NVIDIA: What are the DX10 features that are being used for Age of Conan?
First and foremost we are ensuring that the engine for DX10 is a rock solid platform to continue development on. We have put extreme amounts of time into the DX9 version, and are now putting the finishing touches on the DX10 build. Apart from doing all that the DX9 version does, the DX10 implementation has as expected several elements to make it stand out. The most noticeable of these are the improved lightmaps that increases the lifelikeness of all scenes, improved soft shadows, Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO) that makes the whole scene render minute shadows more realistically and several more.

NV: Which of the DX10 features are you most proud of?
It is when all the features come together at the same time we feel truly proud. Travelling through the damp jungles of Hyboria with all features turned on, the level of immersion of this game compared to the previous generation of MMOs is just overwhelming. If we would have to pick one DX10 feature that we feel proud of it would be the Screen Space Ambient occlusions since this just has a touch of “magic” to how the whole scene is rendered.

NV: Will the DX10 implementation affect the minimum requirements of the game?
Yes. In comparison to DX9, we raised the minimum requirement for DX10 to the GT8800 series. This card gives an extreme bang for the buck, and makes us able to display the world of Hyboria as intended.

NV: What kind of PC do I need to see all the DX10 features? (Hardware/software)
We would strongly suggest a multi-threaded CPU for this, since we will have optimization for multicore. That said most all of the medium and high end CPUs bought in the last 2 years should be sufficient to see all the DX10 features of Age of Conan. With regards to GPUs the optimal bang-for-the-buck is gotten with the latest revision of NVIDIA cards with a full 1 gigabyte of onboard memory. With 1GB memory, the game improves the radius of the highest level of detail, making the world appear even more realistic. This is especially nice for players playing in higher resolutions, such as on large HDTV type setups. Further, 1GB memory increases the quality of many features, for example soft-shadows. The improvements with increased GPU memory are all dynamic.



NV: How did you collaborate with NVIDIA regarding DX10?
We have been working closely with NVIDIA all the way through the project, and have had the pleasure to work with several of their key engineers to squeeze that extra juice out of the GPUs. They truly have some very skilled engineers working out of both Russia and the United Kingdom that have been extremely helpful with several key areas of our DX10 implementation. Further, NVIDIA has been very forthcoming with regards to letting us play with the next-gen hardware, and this has been critical in our process of making our product truly shine on the current generation of GPUs. Apart from that, NVIDIA also has a true gamer orientation - all the people we have dealt with are very down to earth guys and girls that have not let their success go to the top of their head… yet at least ;)

NV: What kind of performance difference can users expect from the DX9 version as compared to the DX10 version?
The core difference between the DX9 and the DX10 builds are the rendering details and extra effects of DX10, especially in post-processing, that just make the game really shine.

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"Funcom and Eidos recommend NVIDIA graphics processors for Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, the most sexy, savage and brutal MMO ever created!"
Jørgen Tharaldsen, Product Director, Funcom

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NV: How long has the game been in development?
We are on our fourth year, and look forward to continue pouring our souls into the game for years and years to come. A lot of the code and rule-sets we are using were derived from Anarchy Online which was started all the way back in 1997. So one could argue that we are now on our 11th year!

NV: What does the future hold for Age of Conan?
The license for Age of Conan represents such a huge universe that the possibilities for the future are almost endless. The planning of the first expansion pack has already started, and in the short-term we will also be introducing additional features and areas through free patches. In 2009 the Xbox 360 version is to see the light of day as well, and that is also a very bright star in the near future for the “Age of Conan” line of products.

NV: How big is the Dev Team for Age of Conan?
The total Age of Conan dev currently weights in at a whopping 150 people, and that is not counting the people that support them! The credit list for Age of Conan lists more than 450 people. This truly have been and is a massive undertaking, and we are extremely excited about sharing the fruit of our labors.