January 2007 DEV update:

Nemesis · 01-17-2007, 12:02 PM

Some news from Tasos, for us Darkfall junkies out there.

Isn't much, but it's nice to hear/read anyway.

Enjoy.

Quote:

Hello everyone, we hope you’re doing well. Today we have a small status update for you which we’ll follow up with more as needed.

The beta development milestone was met early in December. Since then we've had a fully functional and stable beta build up on remote servers, which is being patched regularly. At the moment we're using part of this system to show the game to prospective partners, distributors, publishers, technology providers, etc. Our motivation here is to provide the best quality assurance, distribution, and service for the game and its players, so we consider this to be a very important phase for Darkfall.

We've already planned for self-publishing, but we need to know who's willing and able to do it better. We can’t announce a clear ETA on the first phase of the public testing yet, but we'll keep you posted on developments.

In the meanwhile we're working overtime on balancing, optimizing, beautifying, adding content to the game etc. We've added some new features, and a few surprises that we weren't sure we'd be able to get in before launch.

We've also hired a few extra people to help in the final push, animators, worldbuilders, and sound engineers. There's a lot of work to be done in all these fields, and in applying the final polish on Darkfall.

Development-wise we’re grinding away, a lot of repetitive tasks, with little to report but you should know that everything is going well.

That’s it in broad strokes, now we’ll try to give you a little insight on our update inconsistencies so that you know where we’re coming from:

It's easy to imagine that 5 minutes is all it takes to make an update, a developer will pop online to say hi, or that we could just appoint someone from the community to generate updates. Unfortunately, that's not the way it works in a professional environment. There are clear guidelines, we're bound by NDAs, and all disclosure needs to be approved, as is the case with most development studios.

Often due to disclosure issues we’re forced to be vague, or talk around topics and this is sometimes mistaken for coyness, by those who wish to interpret it that way.

We get plenty of requests for publicity, most of them involve us having to create regular content, or answering interview questions we've answered a million times before. Answers to questions we haven't answered before are often in the realm of information we're not allowed to disclose.

As all our resources are put into game development, it's a stretch for us to de-prioritize in order to create Darkfall features and updates. Even so, taking a look at what other MMOs in development are doing, it seems that we've produced more substantial content than most, while giving the community an extensive and truthful look under the hood.

It’s important to remember that we're just game developers making a game, not trying to string anyone along, we're not looking for investors, we're not looking for pre-sales, there's no conspiracy, so we don't invest a lot of time in hyping Darkfall up, when we need to be in our perpetual development crunch. We firmly believe that the game speaks for itself.

Whenever we’ve dropped off the radar, it's because we were working hard, and not because some catastrophe had befallen Darkfall development. If we don’t update there’s nothing substantial to report, but we’ll try harder to communicate this and to stay in touch with the community.

We’ll follow up with some fresh updates within the next couple of weeks, and keep you posted on any developments as permitted.

Thanks for reading.
__________________

Full Thread Here: http://forums.darkfallonline.com/sho...938#post691938

**Vulcan** · 01-17-2007, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Even so, taking a look at what other MMOs in development are doing, it seems that we've produced more substantial content than most, while giving the community an extensive and truthful look under the hood.

That's a bold statement and a bit self gratifying. I'd say so far they are stumbling, they'll have a hard time pulling people away from current big MMO's in a large way.

Regardless, it's good to hear from them. Still looking forward to what it offers.

**CingularDuality** · 01-17-2007, 12:21 PM

I hope they go with Steam.

Vyko · 01-17-2007, 06:35 PM

It is good to hear from them, but I can't help but be disappointed. They hyped a proper status update in January, but I know nothing more about the status of the game than I knew before reading the article. I'm also very confused as to why the developers are locked under an NDA. Who, exactly, is telling them what they can and cannot release? They apparently don't have a publisher watching over their shoulder. I agree with Vulcan that it's quite presumptuous of them to state they give us information on a level other MMO games in development do.

Oh well, in due time. I realize it's hard for them to release information without a dedicated PR department, but it's frustrating for them to promise better information and communication, and to hype a substantial update, than deliver the same old "working hard/no ETA's/we'll try harder at releasing more info" message.

Also, Steam would be awesome as a distributor.

SmokingTarpan · 01-18-2007, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vyko

I realize it's hard for them to release information without a dedicated PR department,

I was excited to hear about this game at first, but right here is a big reason why I believe that this game will flounder- if it even takes off at all. The only reason I know about DF whatsoever is because I read about it here on the TG forums. I fail to see why they can't hire one person to sift through the NDA (that they apparently signed with... themselves? wait, what?) and give regular updates to hype the game a little. The game has also been in development for going on six years now, and from what I've read open/closed beta testing has been coming "soon" quite often.

Also, I translate the whole "we can publish it ourselves, but are showing it off to others to see if they can do it better" as them actually saying "we've run out of money, and are looking to see if anyone wants to pick up this project before it tanks". We've seen similar things before (Vanguard).

As far as the distributor, I'm anti-Valve, so I hope it doesn't get picked up by Steam. That would likely prevent me from getting the game whatsoever.

Oh well. I would say that they have another six months before this is considered vaporware by all but a dedicated handful. I'm pretty much there as is.

Gufando · 01-20-2007, 12:56 PM

So out of the big block of text... WHERE IN THE HELL IS BETA?!!? :/

SmokingTarpan · 01-22-2007, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gufando

So out of the big block of text... WHERE IN THE HELL IS BETA?!!? :/

"The beta development milestone was met early in December. Since then we've had a fully functional and stable beta build up on remote servers, which is being patched regularly... We can’t announce a clear ETA on the first phase of the public testing yet, but we'll keep you posted on developments. "

In other words, beta is up and running, you just can't play it. Heh. Public beta is Coming Soon(tm). :P

Like I said before, from reading the forums and such, they've made a beta announcement almost yearly for the past 6 years and have failed to produce each time. Considering the fact that Vanguard: Saga of Heroes ("next gen" MMO competition for World of Warcraft, like DF is supposed to be) is being released at the end of the month, and that WoW just released a big expansion, I don't see things going favorably for DF. Oh well, at least we still have WoW.

**gunjunkie** · 01-22-2007, 05:58 PM

Imho, Vanguard is about as next gen as pong is. A very, very generic game.
A mysterious NDA in place seems to indicate they are negotiating with publishers.

**Vulcan** · 01-23-2007, 09:20 AM

vanguard!? No the next gen MMO to compete with WoW will be Lord of the rings online or warhammer online (pretty much a clone).

fldash · 01-24-2007, 01:18 PM

Seeming more like vapor every day... These guys are either dumb or truly ignorant.

01-17-2007, 12:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
CingularDuality Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dallas/Ft. Worth area of Texas, USA Age: 33 Posts: 16,791	Re: January 2007 DEV update: I hope they go with Steam. __________________ Become a supporting member! -- Shop at the Tactical Market! Take the world's smallest political quiz! "I was touched by His Noodly Appendage." TacticalGamer TX LAN/BBQ Veteran:

01-17-2007, 06:35 PM	#4 (permalink)
Vyko Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Michigan Age: 21 Posts: 61	Re: January 2007 DEV update: It is good to hear from them, but I can't help but be disappointed. They hyped a proper status update in January, but I know nothing more about the status of the game than I knew before reading the article. I'm also very confused as to why the developers are locked under an NDA. Who, exactly, is telling them what they can and cannot release? They apparently don't have a publisher watching over their shoulder. I agree with Vulcan that it's quite presumptuous of them to state they give us information on a level other MMO games in development do. Oh well, in due time. I realize it's hard for them to release information without a dedicated PR department, but it's frustrating for them to promise better information and communication, and to hype a substantial update, than deliver the same old "working hard/no ETA's/we'll try harder at releasing more info" message. Also, Steam would be awesome as a distributor.

01-20-2007, 12:56 PM	#6 (permalink)
Gufando Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 19	Re: January 2007 DEV update: So out of the big block of text... WHERE IN THE HELL IS BETA?!!? :/

01-22-2007, 05:58 PM	#8 (permalink)
gunjunkie Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Palo Alto, CA Posts: 1,293	Re: January 2007 DEV update: Imho, Vanguard is about as next gen as pong is. A very, very generic game. A mysterious NDA in place seems to indicate they are negotiating with publishers. __________________ Do or do not, there is no try.... -- Yoda, Dagobah

01-23-2007, 09:20 AM	#9 (permalink)
Vulcan Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Montreal Age: 30 Posts: 7,313	Re: January 2007 DEV update: vanguard!? No the next gen MMO to compete with WoW will be Lord of the rings online or warhammer online (pretty much a clone). __________________ TG Primer - CSS SOP's - INS SOP's

01-24-2007, 01:18 PM	#10 (permalink)
fldash Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Age: 28 Posts: 936	Re: January 2007 DEV update: Seeming more like vapor every day... These guys are either dumb or truly ignorant. __________________ It is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9/NIV

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