's success that they let out the word as early as possible. "The gaming business is huge, and we have to fight for the attention of both players and journalists alike. Having something to show during the development is therefore very important."

And presenting them is not a breeze, especially. For gamers like us, going to conventions is such a thrill. Well, we have it all too easy, 'cause we're just playing the role of the audience. We're the ones they have to please the most, or else their product would go kaplonk. But for them, it's nuts. They have to work it for as much as four to six days in a row, nine hours a day, and just running through the same stuff over and over again. That itself can be a downer right there.

But then again, he says, at the end of the day, it's what gives him satisfaction the most. He loves his job, and he loves seeing the reactions of both players and the press alike. In fact, they always look forward to it, 'cause "the feedback is also absolutely invaluable to us." Heck, if that's the case, no matter how hard the job may be, then there's every reason for us to envy you.