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Darkfall: Game Overview, Part One
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com Darkfall Correspondent Andy Cormier writes this first in his ten part overview of what Aventurine's sandbox MMO is all about.
Vaporware, savior, amateur, hardcore, troll, fanboi, scam, beta, broken, epic.
Welcome to Darkfall! If any of you have followed Darkfall over its nearly 8 years of development, seeing these words in forum posts or splattered across various internet sites has almost become a prerequisite of posting. For better or worse, Darkfall has become the most loved, hated, and talked about MMORPG in recent history. Sadly, for those of you that were not fortunate enough to get into beta, you were left scrounging for any official information you could find about the game. Good luck trying to find any! Over the past 2 years the only information available were the seemingly random statements given to obscure media outlets from Darkfall's lead developer Tasos Flambouras.
;)
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
I hope the reviewer knows, its only this site that cares about Darkfall. Was a good read though, but comparing it to ultima online, is an insult to Ultima online, who's features were 900X that of Darfalls. To also say the "Game rewards you for your hard work", would have been much simpler to state, "This archaic system they employ for everything, rewards you for spending large amounts of time".
The game is also not a skill based game, there are only 4 levels of real advancement for each 100 "levels". But i bet that's going to be in your next report, so i look forward to reading it.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
This is very clearly not a review. Also, what does this comment actually lend to a conversation about this article?
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
This is very clearly not a review. Also, what does this comment actually lend to a conversation about this article?
Did you read the first part? This site is the only one that has such a frothing for this game, one way or the other. If it was truly and overview, there would be no opinion in it, just facts about it and game play. This is a review, a review of the game, its controversy peeperd with his personal views and definitions.
I didn't say it was bad.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I remember when Ultima online got released, 10x worse than darkfall currently is, and it had even less features.
sure over 10 YEARS they added alot, lets hope over the next 10 years, aventurine adds the same amount.
though i will be surprised if darkfall will ever get to the fluff levels UO currently sits at.
Well, I think I'm pretty clear about what is and what is not a review on my own site. Every opinion piece is not a review. it's really that simple.
So, this site, you say, is the only one that's interested in this game? A) I disagree and
well, given that it's an article on this site, I'd say it's well placed.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
It was also the first of it kind, The darkfall Developers have had a precedent to work off of. Darkfall took failed systems that games of the like have removed, due to REALITY and experiences of the effects.
Darkfall is like a list of all the things wrong from the first generation of MMO make into a feature list, and touted as "Revolutionary".
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
Well, I think I'm pretty clear about what is and what is not a review on my own site. Every opinion piece is not a review. it's really that simple.
So, this site, you say, is the only one that's interested in this game? A) I disagree and
well, given that it's an article on this site, I'd say it's well placed.
Other sites report (Patch notes, and Drama pices), yes, but I was referring to your user base. This site is the only one where the user base has been rather concerned with this game (Mostly due to trolling, and outrageous claims by its fans, and Moderators and other representatives of the game and its company coming here and hyping) , the rest...don't really care. So, calling it the most talked about game in history,...uh...maybe on this sites forums, sure.
You can call it an overview all you want. You already have an overview, its under the overview tab. This is still a well written pice, and i look forward tot he rest. This doesn't mean i am required to agree with any part of it.
EDIT: Sorry for the double post, but until you get the forums fixed, that's they way it is.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
While I find it partially lame to post notes on my own article, I must say this is exactly what I was talking about in my overview. The emotions that are expressed so frequently about this game still run rampant, even after the limited release. The simple word "Darkfall" seems to have the ability
That being said, I don't feel that comparing this game's forums, or site in general can really be compared to any other. Why you may ask? Well thats very simple. This site has over 1 million members. Show me another MMORPG dedicated site that can even come close to touching this. People graviate towards the best, its that simple. This site has been the leading site for mmorpg related news for years, and will continue to be for years to come. I chose to write here for that very reason.
Simply put, if its the most talked about mmorpg in recent history on mmorpg.com, then its the most talked about mmorpg in recent history period.
And for those of you that feel both sides will not get a fair shake during my 10 part overview process, wait until you read the next part which is exclusively dedicated to the current negative aspects of Darkfall Online.
The contents of this post do not necessarily reflect the views of MMORPG.com and its management.
-Rogan Blackheart
"For all intents and purposes one could consider this game the natural evolution of the game that started it all."
The word is "devolution". UO had a far better skill system, features and gameplay than this game does at this stage.
"Monsters are fairly crafty in their AI. They get very difficult very quickly. It is not so easy to amass and farm hordes of gold."
The NPC AI in this game is dumber than doornails, creatures get stuck on everything. As to amassing gold it is evidently quite easy, get one of the many cheat programs out there and farm away. It seems the chances of getting caught are quite slim. Some of the guilds even require use of some of them. You really don't have to worry much about the NPC creatures either they are few and far between. Exploring is no challenge whatsoever.
I am surprised that MMORPG are giving so much coverage to DF? A 10 part article for a game that has what 10k registered users...perhaps 20k? The reason that the game has a certain level of interest is like SB, Vanguard, D&L, AoC before it, nuch was promised (though largely not delivered). AV still promulgate a bunch of lies about the game the website is woefully inacurate claiming stuff that does not exist. The way things are run are opaque and confused. Tasos continues to spout the 'we are fixing it, but everything is OK really and dosent need fixing BS'. The reason that there is such a furore is that people are insensed that companies like Faralan, Sigil and now Adventurine practice business in a way that in many industries would be concidered borderline criminal.
Lets hope one of the few up and coming skill based 'sandbox' games deliver. In the meantime I hope you guys enjoy DF (I guess you must be if you are going to write 10 articles) which by any objective measure is a pale shadow of what it could have been and what it should have been and what AV are still in fact claiming it is.
You, being a representative of the critical world outside the mmorpg.com bubble, being in here putting some serious effort into not caring?
Someone please explain this phenomenon to me.
I've played morps since muds and I can't remember seeing a game that had such a host of devoted "followers" before that neither played nor liked the idea of the game.
If mmorpgs are art, then the nature of the response it gets is not the measure of it's success. It's the volume and intensity of the response, postiive or negative, that tells us if it's important or not. Right?
For a game that has what? 25,000 subscribers? It certaintly does seem to get an inordinate amount of attention here. I can't recall a relatively known mmorpg releasing to such staggeringly low numbers. Yet every few days there is some sort of Darkfall update.
i agree...outside of mmorpg.com and darkfall forums...noone has really heard of this game.
and most talked about game in history? HARDLY.
AoC, WAR, SWG (especially at the NGE), and maybe wow have a ton more history , posts, and "talk" then darkfall has.
Not sure you are being fair about your postings, Blood.
You claim only so many care about Darkfall here and this is the only place people show interest. But if someone was to check your post history, I bet you probably have 500 postings on the Darkfall threads, all negative. Now the negative part isn't really important as everyone has a right to post their mind I say. It's the fact that you've posted THAT many times daily on a game you say "no one cares about". Right now you aren't interested in playing it, but you post as much as you do there shows you DO have quite an interest in Darkfall. I would say the trolls on the forums here have more of an actual interest in Darkfall than the fanbois do, although for a different reason altogether. (not calling you a troll)
There also aren't tons of sites following EVE or similar games that do okay, so it's not a fair assessment to say since there aren't five or six sites following Darkfall, no one cares about it at all. Half the trolls on their forums and here show you that you are wrong about that one. There's probably a 4-1 ratio of troll to fanboy.
About the edits: I wouldn't blame it all on the double postings. Your first post was a one line post that you got rebuffed on. Then you went back and altered it way AFTER it was responded to to make it look less "snarky" and you actually were commenting on the substance of the link. Again, its quite ironic to claim there is little interest in Darkfall when you yourself follow everything about the game so closely.
"TO MICHAEL!"
UO sucked for its first year...I started playing it during early beta when it was still level based with MUD style character achievement. Only thing that saved UO was the fact there was no real competition when it released, if it was released now in the shape it was then, it would do worse than DF
not trying to discredit anyone, but it's obvious that favortism is being shown in the article.
And do you REALLY beleive that Darkfall is the MOST talked about game on this forum in history? apparantly you were not here at the SWG:NGE inception............
I agree it's probably synonymous with people curious to see a car wreck. Also it is a quiet mmorpg season and not a lot else to write about. Still, we have games like Mortal Online who started accepting beta invites a few weeks ago and there was no mention whatsoever, despite it being a top 3 game listed here.
However on top of all the Paragus articles(which come on, are quite biased), we are now going to get an additional 10?
Is there anyone out there who is even slightly curious on the state of the game? I think everyone knows quite clearly by now. If anything, I'd love to see an actual review and mmorpg.com's impressions on how this game stacks up to other titles.
total agree with this post. You hit the nail on the head. If it wasn't the saturation of articles, i think i could pretty much care less.
The only review you need to write is this:
Darkfall is a pile of garbage created by individuals with the competence and common sense level of monkeys who had no business and still have no business building or trying to build a MMORPG.
not trying to discredit anyone, but it's obvious that favortism is being shown in the article.
And do you REALLY beleive that Darkfall is the MOST talked about game on this forum in history? apparantly you were not here at the SWG:NGE inception............
Heck no I dont think its the most talked about game in history.....but here's the hitch:
Conan, Star Wars galaxies, Warcraft - do you see the names here? huge names, even a POS game with those names on it would have 100k buyers.....that name brings "talking about" on forums and RL......DF never had that
Darkfall never advertised, never had a publisher (like SOE or EA) to come show off the game. This is the most talked about game that no one's ever heard of, simple. If they had the advertising support of Age of Conan that was talked about in the biggest gaming magazines, on TV and crap, then everyone including blizzard would pay attention, its just so different than the norm.
So yes, in the mmorpg world DF is a wonder, without a name and history/lore like the above titles, without any advertising whatsoever, just from you and me arguing even WOW and AoC fans know about it, hell Bodybuilding.com forums users were arguing about it....thats as far from gaming world that you can get.
Can you learn and master all skills in the game with your one avatar, and if not are you able to drop some skills to learn or advance in others? Being able to learn everything and max every skill would be one example of freedom in developing your character. Is that present in this game? Precu SWG used a skill based point system but there was a max on the points.
Also I read that you only get one character per account? Is that true? If you can learn and master every skill that wouldn't be such a huge drawback, but it does limit one's roleplay possibilities. I usually like to have one female and one male avatar.
And lastly, it's kind of tiring these wierd releases lately. I wanted to play Aion, Spellborn and maybe try this game. But they are released in some places and not others it seems. If it's released I just want to walk into a store and pick up a box. I'm tired of hearing about games that are released but not really.
not trying to discredit anyone, but it's obvious that favortism is being shown in the article.
And do you REALLY beleive that Darkfall is the MOST talked about game on this forum in history? apparantly you were not here at the SWG:NGE inception............
Heck no I dont think its the most talked about game in history.....but here's the hitch:
Conan, Star Wars galaxies, Warcraft - do you see the names here? huge names, even a POS game with those names on it would have 100k buyers.....that name brings "talking about" on forums and RL......DF never had that
Darkfall never advertised, never had a publisher (like SOE or EA) to come show off the game. This is the most talked about game that no one's ever heard of, simple. If they had the advertising support of Age of Conan that was talked about in the biggest gaming magazines, on TV and crap, then everyone including blizzard would pay attention, its just so different than the norm.
So yes, in the mmorpg world DF is a wonder, without a name and history/lore like the above titles, without any advertising whatsoever, just from you and me arguing even WOW and AoC fans know about it, hell Bodybuilding.com forums users were arguing about it....thats as far from gaming world that you can get.
Soo then you agree with me when the author of the article stated it was the most talked about game in mmorpg history....just in a very long version lol
You know it amazes me that people feel the need to pass such comments on this article.
There are undoubtably some people in MMORPG's community that are interested in Darkfall. Why they are interested is irrelevent the simple fact is that they are. Articles like this are also of interest to people like myself who are looking for something new to check out. I'd rather read through an informative insider article about the game and make my OWN judgements based upon it. Soon I will be able to determine whether I should even waste my time with the game or not.
So these articles have a purpose for me and I am sure many others. Whether you like the game or not as a reader should not be justification for you coming on the forum to attack the article itself.
[Mod Edit]