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Sneek Peek #23 at IGN. Mounted Combat (with screenshots and a dwarf wearing odd boots).

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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

When I was young, I used to read things like this and honestly think: "it's so cool! There's NO WAY they can screw it! I am so gonna buy it!"
With time, I changed. Now when I read things like this I just think "Cool. Now in which of a thousand ways will they screw it?"