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So, you think you're a hardcore PvPer, eh?
The Darkfall hype has shot through the roof these past few days. Since the NDA was lifted, many reviews have surfaced and they all say pretty much the same thing; Darkfall is technically sound but lacks content polish, and due to its core game design and griefing potential, will only really appeal to the hardcore PvPer. And by "hardcore PvPer," they mean pre-Trammel UO slash AC Darktide fans. Haaardcore.A few interesting blog posts popped up yesterday that bring something a bit new to the table. Tobold shared his Darkfall beta experience and suggested that while the game may find it's niche, it will be a very small one because most gamers prefer to play it safe. He points out that even in other PvP-centric games like EVE and UO, people tend to congregate in the safe havens if given the option. Scott Jennings also weighed in on hardcore PvPers. He believes people may appreciate the idea of hardcore PvP in the abstract, but tend to wuss out when push comes to shove. He cites past experience with the quick to rise and fall of PvP servers in DAOC. Finally, Keen lets us know that he finally got his pre-order after refreshing the order page for many hours. He shares a quote from lead Darkfall dev, Tasos, who says they are receiving 20 times the amount of web traffic to their order page than originally estimated.
Darkfall to launch with limited pre-order and launch copies
With Darkfall set to launch in Europe a couple weeks from now, MMORPG.com caught up with lead developer, Tasos Flambouras, for an interview. Things have been a bit quiet on the Aventurine front since late January, which Tasos attributes to them working furiously on getting the game ready for release and supporting thousands of beta testers.Several interesting things were revealed in this interview, including denial that they are planning on delaying release yet again, their plans to lift the NDA to give players enough time to make an informed decision, and that they aren't looking past the EU launch for a North American one just yet. The most interesting piece of information is that they plan to release a limited number of pre-order and launch copies of Darkfall to ensure their infrastructure can support the initial rush of players eager to get their hands on the game. This is a very different strategy than most MMO developers take. Usually, players are forced into long server queues or servers that can't handle the player load and crash frequently. This can lead to more servers being opened that spread the population too thin once the initial rush is over. Given Aventurine's strategy, you may want to keep your eyes on eBay if you miss out on a pre-order or launch copy.
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."
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.
