We do notice the anxiety on the forums concerning development progress, timing of Darkfall’s re-launch, speculation about a wipe between Darkfall and the re-launch, and our spotty communication as of late. We’ll start addressing these topics here today:

Darkfall 2.0 development progress:

What we referred to in the past as Darkfall 2010, or Darkfall Arena, are just a small fraction of what Darkfall 2.0 is about. We’ve already spoken about some of the major ways Darkfall 2.0 is different than Darkfall and that it is in fact a new game. There is also much more to say that we haven’t presented yet. After 3 expansions, 2 siege system revamps and 60 major content updates, we decided that we need to do things from scratch to satisfy the thousands of great ideas, suggestions, criticisms coming from the community, and to properly implement the lessons learned by us since Darkfall’s launch. We’ve managed to develop this new game, while maintaining and working hard on the current Darkfall version, and we’ve recently reached the point of having a stable playable version. I’ve attached the first screenshot we took from this playable version. You can see the normal mapping on the terrain and on the water and a glimpse of the new lighting system. We’re working on a few more things before we can also show you a first video from the new game, and this is coming very soon.

Remaining development work, without going into any details right now, consists of:

New apparel creation

audio work completion (environmental themes, music, special effects). I have to say that the new sound and music system are simply awesome.

Game Balancing

Work on the new crafting system

Work on new mechanisms related to the economy and the marketplace

Engine related work having to do with animation system improvements, network code, normal mapping, tools, etc.

New Interface work and implementation

Work on the Magic system

Completion of Monster works

Completion of Quests

Remaining work on new Skill system and new skills

Warfare, new concepts

New Weapons, integration and balancing

Remaining Worldbuilding tasks

Beta Organization

Launch procedures

Various marketing activities

The remaining work is fully broken down and documented and supported with a clear timeframe that we’ve all signed off on so at this point we know exactly when we’re done with the development and when we can launch the beta version. We’ll explain more about the development and Darkfall 2.0 new features in subsequent updates.

Wipe

All the talk of a new game, brought up speculation about a wipe and this is something we have addressed twice already. We explained that whether we wipe or don’t wipe, the game is so different that it’s of little significance. You should not think in terms of the current version of Darkfall when it comes to Darkfall 2.0. We have not made a decision yet and we’re evaluating several different scenarios that we will discuss with you. Darkfall 2.0 is a new game, however, it is also the new chapter of Darkfall.

Business

Aventurine has been in a state of limbo for the past few months business-wise while we’ve pursued and have been pursued by new business. This is coming to a close. We are in the final stages of cooperation with several partners on several major fronts. Localization for several territories, publishing, funding, co-development, etc. In the next few weeks we should conclude with the major points and should be able to make announcements concerning our new agreements. It has been an incredibly busy but exciting time for the company and for the future of Darkfall.

Communication

We understand that the above may seem vague, and one may feel that we’re far off from any developments. In fact, real progress has been made on every front except on communication. Aventurine’s and Darkfall’s developments have been bound by non-disclosures. It has been difficult to share new information about anything without worrying we might affect these developments. We apologize for this, however we have been working very hard both on the current and on the new game, the results should be obvious soon enough, we also intend to make up for this gap in our communication. We also need your feedback, your cooperation, and your support on many different levels, so we will be setting up structures to work with those of you who are interested in participating.

What’s next: We’ll address the current version of the game, what’s coming next, and the exciting endgame to come. We’ll speak more on the remaining development tasks and explain the new features of Darkfall 2.0. As I mentioned earlier, we intend to release a small video from the playable version of the game. We’ll explain more and ask for your feedback on the issue of your current character’s status in Darkfall 2.0. We’ll also reveal the timeframe for beta, more information on Darkfall 2.0, and our estimated launch date for the new game. All this will happen as soon as possible and disclosure is dependent on the conclusion of our business, which should be partially within December, and other parts within January.

Thank you for reading.