Re: At least we're doing better than...
Reply #7 –
@Mycke Mostly agreed. An open world sandbox game in which the world doesn't feel dangerous and truly have a way for players to impose their will, will always ultimately feel flat and uncompelling, regardless of how many things you can "do". Conquest, at its core, is one of the most meaningful and satisfying underlying "drives" for games of this niche, as not only is it the most compatible with human nature (in one hand we want to reign over one another, and in the other we are inherently gregarious and cooperation is mutually beneficial), but it affords players that rare ability to shape the world and say "this is how I see this world, and I can prove that, and create my domain, and after I've earned my place, I will dictate the rules."
Though with that said, saying "DF needs more sandbox elements" is a pretty gross understatement. DF boasts such a large, beautifully-built world, and for the vast, vast majority, it's all just dead space with mobs here and there and no other type of interconnection, nuance, mystery, lore, etc, whatsoever. Conquest in DF was always "good enough" (esp. with some tweaks here and there) that I just don't feel the continued emphasis on it was the right path at all. I truly look forward to the day that ANY Darkfall will offer a true, rich RPG sandbox experience, but I just don't know how realistic that wish is.
In the mean while, I personally decided to do something productive to fill that long-hungering void
