This thread is UNOFFICIAL. It is compiled from information gathered by the community.
LAST UPDATED APRIL 8th 2009

So, questions that have already been answered, and questions that have been asked but that we do not yet have answers to, are beginning to crop up on the forum.
With that in mind I've taken some of the Q+A from my Just the facts newbies guide, and created a basic FAQ, to be expanded upon.

THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS AT PRESENT:

VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT GAMEPLAY AT ALL.

TRUST NO ONE.

When this FAQ was first written, in May 2007, we knew virtually nothing about the game. There was concept art, some clues about possible connections with the Illuminati and the Knights Templar. Everything else was pure conjecture.
The was a lot of talk about it being an MMO based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft. There is no evidence to suggest that this is a Lovecraft MMO (See below for more on this).
Nothing is known about any of the game mechanics at all. (As of April 09 this is less true,a swe now have a little information on classes and levels, or lack thereof).

One question that the F.A.Q now answers:

Q: y dus ur faq sux??? lolz
A: The point of the F.A.Q. is that people ask the questions that there are no answers to, so if they read the FA.Q. they will see that their are no answers and won't need to start a new thread for someone to tell them there are no answers.
The F.A.Q. could indeed read: "We don't know anything." but then people would still post "What about X game mechanic?".

Better for them to read it here than flood the forums with questions we have no answers to.

With that out of the way, read on..

Frequently Asked Questions about The Secret World. V.1.

Q: When is The Secret World released?
A: Nobody knows yet, except Funcom. Theories abound, but no date has been set.

Q: When is beta?
A: Another unknown.

Q. How many characters can I roll on a server?
A. One of the many unknown variables at this time.

Q. Where can I pre order my copy of TSW?
A. You can't, yet.

Q: What’s with the multiple names for this game?
A: The first visitors to the site were confronted with the words “Dark Days Are Coming”, which was also the url to the site. Once the puzzle was solved the site displayed “Cry Gaia”. The forums were originally called “Dreams of a Fallen Earth”.
It was believed, by the community, that the game would be called “Cry Gaia”.
On the 11th May 2007, Tarib (Who some of you may recognise from AO and AOC), posted an announcement regarding the game. See his post HERE.
In it's original concept state the game was also refered to as The World Online, and also as The Next Big Thing.
The official name is The Secret World.

Q: Who is Ragnar?
A: Ragnar Tornquist is the man responsible for you being here. He is the lead designer of The Secret World, and arguably the man behind the brain warping puzzles we have had to solve.
You can find his blog HERE.

Q: Who is this Lovecraft guy and what has he got to do with The Secret World?
A: Howard Phillips Lovecraft was a writer of some of the most original, exciting and compelling fiction ever written.
He created what is referred to as the Cthuhlu Mythos, and invented an imaginary grimoire of demonic spells known as The Necronomicon, which has become a cult item in its own right.
The Secret World, while not being a game set in the Lovecraft lore, is allegedly influenced by Lovecraft’s work.
The references to Amundsden have been compared to one of Lovecraft’s most popular stories At the Mountains of Madness, as it seems similar in its themes of dark secrets hidden below the ice.
Some fans have drawn comparisons between the concept art creatures and the Cthuhlu mythos creatures.

Q. So what's this CoC people mention?
A. CoC stands for Call of Cthulhu. It is the name of the first Lovecraft story to feature the great old god Cthulhu.
CoC is commonly used as an acronym for the paper and pen roleplaying game Call of Cthulhu.
Also; KNOW YOUR LOVECRAFT MONSTERS!

Q. What are the character classes in The Secret World?
A. At this time only Funcom know. Be patient.
Update 08/04/2009: From Funcom's fact sheet on The secret World:
Quote:
Be Who You Want To Be: There are no classes or levels. Experience the freedom of complete character customization at every stage: flexible character creation, unrestricted and almost limitless combinations of clothing and accessories, and skills directly shaped by your actions during play. Experience a reactive, fast-paced combat system that allows you to defeat enemies using anything from martial arts to black magic, from legendary armaments to modern firearms.
View the fact sheet at Crygaia.com

Q. How will combat work?
A. Again, nobody knows yet.

Q. Is the game level based or skill based or a little of both?
A. See above. The game has no class system, and no levels. It seems likely that the game will be similar to many RPGs that allow you to advance your characters experience in a skill by repeated use of that skill. A possible comparison would be the Morrowind games. The more you cast spells the better you get at them. The more you use swords the better you get at using a sword.
There is still a lot of conjecture at this point about how this will be implemented.

Q. Will my PC run The Secret World?
A. Another “Don’t know”, as no minmum spec has been anounced at this time. Due to this being a new MMO, with the community speculating release to be 2008 - 2009, expect it to require fairly decent hardwar. Look to Age of Conan for a guide.

Q. Will there be PvP?
A. Knowing Funcom; probably, and given that most MMO’s have some PvP and MMO’s are catering to all audiences these days, then it is extremely likely.

Q. Will there be PVP/RP servers?
A. Unknown at this time.

Q. What's with all this puzzle stuff?
A. The mysteries and puzzles are what began it all. For more information on the puzzles check out some of the links in Kilrokan's thread of useful links, http://www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/showthread.php?t=160
Also, for anyone who wishes to try and solve the original mysteries of Dark Days Are Coming for themselves, then Darkstarhas provided you with the means to do so in THIS THREAD.

Q. I read people talking about "A Friend". What's that all about.
A. A Friend was the first registered user on the site, and a super admin.
His posts greeted and welcomed us, as well as warning us of THEM. He provided the clues, the mysteries and was probably the one who lead us to the site to begin with.
A list of his correspondence to us, via the forum and emails, can be found in THIS THREAD.
NOTE: It has since transpired that A Friend may not be trustworthy, as an Email, allegedly from the elusive Aveline Belmont, states that in helping him we may have brought about the end of the world.
See the Just the facts thread for more information.

Q. Who are Funcom?
A. Funcom are the company making The Secret World. They have previous experience with MMO's, from their very popular Sci-Fi MMO: Anarchy Online, and Age of Conan.
In the past they created very intricate, story driven games: The Longest Journey and Dreamfall.

Q. Will there be different playable factions?
File under: who knows?

Q. Will the game be instanced, like EQ2, or streamed, like WoW
A. Guess what.... nobody knows
However, with a game set in the modern world it seems likely that the potential play area will be quite large, so expect instanced areas and loading screens.

Q. Will there be instant travel, like WoW?
A. Another unknown, and again it is likely that this will be possible due to the modern day setting, and/or magic.

Q: Is there an IRC channel where we can discuss The Secret World?
A: Yes, there is. It's:
#thesecretworld at irc.funcom.com

Q. Will I have to pay to play TSW?
A. Guess what? Yup; nobody knows yet. It is safe to assume, however, that TSW will follow a fairly standard pay to play business model.

Q. These forum avatars are weird, what do they mean?
A. Good question. See AcidicPlague's thread HERE for details.

Please don't double post. Merged. Keep postin :D.

yeah what he said :D

Looks pretty cool but it sounds like the requirements will be too much

i think it will be on 360 also

I didn't expect that from the video.. that was awesome..

yeah, it felt like a movie to me