Like many of you, I’ve been waiting anxiously for Darkfall: Unholy Wars so I can finally sink my teeth into a good, old school fantasy MMO. For a while there, things looked promising. The game was slated to release in December but it was pushed back into the new year to address bugs and get itself ready for Steam after a two-day Greenlight process (people don’t want this kind game anymore, right guys?).
Except the NDA was slated to drop a month ago and it never did. Nevermind that surprise betas are, well, surprising to we players, but I’m suspecting that Aventurine got some feedback that made them second guess how prepared they really were. With such a huge scope of gameplay, I thought it was crazy they weren’t planning for a beta in the first place.
Then again, the reports I’ve heard repeatedly indicate that the biggest issues have been addressed and that the game is in OK shape or at least better than it was before Greenlight came into the picture. So where’s the update from Aventurine? Even players in the beta are starting to worry that we’ll all have moved on when it’s finally ready for sale. That might be the case for newcomers, but I think a lot of us will still check it out when it’s time comes. Still, squandered opportunity.
When they announced, the hype wave was big and bold, and the Unholy Wars box art was surfing proudly on its crest. Come buy me… it called, over and over, and we wanted to! Then the wave changed course and flowed far down the shore. Months later, that wave is barely a ripple we’re still searching the weeds hoping the box will turn up again. The fans will search, the spectators will drift off, maybe saying “huh” when they read about it in the paper.
I really wish someone would help Aventurine with their PR. Their lack of communication hurts them more than any problem with the actual game ever has. And now more than ever, the MMO world needs a game like Darkfall, and we need it to be quality. To that end, we can probably all lend them our blessing in refining things. Just tell us so we remember we’re worth your time.
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Stabs
February 21, 2013 at 3:16 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“people don’t want this kind game anymore, right guys?”
One thing I really would like to see consigned to the dustbin of history is afk macroing which was a big feature of DF1. I don’t want to do it; I don’t want to lose fights to people because they did it and I didn’t. Got thoroughly sick of it in SWG.
Apparently it’s still a feature of the new version although less so than first time around.
Chris "Syeric" Coke
February 26, 2013 at 2:39 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Yes, I hated this too. I was under the impression Aventurine was against it, but I stopped paying attention when I decided I didn’t care so much about competing with players more hardcore than me. I would like to hear their logic behind keeping it because it doesn’t make much sense looking in.
Syncaine
February 26, 2013 at 10:08 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
So you are waiting for the game but didn’t buy it yet ad get access to beta? Or is this an “outside looking in” hypothetical post?
Chris
February 26, 2013 at 10:54 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Outside looking in. I have hovered over the buy button more than once, but I am trying to avoid paid betas and only adopt games when they’re officially released — as much as thats even possible today. That shouldn’t matter to the point, though. Unless I’m misunderstanding, that would indicate that there are atill game breaking bugs in the game or that Aventurine didn’t re-evaluate based on the beta and are instead iterating. Either case is still piss poor in the communication department (nothing new) and makes you wonder why they even wasted time/money marketing in the first place.
Dà Chéng
February 26, 2013 at 10:25 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It isn’t the PR guys that are the problem. They’re keeping their mouths closed because they don’t believe a word their incompetent project management says.