Originally posted by imbant
**This thread is intended to bring people up to speed on the changes that have been going on in the development cycle of Darkfall from August 08' to the present. Not everyone has the luxury of patrolling forums 24/7 for the latest update, and since many threads get locked up around here this will hopefully catch those who are interested up to speed.**
Up until August of 2008, we had been left in the dark for awhile and there were a lot of questions about whether or not this game was vaporware and would ever release. Well at the end of August, a chain of events started that has brought Darkfall into the limelight and sandbox, pvp, and just mmo fans everywhere have been on the edge of their seats discussing it (one way or another).
-August 29th, 2008 - 17min 100% In-game Gameplay Trailer is released.
If you follow this link , you will find multiple download and viewing options to see the video.
It showcases numerous gameplay mechanics that will be found in Darkfall and gave us a great glance at what is possible in the game.
Everything you will see is taken from ingame footage of testers playing the game. It brought up heated discussion about the quality of the animations and graphics of the game. It was later discovered that the video was shot at low settings and compressed, but the animations have not proven to be any better than what you will see in the video.
-August 29th, 2008 Darkfall Beta Sign-ups
Along with the video came the opening of Beta signups for the public. This was not the first time Aventurine (Developers of Darkfall) had promoted a beta test, but it has proven to be the first time they actually followed through with it.
If you follow this link , you will find the news announcement with a link for the signup page. Signups are still open but at this point it is unlikely you will be accepted to the closed beta. Though it may be a good idea to sign up anyways as it is unsure how they will be handling open beta.
-October 16th, 2008 - Aventurine presents Darkfall at the Athens Digital Week Convention (with videos)
If you follow this link , you will find links to view the 30min video that shows parts of the convention. Including video of developers playing Darkfall over the internet with players from different locations.
This event was followed by numerous appearances of DF in the media including magazines, television, and online new coverage. You can find links to some of the television interviews in darkfallworld in the above link.
The footage exposed a lot of things we had not seen before and provided the community with lots of things to discuss.
-November 18th, 2008 Developer Tasos gives many quotes from the closed beta testers on the status of the game.
If you follow this link, you will see a long list of beta tester quotes that are organized according to game mechanics.
These beta comments came from people who were invited as a result of the public signups for closed beta. They are not related to the paid beta testers that Aventurine employed before the signups were availible.
The comments were mainly positive but did raise some concerns and is a very good read.
-November 21st, 2008 - Two Journalists from MMORPG.IT visit the Aventurine Studios
The two Italian Journalists were allowed to play the beta client live at the studios.
If you follow this link, you will find links to the italian and english translations of the review that they wrote based on their experience. You will also see multiple pictures of the studio and game.
*Update: A gameplay video from their visit can be found here. It is a short video that doesn't show many new things, but it is shot over the shoulder and allows the community to see that all is well in the Aventurine Studios. Status of the game on release still up in the air.
-December 1st, 2008 - Gianna (Author of "The Noob" Comic) Gives a Beta Experience review
A fairly unbiased opinion from another non-Aventurine employee, although has personal ties to DF developers. As I write this there are only 2 parts of the review up with more hopefully to come. Nothing really new as far as info goes, but a very nice review from someone who hasn't "followed the evolution of the game before beta, so don't expect any deep insight. The skinny goth dudes are called Alfar and I'm catching up on the rest. " So we aren't talking about a review from an uber fanboi here.
Part 1 can be found here
Part 2 can be found here
Part 3 can be found here
Part 4 can be found here
Part 5 can be found here
Part 6 can be found here
Part 7 can be found here
Enjoy!
-December 4th, 2008. MMORPG.com Interviews Tasos
A great interview from our own staff here at MMORPG.com. Topics range from development cycle, their view on the forum drama/discussion, marketing, beta, and an announcement of a release date soon to come!
You can read the full article here!
December 5th, 2008. Aventurine and Audio Visual Entertainment (DF publisher) Announce a January 22nd, 2009 Release Date for Darkfall. (which would later be pushed back)
You can read the official statement here.
This is the first time that Darkfall has annouced a specific release date for the game, and is certainly a milestone in the history of this game. This is also the first time they have set a timeline of any kind in which they have had other business recognize the game and announce their partnership with them. The amount of media coverage, third party business collaboration, and recent communication from the dev team make this announcement the most significant one in history because the community now know when Darkfall will open it doors for all to play.
December 24th, 2008. Curse.com has an interview with Tasos and Claus.
Here is the link to the news section where it was announced.
January 15th, 2009. Annoucement that the commercial release will be pushed back about 1 month to February 25th, 2009. There will now be a trial on January 22nd, 2009.
Details of the announcement can be found here in the news section on the official boards.
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Also it should be noted that the FAQ on the official site is quite out of date and that it may not reflect many of the current gameplay and development informaiton that we now know based on the list of updates above. There will be a completely revamped website availible on release according to the devs.
looking back... this is all... interesting... especially that last paragraph.
