Supposedly it may also come out for the PS3 as the first game under the Sony/NCSoft agreement to create some PS3 exclusives.

Little google search brought this up, if you're feeling nostalgic... You can download it but not stream it.  Here's the link.  MEO Trailer.

You don't "level" in Darkfall, you build up your skills.  This will happen by using them, i.e. attacking with a sword (mob or player) will increase your ability to use swords.  It's a fairly common progression method in Sandbox games.  The PvE in Darkfall is pretty much fluff material.  It doesn't serve much of a purpose and you won't find people in the game who play for the PvE.  The game is full of people looking to kill eachother.  That's the way it's meant to be.  Despite that, there are a lot of nice people online.  I bought it recently, like it well enough, and I've met plenty of nice people.  I had 5 or 6 people helping me out within like 20 mins of logging in because I asked a few questions in the racial chat.  People started throwing gear at me and giving me pointers and tips.  I chose Mirdain btw, I hear Alfar players are assholes - makes sense if you know about the races.  Darkfall has its following, and I think it's a pretty good game.  Realistically though, if you like PvE and a polished/well balanced gameplay model, it probably isn't the best choice.  If you think you can get into the PvP sandbox playstyle though, I say go for it.  You can have a lot of fun in the game.

Originally posted by TheConfined

[quote]These guys stay up ridiculous hours sometimes just to get us a patch, and the game isn't even released. Whether you like their product or not, you can't deny that these guys are devoted and truly believe in what they're making. With a team that dedicated, it's hard to believe the game might be a 'scam' as some are calling it. That's ridiculous.[/quote]

so because they are working hard at creating a piece of shit makes that piece of shit extra special some how?  sure they are dedicated but what the fuck does that mean when their product is still worthless?  It's not ridiculous to call it a scam because thats exactly what it fucking is.  They are charging people to help them test their unfinished product and did so by lying to people about what the product really was.

Okay, first of all, you're an asshole.  I get it, you don't like the game, very well.  Now with that said.  You tell me where they listed all these incredible features that would be there, as I see it, they've been very honest about what we, as players, can expect by release.  They listed what would be there in the powerpoint they put out several months ago and on the announcements about the shop.  Here's the exact list they posted.

- The full Myrland continent 
We've got upward of 80% by now I'd say and they add new land every patch.
- At least 9 races, male and female
9 races - Tindremene, Sarduucan, Khurite, Kallard, Sidoian, Thursar, Blainn, Sheevra and Veela - In.
- Blood mix and character customization
In.
- Main features of the skill system
Being added since last patch, likely to all be there by release.
- Full PvP, full loot
In.
- Full melee and ranged combat
In - could use some tweaking.
- Basic magic combat
In, although admittedly terrible lol.  I hope they'll change it but it is in as they said, BASIC.
- Mounts and mounted combat
In.
- Basic GUI for the crafting system
They've talked a lot about it recently, I think it may be in the next patch.  Crafting is in anyway.
- Resource gathering
In.
- Basic Guild mechanics
In.
- Basic player housing
In.
- Basic NPC mobs and wildlife
In.
- Hidden/secret features
In, or is it!?  Dun Dun Dun...

This list was taken directly from their June 5th announcement.  You can read it yourself on their homepage.  They've got almost everything listed there in, or it will be soon.  Even the stuff that isn't in as planned has functional place holders.  They can easily get it in before release.  That's not a scam.  You're another whiny little kid who expected the game to have every feature they want to implement in at launch, even though they came forward and said exactly what they planned to have.  Looks pretty on the level to me...  Calling it a scam is ridiculous, like I said.  If you're disappointed, so be it, don't call into question the credibility of a company that has been nothing but forthcoming because you're not happy with an as yet unfinished product.  Grow up.
 

Originally posted by Rhoklaw

Originally posted by MortalOnline

Better now then? =)

And regarding the account. The nick and e-mail matched. And it that account is connected to an order that is refunded it would have been wiped anyway. As long as your order is failed or refunded, the account should not be active anyways. So it was not done based on speculation my friend, and tbh, it did not matter if it was active or not since it would get blocked sooner or later anyway after the beta because of the refund.

 

Ok, so the account you banned had indeed failed to process the order or it did a chargeback, very well. I applaud you in your dedication to banning appropriate accounts, but that still doesn't help the fact people paid $75 for a game they were told would launch in September and it's now almost December with no "official" launch date in sight.

If your development team put in as much dedication to detail as you do with banning accounts, I'd care less about this thread. Thats not the case though is it. Which is why I always wonder about gaming companies that offer beta with pre-orders that are non-refundable. That right there just screams doubt on the part of the developers. Cause if you don't trust people to keep their pre-orders after trying beta, than your lack of confidence in your own game is truely the eye-opener.

Imagine balancing the accounting books thinking you have a certain amount of money, a very small amount that may barely cover your costs, then suddenly the little money you have starts to disappear.  When you're strapped that tight, it makes sense not to offer refunds because, realistically, you need ALL the money you can get. 

If you cancel your order, you probably don't like the game.  They have a limited number of spots for testers.  Why keep one open for someone who dislikes the game and will not buy it, if you can give his spot to someone who will play the game and pay you?  Makes sense to me.  Besides, MO is being developed by an independent company with very limited funds.  They must be one of the only dev teams to actually say, "We're selling pre-orders with beta access because, let's face it, we need the money."  They're trying to make their dream game and doing whatever they can to help ensure that happens.  Surely you wouldn't knock them for that?  Especially with the economy the way it is, they need to procure as much funds as they can to make sure they don't get shut down prematurely.  It happens all too often.

I just want to say that while the game is not release ready, by any means, the devs have worked very hard on it since beta started and have actually accomplished a lot.  These guys stay up ridiculous hours sometimes just to get us a patch, and the game isn't even released.  Whether you like their product or not, you can't deny that these guys are devoted and truly believe in what they're making.  With a team that dedicated, it's hard to believe the game might be a 'scam' as some are calling it.  That's ridiculous.

Originally posted by MortalOnline

Originally posted by Rhoklaw

Originally posted by MiteFiend

Originally posted by MortalOnline

Originally posted by MiteFiend

 

Still got beta access tho, hah.

 

 

Hmm, nope you dont!  

 

Wow you are fast. 5 mins after posting, you banned my account based on matching MMORPG/beta account names. No hard feelings here, but shouldn't you guys be working on your game and not monitoring MMORPG.com threads? Funny shit.

 

Funny, that they can ban on speculation, since they can't prove that account is yours. Just another reason to chalk this company up as a bunch of thieving scam artists. Sorry, but I really hate rude and obnoxious want-to-be employees of gaming companies trying to act all tough on public forums. Sorry, but you are between a rock and a hard place now and your public actions will definitely determine what a lot of prospective players will use to figure out whether this game is legitimately worth it or not.

 

Lol, speculation? I heard there were some matching names, mails and a refund done on his account.

Hmm, well. Lets say the developers are probabely working on their game atm. I am not  So no time taken from the game I suppose ;o)

Also, to those who don't know.  The devs usually go home around 12PM EST, they're in Sweden.  They've been off the clock for a few hours.  They're just checking to see what people are saying now that the NDA is dropped.  The OP helped them correct an account error, and they did it OFF THE CLOCK.  That's dedication 

Originally posted by MiteFiend

Originally posted by MortalOnline

Originally posted by MiteFiend

 

Still got beta access tho, hah.

 

 

Hmm, nope you dont!  

 

Also you just verified that people indeed did "pay for beta"! And wasn't just A PERK!  I let you sit on my money for 3 months.

My credit card has a maximum 3 month limit on refunds, and was planning on purchasing the game if/when it launches, and gets a few good reviews/updates. I wasnt interested in letting you hold my money for 6 months, so I got a legitamate refund for a 75$ boxed version that was 2 months late being shipped. So now you're going to single me out while out on your PR crusade. GG.

Yup you heard it here folks, Pay to beta test, it's not a perk.

Uh... no.  You got the beta access as a part of the game package.  You cancel your purchase, you lose everything it comes with.  In what world do you keep the included benefits of a package, if you refuse the package?  Quit trying to paint yourself as a victim.  I hate people that look at things illogically intentionally.  That's not ignorance, its stupidity, which is unforgivable.

I think you're exaggerating a bit much.  I've been in the beta since day 1, also, as have 5 or 6 of my friends.  We all love the game, although admittedly it has a few flaws that need to be worked out.  It definitely lacks polish in some places though.  To say it's "terrible" is ridiculous though.  Most of the systems you mentioned are still being tweaked, or only in the game as complete place holders.  The crafting system is a very basic one just for the sake of having us use it, if you were in the combat beta a few months before block A opened up, you'd know there were more options then that will be back in by release.  The combat is most definitely not about swinging and hoping for the best.  If that's the way you fight, you're terrible.  It does need a few more tweaks though, like shortened delay between the click of your mouse and the swing of your weapon.  Btw, basic ranged combat?  What else do you expect to see in ranged?  You string an arrow, pull the string tight, and let fly.  The arrow arches and the factors taken into calculating its damage and distance are realistic.  What is it lacking in your mind?  Do you want five arrows shot at once with pretty colors and special effects?  The game is going for realism in its combat, not the kind of super special awesome bullshit you see in most fantasy MMOs, where every sword swing has a trail of light.

A lot of the things you mentioned are just questions of polish, which can and will be added by or shortly after release.  Tool tips on the items will be in by release.  The system they intend to have in will actually be badass if they pull it off.  It involves your skill levels with the various items determining what you can tell about an item.  I.E. the higher your sword fighting, the more you can tell about your sword when looking at it.

The only system that I will not defend is the magic system, as it has been a huge disappointment for me.  It just blows my mind that a game like MO where everything, even archery, requires you to actually keep the target centered, which can be hard at times, would have a powerful attack type unchecked and auto-locked.  It doesn't make any sense and unfortunately the devs have said in IRC that they do not intend to change this system much by release.  If you're a mage player, like myself, you may want to avoid the game for a while after release.

Other than that though, the game is steadily improving.  This is a beta you realize, right?  The systems will be broken and unpolished until nearly the end.  That's the entire point.  They have us play the game and give feedback while they create and fix features.  That's why a beta exists.  If you were expecting a nearly completed game on day 1, you're an idiot.

I will say that I do not think the game will be release ready by the end of the year at the rate its going.  Ideally, 2-3 months into 2010 would be perfect, in my mind.  If it isn't delayed, though, I'll still play it, as will all of my friends, and we'll enjoy it.  It's unlike the other games out there and better than a lot of them.  The potential for it is huge and I'm more than willing to put up with a few rocky months after release to help ensure that the game survives and becomes the awesome game we all know that it can be.  I imagine that 6 months after release, btw it hasn't even been 6 months since the beta started, and its come a long way, the game will be vastly different than it is now and hugely improved, especially since they'll have some steady income.

The problem I see with these as an mmoRPG is that they reset, which makes all the work people did meaningless.  People play MMOs for the persistent world and the sake of building up a character.  If every few days you have to start over you'll get bored real quick.  It wouldn't have any subscribers and people would stop playing after a short while, maybe a week.  I'll guarantee you this is NOT what Blizzard has in mind.

Ragnarok Online

It's one of the funnest games I've ever played if not the funnest.  The crafting is useful in the sense that it allows you to create elemental weapons to exploit the weaknesses of certain mobs/armor types.  There's a lot of different classes and a great progression system.  PvP is fun and meaningfull with guild wars throughout the weak where the winning guilds take control of castles and collect treasure/have access to special dungeons as a result.  It's also skill based in a lot of ways, with instant skill use during combats and actively placing spells/traps and so on.  It's one of my favorite games of all time.  I think you'd really like it.

I think Mortal Online will definitely end up being a better game than Darkfall.  For one thing there's a skill cap already so you won't have to worry about everyone being the same hybrid class that they are in DF.  Also skill/stat gains yield results with every improvement, not every 25th point.  Houses are already in, which DF didn't get until their first expansion.  The combat does seem better than DF's, it isn't just click-click-click although some people play it that way.  The developers seem to be very capable so far and have corrected bugs and added content at a respectable rate.  I say 6 months after Mortal launches it will put DF to complete shame unless DF makes some very necessary changes.

You can see your entire body when looking down or swimming backwards or any other time you should realistically be able to see it.

The combat is pretty fluid, although it could use a few more tweaks, especially toward balance.  The animations aren't very varied but they do switch some times.  There are a few different commands you can use to control the fight that provide a few different animations.  You can choose which way you swing by strafing in that direction.  i.e. strafing left will make you swing from left to right, right will swing right to left.  You can also change the attack style to a thrust(stab) by holding alt when you attack.  Parrying is done by perfectly timing your swing to your opponent's.  It's not an easy thing to do.  You can block with a weapon/arms/shield by holding the right mouse button.  Clicking the left mouse button while doing this will result in a push(hands) or shield bash.  You can also dodge by double tapping in a direction.   You can tell where your opponent is aiming by looking at their face, you can see what they're looking at.  There are several hitboxes on characters, including "weak spots" where armor is thin and more damage can be done.  Mounted combat is fairly new but so far seems pretty reliable.  Your damage is increased hugely when mounted to the point that at the moment some people can run down a person in a single hit, even if that person has maxed out constitution(adds hp).  Although if the person is in decent armor they should survive easily enough.

By the way, all of this stuff is available to the public through the official website.  Here you can download the client and find patch notes and a quick start guide to the controls.  It explains how to tame, fight, use the interface and so on.

Right now you have the following in game:

- Player Housing
- Mounts and Mounted Combat
- Crafting
- A little more than half of the first continent
- A placeholder magic system
- Creature Taming
- Various skills

All of these features have been listed under the patch notes which have been on the official site, available to the public, so I can't be breaking the NDA by listing them.

There's a patch coming monday which is supposed to introduce a lot more of the skills, guilds, a war system and a lot more.  Every patch (roughly 2 weeks apart) introduces a new system or two along with massive bug fixes/tweaks and generally new areas/content.

I'm confident that the game can release on time although I think a month or two delay would do it some good (isn't that always the case?).  It needs a little more content to round things out but every patch adds a lot so in the next couple of months before release it could become a very different game.  That's the trend it's followed so far.

Rumor has it that the NDA will be lifted with the patch coming Monday.

Mu online was free like forever.   I played it about 6 years ago and it was completely free, it didn't even have an item shop.  I played it for a long time too, like a year or so before I quit.

Originally posted by Torgrim

Q3?

 

They have always aimed for Q4.

That's not true.  Their original goal was "summer" which falls in Q3.  Yeah, though, it will be late Q4 or maybe early 2010, no later than Q2 I'd say.

Originally posted by Scubie67

Well at least that is some encouraging news you just gave me.Lately it seems almost all games just want to copy WOW to get a piece of that pie,and have thrown away sandbox style games.I havent played Ultima online but I heard it was good.There were supposed to be releasing this quarter.If the game plays that smooth you figure they wouldnt kick it back to 2010'? Oh well I may have to think about going back on my Preorder promise I made to myself after hearing this,Thx for the reply.

I just read on the official forums that apparently Henrik Nystrom, CEO and Head Developer for the game says that development is on schedule with their planned release, and from the rate of patching I would say I believe him.  I would only recommend that you preorder soon because there is a limited number of beta slots available, meaning a limited number of preorders.  There's 10k total preorders/betaslots and over 8k of them are taken.  If you manage to snag one of the last 2k or so slots, you'll gain access on monday and get to test it for yourself.  I think within the the month it will be in a playable enough state that you can actually enjoy it as a game and think of it as less of a beta.  As it is now, it's undeniably a beta, what with occasional server boots/crashes and the weekly or so character wipes that usually come with patches.  Just exploring is pretty fun though, which you can do even if the server is unstable.  Sometimes the server will be in a sort of offline mode which means you enter the game strictly through the client and aren't really connected with other players/npcs.  When that happens all you can do is walk around and explore, which for me personally, has been been very enjoyable.  Preorder or wait, you can't go wrong either way.  It depends on how patient you can be.  Given what Henrik said, it shouldn't be that long of a wait anyway.  Either way you've got a great game with a lot of potential to look forward to.

Originally posted by thinktank001

 

 

Just check out youtube for the current progression of the " beta ".   Its quite a bit more raw than that explaination and has a ways to go.   It would be most wise to take a wait and see position.

 We know MO is out of funds and with the previous preorders they only have enough to last the rest of Q4 09.  If they take the same route as last time, then they will open up more preorders around December.  It would be best if they open the orders onto a new NA server that would put them into a good position for release later down the road. 

 

If anyone is looking at MO as a new game to try don't bother with it at the moment.  It isn't really in a very fun playable state and needs a bit more time in development.   I would just reccommend people to wait a month or two down the road, and most of the game breaking bugs should be gone.

I would agree with this statement.  It's definitely still in a beta state, but the devs work quickly to resolve most issues in their weekly patches.  In the time since beta started it has come a long way already.  The server doesn't always stay up over night like we might like but it's gotten probably 100x more stable than when the beta started, probably more.  It's gone from crashing every 2-3 minutes to staying up with no problems/little-to-no lag overnight.  In a month or two the game should be in a much better state, but luckily that's within the projected beta period.  I'd say things are moving along at a good pace to make the deadline, but a small delay (maybe 3 months) couldn't hurt.

I've never actually played Oblivion so I couldn't give you a definite yes.  My friend whose in the beta with me tells me that it is similiar though (although he says its actually better), and many people in the beta seem to agree that its a mix of Oblivion and Ultima Online.  I think that sums it up pretty well at this point.  I'm insanely excited about the direction its taking and the devs have proven over and over again how committed they are to their vision.  It's definitely one to keep an eye on.  I don't expect it to release by Q4 this year as their projecting but if it does, I think it will be ready, or ready enough, based off the rate of content added with each patch, which is a weekly event -- some times faster.  Just keep an eye on it and maybe purchase a digital copy and try to get into the beta.  As soon as the NDA is officially lifted I'll be posting screenshots and info left and right.  This game definitely has nothing to hide.  At the very least, I can assure you it won't go the way of Darkfall like many fear it might.

I'm in the beta and I can tell you that the combat is quite smooth with a lot of options that you might not expect to find in an mmo.  You can actually download a mini-controls guide here.  It tells you how to push players away/shield bash, actively block, side-step/dodge and more.  You can choose which side to swing your weapon from or if you want to thrust/stab with it instead.  It's very fluid from the experience I've had with it.  The same can be said for archery.  Also, the world is gorgeous on high-end machines even with the place-holder graphics they have in place.  The skills, crafting(amazing) and combat combined with full open world and ffa pvp make this game a must play for me.  I'm loving the beta more than any MMO I've played in years as it is now.  Every time I log in I tell myself how much I can't wait for release, and my friends all agree. 

This game is turning out to be what darkfall claimed it was, only better.  I've yet to read a post by the devs that didn't make me more excited lol.  They take all the best features from previous sandbox games and add their own twists and innovations to make them just that much better.  I think you'll really like it.  If you order the game now you SHOULD get into block E which gains beta access  this monday (sept. 14).  I'm not sure if there's still any space left but it's worth a shot.  The game will not disappoint.

Originally posted by Eyrothath

Originally posted by kingbuns

Mortal Online is suppose to release Q4 it takes a lot of features from UO.  If theres any game close to early UO in gameplay its either Dark Fall or Mortal Online. 

Mortal Online uses unreal 3 engine with first person view and is in closed beta right now

http://www.mortalonline.com/

 

At this stage, Darkfall is better than Mortal.. I have see and played both.. The world is Mortal Online is about the same size as the barrens in WoW.. And they didn't even add in half the features that Darkfall comes with. 

At this stage... you're right.  However, now that server stability is within reach for Mortal Online again the features will come pouring in.  I hear this barrens sized world talk about Mortal a lot.  We only have access to half of one of six continents right now.  Although only one is planned for release, with the other 5 coming some time thereafter.  When the game launches the world will be at least double the size it is now, which is actually quite large.  With no instant travel or map to go off of the world feels much larger than it really is.  The combat and graphics in Mortal are significantly better than in Darkfall.  As features are activated I suspect it will pull very far ahead of darkfall and its poorly done skill and combat system.