There has been a thread earlier in the Sports & Games forum but I though a series of hype blog posts now the last month before the game is released would be a good idea. This is of course other than Starcraft 2 the biggest, coolest and best game to be released in 2009.
For those of you who still don't know what Darkfall is here is a short description that might get you a good picture to start of with.
If you ever played Ultima Online or Asheron's Call you will be familiar with this type of game. It's a sandbox MMORPG. Sandbox meaning you are basically free to do whatever you want unlike games like WoW that are much more linear.
In Darkfall there are no levels and no classes. Instead there are a wide array of skills to chose from that specialize your character the way you want and create your own "class". You increase your skills by using them.
In Darkfall there is no über items or linear instanced PvP. Instead there is free PvP everywhere in the world and full loot. Full loot meaning if you die you drop all the items you are wearing. Other players and even NPCs can pick them up. Guilds can build, own, siege and conquer cities.
In combat in Darkfall there is no autotargeting, no big name lables over players heads and no super highlevel players or players with über gear owning everyone else. Instead combat in Darkfall works someone like combat in the Elder Scroll series. Spells and bows are fired in first person like an FPS and melee combat is done in third person. There are no Stats/Items/Levels determining if your sword hits its target. You swing your sword and if it hits another player or NPC you hit him.
If you want to play a stealthy character in the game you don't pick the "rogue" class and use some invisibility skill/spell. Instead you wear dark clothes and attack at night. Moving from tree to tree not to be seen by you opponents. Its perfectly possible to hide in the dark or behind a tree from both other players and from NPCs. NPCs dont have an aggro range but instead aggro on line-of-sight, sounds and smells. Players who want to look behind themselves have to turn their character around which can get complicated in combat. Its perfectly feasible to sneak after another player for minutes unseen and then sneak up on them from behind and stab them. Them never knowing what hit them.
tl;dr section: Darkfall is a new MMORPG that goes back to what MMORPGs were about back in the days of Ultima Online. It takes features from games like Ultima Online, Asheron's Call, Oblivion/Morrowind, EVE Online and first person shooters. Then combines them all in an epic world that takes eight hours to walk from side to side.
For more info on Darkfall please visit these sites:
The official darkfall site. It will be replaced with a new site within the next month or so. Be sure to check out the features page as well as the forum. There are lots of good sticky threads in the Newcomer's forum that answers many questions and lists quotes from developers of different issues. http://www.darkfallonline.com/
Here is an exclusive preview from a close friend to the developers who is right now playing the closed beta. She is also the author of The Noob Comic. http://beta.thenoobcomic.com/df_preview/intro.html
What would this hype blog without a link to the games Wikipedia site? It has a good short summary of what the game is about and some of its features. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkfall
In my next hype post I'm going to find and collect all the best videos that are out of the game so far. Be sure to be on the lookout. The open beta should be out any week now
I've been waiting for this game for a while now, and all the reviews I'm seeing about the beta seem positive so I'm hopeful this will be an awesome game. As soon as the game comes out I'll probably make a human (I'm boring like that) and play as a crafter/trader, I've always wanted a game that had a decent enough economy to make a trader a viable and fun class (I know there technically aren't any classes, but you get my point) so I'm hoping this won't disappoint.
On December 26 2008 02:10 defenestrate wrote: Aside from ambitious NPC design, I don't see why this would be preferable to EVE.
Combat is an example of something that is completely different in EVE and Darkfall. EVE is probably the only successful game released the last couple of years that resembles Darkfall somewhat but Darkfall is far from EVE in a fantasy setting.
On December 26 2008 02:34 ilistis wrote: Pay to play or?
edit:Oh, still in beta. Looks extremely good from the op post.
Yes it is pay to play. The release on the 22nd of January will be electronic. There will most likely be some kind of torrent or filefront or something. Servers will be located in Europe at first but people from all over the world will be able to join and play. Servers will later be added in the US too.
On December 26 2008 02:34 ilistis wrote: Pay to play or?
edit:Oh, still in beta. Looks extremely good from the op post.
Yes it is pay to play. The release on the 22nd of January will be electronic. There will most likely be some kind of torrent or filefront or something. Servers will be located in Europe at first but people from all over the world will be able to join and play. Servers will later be added in the US too.
Ah crap.I hope there are gamecards or any other way. Stupid gamestop only has wow gamecards...
On December 26 2008 02:34 ilistis wrote: Pay to play or?
edit:Oh, still in beta. Looks extremely good from the op post.
Yes it is pay to play. The release on the 22nd of January will be electronic. There will most likely be some kind of torrent or filefront or something. Servers will be located in Europe at first but people from all over the world will be able to join and play. Servers will later be added in the US too.
Ah crap.I hope there are gamecards or any other way. Stupid gamestop only has wow gamecards...
You don't have a credit card? Get your friend of parents to pay ^^
It looks fun actually. I've never played a MMORPG, this might be my first if it turns out to be as good as the OP suggests. However, what is the cap then in terms of character development. There's no levels etc, so how far can you "improve" stuff
On December 26 2008 03:06 NoobsOfWrath wrote: It looks fun actually. I've never played a MMORPG, this might be my first if it turns out to be as good as the OP suggests. However, what is the cap then in terms of character development. There's no levels etc, so how far can you "improve" stuff
There will be a soft cap on total skill points. Skills will start out at 1 and have a maximum level of 100. Theoretically you could max all the skills in the game but the more total skill points you have the harder it will be to gain more. So it will be important to focus on a few skills if you want to make a good character. Also skills that are of a high level but are not used will decay slowly over time. You can also drop skills completely if you want to. There is no way to "gimp" your character by training the wrong skills etc.
On December 26 2008 03:06 NoobsOfWrath wrote: It looks fun actually. I've never played a MMORPG, this might be my first if it turns out to be as good as the OP suggests. However, what is the cap then in terms of character development. There's no levels etc, so how far can you "improve" stuff
Apparently there are skills that you can level, like swordsmanship, crafting, etc. and the level cap is 100 (iirc) and at 100 you get a special one time use ability which after using resets your skill down to 99. Apparently it takes a long ass time to get from 99-100 so hopefully it won't become overpowered.
Also from what I hear there isn't a drastically huge advantage between low and high levels, just enough to give a slight edge to the higher level player. Like starting someone off with 8 worker units instead of 4 in SC (obligatory SC reference). However if you're skillful enough then a player just starting out should still be able to kill a maxed out player.
Although tbh I haven't kept up with the development of this game in a while so I may be completely off.
I like the idea of this, but like some others said, not really going to pay more than $10-$15 a month for it. However, the idea of building up a city then conquering others sounds fun.
On December 26 2008 04:23 vx70GTOJudgexv wrote: I like the idea of this, but like some others said, not really going to pay more than $10-$15 a month for it. However, the idea of building up a city then conquering others sounds fun.
Sounds awesome yeah, the whole game sounds awesome. But I really really doubt its going to work as well as it sounds and if it does succeed then its going to be the best mmorpg ever.
On December 26 2008 03:06 NoobsOfWrath wrote: It looks fun actually. I've never played a MMORPG, this might be my first if it turns out to be as good as the OP suggests. However, what is the cap then in terms of character development. There's no levels etc, so how far can you "improve" stuff
Apparently there are skills that you can level, like swordsmanship, crafting, etc. and the level cap is 100 (iirc) and at 100 you get a special one time use ability which after using resets your skill down to 99. Apparently it takes a long ass time to get from 99-100 so hopefully it won't become overpowered.
Also from what I hear there isn't a drastically huge advantage between low and high levels, just enough to give a slight edge to the higher level player. Like starting someone off with 8 worker units instead of 4 in SC (obligatory SC reference). However if you're skillful enough then a player just starting out should still be able to kill a maxed out player.
Although tbh I haven't kept up with the development of this game in a while so I may be completely off.
Hmmm doesn't seem like this game would have long playability =\ Skill based game that requires pay per month is no thanks. Sure it sounds awesome but after 100 dollars of the same PvP, leveling skills which only minorly affect your character and no items to keep you gripped, I could see this game being dropped really quickly by a lot of people.
On December 26 2008 03:06 NoobsOfWrath wrote: It looks fun actually. I've never played a MMORPG, this might be my first if it turns out to be as good as the OP suggests. However, what is the cap then in terms of character development. There's no levels etc, so how far can you "improve" stuff
Apparently there are skills that you can level, like swordsmanship, crafting, etc. and the level cap is 100 (iirc) and at 100 you get a special one time use ability which after using resets your skill down to 99. Apparently it takes a long ass time to get from 99-100 so hopefully it won't become overpowered.
Also from what I hear there isn't a drastically huge advantage between low and high levels, just enough to give a slight edge to the higher level player. Like starting someone off with 8 worker units instead of 4 in SC (obligatory SC reference). However if you're skillful enough then a player just starting out should still be able to kill a maxed out player.
Although tbh I haven't kept up with the development of this game in a while so I may be completely off.
Whut?! That's quite an edge if you ask me.
It's still possible to win if you're skilled enough, although maybe my analogy kind of sucked...but hopefully you get the point.
I'm definitely playing this game when it comes out. If it has the features that it says it will have, the game will be a major success. I'm particularly looking forward to be an archer that snipes ppl before they even have a chance.
On December 26 2008 15:56 Xeris wrote: also losing all of your items kinda sucks ;;
imagine spending 3409534098 hours getting some items and then you die randomly and lose everything.
just really deemphasizes items.. you don't spend 3409534098 hours, you spend 2 min. kill a nob n take his gear
Yeah for those who have played EVE they know how this will work. First of all the difference in items isn't THAT big so you don't need to have the best items in the game. Secondly players will wear what they can afford to lose, not what they can afford to get. Items will decay with time anyway so even if you don't die you will need to get new items. Crafting will be a very big part of the game.
On December 26 2008 07:59 MiniRoman wrote: Hmmm doesn't seem like this game would have long playability =\ Skill based game that requires pay per month is no thanks. Sure it sounds awesome but after 100 dollars of the same PvP, leveling skills which only minorly affect your character and no items to keep you gripped, I could see this game being dropped really quickly by a lot of people.
I guess it depends on what kind of a gamer you are. I agree that games like WoW cater to a much larger crowd than Darkfall. Darkfall will always be a niche game and no matter how good it is it will never be as big as WoW. However if you are a gamer like me then the grind and repetitiveness and meaningless moving from one tier of items to the next and from one level-area to the next in WoW got boring really fast. I got a 60 mage in the WoW vanilla beta and when the game was released I was bored with it already.
By comparison to its contemporaries, Darkfall has had quite a checkered development history, having been widely lauded by gamers for its wide-ranging gameplay and hardcore approach to PVP, as well as having been accused by some[who?] as vapourware[citation needed], due primarily to its long development time, constant retractions of beta announcements, and unconventional approach to the game's public relations and advertising.
Theyve been developing DF for over 7 years... Probably one reason the graphics are a bit outdated. If this game is not released before summer 2009 ill consider it vapourware.
By comparison to its contemporaries, Darkfall has had quite a checkered development history, having been widely lauded by gamers for its wide-ranging gameplay and hardcore approach to PVP, as well as having been accused by some[who?] as vapourware[citation needed], due primarily to its long development time, constant retractions of beta announcements, and unconventional approach to the game's public relations and advertising.
Theyve been developing DF for over 7 years... Probably one reason the graphics are a bit outdated. If this game is not released before summer 2009 ill consider it vapourware.
uh, they have a beta and it's supposed to be released on jan 22nd i believe? not sure about the exact release date, but im positive it isn't vaporware.
By comparison to its contemporaries, Darkfall has had quite a checkered development history, having been widely lauded by gamers for its wide-ranging gameplay and hardcore approach to PVP, as well as having been accused by some[who?] as vapourware[citation needed], due primarily to its long development time, constant retractions of beta announcements, and unconventional approach to the game's public relations and advertising.
Theyve been developing DF for over 7 years... Probably one reason the graphics are a bit outdated. If this game is not released before summer 2009 ill consider it vapourware.
Also for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, here's part 1 of the gameplay trailer (for the other parts just check their channel).
This was released before the closed beta, so obviously all of these battles are staged and combat will probably be more chaotic/exciting, but the battles still look pretty sweet.
This game is going to be so awesome. The EU release date is set at January 22 and NA release "soon" after that. It has been stated that NA people will be able to buy the EU and then play on the NA servers when they come out. Moderators have said you will be able to try the game before you buy it. Not sure if they mean an open beta or a trial period. It also will be available for download.
If you guys don't make a teamliquid guild, I would suggest looking for one soon on the darkfall forums that fit your playstyle. Big city building, huge navy, small mercenary clan, pk guild, or w/e. There are a lot of guilds recruiting people. I want a guild that can defend its city 24/7, thats why I picked InsomniaX, an international guild.
You know... if low level chars are just as good as high level chars. I can see some potential here with a TL.net 'swarm guild'. This is of course only if they'll give some free trial.
Darkfall open beta comes out on the 22nd, although retail's gotten pushed back to February 25 due to the devs not being sure how well their servers can handle the load considering the amount of hype they've gotten among a few other issues they need to deal with.
Also according to that article
Announcements will follow with more information on Darkfall pricing, pre-ordering information, North American player access, and system specifications.
Anyways, I'm still pretty excited about this game and will try to get into the open beta as soon as it's open (hoping the beta will be open to North Americans).
Have been awaiting the release of this game for...2 years now, or so. I really like the idea of a TL guild, and not to mention I have a few friends that will be playing as well.
Not to mention with our superior skills from StarCraft, how could we do bad? I also assume most of us have done a little FPS as well. (I'm a huge COD4 and CSS player)
Should we just call it TeamLiquid?
I hope we choose to go Orcs and Mahirim. I couldn't stay being a boring Human, stupid Dwarf or faggoty Elf.
EPT
