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A fairly lengthy Darkfall review...
...highlighting the weaknesses of some of the game's systems as they presently function.
www.gameolosophy.com/Games/Online/Darkfall-Online-Beta.541609
Comments
The best review I've read so far!
10/10
Thanks for actually giving specifics and being one of the first to actually explain the "skill-based" system.
This is a sequence of characters intended to produce some profound mental effect, but it has failed.
A+ review
awesome review..much better than some other's. And no words like hardcore or carebear thrown about....very well thought out and written, highlighting both sides of the fence.
A+ review
awesome review..much better than someother's.
+1
Your take on skills is what I have been looking for. Only one thing I didn't see mentioned is anything about skill caps.
Great write-up.
2
DarkFall FAQ - Read then Question with Boldness
The skill cap is 100 for any given skill. There is a soft cap for total skill points, but I suspect no one has reached it yet.
For individual spells and possibly weapon skills (or archery, at least), the 100th skill point allows for a "super attack", after which the skill drops back down to 99. For the magic schools and crafting and the like, 100 is just another "unlock" level (new spells at 100 in a magic school, new craftables at 100 in a crafting skill, etc.).
When Vanguard came out, people hated it because it wasn't exactly like EQ.
The same is happening with DF, most people I hear who do not like it or have lots of problems with it do so because it isn't exactly like UO.
The smart gamer does not fool themselves with imagined nostalgia for games of yore. Nor does the smart gamer believe every word a developer says. Don't believe the hype, as they say. A smart gamer also does not impose his or her demands on a game because they do not buy into the fantasy of being an armchair developer. A smart gamer will play a game based on what the game actually is and how fun and enjoyable it is to them.
I find that the vast majority of opinions, so far, seem to be that the game is very fun yet there are lots of problems to be worked out. It is also unfair to compare an unreleased game to games that have been out for years and have had plenty of time to revise and add content.
It's also funny to listen to those who chase after the holy grail of MMOs i.e. chasing after a phantom. "Oh, Darkfall isn't exactly what *I* wanted so I guess I'll wait for Mortal Online." Thus, MO becomes the new DF.
LOL...
The major problem with Darkfall is NOT that it's not UO, the problem is that it's not very much fun in its own right.
I found the end of the review odd.
He says the game needs massive revision and then almost immediatly follows that with, it's basically Oblivion online.
Isn't Oblivion consdiered a really good game? At least I thought it was.
"At this point, I think it's fair to say that Darkfall is essentially Oblivion Online - minus the plot, gorgeous graphics, and Patrick Stewart voiceovers."
I think what he means is that it is basically Oblivion without all the substance that made Oblivion a fun game, Just an empty shell of what it could be.
There are 3 types of people in the world.
1.) Those who make things happen
2.) Those who watch things happen
3.) And those who wonder "What the %#*& just happened?!"
It's "Oblivion online" in its feel, basically.
Imagine Oblivion if you stripped all of the content out of it and slowed it down to maybe 60% gameplay speed, and you'd have DFO.
"At this point, I think it's fair to say that Darkfall is essentially Oblivion Online - minus the plot, gorgeous graphics, and Patrick Stewart voiceovers."
I think what he means is that it is basically Oblivion without all the substance that made Oblivion a fun game, Just an empty shell of what it could be.
that's how i read it as well.
"At this point, I think it's fair to say that Darkfall is essentially Oblivion Online - minus the plot, gorgeous graphics, and Patrick Stewart voiceovers."
I think what he means is that it is basically Oblivion without all the substance that made Oblivion a fun game, Just an empty shell of what it could be.
Aye, take away plot, graphics, and of course Picard, and Oblivion would have fared horribly. The combat system wasn't that good, it was a watered down FPS, same with Fallout 3 (Which was a watered down Fallout 1 and 2 as far as plot and atmosphere).
Why even bother with the RPG element, or MMO element seeing as that isn't going on much in DF, play a damn fantasy mod for half life 2 or something.
The skill cap is 100 for any given skill. There is a soft cap for total skill points, but I suspect no one has reached it yet.
For individual spells and possibly weapon skills (or archery, at least), the 100th skill point allows for a "super attack", after which the skill drops back down to 99. For the magic schools and crafting and the like, 100 is just another "unlock" level (new spells at 100 in a magic school, new craftables at 100 in a crafting skill, etc.).
Ok, thanks for the reply.
I really can't understand the reasoning behind not having a hard cap on skills.
But I won't go into that here.
Thanks again.
DarkFall FAQ - Read then Question with Boldness
"At this point, I think it's fair to say that Darkfall is essentially Oblivion Online - minus the plot, gorgeous graphics, and Patrick Stewart voiceovers."
I think what he means is that it is basically Oblivion without all the substance that made Oblivion a fun game, Just an empty shell of what it could be.
Aye, take away plot, graphics, and of course Picard, and Oblivion would have fared horribly. The combat system wasn't that good, it was a watered down FPS, same with Fallout 3 (Which was a watered down Fallout 1 and 2 as far as plot and atmosphere).
Why even bother with the RPG element, or MMO element seeing as that isn't going on much in DF, play a damn fantasy mod for half life 2 or something.
But that wouldn't have Full Loot. Somehow it's not "real" PvP without it.
But yeah, had that same thought myself.
DarkFall FAQ - Read then Question with Boldness
I have been told basically the same things that were in the review from a couple of friends of mine who were in the beta and didn't fill me in on it.
The hundreds of skills that DFO claims to have reminds me of Warhammer's promise to give me 24 classes and instead just gave me 12 with different skill names and class names for both factions. I thought it was pretty shady that EA/Mythic did it and I think it's shady that Adventurine is doing it. When companies think you can have "hundreds" of the same exact skills with different names for each weapon and/or school of magic and that they don't explain that before you are enticed to purchase... its shady to me. It's a practice that should be "hated" on much more than it is IMO.
"Da bigger da Orc, da stronger da Orc. Da stronger da Orc, da more dat's Orc's da boss. No wonder da Black Orcs is always da bosses!"
- Splinta, a Goblin in the Bloody Sun Boyz tribe
I don't think I have ever seen a more well written, mature, honest review. A shame more can't be like this and so much less of most of the drivel posted.
Thanks.
King of the world
So you are telling me that we can't ever expect a ffa pvp mmorpg which has an exciting combat system, an interesting endgame and fingerlicking graphics with an all in all great amount of immersion set in a vast, open world? That is not toooo much to ask, is it?
The ffa pvp + sandbox crowd, or 'suckers for realism and excitement' haven't been served so very well in the past few generations of mmo's. There is no doubt in my mind that the vastness and freedom of Darkfall would come close to my personal 'holy grail' if it would have more interesting combat, proffessions and way better art direction in general.
And in that regard, the things we now know about Mortal Online are very promissing. IF Darkfall becomes just another dissapointment for the likes of me (and we can only tell a good while after it has been released) we might just have a very nice alternative. And that is somewhat of a reasurance for those 'suckers for realism and excitement', to be honest
My brand new bloggity blog.
Spot on review. No need to look elsewhere.
It is a good review, but I believe the OP may have jumped the gun on some things that he might have needed to experience more.
Also, the UI is odd for MMO's, but anyone that's played Morrowind will probably get it pretty fast.
There are only a few changes in the UI that would make me happy. Such as loading the last spell that was loaded when switching to a staff.
The mob AI, while he is correct on some is not the case on all of them. Some act very differently.
He is correct on the sky. I wish there were textures they put behind those clouds. I'm also convinced there is a weather system since a long time beta tester told me there was weather before, and there is a forecast. However, whether weather actually affects combat, I don't see that happening.
And as far as the comment about Darkfall promising 500 skills and spells. They didn't promise it. They said they have 300 on paper, and they hope to have 500 on release.
I will be pre-ordering this game. It's so different right now it's worth buying, and I do not believe MO is going to deliver for a while, and will probably not have the featuers I"m intrested in.
DFO isn't exactly a messiah of MMO's, it's more the front runner of an old MMO generation that is renewing itself again that people have already started making (Earthrise, Fallen Earth, etc)
A+ review
awesome review..much better than some other's. And no words like hardcore or carebear thrown about....very well thought out and written, highlighting both sides of the fence.
Yup, no words like hardcore or carebear, but rabid fans. Of course, I can see why you prefer this (p)review.
EDIT: Btw, that's where I stopped reading, right where i read those words.
Hmm, the fanbois are really steering clear of this thread, while vocally posting on any thread that has a positive review.
I think I'm going to wait until I see some feedback from people who have no vested interest in the game (i.e, they just went out and bought it, and weren't graced with access to the beta)
I still suspect beta invites were frequently granted on the basis of being a "friend of Darkfall" and not so much as a random process.
Well, its only one opinion, and I'll be reading more I'm sure.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
You got a reaction from a fan, do I need to post it again? Whoever uses the wording rabid fans isn't capable in my eyes of making an unbiased review. The same if he would say "stupid trolls" or something to that account.
A+ review
awesome review..much better than some other's. And no words like hardcore or carebear thrown about....very well thought out and written, highlighting both sides of the fence.
Yup, no words like hardcore or carebear, but rabid fans. Of course, I can see why you prefer this (p)review.
EDIT: Btw, that's where I stopped reading, right where i read those words.
that's fine, but any one who writes "carebear" or "hardcore" is immediately biased and is trying to connect with a certain group of people. Hence those (p)reviews are skewed in one direction.
Darkfall will probably never be the playground for me but I can see where it could possibly mature into a a worthy title for many. I always allow for some progression after release on any title before making any concrete declarations of success or failure (on a personal level anyway) so I could be swayed later.
However, it really does seem that the community surrounding this game has the potential to ruin the game when it is that same community that will be relied upon to make anything out of the game at all.
A game like this demands a vibrant, accepting community in order to provide any semblance of a complete world. The game doesn't really exist as it is set up without massive player/guild involvement to provide narrative, structure, heroes/villains, political intrigue, the game is simply empty on many levels without a dedicated community.
Sadly, everything I have seen from the community so far is....
rather than name-call I'll simply say I just don't see success if it relies on the present community. That is Darkfall's greatest weakness
There is nothing wrong with calling people rabid fans. It doesn't carry a heavy negative connotation, and if not used in a negative tone just describes a person's zealous nature about a particular thing. TBH I don't think I've ever seen a " normal " fan of DF anywhere, and it seems to always go towards the absolute extreme. Its not a bad thing that it turns out that way, but it just means that the information that gets spread around is always polar, and makes it hard for anyone to figure out which is more credible.
On topic:
Great review. There is more information in that review, then I have seen 8 years of development, and 1 month of betaleaks. Although there were some good betaleaks they were not written as clearly as this review.
There is nothing wrong with calling people rabid fans. It doesn't carry a heavy negative connotation, and if not used in a negative tone just describes a person's zealous nature about a particular thing. TBH I don't think I've ever seen a " normal " fan of DF anywhere, and it seems to always go towards the absolute extreme. Its not a bad thing that it turns out that way, but it just means that the information that gets spread around is always polar, and makes it hard for anyone to figure out which is more credible.
On topic:
Great review. There is more information in that review, then I have seen 8 years of development, and 1 month of betaleaks. Although there were some good betaleaks they were not written as clearly as this review.
That one was pretty good and well commented on. Might not be positive (it was one of only a handful I found that were negative) but it was well done.