I don't play now because I reached the point where I will need to join a clan. I had been playing and having a lot of fun soloing and working with other noobs I met along the way, but to join a clan, a time committment not unlike getting a job seems to be required in most cases.
This is understandable given the way Darkfall is set up. But it is also the point where I had to decide whether to keep playing or not. I need to prioritize my RL first and I simply cannot dedicate a minimum of 20 hours a week to this game - which feels like what I would need to do to accomplish what I need to accomplish to keep clan members happy with my character development progress, etc.
Clans can be very supportive of your character development and there are fine people in them. I'm not criticizing that in any way. In my case however, I just like to play in my own way and given the way Darkfall is designed, that would make me a hopeless noob for years. Your clan will want you to do specific things and reach specific levels of competence within certain timeframes. This feels like a peer-driven and pressure-filled grind to a player like me. There isn't the joy of play and exploration, but more an anxiety-fueled sprint to meet the pace of a clan's expectations.
For that reason, I realized I need a more "casual" game.
All that said, I still love Darkfall and do not recommend any changes to make it more accessible. It is what it is and you can play it or not. Because I chose not to go on, obviously, doesn't make a bad or imperfect game. I wish DF and it's community well. I hope this games continues to thrive, improve, and grow.
I stopped myself from playing this game because of the videos with bad graphics. I thought, "wow, look at that guy swinging his sword, that does NOT look fun at all." Then I tried it...I have been playing for a year now. Once you get over that first hill of being a noob, get your skills up and know what to farm for what, I feel that losing my entire bank would not send me back too far. You just have to join a good clan, or solo like a little fish in a small pond filled with sharks. There is no other game out there like this, that I enjoy nearly as much at least.
The game was originally designed with a skill cap in mind they just couldn't get in implemented before launch so they pulled it. No skill cap + a horrible UI is why this game is failure plus. Also the game was heavily exploited in the early days. I think if they overhauled the UI, added a skill cap, and wiped and relaunched the game it would be much more successful.
Which is what, exactly? From everything I saw in my three month stay, they were basically just getting ideas of old games into this generation. That's commendable, but not innovative, I think.
Maybe read the lines after the quote?
And the game wasn't designed with a cap, find me only a dev quote about this. IN fact they clearly said they want a endless skilling ala EVE, but didn't want it to be time based but on use based like UO. The mix wasn't good thats all. And they clearly wanted to have the Dread Lords days of Uo where every had access to all main pvp skills, but everyone had hiw own playstyle.
I'm not sure anymore, but the only cap was that if a skill wasn't used it would decay, but when you remember how grindy it was the first year, its clearly the skill would have decayed quicker than your macro even at full speed all night long during 36 hours a day.
Cookie Cutter builds (defeats the purpose of open skill system)
Awful UI
Bunny hopping
1-time trial
Those are the main reasons I don't play.
I think it's absolutely insane that trials are a 1 time deal. I dunno if it's to limit gold spammers or what, but they aren't doing themselves any favors with subscriptions. Oh you tried the game a few weeks after launch? Well you'll just have to buy the game if you want to see where the game is at now.
I trialed Eve something like 4-5 times before I finally subbed just now. These games are an acquired taste, you have to let people acquire the taste over time.
Like most reviews, this review is very superficial and tells little of how the game really is, such as the very low population, and the majority of the game's population spends the majority of their online time macroing and afk swimming because the "grind" aspect of the game is so long and consists of mindnumbing repetition.
Since launch I would guess the population is about a tenth of what it was, to the point that veterans of the game will often come to newbie lands and kill newbies just because they can't find any other competition.
3) no skill caps or skill restrictions mean that you must train everything to a high level just to be competitive, and that everyone is the same.
4) no sense of racial differentiation or culture - almost all clans are mixed race - race is virtually pointless in the game.
5) unlike EVE, there is no sense of geography or the position of your holdings mattering, as the same resources are found everywhere, NPCs provide everything you need, and banking is totally universal. Race and geographical location mean virtually nothing.
6) lack of depth to combat, because everyone is the same "class" - hybrid. melee combat is very simplistic - each weapon only has 4 different attacks and they are the same for every weapon. Magic school too are very copycat - each school has a bolt spell, a buff self spell, a buff other spell, a debuff spell, and a resistance spell. It is very bland.
7) the UI is pretty terrible. The chat in particular would have been regarded as primitive even back around 2001 and is inexcusable in 2011, 2 years after launch.
8) the newbie experience is way too brutal, mainly because alignment is quite ineffective and Aventurine decided to go with guard towers instead of roaming NPC guards. There is no sense of even the racial capital and surrounding racial home lands being any safer than in the middle of the map, which I think greatly limits the type of player that Darkfall will ever attract (see population problem).
The good things:
1) the world. It is huge, varied and really convincing and IMO by far the best aspect of the game.
2) contrary to the review, the graphics are generally very good, though granted the animations for some races are stiff and awkward. Real-time shadows and the rise and fall of the sun/moons are spectacular.
3) the AI is outstanding and makes PVE more like a FPS and a lot less dull than in other MMOs where you just spam the same series of buttons for every mob. In Darkfall, mobs have personality and they play to win.
4) the potential range of activity: mounts, ships, sieges, small and large group PVE and PVP are all possible in Darkfall, but sadly rare, as most people are too busy macroing or grinding PVE to pay for macroing.
To start playing this game now, in 2011, you must do one or more of the following:
1) buy a developed character
2) buy gold to use the offline skilling system and to buy heaps of reagents, so you can...
3) macro and leave your computer on all night most nights
4) not macro, and play ~8 hours per day for 3-6 months
I am not trying to bash Darkfall of anything but all of the above is the raw, unfiltered reality of the game right now.
Maybe read the lines after the quote? but there is no inovation mark in the mmorpg rating list, they should really add one. DF is not even close to the game it copied in fact, the danger aspect of the game is really unique to this game. If the combat system was a little less frustrating and skillfull (i know i might get flamed all over but i don't give a shit, its well know mellee combat is a trade of blow because there is no dodge like a fps should naturally have) i would resub tomorrow.
K, so I've included everything after that quote and you don't elaborate in any way as to why the game is innovative.
Honestly, it isn't that innovative, but that isn't a bad thing. It reintroduces old ideas to a generation that probably would laugh if you told them 2D games and games with less than 1 million polygons were fun.
This forum has absolutely terrible formatting, by the way. Just need to get my weekly quota of that out there. Try to do something that doesn't involve miles of pyramid quoting and you're slapped in the face for it.
Nice review. I do feel that you have missed out commenting on one area of the game that (to me) helps to make Darkfall very different from other games - naval warfare. Assuming that your clan is one of those that simply does not really get into that aspect (there are not that many genuine sea-going clans), it may be of interest to you that there are clans and players who will take others on their ships just to get a taste. As you might imagine, with the free for all nature of Darkfall, when you put your hard earned ship on the water and crew the cannons, the nervous 'erm this could hurt!' factor goes through the roof, especially if you see a huge warship loom into view. And as there is no 'cannon damage' skill, ship to ship combat is an area where new players on a crew really can help to kill anyone, veteran or not - while I am not a new player, it is priceless hearing my alliance in vent if we get sunk but 'scrubs' and end up swimming home
For those who are interested, Admiral Tweedle's YouTube video of a sea tower battle is a good watch. While typically these towers are fought over by numerous smaller ships, at prime time the behemoths can come out to wreak havoc on the waters of Agon. -
Been at since July '09. My character is still nowhere near maxed but I can fight a bit if need be.
At some point in these comments I read people saying that the combat sucks. You cannot be serious right? Darkfall's FPS combat has killed the ability for me to pick up another conventional MMO. That sounds like an exagerration but after shooting my enemy in the throat with a keen silverbranch, landing a power attack with a greataxe to the back for ungodly amounts of damage, or simply blinding them with pungent mist I will never ever tab-target PvP again.
There are a multitude of things that could be better about this game but for my money it's the best PvP on the market.
As a parting shot I also read some slander about the community being arrogant and juvenile. Complete hearsay...If you were to make a character in DFO this evening and mentioned in Race chat that you were new and had some questions you would have people lining up to help you along. People in the area would be bestowing gear bags upon you. The few people that did choose to kill you would most likely rez you right after and give you a few tips on PvP.
Also, the alliance I am a part of consists of 50+ mature folks that in most cases started their MMO career in UO, DAoC, Planetside, or one of the other great games of that generation.
Now if you'll excuse me I will let the truth be silenced by troll venom and hearsay.
Good day.
Well, don't get too carried away with the new player experience and how amazing the community is. It is a mixed bag.
E.g. a pair of Alfars did rez me only to kill me immediately again. Thinking it was a mistake I accepted another rez only to be killed again... there ARE an awful lot of asshats playing DF.
NEW is quite good but makes you a target when you solo.
I lasted a few months. I enjoyed the exploring and loved the PvE, but with no sense of progression the combat became dull and the repeated ganking just too much. I think if you want to play DF and enjoy it you have to be willing to play a lot, join a clan and have a low ping.
I don't play now because I reached the point where I will need to join a clan. I had been playing and having a lot of fun soloing and working with other noobs I met along the way, but to join a clan, a time committment not unlike getting a job seems to be required in most cases.
This is understandable given the way Darkfall is set up. But it is also the point where I had to decide whether to keep playing or not. I need to prioritize my RL first and I simply cannot dedicate a minimum of 20 hours a week to this game - which feels like what I would need to do to accomplish what I need to accomplish to keep clan members happy with my character development progress, etc.
Clans can be very supportive of your character development and there are fine people in them. I'm not criticizing that in any way. In my case however, I just like to play in my own way and given the way Darkfall is designed, that would make me a hopeless noob for years. Your clan will want you to do specific things and reach specific levels of competence within certain timeframes. This feels like a peer-driven and pressure-filled grind to a player like me. There isn't the joy of play and exploration, but more an anxiety-fueled sprint to meet the pace of a clan's expectations.
For that reason, I realized I need a more "casual" game.
All that said, I still love Darkfall and do not recommend any changes to make it more accessible. It is what it is and you can play it or not. Because I chose not to go on, obviously, doesn't make a bad or imperfect game. I wish DF and it's community well. I hope this games continues to thrive, improve, and grow.
I've being playing pretty casual for last 3+ months since I started a new character. And I have 370 hp with all magic I need (witches brew, some bunnie-hopping spells and rays), GA Mastery 80+ and Sharpshooter 80+ as well. I guess you can be pvp viable in 4 months of pretty casual playing (15-20 hours per week). Sure, if your personal skill is good...
Like most reviews, this review is very superficial and tells little of how the game really is, such as the very low population, and the majority of the game's population spends the majority of their online time macroing and afk swimming because the "grind" aspect of the game is so long and consists of mindnumbing repetition.
It wasn't mentioned in the review, but the in my experience with Darkfall, the population was not an issue at all. The Elf and Human lands which I spent time in were active and the only time you could get any respite from the paranoia of murder was the early hours of the morning. Also on that note, Darkfall is a game that succeeds with a smallish population just because the majority of the opening stages are spent avoiding others in case of attack.
MMORPG.com . ... thanks for rating the game a little better I guess but next time you may want to have someone over 20 who is actually willing to play the game long enough to give an actual review.
Its blatantly obvious that he hasn't really played . .. and has the point of view coming from a 20yr old who is used to the latest console game graphics, etc. LOL
Sorry but this is a pretty FAIL review .. . please have someone age 30+ review the game after the next expansion!
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MMORPG.com . ... thanks for rating the game a little better I guess but next time you may want to have someone over 20 who is actually willing to play the game long enough to give an actual review.
Its blatantly obvious that he hasn't really played . .. and has the point of view coming from a 20yr old who is used to the latest console game graphics, etc. LOL
Sorry but this is a pretty FAIL review .. . please have someone age 30+ review the game after the next expansion!
If the game requires a month (or more) of indepth gameplay before it becomes fun, it isn't worth reviewing. (three times)
MMORPG.com . ... thanks for rating the game a little better I guess but next time you may want to have someone over 20 who is actually willing to play the game long enough to give an actual review.
Its blatantly obvious that he hasn't really played . .. and has the point of view coming from a 20yr old who is used to the latest console game graphics, etc. LOL
Sorry but this is a pretty FAIL review .. . please have someone age 30+ review the game after the next expansion!
If the game requires a month (or more) of indepth gameplay before it becomes fun, it isn't worth reviewing. (three times)
I am surprised myself by Sid's response. I wouldn't have thought Darkfall, with all it's hardcore old school cred, would have been home to the rabid fanboism that has unfortunately engulfed many other games. Sid, correct (civilly) me if I'm wrong, but your response came off as "You don't like it?! Well you're... DUMB!"
EDIT: I also strongly agree with Quake. If a game takes that long to begin to enjoy, it stops being a game. You shouldn't have to suffer through a month (that you're paying for) to enjoy a game. I realize I'm about to be flamed for being a carebear or somesuch nonsense, but it's a game. Those are supposed to be fun. Remember? I don't need to be l33t from day one ingame, but I should be having fun.
As has been stated previously the biggest problem I found with the game was a lack of the promised skill cap. When the game was in development they did state there would be a skill cap (even if it was a soft cap, which is still a cap). This lack of a skill cap ruins the economy of the game because everyone can be capped at everything with enough time and there is no reward for specialization. Instead of instituting the skill cap the devs decided to make specializations and I quit following the game, but it either introduced or will introduce prestige classes into the classless skill based game (which just makes me laugh). This all could have been avoided by simply having a skill cap.
listen to yourselves - half of you are asking for it to be just like wow. It is a niche game thank god not an instant gratification one. You actually get satisfaction from hard work and decent game play not by tweaking your new char with hand me downs form yuo rlev 80
listen to yourselves - half of you are asking for it to be just like wow. It is a niche game thank god not an instant gratification one. You actually get satisfaction from hard work and decent game play not by tweaking your new char with hand me downs form yuo rlev 80
Lol... Not quite.
-------- "Chemistry: 'We do stuff in lab that would be a felony in your garage.'"
The most awesomest after school special T-shirt: Front: UNO Chemistry Club Back: /\OH --> Bad Decisions
Great concept of a game...but this is what turned me off.
After the 24 hour grace period were you can not be harmed I asked someone in the game about the looting. The player told me if you die your enemy could take all of your stuff. I said to myself, ok lets ask the next logical questions.
Q: So do people run around with their best gear?
A: No, most actually run around with no gear at all. Unless they are really high up skill wise.
Q: Wait. so where is all your stuff?
A: In the bank vaults. But you have to be careful because someone could kill you at the vault and take all your stuff.
Q: Ok, so does your stuff help your stats, and be able to kill others and survive?
A: Of course.
Q: But you never use it because someone might take it?
A: Yes.
Q: So you spend all this time acquiring good stuff, that you may never be able to use, which means you won't be as good as someone who is trying to steal it from you after they kill which they could do since they probably have much better gear than you because they have been around longer?
A: Maybe this game isn't for you.
Q: Well I just wondering what the point is if you either can never use your best gear or have to wait forever for it? This is hardcore fun?
This is what is hilarious. Even to this day this can still be found in the FAQs on the darkfall website.
"Playing a lot will help you develop a stronger character, it will help you to improve your character handling skills, and it will familiarize you better with the world and the way it works. However, this game is not all about individual skill, and there will be a skill cap so characters can develop up to a point. There are many elements that come into play in Darkfall, and a casual player can have as much fun playing the game, and possibly be more successful than a hard core gamer, in some fields.
Also remember that with no levels in the game, your friends will never outlevel you, and you can play together even if you have radically different play times invested in your characters."
Yet still no skill cap. Unless you count maxed in every skill as a skill cap. Then I guess technically there is a skill cap. However I don't see how that allows a casual player to become more successful in any felds than a hard core gamer.
I am not sure what tha answer is to the internet " I am a know all and everything sucks" crowd. All I can think is that there are a whole lot of spoiled folks who just like to whine to see themselves in type . Please - complaining about an interface when we all now the recent history of online games has dumbed things down and simplified to the point where you can actually get a char to lev 80 in a month so that you can dominate the camps and farm better gear faster. I almosty hate to say it but forums are part of the issue. Every game that I have played since eq2 has had the same type of comments. Endless argument about one group wanting risk / reward while the younger folks want instant gratification and the easy street - quests dumbed down and to be told what to do in a game due to inability to use imagination . Too many games haved turned into console games for multiplayer instead of mmo games and I for one am glad we are getting a few that differ. The new catch phrase is " sandbox" people throw that around to mean so many things and to sound cool saying it, then complain that they do not know what to do in a game lol. It is hard to have a mmo where you do not have endless wow type mobs standing around and you need to take exactly 10 steps left, one right then pull your uber-doober weapon that everyone else has to take out the boss while getting out of the next group waiting to do the same thing with the exact same gear. Hard becasue that is what many folks want and many devs cave in to the dollar first and foremost. Pretty much anything that millions of folk in today's world like and do daily is rarely something that I find of any value or entertainment value. Mainstream it all and turn the world in to a boring star trek next generation world if that is your thing - I just hope all the devs do not get on that boat with you.
A UI, graphics and animation overhall is in progress at the moment and will be launched with the next expansion hopefully early this year including DX11 support.
Here's some info on the motion capture studio for the new animations:
Comments
You shouldn't list open loot as a con. Yeah its too harsh for some but this game is not for them. There are con's but open loot is not one of them.
I don't play now because I reached the point where I will need to join a clan. I had been playing and having a lot of fun soloing and working with other noobs I met along the way, but to join a clan, a time committment not unlike getting a job seems to be required in most cases.
This is understandable given the way Darkfall is set up. But it is also the point where I had to decide whether to keep playing or not. I need to prioritize my RL first and I simply cannot dedicate a minimum of 20 hours a week to this game - which feels like what I would need to do to accomplish what I need to accomplish to keep clan members happy with my character development progress, etc.
Clans can be very supportive of your character development and there are fine people in them. I'm not criticizing that in any way. In my case however, I just like to play in my own way and given the way Darkfall is designed, that would make me a hopeless noob for years. Your clan will want you to do specific things and reach specific levels of competence within certain timeframes. This feels like a peer-driven and pressure-filled grind to a player like me. There isn't the joy of play and exploration, but more an anxiety-fueled sprint to meet the pace of a clan's expectations.
For that reason, I realized I need a more "casual" game.
All that said, I still love Darkfall and do not recommend any changes to make it more accessible. It is what it is and you can play it or not. Because I chose not to go on, obviously, doesn't make a bad or imperfect game. I wish DF and it's community well. I hope this games continues to thrive, improve, and grow.
I stopped myself from playing this game because of the videos with bad graphics. I thought, "wow, look at that guy swinging his sword, that does NOT look fun at all." Then I tried it...I have been playing for a year now. Once you get over that first hill of being a noob, get your skills up and know what to farm for what, I feel that losing my entire bank would not send me back too far. You just have to join a good clan, or solo like a little fish in a small pond filled with sharks. There is no other game out there like this, that I enjoy nearly as much at least.
The game was originally designed with a skill cap in mind they just couldn't get in implemented before launch so they pulled it. No skill cap + a horrible UI is why this game is failure plus. Also the game was heavily exploited in the early days. I think if they overhauled the UI, added a skill cap, and wiped and relaunched the game it would be much more successful.
Maybe read the lines after the quote?
And the game wasn't designed with a cap, find me only a dev quote about this. IN fact they clearly said they want a endless skilling ala EVE, but didn't want it to be time based but on use based like UO. The mix wasn't good thats all. And they clearly wanted to have the Dread Lords days of Uo where every had access to all main pvp skills, but everyone had hiw own playstyle.
I'm not sure anymore, but the only cap was that if a skill wasn't used it would decay, but when you remember how grindy it was the first year, its clearly the skill would have decayed quicker than your macro even at full speed all night long during 36 hours a day.
Horrendous combat animations
Cookie Cutter builds (defeats the purpose of open skill system)
Awful UI
Bunny hopping
1-time trial
Those are the main reasons I don't play.
I think it's absolutely insane that trials are a 1 time deal. I dunno if it's to limit gold spammers or what, but they aren't doing themselves any favors with subscriptions. Oh you tried the game a few weeks after launch? Well you'll just have to buy the game if you want to see where the game is at now.
I trialed Eve something like 4-5 times before I finally subbed just now. These games are an acquired taste, you have to let people acquire the taste over time.
Like most reviews, this review is very superficial and tells little of how the game really is, such as the very low population, and the majority of the game's population spends the majority of their online time macroing and afk swimming because the "grind" aspect of the game is so long and consists of mindnumbing repetition.
Since launch I would guess the population is about a tenth of what it was, to the point that veterans of the game will often come to newbie lands and kill newbies just because they can't find any other competition.
IMO the biggest problems of this game are:
1) low population
2) mindnumbing, repetition-based progression AKA grind
3) no skill caps or skill restrictions mean that you must train everything to a high level just to be competitive, and that everyone is the same.
4) no sense of racial differentiation or culture - almost all clans are mixed race - race is virtually pointless in the game.
5) unlike EVE, there is no sense of geography or the position of your holdings mattering, as the same resources are found everywhere, NPCs provide everything you need, and banking is totally universal. Race and geographical location mean virtually nothing.
6) lack of depth to combat, because everyone is the same "class" - hybrid. melee combat is very simplistic - each weapon only has 4 different attacks and they are the same for every weapon. Magic school too are very copycat - each school has a bolt spell, a buff self spell, a buff other spell, a debuff spell, and a resistance spell. It is very bland.
7) the UI is pretty terrible. The chat in particular would have been regarded as primitive even back around 2001 and is inexcusable in 2011, 2 years after launch.
8) the newbie experience is way too brutal, mainly because alignment is quite ineffective and Aventurine decided to go with guard towers instead of roaming NPC guards. There is no sense of even the racial capital and surrounding racial home lands being any safer than in the middle of the map, which I think greatly limits the type of player that Darkfall will ever attract (see population problem).
The good things:
1) the world. It is huge, varied and really convincing and IMO by far the best aspect of the game.
2) contrary to the review, the graphics are generally very good, though granted the animations for some races are stiff and awkward. Real-time shadows and the rise and fall of the sun/moons are spectacular.
3) the AI is outstanding and makes PVE more like a FPS and a lot less dull than in other MMOs where you just spam the same series of buttons for every mob. In Darkfall, mobs have personality and they play to win.
4) the potential range of activity: mounts, ships, sieges, small and large group PVE and PVP are all possible in Darkfall, but sadly rare, as most people are too busy macroing or grinding PVE to pay for macroing.
To start playing this game now, in 2011, you must do one or more of the following:
1) buy a developed character
2) buy gold to use the offline skilling system and to buy heaps of reagents, so you can...
3) macro and leave your computer on all night most nights
4) not macro, and play ~8 hours per day for 3-6 months
I am not trying to bash Darkfall of anything but all of the above is the raw, unfiltered reality of the game right now.
Requiamer posted:
K, so I've included everything after that quote and you don't elaborate in any way as to why the game is innovative.
Honestly, it isn't that innovative, but that isn't a bad thing. It reintroduces old ideas to a generation that probably would laugh if you told them 2D games and games with less than 1 million polygons were fun.
This forum has absolutely terrible formatting, by the way. Just need to get my weekly quota of that out there. Try to do something that doesn't involve miles of pyramid quoting and you're slapped in the face for it.
Nice review. I do feel that you have missed out commenting on one area of the game that (to me) helps to make Darkfall very different from other games - naval warfare. Assuming that your clan is one of those that simply does not really get into that aspect (there are not that many genuine sea-going clans), it may be of interest to you that there are clans and players who will take others on their ships just to get a taste. As you might imagine, with the free for all nature of Darkfall, when you put your hard earned ship on the water and crew the cannons, the nervous 'erm this could hurt!' factor goes through the roof, especially if you see a huge warship loom into view. And as there is no 'cannon damage' skill, ship to ship combat is an area where new players on a crew really can help to kill anyone, veteran or not - while I am not a new player, it is priceless hearing my alliance in vent if we get sunk but 'scrubs' and end up swimming home
For those who are interested, Admiral Tweedle's YouTube video of a sea tower battle is a good watch. While typically these towers are fought over by numerous smaller ships, at prime time the behemoths can come out to wreak havoc on the waters of Agon. -
Well, don't get too carried away with the new player experience and how amazing the community is. It is a mixed bag.
E.g. a pair of Alfars did rez me only to kill me immediately again. Thinking it was a mistake I accepted another rez only to be killed again... there ARE an awful lot of asshats playing DF.
NEW is quite good but makes you a target when you solo.
I lasted a few months. I enjoyed the exploring and loved the PvE, but with no sense of progression the combat became dull and the repeated ganking just too much. I think if you want to play DF and enjoy it you have to be willing to play a lot, join a clan and have a low ping.
It wasn't mentioned in the review, but the in my experience with Darkfall, the population was not an issue at all. The Elf and Human lands which I spent time in were active and the only time you could get any respite from the paranoia of murder was the early hours of the morning. Also on that note, Darkfall is a game that succeeds with a smallish population just because the majority of the opening stages are spent avoiding others in case of attack.
How can full loot be a con? It's one of the games features... Obviously it's not everyones cup o tea, but it isn't fair to list as a con.
https://albiononline.com/?ref=7MN1FPEZ82
I'll split the gold with you.
MMORPG.com . ... thanks for rating the game a little better I guess but next time you may want to have someone over 20 who is actually willing to play the game long enough to give an actual review.
Its blatantly obvious that he hasn't really played . .. and has the point of view coming from a 20yr old who is used to the latest console game graphics, etc. LOL
Sorry but this is a pretty FAIL review .. . please have someone age 30+ review the game after the next expansion!
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If the game requires a month (or more) of indepth gameplay before it becomes fun, it isn't worth reviewing. (three times)
I am surprised myself by Sid's response. I wouldn't have thought Darkfall, with all it's hardcore old school cred, would have been home to the rabid fanboism that has unfortunately engulfed many other games. Sid, correct (civilly) me if I'm wrong, but your response came off as "You don't like it?! Well you're... DUMB!"
EDIT: I also strongly agree with Quake. If a game takes that long to begin to enjoy, it stops being a game. You shouldn't have to suffer through a month (that you're paying for) to enjoy a game. I realize I'm about to be flamed for being a carebear or somesuch nonsense, but it's a game. Those are supposed to be fun. Remember? I don't need to be l33t from day one ingame, but I should be having fun.
As has been stated previously the biggest problem I found with the game was a lack of the promised skill cap. When the game was in development they did state there would be a skill cap (even if it was a soft cap, which is still a cap). This lack of a skill cap ruins the economy of the game because everyone can be capped at everything with enough time and there is no reward for specialization. Instead of instituting the skill cap the devs decided to make specializations and I quit following the game, but it either introduced or will introduce prestige classes into the classless skill based game (which just makes me laugh). This all could have been avoided by simply having a skill cap.
Still no skill cap? then i wont bother. So stupid, i dont wanna be a warrior/archer/mage/priest just to be able too compete in PvP.
Currently Playing Path of Exile
listen to yourselves - half of you are asking for it to be just like wow. It is a niche game thank god not an instant gratification one. You actually get satisfaction from hard work and decent game play not by tweaking your new char with hand me downs form yuo rlev 80
Lol... Not quite.
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The most awesomest after school special T-shirt:
Front: UNO Chemistry Club
Back: /\OH --> Bad Decisions
Great concept of a game...but this is what turned me off.
After the 24 hour grace period were you can not be harmed I asked someone in the game about the looting. The player told me if you die your enemy could take all of your stuff. I said to myself, ok lets ask the next logical questions.
Q: So do people run around with their best gear?
A: No, most actually run around with no gear at all. Unless they are really high up skill wise.
Q: Wait. so where is all your stuff?
A: In the bank vaults. But you have to be careful because someone could kill you at the vault and take all your stuff.
Q: Ok, so does your stuff help your stats, and be able to kill others and survive?
A: Of course.
Q: But you never use it because someone might take it?
A: Yes.
Q: So you spend all this time acquiring good stuff, that you may never be able to use, which means you won't be as good as someone who is trying to steal it from you after they kill which they could do since they probably have much better gear than you because they have been around longer?
A: Maybe this game isn't for you.
Q: Well I just wondering what the point is if you either can never use your best gear or have to wait forever for it? This is hardcore fun?
A: bye
This is what is hilarious. Even to this day this can still be found in the FAQs on the darkfall website.
"Playing a lot will help you develop a stronger character, it will help you to improve your character handling skills, and it will familiarize you better with the world and the way it works. However, this game is not all about individual skill, and there will be a skill cap so characters can develop up to a point. There are many elements that come into play in Darkfall, and a casual player can have as much fun playing the game, and possibly be more successful than a hard core gamer, in some fields.
Also remember that with no levels in the game, your friends will never outlevel you, and you can play together even if you have radically different play times invested in your characters."
Yet still no skill cap. Unless you count maxed in every skill as a skill cap. Then I guess technically there is a skill cap. However I don't see how that allows a casual player to become more successful in any felds than a hard core gamer.
I am not sure what tha answer is to the internet " I am a know all and everything sucks" crowd. All I can think is that there are a whole lot of spoiled folks who just like to whine to see themselves in type . Please - complaining about an interface when we all now the recent history of online games has dumbed things down and simplified to the point where you can actually get a char to lev 80 in a month so that you can dominate the camps and farm better gear faster. I almosty hate to say it but forums are part of the issue. Every game that I have played since eq2 has had the same type of comments. Endless argument about one group wanting risk / reward while the younger folks want instant gratification and the easy street - quests dumbed down and to be told what to do in a game due to inability to use imagination . Too many games haved turned into console games for multiplayer instead of mmo games and I for one am glad we are getting a few that differ. The new catch phrase is " sandbox" people throw that around to mean so many things and to sound cool saying it, then complain that they do not know what to do in a game lol. It is hard to have a mmo where you do not have endless wow type mobs standing around and you need to take exactly 10 steps left, one right then pull your uber-doober weapon that everyone else has to take out the boss while getting out of the next group waiting to do the same thing with the exact same gear. Hard becasue that is what many folks want and many devs cave in to the dollar first and foremost. Pretty much anything that millions of folk in today's world like and do daily is rarely something that I find of any value or entertainment value. Mainstream it all and turn the world in to a boring star trek next generation world if that is your thing - I just hope all the devs do not get on that boat with you.
Pros
what about the open world/combat system?
Clan warfare some of the best PvP around
true enuf
Never a dull moment
er WUT, grind isn't dull?
Refreshing skill system
Lol no, its FAIL, no skill cap
Cons
Graphics and animations
gfx isn't df's problem, animations improvements would be nice
Not for those who loathe the grind
yeah grind 2nd biggest con after POPULATION (although the two are linked)
Open loot is still too harsh for some
Open loot is core feature, reduced grind to replace loot would be nice.
My blog:
A UI, graphics and animation overhall is in progress at the moment and will be launched with the next expansion hopefully early this year including DX11 support.
Here's some info on the motion capture studio for the new animations:
http://www.darkfallonline.com/blog/motion-capture-impressions-gallore/
New upcoming Ork Model:
http://www.darkfallonline.com/images/ork_male.jpg
New upcoming Alfar Model:
http://www.darkfallonline.com/images/alfar_male.jpg
New upcoming Mahirrim Model:
http://www.darkfallonline.com/images/mahirim_male.jpg
New upcoming Dwarf model:
http://www.darkfallonline.com/images/dwarf_01.jpg
New upcoming Human model:
http://www.darkfallonline.com/images/new_human_female.jpg
New upcoming Armor:
http://www.darkfallonline.com/images/advanced_leather_armor.jpg
Some new monster models:
http://www.darkfallonline.com/blog/darkfalls-art-from-design-to-model/