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GameWorld.gr exclusive Darkfall Interview!
http://forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php?t=69323
Here you are folks.
The biggest Greek MMORPG is in its final development stage, and Tasos Flambouras reveals all that we should know. Read the interview...
We've been hearing things for quite some years about the development of the first big Greek MMORPG, Darkfall Online. We met with Tasos Flambouras at the 1st Game Developers Meeting in Athens, and learned a lot of interesting information about our country's bet to attract international gaming attention.
Tasos Flambouras has been working in the field of Computer Engineering since 1984. He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others. Aventurine was established in 2002, when a team of Norwegian programmers decided to join forces with Tasos, who saw that as an ideal opportunity to return to Greece. The Norwegians already had the game “Neocron” at their hands,developed from scratch, so that we can now have Darkfall in its final development stages. Darkfall's community (at www.darkfallonline.com ) is very strong (3.000.000 users, 52.000 active in the forum) and certainly a very good reason for companies to invest in this field.
What's the budget of Darkfall so far, spent for development?
Many millions of Euro, something short of 10M.
What is Darkfall's theme?
There are 6 different races. The Alfar of Nagast (Elves), the Dwarves of Dvergheim (dwarves), the Humans Of Mercia (humans), the Mahirim of the Tribelands (wolves), the Mirdain of Mirendil (High Elves) and the Orks of Morak (Orks). Each race is further divided in two sub-races (factions perhaps? - translator's comment) . As for the scope of the game, it is practically determined by the user. There are no instanced Quests.
How are skills determined/distributed?
First of all Darkfall has no levels but is skill-based. The user can assign skill points during character creation. Skills are increased through experience. For example if you're using a sword, you'll be increasing your skill with the sword. If you're riding a horse, you'll increase your Riding skill. Other skills are Block, Parry, etc. What's the point of leveling a character to max. level and have your abilities maxed to such an extent where no further advancement is possible? That's the moto of MMORPGs developed in the last years. Skills can keep you involved for a large period of time and the advancement pattern is tree-like; if, for example, you choose a path you don't like, (i.e. axe use), you have plenty of time to change specialization simply by using a different weapon and other skills.(gameworld comment - this reminds a bit of Oblivion). Skills deteriorate if not used for an extended period of time.
In theory one should have a bit of every skill, i.e. be both skilled in magic and in fighting.Of course there are limitations on what you can wear in each case. As a rule of thumb however, you can develop your character any way you want since the game has hundreds of skills.
The game's graphics engine is in-house developed. Tell us a bit about it
Yes, it was built by us from scratch. We have not given it any formal name, but we do have a name we use as an inside joke. It has very strong foundations, something that experts in the field will be able to attest soon. At the moment it's not packaged for commercial use, but that's something we'll think about after the game has launched. The engine supports collision-detection and physical reaction when a player gets hit. Cameras will be 1st or 3rd person, depending on what the user wants.
How are Darkfall's graphics?
A few days ago (June 2008) we set-up the entire game world of Darkfall. The environment is medieval and you'll need many hours to travel from one end to the other. Terrain will have vast variation, and naval battles will be included.
Are there pets to use?
Currently only horses (my comment - probably means mounts) are included. Furthermore you can use Warhulks and ships.
What are Darkfall's main gameplay features?
Our main concern was to make gameplay as open-ended as possible and let the players in control of their character. For example when you want to mount a horse you don't simply click and ride, but you'll have to make all the process manually. Another example is Gran Theft Auto, when for example your character opens the door of a car you have no control over him for a brief period. Our game will be real-time and we want to player to have full control of his actions. Additionally, the world is seamless and not zoned.
How is the combat system?
As I mentioned before, everything is real time. You don't simply click-autoattack or tab-lock the target, and you wont be seeing colorful numbers flying over the enemy with every hit! You'll have to be constantly involved in the battle and aim at the enemy. Hits will be in different body locations and fairly realistic. Θα πρ?πει λοιπ?ν διαρκ?ς να συμμετ?χετε στη μ?χη και να χτυπ?τε τον εχθρ?. Should you be hit by an arrow on the chest, the arrow will remain on you.
How many people are working in sound and music production for the game?
We have a studio and a sound engineer, who records sounds in-house.The game will have 2 types of sound: environmental sound, and ingame music, depending on the location you're in.
Have you had any publishing talks yet?
We've had some offers from all over the world (America, Europe and Asia) for both local and international distribution. In some regions we'll go with publishers and in some others (i.e. Europe) on our own, with a possible mediator. Publishing has always been a concern for us, since most publishers usually simply offer 10-15% downpayment to cover immediate expenses, and then some royalties based on sales.
What are the estimated system requirements?
We've recently simulated large battles and it seems that a single-core processor will be sufficient. 200 vs 200 battles produce between 30 to 60 FPS. When running alone in the wilderness, FPS can shoot to as high as 170-200. This will be further improved once optimizations has been done. Our main concern is to be able to run large battles smoothly.
When will there be a Beta test?
Within this year, actually very soon.
How many users can the servers hold?
10.000 concurrent users. The farms will be set abroad, with the potential of expanding if player numbers rise.
When will the game be released? Will you also release for different platforms?
The PC version will be released as an estimate within 2008. We have a firm date set but cannot release it before certain publishing conditions are resolved. If all goes well, we plan on creating an Xbox 360 version in the future.
Closing words
Tasos Flambouras' presentation at the Gaming Conference lasted something more than an hour (was planned to be 20min long), and received the most diverse reactions from all other presentations made. Within the next months Aventurine must give firm answers, first through Beta and then by releasing the game. Darkfall Online is a big bet for our country. Based on what we've seen it's not absolutely certain that it will have record sales by Greek standards. We wish it the best of luck
Comments
I remeber when Tasos spoke about some interviews he had done with mainstream PC magazines, and now we get to see them.
Just a shame its so much information that is wrong.
There is a little incorrect information, but I don't see a lot, mind pointing out whats wrong?
Darkfall Travelogues!
So... Xbox360...
______________________________
The Sceptics, yes they're special but we've need them to.. I guess.
And if they're put more effort MMORPG.com can create a 'Team Sceptic'
and send them to the Special Olympus.
Indeed, that was very surprising. Though, not completely unrealistic. Xbox is practically a computer :P
I wouldn't expect it any time soon.
Darkfall Travelogues!
The last line in this article was not very reassuring:
"Based on what we've seen it's not absolutely certain that it will have record sales by Greek standards."
No disrespect to any Greeks reading but I would think that the Greek sales record was tiny.
All he saw was what we saw. This interview was in June at the Greek Gaming Convention, where they showed two videos (and got the most positive reaction of the whole convention). So, all he saw were the limited videos.
Darkfall Travelogues!
basically 14 mil to make the game. If it works and is stable gives them plenty of room to make a good profit.
youc an see why some aminations need improving had to sacrifice some where but as long as it plays good they can always be improved on
Good stuff, thanks for posting.
There's a ton of incorrect information in there, does not seem like the guy doing the interview cared enough to make it professional enough to write a meaningful article afterwards.
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
excellent find OP - good to see more and more info/PR about Darkfall everyday. I think beta will be in the next two weeks at this rate and then we all will have most of the information we need about the game until its officially gold. Things are looking good
we mite hear a date in the next 2 weeks
but dont think its going to start until october
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
i dont think thats a lie...
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
i dont think thats a lie...
And yet, in 3+ months, noone has been able to link him to any of those projects or companies. And he won't say yes or no when asked.
If he says yes, he'd have to prove it. And companies like Microsoft can afford to sue the crap out of people who try to pad their resumes at Microsofts expense. Same with Mythic and Interplay ( in fact Interplay could use the money right now lol ).
If he says no, he'd look stupid as hell after letting it sail through the internet uncorrected for over 3 months.
And by saying nothing, it looks more and more like bullshit every time it's posted.
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
i dont think thats a lie...
And yet, in 3+ months, noone has been able to link him to any of those projects or companies. And he won't say yes or no when asked.
If he says yes, he'd have to prove it. And companies like Microsoft can afford to sue the crap out of people who try to pad their resumes at Microsofts expense. Same with Mythic and Interplay ( in fact Interplay could use the money right now lol ).
If he says no, he'd look stupid as hell after letting it sail through the internet uncorrected for over 3 months.
And by saying nothing, it looks more and more like bullshit every time it's posted.
You can't sue someone for that rofl, not in Europe anyway, all you can do is not employ them.
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
i dont think thats a lie...
And yet, in 3+ months, noone has been able to link him to any of those projects or companies. And he won't say yes or no when asked.
If he says yes, he'd have to prove it. And companies like Microsoft can afford to sue the crap out of people who try to pad their resumes at Microsofts expense. Same with Mythic and Interplay ( in fact Interplay could use the money right now lol ).
If he says no, he'd look stupid as hell after letting it sail through the internet uncorrected for over 3 months.
And by saying nothing, it looks more and more like bullshit every time it's posted.
hey your the one thats saying hes lieing so you ahve to provide the proof he is
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
i dont think thats a lie...
And yet, in 3+ months, noone has been able to link him to any of those projects or companies. And he won't say yes or no when asked.
If he says yes, he'd have to prove it. And companies like Microsoft can afford to sue the crap out of people who try to pad their resumes at Microsofts expense. Same with Mythic and Interplay ( in fact Interplay could use the money right now lol ).
If he says no, he'd look stupid as hell after letting it sail through the internet uncorrected for over 3 months.
And by saying nothing, it looks more and more like bullshit every time it's posted.
hey your the one thats saying hes lieing so you ahve to provide the proof he is
Nope, i don't. He's proving it for me.
Proving that he worked at any of those places would be real simple if he actually did. He would have been claiming it right from the beginning if he actually did to actually give himself some real credit as a dev, yet he never mentioned it in over 7 years before that article came out.
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
i dont think thats a lie...
And yet, in 3+ months, noone has been able to link him to any of those projects or companies. And he won't say yes or no when asked.
If he says yes, he'd have to prove it. And companies like Microsoft can afford to sue the crap out of people who try to pad their resumes at Microsofts expense. Same with Mythic and Interplay ( in fact Interplay could use the money right now lol ).
If he says no, he'd look stupid as hell after letting it sail through the internet uncorrected for over 3 months.
And by saying nothing, it looks more and more like bullshit every time it's posted.
hey your the one thats saying hes lieing so you ahve to provide the proof he is
Nope, i don't. He's proving it for me.
Proving that he worked at any of those places would be real simple if he actually did. He would have been claiming it right from the beginning if he actually did to actually give himself some real credit as a dev, yet he never mentioned it in over 7 years before that article came out.
its called personal info you have no right too
he doesnt have to prove anything
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
That's actually not true at all. There was a brief snippet by the same guy released months ago. He promised an interview to follow, and here it is. This was just released earlier this day. Learn to read better :P
As for the other projects, how does anyone know those things are false?
Darkfall Travelogues!
No one does we just have some people that like making wild accusations and talk trash.
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
That's actually not true at all. There was a brief snippet by the same guy released months ago. He promised an interview to follow, and here it is. This was just released earlier this day. Learn to read better :P
As for the other projects, how does anyone know those things are false?
From the article you posted:
Tasos Flambouras has been working in the field of Computer Engineering since 1984. He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others.
From the June 21st article posted here: http://mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/187510
"In the past he has worked for the MSN Gaming Zone, the Age of Empires, Microsoft, the Messiah of Interplay and Asheron ? s Call, also of Microsoft. After Asheron ? s Call, the Greek Head Developer contacted a group of Norwegian programmers (Razorwax) who were working on the Neocron, later (2001) known as Darkfall."
Different article, but same claims and same argument here over those claims.
Tasos then "cleared the air" about "inaccuracies" and "misquotes". Yet the only thing he ever stated was wrong was the Neocron part.
http://forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php?t=58589
So since I'm so wrong, it should be easy enough for you fans to make a simple little post on the Darkfall forums and ask good ol' Tasos: yes or no? Then you can have the pleasure of coming back and laughing at me. Of course, a benefit will be once he says "yes" to working at those places, it's easier for me to get confirmation from those companies when I let them know he's officially claiming them as references.
And if he tells you "no", then I get to laugh myself as he shows himself to be a liar since not only did he not bother to correct the info in over 3 months, but here it is being stated as fact again with no "clarification" from him.
Of course, by refusing to answer the question for you, he will show that there is indeed some shadiness to those claims just as if he answered "no".
So how much faith do you all really have in your great dev?
Go on. Prove one more naysayer wrong. You know you want to. And again, it should be alot easier for the fans to confirm it's true from Tasos than it is for a non-fan to prove it's false.
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
Not so. The article was "Posted by Manos on Wednesday, September 17, 2008"
translate.google.com/translate
Also, Galadourn did a properly translated version of that article below -
forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php
(4th post down)
there only a few incorrect things the newcron and the sizeof battles is 2 of them
"He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others."
There's the biggest lie of all.
Edit: Not to mention SignusM has just reposted the same interview that everyone was arguing over months ago in these very forums. That interview is not new. It's 3+ months old. Guess he couldn't find anything newer. Too bad. Rehashing the same inaccuracies only damages the outlook on the game.
That's actually not true at all. There was a brief snippet by the same guy released months ago. He promised an interview to follow, and here it is. This was just released earlier this day. Learn to read better :P
As for the other projects, how does anyone know those things are false?
From the article you posted:
Tasos Flambouras has been working in the field of Computer Engineering since 1984. He has worked for projects like Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone and Asheron’s Call , Age of Empires, Messiah by Interplay and many others.
From the June 21st article posted here: http://mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/187510
"In the past he has worked for the MSN Gaming Zone, the Age of Empires, Microsoft, the Messiah of Interplay and Asheron ? s Call, also of Microsoft. After Asheron ? s Call, the Greek Head Developer contacted a group of Norwegian programmers (Razorwax) who were working on the Neocron, later (2001) known as Darkfall."
Different article, but same claims and same argument here over those claims.
Tasos then "cleared the air" about "inaccuracies" and "misquotes". Yet the only thing he ever stated was wrong was the Neocron part.
http://forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php?t=58589
So since I'm so wrong, it should be easy enough for you fans to make a simple little post on the Darkfall forums and ask good ol' Tasos: yes or no? Then you can have the pleasure of coming back and laughing at me. Of course, a benefit will be once he says "yes" to working at those places, it's easier for me to get confirmation from those companies when I let them know he's officially claiming them as references.
And if he tells you "no", then I get to laugh myself as he shows himself to be a liar since not only did he not bother to correct the info in over 3 months, but here it is being stated as fact again with no "clarification" from him.
Of course, by refusing to answer the question for you, he will show that there is indeed some shadiness to those claims just as if he answered "no".
So how much faith do you all really have in your great dev?
Go on. Prove one more naysayer wrong. You know you want to. And again, it should be alot easier for the fans to confirm it's true from Tasos than it is for a non-fan to prove it's false.
Did anyone consider that his involvement may have been in the localisation of those titles in Greece?