Darkfall! AT LAST!

[Rin]

Its been designed to be a more difficult class of game.

You know, every time I've heard this before, the thing invariably flopped because the design seems to eliminate a bottom percentage of its own playerbase. Just an observation.

I would agree with this. Darkfall seems like a great concept, but it will likely only serve a small niche population. (Small player bases tend to either be a hit or miss when it comes to revenues). Looking over the Darkfall news, there are some huge glaring pitfalls that the game will need to address if it plans on maintaining sustainability. One of these elements that needs to be addressed is the "kill anyone, anywhere" -- this is awesome for everyone who plays the game from launch day on forward, but it would be terrible for a new player (would you play a game where you couldn't even stay logged in for more than 2-3 mins without getting griefed)? Given the fact that you can lose all of your gear - I don't know who would stick around in a game like this on a long-term basis (yes I know, UO was like this in the beginning, but don't you remember what happened?).
Sure, the developers have stated that gear can be easily replaced - but if it's that easy to replace, where's the "progression" (or at least character building)? For me personally it comes down to building a character that I can be proud of (whether it be through gear, achievements, AA points (everquest), or whatever); levels are something that are given to anyone with enough time invested, and since Darkfall has no levels (just skills), inevitably skills are the only measurement of character building that can be accomplished.