Will it be similar to DarkFall?

[In Por Ylem]

Hi, I just heard about this game from a member in the DarkFall forums.  DarkFall has been in development since 2003 I think.  It has been in anticipation for so many years since 2001 but it just doesn't look like it's comming out any time soon.. so I have 2 questions:

1)  Have you guys heard of DarkFall, will this game be similar to it?  Because they both sound kinda similar.  If not, what are the main differences between Renaissance and DarkFall?

2)  I heard it's been said it will be 3-4 years development but when did development start?  Is that 3-4 years from today 2007? Or '06?  Or '05?

Thanks.

[Hunnenkoenig]

Yes, we know about DarkFall. Although we don't know much about it in details, we know roughly which way they want to go.

Renaissance is a bit similar to DarkFall in the meaning of being uncompromising hardcore, realistic and full PvP.

Other ways there is not much similarity between the two games.

Renaissance is in development since the beginning of 2005, but we do it in our spare time and this time was necessary to prepare us for being able to start the professional development.

The 3-4 years of full development starts, when we can fund our first office. That could happen this year.

I know, the FAQ is a bit confusing about development time, but we count everything from the first moment of full time development, which will be announced at the news site as it occures.

Unfortunately you can't develop a professional looking mmorpg with 10 people in 3 years in your spare time. It's impossible.

So please be patient. We are too. We do our best since almost 3 years and we are still here fully motivated. It will last a bit longer, but we will make it, like DarkFall will, I am sure!

We wish the best for them too!

[In Por Ylem]

Thanks for the response, I was wondering if you could eloborate on some key differences between DarkFall and Renaissance from what you know about DarkFall's FAQ.

For example, DF has full loot, will this game have it too?  

More stuff along these lines and anything else that you know to compare the 2 games.

Thanks.

[Hunnenkoenig]

I can't compare, because I don't know much about DarkFall's featurelist and I have no intention to read their FAQ just to write here a comparison.

If I would, everybody could come here and ask for a comparison for their actual cookiecutter game.

You must be a bit independet and search for the infos for yourself. This is not the game (and forum and mods/admins) who will feed you with the silver spoon.

If you read the site, the FAQ, the forums and the feature list (which you find browsing the news on the main page), you will find everything relevant to answer your questions.

And in particular, yes...there will be full loot (the FAQ may be a bit outdated in this case).

[In Por Ylem]

Well that's the entire point.  The FAQ here is apparently outdated.  According to the FAQ here, when asked about looting, it says you can loot "a certain amount of money".  It says nothing about items or "full loot" so one can draw the conlcusion it is not full loot.  That part in your FAQ has already turned people off in the DarkFall forums because we've been comparing both.  But now you are telling me yes full loot.... so that changes things a lot..

I don't know if you have ever even visted the DarkFall forums with over 40,000+ members, but the fact is that DarkFall has been the first upcomming game ever announced that is going to break the "MMORPG mold" and status quo since Ultima Online pretrammel in 1997.  This is a huge deal.  DarkFall cannot be compared with any other game out there, it is on a level on it's own.  

This game Renaissance is the only other game out there at the moment that seems to be viable strong competition to DarkFall because your graphics and animation looks a lot better.  Both of you seem to be making groundbreaking games that are going to change the face of the industry and cannot be compared to other MMOs at all. You don't seem to appreciate this fact or care.  Or maybe it is just me jumping to conclusions about how Renaissance will be.

Well thanks anyway for the help.

[Hunnenkoenig]

We know, what game we are making. That's the reason we are making it.

so one can draw the conlcusion it is not full loot

Don't make conclusions! Ask! Or should I post the whole concept for you as a FAQ?  

If you search the site a bit, you will find the feature list, which says, there will be full loot (I already linked). On the forum we discussed this also many times, and stated, there will be full loot (maybe not on the english part, but it's not my fault, if germans are more active). There are also some interviews about the game.

The new site will come in a few days with an updated FAQ. There will full loot also be mentioned.

You could have looked just one forum below. There is a stickied post, where DarkLighter (one of the community members) already collected all the important questions and answers from the forum.

You could also have looked into the german forums (I know, why should you...), where people asked many questions, like yours and I posted a part of a QA corresponding with a big publisher (in english). I think, there are pretty much infos in it, no other developer put on their site.

Just a little part about looting:

Similarly, having every item lootable and stealable can be an issue with Ebay sales : being a thief in the game could be a way to get rich in real life too?

Thievery should be PvE content in the first line, but it should be a lifestyle too. Looting and stealing items from players is very hard. It is very time consuming and interruptible. It generates bad charma and stolen items are also marked as such, until they get into the natural loot circuit.

If somebody is being caught with contraband, the item gets back to its owner, if he is known and trackable.

Items can be enchanted, helping the owner to track the item, or the item even comes back by its own to the owner etc.

Players can store their items in banks or in their houses, which can be defended by traps and other mechanisms. There are enough security mechanics, which prevent a thief to get too rich in a short time.

So there is enough info and if the darkfall community is so lazy to find them and if they turn away just because of one single feature and because a FAQ is not as accurate as a game concept document, then i am sorry for them.

You can always ask questions, and if we can, we will answer them. But to be honest it doesn't impress me that the darkfall forums have 40k users.

We didn't want to advertise our game, until our new site is released. That's why you can't find us, just through friends and forums.

Who finds us, is welcomed, but we don't look for the mainstream. So we won't miss those 40k (yet).

And btw, if everybody comes here, what will the poor DarkFall guys do?  

I hope, you got enough answers for your questions  

I edited the FAQ just for you  

[Hunnenkoenig]

I was curious and was looking for that Darkfall topic. Due to different reasons I don't want to post there, but I want to react a bit. Maybe somebody will read it.

I am sorry if I sounded rude. It was not my intention. I have reread my posts a few times and I don't feel being rude, but anyways, I apologize.

And now some explanations:

1. As I said, I can't compare because I don't know DarkFall enough. I believe, I told it in a friendly manner and pretty clear. It doesn't need any more explanation.

I know our competition in general well enough, but I don't really care about a game, which is not even released and nobody knows, if it will be ever released. I don't even know, if our game will be ever released. And even if Darkfall will be released soon, Renaissance has a long way to go, so DarkFall will have enough time to settle its position on the market (or not) before Renaissance even get released. We can talk about a competition, when both games are fully playable on the market, open for everybody.

If I would want to read all the FAQs of games in development, I would have no time to do anything else. I know the games and I know, what kind of games they are, but I don't have to know them on a "fanboi level" for recognizing them as a "competitor".

2. Darkfall is Darkfall and Renaissance is Renaisance. If you want to talk about Darkfall, use their boards. If you want to talk about Renaissance, you are always welcome here.

I think it is pretty offending for both games, if you come here and ask for a comparison without bothering to look at our game closer.

Why it is offending for us? Because if you do so, you signalise for us in the first line that you don't take us serious, because in your opinion Darkfall is the best and we have to prove us, before you are interested to look further.

No, we don't have to. We are serious people with serious intentions and a serious background. We are no teenagers anymore, who are just dreaming about an own mmorpg between two school periods. That's why we want to be treated like such.

You have the possibility to compare both games on your own. You are even allowed to post your general and objective opinions here on the board, but don't ask for a comparison from us. We don't compare our game. It's simple as it is.

Why it is offending for Darkfall? Mainly, because you talk about Renaissance on THEIR boards. It is rude to advertise another game on a game's official board and discuss, if the other is maybe a better game, or it is even worth to leave Darkfall, which was your favorite for years.

Exactly as rude is to come here and ask for comparison, to check, if you eventually found a "better" game, so you can leave them immediately. That could signalise them (and us), you are not really loyal to them (and probably won't be to us).

So for the future, please don't discuss about other games as competition here. That means, no "Darkfall is better than Renaissance" (or vice versa) topics. There are many general gamer forums or guild forums for such discussions. For example mmorpg.com.

These are the Renaissance forums. Talk about Renaissance here.

And for those, who are wondering, who I am. If you are really interested, you could have find the "contact" page on the site already. There is my name, my email address (even my phone number!) and there you can read that I am responsible for community and PR relations and I am the webadmin.

In fact this is not really true. I do all these things, but I also do the tasks of a producer.

I just don't like to show off with titles and because we are a team and friends, and we do everything together, I don't like to categorize the team members into positions.

Sooner or later we will have to, but not yet.

So, I hope, this makes it clear, why i told, what I told.
I don't mean it rude or so, I just tell my opinion. If you read it rude, this is your fault.

As I said, everybody is welcomed here as long as you are interested really in the game.

So long: peace  

[Apraxis]

Just hold up the good work, and i will be here. :)

I have seen this thread @DF Forum, and so i say something here, although i am more part of the german forums from Renaissance.

I personally look out for all interesting projects, like this, and others, and i really do not see any competition at all. We as mmo community and fans, can just hope, that a lot of developers make something unique, something innovativ, something more like a virtual world and sandbox, and not the same old same cookie cutter game we see all around. I am a gamer, and i want to play good games.. and i personally dont care a lot, who developed it in the first place. ;) (just that anyone did it)
So any project, which are willing and able to think about some new ideas, bring something new to the genre is an enrichment for us gamers. And so i am willingly to support them, as much as i am able to.

Btw. i personally think, that Renaissance is of course like Darkfall a sandbox, but however, they are quite different and Rennaissance has an other approach then darkfall, so there are enough differences, to make both independent and unique in their own way, and it is more than enough room in the mmo market for two sandbox games.. much more room for a lot more sandbox games.. i would say.
And i personally hope, that both do well, and that it turn out for both in a good way, but until now both are in development.. both in another stage of development, and not a single game is out worth playing. What a pity. -.-

Btw. i heared some rumors about a new forum, or website, here and at the german forum? Hunnenk?nig can you say anything about it? When do we get it? Ok.. i will be patience, to see it at the news section, when it is available.

[Hunnenkoenig]

The new homepage is finished and i wanted to release it this friday, but there are problems with the server and domain.

Because this server can't handle the new forum due to old software and because the admins don't want to upgrade, we have to change the server again.

 I don't get any response to my requests to redirect the domain. I have to wait until monday, i can do the official step to request my EPP key from the ICANN.

So I think, the new site will be released at the end of the next week.

[Apraxis]

Nice one.. i will be there next week. :)

[Vazzano]

YAY a DF with a aproximate release date!!! 

[Hunnenkoenig]

You were not supposed to be able to write into this forum. It's an archive!
I changed that. I don't know, why it was suddenly writeable...