Dif
24.08.2005, 16:21
How big is the world?
The world is huge, possibly the largest single online game world ever created. Besides being huge, the world features hundreds of islands you could discover and make your secret base on. As you travel across Agon you will encounter unique terrain features never seen before in online games, such as mountains ranges that rise for thousands of feet, waiting for you to climb and explore them.
What is the setting of this game?
The setting of Darkfall is a fantasy adventure where anything is possible, with dragons, elves, orks, sorcery, epic battles, quests, and the never-ending struggle between good and evil.
Will Darkfall have safe zones?
There are no safe zones in Darkfall unless the players themselves create them or seek them out. There is no area where a player cannot be attacked by another player.
There is relative safety in numbers and in staying out of harm’s way. A player in a city full of his clanmates and further guarded by NPC guards is as safe as he can be, but he is still vulnerable to a sudden enemy raid. A player who has made a home for himself in a remote area is also relatively safe, but an enemy could always come along. The six racial capitals are very well guarded and will probably be the safest locations on Agon. Someone could still attack you, but he would probably die in the process.
Is Darkfall a Player vs. Player (PvP) game?
Calling Darkfall a PvP game would be selling it short. Of course there’s going to be a lot of PvP combat and the combat gameplay will be as fast paced and fun as a first person shooter, but the focus of the game is kingdom building, clan warfare, and conquest. The battles will be epic and will require a lot more than just PvP skill to be won. Darkfall is as much a social, a real-time strategy, and a fantasy role playing game, as it is a PvP game.
Will you offer a world without PvP for those of us that do not enjoy it?
We like to think of Darkfall as a game where there are no restrictions to player interaction that don’t make sense. The fantasy literature and mythology that inspired fantasy based RPGs contains conflict, combat and warfare and its part of what made these worlds so dramatic, the characters so heroic, and the endings so rewarding. Having said that, we’re sorry, but we cannot offer a “softer” version of Darkfall.
I don’t like PvP, why should I even consider trying out Darkfall?
If you give it a chance, you’ll discover that Darkfall is an extremely well rounded game. For example, there’s as much effort going into the quest engine and the crafting process, as there is going into the combat design. Darkfall features the ultimate player based economy, more useful trade skills than any other released MMORPG to date, advanced NPC and monster AI, and a quest engine constantly creating new and challenging content. Furthermore, the game world is huge; you could move to a remote area with your friends and try to create a safe haven for other like-minded players.
How are you going to handle Player Killing?
Anyone can attack anyone. In fact Darkfall encourages you to seek out and kill enemies of your race and your clan. However, it is up to each kingdom to set the rules of their borders. The different kingdoms have NPC guards that have orders given to them by the player kings and lords. You can order the guards to attack on sight. The guard “hit list” can include clan names, individual player names, specific races, alignments, and enemies.
How many simultaneous players per game world?
We are hoping to be able to accommodate at least ten thousand simultaneous players in each one of our game worlds. More information on this will become available during playtesting.
How is this large a number of simultaneous players possible?
It’s possible through our in-house developed server technology, which affords us a high degree of scalability.
Are there zones?
No. Darkfall is seamless and will not have “zones” and zone loading, as seen in other MMORPGs. There will be a short loading pause when entering dungeons and structures.
How do spawns work? Are they static or dynamic?
Our random spawns are dynamic. Clear out a spawn and it will not reappear in the same place. If you spend enough time killing a species, its presence in that area will thin out and eventually the species will migrate to a different area.
Are there other types of spawns besides random spawns?
There are some static spawns mostly associated with quests.
How much gore can we expect in Darkfall?
That depends on the player setting his preferences. With a “no gore” setting you will have no gore whatsoever, whereas with full options you could watch a perfectly timed and powerful swing of a sword take someone’s head clean off their shoulders.
What about weather effects and day/night cycles?
Agon will be a very atmospheric and beautiful world complete with world physics that will surprise you. The weather effects will often be dramatic, and the day/night cycles will sometimes be accompanied with spectacular dawns and sunsets.
The exact time cycle is not set yet, but the current total night/day cycle is about four hours long. Expect realistic weather effects, such as rain, snow, wind blowing in the trees, wind blowing in the grass on the ground, thunder and lightning.
How can I travel long distances other than by foot?
There will be horses and other types of mounts you can ride, ships you can sail, as well as magical means of travel.
Will a map be available?
A dynamic in-game map is available. You can also look at a map of Agon here.
The world is huge, possibly the largest single online game world ever created. Besides being huge, the world features hundreds of islands you could discover and make your secret base on. As you travel across Agon you will encounter unique terrain features never seen before in online games, such as mountains ranges that rise for thousands of feet, waiting for you to climb and explore them.
What is the setting of this game?
The setting of Darkfall is a fantasy adventure where anything is possible, with dragons, elves, orks, sorcery, epic battles, quests, and the never-ending struggle between good and evil.
Will Darkfall have safe zones?
There are no safe zones in Darkfall unless the players themselves create them or seek them out. There is no area where a player cannot be attacked by another player.
There is relative safety in numbers and in staying out of harm’s way. A player in a city full of his clanmates and further guarded by NPC guards is as safe as he can be, but he is still vulnerable to a sudden enemy raid. A player who has made a home for himself in a remote area is also relatively safe, but an enemy could always come along. The six racial capitals are very well guarded and will probably be the safest locations on Agon. Someone could still attack you, but he would probably die in the process.
Is Darkfall a Player vs. Player (PvP) game?
Calling Darkfall a PvP game would be selling it short. Of course there’s going to be a lot of PvP combat and the combat gameplay will be as fast paced and fun as a first person shooter, but the focus of the game is kingdom building, clan warfare, and conquest. The battles will be epic and will require a lot more than just PvP skill to be won. Darkfall is as much a social, a real-time strategy, and a fantasy role playing game, as it is a PvP game.
Will you offer a world without PvP for those of us that do not enjoy it?
We like to think of Darkfall as a game where there are no restrictions to player interaction that don’t make sense. The fantasy literature and mythology that inspired fantasy based RPGs contains conflict, combat and warfare and its part of what made these worlds so dramatic, the characters so heroic, and the endings so rewarding. Having said that, we’re sorry, but we cannot offer a “softer” version of Darkfall.
I don’t like PvP, why should I even consider trying out Darkfall?
If you give it a chance, you’ll discover that Darkfall is an extremely well rounded game. For example, there’s as much effort going into the quest engine and the crafting process, as there is going into the combat design. Darkfall features the ultimate player based economy, more useful trade skills than any other released MMORPG to date, advanced NPC and monster AI, and a quest engine constantly creating new and challenging content. Furthermore, the game world is huge; you could move to a remote area with your friends and try to create a safe haven for other like-minded players.
How are you going to handle Player Killing?
Anyone can attack anyone. In fact Darkfall encourages you to seek out and kill enemies of your race and your clan. However, it is up to each kingdom to set the rules of their borders. The different kingdoms have NPC guards that have orders given to them by the player kings and lords. You can order the guards to attack on sight. The guard “hit list” can include clan names, individual player names, specific races, alignments, and enemies.
How many simultaneous players per game world?
We are hoping to be able to accommodate at least ten thousand simultaneous players in each one of our game worlds. More information on this will become available during playtesting.
How is this large a number of simultaneous players possible?
It’s possible through our in-house developed server technology, which affords us a high degree of scalability.
Are there zones?
No. Darkfall is seamless and will not have “zones” and zone loading, as seen in other MMORPGs. There will be a short loading pause when entering dungeons and structures.
How do spawns work? Are they static or dynamic?
Our random spawns are dynamic. Clear out a spawn and it will not reappear in the same place. If you spend enough time killing a species, its presence in that area will thin out and eventually the species will migrate to a different area.
Are there other types of spawns besides random spawns?
There are some static spawns mostly associated with quests.
How much gore can we expect in Darkfall?
That depends on the player setting his preferences. With a “no gore” setting you will have no gore whatsoever, whereas with full options you could watch a perfectly timed and powerful swing of a sword take someone’s head clean off their shoulders.
What about weather effects and day/night cycles?
Agon will be a very atmospheric and beautiful world complete with world physics that will surprise you. The weather effects will often be dramatic, and the day/night cycles will sometimes be accompanied with spectacular dawns and sunsets.
The exact time cycle is not set yet, but the current total night/day cycle is about four hours long. Expect realistic weather effects, such as rain, snow, wind blowing in the trees, wind blowing in the grass on the ground, thunder and lightning.
How can I travel long distances other than by foot?
There will be horses and other types of mounts you can ride, ships you can sail, as well as magical means of travel.
Will a map be available?
A dynamic in-game map is available. You can also look at a map of Agon here.