Dawntide..Better than Darkfall?

hoopty

Dawntide looks like it has allot to offer..Might be even better than darkfall..

forum.dawntide.net/showthread.php            www.dawntide.net/info.htm

Thanks to 'nerocon' for the original FAQ. This FAQ is a compiled list of public information from Dawntide.net forum posts and #dt IRC discussions.

Dawntide is still in development and all of this information is subject to change.

Dawntide Unofficial FAQ v2.01

Miscellaneous

Q: What is Dawntide?

Dawntide is a free-form/sandbox MMORPG or Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game set in a low-fantasy universe being developed by Working as Intended.

Q: Who is developing Dawntide?

Dawntide is being developed by Working as Intended based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Q: When will Dawntide be released.

No date has been announced.

Q: What are the minimum requirements to run Dawntide?

* Windows XP or Windows Vista

* 1GB System RAM

* 2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor

* 256MB Direct3D compatible video card

* and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;

* DirectX 9.0c

* DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card.

Q: Will there be a monthly fee?

Yes, but no price has been discussed.

Q: Can I sign up for beta?

Yes! Go here to apply!

Q: When is beta?

Beta 1 began on August 1, 2009.

Q: What are the phases of beta?

Beta 1: Early technology and core gameplay development.

Beta 2: Mid-content testing.

Beta 3 (Open Beta): Late game balance and performance testing.

Q: Why is this FAQ so big?!

Dawntide has NO NDA. This allows much more information to be available to the public. Keep your eyes glued to the forums for previews of the beta first-hand!

Q: Is there anywhere I can go for more information?

Yes! Dawntide has it's own wiki page which needs your help to update: http://dawntide.wikia.com.

Class/Race

Q: What are Dawntide's race choices?

Cevanti, Vynn, Andrunian, and Santyrian. There is a very in-depth thread posted by Wiz on the lore and description of each particular race.

Q: Why are there so few races in Dawntide?

"We're keeping the number relatively low, so we can focus more on making each rate as fleshed out and unique as possible rather than just throwing in a generic mix of high fantasy races with vague backgrounds and functionally identical cities." -Wiz

Q: Can we freely choose our attribute points at character creation?

"The base for each attribute is 8. On top of that you have racial mods, and you are allowed to spend a number of points (currently 6) at char create, with a max of +3 in each." -Wiz

Q: Is there anything beyond cosmetic and attribute differences between the races?

"We're not going to have wildly different races because of balance issues, but you can expect somewhat different attributes and a number of special racial talents / resistances. There is no "average" race in Dawntide." -Wiz

Q: What are the class choices for Dawntide?

Dawntide is skill-based game; there are no levels and no specific classes. Players choose to raise any skill to 100 and above with mods.

Q: What are the skills in Dawntide and how many can I take?

Here is a list of the current skills in the game. Currently at character creation you must choose 2 Basic Skills and 5 Advanced Skills. Basic Skills are those located under the 'Basic' title and Advanced skills are any other skills.

Q: Can I max all skills in the game?

"The skills in Dawntide are divided into four categories - Basic, Profession, Martial and Sorcery. Any character in Dawntide can train and learn any amount of skills, but the more skills you learn and master, the slower your future skill gains will come, until it bottoms out at 5% of the starting rate. This means that while a single character can learn every single skill the game, to do so would take years, and it a good idea to focus on your primary skills first before branching out." -Wiz

Q: Can I reset my skills if I decide to change later?

"If you mistakenly pick a skill you end up not using, you will be able to manually unlearn it." –Wiz

Q: Are there other benefits to raising your skills beyond simply getting better?

Yes. Every 25 skillpoints in a skill you may choose a perk if you meet the other pre-requisites. To see a list of perks go here.

Q: Will there be macroing?

According to zodium there will be rather difficult to break anti-macro measures. "Macroing has limited usage in Dawntide because at the end of the day, you just don't get to mow down people indiscriminately simply because your character has maxed skills and slick gear. It would actually be really funny if a group of hardcores just macroed for a month only to come out and realize that they're a month behind everyone in everything that matters." -zodium

Combat/Magic

Q: Is combat action/click oriented or is it targeted auto-attack?

Dawntide uses traditional targeted melee combat not action combat.

Q: If an attack glances is it considered a miss?

"You cannot ever do zero damage, you will always do a little damage if you swing at someone - glancing reduces damage considerably but it is not a miss." -Wiz

Q: Is there plans for a magic based fast travel system?

"Yes, Laconis (see the Sorcery article here). Laconis will be able to transport single persons, but will have drawbacks. Transporting volumes of goods this way will likely not be feasible." -Zodium

Q: Will all weapons be pretty much the same except for looks and required skill?

"Certain weapons will be better in groups and such, like spears gain considerable bonuses if multiple people in the same group are attacking with them." Moreover: "Different weapons are good against different armor, etc" -Wiz IRC

Q: Where can I go to see more information on sorcery?

Here or here is a list of spells with descriptions currently in beta.

World/Mechanics

Q: What is Dawntide's game world called?

Cieve which means 'Cage.'

Q: How big is the world?

The beta area is currently about 15 square miles consisting of multiple islands as the game world is an Archipelago.

Q: Will there be mounts?

Yes, so far horses have been announced. "mounts will actually be tamed creatures, rather than horses that come out of bottles when you rub them three times. If it dies, it's dead and gone, making mounts expensive but powerful assets." -Zodium

Q: Will there be boats?

Yes! Since the game world is an archipelago, boats will be essential in Dawntide for getting around easily.

Q: Will we be able to drop items on the ground?

Yes.

Q: How will “Sanity” effect a character?

"Sanity is basically long-term effects from doing extraordinary things - using certain rare substances, exploring extreme areas, and so on. No comment on the exact effects of sanity, but they will be mostly detrimental." -Wiz

Q: Will there be PVP?

PvP will play a significant role in Dawntide. PvP will be largely open world with some safe areas, primarily those of NPC control. Here is a thread explaining how PvP will work on a larger scale.

Q: Will the NPC guards I hire be able to defend player attackers without assistance?

No, NPC guards will be able to stop the wandering gankers but only a player force will be able to defend against another player force.

Q: How interactive will the game world be?

"You can interact with basically any part of the world except for the base terrain. This will include harvesting any plant you see growing in the forest, chopping down trees and so on." –Wiz

Q: Will there be unique items in the game; either player made, awards for events (in-game or out)?

"You will be able to custom-design and name items you craft. Other than that, no." -Wiz

Q: Will there be instancing?

"Instances are the devil's work. Why, scarcity of resources is the source of most fun in history! Imagine all the fun wars and history we would've missed out on with instancing in real life." -Zodium

Q: Will there be "No-Drop" items in the game?

“No, since Dawntide is a skill based game and not a level based game; gear will be restricted by your aptness in the skill required by that piece of equipment. "Gear will, at best, be restricted by Type ("Platemail" type armor may require X Heavy Armor skill to wear)" -Zodium Furthermore "Since we're doing it this way in order to avoid the need for a No Drop solution, we're also smart enough to make the item bonuses a function of your skills to a large degree, though.” -Zodium

Q: Since there is no form of "No-Drop" items, can I "Twink" other characters?

"If you want to make an alt and put the sweetest gear in Dawntide on him, that's your prerogative to do" -Zodium

Q: Where can I go for detailed explanations of equipment and stats?

Here is a detailed post from Wiz on the types of equipment as well as some break down of some of the games stats such as Force/Speed/Balance.

Q: What is the difference between Stealth and Hide?

“Anybody can hide in the right spot as it is a Basic skill, however Stealth is a Profession and will require you to learn it as you progress in the game.” -derived from Spam's IRC comments, and the skill list

Q: Can I interact with everything in the game world? Or will there be 'fake' items like bottles, plates, knives, etc that are simply eye candy?

Unfortunately in an MMORPG, having every single item interactive would be detrimental to the game. To prevent this you would be unable to sell or trade the items; thus making them useless and negating the whole point of making them interactive. "I have a hard time imagining us making everything intractable, but I believe we will aim at a nice balance between realism and static environment." -Bird Reynolds

Q: Will there be alternate planes of existence similar to EQ's planes?

Yes, but slightly different in that it is a giant maze instead of an area with raid bosses. "We do have an "alternate dimension' planned called Laconis, which is accessed through gates in the world. There are existing gates spread around, but they can eventually also be built in player cities - however, they are very advanced, extremely resource/skill demanding and high maintenance. " -zodium

Housing

Q: What kinds of buildings can I construct?

Lots! Here is a list of all the available buildings that can be constructed. The largest of which is confirmed as a Castle.

Q: Is there a limit to where I can build my house?

"You won't be able to build absolutely anywhere. You can only build on claimed land, which requires very expensive control buildings, the terrain isn't suitable everywhere, and NPC empires and monster tribes won't be pleased about people plopping down houses on their land." –Wiz. This has sense been put into doubt by dev’s saying that it is uncertain whether a solitary home can be placed without a control building. Liam mentioned also in IRC discussion that something small, like a well, may be used as a control building.

Q: After I have built my house, is it permanent?

Everything requires maintenance. We're not planning to recreate the UO urban sprawl experience. -Wiz

Q: Will there be many un-attackable NPCs, or could I lay waste to an entire town if I was powerful enough?

"I sincerely doubt we will have unattackable merchants and such, however killing one for fun may get you in serious trouble with the local law." -Wiz

Q: Will there be some sort of a warning system to alert me if players invade my home or launch an attack against my faction?

"NPC sentries that send out a faction-wide warning, and also a player option to send a warning if they see hostile pcs on your land." -Wiz

Interface

Q: Will the UI be customizable?

“The trouble with UI customization stems from poor information management in the code. That is to say, the server actually makes much more information available to your computer than it does to your eyes, which third party applications can then retrieve from memory if it knows the location. We're going to solve this by making the visually available information the same information available to your computer and allowing customization from there." -zodium

Q: Will there be special and unique titles for my character?

Yes titles will be similar to UO in that they reflect your skill advancements and can be selected at anytime by the player.

Q: Is there a mini-map?

Yes you can see it in a variety of screenshots, although it is very basic.

Q: Is the game 1st or 3rd person perspective?

Both are available with full mouse-look capabilities with a limited distance from behind your character in 3rd person. There are currently no indications of ‘yourself’ in 1st person mode.

Trade Skills

Q: Can new recipes be learned by trial and error?

"We do not currently have any plans for letting you simply experiment your way into recipes, as this is not how the trade skill ui functions (you don't pick your components, you pick a recipe and then select a material that works with it)." -Wiz

Q: Will trade skills be worthwhile, or are they just a time/money sink?

"Almost everything in the game is currently planned to be player produced, so production skills will be extremely important. Obviously, that means production skills will be a non-repetitive and involved process on the producer's end." -Zodium

Q: How will I create character usable items via trade skills?

Higher end items will likely consist of multiple components, which again consist of raw materials - as opposed to lower end items, which will probably be made directly from raw materials. -Zodium

Q: How does Dawntide handle players coming together to craft a large scale item like a ship?

"Components will function as a layer between raw material and finished goods that will easily allow for things like combining production skills for a finished product, without having it work as a big cooking pot where you simply throw in a sufficient amount of material and skillpoints." -Zodium

Q: Will I need to grind out every trade skill to be competitive in Dawntides trade skill system?

A ship will require a large amount of complex components from a wide variety of production skill trees. In Dawntide, it would make more sense (efficiency-wise, though that's bland) to specialize within your chosen production skill and then buy components for higher end products from other producers with the profits. -Zodium

Q: Will trade skills be the main source of character items, or MOB drops?

”Crafting, rather than mysteriously appearing monsters with mysteriously appearing items, will be the main source of items in the game. This will also help to protect the economy, safeguarding it from a flood or player made items and looted items.” -Zodium

Q: I noticed we will be able to name items we create with trade skills. Will I be able to put a tag or personal decal on special items as well?

No, "Any form of customized graphics/visuals are extremely difficult to pull off in practice because frankly, a lot of people would just put penises on their swords." -Zodium

 

Mod edit..

 

krugve

I'm not sure whether calling a game the next Darkfall is a good advertisement, you might want to edit that out.

hoopty

Originally posted by krugve


I'm not sure whether calling a game the next Darkfall is a good advertisement, you might want to edit that out.

 

Done and thanks..

Axehilt

As much as I'm uninterested by Sandboxes, and as eager as I am to find chinks in game design armor, I can find nothing overtly wrong with any of this.  Most impressive.

The only potential red flag I see is they're proposing a huge amount of content with all they have planned in that FAQ, so it'll mostly be a test to see if they can get it all into the game without being buggy.  If so, they'll have a wildly successful game amongst the large section of MMORPG.com players here who want a sandbox.

krugve

That's a lot of cool things listed here, but with the latest bad examples a link to some state of game(or beta) review might be useful. You know, we've seen this all before and with games like DF where promised vs delivered is like night and day not many people will believe words from the devs only.

korpsce24

Hey, I 'm currently in the beta for Dawntide. It's in the very early stages of CB, hasn't even been in it for a month yet, but from what the game has so far, it is fun. I find myself playing it a few hours a day. even with only a small amount of content in it right now. All I can say is, if any of you are interested in the game, drop by the forums, or hang in their IRC for a little while. There is no NDA on the game right now, so there is a lot of information to be found if you want to find it.