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New interview with tiny bits of new information
Posted by Galadourn on main forums
New interview in gameworld.gr. You can find the original Greek text here
Darkfall – Live interview
Tuesday, January 12 2010 17:53
We had a live discussion with Aventurine’s Tasos Flambouras (Producer) and Vangelis Kalaitzis (Game Support) broadcasted via SentraFM 103.3, and we learned much exclusive information for the future releases of Darkfall, but also the areas where to expect improvements. 2010 is a milestone year, with release in the rest of Europe and upgrades to the graphics. The interview in detail:
GW: Let us start with something we had not asked in our previous interview. How did you meet with the Norwegian developers and what served as inspiration to them?
Tasis Flambouras: The five first developers of Darkfall, were Claus (Lead Designer), ο Kjetil, ο Rikki, ο Henning and Eric. I knew Claus, who is today my partner in the company. Generally we were all vaguely acquainted with each other from previous works and we also played MMORPGs together, like Asheron’s Call and Ultima Online.
We were always discussing on the possibility of making a game that we would like to play ourselves. The guys created a small company, Razorwax, and began development of Darkfall. At some point they had an offer from a big publisher, Ubisoft, however they ended up buying the rights for Everquest in Europe. After this , we did our research and we founded Aventurine to be able to self-publish.
GW: How long did you stay in Norway?;
TF: Just 15 days. I went there on September 15 2002 and in October 2002 we founded the company in Greece. And all this happened because on night, we went out to a bar for a few drinks and somebody suggested the idea of developing the game in Greece, something we had never though of before since the business environment in Greece was – and is – peculiar.
GW: What is the background story of Darkfall? Is there one?
TF: We have recently introduced a Dynamic Lore system in the game, where active participants in those quests become “embedded” in the game’s storyline. For example you can, as a player, do something and affect a quest and your name, as well as your actions, will become part of the story. Whatever you do affects you immediately . If, for example, your alignment turns evil, then you will spawn in areas where other similarly evil characters spawn.
GW: Would you like to share each one’s most pleasant and most unpleasant moment during development of the game?
Vangelis Kalaitzidis: I’ve only been part of the company for one year . I’ve yet to experience an unpleasant situation. Most pleasant was ehan I started working, because it had always been a dream of mine.
TF: The day we launched the game (February 2009) we had not had a proper night’s sleep for about a week, and all of a sudden a problem occurred and the game would not upload no matter what. It turned out that it was a problem in an area where we had never had any problems in the last 4 years, and was the last spot to search. The most pleasant moment was when we got around that problem!
GW: Why do you think other MMORPG have not yet implemented a real-time combat system and advanced AI?
TF: To start with, this took us 6 years in development. Back then there was no engine able to support such a combat system. We wanted to give the player a sense of control of his character. And of course, we wanted the adrenaline rush.
VK: The game is completely dynamic. There is no “tab targeting” allowing you to “lock” your opponent and throw whatever you have against him, like an F-16.
TF: Concerning the A.I., most modern MMORPG are clones of the same theme. Although many MMORPG have very nice graphics, there is no trend in using modern technology in the aid of gameplay. We see MMORPG having instances, zone loading etc. We managed to have thousands of players in a single battle with no loading. Why those other games have not followed this path, has to do with the fact that they are satisfied with this gameplay style, which is much more casual for the user. In Darkfall you can’t smoke or eat your lunch . You must constantly be “on the alert”
GW: Why did you choose to put FPV in the game?
TF: When you unsheathe a weapon you can have TPV all the time. So you can choose between the camera styles that suit you. Most MMORPG users prefer TPV. The problem is you can’t have proper action when in TPV. When using archery or magic you must use FPV for aiming. After all, Darkfall is a game with manual aim. This can’t work in TPV.
GW: Can the existing PvP system offer a player large battles if he is not in a clan?
VK: when in a Clan, you participate in battles and the result can be positive or negative. This does not mean, however, that a player who is not in a Clan cannot participate. There are system messages in each server when sieges begin. This serves as a “news bulletin” for the dynamics of politics in-game, but also for players who might want to participate for their own reasons. There is no limitation on this.
GW: When can we expect a European launch?
TF: Soon. We started off like… patriots, with a boxed version in Greece, since the game is Greek and was developed here, so the rest of Europe must wait for some more time. For European countries we are aiming for a 2010 release
GW: What is the reason for Darkfall’s graphics being sub-par compared to the other big MMORPGs? Is it due to the size of the world and the zero-loading, or is it a matter of skill and experience?
TF: I’ll start by saying that I do not agree that our graphics are not comparable to other MMORPGs’ graphics.
GW: I mean when compared to games such as Age of Conan or AION, and in particular the anti-aliasing and character design.
TF: Let me say that the graphics viewers see in youtube are not the live game graphics, when turned on full settings. The truth is we focused more on gameplay and less on graphics. Graphics are easy to fix, the hard part is gameplay and technology.
Regarding graphics, we are doing constant updates, along with other updates. With the latest expansion we had yet another update. However, within 2010, there is going to be a complete upgrade on the graphics, which I’m sure will leave everyone happy.
GW: Apart from the European and the American servers, is there a possibility to make an Asian server within 2010?
TF: Yes, there is a possibility. Our users have been asking for one for a long time, and we have many Asian players in our EU and US servers. Darkfall is popular in Japan, Korea and China, although China has some issues with the firewall systems. But for an Asian server, we have not yet found out a way to implement the idea. The market is too big and this needs a little bit more research.
GW: Concerning sound, for starters, what is the opening sound when you log into the game?
It’s a sound reminiscent of the first Quake. We use it as a nice introduction, foreshadowing what is about to happen! We used this during beta testing, and it kinda stayed…although it can be scary for new users, especially if they have ther headphones turned up!
GW: Will the sound improve in the future? Do you think there can be recorded dialogue for the NPCs
The sound is going through various upgrades, even as we speak. Regarding recorded dialogue, there are some sounds we have already recorded and will be introduced at some point into the game
GW: Can Darkfall become more user-friendly;
This is the next big bet. To improve the experience for the new user. Speaking in general, Darkfall is not easy. Even if you are an experienced MMORPG user control is not easy. On the other hand, if you are used to FPS games then it might appear more easy.
Many users like this difficulty in the controls. We, on the other hand, want a faster incorporation of new users so they can start playing the game right off the bat.
GW: what would you, personally, like to see added in Darkfall in the future, that is not already in?
I would personally like to see some improved dungeons, to improve the Single-Player Experience (PvE), the player experience and, of course, to continue with the free expansions. Our goal is to offer three new expansions each year. If all these things improve, then I believe we will continue being on the right track.
Comments
Three expansions a year is pretty ambitious. I like.
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/4/view/forums/thread/266667/New-interview-with-AV.html
FIRST!!!! :P
No your thread was posted at 11:35:59 sec. Ruyn's thread was posted at 11:35:41 sec. Close enough I guess.
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As for the event, I'm not sure I'll participate. I'll probably get killed way too much to the point where even trying to join the event would be pointless ;þ
No your thread was posted at 11:35:59 sec. Ruyn's thread was posted at 11:35:41 sec. Close enough I guess.
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As for the event, I'm not sure I'll participate. I'll probably get killed way too much to the point where even trying to join the event would be pointless ;þ
Try to talk to a few of the influential guilds and see if they will leave you be.
are all those people still there?
Nice!! Hopefully this years first update fixes some of the issues I had with Darkfall so I can take it serious.
"I play Tera for the gameplay"
To what are you referring? There are several thousands of people.
To what are you referring? There are several thousands of people.
developers sorry.
I pretty sure claus is still there. henning is still there. eric was in the irc at launch so am guessing is still there. Kjetal (sp?) i think is still there. heard rumors that rikki left though.
Ditto. I'd like to seem them prioritize combat fluidity, animations and graphics, in that order. Very ambitious group and although I've been critical of them in the past I would give it another go if things continue in this positive fashion.
I use to want a more FPS style combat instead of a RPG style combat with tons and tons of skills in melee. But with the size of the hitbox i am beginnning to think rpg is the way to go.
Commented on some things that stood out to me.
~Ripper
Thanks again for the heads up Ruyn. That was an interesting read, and it definitely looks to be an interesting year for our wonderful Greek game.
I think they need to be very ambitous, especially over the next two years or so. Being aggressive with the development like that will only work to change more and more minds. Great news for all the Euro players too, as they are going to start seeing Darkfall boxes at their favorite gaming outlets.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
Common Ripper that's an old joke that hasn't been released yet and we all take part in a paid beta. You should know that
I blame the translation.
Common Ripper that's an old joke that hasn't been released yet and we all take part in a paid beta. You should know that
I blame the translation.
Yeah, was just being anal
~Ripper
In the interview they throw around the term 'release' a lot; They are obviously referring to the retail boxes. Which makes me think that Aventurine might make a second re-launch campaign when they are ready to ship those boxes to the rest of Europe.
I agree.
I think when they get the DarkFall 2010 fixes in place, they will be doing a re-launch with that name and/or some decent marketing.
They won't get the hype they did the first time around... but it might help them get more subs.
In the end it does seem they are trying to make DarkFall a better game. For that at least, as fans of the game; you're happy with this information.