06/13/06, RPG Vault Peek #21 - World Design, Housing Placement

[Shaar]

Read it HERE (http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/712/712360p1.html)

[Darkmatter]

Good stuff Shaar, you're like a hawk at this. A pleasant surprise :)

The information and screenshots were both great. I love the scenery, the sky/background, the clouds in the background of the warpig rider looked very lifelike. Excellent. Who can complain about the graphic in these pictures.

[Njordung]

Thanks Shaar for the heads up we appreciate it :]
*Clicks link and starts to read*

[MorkDaOrc]

Woot! Thats all I got to say.

[|Avalanche]

Yay :D

[Agge]

Thx as always shaar.

[Yuengling.OoB]

Sounds great, that second screenie looks bad ass.

[Mug]

Those SS look nice.

[Njordung]

Yes the landscpae is truly amazing, just hope that they will increase the viewing distance so that we will be able to really view the world. But other than that keep up the good work and thanks for feeding us with more information.

Regards,

Njordung

[Sarmatian]

Second one is sweet. What makes it sweet, is knowing you will actually be able to go to those mountains.

I wonder what gfx card they are using for those>?

[-DarkRaver-]

HOLY SHIT! Finally some high polygon screenies!

Good read aswell.

[Jangang]

Nice find. Thanks for linking it. :)

[Preston]

Moved to News, good job Shaar.

[Shiva-PIC]

that's awsome, ty for posting

[Finrod]

Wow those screenies are awesome thnx for postin shaar:D

[Angry-Khan]

I almost crit my pants after looking at all those screenies. Damn theyre hawt.

[Dizaster]

"Darkfall's red meat is its real-time combat system."


mmmmmmmmmm, meat.....

[Celerity]

:drool:

Wow, these graphics look spectacular! Anticipation++

[kehmesis]

Thanks!

[doma]

Love it. And great screens!

[Shei]

Besides the explanation and the super cool looking screens..
I found this quite interesting:

we're going to present to you in this new series of articles on RPG Vault.

[Shadowoak]

Ok, I'm totally against the asian presentation of females as playboy bunnies, but the woman in the pictures is in need of a serious diet and/or excercise.

Really great pics btw, now they show that they really put Hennings talent at work.

[dark-M]

henning you are looking at this, keep up the good work!

[Taurohta]

Henning's always reading the threads on the new info's, suprised he gets much else done

[Arden]

I'm surprised no one has said anything about the mount the Ork is on...

Edit: ... he's riding a giant freaking wart hog. This must be a racial mount.

[Legend-]

envy

[Niccoli]

and has advanced it to the stage where preparations are currently being made to begin beta.

I'd like to think that this is hopeful, but thats been an ongoing statement I think for the last few years. ;)

The screenies are awesome and great information. And the mention of there being more of these articles is very nice indeed. Makes one want to believe we'll see beta before we die, er, maybe this year...

*pinch*


*pinch harder*


Nope, must be dreaming...

[Noeme]

Still no screenshots of Alfar :(

[Slinkinator]

I'm surprised no one has said anything about the mount the Ork is on...

Edit: ... he's riding a giant freaking wart hog. This must be a racial mount.


man, where have you BEEN?

we've known since hte tenton hammer review, something like a week after E3

[nazual]

Wow, great read.
You'll find epic-looking huge mountain ranges, rolling hills, deep valleys, rivers, waterfalls, glaciers, volcanic flows, underwater caves, tunnels, caverns, canyons, pillars, caves and cave formations, and so much more, all in great variation.
That right there, is going to be awesome :D

[Marrock]

Read it HERE (http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/712/712360p1.html)

Good stuff Shaar thanks for the share, 10k players all I can say is WOW it's going to be a PK's heaven come true.

[gold]

bah ill love it when i see it.:P



but the game will roxxors.. marrok. PVP and PKing is only the SMALLESt part of what im excited for in darkfall..


yes yes i love pvp, PKing!. but the entire game itself is going to be so much fun. its about survival. not lvling. lol....

[Kyur]

Looks awsome

[treefingers]

i see giant mushrooms

[Pavlos]

Awesome clouds!

I'm very excited about the terrain, although we already knew about it and I expected nothing less. I wish we could see a top-down view of the whole world.

Thanks for the news Shaar.

[Zerikin Loukbel]

Nice commentary on terrain and strategy/tactics. Beautiful screen shots.

[Airius Droc]

Ok, I get it. Darkfall = PVP with over 10,000 people in a hand crafted world. Awesome, I'm going to tell everyone I meet all about Darkfall now because that's something I couldn't have guessed.

Now how about someone getting info on the economy? Surprise me. Tell me something I don't already know. Please, I beg of you. No more random screen shots surrounded by 4-6 paragraphs saying the same thing over and over again. Here's a starter question for you: What the fuck is a trade route, and assuming this is an in-game mechanic how does it work?

I'm going to save all the news sites some time by writing next week's ((month's) Year's) preview:

Darkfall is a world based on fantasy and PVP. What makes this game different than other games on the market you ask? Darkfall supports PVP from the ground up. Here you can play any type of character you want, a candlestick maker, a lawn ornament, or even a ditch digger! Darkfall is almost in beta, coming soon, final stages of pre-extra beta. Be on the look out!

Today we're going to explore Darkfall's tree system. Tree's were designed to look like tree's from the ground up. Everyone on the Darkfall team made tree models for the last 8 years. That's why tree's in Darkfall look so freakin awesome.

Check out this random screen shot of a character standing next to a tree. (insert random screen here)

Next week we're going to take a deeper look at Darkfall mob's. Here's a quick sample!

"When we created Mobs it was hard for us to design them in 1st person, every time we looked down all we saw was the animation where our feet were. So we decided that 3rd person would be easier for us, and give our game more appeal. Plus, hand crafting mobs in 1st person just made them all look the same, like a two year old did it."

Sorry to be negative. The screen shots do look great, and I didn’t know the rivers ran from lakes and into waterfalls. That was nice. But isn’t there a way to squeeze more out of that space? It’s like going to the movies and buying a box of Milk Duds. The box is 6x6 feet large but when you open it there are only 3 pieces of candy inside.

[r4nge]

skeet

[Nalira]

wow, that picture of the sun above the mountain looks phenomenal

the info was pleasant as well, keep up ze good work shaar... and well, keep up with the good work devs too :D

scenery can make or break a game, look at dark and light lol, sure it was huge and had some nice terrain, but for the most part it was very, very bland... and how Darkfall's terrain is looking, wow, the game should feel incredibly immersive.

[Nalira]

Sorry to be negative. The screen shots do look great, and I didn’t know the rivers ran from lakes and into waterfalls. That was nice. But isn’t there a way to squeeze more out of that space? It’s like going to the movies and buying a box of Milk Duds. The box is 6x6 feet large but when you open it there are only 3 pieces of candy inside.

EDIT: sorry for the double post

good analogy lol... yeah i do see what you mean, it is nice to get new info, even if it is repetitive... but its kinda like a tease... i would enjoy finding out more about banking or the markets... BUT you have to realize they might not want to go too in depth with these concepts, because some ppl do like to steal other ppls ideas when it comes to developing a game.

[hagestad]

my school blocked that site :(

[Porthios]

This is extremely pleasing. Looks like DF is shaping up to be the game that its developers set out to make. There's a good view distance and grass radius; those two things alone pleased me very much.

I liked the 2nd screenshot the most. However, I want to know if the sun is actually shining off of those clouds. And if it is, I want to know whether or not there is dynamic cloud-shine.

Great job devs.

[|Avalanche]

www.pimpmyip.com is your friend ;)

[Airius Droc]

BUT you have to realize they might not want to go too in depth with these concepts, because some ppl do like to steal other ppls ideas when it comes to developing a game.

No one is going to steal anything from Darkfall until it makes a profit. Then suddenly, all these idiots (Raph Koster, Mark Jacobs, Richard Garriott etc...) it's going to be like they've found a new religion.

[Mennovh]

Wow this article is awsome! the world of DF sounds pretty sweet.

[Grimbold]

Look at the 3 rd one closely , there s a friggin outpost right in that rock formation and you can go there.
Who wouldnt want a city surrounded by rocks , that must be a pretty cool spot to defend against aggressors if you could build your town in such spots:)

[dragonreborn]

cool screen shots. i wonder if you will beable to fly above and in the clouds if you can fly.

[gold]

no flying ingame.

[dudeness]

Look at the 3 rd one closely , there s a friggin outpost right in that rock formation and you can go there.
Who wouldnt want a city surrounded by rocks , that must be a pretty cool spot to defend against aggressors if you could build your town in such spots:)
Your right, that is pretty awesome.

[Asmodeus]

this brought tears to my eyes... even though we have known about the handcrafted world for some time now, hearing it put like this seemed almost poetic.

oh yeah, the human female has a HUGE ass....

[LanMandragon]

Awesome. Thanks Tasos.

Best part "new series of interviews".

[dudeness]

Anyone else gonna have an RPG VAULT (IGN) window open and constantly refresh the news section?

[Legolas]

Really nice shots! I wan't to discover that world now, dammit!

[Paco69]

:D ....good info, cant wait.

[Metal Wolf]

Yae, new screenies. So if I put an elf in a mountain stream he'll eventually wash up on some pirate cove by the ocean?

[LanMandragon]

Yae, new screenies. So if I put an elf in a mountain stream he'll eventually wash up on some pirate cove by the ocean?

That would be the pwnzer

[Malishan]

Very nice, thanks!

[Shadow Walker2020]

Did anyone notice that it looks like there is a weapon on the orks back in the one picture?

Ork on Warpig (http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=3673734&object_id=16821&channel_id=227&page_title=Darkfall+Peek+%2321&adtag=network%3Dign%26size%3D468x60%26ch annel%3Drpgvault%26site%3Drpgvault_hub%2 6channel%3Dfeatures%26type%3Dpartner)

Great pics and info.

[LanMandragon]

Did anyone notice that it looks like there is a weapon on the orks back in the one picture?

Ork on Warpig (http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=3673734&object_id=16821&channel_id=227&page_title=Darkfall+Peek+%2321&adtag=network%3Dign%26size%3D468x60%26ch annel%3Drpgvault%26site%3Drpgvault_hub%2 6channel%3Dfeatures%26type%3Dpartner)

Great pics and info.

Have we ever seen them holstered in a different way? Good catch btw.

[Sunam]

Massive geological and other natural formations span huge areas of the map. We strove for continuity in the world; for example, the streams in the mountains will flow into rivers, which go through valleys, creating waterfalls as they roll down to end up in a lake, or into the ocean after going on for miles and miles. Everything is connected, and everything makes sense in its context. Everything has a cause and a purpose, and isn't just the result of random seeding. Our artists and designers have truly achieved by creating deeply immersive original landscapes consistent with a fantasy world.

This would have the be one my favourite parts from the article. I hate game worlds where a river just suddenly stops for no reason, waterfalls flow continually from no source of water. A perfect example is in Oblivion, it completely destroys any immersion i had with the game world when i found places like that. But i am just a sucker for detail as well :p


Did anyone notice that it looks like there is a weapon on the orks back in the one picture?

Ork on Warpig (http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?media_id=3673734&object_id=16821&channel_id=227&page_title=Darkfall+Peek+%2321&adtag=network%3Dign%26size%3D468x60%26ch annel%3Drpgvault%26site%3Drpgvault_hub%2 6channel%3Dfeatures%26type%3Dpartner)

Great pics and info.

Nice, I didn't notice... from the other screen shots it always seems like the rider is forced to hold his weapon but now it seems like it can be sheathed while riding.

[Virtra]

Sounds great, that second screenie looks bad ass.No kidding! Finally a screen worthy of a background!

Keep it up, I wanna be playing beta over Christmas break!

[huapua]

Cant wait for the game... Looks better and better every update.

[G.Struepp]

i wonder on what settings these screenshots have been made? The devs always told us that they just use normal, sometimes even low settings for screenshots so we are able to see what we would see playing the game - and not some ultratouched perfect commercial shot.
If they still kept that behaviour, and graphic setting is still not maxed out - wow.

[Kraven]

It really is looking a lot cleaner than it did a few years ago.

[Salazar[SG]]

Awesome

What we need now is 01100010011001010111010001100001

Oh btw anyone remember the contest where people could design an area for DF ? Did they actually implement the winners concept?

[Pavlos]

']Awesome

What we need now is 01100010011001010111010001100001

Oh btw anyone remember the contest where people could design an area for DF ? Did they actually implement the winners concept?
Here (http://forums.darkfallonline.com/showthread.php?t=4399) it is. They had said they'd implement it, although I don't remember them saying they did (or not).

[Jarlaxle[mezzo]]

Now it makes sense why it is taking them so long to make this game. I mean with all the shit they have to implement, balance, design, polish... plus this is their first game

[Viluin]

With the huge hand crafted world and lots of unique textures I wouldn't be surprised if this was the first game to take up 2 DVD's. :sly:

That is one fat bitch in the third screenshot btw.

[Shaar]

I think all the people that say that the Human Female looks fat have played too many Asian mmos prolly... :P A person wearing a plate armour would look like that no matter theit weight.

[Salazar[SG]]

The 3rd screenie with the weird looking mountain has a fortress on it. Imagine defending/attacking such a place. There will definetly be some of the most awesome battles atleast terrain-wise seen in DF

Thanks Pavlos

[Darkmatter]

Certainly a very awsome place to have a stronghold. At the same time, it won't be hard for an attacking force to establish a proper siege against it, creating an iron circle around it. Makes me wonder about the range of catapults.

[Elix]

Another outstanding DF preview. Keep 'em coming, because they're making me happy. Did I forget to mention that the world looks beautiful?

[JimLad]

That fat chick will probably repel many RPers and female players initially, I know it's probabaly more realistic but that aint what they want of an RPG in the end.
Can't imagine a big bird wanting to roleplay as... a big bird.
and imagine the horror when two furrys are yiffing it up in a cave, and suddenly one of them lights a candle. :p

Still, who cares, it'll just make the game more focused.
Good screens btw, shame about the regurgitated info. :bang:

[siv]

I have nothing to say but I want to post before they close thred.

[stalwart]

sweet. this makes for a nice 5 minutes break from off-topic. props2shaar

[Jaggid]

LOL Do they even write this crap themselves? Same info as yesterday and it stuff we already knew, the only difference is new pics, which are quite nice, but the info is just copy/paste....

[Raekwon]

I hardly ever comment on newly released screen shots but this time I was really impressed. Beautiful landscape... and the screenshot with the small village built on top of the mountain really made the imagination run wild with possibilities.

[gold]

yaddda yaddda..... i agree its looking sweet as always. and the interview boosts how great the game will be. and what not... yes yes i know i have heard how great the game will be for the last 4 years... when they said finally talking about the game.. i hope they hadnt meant rehashing the same old things over and over... and showing the same orc and warpigs with little differences everytime.. why not show us alfar, caves, hills. ohh all that you describe.. in more then 3 shoots?.. like seriously. is this a TOP SEKRIT status ?. o something.. ha. im sorry i loveth is game., i want it.. id ont even care when beta is.. just a report on wtf is going on?.. what the situation is?. is it not fair to ask this?. yes yes new information is amazing.. but seriously. ha.. make it NEW information. not a more detailed idea of how you have hand crafted the world. i think i can find that interview about 10x if i read the past information given.. but yes the screens are nice.. but why not show us more of these beautiful placces.. not just talk about it..

anyways. this is just a pure rant... but whatever... enjoy.


my 2 cents. i love darkfall i dont want it rushed.. i just want a honest open communication with the devs on the boards.

[Shadowoak]

LOL Do they even write this crap themselves? Same info as yesterday and it stuff we already knew, the only difference is new pics, which are quite nice, but the info is just copy/paste....

What are you talking about?

[Maglubiyet]

Nice article my favorite part was "how each area might evolve"

[Spikey]

Damnit I had a post deleted so here I am making another!

[Bones]

Pic #2 just gives me a hard-on, magnificent. Also I would hate to be the poor bastard that had to attack that fortress looking thing on the mountain.... damn.

[Porthios]

[quote=Airius Droc]Ok, I get it. Darkfall = PVP with over 10,000 people in a hand crafted world. Awesome, I'm going to tell everyone I meet all about Darkfall now because that's something I couldn't have guessed.

Now how about someone getting info on the economy? Surprise me. Tell me something I don't already know. Please, I beg of you. No more random screen shots surrounded by 4-6 paragraphs saying the same thing over and over again. Here's a starter question for you: What the fuck is a trade route, and assuming this is an in-game mechanic how does it work?

I'm going to save all the news sites some time by writing next week's ((month's) Year's) preview:

Darkfall is a world based on fantasy and PVP. What makes this game different than other games on the market you ask? Darkfall supports PVP from the ground up. Here you can play any type of character you want, a candlestick maker, a lawn ornament, or even a ditch digger! Darkfall is almost in beta, coming soon, final stages of pre-extra beta. Be on the look out!

Today we're going to explore Darkfall's tree system. Tree's were designed to look like tree's from the ground up. Everyone on the Darkfall team made tree models for the last 8 years. That's why tree's in Darkfall look so freakin awesome.

Check out this random screen shot of a character standing next to a tree. (insert random screen here)

Next week we're going to take a deeper look at Darkfall mob's. Here's a quick sample!

"When we created Mobs it was hard for us to design them in 1st person, every time we looked down all we saw was the animation where our feet were. So we decided that 3rd person would be easier for us, and give our game more appeal. Plus, hand crafting mobs in 1st person just made them all look the same, like a two year old did it."

Sorry to be negative. The screen shots do look great, and I didn

[Shei]

Amen, and I vote Porthios for president! :D

[boby]

good to know if we are pvp-borred, we can still visite Agon ;)
screenshot are nice.. but just like Airius Droc said, I think sentences were pretty much predictable :cool:

Cant' wait for next ! ;)

[Sachem]

This is all very true, but you do know that we'll all eventually know this information, right? Whether its 1 year before release or 1 month before release, we'll eventually be told. Obviously they aren't telling us for reasons upon which we can only speculate. What's important is that they actually implement the features, and not that they tell us.

Don't let release be 1 month away, please. :lmao:

[Krogan]

Thanks that was some good reading, now I understand what a height map is. Also good to hear that this was the first of a new series of articles on RPG Vault.
So now we have both Warcry and RPG Vault to look foward to.

[Airius Droc]

And about your question regarding trade routes (I know, it was just an example): I don't think that trade routes are anything more than just mere trade routes; nor should there be a game mechanic that guides player through these routes either.

It wasn't just an example...the devs brought up "trade routes" about 5 interviews ago. So it's clear that "trade routes" are in the game, yet it's completely unclear what they are, and how they matter in real terms.

It could vary well be that "trade routes" must connect city to city. But who the fuck knows? Certainly not us because we're too busy seeing the same warpig over and over again. (which btw, that war pig is kick ass)

[AOD_Flamefleir]

Nice find, Shaar. I'm amazed of the handcrafting of the Darkfall terrain. I can't friggin wait 'til the beta comes out!

w00t!

[Chibonics]

Certainly not us because we're too busy seeing the same warpig over and over again. (which btw, that war pig is kick ass)

yeah that pig does rock

[lipe[cpc]]

Whoa, dual wielding. Sweet.

[Porthios]

It wasn't just an example...the devs brought up "trade routes" about 5 interviews ago. So it's clear that "trade routes" are in the game, yet it's completely unclear what they are, and how they matter in real terms.

It could vary well be that "trade routes" must connect city to city. But who the fuck knows? Certainly not us because we're too busy seeing the same warpig over and over again. (which btw, that war pig is kick ass) The pigs pretty sweet. Nobody can argue that. And if the trade routes (assuming that they are simply routes traversed by merchents that go from city to city) are governed by some in game mechanic then that's bullshit. But I guess I can't be pissed off without knowing what exactly the devs mean. So I guess the irritating fact that the devs aren't letting us in the loop is balanced by the fact that I am not getting angry about features that they've fucked over :D .

[mlucas]

a Very intresting article .I am impressed at the deatil they are giving the landscape taking into consideration tactics etc. ALso the screenshots are pretty impresive