By Crom! Is it that time again? Another week has gone by so here's another Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Weekend Warriors for all you gamers. This week we have another set of patches and changes applied to Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, an open letter to the community by Game Director Gaute Godager and more. So head on over to the full article to get your weekly dose of news!

By Crom, the developers from Funcom have released Clan of Conan Issue 17. In this issue, gamers can find more details on upcoming features in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, a dialogue with Game Director Gaute Godager, and more. Head on over to the full article by clicking on the "read more" link below.

After the successful launch of Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventure's (PC, with an Xbox 360 version to follow), what's next for the game? The director of the MMORPG, Gaute Godager, has just rolled out a letter which revealed all the future changes planned for the MMORPG. Head on over to the full article for more information.

What better way to prepare for the upcoming MMORPG than to know what the developers have been up to with Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (PC and Xbox 360). The guys from Funcom have been able to put up their latest Friday video update. Check out what's in store for you guys in the full article.

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (PC, Xbox 360) director Gaute Godager has sent out an open explaining the game's delay. If you've been waiting for this game to hit the stands, then you might be interested in finding out why you're not going to be able to pick up the game this March. Head on over to the full article for more details.

Apparently, not even the sweaty, Cimmerian hunk of manliness that is Conan can withstand the almighty developer's whims.

Funcom developers have just announced that they've pushed back the Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures MMORPG's launch date back to May 2008. Details regarding this matter are available in the full article.

  

By Crom! Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (for the PC and Xbox 360) picked up the Best Online Game award at the 2007 Games Convention in Leipzig. This MMORPG beat out other online games from every genre and platform to get the prestigious accolade.

Obviously both Funcom and Eidos were extremely happy that their work on the game did not go unnoticed. To mark this occasion, Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas said that "this is a great honor to everyone working on Age of Conan. These awards really show that our massive efforts are paying off and that the public, the press, and the industry are recognizing the very strong qualities of the game."

The MMORPG was heavily featured at the GC this year, with it being shown at the Microsoft and Eidos booth as well as behind the scenes to select members of the press. The Director of the Game Gaute Godager pinpointed a few of the reasons on why their game has captured the attention of the online community:

Siege warfare and player-versus-player battles are some of the most anticipated features in Age of Conan. We recognize the tremendous importance that Games Convention has in the industry and that is why we chose this to be the arena for first showing off these features, letting gamers play player-versus-player for the first time

Gamers excited to play the full version of this game will have to wait a bit since the developers and publisher decided to push its release back to March 2008. They did this because they believe that the combat system isn't up to par, despite the massive demand from gamers. It's that kind of dedication to quality that may push this MMORPG above and beyond its contemporaries when it comes out.

 

By Crom! 100,000 players have already signed up to beta test Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures MMO game for PCs. It's no surprise considering that 50,000 players signed up within 24 hours of the online game's beta test announcement.

Gaute Godager, founder of Funcom and Game Director, is very proud about the game and excited about how many people wanted to be part of the beta test.

We’ve been developing this incredible world for years now and today more than 150 people are working hard on achieving the ambitious goals we set out for the game. The team is very excited about the number of gamers who have signed up for the Beta so far, and we can’t wait to see them charging into the brutal battlefields of Hyboria!

In our previous coverage of this event, we discussed the sign-up procedure for the game. The sign-up process that Funcom implemented was to ensure that it only allowed players who were dedicated to the testing of the game. It's also said that as the game's launch date approaches, further moves to expand the base of beta testers will be implemented.

From what's been announced, the game already has a large base of beta testers. Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom, has commented on this huge turn out.

We’re naturally very pleased to see that so many dedicated gamers are signing up for the ‘Age of Conan’ Beta at such a rapid pace. With more than 100,000 gamers signed up in such a short time-frame our confidence in the game’s potential and its ability to be a major contender in the MMO genre continues to be strengthened.

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is slated to be released on October 30. The game has won the "Best MMO of E3" award from IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy, and Yahoo. In addition to this, it is being used as a showcase DirectX 10 title for nVidia. It's understandable that some consider this game to be one of the most anticipated MMORPGs of the year.

  

By Crom! The MMORPG Age of Conan (PC and 360) by Funcom and Eidos has finally entered its beta stage. This means that players can now apply, and hopefully, be chosen to play the game in either one or both of the game's beta stages.

Gaute Godager, founder of Funcom and Game Director on Age of Conan, has spoken about the beta launch.

We have been waiting for this day since we started development on Age of Conan, and it will be an epic moment as we see large waves of players charging into Hyboria. As we get ready to unleash the most brutal MMO ever created we will let an increasing amount of players test our creation. With extended Beta testing for months to come we can hone and polish based on large-scale feedback, allowing us to fulfill the potential of the game.

The beta test process has been divided into two parts - the General Beta and the Technical Beta. General Beta includes gameplay testing while the Technical Beta focuses on other aspects such as stress testing. If you are over 18, you can choose to join one or both. It is also stated in the application form that being selected in one part doesn't mean that you will be chosen for the other.

Applying to the Beta test requires answering some questions and submitting your DxDiag.txt (instructions on how to get this can be found on the beta application form). It should be noted that those who have been accepted in the beta testing will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. If you've been waiting for the game, now would be a perfect time for you to go and sign up for this (the Read link leads you to the application page). If you'd rather wait for the full release, the game is set to be out this October 30 (for PC).

Funcom World Designer, Thomas Wolbekk, who is currently dabbling on the MMORPG, Age of Conan, got up close and personal with MMORPG.com as he gamely talked about his childhood, his first video game, and his influences. Wolbekk admitted that he never really liked school and he spends most of his free time playing games, pretending to do his homework. He also said that his father was his biggest influence in his life.

So on to the gaming-related tidbits. He mentioned that the first video game he played was Bubble Bobble, but he cites Super Mario World, Zelda (A Link to the Past), Rise of the Triad as his big influences among many others. His first video-game related job is making simple games and working on a couple of modifications for Half-Life and Unreal. He says that AoC is the first real game he has worked on. Good start for him!

When asked on what a typical day at Funcom was like, this is what he had to say:

I work as a 3D Environment Artist World Designer. I usually do a lot of polish work and put the final pieces together in Age of Conan’s environments.

I usually arrive at 10 am and go through my task list. I have a small chat with Dag, one of our talented gameplay world designers and we plan out what to work on. After a couple of hours with tweaking the lighting, cleaning up textures, planting trees, placing objects, painting and modeling the ground it’s time for Chris...Then it’s back to work where I usually spend a couple of hours in meetings and continue to brush up on our outdoor areas until I go home at 6 pm. Except when our Game Director Gaute Godager comes running and shouts I have to remove the two people having intercourse with a barrel or something like that before I go home.

The full interview could be read via the Read link below.