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Fallen Earth: First Impressions
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
Our writer has been hands-on inside Fallen Earth since launch. How's it stack up so far? Get his first impressions in advance of our full review.
Players enter the game as in most games with the Character Creation screen. The level of Character Creation is outstanding. They have really done a great job of allowing the player to customize the look and feel of your character. There have been others that have said it, but really this truly deserves extra attention, the creation generation is great. Almost every physical feature can be tweaked and tattooed to you liking. You can really lose your mind here for quite some time. Although I was a more than a little disappointed that after spending way too much too time generating my character just to find myself covered in clothes. I didn’t choose that halter top for nothing. I’m sure there will be more revealing armor as the game goes on. (Yes, yes I am that guy when it comes to designing my character, if I need to look at it for an unknown amount of hours, I better like what I see.)
;)
Read it all here.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
Pretty good article, gives you the basics and touches are the games strengths and weakness. I hope the author continues to play, the game gets a lot deeper and more complex.
FE offers a huge amount of freedom ie someone pvp'd my horse...which is funny now, but at the time I was so spitting MAD about the thing I was shouting dire death if I caught the guy in the pvp zone.
I am happy to see that you choose to do a first impression and not already a review.
This game certainly isn't for everyone who wants to jump and casually play without thinking. I can agree that I feel a bit uncertain about the skill distribution, but there are some helpful hints ingame describing possible templates for possible "classes".
And yes, as you wrote, crafting has a mayor impact on the game, since you basically loot very little weapons/armor. So you either buy them from others or make them. And that which NPCs offer, is useful and not just a fasade for a shop as in some MMOs for dumping junk loot. I find it very satisfying to have crafting my own armor and wearing it afterwards. Also the fact that you can queue your crafting items and they will continue to be made when offline and give you (small) XP!
Closest I ever felt to SWG preCU/NGE. People complain about cookie cutter MMOs, well, here is one that isn't (all the way at least). Not saying it is perfect, but it certainly is different.
Nice initial impression.
I remember how lost I was when I first started this game, it has a serious learning curve compared to what the mmo scene has been putting out in the last few years. There was so much to learn and do that I did sort of overload, to a point that there were two or three days during the beta I didn't log in at all. But now, heh, its a different story. The more you learn about the mechanics and the world in general, the more alluring the game becomes. Like even in S1, I doubt many people know of the long underground tunnel that serves as a short cut through the mountains between Spider Hill and PvP area south of Trailor park. A journey that would normally talk almost 40 minutes on motorcycle, going around the mountain range, is cut down drastically. Little short cuts like that and the knowledge of where to go for a specific resources when I need it makes me feel like so much less of a noob. And there is still so much more. I'm barely halfway through the crafting trees (the market), I know very little about the mutagenics (the magic) and I have yet to cut my teeth in the Pvp (the mayhem!).
As far as the AP points and the no respecs available in FE, I don't think there is anyway around it. Those of us that are OCD about our characters will reroll a few times before we figure out what we want. It took a while to de-condition myself from having a character that could do it all. My first attempt was at a melee/pistol/crafter. While it can be done, you will still have to make many decisions later because once the mutant paths open up, you will be limited on what paths you can choose. Not to mention athletics, First aid, social ...
I don't think the AP point thing is really a "perfect build" issue but more of a "figuring out what role you want to play" type of deal.
You can play around with different build ideas at www.globaltechplanner.info
I like this crafting system. In other MMOs crafting is pointless since you get good weapons/armor very easy from mobs.
Interesting...I thought that would be another DARKFALL (Epic Fail), but maybe this is becoming a good MMO. Gonna track this with more attention.
Only thing that annoys me in Fallen Earth are the multi-faction guilds. It makes the whole lore and setting pretty meaningless when you are allowed to have for example Vistas and Techs (who would instantly kill each others) in same guild. It just makes no sense and the whole faction thing feels pretty useless...
That's enough reason for me to not buy the game after 1.5yrs of Alpha and Beta testing the game. Even though the game is great.
Do you get more than one character per server, so you could have one melee character and have another devoted entirely to crafting?
Great write up on Fallen Earth.
To me, it's my diamond in the ruff since we got way too many fantasy mmo's out there now.
I glad FE LLC, grew a set and didn't go the way of the WoW format and went their own direction.
"While I think it’s a great opportunity for players to be able to choose their own path, I am a little apprehensive about this approach. In other MMOs, you choose your class, and you knew your role. If you choose a tank, melee DPS, or ranged DPS, you essentially know where you fit in the game."
A very good article recently posted by Jaime describes your reaction to Fallen Earth perfectly and the general effect that a certain juggernaut MMO has had on peoples perceptions of new MMO's. You might find it interesting to read.
http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/feature/3576/Player-Perspectives-The-Stale-Comparison.html
I think Fallen Earths approach with a classless system looks very promising and appealing. It makes the game seem more like a roleplaying game which is what it is supposed to be. Hopefully it encourages more realistic interactions with other players, where you tend to treat people as unique individuals rather than just "someone to fill a space in your group".
Who is that guy in the dusty trenchcoat and wide brimmed hat? He has a rifle and a hunting knife. What is his specialty? Does he even have one? What is he capable of? What does he know about the world? I wonder where he has been? I could do with some protection on my current mission. I wonder if he would be up to the job? Hmmm. The only way is to ask I suppose.
Genuine roleplaying in a roleplaying game? I know I probably have my expectations set way too high. Its probably like most MMO's where people just spam the chat channel with LFG messages. Oh well I can hope.
"For those of you out there who are confident enough to shed the shackles of forced roles, Fallen Earth is for you."
It most certainly is
I thinks its 4 characters per account. Its all on one server ala EVE. Most folks do go the route of a dedicated crafter that supports the other combat toons. Even with a dedicated crafter there are still only so many things in the game you can dedicate your character to craft. If your crafter wants to concentrate on armor other crafting disciplines will tend to lag like melee weapons or medical, point being the economy should stay strong as you will have to continue to trade other players for items/componants in crafting disciplines that you are lagging in.
it is too bad the OP didnt try the crafting as it is the best part of the game IMHO... You can be every type of crafter if you put the time and energy in it.. so totally self sufficient. Also you can have multiple characters thereby having one total crafter and one advernturer. It is a very good game.. you can craft offline as well so you can make several items while hunting (as the craft queue will continue to go even if not near a crafting station) and while sleeping. It really is a good game. You definately "earn" where you get, at least crafting wise
edit... other crafts do not have to lag behind.. as all crafts are int/per...you just have to put the time in to make the items to keep them all at the max
Is it really like that? Damn that sounds really disapointing. It really bugs me in these games when they create a great backstory and have everything in place to make the world believable and immersive, and then they go and do things like that. It reminds me a bit of EQ2 and the way it forced you to pick an evil or good race and then just let everyone play together regardless. Trolls and dark elves having tea parties with dwarves and halflings.....meh.
I know people will argue that it is better to have the freedom to do what they like but if a game has something written into its lore then its game mechanics should back it up. Player freedom can be good but sometimes certain restrictions just have to be enforced. Either that or dont bother writing the lore in the first place.
Trouble is the devs will never change that now as then players will whine that they cant play with their friends.......even though they were totally ignoring the games lore in the first place. Then again I saw that the devs did change the female avatars to look more like barbie dolls which annoyed some players. Hmmm maybe it would be worth the effort of posting this suggestion on their forums.
What a horrible review. Can another staff member give this game a look?
I kill other players because they're smarter than AI, sometimes.
great artical. a bit off topic but..... CANT GET THE DAM GAME! An why you ask, simpley this, gamestop. I was told on the 30th to pick it up got there and told come back in 2 days. i came back in to days i was then told, come back next wensday. I should of bought it off digital download, i fully paid for it at gamestop. Needless to say game stop will not be geting my money agian anytime soon. guess ill shop at best buy XD
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Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.[/CENTER]
Is it really like that? Damn that sounds really disapointing. It really bugs me in these games when they create a great backstory and have everything in place to make the world believable and immersive, and then they go and do things like that. It reminds me a bit of EQ2 and the way it forced you to pick an evil or good race and then just let everyone play together regardless. Trolls and dark elves having tea parties with dwarves and halflings.....meh.
I know people will argue that it is better to have the freedom to do what they like but if a game has something written into its lore then its game mechanics should back it up. Player freedom can be good but sometimes certain restrictions just have to be enforced. Either that or dont bother writing the lore in the first place.
Trouble is the devs will never change that now as then players will whine that they cant play with their friends.......even though they were totally ignoring the games lore in the first place. Then again I saw that the devs did change the female avatars to look more like barbie dolls which annoyed some players. Hmmm maybe it would be worth the effort of posting this suggestion on their forums.
Being around enemy faction is..er..uncomfortable. We tend to avoid each other.
One they show up on our mini maps as red dots, two they have a big red line underlining thier names. Everything about them visually screams danger, bad guy. In the neutral towns we don't go near each other if we can help it and going into a neutral town full of red dots/names; makes me at least, feel vulnerable and alone.
Thats just in the relative peace and safety of s1, the grudges become more pronouced in s2 and s3. Also s2 and s3 have roaming faction mobs, so any multi faction group where someone has to defend themselves they are screwing thier buddies faction all to hell. S3 is even worse for faction mobs roaming the countryside. No, I wouldn't say chumming around with enemy faction is easy or appealing for most players. From what I've seen and my own behavior we stick with our own kind.
I actually thought the article was poorly researched, especially with respect to this comment and especially that the reviewer did not try *any* crafting at all, since crafting is where a lot of the survival in a harsh world feeling comes from, key to the immersive gameplay.
Regarding the roles and the skeptical tone the reviewer takes, there are several things to say;
1. the game has a built in guide that allows you to choose a build (a class of sorts), such as pistoleer or a member of a particular faction, which is available to those who feel afraid they will misallocate points badly and want the guidance. That is, if you want someone to hold your hand, you can have that.
2. "you essentially know where you fit in the game"... but hang on, should you really know that before you even learn about the world and the way it works and the way you work within it? Should you have these preconceived, recognisable roles in your head? And should all developers build their games around these expectations of sameness? Your article and thought processes here discourage innovation and that is difficult to respect since that IS what the genre desperately needs.
3. I have found that part of the game, and part of the strength of FE, is that it is different enough that you must rediscover where your play style strengths are, what you actually enjoy and hence what roles you could play well. For example, with respect to combat I initially thought rifles were going to be my thing and where I was comfortable... turns out I was wrong, badly wrong. This is a strength, because it is the same process I went through with my first mmo... and everyone loves their first mmo.
I think I will try Fallen Earth as soon as my Aion account runs out. I don't like being pigeon holed into a class. Maybe I will get it before then if I can't control myself (giggle).
I actually thought the article was poorly researched, especially with respect to this comment and especially that the reviewer did not try *any* crafting at all, since crafting is where a lot of the survival in a harsh world feeling comes from, key to the immersive gameplay.
Regarding the roles and the skeptical tone the reviewer takes, there are several things to say;
1. the game has a built in guide that allows you to choose a build (a class of sorts), such as pistoleer or a member of a particular faction, which is available to those who feel afraid they will misallocate points badly and want the guidance. That is, if you want someone to hold your hand, you can have that.
2. "you essentially know where you fit in the game"... but hang on, should you really know that before you even learn about the world and the way it works and the way you work within it? Should you have these preconceived, recognisable roles in your head? And should all developers build their games around these expectations of sameness? Your article and thought processes here discourage innovation and that is difficult to respect since that IS what the genre desperately needs.
3. I have found that part of the game, and part of the strength of FE, is that it is different enough that you must rediscover where your play style strengths are, what you actually enjoy and hence what roles you could play well. For example, with respect to combat I initially thought rifles were going to be my thing and where I was comfortable... turns out I was wrong, badly wrong. This is a strength, because it is the same process I went through with my first mmo... and everyone loves their first mmo.
They chose the wrong person to preview this game. The OP doesnt seem to have any appreciation for what the game stands for or is trying to achieve. He is apprehensive about a game trying to be different which is irritating and stupid considering that so many people are craving an mmo which breaks away from the mainstream and offers something more thoughtful and complex. I think he would be more suited to previewing a simpler bog standard game like Aion which has all the usual tank, healer, dps, ranged dps and other generic stuff that would make him feel comfortable. I agree that writing a preview for a game like this without even bothering to try any crafting at all is just a complete waste of time. Oh well hopefully someone better will give the game a proper review.
Actually Chryses wrote a pretty good blog about Fallen Earth. Its much more informative than this crap.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/253979/Trying-to-decide-on-buying-it-Possibly-some-help.html
Spot on overview.
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Faction really means diddly in this game. Players routinely switch factions in order to gain access to mutations, skills, etc. Zerg guilds will own the PvP areas and therefore the resources.
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People who play MMOs enjoy playing roles. Healer, tank, DPS, etc. In a game where you pick and choose you end up with utter chaos a la Champions Online.
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As advocated by many in this thread, people are going to have at least two characters. One that crafts and one that adventures. Where does that place any sort of economy? If everyone can make everything there is no need for a market. Especially when you factor in that equipment doesn't degrade.
Great first impression write up, and once it all kicks into place it becomes an extemley addictive and satisfying experience.
I just spent nearly three hours crafting Twin Handguns and the feeling you get from making your own stuff is awesome.
Some peeps will probably have to work at it and persevere to get the best out of this game, but I can tell you its well worth it.
I think the Mmo I've been looking for the last few years has finally arrived ! Wooooot
Nah Neo, spinning the wheel in s2 will screw you up badly. Worse then screwing your AP. There are only so many faction quests and points your going to get. Most of the best faction points come to you right here and they are one shots non-repeatables. You spin the wheel and nobody will give you access to the faction goods. Your neutral forever, or worse disliked by half and distrusted by the other half. Spin the wheel=screw your toon in the end. S3 is all about faction.
Equipment does degrade (hence the various armor/ballistic/weapon repair kits sold by the trainers (A lesson I learned the hardway as I managed to allow a nice hth weapon to essentially "break".) As for "playing the wheel" I like it as it helps create a real "story" for your toon (eg start life as an enforcer but eventually due to "dissatisfaction with the command" strike out as a freelancer and ally with a traveller band to accomplish your goal. As for utter chaos isn't that what life "after the fall" will be anyway?? *lol*
I thought switching factions - at least to the faction on the opposite side of the wheel from your current faction - was difficult and time consuming because you have to work your way around the wheel. Are you saying this is easy? Aside from that, I personally think the game is too young to know how faction will play out.
People do enjoy roles, it is clear what they have to do when there is a lot going on. But just as obviously people like to be individuals as well. People also like hybrid classes because of the flexibility it allows. I haven't tried grouping myself yet, but doesn't your comment reveal the same problem with your thinking as in the article? That you are expecting the same roles and same gameplay that you have been preconditioned to expect by the sameness in the mmo market?
Essentially, what you are saying is that unless developers dumb things down, so that people must choose the obvious roles when grouping, then the result is chaos? That is just a sign of a really bad group if you ask me though I agree it helps the most hopeless of PUGs work far better than they ever should. However, I don't see why people cannot elect for various "jobs", naturally the ones that suit them best, but then be more than ready to do other roles if things go pear shaped.
Regarding your last comment, I really do not get the point of making an alt particularly for crafting, but perhaps I am not far enough into the game to understand this.
He's wrong on playing/spinning the wheel. It was a goofball tactic in beta/pre-launch but you will mess yourself up doing it now.
If you go vista mission
1000 Vista, 500 CHOTA, 500 lightbearer
-2000 tech, -1000 enforcer, -1000 travellor
You try to switch these number and get some enforcer faction
500 Enforcer, 200 tech
-2000 CHOTA, -1000 vista, -500 lightbearer, -500 travellor
So by our calculations your are -500 enforcer,-1800 tech, -1500 CHOTA, 0 Vista, 0 Lightbearer,-1500 Travellor
The more you betray a faction the worse the faction point hit gets.
See it really will screw you up. Worse then the AP.
http://thebookofeli.warnerbros.com/
Looks like a awesome FE inspiration. It looks like a travellor family going after a lightbearer on a crusade from the trailors.
I would like to propose an idea around the multi faction guild thing.
Like most aspects of this game it would seem just because you can have opposite faction members in the same clan/guild/whatever you want to call it doesn't neccarily mean that it's a good idea to just go ahead and do it. Sure as a Vista I could very well hang out with a bunch of techs but everything I do with them is going to absolutly ruin my faction with the Vista and allies. If I have poor faction with Vista I won't be able to get myself most of the stuff I went Vista for in the first place. On the positive side the game has friendly fire so I guess I could always accidently on purpose shoot my Tech friends in the back while they were engaged in hunting down Vista mobs but something tells me if I do that I won't have many tech friends left.
So sure you have the freedom to do such a thing but there are game mechanics in place that mean there are consequences for those choices which is pretty much how it should be.
The lesser of two evils is still evil.
There is nothing more dangerous than a true believer.