Massively^™

When we last reported on Warhammer Online's pre-order foibles, we knew that the confusion was far from over. There were too many variables going into the distribution of those promotional codes for everything to go strictly according to plan. Predictably, there's some confusion coming in the wake of WAR Europe's announcement that Play.com would soon be distributing the pre-order packs, which include the codes for the Open Beta, the head start, and the exclusive in-game items.

The problem is, European customers who ordered through Play have evidently been hearing differently from customer service. Today some European staffers have finally gotten on top of the problem, explaining that their distribution partners (who act as intermediaries between EA Mythic and Play) were the ones who had informed them the pre-order goodness was going out soon. Apparently some wires were crossed, and people are hearing different information. They've promised to get the situation sorted out promptly.

The official Age of Conan site has a bit of information we're sure you're going to want to read: server names for early access players! Despite the issues they've had with interest outstripping server capacity, it's great to see the company responding to a pressing community concern. At the moment there are a total of 31 servers slated for early access, spread across three server types, four languages, and five regions. There are sure to be more servers launched for the game's proper release, but at the moment these are what you've got to choose from.

US Servers (Early Access 17th of May)

PvE Servers

• Set
• Dagoth
• Zug
• Omm
• Derketo
• Thog
• Wiccana
• Gwahlur (recommended Oceanic)
• Anu

PvP Servers

• Tyranny
• Bane
• Deathwisper
• Bloodspire (recommended Oceanic)
• Doomsayer

RP-PvP Server

• Cimmeria

Read on below the cut for the EU English-language servers, as well as servers for French, German, and Spanish-speaking players. So, quick: which server are you playing on?

Funcom has opened up Age of Conan account registration for customers who pre-ordered the game. This includes the Early Access service. For a $5 or €5 fee, all those who pre-ordered the game may gain access to the servers on May 17th, three days ahead of the North American launch and six days ahead of the European launch.

Previously, Europeans who paid for Early Access could jump into the game on the 20th, but Funcom has announced that those folks may now begin play at the same time as Americans, so the 17th is the day for everyone now! Hopefully some of the performance issues will be resolved by then. It looks like they might be.

[Via Ten Ton Hammer]

The next Clan of Conan newsletter is finally here, and as promised by Jørgen Tharaldsen in a recent forum post, it goes a long way towards clearing up some Age of Conan pre-order confusion. First things first, the 3-day early access: the newsletter confirms that this is exclusively for pre-orders, and that your retailer should provide you with an early-access key. However, to actually get that head start, you'll need to take that key to the Funcom website, and pay $5 / €5 (depending on region) to activate it on your account. This was already known by some, but it's important to really get it out there in a fashion like this so that people aren't disappointed later.

As well as this, the dates for access vary around the world. North Americans will be able to download the client early on May 13th, and start playing early from the 17th. For Europeans the early download will be May 16th, and the early access itself starts on the 20th. This is because the North American release date is also 3 days earlier, with the rest of the Europeans joining the head-starters on the 23rd of May.

Owners of Ideazon's Zboard (or those thinking of getting one) will be pleased to hear that a Limited Edition Age of Conan keyset will be available for purchase. The keyset promises 70 labeled game-specific commands, 24 emotes, dedicated chat channel buttons, and of course, some official AoC game graphics included on the board.

If this isn't enough to get you to dish out US$19.99 for the keyset (plus $US49.99 if you don't have the base keyboard), then Ideazon is hoping that the inclusion of a free in-game item will tip you over the edge. Every purchase will grant the player an "Enruned Kosalan Ring", which increases all non-physical damage dealt by the wearer. You can pre-order the keyset from GameStop or Amazon.

As tumultuous as the delay has been for the Warhammer Online fan community, an even bigger headache has loomed in the minds of many. One of the biggest details to come from the announcement of the Collector's Edition and its myriad of goodies was that those who put in a pre-order for the CE would get early access to the Open Beta and a head start on the rest of the Warhammer fanatics when it finally comes time for release sometime this fall.

That's all well and good, but who could have anticipated the sheer number of discrepancies and problems that have arisen from these simple perks? Different retailers are handling the distribution of codes differently, there are gaping holes in the system that allow for exploitation, players are reporting on bunk codes, orcs and dwarves living together, mass hysteria! Having navigated this minefield ourselves in the quest for that delicious artbook, we thought we'd give you a bit of a rundown on the situation.

Game|Life has reported on an interesting little tidbit included in a recent episode of X-Play -- apparently, Age of Conan has topped PC game sales charts for the month of March. As any anxious fan will tell you, the game is not due for release until the 20th of May, so provided that X-Play's assertion is correct, this sales dominance must have come from pre-orders. Also, we're assuming that topping the charts for March means, "for March thus far".

If true, this bodes extremely well for the launch of AoC. We already know that a lot of people are excited for the game, but to beat everything else on the sales chart a good two months out from release is fairly incredible. Game|Life has contacted G4 to see if they can find out more, and are expecting to hear from them on Monday with some clarification on the source of their numbers.

Update: G4 has said that their sales data came from Gamestop.

We've caught wind of a rumor regarding certain retail chains that give out unique Age of Conan pre-order keys. It seems that if you've pre-ordered at any chain that does give you a unique key, then a three-day early start is in your Hyborian future. The rumor started in this thread on the official forums, which was then supported by a secondary post with a copy-paste of an email that seemingly confirms the rumor. What is most interesting is that an official post has since been made concerning said rumor, which doesn't actually deny the three-day head start.

So it certainly seems this rumor has some legs. This definitely wouldn't be the first time pre-order customers got an early start, as it's quite common for massively games to do something of this nature. Call us fairly convinced on this one, but of course until there's an official announcement it'll have to go into the rumor bin.

[Thanks, autonomous]

The MMO Gamer is holding an SEO-sponsored contest: translate a phrase from a movie into pirate-speak and win one of four Pirates of the Burning Sea pre-order packs, which include a pre-boarding party key, a landing party key, and the game's soundtrack. The contest deadline is Friday the 11th, though, so go to the site, comment your entry, and wait.

Here's my example of a translation: "Avast! Me name is Inigo Montoya. You keelhauled me pappy; prepare to walk the plank!" Except yours should be, you know, more clever. The only caveat is that you can't use lines from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Nor, I should think, any other pirate movie. What would be the point? Good luck, ye scurvy dogs!

[Thanks, Lisa!]

Though the Pirates of the Burning Sea servers don't officially go live until January 22nd, players who pre-ordered the game have had access to game servers since 1PM EST today. Players participating in the "preboarding" program will be able to play up to level 21 and keep their characters after the game's official launch. And for those of you who haven't pre-ordered, there's still time to pick up a pre-order box and play before launch! If you head to your local Best Buy or GameStop you should be able to pick up a pre-order box (not just a pre-order -- there's a physical box that will have your preboarding code) or order online from Amazon, GoGamer, Direct2Drive (download only), or the Station Store (download only). (Your safest bet here may be the Station Store, as they'll apply your preboarding code directly to your Station account, while Best Buy is reporting backorders and we've heard reports of problems getting the code via e-mail from Amazon.) For full details on the preboarding program, check out the official preboarding FAQ.

If two weeks of early gameplay isn't enough to tempt you, pre-orders also receive special swag: in-game swords for each fighting style, an in-game parrot pet, and (if you pick up a physical pre-order box, not just a download ) a CD filled with 60 minutes of delightful pirate-y music.

So ye want to live the pirate's life, eh matey? Well, if ye want to do it without dropping any precious doubloons then ye might want to visit the scallywags over at TenTonHammer because they be givin' away (free, gratis, no strings attached) 3 pre-order copies of Pirates of the Burning Sea.

You don't even have to walk the plank or scoop the poop deck neither! All ya have to do is log in and submit your email address. Don't get much easier then that me hearty! The pre-order allows ye to start playing before the official launch on January 22. It also gives players an in-game parrot pet, and access to a special sword.

But don't waste your time dawdling around the blogosphere! Click your way over to the Pirates of the Burning Sea Giveway, quickly peruse the rules and regulations because the drawing takes place on Sunday, January 13th, 2008. Ya got no time to lose matey!

Flying Lab Software's Aether has taken a moment to pull himself away from all the pre-launch craziness surrounding any MMO only a couple weeks away from retail. Why, you ask? To give us some information on pre-order bonuses, I say! All silliness aside, these items are pretty hot.

What you'll be getting for pre-ordering is three swords -- one for each style of combat -- that all share the same stats. The Musketeer's Matching Blades (Florentine style), Old World Cutlass (Dirty Fighting style) and Swedish Rapier (Fencing style) are all level 1 swords that are equivalent to the power of a level 20 weapon. We're pretty sure that we haven't heard of a pre-order item this powerful in quite some time, if ever. Pirates of the Burning Sea is set to launch on January 22nd, so if you want this pre-order bonus it may be a good idea to do it now rather than later.

We've got exciting news from the the high seas (otherwise known as our favorite upcoming pirate-themed game, Pirates of the Burning Sea). First up, there's a stress test scheduled to start tomorrow and last until Sunday, so for those of you curious about the game, head over to FilePlanet to sign up. And next on the agenda, game pre-order boxes have become a reality! Head over to your local Best Buy, Fry's, EB Games/GameStop, or CompUSA to make sure you have your pre-order reserved -- and set yourself up with two weeks of pre-launch playtime (with the ability to keep your character after launch), a vanity pet, a unique sword, and a game soundtrack CD.

Disney wants YOU to be one of the founding members of Pirates of the Caribbean Online.

If you pre-order the Unlimited Access for Pirates Online, you will get a few benefits that presumably won't be available after launch:

• 50% off your first month
• Limited edition cloth map
• Founder title for every pirate on your account
• Crew Kit (unknown contents)

If you are considering this, there are a few things you should know:

Free play: Like most web-based MMOs, you don't have to pay to play. There will be limited free play access to the game.

Subscription fees: The cost of Unlimited Access will be $9.95 a month. As a Founder, your first month will be $4.95.

Tangible gifts not immediate: The cloth map and Crew Kit will be mailed to your home address "a few weeks" after the launch of the game.

No specific launch date: The launch "date" for Pirates of the Caribbean Online is Fall. So they have until December 20th to honor this time frame. Founders will not have their credit cards charged until launch.

They may not be ready on time: Pirates of the Caribbean Online was supposed to be released with the third movie which was out this past summer. They have come a long way since then, but I'm not sure if they are far enough along to launch this season.

I would recommend trying to get into the beta and seeing if you like the gameplay. Just remember that Beta testing means lots of bugs and lag and rollbacks. Otherwise, unless you are into collectibles, you may want to wait and try the free aspects of the game before you sign up for Unlimited Access.

I signed up to be a Founder, but I'm a dork who loves pirates. I'll make sure to let you know if it was worth it.