The only advantage the CS gives people is using the equipment upgrade items.  The ones from the CS have a better chance of success than the ones you buy from the NPC vender with game gold.  Theoretically the latter can give you the same max upgrade (+6) that the CS version can.

Well I'm no expert, but I have dabbled in modding a bit and I'll give you what information I know...

In order to upgrade an item to a higher tier, you need to create mana stones of that tier.  So for instance if you want a tier 3 item, you have to create 3 tier 3 mana stones.

There's 2 ways to create mana stones of a specific tier: 1) transmute an item of that tier with a fusion stone; and 2) transmute 3 mana stones of the next lower tier.  So for example if you want to create a tier 3 mana stone, you can either take an existing tier 3 item and transmute it with a fusion stone, or you can create 3 tier 2 mana stones and transmute them which will create a single tier 3 mana stone.

Transmuting an item will overwrite the existing stats.  Yellow stats appear to be the exception but I haven't tested this yet, so do so with caution.

EDIT: I tested an item with yellow stats and it does overwrite them as well.

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Originally posted by twitchvash

this is a little bit of an exageration. Almost anything the CS players can do, you can do to, it just might take you a little longer or considerably more in game gold. Players can craft items with 4 rune slots which is the max that any item can have even with armor drillers, and can trasmute amazing gear as well. The difference is if you want to try and get your gear from +3 to +6, which i believe is only available to CS users.

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My understanding is that theoretically you can upgrade your gear to +6 without the CS, but because the chances are very low it would take a fortune to accomplish it. However, I believe there are people who got to +4 without the CS, so it's not like the CS people are gods compared to the non-CS people.  Also, just because you buy the upgrade stones (or whatever they're called) from the CS does not guarantee you can get to +6.  There's still a luck factor to it but it's much much higher using the CS.
 

As far as the article itself, it's well written but not without misinformation.  You don't need your second class to get the Moongorge or Barrens Cave quests, although I can understand how that can get confused since you usually pass level 10 (and presumably head to Varanas to get your secondary class) before getting to these quests.  You get both talisman rewards for completing the Barrens Cave quest, not one or the other.  Also, she gets Anglie and Anglo confused (very easy to do btw).  Anglie is outside the instance (but still inside the cave) and is part of a different quest; Anglo is inside the instance and you don't even need to kill him because the quest item is far enough away that you can just avoid him and pick it up (although killing him is part of the fun).

Originally posted by toord

Originally posted by todeswulf

RoM was a nice deversion until I got into the Warrior Epic  Beta . WE just beats RoM is every way imaginable, no reatarded prices for gear an Item shop that actually have things people will want  to buy and a story beyond your here now kill stuff. I think WE will be the game that finally tears me away from WoW...RoM while okay still has a long way to go IMO.

 

I gave RoM a try (I mean it's free after all) and was badly disappointed. Wasn't expecting much and even then it was below expectations. The click-to-go mechanic is pretty lame and taking away the classic WASD scheme is a bug deal. Makes gameplay pretty static and cumbersome to move in combat. The in-game story line and lore are minimal and the quests are absolutely non-engaging. If killing random mobs for no other reason other than to kill stuff this game is a good fit for you. If you like immersive, instanced, deep story lines this game is definitely *NOT* for you. Forget for a moment that this game is free. Suppose you'd have to pay $10/month ... would you play it? In my case the answer is a definite NO. In fact I won't play it even thought it's subscription free.

 

Peace.

You obviously didn't spend much time in RoM (if you even played it at all).  Click-to-move is optional and can even be turned off in the interface options.  WASD movement as well as mouse movement is fully supported.  In fact, the starter quest you get AS SOON AS YOU LOG IN takes you through all of these controls so you're not lost on how to move your char.

Originally posted by troyboy123

yeah if you like instant based battles and solo, I know you can party but atlantica doesnt appeal to people who enjoy pk, period, you cant even see people when they go to battle, they just disapear from the map, now thats homo.

I have to agree.  I just do not see the appeal of turn-based, instanced battles.  It's like taking a step backwards on MMORPG design.

Originally posted by denshing

DF has 1 niche community it is reaching out to, and despite how polished it may not be, I don't think the niche community it reaches to is cynical enough to let that get to them. This game is almost a guarenteed success because to succeed, the only thing it really needs to do is get the proper playerbase it is looking for, in fact, if it gets people to come to it from other playerbases that really dont fit into DF niche, then it will have gone beyond a success. Due to the fact that it only has 1 really niche place to fill, I believe ALOT of people will be giving this game a ton of shit on the forums, which will barely represent what DF is truly about, or who it is for.

Deja vu... Shadowbane anyone?

Well I probably fall in the category of hopeful but very skeptical (no I won't be pre-ordering or even playing until 3-6 months after release, if that) but the biggest red flag for me in the OP is this one:

ESTIMATED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: "We’ve recently simulated large battles and it seems that a single-core processor will be sufficient. 200 vs 200 battles produce between 30 to 60 FPS. When running alone in the wilderness, FPS can shoot to as high as 170-200. This will be further improved once optimizations has been done. Our main concern is to be able to run large battles smoothly."

So this small-time company that has no other game design experience and on a minimum budget is going to pull off what no other MMORPG has ever been able to accomplish.  200 vs 200 battles with 30 to 60 FPS on a single-core processor?  In all honesty, does anyone think that will be the case?

Originally posted by Ihmotepp

The question wasn't what's the criteria Darkfall has to meet to be a good game. The question is how to judge it as success or failure. Same as WAR, LotRO, TAbula Rasa, etc. Money.

Either the investors make their money back, success, or they don't, failure. Tabula rasa, for example is a huge failure. They lost about 100 mil on that project.

http://gigaom.com/2009/02/01/top-10-money-making-mmos-2008/

 

Jury is still out on some of the newer game releases. They got decent box sales, low sub retention, have to wait and see next year how revenue is.

If that's all this tread was about then it would be pointless because obviously money is the measuring stick for any success in business (well except for the non-profit ones :)).

So the way I read it, he wants to know how we personally will judge the game itself to be a success or failure (or as another poster put it, what it would take for us to like it).

So anyway, here's my personal list:

1) Subscription retention after 3-6 months.  Since I won't be playing DF when it's released (waaaay too skeptical), I'll only try it if they're able to retain at least 50% of their initial subscribers.  I don't think that's too much to ask that at least half of the people who try it actually want to keep playing it.

2) Lag (or lack thereof).  This style of gameplay is going to require low lag, otherwise trying to pull off FPS type combat + friendly fire is going to be a lesson in frustration.

3) Smooth graphics/animations.  It doesn't have to look the best, but it does have to be smooth or players feel too disconnected from their character.

4) Level of griefing.  If the game degenerates into meaningless PvP with nothing but the widespread griefing of others, then it brings nothing new to the FFA table for me.  If on the other hand griefers are the minority and dealt with quickly and decisively then I'm this game's biggest fan.  I realize a large part of that is in the hands of the players, but if that mentality is all the game attracts then it's a design failure.

5) They're able to pull off the skill-based, low-gear-dependence model.  If they end up caving in and their imagination can't extend beyond "he who has the most play time" (i.e. killing 3,000,000 mobs gives you god-like sword skill and beats all) and the best gear wins, then it's all just hype.

Hopefully that gives them plenty of time to add more end-game content and fix some of the annoying bugs.  Even still it will be a smoother launch than some of the big name MMO's of 2008.

Originally posted by Piivot

Originally posted by Sixpax

Originally posted by Piivot

I recently tried playing it for two days.  I discovered on the second day, in the Item Mall, that you can buy gems and other items to boost your gear using Real Money.    I announced what I had discovered in general chat.  (zone chat)  I was instantly assaulted verbally with such things as," Can't handle it, leave", "I suggest you go try Wow." Good riddance".    

I have a hard time believing that your "announcement" was anything other than condescending based on the reaction you got.  "Hey guys did you know you can buy gems to boost your gear on the CS?"... "Go back to WoW".  Doesn't exactly make much sense does it?  I'm sure it was more like "man this sucks, whoever buys the most stuff on the CS wins the game."

I'm almost reading this as a  personal attack.  I wasn't pointing fingers at you.  No need for YOU to be so condescending.  Relax.  
 

If I had said it as you did, I would expect retorts like that.  I posted what I did because I was amazed at the rude responses I received.  Not everyone has to be a pompous ass, or converse with a twelve year old mentality.

But I appreciate your guess on what happened.  Thanks for applying your logic (Circle) to what happened without your presence. 

Definitely not meant as a personal attack.  If I were any more relaxed right now, I'd be dead.  Perhaps I stated it with more vigor than needed <shrug>.  I just find what you posted to be hard to believe (the part about getting slammed for announcing to general chat on your CS findings) based on my experience in RoM so far, but granted I was not there.  I have heard the occasional inappropriate conversations, but nothing even close to resembling players attacking one another aside from random sarcasm meant in jest.  However, I dare say something like what you described as happening isn't the norm for RoM like it is in WoW.  Of course that could be because RoM is new and people aren't as jaded as the addicts in WoW who can't seem to let go.

I can't imagine anyone NOT being skeptical of the game at this point.  It's beyond me how anyone could pre-order, but to each their own.

I'm taking the "hope for the best, plan for the worst" approach to DF.

Originally posted by Piivot

I recently tried playing it for two days.  I discovered on the second day, in the Item Mall, that you can buy gems and other items to boost your gear using Real Money.    I announced what I had discovered in general chat.  (zone chat)  I was instantly assaulted verbally with such things as," Can't handle it, leave", "I suggest you go try Wow." Good riddance".    

I have a hard time believing that your "announcement" was anything other than condescending based on the reaction you got.  "Hey guys did you know you can buy gems to boost your gear on the CS?"... "Go back to WoW".  Doesn't exactly make much sense does it?  I'm sure it was more like "man this sucks, whoever buys the most stuff on the CS wins the game."

Yeah there have been inappropriate conversations in zone chat (and I hope you reported any that stepped over the line or you're just perpetuating the problem), but by and large people have been friendly and helpful whenever someone asks a question or needs assistence... something WoW hasn't seen in ages except between guildmates.  I have had zero problems finding someone to lend me a hand with a difficult quest or locate some mob that I need to kill.  It's even common for high levels to visit the starter zone and broadcast their availability for anyone who needs help and/or buffs.  That speaks volumes for RoM as far as I'm concerned.

Originally posted by Reizla

Originally posted by Untouchable8

its wow for poor people.

 

 

its as good as wow

OMFG... An other one who doesn't know dick about MMORPG's and claims RoM to be WoW...
I bet you say that about every new game that'll be released...

Lets get back to basics & enlighten you on the differences...

RoM is FFA PvP, WoW is RvR
RoM PvP is alignbased - if you PK someone you'll suffer concequences. WoW PvP is gank the other side
RoM offers no gear as reward for PvP, WoW does
RoM knows dualclass system (good option IMO), WoW has only 1 class far your char

I can go on with differences like this for an hour at least... I only agree on the fact that the graphics & interface show familiarities, but then again, WoW wasn't the 1st MMORPG on the market, which will mean that RoM != WoW

 

Agreed.  There's plenty of differences:

RoM doesn't have cartoony graphics, WoW does.

RoM doesn't have eye-rolling silliness, WoW does.

RoM has an actual community that's often helpful and friendly, WoW does not.

I could go on with the differences for like two hours.  RoM != WoW

Translation:  Hi, I want to play your very high quality MMORPG but not give you one penny because I'm cheap that way.

The only way I can see full loot not turning DFO into anything other than a griefers paradise is if:

1) They have strict weight limits such that you can't carry much more than your gear plus one or two "heavy" items (such as a vest or large weapon).  That way you have your pick of the other guy's stuff, but not without dropping something of your own.

2) They don't implement item destruction.  You can either take an item (and suffer the weight constrictions) or toss it on the ground to be picked up by someone else.  Although you should be able to break items down into simple components so they can be reused for crafting, but again, you take on the burden of the weight.

Originally posted by ArchAngel102

The guards wont be "running" at you either, the players and guards will. The guard towers will IMMEDITELY start hitting you. Anyone that isnt afk will fight back- winning extremely easily, even if no npc guards or players attack you (which they WILL) and its only the guardtowers + player. MULTIPLE guard towers.

I like how all of your examples of the PK'ers assume they are solo.  Just wait until massive griefer guilds form and conduct raids on the "safe zones".

Again, never underestimate the mentality of the griefer.

Originally posted by patrikd23

Originally posted by Gemma

Originally posted by rishaki

Yah, and God created the world in 7 days, get real...

 

But God DID create the world in 7 days :D

 

And Santa Claus puts gift in every sock all around the world in 1 day

And we all started as cosmic goo.  This is fun :)

Never underestimate the mentality of the griefer.

Originally posted by Talin

I only want it to come out if it is *READY*.

I think many of us are tired of beta-testing unfinished games that are released due to financial constraints and the need to start generating revenue.

I think that depends on your definition of "unfinished".  What gripes me is when a company doesn't even play-test their own product.  That's the crux of the issue.  Releasing a game with major parts missing/broken (i.e. Tier 4 in Warhammer at release).