[Article] Darkfall Online (second article)

[ViND_]

Darkfall Online

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME A LEGEND?

Darkfall Online is a game that caught my attention. I can’t believe I haven’t heard about it.

It’s been worked on since 2001 and people have been expecting it for a long time, as you see. Some people say that it will “never be released”, but we shall see, and by the way, everyone has very high hopes for this game.

Here is some short info:


Darkfall Online is being created by a company called Aventurine SA from Greece and has been in the works since 2001. The official site is: http://www.darkfallonline.com.

The most amazing thing is, you can do anything in this game. There aren’t any levels or classes, it is all skill-based.

Did I mention the attacks are fast-paced? But that’s not the only thing… there's so much more. Here it is in this thread with color.

A GLIMPSE

OF DARKFALL

What kind of advanced features does Darkfall have?
Darkfall has most of the features one would associate with fantasy based MMORPGs, but also contains elements found in real-time strategy and action games. In Darkfall it’s the players and their actions that shape the world. We provide you with the platform and the tools to engage in grand activities such as kingdom building, politics, strategy, diplomacy, combat, warfare, conquest, and racial wars. We also offer you the freedom and the option to not get involved in any of that if you don’t want to, and to follow a path of your own.


Does the Darkfall world have a name?
The world’s name is Agon.


Does Darkfall have a storyline?
Not in the sense of a chain of pre-planned events that players take part in or watch unfold. Our storyline is completely player driven.

As the game is launched, clues begin to indicate the hiding places of artifacts called word-stones. Darkfall's dynamic storyline concerns the struggle between players to control these artifacts and the wealth and power which they unlock. You can read the lore here: Darkfall Online :: World Lore :: World Lore


How big is the world?
The world is huge, possibly the largest single online game world ever created. Besides being huge, the world features hundreds of islands you could discover and make your secret base on. As you travel across Agon you will encounter unique terrain features never seen before in online games, such as mountains ranges that rise for thousands of feet, waiting for you to climb and explore them.


What is the setting of this game?
The setting of Darkfall is a fantasy adventure where anything is possible, with dragons, elves, orks, sorcery, epic battles, quests, and the never-ending struggle between good and evil.


Will Darkfall have safe zones?
There are no safe zones in Darkfall unless the players themselves create them or seek them out. There is no area where a player cannot be attacked by another player.
There is relative safety in numbers and in staying out of harm’s way. A player in a city full of his clanmates and further guarded by NPC guards is as safe as he can be, but he is still vulnerable to a sudden enemy raid. A player who has made a home for himself in a remote area is also relatively safe, but an enemy could always come along. The six racial capitals are very well guarded and will probably be the safest locations on Agon. Someone could still attack you, but he would probably die in the process.

Is Darkfall a Player vs. Player (PvP) game?
Calling Darkfall a PvP game would be selling it short. Of course there’s going to be a lot of PvP combat and the combat gameplay will be as fast paced and fun as a first person shooter, but the focus of the game is kingdom building, clan warfare, and conquest. The battles will be epic and will require a lot more than just PvP skill to be won. Darkfall is as much a social, a real-time strategy, and a fantasy role playing game, as it is a PvP game.

How do spawns work? Are they static or dynamic?
Our random spawns are dynamic. Clear out a spawn and it will not reappear in the same place. If you spend enough time killing a species, its presence in that area will thin out and eventually the species will migrate to a different area.

How much gore can we expect in Darkfall?
That depends on the player setting his preferences. With a “no gore” setting you will have no gore whatsoever, whereas with full options you could watch a perfectly timed and powerful swing of a sword take someone’s head clean off their shoulders.

What about weather effects and day/night cycles?
Agon will be a very atmospheric and beautiful world complete with world physics that will surprise you. The weather effects will often be dramatic, and the day/night cycles will sometimes be accompanied with spectacular dawns and sunsets.
The exact time cycle is not set yet, but the current total night/day cycle is about four hours long. Expect realistic weather effects, such as rain, snow, wind blowing in the trees, wind blowing in the grass on the ground, thunder and lightning.

How can I travel long distances other than by foot?
There will be horses and other types of mounts you can ride, ships you can sail, as well as magical means of travel.

Will a map be available?
A dynamic in-game map is available. You can also look at a map of Agon here: Darkfall Online :: World Lore :: The Four Subcontinents

CHARACTERS

Where will my character start out?
Your character will start his/her adventure near his/her racial capital, with little more than a name, some basic equipment, and a neutral alignment.

There’s alignment in Darkfall?
Yes there is. You start out with a neutral alignment, and based on your actions, this alignment changes. Turning evil is easy, although it doesn’t make for an easy life. Killing other characters unprovoked will get you there fast and this will make most guards, clans and other players attack you on sight. Changing your alignment towards good is a challenging and difficult process.

Will I need to level?
There is no leveling in Darkfall. Our advancement system is 100% skill based. If you want to learn to use the sword for example, you pick up the swordsmanship skill by learning it from an NPC or from another player and you advance this skill with use. You become a better swordsman over time and with practice, by actually using your sword while hunting or in combat.


What about character classes? How does character development work in Darkfall?
The rule is that there are no traditional character classes, or templates. We want to give the players total control of what and how they want to play. Customize your own character to suit your playing style best, without traditional templates to limit you. If you want to be an axe wielding Dwarven fighter you simply pick up the Axe skill, Axe Mastery, Parry, Dodge, Cleave and other linked skills. If you later decide that some magic would be nice as support, you pick up a few magic skills and spells as well. The same goes for trade skills. Want to be able to create weapons? Pick up Smithing and Weapon Crafting. Want to make clothing or work as a tailor for a while? Pick up Tailoring. No need to re-roll your character.
There is no way to "gimp" your character by picking the "wrong" skills or spells.
Get what you want, play as you want.
That being said - There is an option available to follow a class system: the Prestige classes described below.


What are the Prestige classes?
Prestige classes are special classes, like Paladin, Assassin, Gladiator, Enchanter etc. and it’s an optional path that you may choose for your character to follow. Picking a prestige class will in most cases give you a few special skills, a few special spells, and you will have a certain status. There are limitations, tradeoffs and restrictions playing a prestige class character. Druids for example may never use metal armor after they are initiated, and Paladins have to give half of their earnings to their church.
Prestige classes may be interesting to some players, and some classes may give you an extra reason to role-play, or maybe give you an edge in combat or crafting. There will be many interesting prestige classes for you to try out.
Picking a prestige class is not final - you can change class later, with some minor penalties. The easy route would have been to make picking a prestige class final, but we want to keep Darkfall as open ended as possible.

Can I customize my character’s look?
There are many ways you may customize your character to give him a unique look.


What happens when my character dies?
When your character dies he drops his items that remain on his corpse until looted, but the good news is that he’s resurrected at a spot you’ve previously selected.


How many races are there that I can choose from?
There are six main races that you may choose from: Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Mahirim, Orks and Alfar. You can read more about the different races here: Darkfall Online :: Races And Monsters


Does each race have unique properties?
Yes they do.

Will my character be able to swim?
Your character is capable of swimming, if he learns how to swim.
Does my character age?
There is no character aging in Darkfall.
What effect will eating or not eating have on my character?
We don’t want to add too many mundane everyday issues to Darkfall. However we do think that eating, or not, should affect your character. This means that if you are starving, your stats and skills will take a small penalty, and you will regenerate hit points, stamina and mana slightly slower than if you weren’t starving. Nothing big; you can’t die from hunger - just enough for it to make sense to have some food in your backpack.
We have trade skills such as farming, setting snares and hunting animals, and we are serious about having useful trade skills in Darkfall. Therefore eating is in the game, and players that enjoy farming, setting traps, baking, cooking, fishing, hunting, etc. can sell their wares to other players and actually be useful to others.
Will there be player owned houses?
Players will be able to set up houses of various sizes and design, ranging from small cottages to huge castles and citadels.
Can I design my own house?
Yes you can.
Will wearing armor affect running and swimming speed?
Yes. If you are wearing heavy armor, you will run and swim slightly slower than if you are wearing no armor at all.

SKILLS AND SPELLS

How many skills and spells will Darkfall have?We will have as many as we can possibly add before the game launch. We currently have about 300 skills and 200 spells designed on paper, but we are hoping to get at least 500 skills and 500 spells in there before retail.
Why so many skills and spells?
We would like to make combat, spell casting, trading, and item creation as interesting as possible. Our goal is to promote more variety in combat and allow for a large number of possible combinations to be used in offense and in defense, rather than the same predictable routines being used over and over.
How do I get new skills and spells?
Most spells and skills can be purchased from NPCs, and they will teach you the basics of the particular skill or spell, so you can start using it and training it. Some skills and spells can be learned from other players.
NPCs may ask you to help them perform certain quests before they are willing to teach you special spells and skills.
What is the spell system like?
Spells will be divided into several different schools of magic: Lesser Magic, Greater Magic, Element of Fire, Element of Earth, Element of Water, Element of Air, Witchcraft, Spell Chanting, Necromancy, Wild Magic, Arcane Magic, and Ritual Magic. In addition there are some special spells that do not fit directly into any school of magic, such as racial specialty spells, and Prestige class specialty spells.
Do you have skill caps?
Yes, skills start at one and cap at 100.
So I can learn any spell or skill?
Some skills and spells are race specific, meaning you can not learn them unless you are of the appropriate race. The races also have limits on what they can and cannot learn. The dwarves for instance, are better at melee fighting than they are at magic, so they can master some awesome melee techniques, but they can not learn some of the most advanced spells. Dwarves are however the best smiths in the world, so they can make magical armor that’s a lot better than what the smiths of other races can make.
There are some special skills and spells that can only be learned by specific Prestige class characters.
Can I cast spells while wearing armor?
Yes, however, your casting time will increase significantly if you are wearing heavy armor. So for example, while it takes only two seconds for a player wearing a robe to cast a spell, it may take as long as five seconds for a player in a full plate to cast the exact same spell. There is also a slightly increased chance of making a mistake while casting a spell if you are wearing heavy armor.

ITEMS AND CRAFTING

Can players make magical items?
Darkfall features an extremely sophisticated item creator, which will enable players to create powerful items, like weapons, jewelry, armor, wands, potions, food and more.
We have invested a lot of time and design resources into creating the ultimate player based economy. Players who enjoy trading and crafting will truly enjoy Darkfall’s virtually limitless item creator system, something never before seen in a MMORPG.
Will items decay with use?
Yes they will.
Is it possible to repair items?
It is possible, with the proper skills and tools, up to a point. Eventually an item will be destroyed after being repaired several times.
What types of items can I make?
You will be able to make almost every item found in the world like weapons, tools, armor, clothing, food, containers, furniture, jewelry etc.
How do I get the resources I need to make items?
You can gather the resources you need from hunting, or from mining the specific resource. You could also buy them from a vendor or another player.
What different crafts buildings are there?
There’s a smithy, a workshop, an alchemist shop, a herbalist’s shop and the mage guild.

[ViND_]

SOCIETY AND CLANS

Do I have to join a Clan?
Darkfall can be played any way you want. If you want to get involved in conquest, wars, and ruling kingdoms, you join a clan, or get together with some friends and start your own, but you do not have to.
What other options other than joining a Clan do I have?
You are only limited by your imagination in what else you can do, but here are some examples to get you going:
You could be a lone adventurer, hunting for treasure, magical items and fame, or a mercenary selling your services to the highest bidder. You may choose to play a merchant, setting up caravans and shops in different cities, buying high quality hides from Mahirim hunters and selling them for top prices at Human cities. You could hook up with a few friends and be pirates, sailing your galleon around, plundering merchant ships, or choose to play the Dwarven blacksmith, crafting mighty magical weapons and armor, or perhaps a farmer producing rare herbs and spell reagents. The possibilities are limitless.
Will it be possible to start a multi-race clan?
Clans with a mix of humans, elves and dwarves will be common in Darkfall, or clans made up of Orks and Mahirim. Alfar tend to not mix with other races at all.
Remember that human NPC hirelings, such as guards and vendors, will not tolerate Orks and Alfar players, and may attack them on sight, even though they are in the same Clan. In Alfar towns, NPC guards will attack any character that isn’t an Alfar.
There will most certainly be Clans in Darkfall with players from all races. We predict that this will be small evil Clans, which will set up their Clan headquarters in remote locations, and not get involved in city conquest or empire building, since it will be almost impossible for these Clans to recruit NPC hirelings to help defend their cities and to run their shops. It’s possible in theory that a strong mixed race clan could run cities and conquer new territories without the help of NPC hirelings, even though it should be very hard to accomplish.
How am I going to keep track of all different city laws?
You will find all the information you need on the political map, including who controls the different city states/kingdoms/fiefs, their laws and who they kill on sight.
How are clans structured and organized?
The Clan leader can assign ranks to those below him ranging from recruits up to top level commanders. He can also assign rights (a huge list) to ranks as needed and customize the guild structure (recruitment rights - website update rights)

ECONOMY

Will Darkfall have universal banks?
It will be tested in alpha and beta. We like the idea that if you deposit a longsword in a bank, you have to go back to the exact same bank to withdraw it. However this might prove too annoying in the long run, and as with everything else, we have to consider gameplay issues vs. realism.
How will trading work?
We have developed a pretty sophisticated trading system that brings buyers and sellers together easily, and it will work in, but also out of the game. There will be more on this at a later date.
Can I have pets or NPC hirelings in Darkfall?
You can have pets and NPC hirelings in Darkfall, ranging from tamed animals and monsters, to summoned skeletons, charmed animals and monsters, hired NPC merchants, hired NPC guards, etc.
What can my NPC hirelings do?
NPC hirelings can follow you around and fight with you, they can carry your loot, they can perform skills and spells to aid you, etc. NPC hirelings can do pretty much everything that player friends can do. In addition, NPC hirelings can be given advanced orders such as patrolling your city, looking for enemies, criminals, and thieves. They can be a vendor in your shop that you have set up, they can mine for minerals in a mine, they can go out into the forest and chop wood for you, or stand on the banks of a river fishing for you all day.

COMBAT & CONQUEST

Racial wars?
Yes. Darkfall has six different main character races: Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Mahirim, Orks and Alfar. Each race has different political standings with the other races. The Elves are at peace with Dwarves and Humans, but are wary of Mahirim, and are at war with the Orks. Everyone hates the Alfar, and the Alfar hate everyone. In effect this means that Elven players may travel to Dwarven and Human cities without having any problems with the city guards, and may buy and sell in stores. If an Elven player traveled to an Orkish city, he would be killed on sight, both by city guards and other players. In Alfar cities, any other race is attacked.
Can I be successful at combat without learning magic?
It’s possible, but it won’t be easy. We are balancing magic and melee/archery skills so that you can compete even if you choose not to learn magic. Darkfall is a magical world though, so if you are totally against picking up any magic skills or spells, you may have to rely on magical items, potions or scrolls to aid you in combat.
What’s the best path to follow to be successful in combat?
The best individual fighters in Darkfall will most likely be the characters that have a good combination of skills. In Clan warfare, clans with a good mix of various specialties should fare the best.
I enjoy playing support characters. Will my contribution make a difference in combat?
Your contribution could be very valuable. Logistics are very important in Clan warfare. The tradesmen, farmers, bakers, miners and other support characters stocking up supplies of spell reagents, gold, weapons, potions, armor, and whatever else is needed, are crucial to the war effort. Fighting ability alone will not be able to sustain a successful campaign for long. A clan will need to balance their activities, or cooperate with other clans in order to be successful.
Can I make a name for myself as a solo fighter?
Yes you could, but it won’t be easy. Without a support network you will have serious disadvantages and there’s a limit to what you can accomplish fighting against all odds. However, if you’re intelligent, persistent and skillful you could be very successful playing the “lone wolf” character.
Can you fight in cities?
Yes you can fight wherever you want. There are no safe zones.
Aren’t you worried that out of control random player killers will ruin the game?
No. Being a random player killer of evil alignment is definitely possible, but also an extremely hard career. You will have enemies everywhere, and will have a hard time finding a safe city to trade in. You have the freedom to play such a character, but there’s also accountability for the choices you make.
How does alignment come into play when a good clan is at war with another good clan?
Once clans have declared war on each other, no alignment adjustments will occur due to your actions towards members of the clan you are at war with.
Can you walk through other players in Darkfall?
No, so blocking entrances will be a viable combat tactic. It is possible to push players and monsters out of the way though, so this tactic can be countered.

GAMEPLAY

Do I need to spend half my life playing this game to be any good?
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.
Do I need to be a twitchy gamer to be good?
Skill does come into play in combat, but so does intelligence, strategy, group tactics, preparation, equipment, conditions etc. There are many elements that will affect the outcome of a confrontation.
What camera view is used in Darkfall?
First Person (as far as I know) and third person in fights.
Can I play all races on the same server?
No you may not. This is something we have discussed at length, and we believe that it would allow for easy spying, taking away from the gaming experience. If you play an Alfar, for example, you may log on your Elf scout just to check if the Elven town of Charybdis is well defended at the moment or not. If you want to play a different race, you may do so on a different server / game world.
How do I tell my NPC hirelings what to do?
You can either give an NPC hireling a direct one-time order, such as "heal me", or you can set up a more permanent chain of orders, through an advanced NPC hireling interface in Darkfall. This advanced interface can tell the NPC hireling to heal you every time your health goes below say 10% of your max health. Obviously the NPC hireling must have the matching skills and spells to perform these actions.
NPC hirelings have skills and spells like players do. The more skills and/or spells an NPC hireling has, and the better skill and/or spell levels he has, the more gold he will require for his services.

DARKFALL ONLINE

If you read all of this, you will understand that it is pointless to connect this game to WoW, as it happened in the other article (which made me create this one).

The game is absolutely the best MMORPG.

I forgot to mention that there's a BETA VERSION!

To enter it you must register at here:
Darkfall Forums - Powered by vBulletin

And then you must use your details to enter for BETA here:
Darkfall Beta

The DARKFALL ONLINE release date is February 25th, 2009.

More info can be found in the darkfall forums:
http://forums.darkfallonline.com/

More info about the BETA and Release Date:
Darkfall Forums - Announcements in Forum : Newcomer's Discussions

Have fun!

[ViND_]

Here, I edited everything.

If you have any questions or think the coloring and information is bad, feel free to ask.

@jimei

[Cursed]

I dont like the graphics of the game :P

[Gastricpenguin]

You haven't even seen the game in high-graphics yet. All beta clients run on lowest setting.

[ViND_]

You haven't even seen the game in high-graphics yet. All beta clients run on lowest setting.

I can't wait for it to be out, not only for the game but the graphics.

I recently got a 9600GT and I played Crysis, Crysis Warhead, Mirror's Edge, Prince of Persia, etc.

I can't wait to play Darkfall Online on max, it's gonna be astonishing if that's the low setting that I'm seeing.

[Casperx]

Great preview, much better than the other one! Thanks for mentioning the beta also!

[Cursed]

You haven't even seen the game in high-graphics yet. All beta clients run on lowest setting.

Could you provide a screenshot/video of it? ?
Oh another question: Is it pay-to-play?

[Casperx]

How long does it take to get a response to be beta tester?

[ViND_]

Could you provide a screenshot/video of it? ?
Oh another question: Is it pay-to-play?

Look on youtube.


And yes, it is pay-to-play, but I'll gladly pay for it.



@Casperx, that's what everyone asks. You can do some reading and you'll see how long it takes.

[Casperx]

By the way, I also looked on youtube but most of the videos show the game in low quality, don't let it scare you off or anything like that! And Jimei, thanks for the response!