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Old  06-15-2006, 04:34 PM         #1
Tasos
Darkfall Developer
 
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Join Date: Jan 2003
   
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Hi

I’d like to talk a bit about the recent updates we’ve been putting out, and what they’re all about.

Interviews and features, where we talk about things we’ve talked about before, are targeted towards an audience that might not follow Darkfall very closely and may not know everything there is to know about the game. There will be many of these features and they're introductory to Darkfall. Even so, we always make a point to include new information, and to expand on old information. There’s no reason to get annoyed or disappointed. Darkfall is a massive competitive game, and you need a lot of people playing it. The best thing you could do to start enhancing your Darkfall experience right now, is to go out and spread the word about the game, and embrace new people with a “bring it on attitude” rather than having introversion within the community.

For the discriminating Darkfall connoisseur, we offer the weekly Darkfall Warcry Q&A, and there are more features forthcoming. These are targeted to a much smaller audience pre-launch, but in due time this audience will become the Darkfall playerbase.

Unfortunately, there was speculation on this screenshot being "enhanced". We’ve told you many times that we don’t do that but since that's not enough for some people, here's some in-game footage.


Enjoy, and thanks for reading
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Last edited by Tasos : 06-15-2006 at 07:00 PM.

http://files.darkfallonline.com/deathpig.avi

I have hoped, for the last 15-20 years or however long it's been in development, that Darkfall actually makes it though and gets released.  It sounds like it could be such good fun.

Unfortunately, there was speculation on this screenshot being "enhanced". We’ve told you many times that we don’t do that but since that's not enough for some people, here's some in-game footage.

I have hoped, for the last 15-20 years or however long it's been in development, that Darkfall actually makes it though and gets released.  It sounds like it could be such good fun.  I don't think it's a scam, such as Mourning, or even a crazy mish mosh of broken strung together code with all but a couple of features being thrown in at the last moment like DnL.  Although, never having seen the game or really know anyone who has, I can't be certain.  It could be both those things.   I think it might just be a big, huge endeavour that's really, really harder to realise than they thought it would be.  Unfortunately, making MMOs seems to get harder with time, not easier, especially for small development teames without an SOE or NCsoft behind them.   If this game actually ever gets released I will, 1. Be shocked and 2. Give it a fair try.  Hopefully in that order!  I mean, look at Wish.  It died and got resurrected as Irth Online.  I would have SO stayed in my grave!

It was originally supposed to get a sweaty mind-blowing release on the Difference Engine, but the pigeons carrying packets of punch cards kept failing to make it to their destinations.  Packet loss, you see.  Larf.

http://files.darkfallonline.com/deathpig.avi

June 20, 2006 - Darkfall is a fantasy online world in development at Aventurine, a Greek-based company that absorbed the originator of the project, a Norwegian team called Razorwax, and has advanced it to the stage where preparations are currently being made to begin beta. Set in a world known as Agon, it features six playable races. Humans, Dwarves and the elven Mirdain maintain generally friendly terms among themselves, while Orks and the wolf-like Mahirim, although not quite so amicable, usually aren't hostile to each other. The same cannot be said of the Alfar, pale outcasts who openly loathe all but their own kind.

The character development system is intended to allow for a high degree of customization, offering a vast array of skills and spells. The objective, an appealing one to many observers, is to make it possible for players to follow virtually any type of career path they might want, becoming a de facto explorer, hunter, mercenary, smith, magician, fisherman or almost anything else by making the appropriate choices, with optional prestige classes such as Paladin, Assassin, Gladiator, Enchanter also available. All will adventure in an environment that differs from most others in its clearly stated emphasis on player vs. player combat.

Includes two exclusive screenshots


Populating the Darkfall World

In last week's feature we talked about the handcrafting of the Darkfall terrain. What we ended up with after that task was completed was a huge and uniquely featured world that we had already planned to pack with organized content.

    Evidence of an ancient civilization is present all over the map, and this is a very important and actively developing part of the gameworld. Various NPC cultures can also be found inhabiting far-flung regions

As with the crafting of the terrain, populating the world had been planned and mapped out in great detail, trying to take into account every possible variable. Everything is connected and serves a purpose, and nothing is randomly thrown into the game. This time, we'll take a look at some of the most important of these variables.

The players and player clans are obviously the most important element of Darkfall. The game is built around them. We wanted the players to have a gameworld where they would be engaged, challenged and entertained on many different levels. Darkfall has been designed so there is a climax in anything you do, even if you're just exploring or killing goblins. We also strove to create a balanced playing field, since much of the entertainment is going to come from clan warfare and PvP combat.

 

Darkfall's six unique races have their own culture and architecture, and this amounts to thousands of unique items and structures associated with each race that are placed in the world. Racial capitals and starting villages are some of the main gathering points in the game, and extra care was taken in creating them. There are special, epic in size main dungeons for each race, along with all the others in each region.

Racial enemy cultures have their own controlled territories, cities, forts, outposts and dungeons. There are organizations active within each kingdom with their own infrastructures, networks of NPCs and headquarters. Last but not least, clan-controlled areas occupy the majority of the area in each realm. Clanstones are placed in interestingly designed strategic areas near which clans can chose to build their cities.

Darkfall features more unique monster types than any other game out there. Monsters are distributed by area, by habitat, and some are connected to the races. They have their own unique architecture, villages, houses, camps, forts etc. Their spawns are dynamic, and display great variations in composition, equipment, tactics, and attitude depending on a number of factors. A certain monster type may dominate an area, but there are also contested areas where monster types compete against each other. Their spawns are not random; spawn points are selected by hand, and the spawns are connected to form huge adventure areas.

You can look at these as open-air adventures and they are an alternative for players that don't necessarily enjoy traditional questing. Players will realize that everything is connected, so they can reach their goals through many different paths. These areas make adventuring a lot of fun, and they engage the players in a lot more than the usual wiping random spawns out and moving to the next. Darkfall's real-time combat system, advanced monster AI, dynamic spawning, and interconnected adventure areas make for a uniquely challenging player vs. environment experience.

 

Resources are also carefully placed and balanced since they can be player- and clan-dominated and controlled. Players can travel between towns, villages, resources and points of interest on roads, paths and waterways, and establish their trade routes.

Evidence of an ancient civilization is present all over the map, and this is a very important and actively developing part of the gameworld. Various NPC cultures can also be found inhabiting far-flung regions of the world, from where they can promote their own agendas.

Darkfall's content and its evolution were meticulously planned and mapped out ahead on a grand level, and it needed to be for a dynamically balanced game. It's impossible to get the uniqueness and variety you find in the Darkfall experience by making it up as you go along or by patching it in.

We've managed to touch on only a few of the main ingredients that make up the content in Darkfall's world. We look forward on elaborating in subsequent articles here on RPG Vault.

I did miss that.  I totally did not see the scroll down thingamabooby.  Sorry and yes, that is exactly what I look like.  Down to the last pixel.   :roll:

I did miss that.  I totally did not see the scroll down thingamabooby.  Sorry and yes, that is exactly what I look like.  Down to the last pixel.   :roll:

I read this one and there have been a few of these previews around, but what's the point?  They all say the same thing but I have yet to see the game, nor do I know anyone who has fiddled with it or seen it fiddled with.  There is still no beta, that I know of.  There is only the same information, over and over again.  I don't know if something has just gone horrible pear shaped or if they're just stringing us along so they can find a buyer or something... or maybe they're just slow.  Dunno.  Getting to the point where it's not really worth following anymore.  Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky like Ironwood. 

Anyway, I suppose we'll see... or maybe not see.  I firmly believe, however, that Norwegians shouldn't mix with greeks humans.  Nothing happy  has ever come of it.  They'll just drink your vodka and steal your women.

Is it wrong if I'm a fan of WUA Subliminal Vision?

Is it wrong if I'm a fan of WUA Subliminal Vision?

Why do that to yourself?  It only means you'll miss him after I hammer a railroad spike through his head.  I don't want to be responsible for your moment of unhappiness, Wolf.

I read this one and there have been a few of these previews around, but what's the point?  They all say the same thing but I have yet to see the game, nor do I know anyone who has fiddled with it or seen it fiddled with.  There is still no beta, that I know of.  There is only the same information, over and over again.  I don't know if something has just gone horrible pear shaped or if they're just stringing us along so they can find a buyer or something... or maybe they're just slow.  Dunno.  Getting to the point where it's not really worth following anymore.  Maybe I'm just getting old and cranky like Ironwood. 

Anyway, I suppose we'll see... or maybe not see.  I firmly believe, however, that Norwegians shouldn't mix with greeks humans.  Nothing happy  has ever come of it.  They'll just drink your vodka and steal your women.

Mounted Combat in Darkfall

In this series of articles on RPG Vault, we take a look at what features make Darkfall stand out in the MMOG landscape. This time, we'll talk about mounts and mounted combat.

    We put a lot of hard work and resources into the design and implementation of mounted combat, but we're happy to say that it was totally worth it. It works, looks, and feels great.

One of the major items on our wish lists as players of other games was horses. So, many of us had been asking for this feature from our favorite games for years. Unfortunately, most MMOGs don't have mounts, or they've added mounts with very limited capabilities that don't go beyond transportation. True mounted combat doesn't exist in any MMOG today.

 

Darkfall's basic racial mounts are widely available, and can be purchased from NPC merchants. Any player can own as many of these mounts as he can afford. In Darkfall, mounts are fully controllable by the player. Character control is maintained while riding; the character can equip items, attack, look around, etc. The player's riding skill affects the mounted maneuverability, mounted combat effectiveness, as well as movement speed to a lesser extent.

Mounts can be stored safely after use, but they can be taken over if left unattended, or when the rider is killed. Mounts will take damage, slowly regenerate their health, and they can also be killed. There are running and walking mode, and they can also jump and swim. Armored mounts and a taming skill are features under consideration.

 

Mounts can be used for transportation of players, transportation of goods, strategic and tactical mobility, as cover, and of course, for combat. Cavalry and mounted units can be used for reconnaissance and scouting, in shock force tactics, frontal assaults and charges, flanking maneuvers, pursuit of scattered and fleeing enemies, in raiding and hit and run tactics, breaking through or going over enemy lines and formations - and much more.

The mount gives the rider several obvious advantages in combat. The higher position and the movement speed make him harder to hit, and the mount will also attack the target along with the rider in static attacks. Drawbacks include lesser maneuverability for the mounted player, difficulty fighting and maneuvering on some terrain, as well as fewer attack options. At the moment, mounted combat is limited to melee weapon strikes along with the mount's own attacks. The player needs to dismount to use ranged attacks. Also using them while mounted is under consideration for balancing issues. We are also working on balancing possible charge bonuses, and a mounted pushing advantage versus characters on foot.

 

Darkfall features racial mounts for all the races except for the Mahirim. This is because the Mahirim use a mounted mode of their own, and can run on all fours as fast as the other racial mounts. The mounts featured in Darkfall are the Human Mercian Warhorse, the Mirdain Aerdin Cat, The Alfar Shulgan Drake, the Dwarven Garmir, and the Orkish Death Pig. All races, including the Mahirim are capable of riding any of the racial mounts. There are several interesting mount variations for each racial mount type.

Something else that we like about mounts and mounted combat in Darkfall is the immersion and excitement they add to the game. It feels great riding alongside of your friends, charging the enemy, mowing down a fleeing opponent, or unhorsing a rider and watching his mount run away without him.

 

Mounted combat adds another layer to Darkfall's unique real-time combat experience. We put a lot of hard work and resources into the design and implementation of mounted combat, but we're happy to say that it was totally worth it. It works, looks, and feels great. We believe that the Darkfall players are going to love this feature as much as we do, and that it will considerably enhance their gameplay experience.

The screenshots show dwarves, humans, and orks in mounted combat near an outpost in the Mahirim lands. You can see three different mounts in the scenes - the Mercian Warhorse, the orkish Death Pig, and the Dwarven Garmir.

Tasos Flambouras
Associate Producer, Darkfall
Aventurine

Now when I read things like this I just think "Cool. Now in which of a thousand ways will they screw it?"

No comment.

Fucking hell, you two are really reminding me of geldon.