Update: We've added more information about the different server types!
Good evening my beautiful snow angels!
At the time of writing this it is officially only 6 more sleeps left until the full release of Conan Exiles! We've been working hard to make the game the best it can be and we can't wait for everyone to see what Conan Exiles is like once we leave Early Access. It's been one hell of a ride and we want to say thank you to everyone for sticking with us throughout this adventure.
Since we're so close to launch this newsletter will be shorter than the others, but will also hopefully give you a quick overview of what's going to happen on launch day and shortly after launch!
At launch we'll be rolling out a Day 1 patch to add more bug and crash fixes, content updates and optimizations to client and server performance. And, of course, opening the Swamp and the Volcano up to players. The version of the game you're currently playing on either Early Access and Game Preview is not the final version of the game! There's more coming.
We launch the game at 13:00 CEST (1pm) / 7am EDT / 4am PDT on May 8th. We'll take down our official servers at 18:00 CEST (6pm) / 12pm EDT / 9am PDT on May 7th to wipe their databases, patch them to the live build, and restructure them as needed. We are wiping the databases to let everyone start off on an equal footing and to clear out any old data that might be causing compatibility issues.
There will be 225 official servers at launch, spread across multiple regions. We've been working a lot on infrastructure and scale-ability since Early Access launch and we have back-up servers that we can roll out if need be. Three types of servers will be available to players, with the following rule sets:
- PvP: On these servers, player vs player combat is possible all times, but building damage will be limited to prime time (5pm - 11pm local server time). Players can fight each other as much as they want, but raiding and damaging buildings will be limited.
- PvE: Only creatures and NPCs can harm players on PvE servers. Thralls will not attack players and players cannot attack and kill thralls.
- PvE Conflict: On a PvE Conflict server you can only damage other players during prime time (5pm – 11pm local server time). Building damage is turned off at all times. These servers will at first only be available on PC. We may roll them out later for PS4 and Xbox One post-launch, depending on their popularity.
PvE servers will have 1x harvesting, xp gain and crafting times. PvP Servers will have 2x harvesting. The Purge will be active on all server types, but only between 6pm and 10pm (local server time).
We won't touch private servers, but if you are a private server admin we do recommend wiping the databases just to be safe. Of course, we understand that it's not ideal for players to lose their progress, but since we've revamped where NPCs spawn, where resources can be found, and changed parts of the landscape, it makes sense to start everyone off with the same possibilities at full launch.
Finally, we're updating and expanding the technical manual and improved the F.A.Q. on our forums.
Testlive
We've been cranking out Testlive updates at an almost daily rate in order to get some additional testing on crash fixes, Purge settings, weapon damage numbers and player corpse bugs, to name a few. These might get rolled over to the live PC version before launch or folded into build we roll out at launch.
The Testlive branch and servers will still be around after launch. We'll be using Testlive to test upcoming patches and updates, as we've done during Early Access.
As always, huge thanks to all the players for helping us out with additional testing, bug reports, feedback and suggestions. We appreciate everything you've done for us, and with us, and we truly couldn't have gotten this far without your help. You're all awesome people!
Dev streams
Joel and Jens Erik are doing their final Early Access dev stream on Friday. They'll be summing up the past 15 months of Early Access and talking about everything that's been added or changed about the game. We'll also be streaming the PS4 version of Conan Exiles and giving away both regular and collector's editions of the game!
Join us on Twitch.tv/funcom or Mixer.com/funcom at 5pm CEST / 11am ET / 8am PT for our final Early Access dev stream.
On May 8th all of Funcom's community managers will be getting together for a special launch stream, along with anyone else from the dev team who wants to join in! We'll be announcing the details of this stream a little closer to launch.
Final wrap-up
As we're in the absolute final stretch we're going to start doing some more giveaways over on our Facebook and Twitter pages! Keep your eyes peeled, because you can win a Limited Collector's Edition for your platform of choice.
That's it, really! We're in the final stretch and Conan Exiles leaves Early Access on May 8th! We're going to continue supporting the game after launch with patches and updates, as previously mentioned. This is our baby, after all.