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[Faldon] Looking for a bunch of fresh faces for a good (hard) oldskool RPG.
Prometherion
Member Posts: 7
Hi guys, Faldon player of 10 years checking in here. We're currently looking for a new bunch of players to join us on Faldon. Faldon is an isometric RPG that it seems time has forgotten. We currently have about 50 active players, mostly from Holland, Brazil, USA and the U.K so at times it can be really quiet, the community is trying very hard to change that though. I'm branching out here as the community is really hungry for new players and the game is still great, despite its flaws.
Faldon has well over 440 items to find, use and trade, 150 monsters, 60 spells and 30+ skills to raise (with plenty of crafting and non-violent skills too). There's also no level cap or class-restrictions. I've heard a few people compare Faldon to Ultima Online, Tibia & even Runescape so if you ever enjoyed those games then perhaps Faldon is for you. It's free to play and 90% of items in the game can be dropped from monsters, so it's not p2w as such.
Faldon takes a little time to get your bearings and figure out what to do since there has never been many 'beacons' or hints as to where you should go. The game can be unforgiving, yet incredibly rewarding when you progress. There is a party function so levelling in small groups against very strong mobs is totally a possibility. Hope to see some of you in game. We also have a newly founded Subreddit (www.reddit.com/r/faldon). Thanks guys 
The download link for Faldon can be found here: (http://download.illusorystudios.com/...ldon%20RPG.exe)
Amongst many other things Faldon has the following to offer:
Over 440 items to obtain, use and trade.
• Over 60 spells available for mages and battle-mages.
• Over 150 different types of monsters spread out across the vast maps of Faldon.
• A unique title system where other players recognise you for your highest raised skill. Criminal and Murderer titles let you know who to avoid in town.
• Player based market as well as plenty of NPCs to sell your items to.
• Over 25 guild halls available to rent, spread over Faldon’s many maps.
• No level caps.
• A diverse player base. We pride ourselves in having players from all around the world. We have many Dutch, Brazilian, American, Scandinavian and British players. Everyone is welcome.
Comments
It's not on the games list here...That might be a good start (getting it on there). Also I ran a search on it. And here is a link to their site (for people who want at least a cursory glance at something before downloading it): http://www.faldonrpg.com/
Also...first thing I notice about said site is that the latest news update from the devs is from Friday, October 29, 2010 . Can, i take that to mean they are disinterested in the game at this point? I mean active worlds has about 50-100 active users and they are constantly updating info. Even have monthly community meetings in world. And faldons forums don't seem to be all that active either...Just saying. doesn't smell of a great experience when a VU from 1995 makes this game look inactive.
Getting it on the games list on this website would be a great idea. There have been a few dormant years in Faldon but things have picked up recently. We currently only have 20-45 players online which is a real shame because if you like oldskool MMORPGs then I know a lot of folk would enjoy it. I have played for 10 years and I can tell you there is plenty of content and current GMS have said they will work on more content if/when new players show. We are having a Halloween event run by the GMs this year which is great news and a good opportunity to meet some new players and grab some free loot potentially.
The reason I haven't linked directly to the official website is because it is neglected, ugly and has very little relevance to the game at the moment. Players do not use the forums, why is why I have moved the community hub to www.reddit.com/r/Faldon.
The owner of the game has very little to do with the game but there are GMs who are capable of small updates and as I mentioned before there is a vast amount of content to explore. There is no issue with playing the game free and if you do chose to upgrade your account for $5USD a month then there is no delay in the upgrade of your account. The server can be quiet in the mornings (GST) time but the server very rarely goes down.
There must be a reason why people have played this game for 15+ years and still play and love it now. It's unique and has a lot of freedom with the customization of your character. The game is very quiet now and I know this will put a lot of people off but in recent weeks I have managed to get a handful of new players to join and they are loving it! If collectively we can find a few new players each week then the game can return to its wonderful glory days.
The game is hard and if you don't accept help from other players it can be damn near impossible. But some people are sick of how easy games are this days. There aren't any shiny beacons telling you where to go in this game, it's just up to you to explore.
I hope people can look past the flaws this game might seem to have before even plugging it in but it was developed by a very small team in 1996 and it still has more character than so many of these modern MMORPG games.
Peace!
k...So, I downloaded this game and gave it a look over. Here is what I found for any interested.
It's about 100mb download with a 2 minute install and a 5 minute patch load. An account can be made in client, with no confirmation email link needed. It allows for about the highest entropy with a password you can expect reasonably (Upper case, lower case, numbers, symbols, very long length). At the same time it makes no demands on you about password rules (or lets you know anything about what constitutes a valid password). One creates an account, then creates a Character (after the client slams down on you once, for trying to back out to where you can log into your newly created account). Characters have their own password (which can be the same as the password for the account, as can the character name be the same as the account name).
But, I found creating an account difficult. Firstly, the the interface can't keep up with the cursor speed. To actually move a window (which is by default in the way of other windows) You have to hold the cursor (a huge sword) down on it's very thin border and move painfully slow. Any fast then a snail coming out of it's shell and the cursor looses it's grip on the window. Navigating this interface is hard as well. The text is in an cursive font that is blurry and desaturated. And, any buttons that say something have the text covered by tool tip icons (that blend in with the text so it's hard to tell what a button does aside from left good, right bad, common knowledge logic).
Character customization consists of hair color and gender (don't worry about the face, the characters don't have faces).
Once in game. A lot of dialogue off the bat. The visual aesthetic was painful for me. The 2D pixel art (I use the word art loosely) is gritty and over engineered. There seems to have also been an inability to pick out a color swash and stick with it. The 3D sprites (this is in fact a 2.5D fixed camera trail distance iso), such as characters and doors are blurry and altogether under engineered (which makes for a stark contrast against the 2d environment that is not at all easy on the eyes once you throw in neon green chat text, and the lightest grey possible before hitting white game text, on a beige background).
No WASD.Click to move or hold and drag cursor to move (the latter of which I do not suggest using, as much like in the lobby, the game has an inability to keep up with the cursor).
Walked around, didn't really mean to it just kind of happened. fought hard to move inside of a room without activating every possible dialogue of every character within 5 game spaces. Fought a stair case as well. Walked out of building and the door literally hit me on the way out. I am sure if I spent an hour getting used to it. I would not feel like a drunk toddler. Maybe I am just not patient enough. But, I feel like walking, making use of the UI, and world interaction should be things that feel like they need to level up before they actually work correctly.
Uninstalled - Reason: Unplayable from the outset by any sane definition of what it means for a game to be playable. Btw...this doesn't come with an uninstaller. Nor is the option present in the install wizard. You have to rip it out manually.
@OP
I have a genuine concern for the state of your mental and emotional well being given that you said you have played this for 10 years.
Sorry Faldon looks too dated for me.
I am playing that "old school" type game with Project Gorgon,your group should look into it although i guess your group of 50 has set up shop for good in Faldon.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Right off the bat I did say that this game was 'marmite' - you will either love it or hate it.
First off you seemed disappointed that you couldn't pick from many different haircuts/faces. I didn't realise that this was integral to the quality of the actual gameplay, which you clearly did not take the time to experience. The customisation of the characters comes from the lack of class-restrictions and items available , not from the fact you can make your character green or purple. If you judge games based on the character skins they provide you then something like WoW will probably suit better.
The game is ugly but it has character, which is more than what can be said for a majority of the 'flash game eque' crap that gets churned out on an endless basis. This game was made in 1996 before the market was over saturated, and yes it has been updated on an extensive basis since then.
There is no WASD for control, but you can use the arrow keys which you would have figured out if you had the patience to truly play the game. I recommend using the arrow keys to move and the mouse for dialogue, combat, PVP, skills. If you had read any of the very basic guides that were included in my post you might not have had such a dismal experience with Faldon.
I understand that this game is not for everyone, but thanks to your hasty response I doubt many others will try it out. You managed to totally trash something and question my mental health, well done. I doubt Faldon would welcome you with open arms anyway.
Good day to you.
I don't need purple or green skin. I do feel that I need humanoid characters to actually have faces hands and feet. I expect to be able to do an action, have the game read that action, and then do what I intended it to do (basic functionality). And, I especially expect a game that is 10 years old to at least be on par with games from 10 years ago that run along the same lines. Which this is not (nor is it on par with any 2.5D iso made that I have ever played...ever). It appears that it has come far enough to be bottom of the barrel for a decade ago. My expectations are by no means unreasonable.
I am not picking on it for being old or a 2.5D iso. Because, I do play those. But, I stick with ones that deserve to be played. Because, they have something to offer besides instant frustration and eyesore.
This game, from download to install, to character creation, to customization, to being able to function correctly in the game world is nothing but one glaring issue after another. And, so the only unfair expectation. Is expecting me or anyone else to take one more unintentional step (because it rarely lets you walk where you went to) within that development hell fail. And, btw...the arrow keys didn't work (yes, I tried that, as it is the standard alternates for WASD).
The arrow keys do work, end of story. You admitted yourself you played the game for an hour or so. Hardly long enough to judge all the elements that make a good RPG great. You do what modern game reviewers do all too frequently; play the game for an hour or so without really looking around too much and then make firebrand judgments.
I feel sorry for your community if you are representative of the populace. FYI, I posted in several other RPG-related forums and the response has been great. We have a few new players online now and I'm sure more will come. You can dislike something without being a complete asshat about it you know..
Lol, Gorgon doesn't exactly look cutting edge, either.
No single person on these forums is representative of the overall populace.