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Darkfall: Darkfall News Update

StraddenStradden Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696

The folks over at Aventurine have released an update on the progress of their pre-launch test, telling us that improvements have been made and that another round of invites should be going out.

Darkfall Screenshot

The folks over at Aventurine have released an update on the status of their upcoming MMORPG, Darkfall. According to the release the trial, which from this reporter's perspective closely resembles a Closed Beta, has been making strides in terms of player feedback and load test, having exposed an issue with their patching and login systems as well as others, which have been addressed. All well in line with what you would expect from a game in the closed beta phase of testing.

Read Darkfall News Update

Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com

Comments

  • Zayne3145Zayne3145 Member Posts: 1,448

    It resembles a CB 'cos that's just what it is. Aventurine have simply renamed it as a trial to make it look like they're progressing. I'm sure they've been taking some tips on political spin.

    Good to see they're starting to sort out some of the issues, though. I'm glad they're addressing the UI - it looked hideous before.

    Looks as though they've finally realised they're having to be a bit more open with their fanbase. Too much simpering from adoring fans can make developers get lazy. Glad they got the wake up call they deserved.

    image

  • AlienShirtAlienShirt Member UncommonPosts: 621

    Over 7 years and counting and still no Closed Beta.

  • kelarcanuskelarcanus Member UncommonPosts: 63

    If they didn't have something as simple as mousewheel zoom in before, it really scares me to think what else they're missing as far as controls go...

     

    It doesn't matter how nice or innovative a game is - if the control system sucks people will not play it.

  • Ascension08Ascension08 Member Posts: 1,980
    Originally posted by kelarcanus


    If they didn't have something as simple as mousewheel zoom in before, it really scares me to think what else they're missing as far as controls go...
     
    It doesn't matter how nice or innovative a game is - if the control system sucks people will not play it.

    Nah, Tasos just has to press his magic button and lollipops and gumdrops (or maybe death and destruction) will rain down from the Darkfall Heavens to create the perfect game that will revolutionize this genre forever and ever and maybe about a year. Who knows.

    --------------------------------------
    A human and an Elf get captured by Skaven. The rat-men are getting ready to shoot the first hostage with Dwarf-made guns when he yells, "Earthquake!" The naturally nervous Skaven run and hide from the imaginary threat. He escapes. The Skaven regroup and bring out the Elf. Being very smart, the Elf has figured out what to do. When the Skaven get ready to shoot, the Elf, in order to scare them, yells, "Fire!"

    Order of the White Border.

  • KarahandrasKarahandras Member UncommonPosts: 1,703

    Monsters will now visibly taunt you

    i like the sound of this idea

    other than that all I can say is i like the screenshot

  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726

    What I still don't understand is their continuing refusal to allow a media site in.  Also the continued NDA pretty much indicates to most of us that the game just is not close to being ready for the public yet.  I just don't see how this game will release in February at this stage.

    I hope they can get all the kinks out fast.

  • qbangy32qbangy32 Member Posts: 681
    Originally posted by Karahandras


    Monsters will now visibly taunt you
    i like the sound of this idea
    other than that all I can say is i like the screenshot



     

    That little feature has been in Everquest 2 since day 1, wandering around the commonlands to see the Orcs gesturing you to kiss their Ass is always quite funny, ofc once you out lvl them and they go "Grey" they then shy away from you in fear of your presence, guess after it being in a game for 5 yrs some other game also had to add something similar, but yes always a welcome addition to make the game feel more alive.

     

     

  • AlandoraAlandora Member Posts: 337

    The only question is;  Will the NDA be lifted before they take pre-order money.

    They said they would never do preorders and they have backtracked on that promise... if they ever meant to keep it to begin with.  But if they announce they are going to accept pre-order money without allowing any beta testers or the press from talking about the game.. well that should just be a huge scam-alert everywhere.

    They also haven't addressed many of the 'features' that were announced last month as being turned off.  Housing, Guilds, Ships etc.  They have added some pretty minor things to the game, but most of the big features of the game have not been turned on yet.   How do they expect to test them and release the game in under a month.

  • lareslocilaresloci Member UncommonPosts: 373

    Why does it look soo "brown"?

    Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~Ernest Gaines

    image
  • GruugGruug Member RarePosts: 1,791

    Sorry, but I am beginning to trust Aventurine less and less. At one point Taos said that "everyone" would have a chance to try the game before they buy. Now, they are allowing a select few into the "trial" as if that is going to appease anyone. The more and more I hear from these people the more and more the term "snake oil salesman" comes to mind. Time will tell but I have already slipped into the "stay away" column.

    Let's party like it is 1863!

  • RespitRespit Member Posts: 770

    I'll take a guess and say the media invites will go out at the same time the NDA is lifted.

    Which will coincide with Pre-Orders being available.

     

    Hey, I can guess, can't I?

    DarkFall FAQ - Read then Question with Boldness

  • KinikkaKinikka Member UncommonPosts: 23
    Originally posted by AlienShirt


    Over 7 years and counting and still no Closed Beta.

     

    Ignorant posts got old a while ago....

    -Kin

  • KinikkaKinikka Member UncommonPosts: 23
    Originally posted by Gruug


    Sorry, but I am beginning to trust Aventurine less and less. At one point Taos said that "everyone" would have a chance to try the game before they buy. Now, they are allowing a select few into the "trial" as if that is going to appease anyone. The more and more I hear from these people the more and more the term "snake oil salesman" comes to mind. Time will tell but I have already slipped into the "stay away" column.

     

    And yet... You're still here following around the game trying to make yourself feel better.

     

     

    But don't worry, You definitely are not alone in that department.

    -Kin

  • aurickaurick Member Posts: 317
    Originally posted by Kinikka

    Originally posted by Gruug


    Sorry, but I am beginning to trust Aventurine less and less. At one point Taos said that "everyone" would have a chance to try the game before they buy. Now, they are allowing a select few into the "trial" as if that is going to appease anyone. The more and more I hear from these people the more and more the term "snake oil salesman" comes to mind. Time will tell but I have already slipped into the "stay away" column.

     

    And yet... You're still here following around the game trying to make yourself feel better.

     

     

    But don't worry, You definitely are not alone in that department.

     

    You're driving down the highway and see a wreck by the side of the road.  Cops are there and lights are flashing.  You can't help but be curious and look, as well as talk about it with the other people in the car with you.

    That doesn't mean you actually want to be in a wreck, yourself.

    I'm with Gruug.  The stuff I'm hearing from Aventurine reminds me way too much of Funcom before (and after) the launch of AoC.  And honestly, what I've seen from this game's community doesn't help either.  I may check out Darkfall after it's been out for 6 months or so.  That doesn't stop me from being curious (and amused) when new spinspeak comes out, though.

    image
    image
  • Allanon6666Allanon6666 Member UncommonPosts: 34

    It looks interesting, though it is a little wierd that they've still got the NDA going (course, I'm just beating a dead horse now, aren't I?)

  • kotzkotz Member UncommonPosts: 100
    Originally posted by qbangy32

    Originally posted by Karahandras


    Monsters will now visibly taunt you
    i like the sound of this idea
    other than that all I can say is i like the screenshot



     

    That little feature has been in Everquest 2 since day 1, wandering around the commonlands to see the Orcs gesturing you to kiss their Ass is always quite funny, ofc once you out lvl them and they go "Grey" they then shy away from you in fear of your presence, guess after it being in a game for 5 yrs some other game also had to add something similar, but yes always a welcome addition to make the game feel more alive.

     Oh yea i do remember that.... It gives the atmospehere ingame a whole different approach.....

     It makes the environment somehow more alive as well...

     

    Veeeery good veeeery good that we will see that in DF :p

     

  • HoolashHoolash Member Posts: 14

      Now this article, I feel, was open and honest.  Positive but realistic.  Thank you Jon.

  • hembothembot Member Posts: 14

    IMO every MMO should be under NDA until just before launch. Otherwise existing MMO's just clone the original ideas out of the new game in some half-assed fashion making the new game seem little more than a half-assed attemped at something new.

    If more things are under NDA until close to launch I bet each company would be forced to undertake new innovation giving us increasingly diversified choices in gaming like the first games MMO's that defined the industry did.

    It's not like you get an extensive free trial and specs for every item in each new FPS, RTS, RPG etc. before it launches. The appeal of single player/console gaming is the diversity of games. The homogony of games coming out (thanks to releasing all their data) may one day result in a mass exodus from mmo's and the genre will sputter. More things will be copied because sales are down and public corporations(which are driven by profits rather than dreams)  will be less and less likely to "risk" money on a few bright developers.

    That doesn't mean we should get suckered into a Pre-order. I'm not saying this as a Darkfall fanboi but someone who runs a guild in WAR. I love the game but I see where their marketing has goofed up so many times and I also watched Blizzard swoop down like a vulture. Blizz copied things like the ToK and RvR with their achievement's system 1 PvP zone which suprisingly is more like DAoC than WAR is.

    I played Vanilla/tBC WoW. They're both great games. Now, thanks to marketing WAR's differences, they're much more similiar than they would have been if WAR kept it's mouth shut.

  • bluefootedbluefooted Member Posts: 48

     anyone else notice that they are adding features in... less than one month from it being released? 

     

    here is a list of what i consider new features that are being put in only 3 weeks before release i believe.

     

    Rune Stones (recall stones) have been enabled.

    Directional attacks for all melee weapons have been added. You can slice vertically or horizontally.

    High score quests have been enabled.

    Time limit high score quests are enabled.

    Wildlife has been enabled. Tigers, bears, lions etc. can be found in nature.

    Underwater monsters are now enabled.

    Roaming monster packs are enabled.

    More player skills have been added.

     

    Maybe i'm misunderstanding it, but if the beta testers are just now getting a glimps of these, who knows if they will present bugs. Like now the roaming mobs will roam into newbie areas. I dunno what exactly could go wrong, but in my experience enabling things tends to add new possible bugs. And they are just doing this now? Well i guess i hope that they all work out the first time, or i wouldn't be surprised to see another month delay saying, "with all the bugs we found, we are dealying for a month to fix them".

     

    Also for another example of what could go wrong, directional attacks for all melee weapons have been ADDED. see that, added, not enabled. How much you wanna bet that some weapons wont work, aka they wont deal damage, wont have the range done right, or something is going to be wrong with one of the weapons.

  • SuraknarSuraknar Member UncommonPosts: 852

    @Respit

    That would not be a Bad idea.

    Game launches people buy and play, and Media gets a 14 day trial.

    At least like that the media can make a more Objective review of a Full Live game.

    I like it.

    - Duke Suraknar -
    Order of the Silver Star, OSS

    ESKA, Playing MMORPG's since Ultima Online 1997 - Order of the Silver Serpent, Atlantic Shard
  • penandpaperpenandpaper Member UncommonPosts: 174

    I just recently started following this game, but I have to say the community around it seems quite pessimistic.  I'm not sure why; perhaps there's a large back-story I don't know, but I have to ask why?  The graphics to the game look great.  I watched the trailer, and they're promising a lot.  Even if they keep half the promises, well, it's still sounds like it's going to be a fun game.  As far as being released, why not just be understanding and accept that all these games get pushed back?  And lastly, why the angst toward their secrecy?  It's their game and it seems to me they can release it (to their benefit or folly) how they want to.  Just a thought.

     

  • downtoearthdowntoearth Member Posts: 3,558
    Originally posted by Gruug


    Sorry, but I am beginning to trust Aventurine less and less. At one point Taos said that "everyone" would have a chance to try the game before they buy. Now, they are allowing a select few into the "trial" as if that is going to appease anyone. The more and more I hear from these people the more and more the term "snake oil salesman" comes to mind. Time will tell but I have already slipped into the "stay away" column.

     

    few ok LOLS

  • downtoearthdowntoearth Member Posts: 3,558
    Originally posted by bluefooted


     anyone else notice that they are adding features in... less than one month from it being released? 
     
    here is a list of what i consider new features that are being put in only 3 weeks before release i believe.
     
    Rune Stones (recall stones) have been enabled.
    Directional attacks for all melee weapons have been added. You can slice vertically or horizontally.
    High score quests have been enabled.
    Time limit high score quests are enabled.

    Wildlife has been enabled. Tigers, bears, lions etc. can be found in nature.

    Underwater monsters are now enabled.

    Roaming monster packs are enabled.

    More player skills have been added.
     
    Maybe i'm misunderstanding it, but if the beta testers are just now getting a glimps of these, who knows if they will present bugs. Like now the roaming mobs will roam into newbie areas. I dunno what exactly could go wrong, but in my experience enabling things tends to add new possible bugs. And they are just doing this now? Well i guess i hope that they all work out the first time, or i wouldn't be surprised to see another month delay saying, "with all the bugs we found, we are dealying for a month to fix them".
     
    Also for another example of what could go wrong, directional attacks for all melee weapons have been ADDED. see that, added, not enabled. How much you wanna bet that some weapons wont work, aka they wont deal damage, wont have the range done right, or something is going to be wrong with one of the weapons.

    not ading enabling also some featurres are becasue of gameplay feedback omg they listen geese

  • just1opinionjust1opinion Member UncommonPosts: 4,641
    Originally posted by penandpaper


    I just recently started following this game, but I have to say the community around it seems quite pessimistic.  I'm not sure why; perhaps there's a large back-story I don't know, but I have to ask why?  The graphics to the game look great.  I watched the trailer, and they're promising a lot.  Even if they keep half the promises, well, it's still sounds like it's going to be a fun game.  As far as being released, why not just be understanding and accept that all these games get pushed back?  And lastly, why the angst toward their secrecy?  It's their game and it seems to me they can release it (to their benefit or folly) how they want to.  Just a thought.
     

     

    Uhm, yeah....you've missed a lot, and there is INDEED a HUGE "backstory."  People have been waiting for the "imminent" release of this game for at least 7 years, although some will say 10 because it has changed "hands" once in the midst of everything.  And the "secrecy" is pretty much permeated with half-truths and lies and people over the course of all these YEARS have begun to feel some well-deserved mistrust toward the developer and the company's "spokesman," Tasos.

    If you're really interested in the "backstory" you can find posts very similar to the ones you're reading today by doing a search on the game.....the posts date back for many years.

    President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club

  • Allanon6666Allanon6666 Member UncommonPosts: 34
    Originally posted by girlgeek

    Originally posted by penandpaper


    I just recently started following this game, but I have to say the community around it seems quite pessimistic.  I'm not sure why; perhaps there's a large back-story I don't know, but I have to ask why?  The graphics to the game look great.  I watched the trailer, and they're promising a lot.  Even if they keep half the promises, well, it's still sounds like it's going to be a fun game.  As far as being released, why not just be understanding and accept that all these games get pushed back?  And lastly, why the angst toward their secrecy?  It's their game and it seems to me they can release it (to their benefit or folly) how they want to.  Just a thought.
     

     

    Uhm, yeah....you've missed a lot, and there is INDEED a HUGE "backstory."  People have been waiting for the "imminent" release of this game for at least 7 years, although some will say 10 because it has changed "hands" once in the midst of everything.  And the "secrecy" is pretty much permeated with half-truths and lies and people over the course of all these YEARS have begun to feel some well-deserved mistrust toward the developer and the company's "spokesman," Tasos.

    If you're really interested in the "backstory" you can find posts very similar to the ones you're reading today by doing a search on the game.....the posts date back for many years.

     

    Wow, seven years..... not trying to jinx it or anything, but I really hope this doesn't turn out like too human did.......

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