Crestfall - New Vanilla PTE Server - Release 2017
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2016 10:29 pm2017 is going to be a golden age of World of Warcraft emulation. Players will have a number of choices in relation to servers, and also in relation to the realms they can play on. This thread relates to one of these servers, known as Crestfall. Most of you will have heard of it, but some of you won't. This post caters for those of you who haven't or want to learn a little bit more about WoW emulators.
So what is Crestfall?
Crestfall is a brand new server with a launch date expected to be in the first half of 2017. It is an emulation of World of Warcraft that allows you to play WoW based on the original game launched in 2004, commonly known as Vanilla WoW. There isn't much point in replicating the original game starting at 1.1.0 and working your way through content to 1.12, so like most other servers, Crestfall will start with 1.12 talents and abilities and release the vanilla content in 3-4 big chunks. It will initially launch with Onyxia and Molten Core and end up with the release of Naxxaramas. The time scale is expected to be 16-18 months depending on the AQ40 effort and how quickly content is cleared.
What makes Crestfall different than other servers?
In a number of ways. It will be the first vanilla server using an emulator that is not derived from MaNGOS or CMaNGOS core. The core is actually an Ascent/Summit TBC emulator that has been reverse engineered into Vanilla. It's been on the go for about 7 years, but the heavy lifting only started early 2016. So it won't have the same stock issues that MaNGOS servers have, although it may well have others. This will mean your experiences will be different than those you've had before on private servers, Hopefully for the better. More to the point, rather than copy & pasting someone else's work, the devs have created this pretty much from start to finish, they know how to fix things.
The next major difference with Crestfall is that it is a PTE server, meaning Progression Through Expansions. So this will be the only server (to date) that will start in vanilla and allow you to progress through The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King and so forth, using the same set of characters with the same bunch of useless/uber guild-mates from the start. Indeed, work is already underway on the TBC expansion inscripting and coding.
The last element is attention to detail. The devs and staff are fully aware how strong the competition is, they know this because most of them have played and worked on other servers. So they are aware of the bugs and issues in other emulators and want to ensure that Crestfall becomes the next generation, raising the bar and standards still further. To that end, the server will only be released in a finished state and not rushed out piecemeal with lots of bugs still to be fixed.
What else should I know?
The server is going to closed Beta on December 26th 2016. Applications to join closed Beta will be posted on the forums early December.
The server will launch with both a PvE and PvP realm simultaneously, the first time this has ever happened for a private server, with preferences will be given to either realm.
The server populations are capped at ~6000 players at any one time, if more people want to play, other realms are on standby to cope with demand.
If required, a Chinese realm will be made available as VPN connections will be banned under normal conditions as an aid to combat the gold farming community
An elite group of dodgy players have been recruited to play test the servers to remove as many exploits as possible, needless to say, these same players will be heavily scrutinised after server launch.
The servers will use proxies in other geographical areas so that the latency for anyone in Oceania, The Americas and The Antarctic will be able to play and PvP to their heart's content.
The staff are aware that raid content has been somewhat disappointing challenge-wise in the private server scene. The initial thought is that the care and attention put into the scripting of bosses should see a significant improvement on toughness, but after Beta testing, bosses may be tweaked to increase the challenge to elite guilds with the option of reverting to 'normal' as a later date.
Lastly, one thing Crestfall will not be is play-to-win. The server is being funded by the staff at present and that is not going to change until well-after release. If the server is working as intended, the plan would be to fund through donations with the possibility of a shop selling vanity items only, like pets and pre 1.4 mounts. The preference is definitely for donation though.
Where can I find out more?
You can certainly start with the FAQ here: http://forums.crestfall-gaming.com/index.php?/topic/25-frequently-asked-questions/
There is a pretty decent interview with the lead developer Asura by Orcbit here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D-9wgSV5ko
Other than that, the forums are very active (3000 members) and we'll begin to see a lot more activity when Beta is released.
If you have any questions, comments or constructive criticism, feel free to comment on this thread.
TL;DR? The you've never played vanilla, there is no TL;DR in vanilla
_________________________________________________________________________________
Last words:
The original Crestfall thread is here: http://forum.nostalrius.org/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=43506 It's been locked as most of the thread was a backward and forwards discussion on a number or related and unrelated topics. It's been agreed that we will start a new thread here on the basis that we do not discuss holy resistance. Any mention of Holy Resistance will be modded.
I'd like to acknowledge the contribution of Killerduki aka smilkovpetko, Theoloras, Cornholi and the CF team for clearing up a certain matter. If I offended the Light Brigade of Paladins I duly apologise. I'm glad this was cleared up and I duly acknowledge your considerable contribution.
Similarly, I'd like to thank the Nostalrius team who are happy to allow is to promote Crestfall here on their forums. I have great respect for the services you have provided and continue to provide those of us who want to play legacy wow. I'd like to think that we're in a new era of cooperation and friendly rivalry.
So what is Crestfall?
Crestfall is a brand new server with a launch date expected to be in the first half of 2017. It is an emulation of World of Warcraft that allows you to play WoW based on the original game launched in 2004, commonly known as Vanilla WoW. There isn't much point in replicating the original game starting at 1.1.0 and working your way through content to 1.12, so like most other servers, Crestfall will start with 1.12 talents and abilities and release the vanilla content in 3-4 big chunks. It will initially launch with Onyxia and Molten Core and end up with the release of Naxxaramas. The time scale is expected to be 16-18 months depending on the AQ40 effort and how quickly content is cleared.
What makes Crestfall different than other servers?
In a number of ways. It will be the first vanilla server using an emulator that is not derived from MaNGOS or CMaNGOS core. The core is actually an Ascent/Summit TBC emulator that has been reverse engineered into Vanilla. It's been on the go for about 7 years, but the heavy lifting only started early 2016. So it won't have the same stock issues that MaNGOS servers have, although it may well have others. This will mean your experiences will be different than those you've had before on private servers, Hopefully for the better. More to the point, rather than copy & pasting someone else's work, the devs have created this pretty much from start to finish, they know how to fix things.
The next major difference with Crestfall is that it is a PTE server, meaning Progression Through Expansions. So this will be the only server (to date) that will start in vanilla and allow you to progress through The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King and so forth, using the same set of characters with the same bunch of useless/uber guild-mates from the start. Indeed, work is already underway on the TBC expansion inscripting and coding.
The last element is attention to detail. The devs and staff are fully aware how strong the competition is, they know this because most of them have played and worked on other servers. So they are aware of the bugs and issues in other emulators and want to ensure that Crestfall becomes the next generation, raising the bar and standards still further. To that end, the server will only be released in a finished state and not rushed out piecemeal with lots of bugs still to be fixed.
What else should I know?
The server is going to closed Beta on December 26th 2016. Applications to join closed Beta will be posted on the forums early December.
The server will launch with both a PvE and PvP realm simultaneously, the first time this has ever happened for a private server, with preferences will be given to either realm.
The server populations are capped at ~6000 players at any one time, if more people want to play, other realms are on standby to cope with demand.
If required, a Chinese realm will be made available as VPN connections will be banned under normal conditions as an aid to combat the gold farming community
An elite group of dodgy players have been recruited to play test the servers to remove as many exploits as possible, needless to say, these same players will be heavily scrutinised after server launch.
The servers will use proxies in other geographical areas so that the latency for anyone in Oceania, The Americas and The Antarctic will be able to play and PvP to their heart's content.
The staff are aware that raid content has been somewhat disappointing challenge-wise in the private server scene. The initial thought is that the care and attention put into the scripting of bosses should see a significant improvement on toughness, but after Beta testing, bosses may be tweaked to increase the challenge to elite guilds with the option of reverting to 'normal' as a later date.
Lastly, one thing Crestfall will not be is play-to-win. The server is being funded by the staff at present and that is not going to change until well-after release. If the server is working as intended, the plan would be to fund through donations with the possibility of a shop selling vanity items only, like pets and pre 1.4 mounts. The preference is definitely for donation though.
Where can I find out more?
You can certainly start with the FAQ here: http://forums.crestfall-gaming.com/index.php?/topic/25-frequently-asked-questions/
There is a pretty decent interview with the lead developer Asura by Orcbit here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D-9wgSV5ko
Other than that, the forums are very active (3000 members) and we'll begin to see a lot more activity when Beta is released.
If you have any questions, comments or constructive criticism, feel free to comment on this thread.
TL;DR? The you've never played vanilla, there is no TL;DR in vanilla
_________________________________________________________________________________
Last words:
The original Crestfall thread is here: http://forum.nostalrius.org/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=43506 It's been locked as most of the thread was a backward and forwards discussion on a number or related and unrelated topics. It's been agreed that we will start a new thread here on the basis that we do not discuss holy resistance. Any mention of Holy Resistance will be modded.
I'd like to acknowledge the contribution of Killerduki aka smilkovpetko, Theoloras, Cornholi and the CF team for clearing up a certain matter. If I offended the Light Brigade of Paladins I duly apologise. I'm glad this was cleared up and I duly acknowledge your considerable contribution.
Similarly, I'd like to thank the Nostalrius team who are happy to allow is to promote Crestfall here on their forums. I have great respect for the services you have provided and continue to provide those of us who want to play legacy wow. I'd like to think that we're in a new era of cooperation and friendly rivalry.
