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Anti-Aliased: The Darkfall prophecies
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Anti_Aliased_The_Darkfall_prophecies'; Darkfall. Everyone talks about it. Our mailboxes get flooded with requests about it. Comments regarding the game are both frothingly energetic and intensely angry. Just writing a piece about it can get a writer wacked.So, let me paint a giant target on my back, cover myself in delicious meat, and walk right into the lion's den of MMOs. This column is dedicated to Darkfall's gameplay mechanics; presenting an analysis of what we know so far from released beta tester announcements and gameplay footage. This is, by no means, a comprehensive analysis of everything Darkfall has to offer. This is just one man's opinion column at work, looking at the ups and downs of what Darkfall might bring to the table.I'm doing all of this to answer one eerily simple yet dastardly complex question: Can Darkfall live up to the hype around it?
Anti-Aliased: The Darkfall prophecies pt. 2
The double-edged sword to this is that the player is going to require a time investment. It's going to take more than stats and big numbers to win battles in these parts, and those things take time to learn. Knowing the environments, knowing how to gauge enemies, and knowing where to go in case of emergency are going to be things that are learned through use and not by giant pointing arrows or help boxes.But, when you do learn them, you'll probably find that you'll enjoy this game more than other games on the market. Once again, talk to any EVE player who's ever killed another player or destroyed a player-owned station, or done anything of note. They'll talk excitedly and smile the entire time they tell you the story.Epic is more than just purple text, it's a philosophyThe number one reason to get your hands on Darkfall seems to be the environment itself. Exploration is finally a viable option, as exploring can lead you to some amazing discoveries and treasures. Cities seem to be well designed and crafted from the limited view we've been presented with. And, of course, some of the scenes are amazingly gorgeous and worthy of a fantasy novel.All of this is heightened by the tension that an ambush can happen at any moment. Things could go from blissfully calm to deadly in a heartbeat. Player action is the root of the game, and not an incidental item left outside of the menu. The design is set up so that players drive what the game has to offer, a page taken directly from EVE Online's book of plays.Games should stop telling their players that things are epic, and instead make players feel like things are epic. Darkfall seems to understand this, and incorporates it into as many aspects of their design as possible.So, what's the final word?Even with all of these good things in store, even with the looks we have of the game, I'm going to be bluntly honest. Darkfall's hype is bigger than it's bite. We're not looking at the savior of MMOs or anything like that. Players are going to walk away feeling disappointed not because Darkfall is a bad game, but because they may not understand what they're getting into.Darkfall will be a good, solid game that will follow up on amazing concepts, but those concepts are not made for the general population of players. Let me stress that this is not a bad thing. Darkfall will certainly have a home amongst the well made games of our time. But players who are buying into the hype and not researching what they're getting into may find that this may not be the game for them.Players with backgrounds in Lineage II, EVE Online, and Ultima Online will find things to love here. But players with more modern MMO experience, like World of Warcraft or Lord of the Rings Online, may find that the game world is too harsh and unforgiving.But if you can get through that harshness and stick it out, you're going to find experiences in this game that you will be completely unable to find in other games. You will walk away from Darkfall with tales to tell your friends, I guarantee it. Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who is interested, yet cautious, about Darkfall Online. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's over running Epic Loot For All! with his insane friends. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com.
A look at the MMO coming attractions in 2009
Now that we're comfortably settling in to our new digs at casa de 2009, it seems like the best time to reflect on what we have to look forward to in the coming year. Eurogamer has done the dirty work for us, as they've compiled a handy article detailing the coming attractions.All Points Bulletin tops their list as the star attraction, citing enthusiasm for the GTA-style action and depth of customization. SOE's The Agency and Free Realms, along with Cryptic's Champions Online and NetDevil's Jumpgate Evolution round out the remaining top spots on this list, for varying reasons. Some honorable mentions include Aion, Darkfall, EVE's Walking in Stations expansion, Earthrise, Global Agenda and many more expected to see the light of day this year or next. Will all of these games actually make it to a 2009 release, or will 2010 truly be the year of epic MMO launches?
Darkfall's release date announced (for real this time)
After an initial release date announced last month as January 22nd, the Darkfall Online team has clarified their plans a bit and re-assigned a new launch date of February 25th, 2009. Of course the date of January 22nd won't be completely trashed, as they plan to begin a trial on that date, allowing thousands of people to stress test the servers and test the game's features before launch.A pre-order will be made available in mid February which will give those players priority for early access to the game, including the possibility of a staged launch, due to the overwhelming interest in the game so far. They plan to release more information on this pre-order, North American player access and system specs very soon. Stay tuned![Thanks Jacob!]
A big list of MMOs to watch in 2009
Over at The Vault, they've put up an exhaustive list of all the MMO titles you should have your eye on throughout the new year. While they sort of term it as thought it's a big list of games coming out this year, we think they know it's unlikely all of those games are going to be released in the next twelve months. With that in mind, if you aren't sure what games you should have on your radar (and you haven't clicked our handy "upcoming MMOs" widget above), this massive list will bring you up to date.Here at Massively, of course, we've been doing our own level best to keep you updated on a lot of these titles, be they AAA superhero games like Champions Online or DC Universe Online. We've talked fervently about Star Wars: The Old Republic, and given you the skinny on under-the-radar titles like Aion, FreeRealms, and Jumpgate Evolution. We've even walked away from our precious fantasy to talk about games like APB or The Agency. The Vault's list is a great one to run down - check it out to see what game you should be obsessing over today!
What features are you anticipating most in Darkfall Online?
With a game like the upcoming Darkfall Online, the opinions can become quite polarized. It is already labeled "The Fantasy EVE", in regards to its hardcore nature, and I think most people understand that it will be a niche game without wide appeal. But is that such a bad thing?Over that Keen and Graev's blog, they've compiled a detailed list of the Darkfall features that they're looking forward to the most. This includes everything from the hardcore PvP to the degradable loot to the fact that the game has no levels. Don't forget about the crafting system! Personally, while I'll miss leveling a tiny bit, every aspect of this game excites me to no end. I'm looking forward to setting up shop as an expert crafter, and even throwing out a little security money to the local roughneck guild that will protect my shop from ruffians. So check out their list and let us know your own in the comments below.
The Daily Grind: What MMOs are you looking forward to in 2009?
Yesterday, Kyle gave us his impressions of the most anticipated games for 2009. This watch list was based not-only on games that are set to release within the year, but also games that are set to be announced in 2009. This list includes everything from DCUO and The Agency to the speculation of a City of Heroes 2 announcement. The comments were heated, so we thought we'd pose the question officially here for our readers.What is your most anticipated game or game announcement for 2009? What games do you dream about? Do you think Red 5 Studios will reveal their stealth project? Will Darkfall finally be your holy grail? Do you think Guild Wars 2 will finally get a release date by the end of the year? Let us know!
Will Darkfall be important to the genre?
"Darkfall deserves your best wishes, even if you don't plan on buying it."This seems to be the sentiment of most Darkfall enthusiasts, as the reality of the game's announced launch date has set in. It's no secret that the wild success of World of Warcraft has changed how studios develop games for the last 3-4 years, but is it about time that we went back to how MMOs were originally created? Darkfall boasts a sandbox-type freedom and the return of the once-hated ganking and player killing found in earlier MMOs. It boasts innovation (then again, who doesn't) and a death penalty that makes you actually fearful of dying. These factors, and many more, are what drive the game's loyal fanbase for over seven years.So to answer the question posed in the title, yes Darkfall will be important to the genre. If this niche game succeeds, it will show that innovation is not dead and we're collectively ready for a change. If it fails, it means that we're not really as ready for something different as we all claim.[Via WorldIV]
Darkfall Online slated for January release date
Audio Visual Enterprises SA and Aventurine SA have announced today that the official release date for their fantasy MMO Darkfall Online will be on January 22nd, 2009. After a development cycle that has spanned almost eight years now, it's good to know the game will be leaving its current beta stage and entering the real world like a big boy (or girl, we haven't checked).Be sure to check out the official announcement over at the Darkfall forums, and check out their main website for more information on the game that boasts being a "seamless and zoneless, non-instanced, sandbox game world."
Darkfall beta is actually happening, tester feedback proves it
Aventurine's Darkfall has been in development pretty much since the dawn of time (alright, since 2001, but that's not far from the dawn of time for the MMORPG genre), and we have on more than one occassion wondered whether or not those promises of an eventual beta test would be fulfilled. Turns out that for some, they have been.The developers have posted a large collection of quotes from beta players' feedback. They claim it's representative, and it's mostly (but not all) positive. Sounds like players are impressed with the hugeness of the world and a solid crafting system, but a bit turned off by a complicated and unconventional control scheme. The devs say they're working on it.If you fall into Darkfall's hardcore Ultima Online-esque PvP niche, feel free to scan through to see what you've apparently been missing out on for the past seven years.
Darkfall Online to enter beta, shows off in-game videos!
If you've never heard of Darkfall Online, don't feel too bad. This indie MMO has been in development for some time now, with the creators wisely keeping their heads down and their noses to the grindstone. That way, when a big announcement come along, it'll blindside you like a very pleasant tsunami. And blindside us it did: Darkfall Online is jumping into Beta, and you're invited to sign up to participate.The official announcement in the Darkfall forums is very to-the-point: sign up, check it out. To coincide with the announcement of the Beta phase, developer Aventurine has ginned up a lengthy trailer to showcase what the game is about. There's a forum post offering instructions on how to get that, or you could check it out in pieces on YouTube. Go familiarize yourself with Darkfall on the official features page! Then, to get look at the game right away, you can click on through below the cut for the first part of the trailer.
Darkfall summer vapors fanned away
How many years has Darkfall been in development? Forever is a pretty good guess. Actually, go back to 2001 and that's when Darkfall was announced! Sheesh and people say Blizzard is slow. Darkfall sounds so good -- the real-time tactical and reactionary gameplay, the unrestricted siege warfare, the destructible terrain, and the bi-millennial patches.. err. But seriously, the proposed game systems sound decent. If the mounted combat emulates Mount and Blade, it's worth looking into. The current problem lies with the developer's decision to keep testers selected from the MMOG community away until the game is near-completion. Progress is coming along nicely according to this latest Darkfall update by Associate Prouder, Tasos Flambouras. The Darkfall staff has expanded by eight new team members and the focus has been on polish and on the publishing side. You know server infrastructure, customer and technical support, the all important billing system, and distribution. It's summer though, and the development team needs some time off so they are rotating vacation time for the next three weeks. Don't rush it guys. There's always Warhammer Online to contend with if you launch too early. Still no word or more importantly a date on when the next beta phase will start, we'll be waiting! [Via Warcry]
Darkfall community Q&A reveals further juicy details
Will Darkfall see the echelons of frothing at the mouth PvP fanatics vying for territorial dominance? We sure as hell hope so. Darkfall's real-time, aimed combat, reactionary and tactical gameplay, free for all PvP have a lot of potential to stand out in a soon-to-be crowded PvP landscape. A lot of promises have been made, and Darkfall will breathe immersion if the developers can pull off the proposed city dynamisms. It could evolve the PvP genre or its attempt may be for naught as more big-budgeted PvP MMOGs like Warhammer Online enter the arena. Many questions surrounding the Darkfall's game mechanics remain shrouded in secrecy. Until now, more bits about the game are unveiled as 35 plus questions asked by the community are answered in this latest Q&A round by Associate Producer Tasos Flambouras and the Darkfall team. The questions run the gamut and range from basic game mechanics to increasingly popular siege warfare. Unfortunately, no information regarding a release date is given, but according to the site Darkfall is in its final closed beta testing stage before testing opens to guilds and "outside-the-office" play testers. [Via, Warcry]
Darkfall developer sets the record straight
In a recent post over at Darkfall's official forums, associate producer Tasos Flambouras gives us an unofficial update for the community on the state of the game as it stands. He spends most of the post shooting down rumors created by the community, and letting us know the reasons behind the most recent delay in any official updates.As for real information though, we get word of the thought behind the universal banking system and how vehemently opposed the devs are to introducing even more NPCs to the game. Their reasoning is that there are already too many games out there with controllable NPCs to add to your party. Flambouras says, "Even if it's all the rage in MMOs lately we want to further the multiplayer real-time aspect with Darkfall rather than go the other direction. There is no progress in having to introduce single player features such as more NPCs to a MMORPG."
Hero's Journey, WRU?
We love the signs of spring; the green leaves on the trees; the children playing on the new grass; the annual news from long-in-development MMO, Hero's Journey. We have five new screenshots from the game, and we have to admit, they look absolutely fantastic. Like Darkfall Online, Hero's Journey is perennially on the verge of going into some sort of beta. And like Darkfall, they have promised the stove, refrigerator, cupboards AND kitchen sink to eager players.Hero's Journey features complete character customization, similar to Chronicles of Spellborn; a dual-class adventure progression similar to those seen in Final Fantasy XI and Guild Wars; and a reactive combat system, similar to that seen in Vanguard. We do hope to see Hero's Journey at some point, and look forward to hearing more about its progress next year.[Via Gamebunny]%Gallery-23631%
Top 10 games we'll never see
When an anticipated MMO is said to be cancelled, it takes a little piece of us right along with it. As a Star Trek fan, you may have been excited to hear the news of a Star Trek Online MMO, but upon the news of its cancellation, you've wept quietly under your desk ever since. The same goes for Darkfall. Seven years is a long time to wait for a game's release, only to have it continuously put on hold indefinitely.Despite the fact that most of this Cracked.com list does not consist of MMOs, it's still an appropriate homage to the possibilities we've missed out on when it comes to our voided games on any platform.
Darkfall producer talks about beta, testing and setting release dates
There's a PvP-oriented game with real-time, aimed combat, a wide variety of races and tactical gameplay, but it's name doesn't have Conan or Warhammer anywhere in it. Darkfall aims to be the best free-for-all, PvP oriented game ever made. "Too good to be true" is an accusation they hear often; and yet one they aim to live up to, says Associate Producer Tasos Flambouras in Darkfall dev journal #25. Though Darkfall is feature complete, they have not yet opened their doors to regular players. The devs have hired a team of professional beta testers to check through the game first. When they do open the doors, the game will be as close to a finished product as possible, and they can focus on tuning the game for various hardware configurations and stress-testing the server without having to worry about fundamental game issues at the same time.Darkfall NPCs go about their lives and level up as they age. Because the NPC AI is so sophisticated and seems exactly like a player to the servers, the NPCs themselves are doing a fair amount of game testing just by running around and exploring. Perhaps when the game goes live, the NPCs will eventually set up camps and build cities around popular player re-spawn points, the better to knock them on the noggins as they groan back to life. Darkfall's aim is to give players a world and let them do in it whatever they like. There won't be quests that tell you what to do, where to do it and what to do after that. It's well to the left of the sandbox-game MMO divide. Perhaps Darkfall will succeed where Shadowbane failed, to make a wide-open world where nobody is safe and anything can happen.
Darkfall developer talks specifics about game
Darkfall is an up-and-coming MMO that we haven't given much time to on Massively, but reading over this recently-released 'Dev Journal' on the WarCry Network, it sounds like there's a lot there to sustain interest. Just from this latest Journal entry by Tasos Flambouras, I'm picking out intriguing details: No radar: meaning that it's possible to engage in guerilla tactics and not have retaliation easily track you out of line of sight Alignment matters: it sounds like the only thing a player should concern himself over is his alignment, even more than guild alliance. Your moral posture will determine the method of play Multirace guilds, or clans: this sounds similar to Horde vs. Alliance interplay, but with a little more complexity Real-time combat: body strike location, weapon range, friendly fire, multiple opponent strikes with a single swing ... sounds like the Age of Conan take on combat, but with just ... more Now, I'm not saying there aren't other games out there that offer these things and more, but these guys have the advantage of being in development and learning from other MMO mistakes. Read all about Darkfall on its website.
