Updated:

Crowfall is a fantasy MMORPG in development from ArtCraft. The game focuses on political alliances, as well as feudal conquest. Expected to follow ArtCraft's professed desire to create MMORPGs that promote risk taking, player skill, and competition. Crowfall players are expected to compete with one another, with the chance to take the throne in the offering

 

Crowfall Overview

Crowfall Overview

Features

  • Playing to Win: Crowfall is set to emphasize politics, alliances, and player competition with ways to win - even the throne itself -- through player skill.
  • A Multiverse of Unique Worlds: Potentially dozens of unique worlds with unique maps that characters can move between and fight over.
  • Wide Array of Character Archetypes: Points-based character creation system with "Advantages" and "Disadvantages", as well as non-traditional character advancement more akin to EVE or Ultima than WoW.
  • Strategic World Conquest: Using a hierarchical fealty system, and territory ownership by players, dominance will be determined by the community.
  • Player-driven economy: An emphasis on player crafting as a primary profession, not just a secondary thing to do.

Payment model

Buy once to play ($50 retail) with optional VIP subscriptions for convenience and broader options but never raw power. Strict stance against pay to win or free to play payment models and tactics:

the company doesn't believe free-to-play, which so easily turns into either pay-to-win or nagware.Coleman said that customers are tired of slash and burn tactics of free-to-play where your goal is to get people in and to monetize the hell out of them for days or maybe weeks and then churn them out and replace them.[1] They don't want to design the game around constantly hounding the players for money.[2]

We've been very reluctant since the beginning to go the traditional fundraising route for our game, which is the big box publishers. We philosophically like the idea of being answerable to our players first and foremost[2]

Any elements in the store are cosmetic only or can only be used in the Eternal Kingdom player housing worlds (separate from the game campaign worlds) Anything you can buy via the store you will also be able to build for free via in-game resources.[3] [4]

See also statement with regards the design and expectation of some high store prices. 

A few people will buy them, but not many.  A handful of guilds, maybe.

Mostly, they'll be crafted, which makes the numbers theoretical.  When an eve battle results in "$150,000 worth of ships destroyed!" that is technically true, but most of it is virtual money.  Do some people spend that kind of money?  yes, but it's exceedingly rare.

These are the biggest, most impressive strongholds in the game.  If we want it to take a long time to build one (even for a large guild) then the resource cost has to be extreme.  Multiply that out into theoretical dollars, and it's big numbers. 

Footnotes

  1. ^ gamesindustry.biz
  2. a, b Mmoreviews.com
  3. ^ Twitter
  4. ^ Official Forum