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Darkfall - Community Letter from Tasos
According to a statement issued earlier today on the Darkfall forums, the Non Disclosure Agreement for the game's beta has been lifted. Tasos Flambouras addressed this issue and others in a letter to the game's community.
As of the time of this posting the NDA is officially lifted. In the next couple of days the Darfkall pre-orders will open up and stay up until right before Darkfall’s launch on February 25th or until they are sold out. This is how the pre-order will work:
The pre-order consists of the Darkfall client digital download along with a month of play starting on February 25th. The full cost for this is 42 Euro. This amount WILL NOT be charged during the pre-order. What will be charged is an initial 2.52 Euro non-refundable payment to activate the process. The remainder (39.48) of the pre-release price will be billed on release, February 25th. You’ll be free to cancel the purchase any time before the additional charge goes in on February the 25th.
Darkfall’s monthly subscription is set at 11.77 euro. A 3 month subscription with a 10% discount and a six month subscription will be offered with 15% discount on the monthly subscription rate.
There is 19% VAT added to both the initial payment of 2.52 Euro and to the remainder (39.48) for residents of the European Union. The same applies to all the subscription charges. People outside the EU will not be charged VAT.
For the pre-order all major credit cards are accepted. For Darkfall’s launch direct debit will also be available. More payment options will be available shortly after Darkfall’s launch such as Paypal, prepaid cards, wire transfer etc. Our partners for the billing are GlobalCollect, a leading and trusted global payment processor. (http://www.globalcollect.com/)
Players in North America are welcome to participate in the European Launch. The plans for US servers aren’t finalized at the time of this announcement. We will offer the option for character migration to US servers for N. American players who wish to use it. We have had people playing without problem from all over the US and Canada. That being said, our servers are located in Germany and distance does affect ping-time.
If the pre-orders are sold out, more Darkfall copies will become available on the launch date February the 25th. If they are also sold out, we will offer more copies every few days as we upgrade our capacity.
The initial system requirements for Darkfall are as follows:
Operating System: Windows XP, Vista
Processor: 2.5GHz Pentium 4, or equivalent
RAM: 1GB for Windows XP, 2GB for Windows Vista
Graphics Card: 128MB PixelShader 2.0 support
Hard Drive Space: 12 GB Free Space Minimum
With the NDA lifted, there will be a lot of information out in the next few days both official and unofficial. There is a lot of passion surrounding Darkfall, both positive and negative. Some views, unsubstantiated by evidence, have become almost tenets of faith at both extremes. Now you can finally judge for yourselves and make up your own mind, through player testimonials and game footage. Be cautious of what is said however, by whom, and based on what experience. The beta has been through several phases, and it’s still a beta. The main purpose of beta is to provide the developers with testing data, and not provide players with a fun experience. Even during this process however the game has been extremely playable and while many consider it to be their best MMOG experience to date, others see the potential, some had something else in mind, and few don’t like it at all. Darkfall isn’t for everyone.
It should be stressed that as with any MMOG Darkfall will always be a work in progress. Darkfall’s potential however, being a sandbox game, is dependent on its players more so than other MMOGs. This is why we’ve been communicating with a lot of our players, have been listening very closely to the testers and are taking all the feedback, positive and negative, very seriously. Something important to understand is that we are committed to fully supporting this game and working with our player base to make Darkfall the best game it can possibly be. After launch we’re not going with just a “live team” to do simple maintenance to the game while the rest of us move on to other projects. All our resources are committed to Darkfall, and we will even increase our team size to meet our ambitious future goals for the game.
Thank you for reading and we hope to see you in Darkfall.
The Darkfall Team
UPDATE: I didn't think this would be necessary to explain but the volume of questions about it made it so:
Pre-orders will open in the next couple of days. You'll get a link to a page where you can preorder. This is not yet available. We will announce it as soon as it is.
Check out the letter at its original source.
Ahh, how many times ive read the boards here and wanted to just smack the hell out of some of these trolls... damn NDA stopped me.... Back in thier holes they go good bye.... also the graphics are much better then those vids youve seen, game play is excellent, crafting is a frickin grind and takes forever... combat is awsome.
Zero balance issues, pure fun once past the crafting ... I got a steady 80+ fps even in crouds on full graphics.
Some sound issues but, probably the most stable release around, even over warhammer. Some minor tweeks are in order but when they see what playerbase they get besides the nitch, they will tweek, but balance issues arnt something they need to tweek, its your skill on how you work your toon against your enemy.
You can think your a god amongst men and get your ass handed to you by a naked guy, if you aint on your game, why cause he out played you, not because he out lvled you or out geared you.
Trust me, I know how you are feeling :p
I actually think that they made a smart move not revealing much and keeping limits on sales. If the demand exists, they can upgrade and invest more in personnel. As a business owner myself the underlying day to day fact is that you are out there to make a profit. They have alot of internet buzz for virtually no financial investment and from the sounds of it a relatively small staff to support. its easy, especially in a recession, to expand if you have people clamboring for subscriptions. I would imagine they will make thier research investment back fairly quickly if the first posters review is accurate.
Well if you want the facts, I have spent time playing it and I would not waste my time with it in the state it is right now. The game has sme serious issues and is at best in early beta state.
And if you think this game does not have significant balancing issues you are seriously delusional.
They will probably work most of this stuff out in time. It could end up being a very good game, it is not that now.
I wish Aventurine well, but at present would not recommend the game to anyone.
It all just seems a little fishy to me. Considering they only picked people who have been absolutely in love with the game since the beginning, I’m not expecting to hear many bad things about it out of beta. Their saving grace seems to be the fact that the pre-order and launch is limited to only handful of people which gives them more time to attempt to work out some of the bugs I’ve been reading about. I also wonder if this limit is in relation to server capacity.
To me it just seems like an absurd amount of money to pay for an Indie game as buggy and low quality as it is (meaning the types of bugs remaining). There is a reason smart developers don’t touch half the mechanics that will be in DF. I assume we will all get a clearer picture once this game becomes available to a wider audience.
Sorry, so where are the FACTS, all i'm seeing is your bullshit opinion?
Could you possibly elaborate on some of the problems instead of just saying.
"OMG T3H GAME IS RUBBISH DONT PLAYSZZZ!!!11!!"
Just copying and pasting my comments on the Darkfall forums:
My honest critique now that the NDA is lifted is that I find the game terribly disappointing. I waited for the title for a very long time and knew quite well that DF would not stack up to modern titles in terms of polish and presentation but would make up for it in terms of depth of features properly executed. This hasn't been the case. I was definitely skeptical but thought I was such a sandbox, PvP fan who applauded their ideals that I could play through any issues.
This hasn't been the case.
It just seems like a very, very low budget mmorpg that couldn't be sold in any reputable video game store. If it did, people would take it back as an incomplete video game. There is no advanced PvP. Just swinging again and again. While the games environment looks decent, everything else is a far cry. So many features are totally unknown and it seems that most fights serve no meaning. Lots of exploits, functions that don't seem to work, people baffled by how skill advancement work, a crafting system many have gripes with, etc. I just don't think players should have to sacrifice this much to their game experience to simply say they play a PvP sandbox title.
That being said, there are a lot of people in beta who apparently enjoy it which was a surreal experience. I really think it was more of a self reassuring cult mentality and that any reputable review is not going to be so kind.
I just think this game is too broken on too many levels to have a decent release. I honestly associate it with something like DnL and think its going to disappoint a lot of PvP enthusiasts. There are countless free mmorpgs that seem quite a lot better. If you charge modern prices and subscription rates, you need a modern, competitive mmorpg.
No malice at all towards DF and hope it succeeds to facilitate more titles along this vein. I thought Shadowbane was infinitely better. Especially with it being created 6 years earlier. Anyone who thought SB had a rocky launch will have a field day with this title.
Sorry, so where are the FACTS, all i'm seeing is your bullshit opinion?
Could you possibly elaborate on some of the problems instead of just saying.
"OMG T3H GAME IS RUBBISH DONT PLAYSZZZ!!!11!!"
Actually you said that not him. It's like you guys ask to be trolled by picking fights every where you go on this site.
lol
QFT
So now that the nda is lifted the fanboys can run around flaming the trolls. More fun than actually playing df beta innit?
Great!!! =)=)=)=
i dont know why i got picked, i have tested many titles in the past for aaa companies. Maybe they knew of me, or the team im on over at
www.betafreaks.net
In all my years here at mmorpg.com, ive never given a fanboi review of any of the games ive tested or played, ive been quite jaded and unbias, look for your self...
If we get right down to it, and the right questions get asked, id answer then frankly as i always have..
Do i think darkfall is ready to go gold... hell no. Is it smoother then a warhammer release or AOc yea it is for what they are offering, and playability. Would i like to see more added, hell yea, will i pay for the game... still on the fence, the crafting is whats eating me combined with the full loot, but im also a father, and my kids come first, so i dont have the time i use to have a few years ago. To sit at a rock and click it, for days so i can afford to lose what ive made...
Thats the best i can give you there.
my bad on spelling, i got double vision im sleepy as can be its been a long day...
Well hopefully they can live up the promise of getting things in DF ironed out and balanced, unlike some games in the industry. Once the promise is broken, no one ever forgives.
so far out of all of these posts noone has been able to say anything worthwhile about the game be it positive or negative. all i have read so far is people opinions. i would like to see some concrete facts on the game down to smallest detail of why this game works or doesnt work. opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.
Probably because most of the posters claiming to be in beta, aren't.
ME LIKEY!
I think if you read the beta review that MMORPG has out you will get a good idea about the game. The only issue I have with the review, I think he was too kind. People who are apt to exploit are going to have a field day with this game, at least initially.
My two major complaints, the world is very big, but very empty. You actually have to hunt down areas to hunt in. And crafting is a huge issue, skilling, materials etc., I did not like the system as it works right now much at all.
This game is a work in progress. It will take awhile before Aventurine will get many of the issues worked out. If you don't mind playing in such an environment, have at it. Personally I expect more when I pay for a game.
This comment cracked me up:
"You can think your a god amongst men and get your ass handed to you by a naked guy, if you aint on your game, why cause he out played you, not because he out lvled you or out geared you"
I don't think outplayed is a very apropos word for this sentence, I think out exploited would be a much better term. There were a number of exploits being used to kill people even in the beta and it will get worse on release. We will just have to wait and see how Aventurine responds to these issues and no I will not discuss exploits, Aventurine has been told about them.
Only one week to go for all these fanboys to realize they have been tricked all this time in believing Darkfall was going to be a kick-ass game.
52.90 USD to buy
14.83 USD a month subscription fee.
No box, no manual, no nothing. Digital download only.
As a betatester i can say that DF is stable and playable. There is no bug that we dont see in other MMOs. And if you think WoW is the best MMO ever, dont even try DF. No quests, no easy mobs 30 meters from you and real evil PvP.
Just the sight of someone walking towards you with a weapon in thier hands is enough to get your pulse up.
Well this is good news indeed I hope to hear enough good about the game to try it within the first month if not I am certain I will try it once the polish is on
Well i have to say that im really happy that in few days i will be able to judge the game by myself..besides im the one i trust the most
I won't be playing, too many noobs. I can do f2p game if i want shit communities.
I'm with you on that... $52.90 USD and nothing to show for it but a digital download?
booooooooooooo!
in the end of the day the game is all that matters not the box or a manual......if game rocks then i dont care about boxes and stuff like that. i have other magazines to read in toilet rather than a manual that cant tell me anything cause we are talking about an mmo..
there - now this i could understand and would be willing to do
I would pay $5 for digital download. So $20 with 30 days of gameplay.
There is no possible way I am going to pay $50+ for this as a pre-release. What they are doing is pure rape of anyone that thinks that they just have to be in early on yet another hyped mmo.
I would have liked to be in asap if the roll out was going to be done in any reasonable manner.
Now I will just have to wait until:
- there is a legitimate review that indicates there is any reason to spend any time here
- $20 to start and $15 ongoing
And if in March of 2010 it matters if my character is 13 months old or 12 months old then there wouldn't be any point in being around anyway.
not is not the case lmao you should read the beta boards heh alot of bitching and stuff it slove hate thing really
i dont know why i got picked, i have tested many titles in the past for aaa companies. Maybe they knew of me, or the team im on over at
www.betafreaks.net
In all my years here at mmorpg.com, ive never given a fanboi review of any of the games ive tested or played, ive been quite jaded and unbias, look for your self...
If we get right down to it, and the right questions get asked, id answer then frankly as i always have..
Do i think darkfall is ready to go gold... hell no. Is it smoother then a warhammer release or AOc yea it is for what they are offering, and playability. Would i like to see more added, hell yea, will i pay for the game... still on the fence, the crafting is whats eating me combined with the full loot, but im also a father, and my kids come first, so i dont have the time i use to have a few years ago. To sit at a rock and click it, for days so i can afford to lose what ive made...
Thats the best i can give you there.
my bad on spelling, i got double vision im sleepy as can be its been a long day...
this is why your clan helps you with crafting much easyer than trying to solo crafting lmao ><
I will agree with Ozmodan. It sounds like exploited rather than outplayed to me. I think it will be funny as hell if somehow Aventurine manages to push this shit back AGAIN... Just because NDA is lifted and pre-order info has been given out does not mean the game has been released. Although, honestly I do wish them the best and hope their game is good. But from the boat fight footage i have seen and shit i have heard it does sound like a cool idea but it looks and sounds just too EMPTY. Good luck on that pre-order guys.
It's about how I feel about my purchase at the end of the day and at this point I don't feel that a digital download should come at a price equivalent to what I pay when I buy a game in a box at the store. Maybe the American release will be different?
I find it increasingly funny that it's always the business end of the entertainment industry that turns me off most these days...
Wow 11 euros + 19% VAT... Just worked this out and its going to come to around £12.50. That alone has turned me off the game an incredible amount. Preorder price is also damn expensive. If your entering into a market which is so difficult to break into then seriously why price above the markets leaders...
I'll try it out if I'm lucky enough to get into the beta or get some kind of trial. Until then I'll give it a miss.
People who think exploiting is a big part of beta you couldn't be more wrong. I laugh at the posters here who claim that they lose 1v1 naked battles due to the countless exploits in the game.
THE ONLY exploits that have been used in the game up until now have been COMPLETLEY pve related and have had nothing to do with player to play combat. Those who claim this live in a delusional dream world where they replace their incompetense with a claim that others are exploiting.
Exploiting might be a big issue in this game, but as far as beta goes there has been no game braking exploits. And believe me, if there was I would be fucking using them.
ok so they want me to pay around £40 and an extra 19% so about £47 just for the game.. then over £12 a month (with vat)
erm no thank you.
Wow gets good reviews because its polished. Yet we all hate it...
As for your "it seems like a low budget mmo"... It is a low budget mmo. Its made by 20-30 people from and indie company.
The thing about Darkfall is that while it is low budget.. it is just so unique...
I guess you preordered?
From the reviews I've seen on here, the general feeling seems to be that you'll either love it or hate it, and that either way it could still use a lot of polish.
I think to begin with only the hardcore PvP'ers will go near this game as graphics, PvE, crafting or anything like that is irrelevant to them. All they want to do is kill. Whether that alone can sustain an MMO (WAR proved its not always the case) or whether AV are willing to flesh out the other aspects - well only time will tell.
I'm hoping they will make crafting a viable career in the game, but at the moment I keep hearing mixed responses from this camp, ranging from 'it's awesome' to 'it's awful'.
If crafting was getting a more positive review (at least more consistently), I would probably give it a go. As it is, the 'vast empty spaces' in between areas reminds me of Horizons. I shudder to think of it. Time IS a factor these days no matter how much fanbois cry 'Tough it up! Carebear!...etc'
If the game is good, offer a 7 day limited trial..starter area, level 1-10 maybe. I am sure more folks would go for it.
After being chomped by D&L and if not bitten then stung by AoC and to a lesser extent WAR, I think indies need to 'show some gold' before they go asking for 50 or 60 bucks.
Give us your Forum name, and make a post on the beta boards saynig "hey I am Ozmodan" or I don't believe you have played the game
Funny, I have read EXACTLY this post months and moths ago, that guy (maby you) was proven to be a bullshiter then, and you are now.
If you have been beta testing prove it by posting "hi i am Herithius" on the Beta boards!
Trolling is stupid. Lying is even more stupid.
Carebear-commie!
The cult followers are the ones that are out of their mind. They are goign to pay for this crap of a game.
I hope it hits them hard.
Carebear-commie!
Don't you just love how the most obvious trolls can't grasp the fact that they are the trolls.
isnt aoc 15 euro?
The cult followers are the ones that are out of their mind. They are goign to pay for this crap of a game.
I hope it hits them hard.
nope plenty of money here
look at aoc charging what 15 euro to eu people lmao now thats a shitty excuse for a game df is a sandbox less bug more stable than swg pre cu
AoC was costing me about 11 pounds I believe. They dont slap a ridiculous 19% VAT on it, despite VAT being 15% in the UK.
I got a 60 day timecard from PC world for AoC for £10 anyway.
Now that the NDA is lifted:
a friend of mine spent a few day(s) creating hacks for the game, he's got some good ones.
if he can do it in a matter of a few days, I can't wait to see what happens when professionals get in there to do it... or what they manage to alter.
The Guild with the best hacks will control this gameworld...
While the game had it's moments, it's definately not fun for me. Getting ganked while at half health fighting a mob is not "fun".
And no, I don't think it's as ready for release as War or AoC.
Is "Open Hardcore PvP" an excuse not to hire GMs?
The price alone is keeping me away from this one. I'm not paying that much for a virtual download. Honestly I believe this game would benefit more as a F2P game with micro-transactions (especially after reading how painful crafting is at the moment). I play some Asian F2P MMOs and spend lots of money on them,, on average more that $15 dollars a month (standard MMO subscription fee). I usually put about $10 a week aside and at the end of the month go on a buying spree from the virtual store, on average spending $40 or more. DF could make a killing this way.
But as far as I can gather, taking all I've read into account, this game is still in early beta stages. I've never paid to play a beta in my life and I won't start now. If this game hangs long enough and does well enough for a USA release, I'd definitely change my mind.
And just as a side note: A lot of testers have posted about the graphics of this game (which I never care about, gameplay is more important) and about how mediocre they are. I'm a bit confused... what happened to this game? Did they change the graphics to something worse or is this a falsified screen grab? Because, judging from this shot, these graphics are pretty damn great!
Didn't I read in the announcements leading up to this (maybe in January?) that everyone was going to be able to play the game before they bought it (like a free trial or something)? I don't see any mention of that now and it's obvious that on the pre-order you are buying it before you play it since they will charge for it on the 25th. Did I just misunderstand the comments about trying it before you buy it or ??
No, you didn't misunderstand they clearly stated that they did not expect or want anyone to pay for anything before they tried it.
What you missed was that the comment was from a member of an MMO's management ...
Darkfail
Sounds like Shadowbane 1.5
I agree.
(I refused to pay to play Shadowbane because of the full loot > PvP I didn't mind. when it became free I started an account and quickly discovered how glad I was that I didn't pay for it.)
I'd be happier if this game sounded like Ultima Online 2.0 - which, c'mon, I'm sure more than just myself was expecting this to be true. I'd still like to give it a try. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a free trial...
CAUTION: The above post is slightly biased due to the fact it was posted by an Ultima Online diehard fanatic. This person still believes, and believes he will always believe, that aside from the 2D platter the game is served on, UO is the greatest mmorpg they've ever played.
*Prepares for much flaming to follow his post*
I agree.
(I refused to pay to play Shadowbane because of the full loot > PvP I didn't mind. when it became free I started an account and quickly discovered how glad I was that I didn't pay for it.)
I'd be happier if this game sounded like Ultima Online 2.0 - which, c'mon, I'm sure more than just myself was expecting this to be true. I'd still like to give it a try. I'll keep my fingers crossed for a free trial...
CAUTION: The above post is slightly biased due to the fact it was posted by an Ultima Online diehard fanatic. This person still believes, and believes he will always believe, that aside from the 2D platter the game is served on, UO is the greatest mmorpg they've ever played.
*Prepares for much flaming to follow his post*
I know I'm being a bit anal here but just to clarify. Shadowbane was never full loot. The only items you could drop were what you happen to have in your inventory at the time of death. Which was basically pointless since anyone with an IQ over 60 always requested an emergency summons to bank the instant they acquired an item actually worth looting.
The only time we would even bother to check corpses is when we were stealth ganking gold farming groups and even then good groups just had one guy looting the gold who would be summoned periodicly before he risked losing a decent amount of cash.
Personally I think people put way too much emphasis on the full loot aspect of Darkfall. If UO showed us anything it's that anyone half decent at pvp in a full loot game is going to have jack worth looting in the first place. I know back in UO's early days I ran around pvping ethier naked or in complete junk (see bonearmor) that I had huge stocks of or didn't care about losing anyhow. The most you ever got off me was the small amount of reagents I carried to go play with. I imagine Darkfall will be no different.
I'll still be playing TF2 though, screw fireballs and crap. It's old, lets move on already.
Shadowbane is not and has never been full loot. There are many reasons to like and dislike that game but that's not one of them.
Ouch.
Thanks for that info there.
Those prices are in line with AAA titles. I think a lower rate, say for under $10/mo, with $25 or less for the initial buy would be better (though I think a free client download would be the better choice). Start with a below average rate then increase it as the demand grows.
I guess however, there is already a perception of high demand willing to accept the rates. I just would hate to see that high spike and then sharp decline.
I'll wait a few months for the price to drop to bargain bin numbers. 52.90 made me do a double take! Is this game coming out for XBOX 360 or PS3?!?!?!?!
I'll wait a few months for the price to drop to bargain bin numbers. 52.90 made me do a double take! Is this game coming out for XBOX 360 or PS3?!?!?!?!
I don't think so. As far as I know they are only producing as many PC copies as they have pre-orders for. This game will have to be an amazing surprise success for them to even think about a console version.
Actually games like Shadowbane are what we call "partial loot" since obviously you can only partially loot someone. We''ll be sure to pass out the memo though that games like UO and Darkfall are now classified as "ultra full loot" being that you lose equiped items also...
Welcome to the news section, a place a person can post regardless of whether they plan to play a game or not.
You should lose everything, including your skin if I choose you skin you. I can always use the extra hide in my crafting recipes
I'll wait a few months for the price to drop to bargain bin numbers. 52.90 made me do a double take! Is this game coming out for XBOX 360 or PS3?!?!?!?!
I don't think so. As far as I know they are only producing as many PC copies as they have pre-orders for. This game will have to be an amazing surprise success for them to even think about a console version.
Produce what? I thought it was download only with no box and manual. They aren't producing anything. Just allowing you to download the client and connect to their servers. To be honest, with all of the coffee coasters that I have picked up over the years - I will not be paying anything for another MMO that I cannot try out first. It also irks me how a European company ends up screwing over their own community with prices that are rediculously more expensive than the US dollar. For Christ sakes, it's nearly $20 US per month if you live in the UK.
I'll wait a few months after release and see how things settle down first. Hopefully, there will be a free trial announced soon after the release.
Yes I agree. A free trial is definitely needed.
When dealing with that kind of money I guess I was just hoping they'd give me something tangible. Thanks for letting me know it's only a download. Now I really got stuff to ponder.
Sounds like shadowbane with fewer mobs to fund your losses. Maybe if it was ftp or had a free trial but no way would i pay money at this point. With all the big budget AAA titles releasing in crap condition lately, i find it hard to believe this will be anything other than crap at release.
well i personally have yet to find a good review. And by good review i mean someone explaining what made it good, or even a story about how you were at half health and surrounded.
What i have heard is numerous accounts of the game being unfinished, along with even more videos showing the same.
The only thing i have gathered is the game looks nice but thats is about it. (as far as the good goes).
As far as price, i can understand 50 bucks in a box, becuase it costs money to move the game to the stores and pay for all the gas + personal and whatnot. But to distrubte a digital copy that takes 0 overhead, it shouldn't be costing the same as a game in the store. We should be saving money becuase it is digital only.
So far, i'm waiting for spellborn. My choices were between the two, and i've played spellborn and while i'll still try a free trail for darkfall, everything i have seen so far puts spellborn way ahead of darkfall, even more so in combat.
It still says on darkfallonline.com that there "will be a public beta test". Was this just UK or will there be a US one as well?