Your feedback is appreciated - Draft of letter to Rui Casais, CEO of Funcom

Conan Exiles General Discussion
1

Letter has been sent as of 2025 08 11/12*

Hello fellow exiles,

Below is a draft developed by some of us over at Conan Exiles Allies. CEA is a volunteer player based initiative. Thanks to @DrownedInNoobRiver for putting their foot forward and writing the first draft! As well as all those who have provided their thoughts on the Discord.

The purpose of this letter is to communicate our love for the game and how we want to see it continue and thrive.

As a preface, we’ve combined efforts and tools to put it together; we’ve done our best but need your help.

As much as we liken ourselves to the spirit of the player base we can’t truly speak for everyone. As such, we’re trying to ensure that as many of the player community as possible are able to have a say.

This will stay up for a week or two as needed, updated and refined based on the feedback and then added to a website in Open Letter format, shared on social media and research is being put into a possible printed copy to be mailed as well (need to figure out a reply address if required).

Hoping to read your thoughts, help us improve and refine it, let us know what you think, if we’ve forgotten something or need to capture another element. Even if you think it is silly. Your feedback matters in this project.

1st Draft

Dear Mr. Casais:
We are the Conan Exiles Allies (CEA) - a group of passionate and fiercely loyal fans of Funcom’s Conan Exiles video game. We have become inspired to write to you - united by our motivation to see Conan Exiles thrive and reach its full potential. We formed our interest group through a Discord Server where we invite all players to come and discuss the issues faced in Conan Exiles. The CEA wishes to partner with the Funcom studio and an advocate for Conan fans to improve all aspects of the Conan Exiles game.

First – the CEA would like to share our gratitude to you and your dedicated employees for the delivery and the continued investment in Conan Exiles. The passion and the artistry of your company is visible in every nuanced aspect of Conan Exiles. We also see, regularly, how important the craft and the experience is to your Funcom teams with the interviews, livestreams, and other interactions they hold with the player community. There are no other game titles that boast the immersive features that Conan Exiles does: clanning with friends, melee and ranged combat with foes, building, riding mounts, sorcery, training thralls and pets, climbing vertical surfaces, thieving and raiding, as well as massive maps that inspire unique sandbox gameplay. This one-of-a-kind game scratches A LOT of itches, and should not be dismissed or diminished.
Many of the people who still play Conan Exiles today have done so since launch in May 2018. Or even further back into early access in January 2017. This is a significant statement about this product’s niche and staying power – especially considering some of the more significant issues that players have wrestled with throughout the lifetime of the game.
As a player community we have become concerned with several aspects of the Conan Exiles game. Equally, we have also become concerned with your studio’s ability to adequately communicate with the public. Often reported and well-documented game bugs continue to plague the property. Some of those game bugs are long-standing and haven’t received attention. Revenue-generation social media messaging (delivered amid launch disasters) seem tone-deaf and outright dismissive of the player community. Some of the major issues include, but are not limited to:
Monetization / Bazaar / Fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) targeted revenue generation
Rampant cheating / exploits / hacking throughout the online game servers
Poor communication with the player community (Ex. issues, events, patches, roadmap)
Long-standing and game-crippling bugs
-Addtional major issues? This is not a “laundry list” section - that will be hopeful a part of the appendices-
In the appendices of this letter, we have included several pages of specific details for a number of these issues. While you may not have time to review all of the appendices, we trust that you will pass this letter forward to the members of your Creative, Development, and Community Teams so that they can identify possible action items for which they can take ownership.
Mr. Casais – The CEA asks of you, simply: Please invest resources, energy, support, and positivity into Conan Exiles. We certainly understand that you have a commitment to financial goals and investment stakeholders. We feel that you also have a commitment to your customers: us! The players. It is your customers who invested in you and your product during early access and at launch - arguably to bring your company away from impending financial peril. It is your customers who CONTINUE to invest in you because of our love for the game and the barbarian experience that no one offers anywhere else. You have a duty to infuse your teams with the resources that they need so that they can be successful with this product.
We understand that Funcom’s interests are split between a number of different product initiatives. It has become very apparent to our community that Funcom is investing resources and energy heavily into Dune: Awakening. And – understandably so! Dune: Awakening looks to be an amazing product! But please consider that Conan fans are (or can become) Dune fans, too. If you are able to work hard to not diminish your investments into Conan Exiles… that would go a very long way towards restoring / improving the player community’s faith in Funcom as a capable, talented, and functional game studio. Making an investment into Conan Exiles will be a synergetic, double investment into Dune: Awakening.
We do hope that this letter inspires you to take a fresh look at the opportunities for investing back into our beloved Conan Exiles game. As previously mentioned - we are passionate and loyal fans of your game and of the Robert E. Howard universe. We want to see Conan Exiles succeed. And we would also like to see Funcom succeed. Make RAVING FANS out of your invested player community, and we will step forward and continue to support Funcom through Dune, and beyond!
The CEA will continue to look for opportunities to partner with you and your company to uplift our barbaric video game. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider. We look forward to your response and progress soon!
Savagely Yours,
The Conan Exiles Allies Player Community

Thanks to Cauthey for starting it and Lupo, Sunrise - Parabellum, Suthainn for feedback :slight_smile:

2nd Draft

Dear Rui Casais,

We are the Conan Exiles Alliance (CEA), a Discord-based community of die-hard exiles who wake up every morning itching to mine ore, build fortresses, and test our mettle against the Arena Champion. We love Conan Exiles for its rich Hyborian lore, the hand-crafted biomes that beg for exploration, the sandbox freedom to craft our own personalized sagas, and a building system that feels like forged steel in your hands. These pillars are what make this game truly “Conan.”

Since its 2018 debut, Conan Exiles hasn’t just brought Funcom solid revenue, glowing press, and a fiercely loyal community—it quite literally pulled Funcom back from the brink during a tough stretch, proving its value not just as a hit but as a financial lifeline. And here’s our pitch: with continued investment—further bug fixes, sharper QA, clearer communications, faster performance, more stable servers, and a crackdown on cheaters—the game can easily double down on those wins. Even at seven years old, we believe ongoing sales, Bazaar purchases, and potential map expansions hold huge upside for Funcom, especially as you steer clear of pay-to-win traps that alienate fans. We appreciate that restraint and encourage you to keep it up.

With that in mind, here are the critical areas that, once tackled, will turbo-charge player retention, broaden your audience, and bring renewed community loyalty:

  1. Bugs & QA: We’ve lovingly catalogued dozens of long-standing bugs—from disappearing inventory to players falling through the floor—that shatter immersion (here and here). Beyond knocking out the bug backlog, we’d love to see a stronger QA emphasis: more thorough test plans, stricter release gates, code refactoring to cut technical debt, speedier Xbox certification, and better support for TestLive feedback. Even the community bug-reporting tool needs a tune-up.
  2. Communication & Transparency: Rapid, open dialogue goes a long way. Right now it’s hard to know which issues are new, known, or actively being worked on. A public bug tracker, a high-level roadmap, quicker forum acknowledgments, and regular dev streams would reassure everyone that feedback isn’t disappearing into the void.
  3. Performance & Servers: Severe lag and client disconnects still plague players—especially on G-Portal hosts. Server ping times are unreliable and large animated scenes can kick players offline. Investing in beefier hardware, targeted performance optimizations, and more hosting options (especially for console users) will make every raid and dungeon crawl feel smooth and satisfying.
  4. Cheats & Exploits: Nothing sours PvP or PvC like rampant hacking. A more aggressive anti-cheat protocol—faster exploit detection, tougher bans, regular ban waves, and quicker patch turnarounds—will restore trust and fairness. Land-claim abuse also ruins PvE; clearer policies, more consistent enforcement, code-driven building limits on official servers, ban warnings, and clearer ban communications will keep the Exiled Lands a fun place to build.

We’re thrilled by the recent producer letter’s promise to “focus on bug fixing and stability” for the next cycle—it’s exactly the kind of decisive step we need. We know it’s tough to balance priorities in a studio of Funcom’s size, so please stay the course. We’ve also noticed more forum activity lately; keep it coming.

We recognize Bazaar revenue is vital to fund these improvements, so we humbly ask: keep the Bazaar fun and fair, with fewer FOMO-driven “week-only” sales that pressure us to buy now or miss out forever. Limited-time items are exciting, but too many can feel like a sand trap choking off genuine exploration.

We’re also excited for Funcom’s next saga, Dune, and genuinely want it to be a blockbuster. Seeing Conan Exiles continue to grow and thrive under your care will demonstrate that you stand by your players—and that reassurance will have many of us jumping into Dune day one.

In closing, Conan Exiles still has the power to carve a legacy as one of the greatest survival-sandbox games ever made. Your team’s passion has brought us this far—now let’s sharpen that blade and drive it home. The CEA stands ready to help, whether through feedback sessions, community testing, or simply spreading the word that “this isn’t just a game; it’s an odyssey.”

If you or someone in your organization would like to chat directly, you can reach us on Discord at [insert your CEA invite link here].

Thank you for your time—and for dreaming with us under the scorching Hyborian sun.

With respect (and battle cries),

The Conan Exiles Alliance
Your devoted exiles, builders, and warmongers

Thanks to DrownedInNoobRiver for the redraft and Hiveshadow, Hansel, Erjoh, BoobieMiles, Varehma and Aisling for their feedback :slight_smile:

3rd Draft

Dear Rui Casais,

We are Conan Exiles Allies (CEA). A community of die-hard exiles who wake up every morning inspired to farm, build fortresses, and test our mettle against the Arena Champion. This group was formed in the wake of Age of Heroes as it became increasingly apparent that our beloved game needed care. We consider ourselves a shard that reflects the passion and spirit of the Conan Exiles Community.

We love Conan Exiles for its rich Hyborian lore, the stunning biomes that beg for exploration, the sandbox freedom to craft our own personalized sagas, and a building system that feels like forged steel in your hands. These pillars are what make this game truly “Conan.”

We are writing on behalf of a growing number of concerned players. Many are long-time supporters of the game, have invested thousands of hours, created rich Role-Playing environments, developed lovingly crafted mods, battled hard on PVP servers, and backed the game financially through purchases of the game, DLCs, BattlePass and the Black Lotus Bazaar.

We feel compelled to urgently raise our voices.

While communication has never been Funcom’s strongest suit, over these past two months communication diminishing to near silence is shocking. Updates, bug fixes, community engagement and support responses have all but disappeared. This lack of transparency and presence is deeply disheartening for such a dedicated player base that is still eager to see Conan Exiles grow. Let alone potential new players.

Feedback from social media and the forums contains beliefs that Conan Exiles is being quietly abandoned. In the January 2025 Producer’s Letter, Project Director Rodney W. Harper promised that this year would focus on bug fixes and stability. But the last hotfix arrived in May, and since June:

  • The most recent Encounter: Bounty Hunting appeared in game with nary a word of its beginning and end.
  • The Help Center has ignored many support tickets (including those involving real-money transactions), as shown in this community poll here.
  • Tickets regarding cheaters are going unanswered causing all modes, Officials and private servers on PC to suffer with no mitigation.
  • Bug reports have not been acknowledged as received.

Thankfully due to the tireless efforts of AndyB, we were informed that Summer Decay on Official servers would occur. This is a singular wave in a sea of silence.

We understand that games have highs and lows and certainly unforeseen delays can occur. But silence sends the wrong message, especially when support tickets go unanswered and bug reports auto-close without acknowledgment.

Conan Exiles remains a beloved game. It still has tremendous potential only if it receives the attention from you it deserves. Without clear communication from Funcom, more of the community will disengage and sunset the game without you saying a word. That would be a tragedy.

Here’s our pitch. Invest in the game via further bug fixes, stronger QA, communication, improve performance, stabilizing servers, mod support and a crackdown on cheaters. We are asking because we believe the game can continue to provide the wins that brought Funcom from the brink of bankruptcy.

We urge you and your team to re-establish a consistent dialogue with your players and address the current and past concerns. Many of us want to continue supporting Conan Exiles but we need to know that Funcom is on the same page.

If you or someone in your organization would like to chat directly, you can reach us on Discord at Discord or by writing to us at conanexilesallies@yahoo.com.

Thank you for your time and for dreaming with us under the scorching Hyborian sun.

With respect (and battle cries),

Conan Exiles Allies (CEA)
Your devoted exiles, builders, and warmongers

Thanks to Tephra for the rewrite and Codemage, Versaldran, DanQuixote, Khaletohep and ikya for the feedback :slight_smile:

4th Draft

Dear Mr. Casais,

We are writing to you on behalf of Conan Exiles Allies (CEA), a group of long-time players, >content creators, server administrators, mod developers, and community supporters of Conan >Exiles. Many of us have invested thousands of hours into the game and have supported it >financially through game purchases, DLCs, the Battle Pass, and Black Lotus Bazaar content.

We appreciate the unique vision and immersive experience that Conan Exiles delivers through >its building system, survival mechanics, and connection to the Hyborian setting. It remains one of >the most ambitious sandbox titles in its genre, and it continues to offer great potential.

However, in recent months, many in the community have grown concerned about what appears >to be a sharp decline in communication, support, and development focus. Since June, players >have observed:

  • A lack of any announcement around the Bounty Hunting encounter, which arrived in-game >without notice.
  • Widespread delays or lack of response from the Help Center, including issues related to real->money transactions.
  • An increase in unresolved reports of cheating across official and private servers.
  • Bug reports going unacknowledged.
  • Limited engagement from the team outside of the isolated announcement of Summer Decay.

While we understand that live service games experience fluctuations and that development >timelines can shift, the lack of communication and visible support over recent months has led >many to believe the game is being quietly deprioritized. This is further reinforced by the contrast >with promises made in the January 2025 Producer’s Letter, which stated a focus on stability and >bug fixes—areas that now appear to be receiving minimal attention.

We believe there is still strong community interest and a solid foundation to build upon, but >without renewed engagement and visible support from Funcom, there is a growing risk of long->term players disengaging and new players never gaining traction.

We respectfully ask that the Conan Exiles team consider the following actions:

  • Re-establish consistent and transparent communication with the community, including updates >on timelines, priorities, and ongoing issues.
  • Prioritize critical bug fixes and Quality of Life improvements, especially those that affect core >gameplay stability.
  • Improve support response times for both technical issues and moderation reports.
  • Reaffirm support for the modding community, which has played a significant role in keeping the >game active and relevant.

We recognize that every project competes for resources, but Conan Exiles still holds long-term >value if given appropriate attention. A modest reinvestment in communication and support could >go a long way toward retaining the player base and restoring community confidence.

We would welcome the opportunity for direct dialogue and can be reached via Discord (Conan >Exiles Allies) or by email at conanexilesallies@yahoo.com.

Thank you for your time and for your role in bringing Conan Exiles to life.

Sincerely,
Conan Exiles Allies (CEA)
A dedicated community of players, creators, and supporters

Thanks to Azazane and Khaletohep for the feedback :slight_smile:

5th Draft

Dear Mr. Casais,

We are writing to you on behalf of Conan Exiles Allies (CEA), a group of long-time players, content creators, server administrators, mod developers and community supporters of Conan Exiles. Many of us have invested thousands of hours into the game and have supported it financially through game purchases, DLCs, the Battle Pass, and in-game shop content.

Concern is mounting not only about the current state of Conan Exiles but about the relationship between Funcom and the loyal community. This loyal community has stood by the game for years.

Conan Exiles offers one of the most immersive and ambitious sandbox survival experiences in gaming. Remaining faithful to Howard’s Conan, along with the freedom of playstyle and deep modding potential, has kept its world alive. But that world is beginning to feel neglected, despite a core player base still eager to support it.

In recent months, many in the community have grown concerned about what appears to be a sharp decline in communication, support, and development focus. Since June, players have observed:

  • A lack of any announcement around the Bounty Hunting encounter, which arrived in-game without notice.
  • Widespread delays or lack of response from the Help Center, including issues related to real-money transactions.
  • An increase in unresolved reports of cheating across official and private servers.
  • Bug reports going unacknowledged.
  • Limited engagement from the team outside of the isolated announcement of Summer Decay.

While we understand that live service games experience fluctuations and that development timelines can shift, the lack of communication and visible support over recent months has led many to believe the game is being quietly deprioritized. This is further reinforced by the contrast with promises made in the January 2025 Producer’s Letter, which stated a focus on stability and bug fixes which are areas that now appear to be receiving minimal attention.

This has left players uncertain about the future of the game and of their investment in it. If a game and the playerbase is perceived as abandoned it can erode trust.

We believe there is still strong community interest and a solid foundation to build upon. However, without renewed engagement and visible support from Funcom there is a growing risk of players disengaging and new players never gaining traction.

We respectfully ask that Funcom consider the following actions:

  • Re-establish consistent and transparent communication with the community, including updates on timelines, priorities, and ongoing issues.
  • Prioritize critical bug fixes and Quality of Life improvements, especially those that affect core gameplay stability.
  • Improve support response times for both technical issues and moderation reports.
  • Reaffirm support for the modding community, which has played a significant role in keeping the game active and relevant.

We recognize that every project competes for resources, but Conan Exiles still holds long-term value if given appropriate attention. A modest reinvestment in communication and support could go a long way toward retaining the player base and restoring community confidence.

We would welcome the opportunity for direct dialogue and can be reached via Discord (Conan Exiles Allies) or by email at conanexilesallies@yahoo.com.

Thank you for your time and for your role in bringing Conan Exiles to life.

Sincerely,
Conan Exiles Allies (CEA)
A dedicated community of players, creators, and supporters

Thanks to Alexandria, Beharion and Salice for the feedback :slight_smile:

Current Draft:

Dear Mr. Casais,

We are writing to you on behalf of Conan Exiles Allies (CEA), a group of long-time players, content creators, server administrators, mod developers and community supporters of Conan Exiles. Many of us have invested thousands of hours into the game and have supported it financially through game purchases, DLCs, the Battle Pass, and in-game shop content.

Concern is mounting over both the current state of Conan Exiles and the relationship between Funcom and its community, many of whom have stood by the game from early access to the present day.

Conan Exiles offers one of the most immersive and ambitious sandbox survival experiences in gaming. Remaining faithful to Howard’s Conan, along with the freedom of playstyle and deep modding potential, has kept its world alive. But that world is beginning to feel neglected, despite a core player base still eager to support it.

In recent months, many in the community have grown concerned about what appears to be a sharp decline in communication, support, and development focus. Since June, players have observed:

  • A lack of crucial announcements regarding in-game events.
  • Widespread delays or lack of response from the Help Center, including issues related to real-money transactions.
  • An increase in unresolved reports of cheating across official and private servers.
  • Bug reports going unacknowledged.
  • Limited engagement from the team.

While we understand that live service games experience fluctuations and that development timelines can shift, the lack of communication and visible support over recent months has led many to believe the game is being quietly deprioritized. Although an upcoming update has now been announced, the limited scope of what’s been shared so far does little to address ongoing concerns, particularly in light of the January 2025 Producer’s Letter, which promised a focus on stability and bug fixes. These areas still appear to be receiving minimal attention.

Another growing concern is the in-game shop. It is clear that it plays a vital role in sustaining the game financially, however, ongoing issues are undermining player confidence. Items purchased with real-money are often broken or functionally flawed and with fixes delayed or simply never materializing, it leads to hesitation to purchase and sense of being undervalued as customers. Additionally, there has been little effort to gather player feedback creating a perceived disconnect between the design team and community.

This accumulation of issues has left players uncertain about the future of the game and of their investment in it. If a game and the playerbase is perceived as abandoned or no longer regarded as important as other projects, it can erode trust.

We believe there is still strong community interest and a solid foundation to build upon. However, without renewed engagement and visible support from Funcom there is a growing risk of players disengaging and new players never gaining traction.

We respectfully ask that Funcom consider the following actions:

  • Re-establish consistent and transparent communication with the community, including updates on timelines, priorities, and ongoing issues.
  • Prioritize critical bug fixes and Quality of Life improvements, especially those that affect core gameplay stability.
  • Improve support response times for both technical issues and moderation reports.
  • Reaffirm support for the modding community, which has played a significant role in keeping the game active and relevant.

We recognize that every project competes for resources, but Conan Exiles still holds long-term value if given appropriate attention. A modest reinvestment in communication and support could go a long way toward retaining the player base and restoring community confidence.

We would welcome the opportunity for direct dialogue and can be reached via Discord (Conan Exiles Allies) or by email at conanexilesallies@yahoo.com.

Thank you for your time and for your role in bringing Conan Exiles to life.

Sincerely,
Conan Exiles Allies (CEA)
A dedicated community of players, creators, and supporters

If you have questions:

Discord: Conan Exiles Allies
Email: conanexilesallies@yahoo.com
Facebook: Conan Exiles Allies | Facebook
X: https://x.com/CEA_CE_Allies
Forums: https://forums.funcom.com/u/conan-exiles-allies/summary
Reddit: Reddit - The heart of the internet

Conan Exiles Allies needs more help but even if you want to join only to support on the sidelines Discord is where most of the discussion happens.

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There is a bit of unnecessary fluff that assumes he has ever played the game and a general lack of formality for a business letter.

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Don’t use a reply address. Send a printed letter (or a few dozen printed letters), in addition to posting this to all social media. The “reply” you should demand is that they communicate with us just as publicly. They can post a reply to their own website.

So if that is the hangup, forget it. Just post the mailing address, and let the community prove our involvement by letter campaign.

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the letter is not a thing their gonna be spammed to funcom it is only to Rui Casais and now we want to hear what peoples thoughts can help the letter

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Great initiative.

Weird as it sounds, I also recommend a written letter. All companies get swamped by spam and customer e-Mail, and a gaming company probably even more so. I’ll buy you a stamp if you want. Can even offer a printer. :wink:

Also, Tephra’s suggestions should be followed; the CEO possibily has no f’ing idea what an Arena Champion is. You’re not talking gamer to gamer, but customer to CEO. He doesn’t care about shiny pixels, he cares about shiny real-world money. I’d change “Black Lotus Bazaar” to “ingame shop” or something like that. Again, the CEO doesn’t necessarily know what you’re talking about, and one shouldn’t adhere up their marketing lingo in a formal letter. “Hyborean” could also be changed to “Conan the Barbarian”, “Robert E. Howard” or something other less in-universe.

I’ll try to look into this in more detail later.

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Fine move!

:+1:

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This thread makes me sad… its like a rejected ex-lover desperately trying to resurrect the magic that can never be again :frowning:

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About your feedback, jh00se, and also sorry for the off-topic here:

I fear that you misunderstand the authentic nature of the Hyborian Age - Robert E. Howard’s fantastical time 10,000 years ago on our Earth, the time of our famous barbarian Conan of Cimmeria.

This fictional age is and never was entirely barbaric in the view of his creator Robert Ervin Howard. In many, many respects, they were anything but “barbaric”. In some respects completely savage and bestial, which for Howard was and still is in his novels a distinct departure from barbaric races and cultures, and in many respects thoroughly civilized and cultivated.
Also in some respects, some cultures or races of Hyborian Age reached a level of technological development that even exceeded the technical standards of European late Middle Ages. In Howard’s stories, the development of advanced technological standards or the unraveling of profound magical secrets is often seen as a catalyst that then leads to the downfall of the respective culture or race. This can happen for very different reasons:

The resulting standard of living causes the people of the technological culture to degenerate, or because the technology falls into the hands of savage or barbaric peoples who then, in their unrestrained brutality, use this technology against its - supposedly? - effeminate inventors.

This was also the case with the Mitra preacher Arius, who taught the Picts the secrets of steel and an organized military. The Picts, however, showed little to no interest in aspects of compassion, poetry, state-supporting public welfare, philosophy, etc. And it was these highly militarized, savage Picts who ultimately broke the neck of the core Aquilonian people, who later became completely decadent and arrogant.

You can read about it, or even better listen to it, in the pseudo-historical essay “The Hyborian Age” by Robert E. Howard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrwA8PuDCDk

To get to the point: I really appreciate Funcom’s video game adaptations of the barbarian Conan so much because I personally have the impression - and I’ve actually read ALL of Howard’s Conan novels - that Funcom handles them quite carefully and doesn’t mess with the lore. And in doing so, they’re sometimes willing to run the risk of not making themselves popular with certain parts of the player base. See Age of Sorcery in Conan Exiles. Often criticized because the magic in that game doesn’t work instantly and you can’t hurl fireballs. But that’s not how sorcery works in Howard’s fantasy stories about our favorite barbarian, it’s really more like how it was implemented in Conan Exiles.

Off-topic out.

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Agreed - it is possible (though a bad sign if correct) that he does not know the name ‘Black Lotus Bazaar’. Some version of ‘in-game store’ is probably clearer for this context.

THis I think is a less important change (not that it’s necessarily a bad idea either) - Funcom is the rights holder to Conan, if the boss does not even know what ‘Hyborean’ means, then there is little hope for anything. That said perhaps a simple compromise would satisfy all aims, and create greater clarity - rather than ‘and connection to the Hyborian setting.’ as the final phrase of that sentence (paragraph 2, line 2) - perhaps ‘and connection to Robert E. Howard’s Hyborean setting.’ - if he can’t understand the context with that level of information then he should not be in charge of a pack of crayons, let alone a company that owns the specific IP being discussed.

Beyond that, I am very much in favour of Tephra’s slightly re-drafted version. I think her reasons for the changes are sound (and she coincidentally removes the couple of minor proofreading points I would otherwise have raised).

Wandering Stargazer’s point about no reply address/send written version also seems sound - though I’m less certain about that than I am about Tephra’s changes. It’s a matter of being taken seriously. On one level, a written letter does suggest a certain degree of seriousness. On the other hand, going direct to the CEO also suggests seriousness and this is a CEO of a tech company, so a written letter may be seen as ‘out of date’ (and may be easier to pretend never arrived…)

If I think of anything useful to add, I’ll post again. Primarily, you have my support (for whatever that is worth…) and I think Tephra’s variant is the better approach.

Off-topic:

I’ve seen those criticisms and, as you say, those people are failing to understand the lore and just want something that would be more appropriate to a generic fantasy game, not one based in REH’s work. My only criticism of the sorcery in the game remains as it always has been - I don’t want to use it and I dislike when attempts are made to enforce its use. I won’t ever collect Liu Fei, I have never been to the Kurak dungeon and I remain frustrated that they didn’t consider a simple (lower reward if any) option for players to atack Mek-Kamosis and his followers when they were trying to sacrifice a woman on an altar - why would they not consider the idea that players of a Conan game might wish to take the action Conan would have taken in those circumstances (rather than simply hearing later that Conan did take those actions, off-screen, between chapters…). Anyway, rant over…

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I would now like to contribute my last two Crom Coins to today’s discussion and would suggest, if there is still a desire, that we start a new thread to discuss the various points about how well Conan Exiles reflects the authentic diversity of the different cultures of true Howard’s Hyborian Age.

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IMG202507301821434096×2304 1.06 MB

jh00se, if you and others here prefer comic book adaptations from the original R.E.H. novels, then I recommend works like those by French creators Julien Blondel and Valentin Sécher and their adaptation of Robert Howard’s Hour of the Dragon. I’m not a big fan of the majority of Conan comics, especially when characters like Wolverine or Wonder Woman appear in them. And there are very few Conan works that aren’t from Howard’s pen that I’ve enjoyed.
But as you can see from my photo of the comic, the presence of civilization and advanced culture is no contradiction to the presence of barbaric peoples and their far-traveled adventurers like Conan. In fact, the very first published story about Conan the Cimmerian was The Phoenix of the Sword from 1932. Anyone who has read this story will quickly notice that there are many elements from European feudal Middle Ages as well as elements from a late Age of Ancient in this Aquilonian setting, all in wonderful harmony in my opinion. But it is, after all, fantasy fiction, which Howard wanted to capture and convey with epic diversity in his pseudo-historical Hyborean Age - or even pulp fiction, as most people used to call it in the past.

I mean, I just look at the implementation of the Khitan Exiles (second photo) and think to myself: Yes, the design of this faction in Conan Exiles is pretty well implemented by Funcom.

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That’s why, Dharu, I also think it’s a very subjective assessment to perceive the Nemedian setting as very European and medieval. People of the Dragon reflects the Nemedians, who are deliberately intended to combine a kind of proto-mixture of Romanized Germanic tribe-rooted feudal kingdom, like the Franks under Charlemagne, with many elements of the Early Medieval Age of Europe. And while the original heartland of Aquilonia represents a kind of “hyper-ancient” proto Rome with slight medieval influences, Poitain, in the south of the Aquilonian Empire, is more touched by late medieval influences of a chivalric France and so on.

And yes, the Argossean setting does seem like an excerpt from ancient Greek civilization, Dharu, because that is exactly what it is supposed to represent in the Hyborian Age of Howard. And is it a contradiction that all these different (fantasy) cultures, which are (partly) based on completely different real-historical cultures from different eras, now coexist? … I don’t know, maybe I don’t even want to ask myself the question because it’s part of fantasy literature.

But, I mean, when I look at the 13th century in Europe, I see a cultural diversity and a difference in technological standards there alone that must be jarring. On the one hand, I have the Teutonic Order’s Marienburg castle on the territory of present-day Poland: A military stronghold and architectural masterpiece of the High Middle Ages, even with central heating. Then I see the Gothic cathedrals and cities, which were certainly different from what fake documentaries and historically inaccurate blockbusters from Hollywood would have us believe - and no, they weren’t all dirty and gloomy, and people certainly didn’t dump their shit out of their windows onto the streets there - that exist in some parts of the European continent, and then in other places where people still live in thatched mud huts. And when I then move out and look at the entire Mediterranean region, or the region of geographic medieval Persia, or the steppe peoples of Asia, or Indian or Chinese regions, I am again confronted with completely different technical standards and cultures, which, all lined up side by side, seem fundamentally different and sometimes represent an extremely strong contrast.

And as for the pirates you mention, Dharu: If you read the story The Black Stranger by Robert E. Howard, you will see that this occurs in the Hyborian Age of Conan. I wouldn’t blame Funcom for being inconsistent in the design of the different factions and all diverse cultures in Conan Exiles, which seem to make a pretty wild mix. In my opinion, they just stuck pretty closely to the originals of all the Conan novels. The pirates and other sailors there look just like some of the protagonists in Jerry Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Caribbean in this story. Conan even wears a lacquered “pirate hat” there.

As I said, my impression: Funcom has captured the diversity of Robert E. Howard’s Hyborean Age quite faithfully in terms of its proximity to the content of his novels. If you’re bothered by this wild mix, then perhaps you’re more bothered by the work of Conan’s creator than by the Norwegian video game developer’s precise adaptation.

And with that, I’m done for now and offline for today. (Everything else perhaps in a new thread that deals with this topic on its own?) :waving_hand: cya

EDIT: I forgot to make a :slightly_frowning_face: for Haperson. Now he actually had to make the effort to take action by himself. Next time maybe …

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After a more thorough review, I don’t have anything to add to what Tephra and DanQuixote already said.

Take that as a compliment. There are people who see me as a tight-ass regarding letter writing. It’s a good letter.

My offer is real: If you want to send it via mail, I can do if you want. A small contribution, but all I have to offer at this point.

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Mentioning the financial support is a nice touch, but I don’t it will do much to move an executive. People on that level think in very cold terms and “I gave you money in the past” is a shrug-worthy statement to them.

However, maybe you could add a sentence and end that paragraph on a note that explains that people who do all of those things you listed play an important part in the popularity of the game and the reputation of the studio. Or something to that effect.

To put it differently, the reaction to “we loved your game and paid for it” might be “so what”, but the reaction to “and we helped make it (and your company) successful” might help drive the point home.

This! This is precisely what I’m talking about. Subtle enough, but with a clear implication.

This is another opportunity to include the company itself in the context. Perhaps something along the lines of “want to continue supporting Conan Exiles and Funcom”?

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Loving the discussion everyone.

Thank you @Tephra for the rewrite, I think it is wonderful.

Everyone for their thoughts and passion.

Since I’m the OP just stewing at the moment on how to mesh it altogether :slight_smile:

What I would ask of everyone is to be kind and reasonable to each other so I don’t have to repost.

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I’m willing to bet the guy didn’t even get to read anything on this forum. CEOs don’t usually do that. That’s why Community Managers exist, to bring the community concerns to the studio.

Respectfully, let’s not go down that particular rabbit hole. As I’ve already said elsewhere, you are perfectly entitled to being rude and unkind if you want, but discussing ideological differences is a step too far.

Believe me, I know, because I’ve done it and I’ve learned the lesson. To quote your own words: it’s never worth it to try something that is stupid.

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If you’re planning on sending a physical letter, make sure you do it as certified mail so it can be tracked.

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@darkpower

If ancient man had sat around the fire saying “it will never work”, the wheel would never have been invented. Without the wheel where would mankind be now.

We all see the same world through different eyes and so have differing opinions.
We have to start somewhere if we want change. The letter is a good start for implementing change.
I personally give it a big thumbs up.

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Repeating your opinions won’t magically make them true. Yes, it’s very likely that nothing will come out of this initiative. But I really have to wonder why it elicits such a strong reaction from you.

Then again, my wondering is unimportant here. The topic is to discuss the letter and offer feedback. You did that, in your own way. Repeating the same ad nauseam contributes nothing.

Further replies to those repetitions will also contribute nothing, which is why I’m going to stop doing that. If others want to give you more chances of derailing this thread, that’s their own choice.

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@Kikigirl I think Tephra’s version of the letter is better for all the reasons outlined above by others. But putting myself in the CEO’s shoes, I would be thinking as I read the letter…

  1. Im glad we have a passionate community that loves our game!
  2. Perhaps we can support CE more to keep them happy but how do we translate that to more money and perhaps get more players involved?
  3. Lets do a CE2 with unreal 5 and less nudity/brutality/slavery to get a broader audience!

Im just imagining right? This is ofc just a fantasy. But I worry that item 3 will come to pass and we’ll all hate it, especially now Funcent has the rights (unless it comes with lots of mods from the community to fix it).

Thats why I was negative above… but stranger things have happened, look at the world in 2025 lol, I’d love to be proven wrong.

@Beharion nice discussion of some of the themes in Conan literature.

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No hate against what you guys are doing but I’ve just never personally understood why a company would care about stuff like this when they already have your money. For a lot of you quite a lot of it, the base game, siptah, all the dlcs, the one time battle pass purchase, the bazaar. I mean the most you can really do is threaten to leave a negative review but even after everything that has happened over the past 2-3 years Conan Exiles still has a 80% positive rating on steam.

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