In the interview posted on MMORPG.com today, Tasos made the following statement:
MMORPG.com: Can you give us any more details on pre-order plans?
Tasos: We will have a pre-order so that we can service Darkfall’s customer’s better pending release. The pre-order customers will be able to download the game prior to the 25th and to enter the game on the launch date. We considered offering early access to the pre-orders, but decided against this due to the competitive nature of the game. Our pre-order consists of a minimal charge to activate the process which will be concluded on the launch date. You’re not pre-buying the game; you’re simply reserving your copy for the launch date. Our billing partner is Globalcollect, a leading and trusted global payment service.
There will be a limited number of pre-order copies of Darkfall offered, and a limited number of copies available at launch. We won’t try to support more users than we can guarantee a good gameplay experience for, and if demand is higher than supply, then we will move to a structured release. It’s also not a matter of simply throwing up a few more servers to meet increased demand. Darkfall being a sandbox, real-time, seamless world able to support over 10 thousand concurrent users requires considerably more infrastructure and support in place than your average MMOG. We will do what is necessary to support the demand, but it’s not going to be instantaneous.
It’s either the best marketing scheme I’ve seen or big trouble for potential players. You know how I know? Because I’m already wanting to pre-order the game to get my copy reserved. The game may suck and it might fail to live up to all the promises, but I’m not going to roll those dice and be the only one of my friends who isn’t playing Darkfall on launch day. Part of me hopes that they’ll come out on the 25th and say “Okay, it seems like we have it all under control” and allow the doors to open wide since there was never any risk of overcrowding… but I think they might be telling the truth. Either way, even if it is evil marketing (does Aventurine even have a marketing team?) trying to sell the game, I’m going to pre-order just in case.
So, have you guys been keeping up on all the Darkfall info lately? You know, the info you find in the dark alleys from the shadowy figures selling pocket watches and screenshots. It’s looking pretty good if you ask me. I might not be a fanboy of Aventurine or Darkfall itself, but I’m definitely a fanboy of the ‘ideal’ game that Darkfall could become.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Random… I was just googling Darkfall to see if there was any news. Not finding anything good I decided to check your site, so nice job
The sick thing is that I fully agree with you! Have you figured out how to even pre-order, or is that some arcane process that is yet to be unveiled?
I’ve seen quite a few videos on youtube and the actual gameplay looks “ok” at best to me. Sort of a downgraded oblivion from what I have seen so far. Anyone have some good links to quality beta leaks?? Anyways, thanks for the post keen & I hope that Darkfall can be as fun as Vanguard was!!
February 13th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
They have not unveiled the pre-ordering or purchasing process yet. They did announce the system would be run through Globalcollect. I bet they’re getting the account infrastructure set up and hopefully they’ll announce it all soon.
You can find a great community with lots of discussion and info here if you’re interested bluefile2.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I must pre-order this game!
February 13th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Insane…this is going to be insane.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
So long as it’s not the ZOMG! Not another game released too soon! kid.
February 13th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Meh, been following DFO for a while and have decided to not try it, at least not at launch.
MMO’s never has a troublefree launch, and this will be no exception, problem I see is that the devteam is so small so it will take a good while for them to iron out the first big mistakes until the game becomes truly playable.
And even if it has a perfect launch and no bugs at all, I’m not really into first person view at all, and skilling up your weaponskill by hitting empty air or sparring with a friend sounds too much like leveling weaponskill in WoW to me (not saying the game sounds like WoW, any geezer with IQ enough to open a door can see it’s by far a different game to WoW).
February 13th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
It’s called “Nintendo Wii Marketing.”
Manipulate supply to create demand.
Also, you don’t need to pre-pay for the full price of the game. Pre-orders for Darkfall will apparently work like reserving you launch day copy for a nominal fee.
I may pre-order 10 copies for eBay even though I have no intention of playing at release. They’ll probably only charge something like $5 per reservation and I bet these suckers will sell for 10x the cost. :p
February 13th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
/snicker
Sold out? nothings ever sold out, I have managed to get dang near every game ive ever wanted about 1 day after launch day without a sweat, wotlk had about 800 copies at wal-mart.
February 13th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
@Proximo: The dev team might be small by today’s standards, but some of the original greats had teams this small. Based on what they’re aiming for, given the statements from this interview about wanting to focus on one server without a live-team and have all original devs continue work, it’s not so bad. Hopefully the delays have given them time to iron out anything except the small bugs that can be fixed post-launch.
If you’re not into the first person or the skillup-grinds then Darkfall is definitely not for you.
@Snafzg: I’m not so sure that they could manipulate supply here. They’re launching 1 server that holds 10,000 people at most. The ratio of how many people buy to how many people are online or want to get online at any given time should determine the supply. That’s a fairly unpredictable thing. I think it’s more of a case where they’re either telling the absolute truth and being honest to a fault or they’re creating a sense of urgency to generate interest. I tend to think that given their small team, low funding, and 1 server design that they honestly don’t have room all the interest.
And if you buy 10 copies and I don’t get one… I’ll be flying to Canada.
February 13th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
wasnt aware that there was only 1 server… that really changes the landscape.
February 13th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
This time last month I was really excited about Darkfall. However, after having spent many hours pouring over the betatester videos and feedback I’m not so sure. It looks so unfinished I cringe when I think it’s less than two weeks away from launch (or so they say).
And the animations….seriously? The combat is going to have to be pretty special to compensate for the fact that everything looks so goddamn clunky.
February 13th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I would have to be insane to get Darkfall at launch after being in beta.
February 13th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Well, this gives me even more of a reason to hold back and wait for reviews. I’ll be interested to see your take on it before I go out and spend money on it. I’ve spent more money in the last 12 months already on MMOs that I quit shortly thereafter than I would have liked.
February 13th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
They really really need to work on the melee system badly.
Example: Dagger weapons have a whole 2 skills in the entire game!
February 13th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Hopefully enough people share all of your doubts. I just might get to play afterall!
February 13th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
I have no problem waiting. I mean I’ve even noticed my typical behaviour with MMOs and I want to try to avoid it this time.
Launch Day: It’s amazing!
1 week: Wow, pretty cool. Oh but that kinda sucks.
2 weeks: Awesome! You can do that!? Huh, wait a minute, that’s fricken stupid!
3 weeks: They better fix this or I’m out of here.
4 weeks: Ok, I’m canceling my subscription until they’ve fixed the core mechanics.
So based upon that, if I wait a month (especially while reading your reviews at that time), I should hopefully get a decent grasp of the highs and lows of the game.
Besides here’s one thing I’m hoping of in terms of maintaining a single server population (similar to EVE). Everyone has assumptions of what this game will be like (i.e. WoW fan boys, etc). I’m sure a lot of people’s expectations of it will not be met because it isn’t what they expected it to be (i.e. an easy WoW-like casual game) but much more different and difficult than they thought (i.e. a hardcore niche game).
February 13th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
I doubt that keen!
But Goodluck on getting a copy and hope you enjoy it.
February 13th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
I don’t have faith in it i was following it for a bit but iv lost faith it will be decent.
February 13th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
I’ve spent my entire adult life wasting money on games that leave me disappointed. Why stop now?
February 13th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Katarac, great point! I can blow $75 over pocket aces in one hand of poker…. Im sure that Darkfall for a month has to bring more value than that! Sign me up
February 13th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
sad thing is, i was looking forward to Age of Conan so much that I bought the collectors edition
what a waste of money!
February 14th, 2009 at 4:19 am
I do not understand why you feel the NEED to be among the first guys to try this game.
So far it does more look like a highly promising yet utterly disappoint MMO, the sort we really had ENOUGH of lately.
I do not understand your enthusiasm – it is more that you hope that this game will deliver.
Personally, I would not bother with playing on Launch Day of a game that does not seem to be that promising. If it really delivers, word of mouth will spread for sure.
February 14th, 2009 at 7:43 am
I kinda agree with Longasc, I don’t see why people are so hyped up about this game, especially not people who’ve been burnt a dozen times before.
I will prob try DFO at some point, but I’m going at it with realistic expectations and waiting for the first couple of fanbois to break the ice. Hoping for some good feedback from mature people in the guild who can let go of the fanboism and tell me about the problems not only the good stuff.
February 14th, 2009 at 9:24 am
With regards to the hype, just read the game’s details on the site versus what’s out there right now. If anything, the game will fail because it went too far out on a limb versus being a clone of something else.
And I think people are hopeful more than anything and there isn’t anything wrong with that. I mean you’d live a pretty sad existence without hope, as you’d be resigned to the fact that all relationships are doomed to fail and so on.
Your right though that people need to be realistic. It would be like going into a new relationship every time thinking “This is the person I’ll spend the rest of my life with”. You don’t know. You have to get to know the person first to truly see if they’re compatible with you. No different with a game. At first glance it can seem like “the one” but you have to “live with it” for a while to truly know for sure.
February 14th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I plan on playing Darkfall despite being a jaded MMO’er because I want to feed the beast, my desire for something new. I have no doubt that it will not live up to the hype but it will offer something new and different (if only a little) then the crap clones out there. I also don’t expect perfection ever. Every single MMO out there is a beta in my mind, doesn’t matter how old or how many players.
I also plan on pre-ordering it for a number of reasons. I like to be one of the first in a new game so I can experience something fresh without knowing that 11 million other people have done exactly the same thing. I also want to be ahead of the curve since it is a PvP game but principally I will pre-order because I am utterly bored with everything else out there that I am currently playing.
February 14th, 2009 at 10:30 am
@Longsac: I feel the ‘NEED’ because I have nothing better to do. Like I said, I’m a fanboy of the ideal experience that Darkfall might provide: The sandbox world, player cities, player economy, open pvp, skill based system, etc.
@Proximo: It’s less hype and more hope. No one knows what to expect from Darkfall because it’s an entirely new experience. There has never been an MMORPG like this before. If getting in on the ground floor doesn’t sound like it’s for you then that’s absolutely fine. No one is asking you to understand, btw.
@Nollind: Correct, it’s more hope than anything else and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m certainly not going into this blindly though. I know there’s going to be enormous issues like there are in every mmorpg and even more for DF since it’s a new idea. But at the same time, if you don’t open yourself up to the possibility that it could be something special then you’re only setting yourself up for failure.
@Curious George: We are in agreement.
February 14th, 2009 at 10:33 am
I will stay tuned to Darkfall but after AoC and WAR I just can’t jump on another band wagon. I hope it does good. I like the PR with this type of release though.
February 14th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I agree with everyone of your points Keen. All of the MMOs, that I have tried lately, have given me the exact same experience. Kill 10 rats. Take this linear path to the pot of gold at the end. I’ve been doing the same thing for over 4 years now, and I am bored to tears.
‘Hopefully’ Darkfall will bring something new and fresh to the table. I am sure that it will be very rough at launch (just like every other MMO). I am willing to take my chances with Darkfall. Who knows, it might actually be good. I cannot know unless I try it for myself.
February 14th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
For my initial $75 darkfall investment I plan to enjoy:
1. At least 25 hours of initial MMO freshness during launch week. Despite buggy launches, I love that everyone starts at noob level and you dont have to worry about too many level capped, ubernerds spanking you right away. That boils down to roughly $3 per hour of fun for the 1st week. Money well spent. Then if I play another 20 hours the next week it goes down to $1.50 an hour. At this point you may be thinking that I was an econ major in college, but nope, I choose Pysch. Imagine how low that cost averaging goes if I throw in a few more hours here and there throughout the rest of the month. It just gets crazy….
2. I want to launch an endless amount of magical blue cheerios at people I hate. Again, money well spent.
3. After WoW, Vanguard, EQ, War…. I cant wait to loot someone down to their underwear. If possible, I would offer to buy a beer for the first woman that successfully did the same to me.
4. I dont care if its an epic success or failure. Either way its going to make a mark on the MMO landscape and it will be fun to be a part of this evolution instead of watching/bitching from the sidelines.
5. If you have read this far into my post, then deep down you know that you want to pre-order and join the clan. I know this becuase I have a $130,000 psych degree, that I am still making monthly payments on…. Don’t deny yourself. You may end up taking it out on your future grandchildren.
6. Happy V-day!
February 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I’m going to go with my previous “Age of Conan” approach.
1) Keen films the gameplay footage and tells me how much it sucks.
2) I don’t buy it.
2b) If he says it doesn’t suck, I cry in a corner because my PC probably can’t run it.
February 15th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Meh, you can have my copy
I hope you enjoy it, but there is absolutely zero about this game that has made go, “Oh, that’ll be cool.” without immediately afterward going, “Oh… wait.”
February 16th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I love train wrecks, especially ones that people try to contain.
February 16th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
heh yeah, oook…
“The date of the Darkfall **European** commercial release has been pushed back to February 25th, 2009.”
“Announcements will follow with more information on Darkfall pricing, pre-ordering information, **North American player** access, and system specifications.”
February 17th, 2009 at 10:59 am
@Bluefile2: No worries about mistaking you for an econ major… 25+20 = 45 hours, you’d need 50 to get the average cost to $1.50/hr… at 45 it’s still $1.67/hr.
MMOs have always been a great ROI, because as you tried to illustrate, you really don’t have to play much at all to get your money’s worth for the cost of the game. Where the benefit goes down is when you forget to cancel a game you’re not playing (War, Conan) and keep paying for it for 3 extra months… oops. Or where you resubscribe to a game (EQ2) on two accounts (one for the wife), and neither of you play it more than the first week, and yet the accounts continue to suck away your money month after month on the premise that you might fire it up again.
Darkfall looks interesting, enough so to pre-order and experience the train wreck for a month or so. After that, who knows?
March 1st, 2009 at 11:37 am
its coming there just selling out so fast its umbelievable….if you dont play pvp lol your gonna get dominated