your going to laugh because a game took for freakin ever to get released? or because most sane people gave up on this and just watch this forum to see how rabid you have to be to still believe this game is going to be even half of what they promise?
I can't say that there is anything to be happy about here .. a game that might have a problem stress testing 200k subs?
"oh wait give us some money for a pre order and we'll be sure to finish this game for you, yea yea thats it" lol hell im laughing now who needs to wait till March
I am really looking forward to this game, the gameplay seems like what ive been waiting for. Having said that, theres a couple things that i dislike with the way aventurine is handling this.
For example, someone posted on their forums that he was fine with the delay, but a few "cookies" would have been nice, like a few screenshots and a bit of info to thank the fans for being patient. The moderator locks the thread and says that this Tasos quote: "Announcements will follow with more information on Darkfall pricing, pre-ordering information, North American player access, and system specifications." consisted of several cookies.
So to thank the fans for having to deal not with one, but 2 delays in under 6 months (the coming in 2008 at the end of the gameplay trailer, and the 22jan release date) that mod considered that telling us the price of the game, what kind of access to the game NA players are expected to have, the system specs, was something of a gift to us and we should feel grateful.
Im still looking forward to the game, but with things like this, the company is losing points in my book.
I would like to comment on Jon Wood: "The first, and perhaps most important thing to note is the promise of an announcement regarding pre-order information. This stood out to me immediately upon reading it as to my recollection, Darkfall had promised that there would be no pre-orders for their game. This seemed to be done as a response to critics who called the game’s validity into question."
And I would like to refer to Tasos: "The pre-orders are necessary so that we can have some measure of the demand."
Jon Wood. I have not studied economics very much, but I can totally understand Aventurine's move on this one. Yes, they might have promised not to make any pre-orders. But, Aventurine is clearly in a difficult situation as they only have two choices. They can commercially launch their game and receive such a great response to sales that they might have to close down any new players wanting to buy the game. Or allow it and risk instability, servers crashing and lag. Or they can do the only reasonable thing and give the players who want the game the most a chance to get it. There are fans who have followed this game for many years. It is unfair for them to miss out on the launch. Therefore, I applaud Aventurine for making it possible for the individual fan to somehow secure himself a position at launch. And I don't think pre-orders are a bad thing. Plans change and I believe they have taken the best approach.
I am also eager to get early access to the game. It is a smart thing to do because it allows those testers who really want to help an ability to do it. I have been upset every day since they started closed hardware testing. I felt I was an important part of the DF fan community, but I was never given a chance to help. Now I can have it if I pay a meaningless amount of dollars. I am perfectly fine with this.
Therefore, I don't feel you should criticize Tasos and Aventurine's decision.
absolutely hilarious there are so many comments that could be made about the delay - and about the defense this site is giving aventurine (weird to say the least) - but the reasons given are so funny and the anticipation of all the fanboi comments prevent me from making the cohesive statement i would like to i do know one thing - i'll be buying some popcorn on the way home from work tonight - it is going to be extraordinarily delicious
You need to have perspective on this. MMORPGs have long development processes and are known for dates for launches being pushed back. This isn't specific to Darkfall. This is coming from a small publisher as well taking more time. The good thing though about being a small publisher, you have say so in how your game vision plays out, not like the big corporate MMOs of blandness we have today.
I am not saying Darkfall will do great or badly, I am saying you need to keep this in perspective. They also mentioned they will be having an "open beta" of sorts very soon. This will show what state the game is in. Even if there are bugs that is okay, I have never seen a MMO release without some bugs. Even World of Warcraft when I played it opening day ..or what i did get to play. The servers were barely up. I didn't get upset though, I understand these are tough to pull off. EQ when I played it took time to iron out bugs.
I don't really see the joy in watching drama over a game in production. But it is free entertainment. If you enjoy it, that is good. You get to save money in these difficult times.
Jon, You do know that the publisher for Darkfall has a "President" named Dan Antonescu? I'm sure you are fully aware of this. The publisher also works locally in the exact same office/apartment as Adventurine, and the two other people working there. How about some in depth journalism regarding Darkfall you tweeb (and I'm being nice here because we've met, and I think overall your a good guy) and write something besides blind conjecture to throw out to the masses... Do some worth while journalism on the industry as a whole, and blow these little pimply faced, lying turds off the face of the development map. These are the same types of kids who have duped GOOD publishers, and made it hard for both you and I to secure funding for legitimate projects. These types of little startups with all their bullshit are one of the big reasons games like Wish, Realm, and quite a few others in development will never hit the street. People often wonder why I'm so passionate about voicing an opinion about a particular company, game, or standard. The reason is quite simple, I've chewed on the same dirt you have Jon, and I've done so from the beginning. I'm never incorrect in any assumption I've made regarding any mmorpg project, and get quite pissed when I see little twerps like adventurine taking advantage of 1)marketspace 2)publishers 3)fans. Especially the fans. Especially when the project is complete and utter BS. So some bullshit artists string a potential investor/publisher along for quite some time, along with the fans, who back them, put time, energy and motion behind them, and then everyone gets tossed on their face. Ever wonder why mmo players are jaded? Publishers? Jon, helping spin anything behind "Adventurine" as positive, without having FACTS, and integrity as both a journalist and publisher of material for masses of people is not in good character for you. Like I said, i think your a good guy. Go prove it. When I worked with Keith on VG, our number one priority with our work was always the fans, no matter how hard Jeff or MS tried to fuck it up. I know we have someone in Greece who posts on the mmorpg forums, and I'll bet he even has a digital camera. Now if you are worried about driving off revenue from mmorpg by other publishers who think you are out to "screw" some company, don't, only the illegitimate pubs/devs will have a problem with it. I'll bet Adventurine will have a HUGE problem with it. Thank goodness they are in Greece, have no capitol, and no international attornies eh? Go get em tiger, prove me wrong!
And you're saying this because you think the game is going to suck, or because it doesn't exist? Because if you are, let me reassure you: it most definitely does exist, and it most definitely doesn't suck.
So now what happens when the game releases in Feb or March, and it rocks? I'm going to be laughing my balls off. Har har!
Oh, and speaking of amatures, why don't you give us a list of game that you've helped make.
I did not say it did not exist, or that it sucked. I simply stated that a KNOWN THIEF AND CON ARTIST who has tried his hand in the industry before, and ran off with alot of investors/fans cash now works with dipshit and dipshit#2.
If I made either of those statements, how are you going to reassure me of anything? Twit...
DiKU, Angband, M59, EQ, EQ2, brief stint with SWG, VG. Currently not doing shit, because there is not shit to do in this industry.
Now if Epic made GoW:Online, I'd be there in a second... Only because it would be different, and they would self publish with a few strategic partners.
I would like to comment on Jon Wood: "The first, and perhaps most important thing to note is the promise of an announcement regarding pre-order information. This stood out to me immediately upon reading it as to my recollection, Darkfall had promised that there would be no pre-orders for their game. This seemed to be done as a response to critics who called the game’s validity into question."
And I would like to refer to Tasos: "The pre-orders are necessary so that we can have some measure of the demand."
Jon Wood. I have not studied economics very much, but I can totally understand Aventurine's move on this one. Yes, they might have promised not to make any pre-orders. But, Aventurine is clearly in a difficult situation as they only have two choices. They can commercially launch their game and receive such a great response to sales that they might have to close down any new players wanting to buy the game. Or allow it and risk instability, servers crashing and lag. Or they can do the only reasonable thing and give the players who want the game the most a chance to get it. There are fans who have followed this game for many years. It is unfair for them to miss out on the launch. Therefore, I applaud Aventurine for making it possible for the individual fan to somehow secure himself a position at launch. And I don't think pre-orders are a bad thing. Plans change and I believe they have taken the best approach. I am also eager to get early access to the game. It is a smart thing to do because it allows those testers who really want to help an ability to do it. I have been upset every day since they started closed hardware testing. I felt I was an important part of the DF fan community, but I was never given a chance to help. Now I can have it if I pay a meaningless amount of dollars. I am perfectly fine with this. Therefore, I don't feel you should criticize Tasos and Aventurine's decision.
Order of the White Border aside... you seriously think that a man and a company who has a horrid time promising dates, details, and presentation of their product--- is worthy of gaining the sympathy of a playerbase that runs on faith?
Ever run a business? You can't make false promises like that. The very reaction of skepticism and anti-DF sentiment is the very thing that can topple corporations with too much damage to their public representation. Either you deliver on your promises, or you fold.
You can argue, that developers make false promises all the time, like what happened with a lot of MMOs who didn't deliver everything they hoped to achieve on launch. But as you can imagine, it still damaged their business even with good intentions. Or put their own game on a pedestal, which they can't return from.
Does Tasos deserve the assload of criticism? Hell yes. He's horrible as a Public Representative, if nothing else about his company and its game.
It's amazing the amount of excuses this fan base gives the devs. Any other company would have been already out of business.
It's like if you had a vacuum shop and you tell the guy you will ship it 2 weeks from now, then the two weeks come and you say oh well in a month. A month rolls by and now there is a lawsuit.
Obviously software works in a different stride but you get the picture it just blows my mind how people can/have accepted this for 8+yrs from this washed up fuck of a company.
[[ DEAD ]] - Funny - I deleted my account on the site using the cancel account button. Forum user is separate and still exists with no way of deleting it. Delete it admins. Do it, this ends now.
Jon, You do know that the publisher for Darkfall has a "President" named Dan Antonescu? I'm sure you are fully aware of this. The publisher also works locally in the exact same office/apartment as Adventurine, and the two other people working there. How about some in depth journalism regarding Darkfall you tweeb (and I'm being nice here because we've met, and I think overall your a good guy) and write something besides blind conjecture to throw out to the masses... Do some worth while journalism on the industry as a whole, and blow these little pimply faced, lying turds off the face of the development map. These are the same types of kids who have duped GOOD publishers, and made it hard for both you and I to secure funding for legitimate projects. These types of little startups with all their bullshit are one of the big reasons games like Wish, Realm, and quite a few others in development will never hit the street. People often wonder why I'm so passionate about voicing an opinion about a particular company, game, or standard. The reason is quite simple, I've chewed on the same dirt you have Jon, and I've done so from the beginning. I'm never incorrect in any assumption I've made regarding any mmorpg project, and get quite pissed when I see little twerps like adventurine taking advantage of 1)marketspace 2)publishers 3)fans. Especially the fans. Especially when the project is complete and utter BS. So some bullshit artists string a potential investor/publisher along for quite some time, along with the fans, who back them, put time, energy and motion behind them, and then everyone gets tossed on their face. Ever wonder why mmo players are jaded? Publishers? Jon, helping spin anything behind "Adventurine" as positive, without having FACTS, and integrity as both a journalist and publisher of material for masses of people is not in good character for you. Like I said, i think your a good guy. Go prove it. When I worked with Keith on VG, our number one priority with our work was always the fans, no matter how hard Jeff or MS tried to fuck it up. I know we have someone in Greece who posts on the mmorpg forums, and I'll bet he even has a digital camera. Now if you are worried about driving off revenue from mmorpg by other publishers who think you are out to "screw" some company, don't, only the illegitimate pubs/devs will have a problem with it. I'll bet Adventurine will have a HUGE problem with it. Thank goodness they are in Greece, have no capitol, and no international attornies eh? Go get em tiger, prove me wrong!
And you're saying this because you think the game is going to suck, or because it doesn't exist? Because if you are, let me reassure you: it most definitely does exist, and it most definitely doesn't suck.
So now what happens when the game releases in Feb or March, and it rocks? I'm going to be laughing my balls off. Har har!
Oh, and speaking of amatures, why don't you give us a list of game that you've helped make.
I did not say it did not exist, or that it sucked. I simply stated that a KNOWN THIEF AND CON ARTIST who has tried his hand in the industry before, and ran off with alot of investors/fans cash now works with dipshit and dipshit#2.
If I made either of those statements, how are you going to reassure me of anything? Twit...
DiKU, Angband, M59, EQ, EQ2, brief stint with SWG, VG. Currently not doing shit, because there is not shit to do in this industry.
Now if Epic made GoW:Online, I'd be there in a second... Only because it would be different, and they would self publish with a few strategic partners.
Congratulations. One of those games didn't suck. And that would be M59. Were you their accountant?
This game isn't real. It's some crazy social experiment to see how long people will wait for a game. Either that, or it is some elaborate prank by Andy Kaufman.
I was burned on Darkfall's little red-headed step sister (Dark & Light)...what crap...I won't be burned again.....EVER on a pre-order scheme....
everyone should learn from one's mistakes....I'll wait and see...
I admire your compassion, Mordacai... but inevitably, some people are too blind that it is imperative they know that by jumping off a cliff--- the chasm below hurts. Some people learn by example... others learn by experience.
I think its just bad etiquette on part of the company. I mean if you always release info at the last minute, its almost always going to rub people the wrong way.
If what they say is true about needing to get authorization to release news and there be a delay every time, then they really need to plan for that and put in requests early so we, the players can get it in a timely fashion. In turn, it would lower the suspicion factor a bit.
But who knows if this game is in fact "real", I really hope it is, and hope it can see the light of day.
I would like to comment on Jon Wood: "The first, and perhaps most important thing to note is the promise of an announcement regarding pre-order information. This stood out to me immediately upon reading it as to my recollection, Darkfall had promised that there would be no pre-orders for their game. This seemed to be done as a response to critics who called the game’s validity into question." And I would like to refer to Tasos: "The pre-orders are necessary so that we can have some measure of the demand." Jon Wood. I have not studied economics very much, but I can totally understand Aventurine's move on this one. Yes, they might have promised not to make any pre-orders. But, Aventurine is clearly in a difficult situation as they only have two choices. They can commercially launch their game and receive such a great response to sales that they might have to close down any new players wanting to buy the game. Or allow it and risk instability, servers crashing and lag. Or they can do the only reasonable thing and give the players who want the game the most a chance to get it. There are fans who have followed this game for many years. It is unfair for them to miss out on the launch. Therefore, I applaud Aventurine for making it possible for the individual fan to somehow secure himself a position at launch. And I don't think pre-orders are a bad thing. Plans change and I believe they have taken the best approach. I am also eager to get early access to the game. It is a smart thing to do because it allows those testers who really want to help an ability to do it. I have been upset every day since they started closed hardware testing. I felt I was an important part of the DF fan community, but I was never given a chance to help. Now I can have it if I pay a meaningless amount of dollars. I am perfectly fine with this. Therefore, I don't feel you should criticize Tasos and Aventurine's decision.
Thanks for your input:
That being said, it is a perfectly legitimate criticism. Pre-orders helping to gauge interest in an MMO is not new, in fact, it is a common business practice. Aventurine stated that they would not hold pre-orders for the game, thus either flying in the face of a commonly known practice, or being ignorant of it. In either case, pointing out the inconsistency is completely valid.
I'm pleased to see that you're behind the pre-orders. That's entirely your perogative and is entirely your opinion. The point in the article wasn't to tell people "this is bad" in fact, if you read the section, you'll see that I speak to this:
"Having looked more closely at what was said, it is difficult to deny that something in the company's policies have changed with players who pre-oder getting priority for entrance into the sample and / or launch. that said, the announcement states that preorders are necessary to gauge demand. it is true that many companies use this technique, however, earlier promises made seem to contradict this decision."
I would like to comment on Jon Wood: "The first, and perhaps most important thing to note is the promise of an announcement regarding pre-order information. This stood out to me immediately upon reading it as to my recollection, Darkfall had promised that there would be no pre-orders for their game. This seemed to be done as a response to critics who called the game’s validity into question."
And I would like to refer to Tasos: "The pre-orders are necessary so that we can have some measure of the demand."
Jon Wood. I have not studied economics very much, but I can totally understand Aventurine's move on this one. Yes, they might have promised not to make any pre-orders. But, Aventurine is clearly in a difficult situation as they only have two choices. They can commercially launch their game and receive such a great response to sales that they might have to close down any new players wanting to buy the game. Or allow it and risk instability, servers crashing and lag. Or they can do the only reasonable thing and give the players who want the game the most a chance to get it. There are fans who have followed this game for many years. It is unfair for them to miss out on the launch. Therefore, I applaud Aventurine for making it possible for the individual fan to somehow secure himself a position at launch. And I don't think pre-orders are a bad thing. Plans change and I believe they have taken the best approach. I am also eager to get early access to the game. It is a smart thing to do because it allows those testers who really want to help an ability to do it. I have been upset every day since they started closed hardware testing. I felt I was an important part of the DF fan community, but I was never given a chance to help. Now I can have it if I pay a meaningless amount of dollars. I am perfectly fine with this. Therefore, I don't feel you should criticize Tasos and Aventurine's decision.
Order of the White Border aside... you seriously think that a man and a company who has a horrid time promising dates, details, and presentation of their product--- is worthy of gaining the sympathy of a playerbase that runs on faith?
Ever run a business? You can't make false promises like that. The very reaction of skepticism and anti-DF sentiment is the very thing that can topple corporations with too much damage to their public representation. Either you deliver on your promises, or you fold.
You can argue, that developers make false promises all the time, like what happened with a lot of MMOs who didn't deliver everything they hoped to achieve on launch. But as you can imagine, it still damaged their business even with good intentions. Or put their own game on a pedestal, which they can't return from.
Does Tasos deserve the assload of criticism? Hell yes. He's horrible as a Public Representative, if nothing else about his company and its game.
To put the above in a wordly view, and I am American, USA invaded Iraq on the prenup there were WMD. We found this to not be the case and continued with a new goal of capturing Saddam. Once that goal was obtained, we created a new goal. Do you see a similarity here? Before this war, we were respected in the world even when we were unliked. Now, there really isn't unlike, it's a degredation of character. Tasos is succeeding in this philosophy and might want to ask lil Bush if he'd like to jump on the bandwagon.
Jon, You do know that the publisher for Darkfall has a "President" named Dan Antonescu? I'm sure you are fully aware of this. The publisher also works locally in the exact same office/apartment as Adventurine, and the two other people working there. How about some in depth journalism regarding Darkfall you tweeb (and I'm being nice here because we've met, and I think overall your a good guy) and write something besides blind conjecture to throw out to the masses... Do some worth while journalism on the industry as a whole, and blow these little pimply faced, lying turds off the face of the development map. These are the same types of kids who have duped GOOD publishers, and made it hard for both you and I to secure funding for legitimate projects. These types of little startups with all their bullshit are one of the big reasons games like Wish, Realm, and quite a few others in development will never hit the street. People often wonder why I'm so passionate about voicing an opinion about a particular company, game, or standard. The reason is quite simple, I've chewed on the same dirt you have Jon, and I've done so from the beginning. I'm never incorrect in any assumption I've made regarding any mmorpg project, and get quite pissed when I see little twerps like adventurine taking advantage of 1)marketspace 2)publishers 3)fans. Especially the fans. Especially when the project is complete and utter BS. So some bullshit artists string a potential investor/publisher along for quite some time, along with the fans, who back them, put time, energy and motion behind them, and then everyone gets tossed on their face. Ever wonder why mmo players are jaded? Publishers? Jon, helping spin anything behind "Adventurine" as positive, without having FACTS, and integrity as both a journalist and publisher of material for masses of people is not in good character for you. Like I said, i think your a good guy. Go prove it. When I worked with Keith on VG, our number one priority with our work was always the fans, no matter how hard Jeff or MS tried to fuck it up. I know we have someone in Greece who posts on the mmorpg forums, and I'll bet he even has a digital camera. Now if you are worried about driving off revenue from mmorpg by other publishers who think you are out to "screw" some company, don't, only the illegitimate pubs/devs will have a problem with it. I'll bet Adventurine will have a HUGE problem with it. Thank goodness they are in Greece, have no capitol, and no international attornies eh? Go get em tiger, prove me wrong!
I second this. And where do i know the name Dan Antonescu from?
Bwahahaha! This game isn't real. It's some crazy social experiment to see how long people will wait for a game. Either that, or it is some elaborate prank by Andy Kaufman.
I would like to comment on Jon Wood: "The first, and perhaps most important thing to note is the promise of an announcement regarding pre-order information. This stood out to me immediately upon reading it as to my recollection, Darkfall had promised that there would be no pre-orders for their game. This seemed to be done as a response to critics who called the game’s validity into question." And I would like to refer to Tasos: "The pre-orders are necessary so that we can have some measure of the demand." Jon Wood. I have not studied economics very much, but I can totally understand Aventurine's move on this one. Yes, they might have promised not to make any pre-orders. But, Aventurine is clearly in a difficult situation as they only have two choices. They can commercially launch their game and receive such a great response to sales that they might have to close down any new players wanting to buy the game. Or allow it and risk instability, servers crashing and lag. Or they can do the only reasonable thing and give the players who want the game the most a chance to get it. There are fans who have followed this game for many years. It is unfair for them to miss out on the launch. Therefore, I applaud Aventurine for making it possible for the individual fan to somehow secure himself a position at launch. And I don't think pre-orders are a bad thing. Plans change and I believe they have taken the best approach. I am also eager to get early access to the game. It is a smart thing to do because it allows those testers who really want to help an ability to do it. I have been upset every day since they started closed hardware testing. I felt I was an important part of the DF fan community, but I was never given a chance to help. Now I can have it if I pay a meaningless amount of dollars. I am perfectly fine with this. Therefore, I don't feel you should criticize Tasos and Aventurine's decision.
Thanks for your input:
That being said, it is a perfectly legitimate criticism. Pre-orders helping to gauge interest in an MMO is not new, in fact, it is a common business practice. Aventurine stated that they would not hold pre-orders for the game, thus either flying in the face of a commonly known practice, or being ignorant of it. In either case, pointing out the inconsistency is completely valid.
I'm pleased to see that you're behind the pre-orders. That's entirely your perogative and is entirely your opinion. The point in the article wasn't to tell people "this is bad" in fact, if you read the section, you'll see that I speak to this:
"Having looked more closely at what was said, it is difficult to deny that something in the company's policies have changed with players who pre-oder getting priority for entrance into the sample and / or launch. that said, the announcement states that preorders are necessary to gauge demand. it is true that many companies use this technique, however, earlier promises made seem to contradict this decision."
Don't sweat Ztyx, Jon. He's just found a new DnL to promote, and gets upset when the truth is spoken.
I have to agree with the author, the pre-orders made me raise an eye brow as well. It makes me want to ask some sharpened questions as well, and I may do so.
That being said, I always thought Darkfall will be a game that will eithe rmake it really big or fail completelly, no middle ground for this one.
I have to admit, also that, I have been exposed to some "leaks" (no I am not in Beta, but MMO player community is not as big as some think, specially for those of us that have been around for a while) I knew that the game had some bugs and glitches, which are minor considering its vastness, but, that many players may not have liked to see in a release.
My personal Pendulum was therefore trembling between the "make it big" or "fail completely" sides, as we approached release, it seemed to lean more towards the fail side, but this announcement now causes it to stabilise at the "make it big" side, still in the beginning of it, yet still on the positive side nevertheless.
I perceive the announcement as a responsible decision (given the fact that I had an inside glimpse).
And that is always positive, it shows that the Devs, in spite of their unorthodox style (for this industry) really do care about their game, and to us players, that is what is really important, the rest is just marketing, and sparkle dust.
Cheers!
- Duke Suraknar - Order of the Silver Star, OSS
ESKA, Playing MMORPG's since Ultima Online 1997 - Order of the Silver Serpent, Atlantic Shard
Comments
your going to laugh because a game took for freakin ever to get released? or because most sane people gave up on this and just watch this forum to see how rabid you have to be to still believe this game is going to be even half of what they promise?
I can't say that there is anything to be happy about here .. a game that might have a problem stress testing 200k subs?
"oh wait give us some money for a pre order and we'll be sure to finish this game for you, yea yea thats it" lol hell im laughing now who needs to wait till March
I am really looking forward to this game, the gameplay seems like what ive been waiting for. Having said that, theres a couple things that i dislike with the way aventurine is handling this.
For example, someone posted on their forums that he was fine with the delay, but a few "cookies" would have been nice, like a few screenshots and a bit of info to thank the fans for being patient. The moderator locks the thread and says that this Tasos quote: "Announcements will follow with more information on Darkfall pricing, pre-ordering information, North American player access, and system specifications." consisted of several cookies.
So to thank the fans for having to deal not with one, but 2 delays in under 6 months (the coming in 2008 at the end of the gameplay trailer, and the 22jan release date) that mod considered that telling us the price of the game, what kind of access to the game NA players are expected to have, the system specs, was something of a gift to us and we should feel grateful.
Im still looking forward to the game, but with things like this, the company is losing points in my book.
I would like to comment on Jon Wood: "The first, and perhaps most important thing to note is the promise of an announcement regarding pre-order information. This stood out to me immediately upon reading it as to my recollection, Darkfall had promised that there would be no pre-orders for their game. This seemed to be done as a response to critics who called the game’s validity into question."
And I would like to refer to Tasos: "The pre-orders are necessary so that we can have some measure of the demand."
Jon Wood. I have not studied economics very much, but I can totally understand Aventurine's move on this one. Yes, they might have promised not to make any pre-orders. But, Aventurine is clearly in a difficult situation as they only have two choices. They can commercially launch their game and receive such a great response to sales that they might have to close down any new players wanting to buy the game. Or allow it and risk instability, servers crashing and lag. Or they can do the only reasonable thing and give the players who want the game the most a chance to get it. There are fans who have followed this game for many years. It is unfair for them to miss out on the launch. Therefore, I applaud Aventurine for making it possible for the individual fan to somehow secure himself a position at launch. And I don't think pre-orders are a bad thing. Plans change and I believe they have taken the best approach.
I am also eager to get early access to the game. It is a smart thing to do because it allows those testers who really want to help an ability to do it. I have been upset every day since they started closed hardware testing. I felt I was an important part of the DF fan community, but I was never given a chance to help. Now I can have it if I pay a meaningless amount of dollars. I am perfectly fine with this.
Therefore, I don't feel you should criticize Tasos and Aventurine's decision.
You need to have perspective on this. MMORPGs have long development processes and are known for dates for launches being pushed back. This isn't specific to Darkfall. This is coming from a small publisher as well taking more time. The good thing though about being a small publisher, you have say so in how your game vision plays out, not like the big corporate MMOs of blandness we have today.
I am not saying Darkfall will do great or badly, I am saying you need to keep this in perspective. They also mentioned they will be having an "open beta" of sorts very soon. This will show what state the game is in. Even if there are bugs that is okay, I have never seen a MMO release without some bugs. Even World of Warcraft when I played it opening day ..or what i did get to play. The servers were barely up. I didn't get upset though, I understand these are tough to pull off. EQ when I played it took time to iron out bugs.
I don't really see the joy in watching drama over a game in production. But it is free entertainment. If you enjoy it, that is good. You get to save money in these difficult times.
And you're saying this because you think the game is going to suck, or because it doesn't exist? Because if you are, let me reassure you: it most definitely does exist, and it most definitely doesn't suck.
So now what happens when the game releases in Feb or March, and it rocks? I'm going to be laughing my balls off. Har har!
Oh, and speaking of amatures, why don't you give us a list of game that you've helped make.
I did not say it did not exist, or that it sucked. I simply stated that a KNOWN THIEF AND CON ARTIST who has tried his hand in the industry before, and ran off with alot of investors/fans cash now works with dipshit and dipshit#2.
If I made either of those statements, how are you going to reassure me of anything? Twit...
DiKU, Angband, M59, EQ, EQ2, brief stint with SWG, VG. Currently not doing shit, because there is not shit to do in this industry.
Now if Epic made GoW:Online, I'd be there in a second... Only because it would be different, and they would self publish with a few strategic partners.
hahahaha, vaporware
Order of the White Border aside... you seriously think that a man and a company who has a horrid time promising dates, details, and presentation of their product--- is worthy of gaining the sympathy of a playerbase that runs on faith?
Ever run a business? You can't make false promises like that. The very reaction of skepticism and anti-DF sentiment is the very thing that can topple corporations with too much damage to their public representation. Either you deliver on your promises, or you fold.
You can argue, that developers make false promises all the time, like what happened with a lot of MMOs who didn't deliver everything they hoped to achieve on launch. But as you can imagine, it still damaged their business even with good intentions. Or put their own game on a pedestal, which they can't return from.
Does Tasos deserve the assload of criticism? Hell yes. He's horrible as a Public Representative, if nothing else about his company and its game.
It's amazing the amount of excuses this fan base gives the devs. Any other company would have been already out of business.
It's like if you had a vacuum shop and you tell the guy you will ship it 2 weeks from now, then the two weeks come and you say oh well in a month. A month rolls by and now there is a lawsuit.
Obviously software works in a different stride but you get the picture it just blows my mind how people can/have accepted this for 8+yrs from this washed up fuck of a company.
And you're saying this because you think the game is going to suck, or because it doesn't exist? Because if you are, let me reassure you: it most definitely does exist, and it most definitely doesn't suck.
So now what happens when the game releases in Feb or March, and it rocks? I'm going to be laughing my balls off. Har har!
Oh, and speaking of amatures, why don't you give us a list of game that you've helped make.
I did not say it did not exist, or that it sucked. I simply stated that a KNOWN THIEF AND CON ARTIST who has tried his hand in the industry before, and ran off with alot of investors/fans cash now works with dipshit and dipshit#2.
If I made either of those statements, how are you going to reassure me of anything? Twit...
DiKU, Angband, M59, EQ, EQ2, brief stint with SWG, VG. Currently not doing shit, because there is not shit to do in this industry.
Now if Epic made GoW:Online, I'd be there in a second... Only because it would be different, and they would self publish with a few strategic partners.
Congratulations. One of those games didn't suck. And that would be M59. Were you their accountant?
I was burned on Darkfall's little red-headed step sister (Dark & Light)...what crap...I won't be burned again.....EVER on a pre-order scheme....
everyone should learn from one's mistakes....I'll wait and see...
http://www.forceofarms.com/index.php
Bwahahaha!
This game isn't real. It's some crazy social experiment to see how long people will wait for a game. Either that, or it is some elaborate prank by Andy Kaufman.
Also, I'd like to see some proof of Dan Antonescu's affiliation with Darkfall Online.
I admire your compassion, Mordacai... but inevitably, some people are too blind that it is imperative they know that by jumping off a cliff--- the chasm below hurts. Some people learn by example... others learn by experience.
I think its just bad etiquette on part of the company. I mean if you always release info at the last minute, its almost always going to rub people the wrong way.
If what they say is true about needing to get authorization to release news and there be a delay every time, then they really need to plan for that and put in requests early so we, the players can get it in a timely fashion. In turn, it would lower the suspicion factor a bit.
But who knows if this game is in fact "real", I really hope it is, and hope it can see the light of day.
---
Xen of Onslaught
Thanks for your input:
That being said, it is a perfectly legitimate criticism. Pre-orders helping to gauge interest in an MMO is not new, in fact, it is a common business practice. Aventurine stated that they would not hold pre-orders for the game, thus either flying in the face of a commonly known practice, or being ignorant of it. In either case, pointing out the inconsistency is completely valid.
I'm pleased to see that you're behind the pre-orders. That's entirely your perogative and is entirely your opinion. The point in the article wasn't to tell people "this is bad" in fact, if you read the section, you'll see that I speak to this:
"Having looked more closely at what was said, it is difficult to deny that something in the company's policies have changed with players who pre-oder getting priority for entrance into the sample and / or launch. that said, the announcement states that preorders are necessary to gauge demand. it is true that many companies use this technique, however, earlier promises made seem to contradict this decision."
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Order of the White Border aside... you seriously think that a man and a company who has a horrid time promising dates, details, and presentation of their product--- is worthy of gaining the sympathy of a playerbase that runs on faith?
Ever run a business? You can't make false promises like that. The very reaction of skepticism and anti-DF sentiment is the very thing that can topple corporations with too much damage to their public representation. Either you deliver on your promises, or you fold.
You can argue, that developers make false promises all the time, like what happened with a lot of MMOs who didn't deliver everything they hoped to achieve on launch. But as you can imagine, it still damaged their business even with good intentions. Or put their own game on a pedestal, which they can't return from.
Does Tasos deserve the assload of criticism? Hell yes. He's horrible as a Public Representative, if nothing else about his company and its game.
To put the above in a wordly view, and I am American, USA invaded Iraq on the prenup there were WMD. We found this to not be the case and continued with a new goal of capturing Saddam. Once that goal was obtained, we created a new goal. Do you see a similarity here? Before this war, we were respected in the world even when we were unliked. Now, there really isn't unlike, it's a degredation of character. Tasos is succeeding in this philosophy and might want to ask lil Bush if he'd like to jump on the bandwagon.
Thanks Jon for a nice read.
Good work!
*munching on his popcorn* well the fireworks have started a week early...least i got a good spot.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! and ZING!!! there goes yet another release date for DF. Can't wait to see some certain fanboi's excuses.
I second this. And where do i know the name Dan Antonescu from?
LOLOLOL, Andy Kauffman is my hero!!
Thanks for your input:
That being said, it is a perfectly legitimate criticism. Pre-orders helping to gauge interest in an MMO is not new, in fact, it is a common business practice. Aventurine stated that they would not hold pre-orders for the game, thus either flying in the face of a commonly known practice, or being ignorant of it. In either case, pointing out the inconsistency is completely valid.
I'm pleased to see that you're behind the pre-orders. That's entirely your perogative and is entirely your opinion. The point in the article wasn't to tell people "this is bad" in fact, if you read the section, you'll see that I speak to this:
"Having looked more closely at what was said, it is difficult to deny that something in the company's policies have changed with players who pre-oder getting priority for entrance into the sample and / or launch. that said, the announcement states that preorders are necessary to gauge demand. it is true that many companies use this technique, however, earlier promises made seem to contradict this decision."
Don't sweat Ztyx, Jon. He's just found a new DnL to promote, and gets upset when the truth is spoken.
I have to agree with the author, the pre-orders made me raise an eye brow as well. It makes me want to ask some sharpened questions as well, and I may do so.
That being said, I always thought Darkfall will be a game that will eithe rmake it really big or fail completelly, no middle ground for this one.
I have to admit, also that, I have been exposed to some "leaks" (no I am not in Beta, but MMO player community is not as big as some think, specially for those of us that have been around for a while) I knew that the game had some bugs and glitches, which are minor considering its vastness, but, that many players may not have liked to see in a release.
My personal Pendulum was therefore trembling between the "make it big" or "fail completely" sides, as we approached release, it seemed to lean more towards the fail side, but this announcement now causes it to stabilise at the "make it big" side, still in the beginning of it, yet still on the positive side nevertheless.
I perceive the announcement as a responsible decision (given the fact that I had an inside glimpse).
And that is always positive, it shows that the Devs, in spite of their unorthodox style (for this industry) really do care about their game, and to us players, that is what is really important, the rest is just marketing, and sparkle dust.
Cheers!
Order of the Silver Star, OSS
ESKA, Playing MMORPG's since Ultima Online 1997 - Order of the Silver Serpent, Atlantic Shard
anyone who refuses to play this game simply because it was delayed, and nothing more is retarded.
Anyone who thinks the only reason for not playing is it being delayed is retarded.
Ha ha