Darkfall, a game I've followed for awhile now, never planned to play until a free trial, but then someone said the store was open and it was, so I impulse bought it. Instantly afterwards I had buyers remorse but it was too late, so off I went.

I am relatively busy (listen to me acting like a RL hotshot ;) ) so when I got home to play, I had too many things to do so I wasn't able to play until past midnight. Made a dwarf, picked one of my 3 starter spots randomly, and off I went.

Character creation: Decent amount of options, I was happy with how my guy looked at the end. Granted I could change my beard color it didn't seem like.

So I'm in the world now, keeping an open mind. Got the starter quests to kill goblins and so off I run to goblins. 10mins later I was lost and no goblins were found. I checked the map with 'M' but you couldn't zoom in on it so I sort of saw goblins on the map but it was zoomed too far out and other words were on the map, making it impossible to see where to go. So I ran back to where I started and I just so happened to see the marker on the map finally of where the goblins were on my mini map.

Granted I am a little angry about the map and how there was a marker but I couldn't see which direction, but anger and sleepiness aside I found the goblins and went to fight them, figured I put the anger to good use. The tutorial prepared me how to fight (Ed at Eurogamer didn't even TRY to play this game I have to admit). It didn't teach me that I needed a wand to cast spells but I figured it out after a little while.

So I fight these goblins and regardless of popular belief, I was GLAD to have others around, the mobs come back fast and their range is huge! I'd be 50 meters away and the bastards would shoot me in the back as I was resting, it was rough. Eventually I killed a few, which was really fun, and so I learned to loot. Looting is terrible, worse than UO, but what was in the loot was great. Gold, bows, arrows, weapons, armor, reagents, and every now and then.. a goblin axe I needed. So I was getting tired, I killed my 4 goblins, got 2 axes out of 4, and ran to town happily with loot and little gold.

Logged off, live to play another day.  Got a new weapon and a bow with some arrows, and I even snagged a goblin staff to use the spells I put on my hotbar (Self heal and Mana Missile), as well as some ragged armor.

------------

Day 2 (Saturday): Technically day one still, I woke up at 6:45am after going to sleep at 1am because I was excited to play again. Servers were down, I came on these forums and heard people that I usually respected making fun of DF players by saying "Why aren't you playing your precious game, servers down or something?" Normally I would laugh at that, but I'm a player now and WTF, the servers were down, so people were just being jerks, not realizing the servers were in fact down. In any case, my first taste of what it feels like to be DF hated... didn't like it.

So I log in at 7:20am, servers up, ready to get my axes from those little green punks. I go back to where I was, killed more goblins and keep gathering more and more loot. I have lots of bows, arrows, swords, and like 100 gold at this point. Got my axes, turn them in, happy as a clam. Then I get more quests to harvest resources, then to fish and cook (which fishing is the most retarded system ever, you have to be partway in the water and then you aim directly at your feet to start fishing). So I do all those quests, and now it tells me to run to a new camp and talk to a new lady.

Hrm, I don't want to leave my area, I am scared and alone, so I stay and fight goblins, practice a little archery and magery, and get a little better and plenty more loot. Did I mention the people killing goblins, while very hard to actually talk to, are very friendly and nice. They didn't ninja loot, they didn't attack me, they didn't do anything but help kill other mobs or help kill my mob if I was hurt. They attacked me on accident sometimes or I did them, and never did going grey mean they tried to kill me. With that aside, eventually I was resting after a fight with goblins, and some shiny armored guy came out from the mountains and pked me while resting.

Now I was pissed, I had armor, gold, lots of arrows, and a polearm that I bought for 90gold. 90gold was A LOT to me, I didn't want to lose my weapon. So I ran back, GF laughing at me for dying, I get to my corpse. He left my polearm so I was content, the rest was stuff I got off goblins and could get again, which was getting easier. Either way, first PK experience was over very fast and I was sitting down the whole time.

So I was tired, but ready to find this npc. Again, map sucking, I wasn't sure where she was but you can zoom out a little on mini map so I did that and I saw the npc east so I went over a mountain to it. (You can unrealistically climb almost anything btw). Got to npc, some people were around, a new bank box, and new quests to kill kobolds and skeletons. Wait? There are more  than goblins in this game? I heard otherwise... I was wrong. So I go to kill skeletons, guys in there doing the same, he seems much better than me so I ask him if I can join him. He agrees and shows me the ropes of the game a little more.

Stand up guy, he gave me all the loot in exchange for all the bones (to do magic spells I gathered). Did my quest, then did the kobolds quests (2 quests), then I got 1 more with kobolds to loot a chest (first 2 were kill X number of kobolds). Did that, new quest was to deliver package to another town. We stayed and killed more skeletons then he took me to new town and got new quest to kill polar bears.

He said the bears were hard and he was right. He shot me into the sky with a spell and I was on top a building where the bears couldn't hit me so it was easy pickings. Well it seemed like it, but the bears moved too much and had too much life, as I ran out of mana before I could barely hurt them. So I jumped down, test my luck on the ground so I could chase them. Bad idea, bear hurt! I ran away but I got stuck under the dock and bear killed me. Stupid dock, stupid bears... but I got back, got all my stuff, and got out of there for good. I wasn't ready for those bears, it was dumb the game told me to go there honestly.

So I came back to first town and asked some players in game about crafting. Decided to make arrows, a bowyer. He told me what to do so I went and did it. Got wood (auto harvests and I can walk away without any macros or anything). So I got a drink, helped GF with lunch, until stamina ran out. When it did I went and converted logs into wood. Then went back out to get iron as well for arrows. I mined stone for awhile like an idiot, only to realize at the smelter that stone was not iron. Back out I go again, a little pissed at myself for not grasping that idea. Found shiny metal spot, mine auto style again, help gf with food again. 5 mins later I heard a sound on my speakers and 2 people are killing me! I run back to computer, too late, already dead. PKed 2nd time, but they left my pickaxe so wasn't a big deal, they didn't steal my skill gains! Just my ore :(. Got ore again, turned it into ingots, and made some arrows, good times.

That's my experience so far, really having fun, which I never expected. Graphics are nice, world looks pretty enough, I am very pleased with graphics. Are they 2009 graphics? No, but they are nice and game runs smooth. Communication with players? Terrible. Have to /tell (first name) (last name), can't click on them to interact, etc. Gameplay? Really fun. I mostly left click and attack, but monsters run away in strange patterns, have interesting things to loot, and it's just fun, don't know what else to say.

Can't wait to play more. Also, I never noticed a hacker yet, if  that matters to anyone. Also, I played UO a lot back in the day so I suppose it is easier for me to relate to the game mechanics and flow of the game, as I see some people are lost from the very beginning.

glad you are liking it. Also glad you are not calling it the messiah of mmo's. Came in hoping for some DF bashing, was disappointed but at least you are telling it like it is. You don't sound like you are trying to reassure yourself of anything like most of these bots on here.

Originally posted by Carl132p

glad you are liking it. Also glad you are not calling it the messiah of mmo's. Came in hoping for some DF bashing, was disappointed but at least you are telling it like it is. You don't sound like you are trying to reassure yourself of anything like most of these bots on here.

As to the OP, I'm glad you're having a good time.  As to the response, I would encourage you to read some of the threads a bit more thoroughly.  With some exceptions, most of the people who have tried the game recently and are enjoying it don't sound much different than Cereo.  Very few call it the "messiah of MMOs" or anything remotely similar.  The fact that people would expect the fan community to say that speaks more of the current mentality of the holders of those expectations than it does of the community itself. 

Personally, I  thought the DF fanbase was crazy before I tried the game, but once I tried it and attempted to say that it can be an enjoyable experience, I got flamed just like everyone else.  There is a vocal segment of the MMORPG community that is so anti-AV and desirous of bashing the game regardless of whether they've tried it, that they've started to act even more rabid and irrational than the fans themselves.  There are a lot of valid criticisms of the game and of the company that put it out, and most fans acknowledge them, but don't agree with the over the top conclusory statements that people throw about while using those criticisms as justification.

Thank you for sharing your experiences.  I look forward to further impressions.  it sounds like, in general, the part you're hving the most fun with is the actual fighting, but that you're iffy on other aspects like the map.  FYI, you can zoom in and out of the mini-map (I think using - and =, but I can't remember for sure). 

Regarding the goblins.  Yes - having other people around can be good, if only to share aggro.  A group would be good, too.  Solo?  It can be tough and just wait until you get the quest to skin goblin corpses (gravestones) for teeth. That quest is just plain stupid.  It can be challening enough just to loot corpses, much less stand there and attempt to harvest the corpse, failing X number of times in a row.  Somebody else was kind enough to give me the 4 goblin teeth I needed, else I would never have completed the quest,  having quit it in frustration and, thereby, screwing my self out of future quests in the chain.  It's that bad, so be forewarned

~Ripper

Originally posted by bmdevine

Originally posted by Carl132p

glad you are liking it. Also glad you are not calling it the messiah of mmo's. Came in hoping for some DF bashing, was disappointed but at least you are telling it like it is. You don't sound like you are trying to reassure yourself of anything like most of these bots on here.

As to the OP, I'm glad you're having a good time.  As to the response, I would encourage you to read some of the threads a bit more thoroughly.  With some exceptions, most of the people who have tried the game recently and are enjoying it don't sound much different than Cereo.  Very few call it the "messiah of MMOs" or anything remotely similar.  The fact that people would expect the fan community to say that speaks more of the current mentality of the holders of those expectations than it does of the community itself. 

Personally, I  thought the DF fanbase was crazy before I tried the game, but once I tried it and attempted to say that it can be an enjoyable experience, I got flamed just like everyone else.  There is a vocal segment of the MMORPG community that is so anti-AV and desirous of bashing the game regardless of whether they've tried it, that they've started to act even more rabid and irrational than the fans themselves.  There are a lot of valid criticisms of the game and of the company that put it out, and most fans acknowledge them, but don't agree with the over the top conclusory statements that people throw about while using those criticisms as justification.

Glad you're having a good time with the game.  You had seemed down on the game before you tried it and now seem to be having fun.  It's awesome that  you were able to keep an open mind about it.  Even though it's not the "messiah" of games, which almost everyone agrees with, it can still be fun to play.

I'm glad you were also able to talk about meeting helpful people in the game.  I think sometimes the forums don't do the in-game community justice.  I figured out a lot of stuff on my own, but keep an eye on the race aliance chat to give advice to others, and see a lot of other people doing the same.  Not that there aren't the occasional trolls, but no more than other MMO's.

For me DF is mmorpgs messiah ;p By messiah I mean one of first games (except EVE online which I love) that tried make something new and IMHO it succeeded. A lot of people are really enjoying it and having fun. I'm not saying DF is perfect, it's far from it. I just hope other companies grow some balls now and will stop making EQ2 clones (aka WoW clones).

DF features and game mechanics should be further improved by Aventurine or some other company - I don't care. I just want to have games that fits mine (and many more players) game style because since UO we had only SB (tuned off) and EVE online while PvEers had tons of titles. That's why you see a lot of fanboys - we waited for such game for a long time.

Soon OP will windge along with me about a insane grind, mobs running in Kevlar armors with 100000000 HP, a retarded melee combat and a lack of balance ;) I am glad you enjoy it.

OP, just wait until about 2-3 weeks in when doing the same thing over again stops being fun.

Originally posted by Benthon

OP, just wait until about 2-3 weeks in when doing the same thing over again stops being fun.

Why don't we let the OP decide that for himself? Just a thought.........

Originally posted by egotrip

Originally posted by Benthon

OP, just wait until about 2-3 weeks in when doing the same thing over again stops being fun.

Why don't we let the OP decide that for himself? Just a thought.........

If I stop having fun 2-3 weeks in, I'll quit and I'll let everyone know why I did. It's real simple to me, if I am having fun I play the game. If the fun stops, I quit playing and move on. Games don't fail me if they don't grab my attention for X amount of years.

Nice, seemingly unbiased, review of the game.

I only have a trouble with semi-reviews or journals when they're like Paragus'.

Originally posted by Cereo

Originally posted by egotrip

Originally posted by Benthon

OP, just wait until about 2-3 weeks in when doing the same thing over again stops being fun.

Why don't we let the OP decide that for himself? Just a thought.........

 

If I stop having fun 2-3 weeks in, I'll quit and I'll let everyone know why I did. It's real simple to me, if I am having fun I play the game. If the fun stops, I quit playing and move on. Games don't fail me if they don't grab my attention for X amount of years.

Which is the point i was trying to make. The last thing that i would like to see (again) is another "you went in with the wrong mentality / the trolls got to you / you didn't play it long enough to decide /you played it the wrong way ,yadayadayada" type of responses that certain members of this forum use and will by all probability use in case you happen not like it but i suppose that's unavoidable.....

Well have fun and i hope you get your money's worth

you've actually played the game and are saying you are liking it?

...in before the troll crowd starts accusing OP of being a paid Aventurine shill, fanboi, liar, etc etc.

like "us fans" keep saying: it has the same number of rough edges as any new MMO but the core gameplay is solid and fun, as long as you're not a raving PVE-oriented carebear.

Originally posted by Devour

Nice, seemingly unbiased, review of the game.

I only have a trouble with semi-reviews or journals when they're like Paragus'.

Seemingly unbias? C'mon man, read my post history if you're skeptical I'm bias. But really, by all professional and logical standards, DF is a terrible game. It seems devoid of life in a lot of spots, it is not intuitive, it's got plenty of grind in it, lacks any polish, but it's just fun. I didn't expect it to be fun, that's for sure. I'm sure the fun will wear off after a time and the grind will make me cry, but it just feels like a world I can do what I want to in it, when I want to, and for now I really want to do things in it.

That was probaly the best 2 day review I have read. The thing that caught my attention the most was how the other players were so helpful. I think thats one of the most important aspects of any MMO. Good to see that you are enjoying it. I know what it means to find that one game that you like but everybody else seems to bash. Keep us updated, I want to see how your journey continues.

Originally posted by Cereo

Originally posted by Devour

Nice, seemingly unbiased, review of the game.

I only have a trouble with semi-reviews or journals when they're like Paragus'.

 

Seemingly unbias? C'mon man, read my post history if you're skeptical I'm bias. But really, by all professional and logical standards, DF is a terrible game. It seems devoid of life in a lot of spots, it is not intuitive, it's got plenty of grind in it, lacks any polish, but it's just fun. I didn't expect it to be fun, that's for sure. I'm sure the fun will wear off after a time and the grind will make me cry, but it just feels like a world I can do what I want to in it, when I want to, and for now I really want to do things in it.

Correct, if you look at Cereo's post history, you'll see that he definitely bought the game with a skeptical eye, but is now giving it one of the fairest reviews you'll see on this board.

Originally posted by Cereo

Seemingly unbias? C'mon man, read my post history if you're skeptical I'm bias. But really, by all professional and logical standards, DF is a terrible game. It seems devoid of life in a lot of spots, it is not intuitive, it's got plenty of grind in it, lacks any polish, but it's just fun. I didn't expect it to be fun, that's for sure. I'm sure the fun will wear off after a time and the grind will make me cry, but it just feels like a world I can do what I want to in it, when I want to, and for now I really want to do things in it.

and here i was thinking whether a game was fun or not is the only thing that matters... i didn't realise that MMOs need to have a world covered in mobs, have every aspect of the game immediately self-evident, be completely without grind and totally polished on release day in order to be "good".

</sarcasm>

This isn't directed to the OP's author. Ed Zitron spends 9 hours in the game and gives it a negative review and everyone goes bananas. This threads author spends about the same amount of time and gives it a fairly good review and you all sing praises.

Talk about double standards...

Originally posted by javac

Originally posted by Cereo

Seemingly unbias? C'mon man, read my post history if you're skeptical I'm bias. But really, by all professional and logical standards, DF is a terrible game. It seems devoid of life in a lot of spots, it is not intuitive, it's got plenty of grind in it, lacks any polish, but it's just fun. I didn't expect it to be fun, that's for sure. I'm sure the fun will wear off after a time and the grind will make me cry, but it just feels like a world I can do what I want to in it, when I want to, and for now I really want to do things in it.

 

and here i was thinking whether a game was fun or not is the only thing that matters... i didn't realise that MMOs need to have a world covered in mobs, have every aspect of the game immediately self-evident, be completely without grind and totally polished on release day in order to be "good".

 

</sarcasm>

yup, let me tell you of the oodles of fun i have afk on the wall of pain, or in an eq pile, or grinding crafting, or beating endlessly on people on a wall of pain, or shooting endless arrows/mana missiles into the sky/side of mountain/water, or swimming/running sprinting for long amounts of time in random directions.

of course, i could do none of those, and just die REAL FAST every time i get into a fight.   but hey, i'm only a couple of days old ingame, no reason i should be grinding like i'm someone that's been playing for a month+... amirite?

oh, no sarcasm here.

Originally posted by mach789

This isn't directed to the OP's author. Ed Zitron spends 9 hours in the game and gives it a negative review and everyone goes bananas. This threads author spends about the same amount of time and gives it a fairly good review and you all sing praises.

Talk about double standards...

tasos, the lord of flies - didn't have time to make half a dozen forum rants about this review yet.