Age of Conan Game Director Craig Morrison has written his final letter of 2009, and this one focuses on the 1.06 update cycle and what's in store for next year. Patch 1.06 is currently on the test server and Morrison really likes "the approach the team took with the Guild Renown rewards, in making the ranks unlock new quests as well as just giving inherent rewards."

As far as the upcoming Rise of the Godslayer expansion is concerned, "internally the vast majority of the content for the first three playfields is now complete and we are in the middle of the second iterations on those areas." The team is also looking at the possibility of implementing server merges and adding new transfer options in the future.

Morrison ended his letter by welcoming the Korean players who are currently part of the closed beta testing. You can read the full letter after the jump.

Has it been a year already? With the festive season already in full swing there isn’t any slacking in Hyboria with lots of new additions and exciting times ahead.

Seasons Greetings

Firstly I want to thank all our players for their support this year. Whatever holidays you may or may not celebrate at this time of year, it is a time for giving thanks and reflecting on the year that has passed and to look forward to the year that is almost upon us!

It has been a fantastic journey this year and the entire team has worked hard to improve and build the game. Thanks to all of you who play the game and give us your feedback we have been able to keep pushing the game forwards. We have lots of cool new features and content coming up with 1.06 and the expansion so we hope that you all continue to appreciate the game and continue to enjoy your time in Hyboria!

1.06 Update Cycle

The 1.06 update cycle is now on the test server and available for testing. We have been following the feedback so far very closely, and are pleased to see that the reaction to the new systems is positive. The team have put a lot of work into the Guild Renown system as well as things like the new token reward systems for the raids, so it is good to see that we are heading in the right direction with the new additions.

I really like the approach the team took with the Guild Renown rewards, in making the ranks unlock new quests as well as just giving inherent rewards. I think it adds another dimension to the rewards beyond just handing out another item. The various ranks unlock new possibilities for your guild that you have to seek out for yourselves.

All that’s also before you consider the new building options and access to the brand new PVP arenas. The team have really gone to great lengths to try and provide something for everyone in the Guild renown rewards and I think that really shines through when you consider the entire list of rewards. We wanted to give people the ability to host their own guild events, both social and PVP orientated, and I think the new locations offer that nicely.

There will of course be some adjustments made during the course of testing and that is why your feedback is important! So if you haven’t already, make sure you check out the update for yourself and take the opportunity to give the team your feedback.Preparing for the expansion.

As well as the launch of the 1.06 update on the live servers there will be a few things we will be doing in the first quarter of next year to prepare for the expansion. There will most likely be a relatively significant update cycle to prepare things for the expansion which will mostly take the form of some back-end updates and such that will be required to support the new systems in the expansion. We have also been following the player feedback on the server communities closely and we are looking at a plan for some of the additional server merges and transfer options that have been requested. We operate the game today with a high number of servers, especially compared to other major MMOs in the same segment as us, so it's only natural that we take a look at what measures we can take to ensure an enjoyable gaming experience for our players.

Expansion progress

The expansion testing is now gathering pace every week. Hopefully many of you were able to watch the live broadcast we had direct from the beta servers and Chosain Province. It was a little nerve wracking to be doing an actual live stream of the game, this was a medium we hadn’t really used before and as a developer you are always nervous when doing live demonstrations. I think it worked really well though and it is definitely something we will consider doing again in the future. If you haven’t seen it yet you can check it out here.

The broadcast showed almost an hour of live gameplay from the expansion and highlights a lot of what we are trying to achieve with the gameplay there!

Internally the vast majority of the content for the first three playfields is now complete and we are in the middle of the second iterations on those areas. The final two areas are also coming together very nicely now, and I am particularly looking forward to showing people locations like the crater in Kara Korum. The team are doing a wonderful job in bringing Khitai to life and I can’t wait to be able to share it with you all next year.

Welcome to our Korean Players

I also want to extend a very warm welcome to all those testing the game in Korea as part of the current Closed Beta Testing being held with our Korean partners at Neowiz. As I write this the first Korean players have already explored the localised version as part of the recent CBT. As I mentioned last month it is an exciting project for us to launch in Korea and we will be looking forward to the feedback from the Korean users as well!

Into the new year...

The next time I write one of these updates it will be 2010 and I am sure it will be another interesting and exciting year in Hyboria, fresh with new challenges and new frontiers for us all!