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Darkfall Article in Greek Newspaper
Alright folks, heres a tasty tidbit of Darkfall in the morning, found by moderator Shaar, and translated by disgust.
http://s395.photobucket.com/albums/pp32/Shaarob/?action=view¤t=etipos1.jpg
http://s395.photobucket.com/albums/pp32/Shaarob/?action=view¤t=etipos2.jpg
And yes, the girl in the first pic is one of their graphic artists, along with her boyfriend. Both of which for years people claimed were fake and that they didn't actually do Darkfall wrok. Oooh you vapor trolls, get me every time.
Translation!
Greeks, Norwegians and Swiss have been creating Darkfall for 7 years now, the first online videogame that's been
"set up" here in Greece. The studio, it's creators and the roles.
A production that's going against the colosal titles of the genre.
Goblins, dwarves and orcs are escaping from Halandri (a region in Athens).
We're not used seeing these kind of graphics in greek videogames and especially not in the difficult genre of MMOs which have especially high requirements. So when we visited the offices of this small team that's housed in Halandri of Attica, we were impressed by the fact that such a young company is paving the road..and the way for other colosal companies in the gaming industry through Darkfall.
A greek-norwegian partnership will bring us this new MMO, the first to be produced in Greece, in the end of 2008.
At this moment the game is the stage of internal Beta and signups for the open beta have allready started in Europe (more than 100.000 people have allready signed up for the beta).
A tour around the offices and discussions with the creators and producers of the game shows that there are at least two secrets to the recipee of their success, excitement and love of their job is in the air
This small small team which reminds us of a miniature of the United Nations, seems to have a found a common code of communication that breaks down the barriers of different languages (greek,norwegian and swiss).
It's the fever of creation. They show us the graphics, the movement, the shadows, we hear the sounds of Darkfall.
"One of the original ideas of the game is that there are no specialties or levels. Everything is based on skill" says Tasos Flambouras one of the producers.
What does that mean? Simply that a good player won't have to wait until the higher levels in order to compete with other players in PvP. He'll be able to do that from the first moment he enters the game.
In other words, ganking of lower levels will not be a problem.
Also, instanecs are dissappearing from this game.
"No more loading screens from area to area".
"Now players will be able to go from geographical place to another without waiting a single moment".
That's not so bad if you consider how many times we've been disconnected during a loading screen in countless other games.
Naval Battles
The "cherry on top" is naval battles.
Yes, there will be naval battles in Darkfall.
Something that means that you'll either have to build your ship or conquer one with force....
The cannons of the ships are so realisticly made that only the smell of gunpowder is missing.
Also the player will be able to choose among 6 races and to forth and act based on the ancient hostilities and alliances..
For Instance if you're a human don't expect to have a good relationship with an orc...
Whether it's a success or not ( let's not forget that Age of Conan is relatively new also and that on the 13th of November Wrath of the Lich King is released, which means that Darkfall will have big competition) Darkfall's try is something to admire, because it shows that the only thing you need for this, is hard work.
As for the economical part, as Spyros Iordanis told us (the economical manager), "where there is will there is a way".
"Let's not forget government funding, which are not the solution but they area a helping hand".
"Our aim is to make a special game of higher quality that offers the evolution of MMORPGs"
-Claus Grovdla (lead designer)
"Darkfall offers it's players endless posibilities: It's an open game of roleplaying,action and strategy, all packed in one"
-Natascha Roosli (designer and gorgeous girl )
A sheep among wolves or is it the other way.
If someone asked Aventurine how did they manage to get through the hardships of developing Darkfall Online, he's sure to get a lot of answers, some of which he'd expect and some not. What is sure though, is that the answers inspire a dynamism and self-confidence which is hard not to notice.
It's amazing in how much detail and -why not- ease, the creator of Darkfall Online describes some of the revolutionary characteristics of the game which makes someone wonder if they're simply chapters from a dusty manual of Game Design.
On the contrary. The production not only believes in the game but also inspires trust to people who have been following their progress even though this odyssey has been going on for 7 years. It has the courage and vision to proceed to a new kind of MMORPG in an early but well-thought of maturity, giving honour to the holy seed of Ultima Online
while wanting to go one step further. After the dissapointment of Age of Conan, which is slowly regaining ground,
the satisfying Warhammer Online release and the upcoming release of the expansion of colosal World of Warcraft, Darkfall Online seems like a sheep among wolves.
However, In reality it's not because what it wants to give to te genre puts it in it's own sphere of uniqueness.
If it keeps up to even half of the things it promises, no other release will overshadow the meaning and the evolution of the genre. And that is a truth that doesn't need Directx10 to run.
Comments
http://www.tascha.ch/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=57
-1 for the vaportrolls methinks.
Forget which thread it was where i was talking about the local press probably just delaying their articles till a better date. All the trolls were screaming at me as a fanboi.
Just gonna take this time to gloat. thank you very much
Aye Natascha and Henning are both very good artists in their own right. I believe N. has retired somewhat because of her illness.
Interesting to see that they have gotten over 100k beta application with hardly any advertising.
---
And when we got more women on the team, it was like No, no, no. We need puppies and horses in there.
John Smedley, SOE
OMG!!! That newspaper is foolish and naive! Quick, someone mail them that Darkfall has too little pictures with UI and that will show them that TASOS IS BIG LIAR!!!
OMG U FANBOIS GET UR HEADS OUT OF UR ASSES AND SMELL REALITY LOL
Just substituting the random Vaporfall bandwagon jumpers that usually trolled these forums. Miss u.
-Zaxx
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
On we sweep with threshing oar, our only goal will be the western shore."
yet this article doesnt prove anything against vaportrolls. tbh there was 1 dork with 1000 accounts here who claimed the devs didnt exist at all, even "trolls" aint that dumb to claim that
but you all sure seem to enjoy calling ppl vaportrolls tho all the trolls left when the DF vid came out, i still only believe that DF will launch when its actually launched. seeing the history around the game i think i have a right to doubt that it will release anytime soon (as in this year)
other ppl agree with me, and i cant call them trolls. beta had already been announced a few years back, no publicity whatsoever the years after that, and still only 1 vid so far, i have a right to doubt a fast release is coming up
only the ppl who yell VAPOR w/o giving any arguments deserve to be called vaportrolls, yet i dont see any of those on these forums
have a nice day
PS: i look forward to the launch, dunno if ill play it too.. i always wait a few weeks after a mmo launch
MMOs currently playing: -
About to play: Lord of the Rings Online
Played: Anarchy Online (alltime favorite) and lots of f2p titles (honorable mentions: 9Dragons, Martial Heroes, Dekaron, Atlantica Online)
Nice find, thanks for sharing both to the guy that found it and the one that translated it.
This is very nice. A newspaper visits Aventurine Studios and report on their impressions of the studio and the game.
Nice too read that they seems very pleased with what they saw. A nice read indeed.
"Another nail in the Darkfall trolls coffin."
What exactly is their to gloat about, its yet another Greek article from a virtually unknown publication, that community members had to find and translate before any of us new it even existed.
Where is the coverage from the “various mainstream media” Tasos was talking about happening 4 months ago?, this is certainly not it.
Good to see they got those new computers Tasos was talking about earlier this year.
The article is actually quite objective which makes a nice change though.
Notice he says they have been working on Darkfall for 7 years, so much for the “they started from scratch” crap.
Notice he says it’s a “small team” so much for the “they have 30, 40, 50+ people working on the game” crap.
Of course it’s the same old story though, 3 months from launch and this article is based on
“A tour around the offices and discussions with the creators and producers of the game”
And apparently not on any actual game play experience or demonstration of the game itself.
And I know this is pointless but anyway, good to see something new, good to see someone visited them and talked with the developers and about the game, good to see the 2008 launch date and 100k beta signs ups mentioned, but like always when will they finally start showing the game instead of talking about it.
Most interesting bit of this interview is that the finance guy says that they have been getting government funding, probably EU funding to help boost the tech industry in Greece I would imagine.
If this is the case then it makes more sense on why it's taken such a long time to produce this game. If they are getting a grant then it would greatly reduce the pressure to release as EU money will keep flowing as long as they are employing people.
Investors are getting a really good deal cause they aren't paying the whole tab but will get most of the benefit if it's successful.
Hopeful this will result in a better game in the long run, it does raise some competition issues though as it makes it much harder to compete for companies not getting tax payers Euro's to support the production of their games.
Also it may shine some light on why they refuse to hand over control of the game to a US publisher, that might result in the tap being turned off.
Why would you want to sign the rights to a company like EA, have the extra publisher pressure and lose control when the EU will keep delivering trucks full of cash to you anyway without harassing you?
Actually its a major greek newspaper. And yes they are around 40 people atm, which is a indeed small team. They have showed the game off plenty times to people visiting them over the last couple of years.
Khael[SUN]
SUN - peekayin since pong
Webdeveloper on:
http://www.guildofsun.com
http://www.bloodmonarchy.com
one of the few surviving vaportrolls has been found--Polarization.
Quickly, take out the anti-carebear gun. fire at will!!!!
Seriously, you are so ignorant. Blizztard has wayyy more people working on their games, and look how crappy they are. Aventurine is indeed a small group, compared to Blizztard, EA, etc. You don't know Greek newspapers--that may indeed be a popular Greek newspaper. They are also going to attend some Greek gaming event, which is also 'mainstream'. They're not gonna go to freaking CNN or NBC to announce a GAME.
MMORPG, i doubt they care about. Same with PC GAMER. They had NO advertising (except from loyal forumfallers), and they already have over 100k beta apps. They worked on this game for a long time, i expect them to come out with a good game, especially with gov't funds, its almost an unlimited supply of money. The article had pics of people actually designing and creating, so there is more proof that they are indeed doing SOMETHING.
DARKFALL 09!
Apparently 08 didn't make it
Sorros of Forumfall.
Meh, boring article IMO.
Just giev beta kthxbai.
Get a grip guys, think about what your actually getting so excited about.
Its just an article in a Greek newspaper by a guy who did not even play the game, seriously.
Like I said good to see some new coverage but only the most delusional would think this qualified as mainstream media coverage, or that this publication carry’s any serious authority or credibility concerning the MMO industry.
We all know nobody apart from the few Greek speaking members of the community have probably ever even heard of this newspaper before this article was found.
When are members of the gamming mainstream media actually going to get the chance to see this game, 3 months from launch and nobody with any credentials in the industry has ever even previewed the game, let alone even played it.
Not to mention the obvious fact non of us have yet either.
Of course when or if they or we do and impressions are faverable i would think that would be the apporiate time to be getting excited, but not before.
Not wetting myself with excitement about this Greek newspaper article and daring to make some cautionary criticisms engenders the usual vapor troll hater accusations, how predictable.
credentials to who. PC Gamer? MMORPG.com? Gamespot? They rate WAR and WoW as good games. Who gives about their opinions.
Why should Aventurine care about what a bunch of WoW-bias reviewers say.
DARKFALL 09!
Apparently 08 didn't make it
Sorros of Forumfall.
I don't really trust the gaming media at all anymore, especially since that guy got sacked from I think it was Gamespot for giving an EA game a bad review, disgraceful really.
It just shows how much leverage advertisers have over the scores their games get.
They are not worth the pixels they are written with.
EDIT: It was actually an Eidos game not EA www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php.
Aventurine cared about MMORPG.com’s credentials and opinions and what its "WoW-bias reviewers" had to say in 2005 and 2006.
May 2005 Darkfall : Exclusive Interview
Jan 2006 Darkfall : Interview with Tasos Flambouras
May 2006 Darkfall : E3 2006 Preview
Of course whether or not MMORPG.com or any other mainstream gamming site or publication cares about Aventurines opinions or credentials or what they have to say any longer is another question entirely.
Public Beta has started? o.O When did this happen?? I thought they were doing Hardware testing only? I must have missed the announcement.
PS: Before anyone starts a flame-war, no, I am not being ironic, I am genuinely surprised. Is the Public Beta actually started? I hadn't heard about it.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
Yes, it has. Hardware testing indeed. Now, don't go and confuse it with playtesting.
The hardware testing is a part of the beta, but it is still very closed.
Word of mouth. Were you unaware that when the video came out the number of members on the forum almost doubled? Now its even higher. Its gone from 60k to about 120k, and how many do you think registered for beta?
Darkfall Travelogues!
we are not getting excited - we have heard everything in that article before, and the vapourware claims we heard millions of times before too, so nothing to get excited about. I am just consistenly countering vapourware claims one by one, like ive done last 5 years.
what do you mean noone from the industry has seen the game, i seem to remember they have shown it off to plenty of game magazines in the past. some went to visit their offices, some they showed it to at e3 in 2006, etc.
.. and what do you mean none of "us" have seen it. I remember at least 3-4 people from the community, 2 of who i know personally, who went over and visited their offices, and wrote long reports back.
Khael[SUN]
SUN - peekayin since pong
Webdeveloper on:
http://www.guildofsun.com
http://www.bloodmonarchy.com
Darkfall Travelogues!
Aventurine has always claimed that while funds weren't limitless, they had deep pockets, and nothing was forcing them out the door.
Darkfall Travelogues!
Word of mouth. Were you unaware that when the video came out the number of members on the forum almost doubled? Now its even higher. Its gone from 60k to about 120k, and how many do you think registered for beta?
133.175 at the moment. Was 54000 when the video released. So +80000 since the video.
Very nice increase in such a small time.
I agree, over 100k people interested in this game has demonstrated there’s definitely a market for it and a considerable amount of hype has been generated recently by the latest video, the beta sign ups and the official launch date, its up to the developers now to actually produce and successfully release it in the next 3 months and fulfill all their promises.
Until they do so I will remain skeptical, articles in Greek Newspapers by people who have not played Darkfall don’t make me any less skeptical.