FAQ/Technology

What graphics engine is Age of Conan built upon?

Age of Conan is based on Funcom's proprietary DreamWorld engine, a technology we've spent years making and adding to. The engine has gone through many iterations since we started to work on the MMO Anarchy Online in 1996. Today it appears as one of the most advanced MMO graphics engines in the industry, able to render locations, characters and effects that set a new graphical standard in the MMO industry.

What sort of new technology does the game feature?

Age of Conan is the first MMO to be released with DirectX 10 technology – the next generation DirectX technology. By using this we are able to go to even greater lengths than before, creating some truly incredible sights and sounds that are unheard of in this genre. To our knowledge Age of Conan is currently the only MMO in the works with this technology.

Will Age of Conan use instancing technology?

Yes, but in a sensible and appropriate manner. Funcom was the company who pioneered the use the instancing technology in the MMO genre in the award-winning Anarchy Online, which is still going strong to this day. Instancing will also be used in Age of Conan, but we're going to great lengths to ensure that the game world feels large, persistent and massive. It can be used in, for instance, dungeons to make the experience much more enjoyable for the players or to improve performance in areas with many players. Having to fight over spawn points is no fun, and instancing technology can eliminate this problem. Out in the wild, instancing will be used appropriately.

Will the game be presented in surround sound?

Absolutely, we actually use a 7.1 surround system for Age of Conan. Many of the key computer-controlled characters in the game feature voice acting, and we're investing a lot of resources into making some epic scores for the game as well as creating an incredibly realistic soundscape.

What does it mean to be a Windows Vista launch title?

This means that we are cooperating with Microsoft in the development of Age of Conan to make sure it takes advantage of all the new gaming specific features found in Windows Vista. As the first MMO game Age of Conan will also feature DX10 support, which allows us to bring an even more detailed gameworld to the players. The game can also be played in DX9.

What are the minimum requirements to play the game?

The minimum requirements for Age of Conan have not yet been finalized. The game will be highly scalable so you can adjust the settings according to the performance of your PC.

How do players communicate with each other?

Mainly through chat text which appears in a window on the screen. You are, of course, free to communicate with people through voice chats but this is not an integrated feature in Age of Conan at launch. Players will also be able to carry out a myriad of different emotes, each accompanied with vivid animations that has been motion captured by real people.

How do you control your character?

This is customizable, but your character is usually controlled using a mix of the mouse and the keyboard. You're also free to use a gamepad should you wish. There is even a rumble feature that kicks in when you strike your opponents. The combat in Age of Conan is very action-oriented, and we think that the ability to fight so well with the gamepad will be especially valuable to players who like console games.

What are the available view perspectives?

The majority of the game is played out in third-person, but you are able to zoom both in and out using, for instance, the mouse wheel. We have not decided yet whether or not we want to include a first-person perspective. However, it is possible to zoom all the way in to a shoulder-cam perspective which, for instance, is automatically activated when you string your bow.

How many players can play on each server?

This number has to be ironed out in the beta where we can actually find the number that fits best with both the technology and the general population level of the game world. We do aim to let thousands of people enter the same server, but how many exactly we can't say yet as this must be balanced properly.

How many players can be visible on-screen at once?

We can not reveal a final number on this as it will be a constant evolution in optimizing the game throughout development. Seeing massive siege battles are such a large part of Age of Conan, we're fully committed in bringing gigantic fights which involves a lot of different characters.

Are there any console versions planned?

A version of Age of Conan has been announced for Xbox 360, although it won't come out until a while after the PC release.