Originally posted by Thomas2006

Originally posted by atticusbc

I'm very interested in Xsyon, but two things are keeping me from preordering (besides the fact that I probably shouldn't spend the money, but two free months sorta glosses that over): one is the combat, but I know that it's going to get an upgrade, so I think I can look past that. Secondly, and more importantly, is the community. My enjoyment of a game really hinges on whether I can find a spot in the general community. So how is it looking right now? And how densely populated is the world?

 

If you are just looking for pvp or combat in the game then its not the game for you. Combat and PVP will always be a secondary area of the game. The developer has made it VERY clear the game is a crafting an world building game with pvp and combat being a secondary addition.  There will always be safe areas in the game and so forth. This isnt Darkfall or MO nor does the developer want it to be.

This hasn't been 100% confirmed.  It really gets me when you scared carebears run your mouths about how the game will be and who its for.  You aren't an authority.  You have no association with the game developers.  Your opinion is just that and nothing more.

Last I've seen the game will have safe zones through the Prelude, but they may be gone as the game progresses. 

Originally posted by Mithrandolir

As a fisherman, this thread delivers :) thanks!

It sounds like a bug to me.  You realize that everyone should be reporting it right?  Everyone loves the game, yay!,  its a great new thing.  Woo hoo!  Now lets all exploit selfishly.

Thanks for speaking up betas.  That explains a lot and I think its a good direction to go with.  I didn't know that only evil characters could full loot.  I like the whole idea, because it allows players to choose, but they kind of have to stay within the morality of their character in that given moment.  A good char can't just full loot someone on a whim and also, an evil char has a chance to lose something meaninful if they go that way.

This is a good question and I'd like to see an answer for this as well.  There is no reason  to have looting and pvp if it is completely useless to do so.  If the design states that the players are responsible for building up and guiding the fate of the world, how does it make sense to then limit players to being peaceful hippies?  I love the idea that pvp isn't the main focus all the time, but it shouldn't be included and then treated like the red headed step child of the game. 

Really, I'd just like some clarification on the points asked by the OP.  Come on experienced beta players!  We know you are here so why don't you answer a question that has some real bearing on whether or not many players will want to play.

I noticed this as well.  When I upgraded my sub with the Alienware product key, it says in My Account now that I have a European key.  Kind of odd, but it was free!

Just wanted to say thanks for writing a truly thought provoking piece.  Many times I get caught up in game mechanics and features about new releases.  None of them keep me interested for this long. 

It would be nice to see games that focus on rp again.  Now, there is very little thought set aside for immersion.  Its all about ease of access.  Still, if games were to turn the corner again, it would still be up to each individual to actually take interest in a grander scope in their gaming. 

Originally posted by VoIgore

I've been missing this feature in lots of games i played in recent years. I love fishing in games (started it in Zelda 64), but barely any game had boats to row offshore for a relaxing fishing afternoon.

For quite a while i'm having an eye on DF anyway, so this makes me want to get into it even more.I'll be waiting for the character-updates and stuff and...we'll see then.Though i've got to admit that the "grind gold to train offline" is a bit of a turn-off to me.

 Just FYI the offline skill system isn't meant to be used to raise a skill from 1-100 at one time.  You are supposed to use it when you are irl and want a small boost.  If you view it that way, it definitely helps speed up progression.  Also, new players going from 1-50 skill will spend much less than if you wanted to max it out. 

For instance, I'm using it to get my earth magic up to 50 so I can get stoneskin and it helps alot  because when I'm in game atm, I'm trying to focus on my melee.

If you don't want a cash shop, then I think you need to accept that most mmos these days are 15 a month.  

My girlfriend and I play Darkfall Online.  She is new to mmos and I'm experienced.  She also likes crafting and gathering and pve over pvp.  We recently joined a clan and there is another couple that plays as well.   We are both having a lot of fun.

There is no cash shop and the world is open to explore.  If you lose some gear in pvp, its usually trivial especially if you are in a guild that helps support new characters.  The sense of community is strong because of the reliance on others to succeed.

Darkfall by far has the best AI in a mmo that I've seen personally.  Sometimes mobs will run around a corner and wait for you to peek around to shoot you or ambush you with melee.   Also, they have a visual range and will react to you accordingly.  Its common to run away and stop thinking you're safe only to be plinked by an arrow.  The AI is one of the main reasons that I decided to give it another spin.

SimperFi,

I'm sorry to hear that.  I've never seen something that wild on their forums, and maybe if you had taken action, then it would not happen again.  In any case, no one should have to go through that.  Would you mind elaborating on the situation?

May I ask what, if any, mmo you do play? 

Just recently, I decided to give darkfall another try.  My girlfriend, who is completely inexperienced in mmos, decided to play with me.  Naturally, I was pretty apprehensive seeing how this was her first mmo and Darkfall is a harsh setting.

Tonight at work she told me that she had died.  All manner of bad situations went through my mind.  I imagined a ruthless kill followed by verbal abuse.  In fact though, the guy gave her some advice (don't attack by accident...) and healed her up and went about his business.  No macho bull, no abuse, and a pass on a chance for some free loot.  It has me wondering whether or not people in mmos with all those rules would treat her so kindly if they had the choice. 

If they supported their original vision of racial warfare, then this all would mean very little.  Balance is easily attained when you have "sides".  Also, races would naturally center their holdings around their capital cities, which would create borders of a kind.  This would create a more substantial bubble of safety for the new players just starting out at the center.

Of course, they took it in the direction of a deathmatch with no real lore in game.  Ohh and added a huge grind to boot. 

In its current state without signifigant changes, DF will never attract its original fans, let alone those who prefer some type of order in its dangerous world.  I really doubt they will ever take such a risk.  Funny that they don't follow that truth which they touted for so long, "no risk, no reward."

I just built my girl a computer.  I bought a Nvidia 250gts with 1gb of physical memory from newegg.com for a good price.  It runs it quite well.  After the card, I'd upgrade your ram to at least 3gb and 4 if you can afford it.  Then you should be ok.  If you want, you can OC your CPU as others have suggested.  Just be sure to read into it carefully. 

Just remember, your vid card upgrade will be the key factor.  Then ram.  Then your cpu.   This is considering ease of upgrading and most important item (VID CARD!!!). 

A recent vote by some rp community has settled their destination as the server Besaid.  Just thought that I'd throw that out there for anyone that wants to hook up with others who rp.  Let it be noted that there will be non rpers on the server as well and, of course, people are free to do as they wish while mantaining respect for all playstyles. 

I'm enjoying the game btw.  I like oldschool games that require you to think every now and again.  My gf and I have found a game to play finally!

See you in game

Great news and thanks for posting this.  It seems like people might have jumped the gun on their negative judgements.

Together with past info this really reaffirms my belief that they set out to create something unique and new, not FF XI 2.  I think this is a great way to take things.  Sandbox crafting, gathering, and economy coupled with a strong storyline and a huge amount of activities to take part in:  sounds like someone finally made a fully fleshed out mmo.  Its obviously going to be rocky with their ambitions, but that is to be expected.

Ohh and real pvp?!?!?!   Ahahaha!  I remember posting a question about this and see all those who said pvp has no place in FF, blah blah...apparently SE realizes that optional pvp is pretty standard these days and they seem to have a plan for some pretty interesting ways of implementing it. 

All in all this really makes me happy that I kept my and my gf's pre-orders. 

Sad to hear about this.  May your family find some strength in your sacrifice.  I hope that I could be as brave in such a situation.

Originally posted by grapevine

 

 

Correction, it does not let you have full access to the story arc.  Everything else is there.  If they wanted to make it centric to the story arc, with nothing else, then they should have simply made it a single player game.

You have an opinion.  Thats great.  We all know what opinions are like right?

After playing a few random quest based mmos and getting a little older, I've realized that without some type of story, mmos are just time sinks.  That story can come about in two ways.  FIrst through a sandbox setting with enough tools so that the players can create it themselves, and secondly through a story driven plot designed by the devs.  Guess you should tell Bioware that their game is a waste of time too right? 

Just watch over the next year how many of those other mmos that everyone is putting so much faith into flop horribly because they don't know their audience.  I think FFIV knows it audience and it will cater to them, not the hoard of discontents who never enjoy a game because they are too busy criticizing it.

*EDIT*  Want to add one more thing.  People have been asking for a mmo that has unexpected danger and challenging gameplay.  This seems to have some of those qualities and people complain.  If you want to be spoon fed your content, go elsewhere.  There is more to do than kill.  Exploring is an activity that can be fun.  Socializing.  Crafting(better system than I've seen in years), Gathering (see last).  They designed a RPG, not a character sheet with quest boxes to check off one by one. 

I appreciate your well thought out post Omasu.  You actually listed good reasons why you don't like the game.  Despite that though, those things seemed really attractive to me, a person who really disliked wow and its game mechanics.  If more designers would do what SE did, we would start seeing some diverity in the genre and that is a good thing.  I like how they make the economy player based right from the start.  That is something we haven't seen for awhile. 

I understand your disappointment though.  Its really hard to find something that suits what you like when mmos seem to try to encompass the entire playerbases' wants.  This leads inevitably to disappoint those people who like something specific. 

Thanks for the post though.  Its rare that I can read someone's dislikes about a game and finish more excited than I was before.  That speaks to your honestly and even tone. 

Thank you op.  In interviews like this I usually expect a corporate PR person spouting off cliches in a way that was predetermined to garner the most interest in their game.  I've not seen such a passionate, honest viewpoint expressed in many years concerning a game.  None of the pretentious business-manner baloney was present. 

This, for me, is alone enough to compell me to buy FF XIV.  These guys seem to really care about the fantasy of their game.  They want to draw you into the world they created, not overwhelm your senses with hundreds of quests and neon lights.  In other words they are a game designers first, and businessmen second.   We need more of this in the genre these days.   Too many forget what RPG is.

I was one of those people that followed Darkfall for years and years.  At release it seemed to be the game they promised once they ironed out some server kinks.  Unfortunately, they lost their vision somewhere and forgot to flesh out what they wanted the game to be.  If they wanted it to just be a free for all, they should have made one race.  To include so much lore and all these races and only have them amount to a cosmetic difference, was a huge let down and a waste of time.  To all those who cry about guilds being split up if this were changed, a simple and free one time race change would solve that instantly.

Honestly though, the people who stayed, many of whom are not long term followers of the game and so have no idea what it was supposed to be orginally, are content and scared of any changes.  Since they are the income, I really doubt Aventurine will have the balls to pull their baby up to the standards they promised so long ago. 

Lets not even get into the massive grind this game has which was promised would not be there...

TBH, I think DF has seen its short lived glory days already and its just waiting to fade away or settle into mediocrity fully. 

Set your sights on something else if you want your wishes to come true.  Check back on DF on the off chance.