First, the comments section on this Massively article (great piece btw, riveting topic that someone should have blogged about…) is hilarious. Usually you have to go to MMORPG.com to get such ‘quality’ comments, but it seems people’s love for Darkfall has spread to other sites as well. Always nice to have a well-rounded variety of QQ, so I welcome these new ‘fans’ with open arms and empty buckets.
In other Tasos-talks news, the man himself posted an update about the next expansion, including not only a rough ETA but also some details about what players can expect. I think calling it a heavily PvE-focused expansion is selling it short, or at least giving some of the slower forum trolls too much feed (although AV has a history of tossing out troll-bait, so maybe this is just more of the same).
I say that because when you create in-demand PvE spots, you in turn create a PvP-hotspot. The center dungeon is the perfect example of this; it’s a great place to farm because of the variety and availability of mobs, yet it’s also a good place to go to get into a fight. The two simply go hand-in-hand in Darkfall, and I for one can’t wait to spend more time in one of Agon’s revamped dungeons fighting not only the mobs but also other players.
Not much detail was given on exact what is going into the new dungeons, but it sounds like AV has bigger plans for them than to just make them underground mob camps. Traps, interactive mechanics, puzzles; who knows what is going to be included. It’s most likely a pipedream, but how crazy would an Ultima style underworld be in Darkfall, where not only is the underworld itself a sizable area, but all of Agon’s dungeons connect to it, creating a subterranean network for alternate travel. As someone who still rather vividly remembers playing Ultima V and searching for the entrance to Dungeon Doom, Darkfall possibly going in this direction is drool-worthy.
The rest of the post is also rather light on solid details, and as mentioned each major feature will get its own spotlight in due time. Finally, I have little doubt that even when all of the information is presented, the expansion itself will still include a few changes that will surprise people, much like the last patch surprised most with the AoE change coming so quickly (and so far, working brilliantly).
Chuck-o-the-day: The difference between Chuck Norris and God is that Chuck Norris does not think he’s God.
(DarkFall-related post disclaimer/reminder. If you click the image link near the top-right of this page and buy a DarkFall account, I get paid 20% of the client cost. If you believe this taints my views and reporting on DarkFall, your opinion is wrong.)
Hardcore Casual 
Come play APB Syn – it’s real pvp, it’s fun, and you’ll like it!
Sorry no time for a new games atm sadly. Who else from CoW is playing?
I won’t be any time soon. Just too many games to play.
Would not bother with APB now until they add more content and fix that totally lame matchmaking system.
Your favorite troll! But as word spreads, CoW usually draws a crowd.
Yea but if I start DL now, you will have rage quit by the time I’m logged in…
I can hold my own in an FPS. And am on vacation so haven’t had a chance to log in yet. But if you think you can handle a pvp game that involves a little more then hiding until your enemy is down to 10% from a pve mob before you attack, by all means begin the DL!
I’m terribad at FPS, hence I play DF. I think I have a .4 or something K/D ratio in BC2, and I sniper more than most.
Well all snark aside, the cool thing about CoW is the possiblity of guild group vent assisted carnage!
Yea that’s why I liked playing BC2 with Inq, I might give up a ton of kills, but they dragged me to victory.
The only part of the original article that I don’t agree with is the comments about new players being able to contribute.
It’s certainly more true than in most MMOs, but it’s still a far cry from it being conceivable that they could be the MVP in a major battle.
Ultimately, I think myths like this do the game more harm than good because it doesn’t level set expectations about what it’s like to be a new player.
You don’t see him talking about how you’ll be running around naked mining and getting ganked all the time. Gee. Sooo powerful! :)
The point is you can jump in as a totally new player right into the DF ‘endgame’ of a siege/fortress/raid, play a non-trivial role, and if things line up, be the MVP. And while being the MVP might be unlikely (like its unlikely most players will ever be the MVP in a large battle, viable character or not), that is a long ways away from not being able to contribute meaningfully.
Or to put it another way, what are the odds of a lvl 1 on most MMOs being able to do ANYTHING, let alone possibly be the MVP, in an endgame situation? The fact that you even have a 1% chance to do just that in DF speaks volume about the design and the possibilities. That you hear ‘possible’ and think “me me me now now now” is not an issue with the message so much as it is with who it’s being delivered to.
As for the power of a naked miner, gathering is an option. There are endgame character who have a skill of 1 in most of their crafting skills, and a wisdom of less than 50. I also don’t remember too many WoW, EQ2, LotRO, whatever hype videos/interviews showing off their gathering skills, do you?
I don’t disagree with the “theory” so much as I think it’s more harmful to the game to set that a poor expectation of what it is like for a brand new player.
The reality of a “day in the life of a Darkfall newb” is very far removed from that ideal scenario that you describe.
Which is incredibly ironic considering your often shared opinion that not everyone can be a hero in an MMO. And yet, here you are defending the idea that a brand new player can walk in and be an MVP.
How is that in any way ironic? There is ONE mvp for every battle, and no battle is a repeat. That’s why actually being an MVP in DF ‘counts’, while some NPC telling how great you are in WoW is a joke, as is the ‘epic’ reward you get. As is the ‘epic’ encounter you repeat for the 100th time, defeating some script in an instance safe from the rest of the world. I’d say it’s pretty damn epic if someone changed the course of an alliance in his first week.
And again, you are hearing the wrong thing if you take what Tasos said about the possibility of a new player being the MVP of a clan battle as “hey look, the starter quest is being an MVP, and it happens in the first 5 minutes”. No one is saying ‘the average noob will be an MVP daily’.
It’s not theory, its fact. It can, likely has, and will happen that some new player plays a significant, possible event-changing role in an end-game battle. I can state that fact for DF, how many other MMOs can state that fact?
It’s ironic that in one breath you’ll say “not everyone can be a hero” but in another breath say “but the great thing is anyone can be the hero”.
It’s not exactly hypocrisy, just ironic in that the exact thing being promoted as a positive is the exact same thing your saying people shouldn’t expect to happen.
Anyway, my point is that the take away someone gets from reading all this is a false expectations.
The “not everyone is a hero” opinion is the far more accurate statement and far closer to the truth.
So, as I said, I think the end result is that comments like Tasos made in the article are ultimately more harmful to the game because of the false expectations it creates.
It’s the same as EvE. Since there is no endgame a new player contributes from day one.
But, what he can do is like being a level 10 using his cure 1 spell on the 80s in an endgame event. He’s pretty much treading water until his skills rise enough to fly something that makes a real difference. And it takes awhile in those kinds of games.
So its not really that good. In a PvE game you can’t raid, but you can level and each level range is tailored to you. In Sandbox you just tag around with stronger people being carried by them.
Sid there is no irony in the perfectly logical statement that “not everyone can be a hero” but “anyone can be a hero”. If one player per battle is the “hero” or MVP persay they are the soul hero but it could have been anyone. Now I definitely agree with the statement that the chance of a new player playing a pivotal role in a large scale battle is slim to none. Maybe putting a couple arrows in the back of the last enemy? not too likely
Eli, you would have to be in the game to understand. Massive PVP battles are not happening next to the starting locations normally. So the odds that a new player would be introduced to a “hero” role at login are slim to none unless a buddy gets him into a clan and drags him to an encounter. The point I think that you are missing is that he technically could. It’s not like 0 skilled one armed axe wielding newbs are reeking havoc in endgame PVP… it’s that if they wanted to they can at least swing the axe and hit and stand a chance to not getting one-shotted. That’s saying more than most mmo’s currently on the market can.
I completely agree with that statement song and that is what I love about Darkfall that I can level at my casual rate and always contribute with the chance of turning a battle with r90 nukes and 100 2h mastery.
That’s not the irony. The irony is in promoting one thing as great while in the other breath saying that you are a fool to expect that as commonplace.
To which my point is.. you do more harm promoting the “great” thing when it’s unlikely to happen. It’s just sets bad expectations by overpromising.
Comments on the massively article look fairly run-of-the-mill to me. On the reasonable and open-minded side, if anything. Although given that I can’t actually see an “article” at the link given, just a short news item, that could not conceivably be described by anyone as “a great piece”, I wonder if I am reading the right comment thread?
First comment mentions looting in DF. It’s not hardcore, it’s just one awful failure among many by the people who designed the UI. If they want looting to take a while, then make it take a while. The way the system is set up, it rewards people who drag and drop the fastest. That’s fucking hard-core man…drag and drop. Drag and fucking drop!
Argh please dont link to that shit site Massively when they are simply in turn LINKING TO ANOTHER ARTICLE.
Now I have given them a free hit and thus 1 penny in advertising revenue
FUCK
I am sure that in time, and with proper therapy, you’ll get over it!