• Category Archives Darkfall

  • Tasos Flambouras Works With Amnesty International

    Posted on January 13, 2012 by Omali 1 Comment

    A team of Greek developers have combined their powers in order to create a video game for Amnesty International. The aim of the game is to bring awareness to Amnesty International’s push to end the death penalty in the countries where it still exists. Players take the role of an AI advocate in several countries that still push the death penalty, including the United States, China, and Iran. The player must open an Amnesty International office and raise public support for banning the death penalty.

    You may recognize a few of the names on the group roster: Tasos Flambouras, Irene Zeleskou, and Allan Stellakis from the Darkfall developer Aventurine. Well, you probably recognize Tasos Flambouras anyway.

    “The hardest part was to find an idea that could become a game but not betray the issue. We had seen something developed in the past by a French company for Amnesty International — it showed people being shot by an execution squad and the player had to stop the bullet with his hand. We thought this gave the entirely wrong message — the issue is not as simple as stopping the bullets. We needed an idea that worked for an issue that is so depressing and dire, but that was also fun to play. It also needed to put across Amnesty International’s message without portraying the inmates as angels — they are scum and they’ve committed crimes, but there are other reasons why they shouldn’t be executed.”
    -Tasos Flambouras

    Amnesty: The Game is available to play from the group’s website, linked below.

    (Source: Game Politics)

    (More: Amnesty: The Game)

    This entry was posted in Darkfall, Live and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Darkfall 2.0 Visual Test Video

    Posted on December 16, 2011 by Omali Comment

    Whenever I see flyby videos of Darkfall 2.0, I always feel as though I’m watching a version of Morrowind with improved graphics. Darkfall 2.0 launches at some point in the future.

    This entry was posted in Darkfall, Live and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Darkfall 2.0 News: Aventurine Stalls On Wipe Announcement

    Posted on December 2, 2011 by Omali Comment

    Whenever the topic turns to Darkfall 2.0, I can’t help but think back to how Jagex moved Runescape to Runescape 2 (now just referred to as Runescape) and the huge amount of changes the game went under just during that initial transition. So seeing this quote from Aventurine, I can’t help but hold high hopes for this ambitious update:

    After 3 expansions, 2 siege system revamps and 60 major content updates, we decided that we need to do things from scratch to satisfy the thousands of great ideas, suggestions, criticisms coming from the community, and to properly implement the lessons learned by us since Darkfall’s launch.

    The Darkfall Epic Blog was updated to showcase a substantial list of functions Aventurine will be overhauling with this update, a reminder that Darkfall 2.0 is far closer to a brand new game than a simple expansion pack. As for the dreaded (or anticipated, depending on who you ask) wipe, Aventurine still has not come to a conclusion, once again noting:

    We explained that whether we wipe or don’t wipe, the game is so different that it’s of little significance. You should not think in terms of the current version of Darkfall when it comes to Darkfall 2.0.

    The current state of Darkfall 2.0 is nearing a playable version. More to come.

    (Source: Darkfall Epic Blog)

    This entry was posted in Darkfall, Live and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Darkfall Free Weekend: This Weekend

    Posted on November 17, 2011 by Omali 2 Comments

    Rejoice, fans of free for all sandbox MMOs, because Aventurine has a proposition for you. If you’ve departed Darkfall for any reason in the past, you are cordially invited to come back and experience the changes that have occurred in your absence. The instructions are relatively simple:

    Anyone who does not have a currently running subscription needs simply login via the Account Management Page, ( here for European accounts, and here for US accounts) click on the button to activate your free days, and enjoy the benefits of our Happy-Hour weekend! All running subscriptions will automatically have 3 free days added to their account and don’t need to take any action other than to log-in.

    The welcome back weekend lasts from Friday to Monday, according to the email sent out by Aventurine to past subscribers. In addition, players will partake in 400% experience gain, plus a massive increase in drop-rates and items dropped by foes.

    So what do you have to lose? Other than everything equipped and on your inventory.

    This entry was posted in Darkfall, Live and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Darkfall Free Weekend Coming

    Posted on November 4, 2011 by Omali Comment

    Noted Darkfall eccentric Tasos Flambouras updated the Epic Blog today with a rather short post:

    In two weeks, every Darkfall account will be reactivated to participate in a free weekend with accelerated skilling and great loot.

    Turn your speculate-o-meters to ten, folks. Is there going to be more news on the elusive Darkfall 2.0? Is Aventurine using this free weekend to attract their past players and gather everyone’s attention to make a big announcement?

    I sure hope so. My Google rankings love a good announcement. Stay tuned after the announced announcement of the free weekend’s announcement, and I will bring you the announcement of the date for the free weekend announcement.

    This entry was posted in Darkfall, Live and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Week In Review: Why Hath WoW Forsaken Me?

    Posted on August 8, 2011 by Omali Comment

    Thanks to World of Warcraft’s seven day welcome back week, I have something to hold my attention for seven days, at least until the little girl from The Ring comes through my television set to murder me (the joke’s on her, I’ll be playing The Room on a second television. Try and brave that to kill me). Other than the thought of impending death, I’m having a lot more fun on my recreated toon than I expected. I started a new undead hunter to test out the phasing and new quests. There are a lot of major changes to the game, like the removal of weapon levels and ammunition. I’m taking notes, and I’ll be doing a “Why Aren’t You Playing” on World of Warcraft at some point.

    1. Earth Eternal Is Officially Back

    At least to the point where you can play it. If you head over to the Earth Eternal website, you can log in with Facebook and install the client. You will need to make sure that the previous Sparkplay version has been uninstalled before you do, as conflicting installations can cause problems. There may be an issue with the requirement to sign in via Facebook, and you may have to wait a little while before the website recognizes that you have the game installed (this happened to me), but otherwise you can jump right in.

    Earth Eternal is just as adorable as it was when we left it, and the game has undergone quite a substantial upgrade in the graphics department. Find me in-game, my username is Omali.

    2. Bioware Hates The Heterosexuals

    This falls into the category of “I wish this wasn’t true.” Over on the Old Republic boards, a poll popped up asking players what type of relationship they will pursue with their companion characters, choosing from same sex, opposite sex, all relationships, or none. Of course, this sparked a bit of a fizzle (not an explosion) on the blogosphere from the lunatic fringe, claiming Bioware was “discriminating against heterosexuals” presumably by not allowing them to spew homophobic drivel on the Old Republic forums.

    What this ultimately ends up as is a matter of civil discussion, and people who don’t understand what that means. The subject of homosexuality is a touchy one, but in the context of the thread, Bioware was simply asking about your choice of partner, not your opinion on who will burn in eternal hellflame.

    3. I Buy My Gold Straight From Kim Jong Il

    This is an odd story, yet not all surprising. According to the New York Times, North Korea is employing hackers to break into South Korean MMOs in order to write bots for them to farm gold to sell for the government (and of course so his son can get his epic mount in World of Warcraft). The outfit that operates the bots reportedly brings in some hard cash, $6 million over two years, and is the same office that operates drug trafficking, counterfeiting, and other illegal practices for the glorious leader.

    So the next time you see a gold farmer in-game, ask if you can have Kim Jong Il’s autograph. They like that. Also consider this another reason to gank bots in your favorite MMO. That gold you just looted could keep North Korea from achieving nuclear technology.

    4. Firefall is Releasing Similar To Google Mail

    In an announcement on the Firefall website, CEO Mark Kern has expressed his interest in launching the free to play MMO as close to the Gmail method as possible. The project is currently in friends and family beta, where it will slowly expand to allow more people. Oddly enough, Kern considers the game already “launched,” and believes that the expanded base is not bringing in new beta testers, but rather simply expanding a low-key launch to a wider audience via invitation.

    First person to send me an invitation gets a free…something, I’ll figure it out.

    5. Then Again, Darkfall Could See More Success

    I admit, I’ve been hard on Darkfall for the past few weeks, given Aventurine’s refusal to acknowledge a wipe. I’ve hinted in the past that the wipe may have to do with the removal of certain skills, and revamping of others, explaining why Aventurine won’t call it a “wipe in the traditional sense,” or why the company feels that the issue won’t be as hot topic as players are turning it into.

    What I have seen over the past few weeks is an outbreak of support for a wipe, even going as far as a full wipe. Some see it as a necessity to level the playing field, while others see it as a way to rid the game of ill-gotten gains through bugs, dupes, macroing, and exploits. Overall there appears to be equal pull in both directions on the forums, for and against a wipe of any sort.

    My stance throughout all of this has not been predictive. Rather than trying to read the community and predict death or success, I’ve kept to stating the possibilities (on both sides) and citing past examples of wipes and their resulting success, or lack thereof. I’ve leaned a little more toward the death side of the fork in the road, so consider this a balancing “I still have faith this can work out” piece.

    This entry was posted in Darkfall, Editorials, Firefall, Hot Titles, Live, The Old Republic, Upcoming and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Week In Review: Fueled By Mac and Cheese Edition

    Posted on July 18, 2011 by Omali Comment

    I hate limited edition goods, because they always leave me feeling like I need to hoard them before some indeterminate time where they go away to possibly never return. In this case, I’m referring to the awfully tasty caramel iced instant coffee by Starbucks, which they’ve described as “limited time.” What a tease, to bring out a new flavor only to say “enjoy it while it lasts.”

    But I suppose I should make this topic relevant to MMOs. Whenever I unsubscribe from an MMO, reading about missing live events ultimately makes me less likely to resubscribe. Like a good number of my fellow gamers, I have a psychological addiction to vanity pets, and the knowledge that one is locked away because I didn’t play during the precise week makes my brain throw its arms up and say “well alright I’ll stop bugging you to resubscribe now.” This is why I made a big stink about Cryptic offering separate pre-order bonuses but then offering them on the cash shop. I distinctly remember Cryptic stating that, in order to obtain all of the sets of ships, uniforms, etc, players would need to buy multiple copies.

    1. Couldn’t Have Said It Better Myself, Darkfall.

    Darkfall is one of MMO Fallout’s big names right now, likely because of the whole Darkfall 2.0 relaunch and the related hubbub over the possibility of a character wipe. If I may say so, this whole issue might have ended at article #1 and simply continued in August with more information, if it weren’t for Aventurine’s response, which was a complete disregard for why players might be upset at the news and a refusal to offer more information. The announcement was made far too soon, and now Aventurine is stuck between a very well updated rock and a hard place to auto-run against.

    I think that Kimoshu on the Darkfall forums gives a very good explanation:

    I think one of the biggest concerns players have is having to replay the same game with a few tweaks to it and fresh characters grinding out a lot of the same shit with the same powergap issues not addressed. AV often oversells their updates/expansions(Not that they are the only company to do this mind you…) and also with the rampant afk macroing on players and bugged out mobs as well as free afk stat gaining(swimming) that the majority of the community took part in(Guilty myself for several days of afk swimming in 2 years) I worry that AV will not enforce their ToS and we’ll be back to square one.

    Casual players who refuse to break the ToS to gain skills/stats AFK get fucked in DF massively. I hope in 2.0 this gets addressed so that either casual players can still compete without having to set up afk macros or find their spot at the public watering hole for the night.

    If AV enforces their ToS this time around finally with real punishments for AFK macroing and DF 1.0 accounts get compensation of free game time and maybe some meditation points then I have no issue doing a full wipe and would accept it gladly. If they wipe, give no compensation AND don’t enforce their ToS I honestly don’t know if I’ll stick around. I probably will because I love the game but it’s going to seriously be a huge pain in the ass to spend 6-12 months leveling again to get a competitive high-end character while others spend a month to get there with programs playing the game for them when they aren’t even there.

    2. Crimecraft Bleedout Comic Ships This Week?

    You’ll remember last December marked the start of Crimecraft’s episodic single player campaign and effort to dramatically improve the storyline of the game. Since then, the first season of Bleedout has long since finished and Vogster announced that the art seen in each opening/closing cinematic would make its way into a comic book. Initially on sale on Amazon for a release back in April, the comic has been pushed back more and more, and finally is set to ship this week (July 15-19 according to Amazon).

    Hopefully the comic will ship.

    3. I Don’t Live In The UK, And NCSoft Wouldn’t Award Me A Turd

    First off I want to thank those who offered their support when I wrote the article about NCsoft having journalist awards, but I don’t live in the UK and thus do not qualify. That being said, I hardly think I am a blip on NCSoft’s radar large enough to be considered even if the awards did include the United States.

    4. Prime Invokes Thoughts of Star Wars Galaxies

    5. Please Stop Asking Me To Report Every MMO Shut Down

    Over one thousand MMOs launched last year in Asia. I’ll say that again: One thousand. Do you know how many titles worldwide shut down? I have no idea, but I know for certain that I only report on those that release in the west, first of all, and secondly those that have an actual presence. You may notice titles that gather a respectable following but still do not appear here on MMO Fallout because of a lack of what I call news-worthiness. That being said, I get saturated with requests to do similar articles to the “What Happened” series every time some random Korean-launched MMO with little to no presence in the west shuts down, or when a small group goes bankrupt because their only source of revenue is localizing Asian cash shop titles and maintaining the servers, yet the can’t manage to do that.

    This entry was posted in Crimecraft, Darkfall, Live. Bookmark the permalink.

  • Darkfall: Projecting Dave Georgeson On Wipes

    Posted on July 15, 2011 by Omali Comment

    A rather humorous poster once said “My rule on wiping in-game is the same as in real life. If someone else does it for me, I feel violated.” The month of August starts in 16 days, and in that month we are expected to receive more information regarding Darkfall 2.0, aka Darkfall 2010. To those of you keeping tabs, what started as a promotion for an update so altering it had to be considered a relaunch has devolved into Aventurine’s initial mention, and refusal to confirm or deny, the possibility of a full character wipe. In the latest Epic Blog, Tasos Flambouras states the following:

    Wipe speculation: We addressed this, to the extent of our knowledge of the topic, during our last activity report when it was brought up by some members of the community in relation to Darkfall’s relaunch. This is not an issue for the present, but you wouldn’t know it looking at our forums. Furthermore the speculation and discussion about the possibility of a wipe is based on the current Darkfall status and facts. We haven’t wiped the server and we wouldn’t do it as things are now, so discussing this is pointless.
    We’ll ask you to be patient a little longer until we give you all the facts on “Darkfall 2.0? and we can have a discussion on a great number of topics, including this one.

    Apparently Tasos has taken his PR spin lessons at the same school as Dave Georgeson, who you’ll remember stated that he wasn’t lying when he said Everquest II players wouldn’t be subject to free to play, by launching Everquest II Extended and calling it a completely separate product. Take a look at the comment in bold in the above statement. Thrown into the PR machine with the lever switched to reverse, you come out with “Darkfall 1.0 (the current version) has not and will not be wiped.”

    Tasos, the community isn’t asking if Darkfall 1.0 will be wiped. They are asking if Darkfall 2.0 will bring a character wipe, a topic you brought up and have been juggling since. If Aventurine hadn’t mentioned a character wipe in the first place, we wouldn’t be having this discussion right now. It’s like serving someone a sandwich and making an off-hand remark about hoping the turkey didn’t land in the toilet, then wondering why the person is so concerned all of a sudden and asking questions related to your comment.

    Aventurine’s position so far can be summed up as “we’re not saying there will be a wipe with Darkfall 2.0, but if there is the process of getting back to where you were has been hastened to the point where it isn’t a big deal anyway.” Don’t expect any more details on this topic soon, as forum moderator Teucrus has reminded us:

    Well until you have been given all the info on DF 2.0 there will be nothing new on the topic. You knew this since last week.

    Those concerned will vote yes on a wipe, because if Aventurine had already set their minds on no, they could easily quell the theories by just coming out and saying no. Two letters, very simple. So it’s reasonable to conclude that Aventurine either has not come to a conclusion, or they have and are simply holding out on saying “yes” until the last minute. Not giving an answer has a potentially toxic effect on the community and can cost them in disgruntled subscribers. Saying yes now is certainly a toxic move that guaranteed will not only cost them in disgruntled subscribers, but potential customers.

    “This is a topic we’ll open up for discussion after we’ve given you more information on the new version of the game, so you can understand all the parameters involved.”

    On the other hand, you can all line up for your $20. Tasos has confirmed that Darkfall is NOT going Free To Play.

    We also read around the Internet about Darkfall going free-to-play: Rumor has it that if you start a sentence with “rumor has it…” you can say pretty much anything you want. Not true.

    This entry was posted in Darkfall, Live and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • Darkfall Suicidal: Character Wipes Not Off The Table

    Posted on July 8, 2011 by Omali Comment

    One week ago, I put my money on the table that Darkfall 2.0, a relaunch of the game, would bring free to play to the game. There is still no information as to whether or not the game will indeed go free to play, so let’s focus on another avenue of the Darkfall 2.0 launch: Character wipes. As far as MMOs have it, the topic of character wipes is akin to playing that five finger game where you move a knife around your hand stabbing without hitting your fingers. In this case, however, it’s a chainsaw instead of a knife.

    How badly do communities respond to character wipes, especially two years out of launch? As ZTZ on Massively put it, it would make the Galaxies NGE look like a set of patch notes. In the Darkfall Epic Blog, Tasos Flambouras (potentially soon to be renamed John Smedley Junior) toyed with the idea of a character wipe, noting that such an implementation would not be necessary, but indeed a possibility depending on how Aventurine sees the update:

    This is a topic we’ll open up for discussion after we’ve given you more information on the new version of the game, so you can understand all the parameters involved.

    Tasos refers to this update several times as the end of a chapter, and the beginning of chapter 2, and for the record my money is still on some sort of free to play, or buy to play, coming with this update.

    I’ve seen a few people liken this to Shadowbane. Some of you may remember that Shadowbane was shut down in 2008 (five years after launch) to reboot the title, during which all characters were wiped. The game stayed up a good year after that, before shutting down. We’ll need more information on the specifics of Darkfall’s relaunch before making any comparisons between the two titles, however.

    This entry was posted in Darkfall, Live and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

  • $20 Says Darkfall “Relaunch” Is Free To Play

    Posted on July 1, 2011 by Omali Comment

    When was the last time you heard the phrase “this patch is like a completely new game?” In my line of work (work? Blogging), a whole lot. Such is the case with Darkfall, where on the Epic Blog head boss man of Aventurine Tasos Flambouras talks about a complete relaunch of the game. How much of a relaunch is it? Well it is certainly no linguine, and it is without a doubt not just an expansion pack.

    This relaunch is not an expansion.

    Thank you, Tasos, but we need more information.

    It’s a new game we’ve been developing in parallel with the current version of Darkfall. The scope is massive, and it has been difficult to stay on schedule after several unexpected issues we’ve had with the current version, changes and additions we decided to make for the new version, some business developments, and the decision to add the siege system into this version of the game rather than in the relaunch.

    That’s more like it. But let’s discuss the title of this post, and my assurance that this is likely a prelude to a free to play announcement, and continue reading the announcement:

    There are shifting priorities having to do with business issues for this relaunch, and another part being some Asian developments we also need to take into consideration. We can assure you that everything we’re doing in this regard is in the best interest of our players and of Darkfall, and that the relaunch of the game will be very exciting for everyone.

    I distinctly remember Dave Georgeson saying something along these lines shortly before Everquest II went free to play, when they announced big changes coming but wouldn’t actually announce free to play because the service was going to be considered a new game, because the existing community would have flipped the chess board and went home if they had to share space with the freeloaders. By that I’m referring to the comments about making this decision for the betterment of the community.

    The current estimated completion date for development is August, which makes release somewhere between now and when Rift consumes World of Warcraft as the most subscribed MMO…In Burundi. At least we can be assured, despite the vague language, that this isn’t a prelude to Darkfall shutting down or being sold to Gamersfirst. It’s a new version being developed, Tasos isn’t in the process of lifting Darkfall up so he can suplex it.

    This entry was posted in Darkfall, Live and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.


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