Darkfall Online is Out – With NDA Lifted and System Requirements Given

Although raised too much controversy on our forums because of significant amount of spam it has induced, Darkfall Online, described as MMORPG that combines real time action and strategy in fantasy setting, is surely one of the most anticipated titles in 2009.

Yesterday, the Non Disclosure Agreement for Darkfall Online has been finally lifted, in preparation for next week's highly-anticipated launch. Also, besides NDA lift, a complete information on the game's pricing and system requirements is given to current and potential player base.

European launch of Darkfall Online will happen next Wednesday, February 25th. Players from North America are welcome to participate in the European launch, with ability to migrate servers once the North American servers come to life. Apparently, that will happen soon after the European launch. Game developers state that they have had people from all over the US and Canada playing Darkfall without any problem. Game servers are located in Germany and distance does affect ping-time.

So let’s here some details on finance first.

Payment Options

In the next couple of days the Darkfall pre-orders will open up and stay up until Darkfall's launch on February 25th or until they are sold out. If the pre-orders are sold out, more Darkfall copies will become available on the launch date February the 25th. If they are also sold out, developers promised to offer more copies every few days as they upgrade their capacity.

The pre-order consists of the Darkfall client download along with a month of play starting on February 25th. The full cost for this is 42 Euro (53 US$).
It’s interesting that this amount WILL NOT be charged during the pre-order. Only initial 2.52 Euros (3.17 US$) non-refundable payment will be charged in order to activate the process. The remainder (or 39.48 Euros/49.73$) of the pre-release price will be billed on release, February 25th. Players will be free to cancel the purchase any time before the additional charge goes in on February the 25th.

Darkfall's monthly subscription is set at 11.77 Euros/ 14.83 US$. A 3 month subscription will be offered with a 10% discount, while a six month subscription will offer a 15% discount on the monthly subscription rate.
One important note regarding payment is that 19% VAT will be added to both the initial payment and to the remainder for residents of the European Union. The same applies to all the subscription charges. People outside the EU will not be charged VAT.

For the pre-order all major credit cards are accepted. For Darkfall's launch direct debit will also be available. Also, more payment options will be available shortly after Darkfall's launch such as Paypal, prepaid cards, Wire Transfer etc.


System Requirements

The initial system requirements for Darkfall are as follows:

• Operating System: Windows XP and Vista
• Processor: 2.5GHz Pentium 4, or equivalent
• RAM: 1GB for Windows XP, or 2GB for Windows Vista
• Graphics Card: 128MB PixelShader 2.0 support
• Hard Drive Space: 12 GB Free Space Minimum

As can be seen, minimum system requirement are not too demanding and the game can be played even on weaker PCs.


Big Expectations

With the NDA finally lifted, there will be a lot of information out in the next few days probably both official and unofficial. A lot of emotion surrounding Darkfall was noticeable, both positive and negative. To avoid any speculations, players now can finally judge for themselves and make up their own mind, through other players’ testimonials and game footages. However, keep in mind that the game Beta has been through several phases, and it's still a beta. The main purpose of Beta is to test the game and to provide the developers with valuable data, and not to provide players with a fun experience.
It’s noted by many that even during Beta process, Darkfall has been extremely playable. Also, many consider Darkfall to be their best MMOG experience to date, while others see the potential, and some don't like it at all.
One thing is sure before the official launch - Darkfall isn't game for everyone.

However, developers are ambitious to make broad player base satisfied, including those who are not fond of it currently. According to them, Darkfall will always be a work in progress, describing it as a sandbox game, dependent on its players more than other MMOGs. Developers also stated that they won’t simply maintain the game after that launch, yet that they will be committed to Darkfall with all resources available, stating that they will even increase their team size to meet ambitious future goals for the game.

Are these plans too ambitious or indeed realistic effort, is up to you to decide. You may pre-order the game or wait for the official launch day to test it. Once you become Darkfall player, I hope you’ll give us your impressions.