Darkfall Online RULES

[Ammon777]

Okey im a rabid fanboy of Darkfall Online.

Ive waited for the game for 5 years because it is the best game ever. Its my number one game.

Although it is open PvP, dont sell the game short for allowing unrestricted PvP. It is actually based on a system of player reputation, clan politics and clan warfare, racial warfare, and most importantly the game has player accountability built into it.

However, none of those things stop you from doing something. The biggest thing about Darkfall is that it offers virtually unlimited player freedom. There are no levels or classes. You choose what you want to do and you (the player) get to customize your character's spells and skills endlessly without gimping yourself.

There is just so much good stuff in Darkfall that you would really need to go to the website and join the forums. Beta will be soon, maybe this year.

And Darkfall Online is NOT vaporware. Its been in full production only 3 years. Two years before that it was still being designed by 4 guys in a basement. But theyve had a website for 5 years and ive observed the game for 5 years. I was playing Asherons Call (the first one) at the time that i discovered Darkfall.

Darkfall will be a great game for me. Here is the link, go read the FAQ, and dont post on the forums until youve read the FAQ unless you want to get flamed.

www.darkfallonline.com

:)

The game is approaching beta. It is not released yet.

edit -- Forgot to mention that there is land ownership and housing where the clans (guilds) actually own and patrol lands and resources (like ore mines). And there is clan warfare where you can fight another clan for its towns. You can hire NPC guards to protect your house and your town. NPC guards can be equipped with any items you can afford to place on them and they can be told to patrol the town or other area. And NPCs can be hired to follow you around and help you or fish all day at a river to collect fish for you, ect... Fun stuff.

Also this game can be somewhat compared to Shadowbane and Ultima Online. I say its a mix of those two plus a lot of better stuff with way better graphics and more player accountability.

Also there are no levels and no grinding. Just go read the FAQ.

[Ammon777]

Oh and Darkfall has the biggest world ever created for an MMORPG game. The devs said it would take you more than 12 hours to cross the worldscape if there was nothing in the way. Thats huge.

edit -- And it has alternate planes of existence, HUNDREDS of dungeons/caves, plus an entire UNDERWORLD kinda like the Underdark that spans the entire world. And there are hundreds of islands that you can set up your secret headquarters on or just a hidden house ect.

First thing im gonna do when it releases is probably buy/build a house in the human capital city since capital cities will be the best guarded places. Even then i would have lock my house always and place magic traps on stuff against thieves. But would be best to put in a capital city of my race since i wouldnt have to hire as many guards because capital city is very, very highly guarded and protected against thieves and enemies.

I cant wait for beta!

[Ammon777]

Here is a map of Agon, the Darkfall Online world. Each major area is homeland to the races.

Mercia = Human homelands; allied to Elves and neutral to Dwarves; enemies of Orcs, Wolfmen, and Dark Elves

Nagast = Dark Elf (Alfar) homelands; enemy to everyone except Alfar

Mirendil = Elves (Mirdain) homeland; allied to Humans and neutral to Dwarves; enemies of Dark Elves, Wolfmen, and Orcs

Tribelands = Wolfmen homeland; allied to Orcs; enemies to Humans, Dwarves, and Elves, and Dark Elves

Dvergheim = Dwarf homeland; allied to Humans, neutral to Elves; enemy to Orcs, Wolfmen, and Alfar (Dark Elves)

Morak = Orcs homeland; allied to Wolfmen; enemy to Humans, Dwarves, and Elves, and Dark Elves

http://premium1.uploadit.org/Ammon777//DARKFALL_MAP_OF_AGON.jpg

[Melvil]

From what I read on the main page and from what you've written here it sounds like everything I wanted Shadowbane to be. I enjoyed that game, but was turned away eventually by the lack of things to do beyond defense of the city.

Thanks for the info.

[Ammon777]

Youre welcome!

[Ammon777]

Biggest differences between Darkfall and Shadowbane is that in SB when you lost your town it was so bad. It would take months to build a town that can be destroyed in a few hours. Most of the losers quit the game (SB) after losing months of work. Frankly, that wont ever happen in Darkfall due to major design differences.

In Darkfall, people cant destroy the entire town, they actually take it over instead. It is harder to take over a town, the defenders have more advantages.

Also, there isnt such a bad consequence, if you lose your town you can regroup and try to take it back.

And it takes DAYS to fight for a town, a war over a township will be spread out over perhaps a week (several days, at least), so you wont log into the game one morning and find you dont have a town and your house was ransacked. It takes several successful battles to secure a town from your enemy.

The combat in Darkfall is also quite different than Shadowbane. There is full character body collision, so zergs will not be effective against a town. A much smaller force, if more tactically skilled than the zerg, can overcome and kill the entire zerg. It wouldnt be easy, but its possible.

There will be no flying, so castle walls actually have meaning.

Theres so much more to the game, you would have to read dozens of interviews to get the entire features.

:)

edit -- and the world size is huge; besides that, teleportation is done with expensive, rare rune-stones and takes 10 minutes to activate. Teleportation will be rare and wont be prevalent as in Shadowbane. Distances will actually have meaning. Different areas of the world will have different cultures because the world is so large. And also there will be 10,000 players concurrently logged into each server. Keep in mind that the world will be humungus.

[Illuvatar]

I'm also interested in this game for some time now. Played DaoC and WoW for quite some time, but I really want a pvp mmorpg like Darkfall to come out. The only thing that concerns me is the development time. Aventurine is working on Darkfall Online for 5 years now? They moved from Norway to Greece, and lots of things changed during the process.

Now this is quite normal for a developer's first game, espescially if you take in account their tight budget and small team. But we all know the other mmorpg's that promised the world and failed to deliver (Mourning, Dark & Light, Roma Victor). I really want this game to succeed and not to end up as vaporware. This is the only title that I know off that promises open pvp, full loot, etc.

[Ammon777]

Glad to meet you. Its been in full-steam development for 3 years. Before that they were in Norway with 4 people working on it for 2 years, mostly doing backend work and designing. They started out with excellent server technology that they built the game around, not the other way around. The problem is that they put up the website far too early. They didnt hire a full team until 3 years ago. Not much changed from Norway to Greece except location and that they hired more developers. The original 4 developers (lead designers and programmer leads) are the same people. They moved to Greece because it has cheaper living situation. The company Aventurine absorbed the 4 developers (Razorwax). Nothing else changed regarding the project itself and its designs.

About funding: since the company Aventurine is a military contractor that has loads of money, the Darkfall project has terrific financial backing. They said they could self-publish the game internationally if they dont secure a publisher by the time it releases.

They are taking it slow through development to get things right. Theyve said that they want beta to be almost the full game, that means we have a little while more to wait before beta begins. Actually, since its only been 3 years in full-swing development, im surprised theyve gotten so much done. Im also cheered by the screenshots, they have improved a ton. Also, for nearly 3 years they didnt talk much at all, they have such intense schedules and dont have a "community manager" or anybody like that. A lot of people declared "vaporware" but ive always kept the faith based on what i know about the developers and their vision for Darkfall.

Think about it, Darkfall is the biggest and most innovative PvP game ive ever heard about. If they get in everything they plan on getting into it, this game will reign its niche space for many years. I believe they will get everything in that they can. I also know that theyre preparing for beta testing right now. Im pretty excited.

I dont know why you say "lots of things changed in the process" because hardly anything actually changed. The project is the same game with the same designs and vision, made by the same developers. Where-ever you got that information, was a false source and they should be corrected (or slapped).

I see your concern for the development time; but like ive said, it hasnt really been that long that its been in full development. I think it will be a full year from now that it will finally release, but im willing to wait as long as it takes.

Theyve said they will have a long, fun beta, and everyone that wants to try Darkfall will be able to try it during beta (sooner or later). So even if it doesnt release within a year, i am hopeful that we will be playing beta within that timeframe.

Keep in mind that World of Warcraft took 5 years of full development time.

[Illuvatar]

Thanks for your reply!

I'm really looking forward to the beta, hopefully it will give me the same feeling as DaoC's open beta gave me all those year's ago.

Exploring a new world, where you constantly need to look out for possible dangers. Where you can't instantly trust other players, because they will be able to stab you in the back if you don't watch out, and loot all your stuff!

Mounted combat, where one needs to aim manually, instead of letting the statistics do all the work. Ambushing unaware players with your friends, or demanding toll for passage. I honestly can't wait to play it!

[Ammon777]

Same here. I really dig the game because its realistic. Like the real world, you cant trust everybody, and there will always be enemies. Enemy races (Wolfmen, Orcs, and Dark Elves since im gonna play a Human), clan enemies (clans can declare war on each other), player-killers that have negative alignment, and thats all besides the hordes of creatures in the game. Its also realistic in that when you kill something, it drops everything it has thats believable. You wont find a warhammer on a deer, you will find meat and skin. Goblin NPCs will drop whatever they were fighting you with. If the goblin has a small shield and a dagger, thats what drops into its corpse when you kill it. Same thing with players, the entire backpack drops when you kill a player.

Some people get scared away when i mention "full-loot." Seriously, in a game like World of Warcraft, full-loot would freakin suck. What they dont understand is that in Darkfall, items are far less important and far more easily available than most other games. Items will matter somewhat, but not enough to stress over losing uber gear. Because in Darkfall, there is no uber gear at all. There is better stuff, but its not uber.

Anyway, ya, im really looking forward to beta too. Ive been waiting 5 years. :)

First thing im gonna do when i enter beta:

/Ammon kneels and kisses the ground

[Illuvatar]

Hehe, indeed. The first thing i'll do when logging on for the first time is attack the first person I see with the first weapon that's available to me! Just because I can!

Wow, that's alot of firsts. :)

No seriously, I'm gonna enjoy myself so much when this game goes live...I'll take 2 weeks off from work if I know a release / beta date.

[msoltyspl]

I've been "passively" following DF since like '03. I'm not a fanboi, although I advocate it in different places. And I hope it won't be half finished disappointment like pretty much every other mmo from last few years.

[Ammon777]

Okey so I'm still waiting for DFO beta. However, it does seem to be a lot nearer according to Dev Journal #6 at Warcry.

[ThatGuy]

The idea behind it sounds great, player reputation sounds like a good idea.

Maybe I'm taking your posts out of context, but it sounds like they're really going for "everything" with this one, hopefully they don't overdo it trying to do it all though.

Can't say I've always been a fan of pvp, but it ususally balances things out, so hopefully it'll work in Darkfall's favor, probably will with no classes.

Some of the people I see pvping kinda irk me, though your definetly a fresh and good surprise, but the people ( one guy in particular) who advocated this game REALLY hurt it's player reputation over on the AoC forums, but the way you put it, I might have to give this one a try, as long as there isn't some cheesey way to go and kill your fellow country/town folk with no repercussion from local law.

Thanks for the info.

[titus]

I read all this and took a view on the site, it seems interesting. Does anyone know when Beta will be released?

[Ammon777]

@ThatGuy -- You should know that my personality style represents a bunch of PvPers that will play Darkfall. We like adventure with our PvP, not just endless ganking. Some of the people that PvP think they are all elite and stuff. I dont let them bother me, since I dont care for their opinions or ways. You gotta realize that they dont represent the entire Darkfall playerbase-to-be. There will be many more people like myself that play Darkfall for the entire experience and who have interests beyond griefing. Will Darkfall have griefers? Yeah, but most outlaws will also be hunted by people like myself and by everyone else. Reputation system is designed to thwart griefers and evil players. Darkfall is clan-based warfare, not griefer-based warfare. A lot of the people on Darkfall boards are MISTAKEN in that they expect themselves to own everyone else and grief everyone, while the real design of the game actually very much discourages those things. They are the people hailing from pre-Tramel Ultima Online when there was no consequences for ganking indescriminately. They seem to believe Darkfall will be the same; but they are mistaken. It seems those types of people havent studied the FAQ and game's design, because they arent taking into account the reputation system and the fact that the majority of PvPing will be done clan versus clan (guild warfare) over land ownership (which is what I am interested in doing). Put simply: I will kill any red player that I encounter because they are griefers and outlaws. I will also fight my enemies. But I am honorable enough not to gank in any griefing sort of way. The griefers in Darkfall, despite what the Darkfall forum seems to show, are going to a minority due to Darkfall's design. I've read everything about Darkfall since I first heard about it in 2001 or 2002, so I know what I'm talking about. :) My advise is not let ANYONE irk you in-game at all. My personal trick is to dis-associate myself and instead of getting angry or frustrated (like I used to do a lot), nowadays I look at getting ganked in PvP as a learning experience that helps me do better next time and hopefully become more aware of my in-game surroundings. I disassociate the event enough so that I do not let myself get all mad. If I get mad about it everytime I would quit. I dont wanna quit because these games are the best out there. It took myself some time to get myself to do it, but now when something bad happens, I actually let out a laugh instead of a curse-word. Even when some dipshit is being a jerk, I just let it go and dont think about it anymore. Because, basically, I dont give a crap what anybody else thinks or does.

There are a lot of IDIOTS that advocate Darkfall soley for its PvP aspects. They are so-called "hardcore PvPers" and say they are "griefers," ect... I ignore them, for the most part, because they dont represent the majority of potential Darkfall players. Most people that play Darkfall will be the same people that play other MMORPGs, so its a mixed bag. You will get jerks and you will get cool people. Its the same in all MMOs due to their being social games.

Also, there WILL be local law enforcement in Darkfall enforced by the players and NPC guards. You have to take into account all aspects of Darkfalls known design to understand its ramifications upon griefing players. I can tell you that clans will own lands and towns and will enforce it with hired NPC town guards, custom rulesets governing those guards and everyone in the town, as well as protecting their assets: resource assets like ore mines, lumberyards, and the town itself. NPC guards can be commanded to patrol areas outside of towns. You can hire as many NPCs as the clan can afford. You can even command NPCs to guard your house. There will be different laws in different areas according to whoever owns the area and also depending on factors like your race and your reputation (which is like alignment). Also keep in mind there are racial wars so not all areas will be friendly to your race. Like going into Orc areas is dangerous for Humans.

@titus -- There is no known date for beta. My best guess is October-November 2007.

[Ammon777]

as long as there isn't some cheesey way to go and kill your fellow country/town folk with no repercussion from local law.
No, theres a reputation system that marks you down a slot if you kill players of your own race. So like if a human kills a human unprovoked, he gets an alignment hit. But if you are attacked first and defend yourself, then you dont take alignment hit. The aggressor takes the alignment hit. Although anyone can attack anyone else.

If you kill enough people as the aggressor then you become "red" which means you are an outlaw and everyone that isnt outlaw can attack you freely and will take a positive alignment if they kill you. So people are rewarded when they kill griefers.

Which also means that griefers will be hunted continually and there will, thus, be far less griefers than what PvP-centric gameplay might seem to represent...

You can also put out a bounty on a person that everyone can read on the town's in-game posting forum. The first person to kill the target gets the amount of money you put into the bounty.

Town guard NPCs can be instructed to attack any specific player automatically, and will attack anyone marked as a threat: including clan-enemies and outlaws.

[ThatGuy]

Aren't there elves and a few other fantasy races in this game? I hope they have some sorta racial alliance system in place, maybe even one that fluctuates from time to time, just to spice it up.

But hmm, I'm loving the guard and outlaw system, I'd definetly get on my knees and pay any monthly fee they put up if all the stuff you've mentioned get's put in, but man that's gonna be a pain to keep track of it all I bet.

Sign me up for the PKKers guilds :D

[Ammon777]

Yes, there are Elves called the Mirdain that is a playable race. Theres also dark elves called Alfar, playable race. And theres the wolf-dudes.

Racial alliances are (for all six player races):

Humans friendly to Elves (Mirdain); Dwarves are neutral to Humans & Elves.
Orcs hate Elves, Humans, and Dwarves. Wolf-Dudes hate Elves, Humans, Dwarves.
Wolf-Dudes and Orcs are friendly.
Dark Elves (Alfar) hate everybody except themselves. Dark Elves even hate Orcs.

So if you play a Human, you can walk into a Elven town or a Dwarven town freely without being attacked by guards (provided you have good reputation).

Also about keeping track of stuff. In the game there is a worldmap that is available to everybody. In the worldmap you can see all player towns and you can view there various laws of those towns in relation to you.

I'm gonna be either an Elf or a Human.

Everything will fluctuate because of guild warfare. Even humans will fight other humans if their guilds are at war.

[titus]

I would probably go for a dwarf. I always like the little guys, so little but so dangerous.

[Ammon777]

According to Warcry update from one of the developers, Darkfall beta is supposedly going to be starting summer 2007.

So, without further ado... WOOHOO !!!

(I've only been waiting 5 years for this...)

[Ammon777]

http://df.warcry.com/forums/read/270.42541

[bjon045]

How can you call it the "best game ever" when it hasn't even come out yet?

[txa1265]

How can you call it the "best game ever" when it hasn't even come out yet?

He has proclaimed himself a 'fanboy' ... this means he is impervious to facts or the need for any actual game ;)

[Ammon777]

Why do you troll my thread?

[txa1265]

Why do you troll my thread?

I was just poking fun - I have followed this thread since you started, and am interested to see how things turn out.

But I think bjon045 has a legit question - I was just being a smart alec about it. :)

[Ammon777]

Uhhh ok.

I like Darkfall's design. I havent played the game, but the design is superior and I have confidence that the gameplay will be good due to awesome design abilities of the devs.

[txa1265]

I like Darkfall's design.
That is perfectly reasonable - I don't think anyone is questioning your preference, but I *think* that the question came up when you started talking in absolutes and as if the game was out.

I havent played the game, but the design is superior and I have confidence that the gameplay will be good due to awesome design abilities of the devs.

The questions I have are:
- since the game isn't even in beta yet, what is really known?
- What experience in MMO's have the devs demonstrated to date.

Honestly, without these they need to show that they will be something other than dirt under the wheels of the WoW juggernaut. Look at the NCSoft Auto MMO, City of Heroes / Villains, and Sony's Vanguard ... as well as D&D Online and LOTROnline.

I hope they do well and applaud your enthusiasm - but without actual product everything remains to be proven.

[Ammon777]

I dont find any need to prove anything to anybody. Look, if you two guys have your doubts, then leave my thread alone. I was actually talking to other people looking forward to Darkfall, not to doubters that are looking for proof and looking to argue. I am not interested in arguing...

[Ammon777]

Sorry to sound snappy, I dunno what my prob was that day.

[bjon045]

I wouldn't mind being back in my early 20's when I actually had the time and determination to play MMORPG's, shadowbane and this one sound right up my alley, I loved the ones where you inflicted pain and suffering on your fellow gamers. I always enjoyed looting someones corpse or even looting someones house, i'm sure looting someones city would be equally if not more satisfying.

I've heard that shadowbane suffered from having huge guilds that completely dominate the servers, won't that affect this one too? They need to have area specific servers I think - it is probably nor fair for americans to compete against countries like korea where the clan mentality is so much stronger. It's not that the american players don't have the skills it's just they like to do things on a smaller scale and favour the individual. I heard about one korean clan/guild that had a real life meeting and over 1000 players turned up :lol:

[Ammon777]

No, zergs will be limited due to three important factors:

1) player-to-player body collision: you cannot walk through a player, and you can block another player with your avatar's body; you can also rush and push someone out of the way which is a combat tactic

2) the immense size of the world: local communities form that have land ownership, along with racial warfare, limit certain factors; but more importantly, it takes time to get from one place to another because the world is so large... no instant transportation, it takes planning and organization

3) very strict limitations on teleportation abilities: runes are required that are a) expensive, b) take a long time to cast, c) lootable by anyone & rare, d) must be attuned to the destination beforehand at the destination (attuning taking up to 10 minutes without interruptions), and e) can only teleport one person (the user)

There will be no zergs, really. There will be large battles though. Which will be a blast.

[txa1265]

I'm not a MMO guy, but am really hope that they pull it off - if for no other reason than to satisfy your enthusiasm :)

[Ammon777]

Ahhhhh Thanks! :D

[nameless hero]

I'm curious what the combat will be like.

[Ammon777]

The developers have said it is similar to Mount & Blade, if youve ever played that.

[nameless hero]

sweet! M&B had nice combat!

[Ammon777]

Yup, Darkfall design is the best design for any game I have ever seen. And I've been playing games since Apple IIgs with Ultima 3.

[Geist]

I don't play MMOs - not because I'm principally opposed to the concept, but simply because I have no interest in level grinding and doing mindless repetitive activities. I have to say that Darkfall, at least based on the PR and design ideas, comes pretty close to my conception of the ideal MMO. What especially intrigues me is the potential for politics and diplomacy. Smaller townships will need to ally themselves with others in order to survive. A would-be conquerer could attempt to break alliances through treachery or bribery. Spies and traitors will likely play a significant role. It will also be interesting to see how some of the larger Kingdoms and Empires govern themselves. Will they chose to be democratic, or totalitarian?

I really like the fact that they've taken über items out of the game. I hope they apply the same concept to über characters. Realistically, even a master swordsmen, no matter how skilled, would be in trouble if he were confronted by 3 or 4 assailants in the open field. The Darkfall FAQ stated that there will be a level cap, which I certainly view as a positive thing. The more they curtail the power of the individual, the better (imo). That way, your success in the game will depend on strategy and your ability to build relationships, not on how many hours you spend casting a spell against a tree.

[Ammon777]

There is a cap for skill levels, going from 1 to 100 points for each skill.

Also, you can learn a lot of different skills but there is a soft cap for the total number of points you can have overall.

The devs have said that it slowly gets more difficult to improve other new skills the more you approach the soft cap.

So you can learn all the skills in the game, but it would take you a VERY VERY long time be best at everything. Also, they plan on releasing content updates about every month with new skills, plus regular expansions. So you basically will never be the "best" at everything.

The game is really more focused on player skill, tactics, racial warfare, clan warfare with land ownership, and inter-relationships with other player groups. Which is marked difference from all the EQ-clones out there.

[Ammon777]

sweet! M&B had nice combat!
You can even block manually with shields or two-handed weapon. Effective blocking reduces the amount of damage you will take, as opposed to not having blocked in time.

You can also fight on your mount. You can also have your actual mount do an attack. You can also charge with your mount to displace a line of... say... dwarves. And you can leap over the dwarves on your mount, if you time it right. Although leaping over dwarves isnt very impressive, lol.

[ffbj]

I may be wrong but weren't you a player of AoW? Anyway it sounds very good. Personally I think WoW is pretty bad, but I never got into EQ either. I don't think the best of what can be done in an MMO has been achieved. Maybe Darkfall will do that.

[Ammon777]

What is AoW? Age of Wonders?

I am playing World of Warcraft currently since there's nothing else to play.

[ffbj]

Yes Age of Wonders. Must have been a different Ammon then. I just remember that name.

[Ammon777]

Seems Darkfall comes either 1) end of 2007, or 2) some unknown time in 2008. :-/

Seriously, I am thinking 6 more months before release. Gawd Im hoping.

(Although after waiting 5 years, what is another year? lol.)

[Morticia]

Considering the game is not even in beta(please, correct me if I am wrong), I guess it will be relased next year. Besides, I do hope it won't appear together with AoC or WAR, so that it can appeal to more fans :)

[Ammon777]

Youre right. Its most likely gonna release a while after AoC and WAR. I fully expect to be playing those two games before Darkfall beta.

Also, Darkfall is in closed beta. Everyone that says its "not in beta" is actually just saying its not in an "open beta" that players can play in. Its closed beta population comprises very limited amount of people.

Developers said Darkfall will have a very short open beta (only a couple of months) before it releases.

The day might come around October and open beta might suddenly be announced out of nowhere and Darkfall might actually release before WAR, but I think AoC will release before Darkfall and that Darkfall wont release until sometime in 2008.

[Ammon777]

I am no longer looking forward to Darkfall since the community gave me a bad taste in my mouth. I dont think I will ever go back to play with a bunch of griefing PKers. No thanks.

[txa1265]

I am no longer looking forward to Darkfall since the community gave me a bad taste in my mouth. I dont think I will ever go back to play with a bunch of griefing PKers. No thanks.
This is sad, ironic and ... well, just unfortunate for you. It really sucks to get so amped for a game and then so disappointed.

[Ammon777]

Actually after having cooled-off for a few days, I am re-evaluating my decision. Thing is that I am unsure the extent that Darkfall mechanics will limit griefers because some mechanics exist that will keep them from ruining gameplay, but I am going to do some more research into it and find out before I make a final decision against playing Darkfall. Also, I think I need to grow thicker skin and not allow other players to determine what games I want to play. It should be my own decision. Granted, they were jerks, but the culture of Forumfall might not reflect the in-game culture of Darkfall. I am willing to give it a chance and do some serious research before I blow it off completely.

[txa1265]

Actually after having cooled-off for a few days, I am re-evaluating my decision. Thing is that I am unsure the extent that Darkfall mechanics will limit griefers because some mechanics exist that will keep them from ruining gameplay, but I am going to do some more research into it and find out before I make a final decision against playing Darkfall. Also, I think I need to grow thicker skin and not allow other players to determine what games I want to play. It should be my own decision. Granted, they were jerks, but the culture of Forumfall might not reflect the in-game culture of Darkfall. I am willing to give it a chance and do some serious research before I blow it off completely.

So you were basing that on a FORUM?!?! You really do need a thicker skin :D Just kidding, but some game forums are really nasty!

[xSamhainx]

This thread confuses me seeing as it's all regarding a game that hasnt even been released yet! How could we know if it rules? If it doesnt?

Patience, young padawan(s)

[txa1265]

This thread confuses me seeing as it's all regarding a game that hasnt even been released yet! How could we know if it rules? If it doesnt?

Patience, young padawan(s)

I think that is the thing - Ammon777 is quite young (no offense) and started this because he was quite exuberant about the prospects of the game to be an excellent MMO.

[Ammon777]

Yeah, I know about the game's design, but havent played it yet. It has excellent stated design stuff, but... I also was just as excited about SWG as Darkfall some years ago, and SWG sucks and turned out to be a total failure.

Anyhow, I will find out in beta.

Also, yes I am quite young, mentally. A lot of it has to do with I have schizophrenia, but my appearance even belies my age, I look at least 10 years younger than I really am: I still get carded FOR CIGARETTES. :D

Seriously, every time I walk into a bar in the city, they ask me for proof of age...
I'm 33 years old...

Couple years ago, I didnt have an ID because I lost my driver's license card, and they wouldnt even let me stay in the bar with my friends... :( And I was 30.

And couple years ago, I didnt have an ID and my friends went to the strip bar (you know, gurls nakid). The bastards at the door wouldnt let me in so I sat in the car alone and drank whiskey while my friends got to see nakid gurls... :( And I was 30.

[titus]

I almost feel sorry for you, because i know what it feels like. A good friend of mine was 16 and I was 20. They all thought he was 18 and I was 16. So I almost feel sorry but you story is just too funny :devilish::evilgrin::cm:

[txa1265]

Seriously, every time I walk into a bar in the city, they ask me for proof of age...
I'm 33 years old...
Sorry - I obviously have you confused with a couple of the teens here ... and, again apologies, but declarations of an unreleased game you haven't played as 'BEST GAME EVAR' doesn't help that assessment ...

[Ammon777]

Ya I think I'll just wait patiently for another 6 months before I draw a final conclusion on this game. I am hoping in 6 months there will be beta.

[xSamhainx]

didnt you like quit MMo's or something? ='.'=

[txa1265]

didnt you like quit MMo's or something? ='.'=
You get that from his sig? I think he - like so many MMO lovers it seems - has one of those on again, off again love-hate relationships with MMO's.

[chamr]

Dudes! Why y'all cappin' on ole trip7's? Cut 'im sum slack, yo.

:)

[Ammon777]

Uhhh yeah, I get discouraged sometimes and quit for a few days. Time before last time I quit was for a week, but this most previous time it was about 2-3 days... :-/

Im back playin WoW right now :D

[Ammon777]

New dev studio visit by some guy named Asp:

http://www.lordsofdeath.com/www/

Basically my faith in Darkfall is still strong as ever and that article reinforces my belief that Darkfall is gonna be a great game when it comes out.

And sounds like Darkfall comes out in 2008. :/

[Ammon777]

So gawdamned tired of waiting. ARGH!

GIVE ME BETA OR GIVE ME DEATH !!!

[txa1265]

So gawdamned tired of waiting. ARGH!

GIVE ME BETA OR GIVE ME DEATH !!!

But wait, you don't play MMO's anymore! :D

[Ammon777]

What?!? That was last week...

[Ammon777]

This last Friday (yesterday) they released a Warcry update saying within a couple months Aventurine (developers of Darkfall) will probably decide either 1) to self-publish, or 2) to settle with a final publisher. They also said, "Darkfall will release within this year (2008)" so things are lookin good. They also said that they will announce a beta date as soon as they decide on the publishing front. Woohoo!

So 2008 is the year of Darkfall.

[Ammon777]

BIG UPDATE !!!

New Darkfall video released! The graphics have improved A LOT !!!

http://www.darkfallonline.com/news/news_1203703414.html

[Ammon777]

Another update today:

-- says that they are self-publishing in one territory at least (a territory is probably Europe or United States, a large major area).
-- previously they have said that as soon as a final publisher decision is made, they will announce public beta and it will begin in earnest... the self-publish in a territory marks a defining step towards beta
-- for approx 5 years they have used the words "beta is soon" but now the words are "beta is ASAP" which means beta is indeed imminent
-- devs have also said they will release within this year 2008
-- all this means that beta should be either sometime this summer or in the fall 2008

If beta is delayed into 2009, I wont pack up my bags, because there is no where else to go. I havent waited 7 years to give up the ghost just yet.

http://www.warcry.com/articles/view/devjournals/darkfalljournals/3070-Darkfall-Dev-Journal-24-Full-Freedom-Gameplay-and-Substance

[Ammon777]

Most Recent Update:

It is "official" (for the first time) that Darkfall will release in 2008. I am hoping October.

Since October is my favorite month evarrrrrrrr!

[Asbjoern]

Source? What do you mean with "official"?

[zakhal]

Darkfall release is 08. Almost old news now. It was announced on the other sites too som time ago allready. Good luck Norway.

[Ammon777]

Source? What do you mean with "official"?
With Darkfall, they havent announced any official date at all, ever. This is the first time that they have said they are releasing within any time-frame as an official timeframe. I believe what these developers say because they have always been honest. So that adds a lot of extra weight, for me.

Here is the quote:

"In this week's update, we answer questions from the community. There are several we haven't answered on purpose, hoping to be able to demonstrate instead. Many of you are asking for a video. We hear you, and we're on it as soon as we can. There were also many questions on the public beta and release dates. To this I can say now, that during a planning meeting we determined that our launch date will be inside 2008, with the public beta preceding it by a few weeks. This is official and internally we're a lot more specific, but pending an announcement, we cannot say more at this time."

Here is the source:

http://www.warcry.com/articles/view/devjournals/darkfalljournals/4883-Darkfall-Dev-Journal-26-Questions-Answered

[zakhal]

With Darkfall, they havent announced any official date at all, ever. This is the first time that they have said they are releasing within any time-frame as an official timeframe. I believe what these developers say because they have always been honest. So that adds a lot of extra weight, for me.


Honest? After their "beta declarements" years ago they dont sound like honest folk to me.

How are you doing ammon btw? Still playing wow? I tried it few weeks but couldnt stand more. Im playing guild wars now with all expansions. Its "ok" as a singleplayer game. The story exists unlike in wow. The best campaign has missions that equal singleplayer games or so Ive heard (havent gone that far). And you have intelligent npcs/heros to accompany you that you can equip etc.

[Ammon777]

Thats a common misconception. Yes, I know they are honest. Why would I defend them if they were not? In 2005, they did say they had an internal milestone of a clan beta of summer 2005. They did not meet that milestone, obviously, because they decided to add more things into the game instead of releasing. That wasnt an "announcement," it was an "internal milestone." That is a very common misconception that has been exploded out of proportion by negative people for 2 years now. If people knew anything about software development, they would know that a milestone is not a beta announcement. That is why this new official announcement is so reassuring. Yes, of course, I am a fanboy, but I am not a retarded one.

I am doing well, how are you? It seems to me that people on this website forums are pissed off at me because I didnt go through with the news editor job, but I am schizophrenic very unstable and the doctors keep switching my medications, which affects absolutely everything in my life. :-/

I am still playing WoW, however I am leaving WoW in about 4 days when I get Age of Conan in the mail. :D I am semi-excited about Conan -- not as much as I will be when Darkfall comes around, though. But Conan will be my game until Darkfall.

I have played Guild Wars. Its decent, but I didnt like their items system. I decided two years ago to play WoW instead of Guild Wars for various reasons. Guild Wars doesnt seem to be an MMO, really.

[woges]

It seems to me that people on this website forums are pissed off at me because I didnt go through with the news editor job

What gives you that impression Ammon? I don't think anybody is.

[txa1265]

Not pissed at you, but unfortunately the up/down nature of your love/hate with some many things constantly strains your credulity. See 'the boy who cried wolf' for reference ;)

[Ravenous]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum.

I've been following Darkfall Online for just a few years back in 2004 or so, and as an avid MMO fan I've come to expect more from this genre than what is currently the most popular, like WoW for example.

Apparently the latest news from various sites is that Darkfall closed beta will end sometime next week, after which the game should be released shortly pending market considerations. I for one am also looking forward to playing Darkfall when it does finally come out. It has a number of core features that appealed to me, like full corpse looting, true stealth, realistic combat system, collision detection between players and sophisticated monster AI.

Not sure why this thread kind of died down... the last reply here was in last May. The game looks to be released soon so I'm excited about it.

Anybody out there still visiting this forum??


- Ravenous

[hishadow]

>> January 22nd 2009 Launch Date Announced for Darkfall Online. (http://forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php?t=87239)
There seems to be no buzz around for this game, so is it safe to assume that this release date will not be upheld?

[wynams]

So now that this game is out, where is
ammon777's review???!!?

[txa1265]

So now that this game is out, where is
ammon777's review???!!?

Not sure how he's doing - we haven't heard from him in months.

[titus]

He might be too busy with playing it :p
or school or work

[ignis_nocturna]

Darkfall Online is so tempting, but so hard to get :| Hope they will be able to open up for the majority to join it soon :)

[Illuvatar]

I noticed that I replied on page 1 as well, back in 2006! I'm currently playing Darkfall with an account that I borrowed from a friend (he's moving to a new house and doesn't have internet access in the next 2 weeks). I must say that I'm enjoying myself so far.

The game is bringing out the worst in me though. I'm already 'Red' (alignment wise, UO vets will remember it) with a negative alignment of -66. This means that I can't access my starter or capitol city. Or any city with guard towers for that matter. But I like living as an outlaw in the game. My 'home' is currently a small city on an island all the way to the south-west on the map (which is *huge*). From there I often launce attacks on players that are crafting, gathering or just running around. Often it results in my own dead, as the other players tend to team up against me (which makes perfect sense of course). Sometimes I'm lucky though, and end up looting a gatherer that has a large pool of resources on him/her. When this happens I need to run to the bank and put my newly won stuff in it asap, before someone decides to attack me, as they won't receive negative alignment for killing murderous, red scum like me. ;)

Like I said; the world is really big. It's also handcrafted so exploring is a real treat in this game. Combine it with the fact that you can't see how strong specific mobs are (you just have to find out) and the constant danger of being attacked by other players and you have a unique atmosphere that really makes you tense and be 'pulled' into the game.

There are some things that should improve though. The current queues being the number one priority for Aventurine, I guess. Currently you have to wait at least an hour before being able to log into the game during prime time. Also animations are really bad, and there are numerous skills that aren't really doing anything for you, when you've improved them. The alignment system should be revisited as well by the devs, as the current one 'forces' people to go to starter towns from the opposing factions to 'farm' alignment. This isn't what the devs had in mind, when they came up with this system (also based on a system that UO uses).

The short version: at the moment Darkfall is a flawed gem that may grow into being *the* MMO for people that enjoy PVP games in a sandbox setting.

[zakhal]

The short version: at the moment Darkfall is a flawed gem that may grow into being *the* MMO for people that enjoy PVP games in a sandbox setting.

Ive heard that been said of almost every failed mmo. Id like to try df but otherhand I promised myself to wait few months after release to see whether it goes the "tabula rasa/age of conan" -road, before putting in the cash.

[Illuvatar]

I understand that people don't jump into this game without being careful. The one thing that makes this game work where MMO's like WAR and AOC failed for me is the fact that it's different.

No level based system, a harsh death penalty (when you're carrying loot that is), no name tags, no strength indicators for mobs, etc. All these things make me enjoy this game greatly, where I was bored within a week with WAR and AOC.

But that's just me of course.

[zakhal]

Shadowbane was different pvp mmo too but still it failed. There are no guarantees for any mmo except those of blizzards.

[zakhal]

Seems like I cant resist this game. Som called it as fun as the UO of old days. Theres lots of huge RP guilds too. Ill get this as soon as they open the shop.

[zakhal]

Heres som info on the state of the game:
Keen, from Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog, has been playing Darkfall for a while now and posted his score for the game, based on several categories, in order to answer the emails he gets in regards to the game. Here's the text (emphasis mine):

Scale: Fantastic, Great, Good, Mediocre, Bad, Lousy, Total Crap.
Totally subjective. Totally my take based on how I play the game.

Skill-based system
I expected: Fantastic
They delivered: Mediocre
Reason: The system is susceptible to macroing and sets aside the value of earning skills with the value of accruing them. Example: Instead of hitting mobs with spells to earn skillups, you just spam them into the sky. The skill system could have been taken an alternate root with skill trees, skill progression and unlocks, choices between skills via branches or pools, etc.

Combat
I expected: Decent
They delivered: Great
Reason: I expected Oblivion with a lot of issues translating such a real-time system to the mmorpg gameplay. Aventurine surprised by actually pulling it off with just a few quirks that can be worked out.

Crafting
I expected: Fantastic
They delivered: Mediocre/Bad
Reason: It’s not what they advertised it to be. I’m not even knocking them for simplicity or tedium. I’m knocking them here for allowing stupid stuff to make it into launch such as only having to make the very first item from 1-100. Seriously, why craft anything but Goblin Axes from 1-100 when they take the least materials and you can skill up on them just as easily as something that takes 100x the mats? The system earns points with me for really requiring players to work at something, rewarding them with a player-driven economy, and having much of the game in general center around crafting. [Additional points added today for making the gathering system more in-line with what it should be in today's patch with resource nodes being global.]

Melee Abilities and Weapons
I expected: Great
They delivered: Lousy
Reason: Whether you’re using a dagger or a polearm, the abilities are all the same. You get a Seize (draw in), Knock back, Whirlwind, and power attack. Zero thought went into this. Additionally, combat with certain weapons doesn’t make sense or it’s not polished. Polearms do the most damage, have the most range, and the widest arc while the only drawback is they use the most stamina. Arguably using anything else is inferior. There are subtle differences, but weapons should really stand out as having their unique benefits and drawbacks. It’s too simple. Ranged Combat falls into this for much of the same reasons.

Magic System
I expected: Good
They delivered: Mediocre
Reason: The spells are just “bleh” right now. I admit that few people have even reached the elemental magics, but commenting on what I have seen I can’t possibly rank it higher. The simple bolt spell with a splash is effective and to the point, but using it to such a degree as pretty much the bread and butter is just… well, “bleh”. I’ll happily reevaluate this later.

PvE Gameplay
I expected: Good
They delivered: Total Crap
Reason: The game is obviously not a PvE game. The mob behavior is … I don’t even know sometimes. There are times I think “Wow that’s the smartest mob I’ve ever seen” and then there are times where I think “Some GM must be controlling this thing and having a great laugh” because of how bizarre they act. The fact remains that PvE introduces money to the economy and PvP redistributes it. Lately I have avoided PvE as nothing but a chore

PvP Gameplay
I expected: Good
They delivered: Fantastic
Reason: It’s the total package. The “hardcore” consequences with the political landscape combined with how completely open it all is make it for one of the best PvP experiences ever. Add in the fact that they made the oblivion style combat actually work, mounted combat work, sieges, ship combat, and almost everything they promised have really made this an experience that every future PvP game will have to live up to.

City Building
I expected: Good
They delivered: Fantastic
Reason: I added this as its own category because I really feel that they’ve achieved something special with cities. Owning land in Darkfall is the total experience. When you finally own something under the conditions of this game then that feeling you get will embody what Darkfall is all about. Just imagine how easy it will be to lose territory and how important it is that you don’t. It gives your clan a place to hang out, a place to craft, and a purpose.

Graphics
I expected: Good
They delivered: Great
Reason: I expected 1999 and I got 2007. Can’t complain with what they’ve been able to pull off. The game on max settings really is beautiful if you can look past some of the animations.

Itemization
I expected: Bad
They delivered: Good
Reason: I actually thought we would be stuck with something a lot simpler. There are several types of armor, different appearances for each race, item ranks based on skill level, durability, and functionality (although limited as mentioned in combat). ‘Enough’ diversity is there to not make you think about it. Gear doesn’t matter - exactly how it should be.

Performance / Lag
I expected: Good
They delivered: Lousy
Reason: The game itself actually runs really well on my system (70-100fps), but they lose an overwhelming amount of points for server-side lag and stability. It’s inexcusable for it to be going on this long.

Server Stability + Communication from Aventurine
I expected: Bad
They delivered: Total crap
Reason: Didn’t have to be Nostradamus on this one. The server queues lasting 3+ hours, server downtimes every day, ninja patches with no notes, and almost a total communications blackout make this category a stinker of massive proportions. The worst of any company I’ve seen actually.

Overall
I expected: Good
They delivered: Good/Great
Reason: There is something about Darkfall. It has that really important aspect that reaches out and grabs on to you to keep you playing. There is something special about all they’ve accomplished with taking PvP combat and gameplay to new places. I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to a game that doesn’t capture the same quality of PvP and potential on this scale. I’ve been saying this a lot: “Darkfall is better than I expected”. Although they could have, and really should have in 7 years, reached the “Fantastic” status, the server issues combined with the systems that fell short (like the skill system) make Darkfall Good/Great. I don’t expect much from Aventurine. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took them a year to overhaul the skills system. But the fact that I can set those things aside and still play a very functional and very fun game is the key.

Heres map of the gameworld:
http://www.exploiter.org/darkfall/

[Illuvatar]

You're right when it comes to Shadowbane. I must say though, that I have never seen as many players in that game as I see in DF right now. The level based system and awkward controls didn't help either.

Regarding that review: it looks like they fixed the queues (could connect within a minute during primetime yesterday). Also; I haven't noticed any lag so far, and I don't see many threads on that subject as well, on the official boards.

I must agree though, when it comes to PvE and Melee skills. But all in all I think the game has a lot of potential. It could gather a niche like EVE has done over the last few years.

[zakhal]

I must agree though, when it comes to PvE and Melee skills. But all in all I think the game has a lot of potential. It could gather a niche like EVE has done over the last few years.

Som have made arguments against the polearm superiority:

All weapons have a knockback ability. Polearms have a slight push back (which is a son of a ***** if you are trying to run people down). I don't think polearms are OP. I've used them quite a bit and they have great uses but i'm changing over to 1 handers with shield atm. It is almost impossible to make proper use of parry with a weapon that slow added with the change that you can't parry arrows only block them. If you want to do alot of damage on every hit then you pick the biggest and slowest weapon. I don't see the issue with it.

The reason people ***** is that they try and joust a person using a polearm. If you only hit them when they hit you then you are going to lose. They have a clear advantage on single hits. If you stay in on them and use your weapon speed you are just fine. If you block their slow blows and hit them right after you can quickly take them down using a shield and 1 hander while taking very little damage.

It's fun sitting back and letting someone burn themselves out of stamina trying to kill me before i blast/beat them to death as they stand there helplessly.

Look at it like this, if you survive some close combat with a pole-arm wielder all you need to do is run away. Because you will have more stamina left then he will.

Or like me right now, realising that I've invested in Polearm and that it can't be used on horseback.

If you have run into a guy who actually uses parry or block (especially after it got boosted in terms of responsiveness in last patch) you will find that polearms or 2h in general are not at all overpowered. Even the slowest player in-game can block swings from a polearm.

Here is som pics:
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/8991/raid1badsoul.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4088/nightgobbo.jpg
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/507/raid2badsoul.jpg

Check these hd videos:
http://vimeo.com/3755657
http://www.wegame.com/watch/Serenity_Now_1/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNJs79Ik6eY&fmt=22 (siege)

Combat looks fun and there is no lag. Infact one player claimed no lag with 200 players:
My alliance op in DF last night had over 200 people participating at once in the same area, and I maintained 60-80 fps throughout the duration of it.

[zakhal]

So now that this game is out, where is
ammon777's review???!!?

I "bumbed" into his posts in df forums today and it looks like he has/had som problems (medical condition?). Because of that he vowed to quit mmos and play only singleplayer games from now on.

[Illuvatar]

He got addicted to MMO's and his wife demanded him to quit or else she would leave him? ;)

No seriously; I hope it's not too bad. Take care Amon.

[Illuvatar]

Hm. I have found some posts from (I presume) the same Amon that started this thread. Disturbing stuff.

http://forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php?p=2342972#post2342972

Excerpt:

Originally Posted by Ammon777
Also I get paid about $600.00 every month by the government NOT to work, for the rest of my life. You probably have to slave day after day at minimum wage jobs for the rest of your life. Who is smarter? Who has a better life? I get to play MMORPGs the rest of my life for free. I have unlimited free time. I get to play games all my life without end. And the government pays me because I am called schizophrenic. While you: you have to slave your whole life and retire with a measly sum. You come home to play games for a few hours, then log off because you have to go sleep cuz tomorrow you work again. Again, who was smarter, in the end? Who escaped the drabness of common man's life? My life PWNs your life. I laugh in your face. Fuck off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Killuminati
Wow, congratz not only are you a parasitic piece of scum but you brag about it. At least the freaking people that work minimum wage jobs have the decency to not be pieces of shits and actually have some dignity in their life. Wow, 600 bucks woopdeefuckng doo you probably can barely eat some weeks. I guess somehow you aren't slaving your whole life like a measly scum? Wow, you get to play video games big accomplishment in life you worthless bum. Sorry buddy but no matter how well you think you are painting yourself out to be. You are under a common man. You are worse than snot. The little bugs people step on while walking are of more significance than you are as a human being. Whats funny is that you no longer even have any self-respect and flash your idiocy and disgusting nature as if you were some kind of royalty. Face it you are worthless and you will die a lonely piece of scum.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ammon777
I'm leavin Forumfall. And Darkfall.

I waited over 5 years for this interesting game concept and should have realized during that entire abysmal wait that the horrible community full of griefers and haters is going to ruin the entire game experience, no matter how well-thought out the game design was. You drive away any decent players that might have come here. It might be a good game design but I have had the last straw of tolerance with this community. So fuck you, I'm out.

Its like the wife that I will divorce because she is a bitch. ITS NOT FUCKING WORTH IT. FUCK OFF AND DIE !!!

It is bad enough tolerating a bunch of fucking assholes for over 5 years. Now I have to tolerate abusive moderators. Fuck you, mods. Please BAN THIS ACCOUNT. LOCK THIS THREAD AND MAKE IT AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR PATHETIC-NESS. IT WILL SERVE AS A TESTAMENT TO YOUR HAUGHTY DEMEANOR. I DONT WANT YOUR FUCKING BETA. FUCK YOU! If they do ban this account, make sure you note it. These moderators condone and fully support abuse of the community members. It is this same self-destructive, hideous and abusive attitude that will ruin Darkfall, not its game design. Forumfall... Hah! You think throwing insults at each other endlessly gives you more skillz? That is a fucking joke. This game will be lucky to have 40,000 subscribers after everyone with a heart finds out what worthless pieces of shit of griefers the community has always been. Go log onto Darktide and take a look around.

I'm gonna play single player games from now on. And I am gonna actually have more fun than you. Cya never! I know I wont be missed, because you're incapable of any compassion or common decency. You talk about political morality and complain about corruption and evil in the world while exercising absolutely no restraint against flaming people that should be your friends: people here should be friends in support of Darkfall, but you are all enemies to each other. This community slits its own wrists.

You can call me a carebear (oh noes!), failure, or scum (as I have been so eloquently called recently) all you want, until you are blue in the fucking face. It will make absolutely no fucking difference to me now. This community will ruin any potential that Darkfall had. Shadowbane proved that PvP communities are worthless nobodies that run around ganking each other with absolutely no brains. I must say though, its good fucking riddance for myself: since I am rid of you assholes forever. Thank fucking God I am rid of you.

So fuck off and die !!! You might have fun in Darkfall, good for you. I dont care anymore. Also, Darkfall's team is so fucking small I doubt you will get half of the content they are promising. Good luck, losers.

/signing off after 5 years of endless drudgery, boredom, & lack of dev support

This thread will be locked or deleted, I might be banned, and you will see that moderators here have no fucking ethics. At all.

[zakhal]

Poltical map of DF - kind of like the on in Eve:
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1295/darfallpoliticalmap1800g.jpg

Nice story about soloing in the game:
How to sneak, hide and kill, in the shadows.(Story)

Let me tell you my story.

I woke up one morning being hated by everoyone in the village.
My friends hunted me, the common people around me hunted me, even the city guards started to shoot me on sight.

I was forced to abandon my homeland, the land of the Orks..
Traveling north to the snowy lands, seeking to gain redemption and being welcome once again.
It took along while, a few hours, just to even get to the snow.

I found myself a remote island, where I could call it my home, it was empty exept for the shiny stone and the bridge.

I was naked, only with a short sword and a staff..
At the beginning of my manhunt, I found a group of three people having problems with some kobolts.
Two of them lying on the ground, shouting for help and the third one was on his way to help...

I grabbed my leafblade and blindly runned into him, chasing the poor dwarf like an animal, but alas, he had gear, skills and the weapons, all that I didnt have.
Leaving him one windgust from dying.. he slained me..

I woke up, back at the bridge on my isle, thats now my new home..
I dont know how I got there, but I was shure, I need to get my old wooden Greataxe back.

I walked around those frozen parts when I found a town without towers or bank, theese people could sell me the axe, but not without gold..
As I stood there, trying to figure out how to get the gold, I heard mounts, alot alot of mounts incomming...
The closest thing to hide under was a tiny rock.. luckily it was shaped like myself when I sits down to rest...
Hoping it works and they pass me on the right side, I sat, and wait.
One, two, three, four... more and more passed me.. some of them even runned over me, I was lucky to be alive, the high grass maby did the difference.

After that I found a lone human in the open frozen lands.. not shure how I would sneak up on him, since there was nothing to hide on really.. A few tiny bone-pieces and tiny rocks, crouching, waiting for him to turn around, after 5 minutes I was close enough to rush him..
He was killing hivekins..
I waited and waited for about 10 more minutes, until he got a bit hurt from the fighting..
NOW! the time to strike was perfect, got him down, he paniced, you could see him look all around him on where to run.
With him down, I found a fishing pole on his corpse.

Started to fish a bit of lobsters to get the gold going, but the fishingpole broke halfway there.
Leaving me with alot of fish I couldnt sell or make into food.
Once again I was desperate.

I runned around and found a goblin spawn, where there was two humans, even at full health they didnt look like a big threat in combat, so I charged into em and gave them both the killing blow.. A cloth chest, some arrows, a bow, and the gold!

Now after heading back, I bought myself the greateaxe, and a few extra arrows for the gold that was left behind.

The manhunt begins.
In a town full of ruins, monsters, humans, dwarfs and elfs, there is some perfect sneaking spots..
Going like an S thorugh the players, one to the left, one to the right, passing so closely they could feel my skin against theirs, leaving em alone for now.
Got myself up to a tower where I could shoot without any worries about they finding my location.

Loading a few arrows, changing location after every 2 shots.
Hit, hit, changing window, another hit, going downstairs, another one, he is down.

Now his friends panic, and more kobolts had followed me during the sneakwalk, they are overwhelmed, and forced to retreat with their friend lying there.

Me myself, I jumped into the water, swimming silent around to their backs.
Leaving the water without making a sound, they both sat there, resting up.
I started to load arrows into their backs, one is low on health and runs for the towers that was close by.
No idea to chase him, the other one started charing me..

cont http://forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php?t=166389&highlight=good

[zakhal]

New expansion with many intersesting stuff like player housing and villages:

http://www.darkfallonline.com/expansion/ (pictures)

Darkfall's first Expansion - July 2009


Darkfall released on February 25th 2009. Since the launch, Darkfall's development continued even harder than before. Several very large patches were released but these were mainly focused on optimizations, improvements, and fixes. Our entire team and all the resources at our disposal are dedicated to development and we're working to make Darkfall the best game it can possibly be. An early result of our commitment to the game's evolution is the first of a series of regular free expansions. Following are just some of the highlights:


Massive PvE Monster Re-balancing
We've been watching the PvE dynamic and taking in player and tester feedback while experimenting with the PvE/Monster balance on our test servers. We've decided to implement a massive re-balancing of monster hit points, stats, and loot tables. We agree that many of the mid and high level monsters were unreasonably difficult to fight and we have taken serious rebalancing measures where those were needed. We've increased the gold and reagent drops for most monsters and added a higher probability for uncommon and rare drops such as steedgrass and runestones. Lower level monsters have seen fewer changes than mid to high level ones. We have been testing the results of this re-balancing and, while we're still working on it, we believe that these changes will be a huge improvement and will solve many of the problems players were experiencing with PvE.

Weapon Re-Balancing
Another much needed change: Lower rank weapons were a little too powerful, and higher rank weapons were not powerful enough. We've made adjustments on both ends to restore the proper balance.

Armor Re-balancing
Most armor has received a small increase in magic resistance. This should give warriors more of a chance against concentrated area of effect spells.

Crafting price Adjustments
Most craftable items have seen a significant reduction in crafting costs and especially in gold costs. Higher rank equipment is now a lot cheaper to produce and this should improve the market for the Darkfall crafters. Combined with the new influx of gold in the economy due to the PvE rebalancing, being a crafter in Darkfall should be more profitable than ever.

*Note on Rebalancing
The adjustments in PvE, Weapons, Armor, and crafting are the results of months of observations, feedback, experimentation and testing. Even so, we'll keep watching very closely and making any further adjustments needed.

Player Housing
This has been one of the most requested features since we announced Darkfall and it's now in the game. You can now own a house on any one of hundreds of hidden locations around Agon, on small secluded islands, in the desert of Rubaiyat, the frozen wastes of Niflheim, the deep jungles of Yssam. You can find house deeds in treasure chests, on monsters, or you can buy them from other players and use them to claim your house.

Houses offer house recall and can be upgraded to offer you benefits such as the capability of sharing your house with friends, the option of having a harvestable garden or a private workbench, and much more. Many feature an open window you can use to trade through more safely. You can decorate your house with numerous status symbols that you can find or earn. These range from fine paintings and hunting trophies, to chairs, tables and chandeliers.

This is just the first stage of the Darkfall Player Housing system. Over the coming weeks and months we will expand heavily on this system by adding many new and important features, new rare upgrades like for example more house slots, new decorations, and more house types. Of course this is Darkfall so housing is more than just a player home, its part of a much larger system:
The Village System
Player housing is tied in with the village system. Groups of houses make up a village. The Village System introduces many dynamic small scale PvP hotspots that clans can compete to control. The individual house ownership doesn't actually change but the village itself generates tax for its owner. Holding one or more villages generates direct gold income, potentially earning your clan thousands of gold every hour.

Four times a day all villages go vulnerable during which time they can either be reclaimed by their owner or taken over by another clan. Every six hours Darkfall turns into a no-holds barred deathmatch for control over villages and their taxes. This new feature gives every clan the opportunity to score strategic victories and to gain considerable income by protecting their holdings or taking over someone else's.
Character Specialization System
The Character Specialization System gives you the opportunity to enhance and customize your character based on your play-style. It features hundreds of options and thousands of possible combinations that can make your character a true specialist in what he does best. The first stage of the character specialization system allows you to choose add-ons for many of your spells. Currently there are four customizations you can choose from: You may increase the damage your spell inflicts, its velocity (so it travels faster to the target), the range of the spell, or you can choose to be able to jump while casting it. You can choose one of the four options for each spell.
You can buy these add-ons from Mages in Clan city mage guilds. You may choose to customize your spells to better suit your play-style long-term, or you can make a quick change based on your immediate needs. Buying a new add-on will override the old one and there are no limitations to how often you can change the way your spells are configured.
This is the first stage of the Character Specialization System. Over the coming weeks and months we will keep adding more customizations and options, including specializations for archery and melee combat.
Clan City Crafter Income
Whenever someone uses a crafting station in a city you own, a small gold bonus is added to a pool. Your clan bank will get money from this pool periodically during the course of the day. This adds more incentive to own holdings and perform all crafting operations in your own city or hamlet.

Darkfall's Weather System
The new Darkfall Weather system is extremely sophisticated and it simulates a real world weather system. Some of the weather effects you'll be seeing include rain, wind, variable cloud cover, fog etc. depending on the season and local conditions. Other than enhancing the beauty of the world and player immersion, the weather can affect visibility, making it a tactical ally or an enemy depending on the situation.

Title Quests
Title quests give you huge gold and item rewards and more importantly - a title. Your title gives you a boost in certain attributes depending on the title's type. If you go down the Intelligence line of quests for example, you gain titles that boost your intelligence. You may have several titles and you can switch between them once a day activating different bonuses depending on your needs.

Compass
We've added a compass to Darkfall which should provide to be a great tactical addition to the game. It makes it much easier to navigate or to call out the direction of incoming enemies.

New Mount
The Battlehorn is more than just a sturdy new mount. It's the first in a series of new advanced mounts.



Sithra
The sithra is a powerful and awesome looking elemental weapon. It will strike fear in your enemies and will be the envy of your friends and clan-mates. With their long blades of pure elemental energy they can cut through most living things with ease. The sithra is the first of a series of new and advanced weapons providing warriors with more and interesting combat options.



Skill & Spell Books
These extremely rare drops may arm even a new character with deadly spells and skills should he be so lucky as to get his hands on one of them. The skill and spell books have no requirement to use so if you're lucky enough to come into possession of the Book of Volcano, you'll instantly learn that spell and can use it immediately provided you have the proper reagents in your backpack. If you already have the spell you can read the book and get a boost in your proficiency. Skill and Spell books cannot raise your proficiency past a beginner level of the skill and spell in question. If your proficiency level is over the limit, you won't be able to use the book, but you could sell it, or give it to a friend.
Skill & Spell books can help new players get into the game faster and older ones to get a significant boost in their less developed skills and spells.
Special Attribute consumables
Attribute consumables are new rare drops that can help bridge the gap between you and your mortal enemies. These edibles will give you a permanent increase in attributes up to a medium level. They provide an excellent option for newer characters to catch up to everyone else and for adventurers to find new valuable items for sale on the open market.

Random Treasure Chests
Explorers can now find random treasure chests scattered all over Agon. They may hold rare loot like house deeds, spell books, gold, runestones, sithras, rare ores, keys, attribute consumables and much more.



The Nexus System
The Nexus System is a dynamic tactical transportation system. You can manually spawn an entrance portal and then you go and spawn the exit to it. There's a limited number of people that can use each one of these portals, they can be destroyed, and they also stay open for a limited time. Only one can be active per person. It can be used by anyone, friend or foe. The owner gets a message about who went through his portal, also when it's attacked and when it's destroyed and by whom.


Additional Features and Updates
In additions to the aforementioned new features and improvements, this expansion features hundreds of fixes, improvements and optimizations to Darkfall including: - An expandable hotbar
- You can no longer build new structures while your city is vulnerable during a siege
- New and improved Clan newsreel, featuring news filters
- New Journal Quest page
- New Journal crafting overview page
- Autocrafting is in, one of the most requested features by the Darkfall crafters
- Bulk buying from NPC vendors is now possible. This was one of the most requested features by the Darkfall community.
- Several AI updates and improvements to the Darkfall monsters
- Increased ship speed
- All figurines (mounts, cannons, warhulks, ships) have had their weight considerably increased.


COPYRIGHT ⓒ AVENTURINE 2009, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Darkfall

Im getting serious itches to resub.