i'm intrested in the game but judging by the graphics(no offense the graphics don;t bother me at all) I'de guess its a really old game and the population is dead by now

for got to throw in..IS it dead?

Yes it's pretty much alive. About 300+ users on a good day (that isn't vacation or holiday) The graphics isn't really there compared to mmorpgs nowadays but it's not like the graphics are hideous.

-Roleplayer: Alot of people like to roleplay in this game.

-Self goverened mmorpg. You can hold office and adjust city laws, punish cheaters, and etc.

There's a free trial so why don't you try it out. I like to think of DarkAges as a nonsoloing mmorpg unlike some mmo's where you can solo till you meet your character limits.

I was hoping that was the case about having a small yet good community. At first glance, I was kind of doubtful, because games like this always seem uncommunal, but I'm going to try this out now. Great.

It says you can play for free as long as you want, but with ingame disadvantages. What are these "disadvantages"?

Originally posted by AisuKohee

Yes it's pretty much alive. About 300+ users on a good day (that isn't vacation or holiday) The graphics isn't really there compared to mmorpgs nowadays but it's not like the graphics are hideous.

-Roleplayer: Alot of people like to roleplay in this game.

-Self goverened mmorpg. You can hold office and adjust city laws, punish cheaters, and etc.

There's a free trial so why don't you try it out. I like to think of DarkAges as a nonsoloing mmorpg unlike some mmo's where you can solo till you meet your character limits.

A bit of an under-exaggeration regarding the player population.

Right now it is 6:17 am EST (GMT -5) and the Camelot Herald is reporting a total player population of

around 3200 players, with the classic cluster being the most active with 658 players.  (Killbury has over 500) Not bad for this early in the day, and I think if you check this evening you'll find the classic cluster around 1000-1500 people during US prime time.

Stick with the classic cluster and you'll be just fine.  There will even be some low level players you can group with (because classic servers don't permit players to use the /level command to skip the first 20 levels) 

The game originated as a asian grind-a-thon called Legend of Darkness (from S.Korea) but when the game is ported to the US the game director/manager David Kennerly redesigned most of the major systems of the game from the ground up (excluding the game engine itself and the maps) into a roleplayer paradise mmo which focuses on the RPing community instead of the asian grinder that it was. It has a player government system (an mmo's first) where player elected officials can punish rule breakers / cheaters. Note that the player government system (including in-game elections etc.) is designed by David Kennerly from the ground up and is not part of the original Legend of Darkness mmo port.

huh?

Originally posted by Zorvan

It says you can play for free as long as you want, but with ingame disadvantages. What are these "disadvantages"?

No religion or politics; You cannot join guilds, do certain quests, or earn experience at 99.

What you can do, however, is get an outsider's perspective of the community and the gameplay. You won't get a full idea of combat (a lot of gameplay changes at 99 and up) but you'll be able to explore the world and get to know some people, maybe even make some connections in case you decide to register.

@ Population:

5:30 approximately right now (EST), and around 430 players are on. Later in the night it will jump up. During non-peak hours, the game averages around 200-300 players at a minimum.

During peak hours, you can see around 400-600 players tops. During my entire span of playing DA (almost 5 years now,) the top i've seen has been 1300 players during the Goblin Invasion event.

-Radical Edward