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http://vault.ign.com/View.php?view=editorials.detail&id=221
*Just a sample of it. Read the whole thing at the link above.*
"Which brings us to February 25th, 2009. The world must be coming to an end because after years of delays, Darkfall launched. At least, Darkfall was supposed to launch on the 25th but supposedly a major bug was discovered necessitating a patch and hence a 12 hour delay. When the server (yes, server) went live a syncing issue wreaked havoc across the game, with players not able to see the mobs attacking them, and which also allowed players to take advantage of various exploits and farm riches and gear that otherwise would not have been possible to obtain at this stage of the game. Cries of server rollbacks are prevalent on the forums. It will be interesting to see how Adventurine handles this issue.
Darkfall's launch was to be extremely unconventional in the traditional sense. But why launch a game that really did not follow the traditional development path with a traditional launch? Approximately February 19th preorders opened up. The massive volume of hits to the site pretty much broke the systems in place and Adventurine had to take the preorder sales link down. In the days between the preorder date and launch, there were apparently small windows of time where people managed to get in and secure a preorder for the February 25th launch. From reading various forums, including the Official Darkfall Forums, it appears a rather large percentage of customers who wanted to get in on launch day are out of luck, as Account system issues are still prevalent and performance issues are being addressed. Reactions on the web vary from seething finger pointing at the developer to the championing of Adventurine for wanting to resolve all major issues prior to letting any more players in game. Unfortunately some customers who claim they have had successful preorder experiences claim they still cannot get authorization to play in game. It would be really interesting to know how many potential customers are out there for Darkfall. We will probably never know, but the heavy traffic since preorders went live seems to suggest a healthy (though probably a niche) fanbase for Darkfall is out there.
Any way you look at it, the launch of Darkfall has been as controversial as the game's development history. From account issues, preorder issues, client issues, forum outages, exploits and what some consider a lack of communication from the developers on the state of the game, Darkfall has had anything but a smooth launch. However, despite what many would consider to be game breaking (and game killing) issues, there are many people who are defending Adventurine's handling of launch setbacks and continue to swear allegiance to the game. Fans of the game are triumphing the developer for what they have accomplished as an independent studio, and there is no lack of love for Darkfall by many who have experienced the game in beta, as well as those who were one of the few that were able to secure a preorder and play the 30 or so hours the server has been up since launch (as of this writing, not official data). Although Darkfall may not be a leader graphically, or have the polish of corporate MMOs, the core of the gameplay is what fans of this game are gushing over. In the end, the forums are buzzing with talk of Darkfall both good and bad, and I would argue that this is a good omen for Adventurine and their project. It means people care. And when people care about your product, you have a chance to be successful."
The Good
- Seamless, large and apparently beautiful game world
- Skill based system, no traditional MMO levels
- No restrictive Class system
- Rafts, boats, naval combat, how cool is that?!
- Elder Scrolls-like first person combat
- Ability to loot corpses and take everything on player
- Mounted combat (may not be in present build)
- Unrestricted PvP
The Bad
- You can't buy the game as of this writing
- Customer service has yet to deal with many frustrated preorder customers who can't get in game
- Indy dev, low budget title, not as polished as many have become accustomed to
- Sync issues (somewhat resolved according to what I've read) allowing for exploits, making game difficult to play at best for some
- Main Darkfallonline.com site does not reflect state of game, still reflects old information and news, just kind of bizarre
- Some expected content does not appear to be in at launch
- Some report game world looks great but does not feel alive
- Exploits and macros in droves(dupes,packet sniffing and speedhacks)
- Due to length of game development, Darkfall does not boast latest technical bells and whistles
Comments
Considering he hasn't played a second in-game, take this "editorial" with the smallest grain of salt.
Plus, he spells "Aventurine" , "Adventurine".... hahaha.
It lost any credibility when I seen who wrote it.
NDA has been lifted and the truth is out there. Theres no shroud of mystery you fanbois can hide behind and say "you are not playing it how would you know?"
People know how it really is because non fanbois that are playing are putting it on the web and telling everyone and their brother.
The truth is : The game is in shambles and falling apart and the noob dev team doesn't even know that php is the worst code or format to use for websites under a load.
Must we go on?
NDA has been lifted and the truth is out there. Theres no shroud of mystery you fanbois can hide behind and say "you are not playing it how would you know?"
People know how it really is because non fanbois that are playing are putting it on the web and telling everyone and their brother.
Yet surprisingly the majority of people playing it, like myself, think that's it's great. Funny, isn't it?
You are correct, he forgot the proper color shading. I fixed them up for you.
His write up is very accurate as on observer of what went on since launch, and its the same perception that I have for the most part.
Sure, once we get in the game we'll know differently, but whose fault is it that we can't get in to see?
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I don't ' understand what your problem is with his article:
So, what's your beef?
~Ripper
NDA has been lifted and the truth is out there. Theres no shroud of mystery you fanbois can hide behind and say "you are not playing it how would you know?"
People know how it really is because non fanbois that are playing are putting it on the web and telling everyone and their brother.
Yet surprisingly the majority of people playing it, like myself, think that's it's great. Funny, isn't it?
not really surprising. It just shows that the MAJORITY of gamers in the world want to play real quality games and the rest (about 5k) play df
he hasn't played the game, it fails.
MMO Strategy Guides
NDA has been lifted and the truth is out there. Theres no shroud of mystery you fanbois can hide behind and say "you are not playing it how would you know?"
People know how it really is because non fanbois that are playing are putting it on the web and telling everyone and their brother.
Yet surprisingly the majority of people playing it, like myself, think that's it's great. Funny, isn't it?
not really surprising. It just shows that the MAJORITY of gamers in the world want to play real quality games and the rest (about 5k) play df
Oh yeah, you're right, you mean quality like AoC, WAR, WoW, and the rest of the EQ clones? Hahaha, whatever you tell yourself. I've had more fun in the past 4 days of playing Darkfall then in the past 5 years of playing MMOs. Now you tell me why that is? Because I like "shitty" games"?
Half the stuff he wrote was not about the game .. it was about the tomfoolery of Aventurine. You don't need to play the game to understand what a bunch of small time amatuers they are with little sense direction. Anyways the game will never be as interesting as those fine fools at AV.
Heck the cannot even behave in such as way that doesn't scream the game is a scam to half the people on here. And I think they single handly redefined the word "launch". Tis all true.
NDA has been lifted and the truth is out there. Theres no shroud of mystery you fanbois can hide behind and say "you are not playing it how would you know?"
People know how it really is because non fanbois that are playing are putting it on the web and telling everyone and their brother.
Yet surprisingly the majority of people playing it, like myself, think that's it's great. Funny, isn't it?
not really surprising. It just shows that the MAJORITY of gamers in the world want to play real quality games and the rest (about 5k) play df
*outch* that gotta hurt.
??
I beta tested for 5 weeks, that pretty much sums up Darkfall...!
____________________________
It's not a review. It's an observational editorial of the launch and he's simply stating what we all saw, except for those of you with blinders on.
The only thing that fails is your ability to open your eyes. The launch was far from smooth, but things seem to be getting better, hopefully even more so in the coming days.
~Ripper
I don't ' understand what your problem is with his article:
So, what's your beef?
~Ripper
It is pretty hard to write an opinion piece on a game you have never played.
I don't disagree with his points nor do I endorse them, but I don't like the concept of "review" sites writing opinions of games they have never played. Let alone writing good/bad lists for features they have never tested.
It all comes out as a rumor and news story in some strange mesh of words.
can you explain why me and my whole clan are having such a great time?
or why there are numerous major websites using PHP? have you even heard of caching proxies or load balancers?
1/10 for trolling attempt and 2/10 for IT knowledge
NDA has been lifted and the truth is out there. Theres no shroud of mystery you fanbois can hide behind and say "you are not playing it how would you know?"
People know how it really is because non fanbois that are playing are putting it on the web and telling everyone and their brother.
Yet surprisingly the majority of people playing it, like myself, think that's it's great. Funny, isn't it?
not really surprising. It just shows that the MAJORITY of gamers in the world want to play real quality games and the rest (about 5k) play df
Oh yeah, you're right, you mean quality like AoC, WAR, WoW, and the rest of the EQ clones? Hahaha, whatever you tell yourself. I've had more fun in the past 4 days of playing Darkfall then in the past 5 years of playing MMOs. Now you tell me why that is? Because I like "shitty" games"?
Well i guess you got your answer LOL
At this point whether you played the game or not really doesn't matter and obviously the majority haven't played it for even more obvious reasons. There are plenty of streams up of the game that you can watch and get a pretty accurate opinion of it.
Currently Playing: Toying around with AoC and bored with Darkfall
Thinking of Playing: Fallen Earth or Darkfall after this months update.
Have Played: EQ1, EQ2, WoW, WAR, Vanguard, EvE, Requiem, PW, Lotro, Lineage2, AoC, SWG...
I don't ' understand what your problem is with his article:
So, what's your beef?
~Ripper
It is pretty hard to write an opinion piece on a game you have never played.
I don't disagree with his points nor do I endorse them, but I don't like the concept of "review" sites writing opinions of games they have never played. Let alone writing good/bad lists for features they have never tested.
It all comes out as a rumor and news story in some strange mesh of words.
It's not hard when the opinion isn't about the game, but about the launch and hype. You don't need to have played the game, you just needed to follow the launch, which he did. Even his pros and cons are written from the perspective of "I'm interested in the game and this is what I've heard, both good and bad".
~Ripper
despite how unprofessional the editorial is, its mostly right, there are nearly no anti hack systems in place i can think of, a lot of features promised are not in the game, and there's an overall lack of any form of polish
When I'm energetic I'm:
the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
When I'm at default I'm:
WHITE/BLUE
Lol according to this I'm bipolar :O
I don't ' understand what your problem is with his article:
So, what's your beef?
~Ripper
It is pretty hard to write an opinion piece on a game you have never played.
I don't disagree with his points nor do I endorse them, but I don't like the concept of "review" sites writing opinions of games they have never played. Let alone writing good/bad lists for features they have never tested.
It all comes out as a rumor and news story in some strange mesh of words.
Thank you for summing up my feelings.
I don't ' understand what your problem is with his article:
So, what's your beef?
~Ripper
It is pretty hard to write an opinion piece on a game you have never played.
I don't disagree with his points nor do I endorse them, but I don't like the concept of "review" sites writing opinions of games they have never played. Let alone writing good/bad lists for features they have never tested.
It all comes out as a rumor and news story in some strange mesh of words.
It's not hard when the opinion isn't about the game, but about the launch and hype. You don't need to have played the game, you just needed to follow the launch, which he did. Even his pros and cons are written from the perspective of "I'm interested in the game and this is what I've heard, both good and bad".
~Ripper
He talks about the level of polish in the game, how the game world is large, but doesn't feel "alive" and things of that nature.
Much of that news piece talks about the launch (which seems true) and the last part talks about the gameplay (which he has no experience with) that he seems to base on forum posts and rumors. It is a bad piece of journalism in my opinion. It mixes far to much news coverage with to much speculation about gameplay that he has not experience anything of to report on.
For example, everything in his good list is about gameplay, while almost every single item in his bad list is about the games condition and developement problems at launch.
Edit: I think his coverage of the launch was fine (regardless of which side of the fence you might be on), but don't think he should have ventured into any areas of gameplay yet.
can you explain why me and my whole clan are having such a great time?
or why there are numerous major websites using PHP? have you even heard of caching proxies or load balancers?
1/10 for trolling attempt and 2/10 for IT knowledge
then why all the account problems?
asp.net payment gateway they need or somthing. They are rookies, proof is everywhere.
I don't ' understand what your problem is with his article:
So, what's your beef?
~Ripper
It is pretty hard to write an opinion piece on a game you have never played.
I don't disagree with his points nor do I endorse them, but I don't like the concept of "review" sites writing opinions of games they have never played. Let alone writing good/bad lists for features they have never tested.
It all comes out as a rumor and news story in some strange mesh of words.
It's not hard when the opinion isn't about the game, but about the launch and hype. You don't need to have played the game, you just needed to follow the launch, which he did. Even his pros and cons are written from the perspective of "I'm interested in the game and this is what I've heard, both good and bad".
~Ripper
He talks about the level of polish in the game, how the game world is large, but doesn't feel "alive" and things of that nature.
Much of that news piece talks about the launch (which seems true) and the last part talks about the gameplay (which he has no experience with) that he seems to base on forum posts and rumors. It is a bad piece of journalism in my opinion. It mixes far to much news coverage with to much speculation about gameplay that he has not experience anything of to report on.
For example, everything in his good list is about gameplay, while almost every single item in his bad list is about the games condition and developement problems at launch.
Edit: I think his coverage of the launch was fine (regardless of which side of the fence you might be on), but don't think he should have ventured into any areas of gameplay yet.
Good point about differentiating launch coverage vs. gameplay. I can definitely see where you're coming from. Thanks for clarifying.
~Ripper
Well i guess you got your answer LOL
Again, whatever you tell yourself. That's why there's about 250 thousand people dying to get their hands on this game, so they can too enjoy a "shitty" game. You can't deny the demand for this game right now, even if you're still clinging to the last threads of hope that this game is as horrible as the trolls claimed pre-release.