Funcom has released the latest Age of Conan Development Update for the month of April. The team is working hard on all the new content slated for release. They said:

"The end of this month finds us right in the middle of the deployment push. Lots of new content being released and the proverbial ton of updates, tweaks and adjustments that are either already on the test server, on their way to live, on their way to the test server, or in the final phases of internal testing."

The team also released an updated schedule of exactly which projects are in what phases. Read the full April Update over on the Age of Conan site and keep checking back for updates on when the content will go live.

Age of Conan's March development update has been released, and the letter provides a tentative roadmap of the content that is coming to the game. The team discusses the two new level 80 team instances in Paikang, faction progression improvements, and the "Blood and Glory" PvP server ruleset. They then dive into the proposed schedule:

2.01.7 - Refuge of the Apostate (Level 80 solo instance)
2.02.0 - Paikang Districts (as above, 2xlevel 80 team instances), Faction Progression Revamp, and the Crowd Control Revamp
2.03.0 – The Breach and The Forgotten City (ACG content)
2.04.0 – The new Blood and Glory PVP server

There will hopefully only be a couple weeks between each release, which means they could all be deployed by the end of May.

In the latest Age of Conan newsletter, Funcom provides details on the now live Age of Conan update 2.1.5. The patch includes massive improvements to the game's render engine, improved mini games, new veteran rewards and more. Players will also notice that when resurrected by a priest, they will once again spawn next to the priest. Also, the quest 'Wood by the Riverside' can now be completed again.

Check out all the update 2.1.5 details on the official Age of Conan site and don't forget to check out the new Render Engine preview video after the jump!

Game Director Craig "Silirrion" Morrison announced today that a couple "old school" PvP servers will soon be coming to Age of Conan. As he puts it, the special ruleset for these servers "will not be for the faint of heart." Here are the tentative rules:

• This will be a fresh start server, no transfers.
• You will only be allowed one character on this server. Your reputation will mean something on this server!
• There will be no guards on this server. Your only protection from other players will be your allies, and your own wits and skills.
• PVP will be re-enabled in the early optional Tortage areas.
• There will be a player looting system from PVP. We haven't decided on the details here, and it probably won’t be looting from a players equipped inventory, but may include some combination of items from their regular inventory and ‘generated’ loot.
• We may amend other PVP related systems as we see fit, pending testing.

Players will get the chance to submit name ideas for these "Blood and Glory" PvP servers. Funcom plans to deploy one of these server types to each of the EU and US territories, most likely in early May.

Age of Conan's monthly dev update is out and players are learning all about the new instances coming with the Dreamworld update. The devs wanted to implement more content for solo players, saying:

"The solo player hasn't had much in the way of dungeon style gameplay over the last year and we wanted to address that. The team instances are great, and a lot of people enjoy them, the same goes for raids, but there should also be a place for some content that caters to those who want to have something else to do alone that is a little more concentrated and dynamic than outdoor questing."

Recently, a hungarian fansite broke the news during an interview with AoC's Game Director Craig Morrison that two of the instances would be named The Breach and the Forgotten City. The latest dev letter tells us these are auto content generation dungeons that scale to your level between level 40 and 80. There will also be a new level 80 solo instance called Refuge of the Apostat.

Check out the full dev update over at the official Age of Conan site.

A Hungarian fan site recently interviewed Age of Conan's Game Director Craig Morrison. When asked about the instances that had been hinted at for the upcoming 2.1 series of patches, Morrison named the two instances as being "The Breach" and "The Forgotten City." While all he could release were names, he did mention that the January Development Letter would have more details on the way.

For the full interview and Morrison's answers to questions about PvP and much more, head on over to the Age of Conan fansite.

A dedicated fan of Age of Conan who goes by the name of Nexothep, from the German server Mitra, has posted two videos showcasing the environments of Hyboria. The videos are made up of over 70,000 screenshots that show what a day in Khemi and Conarch look like if viewed from a distance.

Fans tend to play in the environments but not notice, as a whole, how the world subtley changes around them. These videos show the immense detail of clouds passing over, shadowing, and all the details that can be easy to miss while you're busy saving the world.

Check out Nexothep's videos after the jump.

The newest installment of the monthly Age of Conan Development Update is available. The team reflects back on 2010 as a whole and gives some insights into 2011.

Of course the big news of both years is the 2.1 Series. The update has started off smoothly and has brought a lot of new content to the game. Looking into 2011, more content will continue to be added to the game.

For a complete overview of the team's perspectives, head on over to the official Age of Conan site.

Age of Conan's A Bloody Solstice holiday event begins today, Dec. 14. Each year Aesir and the bloodthirsty, conquering Vanir gather around their campfires in their own ancient feasting grounds to hail the winter moon with drinks, songs and dance. Yet this year the bloodlust went un-quenched, so players will be treated to an all new Winter event which includes two new solo quests and one new group quest.

Players can also look forward to some nifty new seasonal items including the Aesir Snowcatcher, Pillaged Mercenary Plate, Drinking Horn, and your very own Vanir Captive.

The events are taking place now until January 3, 2011. To get started in the Winter seasonal event, just type /claim in-game to receive a Misplaced Gift. Using that item will get you the first quest including the name and location of the NPC you need to visit first.

The newest installment of the Age of Conane Monthly Developer's Update is out and focuses on the coming Update 2.1. The team has speant the last month focusing on tweaking all the upcoming content that will go live with the new patch.

The new PvP mini-game, new queue system, and new social additions have spent the last month in public testing. Extra attention has been paid to obtaining good feedback on the new mini-game and the PvP side of things.

The blog also announced that a new Winter Festival will be starting this year. Players will help the Aesir celebrate their winter solstice by helping them defend against Vanir aggression that threatens to disrupt the fesitivities. There will be several new seasonal quests added, and with those a host of seasonal rewards.

More details after the jump.