NCSoft reveals "Visions of the Future" for Aion
by Rubi Bayer 
Nov 24th 2009 at 3:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Aion
Upgraded graphics improved the appearance of an already beautiful game, but that wasn't the thing that caused the excitement among Aion fans. An extensive look at player housing offered samples of available exteriors and interiors, as well as furnishings. And for the remaining fans who hadn't begun salivating? Mounts. In fact, seen here and there were what appeared to be flying mounts, as well as a dinosaur. The first half of the video was rounded out with clever aerial camera work designed to highlight changing seasons over gorgeous landscapes, and promises of swimming.
The video rounded out with an aptly named segment of "Pulse-pounding battles", both aerial and ground-based. Fire-breathing dragons, huge allies summoned from beneath the ground, and what one fan described as "awesome nuking" completed the picture.
A "never ending challenge", promises the end of the trailer. Take a look for yourself after the jump and see if you agree.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Carl Curtis said on 3:05PM 11-24-2009
Yes, Aion is very pretty and will always continue to be, however new shiny grapics is hardly what is required to get me back into the game.
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Omega2k3 said on 4:10PM 11-24-2009
You should watch the video, then, because it seems that they're changing quite a bit more than just graphics.
crsh said on 5:29PM 11-24-2009
It's a dangerous thing to interpret and extrapolate could-be's from a video.
Graill said on 6:32PM 11-24-2009
I was going to be pithy again but carl stated it quite well.
Ivasen said on 6:01AM 11-25-2009
Really? That is what came to your mind when you saw this?
My first thoughts on it were "My computer isn't going to be able to handle this"
starzzareblind said on 3:15PM 11-24-2009
It's not just graphics that are being upgraded, the battle system is being completely revamped to play more like an action game (blade & soul comes to mind). apparently user generated content will be expanded allowing people to post writs (a user generated type of quest), New classes, revamped monster AI, quest system changes...it's a very large update there's a translation on some of the notes on the korean forums
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Ivasen said on 6:09AM 11-25-2009
You know what got me? No more clumsy flight take-off, as he was able to dive off the ship at 7:56.
CheesyTaco said on 3:16PM 11-24-2009
No matter how pretty the game is, the game won't be good until they get rid of the grind and add more content.
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Celestian said on 4:27PM 11-24-2009
Never a more true word spoken. The leveling curve is way to steep. The last patch was suppose to give quest EXP a boost and it was barely noticeable for the majority of quests at 35.
Would be a hugely popular game if it wasn't a grind.
CindyL said on 5:49PM 11-24-2009
Grinding is in the eye of the beholder. If you think everything should be easy peasy like WoW don't even bother playing this game.
However if you think FFXI as it stands NOW is ok and you like spending a bit of time between levels Aion does that well.
Steve said on 3:21PM 11-24-2009
I wish I didn't find this game so incredibly "meh". This trailer looks amazing.
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Flolah said on 3:49PM 11-24-2009
QFT
Kelathos said on 3:32PM 11-24-2009
This trailer is amazing.
The day Aion looks and plays like this is the day I buy my first MMO since WoW.
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Verit said on 4:26PM 11-24-2009
Thats the problem with trailers though (for all games - not just Aion) - they get you all excited about the game, but then the game itself is only about 1% as good as the trailer.
Barinthos said on 3:29PM 11-24-2009
The graphics always were stunning, but that's not even half of the reason a game is appealing or keeps people coming for more.
My wife and I stopped playing after only a couple weeks due to the fact that the game felt grindy after level 18 in our opinion.
But if they do indeed revamp the combat to be more like the video showed then I'll probably have to give it another go. But I'll not be holding my breath.
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Leshrac said on 3:32PM 11-24-2009
Agree, the graphics aren't broken but your pathetic after-sale support sucks. Botting and spamming went on for far too long, proving that you were either uncaring or unable to handle the game, in either case you don't deserve my business......
Next!
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derella said on 3:29PM 11-24-2009
It certainly makes Aion look more interesting than it is. I'd love to hear specifics on what is actually changing.
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starzzareblind said on 3:35PM 11-24-2009
* Major Graphics Overhaul: DX10 included
* Player Housing
* Combat Revamp: The game will play out more like an action game (think Blade & Soul)
* Weather System Revamp
* Swimming
* Under Water Environments: Players will be able to explore new under water cities, dungeons, and quest hubs
* User Generated Content Expanded: Players will be able to post writs on boards through out the world.
* Quest System revamp: Many, many, many more quests and story-line quests are being added
* New Classes (Supposedly, according to the Korean forums)
* 2 new weapon types: Whip & Crossbow
* New Skills for every class
* New Zones
* New Monster and NPC AI Revamp
* Mounts: You can tame your own mount out of various creatures in Atreia, one of which is a Chocobo-Esque bird, you also will be able to ride with 2 people on some mounts!
* Revamped Sieges
These are the things that are being added, and changed based off some translations on the Korean Forums, more will follow as it is translated. The grind will most likely be eliminated by this update.
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Flolah said on 3:50PM 11-24-2009
Did that announcement have any clues as to when? Like Q2 2010 or something similar? I certainly don't expect these changes to happen soon (but it better not be a paid expansion, too).
Barinthos said on 3:52PM 11-24-2009
If all of those changes are going to be true then I really will have to give it another shot.
I'm most interested in the "many, many, many more quests" and new classes note. Hopefully more info will be released soon.